Thread: Revelations from Patch 5.5 (Part 1)

To borrow a phrase from a series that shall not be named, G'raha is "still in his promotional period." It's easy to forget that Alphinaud and Alisaie had theirs, too, in the leadup to Heavensward and Stormblood respectively. Krile also got hers in the form of the Triad story, but then she basically took over as a less intrusive Minfilia and continues to dwell primarily in side stories.

We don't really know where G'raha will land after 5.55 (or if he'll even still be breathing), but there's a distinct possibility that he's still around the way he is because we need somebody else who remembers Emet-Selch. Their time together in Aumarot could be one big Schrodinger's Gun as far as the writers are concerned.

(That link is to TV Tropes. Do not click it unless you are prepared to get lost for a few hours.)

Originally Posted by Vyrerus

Time to be cheeky, and also time to misunderstand Japanese!

I was confused by this at first because I thought I went deeper into it here than I did, lol.

When magitek was first defined in FFXIV, it felt counter-intuitive then because it didn't correlate with FFVI in precisely this way. What Thancred says is more in line with FFVI, but also the opposite of what we were told then, which also felt weird then, but now is what we understood to be the truth, lol.

In FFXIV, because Garleans couldn't use magicks, they were using strictly ceruleum combustion engines to re-create any effects magicks might otherwise have. Garlemald called it magitek because it triumphed over, not replicated, magicks. It didn't do the magicks for them, it replaced the need for them at all by mimicking the outcomes with technology. (For example, pulling down the moon and calling it "meteor" or flamethrowers to replace firagas.)

This was one of the early distinctions between Allagan aetherochemical clockwork and Garlean magitek; it's why Ultima was "not a true magitek" and why even Nero couldn't get Allagan designs working again without gutting the aetherochemical components and replacing them with ceruleum engines.

The logical explanation is that Garlemald has just ... overcome this hurdle ... and has aetherochemistry in their magitek now. I mean, they have chimeras and the resonance machine, right?

But either way it made Thancred's comparison send me into a momentary place of, "Wait, is that right?" because for more of history than not, that was exactly the opposite of what we were told it did, lol.

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

I was confused by this at first because I thought I went deeper into it here than I did, lol.

Ahh, so it's a curious sidestep(by the writers) of an old point in the lore. It's intriguing to me, as I am a big fan of anything related to Magitek.

Do you have examples of where the game has expounded on aetherochemical technology? I know there's the entire Aetherochemical Research Facility in Azys Lla, but to a laymen like me, the distinction seems superfluous. The results seem the same.

I can definitely get behind the idea that Magitek is superior to normal Magicks in a lot of ways. It provides anyone with designed magic. Though it's also true that if you don't have access to every type of magitek machine, then it's not as readily versatile. And you have to design a new machine, any time a new magic you want to copy comes up. Though you can also make your own unique homebrewed stuff. I'm quite interested in Annia and Julia's power suits. They brimmed with fiery auras the whole fight, let them do raidwides called Artificial Plasma and such.

From what I can see in game, it seems like the only distinction apparent via gameplay is that Aetherochemistry involves bionics, whereas Magitek does not... or didn't until a certain point. Everything in the ARF, once you're past Regula anyway, is some sort of test tube creature. From Precultured Biomass, to the assessment creature, Harmachis(an alt form of the god Horus, represented as a Sphinx, and a Sphinx in game as well).

I think if Garlemald overcame the Aetherochemical hurdle, it would be from the knowledge and resources they gained at Azys Lla, because while their flagship is grounded, their dropships aren't, and as we saw with Alphinaud's short sojourn aboard one, those are capable of flying on back home. We also have seen in the Werlyt quests that scientists employed on the Weapons projects were non-Garleans, capable of manipulating aether. Elezens and Hyurs and others.

I really am curious. Does the lorebook or old lore give us a definition for Aetherochemistry? Please fill me in, if possible, Mr. Moose!

Originally Posted by Vyrerus

Please fill me in, if possible, Mr. Moose!

Always keepin' me honest with them citation requests! Lol. (Give me hell, I'd rather have good citations.)

EDIT: Oh, MrThinker already got the main one. Thanks, Thinker!

Aetherochemistry was Emperor Xande's attempt to merge aetherology and science - turning something magical into something tangible.

It goes without saying that the Allagan Empire would never have survived, let alone expanded and thrived, had it not been for the might of Xande's handpicked mage cadres. Their most important contribution to the empire, however, was not solely spellweaving, but the incorporation of their magicks into existing scientific principles. Siege engines enhanced with magicks launched projectiles further and with more precision. Ensorcelled treadwheel cranes lifted blocks ten times their maximum load with a fraction of the manpower. Once the secrets of aether had been unlocked, they were applied not only to war, but to everyday societal needs, from construction to medicine, transportation to communication. The field came to be known as aetherochemistry, and upon its back would the Allagans ride into a Golden Age of prosperity.

Garlemald's stuff came later; refining the "dead organic aether" of ceruleum ore into a highly combustible, high-pollution petrol-like fuel for use in engines.

At the turn of the 16th century, an engineer attempted to create a smaller version of the stationary steam engine for his workshop. In so doing, he stumbled upon the idea of using ceruleum as a fuel itself, rather than to heat water. His prototype was relatively weak, but compact enough to be portable. As if by fate, it then caught the eye of Legatus Solus Galvus, who insisted the military open its coffers to fund the new technology. With the army's support, a moving platform was built, driven by an improved ceruleum engine and mounted with artillery. This prototype proved more destructive in tests than Galvus had ever dreamed. He christened the new type of weapon "magitek," to signify the triumph of technology over magic. Thereafter, Garlean engineers fashioned more and varied magitek weapons. With each one, the strength of the Garlean Army grew. Starting around 1550, relics of ancient Allag were unearthed in the new territories of Garlemald. The Empire's keenest minds set about learning their intricacies, though in truth the archaic technology put the best imperial efforts to shame. The engineers never learned the fundamental principles of the Allagan devices. Nonetheless, the secrets they pried from the old machina advanced Garlean magitek by leaps and bounds. The Garleans also succeeded in reanimating a number of Allagan machina with ceruleum engines, and the Empire is rumored to be moving these to the front lines.

A good example of this is being unable to levitate death claws with aetherochemistry and just installing propellers.