The end of ARR will forever be the high-water mark for FFXIV, to me

[GrizzlyTank]

One of the issues with the story at the moment. Pretty much all the major political beats have been resolved leaving little to no room for worthwhile drama and intrigue.

There is also the issue of hesitancy to kill off characters when it's appropriate. Yeah killing of willy-nilly is terrible writing but had either

the Sultana or Thancred died at certain notable plot points in ARR and SB

then it would have fine since their story had largely done their purpose.

Meanwhile

Varis's death was literally a left-field death knell for the drama between Erozea and Garlemald effectievly gutting an entire expansion worth of plot in favor of one later sidelined character.