Hydaelyn Role-Players

(05-28-2015, 03:08 PM)Telluride Wrote: [ -> ]Yuuuuuuuuuuup.

"I'm sorry, heretics - your Ice Princess is in another... afterlife."

Add that a certain Uldah resident would still be completely hale because my WoL isn't afraid of some blue coated scrub.

[Samuel L. Jackson Mode]

"Ooooh, I get it. You think... you think you're good with that cute little sword. Huh. Funny story. I was tearing off Titan's grundies, stuffing them up Ifrit's backside, and ripping Garuda's tailfeathers off and stabbing Leviathan in his briny eyeball with them, while you were busy taking bribes and being a third-rate tool. Oh, sorry, no, too late. This confrontation ends only one way, and that's with you leaking blood like, oh, the Garlean commanders, whom I also took down like b****es. Please look forward to it."

All of my yes, holy shit. Every single one of my characters would've torn ill-bred, lolorito, and every single one of those scrub brass blades/crystal braves apart.

At this point, we can't say much more that doesn't start to sound like the demented ravings of a schoolchild playing with water guns. I'll risk it once more (fills squirt gun).

But this is an inherent narrative weakness in this type of story anyway:

1) Declare the protagonist to be the Powerful Chosen One

2) Have Protagonist win every fight against opponents of Demigod-level power.

3) Force Protagonist to conveniently forget this fact so that half-arsed, weak villain with scrubs not fit to wipe the Protagonist's boots can create artificial tension in a weakly written narrative, to which Protagonist, like a 7-year-old's Rage Comic, says, "Okay."

"Hey, Player! Guess what - your protagonist doesn't get to fight our scrubs, so we can stop you from being heroic when everything THAT YOU HAVE DONE AS A PLAYER becomes inconvenient to our narrative!"



FFXIV's plot has Joker Immunity, sometimes, and I no longer accept that I'm just spoiled. Other media have had to deal with this contradiction - I mentioned Superman, earlier, as an example, and a LOT of Superhero and fantasy stories have addressed the problem of how to handle an uberpowerful character. SE hasn't been reading, or heeding, any of these, so far as I can see in this game.

I get that the WoL is supposed to be an "Everyman", to risk the gendered term, for any sort of human player, but who CAN get behind this character, acting the way he/she does? Even if we say that the WoL doesn't want to kill, and wants to make people happy, how in the heck does it excuse...

Warning - 2.55 Spoiler


....ahem.

This really had stopped bothering me for awhile. I was content to let the bad writing be bad writing and go on with having my game. But SE says that no one gets into Ishgard without sitting through this story, and there are already hints that our protagonist is going to be the same SuperSheep that put up with all this.

I take it personally because it's bad writing, bad writing that we have no choice but to endure to get to the actual new, fun content that we're all waiting for, in which we all can write better, more intelligent stories than the one we're being made to endure.

By the way, this is the same kind of thing that made the movie Alien3 flop, and deservedly so.

The Warrior of Light is just an awkward stand in for our characters, though that doesn't matter since it wouldn't make sense for anybody's character to be the Warrior of Light in the first place. It's silly that a lot of the lore revolves around the actions of a single character despite it being an MMO but...that's no different to WoW, GW2 and the various other MMO's that embraced such a path.

Putting that aside, however, the lore is rich and interesting enough for role-players to have plenty of stuff to do. What the Warrior of Light does or doesn't do is largely irrelevant - at least in my eyes. Then again, I'm not interested in interacting with anybody who is brushing shoulders with the Warrior or Light or claiming to be him so...each to their own, I guess!

I'm really looking forward to exploring Ishgard. Next to the Garlean Empire it's the second most intriguing thing in-game for me.

(05-28-2015, 03:57 PM)Telluride Wrote: [ -> ]At this point, we can't say much more that doesn't start to sound like the demented ravings of a schoolchild playing with water guns. I'll risk it once more (fills squirt gun).

While typically your posts are really good and entertaining and fun to read....jfc we get it. You hate the MSQ. YOU HATE THE MSQ. YOU HATE THE MSQ.

Please, fellow RP'er, step away from the story quest. It's going to be okay, I promise. I don't think anyone who's read your posts thinks for a second that you and the story are waiting for a reunion/makeup special of any kind.

Honestly, and I have a friend who's an amazing roleplayer that's done this, you can skip every single cutscene. Every time I mention what's happened in the MSQ I literally get a big 'huh'. Maaaaybe give that a shot? Because no matter how much we yell and raise pitch forks about the quality (or lack thereof) found in the MSQ...it's still going to be there....just not being beaten like a dead horse in most threads.

Deep breaths, friend. Deep breaths.

