The new year saw the start of another seasonal event, as well as a New Year’s greeting from game producer Naoki Yoshida.
Riding a fanciful steed and brandishing a gun to usher in the near year (That’s kind of dangerous...), Yoshida said Heavensward appeared to bring the game back “on the right track, nearly five years later” after the release of FInal Fantasy XIV 1.0
That greeting came with some tidbits of information, as well as another set of lines from Archon Louisoix’s journal, depicting what may likely be yet to come in the growing history of Eorzea. Let’s dive in, as Naoki Yoshida prepares us for this season’s beatings!
Fan Festivals and Heavensward Finales
Yoshida wrote in his new year’s greetings that Eorzea was looking on the up-and-up following the release of Heavensward.
“As of August 27, it has been two years since the release of A Realm Reborn, and five years since the release of the original FFXIV, “ Yoshida wrote. “In a way, our game is already well into its lifespan as a MMORPG. But it is my hope for 2016 that we remember how it feels to be a new player, and I want to keep this in mind as we move forward together.”
Yoshida marked the occasion by reminding players not only of the past of FFXIV but also of its future, adding that new Fan Festivals will be incoming beginning October 2016, moving into 2017. Yoshida also mentioned that the finale of the Heavensward storyline will hit in February with Patch 3.2. Assuming there are follow-up patches every three months or so, I expect we’ll see two or three major storyline patches that tie Heavensward and future content.
Given the timing, I’m betting we’ll be seeing an expansion announcement prior to the Fan Festivals. The Fan Festivals can serve as a prime location to showcase the game expansion further, or to give Final Fantasy XIV fans the chance at yet another awesome shirt with a trial. Yoshida also also mentioned a flying adamantoise. I wonder how we’re actually going to earn that.
The Gerun Oracles
Perhaps the more mysterious revelation to come out of the Yoshida’s letter is the transcription of the final page of Archon Louisoix’s journal.
"In the beginning, before myth and legend,
before Light and Dark, there was but the sea.
"In the beginning, before man and hist'ry,
Light and Dark were divided, the sea sundered in fourteen.
"To the seas She cast Her children, for fear of the Moon.
"For hate of the Star, to the seas he cast His doom."
Aside from the basic question of who the Gerun Oracles are, I imagine the main question will be what these passages mean.
I imagine that after Eorzea is plunged into the 7th Umbral Era – the 14th cycle in the cycle of light and dark, mind you – we’ll be seeing something significant, like a period of intermingling peace and struggle to coincide with the dissolution of the divide between the astral and umbral eras. Perhaps the storyline prior to whatever expansion will be coming will coincide with finding further information on the Gerun oracles and what lies next for the world.
Whatever the future may be, It makes me giddy to speculate. To end, I’ll share this video with all of you: a recently released speculative analysis of the Gerun passages by Ethys Asher. Cheers!
