The 2.5 (Part 1 & 2) speculation thread

[DarkmoonVael]

To me it also looked like she was destroying the barrier, however, is she doing so to let the dragons into Ishgard? Or doing so to get to the Ascians controlling the bishop (i am assuming that the leader of Ishgards Theocracy is a bishop)?

[Torquil]

Louisouix's staff head will prove a key piece in our Aetherial blade. Also, we may kill an Ascian.

[StarDrake]

On the Iceheart topic: given the framing and whatnot, I really can only see it as Iceheart erecting the barrier, not bringing it down. There's just no visible effect at all to start with, and it's after the flash of light that there's an obvious wavy barrier.

What I suspect is going on is this:

Iceheart's mission, assuming she is telling the truth, is reconciliation between Man and Dragon. She wants conflict to end, not for Ishgard to get blasted to powder. To date she's mostly tried to hinder Ishgard's ability to fight, but once the Dravanians begin their full-blown intended-as-the-killing-blow assault on Ishgard, the woman who was once Ysayle the Ishgardian realizes she has to intervene on Ishgard's behalf to avoid full blown genocide. So she helps erect the barrier to try and prevent Ishgard from getting mobbed from all sides, possibly necessitating the bridge assault (to break through the barrier at a fixed point).

This will also possibly serve as a moment of revelation for Iceheart, as she realizes her focus has been too narrow - there are just as many Dravanians willing to see the war to a terrible conclusion as there are Ishgardians. Many on both sides believe the war can only end in full-on genocide, and she realizes she must stop them both - likely recruiting us to help stop the war in the process.

I'm more looking forward to the Keeper of the Lake dungeon, personally. I want to know exactly what it is Iceheart learned, and just what Midgardsormr knows about Dravanian history.

And, of course, how it all ties into the Allagan-Meracydian conflict revealed in the Coils of Bahamut and Crystal Tower storylines. The current storyline has stopped about two steps short of outright saying the Dravanians are the descendants of the enslaved Meracydians who were stranded in Eorzea following the fall of Allag, and I'd like to learn exactly what happened with them after Allag's fall and what Ishgard did to start the conflict - especially as I suspect it'll appear small and petty to most people, but is something the once-Meracydians took as a prelude to enslavement and drove them to a war of extermination for their "freedom".

But this might also be off-base! I'm eager to see how much of it is right.

[Endemerrin]

This has likely already been noted, but, I figure I'd drop my two cents on the off chance it hasn't.

Major final coil spoilers below.

So, in the final coil, we learned this interesting little tidbit of knowledge. We also know full well the Ascians seek to push tribes to summon their primals. Lastly, I believe we can safely make the distinction between the Meracydians and the Dravanians. Or rather, what they once were and what they now are. I'll touch on all this later.

First off, an old post by Ferne stated the following.

"Yoshi-p dropped a few bombs last week revealing that both Midgardsormr and Nidhogg were not primals, but dragon ‘kings.’ However, he also revealed that the dragons are a beast tribe...and that beast tribes have their own gods (primals)... So...

Not a beast tribe, but beast tribes. Not a god, but gods.

Now, Bahamut was one of the Meracydian's first brood. A great and powerful ancestor. Now, the historian Erik in-game has this to say about Midgardsormr.

There was the birth of Althyk, god of time among the Twelve, and in turn, His younger sister Nymeia, goddess of fate. And then there was water, and through it the Silvertear Falls came to be at the center of all that was. Here was the source not only of water, but the fount of all magic as well. Now, when water came into being, so too did the great dragon Midgardsormr. Brother Time and Sister Fate, fearing the Falls might fall into the hands of evil, ordered Midgardsormr their protector and warden. Much later, with the arrival of man, would Midgardsormr be worshipped as the guardian deity of Silvertear Falls.

In a sense Midgardsormr might also be considered the first of a brood. Once a Dragon King.

....He perished, though. Yet, it seems he is coming back to life. Much like Bahamut did from the fervent prayers of the Meracydians. Now, take a look at the Ascians motives thus far. They've goaded every beast tribe we know of into summoning their primals multiple times, and provided them with ritualistic items to further the potency of their summonings.

Now, Louisoix's staff, Tupsimati. We now know that it was fashioned to channel incredible amounts of aether, which is how he was able to use it in his ritual to summon forth the essences of the twelve. We also know it is similar in design to the horn from 1.0 that was used to supposedly summon primals. In regards to the Final Coil, Louisoix also turned into the primal Phoenix after using Tupsimati to summon the essence in the twelve, though that in itself isn't directly related to the use of the staff itself as far as we know, and rather the sheer amount of aether in the air and the desperate prayers of those fighting on Carteneau below (as well as Louisoix's own personal wishes.)

