Patch 6.1 trailer speculations

[TaleraRistain]

Just replayed the trailer again in slow motion. I'm confident in saying that the silhouette next to G'raha silhouette belongs to the WoL.
Sadly I couldn't take any screenshots, but you have to keep in mind the WoL in the trailer have PLD gear and a shield, and you could see an identical shield on the back for a very brief moment before it disappears.

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's PLD Meteor. You can see the bottom of the shield against the person's back.

[Rongway]

If I remember correctly, it's explicitly not Primal summoning, but something close enough that Louisoix felt conflicted about performing.

Tales from the Calamity: The Walker's Path

The Archon’s plan was to summon the Twelve using forbidden arts known only to him. With their combined strength, he was certain that he could prevent the fall of the lesser moon. Such strength, however, posed a threat in itself. Should Eorzea’s patron deities assume physical form, it seemed more than likely that they would be prone to the same appetites as the gods of the beastmen. Should that prove the case, their mere presence would bleed the land of life. And so Louisoix would instead call upon a fraction of the Twelve’s power—enough to stay Dalamud’s descent, and no more.

“It seems a fine balance to strike. Are you certain you can do it?”

Louisoix’s voice was distant. “Mayhap not. But the Twelve cannot be suffered to set foot upon Eorzean soil.” And then, head bowed, he told her the rest.

It was a mass Primal summoning but he planned to cancel the cast by killing himself before they could fully manifest.

[EaraGrace]

Maybe this is obvious to others but after thinking on what we’ve seen of Myths I have a theory. Given what we know of primals, it strikes me as odd that we have no record of someone summoning a primal since the Third Astral Era. The Ascians were more than willing to share the secrets of summoning, and there’s no reason to believe that religious belief had waned in that time, especially since worship of the Twelve dates back to then.

Silvertear meanwhile, is the place where all Aetherial currents meet and while this is purely speculation, I wonder if it’s not the place that primals return to.

So now on to the actual theory. What if the presence is the collection of millennia of worship, sealed by Hydaelyn beneath Silvertear to prevent primals from destabilizing Etheirys/becoming to powerful? Looking at it from Her point of view, primals drain aether from the land and are the perfect tools for causing calamities. That, plus the fact that the Sundering was partially about preventing a powerful deity from using its strength to solve its followers ills, would mean She has good reason to stop anymore summoning. However, she can’t and shouldn’t force people to stop worshipping, nor can prevent the Ascians from teaching the mortals how to give their gods life. Thus, she seals them, much like the Allagans sealed Bahamut and the Warring Triad (though without the fucked up enslaving part.) It would explain why she has Midgard defend the seal, as well as the scene with the primals in the 1.0 trailer where they seem to be “released.” Gaius’ rage at what he thought to be false gods would also have additional nuance if what stopped his invasion is a literal jamboree of primals.

Guess we’ll find out soon

[Lyth]

Along those same lines, it's worth noting that the First's equivalent of Mor Dhona is Lakeland, and the equivalent of Lake Silvertear on the First are the (perhaps aptly named) waters of the Source. On the First, Bismark sleeps as the Isle of Ken, which was roughly where Midgardsormr was dozing off on the Source. It's probably a cozy place to nap with lots of ambient aether. Perhaps they both share a common connection to the lifestream, serving as a nexus point between the Shards for souls to return, and perhaps that's the actual power source that the Crystal Tower is drawing on.

Nidhana defines Akasha as 'spiritual emotion'. Unlike creation magic, where the creations themselves are viewed as disposable tools, summons are instead revered through their people's faith and spiritualism. I'd like to know what part dynamis plays in summoning, and whether 'spiritual emotion' could be used to sustain a primal in the absence of aether (perhaps the Endsinger is an example of this?) It'll be interesting to see how this develops now that the 'desire to assimilate others' aspect that the Ascians introduced has been weeded out.

[Cleretic]

Maybe this is obvious to others but after thinking on what we’ve seen of Myths I have a theory. Given what we know of primals, it strikes me as odd that we have no record of someone summoning a primal since the Third Astral Era. The Ascians were more than willing to share the secrets of summoning, and there’s no reason to believe that religious belief had waned in that time, especially since worship of the Twelve dates back to then.

Silvertear meanwhile, is the place where all Aetherial currents meet and while this is purely speculation, I wonder if it’s not the place that primals return to.

I mean, a big thing with the gap between the Third Astral Era/early Fourth Umbral and the Sixth Astral we picked up from is that we don't know much about them at all. The one flashpoint we have is the War of the Magi, which was a war where no participants really needed something like a primal, because they all had other stuff. That doesn't mean there weren't primals.

