A small request of SE

[MXMoondoggie]

Though a couple dialog choices would be nice on occasion, similar to the Gaius confrontation.

As to the name, I intentionally took out the second a, just naming a character the exact word would seem... I dunno, lazy? Cheap? XD

All MMO's have little to no sense of immersion that's just how they are by nature. I mean in every MMO you are this great hero and a special snowflake yet in every location you go for quests there are a million other people doing the same thing. There are people in game trolling each other and so on. Outside of a RP how do you find immersion in anything? This is not a single player RPG where the experience only needs to be tailored to one person playing the game on their own where programmed choices become possible. Some choices would just break the entire storyline like when Gaius asks you to join him you only have the option to tell him where to stick it. If you joined him the game would end. If the bad guys started their plot and tried to take down everyone but you kill them all with your super powers that ends the story. The reason they don't give you options is because the story just does not flow if you can break it. What would be the point of anything if you could just beat everyone up who came in the room to pin you with the death of Nanamo and then come and beat everyone else up? What does the story get out of that?

If you can already take down the threat there is none. There is no reason to go to Ishgard. There is no reason for them to open their gates to you and help you. The enemies need to be built as a legit threat before we take them down. And to the people saying "I took down a primal" etc we never did those things alone we went in with a team of powerful hand picked adventurers even the story acknowledges that they just change you to the team leader. Various Scions are also involved in that. You did nothing alone in the story.

[Seiko769]

Eh I shouldn't but I'll toss in my 2 cents.

I am sure Square is aware of the fact this game has a RP community otherwise there would be no Naming Conventions or the Roe dictionary to aid with said RP. Is RP an issue? No. However even knowing that said community exist they CAN'T tailor the game to them. I realize Square in a multi million dollar company with FFXIV alone racking in a considerable amount even after you subtract what they are tossing back into the game BUT that is NOT enough to warrant this:

Every class has an option to fight somehow like idk some random NPC tosses us our weapon or something. Or everyone can take the smart road and get the canon ending. or everyone can pick a point to stop and help the Scions.

That list could go on and on and on but the point here is MMO's with a rp community or not will NEVER have the resources to bend the story to having multiple paths so people really shouldn't be complaining about the fact that tney can't.

[Dererk]

I never suggested nothing bad should happen, or that nothing bad should happen to us. I am asking that they don't take away control of our characters persona like they did in 2.55 again.

LOL I thinks it's actually sad that the role players or people who are just mad that they finnaly relized that no they are not so powerful its painfull I know when people have a god complex and they realize they aren't on top of mount Olympus but down here in the dirt with us fillty mortals.

And if you so mad that that is what happens then use your imagination and imprint that into your story or are you all so brain dead to do this its fun I swear do it my self in a regular basis. Oh look middy is doing the Cha cha slide.

[Tsuga]

It was directed at Axem actually.

Though to address your points, as it stands Rem WOULD go postal on the Brass blades similar to Raubahn. She would also end up most likely heavily injured and be carried out. I don't say dead due to the ultimate plot armor only PC enjoy.

But that is not possible and there is no in story reason for an emotionally driven character to act as the PC does in the current CS. Short of SE dictating how she thinks and what her motives are which are a no-no in an MMO.

Don't most RPers ignore the main scenario for the sake of RP, and preserving their character? Most of the ones I've talked to have their own narrative that makes reference to things going on in the world, but they don't act like they're at the center of the story. At least that's how it was in 1.0, when I dabbled in it a little.

I think it's best to look at the game as having two narratives: The main story, and your story. According to the main story of the game, you're a thankless do-gooder who rises to scion, and later primal and ultima slayer, who saves the realm and is assigned the title "warrior of light". Your character is essentially "the good guy" or "the hero" in the main story, and will always do what's best for their friends, and the realm. Your story on the other hand can have your character be the swashbuckling captain of a pirate vessel, a travelling merchant out to rip off his fellow man, an exotic dancer who has two lalafells to feed back home! You can even tie it into the main scenario if you want to, but obviously that could cause conflict if you meet 9 other players who claim that they're the warrior of light who felled the ultima weapon.

I guess my point is that I think it's important for SE to take the wheel on your character when it comes to the main scenario, because if they do not assign characteristics to him/her, then essentially they're never going to please everyone with their special snowflake personalities. That or they'll end up having to go the mass effect route, where every option essentially leads to the same ending, anyway, because the narrative is instrumental for moving us along between patches and expansions.

