[Speculation] Nael Van Darnus in Dissidia NT!?

[Emstidor]

My money is on Beatrix.

[Ameela]

She's probably the best villain to pull from 14 though

Aside from Thordan and Fordola she's probably one of the weakest picks actually.

[Jhett_Magnum]

Darnus is a stretch considering most people who play 14 don't even know who she is, let alone people who have never looked at the game before. The next 14 rep, if we get one, will be someone easily recognisable like Zenos or another Scion.

I mean you aren't wrong. I've been to countless boards where people post wish lists - only to fall short on any knowledge of FF14. It's actually quite irritating. However, I think there are people out there like myself who didnt know anything about FFXI and shantotto until the first dissidia. I think Nael's Wyrm-hybrid look will leave a lasting impression on the game than any other ff14 villian so far, but that's purely subjective.

[CorbinDallas]

She's probably the best villain to pull from 14 though

Better villain pick than Gaius, Livia, Ilberd, Zenos, Nidstinien, Fordola, and even Yotsuyu? Yeah, right. If anything the 14 villain slot, if it has to be a villain, is almost certainly going to Zenos.

I don't get this fascination everyone seems to have with what is now an optional side story boss that gets a total of maybe 10 minutes of screen time. A character most players don't even know exists and probably would go "Who?" should she be announced for the Dissidia roster. Hell, even Hildebrand would be more likely than Darnus. Just let it go.

[Enkidoh]

Better villain pick than Gaius, Livia, Ilberd, Zenos, Nidstinien, Fordola, and even Yotsuyu? Yeah, right. If anything the 14 villain slot, if it has to be a villain, is almost certainly going to Zenos.

I don't get this fascination everyone seems to have with what is now an optional side story boss that gets a total of maybe 10 minutes of screen time. A character most players don't even know exists and probably would go "Who?" should she be announced for the Dissidia roster. Hell, even Hildebrand would be more likely than Darnus. Just let it go.

Uh, I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but, did you even take notice of the story? Nael is not a mere "optional story side boss with only ten minutes of screen time." The very Calamity which continues to cause issues for Eorzea and everyone was caused by him her, it was not a mere 'side story' as you put it. Nael has been the 'original' primary antagonist for FFXIV since the original version of 1.0 which ARR is effectively a sequel and reboot of - the Calamity was the direct cause of Nael's actions (yes, I know Coil is optional, but you kind of need to do it to really appreciate FFXIV's story, more than any of the other raids, as it is the proper resolution to 1.0's story and the whole Calamity which linked 1.0 and ARR together).

And before you pass judgement, originally SE weren't even going to feature Nael coming back from the dead in there, it was only because players kept requesting a rematch with Nael in Coil did Yoshi relent - Nael was 1.0's final boss after all, which is technically what the villains in the first two Dissidia games were - they were the final boss for each FF game, although due to the PSP's limitations and a preference to keep each character in Dissidia unique with their own playstyle, FFXI and XIII did not feature any villian characters at all (surprisingly, in the first Dissidia FFXII was only represented by an antagonist - Gabranth, who has yet to return in Dissidia NT, although given the Garlean legatee resemble the FFXII Archadian Judges it's perhaps not surprising after all).

Zenos is definitely possible (because Yoshi is on record giving his blessing to him appearing in Dissidia, along with Alphinaud surprisingly), but he's just an antagonist that has only been recently added - besides, Zenos wasn't really the 'final' boss of Stormblood anyway , it was Shinryu. It would be like saying Jenova is the 'final' boss of FFVII not Sephiroth.

Nael (and hell, Gaius too for that matter) have been the game's main villains since day one, even before ARR was released. Gaius I doubt will appear though, given his ambiguity in both his personality (despite being a villain there has always been that noble, albeit slightly ruthless, side to him), and.. well.. his current status.... *cough cough* (which kind of throws the whole thing about whether he would be on Chaos Spiritus's side or not in Dissidia on it's head.).

And your other villain picks don't really fit either other than Gaius (Livia was Gaius' minor underling, Ilberd was equally a minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things (he was literally a little man who wanted to be someone big), Estinien already has a Dissidia equivalent in the form of FFIV's Kain Highwind, Fordola is yet another minor antagonist who only really came into the story towards the end of SB, and Yotsuyu, wasn't even a fighter until she summoned that moon bunny.... So none of these fit Dissidia's theme and gameplay at all.

Really, apart from one of the Ascians (Lahabrea or Elidibus would be the obvious choice), it's going to either be Nael, Gaius or Zenos. It's pretty clear.

