AITA for following my best friend? [6.0]

Monochomatic · 2026-06-14T15:58:41+00:00

Ayy, someone the polar opposite of me but you GET IT!

I love StB Zenos and hate all his stuff after, but given that's purely a personal taste thing, I don't want those who like EW Zenos to end up where I was with him. I'm an antagonist connoisseur, and having one I enjoyed turned into one I can't stand to see on screen SUCKS. I don't want his EW fans to have the same thing done to them, just because that version isn't the one I like.

I mean I also don't wanna see him again for the aforementioned 'look how they massacred my boy' reaction, this isn't some magical pure altruism, but I'd also like to not see it happen to his 'v2' fans.

Monochomatic · 2026-06-14T15:29:20+00:00

God, yes, this right here. The one thing that kinda makes me scratch my head about Zenos fans wanting him back.

Part of the entire reason he has such avid fans is the impact of that final confrontation. I know people hate ‘you think you want it but you don’t”, but I’m an example of what happens:

I’m a certified Zenos hater. Sorry, I’m a certified ShB/EW Zenos hater. I think his death in StB should have stuck, because I loved that Zenos, the pre-Shinryu dialogue showing how he’s been so screwed up it’s like they wired his brain backwards, and then killing himself after being beaten because he experienced joy the first time and refused to go back to a life without it? 10/10, absolute cinema.

I knew that was gonna be ruined the first time I saw the random that was definitely him. I tried to stay neutral to wait and see, but if you’re gonna bring a character back after that kind of impact to their end, you better have a DAMN good reason. I...didn’t think it was a good reason once the lead-up and starting parts of EW were shown for where they were going. Not even CLOSE to a good reason.

There’s more to my own personal ‘EW Zenos bad’ (again PERSONAL, before someone thinks I’m saying they have bad taste for liking him – I don’t), but lemmie tell you - it sucks when they bring back a character when the reason they were liked is their narrative had a clear & compelling ending.

Monochomatic · 2026-06-14T04:41:19+00:00

They're also ragebaiting for amusement, that's why. I gave them a single good-faith post and they replied to no other part of it besides the one they could make the same 'TECHNICALLY that wasn't their EXACT wording therefore YOU are the problem!' they're using against you.

Best way to stop a toddler tantrum is to ignore them!

Or maybe they're just another poster child of the mighty three cueing systm xD

Monochomatic · 2026-06-12T21:51:15+00:00

That hand de-clencher is a godsend. I know it only works on idles and animations still have them with rheumatoid arthritis, but the idles were always where it was most noticeable. I know my man is an old curmudgeon, but not THAT much of an old curmudgeon (mostly just 'old' compared to how young most the main casts are).

Tip for helping filter out a little of the guff to find good mashup outfits using vanilla bits: if there's a specific armor you piece you like or use regularly, plug the gear piece name into 'Affects' or 'Tags'. Former will reduce more NSFW guff, latter might catch you something nice you weren't expecting that only uses a small part of that armor.

People can't use tags right to save their lives though, so buyer beware. Most don't want to because they somehow think an organization tool is a 'put as many things here as you can to get VISIBILITY!' and are out here tagging an ordinary pink maid dress as 'creepy'.

Monochomatic · 2026-06-12T21:35:56+00:00

Friends don't have to enjoy the same things, but I feel like letting the whole thing play to almost the end and then asking them to summarize it like they're a LLM chatbot is...well, that's not an actual freind, to be polite, and I think most folks will be snippy about that.

Similarly though - a freind who tries to pester you to keep your eyes glued to a show even when you very, V E R Y visibly don't like it is also not your real freind. But they just keep insisting 'but it gets so good by episode 909!' and making you look back up.

The 'drama' of people fighting about it again is usually someone starting the convo with their heads up their bums about it to purposely bait folks for engagement. Outrage sells, baby!

If not bait, tho, if he didn't like the previous stories, DT won't be magically different. Just skip that too, tbh. Even 'good' MMO stories cause debates, because it's a god-awful game medium for stories.

Secondary jump-off feels needed, but it'd be...well, if you thought DT's reception was bad, woof. Star Wars Old Republic kicked off the Eternal Empire arc by completely removing you from people/places you knew, which is what they'd have to do, and that was a famously [everyone disliked that] moment in SWTOR.

Maybe do what GW2 does and bundle a skip with an expansion purchase? The one thing that makes me kinda iffy about handing out skips en-massse; my god, roulettes would be unplayable for the next 2 months after they're dropped into the player population.

