Revelations from Patch 6.4: The Dark Throne

[WhiteArchmage]

Scattered MSQ thoughts, part one:

Politics with Garlemald is presented as well as I could expect as for in this game, though once more I am frustrated at Trapper's Den and how once again the former slave class that built Garlemald and controls the cerulean and has the magitek expertise that is earning this trade deal is shoved out of the political power in favor of Imperial Era senators (who are realistically self-sabotaging and delusional in their demands and separated themselves from the bulk of their people in nominally more luxurious quarters. That got an eye roll and laugh as well as their obstinate political maneuvering to hold the shreds of what they see as their power while ignorant of outside physical realities and logistics) Still conditioned by the imperialist mindset that destroyed most of their people, turned their country into an abomination, and created misery, genocide, and destruction across all of Ilsabard and Othard. Sadly just like in Werlyt 2.0 no option to tell them the Empire was an Ascian's evil. Cynically wondering what the corruption and brain-drain will look like in Garlemald in a decade and if it can avoid backsliding into another dictatorship that destroys itself and threatens the peace of its neighbors, but this is the best option for this batch of Garleans.

Jullus (and his VA) is yet again the highlight of this zone.

I will say about

Garlemald, that it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The people in charge seem to always be ultra-nationalists and for a moment I was sure that the twist was that they were hoarding the resources meant for the common people, instead of just worrying about their cultural identity. A piece of me was going "are you worried that we'd steal all your warmachina and resources and re-traumatize your people because that's what YOU'D do in this position?"

Also, I've seen other people saying about Pandae and... I disagree. Also because I'm one of six people who was still interested in the Heart of Sabik:

I don't think we were meant to see Athena as a "victim" of the auracite. The narrative even goes out of its way to say that even if it drove her desires to the extreme, they were still HERS, and it was still HER in there. And I love that they went back to explain it since it was one of those "We'll throw this at the wall and say how important this is and now we kinda forgot all about it among all these others plot points we also threw at the wall." things from the 2.x era. The fact that it also ties with my favorite side-story is a bonus.

[Denishia]

I will say about

Garlemald, that it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The people in charge seem to always be ultra-nationalists and for a moment I was sure that the twist was that they were hoarding the resources meant for the common people, instead of just worrying about their cultural identity. A piece of me was going "are you worried that we'd steal all your warmachina and resources and re-traumatize your people because that's what YOU'D do in this position?"

Like Quintus and irl politicians of that like, the majority of it is projection, so it's very realistic. XIV could be a lot worse in how it tackles imperialism and colonialism, which is why my frustrations exist instead of not engaging.

Also, I've seen other people saying about Pandae and... I disagree. Also because I'm one of six people who was still interested in the Heart of Sabik:

I don't think we were meant to see Athena as a "victim" of the auracite. The narrative even goes out of its way to say that even if it drove her desires to the extreme, they were still HERS, and it was still HER in there. And I love that they went back to explain it since it was one of those "We'll throw this at the wall and say how important this is and now we kinda forgot all about it among all these others plot points we also threw at the wall." things from the 2.x era. The fact that it also ties with my favorite side-story is a bonus.

re: Athena

that they didn't go into a full co-op and blame everything on some parasitic entity from Sabik meteorite -and that for a second I thought they would- was delightfully refreshing. I was terrified they would, because XIV does have a habit of "feel sorry for Mr. War Crimes" and it's rare for a mother in fiction to stay evil. And while I wasn't in the six that cared about the Heart of Sabik, Ultima from Ivalice was a dangling plot thread that felt it wasn't at all integrated into the world-building, weirdly ignored, so I was already happy when the third dialogue option mentioned it and then p12 centered on it.

I'm still thankful and relieved that the cause of the Final Days wasn't a Lavos or Jenova type outside malevolent evil but instead Meteion was an eventual product of one of the fundamental flaws in the home society returning home. So if the Heart of Sabik is this side stories' threat that returns for a trial series or raid's final threat in 7.0 or 8.0, the trope would please instead of annoy me. As long as the main MSQ plot doesn't hang on the extraterrestrial threat I like it.

[Denishia]

And Part Two, because I can't be terse and there's no overlap between friends who care about diving into analysis and story and plays XIV (my real temptation to start playing GW2):

When Duarante and Golbez first shown (and the not predicted twist that Golbez is the dead friend), I called them Edward and Alphonse Elric, especially as they're hiding who's in the empty suit. The depth of obfuscation is a choice. People predict Golbez was the 13th's Ardbert, and while I loathe the idea of our WoL collecting and retaining Azem shards with the fury of a thousand suns, I fear the temptation for creating that wretched power-up plot is too tempting. At least they constantly reaffirm in this Void arc and Pandae how new lives create new identities and that the souls swallowed inside retain their own distinct self-hood. Some XIV job lore does this too but I would rather re-frame as active choices to carry on legacy than physical pieces of souls absorbed into Super-Azem Blob. Speaking of which, the Azem summon party animation has lost the coolness factor from 5.0 and is overused and boring but inescapable gameplay mechanic.

Not having the name Theodore anywhere was a good choice, strengthening the separation.

I doubted Zero = Zeromus would happen. Glad to be right. Wonder if Zeromus was the 13th's initial Azem Reborn like the First's FFI WoL.

Lopporit section was stronger than I thought it'd be, enjoyed the humor balance.

