Dawntrail is what happens when you forget your own wisdom

[Jojoya]

A character doesn't need to have the spotlight on them 100% of the time to be the main character. Other characters also need to be developed and that means putting the spotlight on them occasionally. As long as the main character takes part in the development of the other characters, they haven't lost their position as main character.

Was it wrong to put a spotlight on Wuk Lamat this expansion? No, since the first half of the story was about her attempt to win the throne and the second half about her attempts to protect her people after getting the throne and learning of a threat. The WoL was still very present with an integral role in the story arc. The WoL still remains the main character for the game.

The problem with the story was they mishandled Wuk Lamat's character development. They created a Mary Sue, realized they had created a Mary Sue, decide to slap on some poorly chosen random flaws so she wouldn't seem like a Mary Sue (still didn't work) and then had most of those flaws disappear, reappear and disappear again for no logical reason. Even worse to me, they gave her a medical condition then used it only as a way to mock the character instead of as something that could have been used in her character development.

I see people point at the voice acting for the character but the voice acting was actually well done considering what they were given to work with - a badly written character with some rather cringy dialog at times.

As others have said, more should have been done to flesh out Wuk's character development instead of making that development mirror Wuk Evu's behavior ("oh I've done wrong how terrible of me" "it was fine, forget it" "okay, forgotten").

The MSQ really should have been 2 separate stories - a 7.0 MSQ developing Wuk's character with the WoL's assistance, then 7.1-?.? where the WoL is brought back to Tural to help investigate the Alexandria mystery. Shoving them together into one story did neither part justice. It was the same mistake made with Endwalker's story but at least that had almost a decade of backstory to lean on. This one needed to be able to stand on its own but end up doing a lot of wobbling for lack of support.

[Daralii]

I see this often. So what that does mean for the future of this IP? Is Yoshi P just the fall guy for the game as it enters some kind of disguised sunset period? That's kinda how it feels. I mean what exactly could he be so busy doing If not a major new game or dealing with a personal issue?

Yoshida would have been focusing on XVI for a large chunk of DT's development, and now he's helming another game that's in early development. He's also been on the board of directors for many years at this point, so if he's going to prioritize the good of the company over the good of one product(even if it's the one the company's relying on to stay afloat after a decade of failure).

[gumas]

The 3rd paragrpah… its literally the complete opposite of what happened in DT expansion

“She” even robbed us the final scene in the final boss fight lol

[Xuled]

Yeah, that doesn't work either. Look at Forspoken. Nobody wanted that, very few people bought it, but SE said, what if that, but Wuk Lamat.

It DOES work. People here are just talk and would rather not miss another eRP opp or lose a digital house (that they won't be able to own irl) than vote with their wallet and unsub. Stay unsubbed too. SE will see money go down, they make fixes. Very simple.

[Isala]

It DOES work. People here are just talk and would rather not miss another eRP opp or lose a digital house (that they won't be able to own irl) than vote with their wallet and unsub. Stay unsubbed too. SE will see money go down, they make fixes. Very simple.

I was unsubbed for three years. The game got worse. Tell me again how I'm going to make a difference.

[Nitelancer]

ARR was a dream. Dawntrail was a job.

[Zackneifein]

The tragedy of Dawntrail, it's that if the Wol had been treated as a true character (like they were previously) and not as a cameraman.
If the WoL truly was a mentoring figure to Wuk Lamat, using their experiences to give advice, had some moments to shine as any mentor should, lectured her sometimes (true lecture, no "you should be more confident about your abilites..."), was one of the reasons for her evolution during the story.

The WoL wouldn't have passed the whole MSQ basically incarning the "just standing there menacingly" meme.
Wuk Lamat presence would have felt less oppressive, her evolution would have felt more deserved.
She would have been far more liked and far less criticized. Even her interference during the last fight (since the WoL had some other times for themself).

And it's tragic because it was not so hard to do. Have references to previous adventures in some of the WoL dialog options (no need for name dropping, just allusion), some fighting solo duties for the WoL (and only the WoL), not always being sweet with Wuk Lamat by sometimes being able to be harsh when they had to (harsh, not cruel, like any mentor can be when needed) like saying she isn't ready *yet* not to her father but to herself to trigger something in her. Give a little more space to Erenville and Krile (Wuk Lamat could stay far more present, but just a few scene without her being present physically or thematically wasn't that complicated to do either) would also have helped.

[cutestfox]

You know, changing your opinions is a sign of growth. Digging out some old post from 10 years or more ago is only good for nostalgia

This interview was done only 3 years ago, not 10...
2021.09.03
https://www.famitsu.com/news/202109/03232009.html