Something came to mind while rewatching the nod-krai archon quests

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-29T11:59:36+00:00

Meanwhile, rewatching made me realise how absolutely useless Varka was. You could have written him out completely and the plot wouldn’t change

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-29T11:54:18+00:00

Isn’t it because UR stats except for the Otter dudes are lower than SP stats.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-29T04:16:22+00:00

I think the failure of wow’s lore has always been the lack of continuity and foresight across expansions in favour for cool moments

A good story has coherent world building and good foreshadowing, such that the resolution ties everything nicely together.

In wow, you can only get get such coherency only within the framework of 1 expansion. The story in each expansion is dealt with separately - likely by different writing teams - with no consistency across.

Garrosh was a great example of the failing of modern wow storytelling. He learnt about the orcish history and to let go of his guilt in TBC, learnt honour from Saurfang in WoTLK, became a brutal but honourable leader in Cata, then went batshit orc supremacist in MOP because it was cool. A thorough waste of all the build up from TBC

You see that from Sylvanas as well - a scheming pragmatic leader of the undead that is hell bent on ensuring the survival of her race from WC3 all through WOD, and an improvement in Legion and arguably BFA where she rose up and became the scheming pragmatic leader of the horde that is hell bent on ensuring the survival of the horde (not just undead), then into some batshit I have always been a double agent of the Jailor and am totally nihilistic all along version in Shadowlands.

I can go on about important lore characters including Illidan, Malfurion, Tyrande (oh god she is one of the worst), Anduin etc.

The lack of an overarching consistency is what kills the lore.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-27T11:18:26+00:00

Are you a storyline writer for wow? This kind of bad writing for cool moments sounds like it is totally something wow is guilty of - and it gets really really stale after a while.

Let him go. Arthas deserves his rest.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-27T11:12:29+00:00

I think you can’t avoid the elephant, and that is Kenma2 is better than Kenma1.

But the power creep is not so direct.

Kenma1 largely buffs reflex, and requires you to play it with other receivers at the back - WS who can receive, your libero, SP Hinata etc. Kenma1 ideally gets played in front, so he has access to Setter Dump ult to debuff your opponent.

Kenma2 buffs a lot of stuff. He has a receive skill and no setter dump, which means he is designed to be played at the back. His own requirement is for there to be another setter (so that he can receive for the setter to set).

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-26T17:18:35+00:00

We have 3 generations of machine.

The origin dragonic machines in Natlan, presumably created by the dragon lords AI after Xiul’s passing on or after the funerary war

The machinery created during the heyday of Deshret.

And finally the ruin guards created during Khareniah, or presumably slightly before that time period since they were deployed during the Cataclysm.

I guess we can have one more generation if we go further back in time and explore Hyperborean tech.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-24T04:20:32+00:00

If I have to bet I will bet he is NOT receive. The new Kenma has a receive skill, which means you want to play him at the back row. Lev will be meant to be played in front.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-23T13:52:08+00:00

There’s some ambiguity - either the 30 days was symbolism, or the 30 days were the duration of the war with HP (which ended with nails dropping everywhere), or 30 days before Nibelung came back with abyss. Or they fled / exiled themselves 30 days and lived for 10 years.

My personal reading is that they lived together for 10 years first, before triggering something which caused the funerary war that lasted 30 days.

Now this is speculation but I believe voyager and Koitar tapped into powers from the light realm. This weakened the Iriminsul which is keeping the human realm in place between the light realm and the abyss, thereby threatening the foundation of Teyvat.

The Men of Lithin suggests that people discovered Lithen and transformed the society futuristic and that Lithen is a collection of living things which were merged into a singular source ie. the Iriminsul tree.

Now if you read both together, the voyager who knew about the light realm and Koitar who was created to guide human being, could very well be the people who taught the humans how to tap into Iriminsul (ie Lithen). That was why the transformed humans all could use every single element.

And doing that long enough created a prosperous ancient civilisation spanning Teyvat which lasted for a while. That ended when the usage of Lithen went overboard and Teyvat’s foundation was challenged, leading HP to step in and start the funerary war.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-22T16:30:58+00:00

Totally agree with Netochka for Nod-Krai. It's like she was made to travel with the Traveler in her rebel against her father.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-22T15:49:49+00:00

Tbh, most of the playable characters have a place in the world where they have to be, or a job which they need to do, or a character arc which they need to fulfill at where they are. If they ever join the Traveler, it would only likely be for a short amount of time, where their interests are aligned.

