Building a better Alphinaud

[aveyond-dreams]

The same kinds of things being said in this thread ring too similar to the things that WoW players said before…well, you know. Those of us who try to course correct and get things back on track are viewed negatively because we refuse to continue letting things slide, all while others defend the state of things until eventually something happens that wakes them up as well.

Anyway, far be it from me to take away or attempt to improve Alphinaud in order to make him more palatable, or follow other basic principles of storytelling that weren’t adhered to this expansion. I suppose another decade of Alphinaud attempting to play diplomat, making a mess of things, and then coming away unscathed will make for a better story than anything I could ever come up with.

[Kaurhz]

To be honest,

This thread did not disappoint, yikes.

[IkaraGreydancer]

The same kinds of things being said in this thread ring too similar to the things that WoW players said before…well, you know. Those of us who try to course correct and get things back on track are viewed negatively because we refuse to continue letting things slide, all while others defend the state of things until eventually something happens that wakes them up as well.

Anyway, far be it from me to take away or attempt to improve Alphinaud in order to make him more palatable, or follow other basic principles of storytelling that weren’t adhered to this expansion. I suppose another decade of Alphinaud attempting to play diplomat, making a mess of things, and then coming away unscathed will make for a better story than anything I could ever come up with.

You still operate on this assumption that your way, wants and views are the be all end all. Your "course correction" bit makes this plain as day and honestly at this point its just down right pathetic. Also that whole "this happened with WoW" bit holds little weight here. This isn't WoW, nor are the devs or the playerbase the same as the WoW one. Trying to use fearmonger tactics basically insinuating the game is gonna die like WoW apparently has isn't going to sway people. Also the whole Aphi "playing diplomat and making a mess" (which id personally call it him taking after his father) didn't happen in EW. If anything it worked out amazingly. Did we lose 2 people due to it? Yes but they made thier own choice not to take the help so you lost me there as well.

At this point you need to focus on other games that will give you what you want. Game isn't dying because you decide not to play, trust me

[TaleraRistain]

And I wonder whether that opinion would change if you were to consume other stories and media.

Aveyond, you're the one that often comes off as not being exposed to other stories or media a lot of the time because you have this insistence that things always have to be a certain way or they're wrong, instead of appreciating them for what they are and finding the good points in them. For instance, IX is my absolute favorite Final Fantasy. It is the essence of Final Fantasy for me. But I can appreciate that XIV is not IX and shouldn't try to just be IX. XIV is its own thing. Do I agree with every narrative choice? No. But there are a lot of things where that happens and it's fine if we don't agree but that isn't the same as being badly written.

[aveyond-dreams]

Did the characters evolve in meaningful ways and commit to that evolution throughout the story? No.

Are the characters visually distinct? No.

Are the characters ideologically diverse? No.

Is the plot being driven by strong characterization or the use of plot gizmos? The latter.

Is the setting being used to its full potential? No.

Does this correlate with other works of media that I hold to a similar standard? Absolutely not.

What exactly do you want me to call this then?

[Striker44]

Did the characters evolve in meaningful ways and commit to that evolution throughout the story? No.

Are the characters visually distinct? No.

Are the characters ideologically diverse? No.

Is the plot being driven by strong characterization or the use of plot gizmos? The latter.

Is the setting being used to its full potential? No.

Does this correlate with other works of media that I hold to a similar standard? Absolutely not.

What exactly do you want me to call this then?

What should you call it? Your opinions. Opinions which the overwhelming majority of the playerbase strongly rejects. Ikara hit it right on the head. You're claiming to be the be-all and know-all of what is "right" or "good," and frankly, that isn't the case. Each successive expansion to FFXIV is gaining in popularity, and if you go practically anywhere outside this little echo chamber of negativity, you'll find people everywhere praising the current story and direction of the game (heck, even Reddit likes FFXIV). The things you mention being viewed "negatively" are seen as such by a minuscule sliver of the playing population. Trying to placate them and alienating the entire hundreds of thousands who enjoy the game at the moment is a recipe only for disaster.

[TaleraRistain]

Did the characters evolve in meaningful ways and commit to that evolution throughout the story? No.

You can't really complain there's no character development when you whine that Estinien isn't the emo edgelord anymore from HW because he had actual character development and started learning how to interact with the world in a more positive way. Also you brush off Urianger as just some nerdish bookworm know-it-all without acknowledging the vulnerability we saw him show in Endwalker and the development as a character to not hide things away from us so much and to trust us instead. Is it any wonder people doubt your assessment of character development?

[aveyond-dreams]

Evolving characters in meaningful ways does not entail stripping them completely of the things that made us like them in the first place. Estinien being no-nonsense and ready to head into the action, along with Urianger's deception made for an entertaining experience. Of course, once these characters have fully served their roles it is not unreasonable to retire them.

Sadly rather than doing this they have chosen to keep them around for feels and lore exposition. Lovely. It's almost as if having characters around for a whole decade may not have been the best idea after all.

[IkaraGreydancer]

Evolving characters in meaningful ways does not entail stripping them completely of the things that made us like them in the first place. Estinien being no-nonsense and ready to head into the action, along with Urianger's deception made for an entertaining experience. Of course, once these characters have fully served their roles it is not unreasonable to retire them.

Sadly rather than doing this they have chosen to keep them around for feels and lore exposition. Lovely. It's almost as if having characters around for a whole decade may not have been the best idea after all.

Ah yes Uri and his arc with the Lopporits and Moens parent just devolve to "feels". It's not like the later was a tie up of a story thread introduced in ARR or anything...something Uri has avoided speaking on most times since it all went down. The Twins growing closer together is also just for feels a guess as well. Graha is just there for burgers. His knowledge and ties to Sharlayan? Nah skip that bull that's not why. Jokes aside, there isn't one Scion who is just there for feels and exposition. And if thats all you get from them that tells me you're not paying attention.

Oh btw Esti warming up to people and caring about the plight of others now IS growth. It's not stripping of any kind. Hell I'd be willing to bet he has more fans now than ever with how they've fleshed out is duality with Niddhogg and his connection to the dragons due to that

[aveyond-dreams]

I sure do love stories where the main party just has to tell me how much they care about me every five minutes. Not like that time could be used for literally any other more interesting interactions. But who am I to suggest such things.