I've been to grid, coerthas, ul'dah, LL (can't get to moh dhona (sp) but all this areas when I was exploring was raining, thundering or doing a weather effect. Wind or sandstorm. I have yet really played when the weather was "clear". Since even before this game launch I've had this feeling that the empire is the least of our worries. It isn't SE style to reveal the true bad guy so early. (least the games i've played) There is always a twist. Like take example of ff11. Sure you do fight the shadow lord and knew of him. But it turned out that the shadow lord was just a puppet or decoy to the real enemy.

off topic, one ga,e I can't wait for after seeing the demo is final fantasy vs 13. The fantasy based on reality as they call it. In the demo you see a picture That you actually see in ff11. Go to the galleries in the temple in Kazam or in the storage chamber in the secaruim. Or it was used in another game. I know I;ve seen it prior the demo.