That was so uniquely bad that I am compelled to write my first review on this site.
As I see it right now, the largest issue with Final Fantasy XIV Online's narrative is the Warrior of Light. For a position that is meant to allow the player to roleplay; as if they were there in Eorzea themselves, the role allows shockingly little agency. The player character would be no worse served by the role of a wet noodle for the amount of choice and character that they have.
The treatment of Yotsuyu is abhorrent. From a half-baked villain who was given a "sympathetic" backstory in the eleventh hour, to nothing more than a child who was lost and afraid, Stormblood has given Yotsuyu zero agency, and creates a character that is so bereft of meaning, apart from showing cruelty for the sake of it.
Stormblood was a simple tale of revolution with not much substance to it. And honestly, I was alright with that. Even if I would prefer the expansion that explicitly deals with imperialist geopolitics to do so with more nuance and care, nothing in Stormblood was mishandled enough for me to be seriously offended. But the 4.x patches thus far, especially 4.2 and 4.3, have left me with a seriously bad taste in my mouth, and have left me much more sour on Stormblood as an expansion. I find myself really disliking this story arc for XIV, and can only hope 4.4 and 4.5 serve as a satisfactory prelude to Shadowbringers, whose adherents praise so loudly you'd be forgiven in thinking it was the second coming of Christ.
Also, fuck the fact that the Duty Support isn't available for Trials. It really dampens the tension of a scene when there's a big buildup to a fight, but it takes 15-30 minutes of being in the Duty Finder to actually play that fight.
As I see it right now, the largest issue with Final Fantasy XIV Online's narrative is the Warrior of Light. For a position that is meant to allow the player to roleplay; as if they were there in Eorzea themselves, the role allows shockingly little agency. The player character would be no worse served by the role of a wet noodle for the amount of choice and character that they have.
The treatment of Yotsuyu is abhorrent. From a half-baked villain who was given a "sympathetic" backstory in the eleventh hour, to nothing more than a child who was lost and afraid, Stormblood has given Yotsuyu zero agency, and creates a character that is so bereft of meaning, apart from showing cruelty for the sake of it.
Stormblood was a simple tale of revolution with not much substance to it. And honestly, I was alright with that. Even if I would prefer the expansion that explicitly deals with imperialist geopolitics to do so with more nuance and care, nothing in Stormblood was mishandled enough for me to be seriously offended. But the 4.x patches thus far, especially 4.2 and 4.3, have left me with a seriously bad taste in my mouth, and have left me much more sour on Stormblood as an expansion. I find myself really disliking this story arc for XIV, and can only hope 4.4 and 4.5 serve as a satisfactory prelude to Shadowbringers, whose adherents praise so loudly you'd be forgiven in thinking it was the second coming of Christ.
Also, fuck the fact that the Duty Support isn't available for Trials. It really dampens the tension of a scene when there's a big buildup to a fight, but it takes 15-30 minutes of being in the Duty Finder to actually play that fight.