General Discussion

Obviously this is like. 6.55 spoilers and such, as it's discussion around 7.0

Dawntrail feels way too close even though we don't have a concrete date of release yet. So I wanna know how others are feeling about it since the landscape of the XIV community on twitter and tumblr are...well, they're something.

Personally, I'm a bit apprehensive given the cultural subject matter they want to tackle when you look at their history with those exact same groups. I want to hope they'll be sensitive about the whole thing, but these are the same devs that think that the best form of plot twist is to kill off a major female character every expansion. Also all of the genuinely bad stuff I'm not going to dredge up here because that could take all day to discuss.

But the fact that Erenville has been elevated to main cast status is really promising? Nice to have someone that looks like him play such a prominent role in the next expansion. Plus they're FINALLY giving the nuance recontextualizing to the Mamoolj'aa which has been a LONG time coming, on top of Wuk Lamat?? Hrothgals finally???

Wuk Lamat is. Just about the one thing that's got me hopeful in all of this, and I'm beyond elated that she's voiced by a Puerto Rican trans woman. Love hearing her as Wuk Lamat, love her performance, and I'm excited to see where her character goes (just...praying they're not trigger happy like they were with my favs.).

Throwing this back up at a reasonable hour because I'm really curious to hear what people have to say about this :oc

@IceheartAnew

I came to the realization today that dawntrail is really soon... for some reason summer 2024 seemed so far away when they first announced it but now i have to agree it does feel too close.

I am also a bit worried how they will handle the subject matter but I am leaning more towards they will be sensitive about the topic. As the game has grown more popular I have to feel they would have more resources and knowledge to handle the subject material (this could be total hopium).

I think added Erenville and Wuk Lamat are SOOO promising and im so glad they are both already fan favorites!! I am so excited for hroth gals, I think they did them PERFECTLY!

One of my concerns also about dawntrail is how will it hold intrest... i know its a vicious cycle to always make the stakes higher and higher for expansions but endwalker and shadowbringers where amazing expansions (and my favs). For me personally i dont know if it will hold my intrest to go from something like endwalker to the more light adventure that dawntrail seems to be. But thats something I will just have to play to see!

This is speculation, skip if you're not here for crackpot theories:

I feel like they're setting up a reveal that Erenville is Wuk Lamat's brother and he's going to end up reluctantly sitting on the throne at the end. Their interactions in the last patch seem to be leaning in that direction, at least as far as familiarity is concerned - and she did already mention that she had a brother who changed his name and secretly attended the Studium. All we really know is that there is another sibling who 'absolutely can't be allowed to rule' and that Wuk Lamat would be cool with it being her or any of her other siblings.

ANYWHO!

I'm honestly looking forward to things being lower stakes. I didn't really care for the political intrigue aspect of Stormblood, though, so I'm worried that this'll end up the same - where our MC takes a back seat to other peoples stories. I don't hate Lyse or Hien, I just... wanted our WoL to matter more than they really seemed to beyond being there for Zenos to obsess over and to go punch things. If nothing else, Wuk Lamat seems like she'd be far more interesting to adventure with than Lyse or Hien. She at least seems to have some personality.

I need to finish my pvp first! I'm not ready!!

When Dawntrail is out I WILL go pick up Pictomancer and make a femhroth alt (not fantasia'ing my main into one because i like my au ra, and because femhroths may or may not be able to wear hats and i don't want to risk any glams that have a cool hat to be ruined by the inability to wear hats)


Viper looks cool too but honestly i prefer ranged and casters over melee (rn i main AST and MCH (whenever i don't feel like healing), so... yeah)

[quote name="Ghilanian" date="2024-03-02 19:50:01" ] I came to the realization today that dawntrail is really soon... for some reason summer 2024 seemed so far away when they first announced it but now i have to agree it does feel too close. I am also a bit worried how they will handle the subject matter but I am leaning more towards they will be sensitive about the topic. As the game has grown more popular I have to feel they would have more resources and knowledge to handle the subject material (this could be total hopium). I think added Erenville and Wuk Lamat are SOOO promising and im so glad they are both already fan favorites!! I am so excited for hroth gals, I think they did them PERFECTLY! One of my concerns also about dawntrail is how will it hold intrest... i know its a vicious cycle to always make the stakes higher and higher for expansions but endwalker and shadowbringers where amazing expansions (and my favs). For me personally i dont know if it will hold my intrest to go from something like endwalker to the more light adventure that dawntrail seems to be. But thats something I will just have to play to see! [/quote] @Ghilanian I'm sure hoping they will be. They've already said they're being more careful with it, but even recent stuff - like the blatant colorism in the Arkosodara quests paired with the racist depiction of the Gajasura (which is eased up in the alliance quest, thank god) - has me questioning how it'll actually land. Oda is on this expansion, and the most egregious writing is his doing - but also the main writer is [i]the Werlyt guy.[/i] So I want to be hopeful - because this game has so much potential to be [i]good[/i] and there's so much existing lore they could build on, but this is Tural we're talking about. It's only ever been in the game as the racist term "New World" with plains regalia as a player costume. Not to mention the Blue Mage quests. The devs have proven that they will go back and rewrite stuff with the ARR rework, so when will they do it for the really racist (specifically anti-indigenous) writing in the early expacs now that we're actually going to Tural? + the entire concept of the Golden City is actually a racist myth to justify the assault on Meso- and South American nations. That's how the conquistadors justified going there, and the fact that that's the basis is...well it's concerning. I'm glad it's someone from within the culture reaching out to investigate it, but I still worry about it. Again: I want them to do well with this. I don't want it to be bad, but I'm so worried orz At least Wuk Lamat is fun. And I get that on the interest thing! I'm of the opinion that a slower expac is necessary to kinda...reset the stakes? Constantly escalating stories eventually hit a wall of making things...really imbalanced and weird. Lot of anime fall into this trap. So seeing as we literally defeated an eldritch nihilism being, something calmer is necessary. I just don't want it to be "it was the ancients this whole time!!" or "no its actually allag" again. Let's do something different with none of that baggage PLEASE. At least we're getting more Erenville and Wuk Lamat out of this lmao + I'm glad that Krile is joining the main party as a Trust fighter, and that they're not retiring G'raha and Estinien so soon after them joining the Scions. Just...y'know, which we had more adult, non-lala female characters in the group. Wuk Lamat's a good start, but I get the sense her story is going to be contained to Dawntrail. But hey, we get hrothgals + the sole non-white lead in Erenville in this whole thing (sans the WoL, who's a variable but we all know they're envisioning Meteor). At least my big buff lizard isn't the diversity hire for an expansion.

