Revelations from Patch 7.4: Into the Mist

[GrizzlyTank]

MSQ ending

Halmarut is referring to Ultima proper/lavos/jenova isn't she (not the high Seraph and Heart of Sabik both being only fragments)? Least that's the only thing that we know of currently that could have been behind the apocalyptic voice from within the star

Least from what we've seen, seems like they aren't seeking to be evil for evils sake. Only preserve humanity with any means necessary, even if that is killing everyone and copying their memories onto a computer.

[Cilia]

Remembered Hildibrand released with the patch, so I picked it up while hunting the Arcadion fighters around S9.

Another goose chase, this time through Shaaloani. Tracked down a... giant wolf man soul transplant, who was trying to blow up the train with ceruleum bombs after causing a ruckus around the region by destroying buildings and stealing food. Unfortunately, he was a real rube who got played by Carnelian (the slime guy's true identity, an Eldite criminal mastermind who killed Hardiboiled's incarnation of Nashu when they lowered their guard after apprehending him) and the still-unnamed scientist behind the plot. After some runaround the wolf guy was apprehended and Nashu freed from jail (long story).

So apparently oglops are a thing on the Ninth, and Hardiboiled is deathly afraid of them like pretty much every character in IX not named Garnet or Vivi. No points for guessing what the ultimate reward for the Hildibrand quests this time will be. (Please?)

<snip>

MSQ

Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure what the cave was supposed to be. On the one hand the intro shot is a 1:1 to Quan's Dwelling, but it seemed to be more of an Ice Cavern reference to me... still, one part of it is called "Quan Caverns," and the route you take into Treno is a compressed adaptation of a direct route there from the overlook in Quan's Dwelling so it's definitely the former.

It's not 1:1, but Treno has even more references. The slums and canals are prominent areas of Treno, and another architectural mark carried over is Queen Stella's gazebo. The railway is likely a reference to Gargan Roo or the nearby South Station cable car. It didn't feel like a step up to me because the back half of Dawntrail is drowning in IX references. (The front half is lots of XI.) We fought IX's final boss as the "true" final boss of Dawntrail, for cryin' out loud!

I'm not all that disappointed by Halmarut since we knew the Ascians were back in play after 7.3. I'm just... irritated she's doing the "If you knew what I know, we'd be on the same page" shtick Elidibus did back in 2.1, and this time entirely offscreen except in front of Calyx. She's understandably wary of us given our resumé, but you can't expect us to change onto the "right" course without even knowing what we're doing "wrong," let alone how to fix it. It's the usual "don't tell us anything and then blame us for not knowing" bit that's just... worn by this point.

[EdwinLi]

MSQ ending

The story was ok since it is just starting but I am more curious where did our two antagonist go. Either way the Ninth remains but due to the state it is in, it will decline slowly until all life eventually ends even if it takes a very VERY long time. The people surviving now are just living their life until it all ends and nothing else. Simple and clean path in their life even if the world cannot be saved.

As for those two, I am guessing where they decide to go, it will be the Shard where our next expansion may take place. The context of their dialogue seem to suggest this new story arc after the God War is maybe focus on exploring all the remaining Shards. This can be good and bad since there is still much of the Source that has yet to be explored but the different worlds for the Shards can also open up different themes in culture and style of their culture. I honestly will not be surprised if a Shard is very similar to our world but with FF14 races instead of just Humans.

[Raikai]

MSQ thoughts...

I'm pretty sure Halmarut will have a big role moving forward 8.0. It seems she got WAY too much care and polish to her unique Au Ra model and even outfit when they could've used one of the many similarly victorian dresses we have for players. The dialogue also seemed especially curated in a way to point Calyx's new existence as a non-threat, so I kind of wonder what role he'll have. Probably becoming Halmarut's sidekick?

A shame we didn't have any hint on what her agenda actually is.

