6.0 Story Speculations

[Rymi64]

We're yet to see how Reaper lore will pan out, but I suspect that a Reaper's 'Possession' is not quite the same as allowing yourself to get 'Tempered'. If you had to be tempered, the WoL wouldn't be able to become the job either.

And here's where it gets interesting. The following is taken from your showdown with the Zenos/Shinryu at the end of the Stormblood campaign.

Ah. As simple of that. But of course. You are the eikon-slayer. Such certainty is to be expected. A pity. There is another alternative. Or there would be... had you only mastered your abilities. I speak of the Echo, of course. Does it merely render you immune to eikonic influence? Or is it rather that your influence is far greater than theirs? Granted, these implications are of no moment to a savage, who thinks only of killing the beast before him...

But when I read van Baelsar's repots, I immediately saw the boundless potential of the Echo. I saw how it could be instrumental in binding an eikon to one's will. Hence my research and the Resonant - and oh so much more!

What we're seeing is the reverse process, where Zenos possesses (or perhaps more accurately, tempers) Shinryu, although I suspect that there is probably a degree of give and take when you have two entities with similar levels of power (?aether). I wonder if what we do with the Lightwardens' aether during Shadowbringers is similar, and that our rejoining was necessary to give us the 'influence' (?aether) required to retain control.

By the way, it's worth noting that Fray's full name is Fray Myste. They're both you. Myste is that part of you that carries the memories of those who have fallen along the way, as the superego to Fray's id. There's also a bit of speculation that the character's appearance draws reference from either Haurchefant or Ysayle, or some combination of the two.

In your darkest hour, in the blackest night... think of me, and I will be with you. Always. For where else could I go? Who else could I love but you?

It's about learning to forgive yourself. It's also about gaining a pretty cool bubble shield in the process. Myste is alright.

That could work out quite nicely. Eat both Hydaelyn and Zodiark, corrupt them both, and then lose control, ushering in a new era without a supreme deity. That's fine by me too. The legacy of the crystals have shaped our history for long enough. Oh wait, that's a different Final Fantasy.

I think the light warden situation was different. In our case by absorbing all that light it was just us absorbing a certain polarity unto ourselves which was slowly umbralizing our soul, after all we were only able to do that because of our blessing of light.

myste is a common last name for orphans of the brume btw.

[Lyth]

I think Heavensward and Shadowbringers did a reasonably good job of making you feel vulnerable, although the former did it by making you an outcast but then let you gain everyone's trust a little too easily.

Now that I've had time to reflect, I'm going to pin my hopes on Sharlayan's administration being corrupted and you having to beat a retreat in a hurry. Perhaps through the Devil's Road.

I don't know what the solution is to make Zenos more effective as a villain. He's just not a great starting point.

I think the light warden situation was different.

The sin eater transformation was actually an extreme form of tempering. 5.4 goes into this.

The Allagans researched 'Eikonic Corruption' - that is tempering. Owen's thesis, which you find archived in that impertinent node recovered from Alys Lla, explains this further. To temper you, a primal has to polarize your aether to become aligned with theirs, causing it to become stagnant and you to lose your sense of self. Repeated exposure alters your very flesh (i.e. sin eaters, but here they use Sephirot's Binah/Cochma as earth elemental examples of the more extreme form of tempering). The primal takes you over.

To support this, the way that you reverse it is similar to what you do with Halric's sin eater curse, using Beq Lugg's knowledge of soulcrafting to make a porxie conduit to revitalize their aether (although what is the difference between corporeal aether and incorporeal aether?) Presumably, if your soul has more aether density than the primal in question, they can't temper you.

I meant how they figured it out, other applications... the kind of “extra” lore I totally have never hung around in a dungeon to read.

I think the quote that you referenced there hints at the answer. van Baelsar was involved in the original Ultima Weapon project. As you'll recall, Ultima Weapon devours primals to utilize their aether.

Likewise, the Diablo Armament Field Record entry explains that as an alternative to this, a sufficiently strong host can bind high ranked voidsent to their will. The Allagan solution was to do this with warmachina to design the ideal host. Again, I think this comes down to the amount of aether you have. Both these approaches are identical what comes out of our conversation with Zenos at the end of the Stormblood campaign.

All those warmachina we fought this expansion are simply an extension of this concept.

The Resonant project seems to just be a way to give a person access to large amounts of aether, in much the same way that people with the Echo are individuals with higher soul density. You are the vessel. That's also probably why Urianger's aetheric siphon is able to shut down Fordola's Resonant powers. I can't remember when in Stormblood Aulus' scenes occur and whether there was an explicit connection made between his soul transference work and the Weapons project, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's out there.

[Tensaihime]

I think the quote that you referenced there hints at the answer. van Baelsar was involved in the original Ultima Weapon project. As you'll recall, Ultima Weapon devours primals to utilize their aether.

Likewise, the Diablo Armament Field Record entry explains that as an alternative to this, a sufficiently strong host can bind high ranked voidsent to their will. The Allagan solution was to do this with warmachina to design the ideal host. Again, I think this comes down to the amount of aether you have. Both these approaches are identical what comes out of our conversation with Zenos at the end of the Stormblood campaign.

All those warmachina we fought this expansion are simply an extension of this concept.

