Estinien is a major and one of the most loved figures in Final Fantasy XIV, but did you know that he was a character who was present in the now-lost 1.0 version of the game?
The 1.0 story of Estinien gives us a brief look into how he came into possession of the eye of Nidhogg.
Estinien’s story starts 20 years ago in the town of Ferndale, where he lost his family in one of Nidhogg’s rampages.
This attack was what drove him to become an Azure Dragoon and avenge his family.
He started his quest for revenge by joining Alberic Bale, who was the acting Azure Dragoon at the time. And under his tutelage, Estinien went on to become a powerful temple knight who was known for his rather unsocial attitude.
Estinien and his quest for revenge in Final Fantasy XIV
During the 1.0 story, Estinien sensed that Nidhogg had awakened once again from a long slumber. After sensing that, he stole the dragon’s eye, which he knew was a source of great power.
For some reason, the eye was only able to awaken to its full potential once it came in contact with the adventurer. Taking it as a sign, Estinien joined forces with the adventurer for a while. But not long after, he discovered that Alberic, his old master, was involved in the destruction of his home. This then led Estinien to try to kill him
While the adventurer was able to ultimately save Alberic, Estinien, however, ended up giving in to Nidhogg’s power and disappeared.
In the 2.0 version of FFXIV, two quests were added to the Dragoon quest line. “Unfading Scars” and “Double Dragoon”. These quests followed the majority of the story, with the dialogue mostly remaining the same. But they did lead to some unique changes down the line.
In short, with the story of Estinien and the adventurer pushed further into the future, Nidhogg’s reawakening was also pushed to be in tandem with the story itself. Where now nidhhog is awakened only prior to the first expansion, Heavensward.
As such, this led to the 1.0 story of Estinien no longer being canon to the timeline, although it still is a fun little anecdote for the community, the majority of whom joined with the 2.0 update.
As an extra detail, if in 2.0 the player manages to do the Dragoon questline with the Estinien quest included, they would be able to see extra dialogue throughout the Heavensward expansion. In one of which, Estinien even acknowledges the player as an Azure Dragon and refuses to cross blades with them ever again.
