Void Quests and Endwalker Patches

[Iscah]

My guess, the MSQ Crew will find something promising, but for whatever reason not be able to fully focus on it, so it gets handballed to CB&U who can run with it to its natural conclusion, possibly with the aid of one of the MSQ Crew. It lets both sides still do their thing without getting hamstrung by the fact that the people trying to un-Void the Void are off in their own silo.

This is prettymuch my line of thinking, with the potential addition of Team Eden, ready to work out how to invert the process they used for revitalising the Empty.

With the possibility that MSQ will also lead to creating a new bridge between worlds – whether purely between Source and First or some kind of free travel between dimensions – that also gives us the means to help Zero directly connect up with the others: from the Thirteenth through the Atomos portal to Source, then this theoretical new travel method to First, if more direct travel is not available – and vice versa to get the others into the Void more easily than the two-person voidgate spell they were using before.

Or perhaps it is simpler for the team from the First to tunnel into the Thirteenth and meet with Zero that way. Though on the other hand, that means Taynor and Unukalhai are tied up with the spell, and also physical distance may still apply – it's not much good tunnelling into void-Lakeland/Mor Dhona if Zero is over in void-Thavnair.

[Necrotica]

They have used the void as a plot hook in so many different areas of the game it will be hard to tie them all together. I assume it will leave off similar to how we 'fixed' the first. Everything will get better in time but it will take a bazillion years and we won't see it in game.

We could just leave a portal open but have it pointed at a magical blender. Void beings come through and die here so that their aether enters our reincarnation cycle instead of being stuck in theirs.

[Cassar]

I was thinking, maybe this could work similarly to the Dragoon quests in ARR. If you did them, you would've met Estinien earlier and your dialogue with him would be a little bit different when you meet him in MSQ. I understand the deal with the void is a bit more complicated because with the Dragoon quests there wasn't really any meaningful change (as far as I remember at least), so the story would make sense regardless of whether you did them or not. Regardless, the main argument I see against having Unukalhai show up and explaining the situation to the WoL (in case they didn't do warring triad) is that it wouldn't make sense since it was the WoL who helped him to begin with, so it would be weird to go back and do those quests after the fact. But by the same token, if you already met Estinien in the MSQ and go back to do the Dragoon quests, he still has the same dialogue and still doesn't know who you are.

If the devs are fine with this sort of weird thing happening (which, let's be honest, it's kinda inevitable) then I think they wouldn't mind doing the same for Unukalhai/Cylva.

[Blindheart]

Small nerco revive of this thread. 6.4 spoilers

At the end Y’shtolas plan appears to be going into the first to get light, but she also does not have a way to travel to other shards. These void quests show the team on the first can open voidgates so they can clearly access the 13th, they just could not survive inside at the time. We now have that power with our warding scales and we could bring some along for this team.

We currently do not have any useful gates on the source for us to all meet up inside somewhere, but surely Unukalhai can learn the spell for opening up the voidgates and we can shuttle him back to the source with the crystal again and he can teach Y’shtola. She surely can use her recently gained knowledge to make stable gates with atmos for both sides. The we can link up the 1st and the source and maybe setup a travel hub in Zeros domain.

[Lyth]

At the end Y’shtolas plan appears to be going into the first to get light, but she also does not have a way to travel to other shards. These void quests show the team on the first can open voidgates so they can clearly access the 13th, they just could not survive inside at the time. We now have that power with our warding scales and we could bring some along for this team.

We currently do not have any useful gates on the source for us to all meet up inside somewhere, but surely Unukalhai can learn the spell for opening up the voidgates and we can shuttle him back to the source with the crystal again and he can teach Y’shtola. She surely can use her recently gained knowledge to make stable gates with atmos for both sides. The we can link up the 1st and the source and maybe setup a travel hub in Zeros domain.

Also worth remembering, in relation to this:

FFXIV's 8th 14-hour broadcast, 07/10/22

Gaia/Loghrif's role in the story isn't complete, and will show up again at some point in the future.

Transcript Reference

[RyuDragnier]

Small nerco revive of this thread. 6.4 spoilers

At the end Y’shtolas plan appears to be going into the first to get light, but she also does not have a way to travel to other shards. These void quests show the team on the first can open voidgates so they can clearly access the 13th, they just could not survive inside at the time. We now have that power with our warding scales and we could bring some along for this team.

We currently do not have any useful gates on the source for us to all meet up inside somewhere, but surely Unukalhai can learn the spell for opening up the voidgates and we can shuttle him back to the source with the crystal again and he can teach Y’shtola. She surely can use her recently gained knowledge to make stable gates with atmos for both sides. The we can link up the 1st and the source and maybe setup a travel hub in Zeros domain.

Problem with that...

The First team doing that is considered part of the role quests, so it's not knowledge a player who hasn't maxed them out would have. This also means the devs can't use Unukalhai to help with matters without making the role quests mandatory...unless they focus on only two people we know of on the First, one of whom is associated with optional content they can easily make mandatory. I speak of course of Gaia. Gaia has the power of darkness, and could easily open up a void rift, with them bring Ryne to help control the light. This would require Eden becoming mandatory, but anybody can unlock and complete it without much effort.

[Cleretic]

I think it's always pretty useful to look at things from the perspective of 'what do the writers seem to want out of this', and I think the 6.4 development really helps in making me pretty confident about that.

I think they're essentially setting up shard travel to sit comfortably in the 'maybe later' pile. Y'shtola's reached the point where, essentially, the theory is sound but we're just not in the state where it can be put into practice; the circumstances that allow for voidgates between the Source and Thirteenth just aren't present between other shards, even if we're now closer to understanding why they're happening in the first place.

I think that tracks for what the writers may want to do with this, because it serves two purposes:
1. Gives Y'shtola a long-term potential goal and arc; she's always sort of lacked that, and this would do a good job at solving it, even/especially if it takes her out of the 'Core Crew' for a while.
2. Lets the notion of exploring other shards sit as a long-term possibility, but not one that's going to happen immediately; essentially, to put it out of mind while we focus on going to the New World, or Meracydia or whatever. A hook for future expansions, but not the IMMEDIATE future expansion.

It also, as a side benefit, clears the path so that the OP's concern is DEFINTIELY alleviated; no, Y'shtola and the MSQ Crew aren't going to interfere with CB&U, they can do their own things without mandating crossover in the process.

[Turethir]

This'd be an issue if the 13th became a bigger setting in the story, but I don't think it will, now or in the distant future. We will most likely be done with rescuing (or failing to rescue) Azdaja and dealing with Golbez in the next two patches, and then Zero, if she is still alive and kicking, will most likely stay behind to try and make the 13th her home again. Then can more content be added to the void questline as side content that will take into consideration what the MSQ has accomplished.

This is what I thought, too. If Zero doesn't stick with us then she'd be perfect to be involved in a continuation of the Void Quests.

I think it's always pretty useful to look at things from the perspective of 'what do the writers seem to want out of this', and I think the 6.4 development really helps in making me pretty confident about that.

Agreed - Y'shtola has had a lot of screentime lately and I wouldn't be surprised if she sits out an expansion while she works on shard travel. Perhaps we'll pick this up again in 7.4/7.5 in the lead-up to 8.0. Either way, when we do go to a new shard I'd strongly expect her to go with us on that adventure - it's her whole thing, after all.