Patch 3.4 - Soul Surrender

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

I'm really looking forward to the Warring Traid stuff, though. Ever since van Hydrus whipped out that magitek-generated ceruleum tiger I've been curious how far the Kekfa parallels will go. Imagine if the power [E/Li'lidibus] was directing him towards led to usurping some pretty strong Allagan mojo and turning them on Varis? Best case, the Azys Lla initiative has to fall back behind Ala Mhigan lines, worst case they're already out another emperor.

---

I know this could be very very wrong, but is not something that still be a possibility.
What if something happens that allows Hydrus to use magick? And that makes me to become very obssesed with it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frederick22

Where did you found that?!

Also yes, thats indeed Xelphatol. I can see the Ixal houses behind the Miqo'te.

---

Found it here: http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/09/...oul-surrender/

On the subject on Elidibus, Unukalhai and Eikons. I am reminded of the War of Magi of FF6. On there Odin was an Esper task with defending a castle/fortress. During the war he was fought and defeated by a white hooded mage and was subsequently petrified/sealed.

Since Zantetsuken is the Eikon,I wonder if Elidibus (or Unukalhai) had a hand in Odin's/Zantetsuken's sealing in Urths Fount?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by myahele

Since Zantetsuken is the Eikon,I wonder if Elidibus (or Unukalhai) had a hand in Odin's/Zantetsuken's sealing in Urths Fount?

---

I doubt that is the case here.

Despite theories about Ilberd, for the guy with a mask, it could be Widargelt, or...

http://66.media.tumblr.com/8a02f924f...361o2_1280.png

...maybe Livia sas Junius.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130828130639

Why Livia ? Because, if you remember well in the past Livia faced Yda and she was shocked because they had the same Monk skills (I guess) or maybe she recognized her.

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130911063215

Personnally, I think Yda and Livia had the same monk master back in Ala Mhigo several years ago.
So, because Yda want to stay to verify who is this Mask (could she suspect to be Livia ? ), and because Monks are related to Ala Mhigo, it's a possibility to not exclude.
And, it could be nice to have a motivation for Lucia to be involved in the story of the next expansion. She could met her sister Livia.
The good question is why Livia would do such a thing ? I think with Gaius dead, she has nothing anymore to do with the empire. So, what she want is to conquer Ala Mhigo, her beloved city where she was raised, and become the new queen :)

Didn't we kinda, you know, kill Livia though?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by myahele

It does appear that the WoDs will appear in Xelphaltol if the background is an indicator:

http://cdn3.dualshockers.com/wp-cont...09/FFXIV-3.jpg

Unless it's Natalan or Howling Eye area.

I do hope that the rest of the WoDs will have dialogue. They don't need to have VA, simple text dialogue will be nice. Rather than the looking at each other while grinning. I their personalities/ character will play show.

---

True. I honestly won't be surprised if the WoD crew ends up as one of the (or maybe final) boss battles in Xelphatol
(Actually, I just want to have a brütal harp duel against the WoD bard, but alas....)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

snip

---

>Widargelt
Nah. While I do wonder were he went after you finish the 60 job quest, he already went over the whole 'liberate Ala Mhigo at all costs' thing after the 50 one

>Livia
she's dead Jim.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

Didn't we kinda, you know, kill Livia though?

---

Yeah, with the same skills we used to fight Raubahn in a just-for-the-funsies exhibition match where absolutely nobody was seriously hurt. Actually, we hit Raubahn harder.

So by whatever laws of RPG damage application that allow me to stab, poison, electrocute, and assassinate a major political figure "for fun," she could have survived, I guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fenral

Yeah, with the same skills we used to fight Raubahn in a just-for-the-funsies exhibition match where absolutely nobody was seriously hurt. Actually, we hit Raubahn harder.

So by whatever laws of RPG damage application that allow me to stab, poison, electrocute, and assassinate a major political figure "for fun," she could have survived, I guess.

---

There's a clear difference between a friendly match, and a battle to the death... We beat Raubahn into submission, we sent Livia to her death throes... I guess she could have just gone unconscious, but IDK... I feel like there'd have been more hints to her surviving if she had... Plus, you know... Papalymo was warning Yda not to put faith in "them" until they know more, which suggests Yda has no suspicions, then there is just the fact that whoever we're looking at appears to be a man...

I just don't think Livia even has anything worth reviving her for, too... The only thing that made her remotely interesting was her dynamic with Gaius, and he is probably gone too... I mean... We have multiple worlds now, so a bizarro-world Gaius isn't exactly off the table I guess... I actually wouldn't mind having him save the day against Derplander, but that's fanfic level crap right there...

I mean, they already played the "identical sibling with the same actor" card when they introduced Lucia, and that's not something you do when you want to bring back the exact character you killed off. I just like playing devil's advocate.

