Discussing Dawntrail's Future MSQ! Final Fantasy 14

Wanted to get something like this out real fast mostly because I wanted to see how people feel about Post Endwalkers last big MSQ moment! Be sure to throw your crazy/fun theories down in the comment section bellow as we theorize what to expect in the future!
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#ffxiv #endwalker #dawntrail

[@GavinAstraWolf]

I was really surprised how solid of a lead in 6.55 was. They did so much with a mini patch and its insane to see. Looking forward to what they do in Dawntrail

[@linkavantasia94]

I Read it not as if "it will attack Garlemald", but more of that with the garlean empire out of the equation, the candidate for the throne sees an opportunity for expansion and conquest. And i would assume the most close continent to them would be Vylbrand strategy wise, so there is the chance that this will affect Limsa Lominsa if the candidate gets the throne.

[@karlrassmann4604]

I'm thinking they'd ravage the former imperial colonies, probably starting with Doma or Corvos. Assuming there's no landmass between Tural and Othard, Doma is the closest to them but has strong local allies that would put up a powerful united front. Corvos is much farther but would be an easy target.

[@futurepastnow]

I think he's going to attack Sharlayan. It's where one (or two???) of his "siblings" have gone, giving them potentially mixed loyalties. It's the home of a bunch of Archons who are now coming over to get up in his business. And it looks like an easy target right across the sea.

[@JackThor1]

I loved Estinian's scene. Reminded me of the chanbara film trope of the ronin deciding randomly where to go and getting involved do the randomness, fate, or whatever.

[@Kekira]

He's going to be both happy and annoyed to see the scions and Krile.

[@raseaces]

It's so funny how Estinien's entry into the story is by him just randomly being there because of his travels, lol. Though I guess that also happens a lot with how the WoL gets themselves involved in other situations. That also still leaves the mystery of Y'sthola's reasoning to be there in Tural, which I think hasn't been foreshadowed yet so far?

[@cablefeed3738]

Going to the new world to research magic so that they can make portals to other Shards

[@gearsun3466]

Wuk Lamat being similar to Moenbryda did come across my mind. Probably the same reason I instantly fell in love with this woman. But it is interesting to see how far she goes with her over compensating. Even over something as mundane as spice. I think Dawntrail will see her grow up as a person to either ascend the thrown a more clam person or see that she was never made for the throne. I hope for the latter simply because I think self acceptance is a better goal than stubborn ambition.

[@Lyu-Phy]

I think she is similar to Moenbryda but where they differ is, that Wuk Lamat seems to appear strong (or want to appear strong) but is actually kinda inexperienced/not developed, where as Moenbryda was basically fully developed & confident when we met her for the first time already. Moenbryda basically was someone with not only a finished character arc but a very matured character in itself, where Wuk Lamats is just about to begin. I could be wrong but that is the expression I and many others get from Wuk. Even tho I know nothing can replace Moenbryda (nothing should), I am very excited for Wuk Lamat and what spin she gets, definitely reminiscent of Moen. But she could also lean more into the direction of Lyse, a commenter pointed out we have been missing a brawler with a bubbly personality since a long time already. I'm curious where they will take her.

[@LunaDunno]

I think it's worth mentioning in all this that the part to most look forward to is that Wuk Lamat will have an entire expansion (or most of one, most likely) to be challenged, learn and grow, likely with our help and perspectives. That's a lot of time and a lot of narrative focus. I'm very much looking forward to that kind of character-focused writing, after Endwalker and its patches focused more on the world(s).

[@crowolf3862]

i'm a bit hesitant about that idea. It feels kind of storm blood lyse, and I don't want Wuk to have to deal with those parallels.

[@hippiechick73]

I hope there are characters I enjoy as much as the ancients.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

It should be noted that Hrothgar females have natural leadership qualities. She shows admittedly some of this in her demeanor. Headstrong, brave, taking charge in the front lines. But this doesn’t mean this is good skills as a ruler. I do hope she gets there soon.

[@natebroadus8474]

I love the theory that her brother might be another of the claimants to the throne, and possibly someone with whom Thancred and Urianger are acquainted from her brother's time at the Studium. Even if he's just working for another claimant, that still opens up a lot of interesting story possibilities.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Is it a theory? I thought that was the case. That the warmonger claimant is her brother that’s the Mamool Ja. Or at least very likely.

[@natebroadus8474]

@@acgearsandarms1343 Wuk Lamat said her brother was a Mi'qote like G'raha, and that he attended the Studium. We don't know anything yet about the warmonger claimant, other than that he wants to fill the void left over by the Garlean Empire.

[@barryward2128]

​@acgearsandarms1343 I think they're going with she's a member of the royal family so the others in this tournament thing are probably also realatives

[@karlrassmann4604]

I think the brother from the studium being the Mi'qote on the key are and Thandred and Urianger's client is all but confirmed. It feels so obvious that if they went another route it'd be a plot twist to me. All literary signs point to it. The other brother is the warmonger, and the last sibling is probably Erenville, who actively wants to shy away from his royal background. My guess is the warmonger is Mamool'ja and likely also on the key art. This makes sense because then, including Erenville, Galool'jaja has a child from each of Tural's prominent native races, which is fitting for a ruler who seeks to prioritize unity among the tribes of his people.

