Spiral Knights - Cradle is the site of the climax of a universe-spanning battle between light and dark

Cradle is the site of the climax of a universe-spanning battle between light and dark

62 replies [Last post]

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 16:06

Cornu

Before you read this thread, you'll need a bit of an understanding of the plot of Spiral Knights. Most of the important bits are found in the artifacts and mission dialogue.

All the ideas in this thread are merely conjecture and not representative of the way the plot may go. However, based on similar plotlines I've found in various other video games, such as Final Fantasy V, I'm making predictions as to how the mostly unrevealed story of Spiral Knights will go.

1. The true enemy of the game is the Swarm.

This one should be fairly obvious. Not only are the Swarm-enhanced boss areas currently the most difficult levels not only to access, but to play, they are most likely strongly related to the final battle of the game, according to the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. Not only that, but they have various qualities that are highly reminiscent of The Corruption:

-Enemies affected by it become much more powerful.
-Enemies affected by it are shrouded in darkness and can't be reverted.
-Said monsters also lose all physical possessions - as to why they don't drop any.
-They spawn endlessly.
-It is unkillable by conventional weapons.
-It is incomprensible: "neither beast nor god, it is a creation unlike all" and a monster who has "many eyes [and] many arms."

2. The Core is a meditating, sentient being of light, perhaps a god.

Two of the Shadow Lair artifacts start out "I dream.."
The question must be asked - Who is speaking, and why is it dreaming? My conjecture is that the being is the sentient essence of the Core.

Multiple NPCs in the game, including the ones that stand at the Core, recognize that it seems to be charged with a supernatural energy. The very action of "dreaming" implies a consciousness, and the Ironclaw Munitions Factory Echo Artifact states that "[Cradle] was created to protect me."

The being that leaves behind the Echo Artifacts are -not- the spiritual representations of the Alpha Squad: In the RJP one, it claims "I see your legion, falling to this world like burning stars", implying that whatever left the Artifacts, which I believe to be the Core, is not in fact any Knight.

The "god" part is conjectural; although, a being of pure light and immense power, coupled with the fact that the existence of gods seems to be implied by the core itself ("neither beast nor god") would suggest that the Core is of divine nature.

So, why is the core dreaming?

3. The ultimate goal of both the Core and the Swarm is to eliminate one another.

I believe the Core is dreaming in order to hold back the Swarm from engulfing reality. The Swarm, being an essence of Corruption, cannot complete its goal without destroying the Core. However, based on the Echo Artifacts, the Swarm seems to be winning:

"It devoured the knowledge of time... Memories of the dead... The hearts of kings and the souls of their people... Good and evil... It consumed.
It grew stronger, endlessly mirroring itself within the space of my dream. Endlessly mirroring... Expanding... Infinite."

Coupled with the fact that the Shadow Lairs weren't discovered on Cradle until some time after the Knights crashlanded*, it's clear that the Swarm is gaining more and more power even as the Knights settle on the planet.

*Although this may simply be shown as a gameplay release, the game seems to suggest that all patches happen chronologically, i.e. that the Shadow Lairs popped up and weren't there always.

The end result of this conjecture is that...

4. The Spiral Knights crashlanded on Cradle because the Core's power is weakening.

The Core is aware of its losing battle and thus crashlands the Skylark to attain assistance from the player characters in defeating the Swarm, and perhaps saving the universe. In addition to many of the NPC Knights stating they feel they are there "for a purpose", the RJP Shadow Lair echo also states:

"Within my dream, I see your legion, falling to this world like burning stars.
You fall with purpose, burning ever brighter as you reach for the heart of this world.
Hold dearly this fire in you, for darkness will consume all the night if its stars begin to fade."

5. The Sanctuary is a physical manifestation of the Core's dream.

The artifact found after the The King of Ashes implies that the Alpha Squad went through a Swarm infested area.
"We are at the end of the line. Pursued by some kind of terrible darkness we are forced into the unknown... As I record this, the darkness is nearly upon us, comsuming the world we see, the light."