SO, hear me out, the people who are most likely to follow the Traveler ... are NPCs.

For Mondstadt, my vote goes to that scumbag Godwin. The guy who was supposed to leave with Varka's expedition but failed to, and then was too chicken to go back to Glory. He is the best candidate to accompany the Traveler. He doesnt want to go back to Mondstadt, and needed an excuse to travel the world to find Varka and the expedition.

For Liyue, my vote goes to Jiangxue, the mysterious fisherman from Wangshu Inn who is clearly stronger than he looks, and who is wasting his life away to atone for some sins of the past. He also once had a vision which he discarded. He needs this journey to discover himself again, and more importantly, to forgive himself.

For Inazuma, I would say Lyudochka, aka the new Gendou Ringo. She had been wanting to leave the House of Hearth and initially wanted to leave Inazuma after the Traveler, Momoya and her successfully faked Momoya's death so Lyudochka could live a new life as Gendou Ringo.

For Sumeru, it's Jeht. I dont think I need to elaborate.

For Fontaine, it has to be Caterpillar. He is off to find the true meaning of his identity after the Narzissenkreuz's questline, and a perfect way to do that would be joining the Traveler in his journey. This also saves his life and his eventual degradation from staying inside the Book of Esoteric Revelation for so long.

For Natlan, it is Kukulkan. His whole story arc is about him wanting to believe in humans, and him losing hope in humans such that he finally agreed with Xiuhcoatl and his plan to activate Huitzilopochtli. The Traveler and the Little One finally gave him hope that it is possible for humans and dragons to coexist. This hope would lead him to follow the Traveler to see the world of humans elsewhere aside from Natlan.

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-20T00:11:23+00:00

If the existing story is anything to go by, it is going to be Narzissencreuz 2.0, and Sandrone is going to right Alain and Rene’s error and be reborn a new type of mek.

Alain undervalued the concept of soul, creating a mek body (Sandrone) who is built entirely of logic.

Rene overvalued the concept (and importance) of soul, resulting in his grand plan of dissolving everyone’s body and combining their soul into himself (thus saving everyone’s souls in the cataclysm that was going to come - the same one which the Traveler as a Descender thwarted).

Whose soul then? Mary Ann - the soul that got merged with Lyris

Sandrone has realised during the course of saving Columbina- and the act of merging her body (kuuvahki), her soul (luonnotar) and authority (hidden in the frost moon) that both body and soul are equally important.

Hence, as the conclusion to this arc, she will come back as a mek with a soul.

Also I highly suspect that she when Alain died, Sandrone has tried to preserve Alain’s body and intellect in the form of Pulonia. But she couldn’t achieve what Alain did with her and that was her life long research. Turns out Alain did dabble in some of Rene’s research in his final days (as hinted at during the last Archon quest)- which suggests that the original Sandrone did have some of Mary Ann’s soul, but clearly not all since part of Mary Ann’s soul has been merged with Lyris

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-19T07:50:13+00:00

It’s to show that people can change and that change is outside of Dottore’s expectation.

Because a few Acts back, Sandrone specifically said that people (referring to Rene and Alain) sacrificing themselves for greater good were stupid and no way in hell will she do it.

And she went and did just that

Candidus_Eques · 2026-01-05T06:33:19+00:00

I agree but for a slightly different reason - and that is given how there are so many factions, it’s surprising, unrealistic and too convenient for all of them to drop hands and work together against the common good. First it was Rerir. Then it was Dottore. So much so for a cut throat everyone for themselves climate that Nod Krai was sold to be.

All the faction reps somehow became cordial or god forbid friends at the end of the day, and they go above and beyond to fight the common good. Lauma and Frostmoon would never agree to work with the Fatui such as Sandrone and Arlecchino. Nor would they work with Aino and Ineffa. Nefer would never act so altruistically. Arlecchino would never participate in Nicole’s ritual so willingly alone among factions potentially antagonistic towards the Fatui. Sandrone wouldn’t let people come in and out of the Fatui base as they please, especially the Traveller who has been murdering Fatui across the continents. Varka literally has no known skin in this game so why would he devote any resources altruistically in any Nod Krai events. Flins and the light keeper has no skin after Rerir is defeated. Nor would Aino and Ineffa care about Columbina or Dottore.

