Some questions about ARR

[Anonymoose]

#1 The Cid scene is likely much less confusing than people are making it out to be. Think a little less Western for a moment, first. Imagine a culture where "mind" and "soul" are seen as so intrinsically connected that "spirit" is a synonym for both; memory and soul are deeply entwined from this perspective.

The Warrior of Light's Echo resonates with his soul and helps give it strength and put it back in order. Typically the Echo is triggered by someone else having a strong memory; the Echo user is just brought along for the ride for that moment and they share a reverie. The Echo's target often experiences it as staring off into space and getting distracted before snapping out of it (though, rarely, a learned someone will notice you're in their head with them, like Raya-O-Senna once upon a time).

However, Cid didn't have the memories, either, until you put them back in order. It makes it even more likely he'd notice the effects of the Echo somehow. The scene begins with Cid asking Where did I get these goggles? and ends with You handing him his (metaphorical) goggles. His memories.

In all likelihood it's just a visual metaphor as Cid experienced it. Perhaps his third eye really did give him some kind of weird hallucination as you did it, but at the very least I'm fairly confident in the metaphor part.

#2 Recall that Ishgard's scriptures make reference to dragons being able to warp and control the minds of man? They present this as the origin of all heretics, and that's shown to likely not be true, but neither is it entirely a lie. King Thordan I himself was thrown into a ravine by a man overcome by Nidhogg's will. Estinien had a moment of weakness and doubt and the Eye seized on it. If I remember right, that was where the whole ruse started - Estinien's rage was being twisted into a desire to take revenge on Alberic for his part in Ferndale's destruction. Notice that Estinien even cries out with a desire to drink dragon's blood and gain the ability to tear at his enemies with fang and claw. He just lost the mental battle for a moment.

The Haldrath part is a little wonky. In English, Alberic speaks of Haldrath's armor being inside the crystal, as if you have Haldrath's old soul crystal, which would explain you evoking his memory and shade from it, if true, but it doesn't fully line up. German, for example, has Alberic suggest that your strength and charisma have unlocked some secret of the Celestial Dragons that only Haldrath previously understood, and that this evoked Haldrath's memory from Nidhogg's influence over Estinien. (That is the darkness spoken of; Nidhogg was aspected towards lower-case darkness.)

#3 Rhoswen is a Hyur and none of the other languages mention anything about it so I have no idea. Every language but English just says Carvallain's out on the terrace.

Also - I'm sure I've missed some things along the way, but Carvallain doesn't seem all that preoccupied with Rhoswen when they're not interacting.

And yet to hear Eynzahr tell it, as soon as she was in real danger he swooped in and threw her over his chocobo "like a bloody knight of Ishgard", lol.

#4 I never knew quite what to make of that, either. Maybe, "I'm on break right now, but I wish I had the day off..." Is it weird that he's still on break? Sure. But that bookkeeper in Mor Dhona has been looking for that copy of Ona Ramuhda for like 4 years so...

#5 Doesn't sound like anything to me.

#6 In 1.0, these were Arcanist arms and were called "distaffs". They were recycled.

[Iscah]

EDIT INCOMING

*refreshes page repeatedly*

5. Is the "Garlean alarm noise" supposed to be a word, or is it just a weird noise?

it says "FEEL ME"

Ahaha, that is indeed what it sounds like to me as well!!! Which seems rather unlikely to be the actual intent.

[Anonymoose]

One of them led me on a wild dodo chase into disagreeing scripts, sorry, lol.

[Iscah]

The scene begins with Cid asking Where did I get these goggles? and ends with You handing him his (metaphorical) goggles. His memories.

In all likelihood it's just a visual metaphor as Cid experienced it. Perhaps his third eye really did give him some kind of weird hallucination as you did it, but at the very least I'm fairly confident in the metaphor part.

That does seem more likely.

I think part of my confusion is that just before the vision, he's talking about how he remembered being on an airship with adventurers before - and any talk of previous adventurers is generally an indicator for "1.0 event reference incoming" - so I assumed the remembered scene on the airship was a memory of something that legacy players were actually present for.

Still, with no other context, it's a little hard to make sense of. I understand the WoL would be physically present in Echo visions in 1.0? But I don't think any other 2.0 scenes do that. At very least perhaps it needed to show us present and watching Cid before that point, to establish us as more of an observer-to-the-whole-sequence and rather than an 'event' of us appearing in one place and time.

Estinien had a moment of weakness and doubt and the Eye seized on it. If I remember right, that was where the whole ruse started - Estinien's rage was being twisted into a desire to take revenge on Alberic for his part in Ferndale's destruction. Notice that Estinien even cries out with a desire to drink dragon's blood and gain the ability to tear at his enemies with fang and claw. He just lost the mental battle for a moment.

I understand what was going on during the battle (except the Haldrath bit anyway), my issue is what we're shown/told of what happens after. It would make a lot more sense if we'd seen Estinien regain control of himself after we defeated him. Instead we see him snatched away by Nidhogg, and then Alberic tells us that he's missing and nobody has seen him since. And then he just turns up again in the MSQ like none of it ever happened - and for all I know, Nidhogg might still be controlling him. It took me a very long time to stop suspecting that was the case.

