Future Update Discussions

[Edmundo]

Next week: A filler video because we're not doing an update that week?

[Sy_Accursed]

Next week: A filler video because we're not doing an update that week?

 

Seems like it, but hardly a surprise they normally give us 1 off-week a month and with 3 weeks left 1 major update and 2 smaller updates it had to be one of them!

[HunterDexter]

They had their week off at the Birthright quest. In my opinion.

[BloodAngel]

According to Mod Ollie's twitter, MPD will be released today  :thumbup:

[Drazhor]

http://services.runescape.com/m=news/above-the-lore-podcast---the-joy-of-zaros

 

 

New podcast about Zaros released, anybody willing to iron out the nice stuff from it?

[Sy_Accursed]

Podcast keypoints:

 

Mods and projects:

• Mod John A wrote the Zaros God book (from emissaries)
• Mod Jack is working on the details of Zaros in the 2nd age
• He has also sketched a comic around the topic of Zaros Betrayal
  • The comic is not intended to be released as a comic, though we should learn the contents at some point
  • Mod's dislike the 'Zaros tripped and fell on the staff' part of Zaros Betrayal
  • They are working to flesh it out, giving more depth to Zamorak's motives and building more of a battle in to it.
  • Part of this is Viggora's version of events is unreliable. He did not see everything and did not fully understand all of what he saw. Plus as he was very anti-Zaros he may of changed details to make Zaros seem stupid (eg the tripping)

 

Zaros is different:

• Zaros is extremely different to other gods:
  • He was always sort of immortal and immensely powerful
  • He never ascended like other gods did, he just is that powerful
  • He has never owned or used elder artefacts
  • He was the biggest god in the 2nd age and held the biggest empire.
  • Zaros would take elder artefacts to keep them safe from other gods, but he has no interest in them otherwise. Several may of been within his Empire previously but he didn't take note of them.

Guthix, Good or evil & God of:

• Guthix, though, was never aware of him since he came conquered and 'died' all during Guthix's nap.
• Zaros would have probably preferred Guthix to live as someone to be his equal and as they had no conflicts.
• Zaros is meant to be mysterious and represent something beyond mortality
• He is a god of control, fate and in some ways order
• He likes to be in charge or control in quite an authoritarian way - everything has its place.
• He is meant to be a predominantly 'good' god though he does have undercurrents of evil in being manipulative (eg the dragonriders deals)

 

Other Gods and their characters:

• Bandos is the only current god who is just meant to be out and out evil. He is supposed to be a simple villianous, evil, bully figure without any redeeming cause.
• Zamorak and Zaros are both more good than Bandos as they do have a purpose and good intention to their actions.
• Saradomin, Zamorak and Zaros are intended to be complex personalities where the judgement of good or evil comes down to personal opinion of their aims.
• There was a lot more gods in Gielinor in the 2nd age who were either killed by Zarosian Empire or became part of it and are long since lost and forgotten as they were much weaker.

 

Solomans factoid:

• Of the four god robes on Solomans, Zaros has sold the most by far.

 

Zaros ruling style 2nd Age:

• During the 2nd Age Zaros wanted to be seen as ruling and powerful but as the empire grew withdrew more and more as he began to desire to 'rule from the shadows' allowing the Empire to consist of self-sustaining systems that only needed the odd nudge.
• Zaros 100% did not know about the plot to overthrow him and let it happen, despite some player theories. When the plot happened he was already very withdrawn and only directly saw a select few in the aims of being safe. This select few included Azzanadra, Zamorak and Char, possibly with 1 or 2 others also.
• Whilst being withdrawn in the 2nd age he kind of assumed everything was going to plan and everyone was content, showing some naiviety.
• Zaros was quite awful to humans, pretty much all humans in his Empire were peasants dedicated to supporting the demons, dragon riders, vampyres etc.

