Remove Trust System from future Trials

[Derio]

I dont mind trusts for the trials but I believe rather than using the main cast they can just have us summon random NPCs.

The problem I have seen is they are repeatedly pulling from the same cast of characters for trials and dungeons with trusts which later down the line and even now is starting to hurt the narrative.

[Stormfur]

Personally I liked having the Trust when doing the Trial for the first time. It helped me to learn it at a pace that was comfortable before I do it with an actual group.

[Malia_Chan]

Having finished the Yawntrail MSQ, which is absolutely dire, one extra part I feel needs to be removed from the game is the availability of the Trust system for Trials in the MSQ moving forwards.

I tend to enjoy using the Trust system on a first time playthrough for a new MSQ dungeon, as I like to see the Companions / Scions dialogue as we’re exploring along with being able to take my time to read any notes on the floor which give more lore about the area, typically when using Duty Finder other players will want to zoom through a dungeon as quickly as possible which is perfectly understandable.

The first time they enabled the Trust system for a trial was the epic second trial of Endwalker, which made complete sense as both ourselves and our Scion friends were being tested to see if we had to strength to overcome the final trial of oblivion & despair. This was a pretty awesome moment I think for most FFXIV players being able to do a trial with the Scions.

Dawntrail though shoehorns in the Trust system for the first two trials in the expansion, which is clearly just trying to shove Wuk Lamat down our throats more to validate her presence given she has dialogue at the end of each where we’re practically forced to pat her on the back for the great job she did, let alone what happens in the final trial with her terrible appearance halfway through. This, for me at least, has tarnished the epic feeling of the second Endwalker trial and I feel that really should be the only Trial in the game with the Trust system enabled as an option.

The use of the Azem crystal cutscenes at the start of a trial and grouping with people that way through Duty Finder is really cool, I would prefer that being the sole method moving forwards rather than having the Trust system option for any other trials. If anything, I actually think they could also add an Azem crystal cutscene (which can be skippable of course) to the start of dungeons when you team up with three other random players through the Duty Finder.

You could learn alot from Trusts.

[Luluna]

I adore the trusts I have quite an attachment to the NPC's now after so long playing. I am saddened to read you can not do the last trial with them but I have not finished the story yet.
I do find it odd when I am placed with random players who do not for the most part even say Hello or goodbye, but love it when I am with NPC's and if I mess up it is fine and I do not feel I have let anybody down.

Trust/duty support is a really good thing and I wish it had been there years ago when I was forced to skip c/s and rush through things. I hope they expand on it and would be great if they could fill a party spot.

[Supersnow845]

I think this thread needs to be made again with a different title because the overwhelming majority of people aren’t reading past the title and completely missing the point of the thread

The OP doesn’t want the trust system removed because he is a meanie who wants you to suffer he wants the trust system removed or expanded in a way you he makes it so the story isn’t constantly tying itself in knots trying to justify why the correct people for each trial are always present

For example any trust member who was in zarool ja’s trial but wasn’t in origenics has no justification to be there other than for duty support l, same as the flimsy reason for why graha went to living memory, it was really just for the healer spot in Alexandria

If they can’t properly justify why people are in the spots they are for duty support then duty support isn’t worth the butchers knife the story is taking

[FuwafuwaMii]

I tried to do Final Steps of Faith yesterday and was 75 minutes in the queue. Wish there had been Duty Help NPCs to fill in.

If anything, make ALL content accessible with NPCs.

[Irru]

I can see where you are coming from with that comment, but I think you are mixing up Trusts with Duty Support. Trust has never cared about who was actually with you at that point in the story. I can do a Trust run of the first MSQ dungeon with Y'sthola, G'raha, and Urianger if I wanted to, and none of those were on the right continent or on your side at that time in the story.

A for Duty Support, I agree that it was ridiculous that scions were getting dragged along as silent bystanders through the story just to have them canonically there for Duty Support, but the more obvious solution to that is that they could have just filled the needed slots with some generic locals helping out just like how in low level dungeons Duty Support tends to be unnamed Grand Company soldiers. There was no need for you to travel with an entourage at all.

Sorry yeah, I hardly ever use it, so I get the terms mixed up, but it's basically what you said.

[Nith-Bryn]

Oh well, I tried read all posts but got really tired. lol
Basically I see the way to solve this issue to Meteorshan specifically is backseat/remove Wuk Lamat from his Duty Support/Trust system and it gets better again.

Azem's magic = dumb versus Force Scions people to show up = dumb:
We can find a common ground to it, people. Maybe a mix up of them both so, no "main" NPC is forced to show up since they can be summoned?
Why not, use Azem's magic to summon an Onion Knight too? It'd be cool.

[Xuled]

While I don't disagree Trusts are uhh... lacking at the best of times with regards to storytelling, they actually do mechanics properly unlike the average player. So I'll still take my Trust runs over average DF.

[Morphiana]

The OP doesn’t want the trust system removed because he is a meanie who wants you to suffer he wants the trust system removed or expanded in a way you he makes it so the story isn’t constantly tying itself in knots trying to justify why the correct people for each trial are always present

For example any trust member who was in zarool ja’s trial but wasn’t in origenics has no justification to be there other than for duty support l, same as the flimsy reason for why graha went to living memory, it was really just for the healer spot in Alexandria

Justification was there, just did a poor job showing it.

Would Ysh and the others come to fight Zooral Ja after the forces outside the dome were cleaned up? Yeah, the dragons have everything in hand by themselves, there was quite a few who showed up.

What went wrong then?

They showed up at the wrong time. They should've showed up before you went in the dungeon, giving you the option to use and of them, and those you didn't use will take an alternative route up so you're not placing all your eggs in one basket.

With the living memory? Graha going in absolutely made the most sense out of every decision they made in that scene. Ysh said it point blank, he's the only one with the experience of calling across reflections and summoning. This took him forever to research and get right, I wouldn't want to go to another hostile reflection without him.

What went wrong here then?

They made the same mistake as above. They told us but didn't show us at all. If characters are going to stay behind then they should have had two scenes:

1.) We fight as Thancred or Estinien to defend the casters keeping the portal open.

2.) Once secured we should have been able to play as most of them during the defense of the city.

That would've fixed it.

If there are instances where having 8 characters there doesn't make sense then just use Azem's crystal but have it use random player models and call them "Shade of ..." with a preference placed on pulling them from your FC / Friends list.