Final Fantasy XIV doesn't actually have that good of a story

[Burmecia]

There is certainly a lot to criticize about the story, but saying that Alphinaud did not get any character development...I don't think I can agree with that...

I'll be first to admit that I kinda disliked Alphy until I sat down to really pay attention to his character development.
I do not dislike him anymore.

[WanderingMist]

*Stares at Hoary Boulder, Coultenet, Riol, F'lhaminn, Arenvald, Isildaure, the minor Domans, basically all the Scions, half the named Ishgardians, the entirety of Doma...*

Talking to the "random" NPCs in the Rising Stones/Waking Sands in-between quests reveals A LOT about the plot.

Which brings me to one of the biggest principles of good story-telling: "Show, don't tell"

We are constantly told by Minfillia how much each Scion does for the cause, but if we never see it, it means nothing.

[WanderingMist]

Probably overleveled tbh, you overlevel the MSQ so fast even without doing side-content.



It's not actually a very large chunk.
And Alphinaud spends basically the entire expansion of Heavensward with you and gets a ton of development he's essentially the second main character.

In fact, what happens in ARR plays a role in that you'd know that if you had actually played the story instead of playing a small part of it then complain about it.
Things have actual consequences and affect the characters long term and that requires setup.

Characters also actually do things even when they're off-screen that come up later, in most other games your character is the center of the universe that solves all problems but in FFXIV that's not really the case.
In FFXIV characters are active even when they're away from you and then when you meet them again it turns out they've actually been up to something that matters instead of shoving that unto the player too.

In the grand scheme of things, 50 hours of gameplay may not seem like much compared to what is on offer in ffxiv, but please don't use that as an excuse. 50 hours of storytelling would encompass most of the MCU films. Imagine if I told you that there was next to no actual character development in those first 50 film hours, but that you still had to watch it to understand what's happening in "Avenger's: Endgame", would you willingly go through those first 50 hours? Just because ffxiv is an mmorpg doesn't mean it should get a free pass in terms of story-telling.

"Show, don't tell". Think about some of your favourite films. Would you rather someone told you of their exploits in a giant monologue, or actually see them do it? The Scions are constantly telling us that they are off doing stuff, but we never see them do it. All that usually happens is they send us on some task and then poof, instead of actually interacting with the player.

[WanderingMist]

I'd like to tack on that Alphinaud plays the role of upstart adventurer that is typically filled by the main character. Typically those characters are seen as sympathetic but his role in the story leads to that trope being placed in a less than sympathetic light. He's brash, naive, smart yet at the same time so, so dumb. He has a bad case of "must-prove-self-itis," because of his relationship with Louisoix - hell, part of the reason the Crystal Braves came about is because of Alphinaud's incessant need to prove himself and fill in shoes that are 10 sizes too big. He's a teenager, and while it's easy to forget that, he certainly acts the part in MANY ways. This is all in ARR.

Y'shtola is aloof, sassy, and smart. She is extremely capable of handling aether as well as reeling the other Scions in. She's literally introduced as the "Cultured Conjurer" and she's shown to be straightforward and to the point. You absolutely could not swap hers and Thancreds lines - Thancred plays the role of the witty flirty bard. This is all in ARR. She's not featured nearly as much as Alphinaud yet by the end of ARR, you know this... if you were paying attention, that is.

Finally someone who actually gives me some traits to work with. For those wondering, the character I'm posting on is my original character, that I played all through ARR and HW, before getting burnt out and quitting the game. Recently I came back, made a new character and have been experiencing the story from the beginning. Right now, on this new character I am currently working through the post-ARR storyline, so haven't gotten to the events of HW or even the Crystal Braves just yet. What you say might well be true but it still has the problem that ARR contains next to no character development or meaningful interactions. 50 hours of gameplay without the basics of storytelling.

