Ran'ji > WoD + Oracle of Light + Scorn!?

[LineageRazor]

As mentioned, the issue isn't just that Ran'jit has given up hope. It's that he actively goes out and crushes hope from people who still had it. He certainly didn't "rest"; he was very much busy leading his army and invading other lands to subjugate them and make sure they submitted to Vauthry. The expedition into Il Mheg might be justified in his mind by his chasing after Ryne, but the alliance with the Everlasting Dark in Rak'tika was an obvious power grab.

Magnus from Twine is an example of a broken man who has given up hope. Ran'jit is, at best, lashing out and believing that if he cannot have hope, then nobody can. That is why I personally believe he is a character to be hated, rather than merely pitied.

There's no evidence that Ran'jit was invading other countries until the Scions - and most specifically, the Warrior of Darkness - started stirring up trouble. Remember, the whole reason Alphinaud was investigating Eulmore was because no one knew anything ABOUT Eulmore; what its policies were, what its leader was like - all they knew is that a once-great ally had holed itself up in its castle and stopped talking to anyone. Once we actually got inside, in fact, dialog in Eulmore suggests that the army had been placed on the back burner ever since Vauthry took the throne, since they were no longer being used to engage the Sin Eaters. He and the army WAS resting - up until the point where we actually took down a Lightwarden.

THAT was when Ran'jit came out of retirement, when the peaceful, quiet end he was yearning for was placed in jeopardy. That was when the army was brought back into action and mobilized. That was the point at which he made his move to recover Minfilia, and to make efforts to protect the remaining Lightwardens - the latter, of course, was the main reason for his move in Rak'tika, not Minfilia. Remember, in his mind, defeating the Sin Eaters would NOT spare the world from doom - in fact, it would just make things worse, as the remnants of humanity tore themselves to pieces fighting each other as resources dwindled. Crushing hope WAS one of his goals, at that point - but entirely because it was a FALSE hope, doing more harm than good, setting the survivors of the world up for a painful end rather than a peaceful one.

Ultimately, as Riastrad implies, it's a matter of opinion; we'll have to agree to disagree. I think there's plenty of room for a "tragically broken old man" interpretation for Ran'jit.

[RopeDrink]

If the best you can do is die without putting up a fight and submitting yourself to a tyrant along with every other soul you know, then you may as well stop fighting all together. He didn't do that. He actively stood in the way of people trying to make a difference and was putting down people willing to, at the very least, try to fight for a world for their children. Call it for what it is. If you give it your all till it becomes too much, only to turn on those still fighting, that is the definition of being a traitor. And traitors should get what they deserve. What help he gave when Minfilia was actively trying to save the First was washed away when he decided that what he wanted was more important than her mission (saving the First). If a cutscene was added that at least made him falter in his current belief that the world was beyond saving, maybe I would have received his character better. As it stands he was just an annoyance and generally lackluster when it comes to being a well developed antagonist. He was only a stepping stone to our salvation of the First when he could have been an ally. He got off easy.

I get what you're saying, but you say it like the timeframe doesn't exist, or that it's 'lacklustre' for a character (originally of good intent) to be worn down and converted to the bad side after a near-century of being soul-crushed in an unwinnable battle. I can see why someone would become dishevelled and eventually buy into the concept of 'peace' (despite it being provided via horrible means) when discussing someone who has endured nothing but loss and despair for practically 100 years of combat. If you can't, that's fine, so I'll just repeat my previous comment:

^ Above mentality discredits the untold number of years/generations he fought against the Sin-Eaters, training those Minfilia's and seeing them cut down, time and time again. This wasn't some rando who saw Vauthry and immediately bent the knee - this is a chap who was likely Numero Uno in the Sin-Eater slaying department on the First who had nothing to show for almost a century of fighting but constant defeat (or as close to it as you can get without being wiped out). Then Emet comes along, instigates the birth of a human Sin Eater who can control those beasties. You'd be tired too after all that time and far more susceptible to the notion that maybe throwing your lot in with that obese scumbag would be preferable to fighting for the losing side which now also has people defecting/mind-controlled and bleeding out numbers without even fighting at all. If not for himself, then for the other Minfilia's.

Remember, Ran's most commonly used words are "Peace" - while regarding us as the "Villains" for taking away said peace (however corrupt) from a child. Nobody is going to defend or justify his actions or motives, but they are easy to understand. Try to imagine fighting the Sin-Eater wars for decades on end, training the closest thing to a saviour time and time again and repeatedly watching them die, until finally, some semblance of peace is actually established (by a different means). I'd feel no pity if this was some random pleb who wanted a piece of that Eulmore peace-pie and threw themselves at it without thought, but we're talking about someone who (at one point) did fight for the right cause for practically a whole lifetime being withered down by it.

But anyway.