I tried. . . .

[Davy]

Ok. I have been VERY critical of the current state of the event with some backlash.

So I decided to gather up 2 full parties and put this quote to the test:

Sharlayan scholars are now asserting that if enough Eorzeans were to entreat the gods at these sites, our combined religious devotion may well move them to act. If these claims are true, then perhaps there is still hope.

I got tired of people saying I didnt know what am talking about and I am not adventuring. (Same people that I bet would never leave the city but that's another topic).

So I spent 2.5 HOURS gathering and shouting for random people to accomplish a task.

Our goal was simple. Going off the quote, I gathered two parties and went to the two God stones and we all prayed at the same time.
Nothing happened at all. So I stressed, shouted and wasted 2.5 hours to prove something we ALL already knew. . .This event is . . . Yea 2.0 . . . .

Have fun guys/gals.

[Kitfox]

Lore posts often point into something that has already happened, like the imperial activites in the beginning etc. I just assumed that post pointed to Living on a Prayer quest.

I did try visiting my own guardian's shrine though, just to try it out. Nothing happened.

[Ryuko]

Scholars can be wrong. This may all end in the scholars and devoted Eorzeans shaking their fist at the sky and crying, "Oh, gods, why have you abandoned us in our time of need?" The gods could save you at the last moment, while also allowing the destruction to occur... for why would gods want to interfere too much?

My current theory of what might happen is this (all speculation):

Beasts and imperials push into the major cities. (I am assuming the imperials are the ones that began this process, because the beasts of Eorzea never came to our city gates before.)
The cities and perhaps the hamlets are taken by the beasts.
All humanoids are forced to abandon their cities because the waves of beasts are simply too much to defend against.
Humanoids seek shelter in the untouched hamlets, or perhaps beg their gods to help.
The gods save the humanoids somehow, by affording them shelter or using magic to protect them.
Dalamud descends, changing the landscape and cities as we know them.
The beasts that took our cities are killed by Dalamud because they are not saved by the gods.
(Perhaps the gods save a few in their effort to preserve all life, but certainly not all.)
The humanoids, unscathed, discover the wreckage of Dalamud and attempt to rebuild everything they have known, including their cities. This will set the tone for the beginning of 2.0.

Praying to the mobs causes them to spontaneously die, but how long can you keep this up? I believe the gods will help us, but not save our cities. I believe that the end cutscene will involve witnessing the beasts take the cities only to be forced out and saved by some method of the gods. I think the reason this is playing out in front of us now is so we can say, "I tried to save the city, in vain. We all did." You can feel like you were a PART of it, but despite everything, you just couldn't win.