#patch 3.4

[blackwaterbbq]

I have looked into the Honkai: Star Rail voice actor situation as much as a layperson conceivably can. I have found this information on where we stand with the remaining mute voices. Reddit rebuffed me (some guy demanded all current voice actors be fired entirely???). So I grant this analysis to you:

In short: everyone on this list was specifically kept away by selectively enforced union regs during the strike that ended June 11. All were willing to come back once that was relaxed, including the already-recast Trailblazers. Anyone not recast in the interim is now available and due to scheduling lag should be back around 3.5.

Currently missing Voice actors, by role:

1) Firefly (Analesa Fisher): Missing from 3.0, minor lines in 3.2.

- 'Actively jonesing to return' is maybe not an official category, but...

- Celebrated strike’s end, voiced Firefly’s anniversary letter, commented on Firefly skin, etc...

- Likely to return, barring behind-the-scenes issues.

2) Dan Heng (Nicholas Leung): Missing significant lines from 2.7-3.3

- Most absent role, more so than the Trailblazers!

- No official return announcement; possibly under NDA.

- Confirmed desire to return per his close personal voice acting friends; potential return in 3.4 if he was able to come in by April.

- By far the part most at risk of recast.

3) Himeko (Cia Court): Missing some lines from 2.7 onward.

- Relieved about strike’s end, actively promotes Himeko role on social media.

- Shared useful resources on the voice absences more or less confirming the actors were kept away unwillingly by union rules.

- Likely to return around 3.5. Relatively safe unless some mass recasting occurs.

4) Kafka (Cheryl Texiera): Missing from 3.0, and a single line in 3.2.

- Primarily a live-action actress (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (no, seriously), and a Disney sitcom).

- SAG pressures on primarily screen actors may complicate return.

- There's a long history of getting a live action actor for your video game, and then they're unable to finish the project due to conflicting schedules or contracts. If she can't make it back it's likely in the same vein as this. I'd beg the fandom's understanding in this matter.

- Given her relatively minor absence and 5* status (their recasts take longer and are more likely to be soundalikes) seems unlikely to be recast for 3.4 unless she's just confirmed too hard to ever get back.

5) Our Trailblazers (Caleb Yen and Racheal Chau): Missing since ~2.7, replaced starting 3.3 by currently-anonymous actors.

- Caleb Yen:

- A fairly-prolific VA. All signs indicate he wanted to return but risked blacklisting in other roles. Bowing out here preserved a literal lifetime of future work.

- Rachel Chau:

-Seems to have gained SAG union membership IN THE TIME AFTER SHE WAS CAST AS STELLE. She was not bucking union rules to take the role. Union rules seem to have been thrust upon her later. This may have limited her ability to contest union pressure.

- She has already signed on as the protagonist of a new game though!

Again: everyone involved wanted to work. Any strike actions or attempted underhanded unionization drives or whatever you heard were not strictly speaking targeting Honkai:Star Rail. Everyone here was in the same situation Zach Aguilar and Sarah Miller-Crews (voices of the Genshin Travelers) were in. Why the Travelers got to come back while the Trailblazers — and anyone else we may lose in 3.4 — did not is going to be a question that bugs me for a long time to come… my best guess is that Rocket Sound (HSR dubbing company) is less lenient with cross-pressured talent than Side Global (Genshin’s) is. Which sucks as HSR seemed best-situated to deal with a handful of muted voices right up until May 19 or so…

I hope this information helps provide context to someone, anyone. I’ve learned a great deal compiling it so if there are any questions, feel free to ask away.

[baeshijima]

+1000000000000000000000000000000 aura points btw

only for me to cry bc sir.... what is that expression.... what is that red background..........

also higher definition phaidei death bc fuck my stupid baka life part 2

[m1ckeyb3rry]

I LITERALLY JUST GOT OVER NAGI HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GRIEVE AGAIN?????

