A Realm Reborn 2.55 Discussion (Spoilers)

Ilberd throws the PC into the room and accuses them of regicide. Everyone else proceeds to talk. Instead, you could have several generic options. Call Teledji out on his scheme, plea your innocence, call to the Scions/GC leaders for help, apologize to Raubahn. Something like that.

Then again when Yugiri reveals herself. We got what, two lines on her being unmasked before she goes "Anyway... plotplotplot"? So much for that being a big thing... Would have loved some dialog options there, could have lightened the mood slightly, similar to how the options with the Doman children did in Through the Maelstrom... Actually, her sticking around the place to answer questions would have been nice... Has "Au Ra" actually been said at all in game? Utterly amazed Yugiri didn't at least give us some information...

The Scions running to their graves would still be just as jarring, but it still would have been an improvement imo. Who gets accused of regicide and says nothing? "Yes, I killed Good King Moogle Mog XII several months back, what of it?"

Would have liked Yugiri swooping down and killing the Crystal Braves/Brass Blades and saving Yda/Papalymo or Thancred/Y'shtola and losing her mask in the fight

Instead she lost it in an off-screen scuffle and her reveal was pretty anti-climactic. =/

I kept thinking "where the *** are all the ninjas that are supposed to keep an eye on things, who are supposed to be your allies and who live in *** Mor Dhona and should notice that something's off since they've been raised as spies?

I think analysis of the tone of what they were doing helps to explain a lot of this.

This wasn't supposed to be whimsical, breathtaking, or even conclusive. It was the end. The goal was to make the PC seem powerless despite all their efforts. By not giving you epic rescues, witty retorts, or a neat 'yugiri reveal' you really get the impression things suck.

I may be giving too much credit to SE but I think it's apt.

ARR is a story that ends with a whimper. Who's to say it shouldn't? The idea that it could get worse is kinda neat (oddly).

Personally, I think the revealing Yugiri's face would have been better done in a scuffle where she dropped in to help you escape and stayed behind like the others, but I suppose she's better off using her people to find out where the Scions are.

Her lack of a role in the escape, actually, was good in my mind. I remember thinking "Where's Yugiri? She'll come save the day." Suffice to say I liked the fact that there was no opportunity for anticipation for her reveal. Perhaps the nonchalance was meant to rob the player of any remaining hope in the end.

If so, I think that's pretty cool.

The Defense of Ishgard
It starts off on a bit of a sour note for me. When faced with the integral decision on whether to send troops to defend Ishgard or not, only Raubahn seems willing to make any sort of major changes to homeland security in order to allow for a decent amount of forces to be sent North. This ends up being a bad thing for
Ul'dah, of course, but that's for other reasons separate from the ones that Merlwyb and Kan-e-Senna provide.

The whole thing just seemed like a political cop out. Up to this point it had already been seen as agreed upon by all parties that Eorzea needed to stand together in order to overcome its myriad threats, but the leaders of Limsa and Gridania seem to feel that standing divided with a faux unity in place is more convenient despite that. More on this later.

The actual defense of Ishgard is also disappointing. Ignoring the fetch quests and other nonsense leading up to it, the Trial itself is bland and boring. It's nothing akin to the "grand world event similar to the closing of 1.0" that Yoshida cooed about. I enjoyed how it was different from other trials and I certainly don't hate the fight, but it felt very low key compared to what we were given ideas of previously. Indeed, the world doesn't really change at all. Not even something as small and simple as dragons occasionally flying in the skies of Coerthas or increased Ishgardian troop activity. Nothing. This annoyed me, piled it on to the ever growing compost heap that is "Things Yoshida Failed to Deliver".




Events Leading Up to the Banquet
Alright this is where things get more interesting, but also where plot holes and dumbfuckery come into play.

Fetch quests and whatnot, blah blah. Ignoring those, the premise behind those fetch quests... not very strong. They're mostly meaningless, only a single event within them is actually integral to the story: the poison vial planted at the RR tracks. Why in the name of *** do we keep that? Does our character seriously think it's a good idea to carry a vial of POISON into a royal banquet? Really? Really?? Come on what the *** is that ***?

