Guesses as to what the new mystery MSQ trial coming in 4.3 will be? (Spoilers)

I hope its Asahi. I rlly want to punch him so hard after what happend in MSQ. I KNEW he can never be trusted.
I want to show him how real beast actually looks like:)

You need a beard, an axe, a BOY and some red tatoo for that

they should do Asahi and Yotsuyu at the same time with a multi-level arena.

My main theory is still the one on page 3(the mirror+bad feelings about Asahi and the rest of her "family" causes Yotsuyu to summon/become a primal - probably based on Tsukuyomi as others have mentioned - and the fight is to save the enclave). But ive been bored waiting on new content, so i let my mind wander.

Less coherent theory: The above still happens. Yotsuyu is enraged by Asahi, and the mirror(either a gift of the ascians or the kojin) causes a transformation/summoning. However the mirror has lost most of its aetheric density, and the summoned primal is weak. The empire uses "Hien consorting with/summoning primals" as an excuse to attack again, and they unleash their toughest magitech tank yet - the X-ATM092. Also known as, the "unstoppable" super tank from the first mission in FF8. The fight is orchestrated as a running battle similar to Steps of Faith(fight it until its stunned, move forward, it charges back in, repeat - added difficulty if we're also fighting the primal at the same time). Post-fight cutscene could potentially feature 'Tsuyu sacrificing herself as she uses up the last of her primals power to stop the tank as it makes a final lunge at... us? Hien? Gosetsu?(my money would be on Gosetsu, the first person to treat her kindly in her life), thus ending the redemption storyline they seem predisposed to use on her. Asahi probly still escapes to cause us more trouble down the line.

Problems with this theory: This is starting to assume a lot about how the story will progress, making it more likely to be wildly wrong. Also as much as i remembered the X-ATM092 being super-imposing in the cutscenes where it trashed the city and all, i went back to look and... its design is kinda plain. Spider-style tank with 6 limbs - 4 "legs" for support and 2 "claws" for attack - that would have to be made fairly large if we're to believe that its manned. Also, if we're borrowing references from older games then 8 wouldnt be the first choice of a lot of fans(this doesnt make it a bad idea, it just might make it less likely).

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Originally Posted by Frizze

Also, if we're borrowing references from older games then 8 wouldnt be the first choice of a lot of fans(this doesnt make it a bad idea, it just might make it less likely).

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That doesn't mean it's not going to happen. They're likely to reference every game at some point. III and V aren't exactly "popular" (and certainly less popular than VIII is in Japan) but they've got dedicated raids, plus a place in the MSQ in the Isle of Val.

I'm fully expecting Sharlayan, once we finally go there (even if just a peak) to be heavily influenced by FFVIII, particularly Centra and Balamb Garden. Idylshire already has that pseudo-roman, 'domes and curves' aesthetic to it.
Hell, Eden may even be a primal there.
(and if a later expansion has a more dirt confrontation between Garlemald and Sharlayan for any reason, expect Ark to be a Garlean primal too. They could even be in response to each other)

Ark is already in the game though

I want to see Yotsuyu as a Tsukumogami, being that we never actually fought her and we'll call her Yotsuyu-Asura she could have the multi-faces because of her memory lose and her 2-facedness in the MSQ

I find the mirrors part of this whole thing the most interesting to dig into, at the moment.

When Asahi handed Yotsuyu the mirror, I considered that it was perhaps the Red Kojin's mirror, that this is why they attacked, and that he was setting her up to be part of a primal summoning at the prisoner exchange (to deliberately undermine the whole "We'll be allies if you prevent primals" promise). I discarded the idea wholesale because the mirror Asahi gives Yotsuyu is not the same model as the Yata no Kagami that is part of Susano, but maybe I discarded it too soon.

Ironically, Yotsuyu's looks more like real-world depictions of the Yata no Kagami than the actual, in-game Yata no Kagami.

That said, we now have references to the moon, and Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto's mirror wasn't the Yata no Kagami, anyway, was it? It was just a white, copper mirror. Skewing it towards Amaterasu is also possible, I suppose.

What if the primal isn't part of the msq at all? What if it's part of the whole wolf burglar/Hildebrand story? Or even more interesting if it's part of the 24man sidequest? With the 4 lords not being part of the msq it's totally feesable that it has nothing to do with asahi or yotsutsu at all....

Don't think so, would imply doing all hildi's quests to get access to it, which a good deal of ppl didn't. The last time they tried to make a secret trial it was nabriales for msq, thoiugh I don't remember how they handled nidhogg

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Originally Posted by Remedi

Don't think so, would imply doing all hildi's quests to get access to it, which a good deal of ppl didn't. The last time they tried to make a secret trial it was nabriales for msq, thoiugh I don't remember how they handled nidhogg

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I’m not sure how they handled it prior to the patch trailer, but Nidhogg was featured prominently in it. If I recall correctly, they said this primal won’t appear in the patch trailer.