It's not Livia...

I mean, for starters the figure is quite clearly male and heavily tanned at that. Garleans are also pale skinned and given that we've seen what Lucia looks like we know that her sister was also a Pureblood Garlean...and she's also been repeatedly referred to as deceased.

Bringing her back would be pointless. It would just cheapen death in this setting further and obliterate her established personality.

Wildargelt is also a few shades paler than the figure in the mask. So it's more likely to be Ilberd or a completely new character. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a surviving member of the royal family. FFXIV has a habit of drawing heavy inspiration from previous FF titles and a character such as Ashe from FFXII would be plausible.

I just hope we don't have to stomach a one sided story where the Garleans are turned into one-dimensional bad guys. The situation surrounding Ala Mhigo is very complex and with Garleans now having lived alongside the Ala Mhigans for over two decades it makes sense that many people would not wish for the status quo to change.

Rabanastre was occupied for less time in FFXII and there was a particularly memorable quest where an Imperial handed out a contract to eliminate a monster to protect the people of Rabanastre. I'm hoping we get to see stuff like that for a change - especially since the lore has already established that Garlemald values order and seeks to learn from the culture of the nations that they occupy. Oddly enough we haven't seen much of that - because for whatever reason the developers have seen fit to focus on having Garlemald be overly aggressive and destructive.

I don't even think it's meant to be intentional. They're just being far too vague - how did the Emperor know of the Archbishop's plan, for example? There's a lot of mysteries and plot points surrounding Garlemald that have yet to be addressed and hopefully 3.4 will be the start of more moral complexity.

It's odd, though - Garlemald has been fairly 'quiet' during 3.0's patch cycle. Which means that Regula's side story may tie into the MSQ in the future. Yet we're now moving to focus on the Ala Mhigan Resistance and the Warriors of Darkness...with the latter not being affiliated with Garlemald other than a brief phrase used by Elidibus who states that the Garleans will 'play their part'. Which suggests manipulation...

There's also the patch title to consider: we know that the titles tend to refer to multiple meanings - so it could be that the Ascians and Warriors of Darkness have surrendered their souls - but then it could also refer to the Au Ra sealed away within Alexander. Yet what about Regula? Perhaps Sophia encourages him to surrender his soul? It's clear that they're building him up for something...but we'll be dealing with Zurvan during 3.5 and then...what will become of Regula? I still think he could end up becoming a major antagonist for 4.0.

Preeeeety sure it's not Livia... I mean, we pretty clearly killed her in the Praetorium, and if that's not enough Cid asks Lucia whether or not she was out for revenge against us for killing her sister.

Fakeout deaths have happened before (or: Nanamo visibly asphyxiating and then turning out to be fine cuz "it was just a sleeping potion lolz"), so I'm not ruling it out, but.

As for where Livia got her skills, up in the air but it's probably not the same place Yda did. Pureblood Garlean war orphan vs. (implicit) Ala Mhigan refugee turned Sharlayan scholar, their backgrounds are very different.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fenral

I mean, they already played the "identical sibling with the same actor" card when they introduced Lucia, and that's not something you do when you want to bring back the exact character you killed off. I just like playing devil's advocate.

---

I'm just glad nobody is pointing out my blatant hypocrisy here... Livia is definitely dead, but Lahabrea is still around, right? Right?!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Theodric

I don't even think it's meant to be intentional. They're just being far too vague - how did the Emperor know of the Archbishop's plan, for example?

---

I never really figured the Emperor even had a clue about Thordan... Was it ever implied anywhere that they were there to stop him? I always thought they were just there for the Allagan spoils... They could perhaps have some idea that Ishgard was interested in Azys Lla, though... Camp Cloudtop was likely set up by Thordan, at the behest of Lahabrea, so that they could get they Key, which the Vanu Vanu held on a sacred island before Bismarck ate it... Ishgard was friendly with the Vanu Vanu at first, after all... Garlemald shows up, just after access to Azys Lla, Lahabrea has Bismarck summoned to buy them time, Garlemald notices Ishgard is sniffing around too and just figures something is going on and monitors the situation... Would make sense that they were at least following us, given they waited for us to break the door down, and they'd have known we beat Bismarck surely? That we didn't manage to get straight in could only mean someone else took the Key from us... Only other force in the area, is Ishgard, heck the Vanu Vanu was Thordans airship flying off, so Garlemald must have been aware they were going to Azys Lla as well...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

...maybe Livia sas Junius.
Why Livia ? Because, if you remember well in the past Livia faced Yda and she was shocked because they had the same Monk skills

---

So? That doesnt change anything.. both martial arts could have similarities...
Like no, is a 100% not Livia. First because is a .... this maske guy is a ... well a MALE..... . Some poeple want to believe is Gaius but its Ilberd.