[immobiliter]

okay so i think i will consider my week off a success productivity wise — i've managed to slim my draft count and finish off a few threads, skirk is up on the roster and i'm generally feeling happy about the blog having freshened up a little bit behind the scenes

next week is a short work week as it is my birthday on friday, but after that i'm back into it properly for the rest of the summer. i'm debating some kind of plotting or dynamics call maybe ? but i'm not really sure what i want it to look like yet. i do honestly believe that the never-ending struggle of a multi is knowing who people are interested in as muses lmao. i could do interaction calls too but... hmm, i will mull it over

[allpromarlo]

aglaea and big herta rerun already? fuck yall i’m saving up for phainon

[bunflora]

i am at peace. now i powersave for my wife

[shuhuflesh]

alsoooo i am so frustrated with the 4*s in hsr. the last one added was MOZE. in september !!!!!!!! we're nearing 3.3 and we havent gotten a single amphoreus character that could feasibly be a 4*. i understand Why all the chrysos' heirs are 5*s and honestly i think itd be weird if they werent. but still ?? theres like. 22 4*s. and 42 5*s. come ON

[baeshijima]

I just saw Phainon animation leaks and oh my god... It's peak 😭

IT REALLY IS LIKE HELLO GOD IS THAT U I SEE?????

[angelblushe]

HSR 3.3 UPDATE SPOILERS

This entire post is is my insane ramblings about phaidei within the context of this scene. ⬇️

I want to talk about the significance of this farewell scene with the implications this has about Phainon’s bond with Mydeimos, as well as talking about artistic choices in the illustration and dialogue.

There is a stark difference between Phainon’s imagined farewells with the Mydei and with the rest of the Chrysos Heirs.

Everyone else says the same line, “Goodbye, Phainon.”

Mydei on the other hand? He says, “See you around, Phainon of Aedes Elysiae.” Not only is it a promise to see one another again, rather than a farewell, but it is also so much more intimate.

Mydei is referring to him with respect as to where he came from. Typically, Mydei refers to Phainon as “Deliverer”, (and from what other Heirs have mentioned, it comes from a good place), this title having meaning to Phainon’s future—his role in relation to the prophecy. In this instance, Phainon imagines Mydei referring to him in terms of his identity that more closely coincides with his past. The same past that Phainon discusses with Mydei before he departures to Castrum Kremnos. In this past scene, they both open up to each other about aspects of their past they haven’t spoken about to others.

When Mydei leaves for Castrum Kremnos, this is after he has stepped up into divinity, having to face his traumas and fears in regard to his leadership and culture as a whole. Mydei understands Phainon’s grief to a certain capacity, as they both come from homes that are now destroyed.

Phainon’s home is one that no one knows of, and Mydei’s idea of a home is one that his culture is hesitant to accept.

With this in mind, it’s obvious Phainon has shared a more vulnerable part of himself in regards to his past with Mydei. Seeing as his imagined farewell with Mydei is so much different than it is with everyone else, it’s clear that it comes from a special connection between the two that sets them apart as a pair.

In the 3.1 update, even during Tribios’ story, it is brought up time and time again that Mydei and Phainon are two warriors that go hand in hand. They are portrayed to be equals in strength, balancing each other (this can be further explored in their sun and moon motifs directly ingrained into their designs).

Now, I want to talk about the illustration that accompanies this scene. Phainon says goodbye to all the characters that have departed thus far: Trianne, Anaxa, Castorice, and Aglaea. As each farewell is spoken, each character leaves the illustration. We see that each of them is also painted monochromatically in a color that is associated with them.

Mydei is an exception to this rule. Interestingly, Castorice is not. I point this out because (at least from personal interpretation) she is—to an extent—not truly dead, as we actually get to briefly see her with Mydei during the 3.4 update when in battle. This is important to note because both of them have virtually stepped away from Okhema to fulfill their roles of the prophecy without truly dying.

I think it’s very interesting that Mydei is the only one illustrated in full color in Phainon’s mind. I interpret this as meaning that, to Phainon, Mydei is still someone who is stable, consistent, and truly alive.

Phainon has lost his home, his grief over Aedes Elysiae being something that he struggles with for the first few patches of Amphoreus. In addition, in the recent patches, he is continuing to lose his loved ones—people that very obviously hold each other closely (the Chrysos Heirs are very much found family in my eyes, often outright using familial terms to refer to one another).

Despite these constant losses, Mydei is a steady rock, his curse of immortality being a source of comfort for Phainon (although something he anguishes as well since we see him struggle with his guilt when having to leave Mydei to fight alone twice).

Nevertheless, when he imagines speaking to Mydei, he imagines flesh, bone, and blood. Something more tangible than what he thinks of when contemplating the others. Even his dialogue with Mydei is different, his whole conversation set up to be almost separate from what he discusses with the others.

