Thread: [SPOILERS] Revelations from Patch 3.3

For a rival...

We don't need Lahabrea to fill that role.

That is what the Warriors of Darkness are for. The Quest Log explicitly states upon our first meeting that, given they clearly aren't friendly, they must be rivals to us. I'm expecting them to become recurring story bosses in 4.0. (Hopefully. Any game is made better with a good rival, and I really want to waste Darklander's smug ass.)

Alternatively we have Ilberd, whose ideals and motives clash with ours despite our similar goals. He was never decisively dealt with and remains at large; the fact 4.0 is implicitly taking us to Ala Mhigo just increases the probability of this eventuality.

For the Eyes...

It's nebulous exactly what is going to happen. Nidhogg is gone for good, that much is absolutely certain. Anything else remains open to speculation - that is, anything is possible.

It's possible everyone is just going to leave them where they are.
It's possible the Ascians will retrieve them for some end.
It's possible they'll become batteries for Omega.
It's possible we'll be named an Ishgardian duke with the Eyes hanging over our fireplace.
It's possible Raubahn will get a magitek prosthetic arm that uses one as a battery.
Etc.

Dealing in possibilities is unwise for reasons explained with the Ancient Aliens .gif. Anything is possible.

Possible < Plausible < Probable. Thus far I do not consider it probable that anyone will retrieve and use the Eyes... I acknowledge the possibility, but aside from an Ascian retrieving them it strains plausibility, and I consider it probable we threw them away so the story would not become "Who can control Nidhogg's Eyes?" since they have so many potential uses as aether batteries. If we just relied on dragon eyes to solve everything we'd have a hard time moving past Ishgard due to the city-state's history with dragons, and if the villains relied on them we'd have almost no chance of stopping them without our own... and clearly we're moving on, probably to Ala Mhigo, which aside from the fact their last king was a tyrant and they've been under Garlean occupation for 20 years, we have little to no information on. (Probably no dragons though.)

Addendum: If the Ascians were so desperate for dragon eyes, they'd just go get Tiamat's. There is literally nothing stopping them, and yet she's been left alone on Azys Lla for +/- 5,000 years.

For Blanhaerz...

... he was probably just observing. I think. True, the final scene was after the battle and implicitly after Ishgard passed their reforms, but he's just standing in Coerthas, looking at the Steps of Faith, and talking to Darklander via linkpearl. Elidibus tells Darklander all is proceeding as written, then Alisae is caught eavesdropping and saved by Thancred.

However, just before hanging up Darklander tells Blanhaerz he doesn't need to remain where he is and they can meet up in "the usual place," meaning either he already had the Eyes or an Ascian is going to retrieve them at a later date. The latter is more likely given the chasm is seemingly bottomless, but... again, possibilities.

Originally Posted by Cilia

For a rival...

Eh, they strike me as more FFVIII Biggs and Wedge rivals, than anything on the level of Seymour... So far they just haven't be remotely fleshed out enough for me to really care about either, they're just there being painfully boring... They're one twirling mustache away from being complete jokes in my eyes... Not sure I even expect them to get to 4.0, I feel like they're there to conclude the Ascian plot so 4.0 can focus on Garlemald...

Seymour, on the other hand, was the kind of villain that had me going "Ugh, you again... Didn't we already kill you?", which I imagine is exactly how you'd respond if Lahabrea came crawling back... He should be dead, but he isn't, because he is Seymour... I suppose a Xth Legion Legate should fill that role later down the line, but after Crystal Tower (Koh Rabntah, specifically) I'm more incline to have a Yu Yevon inspired Xth Legate...

And yes, it's possible but perhaps not yet probably... I really don't care... I'm speculating... For fun... I'm not saying it will happen, simply that it's a possibility I'd personally like to see the story move towards... I'm allowed to voice my opinion on where the story may go, right?

On eyes

There's nothing stopping them? Except, you know, the dragon itself? Tiamat isn't trapped there, Midgardsormr mentioned that she should be able to break free, but she doesn't want to... I can't imagine, after what happened to put her in that state, that she'd meekly surrender her eyes should Elidibus come along... I imagine they've also been stopped from even attempting for the same reason Nabriales only recently made an attempt on Tupsimati, possibly even the shield around Azys Lla, depending on how OP Allag were (why else would they have needed the Key when they specifically warp Thordan away after getting it?). Like I said, Nabriales was after Tupsimati for a Rejoining, and if anything, Nidhoggs eye is more powerful (given nobody needed to sacrifice themselves to strengthen the aether blast when we used it essentially exactly the same as Tupsimati), you really think they'd pass up the opportunity to get two of those?

It's also entirely possible that this was the plan all along... I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Ascians had their hands in Thordan going after Ratatoskr, a fairly convoluted plan to obtain some powerful relics 1,000 years later, but isn't that how Ascians do? No more convoluted than what happened with Bahamut IMO...

Originally Posted by Yuella

I noticed that The Maelstorm have beastmasters in the Hullbreaker Isle. I hope Yoshida doesn't give up on pet jobs and introduce the BST job, either branching off Marauders (since they're introduced by the Maelstorm anyway) or their own advance job.

Musketeer => Beastmaster?

I feel dirty saying that... Musketeer => Scholar is the only truth... There actually were a few Musketeers kicking around in 3.3 though... Mostly in Hullbreaker (Hard), but there's that little Ishgard love story playing out that has two thugs with the weapon...

