Thread: 6.1 MSQ showcases the narrative problems that continue to plague the game's story

Originally Posted by aveyond-dreams

Regardless of whenever they decided to implement the character, it was still done poorly and the plot surrounding her, Hermes, and Venat's inaction post-Elpis made for a very convoluted later portion of the MSQ.

I would have preferred Lavos as the final boss instead of "ultimate despair."

did you just skip the entire post-Elpis cutscene where she watched the entirety of her civilization tumbling down the same exact path to ruin as every other world that had tried (and failed) to eliminate despair? they were mere steps away from divesting the world of everything that gave rise to sorrow and would have fallen into the same exact pitfall as one particular world that invited their own ruin because joy lost all meaning in the absence of sorrow and they wanted to simply disappear than to continue living a meaningless existence.

She was not sitting around doing nothing. she spent thousands of years cultivating humanity, pushing them to find the answer to Hermes and Meteion's question about what gives life meaning.

Originally Posted by Jason_Ashford

if you genuinely thought Meteion was shoehorned in, then you are extremely unobservant since they've been building to the endwalker finale for a while. They have had a rough idea of how they wanted things to end for a long time and while they might not have had Meteion planned out explicitly until probably around the time Shadowbringers was released, the story was very much there.

Meteion was introduced at the 11th hour and was about as welcomed as Necrom was after Kuja. The only build up to her was some vague mentions of a sound being the precursor to the Final Days, which was so vague that it literally could have been anything at all. It took all of 2 seconds from her introduction to figure out that she was the villain and I was pretty much ready to strike her down right then and there if the game would've let me but instead it tried to get me to feel some emotional attachment to her, which I wasn't having at all because I already knew she was the problem and I honestly couldn't give a damn about her. She might have been better foreshadowed then Necrom but I still count her as big a flop as him all the same.

Originally Posted by Silver-Strider

Meteion was introduced at the 11th hour and was about as welcomed as Necrom was after Kuja. The only build up to her was some vague mentions of a sound being the precursor to the Final Days, which was so vague that it literally could have been anything at all. It took all of 2 seconds from her introduction to figure out that she was the villain and I was pretty much ready to strike her down right then and there if the game would've let me but instead it tried to get me to feel some emotional attachment to her, which I wasn't having at all because I already knew she was the problem and I honestly couldn't give a damn about her. She might have been better foreshadowed then Necrom but I still count her as big a flop as him all the same.

i happened to like Meteion as a character and it wasn't as if she materialized from nowhere. they have been slowly feeding more information about the final days to us since Shadowbringers and they introduced the concept of Dynamis and how emotions can cause extreme change to the world around it very early on in Endwalker and it is the theme of the entire expansion.

Originally Posted by Jason_Ashford

i happened to like Meteion as a character and it wasn't as if she materialized from nowhere. they have been slowly feeding more information about the final days to us since Shadowbringers and they introduced the concept of Dynamis and how emotions can cause extreme change to the world around it very early on in Endwalker and it is the theme of the entire expansion.

Yes, hence why I knew Meteion was the cause of everything and as a result viewed her as little more than a science experiment gone wrong because that's all she really amounted to.

Originally Posted by Thoosa

I liked the 6.1 story, miles better than the awful time travel stuff and the shoe-horned in Meteion (because they needed a big baddie after dispatching Zodiark “just like that” after 10 years of build up).

Eh, in hindsight Zodiark as a threat ended with Elidibus.

I despise those "escort a scion" quests they added simply for the same of adding a few lines of dialog that could easily be placed anywhere else. Then they brought it back with a vengeance with Yshtola in 6.1 making you run all around Sharlayan for no real reason. There was even only 1 chat option the whole time. It makes me care even less for what I am doing and whatever little dialog they have to say. I would much rather use the mini aetheryte system, but oh no, gotta run across a map because...reasons. It breaks immersion for me out of sheer annoyance. At least let us still use the aetherytes if we are one of the many players who just don't care.

Escort quests are always the ones ppl groan about in games, why on earth they tried to make it a feature is beyond me.

Originally Posted by MicahZerrshia

I despise those "escort a scion" quests they added simply for the same of adding a few lines of dialog that could easily be placed anywhere else. Then they brought it back with a vengeance with Yshtola in 6.1 making you run all around Sharlayan for no real reason. There was even only 1 chat option the whole time. It makes me care even less for what I am doing and whatever little dialog they have to say. I would much rather use the mini aetheryte system, but oh no, gotta run across a map because...reasons. It breaks immersion for me out of sheer annoyance. At least let us still use the aetherytes if we are one of the many players who just don't care.

Escort quests are always the ones ppl groan about in games, why on earth they tried to make it a feature is beyond me.

you CAN use the aetherytes. that is one of the things they changed in 6.1

you can now use aetherytes and mounts (if in an area that allows them) without losing your escort as long as you stay in the same zone as you picked them up.

I couldn't disagree with the OP more. I appreciate getting the insight into Vrtra's struggles. I'm happy he trusts me enough as a friend to reveal that. The WoL is going to worry about the poverty in Thavnair. We did in Ala Mhigo as was mentioned when we found the treasure trove there and gave it to the Ala Mhigans to help them rebuild. There was a Custom Delivery with M'Naago that dealt with that and I would not be surprised since her children are in Garlemald if Ameliance's Custom Delivery does not focus on helping them. The WoL is not a blank slate character. We're not building who we are from scratch with a succession of choices. The WoL has a personality and part of that personality is caring about the people of the world and helping them and making connections with people. That's reflected in how we can call people to our side. We may be a bit of a smart aleck sometimes, but we're giving and compassionate, sometimes even a little too giving and not focused enough on self-care like the DRK storylines focus on. And we're concerned about helping in ways that aren't just beating up the latest big bad. All of what you call filler is contributing to that narrative and is perfectly in line with the WoL's behavior and experiences.

Originally Posted by Jason_Ashford

you CAN use the aetherytes. that is one of the things they changed in 6.1

you can now use aetherytes and mounts (if in an area that allows them) without losing your escort as long as you stay in the same zone as you picked them up.

I didn’t realize that. That is great! Those quests are annoying as hell otherwise.

Originally Posted by MicahZerrshia

I despise those "escort a scion" quests they added simply for the same of adding a few lines of dialog that could easily be placed anywhere else. Then they brought it back with a vengeance with Yshtola in 6.1 making you run all around Sharlayan for no real reason. There was even only 1 chat option the whole time. It makes me care even less for what I am doing and whatever little dialog they have to say. I would much rather use the mini aetheryte system, but oh no, gotta run across a map because...reasons. It breaks immersion for me out of sheer annoyance. At least let us still use the aetherytes if we are one of the many players who just don't care.

Escort quests are always the ones ppl groan about in games, why on earth they tried to make it a feature is beyond me.

You don't have to run through the whole city. You can also use the teleporter. The Npc will be there after the teleport. One reason for this escort is maybe to make the game feel more alive with the NPC's.
And that people can make screenshots with der favourite characters. :3