(08-28-2014, 01:44 PM)Zyrusticae Wrote:(08-28-2014, 12:50 PM)Melkire Wrote: I find it laughable that the top comment is "No one wins, but Ul'dah probably loses." Objectively speaking, I'd say Gridania probably loses. Second-smallest population, if I'm not mistaken (if it's third, they're even worse off), and their force of lancers, archers and conjurers are, as stated in the reddit thread, best suited to a defensive action (likewise for the Elementals). If you're always on the defensive and on the backfoot... you're eventually going to lose, even if you outlast a thousand sieges.ÂI don't buy this.
The nature of the landscape of Eorzea means that Gridania is simply the richest in terms of natural resources. This, coupled with their absolutely insurmountable defensive terrain advantage, in addition to the aid of the Elementals, the Sylphs if they decide to pitch in, and the Padjal (who are all White Mages, which, I should remind you, is the single most powerful form of magick in all of Hydaelyn), means they could easily force any invading force out with minimal losses.
Hell, just think about what they're surrounded by - you have to cross either a desert or a massive frozen tundra just to reach them! By the time you get there, you will have to be maintaining massive supply lines while the Gridanians have virtually limitless supplies thanks to the bounty of the forest.
Explain to me how they would "lose", somehow, just because they don't need to leave their forest at any one point in time. I'm pretty sure convincing everyone else that they are untouchable after losing hundreds or thousands of troops in a single battle would be enough of a victory that they would win by default, simply by virtue of sustaining the fewest losses. It doesn't matter if someone EVENTUALLY wins a thousand years later if they sustained a thousand times more losses in the process of achieving that so-called "victory".
Rephrase: Gridania doesn't win. They can turtle up and survive, sure, but they lack both the technology and manpower to take the offensive against either of the other two city-states.
As for the "bounty of the forest"... I'm not even going to touch the "burn the Shroud down to the ground" argument or scorched-earth policy other than to bring them up, though where one would get enough firepower for that (akin to Bahamut) is questionable (hello, Omega).
EDIT: Never mind, Nat did it for me.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
