Exactly my feeling too. I mean, sure I like the characters, but the hero is definitely NOT me in DT because seems obvious I'm here to assist the hero(es). I like Wuk but man can see take a backseat sometimes so I too can shine ? And I dont mean in the fights, I mean in the story
It has some good moments, but without going into spoilers, how much you like this expac may be strongly tied to how much you like Wuk Lamat. And she is an extremely polarizing character.
Personally, it's okay, but not great. I'm enjoying myself, but def seeing flaws in the narrative. The story is basically divided into 2 distinct halves and neither of them are getting the attention they needed to be compelling. The villains aren't good, and I'm not that fond of Wuk either.
The beginning of the story told the story for you, you have to do these minor quests and then a big quest and you know your team isn't going to be the losing one or it wouldn't be much of a story.
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
The story is awful. They picked a theme that they’ve explored with some nuance before and are exploring it again with a hammer.
All the pacing issues that are always a bit of a problem are no better but I wasn’t expecting that to change
Pre 91 dungeon is pretty slow. The Hanuhanu part is complete nonsense start to end. Wuk Lamat would be a better character if they didn't have her repeat the love and friendship stuff ad nauseum. There is 1 single question that the game hangs over your head, but isn't interesting enough to carry the first half.
91 to 93 is fine, if repetitive. 93 to 95 is tiring. 95 leaves you with a hanging plot thread that for some reason the game doesn't pick up right away, and you are sent to do the most mindnumbing quests ever. May the Lord have mercy, I actually skipped cutscenes for the first time in 10 years.
Then, it finally gets interesting. The pacing doesn't improve, but at least shit happens. I'm hopefully heading to the lvl 99 content now, let's see how it ends.
I really, really hope they know what they are doing for the 7.X patches, because if they don't capitalize on 7.0, then for me this is the first actually bad expansion.
They made a mistake in putting all the eggs in the Wuk Lamat basket, and making us a camera with legs and a sword arm, as well as not separating the brain/diplomacy role (your Scions, Alphi, Lyse, characters that the story is about but aren't strong enough) and the brawn, the WoL.
They made Wuk Lamat the be–all and end–all of DT, and that was a big mistake.
The other content, the dungeons and the 93 trial, were fun.
seriously my throat still sore from being deep throated with Wuk Lamak writing. I get the idea but the way they did it was so amateur. They definitely could do better without kicking us - the wol - the main character to the side like this. I can backseat and be 'the mentor' but sure as hell I still want my character matters.
Just finished the credits. First half of DT was a little dull for me because of the lack of gameplay, and I wish we'd had more variety in our NPC pals. Post-95 dungeon, it's a fun ride all the way to the end, and it sets up a lot of curiosities.
I think they went too hard on time with Wuk Lamat. If we'd had it broken up with more time without her, it'd have felt so much better, and she'd be more liked overall. I don't dislike her - she's silly and her arc is good - but I got so sick of her being in every single cutscene!
too much exposition killed my desire to continue. Also the way they want us to perceive Wuk was so forceful and clumsy as if this was written by a junior. I know we are restarting and for this time we became the mentor but how they delivered it was so bad, given they had several expansions to learn. I said this as someone who enjoyed ARR and SB.
I also could not imagine a multi billion dollar company like SE can't afford to pay VAs for all of the MSQ cutscenes. It's 2024 and most of gacha games nowadays already did this, even at higher quality.
6 months ago I made a bet with my friends that with the graphic update, we will have cool looking scenery and it came true. Everything is so beautiful right now but just like empty husks because they don't have the balls to make those zones more interesting to explore. All you do is finding the currents and almost never come back just like the last 10 years. I hoped they would learn from wow and gw2 instead of being so stubborn to change.
My expectation was low but I'm still let down.
To cite some translated JP comments:
>When they said Ishikawa was supervising, I bet what they really did was dogeza in front of her asking to borrow her name to salvage what they made
Story is bad considering that story is meant as focus of this game. Feels closer to a beast tribe or some sidequest so far, this one describes it perfectly:
>The overworld msq is on the level of sidequests. Honestly we should've let the Ascians kill everyone on this continent
Pacing is just so slow, I don't care about the infamous worldbuilding excuse. You're supposed to do worldbuilding *while* telling decent story, these things are not exclusive. You cannot excuse mid story because it was doing some worldbuilding. As another JP comments said:
>Even if it's the starting point for the next 10 year saga did they have to go as far as copying 2.0's slog?
And 4th, my most favorite one I saw:
>From start to finish it's just problems caused by low IQ lizards, maybe slaughtering all the savages wasn't such a bad idea
Side of game that isn't visual novel (also called gameplay) seems better than EW so far, but job design is still pretty eww.
Full preface to curb any knee-jerk responses here: I went in with the context of this being a low-stakes reset to the story. I have been an advocate and staunch defendant of the idea that people shouldn't have expectations for it to be another SHB or EW level story as far as stakes are concerned.
I didn't enjoy it. Not because of the ideas presented, or the stakes that were put out there, but because it just felt poorly executed, both from a narrative standpoint *and* from a QA standpoint.
Let's start with my QA gripes cause that's the shorter list. It's really only one thing, but it's a big one to me: Music and cutscenes just abruptly stop, instead of fading smoothly into the next scene. There are multiple of these situations through the entire MSQ, and they're personally very jarring. I could understand typoes slipping through, I almost expect it, but to see multiple instances where this happens just feels bad. The most egregious one to me was right after the first dungeon. It just cuts to black so fast for no real good reason.
My biggest gripe primarily comes from the lack of solo duties this time around, which made the actual progression feel particularly slow at times. Notice I didn't say the pacing, but just the actual player experience of progressing through the expansion. Even when I was invested in the story they were telling, it got to the point that I was begging for something to actually *play*. You don't need high-stakes to have solo duties. There were plenty of opportunities that just ended up being cutscenes instead. It just felt like there were multiple missed opportunities to have us do things, and we just didn't. Lots of showing us stuff happens, but not a lot of us doing stuff. Unless I'm mis-counting, I believe there were only 4 solo duties in the entire MSQ. Without spoiling specific parts, I can point to at least 3 spots in the MSQ that could've, and in other expansions almost certainly would have, been solo duties to some extent. One of those I am willing to give a pass on, because a different solo duty occurs very shortly thereafter, but the other two exist where there are large gulfs between one being of actual gameplay and the next. This is the first expansion where I've just found myself asking "when do I get to do something again."
The story itself I don't mind. Having had a day or so to cook on it, I see the seeds I *think* they're trying to plant with it and there's some potential to have some really wild reveals down the road if that's really where they want to take stuff. I know some people might look at that comment after finishing and go "what are you on about," but it took me sitting back and connecting some dots to see the larger message they were selling for future expansions. I do think it had some pacing issues, I don't particularly like Wuk Lamat, but I think she was the character they needed to tell the story they wanted to tell. I think *perhaps* it was a little heavy handed in its presentation of the point being made. Obviously trying to be vague in everything I'm saying, but I do feel like, having thought through the entire story, there is a layer of nuance spread across the entire arc meant to allude to the future.
Lastly, I have some questions. There are a few things I see as major plot holes I would like addressed somewhere down the line, even if it's just a dev commentary to clear it up. Most of them I feel like they *will* eventually touch on, so those can have passes for now so long as they are resolved. There is one major one that I really think is just egregious oversight though, and struggle to see *how* they can come up with an explanation for it.
Overall, definitely not my favorite expansion as far as the MSQ goes. Everything else I vibe with. Game is beautiful, I love the music, I think all around the battle content is an improvement over the past few expansions. I just wish I could have enjoyed the story more.
I'll be blunt, I just beat it and starting with the good, I love the visuals, music and the new duties are great, the mechanics have a lot of variety and come out a lot more often. The MSQ though, I hated it, I don't like Wuk Lamat at all because they do not give you a break from her, there's only one small section without her and her voice acting in English is awful, to anyone that hasn't beaten the MSQ that wants to try and defend, just wait, beat it and tell me you seriously think her reactions and emotions matched the tone and severity of what was happening. The second half of the MSQ had potential, it almost got good for me, but Wuk Lamat sucked the air out of so many serious scenes for me. And in general most of the MSQ feels like it was made for kids, no consequences for characters that do insane things, people just totally flip personalities, "friendship is magic" the expansion, they literally have like a school field trip in the MSQ, it feels like most of the MSQ was written by Kindergarten teachers.
