How Advanced Is Medical Knowledge & Tech in Eorzea?

The world(s) in which our characters lives is complex with the civilizations of today existing upon layers of ages of advanced technology. That got me thinking.

With all this mix of technology, how advanced is the knowledge and technology of current Eorzea? Specifically, compared to a doctor on Earth, how does your average conjurer or Eorzean physician size up?

What do you think? I'd love to read your thoughts.

Magitek itself is hundreds of years more advance than our world current technology.

It can create holographic images resulting in the creation of holo computers.

It can create energy beam weapons for infinite ammo weapons as long you don't over heat the weapon.

It can create flying battleships without windows!

The lack of this being wide spread in FF14 world until current events can be linked back to the use of Magic as Magic covers a lot of things that advance technology can achieve and more so people never see a demand for advancing technology and Science due to Magic providing the same thing or better with less effort.

To be really fair, native Eorzean medical knowledge appears to be somewhat rooted at a medieval level, with a solid belief in long-abandoned archaic theories such as body humours. Not to mention a lot of medical treatment is purely magical, using conjury and arcanima to heal wounds and disease (and by extension, white magic and scholary magic). Then there is alchemy for healing which is another branch of medicine which is perhaps closer to actual scientific principles of chemistry (as it was in the real world), but still with a esoteric bent.

As for the tech levels in Eorzea, Garlemald may have lots of techno gadgets but Eorzea itself is still rather primitive, with uneven levels of technological development (much of which has been the result of Cid and the Garlond Ironworks gradually trickling in Garlean tech into Eorzean hands), with often even simple technological advancements such as a bicycle actually regarded with suspiscion by Eorzeans, not helping change Garlemald's attitude towards Eorzea as a cultural and technological backwater inhabited by primitive 'savages' barely above stone age level.

Really, like everything in this game it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief to work, as there is a handy hint in the series title after all. ;) Don't think too much into it.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

To be really fair, native Eorzean medical knowledge appears to be somewhat rooted at a medieval level, with a solid belief in long-abandoned archaic theories such as body humours. Not to mention a lot of medical treatment is purely magical, using conjury and arcanima to heal wounds and disease (and by extension, white magic and scholary magic). Then there is alchemy for healing which is another branch of medicine which is perhaps closer to actual scientific principles of chemistry (as it was in the real world), but still with a esoteric bent.

As for the tech levels in Eorzea, Garlemald may have lots of techno gadgets but Eorzea itself is still rather primitive, with uneven levels of technological development (much of which has been the result of Cid and the Garlond Ironworks gradually trickling in Garlean tech into Eorzean hands), with often even simple technological advancements such as a bicycle actually regarded with suspiscion by Eorzeans, not helping change Garlemald's attitude towards Eorzea as a cultural and technological backwater inhabited by primitive 'savages' barely above stone age level.

Really, like everything in this game it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief to work, as there is a handy hint in the series title after all. ;) Don't think too much into it.

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Worth considering are the implications of Ascian interference. We know they've been involved in Garlemald's meteoric rise from the beginning, and that it's very likely they had a hand in Allag's rise and fall too. Much like Mass Effect's Reapers, I could imagine the Ascians as being secret arbiters of various advanced technologies, doling them out alongside the secrets of primal summoning in a way that benefits their plans best. It helps explain the vast technological disparities, in that the Ascians simply hand it out as they see fit, greatly accelerating technological development.

A lot of the technology is far behind the real world simply because magic exists can be used to compensate. Medical care is probably really great because of healing magic, while medical knowledge is severely lacking because it doesn't require advanced medical training to cast Physick.

We know that Chirurgeons exists in Eorzea and Garlemald at least.

This is a dual-pronged question.

Technological levels vary from region to region. In Eorzea, things are pretty low-tech; they don't need a lot of technology due to the ability to use magic. Since they can do that, they don't need to advance their technological level - a lot of tech is developed during wartime and then repurposed or modified for civilian use (i.e. microwaves). I believe it was also mentioned that Lolorito & co. are actively stymieing efforts to advance Eorzean technology as well - the very small railway in Thanalan being the biggest purely technical advancement not reliant on Garlond Ironworks or anything overtly magical (i.e. ceruleum-powered airships) - in an attempt to funnel more money into their coffers by keeping people reliant on the transport methods already in place (that they own).

