Concept of other worlds

Such the first world we r going to visit on shb.
I kinda feel bit overwhelment by the thoughts of it.
I mean thea idea of traveling to the first world looks to be fun and exciting too.
Also its understnable to balance the worlds inorder to save the worlds.. from zodiarc..?
Or is it just me who r confused. So i got some questions.

1. Hydaelyn is the ORIGINAL world that got split?
2. Are we going to visit other worlds?(2nd,3rd etc)
3. Our current city state looks crap in comparison to the 1st world cities. Will they revamp/remodel textures on our current ARR city states?(limsa, gridania and uldah).
^ honestly its been bugging me after HW. Its so clunky and «smaller» in comparison.
4. When will they expand our current world Hydaelyn.

Just the idea of visiting other worlds.. ehh i dont know i dont get it. I kinda want evrrything to be on Hydaelyn. I feel the lore gets even more and more confusing in general.

I got alot of questions to se in general about their intentions. But i cant pin point bout what to ask. I like the idea of visiting other world but.. in my mind i feel we r just ditchin Hydaelyn for a time being once shb come. The 1st world enviroment looks so polished which is understandable but i also want our ARR to revamp their textures and such.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

1. Hydaelyn is the ORIGINAL world that got split?

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Yes. We live within a dimensional plane referred to as "The Source." Hydaelyn and Zodiark once shared the aetherial sea, the will of Light and the will of Darkness dwelling as one. Zodiark, for reasons unspecified, broke the balance and took more power. Hydaelyn, fearing for Her safety, went nuclear and ejected Him from the sea, imprisoning Him in the moon. This stressed the fabric of the cosmos until it cracked, creating 13 "reflections" of what the Source was like at that time.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

2. Are we going to visit other worlds?(2nd,3rd etc)

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Not at this time, as far as we know.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

3. Our current city state looks crap in comparison to the 1st world cities. Will they revamp/remodel textures on our current ARR city states?(limsa, gridania and uldah).

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There's a chance that this is why the First's cities look kinda similar to the ones that were built on the Source; an excuse to do a lot of the groundwork on re-making ARR zones more polished and flight-worthy.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

4. When will they expand our current world Hydaelyn.

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They said we're "taking down the Garlean Empire," so it can't all be First-side, can it?

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

1. Hydaelyn is the ORIGINAL world that got split?

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Yes. Hydaelyn (our world, the Source) is the original world; the thirteen Shards (reflections of the Source) were created when Hydaelyn imprisoned Zodiark in/as the Moon.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

2. Are we going to visit other worlds?(2nd,3rd etc)

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Not that we're aware.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

3. Our current city state looks crap in comparison to the 1st world cities. Will they revamp/remodel textures on our current ARR city states?(limsa, gridania and uldah).
^ honestly its been bugging me after HW. Its so clunky and «smaller» in comparison.

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Not that we're aware. Old world revamps tend to be put on the back burner; there's nothing ruling it out, but there's no known plans for this and new content tends to be prioritized over that.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

4. When will they expand our current world Hydaelyn.

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We're likely to get some expansion on Hydaelyn in Shadowbringers - the conflict with Garlemald is supposed to be resolved, as I recall, so there has to be some new bits added to Hydaelyn.

Okay think i got the grasp of it which lead me to question about the source and reflection?
Reflection of source thirteen shards...? The all shards of reflection used to be as one before Hydaelyn imprisoned zodiark?

The shards came into existence after Zodiark was imprisoned during the event known as the Sundering.

I believe it was specifically stated that it happened around 12,000 years ago at the Fanfest, which offers a huge amount of time for deviation in the histories and cultures of each shard.

Yes, they've finally given us a date for the Hydaelyn/Zodiark split - it was 12,000 years ago, which would coincidentally put it around the theorized time of the end of the "Age of Gods", as Eorzeans to date have known it, and the First Umbral Era (which in most in-universe scholarship is mostly conjecture, though it's highly suspected something happened. We are evidently going to learn much more about that in Shadowbringers.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

3. Our current city state looks crap in comparison to the 1st world cities. Will they revamp/remodel textures on our current ARR city states?(limsa, gridania and uldah).