 

Pandemonium, Demons, Vampyres and Dragonriders:

• Pandemonium and the Infernal dimensions are the same place - the demon home world. Most, but not all, creatures called demons within Gielinor are genuinely demons originating from Pandemonium.
• The Kal'ger demons do originate from Pandemonium.
• There is a story written about how and why Zaros visited Pandemonium and recruited the demons.
  • It details the highly ordered and legality-centric style of demon society (eg contracts as mentioned in other lore)
  • It touches on Zaros specifically wanting an army to invade Gielinor
• It is possible there is at least 1 Dragonrider still alive in some form and concept art for them has been created.
• Demons and Vampyres, among others, may not of always been 'evil' races - even during Zaros' empire. However Pandemonium and Vampyrium are considered very broken worlds, explaining some of the races 'evilness'
• In the 3rd age there would've been Zarosian vampyres still, but they are all dead by now.

 

Zaros 3rd age til now:

• Zaros has not been away plotting his return for all this time. His incorporeal form after fleeing his body could not think or do anything for thousands of years whilst it was reforming into a conscious entity.
• Gielinor is important to Zaros for some reason.
• Zaros is not in the Shadow Realm and he has not returned. He is however somewhere the players know of/have heard about.
• A quest will decide if Zaros returns or remains where he is and, currently, that choice will be up to each individual player.

 

Runefest, godly rankings and power sources:

• The fully god hierarchy, both tiers and how they stack up within the tiers will be revealed at Runefest
• The upper tiers atleast have specifcally defined powers that lower tiers cannot do - eg Tier 1 can create and destroy worlds and species.
• Zaros is still just about a tier 2 god - When he was stabbed he lost a lot of power and may have gone much lower, but he has some power source that he has been using to regain power putting him back up in tier 2 aka the most powerful of the current gods.
• Zamorak's power is derived from a mixture of power directly stolen from Zaros and gained from elder artefact exposure.

 

Zaros looks, Empire, goals and Sliske:

• Zaros look has moved away from the motion comic appearance a bit and concept art exists of his look.
• Three concepts exist - one for his 2nd age appearance, one for his current appearance and one for his 'naked' appearance (his true form beneath his clothes)
• Zaros has learnt a lot from his betrayal, the fall of his empire and how other gods behaved in his absence.
• The Empire was never his final goal, it was a means to reach the final goal.
• He no longer thinks the Empire was the best way to achieve his goal, but if on returning it appears to be the best route he would do it again.
• Zaros and Sliske do have a connection and Zaros wants Sliske to do certain things. Sliske, however, is unlikely to follow these orders fully and wull put his own spin on them.
• Upcoming content will give a definite answer to the Zaros/Sliske relationship and Sliske's god status.

 

Zaros feelings, plans and the player:

• Zaros will not come back seeking revenge, he still has his greater goal in mind.
• Zaros does not understand revenge and maybe no emotions at all. He simply see things as useful or not useful, a danger or not and reacts accordingly.
• Something about the World Guardian status is vital to Zaros' ultimate goal.
• Our centrality to everything is intriguing to Zarosians and has probably caught Zaros' attention now he knows of us.
• Zaros is interested in unique and powerful things.

 

Nex, Char, Azzanadra:

• Nex wasn't anything special in the 2nd age, she came to power in the 3rd age - This idea needs double checking against Viggora, Pernix, Virtus and Torva lore, but is their current concept for Nex backstory.
• There is content on the distant horizon dealing with how Nex came to be a Zarosian, she did not serve anyone before Zaros.
• There is no romantic link between Char and Zaros, though she may have feelings for him. He did however enjoy her company.
• Azzanadra is still trusted by Zaros
• Azzanadra was not a general in the 2nd age, he had a different role. He became a general when defections to Zamorak left a power vaccum.

 

Chaos Elemental Hint:

Dark mom will be happy to hear that his slan/slane are Runescape's Carthaginian

 

 

Raw notes:

 

 

mod jack - zaros biographer of 2nd age, zaros comic

mod timbo - zarosian

mod sarah - zarosian

mod john a - wrote zaros god book

 

Not human - more immortal and difference than other gods.

Mysterious

Bigger than other gods, historically the biggest god. Biggest empire.

represents Beyond mortality.

of Control/fate/power/sort of order

Be in charge, authoritarian, everything it its place

Manipulative - undercurrent of evil but overall good.

