Ivalice Raids. I still don't get it

[YianKutku]

My own questions:

Why are there Lucavi waiting around in the ruins of Rabanastre and the lower floors of Ridorana? Like, I know auracite from Ultima causes people to turn into Lucavi, but why are they there, waiting for us to encounter them, and apparently doing nothing else worthwhile?

Who was the guy who turned into the final boss of the Rabanastre raid? He ends up being named "Argath Thadalfus" when he auracited on us, but who was he before that? Why was he just waiting at the bottom of Lesalia, an ancient mythical city thought lost to time? How did he even get there? (The lorebook also asks, but does not answer, these questions.)

When Ba'Gamnan shot his subordinate at the end of the Rabanastre raid, and that subordinate just hopped back up apparently unharmed, why did just about every poster here, including those more familiar with Ivalice, speculate that it's unusual and clearly supernatural? Given that in the very next tier, the explanation given was "well, Bangaa are just really hardy, don't worry about it". So was it a plot point that was just dropped?

Speaking of dropped plot points, was there actually anything significant to Ramza Lexentale's change of attitude at the end of the Ridorana tier? Because even the NPCs commented that Ramza is acting completely different, but when the Orbonne tier was released, it turned out that Alma (who was acting pretty normally) was the one under the influence of the auracite, and Ramza explained his change in behaviour as "I was just really stressed", and everyone just dropped the issue. Was it another altered plot point?

If the spell Ultima was named after Ultima the High Seraph, does that make Lahabrea's comment that the Ultima spell in the Praetorium "a sliver of Zodiark's power" still accurate? I mean, as an Unsundered Ascian, presumably Lahabrea should know the truth. Is there a link between Ultima the High Seraph and Zodiark?

[JeanneOrnitier]

Why are there Lucavi waiting around in the ruins of Rabanastre and the lower floors of Ridorana? Like, I know auracite from Ultima causes people to turn into Lucavi, but why are they there, waiting for us to encounter them, and apparently doing nothing else worthwhile?

I assume either:
a) people who used the Auracite back in the War of the Lions and have been there all along
b) people who found the Auracite recently and were whisked away by Ultima like what she did to Alma

The first option works for Lesalia though not for Ridorana since the Dalmascans used it as a lighthouse.

Who was the guy who turned into the final boss of the Rabanastre raid? He ends up being named "Argath Thadalfus" when he auracited on us, but who was he before that? Why was he just waiting at the bottom of Lesalia, an ancient mythical city thought lost to time? How did he even get there? (The lorebook also asks, but does not answer, these questions.)

He's the ghost of https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Argath_Thadalfus one of Ramza's minor enemies from the War of the Lions. In Tactics, after Ramza kills him he strikes a deal with the Lucavi and becomes undead to get revenge, which is probably why he asks for Ramza to forgive him in XIV once he comes to his senses.

When Ba'Gamnan shot his subordinate at the end of the Rabanastre raid, and that subordinate just hopped back up apparently unharmed, why did just about every poster here, including those more familiar with Ivalice, speculate that it's unusual and clearly supernatural? Given that in the very next tier, the explanation given was "well, Bangaa are just really hardy, don't worry about it". So was it a plot point that was just dropped?

That was just the players reading too into things.

Speaking of dropped plot points, was there actually anything significant to Ramza Lexentale's change of attitude at the end of the Ridorana tier? Because even the NPCs commented that Ramza is acting completely different, but when the Orbonne tier was released, it turned out that Alma (who was acting pretty normally) was the one under the influence of the auracite, and Ramza explained his change in behaviour as "I was just really stressed", and everyone just dropped the issue. Was it another altered plot point?

This one does seem to be a change yeah.

If the spell Ultima was named after Ultima the High Seraph, does that make Lahabrea's comment that the Ultima spell in the Praetorium "a sliver of Zodiark's power" still accurate? I mean, as an Unsundered Ascian, presumably Lahabrea should know the truth. Is there a link between Ultima the High Seraph and Zodiark?

The spell being named after the being is just speculation on the characters' part. That being said, wasn't it the Heart of Sabik that was a sliver of Zodiark's power, not Ultima? I'd need to double check the exact line.

