The best and worst of Endwalker MSQ

[Hurlstone]

Endwalker is my second favourites expansion, so naturally my positives ou weight the negative, but I will try and be balanced here haha.

Best

1. Vanet. I really adore this character, and she has quickly become one of my favourites form the entire story. Vanet was a great way to add some humanity to Hydalyn, and explore the Ancients from a slightly different character then ‘future Ascian’. Kudos has to be given to her voice actor, who manages to nail both her strength and kindness.

2. I really loved the central theme of the story. I know some find it depressing, but I think the game is ultimately one about hope. About finding the strength to carry on rather then succumb to the darkness. The “And amidst deepest despair, light everlasting.” line is one I think of often. A friend actually sent it to me when I was in hospital last year, and it really helped.

3. I have always adored the music from the game, but this expansion Sokken really knocks it out of the park. From the likes of Close in the Distance, to Scream and In The Balance (Which is perhaps my most-played song from the game so far) he has proven time and again that not only can he and his team create epic songs that stand on their own, but ones that have far greater meaning when mixed with the games lore.

Worst

1. Time Travel. What is with media nowadays setting up rules of time travel (Like they did in Shadowbringers) and just… not even attempting to follow through with it? The stuff with Elpis feels like it ignored even whats said a few moments prior to the quest taking place, in favour for some ‘stable timeloop’ that is not really given a reason for existing. We could have had that timeline ‘split’ and be its own world akin to what happened to Gra’s OG timeline… I suspect its more to do with fitting it all into one expansions.

2. Whilst overall I adored the story, I do feel aspects of it and the Sundering really could have used more of an exploration and even explanation. What we see is done via metaphor mostly, and whilst I adore that cutscene to bits, it does feel like we still do not know the full story and weight behind the choice. Vanet hints that the choice was heavy, but we do not really see much evidence of that weight outside of a few moments. It could have added a nice extra layer to her storyline if we saw more anguish at the choice, and perhaps even resentment from a Scion or too. Thancred, for example.

3. By the Twelve, the continual faux deaths in Ultima Thule. Now I do not think the game needed any Scions to be killed off for real, I would much rather they retire until needed again, but the way they handled those ‘shocking’ deaths got very bad very fast. Once was OK, but when they each ‘sacrificed’ themselves in succession in quickly became boring, not helped by the fact we where just given a magical ‘bring them back’ McGuffin shortly before. An unfortunate blemish on a beautiful zone.

[Brill_]

Worst: Level 84,86, and 88 questlines. Just a bunch of filler fetch quest to drag things out.

Best: All the odd level quests, thats where the story was really advanced.

[Mustikos]

Best. Well I do like the Elpis zone but the story part.
Garlemald story part.

Worst: Time travel is all over the place. If a story has time travel you need to setup what rules time travel goes by in your story. Does it set up a paradox or not. Did you make a new separate timeline? I guess this was a causality loop maybe?

Metion: I am sorry but the whole "she and her sisters can some how explore the entire universe in a time span that's impossible!" In my head canon they meant edge of the galaxy (yeah I know the whole thing saying edge of the universe) so this way Metion went to the edge of the galaxy wiped out all remining life except on the main world. This way our WoL saved their world but also that of the rest of the universe. Even when throwing magic in there, I still can't come to terms with her and her sisters travelling that much in so little of time. What's worse is how Hermes made her, he built an entire race(?) around dynamis, around something that was mostly still theoretical to him? Even pulling the "Their ancients" it still to much.

Either that or the FFxiv universe is a a heck of a lot smaller then our own. One reason this pisses me off so much is am sick of stuff like this in media where somehow the next star over from our own is only a few 100 million miles away.. Like that one bad movie about that giant space station/city, that when it moved from earth they said it was 700 million miles way and in interstellar space and yet 700 million miles is not even to Saturn.. one of those Prometheus movies did it as well.

I'll be honest, I am still playing this expansion, just fixing to exit Elpis but the story is annoying me more and more. I heard after the MSQ we go back to being a normal adventure? I hope so.

[OvernightSiren]

The best: the scions finally splitting up, setting the stage for feeling like going forward we'd have fresh new stories

The worst: the scions getting back together the literal very next patch. If you're someone playing for the first time, or catching up, you could finish 6.0 and see the scions disband then in less than 10 minutes of gameplay start 6.1 and see them reform. This ruins any emotional weight that them splitting up may have had.

[OvernightSiren]

You "adore" her character but can't spell her name correctly...

[OvernightSiren]

Endwalker is my second favourites expansion, so naturally my positives ou weight the negative, but I will try and be balanced here haha.

Best

1. Vanet. I really adore this character, and she has quickly become one of my favourites form the entire story. Vanet was a great way to add some humanity to Hydalyn, and explore the Ancients from a slightly different character then ‘future Ascian’. Kudos has to be given to her voice actor, who manages to nail both her strength and kindness.

You "adore" her character but can't spell her name correctly...

[Hurlstone]

You "adore" her character but can't spell her name correctly...

Yeah that happens alot haha. Dyslexia strikes again! At least I got the right letters... they just happen to be in a different order sometimes!

[Saraide]

You "adore" her character but can't spell her name correctly...

Bold words by someone failing to quote a post.

[Turnintino]

The best: the scions finally splitting up, setting the stage for feeling like going forward we'd have fresh new stories

The worst: the scions getting back together the literal very next patch. If you're someone playing for the first time, or catching up, you could finish 6.0 and see the scions disband then in less than 10 minutes of gameplay start 6.1 and see them reform. This ruins any emotional weight that them splitting up may have had.

Did you miss the part where Alphinaud went "lol jk" in the narration not a moment after announcing the Scions' "split"? It was a farce used so they could go back to acting independently of the Alliance.

[Boblawblah]

You "adore" her character but can't spell her name correctly...

There's petty, and then there's what you just said. Yikes. "touch grass" is appropriate here.