6.0 Story Speculations

[KageTokage]

Random trailer thoughts/observations

It's interesting that only now Hydaelyn/Venat has anything positive to say about darkness, though perhaps it's a suggestion of just how desperate the situation has gotten and we might be having to rely on Zodiark for the world's salvation instead.

You can catch a brief glimpse of Cirina and Sadu in the scene where the Garleans are attacking the alliance camp.

I'd assume this new Garlean youth is meant to provide perspective on how they viewed the conflict with the other nations, and I'm feeling like the other fellow with the judge armor might be Nerva.

Vespoids from FF XIII are joining the list of "mechas from other games repurposed as Garlean tech".

Anima is very definitely the entity lurking with the Garlemald tower judging from the architectural similarities between its arena and what we saw in the Endwalker trailer.

People are actually transforming into terminus beasts, as if the whole end of the world scenario wasn't bad enough as is. I'm curious as to whether it's akin to what happened with the sin eaters where they can corrupt other lifeforms or if the Final Days have created an environment where simply harboring enough fear and dread has the potential to warp oneself into an embodiment of those feelings due to the world's aether being agitated or some such.

Us being unconscious in Zenos' fancy chair makes me think that we'll end up burning ourselves out fighting Anima, but him being the considerate "friend" he is likely decides to just let us recuperate before our inevitable confrontation.

That nightmarish dungeon seems like a premonition of what's going to become of the world if the Final Days aren't stopped as there's bits of ruined architecture scattered about, some seemingly Thavnairian in appearance and possibly Ul'dahn as well (Though I can't be sure through those eye-bleeding Reaper visuals). It would be pretty chilling if different parts of the dungeon are dedicated to different regions we've been to.

[GoldStarz]

Random Observations:

There's a blue haired Garlean who looks like he'll be important. Perhaps he is Lord Nerva? There's also another Garlean, seen only from behind, standing in the train car. He's another candidate for Lord Nerva. Given his location, it seems he's in charge of looking out for the survivors within Garlemald itself.

Venat/Hydaelyn is as vague as ever. She seems a lot more aloof than Emet-Selch. I think we'll see the player character meet up with her a few times and perhaps even travel with her for a bit, learning her perspective and thoughts. Of course, that doesn't mean that goals and opinions will necessarily align. We shall have to wait and see.

It looks like the final zone may very well be some sort of 'underworld/aetherial sea' type deal. Not entirely unsurprising and it makes for some creepy but eerily beautiful aesthetics which I'm pleased to see.

I'll have to watch it a few more times when I'm more awake but that's the stuff that stood out to me the most.

Titus was Varis' uncle, so Nerva would probably be around Varis' name and is thus more likely the Garlean only seen from behind, if he appeared at all.

Not surprised Venat is a little vague though, she's never been the direct kind of person.

Also, I think the aetherial sea/crystal area was just a dungeon, though who can say if it's mid or late game.

10characters

[Wiz33]

Well, Guess the Launch trailer and comments in the live letter pretty much confirmed that Emet is alive and kicking. I'm even going to go out and say he's going to have a major impact in the Endwalker story.

[JeanneOrnitier]

I definitely think the older guy in Judge armor looking at a tattered flag is Nerva. The blue-haired younger Garlean is probably someone brand new.

The shot of the Ancients running through the destruction of Amaurot has them more distinctly "there" and less ghostly than Emet's recreation, so I assume it's an actual flashback of the actual event.

Well, Guess the Launch trailer and comments in the live letter pretty much confirmed that Emet is alive and kicking. I'm even going to go out and say he's going to have a major impact in the Endwalker story.

I don't see how you got the impression he's alive at all. We know his spirit is around in the Lifestream because of 5.3, so him being the expansion's zone narrator ala Fortemps/Lyse/Ardbert doesn't mean he's physically alive.

[Rosenstrauch]

Endwalker Trailer stuff:

I'm still holding out hope for Nerva to turn out to be someone very young, but the possibility of him being the guy in Judge armor is pretty likely, yeah. Either way, I seriously hope they address the thing I love to bring up every time I talk about Nerva: His existence is a small plot hole that really ought to be filled.

EDIT: Oh yes, like I mentioned on Twitter. The Sharlayan/Forum robes evoking the Ancients' robes and masks. But, at least to me, it feels like they're designed to be a little creepy in contrast. Maybe it's the whole "facelessness" of the hat obscuring the head, while the Ancients' outfit is made more personable by only being a half-mask and the generally affable behavior they have on display.

Maybe my opinion will change once we actually get to Sharlayan and they turn out to be Just Like Us, but so far they just creep me out.

I need to watch the trailer in English at some point, but I'm pretty hyped so far.

[Vyrerus]

Ruminations on Trailer, now that I've finally been able to watch it with only a few, mild interruptions(seems like big news on XIV always comes out while I'm at work).

Seems like Zenos and Fandaniel have a plan to put us on the back foot. Hence the throne scene.

With the Beauty and the Beast flower given to us by Venat, all I can really think is how awful the old woman who was actually a resplendent sorceress was to trick the asshole prince. Who for being a stuck up noble, imagine that in a time period where it was expected, she cursed him. Just sort of gave me a vibe like, maybe Venat is sour that she can't control us directly.

