Quote Originally Posted by YianKutku View Post
It does fall into the trap of escalation: we're supposed to believe that this time the world is actually in danger, if only to present a sense of tension, but we also know that stuff like marketing and sales and game development means it's not actually going to happen. But there's the idea, even among players, that the next threat has to be bigger, because we solved the previous threat. Hence the complaints I recall seeing on this forum about how Stormblood felt like a step back in terms of stakes, after Heavensward. And since this has to keep happening for as long as the game is around, all these improbable escapes from conquest or destruction start to add up.
That's fairly interesting. My first time through Stormblood my biggest question was, "But what has Zenos been through that makes him stronger than me?" It never really got answered, he just was. As far as the overall stakes went though, after seeing Omega and Shinryu go toe to toe, or electric laser beam to protostar breath... I thought the dragon Pope had been thoroughly one upped, and I looked forward to finding out how Shinryu vs. Omega concluded. Plus we visited and freed two nations, rather than just one.

Just interesting that people didn't perceive the stakes as being raised. Do you remember some of the explanations/whys for that?