Revelations from Patch 7.3: The Promise of Tomorrow

[Vyrerus]

I second this opinion, and I’m excited for possible Azem arcs. I find value in Azem shards because it’s a way for the player character to make some (personally) meaningful discoveries about themself.

What if the cloaked “you know who” at the end of the “you know what” cutscene is actually not a regular blankety blank… but is a shard of our volcano grape savior? But a bad one! (Duhn duhn duhn!)

Then anyone who is a shard of us/them - well they’re in danger. The bad one might want to eat them. Or maybe already has.

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?

As far as my thoughts on 7.3. Yeesh. I appreciated the ways the writers tried to break up the MSQ, but looking back on it all now, this story gives me big Dragon Age 3 release pattern vibes.

That game got its ending cut off, and released a while later as DLC. It was done as a way to stretch out the story for more content and more cash.

Dawntrail (in my opinion) should have been the 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 patches as a single release - with the filler cut down. 7.3 didn’t feel like the end of Dawntrail - it felt like the story finally kicked into gear - and that feels a bit too little too late for me.

Also, I wish we got a 7th zone that was all the broken down underbelly of Everkeep. The dungeons in that vein were cool, but I want a zone to explore and spend time in. Something like the sub-sub-sub-basements in Portal 2.

Huh Bad News Bears, evil Azem shard that tries to eat us for more power would be kind of interesting. Well, could be, at any rate. I don't know how they'd write that, nor how the guy would actually set him or herself up to chow down on the WoL. We're some tough meat.

Also the nattering issue of, Azem was removed from ze Convocation, and his stone was made in secret. Idk how an evil Azem would even be raised into position.

I guess if I wanted to take the leap of faith, it's possible that a non-standard raising of an exceptional individual to another seat could have triggered Azem memories in an unpleasant way. Cause remember Ye Olde Emet-selch said they do sometimes raise guys that aren't the same soul shards as the prior Convocation members, but we then had 0 examples of that.

It could be cool to see a split personality character, 1 part Azem, and 1 part remaining Convocation seat. My memory's dumped most small XIV stuff since I lost interest. Can't remember which seats are still left. It was what, 2 or 3 Convocation members left to show? And the ever present possibility of 8UE timeline Emet coming out of the 1st's Crystal Tower basement as a long term stowaway in stasis sort of thing.

But I guess the biggest questions would be, what do the remaining Ascians attempt to do now? People theorize there's only so many paths they can take, but what if the writers get really simple with it, and have them aim to resummon Zodiark? I mean, he is just the original primal, supposedly. Why wouldn't they be able to summon him again, if they got enough aether? Yes, it sounds boring, but I just don't know what else they'd do with Ascians, as many folks have said in the past that being Ascian at all marks you as a Zodiark adherent vs. regular Ancient or whatever (compartmentalization if you ask me).

What I'm more interested in, is what sort of villain factions for fodder are we going to get? Initially we had the Garleans, but now it seems like we're doomed to get random faction bad guys every time there's new bad guys. Solution-9's Robo army with Feral Soul generals being what we just put to bed. What's next? Steampunk Magisteam soldiers from The 4th? Or more robo soldiers from somewhere else?

Or are we gonna get like... a whole ass Ascian army? Like what if the last 3 went off on their own machinations, and just started raising anyone who could use magic into having Ascian powers and techniques like the teleporting and rift hopping? What if they're serving some monarch on another shard who has some sort of highly desirable domination goal, and he's made the Ascians into foot soldiers?

Probably a bit farfetched, but I've always loved speculating on the future. It doesn't rob me of enjoyment I have, because I don't expect what I imagine to be what we get. XI broke me of that long ago. I just like the way Final Fantasy activates my imagination.

[Cleretic]

I'm sure there are other things they can do. My prediction is that they can use things like the Azem Crystal or the Key, since the signature of their souls is the same as ours.

There's actually no evidence that other people can't use the Azem crystal, nobody else has tried.

The key is even funnier, because we actually have no evidence that we can use the key! We've never tried. In fact, we also know that Preservation can and has used it, they're just not very good at it.

[Thighland]

There's actually no evidence that other people can't use the Azem crystal, nobody else has tried.

The key is even funnier, because we actually have no evidence that we can use the key! We've never tried. In fact, we also know that Preservation can and has used it, they're just not very good at it.

I know, that assumption is part of the prediction. I'm merely spitballing.
At the very least the Azem Crystal was made by Emet, with us in mind (Hythlodaeus: "And now it is where it belongs"), so I assume it wasn't supposed to be used by anyone other than someone with the soul of Azem.
Regarding the key: If it truly was made by Azem, I think it would be fair to assume that no one is better suited to use it than Azem themself. Which doesn't have to mean that it can't be used by others somehow.

