6.0 Story Speculations

[Rannie]

Not to mention that of all the bodies to possess as his host Fandanglelangadingaling chose someone that was already heavily despised by players anyway - it's like he wants us to hate him, even despite his nihilistic jabbering. And yes, it's clear he's long past the point of any possibility of reasoning with him.

Well, at least we will finally get to rub that damn arrogant smirk off from Asahi's face ourselves, even though he isn't actually Asahi anymore of course.

If only we could have punched the real Asahi...

[Vyrerus]

If only we could have punched the real Asahi...

We were about to, but then Yotsuyu was all, "SHANK!"

[YianKutku]

I do have a speculation about the beginning of 6.0: we'll be heading to Old Sharlayan first, and then due to their intransigence or perhaps some emergency, we'll go to Radz-at-Han. I think the "emergency" possibility is less likely, because in the Endwalker trailer, Urianger and Thancred are apprehensive about a coming disaster, but one which has not yet happened.

As for why we will go to Old Sharlayan first, there's a picture from the recent Fanfest (and probably before that, but the screenshot I have is from Fanfest):

(Spoilered for size.)

That's a Sharlayan-style aetheryte, in a location labelled as Thavnair.

The first thought I had was that this may be a Sharlayan enclave in Thavnair, perhaps in Radz-at-Han proper, or perhaps some short distance, and thus we have to go through a zone story to get to Radz-at-Han, the way we go through Kholusia on the way to Eulmore.

So if this is indeed a Sharlayan enclave, we might be going to Old Sharlayan first, get stonewalled by the Forum, and then some sympathizers contact us and recommend we go to Radz-at-Han for some reason. And this Sharlayan enclave in Thavnair is our initial support base there, allowing us access into Radz-at-Han with some diplomatic weight, instead of just being travellers and tourists.

Admittedly, I could be wrong. The biggest point against this speculation is that the buildings shown in that screenshot are very much Thavnairan in style, rather than Sharlayan. And we know Sharlayans like to basically copy-and-paste their architectural style anywhere they make a presence, like in the Dravanian Hinterlands and Idyllshire.

[Vyrerus]

Well the Thavnairian Consulate in Kugane is kinda like just white stone. Nothing super colorful like in Radz-at-han. Mayhaps there's a side of things we haven't seen in regards to Sharlayans and Thavnairians. I mean, there are Sharlayans that go against the custom, somewhat. Like, none of the Scions have enforced Sharlayan architecture into anything. Matoya opted to live in a cave rather than in one of the Sharlayan buildings she easily could have upkept.

[Steppie]

I really like this theory! I definitely feel like Radz-at-Han comes before Sharlayan in terms of locations we can visit. I'm feeling Radz-at-Han being the Crystarium of Endwalker whilst Sharlayan will be the more endgame Eulmore zone.

I also have a theory that the reason we get pushed away from Sharlayan is tightly linked into this "Coming Disaster" that we keep hearing about. I think Sharlayan have also looked into this, predicted the outcome and have discovered how to avert it. Them intervening at this current stage actually causes the disaster or causes it to be much worse and so they have to push us away for the time being. This is why Fourchenault took such strong actions towards the twins in the most recent MSQ to attempt to push them off the current path they are walking.

[Turethir]

A big reason (outside of MSQ basically telling us we're going there) I think we're going to Old Sharlayan first is that the role quests start there, and I'd imagine we'd be likely to be able to pick them up pretty quickly or even immediately.

[Recon1o6]

My big concern about EW is that its going to end up being "Why didnt we beat down fandaniel the moment he sicced bahamut on us" and zenos ends up being the big bad

[Bright-Flower]

A big reason (outside of MSQ basically telling us we're going there) I think we're going to Old Sharlayan first is that the role quests start there, and I'd imagine we'd be likely to be able to pick them up pretty quickly or even immediately.

Yeah. While it's possible we could swing by Thavnair before Sharalyan I expect to get to Sharlayan AT LEAST as early as we got to Kugane in Stormblood. (Right after the level X1 dungeon.)

The big cities are always accessible early because they have leveling content there etc. Leve quests and now also role quests. They're not going to make us wait until late in the story to get to Sharlayan, even if the Forum isn't exactly on our side right away. They'll find a way to get us in there.

Radz-at-Hahn could go either way. As the endgame hub it doesn't NEED to be accessible early on, but that didn't stop Rhalgr's Reach and arguably Eulmore depending on if you count our initial visit there.

[Tensaihime]

If you could end a conflict before it gets worse and all it cost you to try was some air, wouldn't you try it every time?

I would if it was the first or second or third time... but after a certain point when it’s clear that Action X has an insanely high failure rate, I’m going to prioritize a different action that I know is more likely to get results.

(2.3 me would. 5.5 me is over it and is preparing for chaos.)

[Tensaihime]

I do have a speculation about the beginning of 6.0: we'll be heading to Old Sharlayan first, and then due to their intransigence or perhaps some emergency, we'll go to Radz-at-Han. I think the "emergency" possibility is less likely, because in the Endwalker trailer, Urianger and Thancred are apprehensive about a coming disaster, but one which has not yet happened.

As for why we will go to Old Sharlayan first, there's a picture from the recent Fanfest (and probably before that, but the screenshot I have is from Fanfest):

(Spoilered for size.)

That's a Sharlayan-style aetheryte, in a location labelled as Thavnair.

The first thought I had was that this may be a Sharlayan enclave in Thavnair, perhaps in Radz-at-Han proper, or perhaps some short distance, and thus we have to go through a zone story to get to Radz-at-Han, the way we go through Kholusia on the way to Eulmore.

So if this is indeed a Sharlayan enclave, we might be going to Old Sharlayan first, get stonewalled by the Forum, and then some sympathizers contact us and recommend we go to Radz-at-Han for some reason. And this Sharlayan enclave in Thavnair is our initial support base there, allowing us access into Radz-at-Han with some diplomatic weight, instead of just being travellers and tourists.

Admittedly, I could be wrong. The biggest point against this speculation is that the buildings shown in that screenshot are very much Thavnairan in style, rather than Sharlayan. And we know Sharlayans like to basically copy-and-paste their architectural style anywhere they make a presence, like in the Dravanian Hinterlands and Idyllshire.

I confess I don’t even have a guess of where we’re going first and why, but I do like how Thavnair is looking! Can’t wait to go there! ...hopefully the Terminus beasts won’t level more than fifty percent of it...