New Relic Questline Prediction.

[Jennah]

The release schedule for the Island Sanctuary is exactly the release schedule for the relic stuff. I'm personally convinced they're going to be one and the same.

The other possibility is that there literally won't be a New Neo Eureka, and from many quarters there will be much rejoicing.

[Unholychinchilla]

I'll be disappointed if Thavnair doesn't have something to do with the relic this time. Thavnairian alchemy played a big role in the Zodiac and Anima Weapon chain and a small one on the Resistance weapons chain. It'd be sad if the relics for the expansion that actually takes us to Thavnair did not have a connection.

[Seraphor]

the MSQ might linger there for the remainder of the .X ...

My personal bets are in that the Void will be the setting for the new ... Trial series...

Mostly likely both. MSQ and the trial series.

We're going to the Void partially, or even mostly, in search of Azdaja.
Golbez is known for having a pet Shadow Dragon.
This isn't a coincidence.

Golbez is going to be heavily tied to the MSQ for the 6.x patches, and at the same time, he has the perfect candidates for the trial series.
So we're most likely going to get the trial series as part of the MSQ, much like 2.x.

My expectation is: three of the four archfiends will be trials, the fourth will be a dungeon boss, the remaining trial will be against Azdaja herself. Golbez will be a solo duty in 6.5, after which we see his face and true identity (an original character), and the MSQ leaves the Void. Golbez under his new alias then becomes the main villain for 7.0 as he comes to and poses a threat to the source.
There's still so much ground to cover before we know what form that threat takes, but as an early guess: the 6.x MSQ ends with us unlocking shard travel, and new-Golbez uses this new ability to bring chaos to the source in an effort to save the thirteenth, and revenge against us for killing the archfiends.

[LaylaTsarra]

The release schedule for the Island Sanctuary is exactly the release schedule for the relic stuff. I'm personally convinced they're going to be one and the same.

They haven't really said anything about relic to date to my knowledge. I don't believe we'll be getting relic zones like we did with Eureka and Bozja. Personally I've enjoyed those quite a bit along with the dungeons and raids associated with them.

[Denji]

i also think it'll be the relic mostly because "sparsely populated, mostly empty interconnected ruins" seems to be their modus operandi for relic stuff now.

i also² hope i'm wrong on this because i'm sick of that being our endgame.

[SeverianLyonesse]

Mostly likely both. MSQ and the trial series.

We're going to the Void partially, or even mostly, in search of Azdaja.
Golbez is known for having a pet Shadow Dragon.
This isn't a coincidence.

Golbez is going to be heavily tied to the MSQ for the 6.x patches, and at the same time, he has the perfect candidates for the trial series.
So we're most likely going to get the trial series as part of the MSQ, much like 2.x.

My expectation is: three of the four archfiends will be trials, the fourth will be a dungeon boss, the remaining trial will be against Azdaja herself. Golbez will be a solo duty in 6.5, after which we see his face and true identity (an original character), and the MSQ leaves the Void. Golbez under his new alias then becomes the main villain for 7.0 as he comes to and poses a threat to the source.
There's still so much ground to cover before we know what form that threat takes, but as an early guess: the 6.x MSQ ends with us unlocking shard travel, and new-Golbez uses this new ability to bring chaos to the source in an effort to save the thirteenth, and revenge against us for killing the archfiends.

The trial series has never been part of the MSQ. I think the fact that Golbez and the Void appear in the MSQ highly suggests that we will NOT be going there for the trial series, but somewhere else entirely.

[DixieBellOCE]

So just finished the newest story stuff and the newest raid stuff and from the feel I'm getting we are going to get some sort of Eureka/Bozja forelay into the void. Just a hunch, but would be dope if we did as I most certainly could use some demonic devil may cry style weapon for my reaper.

Thoughts?

Im calling it.

Omega themed relics. (Allagan styled)

[Vahlnir]

Im calling it.

Omega themed relics. (Allagan styled)

I'd be okay with that since GNB only got one such weapon.

[Unholychinchilla]

The trial series has never been part of the MSQ. I think the fact that Golbez and the Void appear in the MSQ highly suggests that we will NOT be going there for the trial series, but somewhere else entirely.

Technically the Primals in post ARR filled the same role. In an effort to cutdown post game msq length they made the decision to move trials out of the MSQ. If they continued with the ARR model, the MSQ would keep stopping to go deal with the Warring Triad/Auspices/weapons, much like ARR would often advance the city states story and then stop and shift over to a primal. There were at least two storylines going on in ARR.

If this time there isn't another MSQ plot thread to divert from the Golbez story they won't have the same issue so it they can keep the trials to MSQ. The lack of extra trial side story may be why we're getting sidequests like the Tataru one and Omega stuff and whatever else comes our way from the freed up resources.

While it's just speculation on my part I do feel that the delivery may vary a little since this has been the first time the .1 patch has been a new story rather than a continuation of .0.

[SeverianLyonesse]

Technically the Primals in post ARR filled the same role. In an effort to cutdown post game msq length they made the decision to move trials out of the MSQ. If they continued with the ARR model, the MSQ would keep stopping to go deal with the Warring Triad/Auspices/weapons, much like ARR would often advance the city states story and then stop and shift over to a primal. There were at least two storylines going on in ARR.

If this time there isn't another MSQ plot thread to divert from the Golbez story they won't have the same issue so it they can keep the trials to MSQ. The lack of extra trial side story may be why we're getting sidequests like the Tataru one and Omega stuff and whatever else comes our way from the freed up resources.

While it's just speculation on my part I do feel that the delivery may vary a little since this has been the first time the .1 patch has been a new story rather than a continuation of .0.

Eh, I just am getting the impression that:

(a) Golbez is not going to be around long as a villain--I expect us to get an original villain for the next arc, likely introduced in the pre-7.0 patch cycle, leaving Golbez as a sort of prelude crony.
(b) That the four fiends can't carry a full trial series on their own--they are kind of underwhelming compared to the Warring Triad and Weapons, and feel too much like a retrod of the Four Lords.
(c) That the trial series will not take place in the Void--on top of the MSQ and Savage raids, that is a lot of similar, dark broody atmosphere, *on top of* two trials that are already really "gothy" with gothy trial mounts. In the past we have had a much more varied spread of aesthetics between the MSQ, the 8-man raids, the 24-man raids, and the trial series, which is why I am still expecting the trials to take place in a new environment.

I am betting on something from Emet-Selch's speech at the end of the game. We already are exploring the twelve (24-man raid), and the ruins beneath the Bounty (dungeons, MSQ). Island Sanctuary may eventually be tied to the South Sea Isles. I feel like the MSQ is going to further lean into Meracydia or the New World in preparation for 7.0, although a trials series could happen in either of those as a sort of introduction to those continents. The Blindfrost is also a good place to look into a trials series or relic zone.

At any rate, I am getting vibes from multiple angles that the Nidhogg/Tsukuyomi/WoL MSQ trial will be Golbez and/or the Four Fiends as a whole. That feels about as much content as I think either of them can carry. It would also be a decent shake-up of the power creep of bosses in this game by having us fight four fiends in one fight, keep design tight and dense instead of trying to stretch it out across 3 or 4 trials.

Actually, if I were to make the most reasonable guess, it seems like the "arc" of the 6.x MSQ is the search for Azdaja, who is likely Golbez's Shadow Dragon. If that be the case, then I am like 90% sure that Golbez will be the single MSQ trial. And I am about 50% sure that the Four Fiends will be the bosses in the dungeon preceding the Golbez trial. The 6.x trial series will be completely independent of the MSQ.