Dynamis - Limit Breaks

[KariTheFox]

"There are three players in The Final Day. One of them is an statistician and one of them is a logician and one of them is a mathematician.

And they have just watched the tank use LB3, and they see Endsinger respond with "Dynamis...?"

And the statistician says, 'Look, limit breaks are caused by dynamis!' And the logician says, 'No, no, tank limit breaks are caused by dynamis, at least during The Final Day.' And the mathematician says, 'No. Endsinger appears to have stated 'Dynamis...' during a time when a tank limit break was used.'

[BaroLlyonesse]

Nidhana also mentions dynamis/akasa as a form of exultation that lets you push past your limits when all else seems lost thanks to your hope and determination. It's allowing you to channel much more aether than you would normally be able to execute an extremely strong attack. As mentioned before, it's just putting a name to the concept of breaking your limits.

One, the status condition 'Breaking your limits as only a true Warrior of Light can' (or something like that) I can concede a little on. However, we also 'break our limits' when we're summoning allies in Seat of Sacrifice, right? Elidibus says it's an 'invocation of eld, though not of Hydaelyn's making. What are you?' We're drawing from the power of Azem in that scene, with our own desire fueling it. That's not necessarily Dynamis either, right? It's aether, because that's what the Ancients used, and therefore impossible to be Dynamis (as we have no lore support for Azem using Dynamis). In the final fight with Zenos, we literally burn our soul, which could be Dynamis, but we can't limit break, and that would be stupid useful in that fight. But Zenos can, or appears to, powered by his voidsent which is an aether construct.

Two, I kind of see a link where you use your Dynamis to channel Aether, it makes a little more sense. But that opens an entire mess of issues itself. When we cast thaumaturgy spells, do we use Dynamis? Conjury? Summoning a Fat Cat minion is pulling the minion out of the Void... is that Dynamis or Aether?

EDIT: The rationale for breaking your limits in the Seat of Sacrifice is, the only times we could really be considered to be doing that is what we do something outside of the mechanics or lore of the game. That's when we do something beyond the mortal ability, powers no one else has.

[Dikatis]

One, the status condition 'Breaking your limits as only a true Warrior of Light can' (or something like that) I can concede a little on. However, we also 'break our limits' when we're summoning allies in Seat of Sacrifice, right? Elidibus says it's an 'incantation of eld, but not of Hydaelyn's making. What are you?' We're drawing from the power of Azem in that scene, with our own desire fueling it. That's not necessarily Dynamis either, right? It's aether, because that's what the Ancients used, and therefore impossible to be Dynamis (as we have no lore support for Azem using Dynamis). In the final fight with Zenos, we literally burn our soul, which could be Dynamis, but we can't limit break, and that would be stupid useful in that fight. But Zenos can, or appears to, powered by his voidsent which is an aether construct.

Two, I kind of see a link where you use your Dynamis to channel Aether, it makes a little more sense. But that opens an entire mess of issues itself. When we cast thaumaturgy spells, do we use Dynamis? Conjury? Summoning a Fat Cat minion is pulling the minion out of the Void... is that Dynamis or Aether?

No one said the attack itself isn't aether. It's just using dynamis to channel a lot more aether and pull out a lot more power than you'd normally be able to. The ancients don't need to use dynamis to pull out attacks on the level of a Limit Break because they have so much more aether.

As for the solo duty, well, game mechanics? It'd be neat if you could use a Limit Break in that scenario but it wouldn't be all that impressive to use a Healer Limit Break there so you're probably not allowed to do it there for the sake of parity.


I don't see why the other schools aren't able to use dynamis. It's just a form of energy manipulated through emotions. If anything, Dark Knight and Dancer are all about using emotions (love and hope) to draw out additional power (dynamis) and to a lesser-extent, Warrior (using one's desire to protect others to unleash an inner strength beyond normal mortal limits).

To quote Nidhana:

Akasa can neither be created, or destroyed. It is beyond our power to purposefully alter or manipulate. The only thing observed to influence it is an abundance of... I want to say "spiritual emotion". As a veteran of the battlefield, surely you've experienced moments of desperation or exaltation where you've transcended the usual limits of your capabilities? That is the manifestation of akasa, the invisible essence harnessed by heart, mind, and unyielding spirit!

The context of WoL and friends' final battle with the Endsinger fits this perfectly.

Then there's the reworked Ultima Weapon fight where you get this message prior to your Limit Break gauge charging to Level 3:

Hydaelyn: I have not the strength... to shield thee again... Permit not that manifestation of that vile magick, lest Darkness prevail!

Your fervent hope shines forth with resplendent Light, granting you strength beyond your limits!

This implies that WoL and friends were able to channel a LB3 Limit Break through their sheer determination empowering them with dynamis despite not normally being able to.

[Darkstride]

Endsinger doesn't have to be thinking you've used Dynamis. She could be asking why Dynamis is failing her

I feel like your interpretation is the one that seems less likely to be true. Her inflection when saying the word "Dynamis" sounds more like a reactive accusation rather than a question of her own power. If anyone can speak to how it is stated in other languages, that may vary. However, it does not come across as if her own strength faltered, but rather that the Warrior of Light was able to directly counter it. It's very similar to when she again responds us later in the fight with "what is this defiance"? And at that point we know for sure that we've used Dynamis against her.

