[3.4 SPOILERS] Doomed unless Neutral?

[Jandor]

I don't think light & dark equal good & bad. The light and the dark are neutral.

The WoD overused light as a tool, I definitely didn't get the impression that it was their good intentions that were to blame for the problems on their world.

[myahele]

I wonder what will the Scions and WoL do now with this knowledge? Will they allow "darkness" to win every once in a while, now? Because the base case scenario of killing Asciens, Primals and dismantling corrupt government will lead to yet another Flood of Light world.

Anyways, I think this type of scenario is what Hydaelyn have always wanted. Prior to her going silent, Hydaelyn has effectively primed WoL and WoL to "banish the darkness" and by the end of 2.0 she even says to "spread our light to all creation" So even without Her guidance, both WoLs will what they've been told to do unless another party tells them The Truth.

That said, I think she did what she did to placate both sets of WoL, since she really can't risk not having any warriors to defend/ do her bidding; especially one's that are so successful as the 1st and Source WoLs

[Alleo]

The problem is that right now the Ascians have the winning hand. We are Hydaelyn's trump card and last hope so its not like we are in danger to create too much Light right now. She was only able to help after we gave up a crystal of Light so its not like we need to hold back (at least not right now). I think the WoD just warned us what might happen if we turn the tide too much but the question that remains is, how exactly are we going to get balance?

We cant just lay down once in a while and let the Ascians do their thing. First, we dont even have a balance right now, so not stopping them would tip the side even more to darkness. Can we also just stand back and watch people die? And lets not forget that the Ascians try to summon primals again and again thus weakening her further and creating more imbalance. So in a way we have to win right now to get even. And every big catastrophe, which is what the Ascians wants (the white one does not truly stop them) will destroy another world, which will kill millions of people. Maybe if we say that dieing is still better than turning into the void but it would still leave quite the bitter taste if this is how the story will go..How do we even know if we have balance or not?

And somehow sending Minfilia there to stop the Light from spreading might save the WoD's world from its fate, so do we even need Zodiark to have balance? Wouldnt it be possible to just power up Hydaelyn again and she will be the one that will create balance? I mean she does not want her children to die and she is able to take back the Light. Maybe that too easy or even impossible but the new patch at least make it sound like she was able to save the world on her own and did not need Darkness to stop the Light. Or maybe at the end we own crystals of Light and Darkness and we will use them to create a lasting balance without any Ascians being alive to destroy it and with Zodiark still being banished.

[Belhi]

I think this will be the dilemma going forward for the Scions and the WoL. However I think that is Hydaelyn's intent. She has, since the start, pushed us to learn the truth of the world for ourselves. I think she realises she herself cant achieve a balance and so has sought to create a way in which mortals can find a way. Regardless, I think in the end the Ascians and Zodiark are going to be a roadblock. One way or another, the conflict between Hydaelyn and Zodiark seems to be one that isn't resolvable through negotiation which means finding another way.

That seems to be the WoL's way and the one that most appeals to me. Given a choice between two bad fates the WoL decides to find, and if necessary, make a third.

[Morningstar1337]

I supposed that depends on if Hydaelyn and Zodiark are so tied to the concept of Light and Dark that the termination of one would also be the termination of the respective element.

Think about how gods usually work in more polytheistic religions, instead of one almighty god that is responsible for all creation, we have a set of gods that are claimed to be tied to one concept. With that said, the key word is "claimed". The Primals themselves represent several concepts but their status of glorified tuplas means that their concept's existence is independent of their's (for example, no matter how many times one may slay Ifrit, Fire would still exist). We still don't know exactly what Hydealyn and Zodiark are, but they seemed to be painted as closer to actual gods than the Primals.

A alternate theory being that as Hydaelin is the planet, Zodiark's references in certain poems and exposition would make him...Menphina, the Moon. In this case if we are to assume that A), both star and moon are tied to the life of their respective entity and B), Moons work the same or similar to how they work in Real Life (which Dalamud's fall and its effect might be evidence for), then we can expect apocalyptic disasters (Especially tidal changes) if Zodiark dies and takes Menphina with him

[Jonnycbad]

This is how ffxi ended as well. There was no counterbalance to Altana (the Hydalean of ffxi) because Promathia (the zodiark equivalent) was killed/chained, so the Cloud of Darkness came to balance it or something to prevent a flood of light or something

[Alleo]

I have nothing against taking some inspiration from the stories of other games, but I really hope that if FFXI really ended that way (never played it) that they will choose another way or this would end up telling the story twice just with other names.

[Alberel]

I have nothing against taking some inspiration from the stories of other games, but I really hope that if FFXI really ended that way (never played it) that they will choose another way or this would end up telling the story twice just with other names.

In FFXI the revelation of the imbalance didn't come about until long after the darkness (Promathia) had been defeated. Here in FFXIV we've been given that revelation well in advance of any sort of victory for the Light so I'm hoping there will be some major differences in how the stories play out now. The only satisfying ending based on what we know at present would, in my opinion, be for Hydaelyn and Zodiark to be restored to their original form somehow and thus end the polarity entirely.

[tymora]

Balance between light/dark is based on the Taoist philosophy of Yin and Yang.

[Alleo]

The only satisfying ending based on what we know at present would, in my opinion, be for Hydaelyn and Zodiark to be restored to their original form somehow and thus end the polarity entirely.

Well if this still allows us humans to exists than yes this would probably be a nice outcome. I am just happy if its not a uhm copy paste or if Hydaelyn ends up as the bad one because I like her and would find it sad if she turns out to be bad.