Dawntrail Is A Great Expansion

[Jeeqbit]

To depart from all the usual negative posts on the forums, I thought it was a great expansion and all the people I've seen talk about it in the game loved it as well!

At the beginning, you are thinking "is this it? it's just going to be a political campaign trail the whole way?" Albeit a well-executed one.

A well-executed political campaign story in the sense that it wasn't boring. It felt expansion-caliber in its execution, despite not seeming like an expansion-caliber story. New amazing feeling zones, amazing new music, lots of sidequests...

For example, Urqopacha, Kozama'uka and Yak T'el are easily my favorite zones. Both the look and the music make me want to stay in them. So even had it remained this simple story the whole way through, it would have been fine to me personally.

But the expansion throws its first curve-ball... (spoiler tagged)

50% of the way in it abruptly ends and you are led to believe it's all suddenly over. Expansion completed. It acts like you beat the expansion. But you're not stupid. You're only at the level 95 quests.

The next zone feels quiet, almost like the expansion has just split like Stormblood did.

But in reality, it's all building up to telling a single story and it will all come together...

In retrospect, it all feels good with the hindsight of knowing what it all amounts to. I just wasn't sure it would be well-received when I was doing it, since Stormblood wasn't.

But really, what it all amounted to was as big-expansion feel as any other - like Shadowbringers and Endwalker. They pulled off lots of emotion as well, which is impressive, given it felt like there was nothing much left of the lore after Endwalker.

As promised, Wuk Lamat evolved from this naive character into a leader that had learned a lot of lessons, but she also was aware she needed to learn these things.

The expert dungeons are also more interesting mechanically. Still easy to push through with item level and vuln stacks, but a lot more threatening really than the in-out mechanics that have been done for years.

All in all, it was a great expansion and not the holiday lots of people were dismissing it as.

As for negatives:

• I didn't like Solution Nine. It's a great zone, but the cyberpunk style overdoses me on technology to the point I feel sick looking at it and I don't think I will spend much time there. I am very concerned about Arcadion overdosing me on this as well so I sincerly hope they change the look of each floor drastically.
• Heritage Found has something of the same problem for me, but I really like the music in the town so it's worth visiting it just for that alone.

(spoiler)

• I can't fathom why one of the best games in the FF franchise's primitive lore was copy+pasted then catastrophically mudied with advanced technology and such depression. Could we have not related to some other FF game's lore, or a brand new lore, being mudied in this way? Maybe it was to make sure we felt sad for them but it just has the side effect of making us ask why SE would wreck FF9's lore this way.

[Karious]

Nah, it wasn't a very good expansion, sorry.

[Voidmage]

I‘m happy that you liked it.
I didn‘t but that’s ok.

I‘m just saying:
Thank you for actually listing why you liked the expansion and without throwing shades at those who didn‘t like it.

[Kes13a]

I enjoyed the expansion, for what it was. I wouldnt call it "great" but it was good.

it is very pretty, the zones are well done. the message overall was consistent... until it wasnt though. on the whole, I didnt run into as many feels during the MSQ that normally come with FFXIV

it would have been far "greater" if they had some explanation for the time difference, as in... it affected everyone inside the bubble, and yes, they had a plausible (universe wise) as to what happened to everyone in it. so why didnt it affect us? I know the WoL is virtually a goddess, but what about the rest of the party that entered?

overall, I felt DawnTrail was a transition piece from one story arc to another, and for that, yes, it was decent. was it bad as many have suggested? no, the people talking in game have enjoyed it. it was as expected, but not knock my socks off great. happy you thought it was great however.

[LaylaTsarra]

I'm enjoying it on my 3rd playthrough. I will admit if you don't like WUT has to be a tough slog for you. Lots of cool things in the xpac including the graphic update and zones. Love the Western Zone the best was and has been a highlight for me.

More to come so we'll have to see how that plays out.

Looking forward to the relic zones and hope they don't disappoint. Endwalker was a tome weapon fiasco in my view and we need more content like Eureka and Bozja.

[Jeeqbit]

I didnt run into as many feels during the MSQ that normally come with FFXIV

They were all mostly pushed to the latter half but I did feel they were there. After all it was quite sad what happened to the people inside the bubble and the things you find out in the last area.

it would have been far "greater" if they had some explanation for the time difference, as in... it affected everyone inside the bubble, and yes, they had a plausible (universe wise) as to what happened to everyone in it. so why didnt it affect us?

