Primal Predictions for 3.0

[Rubicon]

I believe that two new primals coming to FFXIV in the Heavensward expansion will be Knights of the Round and Midgarsormr. (THANK YOU 2.4!)

Yoshida announced during the opening keynote address of Fan Fest that 3.0 would introduce two new plot points to FFXIV: 1) The 1000 year Dragonsong War between Ishgard and the dragons of Dravnavia, and 2) The Wyrmking vs Thordan & his Knights Twleve. He also announced that there would be new primals (ssss was the sound made, like PLURAL) in 3.0. In addition, Yoshida stated that the logo art contained hints about 3.0's plot.

I believe the art is showing us more than a battle between dragoons and a dragon. I believe it's showing us either Ishgard vs the Wyrmking (Midgardsormr) or KotR vs Midgardsormr.

I think it's safe to say from the obvious hinting in Yoshida's keynote that KotR will be in the expansion. Thus far the old Final Fantasy summons have been either turned into primals (Ifrit, Garuda, etc.) or boss battles (Diabolos, Siren, Fenrir in Snowcloak for 2.4) Since "the Knights Twelve" is a major plot point, I'll go with primal for Knights of the Round. I'm currently not worried about who will summon KotR and I can't really further speculate without more teasers, maybe something from London or Toyko Fan Festivals in upcoming weeks.

So let's check Midgarsormr's lore: The official 1.0 lore video The Waning of the Sixth Sun says Midgardsormr has been asleep for centuries and was with dragons in battle versus the empire. Gamer Escape at http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Midgardsormr tells us that "was a great dragon that lived in Mor Dhona from primeval times until his death in 1562 (Sixth Astral Era) in the Battle of Silvertear Skies at the hands of the Garlean Empire's massive airship, Agrius." and also "When the Empire invaded Mor Dhona, knowing it to possess Eorzea's greatest concentration of aether, they incurred the wrath of Midgardsormr, who burst forth from the water to fulfill his purpose as its guardian. Despite fighting "with divine strength and purpose," he, and the dragons that came from Dravania to fight alongside one they revered as a king, could not overpower the might of the Empire's armada."

One can see how at a place of great concentration of aether and worshipers that a primal could appear. Bahamut has been called the Elder Primal of Dravnavia's dragons but Elder could mean one over other lesser primals. I also haven't found much to substantiate that and (without spoilers from Binding, Second, or the upcoming Third Coil) just look at the body of Bahamut from art and the 2.4 trailer: http://youtu.be/QbiFK4tcz9w?t=7m8s. Bahamut's chest seems a bit too big for the logo. Maybe we'll know more once 2.4 is out and Final Coil is beaten.

EDIT: Seems like 2.4 has told us more about Midgardsormr. A spoiler from very early in 2.4's quest line is below. You are warned.

Here's the logos and art side by side. You be the judge.






**SPOILER ALERT from Patch 2.4** (very very early in the quest line)

[TinyRedLeaf]

I suppose the only thing we can be fairly (fairly, not 100 per cent) certain about is that the new primals won't be linked to the elements (that said, though there aren't that many Final Fantasy summons which share the same element, they do exist; there's Phoenix, for example).

The story has been progressively preparing us for this development since the appearance of King Moogle Mog XII. The suggestion now is that if you pray really, really, really hard, and support your fervent hopes with wagon-loads of crystals, you could literally wish the Easter Bunny into existence as a primal. The new primals could be anything or anybody. They may not even be summons from previous Final Fantasy titles, and could possibly be original to FFXIV.

With regard to the Dragonsong War, I highly doubt we'd be dealing again with Midgardsormr (and he never was a primal, so... ), since he's literally stone dead. As for Bahamut, are we really sure he's the dragons' primal?

Knights of the Round would be exciting.

My suspicion, though, is that light- and dark-aligned primals will play a bigger role. And they may well be inspired by FFXII espers, such as Mateus, Zalera, Shemhazai and the like.

[Alenore]

Midgardsormr isn't a primal. He's pretty much dead with his skeleton still up there in Mor Dhona.
It has been confirmed countless times on this forum.

[Lebannen]

Im thinking the dragons will summon midgarsormr as a primal. He was just a great dragon, but in death he might be something more.

[Torquil]

With the "churchy" and "knight" themes of Ishgard, Alexander is always a strong contender. There's also precedent for him laying whoopass on dragons (Final Fantasy IX).

[Torquil]

"but Elder could mean one over other lesser primals"

Fern has also confirmed that an elder primal is just one that has been worshipped a very....VERY long timem.

[Martin_Arcainess]

Midgardsormr isn't a primal. He's pretty much dead with his skeleton still up there in Mor Dhona.
It has been confirmed countless times on this forum.

Yeah but Moggle Mog isn't a primal and due to Mogs praying for him he returned as one. So Midgarsomrr is yes not a primal as of yet! He's dead so who knows he might be summoned back by the Dragons as a Primal.

[Alberel]

I was under the impression that the Wyrmking was Nidhogg. Everything in both Dragoon and Ishgardian lore points at Nidhogg being the main antagonist of the expansion, and thus the dragon in the logo.

Yoshi has said he wanted to move away from Primals being the main villains of the story and now that all of the elements have been dealt with they can introduce more interesting summons with no real rush to get a certain number dealt with before the next expansion. I think the most likely summon to make an appearance here will be Alexander based on Ishgard's holy alignment.

[BristolRuss]

Yeah, it mentions in the Dragoon job quests that the Wyrmking is Nidhogg. He returns every few years, and it's up to the Azure Dragoon to repel him.

He did hint at the Knights of the Round, but I don't think they will be a primal fight. They also did confirm that one of the Primals in 3.0 is going to be a completely original one.

[LiveVoltage]

the 2.0 series focused pretty heavily on primals. 3.0 seems to be centered heavily around Dragons so the idea of adding more primals or seeing the common plot revolving around primals will most likely be benched.

I suspect for 3.0, we will be fighting Nidhogg and his boy's and/or seeing a continuation of the Ascian Arc. The Ascian's will most likely play a role in every plot till they are dealt with, but I can also see them benched for this fight as well. Eh... *shrugs*