"In from the Cold" Scenario, any way to skip it?

[SoulEchelon]

This was the most frustrating duty FF14 ever offered to me. Yet I enjoyed it immensely. Why? It was meant to trigger the player, to let the player feel the desperation of the moment, the helplessness, weakness of an average person. The duty succeeded in that. The only thing they could have done better were to give us information on to what to look out for. Even though I suspected that the Magitek machine was the key to winning the duty.

Also the duty fitted what Zenos asked us right before. What makes true strength? The body? Or the soul?

Exactly. This is why I welcomed that frustration and the need to think on my feet. Scavenge, run, hide, and be fearful of every potential battle. Things the WoL never really needs to do. It just made you returning to your former self all the more sweeter and gives you a perspective you didn't have until now.

It reminds me of what Quintus says when his soldiers are about to try and put a shock collar on the WoL; basically stating it won't affect him/her at all. Just that moment alone tells you just how strong the WoL is even compared to the other Scions. I feel as if this was a subtle hint of what was to come.

[Schwarzwind]

Exactly. This is why I welcomed that frustration and the need to think on my feet. Scavenge, run, hide, and be fearful of every potential battle. Things the WoL never really needs to do. It just made you returning to your former self all the more sweeter and gives you a perspective you didn't have until now.

It reminds me of what Quintus says when his soldiers are about to try and put a shock collar on the WoL; basically stating it won't affect him/her at all. Just that moment alone tells you just how strong the WoL is even compared to the other Scions. I feel as if this was a subtle hint of what was to come.

I agree with that! The duty gave the WoL the perspective of a normal person and sort of kicks him from his untouchableness, which was really in order after we became that great hero battling one god after another without breaking a sweat.

The duty showed that even the weakest can do great things and be truly strong. Which counters Emet-Selchs point that only the Ancients are worthy of life. The WoL proved, weak and helpless, that his undying will to live and protect what is precious to him overcomes every obstacle in his way. Even when the WoL is at his lowest he never gives up. Just like so many other normal people fighting for what they love and live for. This was also a good foreshadowing of what is to come in Ultima Thule.

[Dogempire]

This was honestly one of few times I really felt like the 'play as someone else' thing had a real narrative purpose and wasn't just there for the sake of itself or padding.

The gameplay elements of having to be sneaky, picking your fights, being so weak etc fit the story very well in ways that a mere cutscene alone couldn't convey as effectively. As opposed to 'we're going to make you control Alisae for a fight that could have just been a cutscene' etc.

Honestly I agree with you there, I like how they made a quest that's meant to make us feel helpless and question if it's just our abilities and innate talents that carry us, and putting us in a body that doesn't have any of the gifts that we the player character do have access to was pretty brilliant, though for me I mostly enjoyed it because it made me remember my Heaven on High solo runs and just how utterly scary those upper floors were since everything there can easily kill you if you don't pay attention and pick your fights

That being said, I really wish they could have done it without the random barriers or quest objectives, if they simply did the quest in a more defined area marked with actual visible borders then it would have saved a lot of people the frustration of "What does the game want me to do exactly?" and kicking them out of the moment when they should be focused on survival, not the invisible objectives that Square Enix set for us to pass the battle quest

[Triggers]

I mean they can't all be winners. I didn't like this quest at all, in fact I never like the play-as-npc-with-3-buttons quests, but I think the endless escorts might be worse hahaha. That said, my overall feeling about the content is pretty positive. The dungeons are already a big step up and the trials at both normal and extreme are engaging and cool. It's not a proper mmo if questing doesn't hurt a little bit, right?

[PyurBlue]

Dude, it is just a video game. Chill.

And this is a forum. We're here to discuss aren't we? If no one wanted to talk what purpose would this site serve?

[StriderShinryu]

While I said earlier that I enjoyed the instance gameplay and mechanic wise, I do agree in retrospect that the whole scenario as presented does feel a little out of place and pointless. Not in what it showed of the existence of your standard Garlean soldier (which I liked) but more in the whole narrative framing as well as it's long term impact narrative impact, of which there really wasn't any. They could have still had pretty much the same exact instance but done through the Echo as the WoL experiencing the last moments in the life of a Garlean soldier or something similar.

[TaleraRistain]

I can understand how some feel violated but I gather that was the point. Our adversary has no qualms and will do whatever he pleases. No line exists if it prevents his desires.

I found the instance very fun but I'm a huge stealth fan so this was right up my alley. I do think if they do something similar in the future, a bit more guidance could be good. I went completely the wrong way first.

[Kandraxx]

Honestly, these ‘role-playing’ quests are just a pain. I’m not fond of playing an NPC that is given 3-5 abilities, that are assigned randomly to my hotbar and keybinds and also the whole thing doesn’t last long enough to warrant creating a clean setup.

The worst thing was possibly the fight where you control Thancred vs. that general in ShB, mashing 3 skills for 10 minutes trying to kill the biggest HP sponge in existence.

I’m just glad that it seems they de-sponged the enemies, especially the ones in scenarios in this expac.

On the other hand, the scenario where you control the soldier at least had a purpose. It made you feel what it’s like to be on the opposite side of the power spectrum, to be one of the guys you regularly steamroll without giving a second look.

[Alleo]

I understand the reasoning behind this quest. Still I wonder if we really should use this to compare the WoL to other people. Our lvl 1 WoL would have had the same problems even though their soul and body would have been the same. Its just that unlike most people we had many quests and are working hard learning our jobs and improving constantly which includes our own body. So its not really that surprising that another body would be weaker. Of course if you are a paladin it is a bit strange that you would not know more skills. You still have your memories and even if you the WoL still has to get used to the new form this was still the body of a soldier.

So yeah for that it was fine, I just really dont like how it was solved. For me it would have been better if we had to switch to another body that was still able to walk, thus making sense that we would somehow reach the camp. (And it would have been a bit better if the other NPCs were on their knees before Zenos!WoL.)

[Schwarzwind]

I understand the reasoning behind this quest. Still I wonder if we really should use this to compare the WoL to other people. Our lvl 1 WoL would have had the same problems even though their soul and body would have been the same. Its just that unlike most people we had many quests and are working hard learning our jobs and improving constantly which includes our own body. So its not really that surprising that another body would be weaker. Of course if you are a paladin it is a bit strange that you would not know more skills. You still have your memories and even if you the WoL still has to get used to the new form this was still the body of a soldier.

I thought about that as well. However, I understood that quest more as a trial of will. Not as a trial of bodily strength. The only thing that let's the WoL succeed is after all not the strength of the body or his combat experience but his will to survive so that he can save his friends from Zenos. Considering the theme of Endwalker, Azem, Venat and the WoL represent the will to live itself. Which is what saves the world in the end. And even with lvl 1, if we want to take game mechanics into account, the WoL was outstanding compared to others. He was always a bit special and stood out among his peers. So giving him the body of a normal person/soldier gives the WoL a new perspective because his body and skills are different and weaker compared to his own.