I Don't Understand the Light Theme

[Arrhin]

Let me give another example - There are a lot of white feathered angel-like creatures. I wonder since we are talking about light if we will see prismatic creatures and abilities. I wonder if we will see lucent creatures, gleaming creatures, or radiant creatures. I wonder if we will see refracted creatures and diffused creatures.

So far, the theme has been very one dimensional and light is such a fascinating concept- I just feel like it has been whitewashed (sorry for the bad metaphor).

I think yer readin way to much into this, though I do share yer curiosity. As far as I can tell they're jus tellin a story about Balance, how a sway too far in one direction or the other, can be catastrophic. Whether the light is good or evil is irrelevant to that end. I also recall a conversation *no spoiler* that how the light and dark is perceived in the First is backwards to the Source, simply in language. So far, as far in as I am...there's no reference to one or the other bein "good" or "evil" specifically. That may change, I just got to the second dungeon

[ApolloGenX]

I think yer readin way to much into this, though I do share yer curiosity. As far as I can tell they're jus tellin a story about Balance, how a sway too far in one direction or the other, can be catastrophic. Whether the light is good or evil is irrelevant to that end. I also recall a conversation *no spoiler* that how the light and dark is perceived in the First is backwards to the Source, simply in language. So far, as far in as I am...there's no reference to one or the other bein "good" or "evil" specifically. That may change, I just got to the second dungeon

Perhaps... but they could possibly release expansions that are all elemental based- and I am hoping they really expand the limits of what elemental means beyond the cliche.

[Arrhin]

Perhaps... but they could possibly release expansions that are all elemental based- and I am hoping they really expand the limits of what elemental means beyond the cliche.

I really miss the elemental stuff from say, FFVII. Equip the right gear, heal yerself with FIRE!! Attack the boss with the wrong element...oops, you healed em,...better remeld or re equip! I think stuff like that would be interestin. It seems like they tried it a bit in Eureka...but..it's...Eureka.

[Enkidoh]

I really miss the elemental stuff from say, FFVII. Equip the right gear, heal yerself with FIRE!! Attack the boss with the wrong element...oops, you healed em,...better remeld or re equip! I think stuff like that would be interestin. It seems like they tried it a bit in Eureka...but..it's...Eureka.

They abolished it because Yoshi did not want a repeat of FFXI where there was 'Job favouritism' of players only taking Jobs like BLM for instance into dungeons and boss fights to use a certain elemental spell that the enemy was weak against (at the exclusion of other Jobs that couldn't use attacks that exploited elemental weaknesses), what were known as 'manaburn parties' (FFXI was notorious for exploits like that).

This is also why FFXIV 1.0 CNJ (who was the original elemental spellcaster) lost Thunder, Ice and Fire spells which were given to THM (the original version actually involved casting spells on the umbral and astral alignments: aka 'dark' and 'light'). Yoshi simply does not want players excluding each other from content based on their Jobs/classes, he wants everyone to have an equal chance gameplay wise.

Accordingly even though spells seem to have elemental names, gameplay wise they have none - all spells are 'typeless' as far as damage goes, so you can throw Fire spells aplenty at Ifrit for instance and it will still hurt him. It's simplifying battle mechanics, but remembering what FFXI was like, losing the elemental wheel is a small price to pay for much smoother combat and less 'meta Job' nonsense from other players.

As for the 'light apocalypse' theme of SHB, that's actually a rather common trope in fiction nowadays (it's essentially for the same reasons as to why there is increasingly in fiction a tendency to see so-called 'dark' or 'evil' characters in a more positive, or at the very least, sympathetic, light (no pun intended)). It's more now instead of the philosophical notions of 'light=good' and 'dark=evil', you can have 'good light', 'evil light', 'good darkness' and 'evil darkness', with SHB's story being very much having to become 'good darkness' in order to banish 'evil light'. Like a fire can bring warmth and light, but it can also burn and destroy, in the same way in the First the light has become too searing, too powerful and destroys more than it helps and becomes just as bad as the very darkness that is banishes.

At least, that's how I interpreted it. Or SE is just thumbing their noses at the alignment chart.

[Daralii]

I really miss the elemental stuff from say, FFVII. Equip the right gear, heal yerself with FIRE!! Attack the boss with the wrong element...oops, you healed em,...better remeld or re equip! I think stuff like that would be interestin. It seems like they tried it a bit in Eureka...but..it's...Eureka.

Mechanics like that existed in 1.0, but with how things changed to move it away from what was effectively a terrible XI remake, I'm sure you can see why they were left in the dust.

[Felis]

Mechanics like that existed in 1.0, but with how things changed to move it away from what was effectively a terrible XI remake, I'm sure you can see why they were left in the dust.

Was not possible in 1.0, too
You did less dmg with a fire spell on an fire enemy (i think 75% dmg), but still dmg. You didn't heal with fire, regardless of enemy type or equipment.

[Orbus]

Was not possible in 1.0, too
You did less dmg with a fire spell on an fire enemy (i think 75% dmg), but still dmg. You didn't heal with fire, regardless of enemy type or equipment.

Well it would be broken in an mmo if you could raise an elemental resistance enough to not just be immune to something but even heal off it.
Imagine if you could cheese fights like ifrit extreme or anything involving bombs cause someone overmelded fire resist materia to the extreme.