Tentative news: Completion of Eden and Warring Triad recommended before 6.5 MSQ

[Iscah]

One thing I could see happening is that Gaia is "just there" in cutscenes but then she's present between cutscenes and has some dialogue then.

Although, I would have to check but I think some of the "adamantite montage" scenes were longer or shorter depending on quest flags and who turned up, so it is possible that they will do the same thing here. And non-cutscene conversations can definitely take various routes.

I also wonder, if you've completed everything including the Void questline, whether we might get a non-cutscene moment of Gaia talking to Cyella and Unukalhai while you're supposed to be off doing MSQ stuff with Ryne. Like, not particularly highlighted but if you go to the Wandering Stairs you'll find them in conversation. Both of them are mentioning Eden-related things if you talk to them currently, and Unukalhai says that he has arranged to meet with the people involved in restoring the Empty.

[Carin-Eri]

One thing I could see happening is that Gaia is "just there" in cutscenes but then she's present between cutscenes and has some dialogue then.

Although, I would have to check but I think some of the "adamantite montage" scenes were longer or shorter depending on quest flags and who turned up, so it is possible that they will do the same thing here. And non-cutscene conversations can definitely take various routes.

I also wonder, if you've completed everything including the Void questline, whether we might get a non-cutscene moment of Gaia talking to Cyella and Unukalhai while you're supposed to be off doing MSQ stuff with Ryne. Like, not particularly highlighted but if you go to the Wandering Stairs you'll find them in conversation. Both of them are mentioning Eden-related things if you talk to them currently, and Unukalhai says that he has arranged to meet with the people involved in restoring the Empty.

Whilst you're probably right, I do hope that they do a bit more with Gaia than that. She's an interesting character and it'd be a pity if she ends up being pushed into the background.

[Iscah]

Whilst you're probably right, I do hope that they do a bit more with Gaia than that. She's an interesting character and it'd be a pity if she ends up being pushed into the background.

I should add, my overall expectation with this is that while the main plot reaches the end of its involvement with the Thirteenth and goes on holiday to Tural, we are going to get further continuation of the Void quests now with added Eden, and possibly also involving Zero if she makes it out of this MSQ plot alive and doesn't join the Scions (which I don't expect her to).

So that would be potentially four different strands of MSQ-offshoot storylines twisting back together into a solid side plot.

[Payadopa]

Every single raid and alliance raid should become mandatory further down the line if it serves the story. They can be completed blindfolded after a couple of patches so there is zero reason not to.

[Zero-ELEC]

It is not from a Famitsu article, but rather from a Dengeki Online article. I can see the confusion though, the interview was done jointly by both magazines, published simultaneously and features overlapping questions and answers.

The article in question: https://dengekionline.com/articles/202762/

--Next, let me ask you about the main story quest of patch 6.5. The most surprising thing about the screenshots that were announced at the Producer's Letter LIVE (PLL) the other day was the scene where Zero is with Ryne in the First. The First is where Unukalhai and Cyella (who are closely related to the Thirteenth) are. Their story has progressed separately from the main story, but will there be some kind of connection to the story while playing the quest?

Yoshida: Not just in this patch, but we've adjusted the dialogue in a very detailed way, changing the content slightly for those who played their quests and those who have not. We are doing that again this time, and I think those who have played the side story about them will feel a connection.

It is a little more in-depth than usual, and the cutscenes and dialogue change as you complete them, including the "Eden" story. This story is easier to get into now that the "New Game+" allows for you to experience it. If you are interested in this, we recommend that you complete the side stories of "The Warring Triad" and "Eden" before the release of Patch 6.5.

However, we have avoided making the gameplay experience significantly different depending on whether or not you have played those quests, so the development will not change significantly. I would like to think that it is just enough for those who like Lore (world/story setting) to see it and feel that it's being followed. I just hope that people who like lore (world/story setting) will see it and feel like they're being followed.

Pardon any mistranslations.

[Cleretic]

Although, I would have to check but I think some of the "adamantite montage" scenes were longer or shorter depending on quest flags and who turned up, so it is possible that they will do the same thing here. And non-cutscene conversations can definitely take various routes.

There's plenty of instances of cutscenes having additional dialog boxes if you've done something else, rather than just changed (the most recent I can think of is the explanation of the Thirteenth's fall adding in Unukalhai if you've done, funnily enough, the Warring Triad). What was new as of the Endwalker montages was NPCs being conditionally present; the most obvious I can think of is when the Ironworks turn up, they've got Alpha with them only if you've completed Omega.

What they've never done to my knowledge is combine those two; while I might be wrong, I don't think we've ever had a conditionally-present NPC given lines. Given the game we're talking about, it's hard to say if that's because that's technically impossible, or just something they haven't done yet.

[Eisi]

I should add, my overall expectation with this is that while the main plot reaches the end of its involvement with the Thirteenth and goes on holiday to Tural, we are going to get further continuation of the Void quests now with added Eden, and possibly also involving Zero if she makes it out of this MSQ plot alive and doesn't join the Scions (which I don't expect her to).

So that would be potentially four different strands of MSQ-offshoot storylines twisting back together into a solid side plot.