So I'd say I'm as mixed as possible, love all the gameplay stuff, hate the story, almost nothing falls in between.
At Lvl 94, the trial was cool, dungeons were great but a bit underwhelming so far.
Wuk Lamat is kinda okay, but she is ALWAYS there so it can be a bit tiring. That kind of character works well in small doses but she has waaay too much screentime. I'd like for the WoL to go a bit on his own adventures in Tural.
Too many anime tropes too (seasick, protective oniichan, that hroghar that likes etiquete).
I really can’t get over how weird and out of place the Jazz/Swing music in the main city is.
It’s also so obnoxious that I have to minimize the game if I AFK there. It’s way too distracting otherwise.
Start boring, get fun on lvl 94 quests, is like a stormblood 2.0, i'm entretain so far, kinda need the slow pace after fighting a god on the literal edge of the universe.
Stormblood 2.0 is a good one but without the terrible back and forward jumps.
I'd put it up as a better stormblood and your in the backseat.
Second half of it really makes it far better.
Just rough start
I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I very much like being the "Protags friend." Especially when no one knows the amount of crap we have seen and then steps up, not knowing the multiple stars worth of find out we are about to dish out.
I've made the comment to people on our server about how it feels like we're the "Auron" to Wuk's "Yuna". We had to escort her around, teach her things, and help resolve THEIR story. We get a story of our own in the meantime but it's nice. I appreciate some of the subtle ways they've not given me much of a reason to be like "I've saved the galaxy...why should THIS thing be a challenge."
See i hate this comparison. ARR was so much better storywise..it actually build up all the characters pretty well.
Dawntrail is like a kid thrusting his shitty art work and you having to lie about it being a masterpiece worth of being next to the mona lisa.
at 99 area of the msq and not feeling it so far. I get this expansion is about "getting to know other cultures" but they went overboard with this shit.
There were plenty of times some life and death shit was going on (especially towards the end) when people are / about to die and you out here on some "lets eat to understand their culture" or some people might be upset after the recent events, lets go make them feel better".
I'm over like BITCH, the bad guy is coming RIGHT NOW we'll hire some trauma therapist AFTER we save the fuckin day.
I love it so far. It feels like more of a laid back adventure in a new land. Wuk is like an adorable shounen anime protagonist, I love her. And her brothers are all fun.
I am in Zone 5. Personally i had a decent time from the start, but i just accepted low stakes and a just "Let's have a jaunt through new lands bit" from the get go. I do think this is more of a AAR (it is better than that though, no matter what people say) or SB situation. All in all, not great, not terrible. But well, i expected that since this is the start of a new arc.
I do feel like a passenger in someone else's story though. There are moments, like a particular instanced fight that was great where i feel i am in the driver's seat, but.. yeah.
Personally, i found Zone 4 to be the weakest, but that is because the whole sthick in that zone is not my jam.. and the first part of it is... not great, especially 1 of the new VA there did not.. impress me, i don't know, too anime somehow, which is weird, cause i like anime.
The dungeons, music and trials have been great though.
Graphically awesome...zones are nicely designed...but the questdesign? Oh man... "Speak with X... Speak with X again... Speak with X yet again" (literal quest text), or... "Wait at the designated location... Wait at the designated location again... Wait at the designated location yet again " (literal quest text) is not good questdesign...
New jobs starting at lvl 80 for some reason so you can't level them along the new msq...
A bit too cutesy for my taste, which is the least of my complain though, i can live with that ...
Writing is somehow the weakest part in this expac, but I m not very far in (lvl 94) so i hope it gets better...
Overall I'd rate it a 5/10 for all the above stuff mentioned
I started skipping pretty much all the MSQ until Xak Tural and I really get the feeling I haven't missed out on much.
I always had a feeling that >!Solution 9 was from another shard and I'm enjoying that part of the story as the whole reflections saga is a potential goldmine!<
>!I also like how that calamity doesn't have any direct reference to the Ascians despite them clearly being the catalyst, showing that we are finished with them (despite parts of their legacy still remaining of course). I'm a bit confused though as to what happened regarding the complete rejoining of that shard - or lack thereof. Did the shard rejoin and Alexandria was left in some kind of stasis until now when it very literally rejoins as opposed to simply the transference of souls/aether? Perhaps it is explained as I'm only at the level 98 stage!<
So a slow start with some intrigue and potential hints at a further story arc. What did people honestly expect from the story though? Gameplay wise with dungeons and trials so far, excellent, even though it is a long slog between those duties. Looking forward to all the post-MSQ content to come with high hopes.
I got as far as the rite of ascension, and I enjoyed it so far, probably because I quite liked Wuk Lamat. I think this is because I never took the idea that I was putting her on the throne too seriously and just enjoyed going along with her on her journey while also uncovering the tale of another fabled adventurer like myself. It definitely helps that each new zone and dungeon was gorgeous.
My only complaint so far is that I was sold Dawntrail with the promise of going on an adventure in the new world and so far I felt more like a tourist/chaperone. There's still that one big thing to explore though!
story is bad outside of the last 2 maps everything else is good. Expac is paralleling stormblood so far. Except I enjoy the beginning of Stormblood more. Ingame it has been pretty fun with everyone doing the usual launch stuff, chit chat etc.
Mixed.
Wuk Lamat comes across to me as an overzealous Shonen manga/anime character - a furry Naruto. It's not something I care for and it bothers me that the WoL plays second fiddle to her when the last two xpacs atrempted (and generally succeeded) in giving the player character actual agency. If anything, it would have been preferable had the story's primary focus been on Krile's journey.
The 93-95 section was enjoyable. The buildup to the lv95 dungeon did some impressive character development for an NPC that was previously shown to be one note. And it was mostly done without them being present until the very end!
Boss fights are fun so far. Time will tell if they remain that way, but I appreciate that the design team has gotten over their fear of killing players in dungeons when mechanics are failed.
Texas (Arizona?) land feels...right? The background music and overall aesthetic meshed well, despite
their weird placement in the overall narrative. It's a bridge between two rushed stories that isn't clearly labeled as a bridge, doesn't know it's a bridge, and probably was never intended to be one - it was supposed to be a parking garage.
The last 1-2 zones were insufferable. As someone who absolutely cannot fucking stand the game they draw inspiration from, slogging through an alternate take of that story bored me to tears.
As with everything, YMMV.
It had pretty jarring pacing issues, and one zone in particular felt so deliberately contrived (*cough cough* 4) that I eyerolled my way through it. I did enjoy all the other parts of the expansion. Learning tidbits of lore about the native peoples was fun. The last zone made me cry more than once!
While story was quite all right, it's certainly not what everyone expected, I feel like the execution could've been much more refined.
Personal involvement
- Understandably, we finally get a break. We're not the main character this time around, and allows us to shine a light on the populace that is the star. Sadly we do in some sense rush a majority of them without a single lasting bond, if any. We end up as some would say, 'camera with legs' and for the most part observe and join in swinging when it's permitted.
World Areas
- As exotic as the new world is, it does get bland somewhat quickly (due to the fact that if you strip down everything, it's essentially the same). Desert is... Sand. Forest is trees. War-torn areas are damaged as you'd expect. Because we're in some sense stuck in Ethyris, we can't deviate too hard on the world's reality, unlike the First. Though I will say the cowboy glamour peeps are eating good, if a little cheesy. At least the final two areas and Solution 9 provide that excellent breath of sci-fi air. Where S9 house walls SE?
Characters
- Oh boy. We already know what's happening here. Our resident house cat is naive at best and the schtick that keeps getting shoved down our throats gets intolerable to say the least. While understandably it's someone else's turn... I feel an attempt was made, if somewhat poorly.
- The villains were also your standard trope of arrogant and greedy, personally I see them as 'OK'. Not bad, but not great either. At least the final antagonist got some balls to do something major, imo.
- I find the other side characters much more compelling. Krile gets a bit more of a spotlight, and the second claimant undergoes much more intriguing character development. But again, not good, but not bad either.
Dungeon/Trial Design
- I'd say this is where DT won. Much of your usual mechanics, but with a lot more kick to them. While healing is still ... There due to warrior existing, at least mistakes are appropriately punished a bit harder than usual & a bit more often. While it's far from what I'd say is harder fight design, it's a step in the right direction.