The Resonant project seems to just be a way to give a person access to large amounts of aether, in much the same way that people with the Echo are individuals with higher soul density. You are the vessel. That's also probably why Urianger's aetheric siphon is able to shut down Fordola's Resonant powers. I can't remember when in Stormblood Aulus' scenes occur and whether there was an explicit connection made between his soul transference work and the Weapons project, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's out there.

Thanks for this! I was excited for the fighty parts of Ala Mhigo, but I admit I forgot some of the details... plus I was scrambling to beat SB and most of ShB before Patch 5.5 dropped and the internet filled up with unavoidable spoilers (I have googled regular old memes and gotten stuff of Vauthry and the Exarch, so I wasn’t taking any chances).

And thanks for reminding me to do the Weapons sidequests already.

I think Heavensward and Shadowbringers did a reasonably good job of making you feel vulnerable, although the former did it by making you an outcast but then let you gain everyone's trust a little too easily.

My guess as to why they quickly trust you: you lost your job, home, good name, most of your crew, and the Blessing of Light; the dragon that took it from you follows you around mocking you, and the city you’re directed to isn’t even safe. The devs probably thought that if, on top of all that, the player spent too much time not getting a freaking break, they’d start resenting the new NPCs and not be invested in solving their problems. As it was, my raid buddy got a nice number of messages asking “you swear Aymeric isn’t gonna use me and then throw me out?” “You swear these rich a[kupo]s aren’t laughing at me behind my back with their rich a[kupo]e friends?” “You swear Haurchefant isn’t going to say I *owe* him for his help and try to [redacted] my WoL?” (I was paranoid, sue me)

Imagine being betrayed and forced to live with the Company of Heroes, they’re always in “Secret Test of Character” mode, and every weekend Aiatar comes to set the front porch on fire. How long till you wanna just shrug and grab the marshmallows?

[JeanneOrnitier]

The benchmark trailer is out, which I know doesn't actually show any story events, but it does show new zones and models.

There's an enemy in one part of it that's very reminiscent of Omega. Not in its shape, but in its color scheme and like the patterns on its coating. I wonder what its deal is.

[EdwinLi]

The benchmark trailer is out, which I know doesn't actually show any story events, but it does show new zones and models.

There's an enemy in one part of it that's very reminiscent of Omega. Not in its shape, but in its color scheme and like the patterns on its coating. I wonder what its deal is.

It does show us a important addition to our allies being the surviving members of the Garlean Army now fighting on our side.

This is going to be a strange feeling but I know something people have been waiting to happen.

Leading Garlean forces against a common enemy is going to be a interesting experience.

[Tensaihime]

It does show us a important addition to our allies being the surviving members of the Garlean Army now fighting on our side.

This is going to be a strange feeling but I know something people have been waiting to happen.

Leading Garlean forces against a common enemy is going to be a interesting experience.

“Strange“ and “interesting” are definitely two words for it. How scared are they of the WoL, I wonder? How wary are the two sides going to be of each other? Will there be hiccups at first, or will the teamwork come easy? And then when the fighting is over... I guess that Maxima guy will try to play some role in the two sides not hating each other?

I know I’m probably overthinking this. One of y’all please tell me that my worries over being stabbed in the back are not coming true.

[KageTokage]

“Strange“ and “interesting” are definitely two words for it. How scared are they of the WoL, I wonder? How wary are the two sides going to be of each other? Will there be hiccups at first, or will the teamwork come easy? And then when the fighting is over... I guess that Maxima guy will try to play some role in the two sides not hating each other?

I know I’m probably overthinking this. One of y’all please tell me that my worries over being stabbed in the back are not coming true.

I think the remaining sane Garleans are probably desperate enough to readily accept any help that comes their way in light of the crazy circumstances they've been thrust into.

Considering how quickly the beast tribes did a turn around despite being at odds with the locals for even longer then the Garleans have, I think they'd rather swallow their pride and side with the "savages" then lose what little they have left, especially with the suggestion that Fandaniel was intending to exploit the local populace to fuel his "gate of the gods". They're likely fighting just to survive, not to try to retake the capital.

[KageTokage]

I'm expecting that Omega-like entity to be some cheap Allagan imitation (Though that's not saying much considering how much of a nuisance their other creations have been) Garleans happened across somewhere since I don't think they would've had a chance to research the real deal at any point, and it's likely going to be a boss in the Garlemald dungeon.

I am a little curious about what we'll actually be fighting at the top of the Thravnair tower, though, since I doubt Zenos is going to budge from his spot in Garlemald until preparations are ready for him to go to the moon.

[MoofiaBossVal]

I am a little curious about what we'll actually be fighting at the top of the Thravnair tower, though, since I doubt Zenos is going to budge from his spot in Garlemald until preparations are ready for him to go to the moon.

The Magus Sisters?

[WhiteArchmage]

I know we can't rely on the Benchmark for Story purposes but it's interesting how much Sharlayan is acting like a "Crystarium" for it: crafters working together, adventurers assembling for battle, characters researching. I would have guessed for story purposes it'd be Radz-at-Han.

Although with Sharalyan as the "big city", it's weird it wouldn't be our "base of operations" for EW. Of course, one could argue that Kugane also wasn't our "base of operations" for StB, but StB was... different.

One way or another I can't wait for November (the 19th! Twelve be gracious!)