Crystals

[Nahald]

So one thing that's kind of been bothering me for quite some time now is the crystals that are obtained during the course of the main quest in 2.0. Mostly my issue is that I cannot seem to recall where exactly you find the crystals, the circumstances under which they are obtained and, ultimately, what purpose they serve. This has been bothering me especially since they seem to reappear every now and then in the later parts of the story, like when you see them surround your character before defeating Lahabrea or when your character produces one of the crystals when they confront Ramuh.

So I was wondering if perhaps anyone here could recall where exactly all of the crystals are obtained from over the course of the story. Details including where they are obtained and under what circumstances they are obtained would also be appreciated. Although I suppose if you could remember the quests they are all obtained on, that'd be helpful because I could then just watch the cutscenes for those quests. And a refresher on what purpose the crystals serve would also be helpful if possible. As I said before, none of the wikis seem to have any sort of comprehensive information on the crystals that your character obtains throughout the course of the main story. I'm hoping I can post any information that I can get on the Final Fantasy Wiki, at the very least. Any help would be appreciated.^^

[Grayve]

As far as I recall, You get one from the first encounter with an Ascian, around level 15 in the main quest. You then get one from each primal fight, Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. The sylphs give you one when you investigate Ramuh, since he is not summoned at that time.

[Malrend]

You get the final crystal (the ice crystal) after defeating Isgebind and recovering the Highwind during the latter parts of the story.

[Grayve]

You get the final crystal (the ice crystal) after defeating Isgebind and recovering the Highwind during the latter parts of the story.

I could not remember where it came from, thanks.

[Nahald]

That's six crystals then, that's all of then, lemme try to see if I can get this right:

1. Water Crystal: Obtained after defeating the Ascian's familiar.
2. Fire Crystal: Obtained after defeating Ifrit.
3. Lightning Crystal: Obtained from the Sylphs.
4. Earth Crystal: Obtained after defeating Titan.
5. Ice Crystal: Obtained after defeating Isgebind.
6. Wind Crystal: Obtained after defeating Garuda.

I might have the order wrong here, let me know if I do and I'll edit it. Now can anyone recall just what purpose it is that the Crystals serve?

[Viridiana]

That's six crystals then, that's all of then, lemme try to see if I can get this right:

1. Water Crystal: Obtained after defeating the Ascian's voidsent.

After beating the treants. At least, in Gridania.

[Grayve]

After beating the treants. At least, in Gridania.

It's different in each city.

[Nahald]

After beating the treants. At least, in Gridania.

It's different in each city.

Well, was the treant called by an Ascian? Because now that I think about it, it's actually a golem you fight in the Ul'dah quest, not a voidsent. So I guess I'll change it to "Ascian's familiar."

Well, so far, no one has said anything about what purpose the crystals serve. I'm starting to think that maybe their purpose is never explicitly stated in the main story, or maybe it just hasn't been revealed yet. If anyone knows something that we're missing, please share.

[Grayve]

You fight a golem in both Uldah and Limsa. And I don't recall the crystals having a specific purpose, though I think you get an Echo vision in some cases.

[Malrend]

Pretty sure that you get a crystal after defeating some Voidsent together with Thancred, if you started in Ul'dah, a Goobbue and some Bogeys together with Y'shtola, if you started in Limsa, and a Treant, together with Yda and Papalymo, if Gridania. These are the level 5 Main story quests.

As for the purpose of these crystals.. I believe they were what was used to expel Lahabrea from Thancred's body.

Edit: I do not recall the golems leaving crystals behind, but there is one for each city-state, all of them part of a level 9 Main story quest.