[@nekromanta167]

@@karlrassmann4604 agreed on all points except Erenville being another royal sibling, hate that trope of every person taking central stage in a story having to secretly be a prince or princess xd

[@Narlaw1199]

With everything you pointed out, it also feels like Wuk Lamat is built as a character meant to stay, a new main character for future expansions. Because of that I don't see her ruling Tural, let alone stay there.

[@J-manli]

Ever since Lyse left, the Scion has been lacking an bubbly and action-oriented character.

[@The300Player]

Maybe she just decides to travel with us so she can learn how to be better for her people one day

[@Elidan1012]

I see her more as a Varshahn type of character. Very important for the expansion in question, and can get pulled in when relevant in the future, but not a Scion. Too early to tell though - Don't think many thought G'raha would become a Scion when only having done the Crystal Tower quests.

[@Narlaw1199]

@@Elidan1012 Really? I think Varshahn appeared relatively too late and more sporadically, compared to Wuk who's there from the prologue and presumably for the most part of the future 7.0 MSQ. You are right that it's a bit early to tell though. Time will tell!

[@twelfthknight]

Wuk Lamat's aesthetic is kind of fascinating. it retains the ornate Amano-esque design elements but brings it into a Mesoamerican pastiche. Which is a design space I can't recall Amano himself actually using before, but it works surprisingly well. She's a literal Jaguar Warrior, come to think of it.

[@TheJaw231]

I think Alphonaud is going to be the key figure in helping prepare Wuk Lamat to actually be a leader. It would be a perfect full circle moment for him when we look back on his time with the Crystal Braves and he's also the most diplomatic of all the Scions. I think that's why it was imperative that we get him to come along with us. I am sad that it seems G'raha isn't going to be coming with us at least at first because that means he won't get any Tacos :(

[@BasicComicsEnjoyer]

Astolfonaud

[@UTO7]

That's actually a really interesting thought, and it's interesting that we haven't got to see him interact with Wuk Lamat outside of a formal introduction. It would be cool to see him come fall circle and help someone avoid the mistakes he made. I wonder if it will even go so far as getting her to swallow her pride and support a more experience candidate.

[@Lyu-Phy]

Dont worry he'll be there, as if he would miss out such a big adventure, the start of a new saga even.

[@aaronlefebre5060]

Honestly, I feel that Erenville is being far too dodgy than just someone who doesn't like to talk about their past would be. He's going way out of his way to downtalk anything to do with Tural or even his connection to Wuk Lamat. I think what's happening here is these are the first hints that he's someone far more important than he leads on, and that he's something like nobility himself (and ran away from). Possibly an arranged noble marriage to Wuk Lamat herself, or is a "missing" sibling that Wuk Lamat helped get away. Something tells me that his story is gonna have a big impact on Dawntrail, and he's not happy about the possibility. I mean, how does someone who is effectively a USPS/UPS/FedEx/Amazon delivery driver gonna be childhood friends with someone who is essentially the president's daughter and not be someone important himself?

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Steward family to the royal family is one explanation. I don’t think Erenville is of the royal family itself, at least not at this point in time. Have to wait and see.

[@cailee9820]

I feel like the "bad guy" is not the Miqo'te "brother" she mentions. I do have a feeling that maybe her brother is the Miqo'te featured on the expansion art. In fact, looking at that poster again, I see 3 people we don't know - a male Miqo'te, a female Hyur, and a ?? Mamool Ja (not sure how to tell their gender), so maybe they could be the 3 other contestants. (Although I feel like the Hyur is more likely part of something bigger).

[@shinkicker404]

The female Hyur looks the most suspect to me. On the key art she is occupying the spot that a large or main ally holds (Venat, Ryne, Lyse), she looks like a younger Venat to me. She could just be an ally, but with the political themes going on here she could initially be a friend but later on not be.

[@nekromanta167]

she speaks very favourably about Koana, but has a very different tone about the warmongering guy, so there is no way they would be the same person xd

[@mismismism]

I was very pleasantly surprised by the DT lead up. Wuk Lamat seems very cool, they gave us a lot about her personality and peaks into her fears in a very short time. I love that we might end up competing against Thancred and Urianger, honestly, the lead up quest actually made me very excited for Dawn Trail, although I was already hype for more MSQ but I really like the stuff they've shown off for story teasers so far with the contest and Solution 9.

[@Edge2177]

It's obviously the sharlayan student brother who contracted the archons, having a teacher making the connection.

[@nekromanta167]

i would be really surprised if that's not the case

[@Konpekikaminari]

The moment she mentioned having a brother who graduated from the Stadium, I went "ah, that's why the scions are splitting up"

[@redgeoblaze3752]

If I had to hazard a guess at some of the story. I think the other Scions like Thancred, Urianger, and Y'shtola are going to be siding with the other competitor for the right of succession. They could make the conflict much more three dimensional like that, by giving some reasons both candidates deserve the throne. It seems like they're portraying this as very light hearted and easy. Everyone's just excited to go on a new adventure that no one's worried about what happens if Wuk Lamat's brother wins. That could be a source of conflict and raising the stakes, if we go in all confident that this is going to be a fun little tournament arc, then lose.

[@vincentbeton]

Could the Island of Haam be going extra crazy from that additional Aether from Zodiark and the Twelve? It felt odd how "weird and aggressive creatures" were put up as the reason to go there, but then no one mentions it anymore

[@antarath517]

It's always felt like a really weird contrivance. "Aggressive/invasive/overpopulated creatures here, no moral qualms in sight!"