Garlemald's native population can't use magic, so they had to develop magitek to compensate. Due to the magi- part of magitek it's capable of doing more than real-world technology, but it's all dependent on ceruleum (magical gasoline), so there are limits to it's capabilities.

Medical knowledge is somewhat lacking, though medical techniques are pretty effective. Aside from magic there are known chirurgeons (surgeons), so there must be some basic medical care not involving magic. There are also alchemists, who despite being capable of producing effects impossible in reality (i.e. resurrecting the dead, if only for a moment) have a practice rooted in science. Once again, Garlean ability eclipses Eorzean in this field (and even reality); they have the ability to edit genomes as of Stormblood, at least.

(Side note: oh absolutely the Ascians play the magic / tech sides against each other. Tiamat says verbatim when you meet her that they taught her how to summon "Bahamut" back from the dead, then gave the Allagans the means to capture his Pet Sematary specter. They're doing the same thing with the Garlean Empire, albeit in reverse - get the tech side riled up and on the warpath, then give the magic side the means to summon in self-defense.)

Well the allagans literally had cloning tech. Garlemald doesn't seem far behind with some of the things they can do.

Eorzea itself, medical knowledge seems to be pretty low.

Id like to immediately agree and say low tech one hundred percent...but then I look at a city like Ishgard and wonder what the hell kind of amazing engineering they have being able to build a city like that. Eorzea also has modern day levels of plumbing and music players (I.e. the orchestra rolls)...at least amongst those who can afford it. The Goldsmith’s Guild greatly specializes in clockwork technology. And then there’s the Golden Saucer...

Basically, high technology is not unknown in Eorzea. In fact, with the rise of Garlond Ironworks and increased trade with goblins, it’s becoming far more prominent in recent years. But for now at least, it’s restricted to those that can afford it, I.e successful adventurers like ourselves.

With the goblins we get some steam works. Then there's the Kobalds who specialize in explosives to the point of one trigger can set off different sets of bombs at different times. I think Alchemy in Eorzea would be further if the guild master hadn't spent years trying to bring his lover back.

medical knowledge? i say lower than our current world tech. frankly speaking i never see any scene/dialogue regarding someone getting medical operation or someone getting a medicine or some sort, even throughout my play when i see someone sick on bed or visiting sick ward, i never see a medical contraption around it, just a bed and a drawer beside it, thats all. the best i can think is probably like herbal tea or leaf patch than an actual medicine if there is any.

probably because magic play larger part when it come to healing, when the healing fail, then the medical knowledge act as a support/backup plan. i mean, if medical knowledge is far more potent than healing, then we as healer will be busy throwing regular/high/X potion inside dungeon instead of casting cure skill lol

off course this all based as us on eorzean side. the empire side still remain mystery but considering they have something like producing gas weapon and even clone tech. i say they maybe more or less on the same as our current tech.

I don't recall when and where I came upon this answer to a similar question put to the creators of Dungeons & Dragons: Essentially there is a distinction between knowing how to create a magical effect, and knowing why the spell works in the first place.

In a world where magic is real, it becomes a phenomenon that, by extrapolation, could be studied and investigated scientifically, the way we would do so for physical phenomena in our reality.

Think of it this way: Long before we understood the chemistry and physics of combustion, our ancestors knew how to create fire, and how to use it in a variety of ways, including for warfare. Similarly, our ancestors also knew, by trial and error, which types of herbs and ingredients are best suited for healing various kinds of physical ailments. They may not have known why these methods for creating fire and healing would work, but they certainly knew how to apply them.

This would then be the basis for thinking about the state and level of medical knowledge and technology in Eorzea. For the most part, Eorzean magic-users and practitioners of aetherically enhanced combat probably do not know nor understand the physics and chemistry behind the phenomena they create. Nor would they really need to. All that matters is that they can learn several generations' worth of applied knowledge, and then perhaps expand on such knowledge through further trial and error.

The Garleans, on the other hand, have gone beyond trial and error, to develop scientific methodology. They are very likely forming theories about the physical laws that make magic possible, and it's from this understanding that they are able to develop magitek, an approximation of magical effects through machinery. But even so, the Garleans are amateurs compared to the Allagans, who achieved such mastery over aethero-chemistry, that they were even able to create "airships" capable of interstellar travel.

