Thread: [Spoilers] The Patch 4.2 Discussion and Speculation Thread!

I expected 4.2 to focus on Doma, since 4.1 was nothing but Ala Mhigo. We have two fronts to deal with, and I completely anticipated ping-ponging between the two regions during the reconstruction process. Curious as to who the major players are going to be, since except Tataru the Scions probably can't be too involved given the boat trip. I'm also expecting Gosetsu and [Yo]Tsuyu to make their reappearance here. (What is the actual patch name, by the way?)

Glad to see Azys Lla get more attention; I thought it was the most under-utilized piece of content from Heavensward. I'd have preferred some new piece of the area be explored, such as the Habisphere, but I'll take what I can get. Also nice to see Hells' Lid get explored, though I'm curious as to how it'll distinguish itself from Sohm Al (Hard).

As others have said, basing the new trial series on the Four Symbols from Chinese mythology means that in addition to the White Tiger, we're very likely to get a Blue Dragon, Black Turtle, and Vermilion Bird from 4.3 - 4.5. (The names for these bosses will likely be Byakko, Seiryu, Genbu, and Suzaku, unless they go with the original Chinese names that I don't know and probably couldn't remember the spelling of anyway.)

Eureka is FINALLY here! At last, something for casul players like myself to do besides grind tomestones and run Rabanastre once a week! (I'm maxed on Kojin rep, have capped tomestones in both values, and just need like 2 more Rabanastre clears to max out my gear without raiding.)

Originally Posted by Cilia

(What is the actual patch name, by the way?)

'Rise of a New Sun'.

Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

-snip-

I think this time around Eureka is actually ready to go live, it's just 'delayed' so that content can be staggered. Something always seems to be held back for a month these days when a new patch arrives. It happened with Rival Wings.

Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

Eureka is not here for sure. [...]

Long story short, SE has been heavily favoring the raiding community so far and I don't see that stopping.

As of 4.15, I can't disagree. On top of the usual extra boss phase for high-end raiding (Neo Exdeath), both Shinryu EX and Unending Coil aren't exactly casual content. Like I said, I really don't have a lot to do right now except for running Rabanastre once a week for an upgrade item. When Eureka is released, if it's just Diadem with some extra bonuses added on, it still won't be the sort of thing that's up my alley (or even doable right now) since I'm for most intents and purposes a solo player.

Originally Posted by Theodric

'Rise of a New Sun'.

Thank you! That makes me think the Steppe might be involved as well.

Originally Posted by Estherna

The thing were I'm a little bit curious is that 4.1 didn't really opened a new story. If we compare with 3.1, where the Warriors of Darkness were revealed and where there was the turmoils linked with the statute of Ishgard, in 4.1 we have the opening for the Anantas which seems to be pretty much closed by the end, the fact that Ala Migho is going to be rebuild thanks to the help of Ul'dah (is that me, or in this game, Ul'dah is the most important city everytime ? It was the same for Heavensward after all. Everything seems always okay in Limsa Lominsa and Gridania...), and that Raubahn is coming back home. Except from that, we have Gosetsu and Yotsuyu coming back in Doma, which we knew from the end of the 4.0 and the little talk in Garlemald.

So I get it that they don't reveal the plotline for the next expac before the .4 or .5, but at least there is an introduction of sort of what is going to happen in the transition. We had rebuilding of Ala Migho, now we will have rebuilding of Doma, with probably a story regarding Yotsuyu and her somewhat redemption, but after that? Don't get me wrong, I really like the story of FF14, but I kinda feel that 4.1 was lacking of an compeling start...

Also I would really like to see more of our friendly neighbours Ascians at some point. They are after all our worst ennemies no?

Ul'dah gets a lot of focus because it is the most dynamic (re: prone to conflict) of the city-states. Gridania is stuck under the rule of the Elementals and Limsa has Merlwyb as a strong-willed leader who isn't lacking in the political power department. Ul'dah has a lot of players and power spread around, making it very easy to have a power struggle come up. On top of that, Ul'dah is the wealthiest city-state, meaning the majority of funding for any major project is likely to come from there. As the main recipient of Ala Mhigan refugees, it is also tied more closely to Ala Mhigo than the other city-states. (I agree the attention Ul'dah gets is somewhat excessive, but see above.)

I believe that the main arc starting in 4.1 was intended to be Fordola moving toward the path of atonement. The 4.x series, as anyone could have guessed from 3.5 onward, was always going to be about rebuilding Doma and Ala Mhigo. (Did anyone actually think we'd fail to liberate them?)

The Ascians are our main obstacle, but they are mostly background instigators, not actors on the stage. Us having to fight and kill Lahabrea, Nabriales, and Igeyorhm directly and in such a short timeframe (approx. 3 months by my estimation) is highly unusual given how ancient they are, and considering the conflicts led to their deaths this will have undoubtedly pushed the remaining Ascians to playing a more conservative game.

Originally Posted by uvuvwevwevweonyetenyevweugwemu

Just curious, is there a transcript repository listed somewhere? I rather not scavenge 16 hours worth of cutscenes. I'm thinking it's something related to the Steppe other than Hien's coronation, there was a little bit question hanging at the end of steppe line.

I haven't actually looked through it personally, but this (EDIT: Stormblood-specific) MSQ text transcript was linked to Reddit a while back (and very recently updated for 4.1). It might be useful.