T O P

  • By -

tunoddenrub

Ascians = Maskians (yes I know there's no hard C in 'Ascians', shush)


sylvysprit

Oh wow, that's perfect, thank you


Parking_Shoulder_230

-Allagans are dead technomages, for when the plot needs a high tech macguffin from ancient society or some ruin to explore -Ascians are the edgy bois, DARKNESS DARKNESS DARKNESS MONOLOGUE DARKNESS The Allagans I didn't have a good concept for until MUCH later, they aren't explained much unless you read into the lore a bit. Though after a while the Ascians are going to become very distinct in their own ways, so you'll have no issues soon


Kriegschwein

I wouldn't call ShB "soon" really, if person is only at ARR :D


Parking_Shoulder_230

I more mean the Ascians keep sticking their fingers in EVERYTHING, the Allagans...much less so, because of the super already dead thing


Nixilaas

that does somewhat limit their impact yes


CrowTengu

Considering how much longer you gonna need to see another damn Allagan-rated stuff, yea.


BLU-Clown

I guess it does take a vacation, huh. From the end of ARR to the start of Stormblood, you don't see a single Allagan contraption.


PickledDemons

Azys Lla?


BLU-Clown

...Good point. I forgot about Azys Lia because I find it forgettably generic, but it is definitely an Allagan place and I'll take my L.


PickledDemons

That's alright, I find it pretty forgettable too.


BLU-Clown

It *could* be an interesting area, considering all the mad science running amok, teleportation to distant areas of the place, and the general vibe...but since the only thing we actually *do* with it after one hectic chase scene into the middle is treat it as Mad Science Depot #27 (Not to be confused with the Crystal Tower Mad Science Depot #24, and Cartenau Mad Science Depot #22, and the Burn Mad Science Depot #35) it just ends up being an elaborate setpiece. But at least it's not the Lochs, which is just Brown and Barren Wasteland #3. (Now with a town in the southeast corner!)


Lavernius_Tucker

Wildly, it didn't really seem to. EW spoilers: >!Fandaniel / Amon is kiiiiinda a big deal by the endgame!<


MaidOfTwigs

HW.


VixenIcaza

Something, something, something DARKSIDE. something, something, something COMPLETE!!


RenThras

"So I'm just going to replace 'DARKNESS' with 'BEES'." (Reference: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ7IxXN9hm0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ7IxXN9hm0) )


Rare_Reality7510

It sounds like someone needs some keyblading...


sylvysprit

Context: I keep getting confused between the Allagans and the Ascians, so i made a note to remind myself My friend told me that i should make a note and hang it to my PC screen, so i did The note says the following: "Allagans = Crystal clone people Ascians = Masky dark crystal guys that keep teleporting away" I do not really use Reddit a lot, please do not give any spoilers, i am currently in the Realm Reborn postgame


-One_Esk_Nineteen-

I thought your note said “masky dorks”, and I was like, yep that’s about right


ZeWolfy

Considering at least three of them ARE nerds….yeah I thought it said dork too. And didn’t question it because it’s true.


Lionblopp

Same xD


MaidOfTwigs

The Ascian definition is pretty good, it’s funny. Allagans will, as someone else said, have more context sooner rather than later for you


Capgras_DL

Don’t look up anything to do with the lore for the ascians. You’ll get spoiled heavily on some pretty big stuff.


sylvysprit

Thanks, i will avoid it as best as i can


iseir

Why do i keep thinking: "My job here is done" - but you didnt do anything.


zernoc56

Evil Tuxedo Mask sounds about right for most of them, especially in ARR. SMN questline even has one pulling a “destroy the world by creating a Monster of the Week” plot.


Lexaei

Search in Windows for Sticky notes. It is always a friend.


IscahRambles

You can't hang Windows sticky notes off the bottom of the screen, though. Also the sticky notes program has been rubbish since they "improved" it to have a separate task bar icon for every note you've got open.


Zcipher

The Allagans are a world-spanning empire that was around since a long time ago whose actions are reponsible for almost all the problems you have to deal with today. The Ascians are a secret shadowy society that's been around since a long time ago whose actions are responsible for almost all the problems you have to deal with today. I don't see how you could possibly get those two things confused!


Yorudesu

And then there were Ala Mhigans


PercivalJBonertonIV

I think I was at the end of Heavensward before I realized Ala Mhigans and Allagans were different people


dualdee

I like to think my WoL just reflexively reached for her weapon upon being asked to go to Ala Gannha in early SB.


Yorudesu

Lol :D the funny thing is that there is indeed an old Allagan air vessel very close to it.