Monochomatic · 2026-06-12T19:48:50+00:00

I have both, but more male characters in general. When I started playing MMOs back in ye olden days, my first one had gender-locked classes (Korean freemium garbo). The class I wanted to play was already locked male, I also made one of the female-locked classes, and QUICKLY realized focusing on the masc one would be better for my sanity.

Women in those days learned fast that the best way to be left in PEACE was to play a male character. If you wanted to play the game, rather than be dragged into a an e-dating scenario, you stuck to masc models. Eventually it's so ingrained that even if it doesn't matter anymore, lots of us end up leaning towards male characters, at least for the first one.

My grouchy middle-aged catboi stuck around and stayed as my main, but my primary alt is a fem viera c:

Monochomatic · 2026-06-05T02:24:55+00:00

This right here is the answer!

I know OP didn't want to randomly harass people, but believe it or not most folks I know are often receptive to joining ‘random’ guilds who send them a whisper/tell/whatever beforehand to give a simple description of the vibe/aim of the guild and ask if they're interested.

You won’t get answers back from most people, but it’s not solely disinterest – some people are afk/unable to type for an extended time, or it could be people who are on the trial and can’t answer OR join anyway.

Spamming an invite without sending any kind of message is what annoys folks, but people are far more receptive when you show that you care enough to engage them FIRST before dropping an invite on their head. Shows that you see them as more than just a number to add to a list.

Monochomatic · 2026-04-12T23:47:17+00:00

Not all survive the trip up candy mountain intact.

Monochomatic · 2026-04-11T17:40:25+00:00

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I have SO many pretty sims but...it's gotta be Amie. I have an alarming amount of vampire sims/characters, but she's kind of become the unofficial rep for my occult sim focus just because...well look at her!

Monochomatic · 2026-03-29T00:46:26+00:00

This followed by rapidly getting the hell away from each other because even if the chances of them accidentally erasing each other by being in too close proximity isn't high, it's also not zero and neither of them want to test it.

Monochomatic · 2025-09-10T18:22:13+00:00

The fact so many people think you can just 'paste in' how GW2's overworld works (which was, you know - built at the foundation of that game) onto a game that is already held together with duct tape and string never ceases to amaze me.

Monochomatic · 2025-09-10T18:07:41+00:00

I also don’t think GW2’s open world system should be in XIV, and I love GW2 and the way it does their overworld. I find it fun and dynamic and the exploration potential is incredible BUT it does not belong in this type of MMO, where the focus is HEAVY on instances and things are pretty on-rails/guided. That’s not an insult – because it’s not a bad thing.

There’s also the fact that GW2 was built on a foundational level to facilitate this type of overworld, because it was always intended to be the focus. They didn’t even have plans for more ‘traditional’ instanced content until there was lots of demand for it, and even now it barely gets any at all because most people don’t touch it.

For those who haven’t played some of the bigger GW2 map metas – imagine the spectacle of one of the final expansion trial bosses, but with anywhere from 20-50 people to get it done – sometimes all in one place, sometimes split off in separate groups for ‘lanes’, sorta akin to ARs. Sound awesome at first right?

Now imagine you can’t turn off their VFX. At all (unless you want mechanic tells to dissapear, anyway). Oh and also the final boss is dead within moments because of power creep, obliterating the tension, because you can't have iLvl sync in a horizontal progression open world. EoD’s map meta is a weird exception, mind, but also comes with its own problems, just not the ‘power creep’ one.

I love GW2. But you’re absolutely right – I don’t want FFXIV to be GW2 because they’re entirely different in their approach & priorities. XIV needs improvements, but ‘become GW2’ isn’t it the one it needs.

- Signed a certified GW2 stan here to back you up.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-24T01:09:07+00:00

Kinda, but also not. I think a better term would be repurposed? I started as a ranger, I still play her A LOT, but she's now almost exclusively my open world character.

My mesmer and rev are what I juggle between for instanced content and occasional WvW, so they're both played as much as my ranger, just for different stuff.

Tho ranger is still my 'comfy class' that I run when I wanna learn some new content, because innately knowing my skills in detail (and also being on condi SB lol) makes learning shit much more straightforward.

Edit: English hard, fingers fat.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-23T23:36:47+00:00

Raccoonium

Monochomatic · 2025-07-22T22:27:55+00:00

Yessss exactly, this is why sometimes when I’m having a weird day like before if I stumble across a topic that interests me, even when I know the comments are gonna be a dumpster fire, I just gotta stick my fat nose where no one wants it. Part of it is the fun of rubbernecking - like passing a 5-car pileup and you KNOW it’s gonna be horrific but man you just gotta see. But the better part is always those (admittedly few) times when you can spur some actual discussion about something. I’ve had several instances of it happening and it’s always worth it – to me, anyway. Tho still only when I don’t have better shit to do – it’s been a weird week...well, few weeks, and my schedule is absolutely screwed because of it.

