What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Jagick]

If I had to guess it'll have something to do with restoring the 13th which then has some kind of knock-on effect for the source. They'll probably want to market 7.0 similarly to 2.0 in order to leech off 2.0s success somewhat and keep the momentum going. Easier said than done with these drip-fed patches though.

I really hope they don't go this route. The Void is unique and interesting. A whole world consumed by darkness and aether-starved not-demons. Personally, the last thing I want to do is make it as normal and bland as the Source is, comparatively.

And in the back of my mind a primal fear just awakened that they're going to use 13th related stuff for some sort of Kingdom Hearts crossover someday.

[KageTokage]

I feel like we're just going to plant the seeds of change in the void as opposed actually fixing it within the game's lifetime; especially with the implication from the interviews that the voidsent lost sight of who/what they were originally and could somehow be "awakened" as a result of our foray.

[Jagick]

I feel like we're just going to plant the seeds of change in the void as opposed actually fixing it within the game's lifetime; especially with the implication from the interviews that the voidsent lost sight of who/what they were originally and could somehow be "awakened" as a result of our foray.

I hope you're right but I also wouldn't put it past this game to have everyone on Etheirys offer up their aether spirit bomb style to conjure a planet sized Porxie to fix the 13th in one go at the end.

[Raoabolic]

I hope you're right but I also wouldn't put it past this game to have everyone on Etheirys offer up their aether spirit bomb style to conjure a planet sized Porxie to fix the 13th in one go at the end.

Don't forget the part where Ysh'toela does the funny sailor moon dance and the audience claps!
(Said dance will be purchasable in the mogshop soon! Please look forward to it!)

[Cach]

Best case scenario is a rejoining and we find out now that Hydaelyn's dead the barrier between worlds has collapsed.

Rejoinings happening despite it all would be the perfect sad trombone to end Endwalker with. Toss in the memory erasing doodad for good measure.

I'm rooting for a fresh start approach, but I'm not sure we'll get it.

[Theodric]

Well, if they do go the route where something shakes up the world on a wider scale then I do hope it's balanced. I'm really tired of the one sided consequences. Back in the days of ARR and HW the scars and consequences left in the wake of the Calamity were prominent. I cared about the world and the sense of danger looming over the lives of its inhabitants.

Now? I don't. The things I care about are the sympathetic antagonists who have to do horrible things because they lack the 'I WIN LOL' button that the 'good guys' get to press to avoid any meaningful consequences and realistic stakes. At this point we know that whatever we're set to fight is going to make for a flashy fight but not really achieve much beyond that.

There's a big problem when the likes of Elidibus and Emet-Selch are forced to be super honourable, concede multiple things to the protagonists but then die horribly losing everything they care about whilst never securing a single on screen kill. I guess it's why Nabriales stands out so much to me. Even Lahabrea - both scored an actual on screen kill.

I think the writers need to realise that no matter how desperately they try to get people to like and root for the Scions there's always going to be no small amount of players who care more for the antagonists. They've acknowledged this with other Final Fantasy titles and merchandise surrounding them. They'd make money hand over fist if they did it here, too.

Especially if they, y'know, actually threw a bone to fans of the antagonists now and then and didn't bend over backwards to justify genocide so long as it is targeted at the 'correct' races and civilisations.

[KageTokage]

It kind of slipped my mind that there was that ominous prophecy from the Studium quests suggesting that something about the Lifestream was going to change and bring with it widescale disaster.

There was a lot of significant events that that may have disturbed the natural order in ways that have yet to fully manifest, between Zodiark's demise normalizing the aether currents and returning a bevy of Ancient souls to the star, the flood of dynamis bearing down upon the world during the Final Days (And apparently still having some lingering fallout), and Hydaelyn's demise potentially having unforeseen consequences as a god of stability.

[aveyond-dreams]

I don't understand why there are people who have defended the status quo despite even Endwalker's most devoted fans being tired of the Scions. It would help if people were more honest and straightforward about how they felt about these characters, on this and other platforms.

FFXIV's cast is really missing things in terms of both leading men and women. Y'shtola isn't a heroine I enjoy and Thancred's days of heroics are over. Why can't we have a Clive Rosfield in this game? A Snow Villiers? Celes Chere? Rosa Farrel? I have a pretty decent feeling that putting any of those on an ad would pull more people than a) a short haired catgirl or b) a guy whose outfit is devoid of colors.

An adult Vrtra joining the party as a male Au Ra would be something at least, but whether that is in the works is anyone's guess. We could use more racial diversity in the main party as well.

[Theodric]

I think it's largely a consequence of everything being written to revolve around the player character but also treat the player character an extension of the player. Up until now I've never encountered a fandom that has had so many players getting offended if a particular NPC doesn't worship the ground that their self insert walks upon. It greatly limits the story that can be told since what few characters have a bit of grit end up being sanitised or killed off.

I've been focusing on TESO lately and it's honestly refreshing how characters are just allowed to be themselves. Granted, the game is designed to give the player more agency in general but it's nice to not have every NPC encountered fawn over my guy simply for existing. I do miss the days of ARR and HW where our character was still fairly 'unknown' to the world as a whole. It's mostly why I think a power reset of sorts would probably be for the best at this point.

[Vyrerus]

I would very much like the supporting cast Scions who are barely in the MSQ at all to actually feature again. Show some growth and stuff.

Riol comes to mind first and foremost. Company of Heroes veteran. Crystal Braves veteran. Voluble in spite of being a serious espionage agent.

Coultenet and Hoary Boulder after him. They're there at every turn telling us about the things they got up to while we were gallivanting on the important missions.

It's clear the story expects me to care deeply about F'lhaminn, but I never get the real details on her Thavnairian trip with Boulder/Coulte. She's basically been a starry eyed widow pining for Minfilia since like 2.5.

I also don't really understand how Nero hasn't simply wanted to hitch up to the WoL's side, and come adventuring with us, since it's pretty damn obvious that we always encounter the most prodigious technology and advanced civilizations. Plus, that man can fight.

We've got so much potential outside of the Scions, and they're supposed to all be enjoying "retirement" more or less, but like so many of their proclamations, nothing's happening that's backing up their intent. They can't even retire right.