For this reason, I believe that Phainon derives a deep sense of comfort from Mydei. Mydeimos is his equal in strength, a tank on the battlefield, he is dependable and has arrived time and time again to save the day. To Phainon, he is not as easily defeated as any of the rest.

To cap it all off: I think there is something so heartbreaking about their wishes to see each other again.

During Mydei’s real farewell, he says, “But... if there's a chance in the next life, you should come visit my library.”

A wish that they could meet again, in world unlike the one which confines them to prophecies and fate.

However, in Phainon’s farewell to Mydei, contained in his imagination, Phainon expresses that, “We aren't parting ways forever. You're just off to guard the gates at Castrum Kremnos. Let's not make this a tearful farewell.” In which Mydei agrees, and says that he believes they’ll meet up again within this same life time (to duel, of course).

I think there’s a sad yearning there, that Phainon wants to hold out hope that he will be able to have some kind of peaceful ending with Mydei. Especially since he perceives Mydei to be a pillar of strength, someone that can withstand it all. We have seen time and time again that when Phainon is unsure of himself, or what to do as a whole, he thinks of Mydei.

For someone who has lost so much to death, to have someone who can withstand the tantalizing whisper of the west winds, it’s a relief. That finally, this is someone Phainon can’t lose.

Until he does.

…

OH and I’m not even going to get into the whole, “It's a date, Mydeimos.” I will have a break down.

[starcurtain]

3.4 Leaks

Been seeing a lot of leaks for HSR 3.4 and...

I know everyone is freaking out about this, that we'll have to fight our old friends, claiming this will be a new cycle already, but I don't think it makes sense for that to be the case--all the other cycles of Amphoreus have started in peace, with non-corrupted titans. If "restarting Amphoreus" doesn't reset the system back to the start of the cycle before the world was ending, then what would be the point of restarting it at all?

Perhaps they're going to go with "Wahhh, the restart didn't work because all the demigods are corrupted by the black tide, ohhh nooo, you have to defeat them first!" Which I guess could work, if being a bit boring...

But personally I wonder if this isn't something else: I feel like everyone is forgetting that Phainon still hasn't passed the World-Bearing Coreflame trial.

My guess is one of four things:

The World-Bearing Coreflame trial will require Phainon to face the memories of those he lost, and these forms are a reflection of what he believes is the suffering of his friends. Defeating these forms will become symbolic of freeing them from the miseries of the current, corrupted cycle in Amphoreus.

Restarting Amphoreus/completing the "Genesis" requires Phainon to use the powers of multiple coreflames, so he has to defeat manifestations of the other coreflames in order to claim their powers.

Restarting Amphoreus requires accurate memories of everyone, but Phainon's memories of his friends are now twisted by his experiences with the titans, so he needs to defeat them and bring back his "true" memories in order to produce the good end.

Maybe, MAYBE Phainon loses it in 3.4 and this is Mydei, Castorice, and Hyacine trying to stop him, but this still seems odd--how would we restart Amphoreus in order to get them into titan form, but still be the bad guys enough to provoke all three of them to attack?

Since we know that we're going to a non-destroyed version of Aedes Elysiae in 3.4, my guess is that the trial of the World-Bearer coreflame will actually be an involved process that might take most of the patch (or, alternatively, that we'll be using Oronyx's power to rewind time because there's something we can only achieve by going back to Aedes Elysiae). My guess is that the entire patch will be about exploring Phainon's past--both the past he supposedly thinks is real (Aedes Elysiae) and hints of the actual truth of what's occurring with Cyrene, Lygus, etc.

Therefore, if we're walking in Phainon's past and present, him being tormented by memories of the friends that were effectively sacrificed to get him to his current position makes perfect sense.

Frankly, I would be shocked if these bosses end up being actually Mydei, Castorice, and Hyacine, and not "It's a manifestation of the coreflames' power," "It's part of your trial to defeat these shades, Phainon," or at most "It's a corruption of the black tide" or something.

I do half expect them to combine and form Voltron to create 3.4's super boss, though.

Basically, I'm not worried lol.

