A lot of video games, especially MMOs, keep their protagonists stoic and silent. The silent protagonist is a long-running strategy in the video game industry, as a way for players to imprint themselves more onto the character they play as. Such examples include Link fromThe Legend of Zelda,Corvo inDishonored, and Isaac from the originalDead Space. The Warrior of Light fromFinal Fantasy 14is another.
PastFinal Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborncontent, though, the Warrior of Light has shown personality outside the player. They have had moments that are not stoic and actually charged with emotion. Other personality elements are subtle, such as having hesitance to drink anything offered since Nanamo’s poisoning. This is in the main story, but also really explored through the Dark Knight job quests.
RELATED:Final Fantasy 14: Fans Cannot Unsee How Much Argos Looks Like Minfilia
In The Main Story
InA Realm Reborn’s content, the Warrior of Light’s personality is very one-dimensional. They are simply agreeable to helping others, and that is all. It is in Heavensward that they develop in a couple of ways. Firstly, the player gets to have more response choices in certain cutscenes. Secondly, the Warrior of Light begins to express emotions outside the player. They express anger at Emmanellain after he orders his men to strike down a coup leader in a panic, going so far as to almost hit him. Whenever they are offered drinks, they appear nervous after Nanamo’s poisoning and their own poisoning in Heavensward by the coup leader. Then, when Haurchefant dies, they are heartbroken, and players have to option for the Warrior to quote him expansions later.
This development of character is noticed by others,such as Papalymo, who mentions that the Warrior of Light appears more tired and rugged. The story also builds upon how the Warrior of Light helps others and often does not think for themselves. When Aymeric asks the Warrior of Light what they would like for themselves in the future, they appear surprised as though no one has ever asked them what they want before and that they never thought of it either.
While they have developed way more personality, the Warrior of Light is still often silent and stoic, but in a way that shows way more self-control rather than an empty shell.In Stormblood, it is shown a lot that the Warrior of Light does not take bait from Zenos and Asahi to get emotional. In fact, villains like Zenos want nothing more than for the Warrior of Light to be upset and angry, so the Warrior of Light does their best to not give Zenos what he wants. In Endwalker, the Warrior of Light gets the option to admit to Zenos that they love to fight, as Zenos has always wanted them to admit that they have a similar hunger for combat.
In The Dark Knight Quests
It is agreed by most players thatthe Dark Knight quests have the best story, and that is because the quests do a deep dive into the Warrior of Light’s psyche. The mentor is a Dark Knight named Fray, and it is later revealed that Fray is actually a manifestation of the Warrior of Light’s resentment for constantly being seen as a tool, weapon, or errand-runner. This was a major reveal, as it meant that everything Fray said and thought during the questlines was actually the deep feelings of the Warrior of Light. It makes a lot of sense for the Warrior’s anger to be manifested, as their stoic and silent personality may be burying their negative emotions which build up.
This interesting psychological dive into the Warrior of Light does not end with Fray, either, as another character manifests from their emotions, except this time the character is a manifestation of sorrow. The character is a boy named Myste, and he hauntingly looks like a combination of Ysayle and Haurchefant’s character designs. He is shown to be theWarrior of Light’s sadness and guilt for getting their allies killed.
Final Fantasy 14is out now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
MORE:Final Fantasy 14: Every Lightwarden And Their Story