[@Subtended]

Much moreso than Moenbryda, I feel like Wuk Lamat is another try at a Lyse character. She's young and inexperienced, maybe even moreso than ARR Yda, who confidently traded blows with Livia sas Junius. Balking at the colibri and trembling afterwards suggests that while she may be trained well, she may not be as practiced or blooded a hunter as she projects. Very much agree with you on her focus on stopping the ascension of a warmonger candidate versus affirmatively pressing her own claim, and I'm glad we got the dialogue options (even if only to G'raha) to express some doubt on this endeavor. Personally, I'd be on board with taking the dangerous candidate out, then seeing who's left standing, and who, if any of the claimants, deserves or warrants support as a ruler (if that choice is even within our purview). I also found it interesting that G'raha volunteered to stay behind, so Krile could go with us while he minds the fort. Trailer puts him in Tuliyollal, so he ends up there eventually, but why will be the interesting part.

[@rachaelward6552]

I find it interesting that the patch is implying that G'raha is opting to stay behind and take care of the Students of Baldesion, so Krile can travel and investigate the letter she found. But from what we have gleaned from the trailer it seems he will still be coming with us. What is the story there I wonder?

[@The300Player]

Yeah i was wondering about that too, we know for a fact that he will be there but why? What happened that made him change his mind?

[@TheDarkThunder]

Field trip with the students.

[@massbear]

My non-story hypothesis is that Jonathan Bailey is too hard to schedule these days.

[@Kekira]

There's also Y'shtola unaccounted for as well.

[@Vikumax]

Me and friend were theorizing that Wuk Lamat mentioning a Miquo'te is mearly a misdirection and pondering if perhaps Erenville IS the sibling living in secret in Sharlyean that she mentions.

[@WickedSensei]

Interesting! While I do think there is a Miqo'te sibling that will be important due to an unknown Miqo'te on the new cover art...Erenville being one of the siblings makes total sense as well!

[@nekromanta167]

Erenville is a gleaner not a studium scholar though, and has nothing to do with machinery/technology Wuk mentions Koana is interested in

[@meeeberperson]

I wanna throw a curveball and say, perhaps Erenvalle is actually a 4th sibling. She did mentioned theyve been together since they were kids even if the tundere bunny says otherwise

[@johnspeight3264]

If Erenville turns out to be one of the contestants I would flip if he is the one that contacted Thancrid and Uri and is only traveling with our group to keep an eye on us 😮

[@Xardion55]

From this explanation of her personality, Wuk Lamat sounds a lot like Lyse. Which is interesting considering that the plot of claiming the throne through contest sounds quite like the Naadam of the Axim Steppe in Stormblood.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

So far the ideal candidates at this point in time might be Koana and the other unmentioned sibling over herself and the warmonger. I do want to support Wuk Lamat, but you’re right. She has not shown leadership qualities during and after the hunt and is in need of them to be a ruler. Best case scenario is she secedes the throne to another well suited to the job if she can’t gain a good reason by the time the contest is over in Dawntrail.

[@NagaTales]

My personal predictions fall along these lines: Thancred and Urianger (potentially also Y'shtola and Estinien?) are backing the Miqo'te sibling she mentioned-likely the same one that appears on the right side of the key art-setting up the main conflict of 7.0 as a 'friendly rivalry' between the two teams in a series of tasks/competitions that span the continent. The 'warmonger'-possibly one of the Mamool Ja at the bottom of the art-is the wildcard in the competition narratively; sometimes winning, or sometimes causing one or the other of our main teams to lose to the other due to his actions interfering. The fourth sibling is either going to be too weak a contender to have much impact, or so strong a contender that they become the goal to overtake. In the end, it's a coin toss whether Wuk Lamat or her Miqo'te sibling ends up winning, and there's strong narrative reasons for the writers to pick one or the other as the ultimate victor, depending on how they want to resolve this leg of Wuk Lamat's character arc. However, the 'warmonger' is likely not going to take the loss sitting down, and I suspect that the aftermath is going to spill into 7.1-7.3 as all parties are going to have to deal with what he chooses to do, now that the throne out of his reach.

[@25xxfrostxx]

Erenville may be another sibling of hers who just has no interest in the throne so he's helping her instead. She is basically Meownbryda, the similarity was definitely there. She may be in a situation where she had to do something but she doesn't know what. She's definitely inexperienced but I'm not getting any sort of deception. It's possible that the unfit ruler is the Miqo'te brother (possibly the person on the right side of the key art) or that could be the one that hired Thancred and Urianger. The other mamool ja on the key art may be the warlike one that dislikes them because they're adopted.

[@ndisfoshiz]

Wuk Lamat reminds me a bit of Moenbryda ❤

[@SynodicScribe]

Same.

[@jrtime228]

Oh good. I wasn't the only one who drew the conclusion of the sibling being the one she's trying to deny. Given that Viera lore says that they are much longer lived than even elezen, I almost want to speculate that Erinvile was a bodyguard for our hrothgal. I also want to say that I think Uringer and Thancred are being requested by the current ruler of Tural (but the obvious guess being the warmongering sibling). The reason for the WILD second speculation is because of how Wuk Lamat obviously feels about the current ruler, her father; and how she seems to waiver while fighting formidable beasts. Along with her reasoning for wanting to take the throne, I get the feeling Wuk Lamat is the near-stereotypical "loved princess and daughter." And if her father felt it necessary, I would imagine he would try to help discreetly to prevent the warmongering sibling from winning. And if the City of Gold is the race's end, it would make sense why Uringer and Thancred seemed to be looking for it in the trailer.

