Yeah, it was pretty bad. Dungeon was the most interesting part, but sadly couldn't lead to anything because it was going over "missing" stuff from 7.0. Using Carbuncle Savage with mud powers for the final boss. It's nice to have more punishing bosses in dungeons.

After the dungeon, the fluff of going to the Miqotes that wanna insist on having a different racial name, and saving their buffalo all felt contrived and bullshitty(shit for flavoring food, really?). Especially the whistle. It will mimic the predator's roar which will guarantee they get away from the tracks! But like wouldn't it disturb all the other wildlife too, and also cause them to roam on their paths in the wrong way? Nah, don't worry about it. It's time for magical thinking, Sharlayan style.

Also thought there was an obvious conflict in how Alexandria was presented with death. They got fused with the Yyasulani population, which consists of a lot of long lived Viera. That population explicitly has people in it who remember what it's like when someone dies and isn't sent to, "The Cloud." They even got sidequests about that one dude who wants to maintain the cemetery. They got sidequests of that one dude who wants to remember his friend etc.

I could see some Alexandrians being upset about having to remember the departed, but the way they had a breakdown about having to remember that Sphene was dead and be like little whiny kids about it... Just really rang hollow to me. And the cliffhanger for Sphene 2 is weak and disinteresting. Cause there's only so many ways it can go. Either she's another Sphene simulacra spit out by an emergency backup system, an Ascian, or some twat with electrope making a power grab. Only the Ascian possibility is remotely interesting, and only because of storylines laid down prior to Dawntrail.

All in all, Gulool Ja got the best writing this patch with regards to the MSQ. Wookiee Lamar is still Wookieeing, nothing unexpected there. Emotional angry yelling about Sphene 2, when she knew Sphene 1 for all of an afternoon.

Dawntrail continues to be Yawnfail. At least the alliance raid was good. A shame that good feeling won't last/save the game for the lull between now and next big patch.

On a sidenote: Saw a lot of people say the voiceover and certain CSes from 7.0 got re-recorded, and there was a big positive spin on Wuk Lamat's voiceover when she interrupts the Sphene fight to put the spotlight back on herself... I watched someone's clipping of it, and... It wasn't noticeably better to me at all, and didn't change the fact that the interruption/break in was shitty.

Whatever they're smoking on the dev team, it must be really good stuff. There's no way they're drafting this story and its direction sober.