Yes you absolutely could swap Y'shtola and Thancred's lines around and get the same result, because most of what they say to the player is either orders or exposition. Here, take a look at this cutscene where you are first introduced to the Scions (starts at the timestamp 00:28:00):

https://youtu.be/V_7guKvwKBM?t=1682

First impressions are very important, and watching this cutscene again, the only thought I have is "why does Urianger speak like that?" Aside from that, it's just a giant exposition dump that could be delivered by literally any character in the game.

You say that Thancred is a witty flirty bard, but does that show in any of his interactions with the player character? Does his personality influence his actions in any way? Same with Y'shtola. Does her personality that you claim she has impact her actions?

EDIT: I just went and talked with Thancred and Y'shtola outside of the cutscenes as they are just hanging out at the Raising Stones. Thancred is at the bar drinking and flirting with F'lhaminn, while Y'shtola is tutoring a young girl in history. You know what? Some of the character traits you describe absolutely show in those small pieces of text and actions. Now my question is, WHY DON'T THEY SHOW THIS KIND OF THING DURING THE MSQ CUTSCENES??? Seriously, I got more character interaction from random throw-a-way dialogue text that most players will just run past and ignore, than anything in the MSQ.

It's not just them either. In another part of the room, Papalymo is scolding a boy for balancing on a pile of crates, and Yda is next to him all laid-back and marvelling at the boy's balancing skills. I just learned more about those 2 characters in 5 lines of text than I have in 50 hours of MSQ gameplay.

I should be excited to see more of their character expression, but I'm even more pissed off because this kind of thing should be in the mandatory storyline. Give me less of the pointless filler tasks and more character interaction and personality please!

[FudoMyoo]

I played a lot of other Final Fantasy's and a lot of gaming sites say that FF14 has one of the best stories in the franchise so I tried it out. This is an issue of the hype killing the game. FF14 has a good story but it's not as good as the hype makes it out to be so in the end I was disappointed. I can give you 50 games that had a better story than FF14.

The first issue is that there is too much filler in the story that adds next to nothing to the lore or the story. Having to play hide and seek with children is not interesting. Having to harvest vegetables as the freaking Warrior of Light is stupid. The game suffers from being an MMO by having to give you way too much filler.

The second issue is that the game can't be as immersive as modern story-driven games. The Last of Us 2 is capable of making you feel sad, angry, and horrified because the game is designed in a very immersive manner. FF14 makes you read the dialogues which isn't as immersive as modern story games.

The third issue is that even in world-ending, cataclysmic events, there is no sense of urgency. This is partially because FF14 isn't as immersive as single player games. It's also because there are way too many Mary Sue moments in the game where you expect someone to die but they miraculously survive. After a few Mary Sue moments you just don't expect anyone to die anymore. Because of that there is not much tension to be felt in the story.

I'm not saying the story is bad, but it's definitely not one of the best stories in a video game nor is it really even one of the better stories among the Final Fantasy franchise. I enjoyed FF14 and it does have a better story than WoW but I don't think it matches up to actual single player games at all. So I really don't get the hype and IMO people have just not played enough thought-provoking story games outside of FF14. Saying it has one of the best stories in video gaming history is an exaggeration at best.

Any of the game (better story than FF14) in your mind is a MMORPG? I would definitely play it.

[Tarryme]

I enjoyed, am enjoying the story. It's quite involving. One thing I would say is that they missed a lot of good opportunity's to make it epic. My guess is that they have more than one writer, meaning they are not following each others outlook, thus there are many wasted opportunity's to take the story to another level. There are parts of the story were the overlap is terrible and does not flow at all.
Oh, and far to many of the characters come back to life so you end up not caring if anyone dies anymore, you know they are only playing dead.

[MilkieTea]

snip

Thancred
"I happen to be thoroughly enjoying the company of these ravishing young ladies and, gods willing, will still be doing so come sunrise."
"If I may, the lovely maiden beside me is named Y'shtola. Limsa Lominsa has the pleasure of being under her care."
"Ever at your service, fair lady!" (If you have a female avatar)

Each of these are some of the MANY lines he has in which he flirts with, hits on, or otherwise attempts to schmooze nearly every woman he encounters. He's an unrepentant flirt. Two of those lines are from the first meeting with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Pray tell me, would Y'shtola saying these lines give you the same result?

