WotG Storyline Discussion (Spoilers)

[Max™]

I still say it is going to be epic when Cait decides she has to kill us for the good of the timeline.

Kill the Taru, Save the World.

[Xali]

I'm going to venture a guess and say it was Volker and his band of however many people you decide to bring with you to the final WotG mission.

I don't see it playing out this way. The people who went with Volker are already determined. I read an article about this somewhere but I can't find the source now. Zeid was obviously there as well. But anyways...

I just don't see The Shadowlord being "the big scary end guy". Its far, far too simple. The expansion isn't "Look! Its the Crystal War!" its "Look, something is screwing with the timeline of the Crystal War." and while The Shadowlord is the big, scary enemy as far as the nations as concerned: Cait Sith seems more concerned with other things. There -are- other cards on the table. We still know very little about the comet, Cait Sith, Atomos, and if Altana plays are sort of direct role in the story.

The Shadowlord was effectively the final story-boss of the game back before RotZ was released and the additional mission ranks were added. I do not see SE making him the final boss yet again. Some greater force is clearly trying to scar the timeline of the war.

Maybe SE will pull some silly thing where you go with Volker and Zeid to attack The Shadowlord (it would sort of be a shame to not take part in such an epic fight) and then the "real" badguy reveals himself like real badguys tend to do during the high plot points.

*shrug*

I'd think the Shadow Lord may make for a late-storyline boss fight, with your participation written out of the history books for one reason or another.
It's a long shot, but I can dream...

[Gilthas]

^^ Volker hogging the glory again.

[Ahnuld]

OMFG GUYS...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...124_054713.png

[Lordshin]

i doubt the shadowlord is the final boss... i mean he could be but thats doesnt do much w/ the whole "going back trough the maws" im thinking there will be something else that we're saving the world from not just the SHadowlord and the beastmen armies.

[Koga]

I think people are really going out on left field here. The questions should be, what do we know, and what can we take from it?

- A Harbinger is supposed to appear according to a legend
- This Harbinger marks something occuring in relation to the Champions of the Dawn
- Cait Sith says she cannot remember if it signals their fall or heralds their arrival

So we basically don't know whether our coming to the past is a good thing or a bad thing.

Our coming to the past doesn't seem to be either, its the harbinger and champions of the dawn that's good or bad. We don't seem to play a part in the prophecy.

meh not sure if this was suggested or not but this kid is mentioned right after "The Champions of the Dawn" in the trailer...
http://switchstix.net/images/untitled.JPG

[Priran]

unless that's like his catchphrase and he says it every time he draws his sword in a dramatic manner while being ambushed by orcs, that scene isn't even in that zone.

just something I noticed

[Kyreth]

That's Excenmille, who's the PvP big guy in San d'Oria.

Don't think so.

[NeoReign]

If the ShadowLord was to be the last boss again then wouldn't he be dead and not the end boss in the original storyline? I like the idea of another super baddy showing himself.

Recap what we have actually fought so far (this is me going off on a tangent)

A possessed Galka, Super charged Brothers, A god and a Top Tier Avatar. What could SE's progression be aimed at? Quite honestly they do not ahve to put an end boss in and simply let the comet take its course.

Forgive me again if this is common knowledge, but why is this war called the Crystal War? Has SE never said what ended the Crystal War in some vague way?

[Kkel]

Maybe it'll be the Odin fight everyone was hoping for in ToAU.

[Sagacious Sundi]

Forgive me again if this is common knowledge, but why is this war called the Crystal War? Has SE never said what ended the Crystal War in some vague way?

Someone mentioned (earlier in this thread) that the opening mentions the beastmen's "hunger for the power of the crystals". Personally, I think it involves the Shadow Lord, since he probably built Zvahl above the Vahzl crystal for a reason. Since Rao's contact with said crystal created the SL (IIRC), he probably needs crystal power to survive. Magicite revived him, remember? And Kam'lanaut mentions that Magicite is similar to the crystals we use for synthesis.

Speaking of which, what exactly is magicite again? Emptiness crystallized via the Eye of Altana? (Does it have to be the Eye of Altana, or can it be something else?)

Oh, and personally, I think the last boss will be Atomos or something. Maybe Cait Sith, but I think his betrayal (if any) will be similar to Tenzen's and Gessho's (wtf is up with Far Easterners "betraying" us towards the end of a expansion?)

[Xanoxonax]

Forgive me again if this is common knowledge, but why is this war called the Crystal War? Has SE never said what ended the Crystal War in some vague way?

Someone mentioned (earlier in this thread) that the opening mentions the beastmen's "hunger for the power of the crystals". Personally, I think it involves the Shadow Lord, since he probably built Zvahl above the Vahzl crystal for a reason. Since Rao's contact with said crystal created the SL (IIRC), he probably needs crystal power to survive. Magicite revived him, remember? And Kam'lanaut mentions that Magicite is similar to the crystals we use for synthesis.

Speaking of which, what exactly is magicite again? Emptiness crystallized via the Eye of Altana? (Does it have to be the Eye of Altana, or can it be something else?)

