This story is really underwhelming - it's opened to mixed reviews.

[Gortys]

No, you just blamed people not enjoying the expansion because they didn't "lower their expectations". Why would you lower your expectations if you didn't expect it to be worse than the previous expansions? You wouldn't lower you expectations if you thought it would match the quality of what came before.

So you lowered your expectations regarding the story so you should understand how it can be done or what I was talking about. Also, the title of the thread says the story is "underwhelming" which does not mean it is bad. It typically means it was not what someone expected it to be hence my comments.
I saw many people who had expectations or even "predictions" of certain Ancients returning. I saw many people who had "predictions" based on the trailer and those people are going to be very unhappy. On the other hand, I know many who are loving this story because it's so "light".

And yes, DT does come off like fan fiction. I stated elsewhere that it feels more like something we would get for an alliance raid, but stretched out (not sure if that makes sense). Right now I'm kind of on the fence as I only have the last zone to start. I haven't seen spoilers, but I've seen some who are more disappointed after the last zone. Zone 4 and 5's voice direction annoyed me as much or more than any plot holes. Plot holes can be used later depending on how deep they are. Shallow ones I think are bad since they can and should be corrected right away. Some of them seem to be forgotten or just glazed over so far.

Am I still hopeful? Yes, but it's more that I'm hoping the post-MSQ content saves it (similar to StB).

[OdinelStarrei]

I'm not going to bother using spoiler tags, nothing in this story is worth it. It's not even just Wuk Lamat, she is really easy to target the hate on, and it's justified, but there's way, way, way more that is wrong outside of just her.

Oh boy, I was so focused on how bored I was while I was doing the story that now that I'm done, and the more I think about it, the more puzzled I get. I have a lot, a lot of really not good thoughts about the things the Warrior of Light is forced to do the last area that really don't sit well with me thematically, but I actually want to talk about the attack on Tuliyollal.

Why in the world is this not a solo duty, and why is the tone shift so abrupt? Literally thirty minutes before the attack, we're collecting animal feces and watching cowboys in not-Texas have a duel with rubber bullets so that no one gets hurt! Then civilians are getting freaking double-tapped in the streets and having their souls ripped out?

Why, why isn't the defense of Tuliyollal a solo duty? Why am I just running around in a cutscene? You know what this reminds me of? The Eulmore attack on the Crystarium. But, that was AWESOME! Under a rainy sky, with night newly restored, Eulmore finally makes their line in the sand for defending the Sin Eaters. During the solo duty, we're under pressure, because the attack is SUDDEN, and we are playing catch up to save as many people as we can. And sometimes, as we're fighting, we see NPCs on the side defending their home, and as we push forward to help the defense, we fail to save people. The mobs are there, they can be targeted! But you're not close enough to gapclose and stun. You're not close enough to shield or heal the NPCs. And they die right as you get to them. It was inevitable that they would die, but I still felt like, "Damn it! I was too late!" You meet up with the other Scions along the way, and mount a legitimate last stand at the fort as the Eulmore has sent serious threats to crush you, but you pull it off.

You think it's over, but it's not. During the next cutscene, there's a straggler. One that you missed, lurking. A combat medic attempts to tend to a fellow solider near a tree, unaware that they are being targeted. Ardbert sees this, tries to warn them, but because only we can hear him, they don't notice. The beast gets closer, and of course they can't hear it approach as it's a floating mob. Arbert unsheathes his axe, the first time he's done that in probably a century to live up to his ORIGINAL title, a Warrior of Light, protector of the people, and he fails. Again. The soldiers are killed as they beg for their lives. He curses Hydaelyn for the "mercy" she has bestowed upon him.

Later, we are part of the recovery effort. Some people are dead. Others are already too far gone. And Lyna, a pretty strong and consistent character takes a knee, overwhelmed by the pain of her injuries, but more so, the knowledge that even though the Crystarium was saved, the cost was great. And this cursed world, even when we're trying to save it and have given the first glimpse of real hope since the Flood, keeps taking away loved ones from it's inhabitants.

In Tuliyollal, there is none of that. There's no combat. There's just cutscene, after cutscene, after cutscene, and then I get to watch Galool Ja Ja get merked. Even though I'm playing a job that could easily deploy shields on him to maybe not negate the entire blow, but absolutely save his life. Alphinaud is a Sage, he can do the EXACT same thing. Then I Shadowstride instant teleport to Zoraal Ja, and put him in the dirt right then and there. "But they will destroy the city!!!" Then why didn't he say that he would GLASS the city if we interfered, instead of it being some kind of stupid Honor duel!? People are dying outside and we're just WATCHING! I AM STANDING RIGHT THERE! DON'T EVEN PUT US IN THE THRONE ROOM IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TRY AND SAVE HIM! HAVE IT BE AN ECHO FLASHBACK LATER! HAVE IT BE HIS ECHO FLASHBACK AS HE IS DYING! ANYTHING BUT ME HAVING A SHOCKED EXPRESSION AS I WATCH THE LEADER OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION GET KILLED IN SUCH A BS MANNER

Don't even get me started on being complacent about the practical genocide of the Endless. This is something I did an entire beast tribe about last expansion, that even the facsimiles of actual beings, as long as they have agency, are worth trying to save. This is something Golbez was trying to stop for this own people at the cost of the Source. But Golbez is still alive. We have plans to go back and fix the 13th's massive issues with the life/death/rebirth cycle. "But you can't save them!" We didn't even try! Why didn't I tell Sphene, hey, look we have a CURE for aetheric sicknesses and imbalances past the barrier, like the one you are dealing with, I know you need something specific, but let us, with our knowledge of THREE shards and the backing of almost every major civilization on the planet, try and get a solution. Put everyone in storage, and let's work together. We'll take you down to the Lifestream maybe, we show you that it's not the end. Garbage about "Friendship" is NOT a solution, Wuk Lamat, SHUT UP.

