I liked Dawntrail more than most other people and thought it was a good change of pace for the Warrior of Light to take on something more relaxed and low stakes for once. Until, of course, FFXIV fell into the age-old trap of needing to make everything about ending the damn world. Still, now that the Dawntrail arc is wrapping up and Square Enix is starting to introduce the Evercold storyline, I’ve realized that I’m ready for the next big Warrior of Light saga to start.
Last patch, we were introduced to Halmarut, a new Ascian (haven’t heard from these guys in ages) who granted Calyx the power and knowledge he needed to wipe out the Ninth. We thwarted his efforts of course, but with FFXIV‘s patch 7.5, we’re finally starting to get a clearer picture of what Halmarut is up to.
With Hydaelyn and Zodiark now out of the picture, the world is attempting to rejoin all the Shards and the Source. This sounds good on paper, but in reality, it presents a much bigger problem: there’s simply no telling who’s going to survive the rejoining and it could mean the deaths of multiple Shards. In order to preserve the order of things, an organization calling themselves the Winterers are going around destroying Shards in order to negate the effects of this natural rejoining. Calyx reveals himself as one of the Winterers, and Halmarut is simply aiding this organization along the way.
This sets up what could possibly be the most interesting and confounding predicament we’ve seenin FFXIV so far. The rejoining would be a good thing in theory, as it would mean being reunited with all the friends we’ve made along the way, and living together in one united world. But it could also mean countless deaths and terrifying destruction. At present, there appears to be no other solution than to simply annihilate the dead-end Shards (as determined by the Winterers) in order to minimize the damage that would be done to mankind. What other possibly solution could there be?
While I’m sure the Scions will be able to discover some sort of deus ex machina to keep everyone happy at the end of the day, I am interested in seeing how FFXIV explores this moral dilemma. Is it ethical to sacrifice a certain number of lives for the greater good? FFXIV has never been afraid to touch on darker subject matter, most notably in Stormblood, where it dealt with the effects of prolonged war and what that could mean for a civilization that had been broken down so thoroughly.
It definitely helps that the Scions are finally back together in proper fashion. While they made their little appearances in Dawntrail, they felt a bit wasted as characters like Thancred and Urianger had little bearing on the plot and seemed like little more than glorified cameos. I can’t help but wonder if their reunion here would’ve been more impactful had the Scions all properly split up for one expansion, then come back together for the lead-up to Evercold. Still, they’re here now, which means that FFXIV is ready to kick off the first chapter of its next world-ending saga.
There’s also the question of Halmarut herself, who’s shaping up to be an antagonist that we haven’t really seen in the game so far, or in the mainline series at large. While it’s still early days, I can’t help but feel drawn to her in almost the same way I did to Emet-Selch back in Shadowbringers. She’s not the same Joker-style villain that had so many players enamored during those days, but Halmarut’s got a certain whimsical charm to her that I could see being very compelling down the line.
Imagine a little air-headed, soft-spoken woman who appears harmless at first sight, but is able to turn on a dime and decimate an entire species with no hesitation. She has the potential to be the very definition of “looks like a cinnamon roll, but could kill you” and I would be so thrilled if she ends up being one of FFXIV‘s more frightening antagonists. I’ve got high hopes for her. You hear me, Square Enix? High hopes!
Anyway, all of this is to say, FFXIV‘s back, baby! I’d taken a bit of a break since the last patch, but that Evercold announcement and the 7.5 drop have me right back in the game, and I’m looking forward to seeing even more of the story unfold.
