Endwalker Main Scenario Commentary & Feedback

[Cilia]

3000+ queues and Error 2002s make it hard to finish this.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this expansion's story. A lot of the philosophical ideas I'd been kicking around turned out to be right on the money.

Some specifics.

Fandaniel

Honestly, I found Hermes to be a very relatable antagonist - more so than Emet-Selch and Elidibus, despite those two (especially the former) being put up on a pedestal. He's seemingly the only person who is ever unhappy in the world, and feels he's an aberration because of it. This resonates strongly with those suffering from depression (or any mental illness, really) since they tend to suffer in silence; the PC showing him he's not alone was touching.

He's also the only one who seems to take issue with the others' disregard for living things - the only one who feels life has intrinsic value. Which is, again, relatable.

His decision to let Meteion throw the apocalypse at Etheriys as a twisted interpretation of how the Ancients test their creations? Less so.

Amon is... less interesting, though the pathos he's given at the end almost makes up for it. Reminiscent of Kil'Jaeden from WarCraft - despaired and so did lots of terrible things, but earnestly hopes the protagonists prove him wrong. Unfortunately, dragged off to be broken down by an unrepentant and still Zenos-obsessed Asahi. Following Xande's nihilistic ideals ain't so smart, boyo.

Great antagonist, understandable motivations. Just remember to get past nihilism next time; this is a major step for any philosopher.

Elpis

Ancient Emet-Selch looks like a Xehanort, and it was incredibly distracting the whole time.

The window into the world of the Ancients was otherwise interesting. Got to see more of Emet-Selch's good side, Hythlodaeus is kind of meh, and Venat is nice as a mentor figure. Very beautiful, perfectly managed landscape, and insight into how Amaurotine society operated (exactly like you'd think it would). My one big complaint, in general, is Hermes' Kairos system wiping everyone's memories except yours and Venat's of your time together; felt more than a little like a plot contrivance.

It's probably been mentioned before but like a lot of Amaurotine stuff the name is Greek - Elpis was the spirit of hope, the last thing left in Pandora's Box, and associated with flowers. Elpis flowers are symbols of hope throughout Endwalker, making the name very fitting.

Meteion

She's fine, more of a thematic villain antagonist than a character a la IX's Necron. Fortunately Meteion is given more characterization and much more screen time than Necron, and meeting her in ancient Elpis (before she's crushed by the universe's existential despair) lets you see her good side and make you care about trying to save her.

Endsinger wasn't that hard to beat, and teaming up with frenemy Zenos was awesome. Thankful she seems to have made it back to Etheriys - one of her, anyway.

Zenos

Getting upstaged at the moment of your triumph and then chewed out for your stupid selfishness by Alisae? Makes up for it in a big way by riding to your rescue, even if for his own selfish reasons.

I think Zenos is there partially to temper the message of the game - it constantly presses that you should never stop looking for happiness and purpose in your life, but Zenos proves you aren't guaranteed to find either. He also deconstructs Nietzsche's "ubermensch" idea, showing that someone who lives only by his own ideals without regard for the rest of the world will ultimately end up completely alone because people don't exist in a vacuum. Even then, his (twisted) bond with the PC is what gives his life meaning, though one can't say a life that exists solely to antagonize someone else really has much value.

Ultimately... it's a JRPG, which tend to focus on unity and friendship due to Japanese social standards, so someone who lives and fights only for themselves will be painted as being in the wrong (Re: Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax's Sho Minazuki).

Future Content

Anyone figured out what the mystery we were supposed to see was? I didn't do any sidequests so I might have missed something, but I didn't see any big questions raised here. Some things unresolved (e.g. Zenos' dreams of the Final Days) but nothing new.

So... the guy talking about Pandaemonium at the end is obviously unbroken, pre-Zodiark / post-death Elidibus. I'm curious how things are going to go with that.

Lots of ideas thrown out by Emet-Selch during his brief appearance in Ultima Thule, but it's anyone's game exactly what's next (if any of them). Scions breaking up was bittersweet, but we all knew it was plausible if not probable.

Uh... I was right about a lot of plot points I don't feel like repeating, but suffice to say I enjoyed the story and its philosophical themes. I hope we get more stories like this.

[KageTokage]

Future Content

Anyone figured out what the mystery we were supposed to see was? I didn't do any sidequests so I might have missed something, but I didn't see any big questions raised here. Some things unresolved (e.g. Zenos' dreams of the Final Days) but nothing new.

So... the guy talking about Pandaemonium at the end is obviously unbroken, pre-Zodiark / post-death Elidibus. I'm curious how things are going to go with that.

Lots of ideas thrown out by Emet-Selch during his brief appearance in Ultima Thule, but it's anyone's game exactly what's next (if any of them). Scions breaking up was bittersweet, but we all knew it was plausible if not probable.

Uh... I was right about a lot of plot points I don't feel like repeating, but suffice to say I enjoyed the story and its philosophical themes. I hope we get more stories like this.

A different interview had Yoshi P suggesting the "mystery" was a long-established plot point that people may have forgotten about, and they did bring up the memory loss that occurred in the wake of the seventh Umbral calamity that while initially suggested to be a side effect of Louisoix's temporal magicks, was stated to have more far-reaching effects then simply causing people to forget about the WoL.

It almost feels like it's being suggested it was a deliberate act on the part of someone who wanted to operate unhindered.

[RyuDragnier]

A different interview had Yoshi P suggesting the "mystery" was a long-established plot point that people may have forgotten about, and they did bring up the memory loss that occurred in the wake of the seventh Umbral calamity that while initially suggested to be a side effect of Louisoix's temporal magicks, was stated to have more far-reaching effects then simply causing people to forget about the WoL.

