Take a deep dive into the latest addition to FFXIV and see if it lives up to previous expansions! Find out more in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: A Retrospective!
It’s been four months since the release of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s release and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Critical reviews from journalists have fallen firmly in the great territory but if prospective punters were to look at the reviews from regular players, they will be met with a variety of differing opinions. From people who enjoyed the expansion enough to those who felt it was so awful, that despite being a long-time player, they have claimed to have cancelled their subscription and will never play again. So, what exactly has this expansion done to cause such derision? Let’s take a look in our Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: A Retrospective.
Even the concept art is beautiful!
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: A Retrospective – Comparisons to Previous Expansions
I think the main issue with FFXIV’s Dawntrail is that it is coming off the back of two stellar expansions, Shadowbringers and Endwalker. This means people were most likely expecting something of a similar calibre, and why wouldn’t they? These expansions were universally praised by both critics and fans alike for being near perfect in terms of story, combat and pacing. These expansions, however, had the benefit of having at least seven years of development. This means the FFXIV development team were able to focus on the lead up and the climax of what would end up being a ten-year journey. The things they had learnt from previous two expansions was able to be used in Shadowbringers and Endwalker. By comparison, Dawntrail is actually closer to the base game, A Realm Reborn, which can be considered by fans, old and new, as a bit of a slog. This is because the game is taking time not just to introduce the players to the world they currently inhabit, but to the new characters who will join players in their journey.
The cutscenes look fantastic.
In a similar manner, Tural, the new location in the game, has only been mentioned in passing during the Blue Mage job quests. This means players will need to get acquainted with the new locations while trying to build the foundations of the story’s direction. Due to this, the FFXIV development team appears to have jammed as much of the continent into the first half of the game as possible. It wouldn’t be remiss to compare only the first half of the game to ARR, but shoved into half an expansion instead of its own thing.
If we compare that the original ARR takes place over fifty levels and the first half of Dawntrail takes place over five, that’s only ten percent of the time to go over nearly as much exposition. Because of this, the player is bombarded with new characters, locations and cultures without really taking the time to allow it to sink in. That leads me to what seems to be the biggest thing to divide players this expansion, Wuk Lamat.
A picturesque mountain view!
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: A Retrospective – Wuk Lamat Controversy
Wuk Lamat was a new character introduced in the lead up to Dawntrail’s release. She is the entire reason for the Warrior of Light and their companions to travel to Tural and Tulliyolal in the first place. Unfortunately, it seems that players either love or loathe Wut Lamat. I personally like the character as I feel she’s a nice balance to the existing characters, many of whom are quite intelligent. I play my Warrior of Light as a moron on purpose because I find it funny, so Wuk Lamat works well with her. However, it seems some people find her naivety annoying rather than refreshing and to the point where some people have gone to extreme lengths to harass the voice actor who voiced Wuk Lamat. I’m sure the fact that the voice actor happens to be trans has no bearing on it either.
Pretty sure that axe is physically impossible to lift but it looks dam good!
Of course, people disliking characters isn’t exactly a new thing. It took until the end of Shadowbringers for me to warm up to Thancred, who was originally a womaniser in ARR. Minfillia was another character that people seemed to either like or dislike. As the main quest giver, she was prominent, but not over bearing. Which leads me to the other issue that people seem to have with Wuk Lamat. She is very much the main character Dawntrail, with our Warriors of Light becoming her sidekick. This means to follow the story, the player must stick with Wuk Lamat constantly, otherwise they’ll miss important story beats that might be relevant later.
Wuk Lamet disproves of your disapproval!
There is no escaping Wuk Lamat. Almost every part of the story includes her in some aspect, meaning that if she’s a character the player dislikes, they never get a break from her. I imagine that the small nuances of her character that people would find annoying would grind them down, making them abhor her. Others found the fact that their Warrior of Light, the character they had nurtured was now playing second fiddle to another character. For ten years nothing happened without the Warrior of Light’s involvement, and while it is much of the same, it’s driven by another force. This in turn leads to the third reason that people didn’t like the expansion, the story, pacing and interactivity.
Just another Final Fantasy beach location.
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: A Retrospective – A Rush to the Finish Line
I’ve already spoken about how Dawntrail had to squeeze a lot into a short time, but it wasn’t the only problem with the pacing. Unlike the previous expansions which felt cohesive, this expansion felt quite disjointed. The last time this happened was during the Stormblood expansion where the team had two writers working on the story, one for the Doma section and another for Ala Mhigo. Having already made this mistake once, it seems so strange that they would do this again, right down to having two writers. This means that important plot points don’t always make sense throughout the expansion. Zoraal Ja, one of the antagonists of this expansion, talks of world peace through conquest. He talks about this like he truly believes it’s the only way to lead, but in the second half of the expansion, his motivation suddenly switches to having to prove himself the “miracle”, a title he didn’t want or ask for.
Can’t deny that gorgeous scenery!
It doesn’t help that in the first half of the expansion, they focus more on another antagonist Bakool Ja Ja. And they don’t do this once, no. They pull this bait and switch with antagonists twice in Dawntrail. This often means that the true antagonist doesn’t get the time in the limelight that they deserve, they don’t get fleshed out and they end up reduced to a “gotcha” type moment. This comes across as the twist is more important than the character itself, making them feel hollow.
By comparison, Emet Selch, the antagonist of Shadowbringers, followed the group around and made sure they knew exactly what he was after. His longing for the past was obvious and it struck a chord with players. Dawntrail’s antagonists pale in comparison. While the pacing and the story was disconnected as well as feeling at odds with each other at times, its biggest flaw in its storytelling is its lack of interactivity.
Bajool Ja Ja – Bless you!
In an effort to rush through the narrative and make sure it focuses on Wuk Lamat, there are a lot of exposition dumps in the form of cutscenes. So much of the story is told through cutscenes, rather than through the interactive portions that Shadowbringers and Endwalker were known for. This led to players checking out of the story completely which is a pity because the very last section of Dawntrail felt just like playing the previous two expansions. It had its moral questions and gave us an insight into characters who absolutely should have had more screen time. It allowed us, the players, to explore and find out more about the inhabitants. We also got a break from Wuk Lamat. This is where the emotional nature that players have come to expect from these games was hiding. At the very end.
Conclusion
So, in the end was the derision directed at the Dawntrail expansion justified? Yes and no. Is it a terrible expansion, no. It’s definitely not worth cancelling your subscription over but it’s not the greatest expansion ever. It will probably settle somewhere between Heavensward and ARR in many fans lists. As it’s still setting up a brand-new story, I believe it’s worth playing, even if it can be a slog at times. The latest patch that launched earlier this week may help clear up some of these issues too. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual player to decide, but if I had one piece of advice, I’d say it is to temper your expectations.
Duel wielding is iconic!
You can find out more about the world of Final Fantasy XIV game via the official Final Fantasy XIV website. Or check out our other reviews here! Want to chat all things gaming? Join us over on the Qualbert Discord for a passionate community across Australia and the world!
