Positive Dawntrail Narrative Feedback Thread

[Furrysparks]

The dialogue in this expansion was so much more natural and flowed great. I really enjoyed the first half of the msq with the lower stakes, as it let me get invested in the story since the outcome didn't seem as certain. All of the focus on the new characters was fantastic as well, was nice to see the scions have a bit of a back seat we've seen plenty of them.

Oh, and of course Bakool JaJa was fantastic.

[RabendaShin]

Didn't like most of the MSQ, but I did enjoy Mamook, Bakool Ja Ja's redemption (althought a cliché, I enjoyed it, the story was touching), the dungeons were really nice and the mechanics were original and fun.

The scenery is quite nice and I enjoyed the little callbacks to FFIX (the Yan in neons in Solution 9, I thought they were absolutely adorables, and I'm sure there are more that I missed).

Also props to lil Gulool Ja. He's cute.

Edit : Oh and Koana got to be a bro by the end and I loved that. He didn't stand out that much in the beginning but I really liked him by the end.

Completely agree with you, especially on the Bakool Ja Ja part. Cliché's can work when used correctly, though I would have enjoyed a bit more emotional development from the point he ran away crying.

Some speeches from the antagonists were also quite gripping, such as Zoraal Ja stating "You ask a lost man for the way", or Sphene deciding to no longer be an overprotective queen and take action instead.
Though looking back their writing may have seemed better because of the drivel Wuk Lamat spouted 24/7 about peace and food and friendship.

[Papayatar]

The parts I did like about Dawntrail were when things focused off Wuk Lamat and we got time to spend with the other NPCs or were alone. Like our moments with G’raha, Erenville, Gulool Ja Ja etc. This also includes the side quest, the ones in the cities/towns, the job quests, and the crafter/gatherer delivery quests.

Almost all of those quests, or moments in the story, did what the MSQ was trying to do but 100x better. Especially with the sidequest, where we got more lore and learned about Tural cultures in a more interesting way and didn’t completely seem one note or treat the WoL like they’re just window dressing in the setting.

Also, I loved the dungeons and trial design. It feels like it has been the most engaging it has been for awhile. I hope even when our gear is better the engagement doesn’t drop too much either. At minimum that one post MSQ dungeon will keep ppl on their toes, but that first boss needs an adjustment cuz there’s something unfair about how the debuffs happen also it’s a caster nightmare even for casters who can be more mobile.

[Catwho]

Looking at all the parts I did enjoy, I feel like it was a dire mistake to give Wuk Lamat more dialogue than pretty much everyone else combined, as DT's writing only really gets to shine when the focus is on fleshing out individual characters and their stories rather than the main narrative and the Wuk Lamat Show. I don't even dislike her, but after a while it gets very, very noticeable that they're forcing her into every possible cutscene, dialogue, and story beat regardless of the negative impacts.

Coming in a bit late (and drunk) to say that of all the critiques of Wuk Lamat as a character, I think this is the most fair. We love XIV for its ensemble cast and it leaned too heavily on a single character this particular expansion. It wouldn't have mattered which character it was, we needed more of everyone else to balance it out. This is an overarching narrative flaw that likely was the result of cutting scope and story in other places.

Please take this into consideration for the future story. We like BALANCE.

[ppserica]

Wanted to add onto this thread once the normal raids story was released, and now here we are!
I think Dawntrail isn't perfect, but it has a lot of merits that I feel like are going overlooked by the playerbase at large. (To be clear, I really liked the expansion. Yes, even Wuk Lamat.)

• I liked the fact that we had an expansion with really strong messaging that drove the story. It helped that the themes of diversity and legacy are themes that I generally enjoy in a narrative, but I appreciated that it felt like the writing team set out with this story with a purpose in mind.
• As mentioned by a lot of people in the thread, the individual character writing has been really strong. The game's story is not and has never been particularly subtle (and this is not a bad thing), but it felt like a lot of thought was put into the dialogue and I liked that you weren't necessarily being spoon-fed the inner thoughts of each character. Zoraal Ja is probably the most prominent example, but each character's development arcs were enjoyable to track.
• The way the tone was controlled was pretty nice! Sometimes the story has tonal issues but this expansion I felt had the least of them all. The tonal transition from generally lighthearted succession competition arc to more serious Heritage Found onward arc was handled pretty well, and the similar transition in the raid story has me optimistic that this will continue going forward.
• On that note, I actually enjoyed the pacing. I liked taking the chance to talk to the peoples and understand their values and what makes them tick. It did make me feel like I was learning about and experiencing something new and unfamiliar.
• In line with that, I loved the cultural stuff and real-world parallels! I've enjoyed seeing people resonate with parts of the story in ways that I didn't even imagine.