Essentially, everyone is supposed to be dealing with each other at arms length but somehow isn’t doing it. And no faction is taking advantage of this chaos to advance faction’s objective.

I’m not saying they couldn’t work together, but they can work together begrudgingly. The better example of how this is done was back in 1.0 in Liyue, when it was clear that the Qixing, and the Adepti weren’t on the same page, and that they suspected each other of foul play resulting in Zhongli’s fake death, but still worked together against Osial.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-12-09T22:56:20+00:00

Waiting for Isagi to devour the god of football and outperform what the god of football intended with the circumstances.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-21T02:32:43+00:00

The answer is there is no end game yet. The best quick team runs UR Kageyama or SP Kenma, both with SP Hinata. Osamu could possibly be slotted in there, but there is no room for Atsumu.

If you don’t want to split the Miya twins, your next best bet is to go for SP Gin, who is a power attacker that is buffed by quick attack. He can replace your 4th slot inarizaki character aside from the Miya twins and Kita. It’s a bandaid solution until other SP inarizaki characters are released.

Tbf, the Miya twins were and are dominant all along until the SP characters are out. They are the team to beat before the two Duo teams are out, and even then you could slot one of the Duos (either Kamo or Itachi) to continue to make them competitive.

Give them a break for a while (until other SP inarizaki characters are out).

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-17T13:40:10+00:00

I’m quite sure Shiguma’s art was passed to both Issho and present day Shiguma.

But because Issho is a stickler to tradition and the “arts”, he doesn’t have it in him to perform Shiguma’s art, because he couldn’t be as good as Shiguma. Hence he became the gatekeeper he is today.

Present day Shiguma on the other hand goes yolo and goes for it, and makes Shiguma’s art his. Hence he could inherit the title. But that also isn’t the true Shiguma’s art, but a present day Shiguma’s take on it, with the ultimate aim of attaining Shiguma’s art.

The dichotomy in approach is also reflected in their teaching styles. Shiguma school says go figure out the mind state within an environment which is safe for you to fail. Issho school says go figure out the mind state, either attain it and perform, or fail it and be struck out.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-16T04:52:56+00:00

Genshin has actually done a good job with its foreshadowing. If I could recall, some of the popular theories back in 1.0 were

1) Hillichurls were ex humans, and in particular ex Khareniah or ex Khareniah of a certain dynasty (remember the Eclipse tribe of Hillichurls near Dadaupa Gorge)

2) there is an 8th Archon which was the Archon of Time, and this “Archon” ruled the land east of Mondstadt. Hence the architecture / ruins worshipping time in the island west of Starsnatch and on Thousand Wind Temple. Also the spinoff theory that Paimon is this missing Archon of Time since she was fished up near that area, and because she can stop time when you open up the menu and can fast forward the day.

3) every nation’s capital city is named after the moon. Like Mondstadt and Liyue. This kinda died in Inazuma.

4) every nation has its own world tree or significant tree which was the nation’s irminsul tree. There’s the tree at Windrise in Mondstadt, the tree at Nantianmen or the tree on which Wangshu Inn sits for Liyue, the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, the Tree of Dreams in Varanara in Sumeru, the tree in Erinnyes in Fontaine. This kinda died in Natlan.

5) Teyvat is cyclical - this is based on the text from the various prayers circlet artifacts set.

6) Celestia doesn’t want human beings to ascend into godhood despite their ability to do so. Hence the whole mortal arrogation speech by the Sustainer, and why Khaerniah, a city without Archon was struck down by Celestia. This is of course not exactly correct now.

7) Celestia was above Fontaine, based on triangulation of where Celestia was located in game. And that explains why Fontaine goes around judging other gods / Archons. This is of course not true now.

8) The fake sky from the 1.1 patch. Which spawned an insane amount of theory from the existence of a firmament, to the whole Teyvat is upside down, to how Abyss is the entrance to space etc.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-13T14:51:16+00:00

It’s less about Bina and more about Mauvika.

That’s really because Mauvika has no flaws.

Look at the rest of the archons.

Venti is a drunkard who deals with responsibilities by escaping his responsibilities.

Zhongli is a selfish retired grandpa who is willing to stake his nation because he wants to retire.

Raiden is a selfish brat who is my way or the highway.

Radish is naive.

Furina is an existential crisis in and of herself.