Since the below part of his head is not coverd, its just a matter of time when our lalafells agents will be able to take screenshoots and reveal who is this misterious guy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

I'm just glad nobody is pointing out my blatant hypocrisy here... Livia is definitely dead, but Lahabrea is still around, right? Right?!

---

Yes, but it's Lahabrea.

We're allowed to have thoughts like that about him.

Now that I think of it, what if we'll bump into the WoDs in Thanalan (after they defeat Ifrit?) AND then by the end of Xelphaltol after they defeat Garuda since we'll be busy fighting in the dungeons? The ruin behind the mask man looks like Qarn and that zone has: Little Ala Mhigo, Corpse Brigade and Zan'rak.

This is speculation, of course. But I do believe that the solo trial might very well be in Thanalan and that we'll see them twice this patch.

I'm still holding on to the "the masked man is Gaius cause reasons!" theory >.>

@Nalien: It's mentioned somewhere - in quest text, I believe - that the Emperor is specifically pursuing the Archbishop in an attempt to put a stop to his plans. It's likely that the Garleans already intended to head to Azyz Lla though and they became distracted once there...or simply decided to allow the Warrior of Light to deal with the Archbishop (just like they allowed the WoL to retrieve the key and remove the barrier barring entry to Azyz Lla).

It's never really explained how he knows such things though - especially since the Archbishop's betrayal/plan was known only to a select few. My theory back in 3.0 was that Lucia was feeding the Emperor information...though as it turns out she really is just a defector with a crush on Aymeric. Alas. I expected more of her, but I believe she's popular around these parts so I'll avoid ranting. She seemed to brush off her sister's death fairly easily though...which is disappointing. Especially if she was created for the sake of 'fan-service' to let a little bit of Livia live on.

Though they changed Estinien's model to be more 'pretty' to fit the sudden shift from 'gritty elves' to 'pretty elves' that Ishgard's story began to take so it's possible that Lucia was originally meant to be a darker character? Just pure speculation though!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Theodric

@Nalien: It's mentioned somewhere - in quest text, I believe - that the Emperor is specifically pursuing the Archbishop in an attempt to put a stop to his plans. It's likely that the Garleans already intended to head to Azyz Lla though and they became distracted once there...or simply decided to allow the Warrior of Light to deal with the Archbishop (just like they allowed the WoL to retrieve the key and remove the barrier barring entry to Azyz Lla).

---

Plis evidence till ortherwise. The intentions of the archovishop and the garleans were very different, no one was tring to stop another one. Was just a coincidence.

It seems as if the Garleans suspected Ishgard to have Allagan relics stored, potentially the Key to Azys Lla itself:

Quote:

---

My mission. 'Twas believed that Allagan relics of great worth were stored in the Vault, and I was sent to investigate. Though I was given little information at the time, I now suspect I was searching for the key we but recently lost.

---

I am more curious about the timeline of her infiltrating Ishgard, was it pre or post calamity? If post calamity it would make sense why they'd suspect Ishgard of having Allagan relics since Rivenroad was in Coerthas, then there's the obvious allagan ruins in Boulder Downs.

With everything we know...

The Garleans did not go to Azys Lla to oppose the Archbishop. Their primary goal was to secure the untold stores of Allagan knowledge there - primarily the Primal sealing technology. Even if Ishgard did have Allagan relics in the Vault (which as far as we know they did not), by the time we meet her Livia has long since defected to Ishgard so they wouldn't know even if that were the case.

That said they would more than likely have opposed the Knights of the Round had the group hung around for more than 30 minutes or so in-universe. May have been a part of the Ascians' plans... but there's no way to know for sure.

just remembered a small detail about our masked mystery man. It seems like the assets for his dress are already in game, since I've seen some pictures the other day of someone who *cough* data mined it *cough*. Turns out he's wearing a cape with the crest of Ala Mhigo (white griffin holding a turquoise greatsword on purple back) on its back.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiss_Momo

just remembered a small detail about our masked mystery man. It seems like the assets for his dress are already in game, since I've seen some pictures the other day of someone who *cough* data mined it *cough*. Turns out he's wearing a cape with the crest of Ala Mhigo (white griffin holding a turquoise greatsword on purple back) on its back.

---

It's likely that he's either Theodred (the exiled heir to Ala Mhigo) or Ilberd pretending to be Theodred. There was speculation of this long before we saw that outfit but it does indeed lend more weight to both theories. If anything I'll just be glad to finally see that crest in game since it more or less confirms the expansion speculation.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alberel

It's likely that he's either Theodred (the exiled heir to Ala Mhigo) or Ilberd pretending to be Theodred. There was speculation of this long before we saw that outfit but it does indeed lend more weight to both theories. If anything I'll just be glad to finally see that crest in game since it more or less confirms the expansion speculation.

