Ask Questions to Main Scenario Writer Banri Oda

When will my twelve wayward sons return home from Azys Lla?

Building off of another question. Did Solus reproduce with a mortal the old fashioned way to involve himself in the royal family of Garlemald? If so, is that part of why Zenos doesn't feel things the way others do and can you tell us anything about the woman who had children with Solus?

Does bearing the Blessing of Light (or Darkness) ultimately mean your actions promote the spread of Light (or Darkness) irrespective of what their ordinary result would be, due to the fact that you’re championing one or the other Crystal?

In all the myriad languages we've seen in Eorzea and beyond, are there any forms of sign language?

What happened to Warriors of Light?

Does the Twin Adders have a training facility like the Flames/Maelstrom Grand Companies have on the Hullbreaker Isle (Hard)? If it exists, is it built behind the Black Boar gate, or another in-accessible spot in the Black Shroud? I'm wondering since the beasts we've met in the Black Shroud is much weaker than those on Hulbreaker Isle, and the members of the Twin Adders should be strong. As a White Mage, I'm also wondering what would the Elementals think about such a training facility?

Will the Elementals in the Black Shroud regain their strength sometime, or does the thinning of the Aether in several locations prevent this?

Not expecting to get this answered until the new expansion, if ever; but does the lore on Primals allow e.g. Titania to graft (a piece of) herself into a job crystal like Scholar's (so that Scholar can utilize her)? Midgardsormr did something similar right?

Oh! Are elementals and kami similar entities with different locations and cultures built around them?

In view of Elidibus’s comment about Zenos’s “adamant” flesh, how great is Ascian Overlord control over the host (how completely can they shape it) and does the host’s body limit how much power an Overlord can channel through it in some way? E.g. if the host’s soul possesses the Echo, would this augment its potential. Why do Ascians almost exclusively prefer midlanders?

Question about housing.
When will auto demolishing get reactivated on NA servers? It is a torture to try to win a house with 20 people as competition trying to buy the same house in a time from 30mins to 22 hours.... some people apparently also use auto clicker. We really need the auto demo back

Question regarding furnishing. Is there a plan in the future where we can convert crafted items into a furnishing for display inside our house as a memento or a keepsake and being able to intetact with it by displaying the name of the person who crafted it?

I myself was looking forward to possibly seeing a redemption story for Fordola and was honestly expecting it this expansion, but after 4.1 and a brief mention in 4.2, we haven't hear anything from her. Just wondering if you have any plans for her in the future?

One of the biggest enemies we've fought in the game is still Vishap, but how did he get to that size? Supposedly it occurred through through 'selective breeding,' but dragons don't require mates to reproduce. So how would selective breeding happen in a parthenogenetic species like the Dravanians?

The Hypno Crown has been in many Final Fantasy games. Will we get to see it in FFXIV someday, either as a story element and/or equipment for ourselves?

Do you have any plans to implement stealing as a mechanic? As a staple mechanic in many Final Fantasy games, it would make sense to have a "Thieving Log" for thefts from monster, bosses, or primals.

In a recent interview, YoshiP said that the gunblades used by Gaius and some Garlean officers are closer to "guns with bayonets" than to the gunblades wielded by the upcoming Gunbreaker job. This made me wonder:

- What about Regula van Hydrus's weapon? It doesn't look like a bayonet. In fact, it (and Regula's fighting style) resembles the gunbreaker gunblade more than it does a Garlean bayonet-gunblade. Is there a connection? Was Regula actually a Gunbreaker?
- (Not really lore related but...) Is there still any chance at all that we might see the Garlean Officer/Gaius gunblade ("Heirsbane"?) as a glamour option for Machnists and/or Gunbreakers? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge... grovel-grovel?

In ARR we saw the inclusion of the binding coil of bahamut story which had many implications for the main scenario quest. As this content was very challenging, a lot of players complained that they couldn't experience the whole story of FFXIV. This prompted a change in Heavensward where the savage raid content did not feature any storylines that were related to the main scenario. However, at the same time, the normal mode raid difficulty was introduced, which allowed many more players to easily experience the raid storyline.

With the inclusion of the normal mode raid difficulty, do you think we can begin to expect the 8-man raid storyline to be more closely related to the main scenario once again ?

How does the corruption the Voidsent endured change their personalities and minds? Are they so twisted as to be forever corrupted?

Any plans to involve more of the Job NPCs into the MSQ much like how Estinien, someone who was a major character in the Dragoon story played an important part in Heavensward? I remember getting teased in the Stormblood trailer where Oboro, a Ninja NPC was seen with Alphinald but felt disappointed that in actuality that one scene was the extent of his entire involvement in the MSQ.

