Thematic issues. Why all the sci fi.

[Sheriyana]

The amount of copium here trying to justify the sudden BLITZ of scifi entering into the mix. Sharlayan is to blame for all, they can figure everything out that others can't. Same with the Loporrit.

Allagan tech used to be this ancient mysterious technology that was hard to recreate and was LOST for a reason, now it seems that the plot farts out tech and modern things on a whim. THERE IS NO REASON IN THIS GAME TO HAVE MIDDLE-AGE VILLAGE TYPE SOCIETIES IF THIS IS THE CASE. Can't any of you people understand world building and how decisions like this affect it in the story and in the world they are supposedly trying to portray us?

In other FF's the infusion of tech was done elegantly and with purpose. This is the equivalent of shoving a rusty spoon in your eye.

They are killing the FANTASY in Final Fantasy XIV.

I made a thread about the hyper advanced civilizations getting ridiculous a little while back too. I'm glad more people are voicing their opinions. Very much agreed with OP and Hallarem here. At this point it feels like ARR took place like a millennia ago with how much the tech and civilizations we encounter have advanced. It hardly even feels like the same game anymore to me. Solution 9 is such a blatant "Cyberpunk was popular, let's just do that and make it a FFIX reference". It feels so jarring and out of place, so shallow and vapid. I like the music and some parts of the zone are pretty but I hate everything it represents. Like genuinely I think Dawntrail has ruined some aspects of the worldbuilding forever for me, like with the regulators and messing with the mysticism of souls and turning them into products and a commodity...

Also, after all that hyper advanced cyberpunk roboid blasting in the MSQ, the first level 100 gear sets are like medieval fantasy and tribal inspired? The raid gear is like leather gladiator gear (don't get me wrong, I like how they looked), who in this city would actually use that when you have glowy neon tech outfits? The tournament is clearly meant for people from Solution 9. Just for the whole thing, what even is a tone? I've always felt they should tie gear you get in an expansion better into the expansion's theme, it's always been a huge issue with gear in this game, one time you get hyper advanced Allagan gear and the next you're in like platemail or some clown outfit or other. I think genuinely the last tome sets I liked were the shadowkeeper ones in Shadowbringers, because they were thematic, and looked great.

[Hallarem]

snip

I deleted my giant reply, because I'm honestly out of energy with this game. 8.0 is my final limit if they don't introduce QoL and improve the game. So I'll just say this.

I've lost my faith in FFXIV, it's dev team, it's capability of delivering an adult story that respects my time and I think they are just upkeeping this game for as much money as they can, while people who for some reason don't want the game to improve dance on the strings like puppets to SE, glazing it to the high heavens when they haven't done enough to even justify a subscription fee for an ongoing "MMO".

[DPZ2]

Actually... wait, DOES Eorzea have indoor plumbing already?

We may never know because, unlike the Most Popular MMORPG In History, this one doesn't make outhouse jokes.

[DPZ2]

I am in wonder that no one has yet invoked that Arthur C. Clarke quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

The study of Aether and its uses is the most advanced Science on the planet.

[TaleraRistain]

I've played a lot of FF and I'm not sure I agree. This is starting to become kind of incongruent. What we had before Endwalker was more in line with how technology and fantasy are usually presented.

I feel like they need to introduce some reason as to why the technology of Solution Nine can't or wouldn't be exported to the rest of the world.

It might eventually but Etheirys utilizes magic more minus the Garleans and Solution Nine is a very shiny city but you could see some of the great minds in a place like Sharlayan finding ways to do some of the things they do with magic.

[Hallarem]

Its the fact that the technology and fashion is not in line with the game world. The modern even the latest scifi elements are just rip-offs from the real world. Painfully inserted in because "remember Cyberpunk. Heres our take with a bunch of ff9 references".

The art direction team, the story team and anyone in charge of worldbuilding need to replay their whole damn game and have a hard look at it. Stop watching anime, stop thinking "whats popular at the moment" and make an original story without referencing a single numbered FF-challenge.

