So, Zenos is more powerful than Ascians and Nidhogg?

[Lium]

And the countless other primals I've slain? Because he just wiped his arse with me in Rhalgr's Reach.

I mean, I know plot armor prevents us from beating the viceroy so early on in SB's story, but still. That was stupid. Judging by what I just saw, this guy is more powerful than Hraesvelgr, Nidhogg, every Ascian, and every primal ever born. The Warrior of Light, the chosen of Hydaelyn, the Mothercrystal, stood absolutely no chance against him at all.

Please avoid spoilers because I'm sure he gets dealt with and there's a huge reveal at some point that explains everything. I'm really not that far into SB, so I don't know.

I just know I was kind of pissed at how easily Zenos dealt with me after I've (canonically) gone against dragons, immortals, and gods. Yet I was nothing to this Garlean.

What the hell?

[Penthea]

Please avoid spoilers

Pretty much impossible to answer your question then.

[Lium]

Pretty much impossible to answer your question then.

Yeah, sorry. I guess I was just ranting. It was mostly aimed at how video games do stuff like this. I remember in Mass Effect 3 how the writers made Kai Leng beat Shepherd even though he really shouldn't have. When plot armor is as jarring as this is, it's kind of annoying.

[Sylvina]

He is channeling power from a thing. which you have not at that time yet become strong enough to beat.

[Urthdigger]

There are reasons.

[Forben]

Don't forget that the Warrior of Light didn't fight the ascians and primals alone. All the time quests have us form a group, in the story, to fight the primals, run dungeons, etc.

Against Zenos you're all alone. You're basically trying to solo a dungeon boss that would take the Warrior of Light, and 3 other allies to beat. (Saying this as an example, not a spoiler.)

I'm sure if Zenos went against, say, King Thordan by himself, Thordan would win. Yet we best Thordan with the help of allies.

[Lium]

Don't forget that the Warrior of Light didn't fight the ascians and primals alone. All the time quests have us form a group, in the story, to fight the primals, run dungeons, etc.

Against Zenos you're all alone. You're basically trying to solo a dungeon boss that would take the Warrior of Light, and 3 other allies to beat. (Saying this as an example, not a spoiler.)

I'm sure if Zenos went against, say, King Thordan by himself, Thordan would win. Yet we best Thordan with the help of allies.

Yeah, you're right. The cutscenes always make it seem like we soloed those bosses, even though if you read some of the dialogue from Alphinaud and other NPCs, we're actually forming a group of adventurers to fight those other entities. It was just kind of jarring is all.

And cool, in a way. I'll admit. Because he makes me want to level up to face him again!

[NephthysVasudan]

You click/read at your own risk and peril. *SPOILERS*

Zeno's was "enhanced" by ascian/magitek - this doesn't make him any stronger than what you think he may be. If you've been paying attention..ascians are near god-like as it is...that in their tenacious ability to just take up a new body when needed if we manage to nail one in the head. It's extremely hard to kill an ascian.

Also you really should post this in lore and you need to warn of spoilers....even though you asked not to be given any.

[Remus]

Don't forget that the Warrior of Light didn't fight the ascians and primals alone. All the time quests have us form a group, in the story, to fight the primals, run dungeons, etc.

Against Zenos you're all alone. You're basically trying to solo a dungeon boss that would take the Warrior of Light, and 3 other allies to beat. (Saying this as an example, not a spoiler.)

I'm sure if Zenos went against, say, King Thordan by himself, Thordan would win. Yet we best Thordan with the help of allies.

See the whole bring group thing is so weird that I don't believe it. There are many situations where bringing a group doesn't make a lot of sense and I just see it as a game mechanic. For example Nabriales (cant remember how to say his name) it's presumed you fought him alone.The story presumes once the portal opened and Minfillia got taken you went straight in after talking to Moenbryda. Also when you fight Lahabrea and Igeyorhm, they don't mention any group and when you beat them they mention they lose due to how strong YOU are in the Blessing of Light now. Also when you fight Nidhogg you had the power of the eye + the Blessing of Light, that's what gave you the strength to beat him anyone else would just be cannon fodder and basically won't hurt him really because he is at full power now.

Please don't presume we always have a group just because we queue for it because that is plainly false. I won't deny maybe some of them we had groups but for a good majority we don't. We didn't bring anyone with us to Kugane (except the main story characters) so how can we bring people to fight Susano? The journal says nearby people fishing but I don't believe that for a second and seems to be only there to say something snarky for people that think we bring people to primal fights all the time. To put it simply there are just too many situations where bringing a group just would not make sense or be feasible.

