Is the WoL actually good though?

[Kolsykol]

The WoL does some pretty screwed up stuff, especially early on in ARR.
One of the first dungeons is us going into a mine and slaughtering slaves, and then we come back later and kill the distraught father of the last boss.

The faction leaders are kinda screwed up too, Merlwyb and the Kobols is a good example of that and like she said herself in EW it was recent and ongoing history.
Honestly tho this is how it is irl too, lots of morally grey or kinda scummy things from the other pov.
I'd say the WoL is flawed but has a good heart.
Thinking back I think there's a lot of stuff the WoL would probably have done differently or not at all.

Estinien is another good example too imo, I wouldn't exactly say he was a very good person in Heavensward but it was hiding inside him and it came out over the course of the story.
It doesn't undo all of the hate that was his existence before but dwelling on it too much doesn't exactly help either.

I don't think having selfish motivations for getting into a career makes you a bad person. You are only a bad person if your selfish motivations make you do bad things in pursuit of said motivations. And whose to say that we don't move to more altruistic reasonings once we become a major player in international politics. When we say we were after fame/power/money, we were a literal nobody, not the hero of eorzea.

Tbh I'd say that's a good motivation in most cases lol.
I think too many people settle for careers they hate because they don't, your career is something you'll spend the majority of your life on if you can't be selfish about that then what?
I think everyone owe it to themselves to be selfish about it, and ultimately if I go to see a doctor I'd rather see a doctor who chose the line of work because it's what they genuinely wanted to do and love not because their parents told them to.

[Cleretic]

The WoL does some pretty screwed up stuff, especially early on in ARR.
One of the first dungeons is us going into a mine and slaughtering slaves, and then we come back later and kill the distraught father of the last boss.

The faction leaders are kinda screwed up too, Merlwyb and the Kobols is a good example of that and like she said herself in EW it was recent and ongoing history.
Honestly tho this is how it is irl too, lots of morally grey or kinda scummy things from the other pov.
I'd say the WoL is flawed but has a good heart.
Thinking back I think there's a lot of stuff the WoL would probably have done differently or not at all.

A Realm Reborn had a lot of weird edge in general while the developers tried to find the right tone for the game going forward, and while this is hardly the worst part of it (sexual assault is brought up a concerning amount if you look back), there's definitely a lot of 'othering' going on and it's kinda hard to tell if that was an intentional aspect or just the natural fantasy game inclination towards declaring it okay to kill things that aren't sufficiently human.

I think it was very smart of them to make fixing that part of the writing an in-universe journey rather than just 'yeah let's not talk about that anymore'. Like you said, it's absolutely realistic that some things are abhorrent from one perspective and just don't read as that from another, and someone is not a bad person for having to learn that in one of the harder ways. Merlwyb and Estinien probably have the strongest arcs about that, but it's littered all throughout and it's among my favorite parts of the game's story. Having gone down the road to improvement doesn't make you a bad person for needing to.

One of the struggles there though is that the WoL themself doesn't get that journey so much, because... frankly, it's very hard to depict an emotional journey as complex as 'remorse for past deeds and a desire to do better in the future' with a character that only expresses themselves through dialog choices, facial expressions, and punching their palm. You kind of have to take the fact that everyone that they surround themselves with made that journey, and the gradual disappearance of those kinds of actions, as proof that the WoL did too.

[Alleo]

I mean the reason why you choose a specific city state is completely up to the player. You can write your own head canon to this.

The words we are able to say at the beginning also dont mean that our character is not good. As some already stated maybe they want power because they just lost their family and want to never be in that situation again? Or maybe they just like feeling strong. Maybe they want a fortune so that they could use the money to do even more good or maybe they simply want to live a great life. The same with the fame option. Maybe they want to be famous so that they can shine a light on things that are going wrong.

Its up to you to put meaning behind those words. Maybe your WoL does not want to talk to a stranger about their wishes thus they remain silent or maybe they dont even know themselves.

None of these things make the WoL a bad person. They are just an adventurer that risks their life to either help someone out or to get a reward for it. Nothing wrong with the latter either imo.

Edit:

Honestly IMO the WoL is sometimes too kind to their enemies. We let Gaius walk towards the Ultima Weapon, we let that one Garlean guy go so many times in Stormblood and had to put him out of his misery later. Sometimes I really wish we would not let such NPC off.

