Where do we go from here? DT Story and beyond

[Hallideus]

Love it or hate it, we're at the end of Dawntrail's opening chapter.
We got the McGuffin that's going to let us travel shards 1 2 3 now so surfs up my dudes right?

So, where do YOU think we're headed to next?
Who do you think's going to be with us on the journey?
Why them specifically?
While I'm asking questions, what's your favourite thing to order from when you go to Greggs? Because conversation is conversation. Talk people talk!

I'm hoping we get a story that'll focus purely on the joy of exploration, ideally without the Scions. Might be a little controversial and I've nothing against them of course just I felt they should have been left behind for a little while after Endwalker. Potentially could have seen a brand new cast of adventuring companions as we explored the New World ain the Dawntrail story, and now as we look to sail the reflections.

[CamuiKushi]

I wanna know what's at the bottom of that chasm between north and south Tural before anything else. Then head to Fantasy-Australia. We can talk shards after that lmao

[Carin-Eri]

If I'm honest, I'm actually more invested in how the Raid series story is going to progress. Eutrope's revelation regarding psychonecrosis (and trying to find a cure), the so-called 'immortalized', and the mystery President seems like it's a story with a lot of potential, not to mention how interesting the Raid's themselves have been.

The MSQ itself - well, the hourglass 'key', and why it reacted to Azem's crystal, is something that will receive some focus, and am interested in seeing how that plays out.

Personally, I'd rather the story not take the direction of having us jump around Shards quite yet since we visited both the First and the Thirteenth in the closing chapters of Endwalker. If anything, if they are going to make 'shard-hopping' a thing, bring a few characters from the shards to the Source instead - I'd love to see, for example, Ryne and Gaia interacting with characters from the source.

Unrealistic hope: That they do something with Living Memory. No idea what exactly - perhaps the Immortalized could move there if/when they're liberated - but as things stand it's just sort of 'empty' and there isn't any reason to revisit, and that's a pity.

[Fawkes]

We'll probably use the hourglass goblet for the Cosmic Exploration lifestyle content.

[Kusanagi7]

Hopefully anywhere that doesn't involve wuk lamat.

[Turethir]

I would like a more grounded expansion that doesn't feature any sort of shard/interdimensional travel, before we move onto that in later stories. Meracydia is an interesting place I'd like to visit, and I'd personally like to see more of Ilsabard. I feel like I'm in the minority though - the shards don't really interest me too much.

Personally I love the Scions, and while I think it's a bad idea to have all of them around at once, I'd be absolutely fine with having 1-2 of them around each expansion, and swapping in and out of the story as needed.

[chizLemons]

I don't like the cup thing with shard travel. It trivializes what before was such a difficult, rare feat, that even impressed Emet Selch when G'raha could do it - and that took him years and a lot of effort to be successful at. Now in less than 2 years we've been to 3 more different shards, have parts of it in the Source and have something that potentially gives us free access to others.

I wish we'd ignore everything about Dawntrail and do as Emet said at the end of EW: let's only explore Etheirys for a while. I'd love an expansion focused on Meracydia, about dragons and allagans. We don't need all the Scions with us at all times, but I still want them there! In a Meracydia expansion, the obvious companions would be Estinien and G'raha because of what they know (and also because we still have 3 promises to keep to G'raha that the game completely ignored after 6.0). We could maybe take Krile as well, because it could be a Students of Baldesion thing and we'd get to finally learn what they're doing and how they work, and give her the development we expected from her in Dawntrail and never got. She got a backstory, but never CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. I want to see her research things, show us what she loved and what she is passionate about.

[Kaurhz]

So I think the immediate direction of the story is the key, as this is what will be also setting up the exploration content. Unless they really take a swing and make that key be part of the story for space exploration and not necessarily the main scenario.

I think the key itself will be a remnant of something that the original Azem was working on. I don't think their intent for how the key is used is for essentially replicating a rejoining, but rather for actual exploration of other worlds. Possibly something to do with Azem's apparently precognitions. - I don't think the developers are against exploring this side of the story, I think the line in the sand is just drawn for what their purpose is. From my memory, Azem's constellation sign was after-the-fact of our invocation, and not reactive during it. But I suppose this is open for interpretation.

For the immediate journey I am going with Y'sthola, G'raha Tia, and potentially Urianger. I think Wuk has served her purpose as far as this is concerned, and I don't think Thancred, or the Twins will necessarily be relevant in this case. Though we may get a filler patch which maybe focusses a little on Garlean relations, specifically with Tuliyollal.

One of my concerns around the key relates to ShB, and how Y'sthola comments on vaguely defined acts of teleportation -- Surely this key would fall under this?

[Evergrey]

Hopefully anywhere that doesn't involve wuk lamat.

SE: People have been asking for ingame romantic relations for some time. So the player will be marrying Wuk Lamat in the future update. She will then act as a permanent companion who will follow you on all your adventures, like any true lover would.

[Carin-Eri]

I would like a more grounded expansion that doesn't feature any sort of shard/interdimensional travel, before we move onto that in later stories. Meracydia is an interesting place I'd like to visit, and I'd personally like to see more of Ilsabard. I feel like I'm in the minority though - the shards don't really interest me too much.

Personally I love the Scions, and while I think it's a bad idea to have all of them around at once, I'd be absolutely fine with having 1-2 of them around each expansion, and swapping in and out of the story as needed.

Agreed - and to be honest, at this point, a visit to Meracydia at some point seems like its a given. Emet-Selch's last words, where he encourages us to explore our "little Eorzea" have pretty much turned into a tick-list.