[SPOILERS] Revelations from Patch 3.3

[Cilia]

For a rival...

We don't need Lahabrea to fill that role.

That is what the Warriors of Darkness are for. The Quest Log explicitly states upon our first meeting that, given they clearly aren't friendly, they must be rivals to us. I'm expecting them to become recurring story bosses in 4.0. (Hopefully. Any game is made better with a good rival, and I really want to waste Darklander's smug ass.)

Alternatively we have Ilberd, whose ideals and motives clash with ours despite our similar goals. He was never decisively dealt with and remains at large; the fact 4.0 is implicitly taking us to Ala Mhigo just increases the probability of this eventuality.

For the Eyes...

It's nebulous exactly what is going to happen. Nidhogg is gone for good, that much is absolutely certain. Anything else remains open to speculation - that is, anything is possible.

It's possible everyone is just going to leave them where they are.
It's possible the Ascians will retrieve them for some end.
It's possible they'll become batteries for Omega.
It's possible we'll be named an Ishgardian duke with the Eyes hanging over our fireplace.
It's possible Raubahn will get a magitek prosthetic arm that uses one as a battery.
Etc.

Dealing in possibilities is unwise for reasons explained with the Ancient Aliens .gif. Anything is possible.

Possible < Plausible < Probable. Thus far I do not consider it probable that anyone will retrieve and use the Eyes... I acknowledge the possibility, but aside from an Ascian retrieving them it strains plausibility, and I consider it probable we threw them away so the story would not become "Who can control Nidhogg's Eyes?" since they have so many potential uses as aether batteries. If we just relied on dragon eyes to solve everything we'd have a hard time moving past Ishgard due to the city-state's history with dragons, and if the villains relied on them we'd have almost no chance of stopping them without our own... and clearly we're moving on, probably to Ala Mhigo, which aside from the fact their last king was a tyrant and they've been under Garlean occupation for 20 years, we have little to no information on. (Probably no dragons though.)

Addendum: If the Ascians were so desperate for dragon eyes, they'd just go get Tiamat's. There is literally nothing stopping them, and yet she's been left alone on Azys Lla for +/- 5,000 years.

For Blanhaerz...

... he was probably just observing. I think. True, the final scene was after the battle and implicitly after Ishgard passed their reforms, but he's just standing in Coerthas, looking at the Steps of Faith, and talking to Darklander via linkpearl. Elidibus tells Darklander all is proceeding as written, then Alisae is caught eavesdropping and saved by Thancred.

However, just before hanging up Darklander tells Blanhaerz he doesn't need to remain where he is and they can meet up in "the usual place," meaning either he already had the Eyes or an Ascian is going to retrieve them at a later date. The latter is more likely given the chasm is seemingly bottomless, but... again, possibilities.

[Morningstar1337]

Eyes.

At this point, lets just assume that Nidhogg's demise rendered the eyes fragile and that they broke when we and Ameryc tossed them off the Steps of Faith. If only so that we can actually move on.

Lolorito

Still don;t think this needs to be spoilered but eh. Anyway, I agree with Berthos that this is basically him buying goodwill, and not because he is actually a decent person, not with proof of the opposite smugly stand where an aetheryte should had been.

[Nalien]

For a rival...

Eh, they strike me as more FFVIII Biggs and Wedge rivals, than anything on the level of Seymour... So far they just haven't be remotely fleshed out enough for me to really care about either, they're just there being painfully boring... They're one twirling mustache away from being complete jokes in my eyes... Not sure I even expect them to get to 4.0, I feel like they're there to conclude the Ascian plot so 4.0 can focus on Garlemald...

Seymour, on the other hand, was the kind of villain that had me going "Ugh, you again... Didn't we already kill you?", which I imagine is exactly how you'd respond if Lahabrea came crawling back... He should be dead, but he isn't, because he is Seymour... I suppose a Xth Legion Legate should fill that role later down the line, but after Crystal Tower (Koh Rabntah, specifically) I'm more incline to have a Yu Yevon inspired Xth Legate...

And yes, it's possible but perhaps not yet probably... I really don't care... I'm speculating... For fun... I'm not saying it will happen, simply that it's a possibility I'd personally like to see the story move towards... I'm allowed to voice my opinion on where the story may go, right?