[Aoxaviar]

I agree with the basis of this post on the request of SE to allow us to have a moment to kick ass inside of a series of cut scenes like this. Due to the emotion of the situation, I completely agree with this request of SE.

Before those (who I also agree with) start hitting me about "there was no way for that to happen" and "this doesn't happen in an MMO" - HEAR ME OUT.

First - Through Live letters and Forum postings there is a decent amount of noise about the community wanting to fight with or "throw down" with the Scions specifically.

Second - As the title of this implies - SE and FF titles have had battle scenes related to major cut scenes (FFVII - Motorcycle riding out of Midgar and FFX - Titus and Auron battling towards Sin at the beginning and the progression fight to get to Yuna at the Blitzball Tournament). Personally, they could have done this here...and more.

Follow along:

Namano dies - no fight
Rage Fight - we don't
Final Heaven - we ain't there
Tunnel - Perfect time throw down
Hop on the Wagon - Satisfaction already acheived, no need
Corethas - well, if a dragon showed up between us and Dragonhead...Well it would have made for a nice tie-in to bring reunite the grandkids and you at the end...just like you started (personally the wagon was enough for me.)

Several reasons:

One - Seemed weird to me (with SE's history) that we turn and run during a time when we could fight and it wouldn't be able to affect overall storyline in a plausible way.

Two - The big reveal in Corethas was the largest of letdowns. In the tunnel and seeing her get unmasked while fighting along side us - would have been totally epic and adding to the previous flavor of showing us what the Scions and even the Major Leaders are capable of in the past.

Three - It may just have been me, but I found it borderline criminal, that after the build up of all of that, the hurriedness/shaky storytelling that showed up after we first split up.

Four - Considering that even the Syndicate would not be able to let leak the fact the tunnel exists, they couldn't cover how a large group of blades and braves are either dead or totally busted up when most people would not have seen a fight break out anywhere in Ul'Dah...and if they did, it would help us in the credibility department.

Lastly - Yoshi-P has told us that Payalimo and Yda will be further explored in 3.0. So if they really do kill off 2 or 3 Scions, I personally would have perferred an NPC party fight style which ended with Minfilia and ourselves running away so they can do what they did (epic and cool, but also kinda odd knowing SE's history and they would go Holy that quick)

Okay - Let the Hate or Love begin.

[Cilia]

Well, something that a lot of people seem to be ignorant of, willfully or otherwise, is that we were unarmed from the time we entered the Sultana's Chambers until we arrived at Black Brush Station. There's no cutscene for it and players with their weapons hidden wouldn't notice it, but presumably we had to give up our weapons when going in and got them back from Pipin during the ride. You can confirm this for yourself - make sure your weapon is toggled on and rewatch some of "The Parting Glass" at an inn. You'll be unarmed until you disembark from the wagon.

"It's not in my character's persona to give up their weapon, especially with this conspiracy afoot!"
Boo hoo. You don't have complete control of your character during the main scenario.

"Merlwyb got to take her guns in!"
Diplomatic immunity or the Monetarists didn't care.

Nobody can realistically fight without a weapon - not even PUG / MNK. NIN might be able to make an unarmed escape, but that wouldn't be fair to non-NIN players.

"I'd fight anyway!"
... and end up dead or in the Marasaja Pit with Raubahn. Game over.

OK, let's get started.

First - Through Live letters and Forum postings there is a decent amount of noise about the community wanting to fight with or "throw down" with the Scions specifically.

Second - As the title of this implies - SE and FF titles have had battle scenes related to major cut scenes (FFVII - Motorcycle riding out of Midgar and FFX - Titus and Auron battling towards Sin at the beginning and the progression fight to get to Yuna at the Blitzball Tournament). Personally, they could have done this here...and more.

1. We've fought alongside the Scions before - the Escape from Castrum Centri (sp?) was nothing but that and a pseudo-stealth mission to break them out.
2. Either way, no weapon (see above). There wasn't anyone to get your weapon back for you until later, when Pipin presumably did so. Is it possible to have done more here...? Yes it is, but that would require time and attention they didn't have, I guess, or they didn't think people would be so upset over not being treated like a god walking amongst mere mortals for once.