[Ameela]

Nael may have been the instigator of the Calamity but like... he has no presence in XIV at all as it is now, hell he had no presence in ARR, Gaius was the main antagonist of that story, not Nael. The Calamity hasn't even been a thing in the story since, like, 3.0? Saying Nael's the main antagonist of FFXIV in its current incarnation is like saying the Warring Triad were the antagonists of FFVI for instigating the War of the Magi.

Estinien could absolutely be a playable character in Dissidia if they make his main gameplay draw the fact that he can turn into Nidhogg, and Yotsuyu is one of the major antagonists in Stormblood and even though she's not a fighter, but she's literally as much of a fighter as Kefka was in his own game, plus if it's that much of an issue I'm pretty sure they could put her in perma-Tsukuyomi form and it'd make an interesting character. Same with Thordan's King form (although he'd be hard to distinguish from Garland/Golbez/Exdeath)

[Jingai]

Nael may have been the instigator of the Calamity but like... he has no presence in XIV at all as it is now,

That couldn't be further from the truth though. For anyone who's followed XIV's story since 1.0 knows that Nael's presence is felt everywhere a piece of Dalamud rests. XIV's overall story should be viewed as arcs. The first major ark ended due to Nael's machinations. It's second ark, Gaius. The third ark, Nidhogg. Now, the fourth ark, we deal with Zenos. No, Nael's no longer a threat to us, but to say he/she has 0 presence at all, especially if you've been with XIV from the day 1, is like saying you're just disregarding the lore because you don't care for it. =\

I'm not trying to sound combative, if I am, I'm just trying to say that Nael's presence is very much there. Just like it would be for those who survived real life catastrophies. Just because it's "in the past", doesn't mean it's impact still isn't felt by those who lived it.

[Iscah]

That couldn't be further from the truth though. For anyone who's followed XIV's story since 1.0 knows that Nael's presence is felt everywhere a piece of Dalamud rests. XIV's overall story should be viewed as arcs. The first major ark ended due to Nael's machinations. It's second ark, Gaius. The third ark, Nidhogg. Now, the fourth ark, we deal with Zenos. No, Nael's no longer a threat to us, but to say he/she has 0 presence at all, especially if you've been with XIV from the day 1, is like saying you're just disregarding the lore because you don't care for it. =\

I'm not trying to sound combative, if I am, I'm just trying to say that Nael's presence is very much there. Just like it would be for those who survived real life catastrophies. Just because it's "in the past", doesn't mean it's impact still isn't felt by those who lived it.

It's there if you know what you're looking at, but it's also not very clear to a casual player, or any newer player who wasn't around for 1.0 and hasn't cleared Binding Coil or sought out additional information beyond what the game gives you. Nael is maybe mentioned a few times but without much focus or emphasis on who they were and what they did.


To use your analogy of someone surviving a catastrophe.... well, okay, let's use FFXIV itself. I gather you actually did 'survive the Calamity' and every time you see those shards of Dalamud or the landscapes changed by the Calamity, you remember how it used to be, and you remember who caused the destruction that did this.

But I only started playing the game last year. I'm a newcomer to Eorzea. I understand there was a disaster a few years ago, I know that Garlemald was to blame and maybe I've heard the name of Nael van Darnus who was primarily responsible, but I'm not clear on exactly what they did. I can see the destruction but I can't connect it with a 'before' state, it's just part of the landscape, and I have no memories to associate with it.

I have absolutely no sense of "Nael's presence" in any of it, because I don't know who Nael is. I'm aware of Bahamut and Dalamud, but not Nael.

[jameseoakes]

Better worded reply then I could have done

Thanks for doing a better worded reply than I could have done Enkidoh. I just don't think any of the other 14 villains bar maybe the Ascians would work alongside the other FF villains.

[Jhett_Magnum]

Nael may have been the instigator of the Calamity but like... he has no presence in XIV at all as it is now, hell he had no presence in ARR, Gaius was the main antagonist of that story, not Nael. The Calamity hasn't even been a thing in the story since, like, 3.0? Saying Nael's the main antagonist of FFXIV in its current incarnation is like saying the Warring Triad were the antagonists of FFVI for instigating the War of the Magi.

Thancred, Y’da, Papalymo, Cid, and even Y’shtola witnessed the events of the calamity. Therefore, Y’shtola can very well consider Nael as a main antagonist for the original FFXIV story. As Enkidoh mentioned earlier ARR is considered a sequel. No one is ruling out Gaius, but it just so happens to be a female charater being announced July 10th.