So, let's speculate about future Story developments (SPOILERS!!!)

[Kyuuen]

Potential spoilers, don't read

Apologies if this is a little off topic, but I LOVE how aptly named this patch is. "Before the Fall" can be applied to quite a few things at the moment, which is leaving me in a state of 'what's actually going to happen?' You have the culminating point that the Sultanas hand is being forced, backing her into a corner, leaving the fate of Ul'dah in a truly dangerous spot. You have the Ascians pushing their agenda in awakening their deity/god, pushing the Scions to near their breaking point. You have a potential traitorous element skulking around in the newly founded Crystal Braves, potentially breaking them before they're truly valuable. And finally Midgardsormr has stated that Ishgard WILL burn, in which we may not see Ishgard whole upon our arrival.

SE's done quite well to set things up at this pivotal point, leaving us to wonder who/what will fall and who will remain standing after their struggles, if only a little haggard.


What do I think is going to happen?

Ul'dah will experience some rough turbulence. The Sultana will stick around, to what extent I'm not sure.

The Crystal Braves traitor will be a misdirect. The traitorous element is present, but it's not who we thought. (hopefully)

The Ascians will be slow coming back into the story after having killed Nabriales. Putting a soft stop (temporary) to their continued goals.

Ishgard; I'm thinking will be partially destroyed, parts in ruin while the important parts remain intact or a little damaged. Granted this won't be until the expansion.

[Mahri]

Lore-wise, there are specific reasons for why male Miqo'te are exceedingly rare. The relative dearth of them in story content makes perfect sense in that respect. For all the other races/sexes, there's no lack of representation at all.

Still, it would be good to see more catdudes around. The conclusion of G'raha's storyline did feel super-abrupt.

[Terin]

Obviously, Alexander is a reference to past games in and of himself, but there's no denying that the Crystal Tower and its surrounding storyline were inspired *specifically* by Final Fantasy III. Considering how successful -- not to mention AMAZING -- it was, I figure we'll be seeing even more such content following suit.

There are an awful lot of hints towards Final Fantasy IV -- which honestly, I've never played (past the short intro sequence, when I was a little kid) -- not to mention, like I said, the new Emperor looks a *LOT* like Golbez. At the same time, though, there have also been a number of additions alluding to Final Fantasy VII, and an Allagan/Garlean "Mako Reactor" could also really hit home. Either way, though, I think we'll be seeing another "Nostalgia-Raid" in Heavensward (and perhaps Hard/EX Crystal Tower).

[Fenral]

Either way, though, I think we'll be seeing another "Nostalgia-Raid" in Heavensward (and perhaps Hard/EX Crystal Tower).

It's already been debunked that while the Crystal Tower raid was inspired by FF3, they don't want to establish a precedent that all 24-man raids will be taken from other games like that. The Heavensward raid is confirmed to be original to FF14, and something we shouldn't be able to predict with what we know about the game now. I do want Hard-Mode CT, though, but only if it's a story-continuation/remix like the others.

[Terin]

Also, I hadn't heard anything about them wanting to "redo Ul'dah". I have to admit, the idea is slightly terrifying, as it's far-and-away my favorite City in the game. To me, it's also the most diverse, as you have a large, spacious main-street, a packed marketplace, the rough alleyway, and the interior areas have almost a "Museum" quality, that I really dig.

I'd be really interested to see what they are thinking about doing, I just hope it doesn't too drastically alter the "vibe" of the city.

[Talia_Hailwind]

they won't kill the sultan or remove her from power, or they will have to remake the last quest in the cooking class quests, because it has cut scenes with her in it, and they would write themselves into a corner.

[Fenral]

they won't kill the sultan or remove her from power, or they will have to remake the last quest in the cooking class quests, because it has cut scenes with her in it, and they would write themselves into a corner.

Not necessarily. If you don't mind spoiling yourself for an MMO you may never play, try Googling "Darth Malgus" to see how that other major story-driven MMO handles it's continuity. After a point, both players and devs are going to need to accept the possibility of experiencing plot "episodes" out of sequence, not unlike watching a long-running TV series.

This is a screenshot from my level 45 Summoner quest.
There I am, getting introduced to Ramnbroes for the first time, standing right next to proof that we've met before. This game's continuity is already not nearly as airtight as players think it is, so anything can happen.

[Gilthas]

This is a screenshot from my level 45 Summoner quest.
There I am, getting introduced to Ramnbroes for the first time, standing right next to proof that we've met before. This game's continuity is already not nearly as airtight as players think it is, so anything can happen.

Technically, that single line you show doesn't break continuity.

But regardless, I think it's bound to happen anyway.

[Talia_Hailwind]

Not necessarily. If you don't mind spoiling yourself for an MMO you may never play, try Googling "Darth Malgus" to see how that other major story-driven MMO handles it's continuity. After a point, both players and devs are going to need to accept the possibility of experiencing plot "episodes" out of sequence, not unlike watching a long-running TV series.

This is a screenshot from my level 45 Summoner quest.
There I am, getting introduced to Ramnbroes for the first time, standing right next to proof that we've met before. This game's continuity is already not nearly as airtight as players think it is, so anything can happen.

I can understand ramnbros cause hes still alive and his status hasn't changed, but if the sultan died or wasn't sultan wouldn't if be odd she was in the cutscene for the cooking quest and was still addressed as sultan? (AH! LALAFELL GHOST!)

[myahele]

I don't think the potato will die. She's far too popular and well liked to be killed. However, it's possible that there might be an event that'll taker her out of commission for a while. Like becoming comatose due to poisoning and it'll be up to us either in next patch or the expansion to cure her. Actually, I can see how her being in a coma will provide a nice political turmoil/ civil war in Ul'Dah.

She's not dead, yet, but there are plenty others that wanna be the "temp" ruler until she's cured. Monetarist vs GC leaders (since they know her plans/royalist will be pretty nice setup.

/fantheory