[@hippiechick73]

The colibri we fight is the pet of Captain Madison and it flew to its current aether-bathed isle after his defeats. (That’s my story!)

[@Sil3ntLynx]

Completely random thought I doubt they would actually realise, but as you mentioned the royal siblings my mind drifted to the thought of the scholarly miqote kin... And that reminded me of the savvy Mr Chai. I don't believe they would randomly have the Source's equivalent of him like that because of how distracting it could be, but it tickled me to imagine

[@SneakyMuffin]

I'm glad people are liking Wuk Lamat, but... I still feel a hole in my heart from last time we got a charismatic, big, pretty woman with an axe. And if I had to guess, Erenville might also have a more personal stake in the rite of succession. And something else I'm curious about, is that apparently the current leader is a Mamool Ja with two heads. Like who we see the WoL fighting in the trailer. They might not be one in the same, but I feel like we know the writing well enough to know that's not really how they do things.

[@SynodicScribe]

I know what you mean. Moenbryda was taken too soon. But yes! That's the same Mamool Ja! The one the WoL is fighting in the trailer is her father.

[@ExileTwilight]

I suspect Gulool will want to test his mettle against the famed Warrior of Light. I doubt the depicted battle is a serious fight to the death.

[@J-manli]

@@ExileTwilight Yeah considering Meteor was smiling throughout the whole animation, it’s definitely a sparring match.

[@stevenalvarez2924]

As far as I can tell, just this MSQ patch mind you, I noticed red flags I do not personally like about Wuk. Considering the responsibility she is supposed to carry, she is very unprepared for it. Then considering her age, she is far too old to be caught of guard by her own words of, "Hunting together to learn about a person." So she is either a spoiled princess who had an entourage of guards during her hunts or she just realized recently how severe the situation is and has never honestly prepared to be a leader. Which leads back to Stormblood msq of how poorly they handled Lyse for her role of leadership. I honestly believe that if they cut Wuks age in half, be around the twins age, then I can feel more sympathy for an obviously inexperienced child. But as of right now, especially being the princess of the current ruler, she has no reason to be as green as they portray her to be. Outside of character flaws that the community did not find appealing with Alphinaud in ARR, I really do hope it's just not Stormblood msq all over again with her character.

[@XieRH1988]

After the 6.55 MSQ I’m starting to wonder if not all the scions might take sides in the contest, i.e. some might just be going to Tural to do their own thing. It would explain the missing scions in the key artwork. Estinien is the biggest example of this as the ending scene suggests he may have just gone to Tural on a whim. Y'Shtola was also MIA for the entire 6.55 so her agenda is totally unknown. Wuk Lamat wanting to join the contest purely to stop the “bad candidate” from winning can get very interesting if she herself has no real desire to rule, or even feels herself unworthy, which we can already see hints of in her character’s bravado possibly being a facade for some kind of insecurity. If she has some kind of internal conflict over her own participation in the contest it adds depth to her character over her just being someone who wants to defeat a bad guy.

[@johnspeight3264]

You took the words right out of my mouth. I was definitely getting a Moon and URI vibe between those two.

[@morteaux3662]

I love ... "totally not-scions of seventh dawn" line xD :D Also, it's totally in RELM of possibilities, that each group will be working with someone else. Us with Wuk Lamat. Urianger and Thancred with someone else from the poster (the girl at the top?) Ysh'tola and Graha will join later to help Miqote from Sharlayan? (Koana) and Estinien being Estininen... will stand behind warriors of Mamool Ja. And thus we will have full story with some twists and stuff :D

[@ZenBearV13]

I really hope we as the WoL get the Superman treatment. The best Superman comics are the ones where the threat being faced cannot be beaten into submission; public opinion, mind games, etc. It’s already established that the WoL is the most powerful individual in Etheirys, so it would be silly to prop up yet another random NPC as a match for us. Instead, I hope they use the social skills of Thancred and the subterfuge of Urianger to by their powers combined be the Lex Luther to our Clark Kent.

[@bigfoxki]

They said there are 4 candidates. I presume they are the Hrothgal, the male Miqote in the poster (her brother), the girl on the top, and the Mamool Ja.

[@Wanderingsage7]

Honestly, I'm glad we're on team Twin. I wish they would chill on the 'helping the Garleans rebuild' plan for their own health and safety but still. I like Wuk Lamet. She has the boisterousness of Lyse and Moen but also the apprehension of leading that Lyse had. I don't recall a fourth sibling, which doesn't mean much. We have a warmonger, a scholarly Miqot'e (who might be the warmonger though doubtful and possibly related to G'raha though also doubtful), and Wuk. Who is as close to us personality wise as we're likely to find. I'm liking pictomancer. It's vibrant. As to why we haven't heard of it or the Archon Realm... Sharlyan has been an isolationist for a while. Looks like team comp is Wuk Tank, Krile & Alisaie DPS, and Alphi healer. I kinda like how they half hand wave, half gloss over why everyone else is able to communicate with Wuk Lamet easily and have it make sense. At the kick off, there doesn't seem to be much for Alphinaud to do in Toral except hang around and learn of the culture. Which... Honestly I could see him doing that on a vacation so it checks out. And it looks like Y'shtola might be staying out of things and continuing her research. So maybe she'll avoid almost dying. Joke aside, it's an interesting choice, since she's been the face of the game in other games. Namely Dissidia.

