7.1 - More Wuk Lamat

[Ellariel]

I didn't really expect them to change on a dime. I remember the dev team explaining one time that back when we had faster patch cycles at around one every 3 months, everything was going at about 6 months in advance. So the writing would happen about two patches ahead. Now, with the team moving more slowly I could probably expect changes in the storytelling maybe eight months to a year from Dawntrail's launch with regards to Wuk Lamat's reception. So, around 7.3-onward is when we'll actually see the results of Dawntrail's launch feedback. Similarly around 7.4 is when we'd see the results of 7.1 feedback, etc. etc. So keep an eye out and revisit this later.

[Rolder50]

It’s likely they already have all the main story beats planned out to the next expansion at least. And if there is one thing that SE here is absolutely unable to do, it’s pivot and adapt.

[Coratanni]

Alright then buddy. Then please explain why most of those negative reviews I've read come from extremely bigoted people complaining about woke/DEI.

You haven't read too many reviews. Explain why even the Japanese and Chinese don't care for Wuk Lamat. They have entirely different VA's for her.

[Lollerblades]

Perfect excuse to skip cutscenes.
Which is sad in and of itself.

[Volgia]

It doesn't matter if "everything is as advertised" because no one is compelled to continue financially supporting SE by paying their sub. So literally anything that would cause a large enough portion of players to stop paying their subs is a legitimate concern and needs to be addressed - regardless of whether one would objectively call it "fair" or justify it in any other way. Watch the Dawntrail trailer and tell me if that's what we got, because half of it is the final cutscene in the story lmfao. Simply put, if the money doesn't go in, the game dies. This is where the largest disconnect occurs: People are not complaining and ranting on the forums because they hate the game and "want their steak," necessarily, they are scared that the game they love has entered a state of decline and they don't want anything bad to happen to it.

None of what I said disagrees with what you've said, I've criticized this game and this expansion thoroughly throughout the forums. But here's the thing right?

"they are[/I] scared that the game they love has entered a state of decline and they don't want anything bad to happen to it ".......

The game has been in decline since Shadowbringers, not in terms of player population but on how content and design got diluted to the lowest common denominator. It's patch cycles, it's encounter designs, it's job design, it's outdated way to tell the whole MSQ through 90% of cutscenes, it's removal of optional expert dungeons. It even accelerated it on Endwalker, by doubling down on this, by removing Bozja like content for Island Sanctuary and Criterion Dungeons, making the atomization of the community worse... TL : DR, you and I both agree that the steak is getting stale and worse.

But here's the thing, none of this can be boiled down to Wuk Lamat, or to her voice actress or her story arc, and making her the villain of why FFXIV is in decline is unhelpful. The only thing it's done is giving a megaphone to people who are into reactionary politics to poison every discourse or critique or analysis we give.

Wuk's involvement in the story is just inconsequential to how good or bad the game is, because really, who cares? There are people who are gonna love her, like her, feel neutral about her or hate her, but at the end of the day CBU3 will treat her like they treat everything else, they're just gonna forget her the way they forgot about Ryne, Lyse, Meteion, and move on to other characters.

It doesn't make any difference to how dull the next 5 months are gonna be after you're done with the 3 hours of cutscenes of the next patch, it doesn't make any difference on how the next expansion will have a split starting zone, 3 trials, 5 dungeons, and a final emotional zone with the tragic villain just like the last 3 expansions behind it, because that's what "players like".

[Daralii]

Perfect excuse to skip cutscenes.
Which is sad in and of itself.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Okay but in all seriousness why are people being referred to as ‘children’ because they have genuine concerns and criticisms toward the game’s direction regarding Wuk?

Probably because it's easier to insult others/write off their opinions than actually address their point of view.

I've seen a lot of namecalling / dismissive comments towards many who have issues with Wuk's writing, especially on reddit and twitter.

[Lollerblades]

I hope not ������

[sylphlands]

might i introduce you all to the revolutionary idea and method, called...
skipping cutscenes?
it's safe. come across cutscene which grates you nerves? don't watch it!
easy solution to all your "i dislikee this npc on screen" problems ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

See I'm really baffled by this because any time DT criticism comes up, two responses always happen:

>"if you don't like an npc just skip all their scenes (even if it's the entire expac and patches)"
> "people only hated DT because they skipped cutscenes"

Which one is it...

[Kikoten]

I don't plan to skip any cutscenes, but when I saw that Yoshi said they want to push Wuk Lamat to the front--they're really doubling down on this--it made me wonder what grand plan they have in mind. As easy as it would be for me to say something like, "This is the wrong fucking direction, stop now!"--and believe me, I think that's entirely, positively, 100% correct--I'm curious. I am fatally curious. If I'm looking into the Endsinger's eyes, I am curious what's waiting on the other side. I want to see it. I can't stop it. I can say whatever I want, it's not going to change course. Yoshi made that clear. So now I want to see what flavor of destruction this game's going to undergo. Yoshi stating that they want to push Wuk Lamat to the front more is just the death knell. The destruction that follows is yet to come.

Please look forward to it, Yoshi.