6.0 Predictions: Will it be Garlemald, Sharlayan, or Meracydia?

[ADVSS]

Well we also have the moon teased, though id bet anything it would be an 'area 6' if it gets implemented. Garlemald looks pretty safe, and a lot of people have brought up meracydia, which im guessing could be requested if middy ever shows back up, maybe to gather more strength against the Garlean Empire. Prob spend most of the expansion, like SB, causing liberation/revolution on one front, and going to another front(possibly meracydia) to gather more influence. Theres also the new world right? or whatevers like west from Eorzea, if Zenos has us crushed and running for our lives. Idk i see a lot of back and forth. Also as was mentioned earlier, SHB whole shard came out of left field, we could do that again, but i really dont think that they would back to back
Thavnair is pretty doable, but id assume it would only be 1 region in size tbh.

[FrightfulNight]

Well we also have the moon teased, though id bet anything it would be an 'area 6' if it gets implemented. Garlemald looks pretty safe, and a lot of people have brought up meracydia, which im guessing could be requested if middy ever shows back up, maybe to gather more strength against the Garlean Empire. Prob spend most of the expansion, like SB, causing liberation/revolution on one front, and going to another front(possibly meracydia) to gather more influence. Theres also the new world right? or whatevers like west from Eorzea, if Zenos has us crushed and running for our lives. Idk i see a lot of back and forth. Also as was mentioned earlier, SHB whole shard came out of left field, we could do that again, but i really dont think that they would back to back
Thavnair is pretty doable, but id assume it would only be 1 region in size tbh.

While i have long believed and still do that the Moon will be the final mystery zone similar to Az yzla or the Tempest i just do not see them doing a split expansion like SB again, i think they know that story wise SB was the weakest of the expansions and part of that was because the split, thus i think they will avoid making the Finale of Season 1 like that. There may be a globe trotting expansion down the line after the Season 1 expansion is done that fills in areas we haven't fully explored around the three continents like Hingashi but for the moment I feel it just has to be Islabard, nothing else makes sense, they have been teasing it hard for two expansions now that anything else just does not feel justifiable. If anything if it is not Islabard it will make it feel like they are boxcarring it, no i feel Yoshi P. wants to move on to new stories with new threats, and we have been dealing with the Garleans for 10 years now.

Meracydia makes no sense right now, it is mostly uninhabited and if i recall possibly a wasteland, i feel whenever they do Meracydia After the season 1 storyline and Islabard it will done via time travel so we can witness it at it's hey day and maybe even fight Allagans proper instead of the creations they left behind. But the time travel does not make sense either after ShB so i feel they will wait a while for it. right now they need a story set in modern times on the source for the season 1 finale as it is the world we have grown accustomed to after all these years, also Meracydia is not even on the current world map where as Islabard is and is still covered in mists.

[YianKutku]

Right now Eorzea has around 30 zones while Orthard has only 3 and Islabard have none, i think we have added about enough Eorzean Zones or Aldernard zones to get an idea on what the continent is like it is time to flesh out the other zones on the three continents and right now that includes lifting the mist on Islabard.

That's because ARR zones are a lot smaller than expansion zones, probably due to legacy code. Yanxia would probably have been divided into multiple zones if it followed the ARR style. Or, if ARR was updated to the expansions, instead of "East Shroud" and "South Shroud" and such, it's all "The Shroud".

[Kesey]

That sounds like retreading plot points we already went through back in both ARR and SB, except with less justification.

I'd legit be pissed if we didn't go to Garlemald at this point when we currently have two on-going stories that are working to push the Eorzean Alliance further into Ilsabard by dealing with two of the legions stationed on the fringes of their territory, plus we already got pulled away from them once with ShB.

Honestly, those are buffer states, conquered countries still under the boot of Garlemald. Look at the map, Terncliff seems to exist in the country of Werlyt that lies north of Ala Mhigo and follows an Italian seaside theme. Bozja sits somewhere near Doma and has a tropical setting for Gongos so it probably sits on the sea shared with Thavnairia. The lore also mentions potential other buffers called Corvos, The Republic of Landis, and Nhalmasque and we can't begin to know how big of an area those are. Furthermore, we still don't know the total number of Imperial conquered territories as that is always referred to as plural not a definitive number.

Even if we started an invasion of Imperial held territories with the express goal of bringing down the capital and their war machine, it would take more than one expansion to cover everything.

