Wow, Dawntrail was bad

[Barwara]

I wouldn't consider myself the Great Defender nor the Great Critic when it comes to ffxiv.

I've casually enjoyed the game despite it's flaws, accepting the things the game excels at and accepting also the other areas where it could really improve upon.

But boy was Dawntrail bad. :/

And I'm not going to re-iterate everything that everyone else has said, I think most critics are pretty valid. But Zepla put it well when she said this expansion's biggest flaw is that it kills every momentum it has.

Its bewildering how the game manages to hype you up at different moments just to let you down so hard. How come when everything is at stake and we're literally running out of time to save the world again, we end up talking to npcs about their favorite snacks, taking a gondola ride, having ice cream, put on a play, go to a museum, and ride on the back of a capibara... Like, are you for real?

We've just reached the absolute last quest of this expansion and all we did for the past four hours was casually talk to NPCs. While there's a ticking time bomb... And the rest of the team is supposedly busting their ass to keep a gate open... Astounding...

Not that it hasn't been varying shades of this for the rest of the expansion as well. And I've stayed optimistic in hopes the expansion would redeem itself and the negative reception was a bit overblown.

I can accept Wuk Lamat, the poor voice acting, and the lackluster cast of new characters, but the pacing... the absolute lack of any stakes... wow.

Dawntrail can only be considered as an interlude in the series of expansions. So many missed opportunities when it comes to tackling the 'next chapter' after the finale EW delivered.

I can only hope the devs deliver better with 8.0...

Wow... just really wow.

[DynnDiablos]

I love how Dawntrail really doubled down on the flashbacks to events that legit had happened five minutes prior, like the player suffers from short-term memory loss and needs a nudge for even the smallest of things. I was like - seriously, that JUST HAPPENED.

[VictorSpoils]

I love how Dawntrail really doubled down on the flashbacks to events that legit had happened five minutes prior, like the player suffers from short-term memory loss and needs a nudge for even the smallest of things. I was like - seriously, that JUST HAPPENED.

Even the guy from Memento had a better memory! And he had to leave sticky notes everywhere!

[Jeeqbit]

How come when everything is at stake and we're literally running out of time to save the world again, we end up talking to npcs about their favorite snacks, taking a gondola ride, having ice cream, put on a play, go to a museum, and ride on the back of a capibara

It's pretty obvious why. We had just entered the area. They want us to explore said area. It is explained in the story how we are able to do it. The process of what she is doing to reprogram herself takes a lot of time and doesn't just happen at the press of a button.

Depends on if it was actually a computer program, but in the kind of programs we have it does take more than a few minutes to code something complex without AI (and even sometimes with it when it's not doing what you want).

It would probably have been of benefit for us just not to find or have the threat presented to us until nearer the end, and just shut them down anyway because they were consuming soul energy that didn't belong to them. But at least they explained the reason.

And the rest of the team is supposedly busting their ass to keep a gate open...

There is some reasoning to that. Portals have almost always been unstable in FFXIV so having experts like Y'shtola or Urianger watch it was reasonable. But it seemed excessive to have quite so many people stay behind. Estinien, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Thancred, etc.

They obviously just didn't want to make Duty Support available for the trial so they only sent enough for the dungeon.

And I've stayed optimistic in hopes the expansion would redeem itself and the negative reception was a bit overblown.

We haven't seen 7.2, 7.3 or 7.4 tbh. Usually they do good things by the .3 patch.

[Mondschnee]

It's pretty obvious why. We had just entered the area. They want us to explore said area. It is explained in the story how we are able to do it. The process of what she is doing to reprogram herself takes a lot of time and doesn't just happen at the press of a button….

Respectfully Jeeq, them pulling an explanation out of their magic hat doesn‘t make the pacing any less odd. It‘s just another example of the writers forcing the plot into a certain direction while simultaneously ignoring the natural flow of the story to the detriment of the player experience. There‘s a reason many people have an issue with this and many other zones, and you are not helping by blindly defending it.
Nobody cares about the explanation if it isn‘t convincing or the result isn‘t satisfying.

[TaleraRistain]

It's pretty obvious why. We had just entered the area. They want us to explore said area. It is explained in the story how we are able to do it. The process of what she is doing to reprogram herself takes a lot of time and doesn't just happen at the press of a button.

Depends on if it was actually a computer program, but in the kind of programs we have it does take more than a few minutes to code something complex without AI (and even sometimes with it when it's not doing what you want).

