Alphinaud

[GStargrave]

Hello! My apologies if this post is in the incorrect place.. I tried feedback, but none of the provided categories applied.

I would just like to suggest to the game developers concerning future expansions and patches that perhaps they could explore alternatives to Alphinaud as a primary MSQ NPC. I get the feeling that someone amongst the devs REALLY LIKES Alphinaud.. but there are a plethora of interesting, well-thought out NPCs in the game and it would be nice to have them be used as well.

Other than that, LOVE the game.. great job!

[Phataros]

I care more about his sister because she was away for a really long time. I hope he does too... but for a longer, MUCH LONGER time.

[Iscah]

Alphinaud is the primary MSQ NPC by design. It's not like all these characters were pre-existing and someone said "yeah, we like Alphinaud, let's focus on him" - he was written to be in that role.

The writers aren't going to abandon or downgrade the role of their major character in a long-running and pre-planned story, just because someone on the internet says they should.

And it's a matter of personal taste. I like Alphinaud. He was unpleasant in ARR and I think some people might not have noticed how much he's changed from that point. He went through a long character arc through Heavensward, he learned from his mistakes and he's maturing a lot.

[uvuvwevwevweonyetenyevweugwemu]

Is a primary NPC like a mascot? Y'shtola is the game mascot, though I don't mind if they switch that too. But for story, they change things around, like Lyse took some spotlight at the beginning of SB then now seems it's Alisae's turn for some character growth.

[Lambdafish]

Is a primary NPC like a mascot? Y'shtola is the game mascot, though I don't mind if they switch that too.

Primary NPCs aren't like mascots, though the two can be, and often are, the same character. Primary NPCs are Nonplayer characters who serve as the protagonist or are central to the plot. Mascots are characters who are central to the promotion of the game, through advertising or external appearances.

Think of it like this: In Monster Hunter World, Zorah Magdaros would be a "primary NPC", whereas Rathalos is a mascot.

[Naria]

While Alphinaud really got on my nerves back in ARR he is actually one of my favorite characters now and the development that he has been through makes me appreciate what a brat he was back in ARR more. Alphinaud isn't static, more than any other npc character he has changed and grown as the game has continued. Although throughout Stormblood he has been sharing the spotlight more with Alisaie if you want to see less of him. I am guessing by your forum profile that you might still be in ARR's storyline--if so give the kid a chance he goes through a lot of character development and matures in Heavensward.

[GStargrave]

While Alphinaud really got on my nerves back in ARR he is actually one of my favorite characters now and the development that he has been through makes me appreciate what a brat he was back in ARR more. Alphinaud isn't static, more than any other npc character he has changed and grown as the game has continued. Although throughout Stormblood he has been sharing the spotlight more with Alisaie if you want to see less of him. I am guessing by your forum profile that you might still be in ARR's storyline--if so give the kid a chance he goes through a lot of character development and matures in Heavensward.

For sure.. mainly because he is one of the only NPCs to get any real attention. I mean hey great.. he has had his chance to shine and grow... I just think it's time for someone else.

[Naria]

Alphinaud is the real protagonist of XIV.
He's been sharing the spotlight with his twin since she was reintroduced to the MSQ, and while there are a lot of other players at the core it's been Alphinaud's story from the tail end of the 2nd act of ARR up until now. The Warrior of Light is there, but their character is largely limited to "weapon to be pointed at whatever's causing trouble," and the rest of the Scions mostly follow suit. Tellingly, when Alphinaud suggests electing a new Antecedent to fill Minfilia's chair he's surprised everyone feels he's the natural choice (as he's already done so in all but title, even if he's more hands-on than Minfilia ever was).

I feel like Alphinaud is kind of in being this weird position of being FFXIV's deuteragonist but because the PC is such a blank slate by design, he ends up outshining the protagonist.

For sure.. mainly because he is one of the only NPCs to get any real attention. I mean hey great.. he has had his chance to shine and grow... I just think it's time for someone else.

Like others I'd love for the Scions to get some more screen time (every time they do seems like its just to herald that something terrible is going to happen to one of them). Alphinaud is for better or for worse is the character that is tying the game's story together across expansions in a way that the mostly personality-less PC can't. That said plenty of other characters get good character arcs, Estinien and Yotsuyu being ones that immediately come to mind. I wasn't a big fan of Yotsuyu's patch arc when it started, but I actually liked how they resolved it.

[Haxaan]

I really like Alphinaud, and believe me it's taken me a long time to come to that feeling. At first he was haughty and a know it all and low key pretty annoying. But as the story has progressed he has grown a lot. He's gone from being full of himself, to realizing he is young and inexperienced, to doubting his capabilities, to realizing that life isd a journey and he has to grow up and learn from his mistakes. His Sister is very similar in that respect. She has been on a similar journey of self discovery and growth but in a very different way. The two of them really capture the essence of life and growth and trials and tribulations.

That aside, I really wish they would do the same thing with the other Scions. Y'shtola and Thancred have had some growth, which was amazing to see. Once Lyse had her big reveal she kind of became this odd one dimensional character, which was very sad because they built her up to be such a big part of the story and then she fell flat and was one of the most bland personalities in the game so far. I REALLY like Urianger but he keeps getting the shaft. They finally give him a storyline... and it felt shoehorned in to say the least. They gave him a "new outfit" then take it away from him and put him back in the library with his old robes. The scions are in a very weird place personality and growth wise in the story right now. It would be really nice for them to give us more. Even if it is just some side story quests that dive into a little more about them, past, present, future I don't care which, but give us something. Sorry for the rant.

[Iscah]

I REALLY like Urianger but he keeps getting the shaft. They finally give him a storyline... and it felt shoehorned in to say the least. They gave him a "new outfit" then take it away from him and put him back in the library with his old robes.

Urianger is in an odd place, time-wise. While most of the Scions are free to move around and be in different locations (and make permanent costume changes), he's had to stay contantly located at the Waking Sands because he has sidequests to give out, and a part to play in the Binding Coil questline.

This would also affect (or rather block) any possibility of a permanent costume change for him - he needs to appear in cutscenes for those quests, and from what I understand of how the game handles cutscenes and NPCs, I don't think they could have it dynamically show him in the correct costume depending on when you complete them. So it would be prettymuch necessary to have him revert to his normal costume.

For that matter, it seems the NPC at the Waking Sands is effectively 2.X Urianger, locked in time until he's done everything he was supposed to do two expansions ago - and he remains present even when current 4.4 Urianger has a reason to be elsewhere. But if you've completed all his quests, temporally-displaced-2.X Urianger can go back to his original place in the timeline, and current-Urianger is indeed absent.

So because they've done that, I have to wonder if they'll continue on that path - don't send him back to the Waking Sands afterwards, or at least don't put him in charge of any more quests. Let him stand around researching when he's not directly needed, but have him free to move about as the MSQ progresses, like the other characters can.

Maybe we'll have some sort of new important location for him to oversee instead.

(And yes, permanent costume change please! But maybe keep the goggles since it's kind of part of his fixed appearance. I wonder if he'd go back to the other robes, or if Tataru would come up with something for him...?)

Lyse... well she was more fun as Yda and she is no longer fun after the end of the Dragonsong arc. I have no interest in her anymore.

I agree. It feels like there's very little connection between "Yda's" personality and Lyse's.

Yda actually had one.

But seriously, she was an obvious personality type that would be "easy to write" and work out how she'd respond to a situation (airheaded comment, snarky retort from Papalymo, all good fun). Lyse... I honestly have no idea. She's just there.