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.