Alphinaud

[Draginhikari]

I actually like Lyse well enough, I think she kind of become a bit of a punching bag for the community as a whole kind of like how Minifilia kind of was. Kind of like Minfilia though I think some of the negative traits that are attributed to Lyse tend to get over-exaggerated as a whole. I will agree that Lyse wasn't the greatest thing in character development in the history of XIV but I think she served the purpose she was suppose to serve in Stormblood main story.

[Mansion]

I'm fine with most main NPCs as they are right now, although I'd love a bit more about Urianger! And I would not mind if we'd let Tataru behind in Kugane for 5.0

It's true that the twins have most of the spotlight, but their writing is overall excellent. I like how they fullfil different functions for the WoL, and how they are more complementary to each other than just a duo of characters with the same identity and purpose. I also like how we get "breaks" with them, Alisaie being away for most of HW, and Alphinaud now stepping a bit back from the WoL.
I'd love it if 5.0 consisted on WoL/D and Alisaie trying to get Alphinaud back from whatever could happen to him until then.

What I would like to avoid is getting a "NPC from there" leading 5.0 MSQ (namely what we got with Lyse). It was ok for Stormblood, but I don't want for instance Cid as a main MSQ buddy for 5.0 if we go to Garlemald for instance. I prefer the outcast/lonely feeling we had in Heavensward. But it's just a matter of taste I guess

[Frizze]

What I would like to avoid is getting a "NPC from there" leading 5.0 MSQ (namely what we got with Lyse). It was ok for Stormblood, but I don't want for instance Cid as a main MSQ buddy for 5.0 if we go to Garlemald for instance. I prefer the outcast/lonely feeling we had in Heavensward. But it's just a matter of taste I guess

Right now(pre-patch) if we did get a garlean "escort" it would seem likely to be Cid, Nero or Shadowhunter. None of whom are exactly "welcome" in their native land. So outcast can still easily apply. I didnt really get that much of a lonely feel from HW personally. We spent most of the expansion with Estinien and/or Ysayle(plus Alphy).

[Mansion]

Right now(pre-patch) if we did get a garlean "escort" it would seem likely to be Cid, Nero or Shadowhunter. None of whom are exactly "welcome" in their native land. So outcast can still easily apply. I didnt really get that much of a lonely feel from HW personally. We spent most of the expansion with Estinien and/or Ysayle(plus Alphy).

It's more about the "I remember how it used to be" that I dread. I think it's overall lazy writing of past and present of an area/story. What I liked with Ishgard was the constant teasing of the unreachable city before HW, and once we got there we discovered its whole reality at once. How uneven, unfair, dark and elegant it was. And it wasn't told through some prism, it felt real and direct. I don't know if I make sense.

While Gyr Abania focused a bit too much on the one side of the story, which is the resistance and the war, and it brushed off the first feeling of it. The whole narration through Lyse to Papalymo felt awkward too.

[DarthSanguine]

What I would like to avoid is getting a "NPC from there" leading 5.0 MSQ (namely what we got with Lyse). It was ok for Stormblood, but I don't want for instance Cid as a main MSQ buddy for 5.0 if we go to Garlemald for instance. I prefer the outcast/lonely feeling we had in Heavensward. But it's just a matter of taste I guess

We had Estinien in HW though...

[Mansion]

We had Estinien in HW though...

True. And I could not really explain why it did not bother me that much (same for Aymeric and Haurchefant). Maybe just because they are better characters than Lyse ;D

[Jollyy5]

I don't mind Alphinaud, but he's currently having an adventure of his own, so we'll get a break from him either way.

[TheHeavenAbyss]

I think they could change Urianger's design and explore his story, even with the quest-giver NPC in the Waking Sands. In terms of timeline, it's pretty much accepted that the Binding Coils happened before Alisaie came back in Heavensward. There's also cases like Estinien not recognizing you in the Dragoon Job Quests after you've finished Heavensward's story. So I think that, if Urianger changed in Shadowbringers (or, let's say, even died), he could still appear in the Waking Sands with the quests. Most people would probably assume that this an event that is placed chronologically in ARR (it's a matter of looking at the quest level).

As it stands, right now in the MSQ, Urianger is in a coma... but he still appears in the Waking Sands giving me quests. So the timeline is already broken anyway lol

[KageTokage]

As it stands, right now in the MSQ, Urianger is in a coma... but he still appears in the Waking Sands giving me quests. So the timeline is already broken anyway lol

He actually disappears if you've completed every sidequest he's involved in.

[TheHeavenAbyss]

He actually disappears if you've completed every sidequest he's involved in.

I know. The point was that, as long as you have not completed said quests, he keeps appearing there even if he is absent in the MSQ. So the argument that "quest givers can't die/change drastically" is invalid, in my opinion, because even if they are absent in the story, the game allows for these "time bubbles" to exist where the quest givers are still doing their job.