7.3 cliff hanger (spoilers, obviously)

[RedLolly]

The patch has a ton of extra fluff that's been SORELY missing in DT. If the tests we completed for Wuk Lamat had even basic puzzles like we got here, I'd feel quite different. The cutscenes have a lot of well done bespoke animation and less of the stock emotes. Writing is better, allowed to breathe. Made me care about Geode and Shale enough for that to hit.

There is simply effort here. They're trying. I noticed and appreciate it.

[TeresaFortell]

So it is the Ascians again? I thought we were completely done with them by the end of Endwalker.

[Volgia]

I really enjoyed this final part. When Wuk falls and you're behind her and it's the first time this edgy kid feels fear it was pretty satisfying. Not sure what to look forward as him as a secondary antagonist though...

[DiaDeem]

inb4 Travanchet.

[Daralii]

So it is the Ascians again? I thought we were completely done with them by the end of Endwalker.

They spent chunks of 6.0, Pandaemonium, and Myths of the Realm trying to conclusively end Amaurot's influence over the modern age, it was previously stated(I think in 5.3 or earlier in ShB) that the remaining Ascians lacked the vision and organization to do anything without the Unsundered guiding them, and all of that was all undone the second the damn key reacted to the Azem soul crystal that Emet made. The entire team just seems so creatively bankrupt that it's almost impressive.

[All_Nonsense]

They should use AI to write their story, it also does an endless copy/paste of old stuff, but usually way better than what SE writers can come up with these days.

/rant over

They might because idk. Something about the writing feels...off? There's something about it that makes it sound AI-y to me. Tinfoil hat naturally, but SE is a staunch supporter of toxic technologies such as NFT's and AI. They're also incredibly cheap and as bad with money as they are managing their company. So it would not surprise me at all if the writing team is using AI to "enhance" their "productivity" because this shit was just AWFUL

[SamSmoot]

I don't think there was a single quest that said to go talk to Wuk Lamat. If anything, that makes it better

[PaleYonder]

Calyx at least amused me with his simple practicality; he was a breath of fresh air within a far too would-be-emotional expansion. But working with Ascians indeed doesn't make sense, ideologically.

Overall, I quite liked the beginning of this patch with its darker tone, and had some hope, and the puzzle rooms were fun too, nostalgic in a 90ies JRPG sort of way. But then the writing and mood fell off drastically and became so utterly trite and trope-filled and Saturday morning anime, it was right back to 7.0, and I just wanted it to end. It was like two teams at work again. It didn't even have plot decisions or messages that made me personally particularly angry on a philosophical level, it was just all so wasted and so much nothing, and with all the attempts at emotion and wrapping up everything with another neat little bow and yet another and yet another, I didn't care about anything, and nothing had any meaning.
I'm just glad this is finally over.
If Calyx can provide a bit of entertainment in patches to come, I won't say no to that, and if he has conspiracy groups around him, that's fine too. I would have preferred being able to take this story seriously again, and with some of 7.2 and a few minutes of 7.3 I thought we might be heading there, but on this later trajectory, I think that's over for the time being.

[Wyssahtyn]

winterer is such a lame name for an organisation ngl

"muahaha we're the winterers!"

"so do you like hole up in some log cabin in the woods and hibernate or something? maybe take over a ski resort for a season?"

[RedLolly]

I've been expecting that last Ascians to pop up sooner than later, myself.

We already know Fandaniel wasn't into rejoining and either A) one had a change of heart and intends to keep the current world or B) was in support of this new form of immortality as a better way to make a society on par with Amaurot.

Interdimensional fusion always sounded like rejoining but with a reflection coming out of the winning side instead of melting into the source.