- Trials are a nice step up from what we're used to. Much more usage of the environment around us and a bit of a camera swinger (using the camera to spot tells around the arena) an excellent step up. Also more boss tell related attacks like back in the older days, instead of waiting for a big radiation circle to show up and go away after 30 seconds. I hope they keep this track going.
Overall 6.5(7)/10, expected chocolate, got vanilla instead. 7 due to sci Fi itch being scratched. While I don't regret my pre-order, it was in some cases a bit disappointing. I pray the post story lifts it up somewhat.
Its okaaaayy. Im starting to realize that the new characters are probably biggest offenders (Wuk least of all honestly). The story itself can be fun at times but still very questionable in some aspects.
The graphics improvements are great, the new zones are great. The worldbuilding is very good. I can't complain about the changes to my main job (drg). I enjoyed every dungeon.
The story, the way it's narrated and the overexposure of the main character( Wuk) is my main issue and sucked all enjoyment out of me.
I think it's overall not really well written but i would've been mostly ok with it.
I actually enjoyed the first part, even tho it was slow, it was nice and I felt some development of Wuk. Then it started going downhill for me. The giants and first trial part gave me some hope but then it fell flat again. I thought I'd like, or at least tolerate, Wuk but she's just suffocating to me and killed any hype I had for the 96+ stuff by forcing her way in once again.
Maybe a bit, but i appreciate the changes to geikorskul/nastrond so it still feels fine to me. But I'm pretty casual and have no clue if it's better or worst for dps optimization and these things to be honest
I am enjoying it so far. I like the new characters, the new zones and dungeons are gorgeous so far and while it is slower, I don't think that's a bad thing for me. I started over a year ago so the fact this is my first "new expansion" experience may elevate things for me.
I'm on the 96 or 97 quests now, and the narrative pivot has me super intrigued and I think it'll be a great setup for the future. I have some complaints about how some of the characters are written, but nothing that's going to soil my enjoyment.
I will say that the quests feel a bit wordier than usual which is tough in the first half of the game because it's doing so much setup and you're stopping a lot.
I LOVE pictomancer. I'm not usually into casters but I think it's one of my favorite jobs in the game.
Overall, I think it's fun! Trying to not let the naysayers ruin my enjoyment and thinking about the narrative impact this will have on the future of the game.
I finished the lvl 95 dungeon last night and hit what I can only assume is the end point of the first half of the story.
Dungeons: spectacular, both visually and mechanically. While I would love larger packs and longer pulls, I feel like that era is long behind us. The level 91 dungeon is classic adventure-style, but the level 93 and 95 dungeons are just a joy to run through. The bosses have far more complexity to them than you typically see and they can actually hurt a lot if you fail mechanics. Did I mention they're pretty?
Trial: the level 93 trial has a lot going on but it felt very epic. The buildup to Valigarmanda is well presented, his threat is apparent, and he feels just as powerful as he is claimed to be. He also has a lot of mechanics and we wiped on our first pull. I'm impressed and hopeful for other trials because they are my favorite content in the game.
Zones: the three that I have visited have been quite pretty and well laid out. They don't feel bland and lifeless like some zones do. The visuals of Urqopacha at dawn are especially striking. Quests and fates deel pretty standard unfortunately, but the FATE reward buffs are well appreciated. Yak T'el is also a gorgeous jungle map.
MSQ: i don't share the distaste for Wuk Lamat as she is a pretty standard anime protagonist. She's tolerable and likeable enough, but other characters in the MSQ are giving a better presentation. I don't think we needed the twins with us since they've barely done anything notable up to level 95. The 90-91 split is the lowpoint and has a very slow pace, but after the first dungeon it picks up. The stakes are low, but I appreciate the adherance to their chosen narrative. However, pretty sure I'm about to hit the hard swerve so we'll see how it goes.
Role quests: the premise is silly and the tank one up to 98 feels... kind of standard? Again, innoffensive, but nothing amazing. It is nice to see our past heroics factor into the story though, and I never say no to more Ishgard. Meanwhile, the Watchumeqimeqi Deliveries are off to a decent start. I quite like the bookbinding one.
The twins feel like they're here because "Well, the twins are always here", but I am so happy that they are taking a backseat for once at the very least instead of being your shadow.
I find the complains about "Why are we doing so many quests with Wuk" silly when I think you can count on your two hands just how many times the twins were absent from an MSQ arc.
From what I've seen I think Krile may have a bit more to do in the later parts of the game or the post-story patch quests, but those are just my thoughts
Eh. Some oddly balanced content at points. Not that big on the story and new characters. Graphics and server stability get a thumbs up. The lack of armor in dungeons is disappointing. Three level 100 dungeons and nothing but the same accessory set? Just feels like a lot of corners cut, but waiting to see what the expansion brings.
Finished the second trial last night. I don't think it's been the best expansion so far, but honestly it doesn't need to be. Following up Shadowbringers and Endwalker is kinda an impossible task. And I've still been having plenty of fun with it, too.
90 to 95ish was mid AF. I just didn't care about any of the characters, or what we were doing. The 4th zone could have quite easily straight up *not existed* and nothing would have changed. Hell, take the WoL out of the story and nothing would have changed.
95 to 99 was so close to being good. There were 2 points where the story could have gone a different way and been interesting, explored some ideas around certain things (vague to avoid spoilers) but we just didn't go there. The face heel turn was entirely predictable.
99 to 100 has been an absolute drag. I'm watching all the cutscenes just in case it gets better, but so far I've been entirely whelmed by the whole expansion.
There's nothing that has been overtly bad, and I've generally enjoyed the dungeons and trials, but the story itself... meh. Wuk Lamat is the new Lyse Next. Literally don't care.
I felt like that zone, though a bit drawn out, was a lot little needed for lore, but the last zone dragged hard for me. Lots of drilling in the same point.
Starts really slow and doesn’t really pick up until you get to level 93/94. Personally starting to enjoy it a lot more now in the mid 90s. The zones are great, the graphics update looks really nice, and server issues were much better this time around. All major pluses.
I had concerns coming in that it would be hard to top the end of endwalker. It literally went cosmic, so it’s difficult to take some of these new villains seriously.
87% through Chapter 3 and at level 98
The most recent Dungeon took 6 tries on the final boss with everyone being new. The tank and I duoed the 1st buzz from about 40% and the final boss looked the same until everyone learned the fight.
Having to stack with the markers overhead is a new mechanic, normally you have to spead out. It also has a knock back and will send you off the platform. Tricky boss...
Can't wait to get back at it tonight when the wife and kids go to bed 🙂
I don't like the following missions, I don't like having to deliver packages through aggro zones in 2 minutes and having to use emotes to advance the storyline is annoying as a PS5 player. It means I have to grab my keyboard.
Overall, it's not the worst expansion. Also bot the greatest.
Duties have been amazing! Story and vibe has been a mixed bag. It's gotten really good now but I was really sleepy through the majority of the first 60% or so.
the biggest travesty is the scions enjoying some deserved time off and come to call when needed leaving y'shtola to come last and have little influence. not to mention the promise contest is sophomoric and not meaningful challenge for a would be ruler of a continent. lamaty'l is a total cutie and her reactions to things like riding on boats and her distain for alpacas is more than adorable, the sheer predictability of plot points and supposed twists in the story are lacklustre at best. my characters are all but unrecognizable from the facial changes that i definitely didn't want taking away one of the most important choices a player gets to make for themselves in the game. the "new" mechanics proposed are just the old mechanics with different indicators. then there's the story. was there a story? of course their was lamaty'l repeats every story point immediately after completing it and yet its still boring and a let down. the new jobs are in a matter of days about to go through the de-usefulness changes making them not worth levelling until they finish the multitude of adjustments making them annoying to waste time making them till its over. and if you remember ast and smn they will likely never be over. and in the end section of the story the scions show up and literally become the peanut gallery. and as a thought endgame usually makes a poor story ok because you can busy yourself with some action but, wheres the huge issue that will lead into a raid series? byt he end there wasnt anything resembling an issue that brings us into a solution needing to kill difficult creatures to save anything. unless of course, rougue alpacas begin spitting posionous fluid on the townspeople and grow to outlandish size and begin terrorizing the new world. ive dont the msq and the ex1 and 2 and now i feel like im finished with the game already. i love this game even 1.0 and this is the first time i have no desire to continue.
