What would you like to see from a future story arc? (Spoilers)

[MatchaokaCha]

A return to form in world politics like the first three expansions, hell, even Shb had a more interesting political background than DT. The Americas are such a rich source of historical inspiration, and they flubbed it so badly simply because they wanted to sanitize the 'scary' bits like they did in FF16. The stakes don't have any weight to them as a result, so they end up evaporating their audience's investment to the plot. There's a severe lack of interesting world-building right now.

SPOILERS. Just an example of brilliant writing that CS3 was capable of (IMO):

My favorite scene from EW is when Alisaie and Alphinaud are simply having a conversation about the pitfalls of fundamentalism while being held hostage in Garlemald. This was a deliberate callback and reply to Varis Zos Galvus during Post-Stormblood. But this time, we're in a more calm setting that allows the siblings (and us) to explore some philosophical ideas and the greater consequences they entail. There's something incredibly open and vulnerable with the way this cutscene was presented. I've had conversations with close friends and family members about these types of discussions (minus the kidnapping), and the music was the perfect icing on the cake.

Scenes like this transcended FFXIV beyond it's plot. It was beautifully heartfelt, intelligent, and introspective. We got to see how much Alisaie, and especially Alphinaud, have grown over the years. They developed their own sense of morals and values to be able to refute the destructive principles of a fascist state that has been oppressively looming over the continent. They don't sugarcoat it. There is nuance and no perfect solution exists. They come to understand the enormous complexity and effort that's required to enact change within people whose ideologies don't align with theirs. The writers did their homework and managed to cobble together a somewhat coherent plot, despite EW suffering from pacing and similar issues as DT. This type of consideration is completely absent from the, now overwhelming, corporate fluff that FFXIV has become. Their recent writing is not even remotely relatable or believable in any way.