Seriously, it's never explained why he has a kid, or who the mother is. The dude clearly didn't care about his son. So why does he exist? Just another thing in this MSQ that doesn't make sense.
@@lens_hunter It actually makes a lot of sense. Not everyone has a kid out of love, unfortunately. What I believe happened, is that he wanted to prove himself (and the world) that he could ALSO sire children, so he wasn't inferior to his father. That's more than enough reason for him, since that was his life obsession.
Normal mode spoilers: When doing the story forcthe Arcadion, you can mention to the announcer that your "simulated allies" reminds you of the endless and he notes he has *no idea* what you're talking about.
Two thought I had during Living Memory: The first is that it was sort of the inverse of Ultima Thule. Where in Ultima Thule you're bringing new life into a place desolate with despair, in Living Memory you're destroying a once vibrant civilization piece by piece. The second is an observation on Wuk Lamat. Wuk Lamat is resolved to erase the Endless, but rather than go with Cahciua's insistence that, to paraphrase Emet Selch, "they're not people so it's not murder if they're killed", she takes up a different set of Emet's words. Almost on instinct, she does for the Endless what Emet Selch asked us to do for the Ancients: Remember that they once lived.
Correction regarding the Feat of Gold: it wasn't Wuk Lamat who gave Havli too much information, it was Mablu. Mablu was the one who called Wuk Lamat "Third Promise" in front of Havli, which prompted him to double the price.
I thought it was clear that Living Memory existed under its own protective dome. That's why it doesn't have a natural sky color and can't see the sun until we shut everything off. And with that dome up, Sphere couldn't tell that the Storm Surge had ended.
@@noppornwongrassamee8941 if it has ended then the weather inside the dome wouldnt be so messed up tho no? unless merging of the worlds caused the aether in the dome to become suspended while Sphenes home world and its aether managed to stabilise in the time since the merge.
Just remember gang, this is only part 1 of 6 or 7 depending on how you count the .5 and .55 patches. Some unanswered questions (LIKE WHO ZORAAL JA FUCKED & why the relic has azems symbol on it) will more than likely be answered in the next few patches.
I desperately need to know about why the relic bears Azem's symbol. We knew Azem was up to something before the sundering after they left their position. If they forsaw an outcome where all shards could co-exist peacefully with the source and made an object to make that theory possible, they're even more of a madlad/madlass than I originally thought they were.
There is one part of the relic that worries me though. It's stated that it responded to the desire of the Milala to escape the freezing calamity, there is only one substance in the game that responds to desires and that is auracite. The pandemonium story left Auracite pretty fresh in my mind and we still don't know if it was ultima that gave it to Athena, is just a theory but if that relic is indeed mad of auracite we might face more beings of Ultimas's race.
@@henriquebarreto4552 My personal theory is exactly that. It was used to connect to different shards, but I can't help but wonder if it wasn't originally made to connect to entirely different worlds when it was made pre-sundering. It feels entirely in character for Azem's response to finding out about auracite and beings from different worlds to be "Well shit let's go see them."
My personal headcanon about Azem has to do with a boring dinner party where someone brings up their "fascinating familiar who was just visiting Elpis" and Azem quickly BS's something while Venat looks like she swallowed a bumblebee. Azem then excuses themself and escorts Venat someplace and says "Okay, what's the con? I'm not angry, I just need to know what the con is so I can help." And that what they were doing when everything went down involved making themself into a... Hope Inspiration Machine of some sort and possibly creating that device. For us. Because we would need a way to bring the Shards together that wasn't inherently destructive.
Azem is portrayed as someone who knows the future, hence the knowing of themis' guiding star the cup strikes me as the ultimate answer to rejoin the shards without the loss of life, a final happy ending if you will
My theory is that Emet-Selch made it in honor of his friend, the Traveler, as a way to journey across the rift. Perhaps it was for unsundered Ascians who still had their bodies to travel between worlds, or perhaps it became a tool to manipulate people into causing a rejoining. Mayhap it uses the same magic that Azem's crystal uses to pull people from other realms.
Well yeah, the Scions mention levin sickness might be curable with the techniques against light sickness mastered on the First, and the psychonecrosis storyline also points that way Btw now we also know why Zoraal Ja was staggering even when loaded to the brim with souls. He was probably in an advanced stage of psychonecrosis from abusing the beast soul system
@@ConsoleControlGames The game's always been a bit inconsistent with who evaporates into aether and who actually leaves behind a body. See: Ysale vs Yotsuyu.
His skin colour is also visually faded by the end - and I refuse to believe it as just a sign of age. I'm quite sure his pallid scale tone is a symptom of advanced psychonecrosis.
One thing I'm curious about: There's a final shot of Sphene's crown, powered on. At some point in the story its specifically mentioned that her crown was also a regulator. Now this could have been a cover as to why she didn't age, being an endless, and the citizens aren't supposed to know what Endless are. But it makes me wonder, if her memory is still out there. Or what implications the crown could have. Maybe it's her true soul, to be recovered? Some master key restoring Living Memory? I do wonder if there was a master backup of all endless somewhere else besides the pillars we shut down. It would make sense to have redundancies for a system that is housing something so precious and irreplaceable.
I think it was just a cover story to pacify the citizens, her entire appearance is an optical illusion. I do hope there's a backup though. I REALLY LIKED Cachiua and wish we had more of her.
A couple of the early ones are a bit of a stretch for me, but it's so nice to see someone talking about foreshadowing and possible connections for a change, instead of people who either skipped the cutscenes or cant read complaining about plot points that literally never happened. Plus a "things you might have missed" video with things I did in fact miss? Rare.
Not just plot points that never happened, but complaining about the lack of plot points that did, in fact, happen. Still confused as to why one individual seemed to think Wuk Lamat never acknowledged her faults when there's an entire speech in the middle where she does just that.
Something a number of people seem to have missed when they say the dark past of Bakool Ja Ja and his flipping to be an ally all of a sudden "out of nowhere" as I've seen it said, is that his home life being toxic AF was telegraphed almost from his first introduction. He just wants to win to prove himself, he has no plans for once he actually becomes leader. He hasn't thought that far ahead. He's just going through the motions that someone else put him up to. And he comments something in level 90 or 91 MSQ about has to do this for all his brothers and sisters, their sacrifices cannot be in vain. Again, bad family stuff. It was telegraphed loud and clear and turned out exactly as I expected (except so much worse, jfc the Skydeep Cenote) and his over-the-top bad-guy-doing-bad-things charade was him doing what he was essentially taught to do by his dad. Wuk Lamat even comments about how Bakool Ja Ja cheats and tries to undermine people and she's not sure why since he's capable, but he doesn't trust himself to be good at anything so he just rides other people's coattails instead of risking failure by doing things himself. That's been his entire life, a hot mess of imposter syndrome and survivors guilt, plus some good ol' Vauthry syndrome of being born born to be the chosen one, the savior of your people, and having the power to back that up-until it's not enough anymore and his entire world view came crashing down. He just wanted out, he even says something at the Cenote about how he'll go with us since his people are cult-like freaks who worship him (not his exact words) and wants to stop perpetuating this horror. As soon as he got the opportunity to be free of his cage of other people's expectations, he got out. Makes perfect sense.
Exactly. I learned that every good story shows and doesn't tell. But apparently, that's been flipped and everything needs to be spoon fed. I remember when I got to the Cenote scene and saying to myself, "Ohhhh so that's why he's got a chip on his shoulder." I can't imagine playing the game for that many hours and being blindsided.
I do kind of wish that the writers hadn't made them deliberately free Valigarmanda, though. I would've cashed in Krile's line about the ice being on its last legs, and have Bakool Ja Ja actually try to repair it on their own while no one's looking, then fail and run away in horror and shame to seed the face turn a bit better.
@@ConsoleControlGames The moment his father told him he was as worthless as his brothers and sisters is the moment I started sympathizing with Bakool Ja Ja (though the way in which he freaked out after being so thoroughly trounced by Wuk Lamat made me suspect something was going on at home)
@@jacobkern2060Tbf, every time BJJ does something heinous, it's been at the direct advice of Sareel Ja, Zoraal Ja's aide, every other time iirc. I wouldn't be surprised if he put BJJ up to it somehow to have Zoraal Ja gain a massive lead on the race, which would explain his frustration at Zoraal Ja choosing to stay and fight Valigarmanda instead.
There's just no way the Levin Sickness (which we saw once and, I believe, had referenced another time) won't come up again in the upcoming patch story. We were kinda busy trying to figure out how to deal with Zoraal Ja, and then Sphene, but it definitely felt like setup for something that's coming later.
The anti-tempering method from the First would balance the imbalance and cure them I bet. This would give them an opportunity to bring in Nym without the scholar storyline, because the same method is being used to cure the Tomberries.
@@doctorcis3510 Yeah, levinsickness is overaspecting of aether in a person's body...Which can likely be cured by Angelo, since overaspecting of Astral aether is what was slowly corrupting the people kept at Amh Araeng.
Frankly, considering how most of the Metaphysics in FFXIV boil down to Aether, Angelo should be able to cure pretty much any ailment that has to do with Aether.
@@wakkaseta8351 You might have to bring Levinsickness patients out of Everkeep or even out of Lost Heritage entirely. It's mentioned that the atmosphere in those places is way over charged with Lightning aether, which is the cause of Levinsickness to begin with. IOW, for Angelo to work, you have to bring the patients out to a place where the environmental aether is actually balanced. Otherwise, the environmental imbalance will be working against you, which is probably why the Alexandrians never cured it. I'm sure that'd be part of any story dealing with Levinsickness.
