Revelations from Patch 6.3: Gods Revel, Lands Tremble

[Iscah]

It's your regular new-patch reflections thread!

As always, please divide your notes by quest group and hide it under spoiler tags:

{hb}Text goes here; use square brackets{/hb}

[Iscah]

Just finished MSQ.

So Golbez is in Zodiark's prison crater, implying that he is somehow Zodiark's fragment here...? And an end to life on the planet (the Thirteenth or in general) would free him from needing to exist to protect them.

The boss battles felt a bit underwhelming compared to the previous two archfiends. Cagnazzo in particular felt bit disjointed and didn't fit the music well, where the Scarmiglione fight just seems to perfectly match the hectic-ness of that music.

It's nice to see Zero opening up, and I was half-expecting they might have subverted Rubicante's death and have him recover as an ally – though that would probably undermine Zero's story arc a bit too much.

[JeanneOrnitier]

Just finished MSQ too.

I'm not sure if Golbez is a piece Zodiark, given that the camera pans down deeper into the pit at the end of the scene. That gave me the impression he plans to do something with Zodiark's thirteenth piece instead.

I can't believe I didn't anticipate him being on the moon, given the moon's importance to FF4 and Yoshi-P saying a few months ago that the moons in the shards would come up at some point.

Zero fighting as a GLD/PLD in her flashback makes me further convinced that she's supposed to be our Cecil equivalent for this Golbez arc.

Oh, writing this as a reminder for myself: I need to go back and see if Drusilla has any dialogue about the dungeon.

[Lyth]

Great patch.

MSQ

Some interesting developments.

I don't think that Golbez has a connection to Zodiark. As per the Lore Q+A last March, all fragments of Zodiark have been permanently destroyed. It's not really surprising that the moon on the Thirteenth looks identical to that on the Source, given that they are parallel versions of each other.

Perhaps given that Zodiark was at the epicenter of the Sundering, the moon may be the point at which the veil between shards is its weakest.

As usual, there were what looks like a few job-specific references to Reaper. All three all seem to be within cutscenes, however, so you should be able to review them at your leisure.

The 'Forum Messorum' (Lat. Messor = Reaper) in Lapis Manalis had a few interesting lore drops.

Dollmaster's Memorandum
Maintenance of the Galateae must be handled with the utmost of care. The delicate art of their making has long since been lost, making repairs difficult, and reproduction all but impossible. The knowledge was kept secret, passed down to those who would inherit the position of master dollmaker. That is, until one man chose to break with tradition. He claimed to be leaving on a journey in pursuit of an 'unparalleled beauty,' but we never learned the truth of it. The only thing that is certain, is the art of our forebears left with him.

(More Garlean puppetmaster references? Galatea is a Pygmalion reference, so likely a 'doll given life'.

Faded Records
Emperor Solus is convinced this magitek will spark a revolution in warfare as we know it. And as he devotes further resources to its advancement, our arts continue to fall out of favour. I fear the age of the reaper has come to an end. After all, our forebears have sacrificed for the good of the Empire. The blood spilled, the lives lost. They would dare deem us relics of a bygone era. Indeed, they believe the future lies with their 'reaper' battle armor.

(Maggie is best Reaper.)

Trainee Warning Notice
Aspirants are reminded not to approach the figures of the Pale Harvest without express permission. They should be treated with no less reverence than Galatea herself, and are hardly less dangerous. Only those who have successfully forged a pact with an avatar may spar with the Galatea Parva. They will serve to refine one's use of invocations and tactical coordination. The Galatea Magna, however, is reserved for those who are able to serve as host to their avatar. This perilous manikin is designed to push a reaper to their limits, if not beyond them. Learn to walk in death's shadow, and you shall know no fear.

(The Galataea Magna is the second boss that you fight in Lapis Manalis.)

Rubicante was great, and they did justice to his character. I can't wait to see what the Hexeyes questline adds to his backstory. I can't help but wonder if his soundtrack was a reference to the fan-made 'FF4, Appearance of Golbez's Four Lords of the Elements' (I think the corresponding orchestrion is likely the new 'Forged in Crimson'.)

Myths

The main revelation seems to be that the Twelve are related to Venat's collaborators, and the unnamed thirteenth member is the Watcher. His 'charge' who he watches over is probably the player character. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any new text yet after completing Euphrosyne. Prayers to the Twelve get redirected into the heart of the planet.

I was happy that Menphina got the final fight as well as the rabbit avatar. I particularly liked the scene with the member of the Lambs of Dalamud. I was pleasantly surprised by the council fight against Althyk and Nymeia, although in retrospect I should have predicted it from the screenshots. Nymeia seems to have an 'I win' card that probably serves as a 7 minute enrage timer, and I'd really like to see what happens if you draw out the fight that long. Doubling up on a single fight now also likely means that the final encounter of the next raid will be a surprise, since we have twelve fights in total across the three tiers.