What is more likely to transpire is the new areas of 6.0 are used as a catalyst to start the 8th rejoining to revive Zodiark (I personally believe to be found in Old Sharlayan). Zenos and bulk of the empires forces are defeated in culmination of Hydaelyn/Zodiark arc, forcing a strategic withdrawal of all Imperial forces from territories to the empire proper. Thus allowing all of those areas to be explored as required by the plot in subsequent expansions. The empire can fall without a war on its doorstep. Or what if the defeat of 6.0, in an ironic twist of fate, puts the Empire into such dire straits they require the WOL to save them from a new threat in 7.0?

[Kesey]

While i have long believed and still do that the Moon will be the final mystery zone similar to Az yzla or the Tempest

Maybe this is a yes. But it could easily just be a dungeon or more likely just a trial location. In context it might not be more than a battleground.

[Seraphor]

That's because ARR zones are a lot smaller than expansion zones, probably due to legacy code. Yanxia would probably have been divided into multiple zones if it followed the ARR style. Or, if ARR was updated to the expansions, instead of "East Shroud" and "South Shroud" and such, it's all "The Shroud".

Even if ARR zones were merged to be the size of expansion zones, I still think each 'state' would still have about 2 zones each. So it'd be like; North Shroud and South Shroud, East Thanalan and West Thanalan, Inner La Noscea and Outer La Noscea.
Add in Coerthas and Mor Dhona and that would give ARR 8 zones compared to expansions that have 6 each.
So considering that our Eorzea facsimile has Il Mheg, Rak'tika, Kholusia and Ahm Araeng as one zone each, the First is done at about half the scale.

[RyuDragnier]

That sounds like retreading plot points we already went through back in both ARR and SB, except with less justification.

I'd legit be pissed if we didn't go to Garlemald at this point when we currently have two on-going stories that are working to push the Eorzean Alliance further into Ilsabard by dealing with two of the legions stationed on the fringes of their territory, plus we already got pulled away from them once with ShB.

I feel like we won't be going to Garlemald. Reason being that if you look at the Weapon Trials and Resistance (relic) weapons this time around, both deal with the Empire. For the Weapon trials, we're literally destroying their super weapons, making it nigh impossible for them to counterattack. For the Resistance Weapons, they're about to lose a lot of ground and possibly the entire IVth Imperial Legion. That's not even getting into details on how many soldiers Zenos may have been killed in the capital. By the time we're done with the Weapons and Bozja, Garlemald may not even have a cohesive military left. Hell, it's possible all the other conquered territories will start resisting and striking back against Garlemald on multiple fronts to where they won't be able to do anything but barely defend themselves. They're about to be crippled so badly that it could open doors to other locations to hold 6.0 simply because they will no longer be a problem for a while. Plus if we're going to be ending a pair of world-shattering primals, politics will likely take a massive back seat this time around.

[FrightfulNight]

Thus allowing all of those areas to be explored as required by the plot in subsequent expansions. The empire can fall without a war on its doorstep. Or what if the defeat of 6.0, in an ironic twist of fate, puts the Empire into such dire straits they require the WOL to save them from a new threat in 7.0?

Or alternately the Civil war is still goin on as I imagine not many people are happy that Zenos sits on the throne which with the possibilities of an allied invasion forces many parties to chose which side they feel is the lesser of two evils to them, do some side with Zenos to repel the enemy invasion out of fear they will be overthrown and at the mercy of the peoples of Islabard again or that it will just be used to install an allied puppet to the thrown, or do they form an alliance of convenience with the allied forces because they believe Zenos will lead Garlemald to ruin. I also do not see this going on for another full expansion, another full expansion of cutscenes saying meanwhile at the imperial palace or capitol and wondering when are we finally going to go there.

I feel 6.0 is going to be the finale of many recurring plot points and that includes Garlemald, that way 7.0 can truly be new territory, I do not see them doing another misdirect with Islabard again since they already did that with ShB and it would be both repetitive and make Islabard into a bit of a meme, like are we going to finally go there next expansion or will it be delayed again. Plus they already have locations there built, i do not feel they would have built them if they were not going to use them, that would just be a waste.