The closest thing that the Eorzeans have to a "science" of magic is arcanima. The Sharlayans are the foremost authority in this particular field of magic, followed by the arcanists of Limsa Lominsa. I like to think of it as the Eorzean analogy to the differences between "British empiricism" and "continental rationalism" (Hume versus Locke). The Sharlayans, I like to imagine, are the "rationalists" who enjoy thinking about metaphysics, and deriving experiments to test such theories. The Lominsans, on the other hand, are probably more pragmatic, and more interested in the applied aspects of arcanima.

Ultimately, the word "advanced" in the context of a fantasy setting where magic is real needs to be defined differently. The lifestyles of Eorzeans may appear analagous to those of medieaval Europe, but in terms of the conveniences and quality of life that Eorzeans enjoy, one could say that they are effectively the equivalent of modern industrial societies in our reality.

After all, why would an Eorzean want to invent an electric lightbulb — one of the "modern" conveniences we Earthlings take for granted — when you have spells or aethero-chemical methods for creating light? Does that make an Eorzean more "primitive" than us, or Garleans for that matter? I think it's really just a matter of perspective.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I don't recall when and where I came upon this answer to a similar question put to the creators of Dungeons & Dragons: Essentially there is a distinction between knowing how to create a magical effect, and knowing why the spell works in the first place.

In a world where magic is real, it becomes a phenomenon that, by extrapolation, could be studied and investigated scientifically, the way we would do so for physical phenomena in our own reality.

Think of it this way: Long before we understood the chemistry and physics of combustion, our ancestors knew how to create fire, and how to use it in a variety of ways, including for warfare. Similarly, our ancestors also knew, by trial and error, which types of herbs and ingredients are best suited for healing various kinds of physical ailments. They may not have known why these methods for creating fire and healing wounds would work, but they certainly knew how to apply them.

This would then be the basis for thinking about the state and level of medical knowledge and technology in Eorzea. For the most part, Eorzean magic-users and practitioners of aetherically enhanced combat probably do not know nor understand the physics and chemistry behind the phenomena they create. Nor would they really need to. All that matters is for them to learn several generations' worth of applied knowledge, and then perhaps expand on this body of knowledge through further trial and error.

The Garleans, on the other hand, have gone beyond trial and error, to develop scientific methodology. They are very likely forming theories about the physical laws that make magic possible, and it's from this understanding that they are able to develop magitek, an approximation of magical effects through the use of machines. But even so, the Garleans are amateurs compared to the Allagans, who achieved such mastery over aethero-chemistry, that they were even able to create "airships" capable of interstellar travel.

The closest thing that the Eorzeans have to a "science" of magic is arcanima. The Sharlayans are the foremost authority in this particular field of magic, followed by the arcanists based in Limsa Lominsa. I like to think of it as the Eorzean analogy to the differences between "British empiricism" and "continental rationalism" (Hume versus Locke) during the height of the Enlightenment period in European history. The Sharlayans, I like to imagine, are the "rationalists" who enjoy thinking about metaphysics, and deriving experiments to test such theories. The Lominsans, on the other hand, are more pragmatic, and are probably more interested in the applied aspects of arcanima.

Ultimately, the word "advanced" in the context of a fantasy setting where magic is real needs to be defined differently. The lifestyles of Eorzeans may appear analagous to those of medieaval Europe, but in terms of the conveniences and quality of life that Eorzeans are able to achieve through magic, one could say that they are effectively the equivalent of modern industrial societies in our reality.

After all, why would an Eorzean want to invent an electric lightbulb — one of the "modern" conveniences we Earthlings for granted — when you have spells or aethero-chemical methods for creating light? Does that make an Eorzean more "primitive" than our society, or Garlean society for that matter? I think it's really just a matter of perspective.

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Also worth considering are the catastrophic effects of the Calamities, which greatly exceed most disasters on Earth. The Ascians periodically destroy the arc of progress to keep their plans in order, which greatly limits how much development post-Calamity societies can undergo. How long must it take to rediscover the basics after everything is wiped away? How much time is spent simply cobbling that together, instead of refining and pushing forward new avenues of knowledge?

Not advanced enough for every crippled Tom, Dick, and Harry to have magitek prostheses that's for sure.

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Really, like everything in this game it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief to work, as there is a handy hint in the series title after all. Don't think too much into it.

