Predictions for 5.3?

[KageTokage]

Would it? I harbor some hesitation to have that kind of faith.

There was a day Ysayle tried to put an icicle through our chest "for Hydaelyn".
There was a day Midgardsormr tried to put a spike through our chest "for Hydaelyn".
Gods save us from half the people who think they're doing the gods' work.

I suppose the newly awakened WoLs could legitimately be dumb enough to try to off us just because "Ardbert" says so. The revelation that he and his friends were partly responsible for halting the Flood of Light on top of their prior heroics already puts him on a pedestal of a height comparable to our own.

I just struggle to think of any kind of argument he could make to suddenly frame us as the villains after everything we've done though considering the illusion he was able to conjure at the Crystarium, more smoke and mirrors could also be a factor.

[Vulcwen]

I suppose the newly awakened WoLs ...

Never underestimate xenophobia I guess, we're still essentially aliens to them. If they can't frame us as villain directly, maybe they can frame the Exarch as villain and then by extension us when we stand on his side.

[Theodric]

Never underestimate xenophobia I guess, we're still essentially aliens to them. If they can't frame us as villain directly, maybe they can frame the Exarch as villain and then by extension us when we stand on his side.

That wouldn't necessarily be a case of xenophobia so much as a lesson in just how silly it is for so many characters to keep secrets from the masses. The Crystal Exarch really should have informed his people about his and the player character's circumstances, especially when faced with what was essentially the apocalypse.

It makes even less sense when you look at how the truth of Ishgard's founding was revealed, paving the way to reform across Coerthas. Any criticism aimed at the Archbishop for hiding the truth from the masses is now negated, since the Warrior of Light and many of his companions resort to the exact same tactic.

It'll be interesting to see if they're bold enough to actually reveal some of the secrets they keep close to their chests on a grand scale - such as the nature of the fractured worlds, the former state of existence and that both Hydaelyn and Zodiark are Primals.

[Morningstar1337]

Never underestimate xenophobia I guess, we're still essentially aliens to them. If they can't frame us as villain directly, maybe they can frame the Exarch as villain and then by extension us when we stand on his side.

Would make sense, especially if the newly awakened included Eulmorans who preferred Valthey's rule over the new Status quo.