The Big Blue Feedback Thread

[AceofRains]

That's a chart from the source working on the flawed concept that Darkness=Umbral and Light=Astral.
Urianger explains that what the source understood as 'Astral' is actually high energy states/entropy, and is not responsible for Light, but for Darkness, and vice versa.
This is how Umbral aether, responsible for stasis, low-energy states, can be associated with Black Rose (halting individuals aether flows) and Light magic on the first (fixing aether in place, the stagnant empty)
Thus Umbral, closely aligned with Light, is associated with more static, low energy elemental magics, slow flowing Water, rigid Earth, and Ice being the most static of them all.
Astral therefore being associated with higher energy states, fast moving Wind, and intense Fire and shocking Lightning. Higher energy states lead to higher entropy, the aether flows more quickly, it dissipates and what's left behind is darkness, the Void.

The elements aren't aligned by the black/white triangles, in fact those don't make any sense and conflict with all of the other lore in the game. Rather, they're aligned top to bottom.
Top = Wind, Lightning and Fire. It's labelled 'Light' on the flawed source chart, but the correct term would be 'Astral'.
Bottom = Water Ice, and Earth. It's labelled 'Darkness' on the flawed source chart, but the correct term would be 'Umbral'.
The error is that Light and Darkness are interpreted the wrong way around, as Light magic is derived from Umbral aether, not Astral, and vice versa.

I expect the black and white triangles are just to do with elemental resistances. That's the only explanation I can think of for their existence.

I think understand a lot more thank you, but there is one thing. I think Light and Dark are still Light and Dark according to their triangles. It doesn’t mean that Light bends toward Umbral per se. it’s more like Light is 2/3 Astral and 1/3 Umbral, and conversely Darkness is 2/3 Umbral and 1/3 Astral. With Ice and Thunder carry much more weight toward their respective categories. I don’t think the original chart is wrong at all now, in fact it’s even more detail than we realize if we include the aspects of Sun and Moon.

[Seraphor]

I think understand a lot more thank you, but there is one thing. I think Light and Dark are still Light and Dark according to their triangles. It doesn’t mean that Light bends toward Umbral per se. it’s more like Light is 2/3 Astral and 1/3 Umbral, and conversely Darkness is 2/3 Umbral and 1/3 Astral. With Ice and Thunder carry much more weight toward their respective categories. I don’t think the original chart is wrong at all now, in fact it’s even more detail than we realize if we include the aspects of Sun and Moon.

I think, as Urianger explained so there's no reason to doubt just yet, their understanding of Light and Dark on the source was flawed, so this chart can't give us any insight into it.
Light is strongly tied to Umbral and Darkness to Astral, that's the whole shtick of Shadowbringers.

It could be that way back in 1.0 (when the chart was likely drawn) they did have a more nuanced, or less though out, idea for what Astral/Umbral meant, but that idea has clearly changed.

[Leidolf]

Urianger mentioned they had the cause and effect backward, associating things that are more active as being towards Light and things that are more passive towards darkness. The First basis it on nature, with the more passive elements being light and the more active being darkness.

Remember, Light and Darkness aren't elements but poles (Astral Fire and Umbral Ice), so the Source ultimately had them reversed in the sense they had Astral and Umbral upside down. Any element can be aspected to either pole as well, it's just that their default state is within a certain pole.


Edit: On-Topic, I recently created a guide to clearing Brute Justice Savage as a Blue mage here.

The Blue Academy has also released their version of the clearing guide to Bahamut on youtube as well.