I personally felt it was Sphene realizing she needed to purge herself so that her Endless programming would be able to do what was needed to protect her people. This is further supported by the Alexandria Dungeon where we see how she put her own safety aside for the safety of her people. She goes out of her way to save those in trouble and in the process ends up losing her own life. Her life is then put into the Endless and she again finds herself in a situation where she comes to the conclusion that she has to put her own well-being aside to do what is needed for her people and allows her memories to be deleted so that the Endless can act without compromise. Sphene is aware that she knows what she is doing is wrong, that's why she allowed Joraal to take over, because by using a tyrant to attack and destroy other worlds it would be out of sight out of mind for her. She isn't doing the killing, it's the person who's taken over that is doing it, which still puts her in the wrong because she is just putting that burden of responsibility on someone else which later on when she chooses to erase her memories, she in essence allows her Endless programming to be the Tyrant that she used Joraal for. Lv 99, Through the Gold Gate, the Synopsis I feel leads more to suggesting that it was Sphene's will to erase her memories, not that of her Endless. "Sphene appears upon being called at the Meso Terminal,. and Wuk Lamat please for her to reconsider her course. Alas, the queen refuses to be swayed and vanishes again, but not before revealing that she will erase the memories she has as a living person, that she might shed the conscience to become a devourer of worlds." I feel if it was the otherway around it would remark on how the Endless Programming felt it necessary to erase Sphene's memories to compelte their objective but with how it's worded above it comes off more like she came to the "logical" conclusion that the only way to protect her people was to erase herself. Overall I really dig the other takes, it does bring into perspective how the two acts work together with Wuk Lamat learning and then using what she learned on her journey against Sphene, I had not considered that. Only real issue I had with Wuk's development is it feels like her cultural knowledge should have been better, if she wanted to be there for her people, you would think the things she learned would have been cultures/ideologies she already knew. Like I don't mind if they focused on her being gullible, needing training in combat and absent-minded to the different between life in the city and outside but I do think that if they had wanted to amplify her respect of the cultures of her people, she should have been more knowledgeable in those subjects rather than acting like a fish out of water.
I like the idea that Sphene's guilt allowed her to memories to be erased. But I think Zoraal Ja's control over the sentries is directly connected to his position. I agree that she wanted him to do what she couldn't, but not in the sense of her unwillingness to kill non-Alexandrians, but because she didn't have the authority. It was never a permission the program had. That's why Cachiua, was surprised Sphene was able to add someone to the guest list for Everkeep, and why we see Sphene speaking to Zoraal Ja to right before we enter; she needed his permission. Otherwise, she just could've had Zoraal Ja killed in the beginning, or killed the non-Alexandrians in her home world instead of inviting them into her country and exacerbating the situation Inviting people in to be energy in the future was her only recourse. I think if she could have removed his power or had any control besides maintaining Everkeep and Living Memory, she could have revoked Zoraal Ja's position and stopped the sentries from killing her citizens. But even her intense desire to keep them safe and the program's sole purpose being contradicted, she couldn't stop him.
200% on board that Sphene willingly erased her own memories to make conquest easier (both by not getting in the way, and so she doesnt have to feel the guilt), and not because evil robot turn off emotions. The fact that when she's brought back during the Trial she doubles down is enough to make that obvious to me. She *chose* to do this, she just doesnt want to experience it.
I definitely saw Sphene erasing her memories as a desperate attempt to reconcile her wanting to save her people (and the compulsory programming to do so no matter what) with the fact that she will inevitably have to hurt other people to save her own. A big theme of the MSQ is that you don't have to shoulder your burdens alone (something it shares with FF9, duh.) and you can see every character who fails falls into that. Bakool Ja Ja is redeemed because he accepts that he doesn't have to be a chosen one who saves everyone, Zoraal Ja and Sphene die because they can't let themselves rely on others. Regarding Wuk Lamat.... I see that sentiment a lot, but personally I can't relate. As someone who grew up in the American deep south, I've seen too many urbanites who think they know "country" but can't handle ranch life. I see the exact same behavior from Wuk Lamat. The difference is she actually makes an effort to understand life outside the big city instead of continuing to act like a sheltered brat! She learns to handle alpaca spit in her face and shit on her boots lol.
I am so glad we're finally getting videos that actually ENGAGE with the story. The discourse around this expansion's storyline has been insufferable and it's driven by people that just checked out early and didn't pay attention to anything afterwards, then wear that lack of attention as a badge of honor because clearly, had the story been good, they'd have paid attention, right? But that's just an absurd way to approach fiction. So many of the "bad writing" points that people complain about, aren't. They're SHOWING something else entirely - direct contradictions between what is stated and what actually happens. It starts with Wuk Lamat loudly proclaiming something that clearly isn't true, to Sphene acting extremely erratic because she's a memory construct of a kind person bolted onto a giant robot locust that's built to preserve an unsustainable, frankly useless system - and it's those contradictions that cause her to repeat things over and over while outwardly doing the opposite. That shot you show of her proclaiming to become the history's most brutal queen with a wide smile while tears stream down her face and her eyes tremble with horror - that is Sphene's tragedy right there. The true Sphene of the Alexandria's past has no mouth and must scream as she witnesses what is being done in her name, but everything about her from her voice to appearance to personality is puppeteered by a twisted machine that she is powerless to stop. That is also why the Queen Eternal machine has Sphene's puppet body pulled in all directions and affixed as a necklace. Sphene is a prisoner of the traumatized people that yearned for her return, twisting her into something she was not, building their entire post-war society around something that wasn't real. This theme of expectations and fake personas is coming full circle from Wuk Lamat lying to herself and to us when we first meet her, as she puts up a character of someone she thinks she has to be. THAT is why she tries to empathize with Sphene so doggedly even at the very end, even after we're bashing the giant robot to pieces - she sees herself in Sphene, where this "idol queen" act could have lead her, these good intentions that paved a golden brick road to hell. It's all there, in the visuals and the implications. Contrary to what people complain about, Dawntrail might have shown too much and explicitly told too little...
That's because not everyone has actually read a book larger than a magazine. You know the saying, you can't argue with stupid. If everything was explicitly pointed out, they'd be insulted, and since everything isn't clearly stated, they call it "bad writing". No, it's poor understanding. It's okay to be dumb. But don't tell everyone.
But doesn't Sphene straight up say in phase 2 of her boss fight, after she breaks free from said machine and becomes the one to puppet it instead, that yes, she DOES want to go down that path of her own will?
@@wakkaseta8351 Sphene has no will, not really. Her personality construct is just the pretty interface that's bolted onto the Queen Eternal system, and is slave to its main directives. However, since the construct is based on the living Queen Sphene's personality, it has its characteristics that it simply will not do - why she even needed Zoraal Ja to begin with, because it is clear Sphene herself is incapable of committing violence, think Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. That is why Queen Eternal deletes Sphene's memory construct from its system, the whole point of the Alexandria dungeon - the construct was interfering with the main directives and had to go, because Zoraal Ja the warlord had failed and there was no way forward but undertaking violence directly. As such, you simply should not believe a single word "Sphene" says. How can she act of her free will if she has none BY DESIGN? At best, she's had only some minor wiggle room within the directives, hence her erratic behavior outlined above. But she isn't alive, she's not human, she's not a person. Wuk Lamat talks to ChatGPT and thinks she's having a conversation, but in truth she is just staring in a mirror of her naive "preserve peace and happiness" ideal she started out with. That is why she does the whole "I think I understand you now" speech. It isn't aimed at Sphene at all, she is saying it to herself. That is also why you get the option 3, to just outright state to the RAM leftover Sphene construct that she's just a machine. Because she is.
@@thesunthrone Maybe, but then following your logic, Meteion, Alpha, the Ancients' Concepts, The Omicrons, and pretty much any Arcane being or instance of a person leaving behind an echo of themselves/being recreated by someone like Athena should also just be seen as ChatGPT, as they're also just constructs with memories or personalities programmed into them, not actual living beings, which would also by extension imply that the Ancients did nothing wrong after all.
One thing that I don't see people talking about is how the Milala are actually from the source. If you read the context clues in Living Memory before the shut down (or if you need to go back, just switch on NG+ to Shadowbringers or Endwalker), they talk about how the land of the Milala was a "paradise of flowers" before a "great freeze" hit, freezing even the ocean. The Great Freeze mentioned is the Fifth Umbral Calamity or the Calamity of Ice, in which a great imbalance of Ice Aether hit the source and caused untold damage. The Paradise of Flowers, we've already seen it, it's the Variable Dungeon Aloalo Island. During that dungeon, there are mentions of a civilization there that mysteriously disappeared without a trace. The Milala of that civilization used the Relic to jump to Sphene's world to escape the Fifth Umbral Calamity. This is why they (Krile's Parents) were tasked with studying the Relic and figure out how their ancestors made the jump. Also added to the fact, they realized what the end result of what Sphene and the people working on that project's end game might've been and that's why they stole the Relic and sent it and Krile to the Source via the Golden Gate.
@@ConsoleControlGames I feel like a lot of the lore did fall through the cracks and hopefully more videos like this will pop up. I think another bit of information I think about a lot is how different the Shetona, Xb'raal, and Hhetsero are from what we know about the Viera, Hrothgar, and Miqo'te. Just by visiting their mini homes you can tell that their developmental culture is different from what we know from Eorzea, Orthard, and the First. I even pointed out to my friends that they could be considered their own "clan" for each of the races
I'm noticing a lot more lore videos popping up, so I've refrained from flooding the market with the same shit with a different voice, lol. I thought showing the contrast of cultures of the races to be very interesting. It's like the difference between African American and African. I think the inclusion of all these new places, people, and ideas is what hooked me to this expansion. It wasn't my favorite, but it was just different. After speed running the MSQ in about 6 weeks, I NEEDED that.
There's also the implications of one of the Milala NPCs in Living Memory mentioning that he was from a different civilization of Milala that used the greeting Lali Ho".