Besides that it was forgettable. Surveying the dungeon entrances and whatnot had little consequence on anything whatsoever and I don't even care why it was being done. The character involved was annoying and easily ignored.

Tataru's quest arc was also pretty useless, but served the minor purpose of giving Tataru more of a personality and fleshed out story. She's a woman who thinks herself useless and is continually trying to find ways to become more useful and broaden her skillset. Okay, but it doesn't have a lot of gravity on the story. Is it meant to give us a stronger connection to her for the upcoming events? Is it to implant thoughts into our minds as to her being a red herring (which some people seem to believe due to her quote unquote "creepy smile at the end")? If so it missed the mark for me.

What was done moderately well was building the air of tension in the events immediately preceding the big cutscene and in the opening bits of it. Nanamo clearly seemed troubled and there was a very thick air of mystery around the entire thing. It made the events to come more predictable (which is impressive given how predictable they already were), but it was done well enough.




"The Red Banquet"
So... they decided to go all Game of Thrones on us. But before we get to that, let's return to one of my earlier grievances: the politics. You see a scene where Alphinaud overhears Raub, Merl, and Kan talking with Americ about the successful defense of Ishgard... and taking credit for it. This makes it more clear where their allegiances lie; they care for their own well being above the well being of the whole. This makes me wonder where Limsa and Gridania will be when we need their help again later on. More on this later.

It goes on through the opening punches, little action but plenty of suspense being built. Then, in one of the most blind tropes ever, Nanamo starts drinking her wine after the camera has been quite intent on highlighting her chalice the entire time and after Nanamo just finished explaining her plan to make Ul'dah into a Republic... which obviously requires her to be alive and undermines the plans of certain other height challenged individuals.

And boom. What do you know, it was poisoned. I give them credit though, while the event itself was highly predictable, the way in which it was executed was fantastic. The scene of her choking was well done and really made it feel more tragic than it otherwise would have due to the morbitiy of it. So kudos on that SE.

What follows is a string of traumatic and infuriating events. You're arrested by the sniveling little cuntbag who has been the primary antagonist, feigning ignorance, for a while now. Tragically, the Warrior of Light is too dumb to realize that carrying a bottle of poison into the Sultana's chambers is probably a really bad idea, so they have that as evidence in the room full of nobility. Then, in a mystifying display of utter stupidity, the small 60 lb max unarmed and unarmored mercantile *** dickspittle responsible for most of this proceeds to taunt the gigantic 300lb+ fully armed and armored General of Ul'dahs Grand Company with the late Sultana's death. Smooth move shitrod. We then get the only satisfying part of this entire cutscene as Raubahn goes full Dark Knight and cuts Teledji in half. Excellent.

Then the whole deal with Ildbern and Lolorito. Raubahn goes after Lolo next, arm cut off by Ildbern (who, might I add, has been forecast as a bad apple since the very day he was introduced), you make an escape as Raubahn fights heroically against overwhelming odds... and the next chain of inexplicably stupid events begins for dramatic effect, but not before Merlwyb and Kan-e-senna proceed to be useless *** and run away with their tails between their legs.

Right outside the feast chamber, Yda and Papalymo, at least one of whom has proven to be a rather quick witted strategist, decide that staying behind and taking on the columns of Brass Blades and Crystal Braves all by themselves is a fantastic idea. So they do. This ultimately leads to them getting ded, presumably, in an apparently self destructive Final Heaven. Makes sense.

Then it happens again when Y'shtola and Thancred decide that caving in an entire tunnel on themselves to stop a group of crystal braves from pursuing you and Minfillia, which turns out to be 50% fruitless, is a great idea. They're probably dead too.