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This is also just a long-standing problem with games of this sort in general. The Eorzean cities were designed, depending on how you want to reckon it, either five years ago or ten years ago, and built for hardware that is now a full console generation behind us. Their designs and textures reflect the hardware limitations of the day. Kugane and the Crystarium look significantly more impressive because they were designed to make the most out of the capabilities of the PS4 and equivalent or better PC hardware.

It's possible some of these assets might spruce up the old cities, but at the end of the day, there's only so much time available to the team and it wouldn't be surprising if they focus on new content ahead of refurbishing old content.

(It's worth noting that World of Warcraft once tried to devote the vast majority of an expansion to polishing up and altering old out-of-date launch content, and the general opinion these days is that the project was a disaster that sucked down precious resources like a vortex.)

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Originally Posted by StarDrake

Yes, they've finally given us a date for the Hydaelyn/Zodiark split - it was 12,000 years ago, which would coincidentally put it around the theorized time of the end of the "Age of Gods", as Eorzeans to date have known it, and the First Umbral Era (which in most in-universe scholarship is mostly conjecture, though it's highly suspected something happened. We are evidently going to learn much more about that in Shadowbringers.

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I thought they said in the same stream that the First Calamity was 10000 years ago. It wouldn't make sense for the Sundering to also be a Rejoining.

Would it?

they said something like 12,200 I rewatched that part of the keynote of someone's viewing it.

I get that creating a moon would probably be cataclysmic all things considered. But it was the CREATION of that moon that lead to the formation of the 13 shards. If the Sundering truly is the First Calamity, then either:
a) Almost immediately after it was created, a shard was destroyed and returned to aether, causing the Ascians to go ‘eyyyyyyy’. OR
b) There is actually one more shard than we thought remaining, which would go against the next ‘Rejoining’ to be the 8th

It just... doesn't mesh well with what I understand, I guess, that all the Calamities were deliberately organised by the Ascians in some way or fashion.

It would also make sense to me if something like 'the creation of the moon' was something to happen IN the Age of the Gods, rather than marking its end.

Edit: Just a disclaimer and recognition that it has not been entirely confirmed that Zodiark is in the moon, just heavily implied

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

I thought they said in the same stream that the First Calamity was 10000 years ago. It wouldn't make sense for the Sundering to also be a Rejoining.

Would it?

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10,000 years would give you a 2000-year gap before the first Calamity, so I'm not sure where the problem is.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

10,000 years would give you a 2000-year gap before the first Calamity, so I'm not sure where the problem is.

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Sorry if I didnt make it clear where my confusion was.

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Originally Posted by StarDrake

Yes, they've finally given us a date for the Hydaelyn/Zodiark split - it was 12,000 years ago, which would coincidentally put it around the theorized time of the end of the "Age of Gods", as Eorzeans to date have known it, and the First Umbral Era (which in most in-universe scholarship is mostly conjecture, though it's highly suspected something happened. We are evidently going to learn much more about that in Shadowbringers.

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StarDrake conflated the Sundering with the First Umbral Era/end of the Age of Gods. Or at least, that was my understanding of their understanding.

"The First Umbral Calamity (aka Rejoining) can't be the Sundering" has been my first litmus test for "Is this a red herring or poorly-remembered history?" Determining the length of "Prehistory" (Sundering to first Rejoining) and identifying whether Prehistory or Presundering is the true "Age of the Gods", too, feels like a really important milestone.

I'm a bit nervous, to be honest, as I'd always hoped The Twelve would prove to be more than misremebered Warriors of Light (however likely that is). Putting them in that gray area between Sundering and First Umbral seemed so plausible. Mid-level gods created by Hydaelyn to lead Her children in the new era, only for the dual nature of man (and/or Zodiark's agents) to spark a rebellion against them that caused the First Umbral Era and the withdrawal of the gods from the world.

