DT's Writing: What Could've Been Better

[StormChase]

Some of these points may seem like nitpicks, but I'm not trying to be too negative. I'm saying this because I want to point out ways the writing can improve, and because I think a lot of the genuine issues are misattributed. The vast majority of problems with the writing don't stem from any one character, but from time. There's not enough time to fully flesh out the characters and concepts.

At its core, Dawntrail's trying to pull off several things at once:

• Wuk Lamat's character arc
• Comparing/contrasting both the other claimants and Sphene with Wuk Lamat
• Krile's character arc
• Erenville's character arc
• The Warrior of Light's transition to mentoring
• Teaching the player about the different cultures in Tural
• Teaching the player about Alexandria

These points are really hard to accomplish in just 100 quests without either some or all of them feeling half-assed. It ends up making Dawntrail function like a speedrun from Point A to Point B. The sidequests help somewhat, but there's only so much they can do to supplement the MSQ. And the pacing leads to problems like these:

• The main party doesn't interact enough with each other outside of what's necessary for the feats and saving Tuliyollal, especially between Wuk Lamat and Erenville. Aren't they supposed to be childhood friends?
• Every major character's arc is either rushed or barely touched upon.
• The Warrior of Light's expected to be a mentor but doesn't get many opportunities to give advice beyond a few lines.
• There's a lot of tell over show in some places and not enough tell or show in other places.
• Wuk Lamat's outburst happens too early.
• Missed opportunity for more friction between Wuk Lamat and her family.
• Missed opportunity for Wuk Lamat to try and fail emulating her brothers' methods.
• Bakool Ja Ja faces zero consequences for releasing Valigarmanda.
• Zereel Ja faces zero consequences for abusing his sons.
• Some of the cultures we see are brushed over (Xak Tural...).
• The second half may be even more rushed.
• Alexandria is introduced too late.
• There's barely any time to get to know Sphene before the heel turn.
• It feels like Zoraal Ja and Sphene are competing for space as the main villain.

In addition to this, there's a second problem that exacerbates the first one. The writers feel the need to insert the main Scions into everything, even when there isn't much to gain from their presence. Alisaie and Alphinaud are by far the biggest offenders. They don't need to be in the main party. Everything they learn that could help them with Garlemald, they already knew. Y'shtola and G'raha have some justification for coming back, but the only two Scions (excluding Krile) who feel like they have to be there are Thancred and Urianger, and that's so they can help Koana.

[Zakuyia]

How the hell are we mentoring....when did we mentor we did a bunch of head nodding.... yeah DT story is a mess arcadia is still awesome tho

[Daralii]

How the hell are we mentoring....when did we mentor we did a bunch of head nodding.... yeah DT story is a mess arcadia is still awesome tho

Characters occasionally said we were mentoring her, though we never actually did anything and she overcame everything completely on her own without actually working to do so.

[Hallarem]

Not really a mentor, more like a barely willing mercenary hire, that got tempered by the plot like all the scions.

A lot of those things couldve been accomplished, but the plot was both rushed and slowed down at the same time. A lot of padding that had no place to be MSQ quests. Just horrid pacing in general

[sindriiisgaming]

Wuk lamat never happening would have instantly took the story higher. We needed less about tural and more about the 9th shard

[Midare]

These points are really hard to accomplish in just 100 quests without either some or all of them feeling half-assed.

It took 32 quests in the post Shadowbringer quests for me to go from "Oh, who was this guy?... ah right, Elidibus." to "Oh god the poor thing! Let me hug him!!" while bawling my eyes off.

In 100 quests they couldn't make me like Poochie.

When you have such a black hole like her, everything else suffers, everything else gets pushed to the bare minimum in favor of that black hole.

There's your main issue.

[StormChase]

It took 32 quests in the post Shadowbringer quests for me to go from "Oh, who was this guy?... ah right, Elidibus." to "Oh god the poor thing! Let me hug him!!" while bawling my eyes off.

In 100 quests they couldn't make me like Poochie.

When you have such a black hole like her, everything else suffers, everything else gets pushed to the bare minimum in favor of that black hole.

There's your main issue.

That's not a fair comparison because Elidibus had been a part of the plot since 2.1 and the big payoff was in 5.3. Wuk Lamat's been a part of the plot since 6.55. It's because Elidibus' story had more time to be spread out that they could focus on other things too. If Elidibus suddenly appeared much later I don't think you would've seen him the same way.

[Daralii]

That's not a fair comparison because Elidibus had been a part of the plot since 2.1 and the big payoff was in 5.3. Wuk Lamat's been a part of the plot since 6.55. It's because Elidibus' story had more time to be spread out that they could focus on other things too. If Elidibus suddenly appeared much later I don't think you would've seen him the same way.

He was just a mysterious and mostly indirect antagonist until Shadowbringers. I don't think what and who he was started getting explained until 5.2.

[StormChase]

He was just a mysterious and mostly indirect antagonist until Shadowbringers. I don't think what and who he was started getting explained until 5.2.

True, but the fact he was around for so long without us knowing what his deal was made it all the more satisfying when we finally learned.

[Midare]

True, but the fact he was around for so long without us knowing what his deal was made it all the more satisfying when we finally learned.

Not really. I barely was even aware of his name once he started becoming more relevant. I barely even remembered him being part of the whole Ascian thing due to the fact that most of his appearances are in cutscenes when he was on his own.

Meanwhile, after one patch with Poochie I was aware that she was a princess and sister of a former student of Sharlayan, the friend of Erenville. Someone "spunky" and always hungry...

And still, 32 quests did a better job than 100.