We practically committed emotional terrorism on Krile and Erenville. And we just kill everyone. Azem would have never stood for this.

[ikarino]

dawntrail is well below I already knew it was very fast this DLC the game has thousands of bows and simply they do something lazy where we are mere, tourist this will be the worst atonement of all in relation to history

[ikarino]

Dawntrail is far below, they have millions of answers to give us and millions of paths to follow, but they will choose the path, but easy that of laziness, this atonement was made only to make quick money, and it did not have love or magic

[Kyonne]

I wish i had gone together with Estinien when he left the throne room at the start, we'd be going on wacky adventures together hunting giant crocodiles, helping the villages in the area with their small problems and what-not, just enjoying an adventurer's life to the fullest
Curse you Emet-Selch, you knew about this, you told me of the gold city, made me want to go find it, but you knew all along it was tied to this dispute to elect a new hokage and that i'd be Wuk Lamat's minion this entire time, the twelves have forsaken me do go die off and you're just laughing your ascian ass off, well played old man, well played

[arstoka]

-snip-

I am 100% with you there. And to make it worse, there's a point in the story that utterly trivializes the moment.

After having his soul device broken by Wuk, he commands the army to lay siege to the entire country, to kill as many people as possible and steal their souls. This is undermined by Vrtra showing up and DECIMATING their entire airforce. This is hand waived with 'Tural and Radz-at-Han now have an alliance'. This is worse then Radz-at-Han and Garlemald's resolution in the 6.x patches. The fact alone that a handful of cowboys, Vrtra, and some misc cast members are able to take down a super high tech army with ease despite the earlier attack showing the average person struggling to not get murdered flies in the face of any stakes the story wanted to have. It's nonsensical.

[Zaniel]

Its not even just Wuk Lamat, the whole storyline is just filled with non-stop holes and stupidity. Just small example: You just get back from the first trial WHERE YOU HAVE LITERALLY SEEN Ketenramm's name on a monument and within 10 breaths the Scions are ruminating over whether he met the King, he was in his damn adventuring party you clowns. There were a lot of little plot holes in earlier FF14 but once they got to Shadowbringers and later Endwalker the plot has been sewn up and all the little details were basically consistent and logical, the writers were obviously triple checking their own work (even if you disagree with certain directions). Now, it's back to amateur hour, and don't even get me started on the Hanuhanu plotline what is even going on there?!?! The way Zoraal Ja can in the same day say "every citizen is valuable, the rock upon which the nation is built" and in the next breath be talking about limitless war until everyone is so sick of war they stop doing war. I mean what?! Who is writing this on what drugs?

[CNitsah]

People are dying outside and we're just WATCHING! I AM STANDING RIGHT THERE! DON'T EVEN PUT US IN THE THRONE ROOM IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TRY AND SAVE HIM! HAVE IT BE AN ECHO FLASHBACK LATER! HAVE IT BE HIS ECHO FLASHBACK AS HE IS DYING! ANYTHING BUT ME HAVING A SHOCKED EXPRESSION AS I WATCH THE LEADER OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION GET KILLED IN SUCH A BS MANNER

This, this and this. Even if we fought him, he had the resurection thing. And could have still left, giving him one more reason to feed so much on soul. But that would have been about the WoL and not Wuk Lamat. That frustrated me SO much.

Why didn't I tell Sphene, hey, look we have a CURE for aetheric sicknesses and imbalances past the barrier, like the one you are dealing with, I know you need something specific, but let us, with our knowledge of THREE shards and the backing of almost every major civilization on the planet, try and get a solution. Put everyone in storage, and let's work together. We'll take you down to the Lifestream maybe, we show you that it's not the end. Garbage about "Friendship" is NOT a solution, Wuk Lamat, SHUT UP.

We practically committed emotional terrorism on Krile and Erenville. And we just kill everyone. Azem would have never stood for this.

Yeah, I thought the same when they came the ether inbalance. There is even a choice to mention the flood of light. And we have Krile and Raha here, and none of them think about the freaking cure to turning into a sin eater? Everyone is dumb in this expansion, it takes them 30 years to put 2 and 2 together and voice what you has a player has been thinking for hours... It's so bad. With that writing team, I have no hope for the future of FFXIV.

Someone's ass must be sweating at SE right, when to add to their terrible year, now their one and only stable cashbringer get mixed reviews. And the worst part is that every of the problems was already in the 6.3 to 6.55 patches, we complained about it, and like always, they did nothing. Now they will probably stick to their plan until the end of the patch, and come at 8.0 : "look, we listended to what you began to say 4 years ago"...

I want to see that game do well, but oh boy, if they don't get their shit together in the patch, this is gonna be bad.

[ZephyrMenodora]

[B]People are dying outside and we're just WATCHING! I AM STANDING RIGHT THERE! DON'T EVEN PUT US IN THE THRONE ROOM IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TRY AND SAVE HIM! HAVE IT BE AN ECHO FLASHBACK LATER! HAVE IT BE HIS ECHO FLASHBACK AS HE IS DYING! ANYTHING BUT ME HAVING A SHOCKED EXPRESSION AS I WATCH THE LEADER OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION GET KILLED IN SUCH A BS MANNER

As the most powerful White Mage on the planet, I watched and couldn't be bothered to muster a single heal.

[CNitsah]

As the most powerful White Mage on the planet, I watched and couldn't be bothered to muster a single heal.

That damn healer strike.