[@J-manli]

There is speculation that Solution 9 is the Ninth Reflectio. So maybe that’s where she’ll come in play.

[@nekromanta167]

where did you get the idea for Koana being related to Graha? 🤔Graha is from Corvos while the new guy is from Tural

[@Wanderingsage7]

@@nekromanta167 sleep deprivation

[@nekromanta167]

@@Wanderingsage7 haha, fair, the best sign of a good story ^^

[@danielBrown-fs7xq]

Did you catch the beast master teaser info that was in one of tge 4 books read in the library during the quest might be something to dig into there in that text. Thought it was vjper lore but i think its actually beastmastet

[@Stephline13]

My theory so far is that Wuk Lamat, at the end of Dawntrail, is going to have to make some kind of choice: Either succeed at some kind of task that will win her the throne, or take care of an issue that would cause a great deal of harm to the people of Tural and beyond if it's not dealt with. And with what we know of her driving motivation so far? I think she'll choose to surrender the throne to instead deal with whatever the inevitable end boss is going to be. She wants to avoid a war and protect people (both her own and belong to other nations), and it'd be a great way of putting her to the test about it. Why is the WoL then fighting the end boss on their own? They're very good at fighting big monsters and all the other Scions have just dispatched themselves to go get Thancred and Urianger's candidate to the finish line before the person Wuk Lamat wants stopped. It could also just be a really fun subversion of an expected pattern if the WoL succeeds at the job asked of them (stop expansion-desiring candidate from taking rule) but also fails the job asked of them (put own petitioner on the throne) at the same time. Lose the battle to ultimately win the war.

[@renaatsibanda3951]

Wuk Lamat did mentioned her desire to see more of the world, including that being able to understand and navigate myriad cultures is key to being the ruler of Tural. Whatever outcome we get in Dawntrail, it’s only the beginning of her journey as a character.

[@gamer11011101]

Off topic, but I want to point out the lack of Y'shtola in this patch. We know she will be in the New World as per the trailer, but we didn't see her heading that way. We just know of three groups: Estinien, Thancred and Urianger, and the WoL and party.

[@TheOptimistDelusion]

I'm also wondering how G'raha is gonna end up in the new world given that he told Krile he'd stay behind to take care of Baldesion business in her stead 🤔

[@yanipheonu]

One interesting thing is that Yshtola has a very clear goal of studying Shard Travel. So strong odds that, if Yshtola is there, something in the New World may be a clue towards travelling to other shards. Heck, people even wonder if Solution 9 is actually on another Shard.

[@astrealbrizbee9815]

I love that the stakes of the story is to prevent a Garlean like invasion of Garlamald pretty much, we're on prevention duty to not repeat the past.

[@fredy2041]

Its not clear. She never says specificaly what his warmonger will do. He could want to be the next conquering empire to be, conquering the continents. She never expliciftly said, conquer Garlemald

[@KingDavidCreates]

It's impressive the Dev team did so much with so little. They set-up not only why we are going to the New World but the beginnings of a character arc with Wuk Lamat. They also added some more details to our bun boy friend. His relationship with Wuk Lamat and his childhood dream of finding the city of gold. We also learned of Koana, likely the mysterious Green Haired glasses wearing M'iqo from the key art. I'm inclined to believe Koana is not the ambitious one, Wuk spoke to fondly of him. Also curious that G'raha was munching on tacos in the Trailer but is seemingly staying behind. 1 Scion is also a noteworthy absence, We have no clue what Y'shtola is doing.

[@dansong9161]

I have a theory that the sibling Wuk Lamat speaks of is the Mamool Ja man we see on the key art. There's four claimants, who I believe we all see on the key art poster. Wuk herself, Koana her "second older brother" - who is a Miqo'te and thus the white-haired Miqo'te on the key art most likely- the Mamool Ja we see next to Wuk Lamat, and then up top we have a Hyur woman. Seeing she talks about Koana with more fondness than the sibling Erenville and her mention. It'd make sense that the Mamool Ja may be the warmonger, if he's the other older brother (as we only know about Koana being at least older than Wuk). Also for a second theory, I think Koana is the one who asked for Urianger and Thancred. Seeing they're put close to his position on the key art poster. Which asks the question of who Y'shtola is supposed to be backing. It'd be neat if they split the Scions into not just two sides, but three.

[@XieronDraxin]

I personally think that Erenville is Wuk Lamat's oldest brother. She mentions Koana, the Miqo'te one who came to Sharlayan, being her "second older brother". Which leaves an oldest brother unaccounted for. And we see that her and all her siblings are adopted and of different races. And Viera age insanely slowly. I'm ready to learn that Erenville is secretly like.....150 years old. I also think that Koana is the one who has hired Thancred and Urianger. Having spent time in Sharlayan, he would know of them well enough to contact them directly instead of going through the Students or the Scions and I could see why an aspiring scholar-king would want a fellow scholar and a world-class spy on his team.

[@RichieRK7]

Y'shtola was surprisingly absent from 6.55 even though she was in the trailer so I'm curious if she will be doing her own thing kind of like Estinien seems to be doing or what exactly.