Now I could be completely wrong on this, but I'm willing to take that risk.

[Bonoki]

Something something the Warrior of Light should not become a shard hopping devourer of souls. I'm honestly kind of weary of how popular the idea is, and how many players are licking their lips, hoping for the next Azem shard to show up.

I guess my stance is this: I expected the story to go in this direction, and honestly, I’m okay with that. I’m not looking for mind-blowing plot twists with Shakespearean-level depth. The DBZ-style storytelling works for me.

I know a lot of people complain about how predictable the Ascians and Shard souls are, but honestly, that’s kind of what the story is about. If you keep wondering, “Is this character an Ascian?” or “Are they a shard?” for every new NPC that shows up, eventually you’ll get it right, and when you do, you’ll probably throw your hands up and say, “Called it!” For me, the stuff involving the Ascians has been the highlight of the story. Every time they show up, I’m all in.

That said, I’m not asking for mindless soul-consuming, and I do expect Square Enix to give that part of the story the same kind of depth they gave to Arbert. But some people act like just knowing who the other shards are is a bad thing, which feels a bit odd to me. Reflections are such a core part of the game, so learning more about them is a big part of the lore, and honestly, theorizing about who they are is a lot of fun. I think people who are against this are trying to grasp at straws to change the direction of the story, which is why we ended up getting something like 7.0's MSQ in the first place. The down-to-earth stuff doesn't work anymore for the game. We are Goku now doing Goku things.

[Cassar]

It's also important to remember that...

1. All we know is that an Ascian is involved, that's it. We don't know anything about their plans, and it would be wrong to assume it has anything to do with what they've done before (i.e. Rejoining, reviving Zodiark, wanting to destroy the world). Basically this Ascian or group of Ascians could have completely unique and interesting backgrounds/motivations that we don't know about. What we should be thinking about is how in any way would creating a massive Endless society be interesting to an Ascian.

2. It would be absurd to expect them to be shelved forever. Like it or no, the Ascians and the reflections are one of the main plot threads that are still hanging in the air, of course it's going to come back eventually. If anything, I'm glad they revealed it now instead of stalling and trying to surprise us later. Again, we know since 7.0 that whatever happened in the Storm Surge war it was orchestrated by an Asican (ok we didn't know know, but come on, it couldn't have been more clear) and since 7.2 we know that Calyx calls his reflection the Ninth, a nomenclature he could only have known by getting this information from an Ascian (according to Y'shtola in 7.0). So Ascians have been written all over this story.

Now, about the post credit scene...

1. Calyx was sweating and out of breath when he spawned in this unknown area, so does that mean that he managed to escape before we destroyed the terminal? And if not, then what the hell happened, did he have a backup and lied about it?
2. Calyx mentions "At long last, I was to open a new path!". A path to what?!
3. He also says he made rash decisions perhaps influenced by "the others and their developments" - I think this implies that the Winterers, whoever they are, seem to be getting desperate? Or maybe they're fighting amongst themselves? Tell me if I'm misinterpreting this line.
4. Assuming Calyx is still an endless, I think it's safe to say that he can only project his image somewhere that the terminal's signal can reach, meaning if his terminal in on the Ninth, he can only project himself on the Ninth (or the source, if the portal is open). Does that mean his meeting with this mysterious Ascian happened somewhere on the Ninth? Basically I think we can rule out them meeting at their usual place on the thirteenth.
5. This is a wild one but do you think "Winterer" could have anything to do with Blindfrost? We also had that line from Gossan "It's as if we were frozen in time, but now the ice has begun to thaw", could this also be a very subtle foreshadowing? If so we might be looking at a Blindfrost 8.0 expansion, truly fulfilling the Heavensward 2.0 prophecy. Again, this is wild speculation but I think it's fun.

Let me know what you think

[Shookbeast]

Huh Bad News Bears, evil Azem shard that tries to eat us for more power would be kind of interesting. Well, could be, at any rate. I don't know how they'd write that, nor how the guy would actually set him or herself up to chow down on the WoL. We're some tough meat.

Also the nattering issue of, Azem was removed from ze Convocation, and his stone was made in secret. Idk how an evil Azem would even be raised into position.

I guess if I wanted to take the leap of faith, it's possible that a non-standard raising of an exceptional individual to another seat could have triggered Azem memories in an unpleasant way. Cause remember Ye Olde Emet-selch said they do sometimes raise guys that aren't the same soul shards as the prior Convocation members, but we then had 0 examples of that.

