If we don't get to explore and rebuild more of Garlmald, it will be a waste.

[Cleretic]

On topic, it was a major letdown to keep Garlemald behind the curtain for 10 years, only to reveal it as a smoldering heap. I'm even more surprised that there was basically no new lore revealed at all and still no new character models, with everyone either being Elezen or Hyur with a third eye on their head. Hopefully we get some sort of reconstruction thing off the map but considering the amount of side-quests that use the ruins, the main city we have access to is going to be dead forever.

I also hope that the writers remember the Thavnairan and Garlean embassies in Kugane and that they are finally used for something.

Honestly, I think it was pretty smart of them to set Garlemald aflame before we got there. If it were a straight-up assault on the Imperial capital, it would be... well, basically Stormblood 2 both in terms of structure and likely enemies. I hope you enjoyed inspiring oppressed citizens, and fighting infantry and tanks in city streets and palaces, because that's basically all that it'd be, just in winter this time.

But turning up to Garlemald after it's already been blasted? Story-wise, that expected framework is out the window, allowing them to both play on our expectations ('it turns out they would rather die than accept our help' was one of my favorite parts of Endwalker) and build up something new in its place. In terms of enemies, you've still got the infantry and tanks, but surrounded by a very different vibe and accompanied by a greater diversity thanks to the experiments and results of the Telophoroi. And aesthetically, blowing the place up let them base an entire zone on wartime destruction, particularly borrowing from the Battle of Stalingrad. And even the developers knew that; in the Famitsu interview it was confirmed that even when an all-Garlemald expansion was on the cards, it was still going to end in the Tower of Babil and Anima. We were never going to march on the capital.

...that said, yeah, I do want a quest or two around the Garlean embassy. They're admittedly in a weird spot--if we want to have a political meeting with Garleans we can just go to Garlemald--but I'd still like to check on them, see what's up.

EDIT: Also, for the majority of players who see the WoL as a hero, it's way better to turn up as essentially a liberation mission rather than an invading force. War is ugly, and when you hit 'invading the capital' nobody's coming out clean. The approach they took let them explore the social dynamic of that while still being largely sound to internal morals.

Maxima and Lucia aren't credibly accused of killing the Emperor sparking a civil war. Again, big difference.

In fact, Lucia's only really known as a traitor to officials thanks to originally being a spy, she kinda doesn't exist outside of those channels. And Maxima isn't even a traitor, he's just a diplomat; sure it's a little weird he turned up with the people he did, but in the eyes of Garlemald he has committed zero actual crimes. Hell, he's the one guy with the Ilsabard Contingent who's actually supposed to be there!

[KizuyaKatogami]

Maxima and Lucia aren't credibly accused of killing the Emperor sparking a civil war. Again, big difference.

Again, if you had read my post. Them being traitors seemed to affect nothing whatsoever. If thats the case, Gaius being there doesnt seem like it would be as big of a deal as they paint it. What would be the worst thing to happen? Friction between us and the garleans? The twins already helped with that by getting some killed. If anything maybe a familiar face explaining things would have been better.

[KageTokage]

The have a place to call home, the place they are at right now, they just need to rebuild. Goverment comes with the rebuilding and most of their army has surrendered the only active fighting is over their ancestral homeland as far as we've been told so far.

I'm mostly curious how the provinces are going to respond to the sour predicament Garlemald finds itself in, because decades of animosity aren't just going to be washed away immediately and some may attempt to retaliate.

As far their legions go, their status as far as I can recall is:

1st: Surrendered, but now part of the restoration effort.

IInd: Supposedly wiped out by blasphemies during the Final Days.

IIIrd: Surrendered, but now part of the restoration effort.

IVth: Disbanded after their defeat in Bozja and Gabranth's "death".

Vth: Unknown

VIth: Supposedly returned home after Regula's death, current status unknown.

VIIth: Defeated after the Diamond Weapon laid waste to their headquarters.

VIIIth: Unknown

IXth: Unknown

Xth: Surrendered, presumably intending to help with the restoration effort.

XIth: Mentioned as being responsible for the conquest of Nagxia, otherwise unknown.

XIIth: Defeated by the Eorzean Alliance in Ala Mhigo.

XIIIth: Unknown

XIVth: Defeated in Eorzea over the course of 1.0-2.0.


That leaves the status of nearly half of them still at large, and considering how much trouble a single legion has made for us on multiple occasions, I don't think matters can be considered truly resolved until we're certain none of them stand to threaten anyone.

[EdwinLi]

I'm mostly curious how the provinces are going to respond to the sour predicament Garlemald finds itself in.


As far their legions go, their status as far as I can recall is:

1st: Surrendered, but now part of the restoration effort.

IInd: Supposedly wiped out by blasphemies during the Final Days.

IIIrd: Surrendered, but now part of the restoration effort.

IVth: Disbanded after their defeat in Bozja and Gabranth's "death".

Vth: Unknown

VIth: Supposedly returned home after Regula's death, current status unknown.

