Dawntrail Is A Great Expansion

[Jojoya]

Isn't it a bit soon to decide if this is a good expansion or not based on just the MSQ and 2 EX trials?

We don't have raids yet.

We don't have Cosmic Exploration yet.

We don't have the new exploratory zone yet.

We can't start the relic weapons yet.

We don't have the new Variant/Criterion dungeons yet.

We don't know if the trial series will go back to being a separate thing or will once again be baked into the MSQ.

We have no information about Expert crafting yet (I'm guessing it will be part of Cosmic Exploration?).

We don't have the treasure dungeon yet.

We don't have the Ultimate yet.

Definitely it's fair for players to say "so far I'm enjoying/disliking it" but it's really premature to say that it's a great/good/decent/mediocre/bad/terrible expansion. We haven't seen enough of the content yet to decide.

Someone should bookmark this then come back to it in 7.5 to see if feelings are still the same.

[Jeeqbit]

They shouldn't be giving us a SIMPLE story

I agree but it did get more complicated than just a political campaign later on. It just makes you concerned that it'll stay that simple when half the expansion is consumed by that.

Isn't it a bit soon to decide if this is a good expansion or not based on just the MSQ and 2 EX trials?

I was referring mainly to the MSQ and what we have so far.

[Voidmage]

To be honest, the negative threads are getting very repetitive. I do think we need some positive threads or threads where we just state what we hope to learn that we feel was glossed over (since that is what YoshiP said they would use for the next expansions).

It’s really just people wanting to be heard.
I also have the “fear” for a lack of a better word that they ignore the feedback and continue with sidelining my character or forcing a character in the spotlight each expansion like Wuk Lamat.
These are all people who care about the story, you know the most important thing of ff14 by many.
That’s not repetitive.

It’s fine to make threads that say what the people liked. I liked some stuff too like the lore implications.
It’s not fine however to belittle feedback (not directed at you) or even insulting other people with a snide remark all the time like “whiners”, “you just skipped cutscenes”, “you have low standards”.
Some things are really disgusting.

That goes for both sides but tbh I saw it most from people defending the expansion. Maybe that’s just opinionated awareness.

Maybe I’m too idealistic but if so then let it be like that.

[1313]

When i got to Alexandria dungeon and saw the opening scene I was stoked, but that all changed after the first boss for the remainder and I was sad. also agree that sci-fi ff9 is wtf. The sci-fi cyberpunk whhatever was never the thing for me, despite the fact that i play pso2ngs lol

[EdwinChucklenuts]

Isn't it a bit soon to decide if this is a good expansion or not based on just the MSQ and 2 EX trials?

We don't have raids yet.

We don't have Cosmic Exploration yet.

We don't have the new exploratory zone yet.

We can't start the relic weapons yet.

We don't have the new Variant/Criterion dungeons yet.

We don't know if the trial series will go back to being a separate thing or will once again be baked into the MSQ.

We have no information about Expert crafting yet (I'm guessing it will be part of Cosmic Exploration?).

We don't have the treasure dungeon yet.

We don't have the Ultimate yet.

Definitely it's fair for players to say "so far I'm enjoying/disliking it" but it's really premature to say that it's a great/good/decent/mediocre/bad/terrible expansion. We haven't seen enough of the content yet to decide.

Someone should bookmark this then come back to it in 7.5 to see if feelings are still the same.

I hate to agree with a Lala but this is the only person talkin' sense.

[Magikazam]

also agree that sci-fi ff9 is wtf.

To me it just a stupid decision. like ff9 whole esthetic was to be rooted in classic fantasy world after the FF6-8 being in futuristic setting. It just a bad way to implement references in the game IMO.

[PercibelTheren]

You're not alone, I disliked the last 3rd of the expansion much more than the first 2/3rds. Yes, there were issues with the earlier plots and it could get a bit too silly and shounen anime flavored for my taste, but I liked just going on a low-stakes adventure with some new friends to see the world. It was fine for what it was. Not great, but good enough. But no, we had to bring in a world ending threat out of nowhere and watch Wuk Lamat (who I tolerated in the first half) destroy any respect and goodwill I had for her by her constant need to make Sphene her new best friend at the expense of everyone else around her. Sphene could have been an interesting antagonist if the game didn't keep trying to be like "look, everyone loves Sphene! She's so nice! All her loyal subjects love her so much! Isn't she cute? Don't you want to be her friend?" NO! I hate her and see right through her obvious and clumsy attempts at manipulation, but somehow Wuk Lamat doesn't! It's so infuriating to have to watch and sit through!

Yep, this is exactly how I felt, too. I was bored in the first zone but I mostly enjoyed the MSQ around the first dungeon and trial or so. Sure, there were plot holes and asspulls but it was fine enough. I found Lamat a bit too much of a shonen protagonist but I didn't have many strong feelings about her besides being irritated by the constant repetition of "she hates boats" and "she loves food".

The whole thing with Lamat and Sphene very much felt to me like "awkward kid is convinced popular kid is their best friend" and I hated it. Sphene being a little uwu doll-like Midlander didn't work on me at all. The only way she could have been more obvious is if she held a "I'm the main villain, ask me how" sign. When Alisae of all people was the only one having a reasonable reaction and my WoL just went along with it, I was incredibly frustrated. Surely, we have been betrayed enough times to know better?

I didn't buy the whole "she cares so much about her people" schtick, either. If she did, she wouldn't be an absolutist ruler - a queen. Look at Nanamo. She cares about her people and is working to slowly change the system in Ul'dah. With Emet, they were his friends and colleagues, so it was a lot more believable. I also think the motivation for talking to so many Endless was stupid. They should have gone with "it's so someone remembers them". The message of "you have to understand people to get along with them" is good enough, but it just doesn't work in the final zone.

[Gullis]

I liked it too. i'll even descend futher into the unpopular abyss, and say I liked the first half way more than the last half. last two zones were kinda a slog to get tru, and I didn't like Sphene as a villain

[Naoki34]

Dawntrail Is A Great Expansion

Dude, what were you doing during ShB and Endwalker? Did you slip on a cable and stay in a coma during those extensions?

Apart from the dungeon boss fights and PvE stuff, I found Dawntrail's MSQ to be very Filler extension, full of fan service.

And the job quests are all equally uninteresting, and we don't even have the leisure to go back to our job masters to say hello, as we did in ShB.

And I've just seen the skins for raid 8, which comes out today, and I'd say they're problematic... I'm not really into the bare-chested, look-like-nothing thing.

[Narnio]

Nah, it wasn't a very good expansion, sorry.

Damn, well I guess that's it. Wrap it up people, because Karious is evidently the judge, jury and executioner on this verdict.

If you're going to make a lazy comment like that in response to OP's without even providing reasoning, why even bother commenting at all?