The Next Expansion cycle needs 2 things. 1) A Break from the Scions and 2)Time Skip

[Garruss]

Both of these could be accomplished by sending the WoL to another Reflection BY THEMSELVES.

No Scions, in fact, nobody from the Source at all. Make it an entirely new adventure with an entirely new cast that is native to the Reflection.

We've been rolling with essentially the same main cast since ARR. There have been some additional characters that have come and gone per expansion, but it has mostly been the same crew of Alphinaud, Alisaie, Thancred, Y'shtola, Urianger, Krile, G'raha Tia. Alphinaud and Alisaie have been 16 for 10 years now. It's time for some growth, World Changes to acknowledge the passing of time on the Source, and some new character design for them. We've established that time moves differently in each Reflection compared to The Source.

Absence make the heart fonder, and it is time for some absence.

(yes, of course we can travel back and forth for Gameplay reasons, but it should be considered non-canon. Canonically, we go to the new Reflection and are stuck there until the Adventure is over and we find a way back)

No thanks, the Scions are the WoL's close friends. I'm all for a time skip to happen to age up characters, but leaving out the Scions is a no-go for me. We've been through so much together
A time skip, sure, have the WoL trapped in a crystal or something similar by a villain ( maybe similar to G'raha was in the Crystal Tower). It takes the Scions a few years to get them out. There you go, an easy time skip without affecting the player's age either. But a timeskip seems rather unlikely with how little "budget" they have, it's not like they could completely change all the character models and the areas to fit a time skip. Only way they could do is with a sequel. But a sequel to a MMO and carrying on it's story is not really a good idea when you can just do so in the original. A nice idea, but given the work it would tak,e I can't see it happening

Also, please, can we give the other Reflections a rest for once and focus on Eythris?

[KhujaRela]

I agree that is about time to the twins to grow up... but I guess they should re-model them... I think the team is too focused on the hats and wol faces fixing, I hope they can hire a good 3D modeler (or two or three) that really knows what needs to be done
They said they were hiring, like, very desperately...

I wouldn't 'retire' the Scions entirely but I agree that new characters that stay close would be nice

[Shinku_Tachi]

I wouldn't 'retire' the Scions entirely but I agree that new characters that stay close would be nice

I agree. That's part of the reason I want to be either isekai'd to another shard or somehow vanished to a faraway planet in The Source's universe, without the Scions or anyone we know. Because if they're not there, the writers can't lean on them and use them as a crutch.

They don't need to retire them or "retire" them. Just give us some space for a while, an expansion or two. An all-new journey, with all-new comrades!