The I feel the zones will be divided is two zones will be some of those buffer states you mentioned who will be all in on overthrowing the empire, two zones will be will be more loyal states who have enjoyed benefits of being under imperial rule and for swearing allegiance and may be weary of the allied forces and WoL in general as they may have killed some of their loved ones over the years (like the conscripted foot soldier in Mor Dhona who mentions his wife just gave birth to thier kid right before he is killed like so many other mooks), Zone 5 will be Garlemald proper with the Capitol being sort of both a dungeon and an endgame city like Eulmore where you have to take it first, and the final zone may be the moon, alternatavely it could be six Islabard Zones.

I know you do not want to go there yet but there are equally a many number of players who do and want to put an end to this conflict once and for all so that way all the Season 1 plot points are truly wrapped up in 6.0 and we can move on to new story archs and threats, something I believe Yoshi P. has stated he has wanted to do for a while now. I believe the only area we share a common desire for 6.0 is that we both do not want to see Zenos as the main villain so hopefully he is just a minor nuisance or a tool and Zodiark is the final boss.

[Kesey]

So the potential of Sharlayan is being over looked. Notice the ruins in Idyllshire bear the conch symbol of Sharlayan and that same symbol found in Amarout. The name conventions of locations in Idyllshire and Sharlayan dungeons are greek routed words, but also the locations and dungeons of Amarout have greek routed words. Finally there jazzy theme music shared by both Amarout and Sharlayan locations. These two cultures are linked.

The major plot point an empire invasion leaves out is Venat, who at the end of 5.2 tells another ancient in the hologram that as the Heart of Hydaelyn will never truly be gone and can return in the form of their choosing. Knowing what we know of Elidibus, Venat as a person primal is out there somewhere and may very well be someone we already know. His character needs to appear to either tell us or echo tell us if the WOL has been tempered by Hydaelyn with blessing of light to force us to fight for her or if we chose to join the Hydaelyn faction in the late days of Hydaelyn's summoning.

Bringing these two ideas together, I'm going to say Sharlayan is the next expansion city and area because it isn't just a hub of knowledge with isolationist tendencies, it holds the knowledge that it was a civilization that was founded by those who survived and followed Hydaelyn after summoning her. Venat is most likely to be associated with Sharlayan, and I'm willing to hedge a bet that Venat will also be associated with Louisoix or Minfilia somehow. When we consider this the end of a season 1 story and all the Scions are either from Sharlayan or we educated in Sharlayan; all of the knowledge of Hydaelyn seems to come from Sharlayan sources too. The conclusion has to be set in Sharlayan. I expect 5.4 and 5.5 to be a distraction, only to find out that Zenos is leading the Imperial forces to a Sharlayan invasion (making Bojza and Werlyt victories too easily won). Fandaniel will use this chaos and whatever other secrets Sharlayan is hiding to set off the last rejoining and bring back Zodiark.

Lastly, before anyone gets on their "but its just an island" trope, remember the Yoshi-p interview said they will be "going against player expectations". I think that Sharlayan has many hidden compartments, countermeasures that don't account for actual space. Remember if they are inheritors of Ancient's knowledge of creation magic and like other Sharlayan locations we've visited, (like the door in Matoya's cave leads to the anti-tower which doesn't exist on a map, or inversion of weather and cardinal directions in Eureka, and Baldesion Arsenal looping hallways in on itself) they are very easily hiding lands which won't exist on the map and I'd hazard to bet also have the door that leads to the aetherial sea and Hydaelyn herself.

[FrightfulNight]

I feel like we won't be going to Garlemald. Reason being that if you look at the Weapon Trials and Resistance (relic) weapons this time around, both deal with the Empire. For the Weapon trials, we're literally destroying their super weapons, making it nigh impossible for them to counterattack. For the Resistance Weapons, they're about to lose a lot of ground and possibly the entire IVth Imperial Legion. That's not even getting into details on how many soldiers Zenos may have been killed in the capital. By the time we're done with the Weapons and Bozja, Garlemald may not even have a cohesive military left. Hell, it's possible all the other conquered territories will start resisting and striking back against Garlemald on multiple fronts to where they won't be able to do anything but barely defend themselves. They're about to be crippled so badly that it could open doors to other locations to hold 6.0 simply because they will no longer be a problem for a while. Plus if we're going to be ending a pair of world-shattering primals, politics will likely take a massive back seat this time around.

HW trial questlines saw some involvement with the Empire and the next expansion was dealing with the empire, SB artifact Eureka questline dealt with some similar themes of to ShB and i believe even introduced a Sin Eater. just because both of these are related to the Empire does not mean the next expansion will not be in fact it might lead to further putting it into a dire straight to head in to it.