Revelations from Patch 4.3

[LineageRazor]

My thoughts on the new content... (Dunno if we still need to hide text at this point, but no harm!)
Main Scenario:

I was actually pretty satisfied with how they handled Yotsuyu's plotline. I'll be the first to admit that I was skeptical of the whole amnesia angle, but I kind of liked the storyline teasing us with the idea that she could live out her life in her new identity, only for that chance to be swept away by her brother's machinations - the same brother partly responsible for her pain in the first place. It was good to see her get her revenge against him, and to ultimately face justice for her own evil deeds. I appreciated that Tsuyu was still a part of her after her return to villainy - and noted that even after that return, the only people she wound up tormenting and killing were the people directly responsible for her pain. There were no more scapegoats. Whether that was Tsuyu's influence, or simply lack of opportunity, I cannot say, but I like to imagine the former.

I wasn't surprised to see Asahi die so soon after his introduction. He didn't really seem intended to be a character with a great deal of depth. He was a hate sink, and while I still maintain that he should not have been able to get under my character's skin the way he did, it was satisfying to see him get his comeuppance at Yotsuyu's hands. It would have been nice if he hadn't been quite dead yet when Maxima stepped in and let us know that he'd be sharing the REAL story of what happened, in order to further a chance at peace - that would have been a great note for the guy to check out on, that not only had he paid with his life, in the end he'd bought nothing with it as he had failed to accomplish the task Zenos had assigned to him.

I think there's no further question that "Zenos" is an Ascian (likely Elidibus himself, which would explain Varis's shock at his reveal earlier) possessing Zenos's dead body. The fact that he taught Asahi how to summon is pretty much a dead giveaway, even if we hadn't strongly suspected it before. I was sort of bemused at the easy capitulation on Varis's part on the whole primal-summoning thing:
Varis: "How dare you summon a primal!"
Zenodibus: "Pff, there was no risk. Besides, I did it for the sake of the world."
Varis: "Okay, whatever."
What earthly reason would Varis have to trust in Elidibus's benevolence? I suppose there may not actually be much Varis could DO about Elidibus, so maybe angry glaring is the extent of his ability to show disapproval?

I loved the surprise revelation that REAL Zenos is still around, and had apparently jumped into another's body. I thought that was a great callout to the "immortal" Sahagin Elder we encountered during the Leviathan storyline. I also appreciated that it was apparently not intentional on Zenos's part; he seemed vaguely disappointed to still be alive. It makes sense; he'd fulfilled his life's goal, found his worthy adversary, and been defeated by them.

The scene in the Burn was great, though I'll admit that until I came to the forums, I'd completely missed that the Shadowhunter was likely Gaius. Sure, I saw the mask, but I didn't connect it to Gaius's mask at the time, and thought it was merely an unusual Ascian mask. Now that I know, though, it seems pretty clear that either this is Gaius himself, or someone close to him.

Ridorana Lighthouse:

Did not much appreciate the wine fetch quest. The Ivalice references mostly went over my head, and while I understood that the quest was meant to poke a bit of fun at the playerbase, its amusement factor didn't match its annoyance factor.

Was amused at what a tremendous douchebag Ramza is; it's definitely clear that naming someone after a guy doesn't mean that person's gonna be anything like the guy. I get the feeling they were playing his bad attitude up extra hard, so it'd be crystal clear that a personality change had happened when he touched the Auracite.

Was sad to learn that this game's Ashe is apparently dead. I mean, she COULD still be alive, and her death was faked or whatever, but given that the person whose arms she died in was convinced enough at her death, I'm inclined to believe it's for real.

The Four Lords:

The story was pretty much just fluff to pass the time and I don't have much of an opinion on it. I noticed that others in this thread were talking about how surprising it was that Soroban could become an Auspice, and how it might have to do with him being (as a beastman) part animal - but isn't Tenzen a human auspice? That was the impression I got from earlier cutscenes, but maybe I was sloppy in my reading...

Namazu:

Enjoying this story a great deal more than I expected to. I'd always felt like the Namazu were a sort of lazily thrown-together race, given that their models barely have any expressiveness or points of motion, but they're starting to grow on me. Seigetsu's intellectual elitism is a particular hoot.

[Vulcwen]

The Four Lords:

The story was pretty much just fluff to pass the time and I don't have much of an opinion on it. I noticed that others in this thread were talking about how surprising it was that Soroban could become an Auspice, and how it might have to do with him being (as a beastman) part animal - but isn't Tenzen a human auspice? That was the impression I got from earlier cutscenes, but maybe I was sloppy in my reading...

So about that:

It's surprising that apparently a beasttribe can become an auspice, but then, they're turtle-people, so perhaps their lifespan is large enough that some individuals can get to the point they obtain auspice powers. Tenzen as far as I understood was a warrior of light (having the echo, having a crystal, the auspices mentioning our WoL is similar to him).

[LineageRazor]

So about that:

It's surprising that apparently a beasttribe can become an auspice, but then, they're turtle-people, so perhaps their lifespan is large enough that some individuals can get to the point they obtain auspice powers. Tenzen as far as I understood was a warrior of light (having the echo, having a crystal, the auspices mentioning our WoL is similar to him).

Pretty sure it's more than just the longevity of the species. If that were the case, there's no way that any tiger (Byakko) would ever become an auspice. Tigers rarely live longer than twenty-five years, far short of the necessary span to become an auspice. There was something special about Byakko that gave him the potential to become one, and I presumed that that specialness applied to Tenzen, as well. The same applies to most of the other species we see in the Four Lords storyline.

As for Soroban, bear in mind that the box aged him so that he could become an auspice, but age isn't what kills people. It's the age-associated breakdown of bodily functions that does you in. Because this is artificial, magical aging, it's entirely possible that Soroban could be aged well past the normal limits of his people. If he stayed that way for too long, his body would start to fail (had he not become an auspice), but thankfully the magic of the box was temporary. I'd say that this chapter of the story alone isn't enough to draw the conclusion that Kojin, as a species, live long enough to become Auspices, but it's certainly possible that certain special individuals (like in the case of Byakko - and Tenzen?) might.