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

2. Are we going to visit other worlds?(2nd,3rd etc)

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Just in case it wasn't already clear, not all of the reflections are intact. There have been seven Calamities on the Source, each Calamity coinciding with the destruction/reabsorption of one of the reflections back into the Source. Also, the Thirteenth tilted so far toward darkness that it would be uninhabitable to us; its surviving denizens are the demonic things that are often the subject of ritual conjurings. Our primary purpose in visiting the First is ostensibly to prevent it from tilting irreparably toward light and suffering a similar fate to the Thirteenth.

My one question is in regards to how we travel there. Didn't Arbert say that they had to die in order to travel to the source? That would make traveling from Crystarium to Gridania to unlock Gunbreaker difficult.

If I remember rightly, Yoshi already revealed that it would be the Crystal Tower that would be the gateway between the Source and the Shards (hence why a copy of the Crystal Tower appears in the First and is featured front and centre in the full trailer - it's Yoshi pointing his thumb to it and saying "THIS PLACE IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR THE NEW EXPANSION" (subtlety is hardly SE's strong suit). ;)

As far as Evil!Derplander and his party are concerned, it's clear now that Elidibus merely lied to them that death was theonly way to travel to the Source (remember: Ascians lie), as it not only served his ends it also allowed a convenient means of eliminating them if they decided to slip their Ascian-held leashes (sending their souls onto the Lifestream), and that physical travel between the Source Hydaelyn and the Shards is possible, although it could just be a handwave to allow Shadowbringers's premise to even work. Either way, we'll find out soon. ;)

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

They said we're "taking down the Garlean Empire," so it can't all be First-side, can it?

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I am more and more confused about this part. Is it possible that by an Ascian thingy, the Garlemald Empire draws power (in whichever form) from the excess of Light in the First ?
Or will the Empire step in (Heavensward like) roughly in the second part of 5.0, for whatever plot-convenient reason ?

I'd like it to be all First oriented, not with a scrawny Ala Mhigo Source part where we do a bunch of things against the Empire, then fly off for a large part of the extension to Doma the First and then go back to finish what we forgot we were doing there in the first place.

Yoshida-san elaborated a bit saying that it's "very convenient" and we would somehow "super-charge the Echo" and avoid the need to die. Though I'd be surprised to find Elidibus outright lied. Don't get me wrong, I've believed since his first cutscene that he was a snake, but the assumption that he has never outright lied and merely speaks in vague double-meanings with selective omissions that lead you to make the assumptions he wants you to has been my guiding principle for analyzing his character. Finding out he lied would send me back to square one on him which is... <shudders> [beat] <shudders harder>

given hes probably not on the best of terms with crystal-arm he may still have been halftruthing it by saying its the only way he has available to them, also possible the wods jumped at the first offer out of desperation and elidibus certainly isnt going to just offer up an alternative when you already said yes to what he wants

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Originally Posted by Johaandr

2. Are we going to visit other worlds?(2nd,3rd etc)

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I hope so. And I hope one of them is named Vana'diel.

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Originally Posted by Rongway

Just in case it wasn't already clear, not all of the reflections are intact. There have been seven Calamities on the Source, each Calamity coinciding with the destruction/reabsorption of one of the reflections back into the Source. Also, the Thirteenth tilted so far toward darkness that it would be uninhabitable to us; its surviving denizens are the demonic things that are often the subject of ritual conjurings. Our primary purpose in visiting the First is ostensibly to prevent it from tilting irreparably toward light and suffering a similar fate to the Thirteenth.

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To be even more clear,

we have already traveled to the Thirteenth. The World of Darkness is the shattered remains of the Thirteenth Shard, or at least the sliver of it that the Cloud of Darkness calls home.

As this was accessed from the Crystal Tower, it would indeed appear that the Crystal Tower being involved in shard-travel shenanigans was teased all the way back in 2.x - we just thought it was the doing of the CoD at the time.

Also, for folks worried about there being a Source-First split in the zones and creating a bit of a Stormblood mess in terms of flow again, not only do I think they learned their lesson on that front, but I would encourage you to go back to the inn and re-watch the second cutscene of "Seiryu's Wall".

