8.0 Speculations Based on Open Plot Points

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Open Plot Threads​

I have been numbering a few of FFXIV's currently open plot threads. They vary in volume and significance, such as the political and military situation of Bukyo (to which we will be getting at some point, but I think definitely not in 8.0), the current status or fate of several Garlean Legions, the crystals in Yak T'el, and others.

Honestly, for Bukyo I 100% envision a Bukyo expansion (9.0 or 10.0) with the vibes of the Rise From The Ashes Type-0 secret trailer

Jenova / Ultima​

In the theme of Yak T'el a little after 1:20 you might hear something familiar

It seems to be Jenova's theme from FF7

Jenova in FF7 is a monster that arrived from space through a meteorite that crashed against the planet, called by the Cetra (the Ancients race) a "calamity from the skies". We can already see a lot of parallels here.

Jenova, interestingly, transformed the Cetra into monsters. That's where I draw the first parallel with Ultima in FFXIV, where in the Pandaemonium quests and story the Ancients seemed to have aetheric corruption based transformations influenced by Athena's meddling with Ultima and the Heart of Sabik. These were Hemitheos.

Agdistis: It has been too long, Master Lahabrea.

Lahabrea: Likewise, Keyward Agdistis. I should not be surprised you were able to break free of Hephaistos's spells, even diminished as you were.

Agdistis: 'Twas not an easy task, even with your aid. His curses dig into one's heart, creating a storm of emotions that is all too easy to become lost in. Only by chance did a fragment of my self remain, illuminating a path through the madness.

Agdistis: And thus am I able to appear before you now. Even while my body was powerless to resist Hephaistos's commands, some small part of my logical mind stood alone in defiance. It even managed to speak to the outside world.

The traits we see in them are way too similar to aetheric corruption.

There were also forms of transformation by creating a massive veil of aether around the body, something which Emet-Selch considers akin to walking around "robeless"

Emet-Selch: "Transformation is an art in which one manipulates a vast quantity of aether to construct another body around oneself. In practice, this allows one to assume any conceivable form, and thereby transcend the limits of one's flesh."

Emet-Selch: "Yet convenient though it may be, transforming in the presence of others is considered vainglorious in the extreme. As uncouth and unseemly as running about robeless. Shameful."

If there is a connection between creation magicks and transformation magicks, which at least there was experimentation between the two in Pandaemonium, this excerpt from Anyder becomes a little interesting:

Did you know that the original Halmarut, a man lauded for countless advancements in the field of phytobiology, was an avid landscape gardener? He was famed for botanical labyrinths of intricate design, the foliage of which he sought to protect from voracious pests with the inventive application of creation magicks-a recreational project said to have led to the evolution of the world's first carnivorous plants. Students of his research later expanded upon those early techniques, and successfully developed an extended family of ambulatory flora. If you, too, wish to set down roots in this fertile field of study, hearken you to the Words of Halmarut and submit your application to the Akadaemia.

Interesting because it refers to the creation magicks as an inventive application, something new. What if somebody injected the idea of creation magicks into the ancients? What if Ultima injected creation magicks into them to find somebody capable of creating souls? My theory is that the purpose of creating souls, and to ascend to godhood, is for Ultima to fight back against the gods who cast Ultima down.

Still on the realm of transformation, it's also interesting for me that the Contramemoria, the war of the Memoriates, involved the aspect of transformations heavily, to the point of causing a flood of Darkness in the reflection. We also see a parallel to that in the First, in some form.

If creation magicks were a novel application, then the whole society of the Ancients didn't need that specific type of magic to reach the heights they were able to. And at the same time, its frequent application in the plans of the Ascians makes me feel that they are unknowingly moving accordingly to Ultima's larger goals.

What connects both of them is auracite being one of the sources for transformations, particularly in both the Contramemoria, the Ivalice Raids and also in the Bozja storyline, with Ultima as the centerpiece being referred to as the source of the auracites we see.

