The tricky thing with "Level 3" events is that it seems there are two elements to how it works in practice:

1. Optional questlines only happened if the player has personally done them.

BUT

2. If you later complete them out-of-sequence, they still happened in the patch when they were released.

They get "slotted in" to the pre-established timeline rather than taking place when you personally complete them.


An example I recently came across is meeting Alisaie at Lv60 in post-Heavensward. I never picked up the Binding Coil unlock quest on my alt, so when she introduced herself, she said we hadn't met since our very early encounter around Lv20 at the Carteneau memorial services.

But then I went and played Binding Coil afterwards, and that still takes place at Lv50. It's also our first meeting since the memorial services, Alphinaud is his overconfident ARR self (and busy organising the Crystal Braves!) and there is no altered dialogue to acknowledge that we've met in Ishgard - because as far as Lv50-Alisaie is aware, we haven't. It's still a future event for her.


Completion of past events will affect dialogue in future events, but not (or rarely) vice-versa.

Partly it would be a matter of not having to update old dialogue, but it also brings its own sort of logic to how optional stories affect - and fit into - the overall timeline. (Though one that makes it regrettably hard to bring things like the Warring Triad back into MSQ without a plot-halting "complete this quest chain first" progression lock.)