What do you think of Ala Mhigo?

[Theodric]

-snip-

Yeah. I really, really hope that the situation is morally complex. The Garleans are very cool and interesting and deserve more than to be viewed as being little more than a generic evil empire. Ala Mhigo fell due to its pride and a lot of horrific atrocities have been committed in the name of trying to reclaim it. Everything points at that continuing to happen - especially given what happened in Ul'dah with Ilberd. I say this in pretty much any thread that touches upon Garleans but I want to be able to ally with someone like Gabranth or Drace from FFXII. A Garlean that - whilst loyal to their people and homeland - stands up for injustice and works to eliminate some of the rot within their own society whilst also opposing those who slaughter innocent Garleans/civilians.

Cid and Lucia don't count because they aren't very 'Garlean' in my eyes. They've turned their backs upon their people and homeland.

Overall, though? Ala Mhigo makes me wary. I don't think I could stomach an expansion where Ala Mhigans are the focus. I don't find Highlanders and their culture to be particularly engaging. I know it's a matter of personal tastes but they're too similar to WoW's orcs for my liking and I ended up leaving that game because of how obnoxious the story became whenever orcs became a major plot point. If handled well, however, it could be pretty interesting. We'll need more than just 'Ala Mhigo' though. Perhaps we'll get Thavarian as well?

[myahele]

I agree that it's hard to feel sorry for Ala Mhigo due to all they're rather violent disposition of the refugees we come across.

But I do feel sorry for them as a whole more than I do Ishgard.

[Dererk]

Yeah. I really, really hope that the situation is morally complex. The Garleans are very cool and interesting and deserve more than to be viewed as being little more than a generic evil empire. Ala Mhigo fell due to its pride and a lot of horrific atrocities have been committed in the name of trying to reclaim it. Everything points at that continuing to happen - especially given what happened in Ul'dah with Ilberd. I say this in pretty much any thread that touches upon Garleans but I want to be able to ally with someone like Gabranth or Drace from FFXII. A Garlean that - whilst loyal to their people and homeland - stands up for injustice and works to eliminate some of the rot within their own society whilst also opposing those who slaughter innocent Garleans/civilians.

They sent spy's into Ala Mahigo to stir up the problems it was having. Problems that could have been resolved possible. And no I highly doubt we will see such a person in the empire the only good Garlain is a turn coat.

[Theodric]

They sent spy's into Ala Mahigo to stir up the problems it was having. Problems that could have been resolved possible. And no I highly doubt we will see such a person in the empire the only good Garlain is a turn coat.

A lot of people said the same thing about Ishgard and that if we ever went there we'd go to destroy the place. Nothing implies that Garlemald is without redeeming qualities - and the story/world building has remained morally grey throughout. We don't know what's ahead of us for certain but given that there's a guy on the lore team who created the likes of Vagrant Story, FFXII and FF Tactics (all games known for morally complex characters/plot points) I think it's fair to expect the Garleans to be more than just a generic evil empire.

A lot of people like the Garleans and find them much more interesting than most of the Scions. It'd be a major disappointment if the story shifts into generic good versus generic bad.