SillyCrow Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Review

The expansion's main story was a massive disappointment. It only ever redeems itself at the last third of it by falling back on the same sad formula of the past two expansions. By this I mean making an emotional finale. Wuk Lamat, the main character of this expansion, takes far too much screen time and doesn't really grow as a character from any of her experiences. The same few jokes at her expense are done several times to the point of beating a dead horse. The Scions all behave subservient to Lamat's cause and act out of character. Villains are allowed to escalate situations without any contest, even when the heroes are on the scene to stop them. Overall, the writing took a big hit compared to Shadowbringers or even Endwalker and I can't really think this has anything to do with starting a new story arc. The voice acting recording quality dipped at times, you can hear it during Y'sthola's lines most noticeably, as if her lines were recorded from home. Lamat's VA work was extremely one-toned, especially during one key moment near the end of the main quest. This could be a voice direction problem; the director not properly instructing how lines should be voiced in the context of the scene. The dungeons, trials and raids are great as always. Same for the soundtrack, Soken showing he is still a master at what he does. The new zone designs are alright, though Aetheryte placement in some of them leave something to be desired. This review was written before the 7.1 patch was released.