(05-28-2015, 04:08 PM)Graeham Ridgefield Wrote: [ -> ]The Warrior of Light is just an awkward stand in for our characters, though that doesn't matter since it wouldn't make sense for anybody's character to be the Warrior of Light in the first place. It's silly that a lot of the lore revolves around the actions of a single character despite it being an MMO but...that's no different to WoW, GW2 and the various other MMO's that embraced such a path.

Putting that aside, however, the lore is rich and interesting enough for role-players to have plenty of stuff to do. What the Warrior of Light does or doesn't do is largely irrelevant - at least in my eyes. Then again, I'm not interested in interacting with anybody who is brushing shoulders with the Warrior or Light or claiming to be him so...each to their own, I guess!

Believe it or not, I agree with you 100%, every point.

Since we're bringing up other MMO's, I offer LOTRO's story in comparison.

LOTRO puts us in a hero's skin, true, but it reminds us constantly that we are not the BIG hero, despite everything we do and accomplish while the story of the Lord Of The Rings keeps happening just a little bit ahead of the player. The player in LOTRO is, in effect, the clean-up crew - the players are there to keep every OTHER problem in Middle-Earth at bay, and we're constantly reminded of that fact, that Frodo's ahead of us, and we've got to keep him safe, just like every other major player in Middle Earth. We aren't the Big hero, but we have the relative joy of knowing that...

1) We aren't stuck in the "Little Guy Vs. The World" role. We are there to make sure the humble hobbit can get his job done, and so there is no contradiction with the "Everyman" role.

2) We actually kind of ARE the heroes. What the players do in LOTRO's story is make sure that the world stays in shape and that evil doesn't get a foothold, and that the Fellowship can go about its business.

3) We have to work as a team. We know that people more powerful than us are in the world, and we don't have to resent them, because they're busy, too - they're fighting the tough stuff at the same time as we're handling our own business. In FFXIV, this would amount to the Scions actually fighting a primal WITHOUT the help of the WoL, and Minfilia actually doing things like finding her way into Moria or facing down Balrogs instead of lingering in her office waiting to be kidnapped. Again.

4) I don't recall any time in the LOTRO story where my character just decided to let the villains escape. Sure, some of the enemies did, but they didn't just get to waltz on away with the player's good graces.

5) The player could pretty much take a full tour of the whole game and do any dungeon without "unlocking" it. Sure, the story took you to these dungeons, but I recall that I didn't have to wait until the game gave me its leave before I could try 'em.

Now, a lot of this went kinda screwy when Moria came out, and demanded that players do some very challenging 8-player dungeons to be able to advance in the now-gated story mode. It was the first time I can recall the game thus restricting the story... and it's one of the factors (though not the only one) that led to me getting tired of the game.


FFXIV has some WONDERFUL lore! I find it to be a very rich and rewarding game world... that deserves a better main story, is all.

EDIT: Ok, Zarek. I'm letting the thread go on without me, now. You may applaud

I've always RPed Jana as someone with the Echo who had the gall to say "no" to joining the Scions way back in the level 20 MSQ. Obviously, the end of the MSQ would have been very different if she were actually The WoL. That aside, I still follow the events of the MSQ with Jana having some knowledge that the public wouldn't (specifically, relating the the Coil storyline, but not the Ul'dah political landscape which would have been of greater importance to Jana as a Flame) via Echo-visions. I don't think that's a popular position to take, which is probably the only reason I can get away with it: No one else is claiming to have that knowledge.

(05-28-2015, 09:00 PM)Jana Wrote: [ -> ]I've always RPed Jana as someone with the Echo who had the gall to say "no" to joining the Scions way back in the level 20 MSQ. Obviously, the end of the MSQ would have been very different if she were actually The WoL. That aside, I still follow the events of the MSQ with Jana having some knowledge that the public wouldn't (specifically, relating the the Coil storyline, but not the Ul'dah political landscape which would have been of greater importance to Jana as a Flame) via Echo-visions. I don't think that's a popular position to take, which is probably the only reason I can get away with it: No one else is claiming to have that knowledge.

I did that very thing for Aysun in 1.0. Went all the way to meeting Minfilia ICly and then she just was like NOPE and GTFO'd. xD

(05-28-2015, 02:49 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]If we got to make live story choices, 2.55 would've had a very different ending.

And I may have wound up in charge of Ul'dah via the old "you toppled what passed for government, you're responsible for it now" adage.

Regarding Iceheart, there never would've been a Shiva trial because she'd not have made it to that aetheryte at the end of Snowcloak.

^ this.

Aaron wouldn't a killed her outright. He'd probably take a arm or two.. or leg or two... and just kick her down the chasm to bleed out. He'd throw away his morals that one time just for her.

(05-28-2015, 09:41 PM)Aaron Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-28-2015, 02:49 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]If we got to make live story choices, 2.55 would've had a very different ending.

And I may have wound up in charge of Ul'dah via the old "you toppled what passed for government, you're responsible for it now" adage.

