Thread: 3.5/4.0 Speculation & Discussion (Spoilers)

I figured I'd make a thread to contain a lot of the speculation and discussion about 3.5 and 4.0 that's inevitably been leaking into other threads simply due to the gradual trickle of information we've been getting about both since the Las Vegas Fan Fest combined with a lot of people's hype, concerns and general enthusiasm.

To get the ball rolling here's a link to a recent interview dropping a fair bit of information on 3.5/4.0:

http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/15/fa...-fan-festival/

I don't necessarily mind the Zeno villain thing but I am a bit bummed Regula sounds like he is going to go out in a relatively minor role. I still hope we will see more moderate Garleans. They said that they will be comparing the Garleans to the Allag the Garleans try to emulate and while there was a lot wrong with the Allag, I don't think they were entirely bad as a nation (apart from Miqote persecution the bastards!:P)

One thing I kind of hold out with is the idea that being loyal to the idea of the Garlean state and loyal to the imperial family don't necessarily have to be the same thing. We know that Garlemald has conflicting internal factions and I expect us to end up going to Garlemald proper some day. When your talking about a faction like Garlemald, there aren't that many threats big enough to make them reliable allies at the moment unless the Ascians switch tact completely and start operating openly or unless the threat to Garlemald is Garlemald itself.

My hope is at some point Garlemald will get a bit of the Ishgard treatment in that we have to deal with the elements that are a threat but we aren't going to go there to throw the baby out with the bath water.

There seems to be three major things mentioned here;

1) What Yoshi-P said about Zenos being a completely unsympathetic character seems to contradict what was said at Fanfest, that we'd see a much more nuanced side to Garlean occupation once we see it for ourselves, instead of through the biased filter of the Resistance. Personally I hope it's going to be both and also directly tied to the fallout of that vicious civil war Garlemald just had.

2) Estinien is going to remain a main character. My main tank has a theory that he's just going to continue cosplaying Kain Highwind and will be entering the "Hooded Man" phase next.

3) Regarding the teaser trailer, Yoshi-P said "Players who have been following the scenario from 1.0 will notice that something is 'off'". My favourite theory on this one comes from Reddit, which is that because the Derplander seems to have aged again we're about to see another time-skip (Gracious Althyk, grant us your blessing, save us from this time bubble).

Originally Posted by Belhi

I don't necessarily mind the Zeno villain thing but I am a bit bummed Regula sounds like he is going to go out in a relatively minor role.

Ever since we saw VIth Legion and some subtle Kefka homages, I've been prepping myself for him to get offed in 3.5. The FFVI stuff is all very tied to the floating continent, and Kefka references tend to have a certain ... directionality. It wouldn't surprise me at all of he gets a dramatic exit soon.

Originally Posted by Belhi

I still hope we will see more moderate Garleans.

One day we'll get our Larsa, I'm sure. At this point, wishing ill for the entire Empire is wishing for two continents to be thrown into upheaval. We and the Garleans share a common goal: the salvation of the world. It's everything about how to achieve that goal that we disagree on. But the Empire has been heading down the same path as Allag, and are making some of the same mistakes. We need only purge certain factions and points of view to make peace with the Garleans ... after a satisfying conflict, I hope. I mean, I'm lukewarm excited for our "Larsa", and all, but what about our "Vayne"? I've been so focused on my high hopes for Elidibus as one of the apex antagonists that I've barely considered it!

Originally Posted by FJerome

What Yoshi-P said about Zenos being a completely unsympathetic character seems to contradict what was said at Fanfest, that we'd see a much more nuanced side to Garlean occupation once we see it for ourselves, instead of through the biased filter of the Resistance. Personally I hope it's going to be both and also directly tied to the fallout of that vicious civil war Garlemald just had.

