Remove Trust System from future Trials

[SDaemon]

Okay you seemed to miss the point and thank you for not being able to provide an alternative solution.

As I mentioned in my OP, the Trust system is good narratively for Trials when used correctly. It completely fits for the Hydaelyn trial as we have had the other seven scions journey with us down into the Aetherial Sea, so they've been with us on the journey to the end destination which is the mother crystal, Hydaelyn even speaks to each of the seven scions one at a time to give even more weight to them being there. On the flip side, it would feel pretty jarring during the MSQ to have the Scions all there with you, instead use Duty Finder you do the trial with 7 random people without even using Azem's crystal. That's cool though, some people will no doubt preferred doing that trial with other random players, but having all that dialogue and interaction between the Scions and Hydaelyn about testing us all and instead do the trial with 7 randoms would break the narrative.

I did say that I understood the Azem crystal summoning might not be everyone's cup of tea, however it was explained to us well in the SHB patches MSQ when we speak with the memory of Hythlodaeus, therefore narratively it makes sense when we use it given we ourselves are Azem, even if you don't like it as a tool. It's far better compared to say when we're in the Ruby Sea with Alisaie and Lyse, we enter the vault and Susano appears then Alisaie tells us to find 7 adventurer friends who might be nearby in the area. If this was the case also in say Ultima Thule WITHOUT using the Azem crystal, why on earth would there seven random people at the edge of existence?

The 93 and 99 trials do not use the Trust systems narratively well, several NPCs are shoehorned in out of thin air or doing a 180 based on how their characters would behave, which is simply bad writing and lacks narrative cohesion. FFXIV is lauded as the story driven mmorpg of the genre, it should do better than it did during the Dawntrail trails from a narrative perspective.

I didn't miss the point. I'm making the argument that the Trust system is the better narrative option than the Azem Crystal function. Are both setups without flaws? Of course not. But to remove Trusts which is currently the superior option imo would be a mistake.

In your examples.

If Trusts for trials had been a thing back then, SE would have set up the plot in a way that 7 NPCs would be present. How? Thats just a matter of literary freedom at this point since we're talking about a story that has already been written, but I've no doubt they would have had them be present for some reason or another, good or bad. That could very well have meant the story added some able-bodied NPCs leading up to Susano or the Scions not being yeeted back home early for Endsinger and the narrative changing accordingly.

As for the present 93 and 99 Trials. I really did not experience any qualms for the NPCs present at either Trial, especially the 93 Trial which made sense narratively to me for what was happening. The 99 Trial by that point in the story there were so many mishaps narratively that the barebone reason for them showing up was honestly enough to continue forward with the story without a second thought.

Can SE improve the experience? Absolutely. But the system doesn't need to be removed.