Standing There Syndrome

[Jeeqbit]

We've all seen it. We all hate it. When characters, often our own, simply stand there during cutscenes where something bad is happening, when there is absolutely nothing stopping them from intervening.

Well that does happen in real life actually. The shock factor can leave you stunned or struggling to move.

we also know that the reason we don't get to see our WoL kick people's behinds cinematically is due to budget

No, it's for a few other reasons, actually:

• They can't know which class/job we are using and they can't future-proof it because we will have new jobs later on.
• They don't want to do the fighting for us normally. They want us to do that ourselves via the actual fights/dungeons/trials. The cutscenes are merely the setup for those fights.

Stormblood was very guilty of it. Endwalker had few, but egregious moments. And then there is Dawntrail.

Examples? The main Dawntrail one that gets referenced I do agree with them standing there initially out of sheer respect for Gulool Ja Ja's skill, which the WoL witnessed first-hand so they knew that they could handle it and technically they did by defeating Zoraal Ja.

And really the second time, while it's obvious to all of us that there is some technology at play reviving Zoraal Ja and making them more powerful, the characters in the game are quite primitive and don't have a lot of technology like this so wouldn't necessarily understand this was a technology making them more powerful and considering Gulool Ja Ja won once, why wouldn't they again?

[ovIm]

Now, we also know that the reason we don't get to see our WoL kick people's behinds cinematically is due to budget - there are way too many different jobs, and there'd have to be either one variation for each, or to have us engage in a completely different way (the punch).

• They can't know which class/job we are using and they can't future-proof it because we will have new jobs later on.

This can easily be worked around. Instead of making an animation per class, just make one per role. Imagine this, your WoL stands at the ready, their weapon is slapped out of their hand, they have to divejump away from a follow up attack, pick up a generic weapon from the floor or a wall, based on their roll, and use that.
WoL is a tank? Grab a shield and use it to block and counter.
WoL is a melee DPS? Cool, here is a halberd, go to town.
WoL is a monk? Fisticuffs.
WoL is a ranged? Bunch of throwing spears to attack at a distance.
WoL is a mage/healer? Just a staff to fling generic looking spells around.

Future proof (unless they add in a new role, which I doubt), and much more manageable in scope, considering you only need 10 choreographies now (tall size and lalafell size) instead of two per class.

[PyurBlue]

This can easily be worked around. Instead of making an animation per class, just make one per role. Imagine this, your WoL stands at the ready, their weapon is slapped out of their hand, they have to divejump away from a follow up attack, pick up a generic weapon from the floor or a wall, based on their roll, and use that.
WoL is a tank? Grab a shield and use it to block and counter.
WoL is a melee DPS? Cool, here is a halberd, go to town.
WoL is a monk? Fisticuffs.
WoL is a ranged? Bunch of throwing spears to attack at a distance.
WoL is a mage/healer? Just a staff to fling generic looking spells around.

Future proof (unless they add in a new role, which I doubt), and much more manageable in scope, considering you only need 10 choreographies now (tall size and lalafell size) instead of two per class.

It could be made even simpler if the WoL were to raise weapons and run off screen to deal with whatever needs to be attacked and the scene cut to the result without showing exactly what happened. There would be no need to account for class or future proof, and while it might not be as satisfying as seeing the action, it would be better than watching everyone stand idle for no reason.

[Hallarem]

It could be made even simpler if the WoL were to raise weapons and run off screen to deal with whatever needs to be attacked and the scene cut to the result without showing exactly what happened. There would be no need to account for class or future proof, and while it might not be as satisfying as seeing the action, it would be better than watching everyone stand idle for no reason.

SE: Gritting teeth and fist clench + stare combo and nod is best we can give you

[EchoingPulse]

SE: Gritting teeth and fist clench + stare combo and nod is best we can give you

I believe that they did a lot of that in Yawntrail.