Even if his one line was changed, it could make such a difference. All he says in reference to it is "I'm not here to challenge you this day" - if instead he said something like "I wasn't myself the last time we met", that would work better.

And yet to hear Eynzahr tell it, as soon as she was in real danger he swooped in and threw her over his chocobo "like a bloody knight of Ishgard", lol.

I'd just caught onto Carvallain's no doubt purely coincidental resemblance to certain Ishgardian nobles at the point when I read the Tales From the Calamity, so I loved the reference.

That's a funny lopsided thing with our individual conversations with them though. Both are in blatant denial, but not each focused on the other - Carvallain's far too busy insisting he's not from Ishgard to talk about any not-feelings he might have regarding Rhoswen.

From what I've seen, at least (mostly Lv55 CUL and also an older Valentione's Day quest script), I don't feel like the dance is equally "they secretly like each other" as much as it's Rhoswen liking Carvallain, getting halfway to admitting it and doing something he'd really appreciate, him getting halfway to noticing, but then she steps back and doubles down on the "of course I don't like him" act - which makes him turn suspicious of her motives and the whole thing falls apart. Again.

Were they in 1.0? Did anything interesting happen with them?

If the Garlean alarum is putting forth a word, it could very well be in Latin - though it's hard to make out anything concrete.

Hmm yeah, Latin would make sense if they used it. I don't know any Latin though.

[Anonymoose]

I think part of my confusion is that just before the vision, he's talking about how he remembered being on an airship with adventurers before - and any talk of previous adventurers is generally an indicator for "1.0 event reference incoming" - so I assumed the remembered scene on the airship was a memory of something that legacy players were actually present for.

If I remember correctly, that line is there no matter what. It's the scene after where he specifies that specifically you were taken specifically to fight Darnus that's the Legacy one.

Still, with no other context, it's a little hard to make sense of. I understand the WoL would be physically present in Echo visions in 1.0? But I don't think any other 2.0 scenes do that.

Yes, the Echo wasn't a verbatim instant replay. You entered their memory itself - a representation of a past truth - where things might not go exactly as they once did. You could have discussions with people as if you were there - thus, discussions that never actually happened. It was a malleable, changeable, exploreable flashback. This added to the confusingness and convolitedness of the story and seems to have been sidelined entirely, which imo was an overcorrection.

my issue is what we're shown/told of what happens after. It would make a lot more sense if we'd seen Estinien regain control of himself after we defeated him. Instead we see him snatched away by Nidhogg, and then Alberic tells us that he's missing and nobody has seen him since. And then he just turns up again in the MSQ like none of it ever happened - and for all I know, Nidhogg might still be controlling him. It took me a very long time to stop suspecting that was the case.

Even if his one line was changed, it could make such a difference. All he says in reference to it is "I'm not here to challenge you this day" - if instead he said something like "I wasn't myself the last time we met", that would work better.

Agreed. Though that is how I took the lines in combination. "f ever I was without equal, I am no longer─as my fellow Azure Dragoon here will attest. Be at ease, I did not come to challenge you this day." suggests that you have proven ability to stand against him, and augments his later line "Through the power of the Eye, I have become the vessel of Nidhogg's strength. His essence has stolen into my very blood. Fear not─I am in full control of my faculties, I assure you." It allows him to testify to your strength and assure you of his re-gained control without having to admit in front of Aymeric that he'd succumbed to the Eye while essentially at the job briefing for killing Nidhogg.

Were they in 1.0? Did anything interesting happen with them?

They were! The Sirens and the Krakkens were constantly at one another's throats in town, as both were true pirate crews acting outside Merlwyb's authority before she'd won over Hyllfyr's respect and they all signed the accord. But even in 1562, at the height of piracy, even as their crews killed one another at times, Carvallain and Rhoswen would secretly meet to discuss things bigger than themselves - trade information that affected both crews - conspire - and they got along just fine.

For example, in 1562, when Commodore Sthalmann's coup was underway, he went to the Astalicia to extract one of his pawns under the guise of an arrest - Emerick of the Kraken's Arms - who'd smuggled the "Treasure of Swallowtail Roam" past his crew on the Commodore's orders (the horn aka The Key that was stolen by the Ascian Travanchet). Carvallain declares that anyone who'd conspire with the Sahagin is an enemy of all of Limsa and freely gives Sthalmann leave to search for the "traitor," but as soon as they're out of sight, Rhoswen pulls him into a dark corner to catch up in private.

Rhoswen
I heard it all, Carvallain... Oh deary me. Believe the Admiral's lapdog's on to somethin', do you? What in the Navigator's name has become o' this city!?

Carvallain
I find the situation as perplexing as you, my dear Rhoswen. And all this time, I believed it was your man Merodaulyn who had stolen the charts after infiltrating the Barracudas' ranks.

Rhoswen
Tread carefully, Captain. Merod barely 'scaped with his life when the fishbacks ambushed the 'Cudas. If this rat Emerick really did betray his kind, I personally guarantee that Sthalmann and his bootlickers will be the least of his worries.