Endwalker Main Scenario Commentary & Feedback

[vormela]

Regarding preconceptions about tempering and WoL (I am in third zone now and attuned to the second aetherite):

I am glad it was clarified early on! I thought we were tempered because of our prejudice against Garlemald.

Hearing that Imperial song for the first time outside of a "meanwhile in Garlemald" scene was creepy and there are so many good moments like this... that was without a doubt one of the most impactful moments so far.

The chains for the Garlemald symbol and them being underdogs of sorts I understood (and I thought this was why Emet-Selch chose them...still haven\\\\'t clarified the third-eye thing) but the leader explaining the symbol and color symbolism and then leaving a huge actual bloodstain on the flag was just macabre and great. Felt so hollow compared to the two girls. I was wondering how their whole dependence on strong rulers that Gaius monologued about would play out with no leader. I guess I will find out more when I continue the story tomorrow. The whole thing feels very appropriate right now with nationalism and post-industrial societal problems and cultural stagnation and is very timely. Very artfully rendered and affecting.

As for favorite scenes up to this level 83ish point in the story in the third zone,

(I am right after the twins and WoL get escorted and eventually are able to attune to the aetherite) I think my favorite scene so far has been dialogue between Alphinaud/Alisaie where Alisaie figures out her ideals and Alphinaud clarifies his.

I also loved and was completely surprised by one of the first truly emotional scenes being a heart-to-heart between the three grown men Scions. (Concerning the telophoroi.)

Emet-Selch in Fandaniel\\\\'s memories being basically a multilevel marketing door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman desperate to put his work on he underlings so he can steal their work cracked me up so much. I just love him. I loved him since he just strolls up dressed like an emperor and no one recognizes him except Uberdanger the Nerd and he is fine with that. I know they will rip my heart out over and over about Emet-Selch by the time this is through and I will love it.

I was expecting Amon because of the 5.5 Owen commentary and the "SNAP" but I didn\\\\'t know it would be Fandaniel. But I love it. The voice is growing on me and I laugh at almost every single one of his lines. The voice actor nails it. As disgusted as I currently am by this character, I think he will be one of my favorites by the end. I love how he is bored and flabbergasted by Zenos\\\\' one-track mind... can you imagine how he must see Zenos, having been around so many technological advances??? He met base instinct face to face. We know he is the biggest genius in the game but they are actually evenly matched at this point. I am surprised they can have any conversations at all. Whatever their ultimate goal is, I am not clear on it yet, which works out just fine storywise so far.

[lezard21]

SNIP

Basically it's hardly Game of Thrones S8.

What you just described is EXACTLY Game of Thrones S8,

with the long multiple season build up big bad unceremoniously being offed on the 3rd episode, and the rest of the season being a multitude of escort quests till eventually stumbling across the power hungry drunk villain that has not been relevant for 2 seasons and finding out she is actually the true final boss

Doubt he is even talking about the story, did has been whining about not being able to play for two days and demanding Square ban people on free accounts because they get in his way, lmao

I eventually managed to log in after 3 hours of fighting the 2002 error code last night and powered through the story tyvm for your concern, though I find your lack of empathy for the hundreds of thousands of players that paid for the game and have not been able to play at all due to free trial account botters very distasteful

[vormela]

Ctd

I love that the story is sticking so tightly to general themes

mainly "identity" and evolution of identity but I have also noticed the "survival" theme which I guess will continue on as I get through more. Love that Sharlayan scholars and gleaners are struggling from being overworked while Thavnair's ports are empty and trade has stagnated, leaving them with too little work and spoiling food and bolts of fabric...

Love the theme carried out through the entire story through Urianger about basically when is it okay to keep a secret and secret knowledge (Emet-Selch uses immortal knowledge as a temptation when we first meet him, then the Forum obviously).

So many good one-liners in English. SO many. Estinien, Thancred, Fandaniel, Y'shtola have all been such a pleasure. I am currently a huge Fan of Fandaniel

and am not sure where the hate comes from. It fits, so far. I love that he really isn't the same person he was and that they will play with that more.

[vormela]

It won't let me edit on mobile but I had another thing I wanted to mention. In Shadowbringers

when Emet-Selch didn't recognize the Crystal Exarch and said he in some way designed the Crystal Tower, it made me think that he just only recognized the reincarnated souls. And that this was an event of mankind developing beyond immortal capabilities and him underestimating mankind.

Now with the first three zones up until the second aetherite attunement

it kind of made me wonder if Fandaniel was masquerading as Emet-Selch when he made that statement (AFAIK Amon was the architect...) or in Garlemald where he clearly has a different motion capture actor and seems much harsher and comments on cloning and Black Rose in a very Amonlike way. Plus, he seems to understand that Amon was exceptional...and if he even copied his snappy gesture that would be intriguing. I love that there is still such mystery. Or he was just Owen. Or he is Amon and Fandaniel is confused. It will be a surprise.

