Garlean Admiration

Does anyone else actually admire the Garleans a little? I know they're our enemies, but they overcame their lack of magical aptitude with science and technology, and sweat. Now they're one of the most powerful empires in the world. I just think it's rather impressive.

They do have an interesting culture, and like.... a lot of them are hot. :v

Coming such a long way the people of Northern Ilsabard have surely is a great feat and shows a lot of dedication to the cause and endurement.

But let's not forget another aspect of how they got that far. Don't read if you haven't finished 4.4/4.5 MSQ yet.

They were able to overcome it because the knowledge for their technical advances and the expansion to an Empire was possible because they had their strings pulled by Ascians, who already had the knowledge and surely all the resources needed, since Solus had been the one to iniate all their advancement.
My take on it is that the people of Garlemald only came that far because the Ascians wanted them to.

The only thing that's impressive is their hubris.

I would admire them more if they as a whole weren't in the habit of shooting themselves in the foot near constantly through both their antagonistic actions and their fanatical worship of an ancient civilization that not only destroyed itself but nearly the world on more than one occasion.

That said, Garlean science is pretty great.

i personaly love Garlean culture, they aesthetics and they technology, i wish there was a alternative route where you grow inside the empire and get rid of the ascians control from inside and secure the rule and prosperity under his flag buuuuuuuut thats just a dream saddly i just hope they don't fall and stay as a midgthy empire over all the continent they are set now as ally somehow and get even a garlean grand company, give those juicy armors :3

I don't like their regime, but i like their tech very much.

Magitech walkers and the Fenrir motorcycle are my favorite mounts in the game. Maybe the motorcycle is just an FF7 import, but i like to think it's Garlean tech. There's a steampunkness to it i like.

They have Nero.

If it bring me closer to obtaining formal attire that resembles a business/formal suit, tie, and vest, or something close to this then most definitely. The Butler attire was close, and remains to be saved onto a glamour plate today, but it's still not quite there. Will it happen? More than likely not, but I will remain naively hopeful.

The only reason they reached the heights they have is because of the Ascians. Hardly impressive. I didn't particularly care one way or another about them in ARR, thought they were neat in HW, at least for the Warring Triad segment, since in retrospect, the fact that they conveniently couldn't shoot down the mass-murdering heretic until after she disabled their flagship was just pathetic, and then SB came around and I find myself wondering why exactly SE goes on about how "oh, they're so much more militarily and technologically superior" when they're run by idiots whose tactics rarely, if ever, capitalise on their advantages. They barely ever even use their advantage in air superiority, though plainly it makes little difference seeing as how people riding birds are so much more better than the tin cans the Garleans field. And then the stinger of like 4.3 or 4.4, I think it was, came around and it just became "Oh, of course they were just uplifted by the Saturday morning cartoon villains, why did I ever expect that they were able to rise to their current position on their own merits?" They're a sorry and pathetic lot and I hope 5.x or, more realistically, 6.0 will wrap up their tripe in whole because being reminded of their existence just pisses me off.

I am still waiting for a painting of Zenos as a furniture item.

I really cannot admire them given that they're basically just puppets of the Ascians. Had they advanced so far on their own I'd be impressed but like the Allags before them most of their triumphs were through careful prodding by self-serving immortal beings. Thus it kinda dampens the impact of their rise to power.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Enla

I really cannot admire them given that they're basically just puppets of the Ascians. Had they advanced so far on their own I'd be impressed but like the Allags before them most of their triumphs were through careful prodding by self-serving immortal beings. Thus it kinda dampens the impact of their rise to power.

---

Inb4 one of our GC leaders is an Ascian . . . :3

spoiler warning I guess (sort of, loosely):

Especially as we (our side of the landmass) also had a significant hand in pushing out the Beastmen that became a core part of all the primal summoning, aka a core part of the original Ascian plan. . . lol (imbalance stuff so it can be rejoined).

Perhaps less strings pulled but would be ironic/funny if we also had some pushes (I mean in 1.0 Travanchet was messing with / along with the beastmen too), all that racism and squabbling an Ascian going "see those sneetches with their stars on their own bellies? Stole them stars, stars on their bellies, respond only by means a war party rallies".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shougun

Inb4 one of our GC leaders is an Ascian . . . :3

spoiler warning I guess (sort of, loosely):

Especially as we (our side of the landmass) also had a significant hand in pushing out the Beastmen that became a core part of all the primal summoning, aka a core part of the original Ascian plan. . . lol (imbalance stuff so it can be rejoined).

Perhaps less strings pulled but would be ironic/funny if we also had some pushes (I mean in 1.0 Travanchet was messing with / along with the beastmen too), all that racism and squabbling an Ascian going "see those sneetches with their stars on their own bellies? Stole them stars, stars on their bellies, respond only by means a war party rallies".

---

I will practically die laughing if that turns out to be a twist. xD

One reason why I was expect the Garlean Gunblade Job instead of the FF8 Gunbreaker Job.

I'd have joined them if the game allowed us to start there.