They then gain access to the Core, a place of "such an intense, blinding light."

Parallels can be drawn to the player's own experiences following a Shadow Lair. They are forced to fight the Swarm in the Unknown Passage, and then enter a place of light - the Sanctuary. As such, the dichotomy between light and dark is heightened; the Sanctuary feels like a dream of peace from the hellish Clockworks.

This theory is supported when the Recon Squad leader Parma suggests that the Clockworks has an effect on his dreaming:
"But when sleep comes, I find myself dreaming more than I ever have before...I hope to return one day to the surface, to a sun, to a place where peace is more than a fleeting dream."

Doesn't that sound like..

"I dream...
Within my dream, I saw it open the void, felt its endless hunger.
You are safe here, Knight. Within this dream, its many eyes cannot see you nor can its many arms reach you.
But this dream is fleeting. Use what is here to prepare for the battle to come. It knows of you now. It will find a way out and come for you."

6. The Gremlins are not responsible for their current evil actions.

Prior to the Skylark's crashing, either out of their own will or the Core's direction, the Gremlins ripped chunks of various worlds and started to construct the Clockworks as a sort of iron shield against the Swarm. This worked for a time, until their plans went horribly wrong:

"In his madness, the architect betrayed the pact. Twisting his creation into a game of death, it now devours all who enter its iron embrace."

I believe that the Swarm, recognizing the potential offensive power of a giant metal death-trap - which would serve to deter outsiders from venturing to the core and allowing the Swarm the power to conduct a relentless assault on the core - corrupted the Architect (king of the Gremlins).

Some believe that the "creation" mentioned in this echo is actually referring to the Swarm itself - that the Architect created the Swarm for a beneficial purpose, but went insane and started using it maliciously. They may also back it up with the line from the FC echo, which states "it is a creation unlike all." However, I believe that the creation in the IMF echo is in fact referring to the Clockworks. Here's the transmission in full:

"This world was created to protect me.
Vulnerable in slumber, worlds were drawn to shield me from the darkness.
This world has become my prison.
In his madness, the architect betrayed the pact. Twisting his creation into a game of death, it now devours all who enter its iron embrace."

As you can see, the entire artifact seems to be discussing the Clockworks. The only thing the Gremlins are canonically known to have created are constructs and the Clockworks: It seems more likely that the Gremlins were originally constructing the Clockworks as a sort of divine suit of armor as -good- guys, but were then corrupted by the Swarm, instead of intentionally creating the Swarm, which is not canonically proven.

7. The Spiral Knights are character foils to the Gremlins.

Advancing from the previous argument...

-Both races are sentient with some form of military wing (Spiral Order vs. Crimson Order).
-We, the Players, are only ever exposed to said military wing with the exception of Haven and Emberlight
-Both races have considerable engineering prowess.
-Both utilize swords, bombs, Mecha Knights, and Health Capsules.
-Both races have segments cut off from their main faction: Knights are (presumably) cut off from the rest of their civilization, while Gremlins have Emberlight.
-Knights must fight through the Clockworks, while gremlins own it.
-Knights are in the (unwitting) employ of the Core, while gremlins are corrupted by the Swarm.

8. Opening the heart of the world is exactly what both The Core and The Swarm wants.

The Core states it's imprisoned in the Clockworks now that it's been taken over by the (evil) Gremlins. As such, it has no way to escape its predicament. Conversely, the prison is also a shield: the Swarm can't gain access to the heart of the world and defeat the Core. The Core has to expose itself to danger now, or else face an overpowering Swarm force later (remember, the Swarm seems to be winning its battle against the Core). Its guard, once the Gremlins, are now the Spiral Knights - the only hope for the Core to win its battle against the Swarm.