I will never stop thinking about this character Emet-Selch while playing this game and I am so happy the story is filling out the story. Currently I want my dearest reformed cultist theatrical weenwoon friends to come hang out in my island sanctuary when there is downtime. I love how they developed ascians from basically stage theater troupe members coming through portals, getting in character with their heads down and arms dangling, and wreaking havoc to what they are now. I know the Solus clones are going to be horrible in a way I can't prepare for so I am ready. Even if Fandaniel left the stones with Hythlodaeus I am still happy. Maybe he was Hythlodaeus. All I am saying is that I don't know who is who but I better be seeing Hythlodaeus by the time this is over.

[QT_Melon]

While I am enjoying the patch so far. I miss the really good snark options in the dialog. I feel that Shadowbringers was on point - like it's not there as much in Endwalkers. I have other thoughts but I want to finish before I say anything else.

[EdwinLi]

I have not gone through the whole story yet but I spoiled my self to the final boss.

SPOILER Final Boss fight

I have to say almost everyone called it being Zenos BUT Yoshi-p and the developer team did it in such a cinematic way it is actually exciting to go through.

It is not a trial where you have to party up to complete. It is simply a single player one versus one battle not for determine the fate of the entire world but simply because of a personal reason.

WoL could have just left Zenos and returned home since he would have died there no matter what but WoL, for whatever personal reason the player themselves choose to think up is the reason he/she went through with the fight, is acting for once in his/her own personal interests with no strings attached nor grand plan pushing him/her to do it.

It is simply a fight to the death to a point near the end Zenos and WoL just threw away their weapons and started punch each other like Snake and Ocelot at the finale of Metal Gear Solid 4.

I can't describe the amount of joy, excitement, and enterainment I had watching the fight play out as WoL and Zenos just let it all go at each other without any restraints. This is without knowing the Main Storyline since I am still going through with it myself but once I get there with knowledge of the story that built up to this moment, I feel I will have amplified my enjoyment even more watching it again with actual context to the events.

[WhiteArchmage]

Got 90k'd in the middle of a big scene but...

Holy mother of arc welding, Batman. Of all the people to bring back now. But now we know why Ishikawa kept G'raha around...

Level 82-3 zone:

This is the first we've heard of Corvos, right? G'raha's profile in EE1 just says southern Ilsabard, and this is also the first mention of his clan in relation to House Darnus, which feels like it should have been brought up back in 2.X when people where already drawing obvious connections.

But apparently to Garleans, said region is the promised land, and Sharlayan likes it enough to want to copy it's climate This would probably be more impactful if Ilsabard wasn't a giant cloud on official maps.

AND I'm really not sure how I feel about the G'raha backstory retcons overall. Right now it seems like he's being set up for (IMO) the worst possible resolution to his character, and Ishikawa doesn't work that way (or, hasn't since 2.5) so I'm holding out for a twist.

about the lvl 82-3 stuff

Kind of? It got mentioned in Zenos' side story, his master was from there. But we didn't really KNOW anything about it, also there's a... thing pointed in the World Map called "The Anchorite at Corvos", along the Corvos Narrow opposite Thavnair. But actually in-game? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the first time. I was very interested in it a few months back because... well, the Anchorite at Corvos sounds VERY ominous and I wanna see what's up wih it.

I don't know if the dev team had intended on it being the Garleans' "birthplace" all along or it just happened to be a place they had a name for and better to use somewhere that already existed on the map than to make up somewhere. The extension(addition?) of it into Garlean and G'raha's backstory... interesting, is all I'll say...

[shadowclasper]

is it intentional that the 'blessing of light' rather than the echo is referred too for protection from tempering?

[vormela]

It could be one of those things like how characters referred to the towers as having Garlean architecture when it is clearly Void Arky looking. They seem to be clarifying aether lore as well so I think we just have to play through to find out at this point. I am new so maybe that's why blessing/echo isn't bothering me as much as it is some people. Also, dragons.

In a game where we are untempering people with flying pigs I guess the blessing/echo conflation hasn't bugged me but then again I haven't spent years trying to figure it out. As is one of our dialogue options, "I'm just special."

[waifugenerator]

Lv 85 spoilers

Wow the final days are incredibly depressing. When people give in to despair their aether, instead of dissipating and returning to the life stream, simply rots and disappears which turns them into Terminus beasts never to be reincarnated. Very reminiscent of Madoka Magica lol