4.1 Hype and Speculation

[Daralii]

What is this FF9 reference doing in my Ivalice-themed raid? I kid, I kid, but it is a nice touch and brings more fuel to the theory that the Ivalice raid tier will be a more elaborate Minstrel's Tale-like recollection of Garlean fairy tales or history (that or the Prima Vista crew ends up taking us alongside a not-really kidnapped princess to Rabanastre). Also, I was astounded by how much Rabanastre looks like...Rabanastre, those canals don't give me Garamsythe Waterway but whatever, I WAS expecting a more XIV spin on the setting.

Also also, now I'm thinking "The Legend Returns" is actually about Rauhban returning to Ala Mhigo...we'll see...

If they're dedicating an entire patch to Rauhban's return to a free Ala Mhigo, I wonder if they're setting him up to lead the provisional government. Though that begs the question of what happens to Lyse.

[Balipu]

I speculated a while back that Garlemald itself is likely to be very cultured and not necessarily as bleak in terms of architecture and so on where the inner territories are concerned compared to the outer territories.

By outer territories you mean military outposts? Yeah those aren't known for being rainbow colored and welcoming. We have only seen army stuff from the Garleans. Plus the exterior of the consulate.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Tantalus Troupe is the one who utilized the Prima Vista in IX, right? And they weren't strictly a theatre troupe and used it as a front for more nefarious/dubious means?

I can't help but wonder if our escorts in the airship are similar treasure hunters or revolutionaries.

If they are I hope we get remixes for Vamo alla Flamenco and Jesters of the Moon. Not a big fan of IX overall, but the music is godlike.

If they're dedicating an entire patch to Rauhban's return to a free Ala Mhigo, I wonder if they're setting him up to lead the provisional government. Though that begs the question of what happens to Lyse.

She dies. Of course if Raubahn returns to Ala Mhigo, we need a new Flame General. Nanano needs her bodyguard.

[Cilia]

Maybe it's just me, but aside from the story implications I'm looking forward to the new dungeon more than Ivalice... loved sunken cities since Shulva in Dark Souls II.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Tantalus Troupe is the one who utilized the Prima Vista in IX, right? And they weren't strictly a theatre troupe and used it as a front for more nefarious/dubious means?

I can't help but wonder if our escorts in the airship are similar treasure hunters or revolutionaries.

That's correct; Tantalus was a thieves' group in IX, and they used their performance of "I Want to be Your Canary" as a cover for spiriting away Princess Garnet. Though carried out at the behest of Regent Cid, the Princess actually wanted to be kidnapped and taken to Lindblum, but... well, things got complicated, and in the end they had to fight Super Saiyan 4 Kuja and an incarnation of death to stop the universe from being erased.

I'm going to be very wary of the crew, considering:

• It's the Prima Vista, a tool of political intrigue in IX.
• It's in Kugane, a city notorious for political intrigue.
• It has to do with Ivalice, a setting notorious for political intrigue.
• They're Garlean (supposedly).

Exactly what their aim is, I... could not venture a guess. There's too little information.

Raubahn and Fordola playing key roles in the MSQ! Just what I wanted. Hopefully the dungeon has something to do with it; I'd hate another patch where the MSQ is just a bunch of "go here, talk to this guy, repeat" like 3.1 was.

[lycropath]

If they're dedicating an entire patch to Rauhban's return to a free Ala Mhigo, I wonder if they're setting him up to lead the provisional government. Though that begs the question of what happens to Lyse.

Eventually returns to the Scions is probably the ideas, so if Rauhban returns to become the leader of Ala Mhigo's new government I bet Pipin will be the one to take his place among the flames, hence the whole passing of the sword part they had at the end of the main story quest.

[Daralii]

Eventually returns to the Scions is probably the ideas, so if Rauhban returns to become the leader of Ala Mhigo's new government I bet Pipin will be the one to take his place among the flames, hence the whole passing of the sword part they had at the end of the main story quest.

Then the shipping between Pippin and Nanamo can commence.

[Theodric]

By outer territories you mean military outposts? Yeah those aren't known for being rainbow colored and welcoming. We have only seen army stuff from the Garleans. Plus the exterior of the consulate.

Yeah. I quite like the architecture that we've seen so far. It manages to be similar yet different to the Allagan stuff it is inspired by. Though so far we've only really seen military bases and the like. The Consulate is an exception and is actually pretty regal looking - it reminds me of a few of the buildings I've seen where I live.

[Jyera]

I speculated a while back that Garlemald itself is likely to be very cultured and not necessarily as bleak in terms of architecture and so on where the inner territories are concerned compared to the outer territories. A Garlean Theatre Troupe - complete with a lovely take on the Prima Vista itself - serves to cement that and humanises the Garleans further. We already know, for instance, that Regula was fond of music as per the revelation in the lore book. That many Garleans are fond of theatre shows that they are not solely consumed with war and conquest like some try and portray.

Exploring the ruins beneath Loch Seid will be interesting, especially with the talk of 'mysteries unsolved'. It makes me wonder what we'll find down there.

We know they're cultured. We know they're human. Those things are not ambiguous or debatable. What we take umbrage with isn't Garleans as people--it's Garlemald as an empire and all the baggage that goes with that. You don't need to appreciate one while stanning for the other. It is not inherently paradoxical to love individual Garleans, including appreciating the goodness in some of our antagonists that makes them complex and thought-provoking characters. Not even all of current Garlean culture is inherently 'evil'--it's a pretty nice deal to have such a huge research budget and encourage young people to go into STEM careers--it's that those things are co-opted to serve purposes that are blatantly destructive, disenfranchisement, genocide, and mass exploitation among them.

Having a troupe of Garleans whose careers flourished in the arts, as opposed to strictly-speaking military, is going to be a a cultural exploration that makes me giddy. (I wonder if they are affiliated with the military, but in a morale-boosting USO-show kind of way!)

[VargasVermillion]

Having a troupe of Garleans whose careers flourished in the arts, as opposed to strictly-speaking military, is going to be a a cultural exploration that makes me giddy. (I wonder if they are affiliated with the military, but in a morale-boosting USO-show kind of way!)

I'm expecting most of them to be non-garleans, being skilled in the arts would be a surefire way of becoming a citizen without military connections. Seeing purebloods within something other than military would be interesting though since even within military they mostly take up higher ranked positions. I also expect magitek to have good applications in theater for sure.

[Lutefisk]

I wonder if those Qalyana being pissy could have something to do with the M tribe. There's a FATE in the Fringes that hints at them having some border disputes and with the Garlean presence gone the Miqo'te may have started stepping on their tails a bit more than they used to.

And who is Fordola looking at in that shot? I can't really think of anyone she would be that happy to see right now.

[Daralii]

So is it safe to assume that this is the Garlean conquest of Rabanastre?