Wuq Lamat Appreciation Fan club!

[Gurgeh]

(ughh.. I'm still spelling Wuk wrong...)
I've been doing a huge amount of moaning about XIV recently.
But I still loved Wuk Lamat! And the English voice-over.
The problem is the impossibly heavy lifting they left her character doing on its own. And then wouldn't let the character do much of that either.


But the character itself? What they did let her do?

Please, is there no-one else who liked Wuk Lamat?

(I've been pretty disappointed with the community and how it's received her entire character as opposed to her story and some of the scripting.)

For me personally if they give up on Wuk, and don't find a way to develop her, well then I'll be defeated.

[TemporalFruitsAndVeggies]

I found her generally endearing in the first half of DT, thought the VA did a great job. She got a little too much screen time in the second half for me, considering how rushed it was already and how out of her depth she was. But I like her enough overall.

[Gurgeh]

Oh my gosh. No-one is even viewing this... maybe its the offensive spelling mistake...
Do"X
"I appreciate you Wuk!"

/sobsAlone

[Gurgeh]

I found her generally endearing in the first half of DT, thought the VA did a great job. She got a little too much screen time in the second half for me, considering how rushed it was already and how out of her depth she was. But I like her enough overall.

Yay I have a friend!
Thank you wonderful Lala! (as are all lalas)

[Kikoten]

(ughh.. I'm still spelling Wuk wrong...)
I've been doing a huge amount of moaning about XIV recently.
But I still loved Wuk Lamat! And the English voice-over.
The problem is the impossibly heavy lifting they left her character doing on its own. And then wouldn't let the character do much of that either.


But the character itself? What they did let her do?

Please, is there no-one else who liked Wuk Lamat?

(I've been pretty disappointed with the community and how it's received her entire character as opposed to her story and some of the scripting.)

For me personally if they give up on Wuk, and don't find a way to develop her, well then I'll be defeated.

Okay, I'll jump in. I think a lot of people didn't end up disliking or hating Wuk Lamat outright from the very beginning. Our first exposure to her was the Dawntrail teaser (her voice) and the full trailer (her character). I remember people being very excited to see her. This is why I want to say that I don't think it's as much her character that people are tired of, it's the character she BECAME through bad writing. As much as I liked Dawntrail 7.0, I have to agree that there were quite a few parts of it that were poorly written. Like how Wukey had to be the one going "Spheeeeeeene, listen to meeeeeee!" and not Otis. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that should have been Otis who burst into the fight. The problem is Wuk Lamat had a big neon sign above her head saying, "You like this character." Instead of letting the character do things that make the player like them, she was forced down our throats. With the more than warm reception she got during the trailer phase of Dawntrail, I think it's safe to say a lot of people could have loved her to death, had it not been for the fact that she was Mary Sue'd.

Speaking personally, I still love Wuk Lamat to death, but I want the writing for this expansion to improve. I know that's probably asking for a bit much at this point, considering this was all written way ahead of time. I don't mind having to speak with Wuk Lamat again. I'll go hunting with her. I'll go dancing with her, I'll have dinner with her, but that's where my involvement with her ends, until that big old neon sign above her head gets trashed and SE stops forcing her down our throats.

As for her voice actor, I'm sorry to say, this person was not qualified for the job. Look at their resume if you want proof. This is a 10 year old game, and part of a big franchise. They got someone with zero voice over credits to voice a character in a major role. I guarantee that there were more than a handful of other more qualified applicants for this. Why they chose this person is anyone's guess. Having said that, the VA's voice fits the character--that is a fact I won't deny. Do I think it's the ONLY voice for Wuk Lamat? No. Like I said, there are other more qualified VAs who could have delivered her lines better, also with fitting voices. If I were Wuk Lamat's VA, right now, at this point in time, I would go and take up acting classes, and I would hone my craft so I can truly earn my part.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Okay, I'll jump in. I think a lot of people didn't end up disliking or outright hating Wuk Lamat outright from the very beginning.

I am a proud OG hater of our new WoL (Wuk of Lamat) but was convinced to keep an open mind until DT. DT made me hate her even more.

[Gurgeh]

Okay, I'll jump in...

The truth is I'm a very unsophisticated, un-discerning consumer of stories. I have little literary insight. Although, I'm subconsciously appreciative of all these things.
That's been really interesting to hear and I can relate to it all I think.
I got to say, its meaning more that it probably should to hear some people being at least partly positive about the character.
Its little heart warming.
Like the XIV experience overall, is usually good at.

[lolnotacat]

I am a proud OG hater of our new WoL (Wuk of Lamat) but was convinced to keep an open mind until DT. DT made me hate her even more.

TBH I didn't dislike Wuk in 6.5. She seemed really cliche, but that wouldn't be a first for FFXIV. I won't deny I had some hesitance when she talked about her justification for coming to find us, and some of the narrative issues that causes later, but once again, not a first for FFXIV.

I'd say by the time we got to the kidnapping, even though I knew it would be solved in about 30 seconds, I was praying that Bakool would finish her off. I don't need to go into why obviously, there's a million threads for that. But unlike most of the people in those threads, I'll say I think she could be saved as a character. I'm not confident she will be will be, but a competent character writer might be able to manage it.

[CuteBucket]

I actually quite liked her in 6.5 and was excited to get to know her. I thought her character design was cute and I liked the dynamic she had with Erenville.

I didn't hate her for the first half, because I kept expecting this big character development moment fueled by some kind of revelation about her past or a sudden surprise or tragic moment or SOMETHING like that to really bring her into her own. And then that just...never happened. She never changed over the course of the story beyond realizing that she was great all along and just had to believe in herself more, the world's most boring attempt at "character growth" imaginable. And then her being front and center for the last 3rd of the story when it would have made far more sense for Koana to be there and the weird forced friendship between her and Sphene, was the final straw.

I wanted to like her! I did like her at first! Hell, I liked Lyse back in Stormblood even though I understood why some people didn't. I cannot stress enough how good faith I was going into this expansion. I've never had issue with the VA or cared about any of that crap. I was excited for a new female character with a prominent role! And then they ruined it!! If anything, I feel sorry for what Wuk Lamat could have been. She didn't need to be this omnipresent at the expense of every other character and plot point while receiving very little actual character growth. It actually did what could have been an enjoyable character a major disservice.

[Jeeqbit]

I agree with you. I loved Wuk Lamat and thought her voice was fitting and in line with the male Hrothgar accent.

As for the lack of opportunities for other characters to participate, I think that was an issue for sure. There were times where, clearly, you or a Scion understood the subject better and had more experience in it, but then she was made to act like she did.

I think SE has acknowledged they just need to bring along characters that are actually going to get development next time instead. I hope that's the case. We don't need to have all the scions there always.