It could be cool to see a split personality character, 1 part Azem, and 1 part remaining Convocation seat. My memory's dumped most small XIV stuff since I lost interest. Can't remember which seats are still left. It was what, 2 or 3 Convocation members left to show? And the ever present possibility of 8UE timeline Emet coming out of the 1st's Crystal Tower basement as a long term stowaway in stasis sort of thing...

I’m still subscribing to the theory that there isn’t an Azem - that Azem is us - and we eventually time travel back to the past as the player character to do all the Azem stuff in an upcoming expansion. (Whether we then get sundered, or our memories are persevered and shot forward in time is another debate with countless solutions).

So an Azem shard might not have any memories, because that would reveal the spoiler that we are Azem. (Unless that is how they plan on revealing it). 7.3 has given us even more ways for characters to persist beyond their soul’s demise/sundering/whatever.

But what I could see happening is the leftover Ascians identifying Azem soul shards, raising one of them with false or corrupted memories, and then helping them absorb other Azem shards in an attempt to make them as powerful as our WOLs.

I’m still suspicious of Calyx. He could very well be an Azem shard. In fact, all the folk implied to be in this organization could be Azem shards. Like a little team of “we’re your worst fans” for the WOL to contend with.

I just wish 7.3 spent more time on intrigue and drama. I liked people speculating that Shale would double-cross us - and we didn’t get that. We’ve moved nowhere on the key. We’ve shown no interest in the 9th. We were in no way interested in Preservation until one of them tried to zap us to death. Why did we learn all that stuff about Krile’s parents in a Disneyland volcano, and not while exploring the creepy underbelly of Everkeep trying to get answers?

Sigh.

[Thighland]

I’m still suspicious of Calyx. He could very well be an Azem shard.

You need to have a soul to be an Azem shard, and it's pretty much confirmed that Calyx doesn't have one (anymore).
Did you consider that?

[Shookbeast]

You need to have a soul to be an Azem shard, and it's pretty much confirmed that Calyx doesn't have one (anymore).
Did you consider that?

Indeed. He had one when he was alive. Maybe his body is on ice somewhere, soul included. It’s also an interesting notion that he could be the memory of an Azem shard - but his soul might be currently reincarnated elsewhere. That puts a potentially innocent person in danger.

Or… maybe Calyx traded his soul to a helpful Ascian - an Ascian who is collecting similar Azem souls across all the shards. (Pure speculation of course).

I really hope 7.4 kicks this story into gear. It was so frustrating wading through 7.0 to 7.3 as we discovered amazing things - and then constantly walked away from them with no one asking any questions. The reveal of the gate in 7.0 - only to immediately leave - that was so wild. (And disappointing).

I admire and enjoy the slower moments with characters - and same goes for the puzzles - but I would love the story to start connecting some dots soon. The mysteries don’t feel like mysteries… they just feel like we’re too lazy to walk over to Y'shtola or G'Raha and ask (any) questions.

[eloralora]

2. Calyx mentions "At long last, I was to open a new path!". A path to what?!

My brain zoomed in on this as well... It might just be referencing something we're already aware of: his idea of a new path for humanity's evolution via Endless. But even if that's his goal, I don't get the sense it's the whole picture (whether it's Calyx who has additional motivations, or his Ascian/Winterer friends). The key can trigger interdimensional fusion, but it can also open what appear to be relatively stable paths to other reflections. There's another object that can do both of those things: the Crystal Tower, at least once it's augmented after the 8th Umbral Calamity. And the very reason it was augmented to do those things was so that it could be used to create a new path in which a specific event doesn't occur. So I would not be surprised if "open a new path" means something more for Calyx and those he's working with. It could also just mean nothing though lol.

We do know that Living Memory has existed for at least 1,000 years of Source time based on the Yok Huy's visions. It seems very much like the Ninth was getting prepared for a rejoining, but it's weird that it was brought so close to the brink and not rejoined, considering there's never been mention of a similar lightning cataclysm occurring on the Source during the appropriate timeframe. I don't know why they'd risk bringing a reflection so close to the brink, considering how careful they tried to be after the Thirteenth, if they didn't intend to rejoin it soon. The Storm Surge and construction of Everkeep/Living Memory would have occurred while the Unsundered and Zodiark were still in play, so I feel like events on the Ninth at least started for typical Ascian purposes... and Calyx makes it sound like he's been affiliated with the Winterers and trying to accomplish the same goal since Preservation's founding. There's much to think about, at least!

[mallleable]

Apparently 'Winterer' is capitalized in all languages, likely meaning it's the name of their faction. So I don't think they literally have to do with the cold or winter, and instead a more metaphorical winter. To pair it with Gossan's 'thawing' comment, I think it could be fun if 8.0 took place somewhere that survived a "harsh winter," and life is now bouncing back. Meracydia perhaps...