Tired of Zenos (spoilers)

[EgilTheStressedMage]

Who was a generic villain? Emet? Also Ishikawa’s whole shtick seems to just be sob stories and no consequences for the protagonists which...gets boring fast. I really hope she changes her storytelling a bit for 6.0.

Never heard of her until now, so ShB is new to me. Also I worded that poorly, I meant to say some, not one. She gave the other Ascians some depth as well.

[Stirlingite22]

I'm kind of hoping that he's being duped by Fandaniel in some way, or if he tries to hijack Zodiark or something he gets smacked down and denied. I'm kind of done watching him effortlessly beat everyone he comes across aside from our fight in Ala Mhigo.

Same here. Heck, we didn't even get to see him defeat Elidibus to take his body back. It was just kind of one of those "Yeah, by the way, this happened" kind of moments. I know there's a lot of those kinds of moments in the game, but they were already showing Gaius and Estinien in the palace so the fact that they had that "Oh, by the way..." moment just kinda felt... convenient, I guess would be the word? lol

[Bright-Flower]

Same here. Heck, we didn't even get to see him defeat Elidibus to take his body back. It was just kind of one of those "Yeah, by the way, this happened" kind of moments. I know there's a lot of those kinds of moments in the game, but they were already showing Gaius and Estinien in the palace so the fact that they had that "Oh, by the way..." moment just kinda felt... convenient, I guess would be the word? lol

It was so disappointing for me because while I didn't care much for Zenos in 4.0, it felt like the end of the SB patches left him in an interesting spot. Forced to use lesser, rando bodies to go undetected and work his way towards reclaiming his own body.

Potentially having to actually use strategy and cunning and not just overpower everything.

But in the end, that's all he does. Even in a weaker body he not only bests Elidibus, but MAKES HIM YEET OUT OF HIS BODY AND FLEE INTO THE RIFT. Where as when we beat Elidibus he just gets back up because he's immortal and could beat us through sheer attrition.

And while we don't see the fight the impression the scene leaves is that this too was another easy win for him.

They took what could have been an actual chance to develop Zenos and put him in an interesting situation, and they quickly fast forwarded through it as quickly as they could.

[Stirlingite22]

It was so disappointing for me because while I didn't care much for Zenos in 4.0, it felt like the end of the SB patches left him in an interesting spot. Forced to use lesser, rando bodies to go undetected and work his way towards reclaiming his own body.

Potentially having to actually use strategy and cunning and not just overpower everything.

But in the end, that's all he does. Even in a weaker body he not only bests Elidibus, but MAKES HIM YEET OUT OF HIS BODY AND FLEE INTO THE RIFT. Where as when we beat Elidibus he just gets back up because he's immortal and could beat us through sheer attrition.

And while we don't see the fight the impression the scene leaves is that this too was another easy win for him.

They took what could have been an actual chance to develop Zenos and put him in an interesting situation, and they quickly fast forwarded through it as quickly as they could.

On a more positive note (lol), it's possible that Zenos' reliance on simply overpowering everything will end up proving his undoing when he tries to defeat Zodiark to take his power. Hopefully Zodiark will essentially grind him into dust with a big fat "NOPE", when Zenos confronts him... if he even gets that far. lol

[Lauront]

Same here. Heck, we didn't even get to see him defeat Elidibus to take his body back. It was just kind of one of those "Yeah, by the way, this happened" kind of moments. I know there's a lot of those kinds of moments in the game, but they were already showing Gaius and Estinien in the palace so the fact that they had that "Oh, by the way..." moment just kinda felt... convenient, I guess would be the word? lol

I suspect that is something to do with Elidibus being a primal, since Zenos denies a fight happened and laments that. Elidibus, while not on par with Emet-Selch, is no weakling. So my supposition is that it's an aetheric tug of some sort. When Elidibus pays the body compliments, I believe it's more to do with its ability to conduct aether. Ascians don't care much about physical strength, as they can enhance their hosts (e.g. Nabriales) and take on any form they please, however Emet hinted at the fact that at least for a full powered unsundered like him, the host does limit them somewhat, thus he shed it. This probably has something to do with the Resonance in Zenos's case enhancing the body's ability to conduct aether, hence letting Elidibus in it express more of his power. Either way, it was poorly explained and ad hoc, but hey ho.

