Thread: The Road to 5.0

A new trademark went through for Square Enix recently (filed back in May), but today it's been setting a lot of discussion channels ablaze with speculation. We are presently 3 months (one patch cycle) from Fan Festival 2018 Part 1 of 3, and in the midst of The Rising. Seems a good a time as any to start this thread.

First things first: The Rising

Originally Posted by Wandering Minstrel

O hero of rebirth traversing
Soar you the azure skies
Upon your breast a crimson crest
Shine Light down from on high
O hero of rebirth transcending
Weave you an azure lie
By your deeds doth crimson bleed
And Darkness quench the fire

The Hero of Rebirth, shining light from on high, passing through azure skies and bearing a crimson crest ... and as crimson dies, (upper-case) Darkness quenches the fire...

Let's go back to Tales from the Storm for a moment.

Originally Posted by Azure to Ashes (Estinien)

His lifelong battle having reached its true conclusion, he could finally begin anew. None can say whither his road will lead, whether the skies that greet him will be the striking blue of day, the blazing crimson of dusk, or the deepening black of twilight.

Well, that feels like more than coincidence.

So... the shining dawn of rebirth, the azure skies of day, the crimson fires of sunset... the shadowy depths of twilight? Perhaps that speculation about the patches corresponding to times of day was right on the money. (Who shot that one from the hip, anyway? That deserves a toast.)

Which brings us to today... this attention to a new trademark by Square Enix.

Does that mean our new expansion will be heading into (upper-case) Darkness - Ascian-infested Garlemald? Probably. Less certain... does that mean the new expansion will pit the Shadowhunters against the...

Or is that just an unrelated coincidence? I suppose we'll have to see if we get any fuel for this fire in Patch 4.4: Prelude in Violet. (Now, is that ... the violet of Ala Mhigo? The end begins in Ala Mhigo? Or does azure sky and crimson flame merge to make a violet exit into twilight...?)

They haven't really touched on it since 2.x, but the Ascians (It might've been Elidibus, specifically) mentioned how they intend for us serve as a key of some sort, but we weren't yet ready for that purpose and needed to be stronger. I'd assume 5.x is where they're finally going to make their move and have us unwittingly play into their hands.

The thing I'm curious about is just how bad the fallout from it is going to be, since that song implies it could practically invalidate the good we've accomplished thus far.

I feel like we're going to have face Zodiark at some point before the story can end, but with multiple shards still not having been assimilated back into the source, the Ascians would need a way to speed things up either by causing a calamity so bad that the energy of multiple shards is needed to recover from it or they have a plan to break Zodiark's seal without need of a complete rejoining...somehow.

Through a Reddit thread on this (https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...ampf=undefined) and having seen all the different language versions, my conclusion is that it refers to two different set of individuals. One is the WOL, which the "positive" references allude to; the other must be the antagonists, or proxies for that term. So for ARR, I would surmise it's the WoD, even though he only becomes manifest in 2.0. The term "transcendant" is tricky, and I had thought it might mean the Resonance, but they are very clearly segregating the theme by iteration, and in a way Arbert did transcend the typical role of a WoL, to become the WoD. For HW, it is represented in Thordan and his knights. 3.0 is ambiguous, as it could refer to Zenos, but he did not defeat a rebellion ultimately, so it may be refer to the culmination of SB, and thus ultimately refer to Zenos anyway, or "Zenos" as Elidibus, or the Empire itself. The last almost certainly refers to the Ascians and their dark master.

The crimson crest thing had me wondering but someone pointed out this is likely an allusion to the below quest, which secured the aid of the Xaela in ultimately liberating Doma:

https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/I...on_They_Walked

Nevertheless, it's interesting that the final verses in German refer to the world being bled dry. Now if Eikonic summoning increases due to Ascian meddling, that could certainly have that effect, for which the Burn might be a precursor.

I also think there may be a suggestion that we will have to work with Elidibus, because of the Light/Darkness imbalance. If it tilts too much to one side, the world will end regardless. Elidibus even said what the Scions do does not matter, as it will ultimately benefit the Ascians. Either way, it seems to be implying further revolutions will fail and we will be going full on into the darkness/light theme. Some people take the "on high" to mean a trip to the moon, but I don't think the Zodiark arc is going to be resolved so soon, so I think they're reading too much into it; nonetheless, I could see it in 6.0. If there is such a trip, perhaps it'll be a distraction used by the Ascians to gain a foothold in Eorzea, forcing a retrenchment.

There is also whether we're sequencing these verses correctly, but it does seem that the ones describing "darkness" - at least the final verse - are meant to follow from what "light" does.

The other point of interest with the name "Ascian" is it means without a shadow quite literally. So the reference to "shadows of your deeds" is interesting.

It's also possible these verses have multiple meanings, and are presaging a backfiring of epic proportions of the WoL's actions in the expansion, which may be the conduit for working further with Elidibus, whether on our own terms, or not.

As with Theodric, I am hoping the Empire's plotline reaches an amicable conclusion, or at least allows for Garlemald to be salvaged and integrated in some manner with the alliance, given the formidable role it could play, whether under Varis or some other ruler.

Originally Posted by Ramesses

This leads me to think that maybe...just maybe... patch 4.4 and 5.0 will also deeply explore the political underpinnings in Garlemald (a notion that has me very interested). Plus, I remember from the Stormblood opening cutscene, there is a brief moment when the camera pans over the new map of Hydaelyn... and we see Garlemald already enshrouded in dark thunderous clouds (with a violet hue, no less).

Which makes me agree with you that there is progression of Violet into Twilight.

I think that part is a hint, yes. The storm is likely allegorical rather than literal. People believe Garlemald might be a hellscape tarnished by ceruleum but I consider it highly improbable. The storm is likelier to refer to Ascian interference. I think Anonymoose might be right when he thinks of the merging of crimson and violet into Twilight, but my view is this refers to the themes in HW and SB tying together.

And this is also the patch (or expansion) where I hope to see Cid really face the reality of his weighty responsibility as the empire's foremost intellectual (arguably).

I mean, the same could be said of Nero. Neither of them are accepted anymore by the Empire and Cid is quite rightly seen as a traitor. Plus, even if he were not, his father's actions did not sit well with the current reigning Emperor. I don't think he has any standing to speak of within the Empire. If we do side with some faction in the Empire, perhaps they will accept his counsel.

The line of thinking most likely to be of interest in the Empire is how to take Aulus's research and prune its thornier aspects, like the inducement of aether vampirism.

I am hoping he is the next in line to die. There is little about him I like. I'd rather see us guided by Gaius and Nero, than Cid.