Exactly my thought ;x
I wouldn't be surprised if something like what you or I stated would come to be fact.
Printable View
Food for thought: What if Dalamud doesn't hit? It's clear it affects aether pretty strongly even at its current distance. Who's to say us adventurers don't stop it before it strikes, but its effects on our world's Aether are strong enough to completely change the landscape? I believe it's Louisoix who says that aether runs throughout the world, so this isn't too far-fetched.
Well we know that Dalamud absorbs crystals from the recent Garuda cutscenes. We also know that Eorzea has crystalized aether embedded everywhere (look at mordhona).
My guess is that dalamud is a device for absorbing crystalized aether, and it's going to suck the aether out of Eorzea. Dalamud isn't coming towards us, it's drawing the planet towards it.
This is why the garleans want to get rid of the primals because the primals draw on the aether for their power. If the primals use up the aether, Dalamud won't work because it has nothing to absorb.
I believe Dalamud will change the landscape as a result of mass amounts of crystalized aether being sucked out of the planet, rather than as a result of dalamud crashing into the planet. The planet's aether will likely overwhelm Dalamud however and destroy the device.
This would also explain how the tomb of xandes (crystal tower) would be brought to the surface as well as the floating aetheryte crystals that we've seen in concept art.
This image here, likely the result of aether being sucked out of the planet and dragging the landscape along with it.
http://media-curse.cursecdn.com/atta...mapconcept.PNG
It sounds familiar if you think it from Ultimecia's point of view, in her atempt to compress timeline she traveled to the past finding vessel in that age's sorseress. So in a way it could be possible. I dont think SE will use timetravel to the past again in FFxiv as it was exploited in xi, and if they do they will use it afterwards.
And taking a day off for a videogame is just..../headdesk lol
That being said, I'm pretty sure we'll just get the new cutscene on login or even a new trailer type deelio as Rustyhagun said would show the Dalamud impact and the change from launch to 2.0, it'd make sense atleast! People starting the game for the first time in say 2 years time can't exactly hop in a time machine and check out a one-time event from years past (But that would be hella awesome, who doesn't want a time machine?)
This is my premonition on how it will all go down.
1.23 will add the final battle against one of those garlean guys. (Forgot their high ranked title). We'll end up beating him but not necesseraily stop his plans, thus causing Dalamud to still keep falling down. To stop Dalamud, the grand companies and Cid make up some plan to make an all out assault against something that will prevent or at least cause the point of impact to happen in a safe zone(Possible cliffhanger at the end of 1.23). I'm taking this hint from that cgi cutscene screenshot. Where it looks like a Warrior is fighting in what I presume is the final large battle. All of our characters will start up in this conflict(2.0 intro). Perhaps this will be the actual tutorial zone. Large scale battle, good way to showcase FFXIV to the new players and a tutorial guiding you through it and fighting some of the garlean soldiers.
The battle will end up in some sort of victory, ending in
- Dalamud remaining suspended in the air( Not expecting this to be honest)
- Dalamud crashing somewhere safely (my bets are on this. I'll go even as far as to say that it will be suspended in the air by something and in possesion of the garleans. Which in turn will become a future dungeon)
- Dalamud is completely destroyed and we see nothing of it anymore except its influence on the world (and maybe some debris)
And we fast forward months/years forward. Somehow ending in our city of choice. Perhaps waking from a dream or a reminescence of the battle (Or perhaps all echo).
Like I said, personal premonition. I'm probably going to be way off but I love speculating.