I think they succeeded with telling a story that has a lot to build upon. I do look forward to what the team has to offer going forward.

[Nyxs]

I liked that the new raids not having Woke lmao in it

Good fights and story.

[SeriousPan]

The self contained adventure of Shaaloani was fun and I want more adventures like that. Just put it in a better place in the plot rather than right after a big dramatic moment.

[Aquaticnaho]

Currently around lvl 97-98 MSQ:

While it's severely lacking in execution, the overall plot is really interesting. I also thought the WoL taking on more of a mentor role was pretty cute.

Erenville is even more endearing than before, I'm so glad we got to hang out with him for a while. Definitely headcanoning him and my WoL as besties post-DT. On that same note, I really loved the whole goofy spaghetti western adventure. Thought it was super funny and makes the best use of the NPC accompanying mechanic so far.

95+ spoilers:

The train railgun cutscene made me lose my mind laughing, I loved it. I'm always excited to get more lore on the other shards and their relation to the Source so I'm looking forward to learning about Alexandria.

Koana has some of the best voice work in the entirety of FFXIV and that alone has made him one of my new favorite characters. Whatever his VA is getting paid, it's not enough.

Bakool Ja Ja is a very interesting character and I'm glad he was treated seriously by the story instead of permanently being reduced to a blundering comic relief antagonist. His and Mamook's problems were solved a little too easily, but that's not a huge deal.

Gulool Ja Ja is him. Such a cool character.

Looking at all the parts I did enjoy, I feel like it was a dire mistake to give Wuk Lamat more dialogue than pretty much everyone else combined, as DT's writing only really gets to shine when the focus is on fleshing out individual characters and their stories rather than the main narrative and the Wuk Lamat Show. I don't even dislike her, but after a while it gets very, very noticeable that they're forcing her into every possible cutscene, dialogue, and story beat regardless of the negative impacts.

I'm in the same boat as you with Wuk Lamat. I loved her at the start of the story and was wanting to help her get far, but I definantly feel like she overstayed her welcome past the succession and while it would of been fine to have her with us post 95 dungeon, I genuinely feel like the plot would have hit harder if it was focused around another character instead of just mostly Wuk Lamat.

[ReynTime]

The handful MSQs without Wuk Lamat in the party were decent.

[MoofiaBossVal]

I enjoyed touring the setting of Tural, namely the new city and the first two zones, and the third zone kinda. I liked the Pelupelu, Moblins, and Mamooja. Story held my interest up through the Mamooja village/level 94. I preferred the succession tournament story to what came later.

The Moblins who kidnap craftsmen and then support and cheer them on to make beautiful art, with some people running away to the hidden camp nearby was interesting.

The sidequest in the waterfall zone where the Hanu gaslight the new guard was neat.

The story successfully hyped up Valigarmanda as a threat to fight against, if only it actually paid off on that. I would have been fine if the story had climaxed with fighting a big bad monster bird or Bakool Ja Ja rather than someone with "deep" motivations.

The moment in the cooking arc where Zooral Ja is told that he is not getting a keystone and then stares at Wuk Lamat as if he is contemplating harming his own sister (even if she isn't really) was sad, and scary.

For characters, I liked Gulool Ja Ja, Koana, Bakool Ja Ja as a villain, Zoraal Ja in the first half, and Wuk Evu. Sphene was pretty and sounded nice. Krile's father was a little funny.

Wuk Lamat had a couple funny moments.

Wuk Lamat tracking down Gulool Ja and being upfront that she is going to kill his father, but is also going to take care of him (the son) because if family won't, no one else will, was nice. Also bringing him back to Tuliyollal and the reaction of the guards.

DPS rolequestline was decent. Good idea about someone using shapeshifting magic to try to impersonate key individuals to try to cause war and strife. Funny joke with the Namazu almost being shot. Was nice to see Magnai again, though it's been how many years since Stormblood? And he's a king. He should have found his Nhaama by now. It's becoming a little sad.

I like how the new raid doesn't start with long winded exposition dumps or character introductions, and instead gets you into two fights almost immediately, and then only after the second boss does it take a moment for characters to talk. Prior raids had more appealing premises (saving the world with the Scions, more Ancients) but were hamstrung by slow pacing as you're hanging out with academics who talk talk talk and has loads of exposition.