[quote name="Senya" date="2024-03-02 22:08:14" ] This is speculation, skip if you're not here for crackpot theories: I feel like they're setting up a reveal that Erenville is Wuk Lamat's brother and he's going to end up reluctantly sitting on the throne at the end. Their interactions in the last patch seem to be leaning in that direction, at least as far as familiarity is concerned - and she did already mention that she had a brother who changed his name and secretly attended the Studium. All we really know is that there is another sibling who 'absolutely can't be allowed to rule' and that Wuk Lamat would be cool with it being her or any of her other siblings. ANYWHO! I'm honestly looking forward to things being lower stakes. I didn't really care for the political intrigue aspect of Stormblood, though, so I'm worried that this'll end up the same - where our MC takes a back seat to other peoples stories. I don't hate Lyse or Hien, I just... wanted our WoL to matter more than they really seemed to beyond being there for Zenos to obsess over and to go punch things. If nothing else, Wuk Lamat seems like she'd be far more interesting to adventure with than Lyse or Hien. She at least seems to have some personality. [/quote] @Senya Re, the speculation: Yeah I'm getting the feeling he's part of the adopted family lmao The fact that all of the kids are adopted makes it pretty likely, which is also why I haven't jumped on the same "Erenville/Wuk Lamat" bandwagon I've been seeing people go for. As for if he rules or not, I'm a little conflicted! Both could work honestly, and I'm curious to see where they take it. But I'm really afraid it'll be a Naadam 2. They're at least starting off better - not having a foreign leader be the one to sign up to meddle in the rite of succession of another culture for the sake of bodies for his war - and having Wuk Lamat be the one who approaches you about it, but this is still the same writers who did [i]that.[/i] Oda is on Dawntrail and was behind the Doma half of Stormblood, which is most of the issues I have with that expansion. I don't mind the politics - they've created an interesting landscape for it - I just don't like their extremely bad politics. And seeing as the twins are going there to try and learn so they might apply it to Garlemald, I'm hesitant. It's like whoever's writing this didn't play the first 3 expansions at all with how they're acting like Garlemald...y'know, wasn't the colonizing empire that toppled and subjugated countless nations. I just wish they'd just...idk stop talking about it? Let them sort it out on their own without me constantly having to be reminded that they want to woobify these guys? I'm curious to see the political landscape of Tural, especially since it's a bunch of cultures trying to not overwrite each other. I'm not looking forward to another "foreigner meddles with a culture's rite of succession" like with Stormblood. Also I dunno if that's fair to Lyse. She had a personality, they just kind of went a weird angle with her that reads as really awkward. Again: feels like who did it didn't play the rest of the game, because Yda had a really strong presence in the scenes she appeared in. I only hope that Wuk Lamat doesn't end up like Moenbryda. Hien, though. Yeah, I'm choosing the "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all" route (: I'm a Yotsuyu liker. I think that can give enough context for that + the main issue I have with him is too mature for this site.

[quote name="DancingHare" date="2024-03-03 06:29:19" ] I need to finish my pvp first! I'm not ready!! [/quote] @DancingHare Get to it!!!! I burnt myself out because I thought 6.55 would end the Fierce Tyrant set, don't be like me!!!!! [quote name="Gabbiani" date="2024-03-03 08:00:05" ] When Dawntrail is out I WILL go pick up Pictomancer and make a femhroth alt (not fantasia'ing my main into one because i like my au ra, and because femhroths may or may not be able to wear hats and i don't want to risk any glams that have a cool hat to be ruined by the inability to wear hats) Viper looks cool too but honestly i prefer ranged and casters over melee (rn i main AST and MCH (whenever i don't feel like healing), so... yeah) [/quote] @Gabbiani Oh I'm on the opposite end, I am grabbing Viper first and I cannot be stopped. Like, as a practicing bisexual, I need the two sword thing. Ever since I learned that "ryoto-zukai" was used both with two-sword fighters AND bisexuals, I've been itching to have an excuse to use it that way. Plus, it's also up my alley anyways lmao Wassup, I started as a DRG and now I'm an omnitank main that focuses most on DRK. Pictomancer is a must, but I don't think that's gonna be canon to my WoL. Just doesn't really fit her. Makes me wonder what she would be... AAYY FELLOW AU RA, I'm obsessed w my big buff bi-zard. She's fun. New OC is definitely gonna be the hrothgal, but I gotta make my temp miqo first.......she needs to be in the server ahead of time to get the name I want.

I might pick up Viper if I don't get Kaiten back. Probably going to find a new main anyway? I've been maining Samurai since SB early access, and I think I need to find something new, and as has been stated above, bisexuals can dual-wield swords.