In fact, I do believe that at least one civilization of the time was aware of primals, because Mhach had Ozma; we know that their Ozma was essentially a smaller-scale replica of Proto-Ozma, which was a primal, so it stands to reason that they found at least proto-Ozma, if not Eureka itself (which would explain why Art and Owain use abilities from the Mhach raids).

[EdwinLi]

I don't know why but I feel the Last Job Role Quest is actually a multi-update part storyline that may cover finishing off the remainin Ascian and their lackies. We see in the trailer that the 6.1 Job role quest is going to focus on finishing the Garlean Side of MSQ involving the Tower of Babil.

People will complain such a important lore event is a "optional side content" and locked behind Role Quests but the developers probably done this to prevent a 2.X bloated MSQ event again since they have focused a lot on making certain things that could have been part of MSQ in past expansions to be optional MSQ contents. This will also fall into their promise of having Season 2 MSQ no longer focus on the Ascians anymore as well thus why such a important lore involving finishing off the last of Ascians so they are no longer a threat forever is a Optional MSQ content.

[EaraGrace]

I mean, a big thing with the gap between the Third Astral Era/early Fourth Umbral and the Sixth Astral we picked up from is that we don't know much about them at all. The one flashpoint we have is the War of the Magi, which was a war where no participants really needed something like a primal, because they all had other stuff. That doesn't mean there weren't primals.

In fact, I do believe that at least one civilization of the time was aware of primals, because Mhach had Ozma; we know that their Ozma was essentially a smaller-scale replica of Proto-Ozma, which was a primal, so it stands to reason that they found at least proto-Ozma, if not Eureka itself (which would explain why Art and Owain use abilities from the Mhach raids).

Very true, but I’m more imagining that the seal is for after they are killed. Eureka for example was created by the Allagans and left untouched. Though that now makes me wonder, how does one easily distinguish between an aetheric simulacrum and a “primal.”

And one thing we do know about that period at least is they regularly worshipped the Twelve, yet no record exists of them manifesting. It’s tenuous evidence I admit, but it makes me wonder.

[KageTokage]

I don't know why but I feel the Last Job Role Quest is actually a multi-update part storyline that may cover finishing off the remainin Ascian and their lackies. We see in the trailer that the 6.1 Job role quest is going to focus on finishing the Garlean Side of MSQ involving the Tower of Babil.

People will complain such a important lore event is a "optional side content" and locked behind Role Quests but the developers probably done this to prevent a 2.X bloated MSQ event again since they have focused a lot on making certain things that could have been part of MSQ in past expansions to be optional MSQ contents. This will also fall into their promise of having Season 2 MSQ no longer focus on the Ascians anymore as well thus why such a important lore involving finishing off the last of Ascians so they are no longer a threat forever is a Optional MSQ content.

I doubt the Ascians have anything to do with the tower business and think it's more addressing the loose threads that we never encountered the "lead" blasphemy in Garlemald, nor did we really learn about the deeper workings of the tower and why it's still radiating that unpleasant glow still.

The circumstances of Anima's summoning don't really align with what we know of previous primals, either, as while there was an excess of faith you also need a concentrated source of aether to serve as a catalyst as well; whether it be crystals or something like Nidhogg's eyes so I expect the latter point is also going to be addressed.

[Cleretic]

I doubt the Ascians have anything to do with the tower business and think it's more addressing the loose threads that we never encountered the "lead" blasphemy in Garlemald, nor did we really learn about the deeper workings of the tower and why it's still radiating that unpleasant glow still.

The circumstances of Anima's summoning don't really align with what we know of previous primals, either, as while there was an excess of faith you also need a concentrated source of aether to serve as a catalyst as well; whether it be crystals or something like Nidhogg's eyes so I expect the latter point is also going to be addressed.

I will point out that this was in Garlemald proper, and they did have a lot of ceruleum. It's possible that Anima was just an oil-powered primal.

[sidurgu-12]

I doubt the Ascians have anything to do with the tower business and think it's more addressing the loose threads that we never encountered the "lead" blasphemy in Garlemald, nor did we really learn about the deeper workings of the tower and why it's still radiating that unpleasant glow still.

The circumstances of Anima's summoning don't really align with what we know of previous primals, either, as while there was an excess of faith you also need a concentrated source of aether to serve as a catalyst as well; whether it be crystals or something like Nidhogg's eyes so I expect the latter point is also going to be addressed.

the tower was being drowned in aether from the others so that combined with their fanatical beliefs couldve created it.