Dawntrail appreciation for those who enjoy the story so far

[eternalmagic]

Some overall thoughts that are not spoilery:

One of the issues I had with STB for a long time was Lyse. Don’t worry, I’ve come around on her, but it took a while. The biggest issue is that the devs tried to take an existing character and turn her into something other than what we knew, and it threw me entirely. I think they learned the lesson from that, which is why the focus is on Wuk Lamat, a new character, and on Krile, an older character we know so that we feel more invested in what is to come.

DT has two very distinct sections, and there are parts I think could be refined to maybe make things go smoother overall, but honestly? I am totally willing to overlook those things because I enjoyed myself as much as I did.

DT, to me, managed to deliver on the summer vacation aspect that was so heavily advertised while also keeping with FF14’s larger ideas about hope persisting in even the hardest of times, and why the connections between people are so important.

And some overall thoughts that are spoilery:

I said it in the part about Living Memory and the finale for DT, but Sphene is very similar to Emet-Selch, and while some of the Heritage Found stuff lost me for a bit, the story did hit its mark where it needed to. The ending zone was not what the Tempest or even Ultima Thule were, and I’m glad that it’s not. I’m sad that I’ll have to replay on an alt or when we get DT NG+ to take the pictures I wanted there, but that’s the point.

DT drove home Venat’s point from EW even more for me. To use Ardbert’s words from SHB, “Joy and sorrow walk hand in hand.” Sphene wanted the best for her people, going as far as she did for them, but in the end, she had to accept why death is an important part of life.

All in all, while DT has its faults, I 100% think this an excellent expansion. I’m excited again to see what is to come.

Wow. My first visit to zones 1 and 2 post got eaten maybe? Whoops. Basically I loved them.

[Ranhansha]

I wish there was more discussions about what the expansion is doing well, because the dungeons and trials are peak. I don't think they've EVER made better dungeons or trials. And I haven't touched EX yet.

It excites me for the raids, and for the rest of the content they have lined up for the patches. Yoshida did say they wanted to focus more on innovating when it came to mechanics and it's nice to see he wasn't blowing hot air.

I don't know, I've only cleared the first 3 dungeons, but they seemed like normal dungeons to me. 5 trash mobs and boss, 5 trash mobs and boss, 5 trash mobs and boss. Why are they better than the first dungeons or 1st trial in EW or even ShB in your opinion?

[eternalmagic]

Since this section vanished:

Zones 1 and 2, first visit

Urqopacha absolutely blows Kozama’uka out of the water for me, but I think both zones do a pretty good job with their first of two feats.

I started with Kozama’uka. The HanuHanu felt straightforward enough, and their feat set Koana up really nicely for what exactly his views are. I was glad to hear that he and Wuk Lamat were on friendly terms, and one of my first thoughts when seeing how he and Wuk Lamat both handled the feat was, “He’s not going to win, but I want him to either be advisor to his sister or for her to invite him to rule together”. Bakool Ja Ja was fine, they did a good job of setting up his rivalry with Wuk Lamat in the intro so I wasn’t surprised by him trying to cheat his way through things. Wuk Evu was also…um. Not my favorite. I wasn’t super into the “behead me for being rude to the Third Promise” joke being reused over and over and over again…but maybe that’s just me.

As I said, Urqopacha was by far my favorite intro zone. I really love FF10, so getting to spend so much time with the Pelupelu was excellent. I also loved the zone music and this part really was what got me hooked on this expansion. Working with Mablu to make trades for the saddle was such a great showcase of what exactly the player character is to Wuk Lamat, and really solidified how much I enjoyed her. She is SUCH an orange cat (meaning she is “no thoughts, head empty” in a lot of ways but also just impulsive and can be unpredictable) and I mean that in a very kind way. This was also where we got to see so much more of what Zoraal Ja’s whole deal was, and once I spent more time hearing him speak I totally understood why Wuk Lamat didn’t want him to be Dawnservant. Also, Mablu is the best and my roommate/best friend who is the biggest FF10/FF10-2 fan I know cried when she saw Tobli (since he’s from 10-2 himself) and the music is so good. So yeah, 10/10 zone.

[Valence]

I don't want to judge how other people understand stories and what themes they enjoy or not...But I do agree with you. Generally I tend to find FFXIV stories very on point as analyses of human characters and political organisations, though they are heavily left-leaning on most topics (which might be why many people, who are maybe more conservative, find the themes don't resonate with them). And I think many players simply don't pay attention to that in video game stories; they want fast-paced, feel-good stories instead. Which is also a completely valid expectation of media.

This is also why HW and SHB went a lot better. Their themes are more "basic". I don't mean this in a bad way, but a story of a 1000 year war between man and dragon with an evil pope or a world facing annihilation from a flood of light is a lot less niche in terms of audience than stories of war oppression, occupation, collaboration, or even stories about antique philosophy on the end of times. DT also explores cultural and political themes, even in a cheesy way at times, but this was obvious to me that it wouldn't resonate with as many people.

I guess it's left leaning, especially DT, since it direct tackles and criticizes constantly what is the foundation of the conservative right in political psychology: dangerous and competitive world, security & conformity, power & hierarchical values. The authoritarian, supremacist or expansionist answers to those are scorned by the story, so there is that, but on the other hand the way the game talks and treats tradition, which is also another strong value of the right, has been actually pretty positive on the other hand. But I'm not really sure this is the reason why to be honest. Plenty of very successful big titles aren't that more subtle about their left leaning politics and nobody cares.

[Coulvre]

I don't have a full or extensive conclusion regarding Dawntrail yet, but I enjoyed it, and I'm a little sad that so many people were disappointed.

Personally, I really liked the fact that it was a change of pace from the last two very high-stakes expansions. I love the lore and world-building, many of the new characters, and the themes addressed in the story. The set-up for future adventures was intriguing. Gameplay is fun and engaging, I like the progression through the zones. I don't think it's perfect, but overall I found it enjoyable and definitely don't think it's boring, which a lot of people seem to be saying.

Similarly to what the OP of this thread said, one of the most important things about the Warrior of Light is their desire to help others, whatever you might feel your own characters reasons for that are. A large part of Dawntrail is about supporting someone else's journey, and in my opinion that's very appropriate, especially as a reprieve from having saved the world numerous times over the last few years of story.

[Lomi]

Thank you for posting this OP - I absolutely loved the story and I think this might be my favourite out of all expansions!

[DrForester]

I really enjoyed the MSQ from start to finish. I think this made me more get into the character of Azem than the Warrior of Light. We hear about how Azem traveled and helped people, but not that they were the savior of the Ancient world. In this expansion we travel, see new sights, and help people (and occasionally help save the world).

I would agree with some criticism that the first half was a bit slow. I love lore dumps, so I had a good time, but it did feel a tad bloated at times. I think the whole succession ritual part of the MSQ could have been trimmed down to 5 gym badges instead of 7. But again, I still had a good time with it.

Without spoilers, I do think the 2nd half was wonderful, and I really like the hooks they planted for future adventures, and am excited to see where they go in the patch MSQ and in 8.0.