Garlean Military and Armament

[4amPudding]

So I was just thinking about this the other day, but why is it that all the Garlean soldiers we see are armed with swords, axes, bows and the like? We have seen that they have amazingly advanced technology, stuff that could challenge even what we have today, but their soldiers are armed like they are straight out of Lord of the Rings. The only exceptions to this seem to be the higher ups, from officers all the way up to Gaius, and the ones that are lucky enough to pilot a Magitek Armor. Does anyone have any explanations for this?

[Naria]

I seem to recall from 1.0 that most of the forces being used to invade Eorzea are conscripts from the colonies/Ala Mhigo. They may not trust the rank and file with advanced weaponry. Also its possible that magitek is 1) expensive to produce 2)difficult to produce or 3)difficult to operate or some combination thereof.

[Enkidoh]

Naria is correct - it's stated in both 1.0 and ARR that the bulk of the Garlean military's front-line forces are conscripts drafted from the nations they've conquered (specifically, Ala Mhigo, but other subject nations are also used as a source of troops).

Accordingly, the regular 'grunts' wield basic weapons like swords and bows, even armed with magic (which is the clue they're not real Garleans - native-born Garleans are naturally poor at using magic - hence their reliance on technology), because they're considered expendable - why waste precious money and resources on someone that's just going to end up as cannon fodder anyway?

Hence magitek weapons like gunblades are usually reserved for the 'elite' troops or officer ranks like the centurions, tribunes like Livia and Nero, and the Legatee like Gaius, as these positions would definitely be limited to those of 'native Garlean' birth, with some exceptions (like Rhititayn being not Garlean born, but rising to a position of authority within the military).

[4amPudding]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I missed the bits where the composition of the armies was stated. It makes a lot more sense now, although Im curious if any of the legions are primarily or at least mostly composed of native born Garleans with magitek weaponry. I understand that Garlemand is a relatively small nation itself, with the majority of its population being foreign born, so it may be that they simply dont have the numbers to fill out a full legion. Was there any difference between the XII Legion and the XIV Legion? I only started playing relatively recently so I didn't play at all during 1.0. It makes sense to me that the XIV legion at least would be very welcoming of levies from conquered territories, as Gaius strikes me as a man who doesn't care where one was born and instead values ability and dedication to the Empire, which from the reaction Rhitahytn to some lines from Gaius, is something of an anomaly within the Empire

[Enkidoh]

Well, we've only really seen two specific Garlean legions so far in both 1.0 and ARR (the VIIth, led by Nael van Darnus, and the XIVth, led by Gaius van Baelsar), and troops for both seem to follow the will of their commanding Legatus (especially in the case of the VIIth, who even with Nael being 'killed' still zealously threw themselves into battle against the Alliance at Carteneau without a commander, simply acting according to his general will that is, 'cleanse' the 'savage lands of Eorzea from it's taint').

Of course the VIIth was virtually completely annihilated in the Calamity, with any survivors presumably absorbed into the XIVth so it's possible any specific differences they had would have been lost in the adoption of their new posting.

I remember it mentioned somewhere in the old 1.0 forum (now archived) that there is in fact fourteen separate Garlean legions incidentally, or rather, was given the now loss of both the VIIth and XIVth in Eorzea.

[finiteHP]

As has been said we only know about the VII and XIV legions in any amount of detail, so we don't know if there are any legions that are purely Garlean. If there are any, it would be the I (the emperor's legion) is the most likely and I wouldn't be surprised if even it has conquered peoples in it.

[Wadoka]

The naming of the units could be an interesting point of discussion. Two of the unit descriptions that I remember, are descriptions of types/styles of Roman Gladiator. Not Legionnaires. Hoplomachus and Secutor...

Morituri te salutamus?

[gornotck]

It's true. The unit members are named after gladiator types, based on their weapon.

Eques - lance.
Laquearius - axe.
Hoplomachus - sword
Signifier - staff (THM)
Secutor - fist weapons

[Melinia]

Hence magitek weapons like gunblades are usually reserved for the 'elite' troops or officer ranks like the centurions, tribunes like Livia and Nero, and the Legatee like Gaius, as these positions would definitely be limited to those of 'native Garlean' birth, with some exceptions (like Rhititayn being not Garlean born, but rising to a position of authority within the military).

While it's never specifically stated, Livia's few comments regarding her background seem to suggest that she's also not a native-born Garlean. Her vague comments, including her final words, suggest that she lost everything at some point when she was much younger. A likely explanation is that she lived in one of the countries that the Garleans invaded, was left destitute as a result, but managed to work her way up to her present position.


However, it's also noted in one conversation that Gaius's trust in competent non-Garlean subordinates is unique.

[A_Magical_Unicorn_Rider]

While it's never specifically stated, Livia's few comments regarding her background seem to suggest that she's also not a native-born Garlean. Her vague comments, including her final words, suggest that she lost everything at some point when she was much younger. A likely explanation is that she lived in one of the countries that the Garleans invaded, was left destitute as a result, but managed to work her way up to her present position.
However, it's also noted in one conversation that Gaius's trust in competent non-Garlean subordinates is unique.

And if you really want to take it a step further, it's heavily implied that Livia has some SERIOUS daddy issues. Like… wow. SE's kinda messed up.