Revelations from Fan Festival Around the World 2021

[KageTokage]

I could see Sharlayan being connected to a good number of the zones, with Labyrinthos being immediately adjacent, Thravnair accessible via the docks, and Mare Lamentorum via the fancy spaceship we seem to be getting as per the Endwalker logo.

Garlemald and those floating islands might be sectioned off into their own portion accessible via airship from Thravnair. I kind of feel like we might be using the latter specifically as a stop-over point before we go to the capital assuming it has proper towns and such up there.

[Iscah]

It occurred to me that Forchenault apparently isn't important enough to get onto the poster.

It was also really odd that they didn't want to call him by name when his image and profile have been available for years.

[Vyrerus]

They have, but not within the game itself. Not really too odd of a decision imo.

[Rocl]

It occurred to me that Forchenault apparently isn't important enough to get onto the poster.

It was also really odd that they didn't want to call him by name when his image and profile have been available for years.

I hadn't thought of the poster thing, but you're right. I wonder if his role will be relatively minor in 6.0 and only expand post in 6.X? It's weird he's in the trailer then.... that is very curious—gods I hope this doesn't mean he's been an Ascian or something for a while now.

As for why they didn't want to name him.... while it's clear to most people who frequent this forum and what-not, I think it does drum up some hype from people who're less loremongers. I know quite a few folks asked me who it was after Yoshida made those comments and got remarkably more excited than I was. (That's not to say I wasn't excited! It was just "ah, yes, that makes sense" versus "oh!!! awesome! WOW!") There's no way they could've expected it to remain a secret, but I suppose they might've also just not wanted to overload people with information. Fourchenault is a "new" entity for most folk, like Vrtra. (Had Estinien not spoke his name, you can be sure it would've been sussed out soon enough.)

Speaking of Vrtra I didn't see it mentioned here but during the Producer Letter Live with Ishikawa I think it was, she mentioned that Vrtra was the youngest of the First Brood. Additionally, when asked what content she'd tell people to do before Endwalkers she replied with Binding Coil and Interdimensional Rift, and her later comments

"If you do Omega in particular you might be able to figure out how you're getting to the moon..." or something to that effect
EDIT: Since claims without citations are naught but theory here's the best I can do, and forgive my paraphrasing! https://youtu.be/W-ZBHbnAcTs?t=7648 Hopefully you forgive my editorializing and can get to the timestamp indicated.

imply he might be a bigger player in the story than I'd initially guess.

As in, spaceship be damned, we're going to go to the moon on dragonback much like Midgardsormr ferried his eggs to Hydaelyn

make me think we really are getting to tie-in a lot of loose lore-ends. Which is only fitting, given the scope of Endwalkers.

[YianKutku]

It occurred to me that Forchenault apparently isn't important enough to get onto the poster.

It was also really odd that they didn't want to call him by name when his image and profile have been available for years.

Koji Fox: "We're not going to reveal who he is just yet, but you might find out in 5.55. Also, players who have read the Encyclopedia Eorzea might know who he is."

Me: "NO SHIT, KOJI."

[Jandor]

Reaper looks amazing, very interested in how the WoL will aquire that very...questionable soulstone. They said we will have 5 jobquests as in Healer, Tank, Meele, Phys. Ranged and Cas. Ranged I assume? Which is honestly a shame, I loved the individual questlines for the jobs pre-SHB (summoner was really interesting and drk of course was a joy to play through) So I'm a bit sad that they will be abandoning those questlines, I understand it would get too convoluted so they had to trim it down.

If I recall correctly when they confirmed the role quests they said: Tank, Healer, Melee Physical, Ranged Physical and Magic.

Might be just a coincidence but the odd phrasing of melee physical did make me think the new melee job would be very magic focused, which turned out to be fairly accurate.

[Merrnryn]

I just wanna say I love how Estinien has gone from

"I hate Dragons so much I will literally walk around bathed in there blood for days refusing to just wash it off"

to

"I am like 1/5 Nidhogg at least and swear by the Fury that I will actively becoming besties with every single member of the First Brood I come across"

It's legit one of the best character arc's the games history.

There is a difference between a stain on his armor and not washing it off. Stained is stained, it was made very painfully clear his armor was stained, not filth. To which even in HW he showed open and clear disgust by it, so much so he wanted to get rid of it and forge his armor anew.

[Seraphor]

If I recall correctly when they confirmed the role quests they said: Tank, Healer, Melee Physical, Ranged Physical and Magic.

Might be just a coincidence but the odd phrasing of melee physical did make me think the new melee job would be very magic focused, which turned out to be fairly accurate.

I think you're adding the emphasis to the wrong part.
It's Melee Physical and Ranged Physical.
Nothing to suggest that we're getting a new Magical Melee role, just that there are two distinct Physical roles. Reaper will still very much be considered a Physical DPS.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Possibly. I'm also mostly wondering why we'll be going there, that requires it to be a full zone. (Or is it even a zone? Could it be just a dungeon?) If it's Amaurotine in nature, that might suggest we're there to look for something from Amaurot to handle the current crisis.

The floating islands could also be related to basically any other revealed zone: a bastion of lush greenery in the barren landscape of the Moon, or that suspicious floating landmass on the map of Ilsabard, or Thavnairan exotic magic, or Sharlayan went "yeah, we raised a few islands and kept some stuff there". The only one I suspect is not related is Labyrinthos, since I don't think there's enough "underground" on those islands.

Hence my questioning about the number of zones: in other expansions, while there are six zones, generally at least half of them are connected to others in some close manner: the Fringes leads to the Peaks (leads to the Lochs), the Ruby Sea leads to Yanxia, the Coerthas Western Highlands leads to the Dravanian Forelands leads to the Dravanian Hinterlands (with the Churning Mists attached to the Forelands), and so on. Here, we're apparently being sent across two continents, with Thavnair, Old Sharlayan, and Garlemald, and then we're going to the Moon as well, and we know the Moon, Thavnair, and Garlemald have their own zones. Whoever our companions to these places will be must have as much teleport anima as we do to blip back and forth.

Speaking of spirals and teleporting, I did notice that in the art for the harbour of Thavnair (and presumably Radz-at-Han), there was a Sharlayan-style aetheryte. This wasn't seen in the other pictures of Radz-at-Han, which had their own (pointy, rather than spiral) aetheryte style.

Well Tataru has an airship now doesn’t she? We’ll probably be using that. In regards to the floating islands, it’s above Garlemald. So kind of connected.

[Jandor]

I think you're adding the emphasis to the wrong part.
It's Melee Physical and Ranged Physical.
Nothing to suggest that we're getting a new Magical Melee role, just that there are two distinct Physical roles. Reaper will still very much be considered a Physical DPS.

I don't think they're going to add another sub-role for DPS, it's just that they've never really felt the need to specify physical for melee before. If I remember right they also said Magic DPS and not Magic ranged DPS.

I was mostly just wondering if Reaper might primarily deal magic damage and get lumped in with the Magic DPS for the role quests.