The state of having too much lightning aether is the same as the over-light aspected of the First, or the Tempering in the Source. Which makes it really frustrating that the writing team forgot about the porxies. We can cure that, it's exactly what Angelo & Co were created for, and we have Alisaie with us, just a link-pearl call and maybe 2 minutes walk away! I hope that'll come up in the post-MSQ quests.
I mean.. so far the new writing team has done an amazing job of ignoring everything from past expansions. When's t he last time you've seen Aymeric? Or Raubahn? What about Hien? Master Matoya - the original one, not Y'sthola. Or, worse yet for a recent case; Zero. I get that the arc with the 13th is done but it might as well not have happened at all. We're not even one sub-patch ahead and shes completely forgotten. Likewise, dont expect Angelo to return. For whatever reason the writing teams seem to hate bringing former-expansion-things into the current one
I think the entire point of this expansion is to expand on Zero and the 13th. It's like how the Source deals with darkness and the First deals with light, but now we're seeing the other side of the same problem. That's why Zero is specifically referenced in a flashback when you meet Oblivion. This is only the first part of the long term story. If they answered every unknown right now, there wouldn't be any long term questions. As you said in your other post, we're a Godkiller--we'd just figure out where the source of the problem is and kill it, lol. And where's the fun in that without some lingering questions?
@@ConsoleControlGames Well, thats.. part of the issue I have with DT as a whole, tbh. Everything does get wrapped up in the end. The only thing they've left to build upon is the gimmick key, which while interesting, has its own assortment of issues. No more "Only the soul can traverse, not the body" stuff. No more white auracite. Now its just "Wish hard enough and a magic portal will open". They could justify that with Dynamis but I have a feeling that entire concept has already been forgotten as well. Though until 7.1 hits, we wont know what's in store for the future. I just hope, personally, Wuk Lamat gets forgotten about as fast as Lahabrea was. Preferably faster.
There's a lot of unanswered questions. Which reflection was Sphene's? Was is the 12th? If it was the 12th, how is it still there? Do we actually know if the worlds that are rejoined are destroyed? Now that we know the creator of the relic has changed are expectations on travelling to other reflections; who created the relic? Why is Azem's insignia on the relic? How did the use of the relic at the end of the game affect other reflections? Why can the relic make perfect portals? How did the relic initiate a perfect pocket rejoining? Did the creator of the relic figure out how to rejoin worlds without destroying them? How was electrope suddenly found? Are their similar metals of the other elements?
@@ConsoleControlGames And out of all the question you posed here, 7 of them - 7 out of 12, were all related to the relic. It being the 12th reflection or not, does not matter. We dealt with the threat, we will not come back to it. Why would we? Living Memory is pretty much dead save a few remaining monsters. Theres nothing to be gained from going to a dead world. As for the answer to electrope, we already KNOW the answer to why and how. The Ascians. They're responsible for rejoinings and calamities, Electrope caused one. There's your answer. ..so that basically, again leaves us with: There is nothing left to build upon from Dawntrail save the gimmick relic.
Before watching this, I did have a thought that Lamaty’i’s apparent “lack of existential horror/immediate acceptance” of the soul stuff was perhaps just an attempt at tact to not get kicked out and immediately branded as an obstacle, and it seems I’m not the only one to think that. Still, I hadn’t thought to tie it specifically to the Pelu Pelu trading
One thing I really wish they'd done is instead of having Vrtra and the dragons coming to the aid of Tural, it was the airships of Garlemald. Yes, they're war-weary and in a bad way, but it would've given the Garlean people (especially the military) something they needed: A sense of purpose, and the realization that they're not only wanted in the world, but very much NEEDED. Their militaristic ways and culture do still have a place, and that despite everything which has happened, they can still be a force to be reckoned with. Plus for the first time in living memory, they're not taking up arms as conquerors of the world, but defenders of it. Not to mention doing so would likely get them some extremely beneficial capital and trade concessions to help speed their recovery. Well, that and magitek vs. electrope would just be awesome to see. On a somewhat related note, I'd like to point out that Zoraal Ja had THIRTY YEARS to train and prepare, yet he still couldn't beat dear old dad without resorting to digital steroids. Really shows just how weak and pathetic he was compared to the Scions, and the WoL especially. Even juiced up on ridiculous amounts of aetheric meth, he got his butt kicked.
Its subtle things like this that make me roll my eyes hard at people ragging on dawntrail and didnt have a ounce of comprehension other than "wuk lamat annoying. Game sucks". I absolutely love dawntrail and cannot wait for more
1:15 while I do agree that the lesson of holding your card close to your chest is a good outlook on what Lamati'y got from this, I have to insist that in this moment it was due to the pelupelu girl (her name currently escapes me at the moment) was the one that let slip Lamat was the Third Promise. Either way this was in fact a wonderful new insight I appreciate!
SE: Dawntrail will have FF9 elements in it! DT badguys when they see a dead body: Draw and Junction 😆 I find it funny that so many people say Wuk Lamat was a weak character. She had a pretty decent arc and actually LEARNED how to be a leader along the way. She may not be the best FF14 character, but she's not as horrible as people say, imo.
So, the Feat of Reeds float is boat-shaped, like a water burial, especially those ancient Egyptian carvings. And we have the Queen sorry Vow of Resolve carried atop it, gathering souls sorry life force from those around her. They literally told us what was going on in Alexandria with other imagery. Also, i was reminded of this thanks to a Tarnished Archaeologist video. Yoshi-P really did want us to play through that Elden Ring DLC first so we'd see some of the same themes and depictions!
I feel like people who don’t get dawntrail don’t understand children’s shows. It’s very “afterschool special” story telling, and after all the doom and gloom, I was beaming with pride as Wuk Lamat grew.
It's also kind of a classic shonen archetype, too. A lot of the complaints just don't make sense though, it almost feels like people went into the expansion wanting to hate the story or, more specifically, Wuk Lamat.
Given how fast timed passed, it made it wonder if Zodiark's death is what triggered their near-calamity. We know his death released a huge amount of aether in every reflection (Confirmed in the Void in 6.x , and the Source during EW fishing quests), and if the few seconds after the dome appeared as 30 years, 400 could have easily passed in longer.
I went back and checked, I think it was between 80 and 90 seconds before the ships emerge. But 20 years prior, Krile's parents were alive and running from Preservation, so that would have had to be about 350-400 years in the past on the Alexandrian world.
@@ConsoleControlGamesit’s important to note that, according to G’raha, the time dilation isn’t stable. Sometimes it would be faster than the Source, and sometimes it’d be slower, with wildly fluctuating rates. Occasionally, though, they happen to sync up
@@Gloomdrake I think graha was referencing the time dilation for the source to the first in relation to the dilation of alexandria to the source as apparently the connection with alexandria was stable, or so i remember him stating something similar.
fantastic video, thanks for making this! I think your analysis is really on point. In regards to levin sickness, I think it might be due to more than, or something other than, the aetherial sea being tainted with levin. Electrope is a miraculous mineral, and while we've seen things in its realm (corrupted crystal, which is brought back in an aether current quest so it can be no coincidence) the fact remains that it *only* converts lightning aether to other kinds of aether. I was expecting to see pyrotrope, aerotrope, etc. - one for each element - but no. Not only that, but we're told that at first the stormy season was a few months of the year. Then it grew longer and longer. I came away with the distinct impression that it might be related to electrope use. I would have expected that converting the lightning to other forms of aether would *shorten* the storm season, but all indications seem to be the opposite. I think there is something about using electrope that increases electric aether somehow; else why would the area around Alexandria be engulfed in perpetual lightning despite being on the (previously aetherically balanced) Source? Obviously this is all guesswork and theme interpretation, but I have a suspicion that if Alexandria were to put the electrope back in the ground their levin sickness might let up. And I really liked what you said about levin sickness mirroring tempering - I absolutely agree, and I wonder if the methods used to get rid of tempering could be tweaked to address levin sickness too. Also, I still find it very interesting that Queen Sphene herself was a victim of levin sickness, as mentioned in one of the Living Memory sidequests...
Those are such good points. I couldn't figure out why the dome carried the environment with it to the Source, but now you've really got me thinking. I'm gonna have to go through every single side quest and see if there's any more information at all. Because even the way electrope was discovered seemed way too convenient to me. I just assumed had something to do with the Ascians because they will introduce a technology to a reflection in order to cause a calamity. But how could they create ore deposits? Unless they changed a different metal into electrope somehow. There's just so many questions left. A lot of people are acting like this is the entire saga, but Dawntrail is the beginning of the next phase of games. Just like we didn't have answers after completing A Realm Reborn until Endwalker, I'm guessing all of this will become apparent over the next few expansions.