What if the Ascians want Tupsimati, that they might gift it to the Dravanians who then would use it to help resurrect the keeper of the lake as their new primal?

[Viridiana]

Honestly, the part I'm most excited about hasn't even been mentioned yet. Anyone else see the shot where the Crystals of Light are drained and the magic circle shatters?

I see two possible setups for this. I'm thinking either the Ascians make a move that drains them; or we willingly consume their aether, itself probably a means of gathering power to attack the Ascians.

[Chewy2nd]

I'm quite interested in why one of Dalamud's talons was glowing, maybe we're there to draw aether out of the corrupted crystal.

[LunaHoshino]

Edit: also, I read on reddit that the Japanese trailer opens with Iceheart talking, not Urianger. Is that true, and if so does anyone know what she says?

I can confirm this; I'll get a translation up in a while once I'm done raiding.

EDIT: Beaten to it by a dev, haha!

[Corvinoobus]

So, I assume the staff mentioned in the opening is the one the scions have, which is shattered, and formally belonged to Louisoix. Do we know more about why it is important?

Edit: also, I read on reddit that the Japanese trailer opens with Iceheart talking, not Urianger. Is that true, and if so does anyone know what she says?

We’ve noticed people here and there wondering about why the EN and JP 2.5 trailers begin with different characters speaking, as well as what the woman in the JP trailer is saying. First of all, allow me to provide you with the corresponding EN:

Lucia: When a great wyrm roars, his brethren cannot choose but answer. We prepare for battle.

It’s a perfectly serviceable line, and I would’ve been happy to see it used (I wrote it!). However, there’s a rather simple reason why it wasn’t: the EN line is roughly 5.5 seconds long, whereas the JP one is just over 10.

You see, the vast majority of the voiced lines in FFXIV are not timesynced, which is to say that the lengths of a given line across languages are not standardized. This allows each team to write and record lines at natural lengths for their language, instead of, say, dragging out an interjection (DIIIE, DAAAMN YOOOOOOUUU!), or cramming an eloquent thought into a split second (Iamtheverymodelofamodernmajorgeneral). This works because the next line doesn’t automatically play─you have to press a button to continue. Of course, for scenes in which lines advance automatically (such as a certain woman’s pleas to the heavens, of which I’m also rather proud), line lengths do have to be standardized, and our job gets a little more complicated.

You can probably see where this is going.

When the team creates trailers, they choose lines based on their JP length and content. However, they can’t restrict themselves to timesynced lines, since that would severely limit their options. Therefore, any line is fair game, and if the corresponding EN/FR/DE line isn’t suitable, we have to compensate. Cutting, splicing, swapping─we do whatever is necessary. We work closely with the sound team to make sure everything fits, and any significant changes─such as swapping the Lucia line with the Urianger line─are approved by those in charge (“Does it sound cool? Okay, as long as it sounds cool!”).

However, to be perfectly clear: these are exceptions. Most EN lines in our trailers correspond to the JP lines, and we will only swap lines as a last resort.

Fortunately, the team understands our situation, and they do their best to accommodate us. They use tricks to allow for variable line lengths in trailers, like showing a person speaking, then cutting away as their line continues. The Alphinaud line, for example, is about 10.5 seconds in JP, and about 6.3 in EN, but that doesn’t matter because you no longer see him on screen and are now distracted by foreboding music and a cackling villain with wicked sideburns.

And there you have it! Hopefully, by clearing up this mystery, y’all can focus on the other dozen or so currently being discussed.

[Pebe]

Honestly, the part I'm most excited about hasn't even been mentioned yet. Anyone else see the shot where the Crystals of Light are drained and the magic circle shatters?

I see two possible setups for this. I'm thinking either the Ascians make a move that drains them; or we willingly consume their aether, itself probably a means of gathering power to attack the Ascians.

I think its the first answer. To me it seems as if you lost your power as the warrior of light. Minfilla shouts/pleas to Hydalean as to why she is not answering her anymore, which makes me think something happened to Hydalean (spelling?), the source of your warrior of light powers. Which probably means Zodiark is involved.

[PArcher]

I think its the first answer. To me it seems as if you lost your power as the warrior of light. Minfilla shouts/pleas to Hydalean as to why she is not answering her anymore, which makes me think something happened to Hydalean (spelling?), the source of your warrior of light powers. Which probably means Zodiark is involved.

We know something happened to the Mothercyrstal; she leaves us after we destroy Ultima. I need to watch the cutscene again, but she pretty much says Bye and wishes us luck in keeping her/our Light bright