Right, then... [Nier: Automata/Copied Factory] [Spoilers]

[ObsidianFire]

Given that the even that causes NieR to even happen is the events of Drakengard the dumped the Red Dragon the Giant into "normal" Earth... NieR and Drakenguard don't actually happen in the same "universe". Something from one universe got into another universe somehow and caused all kinds of problems. We could easily be dealing with something along those lines here.

[Iscah]

Given that the even that causes NieR to even happen is the events of Drakengard the dumped the Red Dragon the Giant into "normal" Earth... NieR and Drakenguard don't actually happen in the same "universe". Something from one universe got into another universe somehow and caused all kinds of problems. We could easily be dealing with something along those lines here.

That still causes weird issues if NieR/Drakengard canon has to be integrated into FFXIV's canon. Either "our Earth" is still out there somewhere, or another shard, and/or there's a whole separate layer of alternate universes to deal with on top of shards and split timelines.

I also have a long-term dislike of fantasy world suddenly becoming connected to our real world/universe. Even if we don't visit Earth, it messes with physics - instead of it being a completely invented universe where aether is the building block of life, we're now connected to the world where atoms do the same thing less-magically and energy doesn't spontaneously form into solid crystals. It's just... hard to integrate and I don't like it.

It's been one of the reasons I really don't like the prospect of the crossover being a lore-integrated raid rather than a novelty event, especially if it's supposed to be canon to NieR. I can only hope they remain vague enough about the details that it can be taken as "one-way canon" and doesn't force the connection of FFXIV's universe to ours.

[Jandor]

It's been one of the reasons I really don't like the prospect of the crossover being a lore-integrated raid rather than a novelty event, especially if it's supposed to be canon to NieR. I can only hope they remain vague enough about the details that it can be taken as "one-way canon" and doesn't force the connection of FFXIV's universe to ours.

Maybe the connection is the other way. Maybe the ancients created a tiny solar system with a habitable planet with totally different physics just to see what happens. Earth is contained in a bubble somewhere at the bottom of the sea on one of the shards.

The Nier stuff is because one of the Ancients observed one of the little dudes on his experimental tiny planet create the Automata game and thought it looked neat.