It sounds like Solus will be relocating to the First by using... Black Rose, somehow, because of how it interacts with the Flood of Light?... leaving things here on the Source to Varis. Presumably things are gonna get weird once we beat ElidiZenos and we'll have to go chasing after Solus to open the expac.

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Originally Posted by Lambdafish

My one question is in regards to how we travel there. Didn't Arbert say that they had to die in order to travel to the source? That would make traveling from Crystarium to Gridania to unlock Gunbreaker difficult.

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To quote myself from a different topic:

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Originally Posted by Yuyuka3

Not quite sure where to put this and if it has been posted somewhere here already, but Yoshida actually addressed travel between dimensions in an interview on Saturday:

Q: Will we be able to travel between the First world and the Source?

A: It's possible with the WoL's power of the echo. It's an extremely convenient setup *laughs* but the echo allows you to cross between dimensions and parallel worlds. During the WoD arc in Patch 3.4, the former WoLs from the First world abandoned their lives to come to the Source, but there is a way to move without doing that, which will also be explained in the MSQ. You can think of it as something that amplifies the power of the echo. Relax, your WoL won't be dying *laughs* Once you've been there, you'll be able to teleport.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...w_with_yoship/

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There you go!
#TheEchoDidIt

Also, as stated before, we already did travel to a Shard - the 13th, to be more specific, via... Crystal Tower! Coincidence? I think not...

That does not explain how Thancred manages to get there too (as he's shown running with Reborn!Minfilia under Bizzaro!Limsa Lominsa Eulmore in the trailer after all, meaning he is definetely going to the First with us - the develiopment team confirmed long ago that Thancred, along with all the Archons except Krile do not have the Echo at all, so that's either a plot oversight or something else allows him to crossover....).

Hmmmm.....

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

That does not explain how Thancred manages to get there too (as he's shown running with Reborn!Minfilia under Bizzaro!Limsa Lominsa Eulmore in the trailer after all, meaning he is definetely going to the First with us - the develiopment team confirmed long ago that Thancred, along with all the Archons except Krile do not have the Echo at all, so that's either a plot oversight or something else allows him to crossover....).

Hmmmm.....

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I'd say our Echo is either the conductor for the travel, e.g. the tool with which we "throw wide open" the gate to the other dimension. Or, since Thancred is among those who got pulled there in spirit (wasn't he on of the, if not the, first?), it might be a manifestation of his soul or something? I don't know, I personally tend to the former tbh. Also, don't forget that last time we traveled to a shard (the 13th/World of Darkness), Nero also got there through the rift, so it's possible for someone without the ability to manipulate aether to travel to a shard if somebody else opens the way for them. We will have to wait and see on that, maybe we will get the answer as soon as tomorrow!

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Originally Posted by Yuyuka3

I'd say our Echo is either the conductor for the travel, e.g. the tool with which we "throw wide open" the gate to the other dimension. Or, since Thancred is among those who got pulled there in spirit (wasn't he on of the, if not the, first?), it might be a manifestation of his soul or something? I don't know, I personally tend to the former tbh. Also, don't forget that last time we traveled to a shard (the 13th/World of Darkness), Nero also got there through the rift, so it's possible for someone without the ability to manipulate aether to travel to a shard if somebody else opens the way for them. We will have to wait and see on that, maybe we will get the answer as soon as tomorrow!

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I'd say your first idea could be a possibility. As for the Scions' souls physically manifesting.... I'm more inclined to think that Mr. Mysterious-Voice-Crystal-Arm-Who-Is-Definitely-Not-G'raha-Tia-Unless-It-Is may or may not have developed clone bodies for the Scions to inhabit in a similar fashion to how Doga and Unei said they passed their souls on to their clones. As for us? Well, if we are able to simply 'teleport' between worlds without having to directly use the Crystal Tower, then I think it is likely that we are in our original bodies, and its the Super-charged-Echo that allows us to defy the barriers between worlds.

