I'm a fairly casual player and thus slow to get through the MSQ, but I still have some thoughts on what I've completed! It's good for the soul! Enjoy below!
Apologies if they're a little rambling, I'm processing feelings while a bit tired.
It should be obvious, but there are spoilers up until the beginning of Rak'Tika. So be careful fellow slower players!
Opening Setup
The opening setup stuff was a bit slow, although somewhat understandably so. Compared to Stormblood, where the player can be assumed to know the nature of the Garlean Empire and its occupation, much of the First consists of unknowns. There's a lot to introduce between the nature of the Crystal Exarch (who's still mysterious, terribly mysterious), the Crystarium itself, the nature of the First, and all of that stuff. Agreeing with Anonymoose, there are quite a few plot contrivances and conveniences which felt a bit cheap, but none of them were huge dealbreakers or anything like that. Kind of wish that the Scions had clone bodies produced for them rather than being Ghosts, but it's where we're at. Speaking of which, I'm actually loving ghost Ardbert! Him being far more chill and dorky than one would expect makes him a lot more endearing, and the sadder things that happen with him later on are nice. All in all a fine introduction, if a little slow. I kind of knew the opening would be slow after where the previous patch ended, although it wasn't as bad as I would have thought. Splitting up the plot here was mostly just to help server stability, but it was a fun little choice.
Kholusia Pt 1
I thought that the Kholusia part was maybe a little long, but holy cow did I enjoy it! I love messed up Sci Fi/Fantasy Dystopias, and with Kholusia they really delivered! I love just how broken their society is. It's a weird, decadent form of Socialism/Fascism where some people have everything and everyone else is (literally) begging for the scraps. Best boy Alphinau himself points out how their system is totally unsustainable, and how they're poised for a fall. I loved how the rich and poor have a weird, toxic codependency going that adds more flavor and really paints their society in an interesting light. Creepy clowns, bizarre morality, implied cannablism, it was all pretty great! I also liked how the Chais actually seemed fairly nice. It made it clear that it's not necessarily that the Kholusians (even the rich) are inherently evil, it's just that their system is so broken that they're going to get people hurt regardless. Which is honestly how a lot of systems work in the real world, but that's a story for another forum. I also enjoyed our introduction to Vaughry, he's got quite the design, and I always like pathetic manbaby antagonists. Good ole Alphy got to throw some serious shade too. It is a little funny that we can just go back there for sidequests though ha ha.
Ahm Areng Part 1
This was a much shorter scenario, but it was fun seeing some of the alternate history antics. The idea that in this world the Kobolds are actually an exceedingly friendly merchant race was really fun, even if it's bizarre to see so many without their helmets. They remind me a lot of the source goblins, which made their later reappearance in the Healer Role quest enjoyable. I could kind of guess where the plot was going for this section, but the ending of it was more graphic and horrifying than I expected, and it generally worked for me. The sheer bleakness of the Inn of Last Journeys was remarkable, even if there was a bittersweet hint to it given just how kind the Carers truly are. Still, the section does a good job truly showing the plight of the First's Denizens and the nature of the Sin Eater threats, which indirectly makes Kholusia's actions make a lot more sense. All in all a short, but sweet, section.
Bridging
I guess they were really concerned about server load, since it took a LONG TIME to finally get to a dungeon. Still, it was definitely a fun one. It had a cool, horrifying atmosphere, and trying it out with having Alphinau and Alisae (optionally) around was pretty enjoyable. There were some fun Sin Eater designs, and the visual of Kuribu fighting a bear and then you having to fight at sin-eater-ified version of it was pretty cool. Having to put down Tesleen with Alisae in the party was also added fun. The part before that of them treating you like a random soldier was a little funny given your status, but also a bit weird. Didn't exactly endear me to Lyna either. The part after that with Night Returning, Role Quests becoming available, and the new intrigue with Eulmore was fun though.
The lore about the Minfilias was actually a pretty fun twist. I tend to enjoy those sorts of weird situations, even if this one reminded me a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It looks like First Minfilia (henceforth referred to as Minifilia) is shaping up to be a bit of a different character than her source counterpart, and I'm curious to see exactly where they'll go with it. I was really confused at first when the Exarch mentioned the Chrystarium soldiers handling it though ha ha. I actually thought for a bit we weren't going to go do the cool mission. Ran'Jit is freaking cool as hell. I'm glad they could fit in a more human antagonist this expansion (Vaughry only sort of counts) and he's every bit as cool as one would hope. Kung Fu is a combat style we haven't really seen many antagonists use in the story, which made him catching weapons and doing sweet kicks on the Scions all the more fun. He's a minor antagonist in the big scheme of things, but I have to admit I was disappointed that he didn't get to jump hundreds of feet in the air.
