The Next Expansion cycle needs 2 things. 1) A Break from the Scions and 2)Time Skip

[Laerune]

Time skip would mean SE has to redesign the world, age up all characters this mean time and money. Do you really believe the company that doesn't have time and money to add hats and hairstyle to the limited races, will bother with doing that?

Your first suggestion is one I agree, send the Wil alone to another reflection.

[Laerune]

Time skip would mean SE has to redesign the world, age up all characters this mean time and money. Do you really believe the company that doesn't have time and money to add hats and hairstyle to the limited races, will bother with doing that?

Your first suggestion is one I agree, send the WoL alone to another reflection.

[Kozh]

Time skip would mean SE has to redesign the world, age up all characters this mean time and money. Do you really believe the company that doesn't have time and money to add hats and hairstyle to the limited races, will bother with doing that?

Your first suggestion is one I agree, send the Wil alone to another reflection.

I think it can be done using Instances. NG+ system already doing this, sort of. Maybe instead of permanent time skip, it's more expansion where we "canonically" are 10 years in the future (for example) but we also have access to old world because X reason.

I'm sure this is not easy to do, but honestly the team needs to do something out of their comfort zone and shake things up. FF14 world and the story is getting stale and ridiculous with each expansion passing while the NPC still look the same. It even restrict their potential for character development imo.

[Kozh]

I dunno why people are trying to push the "retire the scions" narrative thing because I legitimately hate it
we still have scions who could use more characterization even. Krile, who got kinda shafted in DT, let us bring Graha on more adventures LIKE WE PROMISED HIM, the scions B team at the rising stones, Clive, Mikoto, etc.
hell, Yshtola could use some more spotlight too in all honesty
the Scions are our JRPG party members, I would not replace them at all.

1. Stop it with Graha, we already have many adventures with him, including Myths of the Realm raid.

2. The biggest problem is, can the writers write compelling story to justify them being there? Not that I disagree with your point about more characterization but we've seen already how DT, which was teased by yoshi-p to be somewhat Krile's focused story, ends up with her having less line than Erenville and Wuk Lmao. If the writers simply not capable to write a good story about the scions, I rather have them retired than repeating what happens in DT.

[Lyth]

The people constantly pushing to de-emphasize the Scions last expansion in favor of seeing fresh faces was what got us WL as our new proxy main character in this one. Sometimes you don't realize how good you had it until it's gone.

[TaleraRistain]

The people constantly pushing to de-emphasize the Scions last expansion in favor of seeing fresh faces was what got us WL as our new proxy main character in this one. Sometimes you don't realize how good you had it until it's gone.

Also the "I don't want to be important. I just want to be a normal adventurer" getting our own role and ability to connect with the story through our interactions diminished.

[DreadCrow]

2. The biggest problem is, can the writers write compelling story to justify them being there?

The idea that you need "a compelling story" to justify the inclusion of a supporting cast is one of the silliest idea that float around modern story discussion. The only reason we need to justify the Scions being around is they are our friends. Like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen to Superman, or Mary Jane, Aunt May, and J. Jonah Jameson for Spider-Man. Sometimes, they'll be a story reason why they are around... Other times, they are just there to give consistency to a character.

[Lyth]

Also the "I don't want to be important. I just want to be a normal adventurer" getting our own role and ability to connect with the story through our interactions diminished.

[Daralii]

Also the "I don't want to be important. I just want to be a normal adventurer" getting our own role and ability to connect with the story through our interactions diminished.

To be fair, there's a difference between the WoL having a break from being the defender of the universe and the WoL effectively not existing for ~25/30 hours of MSQ.

[Dovaah]

Big yes on the time skip. It would help with the Scions too. They all went through a character arc and now they feel a bit stuck ?

Especially Yshtola, she feels like a void and has had nothing to say in the past 5 years beside wanting to go back to the first.
What happened to that plot point that her life force is fading quickly and in the EW she just give her aether away to Zero ?

- Thancred's arc closed in Shb
- Urianger's arc somewhat closed in EW
- I love Alisaie and Alphinaud but I can't help but feel like they need to grow up now. They've been 16 for the past 10 years now (17 if you count their year in the first)
- Graha is obvious
- Krile got her (very little) development in DT

DT feels a bit like the writers didn't know where to go just yet cause none of the scions have anything interesting to say. Or rather, they have nothing to say that another scion couldn't have said.
Yshtola and Graha coming back during the MSQ felt like it was shoved in there for the sake of it

So yes, either a time skip or find something else to do with the Scions cause it would be ass for them to become flat characters just because the devs are too scared to break the status quo.