9. The Final Battle occurs at the Heart of the World with the Alpha Squad involved: Cradle is the site of the climax of a universe-spanning battle between light and dark.

The most logical place for the Final Battle of Spiral Knights is clearly the heart of the world, with a buildup since launch.
As the Alpha Squad has been engulfed in all the plot points of the entire game, they are sure to be instrumental in the final battle.

My personal idea is that the Knights will discover all the secrets of the world they're on, find a way to open the heart of the world knowing full well that doing so would cause the Swarm to rush in to attack the Core, having assembled a squad (with a name at least as cool as 'Alpha Squad') composed of their four best Knights to fight them off. The Core opens and the player party rushes in, fighting a gauntlet of three bosses -

-The Architect: The Gremlins have been obliterated, and the Architect wants to defeat the party responsible.
-The Swarm: An abomination. The players are able to fight it off with holy energy from the Core; the Alpha Squad comes in to deliver the final blow...
-The Alpha Squad: ..but in a last ditch effort, the Alpha Squad is fully corrupted by the Swarm and represents the last boss of the game.

Wouldn't that be so awesome? And then the Core manages to excise the Swarm or something, and as a reward, you get to keep one weapon powered with holy energy permanently, which increases its power and lets you attack Shadow-Lair swarm (and also increases replay value; collect all 5-Star holy powered weapons!)

So yeah, there's my thread.
TL;DR: The bad guys are the swarm, the good guys are the Core, and you're in the employ of the Core.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 16:31

Bkarcher

Wow

I'm not sure if this is in the correct forum...but I don't really care.
This is a great theory and I love your idea of the three final bosses: it would be an amazing twist to see that you have been chasing Alpha Squad this whole time, and now you need to fight them.
The only problem I see with this are the rewards...i don't know if the community would rather have new weapons be added, but in any case "holy" weapons doesn't seem like something that would be done on a world with no gods.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 17:07

Shoebox

It's actually pretty boring

It's actually pretty boring compared to the original lore.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 17:22

Blade-Of-Citrus

YES!

Yes to everything. I will be sorely disappointed in Three Rings if it's something completely different. Although I hope by the time this happens, we already have advanced sufficiently in cut-scene technology to have some sort of uber-cool scene depicting the destruction of the swarm, with the redeemed Alpha squad covering your escape from the core. Oh man, I might have to do this myself now that I'm all hyped up on the idea.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 17:25

Spookydemi

This was

Well thought out and seems fairly plausible.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 19:59

Tersakaff

This is pretty exciting.. an unique story indeed.. and how they make us have to figure it out... hats down to OOO and whoever made the story. (Really, who was it?)
One question.
If the swarm is not towards the center, near the core, where is it? Or am I missing something? Since it seems like it would spread inside-out. (moar swarm as you go down in SLs)
Or.. does it expand only for a few depths, with the most intense point being close to the core yet not quite there (sanctuary would be the gap)?

And.. why the heck don't we use that elevator?! (look at bottom of forums)

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 21:06

Autofire

Tee hee hee

Oh oh oh! You are in for a surprise! There is more behind this than known. The story twists and folds. And in the end....we will see....

*Begins drawing on an easel*

HEY! Don't look until it's done! No one but my guild may see it till that point! (Smacks next person(who was looking) using the paint brush)

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 21:33

Metamare

Metallic Knightmare

I feel Vog should be relevant for corrupting Vanaduke with it's vast powers. Perhaps a swarm infested Vog?

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 21:45

Autofire

Gah

Don't use the force on our work! Your going to give it all away! (Cuts Meta's wings off using Scissor Blades.)

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 21:48

Cornu

This is a skeleton of the

This is a skeleton of the story. If you have something like Vog, it could be filed under that "Knights figure all that stuff out first" category.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:01

#10

Shoebox

I feel Vog should be relevant

I feel Vog should be relevant for corrupting Vanaduke with it's vast powers

That's right, Vog curses Vanaduke.