I thought that Zvahl has always been there and was actually a temple at one time back in the far past. A temple to Odin, perhaps? Can't remember where I read it was once a temple though.

[Rocl]

I would imagine Magicite doesn't require the Eye of Altana, because remember there's some growing in Monastic Cavern, Altar Room, and Qulun Dome. And I've never head of Zvahl being a temple before, but I guess it's somewhat believable.

Final boss is Altana, just you wait and see.

[Sagacious Sundi]

The Gigas constructed Castle Zvahl, hence why there are Gigas in Korroloka (they're harvesting materials for it), although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a shrine there (perhaps where the Throne Room currently is).

Final boss is Altana, just you wait and see.

They would be breaking the tradition if she wasn't.

[Dein]

If the ShadowLord was to be the last boss again then wouldn't he be dead and not the end boss in the original storyline? I like the idea of another super baddy showing himself.

Recap what we have actually fought so far (this is me going off on a tangent)

A possessed Galka, Super charged Brothers, A god and a Top Tier Avatar. What could SE's progression be aimed at? Quite honestly they do not ahve to put an end boss in and simply let the comet take its course.

Forgive me again if this is common knowledge, but why is this war called the Crystal War? Has SE never said what ended the Crystal War in some vague way?

The Shadowlord never died in the Crystal War. All they did to him was basically beat the crap out of him and then sealed him away (which lead to him coming back for us to fight again and even then we didn't actually kill him ourselves either). The war was called the Crystal War because supposedly the beastmen wanted the power of the crystals over the other races aka SE decided it made a good name and didn't try to follow up on the reason too much. Also, the war ended after the Shadowlord is defeated and the nations manage to clear out most of the scattered remains of the beastmen armies.

As for the Crystal Warriors, they have nothing to do with WotG. They're tools of the Zilart, which they were originally made to combat the emptiness, and then just practically pawns that Kam'lanaut and Eld'narche used to try to stop us from interfering with their plans after we fought the Shadowlord again. Those were the only two times they were actually active and doing anything.

[Kaylia]

There is no Throne Room in .dat, so we might not see any BC there. Not that they couldnt modify it to add the area.

Did anyone check the new zone in the .dat with model viewer, or they arent implemented yet? It would be interesting to see how much was changed.

[Rocl]

There is no Throne Room in .dat, so we might not see any BC there. Not that they couldnt modify it to add the area.

Uh there's a Throne Room [S]

[Tulun]

Considering this is supposed to be joining in histories greatest fights, the Shadowlord fight will for sure be in it. They even previewed pictures in their trailer of Castle Zvalhz and the Throne room with SL sitting on it (looking a bit unhappy).

But it would be an odd way to end it... considering that's how the original game ended

I think it would be amusing to fight the duke again. Kill him twice. That's just harsh.

I think Atomos would be a good chance. Heck, with as little info as we know.. maybe Atomos is the dark entity...

[LinktheDeme]

Kind of a sidetrack but why did the shadow lord turn good help us(I think he regained control of himself similar to luzaf probably? can't remember for sure) and then get pwned by the ark angels? And why did the ark angels even attack us and him( I Don't see why we'd be a threat to them)? ( I assume he died to ark angels)

P.S. (The elvaan ark angel dies with her legs open :O)

[Toksyuryel]

Zied snapped him out of it. Then the Zilart showed up (a la Ocelot at the end of MGS2's Tanker chapter), emo'd about how they aren't perfect and that they have to kill everyone to be perfect, and summoned the Crystal Warriors to start by killing you. Raogrimm becomes the Shadowlord one last time to fight them knowing he will lose ("one does not have to be a prophet to foresee the outcome of this battle"), sacrificing his life to allow you to escape.

Back on topic: has anyone considered that the beastmen aren't after the elemental crystals used for synthing but the actual mother crystals? The established information about the shadowlord indicates he "fell into contact with a dark power resting beneath the northlands". Odin is a fantastic guess and the presence of his kindred army (and the scene of Emeline singing the lay to his crystal) pretty much confirms that they did work together very closely. HOWEVER, Odin's protocrystal is high up in Bearclaw Pinnacle, far from resting "deep beneath the northlands". However, the Vhazl shard IS resting deep beneath the northlands and it can be inferred that Diabolos is its guardian. Diabolos is a pretty dark power if you ask me, and he is the master of the dream world of Dynamis (the final you-don't-get-a-resting-place of the Shadowlord after he's finally killed for good, stated to be the result of a pact between him and Diabolos). Raogrimm mentions before he goes SSJ5 one last time that he "can still draw power from this land"; this seems to indicate that his shadowlord power came not from Odin but from the Vhazl crystal. It is further mentioned in one of the Snoll Tzar cutscenes that Raogrimm met up with Odin -after- he was already the shadowlord at that point, and it is suggested that he may have been manipulating or controlling him somehow.

So, assuming the facts we have now point to Raogrimm drawing his Shadowlord power from Vhazl, he must then be after the other shards for their power (he is as strong as he is now from just ONE shard- think of how much power he could have with even just one more). The Zilart also mention his existence causes quite a lot of "noise" in the crystals- perhaps a result of him drawing out their power?