Revelations from Patch 6.4: The Dark Throne

[Denishia]

Island Sanctuary level 15 quest had the level of effort and cinematic sensibilities put into cutscenes that is rarely afforded to simple side content. And the teasing subtext continuing with two characters was present from the name of the quest to dialogue and beyond - so much so that I'm suspicious if Daichi Hiroi was also writing this, as someone familiar with the 50+ Bard job questline. I was a fan. No idea who shows up next, as they would have to qualify as someone we'd want to check in on immediately post 6.0 who wouldn't be involved in MSQ in patches.

Another name-drop for the Southern Continent and that Limsa Lominsa is shifting their economy to pure maritime trade. Which may or may not put them in direct conflict with Ul'dah and the East Aldenard Trading Company.

The quest and the Firmament questlines also establish Ishgard as getting into the international trade game and trying to foster an economic recovery and boom. Ala Mhigo will have to recover from the decades of colonial rule that gutted it, but it does have the salt trade. Overland trading markets to the East will depend on the post-colonial recovery of mostly unexplored nations.

Which leaves Gridania, yet again, overlooked. The only real shift in their intercity status quo is a vow to make their ruling theocracy more open and responsive to the greater population (EW Tank role quests). Which the Hearers aren't as bad as the old school Halonic Clergy, but the SB Leatherworker's quest-line shown they are prone to corruption. But Ul'dah got its development and recently Limsa did in 5.5 and throughout EW, with more to come if 7.0 or 8.0 deal with the New World. Poor Gridania, do the writers have an idea what to do with your setting and what stories to tell, since you no longer have the immediate threat of a hostile expansionist empire cutting through your forest and Kugane is reclaiming the Yokai from your Shintoism with Mount Rokkon (after the Four Lords did the same. Need more auspices in areas that aren't just Othard)?

[Simple_Barghest]

Which leaves Gridania, yet again, overlooked. The only real shift in their intercity status quo is a vow to make their ruling theocracy more open and responsive to the greater population (EW Tank role quests). Which the Hearers aren't as bad as the old school Halonic Clergy, but the SB Leatherworker's quest-line shown they are prone to corruption. But Ul'dah got its development and recently Limsa did in 5.5 and throughout EW, with more to come if 7.0 or 8.0 deal with the New World. Poor Gridania, do the writers have an idea what to do with your setting and what stories to tell, since you no longer have the immediate threat of a hostile expansionist empire cutting through your forest and Kugane is reclaiming the Yokai from your Shintoism with Mount Rokkon (after the Four Lords did the same. Need more auspices in areas that aren't just Othard)?

Not even just being ignored on an economic level, when have we seen Gridania shift on any of its existing racial-demographic-oppression that isn't just "yeah that happens, yeah we ignore it, tough"?
Multiple quests that touch on Duskwight elezen and Moonkeeper miqo'te being treated like absolute crap by every societal level above them, but the city-state doesn't even... really get that much criticism over it? Compared to Limsa getting their asses called out for directly causing their problems with the kobolds and sahagin?

[WhiteArchmage]

Gridania is at a very bad place of "Well, everyone here is familiar with Shinto so we're not going to explain it, it's all fine because the Elementals are the kami and we know the delicate balance between mankind and kami" and then Othard took all of that and actually explored and explained it and left Gridania as a "well... just don't think about it"

#JusticeForGridania

[Cilia]

A big problem with Gridanian politics is that they don't actually own their land - they're basically renting it from the elementals - and it's hard to have any political discourse or conflict when all executive decisions are made by inscrutable nature spirits.

The Wildwood / Duskwight conflict actually extends back to the pre-Gridanian civilization of Gelmorra, but I'm honestly not sure why Keepers of the Moon get the discrimination they do in Gridania.

[TowaIsBestGirl]

A big problem with Gridanian politics is that they don't actually own their land - they're basically renting it from the elementals - and it's hard to have any political discourse or conflict when all executive decisions are made by inscrutable nature spirits.

The Wildwood / Duskwight conflict actually extends back to the pre-Gridanian civilization of Gelmorra, but I'm honestly not sure why Keepers of the Moon get the discrimination they do in Gridania.

Well..... A good chunk of them are poachers. The Elementals typically don't enjoy the act of receiving of the bounty of the Twelveswood without prior consent. I do realize many Keepers were all but forced into that position of desperation, but there you have it. I highly doubt the Elementals are given to care. What matters is what they're doing, not why they're doing it.

[Iscah]

I'm still hoping for the third variant dungeon to be Gelmorra.

[Cleretic]

I'm still hoping for the third variant dungeon to be Gelmorra.

I'm a known supporter of Gelmorra in any form, including a variant dungeon, and honestly I can't think of a part of the world that'd more suit the approach after Sil'dih and Hingashi. They're really good for giving multiple contexts at once so that a generally 'blank' part of the game world doesn't just become known for One Single Thing, and Gelmorra would be fantastic for that since it could really use a chance to say 'we're not just Proto-Gridanians or Elemental-fearers even if we are at least partially those things'.

[Denishia]

Back when we thought the three Variant Dungeons would be the three starter cities, the one I was least excited for and most willing to sacrifice because it wasn't necessary would be Limsa Lominsa. The area of Limsa's past and current situation that hasn't had a dungeon is the Kobold mines, and where the deep exploration of it needs exploring is its future and the burgeoning New World exploration and trade. Gridania, however, has the nearly unexplored Gelmorra lingering like Sil'dah did for Ul'dah, only even more prominent to the city's lore and under-utilized. It has Amdapor and Amdapori bosses to pull for one of the optional bosses. Moogles and Sylphs. And it has the Elementals to aid or hinder.

[WhiteArchmage]

The Elementals are such a good storytelling device that I'm surprised they haven't used them more. They're not just inscrutable, they're also unable to fully communicate with: Even the Hearers and Padjali don't fully understand them because the Elementals communicate through feelings rather than words: it's part of the point of the CNJ quests, that Sylvie misunderstood the pain that the Shroud was into as a refusal to give its powers to the conjurers when it was actually directing them towards sources of corruption. The elementals were greatly weakened by the Calamity and thus can no longer turn people into trees for burning a part of the Hedgewood, and seems like they mostly just tell the Padjali "We're very displeased! Fix [static noise] or else!"

I always like more Amdapor, but having a Variant in Gelmorra would be a good opportunity to explore just what is going on with the Shroud.

[Simple_Barghest]

Well..... A good chunk of them are poachers. The Elementals typically don't enjoy the act of receiving of the bounty of the Twelveswood without prior consent. I do realize many Keepers were all but forced into that position of desperation, but there you have it. I highly doubt the Elementals are given to care. What matters is what they're doing, not why they're doing it.

Forced into a desperate position by the society that the Elementals themselves cultivated as the enigmatic gods of Gridanian culture, and yet aren't willing to muster up enough power to oust said Moonkeepers (or the Redbelly Wasps for that matter) when they can force Ala Mhigans out of the borders of the Twelveswood.
Don't get me wrong, I am down for having more enigmatic, alien, fae-like creatures and obstacles. But I also like my stories where said alien fae get hit with the book of their own making.