The relentless march of Garlean Technology

[ICountFrom0]

In order to make the ultima weapon in the first place, they had to use the "Eye of SABEK" and repurpose old tech to make the weapon work and do what it does.

The newer weapons, while they can't consume primals by themselves, (perhaps because they don't have space to store it within the eye?), you have to admit that level 80 machines are more powerful then the level 50 ones...

Perhaps any one of the EX trial versions could take down the UWU version.

Lets set that to one side though. You notice that when Gaius van Baelsar uses the stolen power infused into himself to go limit break, he changes not just himself, but his weapon and his armor.... but not the ultima weapon.

Look to emerald weapon, when the limit break happens, when the data is poured into it, the limit break not just powers the weapon, not just the armor, but the entire weapon goes full super saiyan golden god glow.

Sure, these new weapons can't cast ultima at a level that could wipe a nation off the map, but UWU couldn't either, without the eye, so we can't credit THAT power to the Garleans...

... but what we CAN suggest that they've done, they've learned to do even better.

And diamond weapon implies they've nearly perfected it. R,G,B,Y, are test beds, diamond the final prototype... now what?


(also of note, there's 2 different proto ultima's out there to concider what they might have made without the eye, just themselves with salvaged tech)

[KageTokage]

The Garlean empire is basically finished, so I doubt we're going to see much more in the way of technological marvels from them unless there are still some prominent and independent legions pursuing their own agenda.

While there is the matter of the towers, I'm feeling fairly convinced they are not actually Garlean creations...at least not in the conventional sense. Everything about them just seems wrong and unnatural, which I'm chalking up to the work of a primal (As in they're literally part of a primal, not simply broadcasting its influence).

A country with a god-like reverence for its rulers suddenly being left without one and torn apart by a civil war seems like it would be primed for the conditions needed to summon a primal. All they'd need is some Ascian troublemakers to nudge things in the right direction...and I feel like that's precisely what Fandaniel was doing by fueling Nerva's war effort. Stirring the people into a patriotic fervor by pushing a potential heir into a position to re-unify the country, then smashing those hopes by offing him and his armies in some orchestrated event to breed desperation while providing the fuel for a summoning seems like a probable cause for the third legion's mysterious disappearance.

We might be dealing with something that's basically a manifestation of Garlemald's despair but acting strictly to fulfill its doctrine of unity through conquest by tempering everything it can reach, thus preserving the country in about the most twisted sense possible.

Just throwing out some wild theorycraft in anticipation of the 5.55 MSQ finale.

[Cilia]

A few things to note:

With some time gating, anything other than the storyline difficulty (Normal / Hard) is considered a non-canon embellishment. Getting into specifics, the Normal, Hard, and EX versions of the OG six base elemental primals are all canon, as are the Hard and EX Heavensward primals (minus Thordan). Everything else that is some sort of embellishment (image training, data recreation, etc). Ultimate trials in particular are not canon.
Gameplay power / level != Storyline power / level.

Valens' Weapons can cast Ultima - though it's called "Optimized Ultima" and other than its use for wiping EX raids isn't nearly as deadly and destructive as Ultima's version.
Valens' Weapons are Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond, named and designed after their counterparts from VII. (I'm still curious what the Mk. II was.)

Given as the Garlean Empire has all but been supplanted by the Telophori as of Endwalker's main story arc, I'm not expecting these sorts of WMDs to keep coming since the Garlond Ironworks is more focused on consumer goods. (Its rollout of the G-Warrior was specifically to counter the Weapons.)

[Recon1o6]

Gaius' golden armour is actually a magic resistant coating that he applies. Its the same golden coating thats used on the gilded magitek mount you get for coms

however its an expensive coating which is why so few enemies have it.

[Bright-Flower]

Wasn't the Ultima weapon found rather than created by the garleans? I could be remembering wrong.

I'm not entirely sure if the new weapons are more powerful. At the very least they didn't show anything as overtly destructive as Ultima itself, which Hydaelyn had to shield us from. (And was severely weakened after doing so.)

The new weapons are certainly powerful but I'm not sure they were lore wise as strong as Ultima.

[Kuroka]

It was found but heavily damaged, Nero repaired it and learned from that, with all the data being given to Garlemald as well.

[RyuDragnier]

It was found but heavily damaged, Nero repaired it and learned from that, with all the data being given to Garlemald as well.

Makes you wonder just what he'd do with the G-Warrior if he got his hands on it...

[Cilia]

Just to clarify a few things, now that I'm not half-asleep...

The Ultima Weapon was found buried somewhere in Gyr Abania and was refurbished by Nero, though it always used the Heart of Sabik (now known to be a piece of black auracite) as a core / main battery.

The gem Weapons (for want of a better term) were the brainchild of Valens van Varro, Nael / Eula's successor as legatus of the VIIth Legion. Considering he got deep sixed at the end of the Sorrow of Werlyt storyline, I'm not expecting any further Weapons of similar make to come rolling out of the Empire / at the hands of the Telophori. (The only ones available would be Jade Weapon and Zirconiade anyway, and given those only appeared in Before Crisis which never made it out of Japan and has long since shut down, I'm not expecting them to show up. Maybe we'll get a datalog or piece of dialogue or something telling us Jade Weapon was the unused Mk. II design though.)

The gem Weapons were capable of absorbing primals, as the Ruby Weapon's card states it has such ability and both the Sapphire and Emerald Weapon's cards attribute some of their abilities to having done so. Further the Ruby Weapon's card states that due to its synthetic auracite system it has "combat capabilities far beyond those of the [Ultima Weapon]"; presumably this applies to the other gem Weapons as well.

[ICountFrom0]

Gaius' golden armour is actually a magic resistant coating that he applies. Its the same golden coating thats used on the gilded magitek mount you get for coms

however its an expensive coating which is why so few enemies have it.

Only, he dosn't change into it.

He starts the fight without it, and then he limit breaks, and everything is gold.

He's channeling stolen magic forced into him via the imprinting machine to LIMIT BREAK, and it changes himself and what he's using.


Likewise, the entire emerald weapon changes halfway through the fight, nobody showed up to paint it gold, the magical energies changed it.

[KageTokage]

Makes you wonder just what he'd do with the G-Warrior if he got his hands on it...

It's very strongly suggested (As in all but directly stated) that Nero was involved in the creation of the second G-Savior that maneuvers the other platform in the Diamond Weapon encounter, which is fittingly red and white as opposed to the usual Ironworks blue and white.

If you go back to the Terncliff hangar after the Werlyt storyline you can inspect both models.