Is it just me, or did 5.3 represent a big decline in storytelling? (spoilers)

[Sated]

I do think that those quests are necessary for storytelling, not because they drag the story out, but because they show a sense of stopping to do the little things here and now again.

The smaller quests like that really help set pacing and reset the mood, which is a big part of why this game's overall storytelling works so well I think.

The last MMO I played rarely ever had moments like that for the main story and as a result it was just this endless climb of trying to one-up the last Big Epic Thing that happened and eventually big epic things just weren't interesting - it all just mashed together and stopped being impressive.

I think FFXIV does a great job of giving short breaks before ramping up again, so when something important comes along it can actually feel that way.

I mean isn't it canonically the WoL's personality to take interest in the minutiae of everyday life? To help collect grapes.
I can hear Fray's teeth grinding at it but it's who the WoL is.

[Auryan]

I adored this patch and the ShB conclusion. Heartbreaking, but hopeful. Heavy with just the right amount of light-hearted moments.

I loved how they used Amarot to great effect. Loved how they highlighted the similarities and contrast the differences between Emet-Selch and Elidibus' motives for carrying out the rejoining. Quietly sobbed during Seto and Arbert's reunion. I normally don't care for time paradoxes and still don't, but I was satisfied with where G'raha ended up even if the logic probably doesn't fully add up.

And I truly smiled at the touching goodbyes from the Scion's to all of the citizens of the First.

As for setting up the final arch: I'm hopeful. Not that I hate Zenos or anything. He makes for a frightening foil. His single minded pursuit for power isn't very interesting, but it is chilling to know that there's nothing he wouldn't do to be the strongest. And Fandaniel (the true mastermind) is counting on it. I get the feeling he wants to bring back Zodiark, but unlike the unsundered, he doesn't want to go back to a long dead era.

[ElazulHP]

The only thing I didn't like is that they're setting up Zenos as the final big bad it looks like. He is my least favorite villain. I don't like the way his character is written. He's as boring and one dimensional as his motivations.

[kaynide]

For what it’s worth I enjoyed it all.

The setup to this expansion (way back in 3.x) could have been done better, but I’m not sure they even know where the game was going when they started that arc. It’s very much TV writing/Tabletop RPG planning, where you sow a bunch of different concepts and then can later pick them up/expand as needed..then play that you had been planning the thing all along.

Again, still enjoyed, would still rate it fairly high for an MMO since the devs can’t possibly know how many “seasons” they need to write.

[Vahlnir]

Nah, not really. It felt a little rushed though, but overall I didn't think the story was bad at all.

[Razard]

snip.

That's a lot of words to say "I am a contrarian".

[Theodric]

That's a lot of words to say "I am a contrarian".

Hardly. I've been invested in the story since the days of ARR. The game has some incredible world building, yet often fails to do as much with it as it could due to falling back on predictable tropes and a lack of consequence for the vast majority of characters.

[Lauront]

That's a lot of words to say "I am a contrarian".

This is on a level with "he's just trolling" as a reaction to someone expressing dissatisfaction with how they handled the story, and is a good example of the sort of cultish attitude that puts many people off this forum and the more vocal elements of its community.

Perhaps you ought to acknowledge that people have different reactions to and views of things, rather than trying to psychologise why they do so. If you can't, well then at most you'll be reduced to substance-free one-liners, like what you posted.

[SpeckledBurd]

Not really. Shadowbringers as a whole has been very well done in terms of its writing with there only being to points that have nagged at me. The first is Ran'jit, and specifically that his backstory is revealed 4-5 hours after you needed to know it for the climax of Thancred/Ryne's arcs in Amh Areng. The other is that Eulmore's plot wraps up with basically a fairy tale ending, with the only thing to cause it being Alphinaud giving them one speech about how terrible they've been. A lot of the best writing in this game has been examining why this exact thing doesn't work. You can depose the evil pope and kill the evil dragon but that isn't going to stop the war, there's cultural momentum that's going to resist that and to actually make change you have to do work to route out the rot.

5.1-3 probably should have spent a little more time letting us get to know Elidibus to make the payoff stronger, but overall that's a pretty minor gripe.

[Seddrinth]

I've skipped every cutscene so far but sounds like the story is pretty good. Maybe I'll go back and watch the scenes one day.