[plounce]

what people misunderstand about the hvw patch urianger plotline is that urianger's greatest sin in that arc is not sending minfilia to the first. he didn't actually do that. what he did is set up a confrontation between the wol and ardbert's party without elidibus' knowledge so all the crystals of light from the wol and from ardbert's party would allow them to talk to hydaelyn and minfilia. that is what he did. then he presented his solution to the first and source's dual problem, and minfilia AGREED and so did hydaelyn and so minfilia chose to go over. minfilia was already lost in the sauce. the wol and the scions knew that, they saw her in the antitower as the vessel of hydaelyn as The Word Of The Mother. she was already in there and it wasn't going to be as easy to get her out like they did y'shtola and thancred - or maybe even possible. what he arranged is a meeting that had the ability to conclude in the way he wanted - which was a way for the first to survive, and for no calamity to happen on the source. and in that, he allowed everyone to see minfilia again and speak with her. so he could ask her if she was willing to do that. he didn't punt her over there! because even when he's taking action, he is still a really passive person lmao. but he gave minfilia the option to save two entire worlds, which she was happy to choose to do.

urianger's ACTUAL greatest sin in that arc is alisaie's poisoning by renda-rae's arrow. i don't know if urianger was with the warriors of darkness for that incident or if he was at the waking sands, and i KNOW he was probably horrified to hear about the incident and intensely regretfull and ashamed he wasn't there to stop it (like he stopped ardbert's party in the cutscene after xelphatol later on) but regardless, i don't think their relationship was ever the same after that. which makes me miserable, because right before this is the bahamut coils plot, where alisaie trusts urianger as her scion contact (not alphinaud!) because he's a close family friend, and he obviously respects her so incredibly much (he uses "you" for her!) and is so distressed when he sees her (and alphinaud) all beat up after the final coil. they never act very close after 3.4, aside from urianger presenting her with a custom-made rapier and a prophecy before she sets sail to kugane in stormblood. i think that is in part meant as an apology (and also so alisaie has an easier time casting), but they never really team up again like they did in the coils plot. this probably isn't intentional on the part of the writers, but it's an absence that feels conspicuous to me. when your childhood babysitter almost gets you killed.

[real-sizzlipede]

Gaaaah ok now I've had time to process and I can finally write out my thoughts on 3.3 so SPOILER WARNING OF COURSE DONT READ UNLESS YOUVE PLAYED IT OR WANT SPOILERS IG

-i gah I didn't think I'd love cipher and hyacine this much but g a h they fr are making me love and lose e v e r y fucking chrysos heir huh 💀💀

- cipher pulling off the grand lie is s u c h a good way to take her character to me I spent the whole time last patch being like "ok she's like pretty useful but like what role does she play in the grand scheme of things" and o u g h i was not disappointed as soon as they mentioned 300 years of light from the daylight device I was like "wait a fucking second" and gah it's such a cool way to use her power for the greater good

-aglaea aglaea aglaea g o d at the beginning of the amphoreus quests I was 50/50 on her but after these few missions gosh I cried when she died and her and ciphers relationship gah

-i cried so many times this update I cried at every death I cried for the whole half hour after it was great and horrifying and gah they're all gone 😭😭 and I am so torn up about it

- phainon??? Gah oh my g o d ok after 3.2 when he gave the speech I was like wow this is like a different guy and i knew it was because he was upset at everything happening but especially after aglaeas passing him having to take up the role of the leader of the chrysos heirs and essentially the whole city which is essentially all of the people in all of amphoreus, he is grieving and upset and hurting so s o badly and trying to keep it together and I think that his writing being so different this patch really reflected that. I understand people not liking it because he seems like a different character than he was and that's because he essentially I s now with everything he's gone/going through. Originally when his drip art came out I went "this seems so out of character but I like it because I know that he puts on a facade all of the time anyways" and after this patch I'm like "oh this is t h i s phainon" this is hurt grieving angry still protecting everyone and holding it together phainon and it just gah it hurts my heart so much

-phaidei (bc what am I if not a fan of yaoi) oh my God "did you forget about me?" "it's a date, mydeimos" the fact that they promised to see each other again instead of saying goodbye just breaks my heart especially when mydei dies and phainon doesn't even know right now and it is killing me from the inside out 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

