When are the Scions gonna get the memo...

[Yuyuka3]

I believe the echo is probably the strongest power one could have in the world of ffxiv, it's just that... we don't try it that much for whatever reason. At first the echo was just something that gave you some hints of the past,then we learn that it makes us immune to primals influence, then by the end of ARR we learn that you could use it to become virtualy immortal, then now in SB we learn that it can enchance one's combat performance AND is also a stronger version of the primals influence to the point that you could even control primals themselves. Who knows what comes next, and who knows why the hell we don't go and try to develop it ourselves?

They explained to you already that nobody really knows what the Echo is capable of, and that part of their job is to study it and find out. I'm also not sure about the 'makes you stronger' part... I more got the feeling that the ability to manipulate aether, something the Garleans lack, made Zenos stronger (and Fordola, too, looked to me like she was unable to do that in any meaningful way before). Also, we had other instances of people turning into primals before, and while the circumstances there were different (they summoned the primal themselves, inside their bodies), I feel it's actually the same mechanism at its bottom. As in, it's more about your force of will helping you control the primal, less the Echo. The Echo just makes it that you actually have a chance to pitch your will against the primal, by preventing them from tempering you. Arenvald seems to be a pretty good example of this, since he is nowhere near our level of strength despite bearing the Echo. He isn't the only one, either, btw, there are (or were, some died in the Waking Sands ambush) quite a few more Echo bearers in-canon.

Also, I feel you guys are confusing the Echo and the Blessing of Light, which seem to be two different pairs of shoes. The Echo basically everyone might have; but the Blessing is what sets us appart from all the other Echo bearers. That's made quite clear, I think, with Ysayle. We always knew she had the Echo, but we only found out she had the Blessing, too, when she used it to sacrifice herself for our cause.

That being said, yes, there are some points that seem to imply the WoL isn't quite human anymore, or never was... but then, shouldn't Midgardsormr, for example, know that? And the Ascians? If we truly aren't mortals (anymore), then why are they still calling us that?

[PArcher]

@Nezia: Its just strange that the scions or us the WoL never tried to do more with the echo. After everything we saw others do with it, I am kinda curious why we dont try to get better at it? I mean maybe the scions are not interested in that (they just throw us at the problems) but the WoL seems to be a more curious person, so shouldnt they at least try it? Especially when you have the lives of billions of people on your shoulders (as the original world). I do hope that Zenos show awoke an interest in it.

I feel like learning about the Echo is going to be a major theme in the coming patches. I also get the feeling someone (coughElidibuscough) is going to use our curiosity against us in some way...

[Nezia]

snip

Yeah, but just like I said, the scions have been studying the echo for quite some time now and what did they learn by themselves? That you can see the past with it, that's literally everything the scions discovered about the echo, they don't even know how to control this.

Zenos was only working with artificial stuff and still learned how to use it in FAR more usefull ways.

[PArcher]

Yeah, but just like I said, the scions have been studying the echo for quite some time now and what did they learn by themselves? That you can see the past with it, that's literally everything the scions discovered about the echo, they don't even know how to control this.

Zenos was only working with artificial stuff and still learned how to use it in FAR more usefull ways.

He also likely had help from Elidibus. A lot of help, judging by how friendly he is with Varis.

[Yuyuka3]

He also likely had help from Elidibus. A lot of help, judging by how friendly he is with Varis.

I got the same impression. Also, lets not forget that the Sahagin priest mentioned before ALSO learned how to use the Echo from the Ascians; as did Ysayle with her Shiva summoning and Thordan, too. They are far ahead in knowledge about this than we are, which makes quite a bit of sense considering they are literally ancient beings and we mortals have to rediscover use of that ability every time a new Calamity draws near and it starts to reappear because the knowledge of it gets forgotten (maybe erased?) in the meantime every single time.

[Clethoria]

Ultimately, our character has no voice, and oftentimes little choice, usually this is so that the player can imagine what their character would be saying in their stead to some degree. -snipped-

My headcanon is that I'm either saying "meow meow meow meow meow" or something along the lines of "Aymeric pls, marry me/Gods you're so hot." Not like the game can prove otherwise. Dialog choices are nice but change absolutely nothing. So why not?