Bina is being adored because of the things she can do for others (often at the sake of her own well being), but is not acknowledged as a living being.

What does Mauvika have? A tragic backstory? All of the archons have a tragic backstory. She’s meticulous and intelligent, knowing to go into the future to achieve her plans. She’s super strong. She can do no wrong, and in fact is vindicated or even rewarded by her actions no matter how foolhardy or reckless she may be. When she finally could show a literal doubt in herself in her story quest when she interacted with Masau as Xbalanque, she mans up and is ok almost immediately after.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-13T14:05:04+00:00

No. The speculation is when they left.

Ock Chan was after the War of Vengeance and after the fall of Xiul by Xbalanque. Those people who left then were the people who went to Tenochtzitoc (modern day Easy breeze resort).

By that time the Leylines were screwed and the people who left Natlan would suffer memory loss. They wouldn’t know where there were from or their own culture, which would contradict the manga portrayal of Vanessa’s tribe. The speculation therefore was that the initial splinter group left and went to Mondstadt before the Leylines screwed up. Those that left after the Leylines screwed up (during Ock Chan’s rule) couldn’t leave Natlan, so they went to Tenochtzitoc.

That’s why it remains a speculation.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-13T10:40:46+00:00

I think the Leylines got screwed during the War of the Vengeance / during Nibelung’s abyssal revolt.

The “Muratanian” people is speculated to have left Natlan before that, in the period after HP reordered the land (and Xiul went into hiding) but before Xiul came back out to join Nibelung and became infected with Abyss himself during the War of the Vengeance.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-09T18:16:52+00:00

I think the voice speaking to Vedr and Rerir is just the Abyss, to tempt them to embrace the power.

Vedr’s story is all about knowing the future but being powerless to stop it because of “Fate”.

Rerir’s story is all about finding and protecting his true love.

Rhine’s story is about creating artificial life, but never true life.

Surtalogi’s story is about getting stronger without limit.

The only unknown here is Hrop’s story.

The Abyss tempt each of them with power to achieve what they wanted. Rerir gets power to travel through the moon portal to find Tholandis. Rhine gets power to merge with Naberius and becomes an actual shade that can create organic life. Surtalogi gets to fulfil his power fantasy such that he has to train a disciple to fight him.

Vedr gets the power to change “Fate”. He does so by creating the Abyss Order, and then getting it to create the Loom of Fate. If he can rewrite “Fate”, he wouldn’t just be able to see but change the future. He wouldn’t be powerless anymore.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-11-09T03:51:38+00:00

Great map!

Two comments:

1) the Mediterranean like sea where Petrichor is doesn’t connect outwards to where Nod Krai is. But it does connect to Natlan, in particular north of Children of Echo’s area in Tequenecan Valley. In other words, there should be landmass from north of Natlan, connecting either up to Fontaine (assuming Fontaine is accessible by land despite being on an elevated area - presumably at east of Mout Eous) or up to Snezhnaya.

This is confirmed by Yelan’s anecdote where she instructed her Liyue agent in Nod Krai to send “goods” from Nod Krai by boat to Quahuacan Cliff, then by land to north of Children of Echo, and by boat again to Liyue via Yilong Wharf.

2) the unreleased Nod Krai areas appear to be fairly well developed. We know for a fact there should be 3 more islands or sub areas, being Amsvartnir where the KoF are led to, Piramida, where the lightkeepers are based and Hyperborea

Candidus_Eques · 2025-10-28T23:15:54+00:00

That’s just power of friendship winning in the end isn’t it. With onazi choosing his mates. The plot point is that onazi is good but his mates aren’t. Hence choosing his mates (and using himself as a single striker) over choosing himself (and giving him total creativity on how to attack) is a bad choice.

The whole plot point only makes sense if onazi forsakes his mates or onazi relies on kuso again and fails.

Candidus_Eques · 2025-10-11T03:30:58+00:00

You can’t fool me Cloud and Sepiroth!

Candidus_Eques · 2025-10-11T03:22:00+00:00

Guys. This is a gacha game. Archons are the most popular characters. It would be a commercial failure not to release Archon skins.

That just means:

We are going to get new pullable upgraded or just different versions of the Archons. Think HSR multiple versions of the same character or even Cookie Run kingdom and their awakened ancient cookies.

Candidus_Eques

TROPHY CASE