How Would They Implement A "Calamity" Again?

[Shougun]

Past / future via a Wings of the Goddess like concept may be one option (FFXI). Shattering dimension / beginning / end of a dream (like FFXI, lol, and FFX). Different planes of existence / planets. In these they may able to do something to our levels without it being weird on the lore (maybe you're level 80 in the present, but in the alternate timeline you're X). This might allow SE to more easily work with updated graphics (update some old areas but most of the high def being part of the new dream / different timeline / planet, etc) as well in effect allow SE to create a new spiffy start (as Yoshida has commented some of the dev team feels conflicted with ARR and thinks to change some things to improve them), and as a consequence also get players into the new saga more easily rather than say release 7.0 that has very little relationship to 2.0-6.0 and yet tell players they need to do that 200-300 hours worth of content first. This also means that entire saga isn't kaboomed, if you wanted to play it you could - unlike say what happened to 1.0's content or some stuff pre-cata in WoW.

So my vote goes to new fragments, dreams, timeline, planet, or something (like keeping FFXIV alive but making another MMO sometime after 6.0 finishes) lol. Some people in another thread were describing something a bit like this via what PSO2 is doing, at least from how they described it- I don't play PSO2 so I use that reference vicariously and not form direct knowledge .

One thing to note though is if we had another calamity like Bahamut I doubt anyone would lose progress, when stuff went from 1.0 to 2.0 you kept most things. My concern for another calamity like that is 'unpretty-ing' things, they can make some cool areas but to make it look ravaged.. well you get ravaged looking areas lol. . So some concerns with having a similar type of Calamity.

With the whole world going ablaze though I wouldn't find an alternate dream or something coming about from it as an unusual concept.

While I'm sure they can keep building and building neat things... I'm a bit of the preference that they start a new foundation, with new concepts and flow of gameplay (like if they added better movement systems which allowed them to make more engaging environments, or worked to create a more roleplay conducive setting (not speaking story, speaking mechanics that work around it- like where an environment has critters, or fires that burn, or collision boxes that properly match the environment, etc). It's a bit hard to appreciate that when you're coming into the content at max level on every single job and most quests done. Older and more stacked things get the harder it is to approach with that 'first time, kid like wonder' and everything becomes more expected (not that I'm detailing the death of FFXIV, FFXI is still alive so.. FFXIV will be fine for sure - but perhaps why a calamity that is more than just bahamut farting on the world is my preference; although, farting on the world / no calamity is the safest option lol).