The Dawntrail MSQ has writing issues, but it’s still a good expansion regardless.

[CastDeath]

While playing DT MSQ I had enjoyed everything, but once we started to learn what the issues of the Mamoolja were things began to feel rushed and glossed over.

MAMOOK:
I also think that Mamook abandoning the practice of having two headed children happened with too little resistance considering that these people had been so committed to the point of sacrificing thousands of babies through the generations.

Zoraal Ja:
Very little is stated about what his end goal was. Zoraal Ja was raised by Gulool Ja Ja and spent time with his siblings as a family, people who stand completely against this way of thinking, so how and why did he arrive to such a radical and diametrically opposed position to the rest of his family?

Sphene and the Endless:
I personally liked Sphene but it’s a bit disappointing that we as the WOL did not get to speak with her more considering her goals and motivations. Sphene’s story is about the grief that comes from losing those we love. After Endwalker the WOL has a PHD on existential anxiety and loss, yet we never did in a meaningful way? As the WOL we have saved the source, the first and helped kick start the recovery of the 13th. I was half expecting Sphene to just dump Zoraal Ja and ask us for help at any moment. I like her character a lot and wish I could have been more involved with her.

The Scions:
I know this is an unpopular opinion but some of the Scions should be retired from the spotlight and make space for newer characters. Thancred and Uriange have peeked regarding character development, there is nowhere else left to go with them writing wise. The Twins I also think have reached a development ceiling until Square finally decides to age them up. I think it is best to just let them go and focus on a new cast for now.

Krile and Erenville:
I loved both of them in MSQ but considering how connected they were to the plot of the Golden city it felt like they did not get enough development?

Gulool Ja and Otis:
Ok where did Gulool Ja come from? This is just never explained. As for Otis, he died protecting Sphene, someone that we saw in the previous quest cannot be killed in reality due to being an Endless.

Things in the MSQ feel like they happen simply because the writers wanted them to happen to reference various themes and motifs without properly building up to them.
To be fair, I have felt like this before in previous expansions. I personally dislike how in Endwalker the Garleans were dealt with as victims instead of a tyrannical empire whose Karma finally caught up to it and the Dragon Song War Ended a bit too cleanly in my opinion too. In Dawn Trail however, the poor pacing and lack of explanation in various key parts make this problem more pronounced, things just feel rushed and underdeveloped. Because of this the otherwise wonderful characters and world that they crafted suffer and it’s a real shame because I really like those parts of Dawn trail.

[Averax]

I'll just respond to this point by point to keep it concise.

Mamook: Yeah, that felt really rushed. Like yeah great there was a solution to their underlying problems, but it's super unrealisitic of them to just drop their entire way of life that they've sacrificed and suffered so much for at the drop of a hat. All because it turns out they never needed to do it in the first place. Also Zareel Ja doing a complete 180 after you completed his trial gave me whiplash. Bakool Ja Ja turning his attitude around felt more appropriate because you could kind of tell he was trying to live up to someone else's impossibly high standards early on.

Zoraal Ja: His motivations boiled down to "I am going to engulf the world in flames so people will appreciate water more". He wanted to crawl out of his father's shadow and prove himself "a miracle" so it would have made more sense if his motivation was "i want to spread peace to the entire world" and wanted to go about it the wrong way in a desperate act to outdo his old man.

Sphene: I would have appreciated more opportunities to talk with Sphene earnestly about the things we've seen and done to at least give her some hope that we could help her. They briefly allude to the fact that she is not a normal endless, and the scientists that made her programmed her to preserve the status quo at any cost, and she couldn't defy it. As it went, it felt like she didn't really like what she was doing but was determined to do it anyway. It would have felt better if it were made clear that she literally couldn't stop. The unlost world as whole made me feel rotten because i felt like i was ending a civilization by turning off the lights. The "only life force aether will do" bit to sustain the endless made little sense as well since they weren't keeping dead people alive so much as they were making AI based on their memories.

The Scions: I agree, having one or two of them around at a time is fine but it's fun to get to know new characters. It does feel like they're setting up Erenville as a regular traveling companion so that's pretty good.

Krile and Erenville: They were good. Krile felt like she had more going on than Erenville. I kind of wish we got to meet his mother before she got borged.

Gulool Ja and Otis: I was half expecting Gulool Ja to be some sort of clone or something, but nope, actually his son. No clue where he came from. Otis was explained as being a prototype for Sphene. He was not aware that he had been made into one of the first endless as well, his robot self only knew that he was shoved into a mechanical body, meanwhile his Endless self wasn't aware of the robot version.

Maybe they'll expand more on the things that felt rushed in the patches, but who knows

[ThaCa]

Whether it's good expansion will depend on the 7.1 PvP tweaks.

If they finally give some worthwhile stuff to grind ranked over to fill the patch down time then it's good expansion. Otherwise it's just business as usual.

[AnotherHighlander]

I thought you are going to say that the combat design is good. New dungeons are pretty fun. But no, I absolutely disagree that the story is enjoyable or good overall.

[CastDeath]

The thing about Zoraal Ja thou is that his warmongering is stated to be the likely reason that inspired Gulool Ja Ja to do the rite of succession which starts the plot of Dawntrail. The reason Koana and Wuk lamat wish to be Dawn servant is because there is someone whom they deem “Not fit to rule” That being Zoraal Ja himself. Koana and Wuk Lamat always say they tried to understand him, but Zoraal Ja was not receptive their attempts. Although it seems like the people had placed great expectations upon him, he had about as many supporters as Koana did, so why did he need to go to such extremes to get what he wanted? Even Zenos, whose motivations are nonsensical at best, is better explained. I know what he is trying to do during the first half of the MSQ but he seems to abandon that and only wants power in the second half. My question is how did he get to that point? What happened in his past that caused him to believe what he believes? The best explanation about what drove him is given by the Wandering minstrel when you unlock the EX-version of his fight, which is just unacceptable to me.

[Maxilor]

As much as I like to meme in the 'Wuk Lamat Bad' thread I do think this expansion will probably end up being like Stormblood where people warm up to it after a while.

The quality of the Post Launch content will also determine this.

[hydralus]

so how and why did he arrive to such a radical and diametrically opposed position to the rest of his family?

I think we came to learn that his father was actually kinda bad at being a father. Great leader and all, but maybe he should have spent a little more time with his kids instead of fighting dudes with spears.

[Ayalu]

As much as I like to meme in the 'Wuk Lamat Bad' thread I do think this expansion will probably end up being like Stormblood where people warm up to it after a while.

The quality of the Post Launch content will also determine this.

That reminds me what will the Patch Story be?
The Second half of the mains story kinda felt like a patch story already and at the end we dont really have anything else to do.
So will it be a stand alone story again or a extra long prolog into what ever 8.0 will be.

[hydralus]

That reminds me what will the Patch Story be?
The Second half of the mains story kinda felt like a patch story already and at the end we dont really have anything else to do.
So will it be a stand alone story again or a extra long prolog into what ever 8.0 will be.

It'll probably be learning more about the shard we just deleted or whatever.

[Amenara]

As much as I like to meme in the 'Wuk Lamat Bad' thread I do think this expansion will probably end up being like Stormblood where people warm up to it after a while.

The quality of the Post Launch content will also determine this.

If they deliver on what was said we were getting in the live letters on top of continuing the quality of dungeons we got I agree with you, I think it will be looked at as equivalent or better than Stormblood with regards to gameplay content at least.