-ohhhjh the scepter????? Gah the scepter!!! As soon as herta said "a fourth one" I was like "no fucking way they're bringing back the scepters" AND THEY ARE!!!! GAH but also that plus Lord ravager explains all of the chaos and turmoil and the scepter also explains all of the technology that amphoreus has that seems so out of place to me!!! But like I get it now!!! It makes sense!!! I am just worried that it's going to wind up being a "the people of amphoreus aren't real and are all a simulation" but like haha surely that won't happen (I don't know)

-the two amphoreus theories!!! I am really hoping this is true and so we can see all the pookies again but also like I want o u r pookies I want the ones that are dead to not be dead adjfksjdj I don't want other pookies that are but aren't them 🥺🥺 but like I think it's a very good theory and especially with the fact that there's a scepter in amphoreus it can definitely happen.

-ok quick note Abt the 2 amphoreus theories STOP SAYING ITS LIKE 2 SIDES OF A MOBIUS STRIP BECAUSE A MOBIUS STRIP ONLY HAS ONE FUCKING SIDE THATS THE WHOLE POINT ok thank you :)

3.4 LEAKS SPOILERS AHEAD

- oh my God phainon looks so good and also so ough I'm terrified but I love it but I hate that everyone's gone

-thw design??? The longer hair and golden eyes??? Dare I say he looks like mydei (good Lord) and I also want to point out the white and gold color scheme that makes him look like aglaea too which ough 😭😭 he's truly taking over the leadership role but also no one else who is a chrysos heir is even there to lead anymore 😭😭😭

-the moveset looks insane and I saw something where he has a bunch of actions in quick succession?? But like there was a countdown and stuff and like gah

-anyways I am glad I have been saving since drip art release because good fucking God I need him to be on my account

[deykxn]

hihihiiii can i ask where the spray to unburn dumpster furniture is from? and also the happy life, okay life notifications? i took a break for a while but ur channel has inspired me to get back in s4 n spice up my gameplay :]

The spray is from RVSN

aaand the notifications are in MissyHissy's Hopes & Fears mod!!

[tritoch]

for those we have lost; for those we can yet save

just want to write a quick post about the most famous recurring line in FFXIV. People generally recognize it as something characters say a lot, but if you pay close attention to when and how it comes up it's actually very VERY interesting, and deployed in very specific ways. To me, It's Minfilia's line but also in many ways a reminder of Moenbryda, and is very specifically raised by characters close to the two of them. spoilers through 6.0 below.

it's Minfilia's line, first of all, in that she's literally the first one to say it. She says it in 2.55, right before you throw in with Ishgard and assist in the defense of the steps of faith. As the patch number suggests, it's one of the last things any of the Scions hear from her before the Bloody Banquet.

(Quest: Committed to the Cause, 2.55. All this dialogue from the extremely excellent resource xiv.quest, by the way.)

In context, "those we have lost" and "those we can yet save" actually have two pretty specific meanings! While "those we have lost" obviously encompasses all the fallen Scions, from Louisoix to the attack on the Waking Sands to Wilred, its particular meaning here is almost certainly in reference to Moenbryda, because 2.55 starts with you attending her memorial service, and because Moenbryda specifically dies to save Minfilia! "Those we can yet save" refers, in part, to the fact that you are about to risk your lives in defense of Ishgard against the Dravanians, in part due to Aymeric's argument that should Ishgard fall, all of Eorzea is at risk. For these two reasons—to honor the sacrifice of a fallen friend and with an eye toward preventing needless bloodshed—you willingly forsake your neutrality.

When Minfilia returns in 3.2, she says it to you again, an echo of some of her final words to you:

(Quest: The Word of the Mother)

Note how the intent subtly shades differently here. Rather than taking up arms for a cause that isn't yours, Minfilia's use of the line is to justify offering herself to Hydaelyn. Here the connection to Moenbryda becomes even stronger: like Moenbryda, Minfilia is sacrificing herself for the good of the cause and with the aim of protecting her friends. Her self-sacrifice echoes and reinforces the legacy of her friend's sacrifice for her.

She repeats it again in 3.4, and by this point it's clearly and specifically her catchphrase:

(Quest: One Life for One World)

And of course, her use of it here precedes a triple sacrifice: her journey to the First, to remain there forever, to guard against the Flood of Light; the sacrifices of Ardbert's friends, who have already died once for the First and will offer up their aether in death to empower Minfilia against the Flood; and Ardbert, who is about to undergo his own version of Hydaelyn's Endwalk in miniature.

