Revelations from Patch 6.5: "Growing Light", Part 1

[Cilia]

I only had time for one half of the big new contents, so after getting some bling (the glowy Emerald Weapon... weapon, the whole reason I decided to go with a green coat) I set to work.

MSQ

No big surprises, dragged on a bit long for my taste.

Well, OK, there was one - that Durante (Golbez) was the one who kickstarted the Flood of Darkness as an unwitting pawn of the Ascians definitely helps to explain his indefatigable ambition, though I do wish he would have reclaimed his own name before the end. Further implication the original Golbez was the PC's Thirteenth counterpart, though still nothing concrete. Zeromus was an easier fight than 2/3 of the Lunar Subterrane's dungeon bosses...

Ah yes, and who could forget Gaia showing up in a cutscene - fully voiced, no less! I heard there might be some additional bits for the Warring Triad and Eden... though I didn't see anything for the former I'm glad there was something for the latter given what we were dealing with.

Other than that... it was about what I expected. That's filler for ya!

(Let's see who this mysterious figure back from Tural with Erenville is...)

I'll get to Myths tomorrow... maybe... or over the weekend... such is life working overtime.

[DamianFatale]

Myths of the Realm:

I don't think the ending was bad at all. If they stayed around, they'd be left as potential plot points in the future, which would be Ascians 2.0 except they are good. All of the Ascian and relics of the past need to be buried if we want the next expansions to be good. A god wars honestly would just be uninteresting, and make for recycled plots of Endwalker. Let it end. Let it rest. With that said finding out what Dyrek would be up to, and perhaps tying him into future stories would be fine. It's just one man, and one story out of said character. I'm excited to see what this raid series ends up being for that, as well as what the impact of the instruments, and their blessings are. I hope they have long term plot impact, and that they become relevant later similar to other alliance raids of the past.

MSQ:

I like the idea of a set up for a 13th Expansion, I don't like that we spent an entire patch cycle setting it up. In fact, I down right hate it. That's the kind of thing that would be better off brief, not for an entire cycle, and then left hanging as a cliff hanger. It comes off rude to the writer.

WITH THAT SAID, I think a lot of the information gained in the process is essential to what we will see in Dawntrail. The game seems to be hinting that we will devise a way to go to other shards somehow, and that it won't just be the warrior of light/darkness. We will be able to bring anyone we like with us in their actual form. No puppets, second bodies, etc. It will be the real deal, which is absolutely game changing for the lore. That means inter-dimensional politics, and stories can develop, which could be very intricate, and complicated. I imagine that such information would be closely guarded, and only be used out of necessity, but it would still be there, and have a risk of getting out. There are implications to consider.

As some people have pointed out, there are similarities to the first in the new trailer for the expansion, and potential clues that might signal a discovery of travel in the near future. Therefore the patch cycle isn't completely useless, it just feels.. teased, and not like it really accomplished much aside from keeping the 13th quiet until it is needed again for an expansion, or a potential in game activity, such as an exploration like people have suggested.

[Cleretic]

Best to spoiler-tag, Damian, we're not even two days out from the patch and four pages into the thread; don't want people to get spoiled before they do all the stuff, and a lot of us are dropping in as we go.

For example: I've hit the alliance raid. And I like most of that story, but unfortunately, the one part that fails is the most important part of it.

So, Euphrosyne's biggest failing was that it was too easy, which makes it hard to buy that we're fighting Big-Deal Ass-Kicking Gods.

But at least I saw Euphrosyne wipe a raid once. This one's even easier. So even though I continued to like everything around the central hook of the story, the raid itself was just massively disappointing.

Outside of the difficulty complaints, I've always thought that the big problem with this Twelve story is that it kinda messes up how the game's treated storytelling about gods, religion and faith. A general view of 'diversity of religion and faith is good and should be encouraged' kinda falls flat when the majority religion is objectively correct. So I liked that, in this final leg, the story actually agreed with me from some direction: that the gods themselves should part, for both their good and ours, but that doing so shouldn't invalidate the faiths that cropped up around them. Not exactly the route I would've taken, but it got to where I needed it to get to.

I do think it's a little weird and disappointing that the only conditional text in the entire story from what I could tell was who your patron deity was, if you're a crafter, and maybe also if you've done the Temple of the Fist (that one I wasn't confident on). This is the Twelve, they're the most connected figures in the world and should be the most rewarding of long-term investment. It would've been cool if Menphina recognized if you were married, if Thaliak and/or Llymlaen acknowledged if you were a fisher, or if Nymeia noticed you've leveled Astrologian.

