In this issue, Volume 39, page 61 of Famitsu's Connect!On magazine, Mainai and Talu speculate about the five cities already released and the sixth "mystery" city. They discuss relations between the cities and what this possibly holds for the future (and the past) of Eorzea. There will be no scan because it was one wall-of-text page, but we hope you enjoy it!
Translation: Stevemanly and Aya
Not yet covered in other magazines
Unraveling the mystery of the six capitals
Final Fantasy XIV takes place in Eorzea, which is said to have six capitals, or main cities. The only cities with released information, however, are Limsa Lominsa, Ul’dah, and Grindania. The remaining cities remain shrouded in mystery, but by thoroughly examining all the information released up to this point, we could began to see a faint silhouette of these other capitals. Here you have it, untouched in other magazines: the mysterious six capitals!
Review of the Eorzea capitals
Mainai: Where did it first say there were six capitals?
Talu: It was in the information about the Garlean Empire’s attack on Ala Mhigo. At this point, they’ve only released information on three of these capitals directly, but putting together all of the information released so far, we actually have information about five of them. Here’s that information.
* Limsa Lominsa: The city is governed by a leader they call Admiral. One of the Roegadyn tribes lives here.
* Ul’dah: Ul’dah produces slashing-type one-handed swords and is surrounded by desert. Martial arts tournaments are held here.
* Gridania: Its base is nestled in a dim forest. According to the information released so far, it is somewhere in the northern part of Eorzea
* Ishgard: This city in the mountains appears in the story “Tales of Bridges.”
* Ala Mhigo: This city was the first to fall in the Empire’s invasion and was home to many Highlander Hyurs.
M: Ishgard came up in the weapons information. The bastard sword said something about having the thrusting power of an Ishgardian blade.
T: That it did, and the name Ala Mhigo was released with the first information about the Garlean Empire. Ala Mhigo was renowned for its military power.
M: It was so strong, the other cities were surprised when news reached them of Ala Mhigo’s downfall. If you can visit it in the game, it will probably be closer to ruins than a city. I would have loved to see that military powerhouse of a city in its heyday, though.
T: That’s where “reliving the past” comes in. The past existent in the “Wings of the Goddess” expansion for FFXI probably won’t even begin to compare to the world of the past in FFXIV. I expect we are supposed to piece together the clues from the past and the future to understand why the Primals were summoned and learn the secret to the Garlean Empire’s mechanical force.
Intercity relations
M: How are relations between the cities? Were they always cooperative with each other?
T: This information has already been released. Here’s how the story went:
* Age of warring cities
* Ala Mhigo falls to Garlean Empire
* The cities form an alliance to resist the empire
* Time of peace
M: The cities were forced into an alliance due to their fear of the enpire, but I get the feeling their old grudges still linger and these bonds aren’t very tight…
T: Right, and I believe that will come up in the “reliving the past” aspect.
M: Oh? How so?
T: Right now, at least on the surface, everyone gets along, but before there was a lot of hatred between the cities. Depending on the time period, a city’s enemies are different. In the present, it’s the beast tribes and the Empire, but in the past, all of the cities were at war with each other. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
M: Instead of working together to take down a single NPC, maybe we’ll be able to take part in large-scale battles in the past?!
T: Maybe we’ll even see some PVP battles for control over territory!
The mysterious sixth capital
M: What about the sixth city? We haven’t even heard its name.
T: I personally think we may see another city destroyed long ago by an outside force. It could be a city that was the strongest in its field. Like Ala Mhigo and its unparalleled military strength, this other city could have been unmatched in its knowledge of magic and skill. We haven’t seen any groups that excel in magic yet, so I think it’s possible.
M: It would be interesting if it were a city destroyed by the beast tribes and the Primals, but personally, I’d like the sixth city to be like Jeuno in FFXI. You can only be awarded entry once you’ve reached a certain level of adventuring.
Beast tribes and mankind rivalry
T: The beast tribes are split into many tribes and can be found rampaging around all the land.
M: There will probably be a major tribe for each city, like San d’Oria and its orcs in FFXI.
T: The Garlean Empire is a new, invading enemy, but the beast tribes have been around as enemies for a long time.
M: “Invaders” and “enemies.” Looks like we’re in for a battle royale between the Empire, cities, and the beast tribes!
Which city would you like to visit first?
Readers were asked which city they wanted to visit first among the three cities released at the official site. According to that survey, 48% chose Limsa Lominsa, 42 % said Gridania, and 10 percent preferred Ul’dah.
* I am interested in Limsa Lominsa. I was raised near the sea, so I’d like to have my base in an ocean city. –Yasutaka
* Since I belonged to Windurst in FFXI, I kind of want to try Gridania, the forest city. –Koka
* I want to enjoy spectacular buildings in Ul’dah. –Natu
* I’d like to watch the beautiful ocean at the ocean city. –Tonya
Race: Huge change of orders except for Miqo’te
The popularity of race players want to play has greatly changed?! As the following list shows, the rate has highly changed. On the other hand, the popularity of Mqo’te stayed same.
* Elezen Male: 11%
* Elezen Female: 7%
* Lalafell Male: 20 %
* Lalafell Female: 12%
* Hyuran Male: 6%
* Hyuran Female: 10%
* Roegadyn: 8%
* Miqo’te 26%
* Looking at the powerfulness of Roegadyn made me want to play it even more. –PEPSIMAN
* I want to design Lalafell female by character making! –Haramin
* I thought I wanted to play Lalafell, but I changed my mind to play Miqo’te on the first sight of her moving around (laugh). –Sachu
* Small, cute Lalafell Male. –Kino
* Miqo’te is cuter than Mithra! –Meme