Minfilia says the line three times, taking it on as a kind of mantra and core justification behind all of her actions, and now in 3.X and 4.X they'll let you, the Warrior of Light, do the same.

The very first time the Warrior of Light gets to say it happens in the very same patch:

(Quest: An Ending to Mark a New Beginning)

Minfilia dies (okay sacrifices herself to become a good guy Ascian which will lead to her permanent death), and the very first dialogue option you get in the quest immediately after that is an option to echo her final words.

Because just as she said them to remind herself that she was following in Moenbryda's footsteps and honoring the sacrifice Moenbryda made for her, now you will do the same in her memory.

The next use, right at the start of 4.0, pretty much reiterates the same idea:

(Quest: Crossing the Velodyna)

It's Alphinaud basically giving you a chance to choose in-character why exactly your character is willing to go from minor sellsword work, to saving Eorzea, to saving Ishgard, to taking the fight to the Empire directly. In context, it suggests a sort of fatalism: events keep happening, and all you can do is keep your head high and do your best to honor the sacrifices of those who came before.

(also, notice how even here back in 4.0, the option that boils down to "I just love fights, and also fighting" has Alphinaud specifically call you "an adventurer," a theme Zenos will later build on two expansions later to great effect.)

Its other use in Stormblood, in 4.1, has it as the only clear and concrete answer you're allowed to give Fordola after she sees your memories with the Echo and asks why you keep fighting:

(Quest: The Butcher's Blood)

Nothing against the other two answers, they're just intentionally very vague. Only #2 lets you give a clearer answer. You keep fighting because so many have died (so many of them specifically for you, to save you), and there are so many who may yet still be given a chance to live. To honor the fallen and to protect the living. For grief and for hope.

Now, just as Minfilia and the Warrior of Light say it three times to affirm it as part of their characters, Urianger and Thancred get a pair of uses each, and the ways they use it specifically honor and invoke Minfilia and Moenbryda.

Urianger is the first to use it in 5.0, when he accompanies you to hunt for Titania's relics:

(Quest: A Visit to the Nu Mou)

He textually invokes Minfilia at the start of his lines here, which are intended to explain why he so clearly feels he has some moral duty towards the First. And that's very specific phrasing he uses, ignore the plight: that's specifically invoking Louisoix's oft-quote "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence." So even as he says he does it because it is right, he acknowledges that he also does it because he feels its the moral duty that Louisoix, Minfilia, and Moenbryda's sacrifices have placed on him: to labor for those he has lost, for those that they too wanted to save. For Urianger, it's an expression of his deep compassion and almost utilitarian desire to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, bound up in his grief and regret.

Next is Thancred:

(Quest: The Truth Hurts)

This one really hurts. Obviously, Thancred uses it because he's talking specifically about Minfilia, but he's not talking about her sacrifice. He's talking about the loss of her father, and about the idea that he failed to ever repay that first harm. For him, pressing on is not just about honoring her sacrifice, but about atoning for his unpardonable sins. It's about guilt.

And the irony in Thancred deploying it here is that in his own eyes, he says it as he attempts to expiate his sins by honoring Minfilia's sacrifice and giving Ryne a chance to choose her own future. Yet at the same time, he is adding to his sins because this time, in his eyes, his hands are also on the knife. Before, Minfilia's fate was an unlucky break, a black swan event. The Banquet, Hydaelyn, Urianger's machinations, the Warriors of Darkness, all of that was beyond his control.

But now, he will willingly stand by and let Minfilia die for a final time, because she has asked him to do so.

He is still learning from her, and from her choices:

(Quest: Full Steam Ahead)

To me, his use of it here, after the fight with Ran'jit when he kind of seems like he might die, is almost rueful. Like he never fully understood the import of her words until now, couldn't see past his own grief to the meaning at their core. But now he gets it. He understands why she had to do what she did, and how in turn he can honor her legacy not by clinging to her memory but living life as she would have.

"Your kindness, your compassion, your love..." he says, and this too is an echo of something she said at their parting. The last half of the line is: "These are your gifts to me, and our gifts to them, forming a bond which transcends time and space." Gifts passed from brother to sister, and now back again, and on to the future through Ryne.