Actual Ancients without their hoods and with skin textures. Looks like we're getting another visualization of the old Final Days. Venat had soot on her face even. She has resting bitch face.

As far as the deadened landscape dungeon looks, it looks like some sort of FFV / FFVI / FFXI landscape mixture. Those black orbs in the sky are reminiscent of the Void holes in the rejoined planet from FFV. The sky looks like Abyssea, but the skeletons all over the darkened ground remind me of Tahrongi Canyon/Attowha Chasm/Promyvion Mea. I bet it's like a hologram or memory of the star post Final Days, pre-Sundering. I think we're going to get the whole picture. Also FFVI - World of Ruin reference.

Sharlayan Robes look like white rendition of Ancient robes. Not too mention all those face veils.

Repurposed Manipulator? Or whatever it's called from Gordias 1 boss in Garlemald zone. Fandaniel be up in Alexander's shit? Bad guys using the Alex/Omega tech against us, a nice reversal from what the good guys did with it in Shadowbrunchers.

I know they might just be spread wide, but in the scene where Fandango is arms spread wide towards incomplete Zodiark, it looks like his legs are missing completely. Wonder if he gets Asahi's body cut in twain, but continues to use it by levitating lol.

Voices talking about Final Days and World Free of Sorrow and such... I bet those are voices of Ancients from more holorecords talking about restoring the Star pre-Sundering.

Crystal pathway looks and is reminiscent of two places from FFXI. The Empyreal Paradox - Abyssea and Provenance. We may be traversing a physically sundered mothercrystal.

[Wiz33]

I definitely think the older guy in Judge armor looking at a tattered flag is Nerva. The blue-haired younger Garlean is probably someone brand new.

The shot of the Ancients running through the destruction of Amaurot has them more distinctly "there" and less ghostly than Emet's recreation, so I assume it's an actual flashback of the actual event.

I don't see how you got the impression he's alive at all. We know his spirit is around in the Lifestream because of 5.3, so him being the expansion's zone narrator ala Fortemps/Lyse/Ardbert doesn't mean he's physically alive.

Some of you never got that everything that happened in Amaurot was staged by Emet to save your butt (actually Emet been saving everyone's butt all through ShB) and he already got his exit strategy/curtain call all planned out. Ascian destroyed by white auracite do not get to retain a physical form and carry a conversation. He's not in the livestream. His being retreated to the void after you destroyed his physical body with the aether axe. That's why he was there to snap you out of it in SOS.

ShB is as much Emet's story as it is Arbert's and Graha/Exarch's. Emet is so central to the whole Shb story and the only reason you and everyone else survived the whole ShB experience! Without him. Y'shtola would be dead (and you would not even realize that Elidibus is a Primal), The Crystal Exarch would be dead after absorbing all your Aether, the Scion will get sent home but may or may not make it in one piece, you will have no help in reaching the Crystal Tower since the Scion/Exarch will be gone, without the Azem crystals, you have no chance of defeating Elidibus, even if you somehow managed to defeat him, you can't bind him since you have no control over the tower and there will not be a memory crystal to transfer the Exarch's memories to the younger G'raha. Tell me how can someone who have done all that does not have a perfect exit strategy all ready for his final curtain call (Amaurot), with the encore being snapping you out of the void in SOS and basically telling you that he's handing you the future but he's still there if you stray from the path.

I'm not saying Emet Selch is a saint. I'm sure he was a "evil" Ascian all set on continuing his work for the rejoining upon his return. What I'm saying is that once he meet us and saw that we have a fragment of Azem's soul and have another fragment walking beside us. He was finally open to the idea that we might be a worthy successor to their legacy and an alternative to the rejoining. He then proceed to test our worthiness all through ShB which resulted in us possessing 2 fragments of Azem's soul and the official holder of Azem's office as part of the 14. While Emet probably doesn't see all but he's basically a god compare to us with his thousands of thousands of years of experience among us, establishing the Allagan Empire and all his experience as a member of the convocation of 14. Just look at his body posture all through ShB until the end of 5.0 and see how it changed when you "defeated" him.

[JeanneOrnitier]

The part with

The WoL unconscious on the throne with Zenos looking at him reminded me of the end of KH3D when Sora is comatose and sitting on the Organization's chairs, with Xehanort prepping to possess him. I wonder what the context is.

[GoldStarz]

I don't see how you got the impression he's alive at all. We know his spirit is around in the Lifestream because of 5.3, so him being the expansion's zone narrator ala Fortemps/Lyse/Ardbert doesn't mean he's physically alive.

You're kicking a hornet's there, they're borderline conspiratorial that Emet is secretly definitely alive and well.

[JeanneOrnitier]

[snipped for length]

I feel like you're extrapolating a lot with what you think I think of Emet? I never even implied I didn't like him so I don't know why you're snapping at me about how useful he was in ShB. I never did anything close to calling him out, just asked where you got the impression he was still alive.

But him being secretly alive ruins the entire final scenes with him in Amaurot. He entrusted the world to the sundered and told us to remember that he once lived. The sequence was about letting go of the past and the dead and moving on. It ruins the whole thematic of the story if he didn't actually die there.