Are the Primals really Primals?

[Akujin]

Essentially, by the sound of it, there are two things here.

Primals are Elemental based beings, each of the Beastmen's Primal attributes itself to a specific Element - Fire, Wind, Earth, Water (eventually Lightning, Ice). The Primals also do not look like their Beastmen, not truly. While Ifrit is lizard'ish, he is thinner, elongated, more demonic in a respect than Amalj'aa, Titan is a hulking earth-composed beast, Garuda has feathers, but the Ixali actually, do not. Leviathan does have scales/fins, which the Sahagan do have, but is still more of a serpent than a humanoid creature, as Garuda and Titan are.

Mog King, however, looks exactly like the Moogles themselves. It represents them as their Primal because their wish is one of their own kinship to be their salvation.

Why do the Elemental Primals take on their respective forms? No idea.

Which leads me to also believe that if/when the Dragons are revealed to have a Primal as well, I sincerely doubt it'll be Bahamut, as it would be too similar, granted Bahamut has also always been attributed to being non-elemental, so perhaps that would still work.

Going along this same thought - I could see them going as far as having Ishgard summon something akin to the Knights of the Round at some point, non-elemental, representing themselves in a sense, in a sense still Holy or simply righteous. That fight, if it ever happened, would make the Mog King fight look like cake. lol

While I won't go into details, because I don't know who else gleans information from external sites, but a recent discovery was found in the files from 2.2 that showed what is likely a new beastmen tribe coming in the future. Which, if they are attuned to say, Shiva for instance, do not look like her - at all -. Which furthers the point that Elemental Primals are not represented by their worshippers, but are instead given a form which they themselves favor instead. Why exactly, who can say, except the lore masters themselves.

Your original question, regarding whether the Primals we face now, are truly the Primals, or simply representing them is still plausible. While the naming is different, it can also go back to the way the names were used in XI. Avatars. An Avatar of a deity is not the deity itself, but a projection of its astral self into the physical world. Lessened, considerably, from it's true power because if a deity actually stepped down on the same world as mortals, it would likely have disastrous repercussions. Likewise, these Primals, may simply be Avatars of their true selves, sustained by the power of aether/crystals/blood sacrifice, but still not their actual selves. To fight the actual Primal itself, at its own "full power", would likely require going into a semi incorporeal space. I think of it as a divide, the corporal/material world we're in, then the incorporeal/aetherial world that permeates through our own, giving sustenance to the land, the air, but also the means that Primals have of emerging into our own world, while still remaining outside of it. Which can be partly why they are able to be returned so often, until their actual cores are disrupted, they can return again, granted each time requires more and more power to do so.

Also consider, essentially all 'aethereal' is, is 'ethereal'. As the word 'aethereal' does not get used anymore. So the idea that they would use similar concepts of a prime material (physical world) and ethereal (spiritual world) is not far fetched. It may also lend to the fact that the reason they chose Primal, as the choice title to these beings, is because they are taking a physical form of themselves from the Aether, but it does not mean it is themselves, fully.

[Kaiser-Ace]

@Akujin
Sounds alot like a fusion of the Multiverse and Phantom Plains theorys in which there are multiple levels of ovelaping existance and a being in one plain can not simply interacte with a being on anouther with out a medium. Basically with out their worshipers the primals can't actually exist in our plain of Eorzia to interact with us.

[Toranja]

Garuda has feathers, but the Ixali actually, do not.

The Ixali have feathers. They simply lost the ability to fly. They have since used balloons.
The feathers are also very vibrant in colour in those who haven't been tempered with.


When they summon a Primal, they are channelling the actual essence. Prayers act as a beacon to a particular Primal. The summoned Primal comes with memories, personality and privy knowledge.

These summoned Gods are, however, far too alike the minds that summoned them for my taste. Or, perhaps, it is more reasonable to turn that phrase and say those who have been tempered become more like their deity.


The Elder Primals are odd. We have not seen them being summoned. We saw them being released. They also don't seem to require prayer to subsist. What does Bahamut want, anyway?


Mog is an aetheric doll that can move and speak.

[Catapult]

Going along this same thought - I could see them going as far as having Ishgard summon something akin to the Knights of the Round at some point, non-elemental, representing themselves in a sense, in a sense still Holy or simply righteous. That fight, if it ever happened, would make the Mog King fight look like cake. lol

No, if there is one thing characteristic of Ishgardians, it is their devotion to Halone, the Fury. If the Archbishop of the Holy Sea ever sought to summon anything forth in their defence, it would be this warrior maiden associated with the first moon (astral ice) of the Eorzean Calendar.

I wonder who that could be?

I can't think of any event more fitting that leads to them opening their gates.

[Bombast]

No, if there is one thing characteristic of Ishgardians, it is their devotion to Halone, the Fury. If the Archbishop of the Holy Sea ever sought to summon anything forth in their defence, it would be this warrior maiden associated with the first moon (astral ice) of the Eorzean Calendar.

I wonder who that could be?

I can't think of any event more fitting that leads to them opening their gates.

Every day, this makes more sense. And it fills me with glee.

I want to Ishgardian's to summon her so bad it hurts.

[LineageRazor]

Every day, this makes more sense. And it fills me with glee.

I want to Ishgardian's to summon her so bad it hurts.

Not me - I want the Primals and the gods worshiped by the player races to be distinct.

That way, in future expansions, we can have scenarios where rogue factions of the player races start summoning their OWN gods to counter the threat of the beastmen gods. These rogue factions, of course, must be stopped, but naturally we'll consistently fail to stop them before they manage to summon their deities - which gives us a whole new pantheon of deities to beat the crap outta.

As a Paladin that worships Nophica, I wanna use Rage of Halone ON Halone.