Awfully weak story... or is it? [WARNING:SPOILERS]

[Akuha]

How do I not like Gaius? Simple.
I look at him, and I see this:

[Divinemight]

Look at how the soldiers of Ul'dah treat their own people (especially the women). It's pretty horrible stuff, and not something that allows you to call them any shade of "good".

There is a reason I choose to join Twin Adders

[BlueMage]

There is a reason I choose to join Twin Adders

Ah, the forest cult who turns away starving and dying refugees. Who worship and serve elementals that steal children from their parents. What pure paragons of virtue and idealism.

[Vactus]

@BlueMage: You keep counterpointing Empire evil with city-state evils. How about you admit that they both are absolutely terrible and deserve a swift departure from this plane of existence. The Scions may be inept, but at they're far better off than any other group of people right now.

[Gamemako]

While it would have been nice to have a Langrisser 2 (Der Langrisser on SFC)-style story fork, it's basically impossible to accomplish in a modern MMO, especially with a persistent story arc. You would have to lock out Prae, CM, make two separate stories, etc, etc, and then somehow slam them all into the same spot at the end. At least in a single-player RPG, ending up in a different place ends with the end of the game. In an MMO, your character is still in the game world, and you have to pull them together not only within persistent endgame content but also for future expansions.

It's worth comparing to what SWTOR did with Flashpoints. In Cademimu, light-side Imperials would intervene with "Stop killing innocent Imperial citizens!" and dark-side Imps would just say "Capitulate, whelp!", but the action would be the same -- stop the guy by any means necessary. You'll have different motivations with the same outcome because you can't afford separate outcomes with in the game world.

(Re: the gods, the definition of Good King Moggle Mog XII as a "myth made manifest" makes me wonder if the Gods will be 12 incarnations of the five races' primals.)

[yukikaze_yanagi]

Its always better to fight for the leader you choose than the leader you don't - but I guess that's CrAzY tAlK!

No. It's crazy beliveing in a dictator to begin with.
Side note: the admiral use the iron fist not because it's a tyrant per se, but because it's the only way to organize a bunch of cut throats who until yesterday did all the fuck they wanted without any control. Limsa it's a cove of pirates, don't forget it. The maelstrom it's there to give them order.

The dark mothercrystal is Zodiark.

This is stated where ? In turn 5 ? If so, i have still to clear it.

[Nica]

tbh bluemage, the logic you're using is starting to sound like those who thinks that what Germany/Japan did in WW2 were actually good.

[BlueMage]

@BlueMage: You keep counterpointing Empire evil with city-state evils. How about you admit that they both are absolutely terrible and deserve a swift departure from this plane of existence.

Admit? I've been trying to make the point from the start that they're both capable of evil. Way to not read the thread and blindly attack though.

[Divinemight]

Ah, the forest cult who turns away starving and dying refugees. Who worship and serve elementals that steal children from their parents. What pure paragons of virtue and idealism.

If you are putting this way, Roman Cathloic in Vertican is probably 100 times worst.

[BlueMage]

No. It's crazy beliveing in a dictator to begin with.
Side note: the admiral use the iron fist not becaus it's a tyrant per se, but because it's the only way to organize a bunch of cut throats who until yesterday did all the fuck they wantede wanted without any control. Limsa it's a cove of pirates, don't forget it. The maelstrom it's there to give them order.

Yet you're the one who believes in a dictator: the admiral.

I'm just pointing out that Gaius uses the same justification as Admiral: establishing order.