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I love this answer. But, you know, I wouldn't be a storyteller if I didn't think about such things.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I don't recall when and where I came upon this answer to a similar question put to the creators of Dungeons & Dragons: Essentially there is a distinction between knowing how to create a magical effect, and knowing why the spell works in the first place.

In a world where magic is real, it becomes a phenomenon that, by extrapolation, could be studied and investigated scientifically, the way we would do so for physical phenomena in our reality.

Think of it this way: Long before we understood the chemistry and physics of combustion, our ancestors knew how to create fire, and how to use it in a variety of ways, including for warfare. Similarly, our ancestors also knew, by trial and error, which types of herbs and ingredients are best suited for healing various kinds of physical ailments. They may not have known why these methods for creating fire and healing would work, but they certainly knew how to apply them.

This would then be the basis for thinking about the state and level of medical knowledge and technology in Eorzea. For the most part, Eorzean magic-users and practitioners of aetherically enhanced combat probably do not know nor understand the physics and chemistry behind the phenomena they create. Nor would they really need to. All that matters is that they can learn several generations' worth of applied knowledge, and then perhaps expand on such knowledge through further trial and error.

The Garleans, on the other hand, have gone beyond trial and error, to develop scientific methodology. They are very likely forming theories about the physical laws that make magic possible, and it's from this understanding that they are able to develop magitek, an approximation of magical effects through machinery. But even so, the Garleans are amateurs compared to the Allagans, who achieved such mastery over aethero-chemistry, that they were even able to create "airships" capable of interstellar travel.

The closest thing that the Eorzeans have to a "science" of magic is arcanima. The Sharlayans are the foremost authority in this particular field of magic, followed by the arcanists of Limsa Lominsa. I like to think of it as the Eorzean analogy to the differences between "British empiricism" and "continental rationalism" (Hume versus Locke). The Sharlayans, I like to imagine, are the "rationalists" who enjoy thinking about metaphysics, and deriving experiments to test such theories. The Lominsans, on the other hand, are probably more pragmatic, and more interested in the applied aspects of arcanima.

Ultimately, the word "advanced" in the context of a fantasy setting where magic is real needs to be defined differently. The lifestyles of Eorzeans may appear analogous to those of medieval Europe, but in terms of the conveniences and quality of life that Eorzeans enjoy, one could say that they are effectively the equivalent of modern industrial societies in our reality.

After all, why would an Eorzean want to invent an electric lightbulb — one of the "modern" conveniences we Earthlings take for granted — when you have spells or aethero-chemical methods for creating light? Does that make an Eorzean more "primitive" than us, or Garleans for that matter? I think it's really just a matter of perspective.

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What an amazing post. Anyone who can work Hume versus Locke into a discussion about fantasy technology is someone I want on my friend list.

With so much magic around, it is certainly the case the average Eorzean takes it for granted, and doesn't think about how it works. This is exactly like people of today are surrounded by so many things that we just use.

Off topic: You mention the Sharlayans. They definitely know their esoteric stuff, don't they?

Without giving away spoilers, there is a series of cutscenes where the Sharlayans go in-depth on magic theory. As someone who uses magic in real life, I have to say I was impressed. With the exception of crystals being fossilized mana, what was presented was a working magic system.

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Originally Posted by Risvertasashi

Well the allagans literally had cloning tech. Garlemald doesn't seem far behind with some of the things they can do.

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The Garleans actually have reverse engineered Allagan cloning tech, but the exact circumstances surrounding it are a bit of a spoiler.

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Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Not advanced enough for every crippled Tom, Dick, and Harry to have magitek prostheses that's for sure.

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I actually kept asking about whether or not Raubahn could get a Barrett-style prosthetic arm to replace the one he lost to Ilberd, and the devs ultimately said the Garleans have that kind of tech but don't share it with the world. So it's possible, but beyond Eorzean technical capabilities. (Maybe the Ironworks can use that as their next big project.)

I think I remember that cutscene, where a certain Sharlayan scholar uses very estoeric real world scientific words to describe aetherial effects.

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The specimen is more than a simple manifestation of elementally aspected energies -- it is, rather, an aetherial lodestone whose facilitation of both the absorption and transmission of distinct-frequency NRR-type harmonic vibrations has been observed to promote aetherial amplification.

The resultant neuro-harmonic disturbance allows for a highly unique emittance of CPRS waves that, instead of radiating outward with a determinate factor of dispersal, instead resonate inward at a frequency so labored, my estimates place the rate of VRT decay at upwards of several centuries... though I must admit I lack sufficient variates to complete a truly comprehensive graphical assessment.