Yak T'el, on the other hand, is a forest dominated by the aetheric influence of meteorites. It was battered by meteors in ancient times and in the present time the effect on the vegetation is being studied. It goes as far as to invigorate the trees with living light, and that is taking a major proponent role in the recovery of Mamook. https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Cultivating_Data

Curiously, the crystals are luminous, just like auracite, and in the forest we can also find Octahedrite.

Octahedrite / Electrope​

I believe Octahedrite is Raw Electrope.

The in-game description for Octahedrite is

A chunk of mineral not dissimilar to the meteorites that litter the forest floor in Yak T'el.

Electrope also seems to be some manner of meteorite.

One day, when out inspecting a forest after lightning had caused a fire, a villager came upon a curious black ore none had seen before. Testing revealed that the ore possessed a singular property: it could store lightning and convert it to other energies. In that instant, the scourge of endless storms became a blessing. Dubbed electrope, the ore found use in myriad inventions and dramatically improved people's lives. So much so, in fact, that all nations soon became dependent upon it—despite the difficulty of obtaining it in quantity. Supply was chronically scarce. And when nations couldn't meet their needs with their own deposits,

Electrope was also used for many purposes, including soul fusion and transformation, as seen in Arcadion.

Quite interestingly, we see this in Calyx's monitor.

https://imgur.com/alhHj3m

Electrope is consistently portrayed with some manner of eight-axis diagram. Octa.

It could even be some manner of raw form of Auracite.

Souls​

The mystery why souls can't be created, where they originate from, and Ultima's obsession with Athena finding a way to create souls were prominently portrayed in Pandaemonium, as well as in some Shadowbringers quests, Endwalker quests and short stories.

That remains an open plot point and I think it's leading to larger story directions.

Azem's technology​

My fiancée shared her thoughts on the matter with me at one point, and I think she has many interesting thoughts and ideas about it. Her perspectives are very interesting and thought provoking. Basically, the several types of technologies we have come across, artifacts, relics, and others could be intended ways of recovering a lost "heritage" (hence the Electrope-ridden area being called Heritage Found).

What was Azem exactly doing during the Sundering? Connecting some dots, it's possible to confirm that Azem had time-travelling capabilities. On the other hand, not only with the Key, but with a few other situations, it does give the feel that we are coming across technologies scattered across reflections and "collecting" them. Could that be Azem's way of slowly recovering necessary knowledge to protect the Star while not coming across sensitive memories that could fall prey to methods such as more advanced forms of aetheric corruption that the blessing of light wouldn't be able to protect from?

The Blindfrost​

When Emet mentioned the different places the Warrior of Light hadn't seen yet, all of them had something in common. All of them had a portal to another reflection, with the exception of the Blindfrost, one that we haven't visited yet. It makes it reasonable to expect a portal to another reflection in there.

https://imgur.com/qsSNWcW

Corvos / Dalmasca​

While Endwalker had in Aloalo allusions that connected to Dawntrail, and with Corvos being a centerpiece of The Merchant's Tale the general consensus is for that to be our lead to some content related to that region in 8.0.

Quite interestingly, we have something for Dalmasca as well, which could imply that the entire area ranging from Corvos to Dalmasca in the map could be present.

In Endwalker the Studium Delivery quests mentioned the Occult Crescent. They mentioned something about the hunters in Shades' Triangle partaking in steaks. Today I went there to check their texts and interestingly they now mention space travel. Either acknowledging Cosmic Exploration, or alluding to the source of these meteorites..

Outer Space Quotes​

Boric: I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the days when the subject of our research was a little less...broad. However, I am willing to do anything for the professor!

Rurusha: I knew the Golden Dhyata would go on to do great things. Oh, I can't wait to see her connect us with the stars themselves.

Golden Dhyata: <rattle> “The serpent that sleeps in the deep slowly sheds its skin of old.”

Golden Dhyata: “Eventually, the serpent devours its own tail, and renders new flesh using its own. The pain felt will cause the earth to quake, the mountains to crumble, and the rivers to run dry. Thus, seven wedges must be driven into its back...”

Namono Tayamono: That which falls from above has historically been viewed as a gift from the gods. Simply put, people have long viewed space itself as the realm of the divine. Truly incredible to think we are on the verge of exploring it...