It's kind of implied by him turning partially into a beast.
Including pierce weakness.

I think the more interesting story involves the Knights turning into Trojans, myself.
I wonder what puts the Pink Crystal in their back.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:07

#11

Metamare

Metallic Knightmare

All I'm saying is, OOO if you need ideas for danger missions, more Vog and Skover lore would be nice. :3c

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:26

#12

Rommil

ahem

#6 and #7 combined:

Really puts me in mind of an idea as to how they could implement a gremlin race (uncorrupted by the swarm) who are fighting nearly the same fight with a different mission in mind (salvaging the gremlin race and resurrecting the gremlin populace; breaking the binding control that has been cast across their peoples very existence). It is very easy to see where the same underlying themes, but from a different perspective, could be used to create an entire sub-story, nah, parallel story to that of the spiral order.

They could come replete with their own weaponry, lore, history of how the swarm/corruption came upon them. How a brave small subset (Gremmil Squad?) resisted the consuming temptation that subverted their kinfolk, and now work tirelessly to fight for the same end--albeit a different reason--that the spiral order battles for: the end of the swarm, the continuance of the core that is their birthright to protect, and the return of their race to its natural spot in the cradle kingdom hierarchy.

--all begs the obvious question, where do strangers fit into all this?

edit: the gremlin race as a playable class one can choose when creating a character: but only after having successfully beat the game with a spiral knight.
complete with wands, heavy hammer usage, tossable bombs, and flame (damage type) throwers. [pierce throwers, elem throwers, normal throwers..you get the idea. a flame thrower that can use different stock damage types as its ammunition)

lol, darkfang shield could be a regular item for them.

Edit II:
i realize the edited idea is quite radical and silly, but i'd pose the devil's advocate question:
why wouldn't there be a small faction of gremlins who hadn't been corrupted and still fought the good fight? and wouldn't a gremlin [your character] be a better end game reward than a reskinned almirian crusader armor? encourage you to continue to play to work your way thru the gremlin arsenal?

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:30

#13

Rommil

and more importatnly

thank you OP. I hesitated to read this thread, as i suspected it was more of the same. More garbage in a world consumed by refuse.

I was brilliantly surprised with your post. I cannot recall a post that was better thought out, and more importantly better communicated, organized, and delivered than what you have done here. It means something when one can write a tl;dr epic novel of an opening salvo, and my takeaway is to tell my brother to read it. Without knowing you, i can tell you are a very intelligent person. It is an impressive piece of work you have crafted, and thank you for sharing it with me.

anyone who says, and uses it correctly, "canonically" is aces in my book XD

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:34

#14

Shoebox

I'm pretty sure you've

I'm pretty sure you've reached Tier 3 before Rommil... So those last two posts are kind of surprising.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 22:56

#15

Rommil

ahahaha.

i'm newb. what be T3.

i won't lie. RPG games on home consoles have taught me to skip through all supposedly meaningful texts on video games. The cast of characters on the final fantasy series alone that were intended to be comedic relief but only served to kill any chance at replay value are too numerous to count. Not to even touch on all the other RPGs i've had to skip through. I don't think i've watched even half the artifacts, and i've certainly talked to less than 90% of the NPCs that you can avoid in game. And i have spent 0minutes, hours, days reading any of the lore on the wiki. not my bag! but in the end, i was right. it is preposterous to think that no gremlins would be on the side of right.

But you are right, in this regard my first post was a touch low and outside. But that has no bearing on my second post.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 01:07

#16

Cornu

Moorcraft and Emberlight

The possibility of more monsters turned good is something the writers should explore, in my opinion. Moorcraft Manor and Emberlight are interesting locales, just not very -useful- ones, so people use it only as a glorified rest stop as opposed to a town. I can understand why the developers are intent on keeping so many features only in Haven - presumably server load would be easier and it's better game design to keep the players in one hub as opposed to several (as players tend to flock to one for ease of trade anyway).

