What do you think of Ala Mhigo?

[Morningstar1337]

I basically imagine that sometime around 3.5 we'll get a message from Mask and Shorty that the stupid resistance has summoned Rhalgr against their advice and now he's going on a rampage. That way when we do get to the city we can fight tempered Ala Mhigans, the Garlean occupiers, and big papa Rhalgr himself. Maybe we'll have some Ascian or Garlean adviser (Midgardsormr style) with us laughing in our ear and saying stuff like "lol witness the true form of your gods jerk."

Alternatively, Warring Triad is gonna mess something up really bad and lead us to Meracydia.

INB4 someone in-game says "Where is your god now?" as Rhalgr rampages as God King of the new Theocracy pf Ala Mhigo

[myahele]

Be like the Domans? You mean productive and industrious, eager to actually work and build up a new City-State?

Because Doman don't have a place to call home now. If Doma still existed you can bet that's all what they'll be talking about. We don't really know how they acted when prior to their failed coup. Even then it was another Doman that betrayed them

Let's not forget that not all Ala Mhigans are resistance members. Many have moved on and found success ... but they never seem to get anywhere due to Lolorito and syndicate members (if you did the Ul'dah storyline) or past prejudices like seen in Gridania. The Syndicate benefitted greatly due to the influx of cheap labor due to these refugees.

[Theodric]

It's not really Ul'dah's responsibility to look out for the displaced Ala Mhigans. Some of them have made a living for themselves but many seem to believe that the world owes them quite a bit. I've never had much sympathy for economic migrants though. You'd think that a nation that values strength and brute force would more easily accept defeat and control at the hands of a more powerful nation. After all, they sought to control Eorzea.

[Rocl]

Some Domans remained loyal to Garlemald anyway - suggesting that Garlean rule wasn't completely horrific.

The only Doman I can think of who remained loyal to Garlemald is Gekkai, who helped overthrow Doma and was given a place of power in the Garlean Empire to save his own skin. He saved the shinobi village while burning the rest of Doma. I'm not sure this is a positive note in the Garlean's favor.

I'm a little surprised about all the Ala Mhigan hate, but I suppose it's more about the sheer length of their bellyaching about their lost homeland, 5 real people years, yikes. Without the Ala Mhigan Resistance, we'd have no Scions of the Seventh Dawn, no Path of the Twelve--Minfilia wouldn't be in Eorzea but probably brutalized or brainwashed in Ala Mhigo. The Circle of Knowing would have probably still tried to stave off the Garlean invasion, but they'd be bereft of the Echo-users (there's the Students of Baldesion, but how often did they really do anything? After all remember greater Sharlayan's nonintervention policy). We sell Minfilia short a lot around here, but her presence in Eorzea has undoubtedly changed the Realm's history for the better.

[Alisa180]

People have made comparisons about the hate towards the Ala Mhigans with the hate towards the Ishgardians before the introduction of Aymeric and Heavensward. I want to point out that's a bit of a unfair comparison.

During the initial Coerthas quest chain in 2.0, we were introduced to a character who pretty much defied all stereotypes of Ishgardians before that point: Lord Haurchefant. And even the more 'steroetypical' Ishgardian, Lord Drillemont, warmed up to us significantly by the end of the quest chain, swallowing his pride to admit he was wrong about us and gladly grand us access to the Stone Vigil (after having been staunchly opposed to it when we first met him). Even before Aymeric was introduced, one got the impression that while the ruling authority in Ishgard was jerkish, the people themselves weren't that bad (appropriately leading us to take out said leadership). Between Drillemont, Haruchefant, and Francel, they were actually a varied bunch within the 2.0 Coerthas story.

In this way, the criticism of the Ala Mhigans we've met so far is valid. Almost all of them are hung up on the loss of their homeland in some way or another. You could argue Ishgard was hung up on the Dragonsong War, but I point again to the variety of characters we got despite that during 2.0. Whereas the Ala Mhigans have been nigh universally belligerent and 'warlike', and before you ask Raubahnn is not excluded from that since he's a former gladiator and very much the most 'combative' of the Alliance leaders. We've yet to get any real strong personalities that either defy or at least subvert these stereotypes.

That said, I suspect we'll start warming up to them come the Ala Mhigo expansion. But I can't blame anyone for not being too fond of them. Illberd certainly didn't help their case either (To be fair, though, he's an asshole even by Ala Mhigan standards).

[Sevyrr]

Hmmm.
I can only inject that I'd love to visit Ala Mhigo, what with playing a Highlander and being engrossed in the Monk storyline (and being obsessed with monks in every FF job game).

I came here to ask a question though, that is perhaps off-topic, but maybe not.
From whence does the mention of summoning Rhalgr come? I've been playing under the impression the Twelve would not be summon-able in the same way as the Primals, but as I write this I realise they probably are....
Anyway, are there pointers to this in some previous story point I've forgotten, or is it a hangover from 1.x, or... what?

[myahele]

It was during the early 2.0 quest: "Big Trouble in Little Ala Mhigo" where Little Ala Mhigans tried and failed to steal the crystals from Amal'jaa in order to summon Rhalgr

Wilred reveals that it was the masked stranger who first prompted him and his friends to entertain the notion of summoning Rhalgr. But what did Lahabrea—if indeed it was he—hope to accomplish by putting great power in the hands of the unworthy?

What we later find out in 3.0 is that anything can be summoned and turned into a Primal: Bahamut and Shiva being the best examples of Primals not truly being who they're based off as confirmed by people who actually knew them. All you need is aether + belief/faith + ??? = Primal

With that said, the Rhalgr that the Ala Mhigan would have summoned would not be the true Rhalgr. Just another Primal.

[Kotemon]

No idea, I've never been to or seen it yet. If its anything like Little Ala Mhigo I'm thinking probably more of the same in a bigger mountain.

[Kaiser-Ace]

No idea, I've never been to or seen it yet. If its anything like Little Ala Mhigo I'm thinking probably more of the same in a bigger mountain.

Well, whinny old men sitting on their asses swaping stories about "The Good Old Days" and moronic young folk calling for a "Revolution" when they only have around 20 people in their "Rebellion" is probably an awfully rare occurrence in the likely approaching 40 years since the Garlens took over. So I doubt we'll be seeing anything like Little Ala Mhigo in Ala Mhigo Proper.

Probably a lot more "Slaughter the Beast Men!" and "Down with the Primal Scourge!!" going on though. Certainly no talk of summoning a false deity in the image of Rahlger the Destroyer as Garlen Society frowns on Eikon worship.

[Theodric]

My concern is that Highlander culture is pretty obnoxious. It's alright in small doses but I don't feel like it has enough strength to carry an expansion by itself. We'll need much more than that - though the question is, what will that be? Thavarian (?) has been mentioned a few times lately and we've even gotten a dance and clothing from that region as well as a couple of NPC's. It's not too far away from Ala Mhigo if I'm not mistaken so we could end up going there as well.