As for notoriety, I think we're along the lines of myths. I mean, who can honestly prove what we did was legit? Imagine some Lominsan hick hearing tales of how I punched out Shiva or Midgar Zolom being my minion and my mount. They'd think it'd be the craziest drunken tale ever. So until I walk into Garlemald fists/sword/guns/book's blazing and power bomb everything in sight, I don't see why the uninformed would put forth the effort to make a legend more than that. Also almost everything we fight dies so not like Garuda's gonna fly around and say "Guys watch out for WoL, they're tough."

[Rosenoire]

My headcanon is that I'm either saying "meow meow meow meow meow" or something along the lines of "Aymeric pls, marry me/Gods you're so hot." Not like the game can prove otherwise.

Thanks for this. Now I'm going to wonder if every Miquo'te NPC is really saying "meow meow meow" and we're just getting the translation.

As for notoriety, I think we're along the lines of myths. I mean, who can honestly prove what we did was legit? Imagine some Lominsan hick hearing tales of how I punched out Shiva or Midgar Zolom being my minion and my mount. They'd think it'd be the craziest drunken tale ever. So until I walk into Garlemald fists/sword/guns/book's blazing and power bomb everything in sight, I don't see why the uninformed would put forth the effort to make a legend more than that. Also almost everything we fight dies so not like Garuda's gonna fly around and say "Guys watch out for WoL, they're tough."

I do feel like the Imperials should be a wee bit cautious, though. Forget the primals; the WoL took down Gaius van Baelsar, the best the Imperial Legions had. Between that and our general Imperial body count, I feel like even the well-trained, disciplined Garlean military might be a wee bit nervous when the WoL rolls up.

[Clethoria]

I do feel like the Imperials should be a wee bit cautious, though. Forget the primals; the WoL took down Gaius van Baelsar, the best the Imperial Legions had. Between that and our general Imperial body count, I feel like even the well-trained, disciplined Garlean military might be a wee bit nervous when the WoL rolls up.

Considering the kind of damage we do and who we do it with, I don't think it's been as noticeably wide spread with witnesses until now. Our trials have mostly been secluded and with the main party/other adventurers. Praetorium and Castrum left few survivors and a lot of our otherworldly dealings aren't exactly in easy view. I know I could be forgetting an instance though.

Doma Castle and Ala Mhigo on the other hand has imperials getting a chance to flee, be helped by us, and will not be something they can put under wraps. If our Stormblood feats don't put us on propaganda posters then I dont think anything will.

[Shurrikhan]

This is one of those areas where other game's "Game Over" screen, sometimes even followed upon reset by a rapid rewinding and one's character having apparently just received some manner of vision—or at least a flicker of a migraine—would seem to make more sense.

And I feel like XIV could actually explain it all away as such, if not for there being a melee or two still lying dead—not just incapacitated, but actually labelled as dead—at the end of a fight.

Doma Castle and Ala Mhigo on the other hand has imperials getting a chance to flee, be helped by us, and will not be something they can put under wraps. If our Stormblood feats don't put us on propaganda posters then I dont think anything will.

Yet prior to that, despite the amount of times we'd complained about Imperial brutality, we'd also butchered plenty of fleeing or overwhelmed Imperials.

[Vexander]

Part of me suspects that our characters will, canonically, die at the end of the Zodiark storyline. BIG funeral service and all ensuing at the end of that expansion. Real tear jerker.

Then after the credits are done rolling, we appear before Hydaelyn who lets us return to Eorzea, reborn, and once more, the world cannot remember our face or our name, just a shadowy silhouette before a blinding brilliant light. We stand before the, 'Tomb of Light,' where we and our many artifacts are interred (soul crystals, artifact sets, etc) and become one of those Adventurers to inherit the Warrior of Light's legacy as the soul crystals acknowledge us and impart their power to us again. Probably will happen about the same time they remove classes.

What then? We go on a new Adventure, to the New World, to the West, free at last from the burden of being the Warrior of Light.