Question about LV50 Dark Knight quest *Spoilers*

[Cilia]

Eldibus, for the moment, seems to exist just to trick us into thinking that we may have a shot at that sort of development, but I'm hesitant to bet against "anyone trying to convince you that the universe has any moral complexity is just playing mind games."

Ironically, we were (supposedly) free-thinking human beings before we started taking orders from a sentient rock... the only difference is our sentient rock is supposedly benevolent. Given XIV runs on the binary "good vs. evil" viewpoint of classical fiction, you're more likely than not right... even though I wish that weren't true.

The quest does not suggest that selfishness is bad. The quest shows that the Warrior of Lights selflessness has been taking a toll on them subconsciously. The Dark Knight stone didn't create those feelings out of nowhere, but instead it gave the true feelings of the Warrior of Light a physical form. However, these feelings were quite strong and threatened to overtake the Warrior of Light to protect them from those who would take advantage of them.

It's not directly stated that our shadow is straight evil, but s/he is utterly ruthless in resolving conflicts and has no problem doing so the quick and easy way. The shadow doesn't just want to protect us from those who would take advantage of us, s/he wants us to leave Eorzea's conflict and have it settle itself (or cut out the meaty bits and leave the dust to settle). That would just cause chaos, which is the opposite of what we're supposed to do - solve problems by finding the most peaceable solution and if none is available take up arms while minimizing casualties.

... so not strictly bad or evil, but not who we're supposed to be, and only by suppressing our selfish wish to be freed of Hydaelyn's yoke are we able to continue onward. I understand the point of it (accept your darkness but don't yield to it), but the fact that it represents our deepest wish - freedom - doesn't paint a very good picture of Hydaelyn from a certain perspective.

Money = power. Power = camel. Camel = 5 celery sticks. 5. I miss my Yakkity-yak-yak mount from WoW. What did I say about using waffles?!

It's never acts of sacrifice that bug me, it's when a Final Fantasy game simply accepts the necessity without question (on top of the supposedly affected characters never mentioning it again) that chafes more than a bit. Nearly 30 years of history can build some pretty hefty expectations.

I'm not going to comment further on X, since though I did play and finish it I didn't particularly enjoy it, and I've barely touched X-2 for the same reason. My point was, even if it's framed as "finish the game and it ends," there was necessary sacrifice in the ending, which made it kind of realistic; it wasn't the sugary, happy, fairytale "everyone lives" good ending. A price had to be paid to break the cycle.

Now, does Final Fantasy as a franchise generally reject fatalism? Generally. It skirts back and forth, with XIII's protagonists being firmly on the "screw destiny" side of the spectrum while VIII's Ultimecia is a villain because she wants to do the same thing. (It could be argued their methods are what differentiate them, but their motivations are largely the same.) There's usually a more "screw destiny" attitude, or "I'll make destiny what I want it to be" than acceptance of fate's flow, but it depends on the game and character.

XIV falls under the "acceptance" route more often than not. We unquestioningly accept we're Hydaelyn's champion, the Scions have no problem with sacrificing themselves for us because of that same reason, and G'raha doesn't hesitate to fulfill his "designated role." (The problem with G'raha's sacrifice being unavoidable is, since it's side content, people don't necessarily have to do it, so it can't be brought up in the MSQ ever or only as a side-note / optional comment that doesn't have any meaningful impact. Dick move, I know, but the game can't assume you've done any optional content. Unless they pull an Estinien on us, but... not gonna bet on that.)