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Idly, only semi-related musings: In this setting, aether itself is not magic. The study of aether in its natural tendencies isn't magic. The textbook definition of magic is manipulating aether outside of its normal, natural tendencies. In that respect, I imagine that's what technology vs. magic boils down to in the setting. Technology, even magitek, uses aether in ways that are within "natural" and predictable models. Magic is another field entirely that plays with whole new rules on how to manipulate this natural force.

In that regard, I'd say that, at least when it comes to aetherology, Eorzea probably has much more of a better hands on practical on it than Garleans do, while Sharlayans reign supreme in tackling it scientifically.. Eorzea's had centuries of working with an aether-rich environment to have a deep appreciation of the inner workings of aether, which means that they have an understand of a certain aspect of the universe that Garlemald doesn't really have. That's not to say that Garleans don't know about aetherology (after all, they DID create an artifical Echo, something that not even the Allagans are able to accomplish).

Again, only semi related babbling, but I find this kind of topic in fantasy settings to be fascinating. TinyRedLeaf's reminded me about Eberron, IMO the best D&D setting out there, in that it treats magic as a kind of science. So you have stuff like magic-powered robots, airships, trains...GREAT.

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Originally Posted by NoblePigeon

Id like to immediately agree and say low tech one hundred percent...but then I look at a city like Ishgard and wonder what the hell kind of amazing engineering they have being able to build a city like that. Eorzea also has modern day levels of plumbing and music players (I.e. the orchestra rolls)...at least amongst those who can afford it. The Goldsmith’s Guild greatly specializes in clockwork technology. And then there’s the Golden Saucer...

Basically, high technology is not unknown in Eorzea. In fact, with the rise of Garlond Ironworks and increased trade with goblins, it’s becoming far more prominent in recent years. But for now at least, it’s restricted to those that can afford it, I.e successful adventurers like ourselves.

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I suppose the rock they use is very light and sturdy :p

It's worth noting that illnesses seem to be well under control. Aside from the Tonberries (and their illness is a very special case), there doesn't seem to be any kind of quarantine areas, like leper colonies or whatever. In fact, illnesses in general are rarely mentioned; I'm sure someone in game must have a tragic backstory of losing one or both parents to illness, but off the top of my head I can't remember any. Magic and/or magitek seem to be VERY effective at keeping sickness at bay - possibly even better than real life medical science is capable of.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

To be really fair, native Eorzean medical knowledge appears to be somewhat rooted at a medieval level, with a solid belief in long-abandoned archaic theories such as body humours. Not to mention a lot of medical treatment is purely magical, using conjury and arcanima to heal wounds and disease (and by extension, white magic and scholary magic). Then there is alchemy for healing which is another branch of medicine which is perhaps closer to actual scientific principles of chemistry (as it was in the real world), but still with a esoteric bent.

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Just to toss in the standard disclaimer, just because medical knowledge involves theories long abandoned in real life, does not mean those theories are WRONG. This is a fantasy universe, and stuff like the theory of body humours might actually be true.

I definitely agree an interesting thing to consider is the impact of the calamities on Hydaelyn as a whole and their effects on technology. Compared to many previous calamities, Eorzea seems to have recovered remarkably well from the Seventh Umbral Calamity when you consider how much knowledge and tech was lost in previous ones just from civilizations like Alag, the Mhachi, and the Amdapori alone. Of course, the traces exist, but there are few left who can comprehend them.

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Originally Posted by ChaoticCrimson

I definitely agree an interesting thing to consider is the impact of the calamities on Hydaelyn as a whole and their effects on technology. Compared to many previous calamities, Eorzea seems to have recovered remarkably well from the Seventh Umbral Calamity when you consider how much knowledge and tech was lost in previous ones just from civilizations like Alag, the Mhachi, and the Amdapori alone. Of course, the traces exist, but there are few left who can comprehend them.

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Yeah, those prior eras unfortunately didn't have Louisoux (I'm sure I misspelled that) to stop their calamities before the worst of it happened. I'm sure those five years were rough and all but the current era really got off easy compared to prior civilization leveling calamities.