Regarding Iceheart, there never would've been a Shiva trial because she'd not have made it to that aetheryte at the end of Snowcloak.

^ this.

Aaron wouldn't a killed her outright. He'd probably take a arm or two.. or leg or two... and just kick her down the chasm to bleed out. He'd throw away his morals that one time just for her.

She'd have been walking toward that aetheryte, all smug and shit while talking her trash, when suddenly an axe/spear in the spine.

All this ranting about the MSQ makes me appreciate how good Blade & Soul's story is in comparison.

Which is a bit mean of me to say because I know most folks won't actually get to touch it until its release later (much later) this year.

Anyway. Yes, there's a lot of stuff they could have handled better during the MSQ. A lot of their plot threads were way too obvious going forward, which, while not a problem in and of itself, only makes some of the jankier bits stand out that much more. And then there's the whole question of ascribing motives to the PC that the player almost certainly doesn't share, which can feel a bit problematic in an MMORPG where the PC is completely unique to that player.

Buuuut the game's story is more of an incidental thing - for me at least, it's just a fun little sideshow and not really something I take all that seriously. If it were more like an old-school Western RPG where we could pick dialogue options and affect the course of the story in some significant ways, I would actually have more reasons to care. Instead, I just take what fun lore I can get from it and otherwise largely discard it.

Oh, and occasionally I revisit the cutscenes so I can take pretty pictures. But, y'know, that has nothing to do with the story and a lot more to do with the cinematography and the graphics and the artwork and that sort of thing, so... Yeah. Mm-hmm.

The part of the lore I desperately need is the Xaela naming conventions. Our Xaelas need to know their names already >_<

PS: I enjoyed the FFXIV main quest ending, though I obviously do not imagine that my character is a part of it. In fact, I find the WoL character quite annoying; they're nothing but an overpowered puppet, two traits I'm not a fan of *laughs*.

(05-29-2015, 01:24 AM)Zyrusticae Wrote: [ -> ]All this ranting about the MSQ makes me appreciate how good Blade & Soul's story is in comparison.

Which is a bit mean of me to say because I know most folks won't actually get to touch it until its release later (much later) this year.

Anyway. Yes, there's a lot of stuff they could have handled better during the MSQ. A lot of their plot threads were way too obvious going forward, which, while not a problem in and of itself, only makes some of the jankier bits stand out that much more. And then there's the whole question of ascribing motives to the PC that the player almost certainly doesn't share, which can feel a bit problematic in an MMORPG where the PC is completely unique to that player.

Buuuut the game's story is more of an incidental thing - for me at least, it's just a fun little sideshow and not really something I take all that seriously. If it were more like an old-school Western RPG where we could pick dialogue options and affect the course of the story in some significant ways, I would actually have more reasons to care. Instead, I just take what fun lore I can get from it and otherwise largely discard it.

Oh, and occasionally I revisit the cutscenes so I can take pretty pictures. But, y'know, that has nothing to do with the story and a lot more to do with the cinematography and the graphics and the artwork and that sort of thing, so... Yeah. Mm-hmm.

I just can't take any story blade and soul might try to tell seriously, because of its art style.

It is so ridiculous and over the top I feel like even posting gameplay images would need a NSFW tag.

(05-28-2015, 12:27 PM)Gegenji Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-28-2015, 12:26 PM)Aaron Wrote: [ -> ]Otto you'd be the richest bitch in game selling airships out your new airship company.

He's a goldsmith/fashion designer by trade. Obviously he doesn't make money making airships. He makes money pimping them out with sweet bling and style.

HEY, I'M OTTO, AND I'M HERE TO PIMP YOUR SHIP.

MSQ is pretty damn trash I mean even FF1 had a better story. The way the WoL is presented they're the dumbest person alive.

Thordan has black circles surrounding his eyes. Ascian possession confirmed.

The site has been updated!

Check out new pictures of some of the dragons etc in the Media section
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/heavensward/sp/media/

Most importantly..

Nidhogg
One of the great seven wyrms born of Midgardsormr.

He is said to have terrorized Coerthas since Ishgard's founding, spreading death and destruction for the past thousand years.

History speaks most notably of his clash with King Thordan I. Though the battle cost the lives of the king and many of his men, Nidhogg would not escape unscathed. The hero Haldrath plucked from his skull a trophy—a treasure simply known as "the Eye."

This relic of unimaginable power remains sealed deep within the vaults of Ishgard.

Hraesvelgr
One of the great seven wyrms born of Midgardsormr.

Even now he makes his home in Eorzea. None can attest to sighting this terrible beast, nor can they deny his menacing presence.

Legends say the great dragon nests high in the mountains of Dravania. Records of his existence have faded into memory, but woe betide those who glimpse dark wings against the sky.

I will join the dragons if it meant I could rude this