Warrior of Darkness: alter ego or something completely different?

[Nalien]

Even though IX is by no means a bad game, its timing and setting was too off to be well-remembered.

Eh, all I'm saying is that this is how you introduce Alexander, not... Whatever we have... Though I guess Alexander is kinda a Final Fantasy IX reference at the moment... The Enigma Codex seems vital to his proper summoning, and it appears to have been broken, much like the Alexanders gem in IX... Shame that gives us a functionally retarded Primal while we wait for 3.4 though, I look forward to the day when he actually has crawled out of that river, but in the mean time he is probably the most lackluster incarnation of Alexander ever...

Plebs may not remember the best Final Fantasy, but I certainly do. Seems odd to have references to the really old ones (lets face it, most were introduced to the series with VI or VII), but practically nothing for IX... We have Firion stuff for crying out loud... I didn't bat an eyelash at Clouds get up, Final Fantasy VII is insanely overrated and I understand that, but Firion? Seriously?!

So much potential for Final Fantasy IX content in this game... I already think the AP system in that game is the perfect way to introduce a more in depth stats system (AP was Spiritbonding before Spiritbonding was cool), then you've got the side-content in that game... I guess the Mail Mog quests were meant to invoke memories of MogNet, but that's about all I can recall XIV doing... Chocobo Hot and Cold? Festival of the Hunt? Heck, I'd consider my Wind-up Sun a reference to the Friendly Monsters of IX, but they never followed it up with more... Slap Stellazzio coins in this game and I'll lose my mind. Seriously, how do we have so much Firion, yet not even something simple like a performance group named Tantalus? Gubal Library gets off easy for referencing my other favorite Final Fantasy (V), but you can bet I'm still peeved about Tantarian not showing up... My hopes rest on the hard mode for that...

Arg, the injustices of this world...

I don't really know what to make of it, yet, myself.

Certainly an interesting find, can't believe I didn't notice it until now... Still doesn't really explain what Darklander was doing up there though... I suspect Darklander is Derplander, having learned whatever truth Elidibus alluded to all those years ago, and the lunar surface is part of that truth... Similar to how Estinien couldn't deny the truth about Ishgard having visited Zenith, perhaps Derplander couldn't deny the truth Elidibus presented after a lunar stroll...

(I'm still hoping he was just looking for Hummingways to try to shed the name Derplander, though)

[Anonymoose]

I'm still pretty confused about the popular theory origins (which probably means you're right given the last few patches, lmao), but let me see if I have the foundational framework right:

Before the Calamity, Derplander was both a unique individual and a representative of adventurers. But, afterwards, the unique individual Derplander joined Elidibus and became Darklander, but the Derplander aesthetic is still used as the representative of adventurers as DRGlander? So, in that theoretical framework they used to be one in the same, but no longer are?

Derplander (Person + Icon)

↳Darklander (Person)
↳DRGlander (Icon)

And this contrasts to Enkidoh's theory, where Derplander has been COPIED by dark aether?

Derplander (Person + Icon) → DRGlander (Person + Icon)

↳Darklander (Copy)

[Cilia]

snip

I'd like more IX references too, I'm just saying I understand why it's not brought up often or referenced despite the fact that it was a very good game. It doesn't get the love it deserves, I'll give ya that, but it just lacks the memorability of some other titles, especially since it will forever be in the shadow of X.

I'd try to avoid something like AP stat boosts, though, because that was basically what the Alexandrite part of the Zodiac Weapons was. Sorta. Everyone will criticize you if you don't optimize, if you're stuck with certain boosts you don't perform optimally, etc. Minigames and stuff would be neat; tie the Stellazio in to a quest or something, guys! Like... relic weapon quest!

A Memoria-style dungeon / raid would be amazing, but they'd probably have to save that for the very end of the game since I get the feeling Eorzea's / Hydaelyn's history far back spills a lot of beans about the game's overarching myth arc. I think I remember somewhere they said they want XIV to last 10 years, so... keep waitin'.

The moon rock resembling the Zodiark statue from the Chrysalis is an interesting find... though, it doesn't really advance any of my hypotheses, which I will keep to myself due to their fragility and verbosity. Suffice to say that even if that moon rock is a broken-down Zodiark statue it doesn't affect one of my hypotheses since I've considered the fact that Elidibus and Darklander were standing on the moon to be an important thing in and of itself.