How powerful are the Elementals post-Calamity?

[Anonymoose]

Personally, I feel like the answer would - as it often does in FFXIV - lie somewhere in between. A lot of FFXIV lore works in generalities whereby exceptions can exist.

We know that the Calamity did in fact dramatically weaken the elementals in general. Whatever of the elementals' actions depended on their sustained, systemic power is off the table - hence the sudden reappearance of things like the ruins of Amdapor, which they were hiding.

But could an elemental or a few specific elementals recover enough power to pull off some of the stuff they used to do? Probably, if the plot wanted it bad enough.


As for examples, that's tougher. In most content in the game they just whisper. They've appeared in instances a couple times if I remember right, so you could infer that they might tip the scales of a limited conflict. They helped fish Y'shtola out of the lifestream and lured Odin to our confrontation. Mother Mionne was confident that if the Guardian Tree came to harm, they would still be powerful enough to cause chaos in their rage, but when the sentinels in Amdapor came to life, they didn't band together and shut them down even in a brief, sustained outburst -- they fled.

My guess is that most of them are spending what little energy they have on maintaining the Twelveswood and that exceptions would be brief and require explanation ... but it could be done.