One - Seemed weird to me (with SE's history) that we turn and run during a time when we could fight and it wouldn't be able to affect overall storyline in a plausible way.

Two - The big reveal in Corethas was the largest of letdowns. In the tunnel and seeing her get unmasked while fighting along side us - would have been totally epic and adding to the previous flavor of showing us what the Scions and even the Major Leaders are capable of in the past.

Three - It may just have been me, but I found it borderline criminal, that after the build up of all of that, the hurriedness/shaky storytelling that showed up after we first split up.

Four - Considering that even the Syndicate would not be able to let leak the fact the tunnel exists, they couldn't cover how a large group of blades and braves are either dead or totally busted up when most people would not have seen a fight break out anywhere in Ul'Dah...and if they did, it would help us in the credibility department.

Lastly - Yoshi-P has told us that Payalimo[sic] and Yda will be further explored in 3.0. So if they really do kill off 2 or 3 Scions, I personally would have perferred an NPC party fight style which ended with Minfilia and ourselves running away so they can do what they did (epic and cool, but also kinda odd knowing SE's history and they would go Holy that quick)

1. No weapon, couldn't fight (see above).

2. While a lot of people seem upset over the lack of drama surrounding Yugiri's unmasking and the Warrior of Light not being shaken to their core, I'm fine with it. While I would have been a little shocked at first much like the Warrior of Light (and stared for a few minutes), the fact they take it in stride is actually pretty nice. Why? It shows they care more about Yugiri's character than her race or appearance - she's a good person, and that's all that matters. Just like I won't hate all Lalafell because Teledji Adeledji, Lolorito, and Yuyuhase happen to be douches, I won't treat Yugiri differently or be weirded out by her unmasked appearance (beyond a few moments of initial shock).

3. The quality of the story after our escape from the Fragrant Chamber is a bit off (pacing, etc.), but aside from the 2-minute intermission you get to talk (yes, I timed it), I didn't feel like it was particularly weak. 'sides, you can chalk those 2 minutes up to them needing to subdue Raubahn and muster the forces to take on the Scions.

4. At this point the Monetarists (a small group within the Syndicate who are your real enemies) can fabricate pretty much any information they need to keep their grasp on power, at least within Ul'dah / the greater Thanalan region. There's no one left to keep them in check, and pretty much all of the soldiers stationed in Ul'dah will obey them out of loyalty or fear (even if they look the other way when you come around).

Last. I'm +99.9% sure none of the Scions actually bit the big one. They're too popular and integral to the story. For the rest, no weapon couldn't fight (see above).

[Belhi]

Cilia pretty much summarised what I was going to say.

Basically fighting would have been counter productive. The only reason any of our allies fight is to buy time for others to escape.

One of the core points of these events is that they have striped us of so much of our support and left us effectively pariahs. The Monetarists very effectively set us up and put us into a position where almost any action we took would just make us look worse. That was the point. This is our Empire Strikes Back. The bad guys have won big and we have been knocked back.

That is a good thing. Why? Cause the story isn't over. It means in Heavensward we can have our Return of the Jedi and it will be even more satisfying when we bring Ilberd, the traitor Braves and the Monetarists low.

[Frederick22]

Cilia pretty much summarised what I was going to say.

Basically fighting would have been counter productive. The only reason any of our allies fight is to buy time for others to escape.

One of the core points of these events is that they have striped us of so much of our support and left us effectively pariahs. The Monetarists very effectively set us up and put us into a position where almost any action we took would just make us look worse. That was the point. This is our Empire Strikes Back. The bad guys have won big and we have been knocked back.

That is a good thing. Why? Cause the story isn't over. It means in Heavensward we can have our Return of the Jedi and it will be even more satisfying when we bring Ilberd, the traitor Braves and the Monetarists low.

Don't forget Laurentius. He is the N1 on my list -____-

[Cilia]

Don't forget Laurentius. He is the N1 on my list -____-

Laurentius is scum not even worth killing. Nope, I'm gunning for Ilberd.

Nobody dismembers my General and gets away with it. Nobody!

[Frederick22]

Laurentius is scum not even worth killing. Nope, I'm gunning for Ilberd.

Nobody dismembers my General and gets away with it. Nobody!

But he bretay us, AGAIN. We took piity of that guy.. and we desiced to gave him a second chanse.. Dam him