Gridania and "outsiders"

[MeanGene]

Eorzea isn't a friendly place, its full of people who recently survived a apocalyptic situation and are struggling to even survive, You gotta understand it from their viewpoint not your own.

You also have to realise that there are limited resources and Gridanians have lived in fear of powerful real Elementals for ages. If they upset The Elementals they will be met with Sickness and Death. They decided to keep a tight watch on anything that could upset said Elementals because the whole forest would suffer, including them.

Their Xenophobia is completely justified and needed to continue their survival.

[Anna_Lannis]

Until you need to interact with someone else... everyone has limited resources, but that doesn't justify bigotry... try working to make things better, not hole up somewhere and be paranoid. Do something to make your world a better place, not make excuses to make it worse. War happens when people cannot compromise.

[MeanGene]

Tell that to the Garleans.

You must understand that Eorzea isn't a perfect world and it isn't our world either.

[Niwashi]

... but that doesn't justify bigotry...

It has to be understandable, not justifiable. There are things going on in all three cities that shouldn't be if the world were a perfect place. But if the world were a perfect place, we wouldn't have enough of a story going on there to make a game out of. Games (as well as novels, movies, and any other form of storytelling) tend to be set in places where things are not running well, because it's easier to create the sort of conflict there that's among the primary elements of a story.

With everything going on between them and the elementals, it's understandable that the Gridanians could become quite bigoted. It's not a good thing, but it is a believable thing.

[Verence]

I think players who joined in 2.0 are missing some very vital perspective and backstory on why the Gridanians are the way they are. Prior to the Calamity, the Twelveswood (known as the Black Shroud to outsiders due to its dangerous and impenetrable nature) was a hostile and frightening place where invisible creatures meted out the inscrutable will of the wood with extreme prejudice to any who angered them. There was not always warning, and it often did not make sense. In such an environment, if you wish to survive, the only reasonable response is to learn how not to anger the things that can cause forest guardians to rise to vengeful life, trigger wildlife stampedes, or simply emerge from thin air to steal you away or just flat-out kill you. All this and more used to happen regularly.

Those who did not have to live there or simply did not understand the way of the wood were less invested and less knowledgeable about things and did things to anger the elementals quite regularly... Then they'd leave. Who had to suffer this invisible anger? Those who remained - the Gridanians. They have suffered quite a lot at the hands of ignorant or just plain uncaring outsiders by their stomping about, and there are plenty of examples of them having stolen, damaged, or otherwise mistreated the forest because they did not have a concept of it as a living thing, when it is in fact very much a meta-organism, like as a beehive or anthill. Illness or injury in one part affects the health of the whole.

"Forgive and forget!" you may say. Sure, that'd probably help now that the elementals are too weak to do anything post-calamity. But try telling that to Ferguson; I'm sure they'd love to hear it. The writers have attempted to create real people with real prejudices. Stuff like this doesn't vanish overnight. The Gridanians are the way they are due to a long and storied history. To insist this is wrong and ought not to be over sentimental idealism is to oversimplify and to rob the setting of some of its nuance, flavor, and realism. Because that's the point, isn't it? Not what is right or wrong according to our modern Western views and sentiments, but what is realistic and vital and interesting for a fantasy world upon which hard times, trials, and tribulations have fallen.

[Kaiser-Ace]

I remember 1.0's Black Shroud. I live in a rural wooded area myself IRL but so much of that place seemed unnaturally hostile the even light seed to be afraid to enter uninvited. It was a dark maze of trees with cteatures , hostile ones at that, attacking around every turn. 2.0's Twelve's Wood is a beautiful place but The Black Shroud of 1.0 was terrifying. And one must also rmlemember, NPCs can actually die. If we "die" we're ported back to town via aethirite and try again. Avery went rushing into Tam-Tara half cocked and got his head loped off by Voidsent. Notice the difference here? There is likely some people that when they say "The Elementals won't let me" they really mean "I don't care enough about you to even try" but the same can be said for the monotarists in Ul'dah and the Code Breaking Pirates in Limsa Lomimsa. Every tree has bad fruit vocationally. (Pun intended)

[Anna_Lannis]

I still think Grindania needs more hugs. And I also don't like the fact when someone tries to go there and improve the place or get to know the place, the Gridanians bully them. Ya know, the fact is not that they are Xenophobe, the fact they except people want outsiders to respect them, and not have to earn that respect. Also the fact their is no change, no growth no nothing. Limsa are trying *not* to be pirates. Ul'dah are trying *not* to be greedy. When I go to those places and do those quests, I see people trying to solve their problems. When I go to Grindania, I get "i'm right, everyone else is wrong" mentality. It doesn't change and there is no evolution, no growth, nothing. The beastmen are actually more civilized and friendly than the people themselves are, the Sylphs are more friendly to people and even the hostile ones don't go out of their way to hurt people, and the Ixal are building a frigging AIRSHIP with the races of "man". You can't keep saying "because Elementals" as an excuse for everything. 1.0 does not exist anymore. I know people are paranoid, you need to change and I don't see Gridanians attempting ANYTHING.

[MeanGene]

You can't keep saying "because Elementals" as an excuse for everything. 1.0 does not exist anymore. I know people are paranoid, you need to change and I don't see Gridanians attempting ANYTHING.

But we can since The Elementals are still a very real entity in The Shroud, though they are weakened does not mean they are gone.

Also Ul'dah are still greedy as heck, are you kidding?
The last few patches have been about how greedy most higher up leaders in Ul'dah really are.

[Verence]

Do more Gridanian quests then. There are plenty that show a changing mindset, and just from talking to NPCs there's a huge amount of progress from 1.0. 1.0 may not be playable anymore, but it most certainly still exists in the lore and history of 2.0. Eorzea does not exist in a vacuum, it is a living setting that is influenced by its past. Gridania is still a bit standoffish and unfriendly to outsiders, but to say they have made no progress and desire no further progress is to be blind to the facts. They used to HATE Ul'dahns, and with pretty good reason. Nowadays you see nary a mention of it. Gridania's come a long way, belittling their progress with selective attention only reveals your own prejudices.

...Also,what's this about Ul'dah not trying to be greedy? Their entire morality is based around money. Look into Ossuary revenge contracts sometime. I think the problem here is that you're wearing some seriously rose-tinted shades about the entire rest of the setting. If you want rigid, unchanging, exclusionary viewpoints then take a look at Ishgard.

[Anna_Lannis]

I just want to make a Gridania a happier place. I want to make everything around me happy. It just feels so sad and lonely when it could be better.