Regulators principles

[Astralia]

Hi fellow players and lore fans !

I was asking myself a few questions about the principles behind the regulators and its actual effects.

We know their basic function is storing souls, and with the souls of the deceased they can live as long as they have souls stored in their central unit. We know too with the Arcadian they can store souls of monsters and beasts, and that's where I'm coming from:

it looks to me kinda the same thing as what happens between Ysayle and Shiva ?

Even if Ysayle needed some crystals in some cases to compensate the aether she did not have in sufficiently large quantities... (though if I remember correctly, after passing through the barrier of Azys Lla, she didn't have crystals to transform and destroy that empire airship, so not to say it's kind of a plothole, but crystals don't seem always needed aside from bringing the missing aether)

Though I'm still wondering why and how the body of the fighter in the Arcadian can adapt to such physical changes, even if the price to pay is great, it seems to be soul enhancement or "fusion" of souls like that of the reaper and its master. In the case of the reaper it seems more like the avatar or void creatures is trapped or called through the soul crystal...

[Cleretic]

The primal Shiva wasn't 'Ysayle combining with the soul of Shiva'. In fact it's an actual plot point that the soul of Shiva is directly accounted for and observed, and that she doesn't have it; Shiva's soul is still with Hraesvelgr. The primal Shiva is Ysayle summoning a primal just the same as any other, except in her case she believed herself to be the figure reincarnate instead of that figure being external.

Also, she transformed into Shiva that final time by using her Crystal of Light, which showed that she was in fact a 'chosen by Hydaelyn Warrior of Light' and not just a revolutionary cult leader. Again, this is an actual plot point. (She also didn't really destroy the airship, just damaged it enough to force a landing while failing to really harm anything or anyone inside, but that's a separate complaint.)


You are right, though, that the closest thing we've seen to the Arcadion's fighters before now is Reaper's Enshroud form, but the smaller details don't line up enough to use it as a comparison point. While we still don't know if the Reaper's Avatar is inside the soul crystal or if the soul crystal is a 'link' to the Avatar who's just off in the Thirteenth, we do know that Reaper is a stupid dangerous job and that the Enshroud form is the most dangerous part of it. It's largely for different reasons, though; the Arcadion's fighters can control those souls just fine and just happen to develop long-term health issues because of it, while Reapers constantly have to control the Avatar to stop it eating their soul, aether, and/or possibly body.

[Astralia]

I quoted Ysayle cuz she seemed to be a special case among primal invocations but I guess it's more complicated due to those plot holes as you explained

But indeed, I think Arcadion's fighter would be closer to reaper's enshrouded as I guessed. And I agree with you, it's an absurdly dangerous job. But to me it's dangerous because of the avatar link. Not that I want a lore reason for everything, but what other part of the job could be dangerous with the reaper ? Its basic skills with scythes makes it a basic fighter, maybe with its dashing skill when it jumps through its gates ? or its black energy spheres ? I'm not this much familiar with that job

[Turnintino]

but I guess it's more complicated due to those plot holes as you explained

This isn't what a plot hole is. It is the opposite of a plot hole, in fact; it's a plot point.

[Vallavia]

Hi fellow players and lore fans !

I was asking myself a few questions about the principles behind the regulators and its actual effects.

We know their basic function is storing souls, and with the souls of the deceased they can live as long as they have souls stored in their central unit. We know too with the Arcadian they can store souls of monsters and beasts, and that's where I'm coming from:

it looks to me kinda the same thing as what happens between Ysayle and Shiva ?

Even if Ysayle needed some crystals in some cases to compensate the aether she did not have in sufficiently large quantities... (though if I remember correctly, after passing through the barrier of Azys Lla, she didn't have crystals to transform and destroy that empire airship, so not to say it's kind of a plothole, but crystals don't seem always needed aside from bringing the missing aether)

Though I'm still wondering why and how the body of the fighter in the Arcadian can adapt to such physical changes, even if the price to pay is great, it seems to be soul enhancement or "fusion" of souls like that of the reaper and its master. In the case of the reaper it seems more like the avatar or void creatures is trapped or called through the soul crystal...

The others in this thread have already addressed it, but you're operating on a completely different set of facts from what's presented in the game to manufacture evidence for a parallel that doesn't exist, and dismissing any textual evidence contrary to it as a 'plot hole' instead of, well, 'things that were plainly presented in the game'. This makes it difficult to understand your question as the premise isn't factual.

If I am understanding correctly, though, I would assert that the 'uncharted waters' of it all is very intentional on a narrative level, as is everything in Alexandria: we are in completely new territory and the kinds of soul-crafting and technology they're currently doing there are beyond the wildest imaginings of anyone on the Source before the Alexandrians arrived. This is kind of a major theme in the latter third of the Dawntrail MSQ; while it leaves a few open questions on the precise morality and necessity of it, it's also very clear that the narrative considers the sheer scale of the soul manipulation in Alexandria as an affront to nature, and the whole premise of Arcadion is that we're entering on a wager that we can end the practice in the arena. This is all to say that the mechanisms of this technology are completely novel by design.

[Cleretic]

This is kind of a major theme in the latter third of the Dawntrail MSQ; while it leaves a few open questions on the precise morality and necessity of it, it's also very clear that the narrative considers the sheer scale of the soul manipulation in Alexandria as an affront to nature, and the whole premise of Arcadion is that we're entering on a wager that we can end the practice in the arena. This is all to say that the mechanisms of this technology are completely novel by design.

While we haven't discussed it here, the social elements also make it very clear that even the parallels we do have do more to show how different things are than any similarities.

Like I said, the closest comparison to the feral soul situation is Reapers, even if the specific details are different; the gist of it should apply, in the same way that we can generally find a lot of parallels between Vipers, Samurai and Dragoons. Yet Reapers are loathed and horrified pariahs from every society; the Arcadion's fighters are celebrities. It's not just that the material norms are mostly out the window, it's that the social norms mostly are too.

[innis31]

As long as the "fusions" don't cause mental issues I can't really see the use of feral souls as a bad thing.

[Dikatis]

As long as the "fusions" don't cause mental issues I can't really see the use of feral souls as a bad thing.

Have you done the Arcadion raids at all? Because they're literally all about this. Nevermind the Resident Evil-style horror show of Yuweyawata Field Station.

[Cleretic]

Have you done the Arcadion raids at all? Because they're literally all about this. Nevermind the Resident Evil-style horror show of Yuweyawata Field Station.

Oh, but those aren't mental issues. (...mostly; that second Yuweyawata boss isn't doing so hot, but that might be a different problem.) Those are squarely on the physical, or are caused by an entirely different vein of experiments.

The Arcadion's fighters are facing a condition that's poorly understood and largely kept under wraps, but all evidence we have suggests the symptoms are physical. (And soul-ular, it's kinda hard to tell if souls count as 'physical' enough to be said to be exhibiting physical symptoms in FFXIV.) That's not mental, and for some reason, that seem to matter to this person.

[innis31]

Well when you could upload yourself into a new body the physical would mean less then the mental but thats more of a transhumanism thing.