Endwalker Main Scenario Commentary & Feedback

[EdwinLi]

There are no multiple timelines involved in Elpis. Those events are located in time prior to the split between the "bad future" timeline and ours.

When we travel there, it's not "our Elpis" with a second copy left untouched for another WoL to visit. Everything that happens there forms the past of both timelines together, and our actions become part of the other timeline's history as well as ours.

I tried to map it out as a better explanation. This is still rough but I hope it makes sense.

The key thing to get your mind around is, from the perspective of our current timeline, our visit to Elpis occurred in our past – and from the perspective of someone in the bad timeline, our visit (ours specifically, not an alternate self's) is part of their timeline as well. There doesn't need to be a second alternate event.

As I said it is only one of many theories since we do not know which time travel theory SE is using.

In my opinion the Absolute and Flexable timeline theory makes the most sense since certain moments in time are designed to happen no matter what but how that absolute moment happens is flexible so when it happens, why, how, and where are always altering until that absolute moment happens.

A lot of The FF14 story follows a lot on this theory as well such as 3.0 expansion being different dialogue wise if players did or did not do 2.0 dragoon job quest. The events of 3.0 is marked as a absolute point in the timeline but certain aspects become altered due to the flexible part of the timeline leading up to those events.

It is the same for Endwalker story as a lot of events are absolute events but certain aspect of those events are altered in varies levels based on if WoL did or did not do certain things before events of Endwalker. The harbor cutscne is the most important one as it is greatly different from someone who did not do any raid and trial side story contents compared to if their WoL completed all Raid and trial content before Endwalker.

[Theozilla]

As I said it is only one of many theories since we do not know which time travel theory SE is using.

In my opinion the Absolute and Flexable timeline theory makes the most sense since certain moments in time are designed to happen no matter what but how that absolute moment happens is flexible so when it happens, why, how, and where are always altering until that absolute moment happens.

A lot of The FF14 story follows a lot on this theory as well such as 3.0 expansion being different dialogue wise if players did or did not do 2.0 dragoon job quest. The events of 3.0 is marked as a absolute point in the timeline but certain aspects become altered due to the flexible part of the timeline leading up to those events.

It is the same for Endwalker story as a lot of events are absolute events but certain aspect of those events are altered in varies levels based on if WoL did or did not do certain things before events of Endwalker. The harbor cutscne is the most important one as it is greatly different from someone who did not do any raid and trial side story contents compared to if their WoL completed all Raid and trial content before Endwalker.

I mean we basically do know what type of time travel rules FFXIV operates, it's whatever the writers choose for it be in their story.

For stuff like Alexander and Endwalker, they follow causal loops/predestination time travel, while stuff like G'raha Tia and ShadowBringers follow multiverse-theory/parallel timeline creation rules. I doubt we'll ever get an exact explanation of why time travel in FFXIV is sometimes the former and other times the latter, as they are plot devices in service of the narrative not the other way around.