I get the feeling that it's going to be both. The Griffin has already been establishing that Ala Mhigo's new viceroy is a brute compared even to Gaius van Baelsar, but at the same government views tend to vary much more than populous views. Most people just want stability and opportunities to thrive, and some people will surely be afraid that handing control of the nation over to a resistance that's done nothing but fight and run for two decades (and ousted the King of Ruin at that) is a horrible idea, no matter how bad Zenos is. Sometimes the regime is all that needs to change. Sometimes attempting regime change does more harm that good. I can think of some real-world relevance...

Originally Posted by FJerome

Regarding the teaser trailer, Yoshi-P said "Players who have been following the scenario from 1.0 will notice that something is 'off'". My favourite theory on this one comes from Reddit, which is that because the Derplander seems to have aged again we're about to see another time-skip

Sounds like seven hells of risk! I mean, having a concrete definition of "Okay, this story is in THIS year, this story is in THIS year" will be a huge boon to certain aspects of the game experience (like not being asked what year it is every three to twelve days). And there are a ton of ways to do some really fun stuff with it.

On the other hand, the bubble was put in place for reasons. We can't just go back in time when we teleport west of Ala Mhigo, so I assume time would move everywhere. That means we'll have to maintain the timeline archives much better than we have been to ensure things don't get crazy. Imagine if 4.0 starts and the Battle of Silvertear Skies was now 16 years ago? Eep!

And that's not to mention all of the RP timelines it's going to uproot ... and just after they got hit with the Encyclopædia meteor! LOL

But aside from some issues with flow and trope, they've done great with such decisions in the past. I'm sure it'll (mostly) work out fine, either way.

Originally Posted by Theodric

Yeah, there's definitely a contradiction at play regarding Xenos.

Uh, it's Zenos, with a Z. and 3.4 already told us that he was worse then Gaius in his treatment of the people.

Originally Posted by Slatersev

Uh, it's Zenos, with a Z. and 3.4 already told us that he was worse then Gaius in his treatment of the people.

That's what I get for writing up a post when I'm tabbing in and out of the game. Though you're right - 3.4 did tip us off to Zenos being a bad apple but some of us were hoping it'd be bias on behalf of the Ala Mhigan Resistance who aren't exactly known for their own pure and righteous morality.

On an unrelated note seeing more of Estinien will be interesting. Perhaps they can start setting up some of the other Scions to be replaced/retired by new arrivals to keep things fresh and keep the stakes high.

I actually want to pop the time-bubble partially for RP reasons because the bigger the discrepancy gets between how much time has passed in-game vs the real world the weirder the pacing of the RP events get. IRL, we had an RP event about two years back where a character lost her husband and then last month she eternally bonded with her new wife - in real world time, that pacing seems fine? But trying to fit it into the time bubble robs the first event of its weight 'cause apparently she wasn't that sad after all, given how quickly she moved on.

Originally Posted by Theodric

That's what I get for writing up a post when I'm tabbing in and out of the game. Though you're right - 3.4 did tip us off to Zenos being a bad apple but some of us were hoping it'd be bias on behalf of the Ala Mhigan Resistance who aren't exactly known for their own pure and righteous morality.

On an unrelated note seeing more of Estinien will be interesting. Perhaps they can start setting up some of the other Scions to be replaced/retired by new arrivals to keep things fresh and keep the stakes high.

My guess is either Paps, Yda, or her sister is on the chopping block to make room for new Scions. As much as people point at Nanamo as an example of death not mattering in XIV i feel like people forget that we lose two major allies to it AFTER getting her back. those three and Raubhan are all going to have logically important roles to play and other characters who could very viably step into there roles. At least one is dead by the end of 4.0 MSQ

I think attributing how Garlemald will be portrayed to just one character is the issue here.

We can absolutely have a complete dick of a foe in Zenos, and still get the feeling that there's much more the Garlemald than being an evil empire. In fact, having leaders like that portrayed as ruthless and other such unlikable characteristics arguably makes it easier for other elements of the enemy to garner sympathy or empathy without having to make those who are part of such a situation friends/allies.