THEN in a staggering state of "we needed to write in a way to kill EVERYONE", Minfillia magically receives a call from Hydaelyn, which might I add has been silent for the better part of the last 10+ months, to stay and DIE because reasons. Wait, how did they get passed the collapsed tunnel that Ysh and Than sacrificed themselves for? OH THERE WERE OTHER DOORS? Well ***, thanks for your lives anyway though suckers.

So essentially, they kill everyone except you (who is rage inducingly powerless throughout this entire thing), Alphinaud, and Tataru. Oh, and Urianger too. We'll get to him. So the guy from the beginning of the game shows up (with an entirely different voice) and saves you because Alisae says so (who has only been present in the Coil storyline since the beginning of this all so anyone who didn't do Coil probably doesn't remember Alphinaud even had a sister). Cid is involved too. Great, so we still have at least 1 person who isn't a complete *** that we can count on.

Then in the end, Alphinaud is knocked down several pegs (thank ***), we are broken and defeated with almost everyone we knew in this thing killed or lost, and we have to deal with a Triple Triad cheating hallybo mother *** as our secretary still. But wait, what about Urianger?

Okay. Now I'm just going to outright say that anyone immediately jumping to conclusions about him being evil are probably dead wrong. It's quite clear throughout the scenario, and this cutscene, that Elidibus and Lahabrea are on different wavelengths. Urianger, the smart *** that he is, has gone to potentially talk things out with Mr. Elidibus since Elidibus is, probably just as perceptibly as him as it is from our perspective, not cut from the same cloth as his black robed brethren. My theory is that Elidibus called him there for some sort of mututally beneficial arrangement, and the other Ascians have their own agenda outside of Zodiark's. But we'll see I suppose.

Post-story stuff is actually more interesting than the cutscenes in a way. Almost every major NPC in the game has new dialogue regarding you being a fugitive with people after you. Guildmasters and other iconic figures will all say they're on your side and will look after you, and how they've turned away suspicious figures and Ul'dah interrogators. What upset me here was some of them were so contextually out of place: Jenlyns, Knight Commander of the Sultansworn, doesn't even know that the Sultana is dead. In fact, there wasn't a single Sultansworn in the entire palace during that entire feast. Why? Isn't it their job to be there? What was going on? Are you telling me that the Knight Commander of the personal bodyguard of the Sultana has no say in whether he gets to see the Sultana or not? Whatever. Stupid.

I also call into question Merlwyb and Kan-e-senna's alliegance to the Warrior of Light; or rather, the depth of it. Sure, people like the Commodore of the Yellowjackets say that the Admiral has instructed us to be protected while on Lominsan soil, but it's evident that no one wants you there. Will Limsa or Gridania be there when we need them most, after all we've done for Eorzea? Guess we'll have to find out in Heavensward. Hooray.

The impression I get isn't that things suck for my character, it's just that things suck. Poor pacing, lack of subtlety, etc. etc. I'm perfectly OK with them painting a bleak picture in the lead up for Heavensward, in fact I wish they did. Being above the law and laughing as various "enemy" NPCs panic around you isn't quite making me feel powerless, nor is the fact that of the new dialog, the vast majority is allies getting your back... They're all very optimistic about your future, certainly not the same tone you're suggesting, I think.

Most of my complaints with the plot wouldn't even really change that. Ilberd not being so obvious would have made his betrayal hit harder. Grand Companies actually giving you a briefing could actually paint a much more dire picture of the future than the current "I'm sure you'll get through this!" positivity they, and every other guild NPC, are currently spewing.

Yugiri actually giving us a small info dump on Au Ra wouldn't really change the tone all the much either, though it could if they wanted it to. All it would do is build hype for Heavensward and its new race. That's exactly what you want to do before an expansion. I certainly am hyped for it of course, just various parts of the plot has holes that bother me.

The whole thing was a shitshow. We know that politics prohibits Kal-E-Senna and Merlwyb from taking direct actions in political affairs of Ul'Dah but politics aside, the Grand Company leaders are friends of circumstance. They fought bitter Carteneau together. Raub loses an arm, hearing word that Nanamo is dead and seeing Ul'Dah go to ***and there's no emotional scene to summarize how setback the Eorzean alliance is now after the fact? After all that windup about unity and standing together as one? Hello, Garlemald is still knocking. Bueller. Bueller. Bueller?

