[Spoilers] The Patch 4.5 Lore Discussion Thread!

[Theodric]

Varis engaging the Eorzean Alliance is a promising sign. The words spoken when he's shown appear to be coming from a completely different character. It doesn't sound like his usual voice - unless they changed it.

[TheHeavenAbyss]

The japanese voice of the Shadowhunter really sounds like Akio Otsuka (the VA of Gaius and Gabranth from FFXII), so I guess it is confirmed-er-ish?

[KageTokage]

The problem is Yugiri seemed to have been kinda pushed aside for most of Stormblood due to Hein's introduction, even though Hein is an awesome character I feel he overshadowed Yugiri's importance to the story, given she had practically been leading the Domans since their failed insurrection and their Exodus to Eorzea. Then as soon as she returns to Doma suddennly Hein appears and from then on she takes a back seat to him. I would have liked far more screen time with her in SB but I guess it was always fated that her day in the sun wouldn't last, given Hein is Doma's heir and all, where as Yugiri was an exile from under the Ruby Sea.

I think she's still had as much, if not more screen time then any of the previously offed characters despite being put on the backburner after Hien's introduction.

Still, she could realistically have a role in the campaign against the Garleans, so I'd like to hope we'll be seeing more of her in 5.x.

The japanese voice of the Shadowhunter really sounds like Akio Otsuka (the VA of Gaius and Gabranth from FFXII), so I guess it is confirmed-er-ish?

I didn't know Gaius was Snake all this time. No wonder he was able to conceal his supposed death so easily.

[Berethos]

It doesn't sound like his usual voice - unless they changed it.

The only spoken lines I know of from recently are from the 4.4 end scenes, and it's not particularly clear cut if it's his voice or not, at least in English.

There's a similar sound to both sets of lines, but one is spoken in more of an angry whisper versus the collected confidence you can hear in the trailer.

Not different enough to sound like a completely different character (again, at least in the English client, other languages may be more clear one way or the other), but not identical enough to say "Oh yeah, that's definitely Varis."

It's not a voice that belongs to any of the other major characters though...so if it's not Varis it would be a new (presumably Ascian and presumably major) character.

If it is Varis...then the question is how much of what he is saying is his actual belief versus playing the part for the Ascians while presumably biding his time (since he clearly does not want to be under their control)? Possible he internally means it a different way while paying lip service to the Ascians, since it's a phrase that can be interpreted a few ways.

Speaking of voices...after listening to the 4.4 scene again, the one at the very end of the new trailer reminds me of Solus' voice.

[Alleo]

I kinda wonder if Varis even knows what will happen to humanity once everything is back as it was before the split, because I really doubt that most of the people would still be alive. First we would need quite a few catastrophes to combine the shards into the source world and in the end none of the shards should still be there (because they didnt exist before the split) thus a huge unknown amount of life is killed..I doubt that we would go that route. (And again how would he know that it would be good for us? I fear that he just believed some lies about this)

Strange how only a few leaders are meeting with him (or the rest is very well hidden in scene), could it be that the alliance is split in their opinion about how to handle it? Hien also seems to be a bit strange? Holding Alisaie like that, his "dark" looks..

At least the story seems to be interesting but why do we need to have it split. The wait will be bad if its truly good.

In germany the voice that talks at the beginning sounds a bit like Arbert yet still different and his laugh at the end with the mother crystal sounds again like him but also not..its a bit strange. (And his laugh does not sound like from someone that is good..its sounding quite "evil") Varis was talking at the scene with the meeting, at least that sounds a lot like his german voice.

[TheHeavenAbyss]

The only spoken lines I know of from recently are from the 4.4 end scenes, and it's not particularly clear cut if it's his voice or not, at least in English.

There's a similar sound to both sets of lines, but one is spoken in more of an angry whisper versus the collected confidence you can hear in the trailer.

Not different enough to sound like a completely different character (again, at least in the English client, other languages may be more clear one way or the other), but not identical enough to say "Oh yeah, that's definitely Varis."

