Thread: Revelations from Patch 5.3

Originally Posted by Kesey

I believe the issue belies in set up to make these things happen. If you scrub the plans just because the WOL shows up you've wasted hundreds if not thousands of years of preparations.

I think this is the proper way to think of it. You figure actual age of Hydaelyn is approximately 12,000 years and there's only been 7 Calamities, that's pretty close to 1800 years per Calamity on average. However, we know the age of Allag was only approximately 5000 years ago so that means the first 3 Calamities took over 2000 years each (though I guess I wonder if we should include the failed Rejoining of the 13th, which would put it back closer to 1800 years per Calamity.) There's evidence that they've gotten better at causing Rejoinings, but not by much.

We also know a few more things that make the situation unique:
1) by mitigating the damage of the 7th Umbral Era, the world appears ready again already for another Rejoining
B) in the past [1 year/100 years] over half the Convocation has been killed: Nabriales, Igeyorhm, Lahabrea, Emet-Selch more or less by us (Lahabrea is debatable but considering someone important considers it's our fault....); Loghrif and Mitron by our partial soul; and the 2 masks Gaius spurred by us defeating him—to Elidibus he can pin roughly 8 deaths on our/our soul's shoulders. There's also Emmeroloth gone [maybe?], so the number of Ascians, by the time of 5.3 is pitiable at best. The Convocation, already perpetually down a member, is missing nine of its number if you include the defector.

(I included Ardbert and Gaius' killcounts, because apparently we're also to blame for Lahabrea. Even without those 5, we're still winning the "most deadly to Ascians" award with 3 kills.)

5.3 MSQ

Now think about it, Elidibus has the world ready for a Rejoining. He's tried to tip the scales three times already and been beaten back—the Dragonsong War/Thordan; Ilberd/Shinryu; Zenos hijacking/Ghimlyt. He already broke out a "secret weapon" in Emet-Selch, which we know was the right call from the Exarch's future knowledge, and through it all we botch that up for him too. So his plans are in shambles AGAIN, and we kill the last Unsundered aside himself.

The world is ready for a rejoining, he wants to strike while the iron is hot. He's emotional and feeling cornered—impatience born of loneliness is definitely the right read here, I think. The comparison to Nidhogg is probably apt too, Nidhogg raged for a thousand years after the death of Ratatoskr; Lahabrea and Emet-Selch being the last Unsundered and killed within [1 year] has no doubt made Elidibus think he needs to deal with the problem of the Warrior of Light now. Who knows what else we could accomplish if he waits? If Elidibus retreated to the Rift and waited until the Warrior of Light died of old age... we'd be reincarnated somehow, and he'd have the problem of wrangling at least 6 new Ascians. Igeyorhm, Nabriales, Lahabrea, Emet-Selch and Gaius' two masks for sure—maybe Emmeroloth, Logrhif and Mitron too.

All the waiting while the Warrior of Light expires still necessitates he keep whatever aetherial balance is necessary for a Calamity in check for all that time, and also stymie our attempts at wiping out the remaining Ascians who we are probably going to be specifically targeting. So it's not like he could just pop off and take a nap... there would still be work to be done, or just write off this Calamity-ready World and keep a strict leash on all other Ascians.

Sure, a new Azem might not be as effective as our Warrior of Light, and he may be missing the Blessing, but we've learned if nothing else mankind is resilient in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds (after all, after succeeding in the Eighth Rejoining and the Warrior of Light dying, mankind STILL found a way to undo it—no doubt the ability to stop that from happening also informs his decision making regarding the Tower).

Even for someone billed as a master tactician, waiting only adds more variables and exponentially increases the amount of eventualities he'd have to plan for.

I admit, however, that I haven't reviewed the 5.3 cutscenes as diligently as some others so my analysis may be less than perfect. I've also walked away and come back to this post a few times, so I'm sorry to ramble!

In short: waiting out the Warrior of Light probably isn't the easiest solution. It might set the Rejoining back a couple decades... or nearly a millenium if the Land heals. Furthermore, mankind's most dangerous weapon to the Ascians; the knowledge of what they are and how to deal with them is definitely going to persist until the Eighth Calamity passes (unless he takes an active role in, like, sinking Sharlayan which puts him at risk).

Originally Posted by Yuella

Does Gaius have white Auracite? if he doesn't, the Ascians he killed can come back in another body.

Technically, you don't need white auracite to destroy an Ascian; it just makes the job easier by restraining them so they can't escape to the rift between.

It wouldn't surprise me if Gaius has been hanging onto Heart of Sabik all this time and found a way to use the thing against the Ascians since the devs mentioned it would come up again sooner or later.

Originally Posted by Alleluia

MSQ thoughts on Elidibus as a character:

Was he a child when he joined the Convocation and/or became Zodiark's heart?He's our size at the end of the trial, which is child-size for an Amaurotine. And the word choice in his final speech sounds childlike in its earnestness to me.

And the flashbacks where the other convocation members are talking to him, before the final days it seemed, about how his dedication to duty is bordering on obsession and basically telling him to take it easier... It painted the picture of a kid attempting to live up to a legacy and trying too hard. Also, in this flashback, I think our pov is a bit on the short side physically.

I just get the feeling he might have been a child prodigy, elevated to Elidbus' seat at a young age. And then the apocalypse happened.

And I'm just imagining this kid taking on the responsibility of becoming the heart of Zodiark so he can save everyone, promising them all that he'll never forget his duty, and now I'm sadder.

This theory seems to be getting popular on reddit/twitter but after playing through MSQ a 2nd time on my alt I'm not really feeling that.

There is a young ancient in Emet's Amaurot recreation you can find if you wander around. My max height male Au Ra is significantly shorter than the shade, but he towers over Elidibus his last cutscene. That size difference would make him toddler sized, if that.

I don't think he was a child when he was sacrificed as much as him showing up as a child was symbolic for how one track/childlike his mindset was when you stripped away the thousands of years worth of hurting.


adults are more than twice as tall as my character


vs. child


Assuming he's using the same model as Unukalhai/other children, that'd make him around 1/2 my characters height

As for Gaius

One of the red masks he has looks an awful lot like a cat's head, which would interestingly enough likely belong to Fandaniel as Leo's rep.