[Cilia]

My own questions:

Why are there Lucavi waiting around in the ruins of Rabanastre and the lower floors of Ridorana? Like, I know auracite from Ultima causes people to turn into Lucavi, but why are they there, waiting for us to encounter them, and apparently doing nothing else worthwhile?

According to Rofocale's card, it was transfigured from a noble of Rabanastre; how long it sat underground guarding Lesalia is unclear (much less why it would guard Lesalia, if information on it would be beneficial to Ultima's plan). Mateus and Hashmal, encountered on the streets, are unexplained; I surmised they were rebels who gave into the whispers of other auracite stones in desperation. Other than that it can be inferred they have the same point of origin as Rofocale. (It's never explained why they're just there, but Ivalice references, yay!) Famfrit, the lucavi fought right ouside of the Ridorana Lighthouse, is mentioned to be a (re)creation of the Duma-influenced Ba'gamnan. Belias, unfortunately, has conflicting inferences; it's implied the being is the source of the lighthouse's beacon, but personally I find it hard to believe it was just sitting there for who knows how long, and given Ba'gamnan was responsible for Famfrit...

(I assume Mateus and Hashmal aren't rampaging around Rabanastre for budgetary reasons.)

It's unexplained how the spirits of Ramza's companions are able to undergo a similar transformation, seemingly without the use of auracite.

Who was the guy who turned into the final boss of the Rabanastre raid? He ends up being named "Argath Thadalfus" when he auracited on us, but who was he before that? Why was he just waiting at the bottom of Lesalia, an ancient mythical city thought lost to time? How did he even get there? (The lorebook also asks, but does not answer, these questions.)

This is never directly explained, but between his apparently exhausted and wounded state when he appears after the battle I assumed Jenomis was possessed and we just beat the stuffing out of him until he came to his senses a la Shiva, guided down there by his research (How did he get past Rofocale? Don't worry about it, there will be more Ivalice references!).

As for Argath Thadalfus himself, his card names him a "minor noble long deceased... resurrected and granted unimaginable power by the Duma." Past that... you will very unfortunately need to do a little homework to really get what his deal is - his Tactics counterpart is, well, pretty much the same character (a classist asshole who fought alongside but ultimately betrayed Ramza), though this Argath comes to his senses and asks for forgiveness upon defeat unlike the other. Given auracite's ability to store memories, my guess was that his personality / memory had somehow been imprinted on the stone.

When Ba'Gamnan shot his subordinate at the end of the Rabanastre raid, and that subordinate just hopped back up apparently unharmed, why did just about every poster here, including those more familiar with Ivalice, speculate that it's unusual and clearly supernatural? Given that in the very next tier, the explanation given was "well, Bangaa are just really hardy, don't worry about it". So was it a plot point that was just dropped?

I don't recall seeing such speculation, but speculation is what it is precisely because it's imprecise and lacks evidence (hence my general distance). Not everything thrown at a wall sticks, and the less evidence you have the less likely it is to do so.

Speaking of dropped plot points, was there actually anything significant to Ramza Lexentale's change of attitude at the end of the Ridorana tier? Because even the NPCs commented that Ramza is acting completely different, but when the Orbonne tier was released, it turned out that Alma (who was acting pretty normally) was the one under the influence of the auracite, and Ramza explained his change in behaviour as "I was just really stressed", and everyone just dropped the issue. Was it another altered plot point?

Given Alma is possessed and kidnapped, only to be returned and have Ramza taken in her stead at the very outset of the Orbonne Monastery... maybe? The only other reason I can think of why this would happen is a particularly gratuitous another Tactics reference where Ultima is resurrected by (very temporarily) using Alma as a host. Ramza's behavior is explained as a combination of stress and typical Garlean cultural standards, though fortunately Jenomis does call him out when he gets particularly egregious with it, and his personality becomes gentler when things settle down.

If the spell Ultima was named after Ultima the High Seraph, does that make Lahabrea's comment that the Ultima spell in the Praetorium "a sliver of Zodiark's power" still accurate? I mean, as an Unsundered Ascian, presumably Lahabrea should know the truth. Is there a link between Ultima the High Seraph and Zodiark?