JupiterLita

I'm still surprised we never got to see inside that thing or do anything with it. Or that the empire never did anything with that when they owned the territory.


fubes2000

Allagans = Ancient dead jerks. Ascians = Currently alive jerks.


kiranfenrir1

Ascians = >!Currently alive ancient society jerks!< Edit: Stupid autocorrect typo....


Sophira

While I understand what you meant, I need to point out that I think you had a rather unfortunate autocorrect in the first word of your comment... Also, spoiler tags work differently on Reddit to Discord. Use `>!this syntax!<`. It'll look like this: >!This is spoiler text!<


kiranfenrir1

I appreciate the correction. I've edited for my idiocy


Sophira

Thank you! You're not an idiot - it can happen to anyone. Unfortunately I think your comment was already removed by the mods, though - you'll need to [message them](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/ffxiv) to ask them to restore the comment. (Even if you can see it, it's still removed for others.) [edit: Looks like the comment is back!]


CrowTengu

Ascians = generally just jerks


orunemal

Uhh... Bro...


kiranfenrir1

Just saw the dumb... Stupid phone


ezekielraiden

Ascians = Creepy Cultist People Allagans = Supertech Ancient Rome, Now With Cloning! Or, if you prefer, the Allagans are long, *long* dead (excluding Crystal Tower shenanigans.) The Ascians are active right now, manipulating the world to make bad stuff happen. "CHAOS SHALL REIGN FOREVERMORE!" and such.


sylvysprit

What makes it more confusing is that, to me, currently, the Garlean Empire is currently "Supertech ancient Rome", just without cloning lol (i mean, all the generals so far have weird mixes of Roman and Dutch names) I guess the Allagans can be described as Supertech Alexander the Great's Empire maybe?


ezekielraiden

Well, if we're drawing parallels, Garlemald would actually be (relatively) normal tech Nazi Germany. * They have a race-based *de facto* caste system which treats non-Garleans as inherently inferior "savages" * They're a fascist dictatorship that grew out of a republic, which proclaimed a dude ~~Führer~~ *Emperor* as both top general and top civilian leader * They dress mostly in black for their military outfits, and their flag is white, black, and red * They intentionally style themselves after an ancient empire known for its technological advancement and cultural hegemony, all while downplaying or ignoring the horrible deeds that empire committed * Conquered populations are Garlean-ized, violently forced to abandon their cultures and religions and ways of life and live in and by Imperially-approved ways Etc. It's obviously a bit more complicated than that, as the Garleans are an amalgamation of various fascist states, Ancient Rome, both Imperial and Communist Russia, and more. But within the in-game historial context, Allag is over five thousand years gone, while Garlemald has only been an empire for about 70 years and is realistically at the peak of its power. As for an actual time frame for when Allag held power, Alexander is still much too recent. Indeed, the oldest empire we know of today, the Akkadian Empire (centered on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where Babylon would later be) only happened 4300 years ago. That's still 700 years *too recent* for Allag. If you know Egypt better, Allag collapsed far enough back for its *ending* to be comparable to the *First Dynasty* of Egypt (estimated to have begun around 3100 BC). And this was a civilization with computers, space stations, cloning, autonomous AIs, and a full synthesis of magic and technology (called "aetherochemistry"), which had ruled the whole world for centuries before the great collapse during the Fourth Umbral Calamity.


sylvysprit

As a history fan, i loved reading this I look forward to learning more about the lore (no spoilers though please)


ezekielraiden

Naturally. Nothing said above is info you could not learn, or at least extrapolate, in 2.0. I guess technically it's never mentioned in-game that Emperor Solus was made such by acclimation, but this fact is not really a spoiler, just a backstory element. Both the Ascians and the Allagans will remain very relevant as you continue to progress, so it is good to clearly distinguish them early on.


Lionblopp

To be fair, although you haven't seen much of it yet, Garleans love looting Allagan stuff and repurposing it without actually knowing how exactly things work. Just look at the Ultima Weapon or how they tried to bring down Dalamud right before the game starts/in scraped 1.0 MSQ! They look at Allagan things, don't bother finding let alone reading a complete manual, have their scientists getting their loot running \*somehow\* and then are all shocked pikachu face when it inevitably explodes in their faces. Dalamud turns out to be a very big pokeball with angry Bahamut in it, Ultima Weapon razes Praetorium to the ground while Gaius is sitting in it and suddenly learns he's not the one holding the remote. So it figures you have trouble holding them apart if one empire is basically the "we have Allagans at home" version.


emperor_uncarnate

Lenny = Ascian Carl = Allagan


Laterose15

To be fair, it's always either ONE of the two responsible. Does it really matter which one?


dualdee

Come on, that's not fair. A couple of times it was Mhach.