@@ConsoleControlGames hear, hear! I for one can't wait for the post patches, we're going to see some things shaken up - of that I'm confident. I expect electrope to be one of those things we learn more of. At first when I reached Heritage Found and began learning what happened there, I thought of the Ascians. But looking back I think the parallels are so strong it's intended to evoke them without *being* them, if that makes sense. I'm prepared to be wrong, but I'll be surprised if Ascian involvement goes beyond the original introduction of electrope. Alexandria either escaped the calamity of a shard that rejoined (my friends' theory) or rode out a terrible but not rejoining-level calamity on a different shard (my personal inclination, heavily based on the fact that Living Memory, post-shutdown, seems to be a physical and un-rejoined place). Either way, they're not rejoined, which is what the Ascians would have preferred. So I could see the Ascians having a hand in setting the Storm Surge up, but what Alexandria does with souls would be abhorrent to even the Ascians, or so I see it. I want to know more about Preservation. If they're still around, just in hiding or elsewhere (or when...), or if they're gone. I'm hoping that's another thing we'll learn more about in the future, but who knows. I expect the key, at least, to be of paramount importance, and learning about it could well lead us to Preservation as well. And someone pointed out in a discord server I'm in that the two things off Emet-Selch's list that we've seen so far, Alzadaal's Legacy and the golden city... both lead to other shards. The void, and this yet-unconfirmed shard where Alexandria hails from. Makes me exceedingly curious about the other two items, that's for sure. And the key. One of the things I've really appreciated about this expansion is that they've leaned back into aetherology and elements instead of all the dynamis stuff lol. There are a lot of parallels to earlier things too, such as Sphene being an AI making her equivalent not just to a tempered being, but even more to a primal. Summoned for a particular purpose, unable to escape it. Preservation is set up to mirror the Ascians in a way, depending how things end up going. Even things like in Valigarmanda Ex, the fire attacks do a multi-hit and leave puddles during the fire phase, yet in ice phase they are so weak you only need 3 people. Little things, little details. I like that kind of thing XD
One thing I am curious about, not that it would have changed much with Queen Sphene...but why didn't we bring up we would have a cure for Levin sickenss? The Porxies, they are specifically made to cure Aether imbalance in people...look what it did on The First, and for the tempered of Primals...if Levin sickness is to much Levin Aether, wouldn't the Porxies be the cure?
@@xVSlashx I would REALLY like to know this as well! Like, we see a child suffering! Even if we don't think of it right away... I will be upset if this doesn't come up in the patches lol. Sure we'd have to make some modifications but it really can't be that hard!!
I think it was due to the timing. We go from Milo's house, to Resolution, part from Sphene and go to the Backroom (because that was the original plan). Then we scare off Gulool Ja and have to find him, meet Otis, find out that Sphene is an Endless, and run to tell our friends and Oblivion, when Zoraal Ja starts the attack on Tuliyollal. Then the genocide on Solution Nine immediately follows. There just wasn't any time. The next thing that HAD to be done was go after Zoraal Ja and right after beating him, Sphene takes the relic and threatens to use it to draw life force from every reflection. Levin Sickness wasn't a priority, we needed to figure out how to follow Sphene back to her reflection. Although we can log off and consider the options before logging back into the game, all those things happened one after the other for the characters. They even have to be encouraged to get some sleep between the genocide and storming Origenics. But, this is only the first part of five or six, so I'm sure we'll get to curing Levin Sickness.
Thank you, finally somebody mentions levin sickness. i was so disappointed that the WoL didn't mention how they had cured something similar on the first, I was fully expecting Angelo to be making an appearance and levin sickness to be cured in the MSQ but we saw it the once then breezed past it without even discussing this and I felt I was going mad.
There is a good core in DT....but details and execution, that is why soo many are upset because it was close to greatness the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference because of how largely unnoticed they were, means they werent presented clearly enough as a standalone story; either for a new game or if it had happened prior to ShB and EW, DT wouldve fared much better in opinion and analysis the events still have the narrative problem of having occcured after ShB and EW The lessons learned, ideas fought for and technologies/solution power gained ShB & EW: meaning: the lessons learned and arguments made by the scions against the ascians and in dead ends against metion that broken lesser lifeforms are still alive and have value.... in living memory we by action become the ascians become metion -.- furthermore it is established and implied a long travel time across the salt if the reinforcement scions were only notified with the discovery of the gate then by boat they wouldve been unable to reach tural in time in EW one of the first technologies we encounter is the experimental aetheryte travel of one way to a new location.... logically the WoL, with their high affinity for traversing between aetherytes, shouldve teleported to sharlaya picked up a duplicate setup for the destination and brought it back to tulliyollol; thus allowing reinforcements to teleport across the salt instead of traverse between ShB and EW the WoL pilots the G-Warrior of which there are at least 2 in operation, prior to EW; upon encountering the electrope airships why was Cid and also Nero not called to anaylze electrope and find counters; such as deploying a magitech field between the fleets and the dome blocking communication or better yet also sending back to the dome the status still the same signals the fleet should have been sending and thus allowing the fleets to be attacked withouth reinforcements from the dome nor zoraal ja being aware of their loss somehow the dragons, whilst they can fly interstellar distance (midgardsormr at least), they arent fast we have contact with the loporitts, the moon, access to abandoned allagan airships and spaceships and have had so for a bit now....plenty of time for some to be made operational again, like G-warrior was, the sharlayan ark is also a high speed transport craft why wasnt G-warrior or its successor brought over for the WoL to attack the fleets the time dilation, to the degree it was under the dome is ultimate a plot device; and can be kept, or weakened or removed as called for narratively the alexandrians attack by airships, airships that can pass through the dome; why build a breechable location for a counter force; especially along the RR tracks that are not going to be used by electrope-trains to transport forces by ground. the dungeon couldve been changed to the assault on the flagship airship above tulliyollol and ends with Cid and Graha hacking the ship and having the flagship send the stand down commands; the train is still modified but instead of adding flammable thermal insulative wood to the sides of steam engine...which historically ..... did sometimes blow up from their own internal runaway heat management problems... lets not make it worse. instead is plated with electrope plating so it can pass through he barrier like the airships It make sense to not use any of the above for the mere rite of succession but as soon as a shard, especially a shard that is invading appears; entire world (the Source) on deck also not having a working train running around on a loop that players can walk around on whilst in moves in shaaloni was a huge miss....Tower of Fantasy has working mmo trains. 2 tracks: 1 is the current interzone train, the other separate train is on a loop to all major settlements in the zone both those with and without aetherytes, and the birdge. the oasis aetheryte area should be expanded into tural's version of reunion (trade hub of multiple tribes, not just the fantasy bison herders; also blu nation tribes, amongst others)
This made me like dawntrail thank you. Everything I felt was missing WAS what I missed in the story because I underestimated the first half of the story and wuk lamat
This are not hidden details but aimed for mature audience, not children that only like boom-booms and pew-pews. I really like the story telling as by comments of others, you can really tell who can relate & payed attention. Simple facial expression, choices made by characters, little things so subtle but so loud if you can relate. The whole expansion is a new & fresh start, those who never experienced it wont understand. Sample: Ppl complaining Erenville's reaction to his mother. My interpretation is same as "not looking back on airport".
You know what? You're pretty amazing. There's a lot of things that didn't make sense to me and now I dislike Wuk Lamat a little less and understand why I don't like Sphene even more! I appreciate this video! Thank you!
I would argue that the first point would make sense if we are given any hint that Wuk is as intelligent as you make her out to be. Because this story lacks subtext, and is more or less taken at face value, Wuk Lamat comes across just as gullible as she is presented to be. Furthermore, the wealth of information we get was due to the Queen's Tour, Sphene freely gave us this knowledge, without Wuk's intervention. Also, great point to be made about the Aetherial Sea of the Alexandrian being dried up and the idea that Living Memory's potential to have housed all the living, had they not been pushed down to the lower levels and their souls used as battery for the Endless.
Yeah, I can see your point. I honestly thought she was an idiot until the later half. When she goes back to Tuliyollal and the Scions tell her "hey, the portal leads to Sphene's home world," and her answer was like, "Yeah, no shit--HOW do we get there?" that's when I questioned whether she was dumb or playing dumb enough to get more information. (Those NPC mid-story recaps are hilarious to me.) If you remember, Sphene didn't offer to give the tour of Everkeep or give the history of Alexandria. Lamat prompted her to do so after saying she was suspicious of Sphene. It would've more suspicious to refuse or not answer any questions. Instead, Sphene just obfuscated the truth -- she blamed Levin Sickness on herself and explained that it was because of the lightning-rich environment, while neglecting to say that she moved the citizens back under the dome, and her history lesson avoided speaking about the Endless or giving a real timeline and aging herself.
I would argue the game actually does have a decent amount of subtext, just not in the specific moments, especially in the first half. Yes, Wuk Lamat is clumsy sometimes, but her being a sheltered city girl and actually learning all these things is basically the entire point of the Rite of Succession in the first place. And her applying what she learned in the second half of the story is the subtext. She doesn't explicity say: I should use what I learned during the rite of gold to bargain! She simply applies the knowledge. I think if they made it more explicit, the hates would be rolling their eyes even moreso. Ironic considering they don't go farther that the most shallow interpretation, but would hate if the subtlety was explicitly stated
Finally, someone who actually paid the fuck attention instead of complaining about shit that was clearly explained in the story, or explained in previous expansions that people just miraculously "forgot".
In your defense, FFXIV is really good as subtly setting up themes and plot lines that pay off later. It's easy to miss them when you're focused on the main plot. On my second go through the entire game on a new character I was blown away by how much things were set up and telegraphed. This game benefits a lot with a second playthrough. Except that one playthrough takes a thousand hours...
thank you so much for this video. You actually validated some of my own theories. I dont get why so many people dismiss the story or characters when this is just part 1 of a much bigger narrative. Also can i say how cool it is to finally get some more background on the great Frost calamity and new Lala lore.
I think that while Living Memory did exist above the storm at one point, the state we find it post-MSQ in may very well be that of another shard. We can still see rainclouds above the zone, and interdimensional fusion was active when fighting Sphene. I think there's a very real possibility we're in a shard different from Alexandria's origin. It could potentially be a hook for the upcoming alliance raids.
I never considered that Living Memory would be on a different shard because it would imply that the Cenote gate is attached to a fixed location rather than a reflection. But in either case, the rainclouds in the zone would still mean that Living Memory is above that level on any reflection, relative height in which it was built. NERD ALERT: thunderclouds are the only clouds that produce thunderstorms and hail and they are in the low-altitude range. Other rainclouds heavy rainclouds range from the surface to 10,000 ft, but are unable to produce lightning. But I haven't gone full Game Theory. I haven't been on Living Memory during a thunderstorm yet. Heavy rain, but no lightning. Don't know if I wanna sit there and wait, lol.