Is it true that you're making it up as you go along? I'm sureeee Nier automata was in the lore from the start -.-

Do you intend to release a compendium of job ability lore descriptions for each job, as you have done for Blue Mage? Whilst I appreciated what the lorebook covered of this, it was still only a small sample.

A question about Stormblood: When crafting the main scenario, was there much research done into imperialism and its effects in our real world, either historical or contemporary? If so, what elements of imperialism did you feel it most important to highlight during that research? What was the main reason for choosing the slogan "Liberty or Death"?

Stormblood portrays such a nuanced, respectful, and people-focused understanding of imperialism that I rarely see in fantasy, in Ala Mhigo especially, and I'm curious as to how much preparation was done to ensure characters such as Fordola, Lyse, Raubahn, the Namai and Ala Gannha villagers, etc. represented well some of the real world ethical dilemmas that can occur in occupied countries, as well as the complex issue of how a country might rebuild itself after being freed. It really is of fantastic quality.

The Eorzean Alliance is swift to hold other organisations and individuals accountable for their misdeeds. Will we ever see it hold itself accountable to the same degree that it insists on dictating elsewhere?

What do you think is the right balance between homeage to earlier Final Fantasies (and even some other SE content) and original content to this Final Fantasy, and what is your current view on what the mix should be going forwards?

4.5 confirmed the return of Gaius van Baelsar, and the promo artwork for Shadowbringers shows a mysterious, hooded figure who bears uncanny resemblance to another character who departed multiple real-world years ago. How far in advance are returns like that planned by the writing team? Are they decided from the moment of departure, or simply left open as something to come back to later?

The Warrior of Light has consistently been shown to fight largely for Eorzea's benefit. As a result, this has allowed Eorzea to grow more influential than it otherwise would on the world stage. Are there any plans to have other nations question why such a powerful tool is largely being exploited to the benefit of Eorzea's political and trade based influence?

So we know from the 4.0 Astrologian questline that Astrologians and Geomancers aren't so different. Specifically, they are both said to read from the stars... one from the stars above and one from the star below.

My question is, how similar are they exactly? Do their magics result in the same effects? Would a Geomancer job be a healer as a result of this similarity?

Since linkpearl technology seems to be widespread and accessible enough that anyone who needs it has one (although some people maybe shouldn't *staaaaaaaaares at Minfilia*), I've been wondering how they actually work and what limitations they have?

Since, I assume, there is no satellite network in orbit and I haven't seen any relay towers around Eorzea, what determines the range and reception of linkpearls? Does the signal travel through aetheric currents? Does it have limited range or places it can't reach?
Could Minfillia call someone who's in Kugane to pray return to the Waking Sands (probably just so she could tell them in person to then go to fetch something from Doma)? Could Arbert make a call from Xepathol to Elidibus on the Moon? What's possible? What isn't possible?

Is there any chance that we get to see what happened Ilberd's group, like Yuyuhase and Laurentius?

Was Ultima Weapon and the Ultima spell designed by the Allagans after the myth of Ultima the High Seraph? The incantation for Ultima that Lahabrea chants while casting Ultima during the Praetorium battle is eerily similar to the incantation for Ultimate Illusion (Final Fantasy, in JP) that the High Seraph casts in Orbonne Monastery's last battle.

Quest texts refer to other parts of the Empire being very different to Ala Mhigo and Doma, in that life went on as before – will we see this if/when we venture to Ilsabard, particularly in the more developed provinces?

In A Realm Reborn, Ultima is powered by the Heart of Sabik. Are we ever going to learn more about the rest of Sabik?

Are characters created for the story or does the story create characters?

Hello. What is the process for lore creation when you have guest writers such as Yasumi Matsuno for Ivalice and Yoko Taro for Nier? How much involved is Oda-san in making sure the stories they create are consistent with the lore? What are the chances of revisiting and adding stories (either as sidecontent or maybe part of MSQ) for Ivalice and later on Nier in the future? Thanks.

Cid has a rather notable pendant around his neck in all of his designs since 1.0, including flashbacks to him as a child. Does it have any significance?

Will Unukalhai have a role in Shadowbringers MSQ?

In the first lore book Regula van Hydrus is described as being a fan of music. What sort of music is popular in Garlemald?

Are Roegadyn children and their way of life and cities going to be present in 5.0? As we are getting closer to Ilsabard and it's known that Hellsguard mercenaries had helped Garlemald, so they must be living within the region.

Will we ever get to see Cyr and Gigi work with Hildabrand and Nashu again from their swanky new Gazebo base of operations?