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 05:56

#17

Spookydemi

Still

Turning the hub towns into real "towns" wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 06:30

#18

Shoebox

I have no middle button yet I must scroll.

Turning the hub towns into real "towns" wouldn't be such a bad idea.

That's how they originally were.
They changed it because nobody went to Haven.

Then they added the Ready Room which kinda made the change redundant.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 08:30

#19

Sexios

lol to the people

Lol to the people that find this game to serious.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 08:45

#20

Axonio

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww144/Axon-Griegor/spiralknights.png

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 09:47

#21

Oroseira

Just whoa!

This is mindblowing. Anyway, I wonder if the swarm builds a tower...hinty mchint hint.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 09:53

#22

Oroseira

Just whoa!

This is mindblowing. Anyway, I wonder if the swarm builds a tower...hinty mchint hint.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 10:13

#23

Aumir

Back in time the now is the new

I actually made a post like this half a year ago, though I didn't go such a stretch into calling objectives of one another. Actually, I have some arguments to make with this theory of yours:

1. The Sorting Algorithm of Evil: This was debunked back there in Final Fantasy I. That Razwog (sp?) guy may get his hands into something and become a menace (maybe controlling the Swarm somehow in a turn of events)

About 2 and 3: The whole light and darkness gods, they are more like entities with high power, akin to the Light and Dark Spirits in Phantasy Star saga, a game which this one references sometimes. They just have enormous quantities of energy.

About 4: The Spiral Knights crashlanded on Cradle because the Core's power is weakening... not actually, it was atracted to Cradle as much as other realms like Almire were. Most likely this may get true due to theories on the Skylark being a future dungeon... because where is it and why hasn't it been salvaged?

About 5, the whole "Sanctuary is a dream". No, it is not. It is just the Core entity bending space and creating safe zones. After all, the Alpha Squad was teleported easily by the Core.

About 6 and Gremlins not being responsibles, they may not be, but their leader has gone crazy, most likely due to Swarm corruption, then turned Cradle into the "game of death".

About 7, and the Knights=Gremlins, we have a home planet, we just are explorers and crashlanded in Cradle. Can't comment on the rest.

About 8 and 9, no, actually the Core entity says the Core was made to protect it from the Swarm, the Core seems to be an entity akin to Cosmos in FFDissidia, helpless mostly but with lots of power. We don't know that if we open the gates we will unleash something BAD if the Swarm picks up the Core's power. And about the Alpha Squad, I still hold my theory that they can't leave the Core due to them holding back the gates with their energy tanks.

My final scenario still goes like this:
1 - We battle the Crimson Order, like we do now.
2 - We get the location of the Great Colony, Gremlin's home base.
3 - We arrive there to find or not King Trikinzar, we get his location or fight him.
4 - He may or not may be able to hold the Swarm back, and we may have to dwelve into a pure Swarm dungeon, fighting a Giygas like creature.
5 - We may or not be able to beat it (being maybe a survival battle) and have to get some "pure energy" power.
6 - We then may be able to get to the Core being teleported the same way the Alpha Squad was, and have to get through a "test" from the Core Entity, maybe a "training fight" with the Alpha Squad too. > Zelda like
7 - We get to the old Swarm dungeon fight and then after the survival fight we may be able to insert that "holy power" in a shape like the chains from the Shadow Lair.
8 - We then get to the last battle against the Swarm. May have a superpowered Razwog (sp?) doing things for the lulz like they say.

^It could be either way, really.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 10:15

#24

Iskender

>This is mindblowing. Anyway,

>This is mindblowing. Anyway, I wonder if the swarm builds a tower...hinty mchint hint.

implying that Spiral Knights is on the same level as your average Shin Megami Tensei

Not in this universe, buddy.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 10:20

#25

Heavy-Duty

...