I would still say that actual Queen Sphene that people looked up to and honored was already long gone. Heck, one of the options after the final fight was she was just a program to act as Sphene. Personally, I agree. No one would know how the real queen was, because she died at a young age. What we do know, if the Presevers are true, Sphene really did care for her people. The real villains of the story are already dead or in hiding. They did the program for Sphene to act in such matter. Heck, that whole Living Memory? They may have well be being it considering they wanted to preserve their people. That last one, though, it just occurred to me when you mentioned it: Sun rise. You mean to tell me… That entire park… was an actual safe Haven from the storm?! Like… Huh?! These are really messed up people. So the whole thing about the regulators and trying to survive… Was for nothing, cause there was a safe spot already. What I do find it personally that it was rushed was Alexandrian and the Endless. We did get our answers, but not everything was resolved and not they… just appear in the end trying to socialize. Their people have committed what’s considered a heresy towards the ones across the salt and Tural itself, but not much of a follow up has been addressed about the regulator? Something doesn’t add up. That’s what I’m hoping to see in the raid what we do and possibly in post, cause their existence… Is still a problem x.x
I think there's a huge thing people miss as it seems very unimportant. The fact that Wuk Lamat got almost killed by a Mamool Ja while a certain Dawnservant was visiting and a certain Mamool Ja displaying deep hatred for her. I'm very positive it was Zoraal Ja that tried to kill her. Most likely a foreshadowing that he is extremely jealous of her carefree nature and his burden of inheritance.
Wonderful analysis, glad I found your channel! Just my own ramblings: I think there is more to it than simply Gulool Ja being his random son. It's already brushed over how Zoraal Ja is Gulool Ja Ja's son, as blessed siblings aren't supposed to be able to produce offspring if I recall correctly - hence Zoraal Ja being called 'The Miracle', 'The Resilient Son', etc. I suspect another part of why Zoraal Ja had further disposition to his father was because he was also an adopted child, but was made to believe he was a miracle child. Heck, when I saw Gulool Ja, I couldn't help but think that he paralleled Zoraal Ja in some ways. I'd be interested to see where they go: real son, adopted son, heck maybe it quite literally is a younger Zoraal Ja. Though that would suggest the team are (or maybe were, but not anymore) setting up for some sent back in time shenanigans and I'm not sure how they would now implement it. In a very similar sense, if they were to go that route, having Bakool Ja Ja be a younger Gulool Ja Ja might have been an original idea or intention of the team. They did not expand on why a Blessed Sibling of Mamook found themself travelling Tural to unite the clans, especially being involved in ceasing the fighting between the Mamool Ja and the Xbr'aal. Having seen the future invasion of Alexandria, he would be more inclined to unite Tural against a future, unknown threat, to adopt his children and arrange the rite of succession, etc. There's more plotholes with that theory, I know, but I wouldn't be surprised if so many things have been left open so they can navigate what the player base liked and didn't and fill the right holes accordingly? I didn't love nor hate DT's MSQ. I thought there were wonderful moments and some strong highs, mixed with some weaker writing, and sometimes disregard for previous character development in some spots (even with our new cast). Despite that, I'd still say it was a good tale and by far not the worst story arc we've had in FFXIV (people have forgotten the ARR and base SB experience I feel). It also opens up a very exciting possibility for the future with reflection travel seemingly related to Azem! Which brings me to a hope that I have for the future of 14: bringing the WoL to the centre of attention through deeper consequence for our own actions. I think most of the player base would hard disagree with me, but this key offers a fantastic opportunity for us to pursue new reflections - something which is not necessary at all but rather indulgent as a shard of Azem - and for it to go wrong. Say we think we understand it, and end up releasing part of a calamity from another reflection onto the source. Or we mess up it's usage and bring about fusion of a reflection that has yet to be rejoined. Or our visit to another reflection causes distress or harm to it's inhabitants. I want the opportunity to explore the WoL further in a way that isn't just tied to the past. It would be an excellent way to bring the focus fully back on the WoL as the crux of the story, and also a brilliant way to introduce conflict without needing a new big bad so soon - it could even be the driving force in developing our next big bad. Someone whose resentment is derived from the actions of the WoL. We got a teenie tiny version of this in ShB when we became a lightwarden briefly, but we never got to see how this affected the people of the first. They also, if I recall correctly, were never told about it. Anyways, those are my random ramblings I had after watching!
The whole blessed siblings thing left me with a lot of questions. I might've missed a side mission that probably could explain how often the Mamool Ja reproduce. I wondered how there are only 3 that we know about for sure and there's no apparent origin for Gulool Ja Ja. He just IS/WAS, almost like a force of nature. While I would get a kick out of a time loop, I don't know how faithful FF14 fans would like it. I'm new here. I just started in April, but the game reminded me so much of FF16, I got hooked. I do hope there's something more for Bakool Ja Ja though. He went from being detestable to someone you could empathize with to actually someone likeable. I'm also looking forward to the WoL taking the lead again, but it was cool to look back to ARR when people had no idea who we were and didn't respect us, to becoming the seasoned hero that everyone looks up to and who's mentee is the ruler of a nation. I think it's great story progression. But now that we have the relic, I REALLY hope we get to jump around to the other reflections. At first, I thought that the Alexandrian homeworld was the world that triggered the 2nd Umbral Calamity, but apparently the reflection just wouldn't exist anymore, so that can't be the case. But I am looking forward to the rest of story as well.
@@ConsoleControlGames To be fair a time loop isn't exactly out of the ball park seeing as how the alexander raid storyline in HW quite literally delves into the effects of a time loop in itself, so if it did turn out to be some kind of weird time loop involved it would kinda be a throwback to that, not to mention if you think about it the whole EW storyline kinda hinted at the whole story up to that point being a massive time loop itself since Venat didn't have her memories erased by Hermes, thus after she became Hydaelyn she essentially laid things out protecting the world, eventually protecting and guiding the WoL to become the one she met in the past, thus completing the time loop
@@ConsoleControlGamesmy thought in regards to Alexandria, and being from the reflection that caused the second calamity, is that they shielded and "escaped" into the area between the reflections, before it was absorbed into the Source.
@@ConsoleControlGames Having cleared all the maps of side quests (besides Heritage Found and Solution Nine because I legitimately do not want to help Alexandrians), there's no mention of Mamool Ja reproductive cycles at all. The MSQ mentions they lay eggs, which means they probably don't have the same pregnancy cycle of the playable races, but we literally just don't know. Encyclopedia Eorzea 4 please deliver
I'm guessing Gulool Ja's a clone, personally. Cloning tech is a thing in this game, and there's a chance Alexandria has also managed to develop something close enough to be interchangeable
I don't think that it's just a matter of the program competing with sphene's memories. They are a holistic being. Sphene is in pain. Suffering from her own existence. Desperstely trying to reconcile her need for souls and aether, and her love for her people. That she considers the endless as people (which is easily debatable, but I do agree with her) puts her in a very painful catch22. In the end, though, no one wants to live at the expense of others. We commit a genocide to prevent an even greater genocide. But it's okay. Because they'll all still be remembered forever.
Awesome analysis! I believe that the theming was consistent and paralleled well between the 2 arcs of Dawntrail, and this video really reinforced my opinion!
How did the Dawnservant ever come to the decision to call THE GATE to Living Memory "The City of Gold", when the story implies that neither him nor his companions ever attempted to open the portal and investigate what was through it, meaning they NEVER saw the "City of Gold" and only had that Electrope Chamber where the gate was? Would have made more sense if they called it "The Golden Chamber" or something, but definitely not a city.
I believe it's because in the past the giants dug through until they found the area with all the electrope in Mamook. That's where they started to dream of the golden city. When you enter Living Memory, it's mentioned (I think it was a sightseeing log) that there are thin areas in the barrier where wisps of memory are able to escape. So putting those two facts together leads to some memories escaping Living Memory, being received by the giants through their dreams after long days of digging. (We see an example of this in the past, where beings are able to commutate through dreams such as Feo Ul talking to Tataru about how to craft the Scion's Shadowbringers clothing) Then we see the Echo about Krile's parents with baby Krile coming through a portal of golden light. Galool Ja Ja put two and two together basically. lol
@@Inukipachuki This still runs in conflict with the Dawnservant's claim that he SAW the City of Gold with his own eyes, though. So he has no proof or guarantee that it existed outside of the dreams of Giants. It would have been better to show that when Krile's parents opened the portal, Gulool Ja Ja SAW what was behind them, which was a glimpse of Living Memory. That would have solved this particular plothole if they tweaked that cutscene where Krile was taken to the Source.
I know its most likely just a story thing, but what confused me was how badly Tuliyollal got SMEARED in the first Zoraal ja ambush, showing off the huge tech gap and obviously suffering from an unexpected attack. We see their weapons and stuff are clearly not effective against the sci-fi guys, but later in the second attack ( where Tulliyollal enters an alliance with Thavnair ), their weapons and magic are incredibly effective against them.
I mean Reminder that the dragons are so powerful, Omega's whole race went to war with them as a pre-emptive strike, and still only took a pyrrhic victory at the end. Vrtra no-diffing their air force with only a single eye is one of the few things that didn't give me a "when the fuck was this foreshadowed" reaction That and the average people used better techniques the second time around
I enjoyed Dawntrail I think alot of this was missed by people. Anything following Endwalker with the years of lead up it had was going to be a hard follow but for a new story arc I enjoyed it
As much as I would like to... I dont think, Wuk Lamat was distrustful against Sphene, she was way too surprised when Sphene joined Zoraal Ja right before the 2nd invasion. This video reminds of one Wesk Albar made about the pre-Titan quests in ARR: these quests were actually teaching players about mechanics that they would later see in the trial, especially hard-mode and extreme. Though a good concept, this doesnt improve the pacing or writing.
