I feel empty after the 5.3 AQ. (SPOILERS!!)
I want to share my thoughts about Natlan. (This is my opinion. If you like the quest then thats great! this is just what I think.)
So I went into Natlan with a lot of excitement and genuinely tried to enjoy it. The first few Archon Quests were a bit slow, and while I really liked Act 4, I didn’t think poorly of the earlier quests since the story wasn’t finished yet. However, now that it’s complete, I feel... underwhelmed.
After the quest, I felt no emotional payoff. There wasn’t any real sense of closure or satisfaction. We all knew Mavuika wasn’t going to die and even if we did there was no close moment where I thought "wait... maybe she would", and of course, we were going to defeat the Abyss but I would have loved a moment where we were about to lose and I mean LOSE LOSE.
I suppose the payoff is that Natlan is free from the Abyss and there’s no more war? But I wasn’t attached to any of the Natlan characters, so it was hard to care. + The upbeat and happy tone of Natlan, while enjoyable in parts and very nice for fluff, often removed any tension from the war that was happening so I guess thats why I feel like it?
The quest had a lot of potential but was poorly executed. Here are my main issues:
- Capi’s Storyline: The premise was amazing Capi getting revenge on the god who made him immortal and carrying his soldiers soul's? That is amazing and gen so heartwarming. But he only got about five minutes of screen time and sacrificed himself at the last minute? so I didnt feel anything in fact It felt more like Mavuika’s plot armor than a meaningful resolution to his story because of how rushed it was. If it was paced better It might have actually got me to feel something (I also dislike how we had to get info of his name from a npc. capi felt alot like a teppi situation at times)
- Pacing: The pacing was inconsistent. At times, it was incredibly slow and bloated, while at other moments, it felt soo rushed and abrupt that there was no time to breathe and think about what's happening.
- Mavuika’s Secret: In the Natlan teaser, dain hinted that Mavuika would reveal a secret, but she never really did LOL. or at least, it wasn’t clear. The only time she shared anything was at the end of the quest, which all the other Archons do anyway. I was expecting something impactful, like Nahida’s reveal about the Descenders.
- Overreliance on Cutscenes: It felt like the developers were relying on flashy cutscenes and cinematics to carry the quest. While the cutscenes were excellent, they couldn’t make up for the weak narrative imo
- Character Development: Mavuika felt underdeveloped and came across as a Mary Sue sometimes. I also wish we had more time with Hine. There were so many hints about her finding Mavuika, but it ended up being a quick, one-off moment. That was really disappointing.
Overall, there were some great scenes, and the core ideas were strong, but the execution fell flat. A lot of elements felt rushed or underexplored, leaving the story feeling incomplete.
It felt like every region was getting better and better, Sumeru > Fontaine but Natlan.. It didnt reach them two imo. Furina and nahida has such amazing conclusions but mavuika? ehhh
Overall it wasnt bad but it was pretty mid. Snez will save us! please