So, anyone feel like this should have been a bigger deal...? (SPOILERS!!!)

[Terin]

Obviously, we all know we were going to the Moon in this expansion, but if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm surprised that it really ended up being a fairly minor footnote, when you really think about it. I mean, the showdown with Zodiark 100% could've taken place on the planet, like after the collapse of the Towers.

All the moon really contributed to the story is "Loporitts" -- who I still love, despite kind of slowing down the pace of the story -- and an escape-plan that, let's face it, we all knew wasn't going to happen.

It doesn't even wind up being a very interesting location. You get a tower over the crater where Zodiark resides -- which makes for a pretty depressing visual -- and then the giant Loporitts area, which is also hella boring to look at. I'm at least hoping maybe it gets some visual upgrades over time (I was really hoping to open up the doors, and get some idyllic view -- much what Labrinthos wound up being, ironically).

And beyond that, I mean we have our bout with Zodiark, and the Scions show up like it's no big deal. "Oh, we're on the moon now. Neat!"

To me, visiting the Moon should've been a *MUCH* bigger deal. Like... I'd have make it the primary "hub" for this expansion, where you get your new gear. The Loporitts, much as I love them, I kind of wish they'd had a little more of their own store of "beast tribe culture". They could be created by Hydaelyn, but maybe have learned to use crazy new Lunar magicks -- perhaps alluding to a future "Mystic Knight" job -- and be just a bit more "mortal", whereas they almost feel like robotic companions.

I dunno. That's just where I stand on it. Hopefully, it sees a little more importance over the course of the expansion.

[Enkidoh]

I disagree, I absolutely love the moon and how it's portrayed, I admit it was not what I was expecting at all. I love the solitude and tranquility of the lunar surface (apart from the monsters... and the big swirling dark energy thingy where

Zodiark

used to be), further enhanced by that glorious music (the fittingly titled One Small Step).

I can overlook the loporitts as I consider Bestways Burrow and their entire side story a seperate area to the actual lunar surface (which I still like for the loporitts' general cuteness and kindness (and, at the very least for featuring actual FFIV battle music), but the actual moon I'm pretty sure may end up playing a greater role in future, as the current Mare Lamentorum region is just one small section of the moon's surface, so there's a lot more out there to explore (although as the loporitts admit, the rest of the moon is pretty much more of the same).

Maybe they

use their rainbow crystals to start to terraform (Etheirysform?) the moon properly Eden-style and allow proper settlement of it, now that they don't need it for a generation ship on Hydaelyn's Battlestar Galactica exodus?

But that's just my idle musings so take that with a pinch of salt.

[myahele]

A few things could have been made a bigger deal such as killing Zodiark, what happened in Elpis, defeating Hydaelyn and a few others.

Maybe we'll find out more about the Loporitts in their beast tribe questlines.

[linayar]

We've known that the moon is a prison for a long time. I think even adding the loporrits and having the additional function already adds to the place and makes it an even bigger deal than it needed to be, which is great.

[Kozh]

Yeah ngl I feel like the moon is very underwhelming. And zodiark too. Ever since the reveal about elidibus being zodiark heart, I already knew zodiark would be more of a plot device, but to make him a lvl 83 trial is just.... Idk, feels anticlimactic. And the scions doesn't even have any reaction to it.

[linayar]

And the scions doesn't even have any reaction to it.

Why would they? The Scions exist to defeat primals, and Zodiark is just a primal, one who is imprisoned at that, and not at its strongest.

[Theodric]

I thought that both Zodiark and Hydaelyn were handled pretty poorly despite a big deal being made about how this was supposedly their time to shine. As somehow who followed this story for years and who left WoW for similar reasons, it really felt like certain characters and factions were sacrificed at the altar of 'cool fite111' to appease those who either don't appreciate nuance or don't care what's going on so long as they get flashy battles and melodramatic cutscenes.

[Kyrj]

A lot of this expac felt like a minor foot note. The towers were pointless, the moon was just me running around with rabbits which turned out to be pointless, the final days bit was only shown in Thavnair and like one NPC in Ishgard...wow so much destruction. Elpis was a waste of time, you could take it out of the MSQ and have some random monster take the place of Meteion and nothing would've been lost. AGAIN with the fake out deaths (seriously SE either grow a pair and kill them off, or don't do it again)

It feels like they were trying to wrap up too many stories and did a half assed job of doing it.

[linayar]

I thought that both Zodiark and Hydaelyn were handled pretty poorly despite a big deal being made about how this was supposedly their time to shine. As somehow who followed this story for years and who left WoW for similar reasons, it really felt like certain characters and factions were sacrificed at the altar of 'cool fite111' to appease those who either don't appreciate nuance or don't care what's going on so long as they get flashy battles and melodramatic cutscenes.

I disagree. I think they were handled great and it has nothing to do with cool fights. They can have cool fights with anyone, but the story just makes sense this way.

Also, when was it said that this was their time to shine? All I can remember is that this will conclude their saga, which it did.

[Theodric]

Also, when was it said that this was their time to shine? All I can remember is that this will conclude their saga, which it did.

I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation to assume more would be done with a pair of characters that were built up for roughly a decade. Especially in a game that spends an excessive amount of time elsewhere focusing on certain details even at the cost of repetition.

Each to their own, though.