[Cleretic]

I mean the reason why you choose a specific city state is completely up to the player. You can write your own head canon to this.

...actually, thinking about it. Who's saying our character chose the city state they wound up in because of the city itself? After all, WE didn't, we got sent there because of our starting class.

If you want to learn how to get real good at thaumaturgy, then I hope you're okay with rampant craven capitalism, because that's where you have to go.

[Lyth]

...

That sounds more like Elidibus' approach to being the Warrior of Light. That's why even Emet came out in the end to help put his broken companion, bereft of mind and memory, to rest.

[Neoyoshi]

Are you? You are the Warrior of Light; you should be asking that question in a mirror.

[Vyrerus]

DRK is one of the best storylines. It shows that the WoL has self-awareness that they are not without stains from questionable actions. And boy-oh does it manifest directly.

I think there's other job quest storylines on par with it though.

Ninja's questline for instance has better NPCs with more character to them. DRK grips a lot of players though, because it echoes what a lot of people, feel.

[Lyth]

I do admire the fact that you're trying to reply in a direct, straightforward fashion, but I don't think that Kitzuya was actually looking for a serious response.

DRK is one of the best storylines. It shows that the WoL has self-awareness that they are not without stains from questionable actions. And boy-oh does it manifest directly.

I don't see a specific 'moral' message implicit in the Dark Knight storyline.

Frey's storyline is about finding 'your voice'. You don't have to be the hero, but yet you still are. Why? Sidurgu's storyline is about understanding the basis of a Dark Knight's power in their emotions towards the people that they want to protect. Myste's storyline is about accepting the weight and the responsibility of your decisions while staying true to yourself.

The resolution and synthesis of all these storylines is simple enough. You are who you choose to be, now and always. Whatever reasons that you derive for your character's actions are yours and yours alone. Hence Frey's parting line: 'Was it ever mine...?'

What's perhaps more interesting is the fact that it's also a very early exploration of how memory transference works, except that you're not inheriting the spirit of a 12000 year old entity that overwhelms and overrides your personality.

[Vyrerus]

I don't see a specific 'moral' message implicit in the Dark Knight storyline.

I honestly don't know why you don't. The first thing you embrace upon rousing Fray's corpse is vigilante justice.

"The threshold we refuse to cross is a line we draw for ourselves. We fear the consequences, and people suffer for our indecision."

"Everyone who held that crystal came to conquer that fear, and became who they wanted to be. Will you be the next?"

The DRK quests up to 50 are about the WoL looking inside of themselves, and admitting that there is inner turmoil. Desires to be selfish. The self given view that the WoL is a king who sits on a throne of bones. A king of death. And it's really highlighted in the level 50 quest against yourself, Esteem, wherein Lord Drillemont and the other wards of House Durendaire not only come to your aid in battle, but seek to remind you that you are the hero they know and want you to be that sees the WoL overcome and accept their dark side.

The Sidurgu Moogle quests posit that the greater one's love for what they seek justice for or protect, the bigger their flame in the abyss. The brighter it shines, the longer shadows it casts, and therefore there is more darkness to draw power from. It's not that other ideals don't produce power, it's merely that love trumps every other one.

Myste's story is about casting judgment on others, something core to DRK's initial premise. Knowing that by casting judgment on others, usually means to kill them or harm them in pursuit of your own moral code. It's about accepting that you are not above judgment either, but self doubt is not judgment.

The overarching moral of DRK's storyline is that you shouldn't shy away from what feelings make you uncomfortable. Whether it's indignance, rage, love, or doubt. You should steel yourself, and embrace who you actually are. If you can accept yourself, then you can better serve others.

[Necrotica]

The Warrior of Light is a sadistic monster.

Do you really think the WoL is dumb enough to keep letting enemies walk away? To do nothing while people die around them despite having the power to heal them? To prevent the damage from ever occurring?

Ha! No one could be that much of a complete imbecile.

No no my friend. The WoL enjoys watching his 'friends' and innocents suffer. To allow enemies to escape and inflict more suffering, just for the joy of fighting them. We are just like Zenos. Only we are smart enough to play the dumb hero role so we can get catgirl booty during downtime.