[@kuronaialtani]

Erenville seems just a little too shall we say “well-spoken” for his own good, and his apparent history with Wuk Lamat since they were kids despite her royalty is even more leaning into the potential that he also has a claim to the throne but really REALLY doesn’t want to have said claim

[@nekromanta167]

i think Wuk Lamat is highly trained and idealistic, but also rather sheltered and naive, somehow making me think of someone a bit between Nanamo and Moenbryda edit: actually thinking on the possible 9 themes being used, Wuk would be our Garnet, but would there be a corrupt queen Brahne to her 🤔

[@that_one_person]

G’raha told Krile to go to Tural and leave the Students of Baldasion to him and the receptionist whose name I don’t remember right now. It almost seems like he’s not coming with them, which sucks if it’s true. But we do see him in the trailer, so maybe he’ll be in another ship. Also, Y’shtola didn’t make an appearance at all in the patch but she’s in the trailer so what role will she play? So many questions still unanswered

[@HikingFeral]

What I am looking forwards to the most, is seeing what a female Hrothgar looks like in an Endless summer Bikini.

[@jaredhoozky123]

I’m pretTy sure the answer lies within the summoning of zeromus but was the thing yoshi p was talking about how something would happen in the later patches that would shake Eorzea and change the world. You think that was the whole zeromus thing? Maybe the key to travel between shards? Idk even though I fully expect them to come back with a vengeance I don’t feel like the 6.X series did too much of that even though I loved it a lot personally

[@Konpekikaminari]

Wuk Lamat definitely doesn't strike me as a fitting ruler to a nation But I'd be damned if my first response to her was "you... I want you in my party"

[@demillion]

I'm more considering how the 2 that aren't going is getting there, since G'raha chose to stay behind but manages to get htere and how does Y'stola manage to get there and who/why? Guess that will be answered in a few months...

[@thomas00129]

my 5 cents on Erenville not saying much is that he is the 4th heir to the throne of tural but clearly wants nothing to do with it with how readily he was at not joining us on our vacation to tural

[@SuperSnivMatt]

God I wrote a whole post on Reddit about who sent the letter to Thancred and Urianger. I think if it’s the bad brother then they are not going to be helping him for his GOALS. But I think Koana or Gulool Jaja sent the letter to either disrupt the competition for the ambitious brother to prevent him from going on a trail of blood. Maybe even a third party who WANTS to have no victor because there’s some past secret on Turaliyol. I do think Erenville is a sibling due to his knowledge of the other 3 and saying he didn’t want to talk about his home and stuff due to questions like Koana. But I talked a lot more about it in another post I might reply with a copy paste of it LMAO Also Wuk Lamat is amazing her VA is so talented

[@HezrouDhiaga]

I think she will be with our help

[@rifarm5]

Remember every one on the postet at the of day 1 showcase we are on it with Thanched, urianger and kirle. What every disagree happens we side with them. Maybe after learning about all the candidates we side with one of the over wuk lamar or everyone swap sides. Who knows but we not stay on the side who we cane with exactly for krile.

[@geekgilinkk]

also no one commenting on her model she is already a grapichs update version. Just looking at her ingame you can see how the graphics will be improved!

[@IaconDawnshire]

I already like Wuk!

[@aprilsballoon]

My take is Erenville is Wuk's older brother with the oldest brother being the MIqote cat boy. Thancred and Urianger will be helping him....Koana.... IT's teh younger sibling that is the troublemaker and we don't know anything about them yet.

[@antarath517]

It's hard to really describe why I don't have a good first impression of Wuk Lamat. She seems to frame a lot of things as contests, which feels almost contrary to my WoL. Going on a hunt with her was offputting for a reason I can't pinpoint. Still, I'm interested to see how that all conflicts with her fears

[@NotTheWheel]

I'm a bit unnerved by the ruler of Tural's signature is not the same as in the letter but the signature is.. there's a big mystery going on.

[@Xaiken]

I'm in the camp that Koana enlisted Urianger and Thancred and possibly Y'shtola. And that Wuk Lamat may give up her claim to help Koana. The thought of Koana being the warmonger has also crossed my mind since they refused to name drop them and leave it vague. Just tying some knots with the dangling threads they left lol

[@TelepathicVoyeur]

Wuk Lamat strikes me as naive, and I'm wondering if she may be being manipulated by someone and Erenville has his suspicions but doesn't want to voice them.

[@maxkid6446]

i think professor i found my favorite character in this expansion wuk lamat can't wait to see more of her

[@craigwilde2162]

I don't think it's ever implied that the "bad guy" (for lack of a better name) is a sibling of Wuk Lamat. I can't remember his name but there was a Miqo'te sibling brought up whom she seemed to speak fondly of and I don't think he and the "bad guy" are the same person. As for Thancred and Urianger, I can't see them working for this "bad guy" either unless they're applying their own brands of subterfuge against him as double agents (though I think Urianger is somewhat sick of that role at this stage). Still, I think the idea that Wuk Lamat simply isn't prepared is quite fitting. I thought she might have been scared or had some sort of trauma regarding big talking beasts (I'm sure I heard somewhere the new world suffered quite a bit with the final days though I may have misheard that) but not being prepared would be a much more interesting direction to take (I imagine G'raha would be happy to give her some pointers if she does win, though I suspect some sort of joint leadership will be agreed in the end).