Yes and no. It depends on how you frame things; the way I reconcile these conflicting bits of information is by assuming that the Ultima spell is just an imitation of Ultima the High Seraph's "Ultimate Illusion." Whatever the kupo the Heart of Sabik is / was, it's connected to Zodiark - as Hydaelyn informs you before you can really start damaging the Ultima Weapon, it is "Darkness clad in steel" - so if it were simply an imitation of Ultima's "Ultimate Illusion" powered by the Heart, it would technically be a sliver of Zodiark's power, just expressed in a form imitating something that already exists.

Past that? Whoooooo knows...

(Look forward to more Ivalice stuff in a week! If you don't like it, too bad!)

[PoLaD]

Speaking of dropped plot points, was there actually anything significant to Ramza Lexentale's change of attitude at the end of the Ridorana tier? Because even the NPCs commented that Ramza is acting completely different, but when the Orbonne tier was released, it turned out that Alma (who was acting pretty normally) was the one under the influence of the auracite, and Ramza explained his change in behaviour as "I was just really stressed", and everyone just dropped the issue. Was it another altered plot point?

It really was just stress, and culture shock, according to the Company Assistant. Pretty much Ramza's jerk persona was him acting abnormally, while he was typically much kinder. His dialogue about it is from The City of Lost Angels quest, after you unlock Orbonne, but you haven't actually gone in yet. As far as I know, no has commented on it when talking about his change (unless that what you meant by Ramza himself acknowledging it)?

And just when the boy had begun to return to his normal, caring self... Oh, Ramza. I do hope you are unhurt! When we were in Garlemald, the young Lexentale never spoke ill of others- and most certainly not his sister. It wasn't until arriving in Kugane that his temperament began to change...and not for the better. He began lashing out at anyone and anything that was different. His life in the Empire had not prepared him for what awaited on the outside, and the exile left him stripped of an identity in which he still held much pride. He allowed his frustration to consume him, but such is to be expected from someone so young. [NAME]. I ask you to look past Ramza's transgressions, for they are but a product of his youth. He is a good child, and does not deserve the fate he has been dealt. Please, you must find him.

Which, makes a sense to me. He doesn't fully drop it after the Lighthouse. He still snips at Montblanc enough. Although, it does still seem like a dropped plot point due to him having his attitude shift after touching auracite.

[LineageRazor]

Although, it does still seem like a dropped plot point due to him having his attitude shift after touching auracite.

Honestly, it felt to me like they had a plotline planned for this, but changed their minds and decided to downplay it instead. I was fully expecting him to be channeling the soul of the original Ramza, or something - the fact that his one-eighty happened right after touching the MacGuffin is a bit too unfair a red herring, if it was planned this way from the start.

[YianKutku]

It really was just stress, and culture shock, according to the Company Assistant. Pretty much Ramza's jerk persona was him acting abnormally, while he was typically much kinder. His dialogue about it is from The City of Lost Angels quest, after you unlock Orbonne, but you haven't actually gone in yet. As far as I know, no has commented on it when talking about his change (unless that what you meant by Ramza himself acknowledging it)?



Which, makes a sense to me. He doesn't fully drop it after the Lighthouse. He still snips at Montblanc enough. Although, it does still seem like a dropped plot point due to him having his attitude shift after touching auracite.

The change was definitely commented on by Lina, who was wondering why Ramza suddenly became nice and polite after touching the auracite right after Ridorana. I need to check my screenshots, but I believe the other NPCs were at least taken aback by Ramza's sudden politeness.

And the comment by the Company Assistant was during the 4.5 Orbonne unlock quest, ie during the patch when we learned that it was Alma under the influence of the auracite, when there was no sign of that in the 4.3 Ridorana quests (unless we go into deep conspiracy theorizing for post-hoc justification). Hence why it feels intensely like it was a dropped plot point that was retconned when it actually became time to deal with it, rather than something planned out beforehand.

(Also, given Ramza Lexentale's sudden personality change into harshness and bitter snark due to stress, does that mean Ramza can theoretically summon his own Esteem?)