Nightingale PTR Portal
To improve the feelings of both hope and despair there should be more NPCs in the city. There are several NPCs that can't be intereacted with, but the only NPCs you see doing anything defensive are at the defense POIs. One of side quest evacuation points in Queen's Brae is just a tent with some cots and civilians; there are no defenders at all, and no defenses. The Astrarium is likewise totally undefended despite a single important person being inside.
One option would be to add a few pockets of resistance, whether guarding civilians or hiding behind barricades with rifles and swords (or pikes/spears! Keep the enemies away from you with pokies while shooting them).
Some of those pockets of resistance could be POIs to protect the defenders/civilians, and some could be non-interactable NPCs in a constant pantomime fight against non-interactable Bound.
It feels too much like the whole city is empty, essentially wiped out and needing to be evacuated to a safer location (like the player's estate?) rather than a city that can be saved and rebuilt as the dialogue suggests.
