Thread: Hengr's Crucible: The most obscure 1.0 reference?

Hello Lore Forums!

I am Aniero from the podcast FFXIV Limit Break Radio. On our most recent episode we decided to look into content implemented in 1.0 that didn't end up paying off until 2.X or 3.0. One of the things we looked at was an old 1.0 dungeon called Hengr's Crucible.

If you'd like to see the discussion from the show, you can check it out here: https://youtu.be/4OY9j1dg6IA?t=1h57m5s

I'm a bit of a newcomer to the lorecrafting idea, so while I've always been interested in FFXIV's story and world, this is the first time I've really dug in on the lore, so please forgive my ignorance in certain areas of the discussion.

The video of someone running around in Hengr's Crucible can be found here: https://youtu.be/F5uOX6j3azM

Why is this significant? Because Hengr's Crucible is BACK in the Sea of Clouds!



I went ahead and circled the island on the map. It's noted with a red dot as Hengr's Crucible.

Now, I totally admit, SE could just be using a place name from 1.0 that was never actually used for anything. BUT THEN AGAIN, I feel like the attention to detail in the transition from 1.0 -> 2.0 -> 3.0 especially in regards to place names and geography (with a handful of small concessions and exceptions) has been remarkably loyal.

So, assuming that SE isn't just reusing a name from 1.0 and it is the same place from 1.0, how did Hengr's Crucible go from being at the very Northeast tip of Northeast Coerthas to being a floating island in the Sea of Clouds? And more importantly, why? Who is Hengr and what trial was he put through here? Are there ANY other references to a person named Hengr? I've googled but find no info on it. Can we reasonably draw any inferences from how the zone was designed in 1.0 (probably not, but it's part of the fun, right?)

And on the other hand, if SE is just reusing a mostly unused name from 1.0: why reuse the name Hengr's Crucible? It was clearly intended to be something in 1.0, most lore junkies know about this undeveloped dungeon/location, so why even use the name? Especially because fuck all happens on Hengr's Crucible right now. There's like 3 sprites 4 colibris and a FATE that spawns there and nothing else. So, if it's just another floating island in Sea of Clouds, why not name it "Dave's Stupid Hard Trial Place"?

So, that's what I got. What do you all think?

Forgot to mention that the seeds of this theory came from a discussion between Fusion X of Gamer Escape and I. He was responsible for directing my attention there and informing me that it was now a part of the Sea of Clouds map.

Koji (aka Fernehalwes on the forums) stopped by the Heavensward play area while I was testing out the Sea of Clouds at E3 and I let him know that I noticed this, as well. He was stoked that two or three of us caught such an obscure reference; even some of the developers forgot something that old and unused, lol.

It is indeed the same name as in 1.0; he wanted to use some old names that never came back; it's meant to really drive home the idea that all of this was torn from Coerthas itself (by wind crystals gone wild). I'm not sure we're meant to look deeper into it than that, but, like you, I was curious about the timing. Laniaitte says that Ishgard started exploring the Sea of Clouds several years ago (Greater than five? Less than five?). But the Vanu have clearly been here much longer, which implies that there was a place for them to be. So did Hengr's Crucible rise later? Has part of it been down there and part of it up here the whole time? Does it make any difference?

Either way, Hengr is a figure from Ishgardian fairy tales, a witch whose cauldron was said to look like the landmark.

If what's left in Coerthas looks like a couldron, the part in the Sea of Clouds might be the hollow that was ripped out of it to make that shape. The island in the clouds looks like it, too, on the map, though, so who knows. Maybe it's cauldrons all the way down if you tilt your head and squint right.

You can visit it for an entry in the new Sightseeing Log.

Yeah I had cought that in the Lorecast about the "wind crystals gone wild" but I also caught another interesting statement that, like Rivenroad, not all the floating lands are as a result of over aspected wind crystals. Granted, nothing on that island looks like Allagan tech or share any characteristics with Rivenroad, and I'm pretty sure Koji was referencing Azys Lla with that statement, but it did make me wonder. While the actual island itself doesn't have many defining features the ONLY thing I can notice makes it stand out against the bordering islands is that it has significantly less green shading on the underside of the island. That could mean nothing (Im pretty sure most of the islands of Neverreap lack the green underside), but its the only difference I can discern. Might that imply that it hasn't been in the Sea of Clouds as long as the other landmasses?

Also, here's an additional image reference for where Hengr's Crucible was on the 1.0 map:


RE: Sea of Clouds age. I'm confident that the Sea of Clouds has been around for a long time. Some people seem to be under the impression that it was created by the Calamity, but take a peek at the 1.0 map I just posted: Sea of Clouds is labeled as the border area to the north of Ishgard. I think it much more likely that Ishgard only recently developed airships that can reach the Sea of Clouds and that's why they've only just started exploring there in the last few years.