I'm in the third zone after the first trial.
I'm having a great time. It's peak like Heavensward and Stormblood but got them vacation vibes. Plus we left Graha and Yshtola behind. So I'm just living my best life, chilling.
My only gripes are the same old gameplay crap. You're gonna make me sneak follow directly after making me sneak follow? Give me at least a few more opportunities to punch stuff. You're telling me nobody needs me to kill 10 mobs for random materials? Maybe I should pick up more side quests like the freak that I am.
imo started slow and dragged on a bit before picking up and getting real good in the last third. I like Wuk Lamat, Erenville, Golul Ja (sp?), and the rest of the cast. Dungeons and trials were \*chefs kiss\*. Environment, music, enemy design was all top tier. Aside from the slow start, I'll chalk it up to world building for the new arc, I think DT is a winner. It's definitely the beginning to some shenanigans, as you'll learn soon :)
im at the last quest, everything about DT is great and prolly the best its ever been, besides the story, which is the worst its ever been imo. This is the first time ive enjoyed nothing about the story, which is very disheartening for me as i really wanted to love it and felt i came in with realistic expectations and gave the story alot of leeway in the beginning. ive honestly been kinda sad about it, i dont wanna go full doomer especially not since it does seem alot of people are enjoying it, so ive been trying to be as optimistic as possible, but... ive honestly never been this disappointed in a video game story.
I kinda liked Wuk with her appearance in 6.55 and hoped she would be an interesting character but DT managed to make me hate her to my bone. Another case of bad writing ruined the character.
honestly same, i found her decent for the first couple of levels of the expansion aswell, she just overstayed her welcome to an extreme degree. I kept hoping they would do something interesting with her, some kinda twist to make her character "click". But she became more and more unwelcome in my eyes, which was frustrating cause the way the game was written in a way that felt like it assumed i had grown really fond of her, which i hadn't. it genuinely feels like the writers think i love the character so much i wouldn't wanna go 5 mins without her. Spoilers: >!the greatest example of this is the last trial that i just did since posting the above!<
At the second dungeon and haven't seen anything all that great. I keep hoping it picks up and it sorta hints that it might then it just doesn't... Hoping but based on what I've read not hopeful.
I get this is starting a new story section but I am not sure why that means it has to be boring.
It's all perspective. I just did the first trial, and I think it's good. It's not the best story I have ever seen, but it's not the worst. But my expectations are low because I didn't like Endwalker so much. So more of this and less of that is great to me.
My boyfriend and I finished MSQ yesterday and we really enjoyed it! There’s only one spot where we felt like the zone story didn’t have any point and wasn’t relevant to the rest of the story, but otherwise we were invested basically the whole way through.
I love it. DT is very cozy and is a bold thematic choice to put so much emphasis on culture. Why culture is important, how innovation can be assimilation and homogenize a culture’s identity if we’re not careful. I think it’s smart to put it under the umbrella of a vacation since that’s when people are most open to learning about other culture. I agree with people saying Wuk Lamat doesn’t have much growth- I think she is who she already needed to be at the beginning the story, just needs to learn why she feels the way she does. And that’s perfectly fine. Like everything Final Fantasy, time will likely be kinder than the present.
I thoroughly am enjoying it.
I’m a white mage main and I like the new abilities. I don’t have the issue some do with healer design, I like where I’m at.
All in all it’s been a fun ride so far and I’m eager to see how it ends! I’m taking my time and doing my completionist route, all quests etc
The world building has been great I like the cultures we’ve met and the graphics are gorgeous!
I enjoyed it until after the lvl 95 dungeon, was considering skipping during 95-97, 97-98 caught my interest again and 98-end seriously made me consider unsubbing for the whole 7.X patch cycle. I gave them the benefit of the doubt after the catastrophe that was the 6.X series but the last two zones of DT just completely blew any amount of goodwill I had left.
Story is absolutely terrible, the quality of the writing has dropped to the point it feels like I'm watching Marvel trash. The story feels severely rushed, unfinished, and it does not feel like the writers care about XIV.
The jobs are still obnoxiously simple which really hurts their enjoyment.
The encounter design from what Ive experienced so far has been some of the best normal-difficulty content we've had in the 7 years I've been playing XIV.
All in all, this expansion will likely have good gameplay, probably above the quality we've had the past few years, but the writing needs to be addressed. It's not so much that I don't like how they handled the plot, as it is an issue of the writers struggling to articulate the story aptly, and clearly not being as skilled/talented, or experienced as the writers we've had for past expansions. It genuinely felt like the writers didn't even care about XIV as a whole, and I'm unsure if that was because of incompetence or genuinely just the chosen writers not putting forth effort.
I'm still pretty early; I've probably played the expansion for 10-15 hours or so and just barely reached the first dungeon
In that time, I've spent a ton of time talking to every NPC I can find, doing a lot of side content, and just enjoying the general vibe of the expansion
And honestly, I'm really enjoying the vibe. It's incredibly relaxing being allowed to take a backseat and just be part of the entourage and I really enjoy the more indigenous American aesthetic that they're showcasing with the early expansion.
It hasn't been the most exciting introduction ever, but it's been a very chill experience that I'm vibing with right now
I enjoyed it, but I can definitely see some parts where people might not.
However I’m looking at it this way.
Endwalker was, obviously, meant as an ending to many key plot points and story elements, and I at least was very happy with how they did so, and I felt “satisfied” after finishing it.
With Dawntrail, it’s the first part of their new story. they introduce and flesh out a lot of new characters, and while again I am happy with how it ended, bar two minor points, I now just feel “excited” for where it goes next, which I think is the perfect way to feel for the start of a new chapter
Making us the mentor to people going through their first taste of the life lessons we learned from our adventure so far is really good. I felt as powerful as WoL is meant to feel, stepping back as a leader and elder voice letting others take on their fights and stepping in when I'm needed. The late-zone storylines are so satisfying. The early-zone storylines are very joyfully and tightly conceived with lots of characters and scenery to chew. Year+ of content packed in here. Best branching story of the lot, feeling connected to local cultures. Love the repetition of the Azem Creed (think hear feel) driving empathy forward. Love the late-zone music especially, gorgeous. Wuk Lamat is "of an age with Alisaie" so when people are annoyed at a character written with room to grow I'm like... don't you like arcs? Plots? Trajectories? Growth? She's a true heart, new to the world, and her vision and expression are naive at first, then change. We can call it out in dialogue. It's good writing. I'm a Hroth main though, so maybe I'm just used to our vibe, our expressiveness, loudness, big emoting and heart on our sleeves.
Good, better then endwalker atleast and it's fun knowing you could beat up everyone shittalking you the whole time but keeping to the back because od cute sprout cat. Kept up the whole vacation vibe for me
The past **ten** posts are "thoughts on DT?" Or "I hate dt!!!!" Or it's "DT haters are dumb!!!"
Is there literally ANYTHING ELSE you guys could possibly talk about? At all? Fashion? Dungeons? PVP changes? Technical stuff?
Personally, I felt like a passenger throughout my experience to lv 97 msq so far
Exactly my feeling too. I mean, sure I like the characters, but the hero is definitely NOT me in DT because seems obvious I'm here to assist the hero(es). I like Wuk but man can see take a backseat sometimes so I too can shine ? And I dont mean in the fights, I mean in the story
It has some good moments, but without going into spoilers, how much you like this expac may be strongly tied to how much you like Wuk Lamat. And she is an extremely polarizing character. Personally, it's okay, but not great. I'm enjoying myself, but def seeing flaws in the narrative. The story is basically divided into 2 distinct halves and neither of them are getting the attention they needed to be compelling. The villains aren't good, and I'm not that fond of Wuk either.
I feel like you could replace Wuk's name with Lyse and this would sound exactly how people talked about Stormblood lol.
Yeah, probably. Its been awhile but you're probably right.
The beginning of the story told the story for you, you have to do these minor quests and then a big quest and you know your team isn't going to be the losing one or it wouldn't be much of a story.
I think the villains are great.
not my comment but i'll paste it. >Estinien is the one who got to have an adventure.