[Dante131]

I've seen a lot of people saying that Final Fantasy has always had sci-fi elements, and while that's partially true, it's not entirely accurate in the way it's being framed. Also, when it comes to Final Fantasy XIV, this argument doesn’t really hold up. Many FFXIV players have never played other Final Fantasy games, so expecting them to have in-depth knowledge about the franchise’s history is a bit unrealistic.

Sci-fi has always existed in Final Fantasy to some degree, but the way it's implemented varies greatly. Most of the time, the series focuses on a world at war, often intertwined with magic, and depending on the game, technology either coexists with or is far behind magic. The key difference is that in earlier games, technology was explained well and didn’t feel too far-fetched—except in a few cases like FF1, FF8, and FF13, which leaned heavily into sci-fi elements.

FF1-5: Classic medieval fantasy magic, kingdoms, and crystals. Sci-fi was minimal, aside from airships and FF4’s moon plotline.
FF6: A perfect blend of technology and magic, introducing Magitek and industrial warfare.
FF7: Starts with an industrial, tech-heavy setting (blowing up a reactor in the intro), but the world itself still balances fantasy and sci-fi elements.
FF8: Probably the most sci-fi-heavy game, space travel, time compression, futuristic cities. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s a clear departure from classic fantasy.
FF9: A return to medieval fantasy, though it includes steampunk influences like airships and genetic experimentation.
FF10: Technology is outright banned by religion, reinforcing a more traditional fantasy feel and a narrative which have actual meaning.
FF12: Some even compared it to Star Wars at launch because of its advanced airship fleets and sci-fi-style political conflicts.
FF13: Starts off ultra-futuristic but later shifts into a more natural setting.
FF14: Already established, no need to explain.
FF15: A world where technology is dominant, but magic is nearly nonexistent, making it feel more like a sci-fi adventure with fantasy elements.
FF16: Probably the most medieval fantasy setting since FF9, with little to no sci-fi influence.

[Dante131]

Outside of FF4, FF7, FF8, FF12 and FF13, most of the series has kept sci-fi relatively subtle. It never reached the point of space colonies or intergalactic warfare but 14 since endwalker think its a great idea to focus on stuff like that, so some feel the balance is shifting.

I can understand why some players want a more traditional fantasy setting instead of a sci-fi-heavy Fantasy game. If I wanted space travel and high-tech worlds, I’d play something like Mass Effect. I’m not against technology in Final Fantasy, but in recent expansions (Endwalker and DT ), it feels like the sci-fi aspects are getting more and more dominant, which isn’t necessarily what everyone wants.

[Zakuyia]

I've played a lot of FF and I'm not sure I agree. This is starting to become kind of incongruent. What we had before Endwalker was more in line with how technology and fantasy are usually presented.

I feel like they need to introduce some reason as to why the technology of Solution Nine can't or wouldn't be exported to the rest of the world.

Besides allot of you missed what yoshi-p said dawn trail expansion was covering....

Were literally about to pull an into the spiderverse with ff14 and if your expecting the writers to explain any of this.....theres something mentally wrong with you on that front. Have you been paying attention there are so many plot points in DT thats literally glazed over. Like the boy who has lightning aether imbalance that we can cure, ir how bakool jaja never got punished for releasing wmd, or how azem key wven ended up here, or lets talk about how azem wven knew we were comming to help pandaemonium.....

[Kennar]

I'm fine with the concepts of mixing technology, sci-fi, and fantasy, but here in XIV it's handled in an incredibly inconsistent and haphazard way. We're seeing levels of technology that should have far-reaching effects on everything from food production, to medicine, to warfare, but Eorzea will forever remain at the technological level of 17th century Europe. Shadowbringers killed the Allagans as anything interesting, but think of the storytelling possibilities of a world rapidly changing through the discovery and implementation of Allagan tech. Wouldn't it be cool if Garlean science spread across the world, ushering in a new age of advancement? What if Alexandrian electrope transformed Tural into the world's first superpower? Instead we will get a supercomputer, a giant mecha, or a sci-fi horror hospital whenever they're convenient for the plot, then they will be locked away in a closet to collect dust.