It almost feels like it's being suggested it was a deliberate act on the part of someone who wanted to operate unhindered.

Which would mean that a certain device from Elpis, and possibly Elpis itself, are somewhere in the world. If I were to take a wild guess where, it would probably be The New World, since nobody in the visitable world so far outside of the BLU trainer really knows what is there.

[KageTokage]

I'd be more inclined to think that if there's some malicious third party at play they'd be from Meracydia since they'd be more likely to have a fuller knowledge of Dalamud and its secrets given it was where Bahamut was originally summoned and imprisoned.

It's about as unknown as the New World, but we have a direct tie to it thanks to Tiamat, who might end up returning home only to find the situation there is more dire then she would've guessed.

[kaynide]

Well, we do have a flying set of islands around Garlemald. That could very well be modern day Elpis, assuming it wasn’t completely destroyed.

The Kairos machine is very likely a future problem, as we all know everyone has forgotten what happened once Dalamud fell.

[EdwinLi]

Say, is it perhaps too much to think that there is still an unknown force responsible for the all crap Eitherys had to go through?
Like we know that Meteion or rather the Meteia were created by Hermes with an emphasis of having less aether so that they are more attuned to Dynamis and being not really reliant on aether so that they don't need to consume something but they rather give some new questions for me.

Like what hinted Hermes that Dynamis exist and that he could use it so that certain creations of his could traverse the universe without problems? Who were these few people that were researching Dynamis before Hermes? Like how were they able to properly assess that "Dynamis" are influenced by emotions as well? Or am I dumb and missed something again?

Anything is possible now since Endwalker acts as the end for Season 1 storyline but introduction to Season 2 storyline.

Dynamis is newly introduced here and context of what it is shown through the storyline. How this maybe used in Season 2 is anyones guess for now.

Emet also mentioned locations are will be heading to for Season 2. I suspect whatever new antagonist appears he/she/it will begin their efforts against WoL there.

That aside, I am still sticking to the theory that SE may go down the Warrior of Despair path for Season 2. How they may handle it, I cannot say since this is as far my theory goes.

As I mentioned before, the Warrior of Despair is a new concept SE introduced in Final Fantasy Mobius which is sadly shutdown now.

[Tyssyn]

All I can say is Yoshi-P and the writers owe me a box of kleenex. I've done all of MSQ and all the side quests, and spent many many moments in tears, occasionally laughing through those tears. So from this particular WoL, a huge thank you for an amazing story, and I'm looking forward to our new adventures.

[YianKutku]

I'm still working on a longer post of "what I got wrong, what I got right" (I have the basic text written out, but formatting for forums is tedious), but for now I have a very minor comment about an aspect that is kind of living rent-free in my head.

Zone 5 setting spoilers:

I found it unusually amusing that the Amaurotine Ancient society had tried so hard to make everyone uniform and nondescript out of some sense of communal abolishment of status and class, and yet going around Elpis, we see the immediate problem that nobody can tell each other apart other than using unique identifiers. In this case, hairstyle.

Some few NPCs have the talent for seeing aether, but not everyone can, and so hairstyle is the best they can do.

[Fenral]

A different interview had Yoshi P suggesting the "mystery" was a long-established plot point that people may have forgotten about, and they did bring up the memory loss that occurred in the wake of the seventh Umbral calamity that while initially suggested to be a side effect of Louisoix's temporal magicks, was stated to have more far-reaching effects then simply causing people to forget about the WoL.

It almost feels like it's being suggested it was a deliberate act on the part of someone who wanted to operate unhindered.

I wasn't on board with this at first, but then Godbert the Saint of Nymeia references this exact phenomenon during his repeatable quest (mention belts to him), and seasonal events love their little ironic asides. This is it 100%.

[YianKutku]

I just read through the thread now that I've finished the expansion and spent a couple of days digesting it, so I think I'm probably caught up on reactions so far.

Overall my score for Endwalker is a little complicated: to me, it surpasses Shadowbringers, but that's because I've been deeply immersed in the story and setting of FFXIV, and Endwalker is a huge parade of all our connections coming together, including all the sidequests that seem like one-and-done at first, but now have extra meaning and context.

However, I can see someone who basically just does MSQ and little else feeling less happy with Endwalker, because they don't have those scenes where sidequest characters turn up and acknowledge you, and so it may seem a little emptier. Shadowbringers is, I think, a more self-contained story, with more instantly impactful scenes. Endwalker really needs the background of everything that went on before to bring out the emotional highs.

I do have a rather common criticism regarding the pacing, though: the return to Labyrinthos at 87-89 is rather terrible, which I think can be blamed on one particular aspect. It's not the busywork or the much-maligned Sage's Council quest, which I actually didn't mind in itself, since there were several similar filler quests in previous expansions. Rather, I think the biggest offender is the background music: it changes from the (personally decent) Labyrinthos theme to a small looping portion of the Endwalker Footfalls theme, specifically the Torn From The Heavens part. As in, a fifty-second portion, looping over and over again, for the hours you're in the zone doing the MSQ. The choice is even more bizarre when the looping part ends just before the female vocal part of the "Higher" section, so the tension of expectation never gets released.

Fifty seconds at a time, for hours on end, looping nonstop. It's a glaring mistake on the part of the music direction.

My other criticism is probably much more subjective, and has to do with what we see in Zone 5:

It is very obvious that almost every Ancient, except for I think Emet-Selch, uses the Elezen rigging. I was immediately dragged out of immersion when I first saw Hythlodaeus and went "by the Twelve what happened to your NECK".