This would be sooo cool! Imagine Zero, Cylva, Taynor, Unukalhai, Ryne and Gaia as a band of heroes against the darkness, maybe joined by Cerigg, Giott, Lue-Reeq and Granson. And maybe Azdaja stays a void dragon and helps them out too. Like once those characters can become active in their own story rather than passively stand around that would be so epic.

Really glad they're trying to bridge over more meaningfully to that part of the story, it is such an integral part of the lore and I loved the additional cutscene in 5.2 (I think it was 5.2) with Cylva.

[EdwinLi]

I suspect the new dialogue maybe involved with Unukalhai's quest to find a way to ave the 13th shard.

It should not be a issue now to complete it since players can easily solo the Extreme fights unsynced and players do not need to do the Extreme mode of the Triad part.

Unukalhai's quest did leave on a cliffhanger being he is still searching for a way to fix the 13th shard with Cyella and the Job Role NPCs who have formed their own little team. With the main focus of this MSQ partly being about fixing the 13th shard, it will explain why these side storylines may end up affectinga good amount of dialogue in the upcoming MSQ since these characters maybe involved.

Of course they should have dialogue for players who did not do certain side story quests like Unukalhai's quests due to the certain conditions of going through most of the Extreme mode for 3.X contents. However, as I said they can be done now easily by unsync for solo if players wish to have them done for any potential alternate dialogue in the upcoming MSQ.

[Grimr]

I am seeing a few claims today that Yoshida may have recommended completion of the Eden and Warring Triad storylines before playing the patch 6.5 MSQ, and that this will affect dialogue and cutscenes.

The claimed source is a Famitsu article posted on the Japanese FFXIV Twitter account, but as I don't read Japanese, I can't confirm that source for myself.

Are there any more solid links to this information? They will likely mention it at the live letter tomorrow if it is correct.

It's pretty big news if true. People have been concerned by the lack of integrating these obvious other questlines.


Edit to add: Whether officially recommended or not, I would still do these quests to be certain, and also the Shadowbringers role quests and the additional quests following them. All have a chance to be referenced to some degree, from what we know of the MSQ content.

I definitely could see the reason to complete eden and after thinking about it assuming they bring those two characters the warring triad but its more of a loose connection.Quite frankly going to need something more powerful than eden to even get started on the 13th. Much of the landmass is gone I really can't see eden magically reforming land sea and air. From what cut scenes we have seen of the thirteenth the landmasses look like churning mists area of hsw and the troja castle which again looks like it might have come out of hsw again And let us not forget the fact there are multiple blue orbs in the sky of which i highly doubt are full or cloud of darkness. Should only be one. ( i can only hope they revisit it at some point and clean things up)

Even my expectations are low for this. They completely did not involve black mages for this entire side venture. Pretty much ignore the fact that there are probably void gates of some nature in weeping city , void ark, dun scaith. No instead we use alchemy and more ystola pulls. What abut how we took down holllow diabolos shield doing a concentrated assault you don't think that will work here because i bet it will. Seems like they forgot everything that happened in void ark, weeping city, and dun scaith and yet again basing it on the infernal crystal tower which i have had enough about. The tower can't solve every problem.

[Iscah]

I definitely could see the reason to complete eden and after thinking about it assuming they bring those two characters the warring triad but its more of a loose connection.Quite frankly going to need something more powerful than eden to even get started on the 13th.

They're not loose connections at all. The Warring Triad introduces a character who came from the Thirteenth and witnessed its downfall, and has already been mentioned in this storyline if you had done it. Eden is directly relevant to what they are hoping to achieve here, having succeeded at a similar process.

And no, you don't get to decide whether it's enough or not. The Empty was in what could easily be the equal opposite of the void's state – excess stasis and excess activity aren't necessarily going to look the same.

They completely did not involve black mages for this entire side venture. Pretty much ignore the fact that there are probably void gates of some nature in weeping city , void ark, dun scaith. No instead we use alchemy and more ystola pulls. What abut how we took down holllow diabolos shield doing a concentrated assault you don't think that will work here because i bet it will.

I fail to see the relevance of any of these things.

Mhachi summoning rituals – as explained in the 6.1 lore dump on the void, and I'm pretty sure before that – only very temporarily open a voidgate to summon what they need before immediately closing it again. There aren't just permanent voidgates sitting there wide open in the city.

Why should we not use alchemy for this process when the alchemists are right there and have found a way to stabilise the gate for open travel? The Mhachi summoners probably never needed stability for their gates as they weren't trying to go in themselves and had no interest in letting the voidsent back there either. In any case, finding a portal from the Source to the Thirteenth is something we already solved last time, and the portal in the moon crater is still open (with a seal over it) right now if you go to look at it.

The only other thing that we know of that achieved a sustained, traversable voidgate was the Crystal Tower, which they did not use to solve this problem. As of the end of the original CT quest, the gate is broken, though it does seem possible that they'll try to start it up again since it is the only known MSQ-friendly potential connection between the First and Thirteenth right now. That wouldn't be "using the tower to solve every problem" but using it to solve one very specific problem that it is already established to be suited for.

I don't even know what you're trying to say with Diabolos Hollow. What problem would referencing that fight specifically solve?