From a Lore Nerd perspective, the main things of interest come from that roll call of who the Twelve were back in the days of Amaurot:

• Byregot was the reason anything got done in the Bureau of the Architect (thanks for nothing, Hyth).
• Menphina was the one that figured out how to seal Zodiark.
• Of course, we all already knew Althyk and Nymeia.
• It's plausible that at least one of the notes we found in Akadaemia was from Thaliak.
• Turns out Pashtarot was basically the Minister for Justice.
• And really interesting is Rhalgr: by dramatic logic of 'it'd be weird if the two curiously adjacent mentions of the same thing were unrelated', I'm feeling like Rhalgr probably smashed the auracite meteor that Athena found a fragment of.

[Lyth]

MSQ:

This was fine as a Werlyt-tier sidestory simply written for the purposes of rolling out a few new Extremes. I'm fine with it if they do a more focused Void story at a later point, but they going to need to make a lot of the 'optional' content mandatory to do it justice. I like the work that they did with optional references, but it places a lot of limits on the writing.

This story relies too much on homage to make it work, which was an issue with the Omega raid series as well. A good homage doesn't need to be a direct re-enactment. It's more interesting when you introduce a concept and take it in a different direction.

Zero's decision to absorb the light on the first was a good example of that. There's no point keeping it as a last minute 'surprise', as people can instantly identify the Cecil reference from the patch trailer itself. But the idea of having a 'part-sineater'/'part-voidsent' is a really interesting idea, that could have been explored somewhat had we simply gone to the First a few patches ago. It feels like a lot of these 'final acts' have been a bit rushed on plot revelations on account of being too stingy with secrets.

I wonder if the original Golbez was Azem's shard on the Thirteenth, as per the description of Igeyorhm's interaction with him. It's slightly different from the EE's explanation of events in that the death of the Watcher triggers the Flood of Darkness, but parallels Ardbert's actions on the First. Interesting that having a Flood without a Calamity produces a Void.

Musically, it was fine, although I have to say that I liked the original better. It just makes for an easier listen when doing the Ex. The best FFXIV renditions of final boss tracks have been Neo-Exdeath and Ultimecia's themes, simply because they don't go overboard with trying to add new flair.

Myths:

I enjoyed the Myths quests overall, and the fights were fairly interesting. Again, what was particularly nice were the character specific references, such as your interaction with your patron. I'm curious to know if Byregot's comment on crafting is tied to unlocks or a specific level.

I'm still not entirely sure how much the Twelve actually remember about their past. The tie-in to their past lives at the end was nice, but it felt rushed. I felt that it would have been nicer to hear their stories from each of them directly, rather than narrated by Deryk. Especially since some of them do make comments which seem to recognize you from your past life.

Also, I'm wondering when Dalamutt makes his appearance as a mount.

[NekoMataMata]

Myths

The main theme is a bit cliche, but it was a cute series when you think about it. I remember being a bit annoyed post Euphrosyne at the idea of dragging my new pet deities out into the overworld, but it was a nice build up looking back. I felt a bit of sadness watching the twelve decide to leave. Watching Deryk falter, and choose to continue on as a regular man after his Opo-opo friend stops him was also just really cute.

The past lives backstory was unnecessary, and it really only serves as a reason for them to return to the star. I feel like they could've created a different reason and it'd be fine.

MSQ

The only way I can sum up the MSQ is good ideas, but poor execution. There just wasn't enough time for us to get emotional invested. Not entirely sure how I feel about the Lunar Subterrane's structure either. I did feel something at least, but it wasn't as impactful as it should have been due to the lack of proper build up. I felt absolutely nothing for Zeromus. No real sense of urgency or anything. It really felt like a Zodiark clone outside of the music. This mini arc just felt way too rushed from around 6.2 to now.

[Cassar]

MSQ:

I wonder if the original Golbez was Azem's shard on the Thirteenth, as per the description of Igeyorhm's interaction with him. It's slightly different from the EE's explanation of events in that the death of the Watcher triggers the Flood of Darkness, but parallels Ardbert's actions on the First. Interesting that having a Flood without a Calamity produces a Void.

MSQ spoilers:

How much more confirmation do you need? This is all the confirmation that we're gonna get that the original Golbez was Azem of the 13th, and he died during the war. His soul is inside that crystal, so I suppose we could rejoin with it in the future?
Also makes for an interesting parallel between Ardbert and Golbez, both got tricked by Ascians and almost destroyed their respective worlds. Makes you wonder, do the Ascians always go for the Azem of each shard (maybe expectedly, since they all happened to collect more crystal blessings from Hydaelyn) and trick them into destroying their own world? Is that what happened to all the rejoined reflections?

And Cleretic, you might be right about the dragon tease at the end. It definitely would make sense that Vrtra's siblings would respond and make for a cute ending to the tale. I still think we're going to Meracydia tho
Also, will Azdaja ever recover her original form? Or will she permanently be baby dragon?

