Dawntrail's MSQ story is a disaster and waste of potential. [full spoilers]

[Mondschnee]

For what it's worth, I'd like to add this review series by Durantes to the pool of Dawntrail feedback.
He is pretty harsh with his feedback, but it's worth listening to because he breaks down critical points extremely well.

Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiYJXd4vaE
Wuk Lamat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdIcjviRFo&t=1s
The villains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0_kt7CyRE&t=2397s

And just like Thancred once said: "And if that sounds harsh, it's because we care."

[Coratanni]

For what it's worth, I'd like to add this review series by Durantes to the pool of Dawntrail feedback.
He is pretty harsh with his feedback, but it's worth listening to because he breaks down critical points extremely well.

Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiYJXd4vaE
Wuk Lamat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdIcjviRFo&t=1s
The villains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0_kt7CyRE&t=2397s

And just like Thancred once said: "And if that sounds harsh, it's because we care."

I remember when he first posted his videos. 100% agreement.

[LittleArrow]

For what it's worth, I'd like to add this review series by Durantes to the pool of Dawntrail feedback.
He is pretty harsh with his feedback, but it's worth listening to because he breaks down critical points extremely well.

Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiYJXd4vaE
Wuk Lamat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdIcjviRFo&t=1s
The villains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0_kt7CyRE&t=2397s

And just like Thancred once said: "And if that sounds harsh, it's because we care."

Great recommendation! I couldn't agree more with the criticisms. As much as I am disappointed and frustrated with the slop that is the DT expansion, my support for this game is a nerve I can't seem to sever. I still get the itch to defend it when I hear other content creators nitpick and just unload on XIV, even if it's deserved. So despite my very strong opinion about my dislike with DT, I haven't really delved into posted breakdowns about the expansion. This is also due to me being comfortable with how much I dislike DT and why.

Still, Durantes breakdowns sound like they come from a fan of the game, and not just someone that plays it to get views. He is measured in his criticisms and doesn't hold back punches. Very cathartic to watch it and hear my same grievances in a way that doesn't want to just crap on the game b/c he got a deal with WoW or is playing up an online persona with no investment in the success of the game (not saying all content creators do this, but some of the bigger ones I used to respect to a degree have totally sold out imo).

[Kennar]

For what it's worth, I'd like to add this review series by Durantes to the pool of Dawntrail feedback.
He is pretty harsh with his feedback, but it's worth listening to because he breaks down critical points extremely well.

Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiYJXd4vaE
Wuk Lamat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdIcjviRFo&t=1s
The villains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0_kt7CyRE&t=2397s

And just like Thancred once said: "And if that sounds harsh, it's because we care."

I've been enjoying his work. For the most part I was nodding along and saying, "Right on, right on," but he did start to lose me with his critique of Living Memory. I admire his passion, but by that point in the story I just didn't care about Living Memory or the Endless. There were too many unanswered questions, too many contrivances, too much time-wasting and faffing about--let's just shut it down so I can defeat the Big Bad and go home. Stories that question how to define life and consciousness have been done countless times, and in far better ways.

I'm more disappointed that we turned EPCOT of the Damned into the most pointless, boring zone in the game. The second act should have been an entire expansion in itself, then maybe it could have been fleshed out enough for me to care.

[Mondschnee]

I've been enjoying his work. For the most part I was nodding along and saying, "Right on, right on," but he did start to lose me with his critique of Living Memory. I admire his passion, but by that point in the story I just didn't care about Living Memory or the Endless. There were too many unanswered questions, too many contrivances, too much time-wasting and faffing about--let's just shut it down so I can defeat the Big Bad and go home. Stories that question how to define life and consciousness have been done countless times, and in far better ways.

I get it. Personally, I felt really empty while doing Living Memory, because it just felt weird going on a sightseeing tour knowing that we would shut all these terminals down, and the zone's concept also felt like a bad copy of Ultima Thule.
But I get what he is saying. Shadowbringers did a much better job at exploring the moral ambiguity that came with certain topics, while Dawntrail pretended like there is no moral ambiguity to what we were doing. Instead of doing some "sightseeing", I do wish they would have dived into the justness of it all more, and not treated all of the endless as if they were a hive mind sharing all the moral standards and wishes.

But this was also a problem with Tural as a whole. We spent the first few levels of the story learning that different people in Tural have different goals and wishes, yet when Wuk Lamat became Dawnservant, they all cheered to her preaching about smiles and happiness without ever having learned what this actually means. It's just not realistic, which made it seem immature.

I'm just shocked, if anything. Previously, the writers were never afraid to explore moral topics to keep the narrative interesting.

[ovIm]

I get it. Personally, I felt really empty while doing Living Memory, because it just felt weird going on a sightseeing tour knowing that we would shut all these terminals down, and the zone's concept also felt like a bad copy of Ultima Thule.

The entirety of Living Memory had me legit yell at the screen at that point. We have a BBEG who threatens to drain the life force of every living being from every dimension, and we... take a fucking stroll, ride a gondola and eat popcorn so we could "understand how they live" or some shit instead of just, you know, pushing forward and resolving the issue at hand? Plus that we just destroy it all instead of setting Living Memory into a hibernation status until we find a better solution with the moral dilemma presented to us.
Add in how shitty both Erenville and Krile were handled even here, everything about that zone infuriated me.

[ReynTime]

For what it's worth, I'd like to add this review series by Durantes to the pool of Dawntrail feedback.
He is pretty harsh with his feedback, but it's worth listening to because he breaks down critical points extremely well.

Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiYJXd4vaE
Wuk Lamat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdIcjviRFo&t=1s
The villains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0_kt7CyRE&t=2397s

And just like Thancred once said: "And if that sounds harsh, it's because we care."

Saw his Endwalker critique in the past. He makes points I hadn't considered before.

My only criticism is that he's like every other XIV content creator who uses their player character in videos... Interrupting themselves with unfunny non sequiturs and tangents about themselves or their roleplayed character from time to time.

"Here's my character doing funny thing, btw irrelevant nonsense comment, anyway where was I?"
Every XIV video creator who uses their avatar wants to be a Josh Whedon character.