This last part has not really been uncovered, but we DO know what pieces both sides are taking. For all we know, it may be the other half of this saga and not "the real end" as presumed. For all we know, actually we know a bit but not enough to predict what's going on.

-OR-

OOO is just throwing this stuff together and we're trying to make sense out of what stuff they threw at us.
...
I like #1 better.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 15:29

#26

Cornu

@ Aumir

Contention 1: Garland still obeyed the sorting algorithm of evil in that present-day Garland was not the same as 2,000 past Chaos; Garland had "in time, forgotten all of it" and ended up losing his powers over those 2,000 years. I believe Ragwoz reeks more of Elite Mook or Minor Villain then Dragon Ascendent.

Contention 2/3: They are either entities or gods; the difference insignificant.

Contention 4: My theory is that the Skylark has been salvaged; it is simply not shown because there is no need for it to be shown. The knights don't seem to be concerned with the location of the Skylark; they seem to be concerned about the loss of its Tearium Core.

Contention 5: Explain the echos, then.

Contention 6: This is what I said.

Contention 7: Yes.

Contenion 8/9: I know the Clockworks were made to protect it from the Swarm. I still think you're giving too much credit to Razwog. If they actually do turn him into the final boss, it will be for the purpose of having a twist, not for any discernible, foreshadowed reason outside of a vague intro mission.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 17:42

#27

Oroseira

Iskender, enough,

I already got kicked from FSC once, and I don't need to be kicked in the head and then locked in an Unknown Passage.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 20:50

#28

Cornu

I do hope the Alpha Squad is

I do hope the Alpha Squad is used in the final battle somehow. They would make an excellent final boss.

Fri, 07/20/2012 - 09:37

#29

Aumir

Nah, your theory can work too

Spoilers: Regarding FF1, present Garland is sent back in time by the four fiends power, and turned in the past into Chaos, which then sends the four fiends to corrupt the crystals, establishing the time loop. The Razwog chance of this occuring is low, I was just making a theory based on that, I would prefer a big enemy that represented the "dark spirit".

About the Echoes, they are messages left by the entity. Just that.

And I am just not a fan of "person shaped" final bosses like I said. Sometimes they may be right, but a big fight tends to be more climactic. I would prefer it maybe to be a "second to last" fight though.

Sat, 07/21/2012 - 14:48

#30

Cornu

@Aumir

Person shaped final bosses can work just fine, just look at Xemnas. He was a pretty good final boss.

Sat, 07/21/2012 - 23:04

#31

Nubskills

Nyan nyan nyan nyan....

"The Core states it's imprisoned in the Clockworks now that it's been taken over by the (evil) Gremlins. "
I'd have to agree that the Core being a "god" is conjectural, as Aumir had pointed out, it could possibly also be a vulnerable entity, justifying the original purpose of the Clockworks and its weakening resistance against the Swarm. However, I feel that the gremlins are more likely only taking orders from their superiors, as it has been specified that some of their commanders lost their sanity, i.e. King Tinkinzar and Seerus of the Crimson Order. Seeing as how there have been gremlins who left for Emberlight (and Haven) convinces me that not all gremliins are evil or corrupted by the Swarm.

Sat, 07/21/2012 - 23:14

#32

Thunderbog

Such wisdom... does it means

Such wisdom... does it means we were predicted to be in Cradle?

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 05:24

#33

Nubskills

Nyan nyan nyan nyan....

