[4.5 Discussion] The Flames of war in 4.5

[EdwinLi]

So last live letter showed us the upcoming story dungeon in 4.5 and some 4.5 scenario story screenshots which revealed several things...


1) Looks like Alphninaud and Maxima (along with the other Garlean survivors) made it back to meet Alisaie so they will most likely be staying with WoL group for 5.0 since now they need a new plan to reach the captial city of Garlean Empire.



2) That battlefield will be our 4.5 Story Dungeon and thus we will see the events from the 5.0 Teaser trailer (which was only half the Full trailer just like the 4.0 trailer with the other half once the full trailer released to show the newer content area for 5.X era)



So how do you think the events of 4.5 may play out now we know events from the 5.0 Teaser trailer is happening next month?

[Axl]

I speculate that there will be another two-pronged attack, with the Eorzean Alliance probably occupying Amh Araeng which I think will be in western Ilsabard (and possibly the sight of Bozja Citadel), and the new Othardian Alliance going through Nagxia, Dalmasca, and in to the Rak'Tika Greatwood.

We'll be forming ties with local resistance cells and the Populares. We'll probably be taking castrums one by one leading up to a final attack on Garlemald itself, ousting the Ascians and establishing the Populares as a new anti-imperialist government.

I think that ultimately Varis might give in to pressures by the Ascians and end up transforming in to a primal or something. Despite hating Ascians and Primals he's definitely not one of the Populares so I don't think he'll be an ally in the end.

[ObsidianFire]

I bet it's going to start out as us trying to meet up with Alphinaud in Southern Isabard... and then Elidibus shows up in Zenos' body and everything goes to hell.

[Xie_Belvoule]

Its so bizarre the way everyone has been reading this trailer and the new slides. Its clear to me that the Garleans aren't going to lose horribly but instead are going to preform a massive counter attack that rolls up the Eorezean alliance all the way back to the shroud. That Varis will be removed from power and eldibus will deploy the black rose on the domans and ala mhigans, retaking all the ground they lost.

The garleans will, in one patch, undo everything we have accomplished over the course of the entirety of Stormblood and that will set the stakes.

[Frizze]

and then Elidibus shows up in Zenos' body and everything goes to hell.

So what im picturing is Elidinos showing up and trashing... something. I dont have the whole picture sketched out in my head yet. But Elidinos is wrecking the joint. Then Elezenos shows up so he can fight his former body with its new host - the ultimate hunt! Que Shinryu-Omega style fight sequence. The ensuing destruction creates an opening in "Solus's Wall" or whatever is supposed to keep us out of the empire.

[Cilia]

Its so bizarre the way everyone has been reading this trailer and the new slides. ...

The garleans will, in one patch, undo everything we have accomplished over the course of the entirety of Stormblood and that will set the stakes.

Based on the quests and gathering / crafting materials that would become inaccessible if the Eorzeans and Othardians were pushed out of Gyr Abania and Yanxia, I don't think that's going to happen. It might, but so many important things being locked away after having access to them is pretty unprecedented for the game, never mind the genre. It's possible for sure, but the only area to be locked from player access was the Rising Stones during the first half of Heavensward... which, while sentimentally significant, has nothing of objective value.

I still think it's too early to make any sort of sound prediction on what's going to happen. I need more than a couple screenshots and knowledge the Ghimlyt Dark (a war zone) is going to be the 4.50 MSQ dungeon to make anything resembling an accurate prediction. (I actually prefer it that way; everything being predictable gets really boring.)

[TheHeavenAbyss]

One think that I find weird is that, the way the trailer presents it, the fight against Zenos seems like this epic duel between rivals. If this was the real Zenos, I think it would fit. But Elidibus? IIRC the Warrior of Light only met him once in Thanalan. And even we, the players, barely know anything about him. I'm kinda hoping that Elezenos shows up and takes his body back before the climatic battle.

[Mansion]

Its so bizarre the way everyone has been reading this trailer and the new slides. Its clear to me that the Garleans aren't going to lose horribly but instead are going to preform a massive counter attack that rolls up the Eorezean alliance all the way back to the shroud. That Varis will be removed from power and eldibus will deploy the black rose on the domans and ala mhigans, retaking all the ground they lost.

The garleans will, in one patch, undo everything we have accomplished over the course of the entirety of Stormblood and that will set the stakes.

Damn I'd love that. Not actually conquer back regained territories, but most likely unleash something like Black Rose in a sulky dick-move like "eh you fought for this, then have it but we'll kill you anyway".
I think we need something big and hard coming from Garlemald to strengthen the oppositions from within Garlemald.

[ChaoticCrimson]

First of all, I wouldn't be so sure that Alphinaud and Shadowhunter will be coming back to Eorzea just yet. Remember, Maxima was not present with them in the scenes at the end of 4.4. It's entirely possible Alphinaud requested Maxima to relay their discoveries to the Scions while he continues his work, whatever that may be at this point. As far as the fight against Garlemald goes, I have suspected that they've been waiting to try to spring something. I did believe that they had simply allowed Ala Mhigo to be liberated so they could lull the Alliance and Resistance into a false sense of victory before crushing them. That may still be Zenobus's plan perhaps, though how it leads to Ghimlyt Dark (and where precisely that is) I'm not yet sure. And what of the Eighth Calamity, and the oncoming Flood of Light? If Garlemald succeeds in bringing about a Calamity, how then does this trigger the coming of the Flood? So many variables to account for, despite the information we have to work with. EleZenos is also still a wild card that could derail things for either side.

Also, outlandish and improbable "theory" time: EleZenos obtains a katana embedded with a sacred Othardian jewel, imbued with tremendous aether, which becomes the focus to allow him to use his resonant powers to summon and inhabit the form of kami primal Amaterasu. Being a god of sun, this could tie into the whole light being the enemy thing. Unlikely, I know, but then we did get Susano and Tsukuyomi already... Why leave out the third of that trio of deities?

[Jollyy5]

Its so bizarre the way everyone has been reading this trailer and the new slides. Its clear to me that the Garleans aren't going to lose horribly but instead are going to preform a massive counter attack that rolls up the Eorezean alliance all the way back to the shroud. That Varis will be removed from power and eldibus will deploy the black rose on the domans and ala mhigans, retaking all the ground they lost.

The garleans will, in one patch, undo everything we have accomplished over the course of the entirety of Stormblood and that will set the stakes.

But isn't us having "no fight left to fight" (as the gremlin put it) one of the problems we are supposedly going to have? If Garleans pushed back hard on us, then that would not be the case.

I'm expecting Garleans to try and launch a large scale counter attack on us, Ghimlyt Dark being the stage of that conflict, resulting in countless deaths on both sides (possibly because of the Black Rose).

The artwork for Ghimlyt Dark has a single character on it who I assume to be our character, arriving at the scene of utter devastation. Throughout the dungeon I could see us fighting stragglers. magitec, and then Zenos 2.0 as the final boss.