Ye, they've been quite tightlipped about the story this time, maybe because nidhogg was something we were all expecting with how 3.0 and 3.2 ended

Maybe it will be Orochi, but then again we already have *enough* trials/raids featuring a dragon-like enemy (even though we're bound to get a Seiryu or a Koryu fight eventually, and Orochi is the hydra dragon serpent demon that was held at bay by the sword, jewel, mirror (3 imperial treasures of Japan, of which so far we've seen the sword[Susano] and mirror[in Yotsuyu's possession])

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Originally Posted by Jonnycbad

the sword, jewel, mirror (3 imperial treasures of Japan, of which so far we've seen the sword[Susano] and mirror[in Yotsuyu's possession])

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Susano used all three to manifest. The jewel and the mirror became parts of him. The mirror given to Tsuyu is a different mirror with a moon motif on the back.

https://i.imgur.com/gwk487E.png

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Originally Posted by Rongway

The mirror given to Tsuyu is a different mirror with a moon motif on the back.

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Is that a different mirror though? I might have to go back and watch the cutscenes. It looks to be roughly the same size, and made of the same material. In the 'Tsuyu picture you provide we only see the back, in the two Susano pictures we only see the front.

I agree, you can't definitely tell from those screenshots whether they are the same or not, because you see the front of one and the back of the other.

However, my best guess is that they're more likely not the same because they don't seem to be in the same style of decoration. The Kojin mirror has a rather 'swirling' rim design, while Tsuyu's mirror looks like it would have a plain (or evenly-patterned) circular rim on the front.

They're not the same. It's not as clear in a still screenshot, but the mirror used in the summoning of Susano is a convex shape and is the same on both sides:

https://i.imgur.com/o1EHXIR.png

It becomes part of Susano's elbow when he assumes his form.

That debunks that. Kinda sad because the 3 imperial treasures and the story of Orochi are very prominent in Japanese mythology but seems like all 3 were hastily used for Susano. I should have figured as much. That said, maybe the next primal will be Asura, which would make sense given the Eastern style of that summon.


https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...mano_Asura.jpg

Maybe Fardola, Zenos and Yotsuyu will fuse? Asura is poetic in the sense that her 3 faces reflect the 3 relevant emotions of war: fury, sorrow, and joy.

Fardola= Fights with anger, rage, and contempt.
Zenos=Fights with joy and thill of combat.
Yotsuyu=Immense sorrow and pain in her earlier years sequestered her true ego and made her into a ruthless sadist.

If you look at a larger, high res version of the Amano art for Asura you'll see the 3 faces. I can TOTALLY picture a 3 faced Asura, with one of the faces having a snarling Fardola, a Zenos with ecstatic grin, and a Yotsuyu with a solemn gaze.

SPOILER:

Notice the symbol on Asura's head in the FF4 DS remake, and this sets the precedent of Asura's 3 faces not just having masks or different expressions but also different hair colors. The face on the right side looks similar to Fardola holding her Gunblade, the guy on the left could be Zenos with a Katana, and the Yotsuyu in the middle with the moon crest, holding the rest of Zenos' blades.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120709194121

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Originally Posted by Nestama

That's implying Zenos is actually Zenos and not... Elidibus.

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(forgot to reply to this the other day.)

I don't think this can be the case - or that he's Gaius or Regula (as popular theories go) either, because of his character model. Elidibus seems to be a Hyuran, and the Garleans are, game-wise, modified Elezen. (I think Cid is the one exception to this, but perhaps I've missed others.) So unless they're going to completely switch him out for a different character model, it seems unlikely.

For Zenos specifically, it seems to me like he's only just "awoken" in that scene at the end of 4.2, so I don't think he'd be up and around for that 'unmasking' scene anyway.

Garleans are not modified Elezen, they are closer genetically Hyur. Nael, Cid, Nero, they're all Hyur-like. That said, they're likely their own race as they have different origins than the Eorzean races, with their characteristically pale skin and either platinum or light blond hair and third eye.

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Originally Posted by Jonnycbad

Garleans are not modified Elezen, they are modified Hyur. Nael, Cid, Nero, they're all Hyur.

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Haven't encountered Nael myself, and yes Cid has a Hyuran model, but Nero is definitely an Elezen model with a different head attached. Look at his emotes, and his basic stance, and compare his height to other characters. (He makes Cid look ridiculously short by comparison.)