@ Cornu
Woot tvtropes. Also, when you stated that the Sanctuary is a physical manifestation of the Core's dream, that would be assuming that the Core had a literal dream that could cause physical manifestations
"I dream...
Within my dream, I saw it open the void, felt its endless hunger.
You are safe here, Knight. Within this dream, its many eyes cannot see you nor can its many arms reach you.
But this dream is fleeting. Use what is here to prepare for the battle to come. It knows of you now. It will find a way out and come for you."
However, whether the Core could manifest its dreams or whether it could bend space around it and create safe zones, if we assume the former, there still is the second line, saying that the Core sees and feels the Swarm in its dream. That could possibly mean that the Shadow Lairs and/or Unknown Passage may also have been part of the entity's dream, as there is evidence of the Swarm in the boss rooms of the SLs. In the IMF Echo Stone, it had said "Vulnerable in slumber, worlds were drawn to shield me from the darkness." While many of the Clockworks is of gremlin design, the Kingdom of Almire had not been, and thus there is a chance that the Core could manipulate events within its dreams, such as creating a sanctuary with its dreams. If we assume the hypothesis is true, then it would be no normal dream. However, the Recon Module for The Gauntlet showed that there is evidence of actual dreams involved, so I'm more inclined to agree with you than Aumir on that theory. Since it's no normal dream though, I also agree with Aumir that the Core entity could possibly bend and manipulate space in that manner.

@Thunderbog
While there is a possibility that the entity in the Core had forseen Knights would land on Cradle, there's also the possibility that the entity's actions of contacting the Knights to warn them of dangers and to advise and guide them was after the Spiral Order knights have landed on Cradle from their ship's malfunction, if you assume that the SL artifacts were left as messages for the knights after they landed. For the former possibility, did you mean that the SL artifacts had always been there before?

@Future-Storm
Thanks to the wiki, you could access the plot nuggets without heading into the Shadow Lairs yourself. It should become less mind-blowing after you have read through the artifacts, since they do hint at pretty much all of the theories here. The artifacts alone were already mind-blowing enough lol, I guess this thread is more of theorising on the plot hints in the artifacts.

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 05:58

#34

Dsnchz

wat if the knights r in pergatory?

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 06:57

#35

Thunderbog

@Nubskills

If so, then this sanctuary must be very strong and yet to fade.

Wait... doesn't that means each of the Shadow Lair artifacts represents the 4 Alpha Squad Members...?

Unless if ye(or I) point it out that there are two 'I Dream' lines, I'll take back my question.

If they left these in the Shadow Lair artifacts, doesn't it means they are deceased? Just my two cents.

PS: one of my weird thoughts, sorry if it is silly. heh.

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 06:55

#36

Softhead

This is Kingdom Hearts all over again.....

Square Enix and Three Rings are the same companies!

/Wears Tinfoil hat

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 06:55

#37

Softhead

This is Kingdom Hearts all over again.....

Square Enix and Three Rings are the same companies!

/Wears Tinfoil hat

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 11:55

#38

Tersakaff

I AM SO EXCITE FOR ALL THIS

THIS IS WHY I AVOID GOING ON THE SUGGESTIONS FORUMS

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 12:56

#39

Shurine

Great stuff!

Great stuff! And that better happen.

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 13:47

#40

Cornu

The Dream

I interpret it more as a sort of meditation holding the Swarm back, allowing the Core to become more clairvoyant - the dream relayed by the Echos are more like the visions of an ancient Greek oracle as opposed to a subconscious reality. By 'dreaming', the Core is holding the Swarm at bay; the Sanctuary is such a place where the Core's influence is at its highest. Note how, in manner of depth, the Sanctuary is closest to the Core.

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 16:04

#41

Xylka-Mkii

Cool Story bro. Figured this

Cool Story bro.

Figured this out about 4 months ago. :P

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 16:07

#42

Xylka-Mkii

Double post >_>

Sun, 07/22/2012 - 22:18

#43

Cornu

^Pff, well that was rude. I

^Pff, well that was rude.

I can't wait for future updates..

Mon, 07/23/2012 - 00:57

#44

Nubskills

Nyan nyan nyan nyan....