Just so you know the Blessing of Light and the Echo are 2 different things. People presume they are the same but they are not.

The Echo: The Echo is a psychic power that many people in Eorzea posess. Members of the 1.0 organization "The Path of the Twelve" had this ability, and they made up the bulk of the Scions in 2.0. This power does a few things. Firstly, it allows for the "transcendence of the soul" - the ability to enter the minds and past of individuals and see into their memories or see visions of the past. Secondly, it allows panlingualism - the ability to understand the raw concepts and meaning behind languages. Thirdly, it provides the soul armour against external interference, meaning that one cannot be tempered when one has the Echo - this is precisely WHY Minfilia sends you and other path walkers to investigate the primal summonings. People like Thancred, Y'shtola, Alphinaud, Alisaie and such (not including Krile and a few others we know that have the echo) do not posses the Echo, and are thus vulnerable to the effects of tempering. We have learned that we can use the Echo to protect others from tempering around us. This still doesn't change the fact that they are still vulnerable to it.

Hydaelyn's Blessing: The first time she pulls you into her crystal realm Hydaelyn gives you a task: "The power to banish the darkness dwelleth in the crystals of Light, go forth Adventurer and claim them" (probably paraphrased). Throughout the 2.0 main story, the adventurer accumulates several crystals from various places. Fire, Earth, and Wind are gained by beating Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda respectively. Water is gained first, very early in the story after beating an ascian's summoned creature. Lightning is gained from the Sylph elder after you rescue them from Toto-rak. Ice is gained from beating Isgebind in Stone Vigil. Once all six are collected, the adventurer can be said to have Hydaelyn's blessing - also called the Blessing of Light.

The Blessing is far less understood than the Echo because the Adventurer (the WoL, us) is the only person with access to it (Ysayle was on the road to getting it but you know what happened). This blessing fulfills an important role in the 2.0 story's climax - it allows us to strip Lahabrea out of Thancred and also it protects us from Ultima's blast with help from Hydaelyn. In addition I seem to remember it "pulls" the Primals out of Ultima in order for us to strip Ultima of its powers. This power has seen limited use since 2.0's conclusion because our connection to the Mothercrystal has been tenuous at best (not anymore). The adventurer "activates it" as a shield against Middy at the top of Keeper, to which he responds that we're important somehow. He then seems to ask Hydaelyn if it's okay to borrow her blessing to gain a new body for the time being as Mini Middy. In doing this however, he strips us of a defense against Ascians that we thought was vital. However, it is likely that we no longer need it to confront them as we managed to kill Nabriales without it.

That's the in story reason behind the revoking of the blessing. Narratively speaking, I think that us losing the blessing and gaining Middy is more of a thematic representation of us gaining a new spiritual guide - Midgardsormr, since Hydaelyn was very weak and she does not have the strength to guide us any more, which has changed now due to getting Light back + with the First Shard basically giving a ocean full of it.

[BluexBird]

The player being the main part of the show is the whole reason I like the story better than WoW's story.

Eh, some people prefer being the main hero, others like WoW's style where you're just there helping. Personally I find both styles to be fun. But I seriously don't understand people who make a big deal out of it. "You're actually THE HERO that saved the world!" Oh yeah? What about the other players playing the game? It just doesn't make any sense. It's a lot more realistic to be part of the fight. If you ACTUALLY want to be the hero, go play Skyrim or The Witcher 3.

We didn't bring anyone with us to Kugane (except the main story characters) so how can we bring people to fight Susano?

If you actually read the dialogue properly, you would have noticed that the first thing that happens when we wake up Susano, is that everyone buggers off while telling you to "get your group of friends" to bring him down. And yes, this happens in L I T E R A L L Y every single non-instance fight - no exceptions. Just read the dialogue. Hell, even read the description on the Duty Finder! Sometimes it even gets mentioned there that you're not about to do it alone.

Anyways, as for why you get your ass busted by Zenos the first few times, some people have mentioned it already but:

1. He's stronger than you. Yeah sure, "levels aren't canon" and all that, but he's still stronger when you first meet, and throughout your adventures in Othard you manage to strengthen up a bit.
2. You're fighting him alone. And as I mentioned earlier, you usually don't end up fighting main villains one on one.

On top of those two things, consider that there might be an indirect implication that he is receiving some form of external assistance or power boost. It is not yet clear if this is the case or not, but if you look at the past encounters you've had with Garleans, you can clearly tell that something isn't quite right with Zenos.