I expected to see an angry Merlwyb in her office brooding her ally being murdered, her fellow GC leader being maimed and yet another problem to stack up on the Maelstrom's pile. Shoot the wall, yell at your subordinates, mutter a sense of uncertainty that Eorzea will hold. Do something!

Instead the whole scene just came off as callous. We know the GC leads know the WoL would never kill Nanamo but it's like everyone left Raubahn out to dry here. Especially coming off the slimy attendance after denying Alphi proper troops for the Ishgard defense.

If the intention was to show that the GC leaders nothing more than shitty politicians who don't believe what they spout at every turn, 2.55 did a good job of showing that.

Didn't they leave because they were in hostile territory and it was only them and one attendant? They both seemed to want to act but their attendents warned them off and insisted they leave or possibly share the fate of ruabahn.

There appears to be talk of the XIV Dev team being fans of an anime called Berserk. Apparently the main character, Guts, learns to wield a large sword with one hand (Raubahn is already there) and gets a mechanical arm. Think they intend to use Raubahn as a reference to this?

They cant just jump in like the adventurers can there would be a lot of repercussions if they did. The Alliance would break and they would most likely stand charge of being part of the murder themselves. Ul'Dah would most undoubtedly start a war with Limsa and Grid which would mean they are easy pickings for the Empire.

The thing about being a leader is about picking which fight to enter and which to leave. In this case it was the right choice.

The Scions are nowhere to be found, if they're alive, the monetarists have them in prison and they've branded you, the Warrior of Light, a traitor...so who gives a ***? Be a traitor! Start collecting massive amounts of crystals and giving them to the Amaal'ja! Ifrit (Savage) is summoned and all of a sudden "Ok, Scions, you're free to go...kill Ifrit." so they are freed "We must find the Warrior of Light to aide us in this, blah-blah-blah." So they go off searching for you, meanwhile the monetarists come to realize that without you, primals just tear ***up so Ifrit goes on for days and Thanalan gets fukken rekt. Lolorito has ***every pair of tiny little trousers he owns by the time he gets in contact with you. "P-please, Warrior of Light, save Ul'dah! I-I beg of you!" so you ask "Is Ilberd still alive?" Lolorito says he is, demand he be brought out and fed to Ifrit, also demand that Raubahn gets to watch after he is set free. After all of this, Raubahn is escorted to Cid's workshop in Revenant's Toll and construction on a new magitek arm is started. Meanwhile Lolorito is willing to do anything. "Lol no." you say as you happily leave Thanalan in flames on your Magitek Reaper, listening to Terra's Theme. \o/

I'm not sure how strongly your feats weigh in with actual storyline, but having slayed many primals, defeated the the XIVth Legion, and defeating an immortal ascian, I'm surprised teledji didn't try arrest you with an entire army, the scene with 4 brass blades no higher than level 35 was quite laughable.

But despite that, it still concerns that most people in eorzea are out for themselves still despite saving them from ruin on more occasions than King Elmer III not dropping the bahamut card and it seems that everything you do as the warrior or light or.. maybe not, as the dragonborn has absolutely no integrity. And it actually made me wish Gaius van Baelsar was sucessful in his conquest because god forbid if eorzea is worth saving anymore.

I enjoyed having a lot of cutscenes to watch, but in my opinion it was very rushed to that point and badly written.
Personally, a lot of the end cutscenes made me angry, but for the wrong reasons, I mostly despise how the main character is mostly a tool who can't seem to stop playing nice guy or stick up for him/herself despite all the ***picking and all the pointless nonsensical errands he/she runs.

/rantover

If I learned one thing from this it's I hate to see Tarus cry. So sad. It's like a child that I would actually care about.