Magic like Raise/Ascend/Resurrection/Verraise/Phoenix Down do not bring people back to life. When you are "killed" in combat, you are not actually dead, but rather simply knocked unconscious by the injury and are moments away from dying. The spells resuscitate you and restore a enough health for you to continue fighting. If you are knocked unconscious outside of a raid and you let the time go to 0, your blessing of light as a WoL instinctively and subconsciously has you return to the last attuned aetheryte "homepoint".

The status when you "die" reads:

Knocked Out: Knocked Out (K.O.) is the state in which a character has no HP remaining.

I think besides the whole Lousoix preventing the worst part, you have to remember that it is not directly the Eorzean people's fault the calamity happened, and so did not see the need to completely and utterly fall into a state of anarchy. IIRC, after the 3rd, 4th and 6th calamities, people distanced themselves from the philosophies of their old societies because they blamed those tenets for what happened.

(On my phone so can't edit my prior post apparently)

After the 3rd calamity, priests and clergy were ostracized. After the 4th calamity, people actively went about destroying all of the technology they could find, and men of learning were either exiled or executed. After the 6th calamity, magic was pretty much taboo, and mages were persistently persecuted until fairly recently.

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

(On my phone so can't edit my prior post apparently)

After the 3rd calamity, priests and clergy were ostracized. After the 4th calamity, people actively went about destroying all of the technology they could find, and men of learning were either exiled or executed. After the 6th calamity, magic was pretty much taboo, and mages were persistently persecuted until fairly recently.

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Yes, there was a lot of turmoil and the general populace took their anger out on the individuals who brought about the calamity. The recurring refrain is civilization rebuilds itself then pride brings about another calamity.

It will be interesting to see how this is handled in ShadowBringer.

It seems to me there has to be many groups besides the Scions seeking to regain knowledge which was lost during the Umbral Ages. Perhaps, we shall see more instances how that regained knowledge is used or abused.

We have already encountered a tragic situation with Edda and the misuse of white magic. Not all magi-medical knowledge is good.

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Originally Posted by Kacho_Nacho

We have already encountered a tragic situation with Edda and the misuse of white magic. Not all magi-medical knowledge is good.

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Edda was just a conjurer and was likely misled by voidsent into believing she could resurrect her dead fiance.

I believe there were interviews back in the 1.0 era to the effect that they were aiming for a 1700s tech-level (or was it 17th century?). Problem is, a lot of the feats of engineering just casually on display in Gridania and Limsa actually put the mean tech-level closer to the mid-to-late 19th century, even if you leave out the obvious fantasy tech like airships. Ul'dah and Ishgard are clearly past their industrial revolutions, and one FATE ("Orobon Part Two: The Spawning") even casually mentions a moving picture show, which would be in line with the latter end of that estimate.



Every time I contemplate this issue, I can't help but feel like it's just the medical tech that's really behind the rest. Even if you allow for a little wiggle-room in tech-tree progression, Eorzea should at least be on the verge of some major medical breakthroughs. but it often seems like most explicitly stated medical knowledge is anachronistically old.

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Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Edda was just a conjurer and was likely misled by voidsent into believing she could resurrect her dead fiance.

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Yes, she was. The whole Edda story is a cautionary tale on many fronts which turns into a tragedy. There are several examples of the misuse of white magic throughout the tale.

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Originally Posted by Kacho_Nacho

Yes, she was. The whole Edda story is a cautionary tale on many fronts which turns into a tragedy. There are several examples of the misuse of white magic throughout the tale.

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Conjury is not white magic.

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Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Conjury is not white magic.

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Right. White Magic is a seperate school of magic that piggybacks on Conjury by virtue of the ones who were entrusted with that knowledge already being CNJs themselves (ala the padjal, who were made custodians of Amdaporian white magic knowledge by the elementals as a safe guard against those trying to seek it out without permission).

Edda was not using White Magic in Tam Tara HM, she was using necromancy (which is actually void magic) to summon voidsent (in the mistaken belief it's reviving the dead) - presumedly given to her by whatever it was that pushed her towards the darkness (most likely an Ascian). It just shows how taboo the subject of necromancy in Eorzea really is (and why a Necromancer class will never be playable). But anyway...

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

After the 3rd calamity, priests and clergy were ostracized. After the 4th calamity, people actively went about destroying all of the technology they could find, and men of learning were either exiled or executed. After the 6th calamity, magic was pretty much taboo, and mages were persistently persecuted until fairly recently.

