Quote Originally Posted by Exmo View Post
In Heavensward, we accompany a small party of people on their quest to end a war.
In Stormblood, we accompany a small party of people in their quest to stop a war.
In Shadowbringers, we're abducted and told we are the only person who can save the world, so we do what we're told.

Where's the perceived player agency in these stories? If it's simply that you wanted to do what you were doing, versus in DT where you didn't want to do what you were doing, that's circular reasoning.
We don't just accompany a small party of people on their quest to end the war. There is a clear reason for that : once again they sheltered us when the Scions were at their lowest since the massacre of the Walking Sand. And there is the Ascians and more precisely Lahabrea that is our mortal ennemy at this time, we know he is behind all that one way or another.
In Stormblood the war is here, inevitable and it's Eorzea, our place that is menaced. Then Zenos appears very early in the story and kick our ass, cimenting not only the WoL have to get revenge for that, but also that they are the only one capable to stop him.
In Shadowbringer, yes it may seems similar to Dawntrail... but it's also cimented early in the story that the WoL is the ONLY chance for the First. And even if we refused to help, helping the Scion going back to the Source is agency enough.

The agency is either the WoL or there allies or friends are in danger or the WoL is the only one who can solve the problem.

In Dawntrail ? Why help Wuk Lamat ? Do the WoL is useful for anything more than a competent adventurer like Hoary Boulder could have been ? No.
There could have been agency, but never was. Even in the "world ending threat", the WoL seems not that necessary.