In the level 27 main scenario quest (“Big Trouble in Little Ala Mhigo”,) a distraught girl mentions that she was being held captive by an extremist group. It is strongly, but briefly, implied that they sexually assaulted her. She is interrupted before she can finish explaining what happened, and the character is never spoken to again. The level 30 ("Dark Knight Job") introduction sidequest ("Ishgardian Justice") opens with an NPC explaining the benefits of vigilante justice to the player character. The NPC mentions killing a high-ranking member of the clergy if he 'harms a child in unspeakable ways.' After this conversation, the player learns that a woman was kidnapped by corrupt town guardsmen. A passerby notes, "If she doesn't fight back, they might let her go after..." The player prevents this by tracking down and defeating the guards. The woman thanks the player and is never spoken to again. (This quest is available after completing the level 50 main scenario quest "Before the Dawn" and entering the Heavensward expansion.) In the level 52 Samurai quest ("The Sands of Debt"), the player stops a predatory money lender from selling a young woman into sex slavery. Corrupt town guardsmen are once again involved. At the end of the level 70 main scenario quest ('The Darkness Below'), an NPC tells us that he is the child of an indigenous woman and an imperial soldier. The young man says that his mother 'did not welcome [his] arrival.' Throughout the Stormblood expansion, there is an NPC who delights in torturing and executing hostages. She is without doubt a war criminal. SPOILERS for her entire story arc below: As the player progresses through the expansion, they learn that she grew up in an abusive family who sold her to the 'pleasure houses.' Her former traffickers express panic and guilt over what they did to her. Her soldiers are willing to die for her, to keep her in power and out of sex slavery. In the level 64 main story quest ("All the Little Angels"), the Big Bad of this expansion pulls her hair and threatens to kill her in a scene deliberately evocative of domestic violence. The captain of her guard reacts with a proportionate level of concern. After her defeat in the level 67 main story quest ("The Die is Cast"), she resurfaces in the level 70 main story quest ("Gosetsu and Yotsuyu") with amnesia causing age regression, and serves as the doting 'daughter' to one of the player's elderly party members. When her abusive family tracks her down and restores her memory, she takes her revenge on them, killing most of them. This comes to a head in the level 70 main story quest ("The Primary Agreement") where she is transformed by magic and the players are forced to fight her. In order to survive the fight, the players must protect her from the vengeful souls of her abusive family and the traumatic memories of intimate partner violence at the hands of the Big Bad. After she is defeated, her brother shoots her in the ribs and stands over her hurling verbal and physical abuse. She lets him get close enough that she can kill him, too, and expresses relief that the cycle of violence is over. Before she dies, the player is given an opportunity to tell her that she deserved a chance at a better life, and that she will be mourned. Audience reactions to this story arc may vary. While it is upsetting and tragic, it offers a glimpse into the gentle person she could have become if she had had the love and support that she needed, and takes time to drive home the unfairness of her fate. At the same time, it confronts her with the consequences of her war crimes, rather than erasing them. In the two scenes where she is abused on-screen, she is framed with sympathy. Despite her association with sex trafficking, she is rarely framed seductively, especially not during scenes of abuse. Unlike previous depictions of abuse within FFXIV, the victim is not passive or forgotten -- but she is unfortunately introduced as a villain. The commentary on the cycle of violence may land better with some audiences than others.