[Lyth]

...

The EE provides a slightly different description of events:

'In the Thirteenth, Igeyorhm's power proved too much for the inexperienced Bringer of Light and their one-sided battles eventually resulted in a Flood of Darkness consuming the entire world and rendering it a nigh-empty void.' - Encyclopedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p.213

If the description still holds, then it sounds like Igeyorhm simply found a level 1 Azem on the Thirteenth and killed them before they had the chance to gain strength, and then went on to trick their future allies. It could be a slight retcon, though, and perhaps Golbez is that very shard. Hard to tell without them actually commenting further.

[SannaR]

MSQ

First baby Azdaja is super cute. I Probably could have done without the while you fought Zeromus echo. It was nice seeing Zero understand and apply the lesson she learned in Garlemald when it came to using the Crystal Tower in the 1st. I chose to tease Ryne about coffee biscuits just to see if she'd call us Gaia or not. I loved that Beq Lugg didn't grumble at us this time about stuffing a person into a soul vessel.


I was kind of surprised that Durante got redemption. Though it makes sense as he's supposed to be following IV's Golbez character arc. I find it a little funny that whenever Thancred isn't around to save our bacon from out of nowhere it's Estinien. Either the high pitch of Nahbdeen's jp voice is how it gets when he's drunk and passionate about something or it's been so long since he was last voiced that I didn't remember him sounding like that. I thought it was cute that even if small Varshahn was capable of the things tall Varshahn was that he wouldn't care. I can't believe Estinien really is Batman and Commissioner Gordoned us and Y'shtola. Which to me is the only reason we had that party at Mehryde's Meyhane and not at the Meghaduta as I'm sure there were enough chairs. It does feel odd that at least in JP Zero mentions names instead of just places. I like how she says Urianger. I must have missed it when Igeyorhm is spoken in the JP version. I probably was slightly distracted at the time. Anyone know if Gaia shows up at all at the end of the farewell in the 1st if you haven't done Eden or progressed enough through it? Or if she does what the line choices are? I chose the "don't remember me" option. I loved that Ryne mentions her when you're in Eulmore and thar you can finally outright mention Cylva and Unukalhai.

Vrtra my dragon... for the love of the light just because you can spend a lot of time outside of your original body doesn't mean you should. Somehow I didn't notice the two reply roars. You can find out that Hraesvelgr heard it if you talk with Vidofnir. I'm not sure if he says it after everything is done but if you go to the Watcher post trial he will state joy that we were able to use her light again to help with the 13th. Loved how both Y'shtola and Runar hinted at that they wanted to mention the other. I guess Y'shtola is slowly becoming the next person Estinien is going to become afraid of as I couldn't help but laugh at him and the WoL giving that short nod in a "Yes, ma'am!" in regards to how the original Nixie incantation finished. Would we call that Azdaja ball her soul then? As if so then that has to be the 1st time we've seen a dragon's soul that didn't look like a small version of them. Is the mystery person the new caster job only? Or both the new job and a female Hrothga? If they'restill somewhat sticking with them being based off of X's Ronso then those feet are the right size.

Myths

I'm not sure how anyone didn't think that the 12 were going to leave at the end of this. It was heavily hinted at from the start. Yay Deyrk got to stay and wander some more. That baby opo-opo really tugged at some strings looking so melancholic. It's interesting that some of the 12 were seen as great candidates for convocation slots. Hythlodaeus was carefree... you don't say... Emet-Selch's this has to be something any Azem would do line makes even more sense with us learning that Venat and the man who would become Rhalgr basically punched a meteor that was going to cause a lot of damage. I loved how Llymlean went "yes finally its MY TURN to meet the mortals" and Thaliak chided her. Then to find out that of course he's the one to have became the scholar if he was the guy in charge of Akadaemia Anyder. I wonder if he recruited the others that also had worked there. Only one thing wasn't answered and that's why are there mandragoras in the Heaven of Water?

The npcs you do Skalla and Ghimlyt Dark with feel a bit weird and I'm not sure I like them. The whole thing about Skalla was it was partly supposed to be a friendly race to the treasure. It's why Arenvald makes that comment about how our way in was faster. I do miss the temporary transformation part of Skalla. I don't mind having J'Moldva in the group though. Just wish we wouldn't have both Arenvald and Alphinaud with us. Kind of the same thing with having Hien and Yugiri for Ghimlyt Dark. They originally break off from your group and come back in later. Now it seems that Lyse is always the one who does the LB3 on that last monster. Hien in the Burn and Ghimlyt tanks just by sheer presence. I am a bit surprised that the Doman Shaman uses cnj skills and not geomancy aka ast skills.

