Endwalker Main Scenario Commentary & Feedback

[MirronTulaxia]

Ye ten characters.

For other final day stuff, that’s what the role quests are about. I will grant that I expected a Final Days thing in Sharlayan, either before launch or right after of the ship, I’m kind of glad that didn’t happen though. It’s entirely possible other continents got hit hard too, as we did have the benefit of foreknowledge.

I’ve heard the idea of splitting up the game (maybe cutting it off at Zodiark, or the Hermes fight, or Hydaelyn), but I feel like it would be hard to pull off. Part of why it works is that the heavy moments don’t get to be too heavy. You get room to insert levity. But you also don’t get to totally lose the tension. I think if you tried to break it up you’d have to stretch out other parts, and I’m not sure any parts really want to be stretched out.

[Loggos]

You're right, haha. (And like I said, even if the omicron weren't a part of FF14 up until now, the covid variant is way too new to have possibly influenced EW anyway.)
Seeing all of these things together just felt (unintentionally) ironic, esp. because it's the delta mobs out of all monsters that look like the typical depiction of the corona virus.

[yajnaji]

You're right, haha. (And like I said, even if the omicron weren't a part of FF14 up until now, the covid variant is way too new to have possibly influenced EW anyway.)
Seeing all of these things together just felt (unintentionally) ironic, esp. because it's delta mobs out of all monsters that look like the typical depiction of the corona virus.

Yeah, lately games in general tend to be released at very "weird" timings (i.e. Death Stranding, 2 months before the covid outbreak). I have forgotten about the omicrons in the game and when I reached that last part of Ultima Thule I had to chuckle a bit, like really?!

[Rulakir]

More time travel nonsense (assume full MSQ spoilers):

They should have left it at alternate timelines. Closed time loops require too much in the way of mental gymnastics and suspension of disbelief. If there's a timeline in which the WoL dies then there's a timeline in which the Ancients survive.

I'm well aware the game's narrative undermines criticism. The push to make Venat/Hydaelyn some sort of tragic figure of good intentions couldn't have been more heavy handed from Thancred immediately throwing his support behind her because of Minfilia to Y'shtola repeatedly giving exposition speeches excusing everything she did. However, fact of the matter remains that the omniscience we gifted Venat only extended to the point at which we journeyed to Elpis. The potential of failing the trial against Hydaelyn to never defeating Meteion (the more likely scenario due to a variety of factors needed to even reach her) meant Venat's gamble easily could have not paid off in the end, so I reject this notion that her method 'worked' and if she was so confident in it she wouldn't have made contingency plans.

As far as I'm concerned, the end of the game still could've played out exactly as it did while also giving us the opportunity to save the Ancients in an alternate timeline. The fact that our life as Azem and their best friends keep ending up on the chopping block for the emotional gut punches while the Scions remain indefinitely unscathed is simply not compelling to me. Like I said, I think the Ancients have the better story and characters of the two because of it so it's frustrating that they can't even be given one off-screen win.

[GrizzlyTank]

labyrinthos 2nd trip Side-quest:

Runaway Carbuncle: Quest start of with some guy looking for a missing carbuncle that was initially found wandering alone in La Nocea. When you get it the quest item mentions that you might recognize it and when you deliver it the guy says that it must have been summoned by a powerful arcanist...

God damn Tataru has been sustaining her carbuncle all this time, even from halfway across the world.

[RyuDragnier]

labyrinthos 2nd trip Side-quest:

Runaway Carbuncle: Quest start of with some guy looking for a missing carbuncle that was initially found wandering alone in La Nocea. When you get it the quest item mentions that you might recognize it and when you deliver it the guy says that it must have been summoned by a powerful arcanist...

God damn Tataru has been sustaining her carbuncle all this time, even from halfway across the world.

Clearly, we know who she really is then. Slight joking below.

Considering you're told by Emet-Selch that Altima's job in the Convocation is basically over Art, and Tataru is a brilliant designer of clothing, she's clearly the Source's Altima. She is able to sustain the Carbuncle because of how much hidden Aether reserves she has as one of the reincarnations of Altima. So we had the ultimate ruler of fashion behind us the entire time!

[waifugenerator]

labyrinthos 2nd trip Side-quest:

Runaway Carbuncle: Quest start of with some guy looking for a missing carbuncle that was initially found wandering alone in La Nocea. When you get it the quest item mentions that you might recognize it and when you deliver it the guy says that it must have been summoned by a powerful arcanist...

God damn Tataru has been sustaining her carbuncle all this time, even from halfway across the world.

More generally the sidequests for this expansion have been great at integrating into the MSQ and world, another example I can think of is

Us delivering food from the Cafe in Sharlayan to Papalymo's father, and then there's another where we deliver letters from the guys from the relic questlines (Ardashir and someone else I'm forgetting) to their family members in Radz-at-Han

[Loggos]

That explains why I love my Scion Traveler's boots so much that I glamour them over everything.

[LaughingBanana]

Whoever decides that MSQ of looking for researchers in a big ass yellow search area needs to have a good /slap.

Goddamn it pissed me off so bad, lol.

[Denishia]

The 'search for 8 researchers' was the one MSQ quest that made me quit for the night out of frustration.

Yet again feeling like the lone anti-fan in that the pre-90 dungeon cutscene involving flowers was brought down from what would have been a 10 to 3 because the focus was on the character I cannot stomach, who Endwalker only made me hate more and I was not thrilled at any point to have more of (a minority opinion I know), and whose felt like they were being written off of not the in-game relationships or lack there of to the WoL but the IRL popularity which is not universal. Also who in my gut I feel was not the original narrator (another choice that lessened my enjoyment of EW) but shoehorned in due to said popularity.