Urianger gets the final use of it through 6.55, and it both honors all the uses of it prior and points the way to new lines of thinking:

(Quest: Back to Old Tricks; FFXIV's love for allusion shines through here but rather more subtly than with the Hamilton lines, as "dreadful algebra of necessity" is a direct pull from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series)

Here, the use is explicitly and textually tied to Minfilia and, for the first time since 2.55, Moenbryda. And Urianger is the first person in the text to explicitly question the line, painting it not as the principled output of noble martyrs but as a justification that the people those martyrs leave behind cling to in their grief, something they tell themselves to convince themselves that the sacrifice was justified. Or worse, the reasoning of a cold and bloodless utilitarian, who would willingly sacrifice his own friends and loved ones for the greater good.

They are dead, says Urianger, and we are not. What of those we cannot save? And, no less, what of us, who must go on in this world without them? How can anything ever justify this? How can we ever make peace with this?

It is the Warrior of Light who gets to answer Urianger, but he ultimately takes less from your answer itself than from the fact that you too struggle with the question:

Endwalker is, as ever, interested in the idea that perhaps some questions aren't quite answerable, but that the universality of the questions itself can be a great uniter and creator of purpose. None can easily make peace with the "dreadful algebra of necessity", but from Louisoix, to Moenbryda, to Minfilia, to you and the Scions, to Ryne and others, a rough, developing ethic has arisen: each of you, and the sacrifices you have made, honored the work and the will of those who came before, to pave the way for those who will come after.

Hope, arising from grief.

[nekhcore]

so. about that patch 3.4,

[lorde--of--the--rings]

SPOILERS! On Solavellan in DA4

Prefacing this in saying i’m giving my own take (not fact or fiction or right or wrong just my take) on this. I really love this community because I get to read other people’s thoughts and feelings about this game we all love. so just hoping to join the dialogue for a moment on this.

Sollavellan is a big part of the veilguard ending if you let it be/want it to be-- but I'm not convinced that this is because of the ship itself, but the fact that their relationship (romantic or platonic) is important to Solas's development as a character. I played this game and interpret solas’s part in the narrative of the game as a representation of regret, shame, and what regret and shame can drive us to when we let them— really thinking of the line in Macbeth where he remarks  "I am in blood 1440. Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er…." (3.4 134-136)

Bro is so far into his own despair and shame that he can’t see any other way out-- he's tied up in the logical fallacy that to be good now would be a "betrayal" of those he wronged before; he can't imagine any other end to the story than to "right" his previous "wrongs" by fully "fixing" the world he sees as broken.

Enter the inquisitor, a total wildcard who disrupts his plans in DA3 and the domino effect we play out in Veilguard. Whether or not you romance Solas in DA3, Quizzy is still a blindsiding character that disrupts solas and his worldview. Here is a person with immense power and influence, who, unlike Mythal, actually wields it to protect those they love and patch up a world that THEY had a hand in breaking (rather unintentionally,… sounds familiar?) 

But more importantly-- they're able to be redeemed in a way Solas imagines to be impossible for himself.

Quizzy represents who Solas was, or could be, without his pride and without the influence of Mythal. They fit in as a puzzle piece in his transformation WITH OR WITHOUT romance, and with or without friendship.

This is why Solas having the opportunity to be redeemed in DA4 makes so much sense to me, he is effectively forced by what he lives through in DA3 to question his own plans and approach, or at the very least become aware of his own infallibility in comparison to an alternative and restorative type of problem solving. This all sets the scene for Rook and Varric once again foiling him (you meddling kids! and speaking of foils, Varric/Rook and Solas are as foily and foil characters get…) 

Oh and your ex (lover, leader, friend/foe) just appears out of the blue and is like ok bro party’s over. Confronted with all of this, with Varric’s fate, with Mythal’s memory if you choose that path, and oh, hey, look it’s Quizzy….

I know he’s the ancient elven god of trickery, but isn’t it so much more interesting that he could also be the ancient elven god of resistance, of thwarting power and authority, and in that vein be redeemed and live out this alternative side of himself? Rather than being the god of pride he can live as the spirit of wisdom he was before Mythal, and in that also resistance— resisting the toxic urge to destroy in order to create/redeem.

We know these "Gods" aren’t really "Gods," so why not let them occupy this grey space?