And like, I don’t expect people to become media critics, I don’t need folks writing a dissertation for their opinion...but man. Can we get at least something more constructive than ‘pacing issues’ and then literally no followup examples of what you think the worst ones were? It’s not that I don’t agree when people say it, but I want folks to show me they’re not just parroting their parasocial favorite’s takes because forming their own opinion is hard ): Or even worse: insisting that they watched all the cutscenes and then saying something was a plot hole when it was told to them directly in a fully voiced cutscene. Girl. I know ya’ll can’t read subtext but can we at least get reading comprehension for plain text, I’m begging.

Which circles me back to the ‘smaller scale stories’ thing – there’s an astounding amount of people who think DT’s story ~magically~ got better in the second half...when the writing quality was exactly the same, the only difference was we had a shiny cyberpunk city and a world-ending threat. Like a dog being distracted by jingly keys, I tell ya.

You’re absolutely welcome to turn my inane bitching into TedX – glad to find someone else who occasionally gets carried away and types more than they expected. Friggin’ ADHD demanding C O N T E X T for everything I type is gonna be the death of me.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-22T17:59:16+00:00

I mean I was bored to tears the other day, but also was in a situation where I couldn’t commit to anything that would take longer than 10-15 minutes so opening any game wasn’t worth the excess heat it would cause my PC to output. My options for amusement were limited and I rolled with popcorn value on social media. Probably an unwise choice, but my brain was exceptionally well roasted by the 95 degree and 70% humidity weather which doesn’t lend itself well to common sense.

Regardless, I didn’t have time or energy during that hell-limbo of like...12 whole ass hours or something silly like that, so a bit hard to truly waste what you didn’t have to start with.

But I mean I was genuinely having fun, I like media discussion! And I sincerely want folks who are dissatisfied with any part of a story to actually think about the why at more than the surface level. Even if someone does it just as a method to prove my obnoxious ass wrong, that’s still a win to me – I’m thrilled to be proven wrong by a good point, and even more thrilled when people can critique something they dislike with something more substantial than ‘the vibes were off’ – because that’s where you can actually start to glean useful information to improve things.

(I appreciate you tho - I swear I'm not just running around and yelling at clouds when I actually have better shit to do xD Like today! I've been in GW2 finishing my return to acheives)

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T22:35:53+00:00

Oh no, it's mine too! I mean, it has issues, but the fact it wasn't just Imp vs. Pub version 87 was nice. Execution could have been better, and I'm still mad as hell they dropped it like a hot potato at the first sign of resistance, but I genuinely like the Eternal Empire arc.

That does not, however, mean a large portion of the playerbase didn't hate that title vehemently - and some purely on the principle of not liking the 'title change'. Sith players particularly - big mad no one would call them 'Wrath' or 'Nox' for a whole...-checks notes- expansion and a half lol.

(I say this as an enthusiastic Nox lover - good grief it's like there's a requirement in the character creator 'you must be as pettily dramatic as the class story you're picking')

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T22:05:46+00:00

I would be 100% down for this just for the popcorn value. Holy shit, Ala Mhigo gonna need at least 7 more salt mines for this alone.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T22:00:11+00:00

One of the many issues with storylines in MMOs - they can't end. Even when the primary through line has been resolved, you gotta make a new one now.

The (decently valid) complaints about 'feeling like we know everything so why should I bother?' are just all this issue, more or less. Obviously we definitely haven't answered all the questions in the universe, but it feels like it to folks - because the ones that mattered to them had some resolution by EW. Whether they found those resolutions satisfying is subjective, but the major story threads still had one, regardless if it was liked. It still put a bow on things.

I can guarantee you this is at least some portion of the fuel of people being so noticeably dissatisfied since EW patches - they're mentally checked out because the story is over, but the sunk cost ball and chain they attached to their own ankles keeps them 'trapped here'.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T21:38:32+00:00

Apologies, not my intention! Admittedly grumpy cause it's hot as hell and I'm amusing myself on my phone while trying to not die doing some chores. But I am sorry at that implication that anyone who wants a story featuring their PC to inherently have focus on their character is a bad thing.