---

Wait a second, who else is wearing that armor?
For what I see its something unique. Dont remember anyone else who used something similar.

I think he might be referencing the mask? We saw someone pick up the mask in the 3.2 teaser, iirc, but all we saw was a hand. This also took place right after a Yda & Papalymo update so they were clearly connected.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

On a more... Positive note? Alexander makes me happy... This in particular fans my theory that the planet/Hydaelyn is just a really big Primal...

---

The Warriors of Darkness convince us that we were the bad guys after all? We were brain washed by a talking crystal in killing the protectors (the Primal's) so she could feed on our souls after we die?. Just Like the game Shadow of the Colossus? Then me, the warriors of Darkness and Mr. Poopy Butthole join forces and take down Hydaelyn? I hope so, lets take her out.

https://media.giphy.com/media/sBWCQr2OALJ7i/giphy.gif

Could it be possible the masked guy will introduce a new race like it was the case for Yugiri ?
Maybe it's a Viera :)

Based on what?

Considering Yugiri always was obviously a completely different race to anything that was currently in the game despite her face being covered though (her scaly tail was the big giveaway and her horns were also obvious under the hood), yet this guy is clearly just a regular Highlander Hyur, I doubt very much this 'masked man' is anything but a regular Highlander Hyur.

Of course, as they say, we will find out soon enough though.

The character in question is mostly definitely a male Highlander. The mask and armour don't disguise his features to the extent that it hides that fact and given that he's tied to Ala Mhigo and the Resistance it'd be bizarre for him to be anything other than a Highlander.

I don't know if it's true but on this thread : https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...pc_appearance/

Doventanzer said : "Did you know that the guy who picks up the mask in the 3.2 cutscene and is set to feature in 3.4 is actually............."

the generic highlander pot merchant

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

I don't know if it's true but on this thread : https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...pc_appearance/

Doventanzer said : "Did you know that the guy who picks up the mask in the 3.2 cutscene and is set to feature in 3.4 is actually............."

the generic highlander pot merchant

---

Wait, what?

Why are you commenting this kind of things?
First that the new masked character is a Viera despite is obiously not. Now this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frederick22

Wait, what?

Why are you commenting kind of things?
First that the new masked character is a viera despite is obiously not, now this.

---

Either people are so desperate for information that they'll take any theory as a pure fact or people like to make up crackpot theories for the giggles and see how far they can run with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

I don't know if it's true but on this thread : https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...pc_appearance/

Doventanzer said : "Did you know that the guy who picks up the mask in the 3.2 cutscene and is set to feature in 3.4 is actually............."

the generic highlander pot merchant

---

Sorry, first thing I thought of, I can't help it >.>

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8ko3...9kcuo2_500.gif

The whodawhat now?

...

Oh wait, hah, I get it! I bet they are using this generic NPC as stand-in on purpose, to prevent the data miners from spoiling who masked mystery man actually is! Just as planned, eh?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

I don't know if it's true but on this thread : https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...pc_appearance/

Doventanzer said : "Did you know that the guy who picks up the mask in the 3.2 cutscene and is set to feature in 3.4 is actually............."

the generic highlander pot merchant

---

You mean the one from that quest in Eastern Thanalan?

I just want to know if I can turn in 99 Fiend Totem for a Seph bird. -_-

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frederick22

So Xelphatol being a dungeon, means that it will not be a zone for 4.0?

---

Eh... Not necessarily. It could merely be the name of the Ixal capital city, a part of Xelphatol Proper.

Just like Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Duuude007

Eh... Not necessarily. It could merely be the name of the Ixal capital city, a part of Xelphatol Proper.

Just like Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti.

---

That was a old comment. Of course its still behind the possibility that we may get areas of that place for the expasion.
The issue that made speculate so much people is that the name of an entire region was given to this dungeon, is like on 2.4 we would have given a dungeon called Dravania.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Duuude007

Eh... Not necessarily. It could merely be the name of the Ixal capital city, a part of Xelphatol Proper.

Just like Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti.

---

True, but that said, from what we know so far Xelphatol seems to be just a bunch of barren mountains and valleys plus "there be Ixals", which doesn't sound that exciting for a whole zone

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiss_Momo

True, but that said, from what we know so far Xelphatol seems to be just a bunch of barren mountains and valleys plus "there be Ixals", which doesn't sound that exciting for a whole zone

---

Well, personally I always figured it'd be more of an open world dungeon anyway... Sort of like Mamook in Final Fantasy XI, but well... Hamlet Defense is seemingly dead and buried, so without a Besieged style assault of a Gridanian Hamlet by the Ixali, what's the point of Xelphatol as a enemy stronghold for the server to group together to fight back in?

Excuse me while I morn a future full of FATEs as our only "serious" open world content...