On eyes

There's nothing stopping them? Except, you know, the dragon itself? Tiamat isn't trapped there, Midgardsormr mentioned that she should be able to break free, but she doesn't want to... I can't imagine, after what happened to put her in that state, that she'd meekly surrender her eyes should Elidibus come along... I imagine they've also been stopped from even attempting for the same reason Nabriales only recently made an attempt on Tupsimati, possibly even the shield around Azys Lla, depending on how OP Allag were (why else would they have needed the Key when they specifically warp Thordan away after getting it?). Like I said, Nabriales was after Tupsimati for a Rejoining, and if anything, Nidhoggs eye is more powerful (given nobody needed to sacrifice themselves to strengthen the aether blast when we used it essentially exactly the same as Tupsimati), you really think they'd pass up the opportunity to get two of those?

It's also entirely possible that this was the plan all along... I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Ascians had their hands in Thordan going after Ratatoskr, a fairly convoluted plan to obtain some powerful relics 1,000 years later, but isn't that how Ascians do? No more convoluted than what happened with Bahamut IMO...

I noticed that The Maelstorm have beastmasters in the Hullbreaker Isle. I hope Yoshida doesn't give up on pet jobs and introduce the BST job, either branching off Marauders (since they're introduced by the Maelstorm anyway) or their own advance job.

Musketeer => Beastmaster?

I feel dirty saying that... Musketeer => Scholar is the only truth... There actually were a few Musketeers kicking around in 3.3 though... Mostly in Hullbreaker (Hard), but there's that little Ishgard love story playing out that has two thugs with the weapon...

That said, the pistols themselves are fairly boring in design, can't imagine them adding variety without looking like Machinist (not sure why Machinist didn't get a Musketeer pistol as their Gold Saucer weapon)... If Beastmaster has a pistol instead of a whip though... What if they're not the main weapon? What if the pistol is effectively the same as Machinists lunch box, while their main weapon is the beast itself? Effectively XIs Jug pets... Damn, that would make relic quests extra interesting...

[Anonymoose]

Re: Lolorito and Good Will

I think of it like so:

Above all else, Lolorito is a merchant prince. He wants wealth and power, but he doesn't want to rule. He doesn't want subjects or obligations or to be burdened by the affairs of the state. He wants to make himself alone profit, while letting that trickle down through whomever will help keep that sustainable.

When there was no greater threat to the realm, Lolorito could ensure the protection Ul'dah's status quo (and thus his ability to do business) entirely with the Brass Blades. It was in his best interest to erode the Sultanate's power because he could retain control and security. But what about now? An Imperial invasion... a calamity... international politics and widespread warfare... conflict looming on the horizon.

Lolorito doesn't want any part of that. He just wants to make sure Ul'dah sees it through and comes out on top; an empowered Ul dynasty under Nanamo with the support of the Immortal Flames - even at his own expense - is a long-term investment. If Ul'dah positions itself well when the war starts, that means trade routes, supply lines, arms sales. If Ul'dah is standing when the smoke clears, that means trade monopolies, construction contracts, control of the entire realm's mercantile networks. And how many of his competitors are favored to survive that upheaval? How much of it can he absorb into the East Aldenard Trading Company? And what if we press on and take Ala Mhigo?

What's a regional rival's coinpurse and half his own now compared to all of that later? For now, Nanamo's what's best for business.

[Mieck]

Re; current threads (WOD, Ascians, Warring Triad/is Regula going to be Kefka? etc)... I'm not so sure those will run beyond 3.5x. I can't find the quote at the moment, but didn't Yoshida mention that players would not have to clear through the 2.0/3.0 stories to start 4.0? I'm sure that was their thinking. I therefore can't imagine they will want to carry very many elements over into the 4.0 story. It would be a real slow start to a story if they had to fill in new players in on content they have been able to bypass.

Of all the threads with an easy way in for new players, it's the suspected involvement of Yda and Papalymo with the Ala Mhigan resistance. If, and I stress if at this stage, 4.0 does take us in that direction, then the resistance is a likely vehicle for the player to get involved with. Y+P can either acknowledge the player if they've done 2.0/3.0, or work with them as newbies.

So, prediction time. Ascians, Warriors of Darkness, Hydfillia will all get squared away. We're going to head off from Eorzea, so it would be sensible to finish off those stories. Regula/Kefa goes mad and offs the emperor, leaving a power vacuum in Garlemald and her dominions. With the empire in an uncertain situation, the resistance seizes its moment, and thus enter the Warrior of Light. And new players just need to understand that there's a power vacuum and this is the moment for liberation.