VIIth: Defeated after the Diamond Weapon laid waste to their headquarters.

VIIIth: Unknown

IXth: Unknown

Xth: Surrendered, presumably intending to help with the restoration effort.

XIth: Unknown

XIIth: Defeated by the Eorzean Alliance in Ala Mhigo.

XIIIth: Unknown

XIVth: Defeated in Eorzea over the course of 1.0-2.0.


That leaves the status of nearly half of them still at large, and considering how much trouble a single legion has made for us on multiple occasions, I don't think matters can be considered truly resolved until we're certain none of them stand to threaten anyone.

considering how this type of events in aftermath of a war plays out often, I feel a certain amount of them may become warlords and cause long term trouble. Not to mention we do not know where the Unknown ones are deployed currently. We know Garlemald have set them in locations beyond Eorzea but we don't know where.

I do suspect some of them maybe located in the New World so once we get there we may have to deal with them when we reach the New World in a future expansion either to convince them the war has already ended and that Garlemald needs their help with restoration or stop them from causing trouble due to their new Warlord mentality in the New World.

As for the IVth, I doubt we have seen the last of them due to how the Bozja resistance story ended. I suspect we may get a continuation of their story in 7.X era or later since it does not look like their story will continue in 6.X. My best guess their story may continue in the New World locations which may explain why this story is not being continued in 6.X but late expansion since we don't have access to the location they moved their operations to yet.

[KageTokage]

It was mentioned that the majority of the remaining legions withdrew to the provinces when the civil war broke out instead of attempting to reclaim the capital, with only the 1st and 3rd contesting the right to the throne.

Considering that Valens was biding his time with the intent of using the new Weapon project to claim the capital, it wouldn't surprise me if others are intending to do the same through their own methods.

[EdwinLi]

It was mentioned that the majority of the remaining legions withdrew to the provinces when the civil war broke out instead of attempting to reclaim the capital, with only the 1st and 3rd contesting the right to the throne.

Considering that Valens was biding his time with the intent of using the new Weapon project to claim the capital, it wouldn't surprise me if others are intending to do the same through their own methods.

While certain Legions in the unknown category may, I suspect not all will go down that path. In a situation like this some of them may just become Mercenary groups as a means to survive using their talents since with no country to return to and no more supplies being sent to them, they will need a new source of support to survive in the region they are located in. It will also be based on the mentality of their leadership with each Legion. Certain ones may have a more open mind to accept adapting to their new home thus becoming more as private military or mercenaries while some may just try to keep up their old ways thus leading them down a path of a warlord controlling their Povinces or try to claim garlemald for themselves using their own plans.

[Duskane]

Gaius staying out just makes the narrative less awkward,
he himself said there was no winning as he would be considered a Hero to some and a traiter to others.
Possibly dividing an already destroyed population and just making it harder for WoL and Co to convince the garleans that they are not so bad.

[Theodric]

The player character was once falsely accused of murdering a leader and forced to flee into a foreign nation for refuge, so it could have easily have been written in such a way as to have the player character be eager to clear Gaius' name. I'm not sure why some posters are overlooking the fact that our character and many of his allies are well aware that Gaius did not actually murder Varis and that the individual responsible for slaying the Emperor was, in fact, still at large within the region at the time of our character's arrival. Exposing lies to bring the truth to light has long been a clear goal of our character (unless it has anything to do with Hydaelyn's genocide, the treachery at the end of the Autumn War and now Gaius van Baelsar's innocence it seems!)

All that aside, I do hope we see some manner of reconstruction effort established for the people of Garlemald. They've long been the true victims of the setting in my eyes, after all - for they suffered the most as a consequence of the Sundering given their inability to manipulate aether ordinarily, the horrific attempts to inflict genocide upon them during their days as peaceful farmers and then an era of prosperity turning out to merely be a matter of Ascian manipulation.

Leaving them to linger in the frozen ruins of Garlemald or fend for themselves upon the moon does not strike me as the end of their story, especially with Jullus serving as a future plot hook for more of the Garlean story going forward.

[Iedarus]

Was such a waste to not have Chemist be the new healer job and put the quest line in Garlemald. We could have learned what it's like to not have magic and how to take care of and protect the weak through other means.

[Cleretic]

Was such a waste to not have Chemist be the new healer job and put the quest line in Garlemald. We could have learned what it's like to not have magic and how to take care of and protect the weak through other means.

While I love the idea, I get the feeling that if Chemist actually did get into Endwalker it would've instead been a Thavnairian job. Remember that regardless of which healer we got, Reaper was still gonna be the DPS job, and was always going to be of Garlean origin and have a story of 'how do Garleans deal with keeping up with others'. Add to that the fact that Thavnair already has us meet a bunch of alchemists that even now still wear healing gear, and that you might not have even had to rewrite much of Sage's story to swap it between being for Sage or Chemist, and it overall leads me to believe that our AU Endwalker Chemist storyline would've been focused a little further south than Garlemald.