Thread: Changes to AST storyline made in patch 4.5

This is NOT about changes to the gameplay effects of the cards, but other changes to the pre-existing storyline.

I've had in mind to post about this for a while, since it would have gone under the radar for a lot of people, but some key details in the AST storyline were altered with the 4.50 patch release and it was never really announced beyond a line in the patch notes about incorrect dialogue being updated.

A while ago I'd made a post in the Lore forum about inconsistent information across the AST quest, lorebook and other in-game references, which ultimately got an official reply from Fernehalwes (ie. Koji Fox, head of English localisation). Some key details were mistranslated and have now been corrected in the game script.

This might lead to some confusion for people, since any further quests will rely on that rewritten information as if it's always been there - and with the recently announced changes to AST gameplay, it's likely the script will get reviewed further, and if people replay it they might think the other changes happened at the same time or unnecessarily as a result. So I thought it's important that people should get a 'heads-up' that it's happened at this point, and why.



Key facts now altered or clarified:

The backstory events in Sharlayan happened fifteen years ago, not 'almost twenty'.

As a result, Leveva is 16, not 20.

Jannequinard is 32, despite some (now-edited) in-game lines implying he is older.

The count only has one son, currently 'missing'. Jannequinard is the count's nephew and third in line to the countship, after another cousin. (Also Forlemort is not strictly Janne's uncle as in "parent's brother", but in the broader sense of an older relative.)


Outside the AST quest, but corrected as a result of the same discussion - Mordyn is no longer incorrectly implying that Carvallain is married.

Originally Posted by Raikai

Oh! For one second thought this was about the AST cards being repurposed as just dmg buffs, not reflecting the actual lore of each card and the changes were retconning them.

Yeah, I realise this is an awkward time to be posting about it with all the discussion over the other issue! I've been meaning to post this for a while, but was hoping they'd make a proper announcement saying that the script had been altered. They don't seem to have ever done that.

It's somewhat relevant to the gameplay discussion, since a few people bring up that changing the card effects will mean that the script doesn't reflect the actual effect of the cards - but it's very likely that the information given about the cards (and any similar changes to other classes' skills) will be altered in the quest scripts at the same time that the gameplay itself is altered.

Uh, cool, I guess? If you care about this enough to bump it back onto the main page of general, might I suggest the Lore sub-forum?

"Here's some minor lore fixes" isn't really anything that warrants discussion. No discussion, no posts, and you quickly fall out of General, page 1. Also, I'd imagine the average person could not care less about this sort of thing. I'd like to think I care somewhat about the lore, but "we corrected the chronology of events and clarified various familial ties, but didn't change the real meat of what happened in the questline" barely registers on my care-o-meter. I'm glad someone out there cares about the hardcore details though, props to you.

Wait... wasn't Janne the younger brother of the Limsan pirate, or am I getting my Ishgardian houses mixed up. Besides Haurchefant's family, I can really only remember that the Woman in Cloudtop, Steve from the Machinist quests and Francel are siblings, and there is an older brother... though I forget if the sister is older than him too.

Originally Posted by Raldo

Uh, cool, I guess? If you care about this enough to bump it back onto the main page of general, might I suggest the Lore sub-forum?

The whole thing played out on the Lore forum already, but from previous discussions, like when a new patch comes out, there are clearly people here who care about the story but don't venture into the Lore forum. And the changes are big enough to be confusing if someone detail-minded was paying attention to the story as presented, even if they'd never go into deeper lore discussions. ("Why are they saying fifteen years ago when it was twenty? Why is Janne referring to his father as his uncle?")

Originally Posted by Eloah

Wait... wasn't Janne the younger brother of the Limsan pirate, or am I getting my Ishgardian houses mixed up. Besides Haurchefant's family, I can really only remember that the Woman in Cloudtop, Steve from the Machinist quests and Francel are siblings, and there is an older brother... though I forget if the sister is older than him too.

Yes, that's one of the corrections actually. Previously if you'd followed the hints, Janne and Carvallain (the count's missing son) would be brothers, but they're actually cousins. Sources from outside the AST quest indicated that the count didn't have other sons and the line of succession was unclear since Carvallain vanished, which didn't add up with Janne saying he was the count's third son - and with an older brother still slated to take over.

There are five Haillenarte siblings - Stephanivien (MCH) is the eldest, then Aurvael (Diadem), Chlodebaimt (died at the Steel Vigil; can be found in PotD), Laniaitte (Camp Cloudtop) and Francel.

Originally Posted by Iscah

Yes, that's one of the corrections. Previously if you'd followed the hints, Janne and Carvallain (the count's missing son) are brothers, but they're actually cousins.

There are five Haillenarte siblings - Stephanivien (MCH) is the eldest, then Aurvael (Diadem), Chlodebaimt (died at the Steel Vigil; can be found in PotD), Laniaitte (Camp Cloudtop) and Francel.

Okay as for Janne, while I can't explain the time disconnect, the Father/Uncle thing can make sense, but if, and only if Janne's father is gone in some capacity and Janne has been in his Uncle's care for some time.

Basically, in Japan if something happens to a child's parents, when they are young enough to "forget" them. A family members will take the child in and basically that child becomes there own. And any added or established children become their siblings, instead of their cousins. It's a plot you might of seen in anime, like SAO and Sarazanmai. This type of event can happen in the USA, but unless certain circumstances deem otherwise, the child usually knows the true relation to their "parent".

As for the Haillenarte sibling, not knowing or forgetting one died explains why I thought there was only 4. As for thinking someone was older than him. I remember someone opposing him, in the initial MCH quest line. It must of been an heir from another house.