Were all our efforts wasted? *spoilers*

[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.

[Mudd]

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?"

Maybe the reason Gaius was on the airship was he was leading a fleet of his own, knowing Bahamut was inevitable at that time, and going to try to repel him from destroying everything totally.
Maybe Gaius Van Baelsar has gone rogue and is trying to right his wrong of letting Nael plot such a catastrophic event.

That'd be neat

[Mjollnir]

Maybe Gaius Van Baelsar has gone rogue and is trying to right his wrong of letting Nael plot such a catastrophic event.

That'd be neat

Yeah, I always figured he'd have the same kind of character development arc as his namesake in Battlestar Galactica and would play both sides off against each other to his own ends.