It took me a while to work that was the case, but ever since he showed up in the Crystal Tower arc I was thinking that Nero's head doesn't quite look like it fits his body - and that would be because it actually doesn't. It's not so obvious with the Garleans wearing their usual bulky armour, but Nero's "civilian clothes" make it a lot more noticable.

The prima vista has garleans using hyur models with they eye on their forehead, probably Nero has a unique model for beign an important NPC, like gosetsu has a very odd roe model

This is going in too many directions, lol.

Nero: Modified Elezen
Nael: Modified Elezen
Livia: Modified Elezen
Gaius: Modified Elezen
Cid: Modified Hyur
Lucia: Modified Elezen
Regula: Modified Elezen
Varis: Custom (Monster)
Zenos: Custom (Monster)

Giving them round ears doesn't change the model structure they were built on.
Seven Hells, giving Nael a female head didn't even take away her classification as a male NPC.

That said, yes, Garleans are generally claimed to be their own race.

Ah, the Prima Vista - I thought there was somewhere else I'd seen Hyuran-Garleans.

I should have said in my last post though, Regula definitely also had an Elezen model (again, could see it by his stance) and so does Lucia. From memory, Livia as well, and one of Asahi's assistants. Perhaps I should double-check Gaius, but basically it seems to be the case far more often than not.

What context have we been given for this 'MSQ trial'?

Could it be a primal? I mean, technically Susano and Lakshmi are both 'MSQ', necessary to progress the story.

With the Namazu being the new beast tribe, could we be fighting their primal?
I think another Kami might be a bit too similar to Susano, especially given that Susano is the kami of the sea so... what else would a fish tribe have?
Perhaps Ningyo or Yao Bikuni?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningyo

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

That said, yes, Garleans are generally claimed to be their own race.

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Yeah, they're definitely their own race in the 'reality' of Eorzea, which is not quite the same thing as the game of Final Fantasy XIV.

There are a few things like that, like the Ishgardian Elezen being completely separate to the Wildwood/Duskwight clans, lore-wise, but programming-wise Ishgardian characters will stilll belong to one of those clans (normally Wildwood) because that's all that exists.

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Originally Posted by Seraphor

What context have we been given for this 'MSQ trial'?

Could it be a primal? I mean, technically Susano and Lakshmi are both 'MSQ', necessary to progress the story.

With the Namazu being the new beast tribe, could we be fighting their primal?
I think another Kami might be a bit too similar to Susano, especially given that Susano is the kami of the sea so... what else would a fish tribe have?
Perhaps Ningyo or Yao Bikuni?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningyo

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Well, considering that 4.3 is the end of the Doman chapter of Stormblood, and the trial is an MSQ trial, it will most likely heavily involve the events that tie off Doma. I don't see them just destroying the narrative flow of the whole patch and having us fight the Namazu primal, and we have an idea of where the MSQ will go in Doma after 4.2.

Perhaps we simply won't have access to garleans as playable race as such there is not much need for them to have a definitive body size

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Originally Posted by Sinh119

Well, considering that 4.3 is the end of the Doman chapter of Stormblood, and the trial is an MSQ trial, it will most likely heavily involve the events that tie off Doma. I don't see them just destroying the narrative flow of the whole patch and having us fight the Namazu primal, and we have an idea of where the MSQ will go in Doma after 4.2.

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I havent seen any interview that gives us solid info on where theyre heading with the story, so im not as sure as you. Therefore...

Devils advocate: We dont know what Asahi's true goal is, so we dont know what he's planning. We think he wants us to be there(the confrontation at the end of our first meeting seems to point strongly to that), presumably to get us involved in whatever attack he's planning. But suppose he gets subordinates/red kojin to attack and provoke the namazu into summoning Quetzalcoatl(chosen at random from currently unused FF summons - doesnt seem like a great fit for the tribe but thats beside the point with a random selection) right as the exchange is about to start. Now we have to hurry off and take care of that for everyones safety. While we're gone, shenanigans happen. We return to find the enclave trashed, Yotsuyu rescued(her memories are back), Hien captured, and Gosetsu dying in Yugiri's arms. Asahi laughs in our face as he escapes, and now we need to figure out what to do next. In the first week or two after patch 4.2 one of the popular theories was that him confronting us was to assure we would be at the prisoner exchange so that we wouldnt be in Ala Mhigo to stop the actual attack they were planning. There are certainly twists they can toss into the story if the goal is to surprise us.

We still need a MSQ trial where they play the main theme of SB- "Revolutions", similar to Final Steps of Faith where they played Dragonsong. I think 3.3 is when they released Nidhogg, so 4.3 could be a final Zenos fight...though it's weird cuz we just fought him as Shinryu more recently.

