[Arknights: Endfield] Improve character and faction depth in story

**Disclosure:** I have been playing Arknights since May 2021. I've played some other gachas as well, all of which I've dropped. I participated in Endfield's Tech Test in Jan. 2024, but otherwise didn't play until launch. I've read through all of the main story, and completed every mission and quest. Beyond that, I wasted 5 years on my Creative Writing degree. Naturally, it hasn't paid off. Discussion ends with a bit of a rant. # Why does Endfield's story suck? We can boil this down into three issues, the first two funneling into the third. 1. The game's characters and themes are too shallow. 2. There is a crippling lack of meaningful stakes. 3. HG is afraid to take risks. You'll notice you recognize all of these. Yes, the common complaints are correct. However, regarding tutorial pacing: while it's true it sucked in Valley IV, the problem was reduced in Wuling and will likely be mitigated further. Here I'm focusing on long-term concerns which, if continued, will doom the story. # 'The game's characters and themes are too shallow.' Like a Saturday morning cartoon. Putting aside the incessant glazing of the Endministrator (who ironically should talk more), the issue is painted in black and white. Endfield Industries can do no wrong. We use a weakened, but still cancerous rock to reclaim the Frontiers for the willing, all while making them reliant on our systems. Do we want to worry about that? Nah, the Bonekrushers are clearly the threat. These illiterate, pipefaced Mad Max junkies know a grand total of twenty words: 'pillage', 'gud', 'smash' etc. They're strung along by an as-yet characterless boss, who in turn answers to a mysterious twink. No clear explanations or nuance, only the barest hints of depth. Meanwhile, Wuling's factions can't get along and see each other as spineless nerds or meatheaded brutes. Cool. Where have I seen that before? The problem is how superficial the dive into both sides feels, whether in Valley IV or Wuling. If you, as a writer, want to get players invested, you have to be more creative and honest in how you present factions upfront. What about character side quests? Sadly, they were better in the beta. Compare [Wulfgard's CBT quest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRYx_yWzkRo) to [how it released](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsu23zewio&pp=ygUOd3VsZmdhcmQgcXVlc3Q%3D) and you'll observe the toonification in effect. Less violence, less nuanced characters, less Endmin voiced presence. The first point might seem like a strange complaint, but Arknights' main story has always been dark. Some side events might shift away from it, but Terra's a crappy place for a reason. Why should Talos-II be any different? They're just as desperate for survival, to the point of joining the deluded Bonekrushers to begin with. Why sugarcoat so much conflict when that smothers a core theme? Now let's look at a good example. [Laevatein's quest](https://youtu.be/m0UfziCzjWI?si=o9E1pbBctfNipGbD), while being a beat-for-beat rehash of Surtr's IS stories, nails everything to a T. Sets stakes, utilizes a common connection (memory issues) between Laev and the Endmin to further their relationship, and allows the character to come full-circle while acknowledging their unique suffering. Endmin gets plenty of voice too, allowing them to feel more like a person. Admittedly, it helps that the plot didn't have to be violent, which probably saved it from being cleansed. Yvonne and Gilberta's quests are nothing. They waste 3/4ths of their run doing random shit, and the final 1/4th isn't about them so much as it is someone else. Gilberta's spouts broadly applicable Reconvener philosophy while using a faceless NPC's experience to try and build a more meaningful conclusion...only it doesn't delve into Gilberta herself. She's slandered as a generic love interest for the Endmin, down to handholding at the end. The fact HG decided to prioritize this over addressing the one NPC who needed closure (which then could have lead into something more for Gilberta) is embarrassing on their part. Worst story by them I've ever read. So, there is no nuance to be had. 