Thread: Revelations from Patch 3.56

What 3.5 did was set up a war with Garlemald we cant avoid. Ilberd's move was brilliant. Not only did he frame the Eorzean Alliance but the summoning of a primal of that power, even if it was somehow stopped, would never be ignored by the Garleans. One way or another Garlemald was going to make a move after that hence the Eorzean Alliances choice to move pre-emptively.

Honestly there are a lot of reasons for the EA to try and drive Garlemald out of Ala Mhigo. Ala Mhigo gives Garlemald a foothold in Eorzea that gives them much greater access to the rest of Eorzea. Holding Ala Mhigo effectively severs their land access to Eorzea, limiting their ability to move troops and support the remaining castrums. That's ignoring arguments about the ethics of the treatment of subjugated non-citizen Ala Mhigans or the refugee issues the other city states have.

I think Anonymoose is on the right track with why they went with the Yda/Lyse thing but I think they handled it well. It fits pretty comfortably in place. As for Yda being Zenos, I think that is extremely unlikely. They have said Zenos is the son and heir of the current emperor and probably rather young himself. Why would Yda be named the Heir to Garlemald?

All in all, I was neither particularly impressed nor disappointed by the conclusion to Heavensward. The Yda-is-really-Lyse thing didn't stir up any emotions, since we never knew the "real" Yda. As far as I was concerned, it was no more dramatic than if she'd decided to get a name change. If she turns out to have a majorly different personality, now - that she was pretending to be ditzy and silly simply because her sister was - that might be one thing, but we haven't seen enough of the true Lyse yet to know for sure. If we go into Stormblood, and Lyse is a very different individual, perhaps then I'll feel a twinge of loss for Yda.

Still don't know for sure whether to accept that Papalymo is dead. We're being beaten over the head again and again with evidence to the fact (the cocoon's dispersal, Yda's tattoos, etc), but years of history with comic books, other Final Fantasy games, and even THIS VERY Final Fantasy game (specifically, Nanamo) prevents me from being fully convinced unless we see his dead body, or at least see his body disperse into Aether (as did Moenbryda's).

While not technically part of this patch, I loved Ilberd's false flag operation. It was executed perfectly, and did a lot to display how cunning the guy could be. His fanaticism earlier on had already given a lot of promise to him as a villain, and this action delivered in spades. I can definitely appreciate how the Alliance grudgingly commits to fulfilling Ilberd's dream because now they have little alternative. Even if the Garleans were keen on diplomacy, it'd be awfully hard to convince them this wasn't a deliberate attack.

The one thing that bugs me about it, though, is that attacking Castrums is old hat. The Alliance attacked, like, five of them all at once during the conclusion of the 2.0 Main Scenario quests - with actual Alliance soldiers, in uniform - and there wasn't any angsting about, "Oh no, now we're doomed to go to war!" It's true that this time around a Primal was summoned at the conclusion which would definitely make the Garleans sit up and take notice, but this moaning and groaning happened BEFORE that Primal was born, before we even knew that that was Ilberd's plan. Is it because this particular Castrum is a gateway to Garlean-controlled territory, whereas the others were just outposts planted at various spots in Eorzea? I suppose that could make a difference...

Gosetsu was amusing, and I definitely loved Yugiri's interactions with Nero (and how he seemed ever-so-slightly unnerved by her, even through his constant arrogant boasting).

The Castrums we attacked in 2.X were manned by the XIVth Legion. Gaius and his troops were acting independently of the Empire with their attempt at conquering Eorzea, so it didn't have the same oomph as Baelsar's Wall. After Gaius' defeat it sounds like Oriens was staffed by the XIIth Legion maybe? Anyways, it's different definitely I think for a lot of reasons, not the least of which like you said it was attack on the border of the Empire as far as Garlemald is concerned.

The more I think on it, the more I've grown fonder of Yugiri in this little mini patch. Not exactly sure what it is....