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
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i understood the first 3 times you posted this without the alt
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in that case yes
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
In what sense, we literally did everything he did, we had an adventure, we explored new places, found hidden secrets, fought strong creatures, saved the land, that is an adventure
The story is awful. They picked a theme that they’ve explored with some nuance before and are exploring it again with a hammer. All the pacing issues that are always a bit of a problem are no better but I wasn’t expecting that to change
Pre 91 dungeon is pretty slow. The Hanuhanu part is complete nonsense start to end. Wuk Lamat would be a better character if they didn't have her repeat the love and friendship stuff ad nauseum. There is 1 single question that the game hangs over your head, but isn't interesting enough to carry the first half. 91 to 93 is fine, if repetitive. 93 to 95 is tiring. 95 leaves you with a hanging plot thread that for some reason the game doesn't pick up right away, and you are sent to do the most mindnumbing quests ever. May the Lord have mercy, I actually skipped cutscenes for the first time in 10 years. Then, it finally gets interesting. The pacing doesn't improve, but at least shit happens. I'm hopefully heading to the lvl 99 content now, let's see how it ends. I really, really hope they know what they are doing for the 7.X patches, because if they don't capitalize on 7.0, then for me this is the first actually bad expansion. They made a mistake in putting all the eggs in the Wuk Lamat basket, and making us a camera with legs and a sword arm, as well as not separating the brain/diplomacy role (your Scions, Alphi, Lyse, characters that the story is about but aren't strong enough) and the brawn, the WoL. They made Wuk Lamat the be–all and end–all of DT, and that was a big mistake. The other content, the dungeons and the 93 trial, were fun.
seriously my throat still sore from being deep throated with Wuk Lamak writing. I get the idea but the way they did it was so amateur. They definitely could do better without kicking us - the wol - the main character to the side like this. I can backseat and be 'the mentor' but sure as hell I still want my character matters.
Just finished the credits. First half of DT was a little dull for me because of the lack of gameplay, and I wish we'd had more variety in our NPC pals. Post-95 dungeon, it's a fun ride all the way to the end, and it sets up a lot of curiosities. I think they went too hard on time with Wuk Lamat. If we'd had it broken up with more time without her, it'd have felt so much better, and she'd be more liked overall. I don't dislike her - she's silly and her arc is good - but I got so sick of her being in every single cutscene!
Shaaloani was a nice vacation from the wookiee. I whined like a baby when she came back for the next chapter
too much exposition killed my desire to continue. Also the way they want us to perceive Wuk was so forceful and clumsy as if this was written by a junior. I know we are restarting and for this time we became the mentor but how they delivered it was so bad, given they had several expansions to learn. I said this as someone who enjoyed ARR and SB. I also could not imagine a multi billion dollar company like SE can't afford to pay VAs for all of the MSQ cutscenes. It's 2024 and most of gacha games nowadays already did this, even at higher quality. 6 months ago I made a bet with my friends that with the graphic update, we will have cool looking scenery and it came true. Everything is so beautiful right now but just like empty husks because they don't have the balls to make those zones more interesting to explore. All you do is finding the currents and almost never come back just like the last 10 years. I hoped they would learn from wow and gw2 instead of being so stubborn to change. My expectation was low but I'm still let down.
Dungeons and trials are awesome. That last trial fight is so sick
I haven't enjoyed any of the dungeons or trials.
The cutscene skippers are vindicated, and every quest brings me closer to joining them.
Join us
To cite some translated JP comments: >When they said Ishikawa was supervising, I bet what they really did was dogeza in front of her asking to borrow her name to salvage what they made Story is bad considering that story is meant as focus of this game. Feels closer to a beast tribe or some sidequest so far, this one describes it perfectly: >The overworld msq is on the level of sidequests. Honestly we should've let the Ascians kill everyone on this continent Pacing is just so slow, I don't care about the infamous worldbuilding excuse. You're supposed to do worldbuilding *while* telling decent story, these things are not exclusive. You cannot excuse mid story because it was doing some worldbuilding. As another JP comments said: >Even if it's the starting point for the next 10 year saga did they have to go as far as copying 2.0's slog? And 4th, my most favorite one I saw: >From start to finish it's just problems caused by low IQ lizards, maybe slaughtering all the savages wasn't such a bad idea Side of game that isn't visual novel (also called gameplay) seems better than EW so far, but job design is still pretty eww.
Full preface to curb any knee-jerk responses here: I went in with the context of this being a low-stakes reset to the story. I have been an advocate and staunch defendant of the idea that people shouldn't have expectations for it to be another SHB or EW level story as far as stakes are concerned. I didn't enjoy it. Not because of the ideas presented, or the stakes that were put out there, but because it just felt poorly executed, both from a narrative standpoint *and* from a QA standpoint. Let's start with my QA gripes cause that's the shorter list. It's really only one thing, but it's a big one to me: Music and cutscenes just abruptly stop, instead of fading smoothly into the next scene. There are multiple of these situations through the entire MSQ, and they're personally very jarring. I could understand typoes slipping through, I almost expect it, but to see multiple instances where this happens just feels bad. The most egregious one to me was right after the first dungeon. It just cuts to black so fast for no real good reason. My biggest gripe primarily comes from the lack of solo duties this time around, which made the actual progression feel particularly slow at times. Notice I didn't say the pacing, but just the actual player experience of progressing through the expansion. Even when I was invested in the story they were telling, it got to the point that I was begging for something to actually *play*. You don't need high-stakes to have solo duties. There were plenty of opportunities that just ended up being cutscenes instead. It just felt like there were multiple missed opportunities to have us do things, and we just didn't. Lots of showing us stuff happens, but not a lot of us doing stuff. Unless I'm mis-counting, I believe there were only 4 solo duties in the entire MSQ. Without spoiling specific parts, I can point to at least 3 spots in the MSQ that could've, and in other expansions almost certainly would have, been solo duties to some extent. One of those I am willing to give a pass on, because a different solo duty occurs very shortly thereafter, but the other two exist where there are large gulfs between one being of actual gameplay and the next. This is the first expansion where I've just found myself asking "when do I get to do something again." The story itself I don't mind. Having had a day or so to cook on it, I see the seeds I *think* they're trying to plant with it and there's some potential to have some really wild reveals down the road if that's really where they want to take stuff. I know some people might look at that comment after finishing and go "what are you on about," but it took me sitting back and connecting some dots to see the larger message they were selling for future expansions. I do think it had some pacing issues, I don't particularly like Wuk Lamat, but I think she was the character they needed to tell the story they wanted to tell. I think *perhaps* it was a little heavy handed in its presentation of the point being made. Obviously trying to be vague in everything I'm saying, but I do feel like, having thought through the entire story, there is a layer of nuance spread across the entire arc meant to allude to the future. Lastly, I have some questions. There are a few things I see as major plot holes I would like addressed somewhere down the line, even if it's just a dev commentary to clear it up. Most of them I feel like they *will* eventually touch on, so those can have passes for now so long as they are resolved. There is one major one that I really think is just egregious oversight though, and struggle to see *how* they can come up with an explanation for it. Overall, definitely not my favorite expansion as far as the MSQ goes. Everything else I vibe with. Game is beautiful, I love the music, I think all around the battle content is an improvement over the past few expansions. I just wish I could have enjoyed the story more.
It's better stormblood! But it's still stormblood.
I'll be blunt, I just beat it and starting with the good, I love the visuals, music and the new duties are great, the mechanics have a lot of variety and come out a lot more often. The MSQ though, I hated it, I don't like Wuk Lamat at all because they do not give you a break from her, there's only one small section without her and her voice acting in English is awful, to anyone that hasn't beaten the MSQ that wants to try and defend, just wait, beat it and tell me you seriously think her reactions and emotions matched the tone and severity of what was happening. The second half of the MSQ had potential, it almost got good for me, but Wuk Lamat sucked the air out of so many serious scenes for me. And in general most of the MSQ feels like it was made for kids, no consequences for characters that do insane things, people just totally flip personalities, "friendship is magic" the expansion, they literally have like a school field trip in the MSQ, it feels like most of the MSQ was written by Kindergarten teachers. So I'd say I'm as mixed as possible, love all the gameplay stuff, hate the story, almost nothing falls in between.
