An open letter to Yoshi P and Dev Team

[Mondschnee]

Can people finally stop pretending like Wuk Lamat is the biggest problem in Dawntrail‘s writing? Yeah, she‘s not a well written character, but that‘s only part of the problem. Because as soon as they start giving other characters the spotlight, like Koana in 7.1, they somehow manage to them look just as annoying and immature. These issues aren’t fixed by simply not giving Wuk Lamat any more screentime.

I‘m all for them training new writers—but not by letting them write the most important story content in the game, especially when they keep making easily avoidable mistakes that go against the most basic writing practices.

[Kaurhz]

Can people finally stop pretending like Wuk Lamat is the biggest problem in Dawntrail‘s writing? Yeah, she‘s not a well written character, but that‘s only part of the problem. Because as soon as they start giving other characters the spotlight, like Koana in 7.1, they somehow manage to them look just as annoying and immature. These issues aren’t fixed by simply not giving Wuk Lamat any more screentime.

I‘m all for them training new writers—but not by letting them write the most important story content in the game, especially when they keep making easily avoidable mistakes that go against the most basic writing practices.

Well obviously it's a symptom of a deeper problem, but it doesn't really matter, as ultimately the amount of screentime she consumed was just far too much anyway. If a frontline character is badly done (especially with that much screentime), then they are going to hate both the writing and the character, at which point they just aren't as easily redeemable.

Besides, a lot of reasons that people have cited for hating Wuk Lamat in the past even pretty much explicitly make reference to the overall writing.

[Hypnotic13371337]

All Wuk is showing off after 7.0 is that the Vow of Resolve isnt needed for anything important if they can just wander off and have adventures all the friggen time

[Mondschnee]

Well obviously it's a symptom of a deeper problem, but it doesn't really matter, as ultimately the amount of screentime she consumed was just far too much anyway. If a frontline character is badly done (especially with that much screentime), then they are going to hate both the writing and the character, at which point they just aren't as easily redeemable.

Besides, a lot of reasons that people have cited for hating Wuk Lamat in the past even pretty much explicitly make reference to the overall writing.

I absolutely agree with this,
but both in english forum posts as well as Yoshi-P's interviews in the past months, there has been too big of a focus on Wuk Lamat, while other core issues have gone completely unaddressed. From all that's been said, I'm not even sure if the dev team really understands the issue, which has me worried.

[Blackweaver]

Can people finally stop pretending like Wuk Lamat is the biggest problem in Dawntrail‘s writing? Yeah, she‘s not a well written character, but that‘s only part of the problem. Because as soon as they start giving other characters the spotlight, like Koana in 7.1, they somehow manage to them look just as annoying and immature. These issues aren’t fixed by simply not giving Wuk Lamat any more screentime.

I‘m all for them training new writers—but not by letting them write the most important story content in the game, especially when they keep making easily avoidable mistakes that go against the most basic writing practices.

I can agree, that there is a deeper problem. But right now, they have been pushing harder on putting Wuk Lamat front and center. I started skipping after that new dungeon. So I have no idea what went on with Koana, other than suddenly he's a sniper, since that one solo instance had an unskippable bit where he was loading a sniper rifle. But yes I agree, the problem lies in the writing. But regardless of writing, it's still a solid fact that DM-NPC's usually bring the fun down for everyone playing. It's a sign of bad writing, but it also tends to be the one part of the writing folks point to that is the biggest major annoyance.

ARR, we were a fresh faced adventurer. We were still just an adventurer when we finally got to the titan part. But we still weren't the savior of eorzea. By the end of ARR, we were a hero, but we were also a hero. It was the post-2.0 patches that shifted us into becomming the warrior of light. This point, they need to have the original ARR team to write future patches. 7.2, start pushing Wuk Lamat out of the front and center of the story and instead have her say "I am needed here now to govern. So we are going to hire you to goto x place and deal with the problems there" or something. Newfound Adventure patch (6.1) promised a return to us becomming just another adventurer. And DT sadly has made us glorified babysitters. And this is the problem. If it was some outside team like sweet baby inc that wrote dawntrail, time to cut ties with them and bring back the original writers. Because right now, dawntrail does not feel like the FFXIV we've come to know and love.

[CVXIV]

All Wuk is showing off after 7.0 is that the Vow of Resolve isnt needed for anything important if they can just wander off and have adventures all the friggen time

What we have seen is that she is amongst the people and willing to lend a hand to the displaced turali citizens as seen in the opening cutscene
She is also still on the continent of Tural, the one she and Koana rule
Her "adventure" was attending the funeral of someone she had somewhat of a connection to, and the fact she and the warrior of light was the direct cause of her death makes sense she would be there because of both Sphene's dying wish and the fact Gulool Ja, a toddler, is in control of everything

The head of reason and resolve is no longer restricted to being in one place due to not being a singular entity, which is something the two characters have an advantage over when it comes to Gulool Ja Ja

[Kaurhz]

I absolutely agree with this,
but both in english forum posts as well as Yoshi-P's interviews in the past months, there has been too big of a focus on Wuk Lamat, while other core issues have gone completely unaddressed. From all that's been said, I'm not even sure if the dev team really understands the issue, which has me worried.

I mean there's just so many issues so whilst I am personally concerned with that fact, it doesn't really come as a surprise that they themselves don't understand the problem. Like, you could ask 100 different people why they don't like the DT story, or what issues they have with it, and you'll get quite a lot of different responses. 1 Person might be say it's a story with a good premise, but let down severely by the writing. Another might say that it's hit and miss depending on if you can get behind the main cast, given how suffocating they are, and another just might say it's trash that undoes far too much of pre-established lore at a whim, or tries doing things that have us questioning that lore with little basis or reason behind it other than cuz we wanted to.

I don't really blame people if they are focusing too much on that singular issue due to how aggressively forced it was. It's no different to stories that overly press the whole "POWER OF FRIENDSHIP AND BONDS" troupe, eventually it being forced upon you too much just leads to people focusing on that singular point.

[FemmeFatale]

Agreed with others that this game has always prominently featured various NPCs over the course of its story. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This is a case of it working for many but not for others.

Are the 'others' in the room with us right now?

[Aneshda]

Yoshi P. allowed that this meaningless, boring story to be published. He also planned for us to become supporting characters and serve as guinea pigs so that he could see how far he can go.
He was also the one who said that Dawntrail would be a Vacation expansion. Which was a lie, as we all know by now. Now he is surprised that Dawntrail is not well received by many players.
There are no good or even dangerous enemies anymore, we had to kill them all in the last two expansions. Gods? What kind of gods, we killed them all, as well as all the Ascians.
Garlemald lies in ruins, of course everything happened behind the scenes, there was no other way to go. He was in such a hurry to bury everything old, but for what?
For boring new soulless Maps with bad music, where nothing is happening anywhere. Why should they go back to the new maps?
For Fates? Were the 3 levels of the old Fates not enough, did there have to be a fourth level?
We've almost all seen the peoples of Tural before and was it really that important to listen to their absolutely boring information?
I think that Wuk Lamat is supposed to be a Zenos but ugly and stupid and Koana is supposed to be a Graha Tia, also stupid.
Both made for 9-12 years old.
Since Yoshi P. clings to Wuk Lamat so much, I can imagine him making her a Scion.
And then at the latest I'll take my money back from SE and never look back.

[Exmo]

Are the 'others' in the room with us right now?

Yes.