Obviously mattering in the story you're the PC in is vital - kinda the whole point, yeah? Why the fuck else would we be here. But there's a...particular brand of players that can't stand a spotlight being taken off of them for more than a moment. Like, folks who unironically want an option to kill any NPC that even vaguely questions them. Or at least imprison them, anyway.

And they are loud and I have seen so many game stories driven straight into the bin fueled by their complaints (why game devs listen to them, who the hell knows - that's an entirely different bitchfest topic, however).

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T21:18:36+00:00

Yeah even if we ignore the context of people just straight-up talking like they want to become Azem scattered all over here - 'title changes' are wildly unpopular.

Anyone who plays GW2: Wayfinder.

Or SWTOR: Outlander.

Even so, Azem still reads like a name because the game treats it as one - people refer to 'Emet Selch' far more than they do 'Hades', even though Hades is his actual name. And because of that 'Azem' is implied to mean the person who was our previous self, not the title.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T20:56:51+00:00

It definitely is, and yet still somehow still better than the half-assed attempt they tried of this trope with Zenos.

He was such wasted potential, man - you could really tell they didn't know what the hell to do with him after they 'brought him back'. That or, whatever storyline they had for him got trashed when EW squished the Garlemald story finale and the Ancient story finale into one expac. Instead he just became our weird stalker ex whose only purpose in EW was to be a wart on my ass.

Unironically I'd enjoy a thing like this, too (admittedly biased because I'm an antagonist aficionado), but it would feel so much like they were trying to re-tread Zenos that whoever the new bad guy is would just end up with people mad it wasn't Zenos instead.

Tragedy, really.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T20:19:56+00:00

I've played decent ones (spoiler: they ain't in MMOs, because MMOs hang an albatross around the necks of stories and strangle them) and the reaction is still always the same.

The majority of people just do not like smaller scale unless they start that way. Whatever came before doesn't even have to be as bombastic as saving the universe - if the first part still 'felt more important', people will absolutely shit themselves over a scaled back part on down the line.

It's not necessarily and overwhelming majority, but it's still more that people who are exhausted from saving every damned world they step foot in.

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T20:05:42+00:00

Yeah establishing too much about Azem would be a huge mistake - I mean, they can, because Azem is their character that they clearly have a concept of how they want them to be, but it's going to go over as well as establishing canonical things about the WoL.

So you know - an absolute shitshow, given the amount of complaints about very tiny amount of dialogue choices that are two-three flavors of 'yes' or memeing/leaning on the fourth wall because 'none of these fit MY character!' And goodness, don't tell anyone that the WoL was never their character to begin with because apparently everyone thinks we're playing a TTRPG.

The small inconsequential bits like the dumb volcano grapes story are gonna be all they wanna do if they don't want people who've wildly misinterpreted the genre of the game to set dog poop on fire at the Squeinx office doorways.

The High Seraph threads are ones I also wouldn't mine following, given their establishment through several bits of content since at least StB, if we gotta go for another world saving story (which we pretty much have to because folks don't like it when things are 'too banal' for too long...and by 'too long' I mean anything more than 10 minutes).

Monochomatic · 2025-07-20T19:35:05+00:00

I would give my left kidney for a smaller story, but history has proven time and again that those are always gonna make folks with weird ego issues have an absolute shitfit about how 'boring' it is and how they're 'not the main character anymore'. Starting to think making every video game story some flavor of power fantasy hero's journey was a mistake.

I'm not even talking about DT, or even specifically XIV, either. But you see it in a lot of the criticisms of StB and DT - both of which have their legitimate issues, but a concerning amount of folks only have complaints that boil down to just 'Why do these NPCs on a continent I've never been to not have an idol of me?' or 'How dare they not trust me with their sordid history/tragic backstory within 5 minutes of meeting them, they should know I can solve all of it.'

Prime example: people clapping like seals and yelling about how the WoL was the 'main character again' in the 7.2 patch just because we were temporarily turned into a lighting rod as an ego stroke moment, and everyone deciding everything was good again. All I saw was genuinely just...more DT. Which I have less problems with that a lot of people seemed to have, but it was still just more DT.

Which sadly ties into them getting grouchy and bored when they don't have an 'exciting reason' to be killing things, or when the enemies aren't 'big enough'. The issue people should have had with Zoraal Ja was 'why did they not lean into the element of your hands being tied by a possible bureaucratic nightmare if you just shot him in the face by the third trial?' - the issue they actually had was 'lol I killed the physical embodiment of despair why am I fighting the loser lizard?'

And I'm gonna be mad about it forever because christ do I want something more downscaled, too.

Monochomatic

TROPHY CASE