FFXIV has lost it's heart

[sindriiisgaming]

Playing again through arr, i see something that is now lost within ffxiv, and while endwalker did try to keep that vibe in check, it was never quite the same. The heart being that feeling of being in a final fantasy universe with a great magical and mystical quest. with magic and high fantasy, hope against despair, of unity and friendship.

but lately i don't feel this way about ffxiv. The story lastley seams to move away from traditional ff themes and go for darker and edgier stories, and what's weird is. i didnt feel this way when playing some of the edgier FF games. like ff7 which ends with summoning the embodiment of hope. or the ending of ff8 literally about always finding your way back to those you love. end the ending of ARR you and your friends ALL team up to defeat lahabrae, in the ending of HW hraesvelgr gives you his final eye that you finally end the war. they all FEEL like a traditional final fantasy. but what happens in dawntrail? idk wuk lamat shows up and you both hit the robot ig? thats not the same at all. and that great feeling of heart and soul is really missing. and if you try to tell me that cant be achieved in the base msq.. ill tell you ARR/ HW/ SHB and EW all felt that way. hell even stb wasn't all that bad. the ending was kinda nice.

And its not just in the MSQ either. its the games content design. arr / hw both focussed heavily on team/party combat systems, and didn't make a huge deal out of savage ultimate content. barley anybody modded, because the game wasn't about doing giga deeps or speedrunning savages. it was just about fun. lately. the game doesnt feel this way another. its an endless tredmil of the next pointless achievement. when everybody knows.. the real achievement.. the real adventure.. was just the friends you made along the way.

seriously tho, what happened to this? now the game is just the SIMS 4. filled with weird cyberpunk neo futuristic imagery that betrays its core foundations. no longer does ff feel like a magical fantasy/ its a dystopian future fitting of its current art direction

[Astronema]

Well when the current armor sets look like what was worn by thugs robbing a CVS in NYC I would say so ... Urban soulless monoculture and dei is taking over the game

[RyoXander]

Well when the current armor sets look like what was worn by thugs robbing a CVS in NYC I would say so ... Urban soulless monoculture and dei is taking over the game

Gross take.

[BunnyReaper]

Well when the current armor sets look like what was worn by thugs robbing a CVS in NYC I would say so ... Urban soulless monoculture and dei is taking over the game

I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's just hope they realised DEI is actually bad for the game and not a good thing. Don't get me started on the overall voice acting quality this expansion (not even including Wuk Lamat)

Hey maybe Yoshi P realises DEI actually kills a game. Let's hope he does.

[lolnah]

Well when the current armor sets look like what was worn by thugs robbing a CVS in NYC I would say so ... Urban soulless monoculture and dei is taking over the game

Sometimes I think these forums are good and nurture actual discussion and then I see posts like this with 30 likes. 5 bucks this person lives in a suburb in flyover country

[CVXIV]

Darker and edgier?
People complained nonstop about the more lighthearted tone the story had, especially with the role quests
The MSQ got darker in certain areas but overall it was more lighthearted compared to what was seen in Endwalker which is what came directly before

also, FF7 isn't really an edgy FF title
Can't say much about FF8, I have yet to beat it but plan on it someday soon

[sindriiisgaming]

Darker and edgier?
People complained nonstop about the more lighthearted tone the story had, especially with the role quests
The MSQ got darker in certain areas but overall it was more lighthearted compared to what was seen in Endwalker which is what came directly before

also, FF7 isn't really an edgy FF title
Can't say much about FF8, I have yet to beat it but plan on it someday soon

ff7 is pretty edgy lol. the main character and main villain are about as emo as it gets. its about a dystopian future where climate change has ravaged the lands purity and where people are killed for speaking out. its dark, its grungy and it works!. but lets not confuse the difference here between light hearted and older final fantasy, because they were still edgy. but there had good soul and good message of hope and unity. and that was never present in dawntrail, ever. what was, felt forced.

My worst moment with the game lately was logging in the other day to unlock the new Society Quest. Spend about 5 minutes bouncing between NPCs for meaningless dialogue, then unlocked the quests... And proceeded to fight 1 mob, speak to 1 NPC, and apply an item to 3 Alpacas. I know I'm not going to get anything massively ground breaking with side-quest dailies, but this is ARR-level of quest design. I haven't been playing much since I cleared the MSQ, and this has pretty much sent be scurrying back under my rock until something interesting comes out.

I have not unlocked them, and wont. and i will not do the alliance raids more than once. i will do criterion once and that will be it. i will clear ex once and that will be it. savage i will only clear so i can get paid in merc parties on party finder. i have lost all desire and motivation to "play" this game. because nothing in this game feels like its worth doing. Msq is the only thing i ever truly meshed with. and that too is gone. yet im stuck here, to inlove with my wol and ho he was once to let go. hoping he will one day make me feel again what ive felt with him, all that weve been though together. im not sure i could wake up to the unfamiliarity of not having him with me

[Nestama]

ff7 is pretty edgy lol. the main character and main villain are about as emo as it gets. its about a dystopian future where climate change has ravaged the lands purity and where people are killed for speaking out. its dark, its grungy and it works!. but lets not confuse the difference here between light hearted and older final fantasy, because they were still edgy. but there had good soul and good message of hope and unity. and that was never present in dawntrail, ever. what was, felt forced.

I think you might be thinking primarily of Advent Children Cloud (and in general). FVII itself has a lot of locales full of life (especially in Rebirth) and Cloud in VII, Remake and Rebirth is more of a socially awkward individual (but not reluctant to do fun things). Sephiroth is also definitely not emo. He's just a very dangerously ambitious and manipulative man with a pet world ending alien. Message of hope and unity is pretty accurate, though. Despite the world facing its inevitable end, the party fights against it.

[SlickPaws]

My worst moment with the game lately was logging in the other day to unlock the new Society Quest. Spend about 5 minutes bouncing between NPCs for meaningless dialogue, then unlocked the quests... And proceeded to fight 1 mob, speak to 1 NPC, and apply an item to 3 Alpacas. I know I'm not going to get anything massively ground breaking with side-quest dailies, but this is ARR-level of quest design. I haven't been playing much since I cleared the MSQ, and this has pretty much sent be scurrying back under my rock until something interesting comes out.