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Given this is probably easier said then done with some jobs as such I image it will be hand-waved in most of the job quests just like how being the Warrior of Light had really no impacted on being a DRK or BLM.Quote:
Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf
Most jobs weren't impacted in either HW or StB by the MSQ except by having new locations to go too. And some jobs didn't even do that. I expect the ShB Job Quests to be much the same.
I really love the dynamic of duality and equilibrium. It seems to be a constant theme in this game and i feel like it will be magnified in the next expansion. Fighting for the light by becoming dark so to speak. There are already jobs that currently play with the duality of light and dark, like Astrologian and Scholar. It will be interesting to see if some of the new ability names or play styles will show this off more.
I think that there are a few layers to this.
Superficially, there's little difference between a "Free Paladin" and a "Dark Knight". Both are knight errants, after a fashion. Both go out and help the poor and downtrodden. But the difference is in the why:
Your affinity with your darkside grows stronger by the day. And yet...there is a hesitation. Listen to me. You have performed great deeds and saved countless people. You are a hero to the realm... But you are no dark knight.
A dark knight accepts that they cannot save everyone─that sometimes, they are fortunate just to save themselves. Sacrifice, is to renounce that which binds you. To recognize that which matters─and forsake all that does not. At the very least, you must realize that you cannot continue to carry all these burdens...
Unless you wish to die a slave.
The conventional knight helps those in need in keeping with their oaths, their obligations. As the Warrior of Light, you unquestioningly help those around you because they ask you to. But the people around you view you as a hero not because you do the "right" thing, but because you do what they want you to.
As the Dark Knight quest featuring the merchant and his stolen goods illustrates, trying to help someone in need doesn't always win you the gratitude of others. People are selfish. You help someone recover their goods, only for them to demand repayment for the damages.
We saw how quickly our allies abandoned us, at the end of 2.5, when it didn't serve their purposes. When we, and not they, needed help, it was suddenly inconvenient to do so.
Hah hah...“surrender your weapon”? After what happened in Ul'dah? They must be mad.
A fantastic display of willful ignorance...
Wipe the slate clean. Forgive and forget! Convince yourselves that we can be controlled... The Warrior of Light! Our Weapon of Light!
The essence of being a Dark Knight is in the why. Who is the Warrior of Light? What do you believe in?
On a throne of bone he waits...
Serve... Save... Slave... Slay...
They come to entreat his judgment...
Serve... Save... Slave... Slay...
One by one, in solemn procession...
A chorus of voices cries out for a hero, and he comes.
He smiles. He nods. And he remains silent...
But he too has a voice...
I will be heard...
The Warrior of Light has no voice. They're an inexorable force for good, that "stood against the coming of the storm." But without a voice, without a will, they're just a weapon. The path to becoming a Dark Knight is about finding that voice.
Listen to my voice. Listen to your heartbeat.
You stand at the precipice, but do not fear the fall. Cast yourself into the abyss, and you shall soar above, free at last. Only when you have renounced everything are you free to do anything.
The abyss and the flame aren't necessarily negative things in themselves. They don't even necessarily come from negative emotions (see: moogles). It's about finding yourself, and freeing yourself. Where others are bound by their oaths to serve corrupt institutions and tyrants, Dark Knights are free to aid and protect those that they care about. Not because they're asked to, obliged to, or required to, but because they want to.
Extra:
Ahhh, I think I'm beginning to understand this whole “darkness” concept, kupo! Harnessing the power of your emotions or some such, yes? I'm reminded of an ancient legend about a moogle named Mog─rather simple name, I know, but those were simpler times, kupo! Anyway, Mog had a penchant for dancing, and─
Wait, wait. What does dancing have to do with the dark arts?
Everything, kupo! Everything! The point is, your master was absolutely right when he told you to “submit to the flame.” You just never figured out what he meant by it.
[...]
It all seems so simple in retrospect... The moment I stopped trying to find the answer, there it was. All that anger, all that rage...born of a fervent desire to protect that which we hold most dear.
Shadowbringers
In the Fanfest lore panel, Koji Fox mentions that the Japanese title is 'Shikokku no Hangyakusha' (漆黒の反逆者) - meaning 'Jet Black Traitors'. Being a story set, at least part, in Garlemald, this is about the "bad guys". But this is also the first opportunity that we also have to see them as a people, rather than a militaristic force. After this, will we still be able to look at them under the lens of "the villains"?
On the other end of the spectrum, the Warrior of Light has always represented both the "good" choice, and the popular one. It's easy to act when you have your friends and allies behind you. It's easy to act if everyone agrees with you. But what if doing the "heroic" thing meant opposing the Eorzean Alliance? What if it meant opposing the Scions? What if it meant being hated by your old allies and friends? The second part of any expansion trailer is usually where the plot twist lies, and I'm curious to see what, and whom, we're really up against.
There's a critical point in many Final Fantasy stories where you hit rock bottom, and you have to go it alone in order to redeem yourself and win back your friends. These are character defining moments. Cecil washes up on the coast of Mysidia. Celes wakes up in the world of ruin. I feel like 2.5 flirted with the idea, but took the soft way out in early Heavensward before any real tension built up. I'll be very interested to see what happens here.
To walk the path is to suffer. To sacrifice. Justice demands no less. But we must never lose sight of why we chose to walk it.
I like that analysis.
To add to the difference between Dark Knights and Paladins, Paladin Soul Stones stop "working" for Paladins that forswear their oaths. Even if it's for a good reason. The Lvl 50-60 Paladin quest has a Paladin who had to give up his oaths for some very good reasons and as a result needs to find other Paladins who haven't done so yet. It feels very much like the "Lawful Good" job where breaking the "Law" causes the Job to be usable anymore. Dark Knight is much more along the lines of "Chaotic Good", and is all about your own personal sense of honor, not society's.