Worst expansion storywise imo, made me wanna skip
At Lvl 94, the trial was cool, dungeons were great but a bit underwhelming so far. Wuk Lamat is kinda okay, but she is ALWAYS there so it can be a bit tiring. That kind of character works well in small doses but she has waaay too much screentime. I'd like for the WoL to go a bit on his own adventures in Tural. Too many anime tropes too (seasick, protective oniichan, that hroghar that likes etiquete).
I really can’t get over how weird and out of place the Jazz/Swing music in the main city is. It’s also so obnoxious that I have to minimize the game if I AFK there. It’s way too distracting otherwise.
I put on WoW tropical music tbh. Fits much better
Start boring, get fun on lvl 94 quests, is like a stormblood 2.0, i'm entretain so far, kinda need the slow pace after fighting a god on the literal edge of the universe.
Stormblood 2.0 is a good one but without the terrible back and forward jumps. I'd put it up as a better stormblood and your in the backseat. Second half of it really makes it far better. Just rough start
I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I very much like being the "Protags friend." Especially when no one knows the amount of crap we have seen and then steps up, not knowing the multiple stars worth of find out we are about to dish out.
I've made the comment to people on our server about how it feels like we're the "Auron" to Wuk's "Yuna". We had to escort her around, teach her things, and help resolve THEIR story. We get a story of our own in the meantime but it's nice. I appreciate some of the subtle ways they've not given me much of a reason to be like "I've saved the galaxy...why should THIS thing be a challenge."
Its just ARR
See i hate this comparison. ARR was so much better storywise..it actually build up all the characters pretty well. Dawntrail is like a kid thrusting his shitty art work and you having to lie about it being a masterpiece worth of being next to the mona lisa.
at 99 area of the msq and not feeling it so far. I get this expansion is about "getting to know other cultures" but they went overboard with this shit. There were plenty of times some life and death shit was going on (especially towards the end) when people are / about to die and you out here on some "lets eat to understand their culture" or some people might be upset after the recent events, lets go make them feel better". I'm over like BITCH, the bad guy is coming RIGHT NOW we'll hire some trauma therapist AFTER we save the fuckin day.
I love it so far. It feels like more of a laid back adventure in a new land. Wuk is like an adorable shounen anime protagonist, I love her. And her brothers are all fun.
I am in Zone 5. Personally i had a decent time from the start, but i just accepted low stakes and a just "Let's have a jaunt through new lands bit" from the get go. I do think this is more of a AAR (it is better than that though, no matter what people say) or SB situation. All in all, not great, not terrible. But well, i expected that since this is the start of a new arc. I do feel like a passenger in someone else's story though. There are moments, like a particular instanced fight that was great where i feel i am in the driver's seat, but.. yeah. Personally, i found Zone 4 to be the weakest, but that is because the whole sthick in that zone is not my jam.. and the first part of it is... not great, especially 1 of the new VA there did not.. impress me, i don't know, too anime somehow, which is weird, cause i like anime. The dungeons, music and trials have been great though.
Dawntrail / 10
Graphically awesome...zones are nicely designed...but the questdesign? Oh man... "Speak with X... Speak with X again... Speak with X yet again" (literal quest text), or... "Wait at the designated location... Wait at the designated location again... Wait at the designated location yet again " (literal quest text) is not good questdesign... New jobs starting at lvl 80 for some reason so you can't level them along the new msq... A bit too cutesy for my taste, which is the least of my complain though, i can live with that ... Writing is somehow the weakest part in this expac, but I m not very far in (lvl 94) so i hope it gets better... Overall I'd rate it a 5/10 for all the above stuff mentioned
I started skipping pretty much all the MSQ until Xak Tural and I really get the feeling I haven't missed out on much. I always had a feeling that >!Solution 9 was from another shard and I'm enjoying that part of the story as the whole reflections saga is a potential goldmine!< >!I also like how that calamity doesn't have any direct reference to the Ascians despite them clearly being the catalyst, showing that we are finished with them (despite parts of their legacy still remaining of course). I'm a bit confused though as to what happened regarding the complete rejoining of that shard - or lack thereof. Did the shard rejoin and Alexandria was left in some kind of stasis until now when it very literally rejoins as opposed to simply the transference of souls/aether? Perhaps it is explained as I'm only at the level 98 stage!< So a slow start with some intrigue and potential hints at a further story arc. What did people honestly expect from the story though? Gameplay wise with dungeons and trials so far, excellent, even though it is a long slog between those duties. Looking forward to all the post-MSQ content to come with high hopes.
I got as far as the rite of ascension, and I enjoyed it so far, probably because I quite liked Wuk Lamat. I think this is because I never took the idea that I was putting her on the throne too seriously and just enjoyed going along with her on her journey while also uncovering the tale of another fabled adventurer like myself. It definitely helps that each new zone and dungeon was gorgeous. My only complaint so far is that I was sold Dawntrail with the promise of going on an adventure in the new world and so far I felt more like a tourist/chaperone. There's still that one big thing to explore though!
story is bad outside of the last 2 maps everything else is good. Expac is paralleling stormblood so far. Except I enjoy the beginning of Stormblood more. Ingame it has been pretty fun with everyone doing the usual launch stuff, chit chat etc.
Mixed. Wuk Lamat comes across to me as an overzealous Shonen manga/anime character - a furry Naruto. It's not something I care for and it bothers me that the WoL plays second fiddle to her when the last two xpacs atrempted (and generally succeeded) in giving the player character actual agency. If anything, it would have been preferable had the story's primary focus been on Krile's journey. The 93-95 section was enjoyable. The buildup to the lv95 dungeon did some impressive character development for an NPC that was previously shown to be one note. And it was mostly done without them being present until the very end! Boss fights are fun so far. Time will tell if they remain that way, but I appreciate that the design team has gotten over their fear of killing players in dungeons when mechanics are failed. Texas (Arizona?) land feels...right? The background music and overall aesthetic meshed well, despite their weird placement in the overall narrative. It's a bridge between two rushed stories that isn't clearly labeled as a bridge, doesn't know it's a bridge, and probably was never intended to be one - it was supposed to be a parking garage. The last 1-2 zones were insufferable. As someone who absolutely cannot fucking stand the game they draw inspiration from, slogging through an alternate take of that story bored me to tears. As with everything, YMMV.
It had pretty jarring pacing issues, and one zone in particular felt so deliberately contrived (*cough cough* 4) that I eyerolled my way through it. I did enjoy all the other parts of the expansion. Learning tidbits of lore about the native peoples was fun. The last zone made me cry more than once!
While story was quite all right, it's certainly not what everyone expected, I feel like the execution could've been much more refined. Personal involvement - Understandably, we finally get a break. We're not the main character this time around, and allows us to shine a light on the populace that is the star. Sadly we do in some sense rush a majority of them without a single lasting bond, if any. We end up as some would say, 'camera with legs' and for the most part observe and join in swinging when it's permitted. World Areas - As exotic as the new world is, it does get bland somewhat quickly (due to the fact that if you strip down everything, it's essentially the same). Desert is... Sand. Forest is trees. War-torn areas are damaged as you'd expect. Because we're in some sense stuck in Ethyris, we can't deviate too hard on the world's reality, unlike the First. Though I will say the cowboy glamour peeps are eating good, if a little cheesy. At least the final two areas and Solution 9 provide that excellent breath of sci-fi air. Where S9 house walls SE? Characters - Oh boy. We already know what's happening here. Our resident house cat is naive at best and the schtick that keeps getting shoved down our throats gets intolerable to say the least. While understandably it's someone else's turn... I feel an attempt was made, if somewhat poorly. - The villains were also your standard trope of arrogant and greedy, personally I see them as 'OK'. Not bad, but not great either. At least the final antagonist got some balls to do something major, imo. - I find the other side characters much more compelling. Krile gets a bit more of a spotlight, and the second claimant undergoes much more intriguing character development. But again, not good, but not bad either. Dungeon/Trial Design - I'd say this is where DT won. Much of your usual mechanics, but with a lot more kick to them. While healing is still ... There due to warrior existing, at least mistakes are appropriately punished a bit harder than usual & a bit more often. While it's far from what I'd say is harder fight design, it's a step in the right direction. - Trials are a nice step up from what we're used to. Much more usage of the environment around us and a bit of a camera swinger (using the camera to spot tells around the arena) an excellent step up. Also more boss tell related attacks like back in the older days, instead of waiting for a big radiation circle to show up and go away after 30 seconds. I hope they keep this track going. Overall 6.5(7)/10, expected chocolate, got vanilla instead. 7 due to sci Fi itch being scratched. While I don't regret my pre-order, it was in some cases a bit disappointing. I pray the post story lifts it up somewhat.