It would but it was the similar with The First as well. 100 years passed in a short time for us and then suddenly it's the case that you can just return there and not much time has passed.

The moment I spoke to one of the NPCs and they said "it looks like this has been abandoned for years" I figured the whole thing out, but they continued slowly explaining it for people who forgot Shadowbringers.

Although I don't know why the flow of time changed, my guess is that either the initial creation of the bubble temporarily sped up time in the moment of its creation, or creating a hole in the bubble put the timeframes in sync again.

[BigCheez]

The MSQ was mid but I have high hopes for the rest of the expansion. The content that we've seen so far is very good.

[Xellith]

The final zones where the expansion starts getting interesting should have taken up a hell of a lot more screen time. It felt, and it WAS rushed along. The succession arc would have been better had the player more agency. Like telling Wuk Lamat to take a chill pill and that I'm there on business. Towards the end especially I really just wanted to tell her to stfu. But nope. #FastAndFuriousFamily

Dawntrail lacks player agency. They could patch it in where you can give her some more appropriate responses and I think it would go over better.

[BigCheez]

The final zones where the expansion starts getting interesting should have taken up a hell of a lot more screen time. It felt, and it WAS rushed along. The succession arc would have been better had the player more agency. Like telling Wuk Lamat to take a chill pill and that I'm there on business. Towards the end especially I really just wanted to tell her to stfu. But nope. #FastAndFuriousFamily

Dawntrail lacks player agency. They could patch it in where you can give her some more appropriate responses and I think it would go over better.

IDK. You have never had and will never have any player agency in XIV's story. You can choose which emote your character does before the other characters put words in your mouth, but that's about it. The game is not an RPG, it's a visual novel.

[Mnemy]

At the beginning, you are thinking "is this it? it's just going to be a political campaign trail the whole way?" Albeit a well-executed one.

A well-executed political campaign story in the sense that it wasn't boring. It felt expansion-caliber in its execution, despite not seeming like an expansion-caliber story.

(1/2)

I'm happy for you that you like it and you think that its a 40 dollars well spent but I have to disagree with this expansion having great political world building. I'm so sorry but HW PATCHES and StB PATCHES has a more politically in depth writing than the ENTIRE EXPANSION of DT. And it really doesn't feel like its an expansion-caliber in its execution.

1.) The fact that the WoL, knowing our power and the responsibility that comes with said power, decided to willy nilly agreed to SUPPORT an unknown claimant to the throne of a foreign country without knowing shit about them is already bonkers. In HW, The reason the WoL agreed to side with Ishgard is because he/she has seen with his/her own eyes what the dragons can do and the danger is very tangible, that in the end its either they let Ishgard burn and subsequently let the world burn with it or WoL will do something about it. The same can be said with StB. In here, we dont even know ANYTHING about WL and yet WoL just agreed like a dumbass. The writing makes the WoL who was so well aware of their power in the past expansions, suddenly be a dumbass just because "ADVENTURE??? YES PLEASE". No it would've been great that yeah maybe instead of being a going to Tural so you can ENTER A POLITICAL CONFILCT YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT, they should start it with us going with Krile and Erenville instead to help Krile discover her origins and answer her questions cus this expac is supposed to be a chill adventure and what is more chill but important enough than helping your friend find her answers and explore a new country? And then as the expac goes they can show us the problems Tural is facing, and yeah, It's worth it to side with WL's succession claim to help said country and with a seriousness that decisions like that should entail, decide to enter another political conflict to help WL and the WoL will become the mentor she needs that way.

2.) When WL suddenly decided she wanted to co-rule with Koana. Decisions like that should not be taken lightly and should be discussed with the other politically powerful people in the country, and she does this like it's a suprise birthday present for her bro. Remember how Nanamo in her arc how she lamented the fact she cant do anything without consulting the other politically powerful people in the country? Or how Lyse had to consult the leaders of the villages and tribes to find a way forward for the entire country? Or how Aymeric had founded the House of Lords and Commons by talking to the people that they rule? (CONT.)

(1/2)