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O Chosen King... Follow my voice and repel the fiend of the wicked winds!

Messenger

Garuda is a special summon for Noctis introduced in patch 1.27 as a reward for those who complete the Final Fantasy XIV collaboration quest Adventurer from Another World. As part of the collaboration the Final Fantasy XIV counterpart of Garuda appears as a boss. She is the only summon in Final Fantasy XV who is not an Astral.

Profile[]

Garuda is a birdlike humanoid creature with dark skin and brown feathers around her head and collar with longer red-tipped plumes at the back. She wears a silver headgear that covers the upper half of her face and gives her the appearance of a bird's peak and large pink round bird's eyes. Her lips are green and gold and the lower half of her body has a reptilian look with scales. Her hands have talons like those of a bird of prey and her feet have a pointed claw, which combined with the dewclaw at the back gives the appearance of a high-heeled shoe.

She has numerous sets of ornamental wings, which are not feathered, and appear for decoration rather than for flight: the middle of her back has the wings of a bird whose filigree patterns imitate the shape of feathers. She also has wings like those of a butterfly's extending from her lower back right below the bird's wings, above what looks like an ornamental bird tail. Her ankles have small butterfly wing attachments at the back. Her bare chest has white markings in the shape of wings and she wears a loincloth and knee guards in the style and color of her headgear. The Messengers are depicted with angel wings in an illustration in Cosmogony, but Garuda is the only known Messenger to actually have wings.

She communicates telepathically with Noctis with an ethereal voice that no one else hears, similar to how Gentiana communicated with him during Ramuh's Trial.

Story[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

I am a Messenger of the will of the gods. I was defeated by the gods and awakened by a traveler from another world. Over my long slumber, my name has been forgotten. I shall therefore take on the name of the goddess of storms. Henceforth, I am Garuda. Together with the gods, I shall bring the winds of dawn to your era of twilight.

Garuda
Messenger Garuda statue in FFXV

Statue of the Messenger of the Winds.

Niflheim has a statue of Garuda fenced off in the abandoned Perpetouss Keep. According to a note found at the keep, the base captain had brought the statue in, but some people who worked there had deemed it "junk" and had wanted to dispose of it. Ignis Scientia calls it an artistic interpretation of the emissary of the winds, and that the only tomes that mention her are of dubious origin, no one sure if she ever existed. Prompto Argentum comments that Niflheim must believe she did as they have been researching the statue. Y'jhimei says there is a strange power slumbering within it, but they don't have the time to look into the statue further as the Ixal who have taken over Perpetouss Keep are going to summon a primal.

The statue comes to life during Noctis's fight with the Final Fantasy XIV primal version of Garuda. The emissary of the winds communicates with him telepathically, saying he can summon her to deal the final blow. After doing this, she speaks with him again, describing herself as an ancient Messenger of the Astrals who was awakened from her slumber by a traveler from another world. Her true name has been lost to history, so she takes on the name of "Garuda" and vows to use her powers to aid Noctis as the True King.

Spoilers end here.

Battle[]

Final_Fantasy_XV_-_NEW_Summon_Garuda_(FF15_New_Summoning)_PS4_Pro

Final Fantasy XV - NEW Summon Garuda (FF15 New Summoning) PS4 Pro

Noctis acquired the Mark of the Vortex, a symbol of the ancient Messenger's favor. Noctis can now summon the ancient Messenger of the Winds. Press and hold L2 when the button is displayed in battle.

Description

After the collaboration quest is completed, Noctis is given the Mark of the Vortex to summon her. Her signature attack is Call of the Crosswinds that envelops the battlefield in a tornado.

Summoning conditions:

  • According to a tweet by Square Enix,[1] Garuda is summoned when Noctis is in Danger state while Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto are not in Danger or incapacitated. However, this appears to not be true, with players reporting summoning her even when not in Danger.[2]
  • Chance of summoning Garuda is boosted when wielding a weapon obtained from Y'jhimei's trading post or the Final Fantasy XIV attire.[1]
  • Garuda can be summoned once an in-game 24hr period.
  • Garuda can be summoned almost anywhere summoning is enabled, including dungeons.

The summoning conditions are alluded to in the key item description to the Mark of the Vortex: Proof that Noctis has received the blessing of Garuda. Once per day, she can lend him her strength when he finds himself in danger. However, this may not directly refer to Danger as defined by game mechanics.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy XIV[]

FFXIV Garuda FFXV

Garuda from Eos.

Garuda the Messenger from Eos appears as a boss in the quest Messenger of the Winds, as part of the A Nocturne for Heroes event.

Behind the scenes[]

At the end of "Adventurer from Another World", Garuda claims that she was 'defeated by the gods,' and that her name 'has been forgotten.' Notes in Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn posit that during the War of the Astrals, the Messengers fought alongside their respective Astrals, with those who served Ifrit erased from history in the aftermath.[3]

Voice[]

Garuda is voiced by Sayaka Ohara in Japanese and by Julia McIlvaine in English, who is the wife of Ray Chase, Noctis's voice actor.[4]

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Garuda is a large, birdlike creature that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It serves as Lord Vishnu's mount and is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila. Contemporary representations of Garuda are the brahminy kite and phoenix.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Final Fantasy XV Official Japanese Twitter on Garuda's summon conditions (Accessed: December 24, 2018) at @FFXVJP on Twitter
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNy_JNWnIM
  3. Archives in Episode Ardyn:
    Chief Besithia's Journal | The Messengers
    M.E. 716-V-2nd
    While few written records referencing the Divine Host of Messengers remain, our excavatory expedition to Taelpar Crag has uncovered some interesting information via word-of-mouth while investigating the surrounding area. Based on what we've learned, the demigods fought alongside the deities they served in the War of the Astrals, with the followers of the traitorous Infernian being all from erased from the annals of history after suffering defeat at the hands of the other gods. Little else is known about the Messengers, but I'm determined to discover more about these fascinating creatures.
  4. Tweet by Ray Chase (Accessed: December 15, 2018) at Ray Chase's Twitter
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