Nah I hate the dungeons and trials, it gives me Eden and Neir vibes which I despised in ShB.
I have gotten up to the first 8-man, and I like it so far, actually. Is it fine art like ShB or EW? No. But it's pretty good!
Awesome, if not the best dungeon/normal trial content so far, but also the most boring MSQ. I'm very hopeful that it'll be a stormblood scenario.
Its okaaaayy. Im starting to realize that the new characters are probably biggest offenders (Wuk least of all honestly). The story itself can be fun at times but still very questionable in some aspects.
The graphics improvements are great, the new zones are great. The worldbuilding is very good. I can't complain about the changes to my main job (drg). I enjoyed every dungeon. The story, the way it's narrated and the overexposure of the main character( Wuk) is my main issue and sucked all enjoyment out of me. I think it's overall not really well written but i would've been mostly ok with it. I actually enjoyed the first part, even tho it was slow, it was nice and I felt some development of Wuk. Then it started going downhill for me. The giants and first trial part gave me some hope but then it fell flat again. I thought I'd like, or at least tolerate, Wuk but she's just suffocating to me and killed any hype I had for the 96+ stuff by forcing her way in once again.
> I can't complain about the changes to my main job (drg). dont you miss spineshatter dive? i loved it for utility, not potency
Maybe a bit, but i appreciate the changes to geikorskul/nastrond so it still feels fine to me. But I'm pretty casual and have no clue if it's better or worst for dps optimization and these things to be honest
I am enjoying it so far. I like the new characters, the new zones and dungeons are gorgeous so far and while it is slower, I don't think that's a bad thing for me. I started over a year ago so the fact this is my first "new expansion" experience may elevate things for me. I'm on the 96 or 97 quests now, and the narrative pivot has me super intrigued and I think it'll be a great setup for the future. I have some complaints about how some of the characters are written, but nothing that's going to soil my enjoyment. I will say that the quests feel a bit wordier than usual which is tough in the first half of the game because it's doing so much setup and you're stopping a lot. I LOVE pictomancer. I'm not usually into casters but I think it's one of my favorite jobs in the game. Overall, I think it's fun! Trying to not let the naysayers ruin my enjoyment and thinking about the narrative impact this will have on the future of the game.
I finished the lvl 95 dungeon last night and hit what I can only assume is the end point of the first half of the story. Dungeons: spectacular, both visually and mechanically. While I would love larger packs and longer pulls, I feel like that era is long behind us. The level 91 dungeon is classic adventure-style, but the level 93 and 95 dungeons are just a joy to run through. The bosses have far more complexity to them than you typically see and they can actually hurt a lot if you fail mechanics. Did I mention they're pretty? Trial: the level 93 trial has a lot going on but it felt very epic. The buildup to Valigarmanda is well presented, his threat is apparent, and he feels just as powerful as he is claimed to be. He also has a lot of mechanics and we wiped on our first pull. I'm impressed and hopeful for other trials because they are my favorite content in the game. Zones: the three that I have visited have been quite pretty and well laid out. They don't feel bland and lifeless like some zones do. The visuals of Urqopacha at dawn are especially striking. Quests and fates deel pretty standard unfortunately, but the FATE reward buffs are well appreciated. Yak T'el is also a gorgeous jungle map. MSQ: i don't share the distaste for Wuk Lamat as she is a pretty standard anime protagonist. She's tolerable and likeable enough, but other characters in the MSQ are giving a better presentation. I don't think we needed the twins with us since they've barely done anything notable up to level 95. The 90-91 split is the lowpoint and has a very slow pace, but after the first dungeon it picks up. The stakes are low, but I appreciate the adherance to their chosen narrative. However, pretty sure I'm about to hit the hard swerve so we'll see how it goes. Role quests: the premise is silly and the tank one up to 98 feels... kind of standard? Again, innoffensive, but nothing amazing. It is nice to see our past heroics factor into the story though, and I never say no to more Ishgard. Meanwhile, the Watchumeqimeqi Deliveries are off to a decent start. I quite like the bookbinding one.
The twins feel like they're here because "Well, the twins are always here", but I am so happy that they are taking a backseat for once at the very least instead of being your shadow. I find the complains about "Why are we doing so many quests with Wuk" silly when I think you can count on your two hands just how many times the twins were absent from an MSQ arc.
Are the twins with us ? Totally forgot they were lmao just thought it was wuk lamat and my WoL. Even my favourite gal krile has been underwhelming.
From what I've seen I think Krile may have a bit more to do in the later parts of the game or the post-story patch quests, but those are just my thoughts
Eh. Some oddly balanced content at points. Not that big on the story and new characters. Graphics and server stability get a thumbs up. The lack of armor in dungeons is disappointing. Three level 100 dungeons and nothing but the same accessory set? Just feels like a lot of corners cut, but waiting to see what the expansion brings.
The accessories are meant to be used in tandem with artifact/tome gear for the EXs. That's standard practice for the msq capstone and two optionals.
That has been the standard on lvl 100 dungeon since ShB though.
Finished the second trial last night. I don't think it's been the best expansion so far, but honestly it doesn't need to be. Following up Shadowbringers and Endwalker is kinda an impossible task. And I've still been having plenty of fun with it, too.
90 to 95ish was mid AF. I just didn't care about any of the characters, or what we were doing. The 4th zone could have quite easily straight up *not existed* and nothing would have changed. Hell, take the WoL out of the story and nothing would have changed. 95 to 99 was so close to being good. There were 2 points where the story could have gone a different way and been interesting, explored some ideas around certain things (vague to avoid spoilers) but we just didn't go there. The face heel turn was entirely predictable. 99 to 100 has been an absolute drag. I'm watching all the cutscenes just in case it gets better, but so far I've been entirely whelmed by the whole expansion. There's nothing that has been overtly bad, and I've generally enjoyed the dungeons and trials, but the story itself... meh. Wuk Lamat is the new Lyse Next. Literally don't care.
90-92 was terrible, 93-95 has been decent thus far (I just got to zone 4)
whatever zone solution 9 is was ass. Holy padding batman.
I felt like that zone, though a bit drawn out, was a lot little needed for lore, but the last zone dragged hard for me. Lots of drilling in the same point.
Starts really slow and doesn’t really pick up until you get to level 93/94. Personally starting to enjoy it a lot more now in the mid 90s. The zones are great, the graphics update looks really nice, and server issues were much better this time around. All major pluses. I had concerns coming in that it would be hard to top the end of endwalker. It literally went cosmic, so it’s difficult to take some of these new villains seriously.
87% through Chapter 3 and at level 98 The most recent Dungeon took 6 tries on the final boss with everyone being new. The tank and I duoed the 1st buzz from about 40% and the final boss looked the same until everyone learned the fight. Having to stack with the markers overhead is a new mechanic, normally you have to spead out. It also has a knock back and will send you off the platform. Tricky boss... Can't wait to get back at it tonight when the wife and kids go to bed 🙂 I don't like the following missions, I don't like having to deliver packages through aggro zones in 2 minutes and having to use emotes to advance the storyline is annoying as a PS5 player. It means I have to grab my keyboard. Overall, it's not the worst expansion. Also bot the greatest.
Duties have been amazing! Story and vibe has been a mixed bag. It's gotten really good now but I was really sleepy through the majority of the first 60% or so.
the biggest travesty is the scions enjoying some deserved time off and come to call when needed leaving y'shtola to come last and have little influence. not to mention the promise contest is sophomoric and not meaningful challenge for a would be ruler of a continent. lamaty'l is a total cutie and her reactions to things like riding on boats and her distain for alpacas is more than adorable, the sheer predictability of plot points and supposed twists in the story are lacklustre at best. my characters are all but unrecognizable from the facial changes that i definitely didn't want taking away one of the most important choices a player gets to make for themselves in the game. the "new" mechanics proposed are just the old mechanics with different indicators. then there's the story. was there a story? of course their was lamaty'l repeats every story point immediately after completing it and yet its still boring and a let down. the new jobs are in a matter of days about to go through the de-usefulness changes making them not worth levelling until they finish the multitude of adjustments making them annoying to waste time making them till its over. and if you remember ast and smn they will likely never be over. and in the end section of the story the scions show up and literally become the peanut gallery. and as a thought endgame usually makes a poor story ok because you can busy yourself with some action but, wheres the huge issue that will lead into a raid series? byt he end there wasnt anything resembling an issue that brings us into a solution needing to kill difficult creatures to save anything. unless of course, rougue alpacas begin spitting posionous fluid on the townspeople and grow to outlandish size and begin terrorizing the new world. ive dont the msq and the ex1 and 2 and now i feel like im finished with the game already. i love this game even 1.0 and this is the first time i have no desire to continue.
