Ardbert's Party vs the Scions Analysis

[VelKallor]

you could argue that she is just building on something that Kazutoyo built.

Disagree.

Ive done all MSQ start to end at least twice, and you can TELL where she started..she may have had a basis on which to work, certainly ( Really, what writer doesnt? ) but what we see is HER handiwork and her gift. Every writer has a basis, a start point, a foundation to build on, agreed...but what she had been given is NOTHING, compared to what she created.

You could see it pre Shadowbringers, the tone, the settings, all carefully laid down in exquisite detail.

( Spoiler below, click at own peril if you havent done Shadowbringers MSQ)

Tesleens fate..dear God, it was at that moment it came home to me HARD....just how BROKEN the First was....soul tearing horror, leaving me shattered. One moment she is a woman..the next her body and spirit literally twisted, remade into an abomination of Light that had no memory of who or what it once was. I was literally in tears of rage

I can think of only a scant handful of game writers that had that ability.....to literally reach in, grab your heart , turning it to ice in one split second.

My guess is that she will be lead writer for the next expac...and I cant wait to see where it will take us.

[Thaciscokidd]

you could argue that she is just building on something that Kazutoyo built.

Disagree.

Ive done all MSQ start to end at least twice, and you can TELL where she started..she may have had a basis on which to work, certainly ( Really, what writer doesnt? ) but what we see is HER handiwork and her gift. Every writer has a basis, a start point, a foundation to build on, agreed...but what she had been given is NOTHING, compared to what she created.

You could see it pre Shadowbringers, the tone, the settings, all carefully laid down in exquisite detail.

I can think of only a scant handful of game writers that had that ability.....to literally reach in, grab your heart , turning it to ice in one split second.

My guess is that she will be lead writer for the next expac...and I cant wait to see where it will take us.

So have I. She didn't start solo Main Scenario Writer till Shadowbringers and that was a banger of a opening number. I still want to see something she has done from the ground up as project lead. There has been too many times that there has been someone kill it on a ensemble just to stumble in a solo venture.


Edit:
I'll agree she knows how to hit those emotional high points, in Shadowbringers she hit everyone just at the right time. I think that might be my problem with Endwalker. The bar was set high and I went in with high expectations. I really want to see what she could have done with a xpac solely on Garlemald and the end of the Zodiarc/Hydaelyn. Because the tools where there and she has proven capable. That's why I want to see what she can do on her own.

[Payadopa]

I think OP is starting to rival the length of text in all of XIV with the constant complaining. lol

[Carin-Eri]

*Snip - sorry, but character limitations and all that*

You missed Zenos.

I mean, he's included in the Artwork (as per your OP), was technically an associate of the Scions in the closing chapter of Endwalker and, regardless of his motivation, it seems very unlikely we would've defeated Endsinger without his assistance.

[VelKallor]

Thaciscokidd

Apologies, the forum posted that owing to my hamhanded keyboarding, rest of post now added.

[Novae]

5.4 to 6.0 Scions were the most boring, uninspiring cast we've ever had. No wonder why my favorite moments of Endwalker were far away from them ( moon part 1 and Elpis). Knowing that we'll have to endure them again, I have completely lost interest in the MSQ for now.

[Rulakir]

Whereas the WoL was an Adventurer at heart, as Zenos (of all people) pointed out, and (at least initally) just sorta went along with what was happening around them.

I don't feel like we've ever been an "adventurer at heart" though to the extent that applying that persona to the WoL felt out of the blue. Throughout ARR, I felt like the WoL was just a tool (both figuratively and literally) who was easily manipulated by people into becoming their weapon - a theme that sadly came full circle in EW. *sigh* (SB wasn't much better, but at least it offered diverse dialog options.) Even being a traveler didn't fit. Where has the WoL gone of their own volition outside of the intro cutscene on the chocobo carriage?

Like I said, this is the downside of having the WoL join an organization that calls all the shots. I've played RPGs with silent protagonists before, but FFXIV is particularly bad when it comes to stripping the player character of any sense of autonomy. Dialog options helped, but as we saw with EW if they're pushing a narrative you either won't get any or just 3 ways of saying the same thing.

[Iscah]

I've played RPGs with silent protagonists before, but FFXIV is particularly bad when it comes to stripping the player character of any sense of autonomy. Dialog options helped, but as we saw with EW if they're pushing a narrative you either won't get any or just 3 ways of saying the same thing.

I think this is a matter of expectations. This is a JRPG and the protagonist doesn't necessarily get any choice at all. They are a fixed character in the narrative and if you go into this game expecting control over your actions, you are going to be perennially disappointed because it's just not that sort of game.

Dialogue options at key points in the story aren't really designed to be options so much as "your character has a spoken line here; choose how they say it".

[Rulakir]

This is a JRPG and the protagonist doesn't necessarily get any choice at all.

You're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I don't expect the game to be 'choose your own adventure', just that especially if you're going to tell me my character is a traveler and adventurer I'm going to need some evidence of that beyond the WoL going wherever the Scions tell them to go and doing whatever the Scions tell them to do.

I don't know what other JRPGs you've played, but from my experience most of them do a better job at making it appear your character is making their own decisions and not just following orders. I also wouldn't underestimate the power of dialog options. They may not change anything, but there's a catharsis involved at being able to respond certain ways rather than your character forcibly reacting only one way. This was particularly an issue throughout EW with people feeling disconnected from their WoL.

Regardless, I didn't think my thoughts on how the WoL is handled would derail the thread so much, especially when my main point is it was a mistake to have the player character join a homogeneous organization, full of redundant characters who call all the shots. It's a mess the writers have burrowed themselves into and don't seem keen to dig themselves out of either.

[CrownySuccubus]

I don't feel like we've ever been an "adventurer at heart" though to the extent that applying that persona to the WoL felt out of the blue. Throughout ARR, I felt like the WoL was just a tool (both figuratively and literally) who was easily manipulated by people into becoming their weapon - a theme that sadly came full circle in EW. *sigh* (SB wasn't much better, but at least it offered diverse dialog options.) Even being a traveler didn't fit. Where has the WoL gone of their own volition outside of the intro cutscene on the chocobo carriage?

Pretty much any sidequest or content outside of MSQs?

It's easy to forget, but since FFXIV is an MMO, the basic idea is that whatever you get up to with your WOL outside of the direct plot is your character going off into adventures or finding fame and fortune on their own. The MSQs are, in a sense, the WOL's "Day Job" while everything else is what your character does because they "want" to. Not everything works out in this sense, of course, but that's the general premise.

Completely irrelevant post.

K.