Revelations from Gamescom 2019

[AmemeAmeklin]

Now I have to check back on cutscenes to see how our mask is different from Hythlodaeus's...it looked the same to me but it was a vague, faraway glimpse.

Okay, I got some screenshots.




I dunno, it's impossible to actually tell what shape that mask is...although there don't seem to be any eye holes or a beak for sure.

[thegreatonemal]

Alpha was in the category of Omega and Midgardsormr?

Alpha is in a different category altogether. He was made in the same way the ancients make anything with their creation magic. Unlike those he developed a soul of his own.

[Lauront]

So with the whole notion of hazy memories of the ancient world still residing in the memories of some, besides potentially giving us a hint as to what the Twelve are (Hades's analogies to Nald'thal, ranging from the sign of Gemini, to his aspect of death and domain of sorcery have been noted), I think it also may be an answer as to why Sharlayan has some similarities with Amaurot, like its style of government, its focus on acquiring knowledge and reverence of it and its non-interventionist attitude, as well as the ancient Greek elements to its architecture. We know there was at least one Ascian active there (Emmerololth on Val), but I wonder if it ever piqued their interest and whether others have invested some time there. Even just being the origin point for many a Scion must intrigue some of them.

[odym82]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22SS79SJPEs
a video of it if anyone wants

[Theodric]

It's a shame that those who reside on the First lack the same potential as those on the Source by virtue of not being as complete. That really puts a dampener on my desire to role-play a resident of the First. Not because I wish to play a powerful character but it because it indirectly makes them much less relevant in the grand scheme of things.

It does make sense from the perspective of all the excess aether having to go somewhere, at least - and it's not as if we didn't see some on the First put up an excellent fight even faced with the Warrior of Light as an opponent.

[Bright-Flower]

It's a shame that those who reside on the First lack the same potential as those on the Source by virtue of not being as complete. That really puts a dampener on my desire to role-play a resident of the First. Not because I wish to play a powerful character but it because it indirectly makes them much less relevant in the grand scheme of things.

It does make sense from the perspective of all the excess aether having to go somewhere, at least - and it's not as if we didn't see some on the First put up an excellent fight even faced with the Warrior of Light as an opponent.

First RP is always going to be pretty limited anyway as we go back to the Source or other worlds in future expansions anyway. Unless SE actuall makes an RP friendly means of traveling between worlds.

[Lauront]

14. It's been observed by players that in the Chrysalis, the meteor phase of the fight has a crystal formation very similar to the Crystal Tower, as well as a figure that looks a lot like Hydaelyn's portrayal in the caves. Could you please elaborate on what the Chrysalis is and why the Ascians chose to portray scenes of both gods?

Oda: The cave painting was not done by Ascians, but by someone who had a memory of the world before the Sundering. Perhaps he saw it in a dream or something, and then made a mural. The reason why there’s a crystal-shaped thing when it comes to the Ascians is that Zodiark crystal is sort of the antithesis to the Mothercrystal of Hydaelyn, so that is sometimes used as a motif.

This question was probably referencing that when you go through the Aetherial Tear, the underside of the Zodiark crystal looks very similar to the shape of Crystal Tower. That they didn't pick up on this tells me that they might not know, or that it might not be important. A great deal of the Chrysalis is made up of altered copy-pasta. The floor is from Titan, the boundary in the distance from the Burning Heart, and soon. They might have just clipped some Crystal Tower to use as something else.

Correct. it may be down to the translation, too. My money is on misunderstanding.

I think next time I'll just ask "What is the Chrysalis?"

It's probably one of those questions which is easier to "phrase" visually, because the statues of the Primals (at least one) appear in it, and of course they bear a resemblance to the murals. There may be no significance to it but the Chrysalis is a mysterious place (and possibly where Zodiark was summoned out of given the state of the planet at the time... which could also mean it served as a shelter for the 3 unbroken Overlords during his "demise"), so you'd hope they'd do some of 2 or 3 from the below if it originally had no significance:

Three types of foreshadowing: 1) It was planned all along. 2) It was added without an exit strategy and we worked it out later. 3) It's actually different than what was intended but was made to look foreshadowed with clever writing. Good writers use all of these. Great writers can trick you into confusing them. FFXIV's team deserves a lot of credit for their time and dedication on that front.

Still, I'm satisfied with the answer they did choose to give, as it opens interesting avenues in its own right.

[Enkidoh]

I think next time I'll just ask "What is the Chrysalis?"

It's probably one of those questions which is easier to "phrase" visually, because the statues of the Primals (at least one) appear in it, and of course they bear a resemblance to the murals. There may be no significance to it but the Chrysalis is a mysterious place (and possibly where Zodiark was summoned out of given the state of the planet at the time... which could also mean it served as a shelter for the 3 unbroken Overlords during his "demise"), so you'd hope they'd do some of 2 or 3 from the below if it originally had no significance

Interestingly, the old ARR artbook The Art of Eorzea ~ A Realm Reborn had a tidbit from the artist responsible for the Chrysalis's design accompanying the concept art for it, and stated that the directive he was given by the writing team when designing that trial battlefield was that it was actually created from the memories of the Ascians, so whether it is an imperfect recollection of something that did once exist before the Sundering is unclear, but given what we know now.....

...

Oh goddess, now even I'm doing it. I'm going back and looking for 'foreshadowing references' to SHB's revelations and retcons (no matter how pointless that is)!

[Eyvind]

The Alpha issue ties in with a larger issue: is everything alive a discreet sundered soul with specific pieces out there? Because the way the scions understand it - as Alphinaud explains in Il Mheg - most souls dissolve into the lifestream and only a few strong souls (including presumably us) maintain cohesion after death.

Either the scions are wrong about how this works, or the detail that every lifeform is gaining ether creates a conundrum. After all, with lifestream theory, there are countless new souls being made, and if they're new what are they rejoining with? Random aether? In that case Alpha could be included.

I guess a third possibility is that there is a discreet unit of aether, an aether atom, which was sundered, and each one gets rejoined. Then Alpha is out of luck again.

[Lauront]

The Alpha issue ties in with a larger issue: is everything alive a discreet sundered soul with specific pieces out there? Because the way the scions understand it - as Alphinaud explains in Il Mheg - most souls dissolve into the lifestream and only a few strong souls (including presumably us) maintain cohesion after death.

Either the scions are wrong about how this works, or the detail that every lifeform is gaining ether creates a conundrum. After all, with lifestream theory, there are countless new souls being made, and if they're new what are they rejoining with? Random aether? In that case Alpha could be included.

I guess a third possibility is that there is a discreet unit of aether, an aether atom, which was sundered, and each one gets rejoined. Then Alpha is out of luck again.

I'd imagine it's random re-attachment, unless the original form is there and readily recognisable (e.g. a soul characterised by the Echo), where the original cannot be "found".