On a more positive note (lol), it's possible that Zenos' reliance on simply overpowering everything will end up proving his undoing when he tries to defeat Zodiark to take his power. Hopefully Zodiark will essentially grind him into dust with a big fat "NOPE", when Zenos confronts him... if he even gets that far. lol

Or he gets the "bright" idea that since Hydaelyn "won" the first time round, why not go for her. She's also in the planet and thus hooked into the Aetherial Sea.

[Nothv13]

I suspect that is something to do with Elidibus being a primal, since Zenos denies a fight happened and laments that. Elidibus, while not on par with Emet-Selch, is no weakling. So my supposition is that it's an aetheric tug of some sort.

It also could come down to Zeno's artificial echo as it seems each person's echo allows some sort of different power and Zeno's was able to control a Primal, so with Elidibus being a part of a primal, he may had been able to do something to him to completely nullify him.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Never heard of her until now, so ShB is new to me. Also I worded that poorly, I meant to say some, not one. She gave the other Ascians some depth as well.

Idk, they had depth before. If anything she kind of ruined Elidibus in 5.3. Emet was fine but she tried to repeat the same sob story gimmick with elidibus and it just fell flat and felt incredibly rushed (probably because it was). None of the protag’s really got any depth besides thancred but it’s probably due to again, her not writing the protagonists to have any consequences and having them constantly win due to plot armor and conveniences.

[Lauront]

It also could come down to Zeno's artificial echo as it seems each person's echo allows some sort fo different power and Zeno's was able to control a Primal, so with Elidibus being a part of a primal, he may had been able to do something to him to completely nullify him.

Yup, that's what I am getting at. Although his "echo" is more souped up than most, but at its core, the Echo is just a fraction of an ancient's powers. He had the benefit of Aulus taking a scientific approach to it and bestowing upon him one that is more "unlocked" than the naturally occurring one in sundered life forms. It stands to reason that since Elidibus's power as a primal scales based on prayer/worship, which he did not have much of at that point, he would be vulnerable to such methods. IMO it's a sleight of hand to make Zenos seem more potent than he really is, and IMO either Hydaelyn or Zenos are going to be a much bigger challenge for him to try control.

[Stirlingite22]

I suspect that is something to do with Elidibus being a primal, since Zenos denies a fight happened and laments that. Elidibus, while not on par with Emet-Selch, is no weakling. So my supposition is that it's an aetheric tug of some sort. When Elidibus pays the body compliments, I believe it's more to do with its ability to conduct aether. Ascians don't care much about physical strength, as they can enhance their hosts (e.g. Nabriales) and take on any form they please, however Emet hinted at the fact that at least for a full powered unsundered like him, the host does limit them somewhat, thus he shed it. This probably has something to do with the Resonance in Zenos's case enhancing the body's ability to conduct aether, hence letting Elidibus in it express more of his power. Either way, it was poorly explained and ad hoc, but hey ho.

Maybe. All I know is that I remember in a cutscene after the palace scene with Gaius and Zenos, etc., they have a scene of Elidibus on the moon not only saying villain things, but also mentioning something along the lines of being surprised that Zenos bested him so easily, possessed of Zenos' body as he was, or something like that. Suggesting that maybe Zenos did just overpower him like just about everything else in his path. lol

[Lauront]

True, but he never specifies how really, and it's contradicted by Zenos's own recollection, as he states it's a shame Elidibus just fled and he'd have enjoyed a fight against himself, or some such twaddle. Elidibus is powerful enough by that point to at least be able to go against the WoL who had already bested Zenos and his Shinryu form by that point, and who benefits from Hydaelyn's protection via the Blessing.

To suggest he wouldn't even register on Zenos's radar, while Gaius and Estinien would, requires suspension of disbelief, IMO. What does stand out is the fact that he's a primal, and Zenos has managed to take control of one before, and may well have given an indication that he could do so again if he so pleased. So I believe he overpowered him in that sense - with Zenos being a potential asset and with nothing to gain by then in fighting him, he took his leave.