I think that bit probably would have gone over a bit better if they made it less than we were choosing to do the actions in going and meeting the Endless and more something that was essential to do in the process. I suggested in another thread it could be something like having to handle glitches in the system before being able to access the terminal. Or they could have been the gatekeepers of lesser terminals and we had to solve their issue before we could shut the sub-terminals down. Then it's not us choosing to essentially waste time but performing necessary steps integrated into the storyline.

[Basteala]

It's pretty obvious why. We had just entered the area. They want us to explore said area. It is explained in the story how we are able to do it. The process of what she is doing to reprogram herself takes a lot of time and doesn't just happen at the press of a button.

Is it, though? This would be a good argument if the whole cinematic leading up to Living City and the initial conflict with the Meso Terminal didn't SCREAM urgency at the top of its lungs. The fact we suddenly have enough time to faff around is paradoxical. Even if some of the faffing around (Krile's parents, Cauchia) had some legitimately good writing, the framework is intrinsically flawed from the start. It's one of the worst offenders of the writers not understanding pacing or the importance of time or its absence.

Depends on if it was actually a computer program, but in the kind of programs we have it does take more than a few minutes to code something complex without AI (and even sometimes with it when it's not doing what you want).

It would probably have been of benefit for us just not to find or have the threat presented to us until nearer the end, and just shut them down anyway because they were consuming soul energy that didn't belong to them. But at least they explained the reason.

See that's the thing. It COULD, and SHOULD, be better. That's been the argument upheld by Dawntrail's critics the whole time. This came hot on the heels of EW and with SHB still on people's minds (because honestly, SHB and EW are kind of a two part conclusion to the Zodiark and Hydaelyn storyline).

Here's the thing. Even if you have more time than the story implies, why on earth do you risk the lives of millions on the Source and its shards by cutting it so close, just to get to know someone? Aren't the priorities a little out of whack, even for today's culture?

There is some reasoning to that. Portals have almost always been unstable in FFXIV so having experts like Y'shtola or Urianger watch it was reasonable. But it seemed excessive to have quite so many people stay behind. Estinien, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Thancred, etc.

Definitely done for the script, but it's one of the few moments that didn't make me raise my eyebrows. They were partly meant to maintain a portal that--quite frankly, few mortals had ever crossed, as well as being a last line of defense in case we failed (totally not because we were too busy faffing around too long).

We haven't seen 7.2, 7.3 or 7.4 tbh. Usually they do good things by the .3 patch.

I vehemently disagree with this. In the past, the MSQ *was* one of the good things. One of the best things about this game. It used to be a big moment for much of the fanbase whenever a patch dropped to see where the story would be going next.

I can't speak for anyone else, but all I feel about the upcoming patch is indifference.

[Hallarem]

I will join my fellow FFXIV lover here and say, FFXIV can do no wrong.
If the writing was in your opinion "Bad" it actually isnt, I think we should be more thankful and not greedy and support ffxiv more.

The last zone was perfect, it was so we could enjoy our time and enjoy the work the devs put forth for our enjoyment, the plot doesnt matter as it is a time bubble, so you are wrong. Like Jeeqbit here said

And yes we had the portal experts there, DUH. Be more respectful to the writers room. Any criticism is actually wrong towards the MSQ, because how could they release anything bad with Yoshi P watching over it?

Please support FFXIV with money preferably, you can find ways to do it if you cant find the cash shop. Lets keeep smiling together towards the best MMO ever and not critique them, as they are the best ever and critique doesnt lead to anything good. Just praise them.

[Xapapetsu]

I will join my fellow FFXIV lover here and say, FFXIV can do no wrong.
If the writing was in your opinion "Bad" it actually isnt, I think we should be more thankful and not greedy and support ffxiv more.

The last zone was perfect, it was so we could enjoy our time and enjoy the work the devs put forth for our enjoyment, the plot doesnt matter as it is a time bubble, so you are wrong. Like Jeeqbit here said

And yes we had the portal experts there, DUH. Be more respectful to the writers room. Any criticism is actually wrong towards the MSQ, because how could they release anything bad with Yoshi P watching over it?

Please support FFXIV with money preferably, you can find ways to do it if you cant find the cash shop. Lets keeep smiling together towards the best MMO ever and not critique them, as they are the best ever and critique doesnt lead to anything good. Just praise them.

Please make donations in the form of mogstation mounts, outfits, and emotes. Word of mouth is nice but money is better.

[Hallarem]

Please make donations in the form of mogstation mounts, outfits, and emotes. Word of mouth is nice but money is better.

Exactly, money is love and gives SE and Yoshi P happiness. I think we need to support them, so they understand how perfect their choices are and how much we love the formula.