On the actually story side of things these guys did the worst job for framing you ever. No one believes them. Like at all. They even know they can't take you. Go talk to some of the Brass Blades or Crystal Braves. They make up a *** excuse for why they aren't attacking you.

They are trying to recover though it looks like some paid people are going on talking to the locals about a respected adventurer who went rogue.

The Scions may not have been as worthless as I thought though. I mean I can't pull off a Lv3 Limit Break with only 2 people!

All in all we know where this is gonna go. Ul'dah Trail/Dungeon/Raid with Omega Weapon as the final boss piloted by Lolo w/e his name is. And he is a taru I would love to see cry.

Going to be weird if 3.0s "final" boss is Omega weapon... We'd be looking at almost a complete repeat of the earlier storyline where the Garleans attacked the Scions.

***goes down in Thanalan leaving the Scions captured/worse? Check.
You, Alphinaud, and Cid run off to Coerthas? Check.

If 3.0 starts of with us helping Ishgard and thus getting a single-man airship (going into Stone Vigil to get the Enterprise), leading to us stopping Nidhogg (stopping Garuda) only to have Lolorito drop in on Omega weapon (Gaius van Belsair drop in on Ultima weapon) to raise the stakes...

I can see Omega coming into play in 3.0 though. They said it was built to subdue Bahamaut, and since they revealed that Nidhogg is one of Midgardsormrs children, and in an interview said Bahamut was as well... Activate Omega, it mistakes Nidhogg for Bahamut, we save Nidhogg, Nidhogg and the pope skip off into the sunset having resolved their differences and Middy becomes out ***-mount. Still wondering how the Warring Triad will fit into all this though, seeing as they were sneakily revealed in the tour of the north video...

Bahamut was a wyrmlord before becoming a Primal. The mightiest of them all, in fact, which is why the dragons of Meracydia raised him to godhood and summoned him as a Primal after he was defeated by the invading Allagan Empire. All of the wyrmlords are children of Midgard.

He had seven in his brood. We know of three: Nidhogg, Bahamut, and Tiamat. Bahamut was the strongest of all seven.

Oh, alright. I wonder how strong he was before becoming a Primal (compared to his primal self). If Omega beat him back then, what chance would any wyrmlord have against it now though

We aren't sure how he was defeated. Ultima and Omega weren't nearly as strong back then as is let on; Nero himself specifies that Ultima only works as it does now because of Garlean magitek enhancement. It's likely that they were never completed before Xande caused the downfall of the empire. Besides that, Ultima Weapon's primary power comes from its ability to destroy and infuse itself with the power of Primals (Eikons). The remaining 6 wyrms are living, breathing creatures and are not Primals as Bahamut is. Their power would likely be dwarfed against them as a result.

Bahamut himself would have been just as powerful in life as he is in death as a Primal. A Primal's power and form are whatever the dreamer remembers or desires. The dragons of Meracydia revered their lord as a god in their desparate time of need, and through their prayers he was reborn... as a primal, just as the Allagans desired, as a Primal is far more malleable than a wyrmlord. The definition of "primal" is vague, but it's to be assumed that the Primals are not granted extra power for being Primals, they are merely recreated as they once were (or as their worshipers believe them to be) from the Lifestream using massive amounts of Aether.

Since Bahamut was definitely a living being and the Meracydians saw him with their own eyes, he would have been reborn as a replica.

It's not a lofty assumption, then, that Bahamut retained much of his strength as we've seen it when he was a living, breathing wyrm. THe Allagans were more than a match, however.

If it's Nidhogg, Bahamut, Tiamat then we can probably guess which the others are just based on the names. Could be Shinryu, Jormundgand, Fafnir, Ouryu, Vrtra, Seiryu etc since those are the more special of the dragons in other games (especially the first 3)

Shinryu is almost certainly one of them, but it's difficult to say with any certainty who they will be for sure. What we do know is that the wyrmlords are going to be immense in both power and physical form; Vishap is merely a pawn of Nidhogg and he is gigantic.

If they're truly that powerful it seems a bit odd that Midgardsormr was defeated by the Agrius