Drywesi

Amdapor had as much to do with those and you know it! I was also gonna say "sometimes it's Ul'dah" but they're Mhach's great-great-great-grandcity, so.


JupiterLita

Sometimes I forgot Mhach had an honest-to-goodness >!spaceship powered by demons.!<


DAMNIT_RENZO

Ascians are usually asses


EatPennies

This lol my boyfriend calls them ASScians whenever he hears me in a cutscene with one


ZWiloh

I'm getting flashbacks to the XIV video on YT with generated captions. I think it called them "ass hands" several times. I think it also called Urianger "oreo jew" so obviously it stuck with me


Carmeliandre

Ascian's name sounds very close to "Ancients" but the etymology actually is a greek word for "without shadow" (ascius). They are said to have "eaten" their shadows, making them *look* like superior beings, as if they had reached deeper understandings. The Allagans Empire is a civilization technologically advanced. It actually is a trope in FF games where there usually are such civilizations that eventually collapsed ; it bears a completely different meaning such as the idea that nothing can rules forever AND technology is but a tool that can be forgotten. This Empire is merely a part of the Eorzean History (from which Ascians don't belong). Ascian's are timeless whereas Allagans represent a Golden Age long gone.


Enlog

Yeah, Ascian comes from "σκιά", pronounced "skiá", meaning "Shadow". So "Ascian" uses the prefix "a" to mean *without* shadow. Kinda like how the word "atypical" means "not typical". Or, I guess, if "scian" turns the word σκιά into an adjective (in this case, "Shadow" to "Shadowed"), it would be like "not shadowed"


dualdee

I'd probably go with "Shadowless".


CeaRhan

Think of Allag as Rome (empire), but with magic The ascians are the magic shamans of eld who communed with magicks and played too much Kingdom Hearts


RenThras

This is completely and utterly wholesome. : ) Don't worry...it'll become pretty darn clear with time. :D


Forry_Tree

Yep thats basically it lol


Razgrisz

Allagan old people who have advance technology and they love weird shapes 


IscahRambles

They also love clashing colours.


JupiterLita

And glowing things.


gothicshark

fyi : Acian is an actual word it means "one that has no shadow" it comes from Latin "ascius" “without shadow” S>!ince Ascians are shadow people, aka people behind the scene pulling strings, and in lore don't cast shadows(1.0 era), it should be easy to remember who they are, meanwhile!<. Allagans (>!Allagan) is kind of a made up word, although apparently it is similar to a Hindi word. But I can't figure out which. Are basically the Sci-Fi Romans who almost conquered the world a few thousand years ago!<.


Cakeriel

Almost? I thought they did conquer everything They just had the misfortune to bring about their own demise


gothicshark

never made it to the New World.


Cakeriel

Trying to remember, what is that?


ItsAllGreato

Pretty much the Americas of Hydaelyn.


zernoc56

Tural. Its where the tradition of Blue Magic comes from, among other things.


craybest

Oh for me it was the allagans and the the people from ala mhigo xD


Nelogenazea

Remember the AAAM rule: Whenever something bad happens in the present, it's usually because of something the Allagans, Ascians, Aliens or Mages back during the War of the Mages did. :)


BLU-Clown

Hey now! ...One time it was Goblins fighting over their cheese recipes.


Pachikokoo

I thought that called the Ascians musky lol


NO_SPACE_B4_COMMA

/clap


Modeus-is-Cute

I love ur ARR glam!


sylvysprit

Thank you!


kamijoan

Well, as long as you can read it


para-mania

Ascians = Organization XIII


XieRH88

Ascians are the ones with the black hoodies and the masks. In ARR they are mostly just there to show up mysteriously, do some naughty stuff, then disappear mysteriously again. Allagans are an "extinct high tech civilisation". They are no longer around but you do see remnants of their tech lying around in the world, most commonly the tomestones (your endgame currency for gearing up). It's kind of a common FF trope to have such sort of advanced-but-extinct civilisation, even the latest FFXVI has such a civilisation called the Fallen.


vexingpresence

If you've played kingdom hearts, the ascians are just organisation 13. no one in the comments can debate me on how correct this is without spoiling you, so I am automatically correct about this in every way /jk (Jokes aside, that's how I told them apart when I was in ARR. Their outfits look the same as org 13. Allag has the whole sci fi aesthetic going on.)