It's not a voice that belongs to any of the other major characters though...so if it's not Varis it would be a new (presumably Ascian and presumably major) character.

If it is Varis...then the question is how much of what he is saying is his actual belief versus playing the part for the Ascians while presumably biding his time (since he clearly does not want to be under their control)? Possible he internally means it a different way while paying lip service to the Ascians, since it's a phrase that can be interpreted a few ways.

Speaking of voices...after listening to the 4.4 scene again, the one at the very end of the new trailer reminds me of Solus' voice.

The one speaking in 1:06 is definitely Varis. His japanese voice actor (Jouji Nakata) is very easy to recognize (he voices Kazuya from Tekken, Luxord from Kingdom Hearts and Alucard in Hellsing).

[Rocl]

Hmmm.... it seems the number of circles on the pad the WOL is standing on at the end of the trailer number 14... and the "circle" directly in front of him is different (the inner bit looks more like a sun with little pointy bits, while the others are smooth sided inside)

[KageTokage]

I was also getting somewhat sinister vibes from the voice at the end of the trailer. I'm thinking this might end up being a "lesser of two wrongs" scenario (IE, help cause the Rejoining/revive Zodiark or let the entire world die for certain)...that or we're just getting played and we don't even know it.

Hmmm.... it seems the number of circles on the pad the WOL is standing on at the end of the trailer number 14... and the "circle" directly in front of him is different (the inner bit looks more like a sun with little pointy bits, while the others are smooth sided inside)

If I had to guess, they represents the Source and the various shards, with the one in front of the WoL representing the first and its light-scarred state.

[ObsidianFire]

Crazy trailer... especially since the trailers now have a definite habit of not matching up what people are saying with the scene and altering the renders by adding or taking out characters...

Varis just shot up to the top of my list of people who are not going to survive the patch. Last patch Solus and Elidibus wanted him to go take over Ala Mhigo and now he's talking it out with the Alliance Leaders? I can see Elidibus and Solus getting together a force to take advantage of that to kill him and make it look like the Alliance and WoL did it. That would leave them in control of the Empire and the Alliance looking like the instigators.

Alisaie's line that Shadowhunter has her brother is... lol. I really can't imagine Alphinaud not going anywhere he doesn't want to go. I'm pretty sure it's less that Shadowhunter is keeping Alphinaud away from the Alliance and more that Alphianud is figuring out something really important back in Garlemald and knows if he meets with the Alliance they'll probably want him to come home.

At 2:26 we can see what looks to be Elezen!Zenos. Or at least, an elezen in rebel gear who uses a katana. And he looks pissed.

Long has their kind lurked in the shadows, laboring to sow chaos throughout our world. I would see each and every one dragged into the light and put to the sword.

I'm pretty sure this isn't Varis. It certainly isn't Solus or Elidibus/Zenos. If I had to take a guess, it's probably Shadowhunter/Giaus explaining what he's doing to Alisaie. If it does turn out to be Shadowhunter/Gaius, I'd say it's a lot probable that he really is killing Ascians as opposed to just killing the bodies they are possessing.

Win or lose, the path you walk leads only to oblivion.

Soon, we will throw wide the gates.

Both of these lines are new for the Voice. Here they're saying that it doesn't matter what path we take; it will end in something bad. I think it's also the first time we've heard that the Voice is going to open the gates and not us. Despite all the lore reasons that indicate it's not the WoD, it sounds incredibly like them. At this point, if the Voice really isn't Arbert, I'd with the Voice sounded different so it wasn't quite so confusing.

You shall be the capstone of this world, and I, anchoring the shard, and together, we shall give the lie this star's fraudulent existence.

I am 99% sure this is Solus talking and not the Voice. What is up in the air is who he is talking to. Yeah, it's the WoL in the scene there, but he never mentions the WoL by their title so it could easily be Elidibus he is talking to, or someone else for that matter... What is clear is that major Ascians shenanigan are finally happening after almost an entire expansion of them not directly being involved in anything.

[Cybylt]

I'm hearing "give the lie to this star's fraudulent existence." Give the lie to being an outdated way of saying to prove something is false.