Island Sanctuary so far only 16 and only opened up the newest cave area that branches off from the old cave area. I think Iscah is right sort of when it comes to whom the Island is for as it seems as though the one who opened the cave wants to use the crystals to leave and was disappointed in that it didn't lead to a place off the island. The vacation mammet minion hints that it's supposed to teach the others in how to relax. Who knows, maybe they'll end up leaving mostly at the end of all of this.

Custom Delivery

Of course Sharlyean is that kind of bureaucracy. Where anything that would be seen as a life comforts item would be deemed as unnecessary. I haven't done anything past the need to make or get something for the cats yet. When I saw the picture of the npc that kicks this off I had forgotten that he's the guy who wanted embarrassing stories of the twins parents.

[Tehmon]

I am in a mood so let's go.

Myths

1. I am bothered by the fact that we are at this position again where we are keepers of super ultra secret information about the world of Eorzea. It's starting to become a nuisance to the world-building and my immersion, when this really quite important information is kept under wraps, and we cannot see how the world would react to that information. I guess it's not important at all and I'm making a huge deal about nothing, but my god does it aggravate me. In this case, if the Twelve are ever referenced even a little bit, it just feels like we, the important smart people, know the truth about them and we are just surrounded by idiots who don't know any better. I don't like that. I'd like the world around my character to be a bit more in the know about what's going on, because then we can have a healthy (or less healthy, but interesting nonetheless) dialogue about these huge things that happen in the story.

2. Watcher has nothing to say about finishing the AR quest. Of course he doesn't. What even is Watcher's function anymore? He has lost both of his jobs at this point. Is he retiring? Hopefully they don't kill him off, I'm quite fond of him, it's okay to have FEW ancient relics in the sundered world Yoshi-P...

3. I still do not understand how the Twelve are able to pass on to the aetherial sea as if they were the people they once were, with souls intact and all. Deryk also speaks as if he is going to meet them again when his time comes to pass. I feel like I need someone to make me a graph on how this is all possible. Or is their '' passing '' supposed to be just symbolic and are they speaking figuratively?

4. Why couldn't they just tell us that they wanted to pass on? Why were they so secretive, was this another Crystal Exarch situation where if they had revealed their true intentions, we wouldn't have helped them? Or that we wouldn't have fought as hard? Before the release of the patch, I was thinking they literally CAN'T talk about who they are and what they want, and why they couldn't do that would be related to the unknown last deity. But nah, it was much less interesting than that. Them being secretive feels forced and unnecessary and doesn't add anything to the story. Sure, we are somewhat ambushed in the last phase of the alliance raid, but it wasn't that cool of a moment to need all this mystery and secrecy.

[SannaR]

I am in a mood so let's go.

Myths

1. I am bothered by the fact that we are at this position again where we are keepers of super ultra secret information about the world of Eorzea. It's starting to become a nuisance to the world-building and my immersion, when this really quite important information is kept under wraps, and we cannot see how the world would react to that information. I guess it's not important at all and I'm making a huge deal about nothing, but my god does it aggravate me. In this case, if the Twelve are ever referenced even a little bit, it just feels like we, the important smart people, know the truth about them and we are just surrounded by idiots who don't know any better. I don't like that. I'd like the world around my character to be a bit more in the know about what's going on, because then we can have a healthy (or less healthy, but interesting nonetheless) dialogue about these huge things that happen in the story.

3. I still do not understand how the Twelve are able to pass on to the aetherial sea as if they were the people they once were, with souls intact and all. Deryk also speaks as if he is going to meet them again when his time comes to pass. I feel like I need someone to make me a graph on how this is all possible. Or is their '' passing '' supposed to be just symbolic and are they speaking figuratively?

4. Why couldn't they just tell us that they wanted to pass on? Why were they so secretive, was this another Crystal Exarch situation where if they had revealed their true intentions, we wouldn't have helped them? Or that we wouldn't have fought as hard? Before the release of the patch, I was thinking they literally CAN'T talk about who they are and what they want, and why they couldn't do that would be related to the unknown last deity. But nah, it was much less interesting than that. Them being secretive feels forced and unnecessary and doesn't add anything to the story. Sure, we are somewhat ambushed in the last phase of the alliance raid, but it wasn't that cool of a moment to need all this mystery and secrecy.

Answer to both questions of point 4

Yes to both. It literally was another Crystal Exarch situation. Not everyone is going to give it their all in these kinds of situations. To point 1 look at Ishgard they just recently got told the war they had been fighting for one thousand years was based on a lie. Now go and tell them that Halone was an ancient construct of sorts that fought you, doesn't like how their prayers made her into a goddess of war and then left. Or anyone who didn't believe in the twelve. Sorry the kami and any other religious figures aren't real. Sucks to be you bro. Yes, it would have been a messy thing to tackle, but it kind of misses the entire point.