Quote Originally Posted by Bright-Flower View Post
FFXIV and XII do not share the same universe. XII and the first Tactics game do, but not FFXIV.

FFXIV has its own version of Ivalice. Just like it has its own version of the Crystal Tower, Doma, Alexandria etc. The differences between XII/Tactics and FFXIV really cannot be reconciled for a number of reasons. But one of the biggest ones is that everything is backwards. In the original Ivalice setting, XII takes place long before Tactics, where as in FFXIV the Tactics references are in the ancient past and the XII references are current day. Including XII's non human races still being around despite them having gone extinct some time between XII and Tactics.

FFXIV doesn't directly link itself to other FF games, outside of crossover events if you count them as canon. It's possible that the XI raids will break this trend, but it's more likely based on precedent (crystal tower raids, ivalice raids etc) that they will work their own version and adaptation of XI lore into FFXIV lore. Though IS possible we'll just like, go through a portal to XI's vana'diel, that's not how they've handled raids drawing from FF history in the past. Though they DID just have the Nier characters show up through a portal so it's possible I guess.
Iroha already showed up as a traveler from another world in an event back when Rhapsodies started, so I wouldn't be surprised if they build on that.

Regardless, the OP's point is that they've recently recycling entire storylines from other games in the series and just reframing them instead of just referencing them. Project Meteor, the Crystal Tower, Alexander, Matoya, Doma, Eden, etc are all references to other games in the series, but the XIV iterations were all their own distinct things. I think a lot of people are misunderstanding that.