Reflooding the Tempest?

[axemtitanium]

Are we ever going to be able to let the Ondo have their water back? They seem pretty chill about it, all things considered, but there's a bunch of questlines about how lack of water is making them extremely endangered. Since there are quests down there and you need to preserve the ability to walk around and have gameplay in the Tempest, are the Ondo screwed forever because we got Bismarck to blow out all their water?

[Iscah]

Time as shown in the game doesn't progress in the way that time within the story does. We won't ever see the Tempest flooded but it will happen. We're told that the bubble is temporary and will fade in time.

[Cilia]

Like Emet-Selch's phantasmal Amaurot, it's a temporary effect that will disappear with time.

Alas, it's liable to remain indefinitely for gameplay purposes.

[Morningstar1337]

I doubt it will happen for a year at least...and that'd be a year after the story ends to boot.Sames for the Replica of Aumarot

EDIT: I mgiht eb proven wronf by he fending though, as the effects seemed to be immediate, but that doens't explain oneof the post 5.0 MSQ dungeons though.

[Enkidoh]

Never? It's classed as an open-world zone, so for gameplay purposes it will remain intact indefinetely as it needs to be for players who have just reached that area to access. There's not going to be any major changes to it to refect G'raha Tia's comment in the ending that Bismarck's air bubble and the "lights of the phantom Amaurot" will fade in time.

Same with Vauthry's fake heaven and the giant Talos in the background of Kolhusia will eventually fall back to earth as well in time as the aetherial incantations placed on them wind down as time passes, but you'll never see it happen as it's too far in the future for the purposes of gameplay.

[axemtitanium]

I get that it's "never" for gameplay reasons. Just kinda crappy thing to do to a whole civilization already on the brink of extinction from the Flood. Maybe they could do player phasing such that part of the Tempest becomes a swimming zone to show that it's slowly coming back.

[Iscah]

I get that it's "never" for gameplay reasons. Just kinda crappy thing to do to a whole civilization already on the brink of extinction from the Flood.

But that's the thing. It's "never" for gameplay. Just like Ishgard's main street has never been cleared of rubble and people back in ARR areas have never moved on from whatever it is they were doing when you first arrived in the town.

Time as viewed in the game is, quite simply, weird. You're seeing a snapshot of a place at a particular moment in time, unless the plot moves a specific thing forwards.

Even on the occasions where the game world is altered, physical objects and rules remain in place so everyone you can see is functioning in the same space you're in. You couldn't have a swimming zone for some players where others see dry land or open air.

[Edax]

Is it worth turning the Temptest permanently into an underwater level? I'm guessing players would be unhappy about losing the ability to walk around Amaurot.

[Curisu]

Imagine the catastrophic results when the air bubble collaps and tempest gets flooded again.
Million and billions litres of water fall down and flow into the air bubble.
The weight of falling water and the destructive flow back.
The sand, stones, etc that gets moved by it will form deadly projectiles and every living being is in between them.
It will bring death and destruction to everyone and everything.

[Vidu]

Is it worth turning the Temptest permanently into an underwater level? I'm guessing players would be unhappy about losing the ability to walk around Amaurot.

The bigger problem is probably that we dont have underwater combat but a whole lot of achievements that are tied to having FATEs in The Tempest - FATE-vendor, special FATE-chain with bossfight and achievement... there are also hunts there (both daily and B, A and S-ranks).

Trading walking around for swimming around I could see - just making those achievments unobtainable or revamping all of that... not so much.

You'd also run into the problem Iscah described earlier: They would have to re-write the end of Shadowbringers to turn The Tempest into an underwater level or otherwise those who are just approaching Hades will see people "fly-swim" in the air and those who've brought the water back will see people running around on the ocean floor.