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

I'd say your first idea could be a possibility. As for the Scions' souls physically manifesting.... I'm more inclined to think that Mr. Mysterious-Voice-Crystal-Arm-Who-Is-Definitely-Not-G'raha-Tia-Unless-It-Is may or may not have developed clone bodies for the Scions to inhabit in a similar fashion to how Doga and Unei said they passed their souls on to their clones. As for us? Well, if we are able to simply 'teleport' between worlds without having to directly use the Crystal Tower, then I think it is likely that we are in our original bodies, and its the Super-charged-Echo that allows us to defy the barriers between worlds.

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True, I didn't think about the possibility of clone bodies... that would make a lot of sense, considering where our hooded friend who is not G'raha, no, no, is...

I mean it could also be that all the 'Silver Tear lakes' of the Shards and Source are actually connected, and that was 'the real secret' of the lake this entire time (and why Midgardsormr was defending it). Meaning we just throw ourselves into the lake to travel between worlds and why Lakeland is the first area of the First we arrive in (I'm just spit-balling this idea).

Either way, in just about 11 hrs from now, we should get our answers.

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

I mean it could also be that all the 'Silver Tear lakes' of the Shards and Source are actually connected, and that was 'the real secret' of the lake this entire time (and why Midgardsormr was defending it). Meaning we just throw ourselves into the lake to travel between worlds and why Lakeland is the first area of the First we arrive in (I'm just spit-balling this idea).

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With Crystarium being a throwback to early concept designs for XIV, perhaps now they'll finally settle the matter of the "Presence of Silvertear Lake" in Shadowbringers. For whatever reason, Heavensward & Stormblood never did explain why Midgardsormr was guarding that lake, and from the Garlean invasion, despite apparently letting Allag and Mhach set up dangerous civilization near it. It remains one of the biggest plot holes in XIV.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

As far as Evil!Derplander and his party are concerned, it's clear now that Elidibus merely lied to them that death was theonly way to travel to the Source (remember: Ascians lie), as it not only served his ends it also allowed a convenient means of eliminating them if they decided to slip their Ascian-held leashes (sending their souls onto the Lifestream), and that physical travel between the Source Hydaelyn and the Shards is possible, although it could just be a handwave to allow Shadowbringers's premise to even work.

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Elidibus didn't necessarily lie to them. Just because the WoL can do it in the here and now doesn't mean WoD and co. could have back then. It was probably true that traveling to the Source was a one way trip for them. We presumably have the advantage of being both more powerful, and having a towering crystalline gateway.

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Originally Posted by Brightamethyst

Elidibus didn't necessarily lie to them. Just because the WoL can do it in the here and now doesn't mean WoD and co. could have back then. It was probably true that traveling to the Source was a one way trip for them. We presumably have the advantage of being both more powerful, and having a towering crystalline gateway.

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Two things to add to this. 1.) He doesn't seem to know who is calling to us in our battle against him, and 2.) Its very possible the Figure would not want to work with him and prevents him from using the CT of the first, if Elidibus even knows it can be used to travel between the First and the Source. Our adventure into the Void/13th was specifically because it was already connected via the Cloud of Darkness so he might not have known it could send someone to other shards.

Of course even if he does both know the Figure and that the CT can be used to go between Source and Shard, doesn't mean he would want the Edgelander and co to survive. They ARE his enemies after all.

Besides all the lore and stuff. I still stand on wanting stuff to be on hydealyn honestly.
Like example if we finish ShB i assume that the first world will still be a accessable but, will there be stuff to do as you normally would on Hydealyn?? perhaps they add new gran company, retainer etc. And if we can teleport DIRECTLY theu teleport menu as if we can teleport from Limsa to kugane then... i would find it odd aswell. I hope you have to walk to crystal tower inorder to let you visit first world and use aether teleport from there on to visit first world towns, and not Limsa to Crystarium.

Now im bit out of topic...

Im kinda getting mixed feelings about this whole thing. I just have to wait for this summer to come and get over it, and hopefully get some answear out of it.