The extended Dragonspeak discussion with Azdaja and Vrtra was great, I love the Nidhogg is rude to all his siblings, I desperately need a sibling council scene where Hraesvalgr interacts with Vrtra (ideally we'd have Tiamat and Azdaja). That it was her choice (under duress) to stave off corruption was a nice twist if a little much like Tiamat. Azdaja look vague vulture-esque. I love vultures. Still give her 30% max chance of surviving. Sadness.

Vrtra has the best character development and actualization and I'll miss him in 7.0.

The Red Moon had a great atmospheric vibe. Not just music. (6.X has been especially fun because my sister who doesn't play XIV recently completed IV/AfterYears. So I show her parts and she geeks out. She loves IV Golbez, btw.)

Only have done the Golbez fight once but I do like that it was brute force magic and meteors without feeling like other ice/fire combo fights or meteor mechanic spams - it didn't feel like a copy of a Nael or SoS or that mage from CLL.

[Tehmon]

Just a few thoughts.

MSQ

At the end of Aitascope, Asahi drags Amon into the void with him (somehow, I'm still not sure how that happened lmao). The whole post-patch has been about the void. Are you telling me they are not going to make an appearance? I think people would love to beat the shit out of Asahi, perhaps as a dungeon boss.

Unless I'm misremembering, Y'shtola implied that we'll be gathering light (or whatever) in the First so we can deal with Zeromus. Are we going to be guzzling some light juice again and spewing it at the boss? I'm not sure if I'm confident it'll work again. Either way, now that the First is back on the table, I am confident that by the end of 6.5 a way to travel to the First will be open. Will Cylva and Unukalhai finally get something to do though? The answer is no.

Panda Raid

I didn't think the Heart of Sabik stuff really dampened Athena's evil. Lahabrea made it very clear that Athena's true colors were shown, and it wasn't just the auracite that made her that way. In the end, her reasoning wasn't far off from Hermes' either, and he certainly didn't need auracite to go absolutely nuts. It's clearly evident that all ancients are capable of horrendous feats if they are pushed to that point or see that it is just for the sake of the star.

The ending cutscene of Themis in the aetherial sea puzzles me. What exactly was he talking about regarding the course of the star or whatnot? And the light, was that supposed to be a rebirth or him letting go of his senses and going to slumber so to speak? If he got reborn immediately, that was pretty fast honestly.. it took Gaia/Loghrif like a hundred years to be reborn. Guess there's no official '' waiting in line '' for rebirths and instead it's just random.

[Lunaxia]

I want to clarify, since my post keeps being touched on here; I am aware Lahabrea highlighted that Athena's madness was not entirely the fault of auracite. However, I do still resent the necessity of its implication on her behaviour overall regardless, because there's no doubt it would have pushed her further to some degree even if her baseline was already fairly wild, and there's such a scarcity of compelling female villains who are permitted to be as unapologetically power hungry and remorseless as their male counterparts as it is (to say nothing of mothers), it was pretty disappointing to see they felt it necessary to apply it here of all places.

I don't begrudge the fans who wanted to hear about Sabik, either - it just felt very clumsy and deliberate and at the cost of the narrative rather than an organic tie-in, and again, I think it would have worked better elsewhere.

There's been a running theme for a while now of focusing more on fanservice than on the story, and it gets very wearying.

[Yuella]

If you talk to Claudien after finishing the raids, the first option gives you a cutscene that provides more information about that thing.

[Garnix]

Just finished all quests except the island sanctuary

MSQ:
Not much to say honestly.
What happened with Azdaja was quite predictable.
So was the arrival of Zeromus.
And obviously, Zero is not becoming Zeromus and that was a red herring since the beginning. Or maybe they will merge later on.
They really want to remind us about Zenos during each patch. I am really starting to think he will make his come back somehow.

Also....a bit surprised to see the hints that both Thancred and Urianger are invited for the 7.0 launch party. I was expecting one or two of them to not tag along anymore due to the fact they had so much character development already.


Panda:
With it being advertised as the Lahabrea raid, I expected two things out of Panda when starting it back in 6.0:
- some closure on the Heart of Sabik
- an explanation regarding how Themis, Hephaistos and Hades were the only 3 survivors of the sundering

I went out of it expecting a new storyline to emerge to continue on the Heart of Sabik's extraterrestrial origins.
And I still do not know how the guys survived.
And, unlike Hades, nothing was yet retconned to explain why they do not remember us.


Tataru:
Cute. Forgetable, but cute.


Overall:
Still not sure where we are heading next...
Meracydia is still an option I guess (Especially if we bring back Azdaja and with Tiamat being...somewhere...)
But now I also would be a bit surprised if we are not heading back around Dalmasca in 7.X.
Between the revelations of the Heart of Sabik, and Erenville insisting on going back to his hometown (and knowing that the Viera Rava clan originates from the Golmore Jungle).
So, wouldn't really be surprised if they just decide to remove all those clouds from the world map and explore those parts before really moving on. (places like, Lea Monde, Corvos, and the rest of Ilsabard)
Or they could just make Zeromus win and make us travel back through time again to find a way to beat him.

[KageTokage]

an explanation regarding how Themis, Hephaistos and Hades were the only 3 survivors of the sundering

There's been two references to such, though one was in a live letter Q/A, and the other was in the Emet-Selch story that featured as a cross-over event in the Nier mobile game.

The former suggested that Venat might've purposefully let the unsundered escape due to knowing of their involvement in the causal loop which is...yeah.

The latter just states that Emet-Selch and company "barely survived" by mustering all of their strength to resist the effects of the Sundering.