One thing I started to speculate. She mentioned something like nature doing its thing, also a threat caused by the void that Hydaelyn left. I wonder if that means the Source is "naturally" drawing the reflections back to itself (just like she mentioned the Ninth doomed to die anyway), and an Ice calamity may be on the way, thus leading the adventure to that place. I really don't see a whole expansion taking place in shards already fully or nearly fully consumed by a Calamity, as it would be kind of one note, and universally, MMORPGs like to have diversity in exploration zones for content.

7.5+ Is probably be centered on finally solving how we activate the key. That object is getting way too much attention to just be shelved for now.

Edit: Also... am I thinking too much but, at Treno, the lalafell's aether radar seemed a very direct reference to Dragon Ball? Looked almost like a recreation of Bulma's design. Also in the Arcadion's story there was something that looked like a Genki Dama reference. I wonder if this was just a couple of random easter eggs or maybe <tinfoiling hard now> is a hint of a MSQ plot point.

[Cleretic]

Remembered Hildibrand released with the patch, so I picked it up while hunting the Arcadion fighters around S9.

Another goose chase, this time through Shaaloani. Tracked down a... giant wolf man soul transplant, who was trying to blow up the train with ceruleum bombs after causing a ruckus around the region by destroying buildings and stealing food. Unfortunately, he was a real rube who got played by Carnelian (the slime guy's true identity, an Eldite criminal mastermind who killed Hardiboiled's incarnation of Nashu when they lowered their guard after apprehending him) and the still-unnamed scientist behind the plot. After some runaround the wolf guy was apprehended and Nashu freed from jail (long story).

So apparently oglops are a thing on the Ninth, and Hardiboiled is deathly afraid of them like pretty much every character in IX not named Garnet or Vivi. No points for guessing what the ultimate reward for the Hildibrand quests this time will be. (Please?)

FYI, that one didn't come with this patch; Hildibrand's stuff is coming in the 7.x5 patches, and you just played the 7.35 one!

For what it's worth, while I was surprisingly on board with the 7.25 Hildibrand questline, the 7.35 one mainly got a reaction of 'wow, y'all found One New Joke'. Sometimes Hildibrand has a habit of going all-in on different variations on one gag, and this time they really hoped the Oglop joke was a massive hit.

[Austratus]

Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure what the cave was supposed to be. On the one hand the intro shot is a 1:1 to Quan's Dwelling, but it seemed to be more of an Ice Cavern reference to me... still, one part of it is called "Quan Caverns," and the route you take into Treno is a compressed adaptation of a direct route there from the overlook in Quan's Dwelling so it's definitely the former.

It's not 1:1, but Treno has even more references. The slums and canals are prominent areas of Treno, and another architectural mark carried over is Queen Stella's gazebo. The railway is likely a reference to Gargan Roo or the nearby South Station cable car. It didn't feel like a step up to me because the back half of Dawntrail is drowning in IX references. (The front half is lots of XI.) We fought IX's final boss as the "true" final boss of Dawntrail, for cryin' out loud!

Mistwake is my new favorite dungeon. /10char

You can see the card stadium on the east side of Treno as well: it's inaccessable but you get some passerby dialogue referencing a tournament if you stand at the waters edge.
Also, the quick camera pan around the first mobs during the dungeon intro is itself a bit of a reference to the startup of IX's battles, it's a fun nod alongside the very nice arrange of the battle theme.

You can go back to Treno after MSQ but sadly you can't interact with the NPCs for dialogue anymore.

[diamondedge83]

Part of me is happy that we can finally put the most annoying theory in all of Dawntrail to bed, though. Because we now finally know what the Arcadion's logo is, and we can stop pretending it looks like an Ascian sigil!

It's the Tyrant's combat form. Shoulderpads, horns, mohawk!

Really? Looks way more like the President's Lindwurm form to me. What you're calling shoulder pads are its claws, the Mohawk is its crest, and the two side horns are actually is wing arms fading into the background. It'd be nice if they'd just tell us now that it's over and done with.