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It wasn't just the 4th Calamity technology and science were destroyed, the aftermath of the 6th Calamity after the floodwaters abated any kind of knowledge or technical idea, whether magical or technological, was purged as a backlash against the cause of the Flood (the War of the Magi), to the point even those who just happened to be literate were lynched, because the layman could not tell the difference between a mage or a scientist. Not surprisingly, it caused Eorzean civilization to collapse into total barbarism that took millenia for the realm to actively recover (and it still has not fully reached the same level of progress that existed in the 5th Astral Era, let alone the 4th with the Allag and their cyberpunk levels of tech, not helped by the 7th Calamity pushing things back even further).

This is why Sharalyan is so elitist and zealous towards guarding their knowledge stores, they don't want a repeat of the 6th Calamity to happen again (unfortunately that just made them look arrogant towards other nations), Louisoux and the Circle of Knowing becoming condemned by the Sharalyan elite as total pariahs for advocating a more open policy towards dealing with the Eorzean citystates, and especially, the dissemnation of ancient knowledge and wisdom to Eorzea's nations.

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Originally Posted by LineageRazor

It's worth noting that illnesses seem to be well under control. Aside from the Tonberries (and their illness is a very special case), there doesn't seem to be any kind of quarantine areas, like leper colonies or whatever. In fact, illnesses in general are rarely mentioned; I'm sure someone in game must have a tragic backstory of losing one or both parents to illness, but off the top of my head I can't remember any. Magic and/or magitek seem to be VERY effective at keeping sickness at bay - possibly even better than real life medical science is capable of.

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Sorry to jump back to this but it is correct that most disease seems to be usually taken care of by magic or herbal/alchemical medicines - an example is the so-called 'wasting sickness', a potentially fatal disease that was at one time at epidemic levels among the hyuran population of Gridania, although it's stated that conjury spells exist now to cure the affliction (Esuna?), herbal treatments are still produced and stockpiled for hamlets in outlying areas as they are considered valuable in case a CNJ with the right skills is not available to treat the patient (this was mentioned in a very early sidequest in Hyrstmill).

However, having said that at the first Fanfest Ferne himself mentioned about an ultimately abandoned plotline for 1.0 that dealt with a disease called 'the green death' that was spreading like wildfire through La Noscea and Limsa, and that there was no effective treatment available, with quacks and snake-oil salesmen touting all sorts of remedies for it to the desperate that did not actually work, but it was never actually added to the game. It's possible this served ultimately as the basis for the tonberry plague in ARR which also was untreatable (although that was called 'the sickness from the sea' and which had a magical, voidsent cause).

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Originally Posted by LineageRazor

Just to toss in the standard disclaimer, just because medical knowledge involves theories long abandoned in real life, does not mean those theories are WRONG. This is a fantasy universe, and stuff like the theory of body humours might actually be true.

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True, but in that specific reference to humorism the game itself even states that in universe it's possibly load of bunk with the description for the chigoe larva minion (which also revealed what a chirgueon actually is - it's not a fantasy name for a surgeon, but a quack doctor that uses a blood-sucking parasite to drain small amounts of blood from the patient to supposedly drain 'dark humors', in this case, a chigoe); that far from helping the patient it was discovered that the patients were contracting additional diseases and problems as a result!

The word' 'leech' also seems to be used in a similar manner - a 1.0 main story quest used that term to refer to a doctor when seeking medical treatment, and there is of course the SCH spell 'Leeches'. So yeah, the game kinda zigzags whether humorism really does work or if it's just a convinent way of explaining something coincidental in medical terms that has a more mundane, scientific explanation.

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Originally Posted by NoblePigeon

Id like to immediately agree and say low tech one hundred percent...but then I look at a city like Ishgard and wonder what the hell kind of amazing engineering they have being able to build a city like that. Eorzea also has modern day levels of plumbing and music players (I.e. the orchestra rolls)...at least amongst those who can afford it. The Goldsmith’s Guild greatly specializes in clockwork technology. And then there’s the Golden Saucer...

Basically, high technology is not unknown in Eorzea. In fact, with the rise of Garlond Ironworks and increased trade with goblins, it’s becoming far more prominent in recent years. But for now at least, it’s restricted to those that can afford it, I.e successful adventurers like ourselves.

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Ishgardian architecture is based (to the best of my fairly limited architectural knowledge) on medieval Gothic architecture, which dates from the 1100s to the 1500s - which is perhaps a good point to start reading on their potential medical knowledge.