[Yasuhiro]

Warring Triad

Unukalhai sounded pretty sinister during the end of the optional quest, he's not going to become this game's Kefka is he? He's very mysterious and it's obvious he has ulterior motives, my friends have been saying he's going to be Kekfa 2.0

[Cilia]

It would be foolish to tell people they can't speculate... For fun... I can't exactly control people on the internet; it's just not in my nature to do so, and wild speculation seems pointless to me... I tend to be more deductive, trying to figure out where the story will go as opposed to where I want the story to go... after all, framing events and possibilities to make them reach my desired outcome is usually kind of pointless; events more than likely won't play out that way... and in the end you'll just be left with disappointment, because things didn't play out how you wanted or imagined they would...

I would argue that, we don't need another reference to a past title... with Lahabrea playing Seymour... XIV is already saturated with shout-outs and references to past titles... besides, Seymour is just a specific instance of the "rival" archetype; said archetype includes other recurring bosses such as Gilgamesh, the Turks, Seifer, Beatrix (for a time), Gabranth, etc... the only thing that sets Seymour apart is his ability to assume monstrous forms after your first fight with him... that and the fact he is physically dead but the metaphysics of X let him linger far longer than he should have...

... hmm? I feel like I'm getting stuck in someone else's idiom... with overuse of ellipses...

Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh, right.

Whatever Jobs they add... they add. I don't think they're going to add [X] because it was popular in XI though. I'd also like to think the added Jobs will have flavor relevance to the area we go to, but as seen with AST and MCH that can be bent a bit.

Lolorito is a shrewd businessman, and while surrendering half of his own coffers and Teledji's entire net worth to the Sultanate is a generous move, it may benefit him in the long run. War with Garlemald is seemingly inevitable at this point, and there is no profit in being conquered. He outright says so after you resuscitate Nanamo, citing the threat Garlemald poses as the reason he didn't completely usurp authority in Ul'dah and off Nanamo as well as why it's unwise for her to put in reforms that would make Ul'dah into a republic (with all the social, political, and economic upheaval that would entail). That kind of fracture in Eorzea would be exactly the sort of thing Garlemald would take advantage of.

Without getting into spoilers, I believe it was mentioned that there's simply going to be a digest mode so people can get caught up on the story. Completing the MSQ from 2.0 - 3.x (3.55) won't be necessary to do 4.0. As not many people are invested in the story, the main draw of the game for hardcore gamers is the endgame raiding, and completing the MSQ to do said endgame raiding is rather daunting, I understand that decision.

[CyrusArjuna]

Regula/Kefa goes mad and offs the emperor, leaving a power vacuum in Garlemald and her dominions

Isn't it a little early for them to reuse the "dead emperor/power vacuum" card in Garlemald? Varis was just made emperor in 2.4 I believe, and we haven't had many encounters with him yet.

Plus we didn't even get to see Solus, so I for one would be annoyed if they introduced a new emperor just to kill him off so quickly. It could also undermine the threat level of the empire if the head honcho keeps changing every expansion.

[Kallera]

Isn't it a little early for them to reuse the "dead emperor/power vacuum" card in Garlemald? Varis was just made emperor in 2.4 I believe, and we haven't had many encounters with him yet.

It does seem like they need to do something to make the empire....either more than the bumblers they currently have been, or actually containing a greater problem that occurs through fighting them. If they just crumple like a house of cards before Eorzea I'll be very upset.

What I wish would happen(that might not) is that the resulting war that occurs with Garlemeld goes long, turning into one of attrition that the alliance is losing, causing them to be tempted to use omega, rather than it being convieniently highjacked by illberd and co. opening the door that, under the right circumstance, the GCs can be just as swayed to chaos just as random beast tribe #42.

[Dualblade]

Own theory is that by the end of the Warring Triad arc Regula will have managed to gain the powers of the Triad within himself (though weakened since he had to have them resummoned) and in his ensuing insanity attempt to kill the WoL and Emperor both...only for the Emperor to reverse it, kill Regula and take the Warring Triad power for the Empire. They won't get anything else/not too much else, but its enough to still not be a good thing.