'Problematic' depth has been removed or suppressed, and generic / romantic scenes have been added instead. It's definitely not too late to fix, but the precedent it lays is grave. # 'There is a crippling lack of meaningful stakes.' Most gacha games bear this issue, but Endfield is no exception. What's truly disappointing about this is again, the comparison to the original Arknights. Plenty of people die in AK. Most of them are faceless Operators or random NPCs, but at least they were clearly dying back then. Here it's once in a blue moon, and there's never any visibility to it. All you see is the aftermath: a generic, unbloodied corpse. Worse, there's no focus on the tragedy of it. FrostNova, Mandragora etc. had long scenes depicting their demise and/or the way characters reacted in response. There are hints of this in Endfield, but again, they are carefully obscured. God forbid someone>!organic!<die on screen. Then there's the handling of Originium in general. On Terra, Originium was a serious threat. Catastrophes, rampant discrimination, the works. On Talos-II, it's an aesthetic setpiece. Treatments exist for Oripathy, the conditions for Catastrophes don't exist, and the Infected aren't hated anymore. On one hand this means Rhodes Island succeeded. On the other...what else is left? The Blight and Æther's effects on people are poorly visualized and barely explored. Pools of Blight look messed up, but where are the people who have survived it? Where is my modern equivalent of the Possessed? The Hazefyre? Don't compare [a little scarring](https://endfield.wiki.gg/wiki/Hazefyre_Claw#/media/File:Hazefyre_Claw_sprite.png) to [jagged spears sticking out of your organs. ](https://arknights.wiki.gg/images/All_Hell_Breaks_Loose.png)Point is, the portrayal falls flat. If you're going to hype up a new threat, you need to show how it devastates people. There's potential here in the Blight tides found in Wuling, but again, the impacts of those have only been implied. Show players some actual chaos. Finally, there's stakes for characters. Endmin is pressured into fitting their old role, but what about everyone else? We hardly learn anything about Perlica. Anything regarding Chen's past is breezed past in Wuling's story. Others like Yvonne have no real punishment for failing, or are too talented (Wulfgard) to be in serious danger. Even in the Outpost stories, there's little meaningful character growth. Everything which could be interesting gets sidelined, magically fixed, or is pointless and goes back to square one. All those errands and names for nothing. This is where I'd write an addendum on political stakes, but so far those stakes don't exist! The main factions all get along, and there are no disputes whatsoever. Total 180 from Terra's circus, even if said circus could feel bloated. # 'HG is afraid to take risks.' Here we reach the bottom line. Whether it's harming characters, adding depth to the opposition, or even adding a touch of blood, HG would rather play a physician and constantly wash their hands. AK is not supposed to be light. It is supposed to rival Limbus in tone, albeit with a more optimistic outlook. Endfield touches on this, but nothing more. It is less flawed than it is soulless, robbed of acting on its worldbuilding's depth. We went from dealing with ever-adapting ocean terrors and encroaching eldritch horrors to the north to drugged-up bandits and some aggressive constructs. For a first impression, this stinks. Speaking of first impressions: herein lays my pet peeve. As a writer, one of the first things you're taught is that a good opening chapter is everything. That brief, initial experience either sells the reader on your book, or causes them to put it back on the shelf. Now consider Valley IV, bogged by all the issues above as well as its hideous onslaught of tutorials. Sure manged to sell there! Boy, I sure wonder if players knew about this problem years in advance and tried to warn HG before it was too late. [Surely players were oblivious, right?](https://www.reddit.com/r/gachagaming/comments/197fq10/arknights_endfield_alpha_review/) There's a movie scene I like to reference which will serve as decent capstone here. In the first act of Cars (2006), Lightning McQueen ignores his crew and continues the race without fresh tires. "No tires, just gas." He then proceeds to blow out, causing his pit crew to lose their shit. This is how it feels to read Endfield 1.0, not just as a long-time Arknights player, but as a writer who actually studied this shit. Endfield 1.0 is bad because because it takes no risks and sets terrible expectations, so for all of the experience they've had with Arknights proper, Hypergryph should have known better. Thanks for reading. Here's hoping for improvement.