3.1 MSQ Reaction [SPOILERS]

[Theodric]

I'm not sure how 'liberating' Ala Mhigo would be a 'high note'. The Ala Mhigans aren't the good guys, nor are the Garleans necessarily the bad guys. Quite a lot of people sympathised with Gaius' motives and wanted to ally with him rather than the Scions. If Ala Mhigo is liberated it will be through blood. Calling it now. How many atrocities have been orchestrated in the name of 'Ala Mhigo'? How many economic migrants from the region demand the world because they've been displaced willingly? It's far fromblackand white.

[Cilia]

I'm not sure how 'liberating' Ala Mhigo would be a 'high note'. The Ala Mhigans aren't the good guys, nor are the Garleans necessarily the bad guys. Quite a lot of people sympathised with Gaius' motives and wanted to ally with him rather than the Scions. If Ala Mhigo is liberated it will be through blood. Calling it now. How many atrocities have been orchestrated in the name of 'Ala Mhigo'? How many economic migrants from the region demand the world because they've been displaced willingly? It's far fromblackand white.

It clearly is, but to play Devil's Advocate...

... while Gaius had sympathetic motives on the surface, deep down he was little more than an ambitious, power-hungry conquerer like the rest of the Garleans. He had standards, and a point that Eorzeans likely turn to gods because they're not strong enough to accept hardship, but ultimately the reason he wanted to conquer Eorzea was to prove that he could do so. (It's also why he opposed Project Meteor, as using a cataclysmic weapon of mass destruction to lay waste to the land would leave nothing worth conquering.)

The Ala Mhigans are belligerent and ill-tempered, but that's likely a product of their warrior culture, and having their homeland occupied likely just makes it worse. Driving out the Garleans and repatriating the Ala Mhigans won't solve all their problems, but it would be a step in the right direction.

[Alisa180]

I'm not sure how 'liberating' Ala Mhigo would be a 'high note'. The Ala Mhigans aren't the good guys, nor are the Garleans necessarily the bad guys. Quite a lot of people sympathised with Gaius' motives and wanted to ally with him rather than the Scions. If Ala Mhigo is liberated it will be through blood. Calling it now. How many atrocities have been orchestrated in the name of 'Ala Mhigo'? How many economic migrants from the region demand the world because they've been displaced willingly? It's far fromblackand white.

I never said the liberation of Ala Mihgo itself would be a 'high note.' Actually, that was poor wording on my part and hence I've edited my post accordingly. I meant that in comparison to the lead-in to Heavenswards, I expect the lead-in to a potential Ala Mihgo expansion, and in extension the end of 3.x, to be more optimistic.

No matter which way you look at it, reaching a point where Ala Mihgo can safely serve as the main city for an expansion like Ishgard was for HW implies a *huge* victory over Garlemald by the Alliance. Which also carries plenty of other hopeful implications.