[@SynodicScribe]

True I think my ramblings got ahead of me. Simply put, we don't really know the entire structure yet. Though I'm very excited to learn more about Tural's capital and how its successions work!

[@ExileTwilight]

@@SynodicScribe My suspicion is that, since it's a rite of succession it is specifically the heirs who are competing and it's Gulool's oldest (and legitimate) son who is the warmonger. Of course they could just be an unwitting pawn, since there is almost always a twist.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Koana, the Miqo’te in question.

[@powerofk]

Yup. My WoL has become quite, umm… skeptical throughout her travels. Not because she doesn’t want to genuinely help and go on an adventure, but because she knows that not everyone has the best of motives. Also, something about Wuk Lamat just screams at me that she’s trying to trick us… gain power for herself so she can do what she says this other person is planning.

[@LittleMissLanna]

Willing to bet Erenville is the third brother! he just left because he doesn't want to be a royal, thus he throws his hat in with Wuk Lamat. Konoa her Miqote bro hired Than and Uri, probably knew them from school! Everyone on that first key art are main characters in the 'part 1' story arc of the line of succession. Twins are more there for Garlemald, or maybe won't end up competing. Graha and Ysh and Estinein don't have anything to do with the line of succession. So they might be more involved with the 2nd half of the storyline

[@LarkyLuna]

With Yshtola being completely absent and Graha staying behind I wonder how they will inevitably be brought back to the story. It's not exactly a fast trip Bringing them back before we even set sail feels way too soon too after the whole scene with the catboy about holding the fort I wonder what they'll do I wish Estinien had heard from someone that we are going and got the idea to go there hunt from it. Him just deciding on the port to go to the same place we're going felt too random for me, specially because afaik he haven't visited Meracydia and the land of the dragons sounds more fitting for him to think of on the spot

[@LarkyLuna]

Questions and worries aside, Wuk Lamat got me on her side already, she's so fun so far I also hope she manages to find her own way through her inexperience. Teaching Zero friendship lessons got repetitive so fast

[@kurisu7885]

Well, if Wuk Lamat does end up over her head if she claims victory, she couldn't have picked better company for this kind of thing. Though thinking about it, I wonder if the sibling she's trying to stop might not be as bad as she says, one of the other two might be pulling some other strings.

[@Sov-Ryn15]

Most so curious on Thancred and Urianger’s goal is, and why? Are they a couple of the Scions who with splinter? Big why…

[@omensoffate]

Hopefully we murder them to add some stakes but we know the story has full plot armor for every character now

[@yanipheonu]

It just sorta sucks that we'll be going months without knowing much about the actual succession candidates. Just getting a little scene hinting more about the threat of warmongering might have helped make the stakes more clear. As it is, i dont have much invested in the succession or story yet, tho even the story admits you don't really have to take a side yet.

[@JackDaloots]

No mention of Y'shtola, neither in the MSQ, or in your speculation. Are they hiding her on purpose? Or is she gonna be hand-waved and waiting for one team or the other at the docks?

[@barryward2128]

Well the ending of msq in 6.5 had her going to write a report on how they did the cross rift ather transfer from the first to the thirteenth for the sharlyan congress thing

[@AngelaRichter65]

I'm looking forward to the next xpac. It will be something completely new.

[@tehzerp]

Theres no way she ends up the ruler. Theyll either council/senate it or the girl at the top of the poster art will be the new leader. She and Eren will probably start palling around with the scions in some capacity.

[@Paraguai123]

The bad guy is not her brother. She makes it very clear that he doesn't want one of the four to be king, AFTER she talks about her brother that worked on Sharlayan. Also, why are people assuming that heirs to the throne are siblings? They could just be cousins as well.

[@geekgilinkk]

I wonder if we will get to have a different ending if we help her

[@umbralflow6883]

I think Thancred and Urianger might have been invited like we did but for a diffident candidate. There are 4 candidate one of them being Wuk Lamat and one thats trying to start a war. That leaves 2 more we dont know who they are and they might have the same idea as Wuk did on getting help. Thancred and Urianger might be our rival here. We still dont know how y'shtola ends up there.

[@truesoprano2152]

As someone who didn't like Endwalker, I was really nervous about the state of the MSQ, but I feel a little better knowing that Dawntrail is going in a different direction. Actually, the thing I'm most excited about is mentioning wanting to go to war with Garlemald. I'm really upset at how much Garlemald was glossed over in Endwalker and I think this might be a good way to focus on them more, and it's also an opportunity to bring the Eorzean Alliance back into the story (who I've really missed). Sadly I feel like this isn't a plot that will get focus until the post patches at the very least. But I'm REALLY happy that they're bringing politics back into the story. The politics of expansions like Heavensward are what made me really fall in love with the game, and having them almost completely ignore politics in Shadowbringers and Endwalker made me not like those expansions as much. This might be controversial but I think the Scions really need to take a step back in the story. If the poster is anything to go by only Thancred, Urianger and Krile will have major focus which I think is way better since it allows them to focus more on the new characters and the setting. (although I do really like Estinien so hopefully he'll have some good if minor moments)

[@xantchashirogane]

In before Erenville is one of the four challengers or even Wuk Lamats sibling lmao.

[@asteria_kitty7711]

Poor Estinian when he learns that going west won't save him from Tataru's grasp!

[@bradferland7975]

Letting the comment section decide what he is hiding ? Bold.