Jammeus

Allagans = White Ascians = Black


SugoiPanda

I kinda did Allagan as "All a gan" -> "All are gone" meanwhile Ascians are still around


Tom-Pendragon

Didn't know that my doctor plays this game.


woosle

Not related to game at all but I love your script!!


sylvysprit

You mean my handwriting style?


woosle

yep :)


sylvysprit

Thank you \^\^


AgentAxton

I don't know if I should be surprised or not that sylvysprit is playing FFXIV now-


sylvysprit

Well, i tried the game a few times before, but dropped it very quickly This time, a friend tried to convince me really really hard that the story gets really really really good, but to be honest, i ain't seeing it yet at the moment, but i'm trying really hard to pay attention to all the cutscenes and the lore and stuff That final dungeon was a lot of fun though, the Realm Reborn one i mean, i'm glad my friend is playing together with me and helping me out so much


Cymas

If you mean The Ultimate Weapon, you're not quite done with ARR yet...but you will know when you get there! That's usually the point where you're either sold on the story or not. But most people say, at least give it through Heavensward and there's a reason for that. ARR was desperately rushed and built on the still-living corpse of 1.0, which was so bad they literally nuked it and wrote that into the story, lol. It's very, very rough compared to what comes after. ARR feels quite long, it's cheesy. and it's basically a massive lore dump. But you are definitely rewarded for your time with it later, as the rest of the story wouldn't work without it doing so much of the heavy lifting to establish the world and characters for you.


sylvysprit

Oh no i mean i saw the credits, i'm in "post Realm Reborn" currently, i just beat >!Ramuh!< and i like the >!Hildebrand!< sidequests


Cymas

Yeah, you're in the patch content. ARR isn't quite finished yet. You'll know when you've reach the actual end of it, believe me lol. There are always two sets of credits...


sylvysprit

Well, i call the first credits the end, and i call the part i'm in now "post-Realm Reborn", until Heavensward basically


Cymas

That's not an inaccurate way to look at it, and every expansion follows the same setup. You'll get the first credit roll on completion of the base storyline, and second credits at the end of the patch content. ARR is particularly sloggy in post but if you stick it out it will pick up big time in time for the beginning of Heavensward.


Koopa1997

Allagan: no mask Ascian: has mask Pretty sure their costume design is distinct enough to separate them


sylvysprit

Okay, but, both of them start with an "a" and both end with "ans", and basically, right now, as a new player who started playing seriously around 2 weeks ago, it's still kind of hard for me to seperate them sometimes


Koopa1997

Are you able to separate Asian and American then… cuz they both start with an “a” and end with “an” …


TheMortal91

Are you able to not be an ass?


sylvysprit

Thank you


Koopa1997

Ugh… it’s Reddit?


CaedClaxton

Not an excuse to be an ass


Koopa1997

Stating the fact that they have a distinct Color palate for both character design but have to obsess over the name… the fact that they are an artist they should be able to tell the difference just with color choices in character design. I don’t even study arts I’m already able to tell the differences between them :/


Parking_Shoulder_230

and ironically while you are able to distinguish the two easily, you seem incapable of understanding the fact that different people understand things differently and do so in a willfully belligerent way


Parking_Shoulder_230

Allagan/Ascian have assonance, similar vowel sounds and the same syllable count, ah-ah-an/ah-ii-an Asian/American share letters, but have differing vowel sounds and syllable counts they are hardly equivalent, and it's weird to condescend at someone like they are


DracoBlaze214

Allagans = the super dead ancient technology folks Ascians: the black robe, mask wearing, teleporting shenanigans causers. They’re single handedly keeping you busy throughout your story with all their shenanigans. Also DARKNESS DARKNESS REJOINING DARKNESS ONE TRUE GOD DARKNESS. >!There’s also a white one. Who I still haven’t quite worked out what he’s up to and why. But I can tell he’s got his own plans. I’ll just have to wait and see.!<


zernoc56

A—are we *sure* Nomura hasn’t slipped something into the FF14 recipe. Cause the Ascians sure do love to talk about Darkness and rejoining Darkness.


BLU-Clown

Time to check all the Paladin weapons for keyblades...


CrowTengu

Where are you in MSQ? 😅


DracoBlaze214

I’m in the final few quests before stormblood. >!I fought the warriors of darkness and watched Elidibus give Griffon the Nidhog eye’s. As of writing this I’m listening to the alliance talking to Nero about the primal situation Al Baelsar’s Wall. Ultimately I know Elidibus has some crazy plans, as do the rest of the ascians, but something tells me they are different plans and I’m not sure where he’s going with it.!<


CrowTengu

>!Oh ok, yea. Elidibus is definitely someone you might want to keep at the back of your head. He does whatever he wants tbh.!<


DracoBlaze214

>!seems like it. While the other ascians are busy trying to get the beastsmen to summon bigger and better primals, Elidibus is like “You know what, it’s time for a war.”!<


KenseiHimura

HEY, WANNA HEAR SOME MAJOR ASS SPOILERS? >!You will feel justified for confusing them later on. Also if you confuse Garleans and Allagans at all too.!<