I'm not sure where you're getting "modern plumbing" from. What are you thinking of?


The in-world orchestrion may or may not actually play the quality of music we get from it at a game level. A while ago I'd seen a "street organ" at a festival that runs on paper music rolls or "book music", and assume that's what orchestrion rolls actually are - but interestingly enough, by looking that up, it turns out an orchestrion is an actual thing, if not exactly what we have in-game.

The dates are a bit variable for the devices and the paper-roll technology, but 1800s seems to be the approximate invention date.


Spring-driven clockwork apparently dates from the 1400s.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

in that specific reference to humorism the game itself even states that in universe it's possibly load of bunk with the description for the chigoe larva minion (which also revealed what a chirgueon actually is - it's not a fantasy name for a surgeon, but a quack doctor that uses a blood-sucking parasite to drain small amounts of blood from the patient to supposedly drain 'dark humors', in this case, a chigoe); that far from helping the patient it was discovered that the patients were contracting additional diseases and problems as a result!

The word' 'leech' also seems to be used in a similar manner - a 1.0 main story quest used that term to refer to a doctor when seeking medical treatment, and there is of course the SCH spell 'Leeches'. So yeah, the game kinda zigzags whether humorism really does work or if it's just a convinent way of explaining something coincidental in medical terms that has a more mundane, scientific explanation.

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Leeching and bloodletting goes hand-in-hand with the medical theory of humors. It's only "quack science" from a modern perspective.

In-game and with humor theory being treated as real science, a chigoe (ie. giant mosquito) probably did seem like a potentially efficient way of getting 'bad blood' out of a patient instead of using leeches. And they clearly took enough of a scientific approach to it to work out that it wasn't having the intended effect.

Also the term "chirugeon" is an archaic spelling of "surgeon", and within the game it seems to be the term for any physical (non-magical) medical practitioners, as opposed to conjurers.

The article on leeches mentions that "in Old English, lǣce was the name for a physician as well as for the animal, and lǣcecraft, leechcraft, was the art of healing".

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Originally Posted by Kacho_Nacho

With all this mix of technology, how advanced is the knowledge and technology of current Eorzea? Specifically, compared to a doctor on Earth, how does your average conjurer or Eorzean physician size up?

What do you think? I'd love to read your thoughts.

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Late to the party, and there have been a few really great responses in the thread already, but I have a few dedicated posts to the topic that you might find helpful:

Magical & Non-magical Healing Lore - As others have said, Eorzea rests in a strange quasi-Humours Theory era approaching more modern scientific alchemical breakthroughs in the area of medicine. Magic can be a boon to healing (but is not the end-all be all), but only if you have magic available to you in your area. Non-magical herbal healing is most prevalent across Eorzea for this reason.

Technological Advancement in Modern Eorzea - While the post primarily focuses on airships and airship technology, the progression of this technology seemingly runs concurrently with the overall technological advancement of Eorzea, up to the invention of Magitek and the eventual makings of an industrial revolution when it finally comes to Eorzea. The post does skip over clockwork tech (the standard tech used in most places across Eorzea), however, so I'll make mention that, while the Garlond Ironworks has introduced magitek technology to the city-states of Eorzea, its use and prevalence is restricted by the scarcity of materials and ceruleum in Eorzea. Therefor most places in Eorzea, especially smaller hamlets, exist in a low-tech, pre-Magitek clockwork era of technology.

(Finally, I saw a brief tangent into the consequences of the Calamity of Water on Eorzea's lack of scientific/arcane progression, so I thought I'd link this post as it goes a bit more into this period.)

Hope this helps, OP!

Since my original post in this thread about illnesses being rare, I did think of one interesting counterexample that weakens my theory.

In the Stormblood White Mage storyline, the mother of the prodigal Padjal at the center of the storyline is suffering from some kind of wasting disease. As it turns out, she was also host to a particularly vile Voidsent, which may or may not have been causing the disease - but whether it was or not, no one really seemed to think of her disease as anything UNUSUAL. The vibe was more, tragic, but all-too common.

I think they did mention that she'd be better off under the care of the Conjurers of Gridania (something she refused, as she rightly assumed the Padjal would take her daughter away), but I don't think it was ever stated that they would for certain be able to cure her.

Anyway, just something else to chew on.