No, Living Memory was always above the clouds. That's why Zoraal's throne room was already in the clouds on the Source. If Living Memory transferred to the source, it would've been higher.
Or, more likely, it wasn't ever rejoined. There's a very high chance that Alexandria's reflection isn't the Twelfth, but one of the still-extant ones (probably the Ninth for thematic reasons, but we won't know for sure unless we find an Ascian to extort the information from).
I very much appreciate the efforts made to parallel Alexandria but I believe that you spent much more efforts than the actual writer, which is why I disagree with... Most parts actually : - "the lay of gold" simply tells Wuk Lamat the value of intel. And she is HARD carried by everyone, to the point any single NPC in the game could have succeeded this trial. Her being naive is not a quality that helps her get something from the others, it's... A flaw that never is punished and the plot has to contort everyone's mind into childish kindness so that she doesn't get ignored as much as she would in real life. Being naive is a very bad trait for a ruler, if not the worst. - "the lay of reeds" is more about trusting clues to have a deeper meaning whenever someone holds something dear. Then again, it contributes to make Wuk Lamat's idiocy get depicted as a quality : she doesn't get to know why the tradition is important and instead, she simply acts conservatist about it because it reminds her nice, nostalgic memories. Not at all what a ruler should ever do either. By the way, as you mention from 2:50 it clearly contorted the lore as well, which is not that bad a thing ; I simply am sighing at the cause of such an addition. - "the lay of pots" was a promising part of the game, encouraging synergetic relationships so as to improve the results of their works. However, it's such a caricature that it doesn't bear much credibility. Not much more to say about it : being nice or seeking well-being is... Something everyone would want to be I guess. But reality sometimes forces us to choose between one group of people over another and thus, this part of the story is completely irrelevant. Please someone tell me I missed something. - "the lay of proof" was rather well handled, even if the part with the "enemy" tribe was written by a child. Also, I had not thought about the relation between Valigarmanda incarnating forces of nature just like Lightning's constant threat is threatening Alexandria. There seems to be something missing though, since we defeat Valigarmanda to call forth peace, whereas Electrope tamed lightnings' power into usefulness. I wish the story had made the connection deeper, more meaningful. - "the lay of repast" is an utter failure in my opinion. Gulool Ja Ja's presence makes it appropriate because he raises the possibility of what is called a Black Swan : something impossible to anticipate with great consequences. It would have been worth to work around it. The rest of the ordeal was litterally to ask the citizen (and yeah, "observe", but come on... it doesn't take much "observational skill" to understand we need a banana if we see a banana peel NEXT TO the very place someone says he's preparing the cook we want to copy...) . Then again, it's a very clumsy writing that focuses on the result and give a pitiful excuse of an obstacle to get there. As I said, I very much appreciate the video (especially the part about Levin sickness) but man, I'm SO frustrated by the writing (extremely) low quality !
Lay of Gold - Of course the flaw of her naivety is accentuated here, it's the first trial. And of course she isn't ignored, she's the Dawnservant's daughter, lol. I still didn't care for Wuk Lamat at this point, I hated her when we met her at the end of Endwalker but this section is an anchor point to show her growth. It's literally still the beginning of the Hero's Journey. She doesn't just learn that "intel is important". She quite literally has to investigate the needs of the traders to entice them to give her what she wants. Enticing someone to get what you want is a form subterfuge. So is withholding information, siding with people you don't trust to gather information, and bluffing someone. That's why I used the reference of her telling Sphene "I still don't know if I trust you...why don't you give us a tour?" Sphene, having been directly called out, gets thrown off guard, puts on a show "You want the Queen to give you a tour?" and then submits. Joining Oblivion while not trusting them is another example. And so is shushing our character to hide the fact that we're alive in Living Memory so we can find Sphene's location immediately. Lay of Reeds - It wasn't nostalgia that prompted her to restart the ceremony, it was remembering that it wasn't happening for some reason. She does goof her way into solving the problem, but pointing out that it's not the trait of a leader is redundant. None of the participants show the traits of a leader and that's the point. That's emphasized when Koana solves the problem with a potion while disrespecting the Hanu culture. And it's specifically told to us in the conversation with Gulool Ja Ja afterwards- the goal of the trials is "not to choose a leader but to cultivate one." @2:50, There's a conversation between Alphinaud and your character where they point out that the totem is similar to ones seen in Eorzea (If you choose that option) and it's used to channel faith and life force. Lay of Pots - Don't what you mean by encouraging synergetic relationships. The Moblins literally have a symbiotic relationship with the potsworn. This section demonstrates catching more flies with honey. The Alexandrians constantly show the benefits of being Alexandrian, how nice they were to the Turali from Yaasulani, and invite us to become citizens. Just like the Moblins, the Alexandrians are not altruistic. Their goal is gain something for their efforts in making the people happy and comfortable: money for the Moblins and souls for the Alexandrians. Both have alternatives that would get them to the same goal: kidnapping and murdering. Lay of Proof - I get what you mean by there's something missing. But I wasn't talking about after beating Valigarmanda. I'm referring to its state when we first arrive. But if we were to refer to after its defeat, then Sphene already conquered the lightning threat. Living Memory is testament to that. It was built by the original citizens and all the refugees taken in after the Storm Surge. The living resided there, in peace, with the lightning below powering everything. ...But then they were able to make Endless and she chose to move everyone back down into the dome. Lay of Repast - Yeah the observation portion wasn't that deep. But neither is listening to the Alexandrians. As you get more information throughout the 2nd half, you realize that the things you heard, don't add up. At least that's how it was for me. Every time I got a new piece of information, I realized someone either lied to me, omitted the truth, or didn't know the full story. The postgame supports that. In the end, it turns out that the Alexandrians don't know about the Endless. The entire system functioned because of a major omission. I'm actually surprised you didn't point out how contrived it was to meet Otis and learn the rest of Alexandria's secrets.
Living memory used to be within the dome i think, and only once it was warped to another reflection via the key (in the 30 years sphene had the key) did living memory start exisitng outside of the dome....why sphene didn't move alexandrians to that new reflection.....probably to preserve their soul sucking status quo honestly
I question the reasoning about making a tall city to survive the lightning. As far as we know the game has never revealed exactly how far reaching a calamity is, only that it's basically world wide. The way they explain these reflections as well makes it somewhat confusing for me anyway as I am unsure if these reflections are just different planets split from an original one or entirely different dimensions. If they are entirely different dimensions do these calamities expand further out from the planet or are they only planet wide? the point most relevant to the issue of the raised city however is how do we know that raising the city actually protected people? hell how do we know the city itself is actually raised? what is the extent of the damage from the levin storm? is there even land outside of the city? remember the issue with the first with it's flood of light? everything became completely barren and no life could exist. What if a similar situation exists with alexandria or their world? there's a lot more questions to ask really and no way to answer them quite yet until we see more story patches.
We know the city is raised through several clues and side missions in the game. One telling us that the people lived on Living Memory before the Endless were created. Then the visuals from the Alexandria dungeon and the Zoraal Trial support the height of the dome and the placement of the throne room. You fight Zoraal Ja in the clouds. Living Memory houses the most protected secret in Alexandria and is in the most protected position. We know at the end of the game, that it's not covered by the dome, and there are no clouds overhead. It would be dark. As Otis and Sphene both tell us, the lightning season became year round. The massive statute, skyscrapers, and terminals would be constantly struck by lightning the entire time we were there and in the post game. The other things, there's not enough information to know for sure. But we only played 7.0. We still have everything up to 7.55 or 7.6 to figure the rest out.
@@ConsoleControlGames What I'm confused about with these statements is if I understand correctly you're saying Alexandria is on top of the everkeep which as far as i know is on top of solution 9. I agree with this for the most part except for what they stated near the end when they got to the top. The characters made it sound like Sphene had retreated into what seemed to be another reflection where Alexandria is actually located, that's why we had to find a way to open the gate we found at the end of the trials back near mamook as it was another entryway into said reflection. I believe they were hinting that solution 9 and heritage found were parts of a different reflection than alexandria and that the reflection they are part of is a prior attempt from alexandria to conquer a different reflection. If so it appears they were more or less successful, which could also explain why citizens of solution 9 are unaware of the true purpose of the regulators.
Oh, that's because the scions didn't know for sure at the time. It was a possibility that it went elsewhere but, that's why the scions stayed in Everkeep to research. When they meet with us in Tuliyollal, the say that Sphene went back to her home reflection because of the evidence they found. The portal already went to that reflection, but they didn't know of a way to get through it until Oblivion helped them modify Krile's earring. I highly doubt that they went to any other reflection first for a few reasons: because the Arcadion storyline reveals that Zoraal Ja closed down the arena and commandeered all the feral souls when he prepared for war against the Turali. There wasn't any evidence of any other wars or remnants of a different building used to exit the dome. Also, Living Memory is entirely electrope, so all the holograms had to be powered by an extremely large amount of lightning.
