Death Vs. Defeat - Disintegration Effect?

[Veritas-Ancora]

The story has had moments where enemies have been defeated but didn't actually die. I know there's some suspense to the story in this, but it can be confusing as to whether Nero died or was just defeated (obviously he lived per Crystal Tower), similarly Gaius and even Livia pose some questions now whether we just defeated them or we killed them for good. Yes they fell to the ground, but are they dead?

In traditional Final Fantasy, the "flash-and-burn" or "disintegration" effect helped a player know that a boss was dead for good. It brought closure that otherwise wasn't there.

For sake of lore, can the developers please look into this effect to help us know for sure whether someone is dead for good or just lying there in agony? Maybe even some sort of "soul aether" being released and exploding.

[lololink]

For Nero you never see him dead, he runs away so there was no surprise, Livia and Gaius died for sure, only monsters disappear. Human bodies don't.

[Shuon]

only monsters disappear. Human bodies don't.

I tend to agree with this.

I think livia was killed as was rhytatin (sp? the roe general) as Gaius commented that he was 'slain'.

Not sure aboit Gaius... almost sure he survived somehow.

[Gamer3427]

I tend to agree with this.

I think livia was killed as was rhytatin (sp? the roe general) as Gaius commented that he was 'slain'.

Not sure aboit Gaius... almost sure he survived somehow.

More than a few people do suspect that he's still alive out there somewhere. But yes, the other two are pretty much confirmed to be dead. Especially the Roe general, because I remember there being a line of dialog in regards to Gaius wondering if said general's men abandoned him and let him be killed because he wasn't a native Garlean.....

[Kaiser-Ace]

As far as Gaius goes, I've held to the idea lately that Gaius is actually Lahabrea's new host since he was kicked out of Thancred.

Supporting evidence being Lahabrea needed a new host and Gaius was literally there for the taking. Why waste a perfectly good body like Gaius when it was just going to die otherwise?

[MilesSaintboroguh]

As far as Gaius goes, I've held to the idea lately that Gaius is actually Lahabrea's new host since he was kicked out of Thancred.

Supporting evidence being Lahabrea needed a new host and Gaius was literally there for the taking. Why waste a perfectly good body like Gaius when it was just going to die otherwise?

Well, Lahabrea was totally obliterated by the Blade of Light at that time, so he'd have no time to take Gaius' body before the base blew up nor did Lahabrea had time to recover after the fact (we don't see him again until a few patches later). Even then, Gaius' body is probably mangled beyond belief since he was caught in the explosion, so it does the Ascian no good to posses a broken body.

[lololink]

Well, Lahabrea was totally obliterated by the Blade of Light, so he'd have no time to take Gaius' body before the base blew up. Even then, Gaius' body is probably mangled beyond belief since he was caught in the explosion, so it does the Ascian no good to posses a broken body.

yeah, unless the 14th legion gets crazy and try to summon Gaius as a Primal I don't think we will see him back.

[Cilia]

As many people have pointed out, Nero makes his escape after you defeat him and the lights flicker off for a few moments.

Livia, while unconfirmed to be dead, is inferred to be so by Cid.

Gaius had no exit, was heavily wounded, and was stuck in the exploding Praetorium; him not being dead would be a serious deus ex machina.

Enemy corpses dissolve / disappear partially due to engine limitations. Keeping every dead enemy rendered would crash even the most advanced graphics. It's also a means to keep the heroic fantasy intact; if corpses stuck around after death, it would make players feel bad about theyselves.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

Not to mention it keeps with the FF tradition of "everything fades"

[Reinhart]

I feel like I should point out that we had several corpses to carry out of the waking sands - including our sylph friend - so people not disappearing and instead leaving a body when they die is perfectly normal. Plus, there's the cemetery in Eastern Thanalan.