[Spoiler] Isn't Dark Knight using Akasa ?

[Lauront]

He uses a greatsword, but as said he has limitless magical abilities etc. I'm not saying using dark magic requires dynamis.
I'm just saying that seems to fit very neatly with the way dark knights channel their emotions to generate more magic than they should

Or it is just the emotional state affecting the way the aether is coming out, since magic can involve manipulating one's own bodily aether, and if your emotions are in an agitated state, that may well suffice to produce darkness...

It might be dynamis. It might not be. None of it requires that it be.

[h-alpha]

I'd say that a lot of what we do is a combination of Aether and Dynamis. The whole point of us being sundered is that as whole beings of such strong Aether, we drowned out Dynamis. Once sundered, we are better able to manipulate the latter, though it's done unconsciously. Something like the Warrior's Berserk state to me is an example of us combining Aether and Dynamis into a form we can use. Which is why we're so strong-- we're not limited to just one form or the other, but combine the two for something greater.

Right, and to add to this - the fact that it's an unconscious thing isn't to say also that it's not a thing that we tap into regularly, either. Maybe it's not as intentional as manipulating aether in order to cast a spell, or something that we can do so easily. But I'd argue that if dynamis is influenced by strong emotions, if it's something that aids us in our hour of need but not something we can harness directly at will, would not a dark night opening the flood gates to the dark, strong emotions within them and unleashing power that transcends what they'd normally be capable of due to the sheer intensity of their emotions be an example of an extreme circumstance? Would it not be a situation where, while we're not directly able to control dynamis, we're doing something that allows us to be more susceptible to its influence?

I've always wondered "but wait, how exactly are we doing this?" for things like that, so I rather like that dynamis can help fill in those gaps.

[Lucke]

Aren't Limit Breaks Dynamis? I thought I read that somewhere.

[Denishia]

I don't really understand the backlash against dynamis, but maybe it's the physics analogy, or that even in the fantasy I read with hard magic systems (Brandon Sanderson comes to mind), they don't tie every single magical element to one system or force, even if that's the one that gets the most detail- but having everything in XIV being handwaved as 'aether' was deeply unsatisfying and came across as lackluster undeveloped writing. Having a second named magical force that operates in ways that can be both opposing and complimentary, and isn't a complete handwave mystery but has some room for the writers to flesh it out - and that it is regulated to being weaker except in very specific circumstances- only comes across as a bonus to me. Sure, I understand the fear that everything and every enemy going forward is going to be explained via dynamis instead of aether because here's our new hot plot macguffin - but it's yet to be a factor in the Pandaemonion raids, and it feels like a useful additive retcon instead of subtractive.

It certainly made Omega Raid less cheesy.

[Ryaz]

I don't really understand the backlash against dynamis, but maybe it's the physics analogy, or that even in the fantasy I read with hard magic systems (Brandon Sanderson comes to mind), they don't tie every single magical element to one system or force, even if that's the one that gets the most detail- but having everything in XIV being handwaved as 'aether' was deeply unsatisfying and came across as lackluster undeveloped writing. Having a second named magical force that operates in ways that can be both opposing and complimentary, and isn't a complete handwave mystery but has some room for the writers to flesh it out - and that it is regulated to being weaker except in very specific circumstances- only comes across as a bonus to me. Sure, I understand the fear that everything and every enemy going forward is going to be explained via dynamis instead of aether because here's our new hot plot macguffin - but it's yet to be a factor in the Pandaemonion raids, and it feels like a useful additive retcon instead of subtractive.

It certainly made Omega Raid less cheesy.

When it comes to Lore some people just are very attached to the old ways. Adding something new, even if it IS an additive retcon and can fit into the lore, is still a retcon to them. So, if they've been told for 8 years that everything we do is through aether, then by god, that's it. Nothing else. It breaks their head canon and some people don't adapt to it too well. Trust me, it took me some time to grasp dynamis as well, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt it made sense and could fit very well into the lore and I'm excited to see it explored more in the future. We find new discoveries of how things work every day in real life, so it makes sense that people can find it in a fantasy world as well.

