Revelations from Patch 7.3: The Promise of Tomorrow

[Cleretic]

Counter Question: Did it not matter that Ardbert was an Azem shard?

Genuinely? No, I don't think it did. Not putting this in spoiler tags after this, because it's Shadowbringers and we've all finished Dawntrail.

Zeroing in on Ardbert's story, he is a hero who tried his best, only to come up short: he tried to fight evil, and evil won. In Heavensward, we see him first grappling with that, first through lashing out at others: he and his group are readily happy to pull the knives out against someone else, but as we learn, it's not really out of blaming someone else, but just desperately trying to claw out a victory. Hydaelyn offers them one... but even that doesn't truly work in the way he was hoping for. So in Shadowbringers we see him in despair, just glumly watching the world die, blaming himself, and being literally unable to do anything to help it. But over the course of the story he sees us do our level best, against all odds actually managing to claw up some wins, and eventually, he comes to terms with the fact that while he can't bring that victory he fought for... someone else can. That even if he isn't the one that crosses the finish line, he still made an important contribution, and helped save the day. It's a really solid story, and relatable in a lot of ways even if you aren't swinging an axe against voidsent for a living; that's the takeaway from so many political campaigns, so many sports seasons, so many mentorships.

Him being an Azem shard gave the mechanical elements to take that final step... and that's about it. Outside of that one, single cutscene, Ardbert being an Azem shard does not come up, and does not affect his story (in fact I'd argue that it made it worse in retrospect, but that's my general dislike of 'destined heroes' at play). If I wanted another Ardbert from this game's story, that is the literal last part of the equation that I think is relevant, because much more important than some indistinct macguffin specialness is who he was and what his story was. Not 'whether or not I can eat him because of weird soul compatibility', which is apparently important for others.

Cleretic, you are a wealth of knowledge and lore - but it’s clear you simply do not care for Azem theory - but there is plenty of room for us all to spin our fantasies. What favorite theories are you picking up hints for as this expansion winds down/up?

I don't theorize and predict stories; that's just not something I like doing, especially baselessly. The only 'predictions' I have are actually about the Vana'diel, Arcadion and Occult Crescent stories, and that's because I feel very confident that I know where those are going (Promathia, 'punch Vince McMahon in the face', and 'more weird 5AE stuff' respectively); I don't find making that prediction 'fun' so much as I find it a logical conclusion. But even if I did enjoy that enough to do it for fun, I'd have no trains to follow here: any threads I was actively excited in seeing through died in that last cutscene, because that reveal was THAT BIG a black hole of interest to me.

I instead enjoy getting the story as I get it, and exploring it as much as I have the joy to explore. And right now, that part of me is looking forward to finishing out the Vana'diel raids and Occult Crescent (the Arcadion story I have less interest in), learning everything I can about the Pilgrim's Traverse, and going to Meracydia next expansion (because, again: feels like a safe bet).