What is with the constant mistreatment of the Garlean story?(6.1 Patch spoilers)

[KizuyaKatogami]

Between the whole place getting destroyed off screen, Regula getting shafted again and again, especially with us not even being able to mention him to Varis doing the alliance meeting and him not getting any sort of revels whatsoever in the weapons questline. Bozja being a cliffhanger that amounts to nothing and kills off its most prominent character off screen, to now the second legion being confirmed as destroyed so that whole Corvos plot line is gone, Nerva being built up all throughout ShB only to just end up as a blasphemy fodder without even his own model and used as a reskinned boss. To now the garleans just saying bye and going to the moon. Is this the superb writing everyone talks about? Building up plot points only for them to all be destroyed off screen or amounted to nothing more than fodder?

[Xeronia]

I will agree with you. I was severely disappointed to go "Well I think I have ended up ending a whole bloodline, I am not sure how I feel about that" and just felt Garlemald was shoved off as an afterthought for some reason despite it was by far my favorite part of EW's story for showing the actual consequence of trying to be saviors to people who hate you. I guess I expected a lot more push back involved that was never there in the role quests.

[Atelier-Bagur]

Between the whole place getting destroyed off screen, Regula getting shafted again and again, especially with us not even being able to mention him to Varis doing the alliance meeting and him not getting any sort of revels whatsoever in the weapons questline. Bozja being a cliffhanger that amounts to nothing and kills off its most prominent character off screen, to now the second legion being confirmed as destroyed so that whole Corvos plot line is gone, Nerva being built up all throughout ShB only to just end up as a blasphemy fodder without even his own model and used as a reskinned boss. To now the garleans just saying bye and going to the moon. Is this the superb writing everyone talks about? Building up plot points only for them to all be destroyed off screen or amounted to nothing more than fodder?

FFXIV never had a good story. Its just people overhyping it just because stories in other MMOs are either poorly told or just never really focused on them. This includes Heavensward, and Shadowbringers, stories told in those expansions have been already explored in other single player rpgs with infinitely better characters and presentation.

[SieyaM]

I do wish we had spent more time in Garlemald during EW, and I felt the time we did spend there was the best part of this expansion. It had some really good moments where we got to see what we looked like to the people we had constantly been battling, how perspective can change us from the hero we though to a villain that recklessly mowed down hundreds if not thousands of people with families and friends. That was just a brief and inadequately explored blip in the plot as it barreled forward into flawless crystal mommies and moon bunnies and bird girls that were introduced last minute as the antagonist.

[Atelier-Bagur]

I do wish we had spent more time in Garlemald during EW, and I felt the time we did spend there was the best part of this expansion. It had some really good moments where we got to see what we looked like to the people we had constantly been battling, how perspective can change us from the hero we though to a villain that recklessly mowed down hundreds if not thousands of people with families and friends. That was just a brief and inadequately explored blip in the plot as it barreled forward into flawless crystal mommies and moon bunnies and bird girls that were introduced last minute as the antagonist.

Well they originally did plan to have a Garlemald expansion where we get to see more of the inner workings of the empire. But I think the devs said that it would've been a retread of Stormblood's ideas and themes so they went against it and thats why they instead had us randomly go to another world.

[aveyond-dreams]

I will summarize the Garlemald ending in 2 words:

Catastrophic mismanagement.

With the same level of care that was given to Hrothgar wigs this patch, it seems.

[Recon1o6]

Garlemald was going to have its own expansion but they cut it. Rip werlyt, the well managed provinces, bozja and more.

Which is a pity since anima would have made for an amazing final boss. Instead we got cheated and a stupid dungeon snooze fest.

[Atelier-Bagur]

btw I really dont care for the Garlean Empire anyway, even during ARR. To me they were just a watered down version of the Archadian Empire from FFXII, but with none of the charisma. I dont know why people have a weird impression that the Garleans were this "deep" and "relatable" interesting group of people when they're whole shtick was for them to conquer the world because of the megalomaniac thoughts of a madman wanting to unite the world against primals when they're clearly causing more of a threat and danger to the world and themselves with their silly wars. Like were did you guys even came up with that? The only actual interesting bit of lore that we got was from the Sorrow of Werlyt story and that was post-Shb.

Even then the Archadian Empire werent that much better. They just had a more cooler history imo and in my mind I was hoping Garlemald's capital would be akin to the grandiose and beauty that was the city of Archades in FFXII but that wasnt ever happening lol

[CrownySuccubus]

I don't disagree with the idea that Garlemald's send-off is anti-climactic.

I just personally happen to find that fitting, considering that's exactly what happened to the Gestahl Empire in FFVI, which Garlemald is basically a carbon copy of. Both empires are destroyed by the very monsters they created: Kefka and Zenos.

btw I really dont care for the Garlean Empire anyway, even during ARR. To me they were just a watered down version of the Archadian Empire from FFXII, but with none of the charisma. I dont know why people have a weird impression that the Garleans were this "deep" and "relatable" interesting group of people when they're whole shtick was for them to conquer the world because of the megalomaniac thoughts of a madman wanting to unite the world against primals when they're clearly causing more of a threat and danger to the world and themselves with their silly wars. Like were did you guys even came up with that? The only actual interesting bit of lore that we got was from the Sorrow of Werlyt story and that was post-Shb.l

Exactly this. I struggle to see this "nuance" in the Garleans when there basically was none. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single instance where a Garlean (who was not a rogue or defector) had their actions treated as on the "right" side. Every single time there was any conflict involving the Garleans, they were on the "bad" side.

[Theodric]

Most people didn't care for the Ascians up until Shadowbringers, either, though there's no real reason why the writers couldn't dial back the dull one note approach to the Garleans in the MSQ's and tap into the more nuanced portrayal we saw in various side quests.

Either way, personal tastes differ and the game seems to be moving in a direction where anyone who isn't gushing over the Scions at every turn is now made to feel unwelcome. To say nothing of the very childish humour that the game has embraced as of late, to the point of removing some of the dirty jokes that were present in the ARR era!