Il Mehg
I was worried initially that Il Mehg would be a bit of a repeat of the Sylph section from A Realm Reborn or the Moogle section from Heavensward. A silly nonsense part meant mainly to cheer the protagonists up featuring goofy harmless NPCs. However, I was pleasantly surprised since Il Mehg poured a hefty dose of horror into the proceedings. The Fey are just as mercurial and cruel as they are in the ancient myths, which made interacting with them a lot more fun than I was expecting. Seeing Thancred Bad Dad was a most unique experience, although I imagine he'll turn around by the end. Also Urianger is still great, and even better now that he's not wearing a 1.0 outfit. He's also much nicer to Minifilia than Thancred, which was endearing. It's hard not to feel bad for the girl given her backstory, although I'd like to see a bit more of her personality too. The idea that Minfilia/the Oracle is tired of burning through hosts also makes for a nice contrast to how the Ascians carelessly kill their hosts and start over. It does create some nice melodrama with Thancred though, and makes his hatred of Minifilia understandable if sad. I'm sure he'll eventually move on and grow as a person though.
The 'Quest for Four Relics' bit felt like a little much, although it gave us a change to interact more with the (ADORABLE!) Fahn and Nu Mou which was a treat. The Nu Mou were so sweet and nice, especially after the cruelty of the other Fey Races. The Fahn on the other hand, had a wonderful new dungeon. The theme of illusions created fun especially as the entire world changed around the players, while there were some exceedingly enjoyable bosses. The section with the illusory walkway is hilarious with other players, and I love how they programmed in different reactions for the Trusts. The twist at the end with the Fahn deciding to just kill you was fun, and I loved how they actually called back to one of the random abilities you obtained in Stormblood. Also it was nice seeing how Ishgard is basically canonically 'home' for the Warrior of Light, even if it makes me consider returning to the awkward Elezen Model...
The section with the Amaro afterwards was a clear 'cooldown moment' but it was fun and kind of sweet to see Seto and his interactions with the ghost of Ardbert. After that we got to move onto Titania, who was pretty cool. The horror movie introduction to her was a nice touch. Her fight had some actually pretty difficult patterns which was good to see, and it had all of the flavor and spectacle we've come to expect from Trials. Her changing the arena since she was bored and summoning giant plant monsters was sweet, as was her generally playful, giggling attitude. All in all a very lovely trial. Feo Ul taking on the mantle of Titania was a cool resolution to that issue, although it would have been nice if the player could at least express interest in becoming a Fey King ha ha.
The resolution of the storyline with a Mook Horror show put upon poor Eulmoran soldiers was an enjoyable if dark time, truly showing how nightmarish attempting such a thing in the Fey Realms would be. All in all I super enjoyed Il Mehg, and having Fey Allies for whatever sort of final battle we have will be fun.
Rak'Tika Beginning
Solus/Emet-Selch is fun. Oh so very fun! I mean, he's still pretty obviously evil (which is probably for the best since it would hardly be a twist) but him just hanging out with the heroes snarking back and forth is just oh so very much fun. I loved the part where he waxed lyrically about the good old days of running the Garlean Empire. Excitingly, it also means I don't actually know his endgame yet, although I imagine we might be fighting him at the end of the expansion or during the patches. Comparing himself to Lahabrea was also nice ha ha.
I was kind of expecting the 'Matoya' thing with Y'shtola to be just 'her using a differnet name' BS, but hoping for something more interesting. It's hardly a dealbreaker, but it's sad to see it was just to build hype in a trailer. There were a lot of fun directions they could have gone with that, and it's a right shame they didn't do anything with it. It is kind of interesting to see Y'shtola leading a cult though! She never struck me as the faithful type, which might make her leadership interesting, even if it's basically just that she's pragmatically using them against the Sin Eaters. Either way it's good to have her back.
Healer Role Quest ~74
I want to definitely say that I'm quite enjoying the Healer Role Quest! I was really worried that it would be boring, but between the bits of dwarfen lore and the fun antics of Giott it's really been rather fun to watch! The comedy beat of him purposely getting torn apart by a wolverine was fun, especially with the comical descriptions. In general the Healer quest is more comical than I would have expected, which is probably warranted given the generally darker tone of the main story. Still not complaining though, especially when you get brews that 'make you want to curse nature itself' and 'taste like sheer terror with a hint of feet.' The idea of a Sin Eater using healing abilities is a rather cool, scary idea which makes the threat feel a bit more serious. The idea of Giott telling you about Lamitt and a lot of it turning out to be lies or misconceptions is also makes for some fun drama. Seems like the Warriors of Darkness really can't catch a break. That being said, I am still disappointed with the Role Quests in general, since they don't seem particularly meatier or of terribly higher quality than their Class Quest predecessors. Maybe they're a bit more backloaded, but otherwise they don't seem like a great replacement. I also have a friend playing the Tank quest which seems much more boring. Still, enjoying hanging out with Giott!
In general I'm really enjoying the story of this expansion. I was concerned given the rather limp 4.55, but Shadowbringers has been excellent so far!
Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn
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