Grynewaht on the Steppes

Watching the Naadam cutscenes again (because I love them so) I have three questions about Grynewaht:

1. How did he get to the Steppes with his men and a massive mech?
2. Where did he go when he ran off ?
3. Why in the Fury's name did the Warrior of Light just let him go?

Yes, I know the answer to #3 is "gameplay and story segregation" but seriously, that was mindbogglingly stupid, in that "I'll just toss Nidhogg's Eyes off this bridge and not worry about it" kind of way. This is a guy who's tried three times now to kill us, and we're going to let him go?

#1 and #2 are more of a puzzle. Did an airship drop him off? If so, then why didn't he call for covering fire, like Gaius did in the Praetorium? And where did he go? It looked like he was running toward an encampment. It was a cool scene, don't get me wrong; it's just a little odd.

Neither the Warrior of Light or some of his closest allies are the brightest or most consistent of individuals. I'd say it's really that simple. Even from Grynewaht's appearance the Warrior of Light and his allies sought to treat him more like a nuisance than a proper threat - which shows just how overconfident and arrogant they can be. It also served to push him further and further off of the deep end as a consequence, since each time they fought and beat him he became a little more unhinged.

Ultimately, though, there wouldn't be much of a story if the Warrior of Light immediately put down every possible threat at every possible turn. Still, it is a bit jarring how they'll relentlessly pursue some of the more sympathetic antagonists and put them down like rabid dogs only to let some of the more unhinged opponents slip away. That just ties in with the opportunistic and inconsistent nature of some of the protagonists, though. Especially when they deem themselves the judge, jury and executioners.

(Note that I do not necessarily mean inconsistent writing - I'm referring to their personality traits and decisions.)

I'm seconding that the WoL didn't see him as a threat. I mean, did you the player? And for the other questions, I wouldn't be surprised if they had outposts littered around with men and armor lying around.

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Originally Posted by Heliantheae

I'm seconding that the WoL didn't see him as a threat. I mean, did you the player? And for the other questions, I wouldn't be surprised if they had outposts littered around with men and armor lying around.

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I didn't see him as a threat. I saw him as an annoying nuisance who would not go away. This was the third time I'd faced him; at that point, I'd be like "Okay, I'm over this already *stab*" Instead, the WoL is "Bye! I'll just let you run off toward what looks like the Mol encampment and not stop you. Catch you later!"

As far as Imperial outposts dotting the Steppe, that contradicts what we're told when we first arrive: that there's nothing there the Imperials want badly enough to deal with the violent Xaela who are optimized for living in that environment. The only thing that might be of interest to them would be the House of the Crooked Coin which may or may not be Allagan-related, but at least on the quest that takes you to that location, there's no sign of Imperials. It's a bit puzzling.

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Originally Posted by Rosenoire

I didn't see him as a threat. I saw him as an annoying nuisance who would not go away. This was the third time I'd faced him; at that point, I'd be like "Okay, I'm over this already *stab*" Instead, the WoL is "Bye! I'll just let you run off toward what looks like the Mol encampment and not stop you. Catch you later!"

As far as Imperial outposts dotting the Steppe, that contradicts what we're told when we first arrive: that there's nothing there the Imperials want badly enough to deal with the violent Xaela who are optimized for living in that environment. The only thing that might be of interest to them would be the House of the Crooked Coin which may or may not be Allagan-related, but at least on the quest that takes you to that location, there's no sign of Imperials. It's a bit puzzling.

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The Empire itself isn't interested in dealing with the Steppe, but Grynewaht had a personal vendetta that was consuming him. Him going into dangerous territory because he sees an opportunity to fight the WoL again isn't much of a stretch, especially if Yotsuyu wanted to buy time to reinforce Doma Castle.

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Originally Posted by Daralii

The Empire itself isn't interested in dealing with the Steppe, but Grynewaht had a personal vendetta that was consuming him. Him going into dangerous territory because he sees an opportunity to fight the WoL again isn't much of a stretch, especially if Yotsuyu wanted to buy time to reinforce Doma Castle.

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Right, that part makes sense, but how did he get there? Did he go in the way we did and wander around with his troops and his mech until he found us? Did he have to fight off a bunch of Xaela on their way to the ovoo?

The more I think about it, the more I wish the devs had used a new character, someone who wasn't so intentionally stupid. I could totally buy, say, Regulus tracking us down in the Steppes, but Grynewaht is consistently portrayed as an idiot who can barely tie his own shoes. I actually think it would have been good to see the recurring Imperial antagonist be competent.

I presume either airship or naval units. I mean, we were on the steppes a long time before he appeared, and the Ruby Sea does have a zone transition directly to Reunion.

I honestly don't remember him pre-stormblood... but I feel like his type of character ( loud and dumb) should be reserved for sidequest content... that being said he probably just followed us to the steppe, saw the light and fighting from the naadam and decided it was a good place to look for us... as for where he went ... probably ran back to doma... he's never been to the steppe so probably just ran in the opposite direction of the wol... as for letting him go, we were in strange territory ourselves... where were we gonna keep him? He's not enough of a actual threat to kill him...

Why did we let him go? My own personal reasoning is that we had just fought two huge battles, the first being a giant free-for-all with the other Xaela tribes, and the second being the united Xaela joining against the Imperials to drive them back. In all likelihood, that amount of fighting would exhaust even hardened veterans.

There also may have been some ovoo-related rite that had to be finished in lieu of pursuing what everyone rightly (at the time) thought was a mere nuisance.

1. The Steppe can be accessed from the Ruby Sea... I figured they just took the same route we did.

2. Probably back to Doma Castle? He ran back toward Reunion... you can see the aetheryte and everything.

3. We didn't kill Grynewaht then and there... probably because aside from being exhausted from two big battles, we are merciful when we can be. Grynewaht had repeatedly proved he wasn't a major threat... no need to kill him. Live and let live, y'know? Though considering what happened to him, perhaps doing so would have been the real mercy... but hindsight's a bitch.