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Hopefully never.
To me from the beginning in 1.0 the empire was never outright EVIL, they just have forceful means and pretty hypocritical beliefs. As an example, in 1.0 Gaius ends up being a tsundere ally to you taking down the White Raven, only to turn around and become the villain in 2.0 and realize hes been manipulated. There's even evidence suggesting that Garlemald does indeed help the civilizations it conquers, such as the Roe knight being so adamant about protecting it(Until you brutally murder him, you monster), as well as Gaius repeatedly saying that they aim to conquer Eorzea to remove the Primal threat/abomination.
If the Binding Coil is any foreshadowing anyway, we will see someone related to the White Raven before we even see another lock of the new emperors hair, so Id say that if they DO end up destroying the empire, it would be in one of the way later expansions(like double digits.)
The Garlean Empire is like that looming threat that is uniting everyone. Without them on the horizon making everyone bite their nails in terror, everyone would return to being separated dickheads and the story IMO would more or less crumble into obscurity. What happens to a hero when the hero is no longer needed?
To me from the beginning in 1.0 the empire was never outright EVIL, they just have forceful means and pretty hypocritical beliefs. As an example, in 1.0 Gaius ends up being a tsundere ally to you taking down the White Raven, only to turn around and become the villain in 2.0 and realize hes been manipulated. There's even evidence suggesting that Garlemald does indeed help the civilizations it conquers, such as the Roe knight being so adamant about protecting it(Until you brutally murder him, you monster), as well as Gaius repeatedly saying that they aim to conquer Eorzea to remove the Primal threat/abomination.
If the Binding Coil is any foreshadowing anyway, we will see someone related to the White Raven before we even see another lock of the new emperors hair, so Id say that if they DO end up destroying the empire, it would be in one of the way later expansions(like double digits.)
The Garlean Empire is like that looming threat that is uniting everyone. Without them on the horizon making everyone bite their nails in terror, everyone would return to being separated dickheads and the story IMO would more or less crumble into obscurity. What happens to a hero when the hero is no longer needed?