[@torkhi6349]

I'm ready to ditch the cat and join my boys thancred and urianger

[@illidarishinku2386]

KITTY LADY WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@ExileTwilight]

I don't think the warmonger is intent on attacking Garlemald specifically. I think the sudden collapse of Garlemald has left them thinking the rest of the world which cowered from them is now ripe for the picking.

[@pokeylope6108]

Melee job should of been melee staff

[@treebush]

i think its pretty obvious its the miqote prince that ask thancred and uri for help

[@The300Player]

Solution Nine is 100% the "City of gold" that they keep talking about

[@TheOptimistDelusion]

I think it's a reasonable assumption that Dawntrail will culminate in the city of gold. Since SE never shows pics of the final zone, I doubt Solution 9 is it. Could be wrong tho :3c

[@MugenAeternum]

I miss Moenbryda 🥺

[@zuser]

I just hope the writers have learned from their blunder in Stormblood and don't throw another overexuberant, happy-go-lucky, airhead, into a position of authority out of nowhere, like with Lyse...

[@jasmineBloodrose]

Relm is from ff6

[@yukiotacon2846]

What baffles me to a certain degree is how ambitious/ foolish this sibling of her is. * raises hand* Wouldn't it be a terrible decision for Tural to off on this road of conquest?

[@fredy2041]

Wuk Lamat said that this warmonger wants to take exploit the end of Garlemald to launch an invation of conquer. She never said anything of conquering Garlemald only, it could ment that this guys wants to conquer the 3 great continents.

[@silversoul0658]

Scribe, I have one question. Is he stupid? I mean the dude who wants to invade Garlemald. Like... We, as WoL would beat his ass like nothing at this point and more if we count the scions and maybe the Ilsabard contigent. "But, nooo maybe he doesn't know!" I think is kinda foolish going to war without first knowing who is your enemy.

[@thigh-endcontent8729]

What if we end up getting the throne again 😂

[@thegneech]

BUT WHERE IS Y'SHTOLA

[@SynodicScribe]

Prolly out there somewhere looking for actual character development.

[@thegneech]

@@SynodicScribe Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel! ;)

[@TheDarkThunder]

Are we 100% sure who our friends are?

[@J-manli]

Squenix please DO NOT MAKE Erenville and Wuk Lamat a repeat of Urianger and Moenbryda.

[@peger]

i must say...I believe in furry mommy supremacy xD

[@starlightbreaker561]

I feel sorry for Krile, she picked up pictomancer to be more useful to the WOL, but as most players are dps mains, she would have done much better to just brush up on her conjuring skills, especially with SE pushing more and more players away from the healer jobs

[@TheJohnnylupine]

Not going to lie i found Wuk lamat to be kind of a mixed bag in terms of likability. that combined with the occasional odd bits of voice acting and just how strange i think her face and fur can look i was not as excited to travel with her as i have been other "new" scions like Estinien or G'raha. Though they had history with WoL and therefore the player long before they officially joined the team. I think the model problems will likely be negated a little when we get the graphics update since it'll cover shading and my biggest problem is that the fur looks a lot like skin which is a complaint i hear about hrothgars in general anyway. The voice acting is almost certainly due to the voice actress finding their way with the character and i'm sure it will improve as she gets more spotlight. As for personality traits that I like, she's big, energetic and puts across this sort of infectious cheeriness. She's down to earth despite being a member of the royal family and she neither cares for titles but. She's boisterous and this ties into that infectious cheeriness. She doesn't take offence to G'raha's questioning and gives him a playful shove. We're all friends here. BUT this is an aspect that i don't like as well. She's too friendly too quickly. If i was getting poked and prodded and shoved or whatever by some person i had just met, friendly or not I'd feel very uncomfortable. She's lucky its the current day scions she's dealing with - people who are composed and able to handle people of all kinds. Even going back to ARR It was different with Moenbryda because the target or her affection was someone she already knew. Another thing i found a little annoying was her fixation on hunting. They came on strong with this and it feels a little tropey. I get it. She's the big cat-lady huntress who knows how to hunt and eat what she hunts. This isn't an unsalvageable problem because since we were on a hunting trip and under the circumstances this is what you're likely to talk about so since we know we will be seeing more of her later we should see her in other situations and she will have more opportunities to show she's more than what i just described. . I also like the implication that some of this tropey stuff could just be a part of a front. It was touched on in the video. She appears confident but the shaking of her hand belies that confidence she is putting across. It's possible that she's never hunted anything with so few people let alone with people she doesn't know. Hell it's entirely possible that i'm making an assumption that she's even been hunting at all before due to her rough personality, she might be more at home as a soldier rather than a hunter or she might have never actually done anything more than training before but she knows that the people she wants to represent in the future admire great hunters so she's going to present herself as being just that. There's definitely more to her than this first impression. like i said she's a mixed bag for me.

[@fredy2041]

Then play another game if you dont like ffxiv, jesus.

[@StrikerTVFang]

No one is talking about Y’shtola.. her setup is nowhere to be found, and even in the trailer she got a minimal appearance. That’s very fishy seeing how the devs know she’s a fan favorite.

[@TheAgr08]

I would hope they are keeping her sidelined for the first part of the story. She made a lot of practical progress in her work of travel between the shards since the Final Days. It would be silly for her to stop that for the reasons they've set up for the WoL going there, but I think once we get to Heritage Found/Solution Nine we'll need her around.