Lore Timeline?

[Iscah]

The tricky thing with "Level 3" events is that it seems there are two elements to how it works in practice:

1. Optional questlines only happened if the player has personally done them.

BUT

2. If you later complete them out-of-sequence, they still happened in the patch when they were released.

They get "slotted in" to the pre-established timeline rather than taking place when you personally complete them.


An example I recently came across is meeting Alisaie at Lv60 in post-Heavensward. I never picked up the Binding Coil unlock quest on my alt, so when she introduced herself, she said we hadn't met since our very early encounter around Lv20 at the Carteneau memorial services.

But then I went and played Binding Coil afterwards, and that still takes place at Lv50. It's also our first meeting since the memorial services, Alphinaud is his overconfident ARR self (and busy organising the Crystal Braves!) and there is no altered dialogue to acknowledge that we've met in Ishgard - because as far as Lv50-Alisaie is aware, we haven't. It's still a future event for her.


Completion of past events will affect dialogue in future events, but not (or rarely) vice-versa.

Partly it would be a matter of not having to update old dialogue, but it also brings its own sort of logic to how optional stories affect - and fit into - the overall timeline. (Though one that makes it regrettably hard to bring things like the Warring Triad back into MSQ without a plot-halting "complete this quest chain first" progression lock.)

[Brightamethyst]

Completion of past events will affect dialogue in future events, but not (or rarely) vice-versa.

It does happen sometimes though. I did the anima relic ages ago but only recently finished the zodiac quests, and during Kettle to the Mettle Gerolt mentioned the anima quests.

[RenewalXVII]

It does happen sometimes though. I did the anima relic ages ago but only recently finished the zodiac quests, and during Kettle to the Mettle Gerolt mentioned the anima quests.

Note that Kettle to the Mettle was released in 3.2, perhaps affirming that the time bubble generally respects patch release order.

EDIT: A quick second thought, and I suppose we can say Kettle to the Mettle occupies an ambiguous space. It only requires completion of the Vital Title, which places it at any point after 2.5, but was released in 3.2, which could place it at any point up to then, if we hold that future events don't really affect past ones.

[Brightamethyst]

Note that Kettle to the Mettle was released in 3.2

Oh, right. Forgot about that.

[Dualblade]

Partly it would be a matter of not having to update old dialogue, but it also brings its own sort of logic to how optional stories affect - and fit into - the overall timeline. (Though one that makes it regrettably hard to bring things like the Warring Triad back into MSQ without a plot-halting "complete this quest chain first" progression lock.)

If the Warring Triad ever becomes required they'd probably make it so you have to complete it in order to continue the HW story. If it was me and I had to make it required I'd make each part of the Triad required at the end of the patch story it was introduced in so new players would have time to gear up inbetween as well.

Meanwhile for players who already completed the story past that point but hadn't done the Triad would be unable to start the next xpac (or patch if it was made required earlier than that) until they complete it, with plenty of warning ahead of time similar to how the Crystal Tower has been given plenty of notice it will be conisdered important (though not required as it seems so far). Does run into the "complete this quest chain first" block there but thats why players are given notice well before they'd be locked out of doing more MSQ.