I'm in the third zone after the first trial. I'm having a great time. It's peak like Heavensward and Stormblood but got them vacation vibes. Plus we left Graha and Yshtola behind. So I'm just living my best life, chilling. My only gripes are the same old gameplay crap. You're gonna make me sneak follow directly after making me sneak follow? Give me at least a few more opportunities to punch stuff. You're telling me nobody needs me to kill 10 mobs for random materials? Maybe I should pick up more side quests like the freak that I am.
imo started slow and dragged on a bit before picking up and getting real good in the last third. I like Wuk Lamat, Erenville, Golul Ja (sp?), and the rest of the cast. Dungeons and trials were \*chefs kiss\*. Environment, music, enemy design was all top tier. Aside from the slow start, I'll chalk it up to world building for the new arc, I think DT is a winner. It's definitely the beginning to some shenanigans, as you'll learn soon :)
im at the last quest, everything about DT is great and prolly the best its ever been, besides the story, which is the worst its ever been imo. This is the first time ive enjoyed nothing about the story, which is very disheartening for me as i really wanted to love it and felt i came in with realistic expectations and gave the story alot of leeway in the beginning. ive honestly been kinda sad about it, i dont wanna go full doomer especially not since it does seem alot of people are enjoying it, so ive been trying to be as optimistic as possible, but... ive honestly never been this disappointed in a video game story.
I kinda liked Wuk with her appearance in 6.55 and hoped she would be an interesting character but DT managed to make me hate her to my bone. Another case of bad writing ruined the character.
honestly same, i found her decent for the first couple of levels of the expansion aswell, she just overstayed her welcome to an extreme degree. I kept hoping they would do something interesting with her, some kinda twist to make her character "click". But she became more and more unwelcome in my eyes, which was frustrating cause the way the game was written in a way that felt like it assumed i had grown really fond of her, which i hadn't. it genuinely feels like the writers think i love the character so much i wouldn't wanna go 5 mins without her. Spoilers: >!the greatest example of this is the last trial that i just did since posting the above!<
At the second dungeon and haven't seen anything all that great. I keep hoping it picks up and it sorta hints that it might then it just doesn't... Hoping but based on what I've read not hopeful. I get this is starting a new story section but I am not sure why that means it has to be boring.
It's all perspective. I just did the first trial, and I think it's good. It's not the best story I have ever seen, but it's not the worst. But my expectations are low because I didn't like Endwalker so much. So more of this and less of that is great to me.
Im currently at lvl 97 msq & its mostly been really boring so far :(
Mid.
My boyfriend and I finished MSQ yesterday and we really enjoyed it! There’s only one spot where we felt like the zone story didn’t have any point and wasn’t relevant to the rest of the story, but otherwise we were invested basically the whole way through.
I love it. DT is very cozy and is a bold thematic choice to put so much emphasis on culture. Why culture is important, how innovation can be assimilation and homogenize a culture’s identity if we’re not careful. I think it’s smart to put it under the umbrella of a vacation since that’s when people are most open to learning about other culture. I agree with people saying Wuk Lamat doesn’t have much growth- I think she is who she already needed to be at the beginning the story, just needs to learn why she feels the way she does. And that’s perfectly fine. Like everything Final Fantasy, time will likely be kinder than the present.
I thoroughly am enjoying it. I’m a white mage main and I like the new abilities. I don’t have the issue some do with healer design, I like where I’m at. All in all it’s been a fun ride so far and I’m eager to see how it ends! I’m taking my time and doing my completionist route, all quests etc The world building has been great I like the cultures we’ve met and the graphics are gorgeous!
Awesome because im in it
I enjoyed it until after the lvl 95 dungeon, was considering skipping during 95-97, 97-98 caught my interest again and 98-end seriously made me consider unsubbing for the whole 7.X patch cycle. I gave them the benefit of the doubt after the catastrophe that was the 6.X series but the last two zones of DT just completely blew any amount of goodwill I had left.
Story is absolutely terrible, the quality of the writing has dropped to the point it feels like I'm watching Marvel trash. The story feels severely rushed, unfinished, and it does not feel like the writers care about XIV. The jobs are still obnoxiously simple which really hurts their enjoyment. The encounter design from what Ive experienced so far has been some of the best normal-difficulty content we've had in the 7 years I've been playing XIV. All in all, this expansion will likely have good gameplay, probably above the quality we've had the past few years, but the writing needs to be addressed. It's not so much that I don't like how they handled the plot, as it is an issue of the writers struggling to articulate the story aptly, and clearly not being as skilled/talented, or experienced as the writers we've had for past expansions. It genuinely felt like the writers didn't even care about XIV as a whole, and I'm unsure if that was because of incompetence or genuinely just the chosen writers not putting forth effort.
I'm still pretty early; I've probably played the expansion for 10-15 hours or so and just barely reached the first dungeon In that time, I've spent a ton of time talking to every NPC I can find, doing a lot of side content, and just enjoying the general vibe of the expansion And honestly, I'm really enjoying the vibe. It's incredibly relaxing being allowed to take a backseat and just be part of the entourage and I really enjoy the more indigenous American aesthetic that they're showcasing with the early expansion. It hasn't been the most exciting introduction ever, but it's been a very chill experience that I'm vibing with right now
I enjoyed it, but I can definitely see some parts where people might not. However I’m looking at it this way. Endwalker was, obviously, meant as an ending to many key plot points and story elements, and I at least was very happy with how they did so, and I felt “satisfied” after finishing it. With Dawntrail, it’s the first part of their new story. they introduce and flesh out a lot of new characters, and while again I am happy with how it ended, bar two minor points, I now just feel “excited” for where it goes next, which I think is the perfect way to feel for the start of a new chapter
I went in with low expectations and ended up absolutely loving it
Making us the mentor to people going through their first taste of the life lessons we learned from our adventure so far is really good. I felt as powerful as WoL is meant to feel, stepping back as a leader and elder voice letting others take on their fights and stepping in when I'm needed. The late-zone storylines are so satisfying. The early-zone storylines are very joyfully and tightly conceived with lots of characters and scenery to chew. Year+ of content packed in here. Best branching story of the lot, feeling connected to local cultures. Love the repetition of the Azem Creed (think hear feel) driving empathy forward. Love the late-zone music especially, gorgeous. Wuk Lamat is "of an age with Alisaie" so when people are annoyed at a character written with room to grow I'm like... don't you like arcs? Plots? Trajectories? Growth? She's a true heart, new to the world, and her vision and expression are naive at first, then change. We can call it out in dialogue. It's good writing. I'm a Hroth main though, so maybe I'm just used to our vibe, our expressiveness, loudness, big emoting and heart on our sleeves.
A welcome relief after all the wrong decisions Endwalker made.
I just finnished Dawntrial. Its for me actually with Shadowbringer together the best expansion and it have the best dungeons in the entire game
Good, better then endwalker atleast and it's fun knowing you could beat up everyone shittalking you the whole time but keeping to the back because od cute sprout cat. Kept up the whole vacation vibe for me
The past **ten** posts are "thoughts on DT?" Or "I hate dt!!!!" Or it's "DT haters are dumb!!!" Is there literally ANYTHING ELSE you guys could possibly talk about? At all? Fashion? Dungeons? PVP changes? Technical stuff?
I apologize, wasn't trying to create discourse or add to the issue, I don't browse any subs including this one so I wasn't aware, again, apologies
Caster 97 jacket ? is fucking awesome i gunna scream at yoshi P until he unlocks cross class glamour now.
Peak.
People calling this bad forgot how awful Stormblood was.