The ending to Stormblood...

[Ssmiley_Bjakkzz]

ye story is nice, see you in next times at expansion

[Hyperia]

No, we didn't kill him. The fight in the Throne room was simply exited by a bored Zenos, and Shinryu we could only beat because of the Echo as advantage against Primals. Zenos decided to take his own life, then. Basically, we never won against/defeated Zenos so far.

Zenos died because he was trying to echo jump into the warrior of lights body. It was not possible because our echo is original and stronger than his. The crystals of light probably provided additional protection from echo jump body stealing.

[Iscah]

Zenos died because he was trying to echo jump into the warrior of lights body. It was not possible because our echo is original and stronger than his. The crystals of light probably provided additional protection from echo jump body stealing.

That's an interesting take on what Zenos was trying to achieve by killing himself, which might fit with whatever he said at the time (I can't go and check right now, though I remember there was some kind of theatrical metaphor to it) but definitely doesn't line up with what he says in 4.3.

KATANA-WIELDING SOLDIER
There upon the stage I stood, prepared to take my final bow, only to find that the finale was but an intermission...

He thought it was the end, and that he was "leaving the stage" on his own terms - only to find that it wasn't over at all.

My own best guess is that he had every intent and expectation of death at that point, only to find himself a still-conscious soul trapped inside a physically dead body, most likely due to some effect of his artificial Echo.

An alternate suggestion I've seen is that it's something to do with the katana he picked up from the Kojin, which seems to be some kind of magical relic but it never gets expanded upon within the game so far. Possibly that his soul might be trapped in the sword (via some kind of inadvertent blood ritual by killing himself with it) and then the unfortunate Elezen soldier comes along and picks it up...

[MrThinker]

That's an interesting take on what Zenos was trying to achieve by killing himself, which might fit with whatever he said at the time (I can't go and check right now, though I remember there was some kind of theatrical metaphor to it) but definitely doesn't line up with what he says in 4.3.



He thought it was the end, and that he was "leaving the stage" on his own terms - only to find that it wasn't over at all.

My own best guess is that he had every intent and expectation of death at that point, only to find himself a still-conscious soul trapped inside a physically dead body, most likely due to some effect of his artificial Echo.

An alternate suggestion I've seen is that it's something to do with the katana he picked up from the Kojin, which seems to be some kind of magical relic but it never gets expanded upon within the game so far. Possibly that his soul might be trapped in the sword (via some kind of inadvertent blood ritual by killing himself with it) and then the unfortunate Elezen soldier comes along and picks it up...

Reminds me of Zantetsuken in a way. But just so we are clear, Ame-no-Habakiri (iirc) is buried alongsides Zenos's body and is subsequently taken by Elidibus when he possess it.

[Damona]

SB's ending was nothing compared to HW's and I am still confused by it. I am not sure why I should care about SHB at all, but I still hope that they'll turn it into an amazing story.

[Annah]

The end of StormBlood's MSQ was the most dissapointing MSQ ending in any expansion. The ending of MSQ in ARR was REALLY good. The ending of the MSQ in Heavensward really wrapped things up and the Warrior of Light was ready for the Rebellion.

This MSQ ending was poor.

On a rating scale of MSQ (from worse to best):
1. StormBlood
2. A Realm Reborn
3. HeavensWard


They took one normal patch and broke it into 2 itty bitty patches with minimal content. Absolutely no wrapping up of the MSQ.

We started off this expansion with Raubahn Extreme and ended this expansion with some lil person doing your work looking for something

[Bright-Flower]

I'm a bit torn.

It was underwhelming, but it at least leaves room to start ShB off on a bang with us unlocking the crystal tower. Maybe the story they wanted to tell just didn't have room for a big WHAM moment right here. But it still felt deflated.

On the other hand. ARR had a good ending but the backpedaled HARD to restore the status quo in 3.0. HW ended strong but at the end of 4.0 we just...kinda stroll into the palace and kill Shinryu with no fanfare. The mega primal that Poplolymo had to sacrifice himself to stall and we had to risk activating Omega to fight is just...killed like any other primal. Not even a plot coupon like when Hrasvalgr powered us up to fight Nidhogg the second time. No blessing shielding us from ultima etc. Just...kill it like any other primal.

Is there really a point to a big bombastic cliffhanger if the resolution is going to be lackluster anyway?

[MrKimper]

I feel it would have been better if we at least had gotten to fight a sin eater as the final scenario boss, like when we're pulled it attracts a sin eater from the first just to emphasize how dangerous these beings are. It seems sort of odd that we fight zenibus only for a cop out "NYOP" at the end.

That being said I love the item you get at the end of it.

[Gemina]

For 4.0, Zenos was our grand imperial villain, like Gaius was in 2.0. But we had too little interactions with him to create a true relation. Most of 4.0 plot revoles around Yotsuyu, and I think it's saying something that she was our trial in 4.3, the point where the story generally "wraps up", and the next patches are used as a setup for ShB.

I wouldn't be so sure. All four of our fights with Zenos take place in 4.0, and again I will point out how battles solidify the bonds in a rivalry. I have a massive amount of respect for Gaius, but the same cannot be said for him, or the respect is different. At least from my WoL's perspective. I will admit that Zenos is projected as the main antagonist, but as we learn about him we come to understand that he couldn't care less about this role. The disconnect actually happens in 4.1 onward. Yotsuyu being the primary antagonist and viceroy in the eastern lands. It isn't until after that our attention returns to Zenos and the Ascian possessing his body.

Now, you can build up Zenos to be a rival/friend, with a common enemy, I just feel they tried to put that relation too early. Basically, it's as if he's trying to be our Vegeta but skipped the whole Frieza arc
And Shadowhunters is our Piccolo...

I'm not familiar with Dragonball, but understand he serves as a deuteragonist to the series. Similar characters I might be more familiar with would probably be Sasuke Uchiha, and Bakugo. I somewhat agree with you here, but I believe how you feel with the relation between the WoL and Zenos is a result of the split storyline in SB. Many feel the liberation of both Doma and Ala Mhigo deflated SB, and in turn also threw a monkey wrench into this rivalry. But it has been established none the less.

[Iscah]

It was underwhelming, but it at least leaves room to start ShB off on a bang with us unlocking the crystal tower. Maybe the story they wanted to tell just didn't have room for a big WHAM moment right here. But it still felt deflated.

I wonder if there was some kind of planned "wham moment" that would have been great story-wise, but would have left us in an awkward place MMO-wise for the next three months.

They also deflated most of 4.56's "wham potential" by spoiling all the important revelations at Fanfest. Being told we're going to the First should be an exciting moment, and instead it was just acknowledging what we already knew from Fanfest.

Still, right now I'm mostly looking forward to whatever reaction we get when Mr Enigma's identity becomes clear to our character.

Also finding out what's going on with the tower itself. Was it really built by the Allagans or is it something older and more mysterious? How is it in multiple Shards at once? Is time travel involved?

And finding out what's happened to the Scions of course. (also quite looking forward to Urianger being more of an actual character and not just an information delivery service. I like it when he actually gets to do stuff and show a personality.)