She follows it with "no matter, you only delay the inevitable", which IS directed at the Warrior of Light having been able to withstand her attack.

I agree that it's not a clear-cut, definitive answer, but I think that trying to interpret it in the way you described feels forced.

[BaroLlyonesse]

This implies that WoL and friends were able to channel a LB3 Limit Break through their sheer determination empowering them with dynamis despite not normally being able to.

But it's not dynamis that lets them do it. The EE specifically states that the BLM LB3 is cast by:

Gathering vast quantities of aether from her allies, the mage unleashes a gigantic mass of crystallized energy upon the heads of her foes.

Last Bastion, though...

Last Bastion draws upon a paladin's protective fervor...

So that one might be Dynamis.

Final Heaven is specifically aether, and references reaching beyond mortal limits.

WAR is aether from allies,
DRG is purely internal,
BRD is aether from allies,
NIN is gathering aether scattered around the battlefield,
WHM is allied aether with the WHM's life force,
SMN is actually Bahamut's aether which a whole new snag,
SCH doesn't explain anything,
DRK is some random aether source suffused with inner darkness,
MCH is described as purely mechanical, no aether at all,
AST is celestial power, which I'd have to research a little to see what that counts as,

When we get down to it, different LB seem to come from completely different sources. I think it's too simplistic to just say 'Oh, Dynamis opens the gates to all of these', especially MCH. I know that it was published before dynamis was truly a thing, but we still need an actual true bit of confirmed lore that says LB come from Dynamis. The EE promotes the synergy theory only: that a bunch of adventurers can 'pool' their energy together to create massive effects in most situations

Effectively, we can't retcon existing lore, and the people who can, well, they're not talking.

[BaroLlyonesse]

If anyone can speak to how it is stated in other languages, that may vary.

I feel like this would be huge to figuring it out, getting the right translations of all the other languages. It's how we were able to confirm some other things in the game.

[Absimiliard]

WAR is aether from allies,
DRG is purely internal,
MCH is described as purely mechanical, no aether at all,
AST is celestial power, which I'd have to research a little to see what that counts as,

DRG's LB, while internally powered, is none the less aether. Dragon aether, specifically.
Most of MCH's gadgets run off of aether, even if the machinist themselves isn't directly gathering or channeling it.
Given the new lore from Endwalker it seems pretty likely the celestial power used by AST is just more aether.

[Dikatis]

But it's not dynamis that lets them do it. The EE specifically states that the BLM LB3 is cast by:


Last Bastion, though...

So that one might be Dynamis.

Final Heaven is specifically aether, and references reaching beyond mortal limits.

WAR is aether from allies,
DRG is purely internal,
BRD is aether from allies,
NIN is gathering aether scattered around the battlefield,
WHM is allied aether with the WHM's life force,
SMN is actually Bahamut's aether which a whole new snag,
SCH doesn't explain anything,
DRK is some random aether source suffused with inner darkness,
MCH is described as purely mechanical, no aether at all,
AST is celestial power, which I'd have to research a little to see what that counts as,

When we get down to it, different LB seem to come from completely different sources. I think it's too simplistic to just say 'Oh, Dynamis opens the gates to all of these', especially MCH. I know that it was published before dynamis was truly a thing, but we still need an actual true bit of confirmed lore that says LB come from Dynamis. The EE promotes the synergy theory only: that a bunch of adventurers can 'pool' their energy together to create massive effects in most situations

Effectively, we can't retcon existing lore, and the people who can, well, they're not talking.

Dynamis is a means of empowering the user to achieve things (i.e. gathering enormous amounts of aether for extremely powerful attacks) that they would not be able to. The attack itself is made of aether. The means through which the aether is gathered is through dynamis. Granted, this is my idle speculation since dynamis has been foreshadowed since the Omega raids as the critical piece that allows beings with far less aether to match and triumph over empirically stronger beings.

I feel like this would be huge to figuring it out, getting the right translations of all the other languages. It's how we were able to confirm some other things in the game.

Not fluent in Japanese and it's hard to hear due to the reverb, but the Endsinger says something to the tune of, "Ima wa dynamis no kagayaki!?" or "This is the glow/shine of dynamis!?"

[Absimiliard]

(i.e. gathering enormous amounts of aether for extremely powerful attacks) that they would not be able to. The attack itself is made of aether. The means through which the aether is gathered is through dynamis. Granted, this is my idle speculation since dynamis has been foreshadowed since the Omega raids as the critical piece that allows beings with far less aether to match and triumph over empirically stronger beings.

The game directly states on several occasions that Dynamis and Aether are fundamentally incompatible to such an extent that the presence of an abundance of the latter renders the former unusable. Depending on which language you play the game in it may even state Dynamis as being incapable of existing in the presence of Aether in greater than the barest of concentrations.

[Dikatis]

The game directly states on several occasions that Dynamis and Aether are fundamentally incompatible to such an extent that the presence of an abundance of the latter renders the former unusable. Depending on which language you play the game in it may even state Dynamis as being incapable of existing in the presence of Aether in greater than the barest of concentrations.

And yet dynamis can be used by people to break their physical limits in tandem with aetheric techniques like those used by the Disciples of War and Magic.