Y'shtola being smart, sassy and unnaturally good at aetheric manipulation is what saved her and Thancred's lives. How doesn't that show, when the only other character able to teleport freely is US? And that's something said within the main story. It nearly killed her. Thancred literally flirts with female player characters. Your being a female affects his basic interactions with you. They have impact - I think you're focusing so much on thinking they're not showing it to you, that you missed what they showed you.

[WanderingMist]

Any of the game (better story than FF14) in your mind is a MMORPG? I would definitely play it.

IMO, the Guildwars 2 main story is far better than FFXIV, especially if you play as a Charr. During the Charr story, you are sent to recruit new members for your crew and then fight alongside those new members. Sure it's not perfect but it's far better than the FFXIV story.

[WanderingMist]

Thancred
"I happen to be thoroughly enjoying the company of these ravishing young ladies and, gods willing, will still be doing so come sunrise."
"If I may, the lovely maiden beside me is named Y'shtola. Limsa Lominsa has the pleasure of being under her care."
"Ever at your service, fair lady!" (If you have a female avatar)

Each of these are some of the MANY lines he has in which he flirts with, hits on, or otherwise attempts to schmooze nearly every woman he encounters. He's an unrepentant flirt. Two of those lines are from the first meeting with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Pray tell me, would Y'shtola saying these lines give you the same result?

Y'shtola being smart, sassy and unnaturally good at aetheric manipulation is what saved her and Thancred's lives. How doesn't that show, when the only other character able to teleport freely is US? And that's something said within the main story. It nearly killed her. Thancred literally flirts with female player characters. Your being a female affects his basic interactions with you. They have impact - I think you're focusing so much on thinking they're not showing it to you, that you missed what they showed you.

I'll grant you, some of those lines do bring out Thancred's character. It's a shame that they are forgotten amidst the sea of exposition. Y'shtola being able to teleport freely doesn't mean too much when the player can do it freely and the significance of it is buried amidst (you guessed it) more exposition.

[MilkieTea]

I'll grant you, some of those lines do bring out Thancred's character. It's a shame that they are forgotten amidst the sea of exposition. Y'shtola being able to teleport freely doesn't mean too much when the player can do it freely and the significance of it is buried amidst (you guessed it) more exposition.

But she isn't able to teleport freely is the point. She has such finetuned control over the small amount of aether that she can manipulate safely, that she was able to teleport herself and Thancred out of harms way - which lead to her near death. This just proves to me that you weren't paying nearly as much attention as you say you were. You are the ONLY OTHER PERSON able to teleport at will, and for you it's a piece of cake because of the sheer amount of aether in your possession. The game literally both tells you, and SHOWS you, this.

You're so obsessed with "show don't tell" that I think you've forgotten what that actually means. Exposition is necessary in certain circumstances, yet we are SHOWN Thancred's wit and personality, no one sits there saying "Yeah Thancred's a flirt!" We see and experience it. We are SHOWN Y'shtola's quick thinking under pressure, her sass, and her willingness to stand her ground. No one says that. We are SHOWN Yda and Papalymo's undying friendship and loyalty to each other in the face of uncertain futures. We are SHOWN Alphinaud's uncertainty and his naivety. We are shown that the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are a group filled with intelligent people, and ALSO told that.

Show, don't tell, doesn't mean characters can't talk. Show, don't tell means "Don't just say this character is quick witted. Show them BEING quick witted." Which is what the game does.

Thancred is a flirt - he flirts. Y'shtola is smart and able to finetunely control aether - she does JUST THAT. Alphinaud is naive - he literally gathers together a group of Sellswords and doesn't expect them to still be sellswords. Yda and Papalymo are friends to the literal end - these aren't things the game tells us, these are things you're SHOWN.