Power Fantasy [[Spoilers]]

[ddwarbird]

Is it me or did Endwalker lapse into power fantasy a bit too hard. I mean, I know this game tries to make out that you are the best thing in the whole word but the whole Azem thing is a little ridiculous and completely invalidates the point of making your own character.

Also, now the Hydalean is dead, we should have lost our power as we were "chosen" by her... so can we go back to being just a normal person now because the demi-god stuff is getting old.

This story just completely jumped the shark at the end and invalidated any emotional payoff at all. Do people not enjoy humility and just being a small part of a way larger world?

[Theodric]

I'm inclined to agree. A large part of the appeal of FFXIV to me was that it didn't jump the shark in the same way as WoW did when it came to seeking the 'next big thrill'. I wouldn't say that the storytelling in this game was always perfect or free from bizarre twists though I appreciated the relative slow burn and sense of build up.

I'm not sure how the game is going to scale back things in a way that leads to humble adventuring again. I absolutely want that to happen but the constant hero worship wears thin for me and our character is now, unfortunately, the saviour of the entire universe.

[Juzjuzz]

I personnally like the fact that the WoL is not a small adventurer anymore and made bigger achievements with eatch expantion and all the WoL achievements have been done thanks to many other characters who are imo just as important as the WoL.

I just hope next expantion won't go right into saving the universe again, and keep that for the end of the new arc.

I'm not sure how the game is going to scale back things in a way that leads to humble adventuring again. I absolutely want that to happen but the constant hero worship wears thin for me and our character is now, unfortunately, the saviour of the entire universe.

I think there's many ways to do this.

The WoL slowly getting rusty (because of lack big threats) is a good idea too if you want to scale things back to a lower level, it won't be ARR days anymore but it can be better than going to an even bigger threat right away. The WoL could get himself hurt somehow too or suffer from all the big hits he took before.

That's just an example that i can think about just like that and i'm sure there's many more.

As for the hero worship, well it's better than saving the universe and no one guiving a shit about it. And maybe we will see new characters, that don't really know who the WoL is and letting us getting a break from being worshiped all the time.

[Gameovers]

I personnally like the fact that the WoL is not a small adventurer anymore and made bigger achievements with eatch expantion and all the WoL achievements have been done thanks to many other characters who are imo just as important as the WoL.

I just hope next expantion won't go right into saving the universe again, and keep that for the end of the new arc.



I think there's many ways to do this.

Maybe scaling isn't needed at all. Just going in adventures is enough imo. You can see the WoL saving the universe as a similar thing as winning the world cup, if you win and even become the best player ever, it's not the end. One other player can come out of nowere and win against you later.

The WoL slowly getting rusty (because of lack big threats) is a good idea too if you want to scale things back to a lower level, it won't be ARR days anymore but it can be better than going to an even bigger threat right away. The WoL could get himself hurt somehow too or suffer from all the big hits he took before.

That's two example that i can think about just like that and i'm sure there's many more.

Nerfing is not needed. Maybe it's because I'm a comic book artist nerfing is like the LAST thing you should do. It's just bad writing. - points at DBZ- The best thing to do is just to change the pace of the plots going forward. Give them a different goal post. Shit do what Sonic does. One game he's fighting bio weapons and aliens, the very next game/day he's fighting gods and the next he's back to saving a city or islands. All with OUT nerfing him to the ground. It's all in the plots and stories. Hell the next adventure can be literally us just literally going to see places we haven't been too yet. and if we have to fight a foe, make em someone who's not trying to take over the world or whatever. My point being is we don't need to nerf the WOL. Lets NOT nerf PLEASE. Think outside the box.

[ReynTime]

I'm inclined to agree. A large part of the appeal of FFXIV to me was that it didn't jump the shark in the same way as WoW did when it came to seeking the 'next big thrill'. I wouldn't say that the storytelling in this game was always perfect or free from bizarre twists though I appreciated the relative slow burn and sense of build up.

I'm not sure how the game is going to scale back things in a way that leads to humble adventuring again. I absolutely want that to happen but the constant hero worship wears thin for me and our character is now, unfortunately, the saviour of the entire universe.

If Ishikawa is still the lead writer then, I don't expect them to put the "adventurer" feel right at all.
I rolled my eyes when they tried to attribute interest in entertaining Zenos' desire to "you're an adventurer therefore you're Goku from DBZ/Ryu from Street Fighter and deep down love fighting". Like, excuse me? When did this turn into Shounen Jump manga writing?

[Theodric]

If Ishikawa is still the lead writer then, I don't expect them to put the "adventurer" feel right at all.
I rolled my eyes when they tried to attribute interest in entertaining Zenos' desire to "you're an adventurer therefore you're Goku from DBZ/Ryu from Street Fighter and deep down love fighting". Like, excuse me? When did this turn into Shounen Jump manga writing?

Unfortunately Zenos appears to never have been anything more than a convenient excuse to dismantle Garlemald from within.

I remember seeing a lot of people on Reddit and Twitter claim that Zenos was a 'dark mirror' and that he loved to fight just like our character so I guess elements of the story are being tweaked to pander to social media users now.

Zenos having killed one of the Scions after he hijacked the Warrior of Light's body would have made for a genuinely unsettling and shocking story, though as with many things it was built up and then discarded.

[SenorPatty]

Zenos having killed one of the Scions after he hijacked the Warrior of Light's body would have made for a genuinely unsettling and shocking story, though as with many things it was built up and then discarded.

That's what should've rightfully happen. I love that we struggled to make it on time but that whole thing afterwards felt like Ishikawa wrote herself in a corner and Fandaniel was the get out of jail free card. I'm not one to say that somebody needs to die to make a story good but there was really nothing in that situation that prevented Zenos killing somebody, especially since he kept repeating how he had make the WoL seethe with hatred.

Truly unfortunate that we didn't get moral quandary arc of any duration. Would've made things very interesting.

[Kozh]

You're not alone. I feel the same way. I guess this is why I prefer expansion like ARR-SB. You really get the sense that while we're the hero, we still are human that can get hurt and lost. ShB took it a step further, but ultimately I still like it since the WoL really struggled to contained the light, and only win because the bad guy gets sentimental with us.

[linayar]

the WoL really struggled to contained the light, and only win because the bad guy gets sentimental with us.

I don't think that's the case at all. Are you implying that the bad guy wasn't doing their best? I think that does a disservice to both their character and ours.

On the subject of the thread, I think false humility is bad. If we're to defeat powerful enemies (which we have since 1.0, though I wasn't there to see it), then it's not being humble to not acknowledge our strength. At the same time, the story also acknowledges that we have plenty of help. The final trial literally devoted an entire cutscene of our friends helping us, as an example.

Also, Azem is said to make use of help from companions.

A normal person in this kind of setting is simply a liability. Even if we started as one, we have to grow stronger, and whether or not that means we get to be the best is irrelevant as long as we are strong enough (with help) to defeat the bad guys.

[ReynTime]

Change of lead writing.
Ishikawa is very good at writing sympathetic antagonists and melodrama. But once she took over the power of friendship to do anything vibe definitely took over full force in Shadowbringers onwards.
I think no better example exists that shows the contrast between the grounded and borderline low fantasy depiction of Heavensward and the MCU x Naruto Shippuuden style from Endwalker than how the scene where every named character is conveniently reunited in the same day at the precise time you're returning from the center of the universe from a trip with no set date for returning.