Live Letter Thoughts

[aveyond-dreams]

None of what was posted above accounts for the fact that the fans of the Scions are in agreement with those of us who aren't in saying that they need to take a break from them. This is not demonstrated by the polls you have posted.

[Lauront]

Some of them are also as old as 8 months. There was this more recent one. They also do not account for the fact that someone may like the character but want a change of pace from them, as the link Aveyond posted indicates, so this is ink squirting in response to it, at best.

[Kazhar]

...

All of your sources were immediatly after release, which is when Endwalker's reception was at its strongest. Recency biais is a well known phenomenon.
Just a few weeks ago, a poll on reddit with a few thousands of votes firmly put Endwalker below Shadowbringers as the subreddit's favorite expansion.

But in any case, data coming from a single source or a single point in time will always be shaky at best. If you go to discussion forums which aren't dedicated to FFXIV or any Square Enix properties, you'll find much more varied opinions.
Which is why polling experts exist at all, to filter all the biais and try to make the more accurate picture of what the playerbase think of the game.
At our level, it's impossible to know anything for certain besides anecdotal evidence.

[VelKallor]

None of what was posted above accounts for the fact that the fans of the Scions are in agreement with those of us who aren't

No. Not even close.

One reddit thread with a grand total of maybe 30 people does not a cohesive consensus make....especially in a playerbase of millions. IMO, it is utterly presumptuous to claim otherwise. We are, all of us, free to have our own opinions...but none of us, including me, speaks for anyone save ourselves.

Incidentally, the Omicrons are not, as you claim "comic relief", as has been evidenced above by direct quotations.

[Theodric]

Some of them are also as old as 8 months. There was this more recent one. They also do not account for the fact that someone may like the character but want a change of pace from them, as the link Aveyond posted indicates, so this is ink squirting in response to it, at best.

Yep. I used to really like Thancred but have since grown tired of him due to overexposure and this strange new trend of humble bragging about walking away with not even a scar. Despite creating a cool, unique model for him back in Heavensward that left him looking more rugged and grizzled as a consequence of what he endured.

[Hurlstone]

This forum, and even places like Reddit, are a tiny percentage of the playerbase. Its near impossible to really get a 100% accurate idea of what the population think on any aspect, be it job changes or story. Anger and discourse will always have a louder voice in the pack. One just hopes that those in charge like Yoshi-P know to look beyond just these walls when seeking feedback.

Personally speaking though, I do feel that Endwalkers story being ‘divisive’ is an overexertion. Perhaps not here, where honestly it feels rather daunting at times to speak out as a fan of Venat, but critically the expansion was a hit and outside of these threads I see little condemnation of the story. It may not be as lauded as Shadowbringers, and like with any game no doubt hype has been responsible for inflating its initial reaction, but the way some seem to talk of it being the ‘Cataclysm’ to FFXIV just dose not ring true with me (Come back to me when a whole zone is changed into a Ranbo parody… it was hard being an Alliance lore player at that time.) Of course I am not saying people who disliked the story are wrong, we all have our preferences and art is always subjective, I just feel the scale of that dislike is debatable in the wider context of the game and the players reaction.

I will also say, as its impossible to be completely bias in any discussion, that I did love Endwalker and its themes. It had its flaws forn sure and I still had some concerns with how they approched the Scions in 6.1, but nothing is perfect haha.

Yep. I used to really like Thancred but have since grown tired of him due to overexposure and this strange new trend of humble bragging about walking away with not even a scar. Despite creating a cool, unique model for him back in Heavensward that left him looking more rugged and grizzled as a consequence of what he endured.

Funnily enough Thancred used to always be my least favorite Scion. From ARR+ I found him just rather boring and monotonous, but he became one of my favorites with Shadowbrings and the arc they gave him and Ryne.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

So even though there is all these claims that People Dont like and want a break from the Scions, Im also hearing people like the Scions.
All Im getting out of this is the Hate Base isn't as strong as suggested. So the Scions are fine.

Look, as Ive said several times, FFXIV always introduces new characters, and like in all of storytelling, they are introduced when it is necessary. May not happen when YOU want it to happen, but as evidence throughout Post Arr, HW, SB, ShB, AND EW, new characters do come in, When necessary and relevant to the plot.
Let YoshiP and the Devs make their game, and then judge it when it happens. Stop preemptively passing judgement on something before it even happens and then look silly when you are wrong.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Funnily enough Thancred used to always be my least favorite Scion. From ARR+ I found him just rather boring and monotonous, but he became one of my favorites with Shadowbrings and the arc they gave him and Ryne.

Daddy Thancred Arc was a good Arc.
His relationship with Ryne was really good. One of many reasons why ShB IMO was the Best Expansion.

[Kazhar]

So even though there is all these claims that People Dont like and want a break from the Scions, Im also hearing people like the Scions.
All Im getting out of this is the Hate Base isn't as strong as suggested. So the Scions are fine.

Which begs another question. Should stories be written by market research? All this talk about pleasing a majority feels like there's a loss of creative integrity in the process. Shouldn't they aim to write the best story they can deliver instead of having the fanbase dictate whatever they want?
Whenever I read people say that they can't kill Scions because of the outrage over Papalymo's death, I feel uneasy about it. Is it all about money?

But then I'm talking about a game that's all about crowd pleasing nostalgia fanservice so maybe I was expecting something that was never there.

[Graeham]

We are angry at the mistreatment of the lackluster story writers guild by the forum paladin and the twitter croud and the redditor army. It is the proven fact that Endwalker is the most controversial expac because the Madge King say so to us all the time. We have try very hard to make the course correction to fix the story into the dark fantasy like the Game of the Throne produced by the Matsuno which all the player have vote to see. We try to stopping the slice of the life anime and the humor and the unhealthy burger. But it is the lose fight.

We show the original German story where No Shadow God win but player post the Japanese quote and disagree. We rewrite story to fix the Garlemalding and create the end where the Loprit is eaten by the God Meteo but is laugh at as the bad take. We ask for diverse cast and the retired Sion with the muscle slider to be traditional strong hero like the Scottish Fordola, but they not give us the legendary Stranger Knight Jack chara. Famous paintman Vincent Van Kozh make the true manga of the Endwalker but it is parody by the redditor army and the Fourchanalt. All the hard work we do over many month is record in the forum tag at bottom. We persist despite repeat humiliation because we care more than any other player. It is because we care more than the other player that we should be listen over others or else the story would become like the Sylphi undead in the WoW. Game will fail some day in future without the bless of guild. You need us you will see.

It is sad. The story writer ignore all the suggestion that we make so we can not even try take credit for the hard work. And now the 6.2 patch come out and you enjoy it without the course correction?? We are very angry. It is the deepest wound of all. It is like all the thing we say repeating over 8 month is suddenly become the irrelevant by hype trailer with excite music and funny Manmanville and cute Loprit that we hate. I... I am having so many mix feeling now. But no I can not give in. We will not stop we will not surrender. For though you defeat us our principle is in violet. Indivisible.