Debroye: Isn't this exciting, Baudrillard? There must be worlds of cuisine out there that we've never even seen before!

Debroye: With our sights set upon the stars, the scope of our gourmet research will be practically limitless!

Galveroche: Mervynbread could certainly sustain us during an extended journey amongst the stars, yet even the most delicious food becomes tiresome after a while. We shall require new flavorings! Curry, mayhap, or even seafood...

Jude: To think we might even be able to travel to these celestial bodies some day...

Jude: The idea of encountering alien life-forms does scare me somewhat, but I think I'd get along better with them than those at the poetry club...

Jeromere: If you end up exploring new planets, then you can leave dealing with their inhabitants to me. I fancy myself a rather good negotiator, you know.

Advent Children​

The great Withering mentioned in 7.4 MSQ seems to be oddly similar to the major plot point of FF7 Advent Children.

Marlene: But it looks like the planet is a lot madder than we thought.

Marlene: They call it geostigma.

(...)

Rufus: As a first step we have commenced an investigation in Sephiroth’s wake. It’s been two years. Now that the world is on its feet again, what poses the greatest threat? Well, that one’s easy. Geostigma. And we have reason to think Sephiroth is the one responsible. The populace, they blame mako energy, and the reactors… even the Lifestream for causing the stigma. However, isn’t that blame misplaced? The Lifestream has existed as long as the planet, and even mako energy has been part of our lives for over forty years. And yet, there’s no mention of the stigma in recorded history. So, what happened during our time to change all that? I can think of only one thing. The arrival of Sephiroth.

(...)

Vincent: I come here often. I’ve seen what Kadaj’s group is doing. The stigma. It’s a symptom of alien matter infesting the body. The body tries to eliminate it and overcompensates. Inside our bodies is a current, like the Lifestream. That current is what fights off any malevolent intruders.

(...)

Sephiroth: The last thoughts of geostigma’s dead. Those Remnants will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet – choking it, corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as my vessel, just as my mother did long ago. (Sephiroth raises his hand, and the sky goes dark and swirly!) Then one day we’ll find a new planet and on its soil we’ll create a shining future.

I can't think of any other FF game that has a closer parallel than that. For comparison, the 7.4 MSQ text:

Halmarut: Hold fast you must, as we press ever onward...

Halmarut: For soon, it begins, and every world shall tremble. The Winterers must be prepared to outlast the great withering to come.

Calyx: That's your ominous prediction, is it?

Halmarut: No, it's nature's proclamation. Can't you hear it?

Halmarut: It echoes in the silence left by the will of the star.

Fate​

The next expansion's name will have "Fate" in the name.

https://i.imgur.com/qCxnXka.jpeg

Key of Azem​

I'm pretty sure we will be revisiting Amaurot because of the Key, because either there will be a connection between the Key and Anyder, or to ask the memories materialized by Emet about the Key

https://i.imgur.com/PE4aivM.jpeg

Non-Lore Theories​

Instead of making a separate thread, there are some theories regarding system updates based on existing patterns and statements.

New Jobs​

With Tank and Physical Ranged being next in line, following a theory I had just before Viper was announced, the next tank should have some manner of "whimsiness" because the other major areas FFXIV tries to cover in its jobs have already been covered in the tank role (classic FF fantasy, generic high fantasy, dark themed, technology), so I believe it will be Runic Knight with the early preview being what we see from the Unyielding Blade swordmasters from Corvos. Physical Range will be a "dark themed" one, so I think a crossbow wielder in the style of Bloodborne.

It was following that theory that I was very convinced that 7.0 was going to have a dual wielding swordsman job, because that classic "D&D fighter" and "swords dual wielder" niche still needed to be met.

Mount "customization" system​

I think we will have some form of customizing mounts in a very limited way. More in the sense of having options regarding the movement animation of the mounts. I think this is what Yoshida meant when he said "モーション関連は、ちょっとプレイヤーの皆さんに何かしらカスタムを用意させていただこうかと計画中" (http://blog.livedoor.jp/umadori0726/), followed by making comments in the most recent Live Letter about how he wished the multi-wing mount was able to fly with its ground animation, the two wings version.

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