I liked the reaction to receiving an Allagan tomestone.

As for the animals, it looks like so far we have:

Byregot: Spriggan
Rhalgr: Hawk
Azeyma: Meercat
Nald'Thal: Mummy
Menphina: Rabbit
Halone: Fenrir
Nophica: Plant? (I don't recognize this minion).
Althyk: Golem
Nymeia: Fry

I have a feeling that Deryk has some connection to the true form of the Watcher and the seventh heaven.

[Seraphor]

Great patch.
Myths

As for the animals, it looks like so far we have:
Byregot: Spriggan
Rhalgr: Hawk
Azeyma: Meercat
Nald'Thal: Mummy
Menphina: Rabbit
Halone: Fenrir
Nophica: Plant? (I don't recognize this minion).
Althyk: Golem
Nymeia: Fry

Three left:

As of now there are also an Owl and a Booby roaming around north Omphalos.
I would presume them to be Thaliak and Llymlaen respectively, based on their locations and symbolism.
That just leaves Oschon left over, and I have absolutely no idea what tiny critter involved in this questline could possibly fit the bill for him...

Other Myths thoughts:

I'm sure Dynamis was mentioned here right? Given that the gods take form according to prayers, are we looking at a Primal-like situation that uses Dynamis instead of Aether?

Also, with three deities left to fight... who or what the hell is going to be the final fight? Are we fighting the watcher?

[WhiteArchmage]

Other Myths thoughts:

I'm sure Dynamis was mentioned here right? Given that the gods take form according to prayers, are we looking at a Primal-like situation that uses Dynamis instead of Aether?

Also, with three deities left to fight... who or what the hell is going to be the final fight? Are we fighting the watcher?

I believe

That G'raha specifically mentioned Dynamis and it might have had a role in the appearances of the Twelve. Like I mentioned earlier, it sounds similar to primals, but they're also... very different from the primals we've encountered. I wouldn't discount them being aetherial constructs with a Dynamis "core" that lets them "evolve" as humanity needs them. Honestly, I kinda wanted an entire interview with the Twelve so I can take out a notepad and go "Ok, so first things first what ARE you? How much influence do you actually have on the world? Are sightings of you accidental or incidental? Did you have a hand in the myths surrounding you? How much truth is there to them, as in, are you actually related?"

And gosh now that we know the Twelve are based on Venat's group, what does that mean about Nald'Thal? Does that mean they were once one god and they were morphed into the twin aspects of the same deity by a previous civilization? What does that do to a person to suddenly be two different people?

I need answers, please let EE3 come out AFTER Myths is done with...

[Cassar]

Something interesting that this patch made me think is: When the sundering happened, it only happened on the star, not on the entire universe right? In that case, let's say someone on the First goes on a rocket ship and travels to the star Midgardsormr is from, for example. Is this the same star as the one from the Source? To what extent was the "sundering" of the star?

[Jettinson]

Hexeyes sidequest

Cagnazzo and Rubicante backstories are definitely my favorites, bored roe fisherman decides to fist fight fully armored people? We got our real Warrior here! Rubicante being an Au Ra that cares a lot for the people and uses terrifying magic, loses his brother and still get something positive from the small girl that he rescued? I love it. Even in their voidsent form they kinda have a better and more lovable approach, I felt sad with Rubi with the torch and I love how the hexeyes pretty much were close to them

[JeanneOrnitier]

Oh, writing this as a reminder for myself: I need to go back and see if Drusilla has any dialogue about the dungeon.

She does not

[WhiteArchmage]

Myths of the Realm has just been giving me lorebomb after lorebomb.

For starters, it confirms (or rather, theorizes but we know that scholar NPCs theorizing means basically confirming) that the Twelve are based on Venat's friends much like the Watcher is. They're each tasked with a purprose to inspire humanity, and not only are they inspiring them but humanity shapes them in turn, with Dalamud the hound being born AFTER it entered the collective unconscio-... JUUUUUUUUNG! *shakes fist*

Anyway, I like that the gods have been more upfront about them wanting/needing to fight us for reasons all of their own. And their changes in personality/appearance seem primal-like, and it also raises a whole HOST of questions which I'll probably write down as I gather my thoughts. Like, I assumed the marks of the Twelve were man-made, but it seems they're deifacted and placed there by the gods themselves, and at times they feel so... random... Rhalgr's is glorified, there's an entire statue behind and I could've sworn the Ala Mhigans made it... but then the ones in the Shroud barely get a mention from Gridanians, and from their placement I believed them Amdapori. Heck, the buildings that appear in Althyk's fight also look Amdapori which just further confuses me. So, are their stones invulnerable? Do the Twelve move them around if they end up in an unfortunate place post-Calamities?

And why does The Watcher not have updated dialogue after this?!