Were all our efforts wasted? *spoilers*

[Felis]

From a lore standpoint, it was bound to happen since Eorzea goes through Umbral/Astral eras. But I wouldn't say there was no point to it. Grand Companies were revived and the Eorzeans came together thus making the coming Astral era start on a right foot.

The next astral era begin in 1000 years. The 6th astral era ended with the release of Bahamut.
We are now in the 7th umbral era.

[Cendres]

To be honest, I think that is the point. We're not "supposed" to survive the 7th Umbral Era and in the kinda prophecy we're told of the 7th Umbral, is that it's the fact we did something that saved us total destruction. Well that's what I got from all the quests.

We've just witnessed the end of the Astral Era, which was a long time of peace. But with the 7th era which is Umbral there will be a lot of conflict which is maybe the real reason why Adventurers are needed.

Are they going to continue the echo power thing? Or is that over with now that Bahamut was release and the Twelve's powers didn't work? Also I think religion and faith will be a big deal as the lack of faith in people in general MIGHT be why the Twelve weren't very strong combined with the lack of Aether to go around.

So in the era of peace people got complacent or just miffed with the Twelve as they flooded Eorzea at the end of the last Umbral era which brought in the current 6th Astral Era..... And when the Garleans ravaged Ala Migho it was a slap in the face of Eorzea that rudely woke parts of it up. Then the echo sounded in trying to prevent Bahamut's release? hmmm.

[Belisaire]

I took it as sort of an inevitability. As in a greater force is at work.

It still isn't clarified why Dalamud kept falling after destroying the lunar transmitter and killing Darnus. It was all against Louisoix and Cid's understanding of the moon. For all intents and purposes we should have stopped it.

I think though what it implies is that it was inevitable because time must always move forward. The Seventh Umbral Era had to happen, as part of some grander purpose. I think that's partly what Atomos was doing, and why he showed up when he did; shortly after the Darnus fight was released. Given Atomos being associated with time, and whatnot, I wonder if it didn't have something to do with Dalamud's continuing descent.

Given the order of release and admittedly nothing more but speculation, I sorta think it is:

Adventurer and Party defeat lunar transmitter, and Darnus: Dalamud should halt
However, time must ever move forward, the Seventh Umbral Era is the next step, it must happen
Atomos shows up, possibly functioning as a temporal janitor once again, and starts doing something to the aether
Perhaps Atomos was channeling the aether to Dalamud? To keep it falling?

Because I really don't think that they'd just throw Atomos in there for no real plot point.

[Abriael]

I like to think that without our efforts the devastation would have been much worse, and Eorzea would have been annihilated completely, or at least would have taken a lot longer than 5 years to recover.

[Decconi]

Maybe if they sat down with Bahamut and beat him over a game of Parley.

All joking aside. Why couldn't they have started the ritual before the seal broke on Dalamund? Also... With Eorzea's Cataclysm, Deathwing can suck it. Bahamut is king!

[Genjuro]

Only at the end did we find out that it was a doomed mission. Hypothetically speaking, if all the servers ran smoothly and they didn't have to deal with the issues that 1.0 had, I believe that this story would have progressed in a much different path.

In the storyline Gaius Van Baelsar was already plotting his agenda against Nael Van Darnus because he saw that Nael had become deranged. In the flashback with the soldier dying, at least for adder company, Gaius is having second doubts about Nael's plan, because as he states "What good is conquering the world that is destroyed?"

I think that this would have led him to guide us into stopping Dalamud at the expense of being enslaved by Garlemald. Twice he has given us clues and hints and lets us by, once retrieving the fake Lunar Transmitter and another when praying to the Halyone's stone in Coerthas, he tells us where the VIIth Legion is located and the outcome of what has happened.

So again, only at the end, and transitioning to 2.0, would this scenario have come to pass. If not, I think it would have been quite a grand storyline of deceit, and vying for power.

[ZiZ]

wasted? no my friend, Nael Van Darnus died at our hands and never got the chance to see his plan come to fruition. we got a taste of sweet sweet preemptive revenge. and if that wasn't worth it, I don't know what is.

[Abriael]

Are they going to continue the echo power thing?

I actually hope that'll disappear. It always seemed a rather lame plot device to me.

[Delsus]

wasted? no my friend, Nael Van Darnus died at our hands and never got the chance to see his plan come to fruition. we got a taste of sweet sweet preemptive revenge. and if that wasn't worth it, I don't know what is.

Except he was attacking Ul'dah after we killed him... who said he is actually dead, perhaps he lives on inside Bahamut... or is bahamut, which is why he was so determined to bring Dalamud down... if Bahamut is a primal (similar to the twelve) perhaps Van Darnus was his archon...

[Inzoum]

remember guys, this is not the end
consider this 1.0 as World of Balance and ARR as World of Ruin in FFVI

Except that this World of Ruin looks about a zillion times more lively than Version 1's world.

Had it been like that in FFVI, people would have been thankful for Kefka's actions.