There is a good core in DT....but details and execution, that is why soo many are upset because it was close to greatness the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference because of how largely unnoticed these excellent points (video) were, means they werent presented clearly enough (sad, but reality) as a standalone story; either for a new game or if it had happened prior to ShB and EW, DT wouldve fared much better in opinion and analysis the events still have the narrative problem of having occcured after ShB and EW The lessons learned, ideas fought for and technologies/solution power gained ShB & EW: meaning: the lessons learned and arguments made by the scions against the ascians and in dead ends against metion that broken lesser lifeforms are still alive and have value.... in living memory we by action become the ascians become metion -.- furthermore it is established and implied a long travel time across the salt if the reinforcement scions were only notified with the discovery of the gate then by boat they wouldve been unable to reach tural in time in EW one of the first technologies we encounter is the experimental aetheryte travel of one way to a new location.... logically the WoL, with their high affinity for traversing between aetherytes, shouldve teleported to sharlaya picked up a duplicate setup for the destination and brought it back to tulliyollol; thus allowing reinforcements to teleport across the salt instead of traverse between ShB and EW the WoL pilots the G-Warrior of which there are at least 2 in operation, prior to EW; upon encountering the electrope airships why was Cid and also Nero not called to anaylze electrope and find counters; such as deploying a magitech field between the fleets and the dome blocking communication or better yet also sending back to the dome the status still the same signals the fleet should have been sending and thus allowing the fleets to be attacked withouth reinforcements from the dome nor zoraal ja being aware of their loss somehow the dragons, whilst they can fly interstellar distance (midgardsormr at least), they arent fast we have contact with the loporitts, the moon, access to abandoned allagan airships and spaceships and have had so for a bit now....plenty of time for some to be made operational again, like G-warrior was, the sharlayan ark is also a high speed transport craft why wasnt G-warrior or its successor brought over for the WoL to attack the fleets the time dilation, to the degree it was under the dome is ultimate a plot device; and can be kept, or weakened or removed as called for narratively the alexandrians attack by airships, airships that can pass through the dome; why build a breechable location for a counter force; especially along the RR tracks that are not going to be used by electrope-trains to transport forces by ground. the dungeon couldve been changed to the assault on the flagship airship above tulliyollol and ends with Cid and Graha hacking the ship and having the flagship send the stand down commands; the train is still modified but instead of adding flammable thermal insulative wood to the sides of steam engine...which historically ..... did sometimes blow up from their own internal runaway heat management problems... lets not make it worse. instead is plated with electrope plating so it can pass through he barrier like the airships It make sense to not use any of the above for the mere rite of succession but as soon as a shard, especially a shard that is invading appears; entire world (the Source) on deck also not having a working train running around on a loop that players can walk around on whilst in moves in shaaloni was a huge miss....Tower of Fantasy has working mmo trains. 2 tracks: 1 is the current interzone train, the other separate train is on a loop to all major settlements in the zone both those with and without aetherytes, and the birdge. the oasis aetheryte area should be expanded into tural's version of reunion (trade hub of multiple tribes, not just the fantasy bison herders; also blu nation tribes, amongst others) zone 5: we see remnants of alexandria in 2 lvl 100 dungeons, living memory and also here..... overkill; the wall is bleh, either set it up as the military highway from tower TO breechpoint or have it be parallel to the domes' boundary as a defense or get rid of it instead of ruins of alexandria better yet would be ruins of "terra" so that the XIV's version of FFIX's alexandria became terra in style/ architecture zone 6: the issue with the endless is that environmental aether does not work, it has to be life force aether so we cut off the lifeforce aether....but the environmental aether that maintains the land should be either on a separate control system (not meso terminals) or able to be reactivated prior to a patch x.1,2,3,4,5. in tempest it is stated that emet's illusion will fade and the bubble we caused will collapse but not for a while so the players can still enjoy the beauty. in dead ends the scions add to the zone, add more life to the zone..... living memory on the other hand, physically is worse off for our presence and progress
I disagree with one point: I don't think anything in the characterizatiin of Wuk Lamat suggests that she's merely playing dumb during her interactions with Sphene. At every point in the story up to and even after Sphene's villain turn, Wuk Lamat is a step behind, not a step ahead.
I always thought the reason she said it’s her fault is because original Sphene was a sundered ascian and caused the original lightning calamity on their planet on accident somehow trying to save people. Tin foil hat theory 😂
Plausible though, lol. Sphene makes it sound like the lightning started before she was born, but Otis clearly says he was a knight before they started. The final dungeon also shows Alexandria in the daytime when it's not the rainy season and Sphene gets into an airship in the first section. My biggest question is, how was electrope suddenly discovered after the lightning storms began? The explanation is just way too convenient.
Theres some theory that sphenes crown looks like part of the Ascian symbol for Igeyorhim. And we know the ascians gave magitech to the garleans and inserted themself in the royal family. So if one of sphenes ancestors was igeyorhim, or she was a sundered ascian who lost her memory, that would fit perfectly
I'm just going to enjoy this non copy pasta toxic take on DT. You'd swear a good but not great expansion is worse then 1.0. DT and Wuk Lamat are good. Fun even. Not the best that's still Heavensward and Endwalker but it was what I expected and more.
I really dont like the DT MSQ. Its got some good ideas but it is just way too rushed. Way too much focus and time with Wuk Lamat, few plot holes that makes things kinda spiral for me.
First off...dope logo. What other plot holes did you find? Maybe there are things I still haven't noticed. What interested me in making this video is that I completely missed some plot and answers in all the text, then realized it when I was making a story recap.
@@ConsoleControlGames A big one for me is why Zoraal Ja has a kid. He clearly doesn't care about him except for the extremely brief moment where he hesitates but still slashes him during the trial. Where is the mother? How was he born with the same exact rare trait ZJ had? Is he a clone? That's really the only one that comes to mind ATM. Honestly I'm just getting tired of talking about the story. It's literally just been mean spirited argument after mean spirited argument for a month now and I'm burnt out, lmao. But the rush is what gets me the most. Not a whole lot gets to sit. Maybe they should have broken these two big things up into the post patches or something, Idk. To me it just felt like they were trying to emulate ShB and EW, hit those emotional payoff points without the proper build up.
God, I understand the feeling. When people go into comment sections, they can dickish about their opinion from time to time. (I hate arguing with people that can't follow a story or understand what subtext actually is, but like to use the word) I've been wondering where the child came from as well, but the post game raids are revealing more lore about Alexandria. I'm guessing we'll get a definitive answer as that plays along. I'm guessing we'll have 12 raids that expand the story like Pandemonium did. One thing I did notice though is Zoraal Ja is not a liar. If he doesn't want to admit something, he just won't say anything at all. He's pathologically honest no matter what the outcome. So I have wondered if he tells Gulool Ja that he's not his father because he technically isn't, but knows that he was cloned from him and feels responsible on his deathbed.
@@lens_hunter I think Gulool Ja and Zoraal Ja's origin is going to be explored in patch content. Zoraal's existence was handwaved early on but Gulool Ja's mystery of existence is front and center. We did not see a single other mamool ja NPC in all of Alexandria (as far as I'm aware) so there's something unnatural going on, I think. Clone might be close.
@@lens_hunter One of the plot points that I personally thought was a hole was Vrtra from the top rope. Like, yes, it makes total sense that he'd spank an air force like they were paying extra for it, but I don't like how we didn't get some "meanwhile, in Tuliyollal" cutscene where the Scions and Koana go over what foreign nations might be able to help them in time. Also not a big fan of all the Xbr'aal lore from the MSQ being "we were at war with Mamook for centuries," but that's less of a plot hole and more of "I disliked it."
The parallels you draw between the various trials and the second half of the story are pretty interesting, but I really think you're reaching with some of them. In the first one, you say Wuk Lamat learns to act naive in order to get more information? You also make a similar point in the lay of repast bit about her learning to ask questions to people in order to understand them best, to be able to make the best choices. Wuk Lamat does not change her general behavior or outlook when it comes to learning information, since the first trial, until the end. She asks earnest questions, learns as much as she can from everyone who will talk with her, and will make what seems to be the best decision to her at the time. Her behavior with Sphene does not change, she's not "acting naive", she is being just as earnest as she has been for the first half of the expac. She doesn't learn any secrets (not for a long time) by being earnest, she learns basic info that is common knowledge for the residents of Alexandira. Her "acting naive" does not stop her from being completely blindsided by Sphene, and she never tries to hide or subvert information in any way. I really don't think you're correct with this one.
Every single instance that Sphene made an awkward pause, or said something strange, creepy, and weird, Wuk Lamat would have to be incredibly simple to not notice. The game turns the camera to us, her, and the scions to show that we all noticed every time. If she were being earnest, every awkward moment would have been confronted immediately. She's playing along. The only time she did confront Sphene was when she asks Lamat to become an Alexandrian before the 2nd invasion. Her patience was wearing thin. Everyone was blindsided by Sphene. Only she, Zoraal Ja, and Otis originally knew about the Endless. Oblivion only found out because an Endless told them the truth. And our character didn't know about the program within Sphene until she revealed it when she had control of the relic. Everyone thought that since Zoraal Ja was dead, it was over. As for the subterfuge that Lamat used, there's a list, but these are my favorite examples: She was repulsed by the use of souls, but acted accepting enough to be able to freely roam Alexandria--even after her mother died and she realized the regulators erased memories. She convinced everyone to join Oblivion even though no one trusted them because it would be a source of intel. She needed another source of information because she knew Sphene and the Alexandrians weren't reliable. This was a conversation in the game. Sphene wanted us to leave Solution Nine, but Wuk Lamat teased her into giving the tour by saying she didn't trust her. She planned on baiting Zoraal Ja into exposing himself at the Vanguard by literally acting oblivious in Solution Nine. Wuk Lamat even told US, her mentor, to play along like we were dead in Living Memory to get directly to Sphene. Repast isn't about asking questions to get to know people better. It's about asking questions and observing the environment to be able to make inferences. Like the scientific method. After witnessing the conversation between Sphene and the ex-gladiator, she realized the Alexandrians had a psychological dependence on spare souls. That's why she applied that knowledge by tending to the Alexandrians psychological needs after being killed over and over again by the sentries. Her ability to make better inferences is also why she already knew that the 12th tier was missing and the portal above Zoraal Ja's throne room led back to the Alexandrian reflection while the scions spent an extra day doing research to come to the same conclusion.