I agree that this game would've of been really interesting if we had a Garlean route. I mean, what if instead of Cid running away he discovers the WoL in the empire and decides to try to change their country from the inside out with their help? What if we were able to gain enough trust to earn front row seats to the emperor and realized how much control Ascians had over the empire? Would we see everyone as savages but then later proven wrong? I do love the tech, vs the weird combination of historical and non-historical thing that's happening in Eorzea lol. (One minute you're talking to someone who only knows how to feed a chocobo and then next we're riding around in a decked-out machine to our raiding spot that only a handful of people understand how it even exists).

If they ever decide to create a new mmo, I would want the option to choose between the Empire or regular WoL. I'm not a huge FF fan but the few Final Fantasy games I played, always had an empire in it. And if the Empire thing has been around as long as I have seen it, you would think by now they would create a story from the Empire's side that we can play through.

Ilberd’s plan for Baelsar’s Wall and the extensive damage done by Shinryu, only kicked off because of Elidibus’s intervention. The tech and sciences of ancient Allag remain to be something fought over by the grand companies.


I have mixed feelings.
I don’t want them to be destroyed, especially if it is some vain attempt to make zenos seem even more eeeevil. I want Gaius to succeed in saving his people from the shadows of manipulation and fear the Ascians designed to fail. Let the Garleans find out that the big scary world isn’t out to kill them , cast off the racist hat, and take back their lives. Maybe then we can go to the moon together.

On the other hand, if devs want victory to be total destruction of the Garlean state, or some puppet democracy that bends to The allaince’s whims, I want the blood to reach Cid’s hands and never come off. Have the Allaince go too far in attempting to punish the garlean people. Let the thought of retribution and racism consume people in a way no speech from Raubahn will cure!

only garlean i admire is cid and i shouldnt have to explain why.

Really the only thing admirable about the Garleans was their ability to survive for centuries in an inhospitable part of the world. Pretty much everything they are now, they are due to Ascian manipulation. The technology overcoming their weaknesses? Provided by Ascians. The push to take back their homeland? Helmed by an Ascian. It's possible that their virulent nationalism, posture of racial superiority, and laundry list of war crimes against non-Garleans could be considered to be theirs, but that's not something I'd much consider to be admirable. I'm sure they have their good qualities, but the game shows us only the barest glimpses. The bulk of our interactions with them involve human experimentation with a ghastly body count, conscription insured by making hostages of the conscripts' families, casual murder of subordinates by high-ranking officers, mistreatment of their own citizens if they happen to not be of Garlean blood, and so on and so forth.

I think Garlemald was still pretty technologically advanced even before the Ascians took an interest in them. Like, Goug was the doing of their ancestors after all. The Ascians basically just sped up their development, but they were already accomplished in their own right since they were forced to innovate in order to survive from the beginning.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lacan

I think Garlemald was still pretty technologically advanced even before the Ascians took an interest in them. Like, Goug was the doing of their ancestors after all. The Ascians basically just sped up their development, but they were already accomplished in their own right since they were forced to innovate in order to survive from the beginning.

---

Nah, the Lorebook states that their technologies only really started to get more refined and noteworthy when they discovered the use of Ceruluem. Specifically, Emperor Solus discovered it. Hmmmm...

What they used before was somewhat based on Allag. Which was founded by Ascians as well. Hmmmm²...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RicaRuin

Nah, the Lorebook states that their technologies only really started to get more refined and noteworthy when they discovered the use of Ceruluem. Specifically, Emperor Solus discovered it. Hmmmm...

What they used before was somewhat based on Allag. Which was founded by Ascians as well. Hmmmm²...

---

Doesn't Goug predate Solus though?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lacan

Doesn't Goug predate Solus though?

---

So does Allag and was still led by an Ascian. And I guess Goug came after Allag? Not sure on that one though.

Pre-Imperial Garlemald is pretty admirable. They managed to exist despite living in a harsh environment and surrounded by enemy nations via good military strategy and subterfuge to keep their enemies distracted and maybe encite civil wars.

I was hoping that SB would make the Garleans more nuanced, but it seems pretty clear the Yoshi P wants people to dislike Garleans or at least the leadership. Anyways, I'm pretty bored with the Garleans and I hope they're dealt with by the end of ShB.

I can't and will never dislike Garleans.
Actually...
Heil Garlemald, FOR THE EMPIRE!

I think Garlemald has a chance to become a good nation, once it's able to be fully separated from certain influences. We have quite a few important characters who come from there who could work to make it a better place, such as Cid, Nero, Lucia, Maxima, and Gaius. While I'm sure not all of them would go back to stay there, Lucia could remain in Eorzea at Ishgard to help foster relations between the two nations, and Cid and Nero could have the Ironworks become a focal point for both nations' technological exchange and development. Gaius, despite his past, could in time become a noble leader of Garlemald, and with Maxima at his side I'm sure he could garner support, particularly those previously of the Populares. Of course, they would also need to make amends somehow with much of Othard and other nations throughout the Source that Garlemald previously subjugated, but working together with the Alliance could be a start. That isn't to say that these changes would happen overnight, of course, but the potential is there.

I'm excited for us to help out with the Civil War that's currently going on and hopefully set Garlemalde on the right course through it.

We know for a fact that by jumping to the different shards that we're not just limited to the Source. So even after we solve everything here (with Garlemalde being our big bad) there's always a way to move on to a new place and have new adventures. Here's hoping if that happens we get a united front with them.