[Diclonius]

MSQ Spoilers/Thoughts/Inquiry

I really enjoyed this patch overall, happy to be moving forward with the next story arc too. The dungeon and trial were enjoyable, I liked seeing more of the 9th I assumed was still down there, and we even got another roleplay segment (as Krile no less!) Without going into wild speculations about our unintentional use of the key moving forward, I have the sneaking suspicion Azem had set this plan in motion long ago and we're the latest in the link to be fulfilling whatever it is, but I could easily see them taking this in many directions.

One thing has been bothering me though, and I'm hoping someone can help explain because maybe I'm just confused, but does Miyali still being alive not present a huge contradiction in the timeline? When she was presented as Krile's aunt I was instantly confused because I wasn't expecting her to find any living relatives there that weren't descendants.

Afaik Krile's parents (Robor and Alayla) were around during the Storm Surge, which we know from several accounts was 400 years ago, so how exactly would Miyali have known her sister, and still be around now? I was under the impression time flowed much quicker in the 9th, but maybe I'm missing something so any clarity would help a lot here, thank you!

[Jandor]

One thing has been bothering me though, and I'm hoping someone can help explain because maybe I'm just confused, but does Miyali still being alive not present a huge contradiction in the timeline? When she was presented as Krile's aunt I was instantly confused because I wasn't expecting her to find any living relatives there that weren't descendants.

Afaik Krile's parents (Robor and Alayla) were around during the Storm Surge, which we know from several accounts was 400 years ago, so how exactly would Miyali have known her sister, and still be around now? I was under the impression time flowed much quicker in the 9th, but maybe I'm missing something so any clarity would help a lot here, thank you!

The Storm Surge happened four centuries ago, but Preservation and all the interdimensional research stuff (at least the parts that Krile's parents were involved with) started much later.

I think it roughly went like this:

• Over 400 years ago, things start to shift towards lightning. Times gets hard.
• Roughly 400 years ago, electrope is figured out. Wars start to secure it. War intensifies the lightning aspect shift, the world is basically ruined as a result. Alexandria, Treno, and a few other settlements hunker down.
• Some point between then and now, Preservation starts researching interdimensional travel.
• Roughly 20 odd years ago, Krile's parents chuck her through a portal they helped make.
• The present day.

[Cleretic]

Really? Looks way more like the President's Lindwurm form to me. What you're calling shoulder pads are its claws, the Mohawk is its crest, and the two side horns are actually is wing arms fading into the background. It'd be nice if they'd just tell us now that it's over and done with.

Both of them can make a plausible case (and there's a viable way to say it's both), but I'm leaning towards my guess because all the 'parts' are correctly proportioned on a straight shot. For it to be the Lindwurm it'd need to be a very specific, stylized angle, while if it's the Tyrant then it's just a pretty straight shot of his head and shoulders.

Also, only one of those two was a public figure and image before the boss fight itself! It makes complete sense that the Arcadion logo is a stylized image of the champ.

The Storm Surge happened four centuries ago, but Preservation and all the interdimensional research stuff (at least the parts that Krile's parents were involved with) started much later.

I think it roughly went like this:

• Over 400 years ago, things start to shift towards lightning. Times gets hard.
• Roughly 400 years ago, electrope is figured out. Wars start to secure it. War intensifies the lightning aspect shift, the world is basically ruined as a result. Alexandria, Treno, and a few other settlements hunker down.
• Some point between then and now, Preservation starts researching interdimensional travel.
• Roughly 20 odd years ago, Krile's parents chuck her through a portal they helped make.
• The present day.

Also, minor nerd point on this one: it was slightly over twenty years ago on the Source's side, it's plausibly longer on the Ninth's side. (Further explanation of 7.4 stuff in spoilers!)

Miayli looks like she's probalby in her fifties or sixties, so I would probably estimate that on her side, Alayla made the trip maybe thirty or forty years ago.

The interesting extra factor here is what this means for Calyx. I'd always figured that Robor and Alayla made their trip roughly concurrently with the early Endless experiments with Otis and Sphene, early in the Storm Surge; this actually confirms that Calyx was active long before this, and had been an Endless for centuries at that point.