@@ConsoleControlGames I think I'm just gonna agree to disagree here. A lot of what you're describing is something that Wuk Lamat does all the time, with everyone she meets, throughout the entire expansion. Obviously she's more cautious around Sphene, but her discourse does not change when she's around Sphene VS when she's around the WoL and the scions, which, if what you're saying is true and she's full of subterfuge, shouldn't be the case. She should be like "Let's go along with this for now and find out what we can learn". She does not do that, she genuinely tries to learn and accept Alexandrian culture. -You're extrapolating from nothing about the awkward pauses. Yes there are awkward pauses. Weird stuff is being revealed to us. Everyone is waiting expectantly about what she'll decide to do. All of her questions served her genuine and actual goal: understanding more so she can make better choices, so she can find a way for Alexandria to eventually coexist with Tullyolal. She is completely upfront with every one of her *actual* intentions from the very beginning. Your argument would have some weight if she HAD deceived someone, if she HAD pulled a fast one on Sphene, or anyone else, at any point. But she doesn't, that's not how she does things. I think you fundamentally misunderstand Wuk Lamat's character growth. She spends the entire story learning again and again that if you want to preserve peace, you have to understand more about others, their cutlure, why their culture is the way it is in the first place, and how to properly coexist with them. She doesn't become a 4D chess master, adepts at subterfuge and subversion, that's something you're making up to attempt to give more substance ot the character. She doesn't need that substance though, she's fine the way she is. Like seriously, she didn't act dead in Living Memory for more than the first zone, we reveal to pretty much everyone that asks that we're well and alive. She is *initially* repulsed by the use of souls, yes. But she also understood why Alexandrians do what they do, and most importantly she also understands that Namikka *chose* to have a regulator installed, most likely understanding what it meant. "She convinced everyone to join Oblivion even though no one trusted them because it would be a source of intel. She needed another source of information because she knew Sphene and the Alexandrians weren't reliable. This was a conversation in the game. " - how is that subterfuge? She had to choose between trusting Sphene, whom she knows nothing about and is the queen of the enemy faction, and trusting Oblivion, whose current leader is her best friend's mother. How is that a tough choice, or subterfuge? "She planned on baiting Zoraal Ja into exposing himself at the Vanguard by literally acting oblivious in Solution Nine. " - No. She never says that, or does anything that suggests that. She wants access to S9 simply so she can be closer to where he is. Her acting "oblivious" in S9 is nonsensical as well, the entire party was oblivious to what was happening, you don't get to "act" oblivious when you actually are oblivious. "After witnessing the conversation between Sphene and the ex-gladiator, she realized the Alexandrians had a psychological dependence on spare souls. That's why she applied that knowledge by tending to the Alexandrians psychological needs after being killed over and over again by the sentries. ", yes this is a good example of what Wuk Lamat does - she understands people, their culture, how it affects them, and puts herself in their shoes to attempt to make their lives better. Absolutely. "Her ability to make better inferences is also why she already knew that the 12th tier was missing and the portal above Zoraal Ja's throne room led back to the Alexandrian reflection while the scions spent an extra day doing research to come to the same conclusion." ohmyfuckinggod Noooo that's not why! The scions are basically scientists - every single time there is something that might seem obvious, they delve deep into it and find irrefutable proof that they're correct in their hypothesis. Like seriously, how many time have they done this, this expac alone? With the skydeep cenote, the dome, the Alexandrian usage of souls, the inital portal to the Unlost World, the gate to the golden city? They do this all the time it's almost annoying. Wuk Lamat is certainly not a trained scientist, is generally not scientifically intelligent (despite great emotional intelligence), and so she just assumes the obvious. Wuk Lamat's power of "inference" is the same as the player's. Yeah, if you (the player, not the wol) are told again and again that there is a secret 12th layer, and you get to the 11th layer and there's a voidgate above, you're going to assume that a) it leads to their reflection, and b) it has the 12th layer in it. The scions assume the same thing, but they don't *know* it for sure. Wuk Lamat does not know it either, but to her it couldn't possibly be anything else.
So you skipped the reading cutscenes, lol. Everything you're arguing happened in scene where you had to actually read. And the one you agree with was fully acted out. -'She should be like "Let's go along with this for now and find out what we can learn". She does not do that, she genuinely tries to learn and accept Alexandrian culture.' Literally happened in a reading cutscene when everyone was finally alone in Heritage Found. -Reading cutscene. She wasn't looking for peace, she came for revenge. She was going attack Sphene until Sphene said she was at odds with Zoraal Ja too and revealed that Turali survived. The intention was to protect non-combatants. -Reading cutscene. Tells us "Play along" when speaking Constancy and only reveals we're alive to her mother, Krile's parents, and Otis; that's not everyone, that's four people. Constancy tells us the Endless behave as they would while alive, so why would she act differently? -Reading cutscene. No one trusted Oblivion outright. Not even Erenville trusted that the machine was his mother. -Reading cutscene. When Oblivion explains that Zoraal Ja is impossible to track, Wuk Lamat says that she'll make herself seen but not seek out Zoraal Ja. Someone asks, "won't he send sentries after you?" She replies "No. He's too proud. He wants a duel. He'll grow tired of waiting and head to the Vanguard to attack Tuliyollal and that's when we'll get him." That's why the one of the twins comes to tell us that Zoraal was approaching the Vanguard and Wuk Lamat asks why she wasn't told earlier. It. Was. Literally. Planned. This. Way. -The scene with the gladiator was a spoken cutscene, so you agree with that take because you saw it. -Another reading cutscene. Wuk Lamat snaps at the Scions when they reveal that the portal led to Sphene's world and LITERALLY says that she already knew where the portal in Everkeep led. She expected the scions to find a way to get there without the relic.
@@ConsoleControlGames Aight I read your other comment before this one. How the fuck are you going to accuse me of skipping non-voiced cutscene when you skipped most of my comment? There are multiple points that you clearly have not read. Like you respond to things I haven't said, or things I've said very differently. The irony is incredible here. Most of those cutscenes are voiced. You just remember them wrong, which explains a lot, including the video. Look we could do this for a while - I show you what I meant in my original comment, you misunderstand it again (on purpose or not), make some nonsensical point about something I haven't said or already gave explanations for, I come back and repeat the cycle, until we eventually both don't care about this and neither one of us comes out having learned anything. So how about we leave it there yeah? Have a good day dude.
Its not even an issue to go from Epic Conclusion of Story Arc to slow almost ARR style adventure, its that damned house cat butting in on everything, even well past where she should've f'd back off to tulliyollal to stay there as a ruler. She's got no business being in alexandria. yes, zoraal ja challenged her. But we're a literal god-killer. Surely we can handle one upjumped lizard with overgrown ambitions. Nevermind the final fight against Sphene. Finally we are actually in focus, she specifically *deleted* the cat and our other companions... only for that damned furry to come back jumping in last-second to steal our glory. I'm fine with her being around the first half, that was very much her story, her trials. But the second half? Really could've done with a bit less of that "Lets get to know everyone! friendship is magic, weeeeeeee!"
I'm sorry, I think you are mistaken... Here's a detail you missed!!! We enter Living Memory while it is in the original Alexandrian reflection, which was probably destroyed by a calamity of Levin, leaving nothing but levin and the dome. During the fight with Sphene she transports Living Memory to another reflection to harvest it, so the skyline you see is not the Alexandrian reflection but another "healthy" reflection. Also the Levin dome literally followed them the first time around, which leads me to believe it is linked to the electrope they use. I dont want to defend this mid at best story, but at least those were adressed.
You are the first person I've seen with this take. But hey, I won't argue with you even though I watched every cutscene and side mission several times before editing, writing a script, and making a full recap of the expansion. You're right man.
Still the most boring story I've played through in ffxiv. I'm happy the people who enjoyed it did so. However not everyone did and from what I can tell most didnt. At least ARR had a bunch of different new characters we could bond with not just one annoying himbo we were forced to be a side kick to. Happy i got it all done and im onto hopefully new content.
Dude… I felt sleep playing the msq. Then I asked people that play with me and they said same things. I play the game in Japanese so I am not really caught up with the voice acting drama and even then, characters were bland, bad guy was just pathologically crazy with no depth whatsoever and overall boring to no extent (dude that never saw war, wanted war to prevent war in a manic way… wtf?!) All the other stories from the other expansions including Stormblood never had me sleeping on them or wishing to be over. Even the queen story was… just another extreme example of unexplained overprotective behavior. It was weird and kind of unrealistic to the point anyone has a hard time sympathizing because hers is an obsession. This expansion was just terrible. It didn’t raise any emotions, didn’t feel attachment to any of the characters or created enough engagement for me to care. It was just bad script writing and storytelling. I play to get those wings (probably the only worthwhile thing).
When Wuk Lamat screams "Spheeeen!!" during the final battle...it was the moat pathetic voice acting I have ever heard. So lifeless. Wuk Lamat had a decent female voice for a trans person, but this is just an example of hiring someone underqualified to fill a quota.
Honey It wasn't just that read. Hell, it wasn't even just Wuk Lamat who had lines that felt like that they were the VA's first reading and the director just said "good enough." Koana also gave speeches in lowercase, Shaaloani, and I felt the Yok Huy had some awkward reads. Wuk Lamat has it worst with the shitty direction because she has half the voiced dialogue
Lamat's mom in Living Memory. It's stated those as backup data within Living Memory, their appearance is based on state of happiest they've ever been when alive. Her mom is 1st shown here in there 40s, is when she got Lamat as a kitten. Then later talking to Lamat, her mom remembers and changes into their 90s the moment they died at Heritage, tho her mom couldn't physically respond before she passed on back then, seeing Lamat again after 30 years in the barrier waiting all that time made her mom the happiest ever in her last moment before dying. This is my fav moment of 7.0 launch, cried, hell I'm getting misty eyed typing this 🥹
