Quote Originally Posted by Theodric View Post
Aymeric needs to screw up...
To be fair, they're not "traditional" Ishgardians, though - they've been treated as outcasts and looked down on simply because of their illegitimate heritage from being children, so it makes sense they're more open-minded and in favour of reform than the average Ishgardian citizen.

And while many players seem to be hoping that Aymeric has a Heroic BSOD and suffers some sort of breakdown like that of Alphinaud at the end of 2.x, like Haurchefant, I think he's already had his a long time ago. They're both characters who have faced hardship, struggled against discrimination and at some point likely experienced a meltdown because of it - but eventually decided they weren't going to let that stop them, overcame it, and became stronger. Which to me is much more refreshing to see than the usual "jaded leader with a bad past" or "sheltered, optimistic hero gets broken down" cliches thrown around in fiction. Aymeric especially already knows the way things work in Ishgard, and has played it to his advantage to get to where he is now. He isn't need of a breakdown just because past experiences haven't turned him into a depressing cynic.

I won't disagree with the point about Estinien and Ysayle, though - they're two of my favourite characters in HW, and their characters' developments are some of the best in the series so far.

I have a suspicion concerning Emannellain after this patch... I'll have to wait until 3.3 to see if I'm right. I hope I'm not.