This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[GrizzlyTank]

It doesn't make it clear, it literally talks about the former bearer, which is, by meaning of the word bearer, the person who carried it on them, the person in whose possession it was. Which was not Azem until recently.
This has nothing to do with being pedantic, it has something to do with wrong terminology being used in this instance. The former bearer could never be Azem. It is impossible, so it is wrong to call them that.

In this case bearer would mean something like bearing a badge or banner. Yes Emet made the crystal, yes he carried it around. But he never bore it himself, for he would always be the one bearing the Emet-Selch crystal.

While Azem, even though he/she left the seat, and never were given a physical possession of the crystal before we got it, bore his/her title always.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

In this case bearer would mean something like bearing a badge or banner. Yes Emet made the crystal, yes he carried it around. But he never bore it himself, for he would always be the one bearing the Emet-Selch crystal.

While Azem, even though he/she left the seat, and never were given a physical possession of the crystal before we got it, bore his/her title always.

Yeah, this was how I read that.

Comprehension issues maybe? English is a dumb language even when written properly.

[Tama-Kanzashi]

In this case bearer would mean something like bearing a badge or banner. Yes Emet made the crystal, yes he carried it around. But he never bore it himself, for he would always be the one bearing the Emet-Selch crystal.

While Azem, even though he/she left the seat, and never were given a physical possession of the crystal, until we got it, bore his/her title always.

That is not right either, since Azem very much definitely lost their title as Azem when they left the Convocation.
Likening the crystal to a badge or a banner is not working as well as you think it does, as the crystal has a purpose and is not just an object to be stuck on your lapel as a symbol. The Convocation crystals served as vessels for memories. And the Azem crystal has a copy of Azem's personal magic pasted into it as a personal gift from Emet-Selch to them. It was never meant as a symbolic object like a badge or a banner, it has a function.

Also the game never talks about the bearer of the title, it very much says the bearer of the crystal. As in, the object. The little tide-pod with the invocation in it. The forbidden magic gummy.
The title is absolutely inconsequential for the purpose of the crystal. The wording of what Hydaelyn says there is not.

And now before the argument "but they are always referred to as Azem!" pops up - it is the game's way of avoiding the hassle that would be giving a name to a character that is influenced by what you play as. Just like we do not get to see their face.

If you want to go into the "badge" direction, sure, be my guest - Emet-Selch really created that thing as a badge of honor to remember his cool friend.

[Rulakir]

Just going to add that at least in FR and DE the person being referred to is gendered to the WoL, so you know for certain Hydaelyn is speaking of their Azem. Regardless, the other languages refer to the creator of the magic not who 'bore' the crystal. It made me think whoever wrote that dialog forgot that Emet had created it in secret.

[Ransu]

Whilst I'm not going to endure EW again to find dialogue, there is one particular example that immediately comes to mind from the cutscene post Mothercrystal trial:

EN: "When the way forward is hidden even from the mind's eye, look not to the invocation, but within yourself. These were the words of the crystal's original bearer."

DE: "Walk confidently towards your goal, following the dearest wish in your heart. Only then those powers will unfurl. Those were the words of the creator of this magic." (Original DE translated by Tama.)

The EN translation was pretty confusing honestly, as the original bearer of the crystal was Emet-Selch...not Azem. Yet the DE dialogue makes it clear that Hydaelyn is in fact referencing Azem here. Perhaps you could enlighten me with the JP dialogue for comparison as I'd like to know with certainty who is meant to be being referenced here.

I don't understand what you find confusing about the EN version there...Its literally saying the same thing as your DE translation.

[Rulakir]

I don't understand what you find confusing about the EN version there...Its literally saying the same thing as your DE translation.

The fact you think this brings your grasp of English into question let alone any other language. Every response of yours has been disingenuous and not in good faith. I don't know what skin you have in this game, but when all you're doing is repeating the same response, i.e. "it's literally the same" when it isn't, it doesn't strengthen your argument it just makes it look like you have none.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Crystal's original bearer = Emet-Selch

Creator of this magic = Azem

Maybe that clears it up for you.

You guys aren't very good at subtleties are you?

[GrizzlyTank]

You guys aren't very good at subtleties are you?

It's amusing seeing 4-6 of them instantly back each other up on being pedantic.

[Lauront]

You can be as snarky about it as you like, the wording is entirely different and introduces significantly greater ambiguity with the EN version, because of the lore behind these crystals. "Subtlety" is not what is at work here - it is an entirely different choice on what to focus on, i.e. the person who held the crystal vs the spell's creator. No amount of squid ink is going to change that.

[Striker44]

Personally, I just don't see what the big deal is. So, one word of one version says something a little different than one word of another? Who cares? Has society really sunk that low that we're looking at every single word to find a reason to bring someone down or attack someone? How about we grow up a little?

Perhaps it's because I grew up in an age where translations like "All your base are belong to us" and "You are winner" were common, so I see the EN version of FFXIV as just plain fine. Or perhaps it's because I'm relaxing playing a game and don't take everything so ultra-seriously that any little word of difference throws my mind insane. *Shrugs shoulders*

I just encourage people to chill out a bit and have fun playing a game.