Still, I can imagine this 4.3 trial being Asura, with 3 faces, Yotsuyu/Zenos/Fardola. Traitor, Warlord, Repentant

Fordola is not showing up in this patch. She's in prison in Ala Mhigo and she's even okay with it as her Resonance is constantly going off which is really painful to deal with. And Fordola wasn't obsessed with Zenos like Asashi is. For all that she wanted to stay alive under him, it's pretty obvious she was hating him the entire time. If Asura is a 3-part primal that involves multiple people it would be Yotsuyu/Zenos/Asahi.

I think it's going to be Zenos with a more mastered Resonance. As in more on line with the Echo the Ascians have.

My character is still disappointed that they never got to have a "serious" fight against Zenos. Killing primals is their version of But for Me, It Was Tuesday and they were planning on killing Shinryuu anyway...

I wouldn't discard the mirror theory so easily, they don't have to use the same mirror the Kojin used, the FF franchise has never been a 1:1 reference to real life mythology, so it's perfectly possible Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's mirror and Susanoo's mirror could be different objects in-game. Yotsuyu has the most prominent space in the patch logo, she has the mirror, and the patch name is alluding to the moon.

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Originally Posted by Nestama

Yotsuyu is giving that mirror a lot of attention (it seems)... is it possible that could transform into a Primal (like Susano or something)?

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Yotsuyu's brother gave her the mirror as a backhanded jesture. He wants her to remember because it would cause her the most pain. She is a rape victim after all, and her brother is a subtly cruel man.

Pain and anguish have assisted in causing a Primal to be summoned (Shinryu and Lakshmi, for example). Just gotta hope there's no abundance of crystals and aether nearby.

If she does remember and all that pain comes flooding back and somehow causes a Primal to come about... Anima comes to mind.

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Originally Posted by Nestama

Just gotta hope there's no abundance of crystals and aether nearby.

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Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me if the Garleans brought such specifically to encourage the summoning of a primal now that they know they can be controlled and restrained.

Worse comes to worse, we'll just end up killing it if it ends up being too much for them to handle.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me if the Garleans brought such specifically to encourage the summoning of a primal now that they know they can be controlled and restrained.

Worse comes to worse, we'll just end up killing it if it ends up being too much for them to handle.

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I'm actually of the mind that this is part of Asahi's personal vendetta against the Warrior of Light - he knows that whatever he brings to bear probably can't kill them, but giving the Empire an excuse to start up another war with Doma by getting a primal summoned on Doman turf would hurt the Warrior of Light in a way force of arms has failed to time and again. While there's little doubt Asahi is martially competent, given the Warrior of Light is capable of going toe to toe with Zenos (who was heavily implied to be one of if not the finest warrior ever produced by Garlemald) it's unlikely he's on that level. As such, he needs to scheme to get his vengeance.

That said, deliberately getting primals summoned and bound isn't out of the question, but if that were their intent there must be an easier way to do so - poke at the Kojin enough they'll summon Susano'o, for example. Even so, were I a betting man (and I assure you I am not) I would wager Asahi's goal is a bit more insidious than getting a primal summoned to bind it. Assuming a primal is summoned, there must be a reason Asahi's trying to get it summoned in Doma...

There's not enough information to make much of an educated guess at this point, but from the artwork and patch title my best guess is Tsukuyomi. It's not much, and with no context it's little more than a shot in the dark (might not even be a primal). I'm not going to rule out Anima, but just on a hunch am leaning toward Tsukuyomi. Need... trailer... information...

Anima exists already in FFXIV

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c-OyLQkado8/maxresdefault.jpg

I'm going with Asura, since Asura has a moon motif and has 3 faces, similar to Yotsuyu's multiple personalities and far eastern theme.

http://cdn1-www.playstationlifestyle...00-555x315.jpg
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120706130853
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120709194121

I'm not entirely sure where I stand with the fusion-Asura idea, but I do know that I feel that Zenos and Fordola being involved in it during this present Doma arc seems... well, off I suppose, from a thematic standpoint. Yotsuyu makes sense enough to be involved in it. And the two main Doman characters that are the most connected to her atm are Asahi and Gosetsu. If some kind of manifestation of Asura required three characters to call on, those three would be my guess. Given how unhinged Asahi seems to be, I wouldn't put it past him to orchestrate a plan that requires he sacrifices himself to get back at the WoL and Eorzea.

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Originally Posted by Jonnycbad

Anima exists already in FFXIV

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I'm sure SE can lore their way around it like they did for Halicarnassus.

An even more powerful Ultima Weapon: The Ultima Weapon Prime.

And it's still far from its perfected form, which is three expansions away.