Originally Posted by Rocl

The Castrums we attacked in 2.X were manned by the XIVth Legion. Gaius and his troops were acting independently of the Empire with their attempt at conquering Eorzea, so it didn't have the same oomph as Baelsar's Wall. After Gaius' defeat it sounds like Oriens was staffed by the XIIth Legion maybe? Anyways, it's different definitely I think for a lot of reasons, not the least of which like you said it was attack on the border of the Empire as far as Garlemald is concerned.

The more I think on it, the more I've grown fonder of Yugiri in this little mini patch. Not exactly sure what it is....

Yup, this sums up why there was no fear of the empire directly retaliating for Operation Archon. We were essentially fighting a rogue faction that was operating without being sanctioned by the emperor. Baelsar's wall was under the jurisdiction of Zenos and thus the greater empire as a whole, so in this situation the attack on the wall was an attack on the empire proper. That's why there is a fear of retribution and a preliminary move on Ala Mhigo was necessitated, as successfully taking the region would impede the empire's capabilities.

Originally Posted by Rocl

The Castrums we attacked in 2.X were manned by the XIVth Legion. Gaius and his troops were acting independently of the Empire with their attempt at conquering Eorzea, so it didn't have the same oomph as Baelsar's Wall. After Gaius' defeat it sounds like Oriens was staffed by the XIIth Legion maybe? Anyways, it's different definitely I think for a lot of reasons, not the least of which like you said it was attack on the border of the Empire as far as Garlemald is concerned.

The more I think on it, the more I've grown fonder of Yugiri in this little mini patch. Not exactly sure what it is....

Oh and their was the giant primal that was clearly not summoned by a beast tribe. This might be the first open example of a non-beast tribe summoning that Garlemald has witnessed. Even if the Garlean Powers that Be knew before and kept it under wraps, I think this will let slip that pretty much anyone with enough aether can summon a Primal. And with the power of the Primal summoned, that makes Eorzea a threat. It doesn't even matter if we will. The point is that we can.

Originally Posted by Rocl

The more I think on it, the more I've grown fonder of Yugiri in this little mini patch. Not exactly sure what it is....

I liked that she wasn't willing to head back to Doma on a moment's notice due to still feeling indebted to the people of Eorzea and reasoning it's what her master would want.

She still seemed rather torn in the final scene, so I'm expecting that she'll stick around through the early parts of Stormblood before we end up going along with her and Gotetsu to Othard.

Originally Posted by KageTokage

I liked that she wasn't willing to head back to Doma on a moment's notice due to still feeling indebted to the people of Eorzea and reasoning it's what her master would want.

She still seemed rather torn in the final scene, so I'm expecting that she'll stick around through the early parts of Stormblood before we end up going along with her and Gotetsu to Othard.

I would like SE to actually give us the reason why yugiri was needed back in Doma instead of having us speculate what is going on and why we as the WoL need to go to Doma. The whole hiding information or withholding information doesn't cut it anymore. It's just seem to be so overdone by now.

Originally Posted by Kai_Lee

I would like SE to actually give us the reason why yugiri was needed back in Doma instead of having us speculate what is going on and why we as the WoL need to go to Doma. The whole hiding information or withholding information doesn't cut it anymore. It's just seem to be so overdone by now.

You want them to tell you the story before showing you the story?

The reason behind why she's been sought out and called back to her home should remain a mystery for now (it's good writing to not reveal too much too quick, and this would qualify as it's not relevant to the more immediate events on the other side of Baelsar's Wall), and it adds a small element of tension (for us, the audience) and possible conflict (emotional/mental for the character in this case)...all good things in writing. It's a set-up moment - reveal too much and you spoil the set-up.

Originally Posted by Kai_Lee

I would like SE to actually give us the reason why yugiri was needed back in Doma instead of having us speculate what is going on and why we as the WoL need to go to Doma. The whole hiding information or withholding information doesn't cut it anymore. It's just seem to be so overdone by now.

We are told her master needs aid. I find it curious that she has a master.

I think our reasons for going to Doma will be different to hers. I think we head there to learn more about Zenos. I bet that he was at one point Governor of Doma, perhaps even in charge of the putting down of the rebellion.