That said, the pistols themselves are fairly boring in design, can't imagine them adding variety without looking like Machinist (not sure why Machinist didn't get a Musketeer pistol as their Gold Saucer weapon)... If Beastmaster has a pistol instead of a whip though... What if they're not the main weapon? What if the pistol is effectively the same as Machinists lunch box, while their main weapon is the beast itself? Effectively XIs Jug pets... Damn, that would make relic quests extra interesting...

Eyes.

At this point, lets just assume that Nidhogg's demise rendered the eyes fragile and that they broke when we and Ameryc tossed them off the Steps of Faith. If only so that we can actually move on.

Lolorito

Still don;t think this needs to be spoilered but eh. Anyway, I agree with Berthos that this is basically him buying goodwill, and not because he is actually a decent person, not with proof of the opposite smugly stand where an aetheryte should had been.

Re: Lolorito and Good Will

I think of it like so:

Above all else, Lolorito is a merchant prince. He wants wealth and power, but he doesn't want to rule. He doesn't want subjects or obligations or to be burdened by the affairs of the state. He wants to make himself alone profit, while letting that trickle down through whomever will help keep that sustainable.

When there was no greater threat to the realm, Lolorito could ensure the protection Ul'dah's status quo (and thus his ability to do business) entirely with the Brass Blades. It was in his best interest to erode the Sultanate's power because he could retain control and security. But what about now? An Imperial invasion... a calamity... international politics and widespread warfare... conflict looming on the horizon.

Lolorito doesn't want any part of that. He just wants to make sure Ul'dah sees it through and comes out on top; an empowered Ul dynasty under Nanamo with the support of the Immortal Flames - even at his own expense - is a long-term investment. If Ul'dah positions itself well when the war starts, that means trade routes, supply lines, arms sales. If Ul'dah is standing when the smoke clears, that means trade monopolies, construction contracts, control of the entire realm's mercantile networks. And how many of his competitors are favored to survive that upheaval? How much of it can he absorb into the East Aldenard Trading Company? And what if we press on and take Ala Mhigo?

What's a regional rival's coinpurse and half his own now compared to all of that later? For now, Nanamo's what's best for business.

Warring Triad

Unukalhai sounded pretty sinister during the end of the optional quest, he's not going to become this game's Kefka is he? He's very mysterious and it's obvious he has ulterior motives, my friends have been saying he's going to be Kekfa 2.0

Originally Posted by Yasuhiro

Warring Triad

Unukalhai sounded pretty sinister during the end of the optional quest, he's not going to become this game's Kefka is he? He's very mysterious and it's obvious he has ulterior motives, my friends have been saying he's going to be Kekfa 2.0

Whatever other people may think of this kid, Krile included, I don't trust him at all. Whether he's just being used by Elidibus or fully complicit in his plans, he's too sneaky and too obviously involved with an Ascian for me to be able to trust anything he says or does. I don't even think my character and the other Scions (minus Urianger) suspect that his master is Elidibus, else they'd be much less inclined to work with him in any capacity.

Originally Posted by Mieck

Re; current threads (WOD, Ascians, Warring Triad/is Regula going to be Kefka? etc)... I'm not so sure those will run beyond 3.5x. I can't find the quote at the moment, but didn't Yoshida mention that players would not have to clear through the 2.0/3.0 stories to start 4.0? I'm sure that was their thinking. I therefore can't imagine they will want to carry very many elements over into the 4.0 story. It would be a real slow start to a story if they had to fill in new players in on content they have been able to bypass.

I think this was only meant to say that 4.0 sidequests/job quests will not be locked behind MSQ, but that the MSQ itself will continue to progress from 3.x. I suspect we would eventually end up with a very fragmented story if this were not the case, and I'm honestly not interested in that. I like this game because it maintains plot continuity and character relationships from one expansion to the next.

Originally Posted by Cilia

Lolorito is a shrewd businessman, and while surrendering half of his own coffers and Teledji's entire net worth to the Sultanate is a generous move, it may benefit him in the long run.

More than just that, I think that surrendering a large portion of his assets was his get-out-of-jail-free card, considering what he's done. At least, the Tale from the Dragonsong War seems to imply that this is the case, and that Nanamo otherwise would not be buying his crap.

Originally Posted by Cilia

I would argue that, we don't need another reference to a past title... with Lahabrea playing Seymour... XIV is already saturated with shout-outs and references to past titles... besides, Seymour is just a specific instance of the "rival" archetype; said archetype includes other recurring bosses such as Gilgamesh, the Turks, Seifer, Beatrix (for a time), Gabranth, etc... the only thing that sets Seymour apart is his ability to assume monstrous forms after your first fight with him... that and the fact he is physically dead but the metaphysics of X let him linger far longer than he should have...

I agree with you about not needing another reference to a past title for warring triad but I think XIV, 2.0 onwards anyway, has pretty much established that it's a love letter to the series past and just puts a new spin on already existing stories and themes in the series and I'm okay with that, like all the allagan stuff is recognizable but it is their technology that they've made, same with Sephirot too, fans know who it is but in XIV it's its own thing just sharing similar themes.

Anyone else notice the cocoon writing underneath the clockwork Paladin/Knight's head? Noticed it when taking dungeon screenshots for a friend Did the allagans have the ability to travel to other worlds? It's pretty interesting if they can do that, I've always wanted to know more about them