@Xylka-Mkii
Yep, you can figure it out from reading the plot artifacts. Like Cornu had said though, "All the ideas in this thread are merely conjecture and not representative of the way the plot may go.", so it can still be discussed, since not everything is definite yet.
@Cornu
Would be very interesting to see how this turns out in the end, although I guess the Core is very much end-game content, so they probably won't release it for a long, long while :(

Mon, 07/23/2012 - 04:03

#45

Doctorspacebar

SUNSHAAAAAAAAARDS

I wonder, what part will a Fiend boss play? After all, Devilites do work with Gremlins... perhaps we'll storm their castl- uh, office. Or it'll be a Greaver Queen, that idea always seemed cool. (Crazy tough for Bombers, though; Devs will need to make those Shards explode faster if they make a Greaver Queen or there'll be angry mobs... which are a good business opportunity for me since I know where to find torches (Arenas) and pitchforks (Devilish Drudgeries), but not so good for the devs.)

Razwog doesn't seem like a Garland. Then again, Garland didn't seem like... well, I won't spoil it, for those of you who haven't played Final Fantasy I. One thing we might expect is the usually awesome boss rush (like in most Mega Man games, and even Fire Emblem 7), maybe even without an Arsenal Box, so for that last level, bring a nice, mobile gun that does something other than Shadow damage. Unless it's more of a Miniboss rush... with a giant Scorcher/giant Oilargo combo, the Frost Trojan, a Fallen Knight, and some other unreleased-as-of-yet monsters. (Vog? Skolver? Cattywampus? A Chroma Dragon? Tortodrone? TORTOMEGA? The possibilities are ENDLESS!)

I eagerly await any endgame content- although we probably won't eradicate the Swarm entirely, we want to have more levels after all!

Mon, 07/23/2012 - 15:25

#46

Cornu

I hope we get an over the top

I hope we get an over the top Devilite CEO. I mean, fighting CEOs..it's not like it hasn't been done before.

Bonus points if its name is Trump.
Like the sounds they make.

Sun, 07/29/2012 - 00:55

#47

Cornu

What boss types haven't we seen?

Out of curiosity, I wonder what boss types the playerbase would like to see in future updates.

Sun, 07/29/2012 - 07:45

#48

Tersakaff

CHROMA
SALAMANDER
DRAWGON
AWESOME BIG ICE DRAWGON

Sun, 07/29/2012 - 08:47

#49

Doctorspacebar

SUNSHAAAAAAAAARDS

Hey, a Chroma Dragon could work. We are Knights, after all, and filling the dungeon with lesser Chroma Dragons (hatchlings, or just weaker species), which are more menacing than the usual Chromalisk, would be a welcome change for the Beast family.

A Fiend boss will definitely be an awesome fight, no matter what Fiend family you use. A Devilite CEO that commands his minions to hurl various office supplies at you while floating around on an ominous desk of doom, summoning the Security department through infernal portals? A Greaver Queen that flies faster than the wind, striking and flying back before her hapless foes can retaliate? A Silkwing boss that concentrates on healing and buffing its minions?

The Ice Trojan we have in Heart of Ice is more of a Mini-boss, but if it was buffed some...

More Crimson Order members would be good, too- there's a lot of things Gremlins haven't done. A battle in the skies for Haven, where you take on a Crimson Order airship while under Gremlin copter-fire? A mission where you disrupt the Gremlins' dealings with the Devilites? Another assault on another Gremlin fortress? More lore on the different Gremlin clans (Tenderfoot, Ironclaw and Darkfang), or even the Ghostmane clan? Gremlins packing Pulsars or Catalyzers, or even both?

And there's even room for more. A water-filled Clockworks area with a fleet of ships, each one full of undead pirates and Puzzle Pirates references? An old enemy of the Spiral Order launching an assault on Haven from space? More stuff related to Moorcroft Manor and Emberlight? GIANT QUICKSILVERS? The possibilities are endless.

Sun, 07/29/2012 - 09:23

#50

Yonk

Overlord is offline...

I just like to read all what you thinking here guys, good work.

Search

Cradle is the site of the climax of a universe-spanning battle between light and dark