Any long running story is going to have some inconsistencies here and there. FFXIV has kept those to a minimum in my opinion, though some people treat this stuff like WoW levels of retcon. I feel as a society we tend to overanalyze everything these days. People freak out if everything isn't spelled out for them in movies, for example, and expect it all the make perfectly logical sense and can't just enjoy stories for what they are. As a scientifically, logically minded person myself, there are times I get frustrated at the stupidity of certain things I've watched. But I've learned how to turn my brain off during those moments and just enjoy the spectacle.

[Denishia]

I've always been amazed and amused at how from the beginning that XIV has worked to explain with in-game lore elements that I was willing to accept as genre or gameplay conventions, elements I was perfectly able to turn my brain off for, be it the Echo to explain wipes in dungeons, the various explanations for Extreme and Savage versions of fights, that at least some of the Duty Finder has canon moments, and now dynamis for some of the 'heroic willpower' like in Omega and at least partially or some of the Limit Breaks.

[KariTheFox]

I think it's worth pointing out that when it comes disciplines like dancing, they are not really being studied extensively by the leading aethorologists of the world. Dancers just say they are manipulating aether through thier dance because that is what they understand "energy" to be. It might be aether, it might be dynamis. I don't think enougn in-universe research has been done on Dark Knights or Dancers to know.

Though I like to imagine some Hannish alchemist writing a paper theorizing that Dancers are using akasa, and it failing peer review because they had no way of proving it at the time.

[Lyth]

From the Flame in the Abyss (Lv. 58/Heavensward):
Ahhh, I think I'm beginning to understand this whole “darkness” concept, kupo!
Harnessing the power of your emotions or some such, yes? I'm reminded of an ancient legend about a moogle named Mog─rather simple name, I know, but those were simpler times, kupo! Anyway, Mog had a penchant for dancing, and─

Wait, wait. What does dancing have to do with the dark arts?

Everything, kupo! Everything!
The point is, your master was absolutely right when he told you to “submit to the flame.” You just never figured out what he meant by it.

I think that should answer OP's question.

Part of the resistance to Dynamis comes from the broader Lore forums wanting to flex on the writers in an attempt to demonstrate that they're smarter and more knowledgeable about game lore. Part of it also comes from the fact that Dynamis is coded as emotional and irrational, and those things are scary. What I find fascinating is that most of Azem's current travelling companions have years of formal education under their belt and carry doctorate equivalents, but the idea that there might be something out there that contradicts the fundamental assumption/axiom that underpins all their theories is met with 'Huh, I didn't know about that. Tell me more.' Odd that genuine scientific curiosity is so rare, and that it's so much more common to become emotionally attached to your dogmas.

[RyuDragnier]

What I find fascinating is that most of Azem's current travelling companions have years of formal education under their belt and carry doctorate equivalents, but the idea that there might be something out there that contradicts the fundamental assumption/axiom that underpins all their theories is met with 'Huh, I didn't know about that. Tell me more.' Odd that genuine scientific curiosity is so rare, and that it's so much more common to become emotionally attached to your dogmas.

I attribute that to how many over the top things they've seen over the course of the game. They've seen body snatching ancient souls, have traversed worlds, learned that their "astral and umbral" polarities were "dark and light" respectively (they believed the opposite), have seen a long lost ancient civilization's city and its downfall, and have in general seen so many things to where they'd be fools not to believe something that may seem outlandish. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up in the Hildibrand questline and took it all seriously.

[Veloran]

I don't really understand the backlash against dynamis, but maybe it's the physics analogy, or that even in the fantasy I read with hard magic systems (Brandon Sanderson comes to mind),

A very pertinent lecture.
And more.
And more.

Timestamped for your convenience, though I suggest you watch the whole thing. But basically people are given to dissatisfaction with Dynamis because it is effectively a new magic power invented to solve a problem at the 95% mark of the story. It's not as grounded as aether, which is already like midway on that scale there, but neither does it have much in the way of a sense of mystery because they basically explained how it works - sort of - with the caveat that it can effectively do anything. So it is neither "magic as science" where the reader is impressed by how the writer cleverly solved a problem using well-established rules, but neither is it "magic as wonder" because it's fairly understood and directly viewed to the point of carrying the plot via powerscaling.

So if Endwalker is "the final chapter in the Hydaelyn and Zodiark Saga", Dynamis is the deus ex machina brought out in the last chapter of the book to wrap up all the problems. Hence unsatisfying.