Bandos - villain/evil/bully; don't want to have sympathy. More evil than Zamorak and Zaros.

 

Solomans god robes - zaros sold most.

Sara, Zaros and Zamorak aimed to be complex good/evil mix where personal opinion makes the choice.

 

Origin of Zaros very different from all other gods; was not a mortal and did not ascend like other gods, no elder artefacts.

2nd Age wanted to be seen ruling, gradually withdrew as he learnt current 'rule from shadows' position.

Aiming for self-sustaining empire with minimal interaction.

 

Zaros did not know about overthrow plot. Plot happened when he withdrew to only a small few generals, Azzanadra, Zammy, char and maybe 1 or 2 others.

Assume everything going to plan - possibly naive.

 

Want to tidy up and fill out story of Zaros betrayal and his demise. Want to remove the accidentally tripping and fill in details of how sammy did it. Topic jack is plotting with the comic - not planned to be released as a comic.

Viggora's report is unreliable, did not see it all/did not understand it all. Change details as he was anti-Zaros.

Zaros wasn't brilliant to humans.

 

Pandemonium and Infernal dimensions are the same thing. Demon home world. Not 100% of demons are actual demons.

 

Story of Zaros visiting and how he recruited and why has been written. Details of ordered, legal-style demon society. Zaros needed army to invade Gielinor.

 

Dragonriders - maybe possible at least one is alive in some form.

Have concept art for dragon riders.

 

After betrayal could not think or do anything for thousands of years. Took time to reform himself.

Gielinor is important to Zaros for certain reasons.

 

Zaros is somewhere players know about/heard of. He is not back yet.

 

Quest will decide if Zaros returns, can be different for different players.

 

God hierarchy will be revealed at runefest.

Powers for higher tiers defined, lower tiers cannot do these actions.

Zaros is still just about tier 2, he went much lower but has a power source he has been using to regain power.

Zamoraks power is a mixture of Zaros powers and elder artefacts.

 

Zaros never exposed to elder artefacts.

Have concept art of him, gone away from motion comic appearance.

3 concepts - 2nd age, post-betrayal and without clothes/true form.

 

Learnt from betrayal and fall of empire and how other gods act.

Empire was never has end game, it was a means to an end, he does not think the empire was the best way to do it now.

Not all about empires, but if it seems best way to do it he would do it again.

 

Connection with Sliske. Zaros has things he wants Sliske to do, but Sliske is unlikely to follow them properly.

Upcoming content will give definitive answer of Zaros Sliske relationship and Sliske godhood soon.

 

Zaros probably would've preferred Guthix to live.

Guthix never knew about Zaros, but Zaros knew of him.

 

Zaros likely to put aside betrayal for his greater goal. Not revenge story. Doesn't understand revenge.

See thing as useful or not, danger or not and deals with accordingly.

 

Element of world guardian role is vital to Zaros goal. Our centrality to everything intrigues Zarosians.

Zaros likes unique powerful beings.

 

Quick fire:

Zaros Peasants - Bad life. Humans peasant supported demons vamps etc.

Viggora and Nex - Nex was not a big deal in 2nd age, came to power in 3rd age - Ideas but need double checking against Pernix/Torva/Virtus stories.

3rd age there was still Zarosian vamps, but probably all gone now.

More gods in 2nd age that died/lost/forgotten due to being weak and being conquered by Zaros empire.

Content on distant horizon about how Nex came to Zaros. Nex was never in someone else's service.

Zaros enjoyed Char company, but no romance.

Zaros never used or wanted elder artefacts in the way other gods did. If he did take them he'd just keep them safe from other gods. Elder artefacts might've been within his empire, but he didn't note to them.

Azzanadra in Zaros' trust still.

Azzanadra was not a general until after betrayal - he became one to fill void left by generals turning to Zamorak.

Pandemonium, Vampyrium are very broken worlds.

 

 

Chaos Ele

dark mom will be happy hear to that his slane are runescapes carthaginian

 

 

 

Edit: Tidied and tried to loosely group similar topics.

[Leik]

[jayc3399]

Well that was a rather underwhelming video, they didn't actually say anything.

[helring]

Well that was a rather underwhelming video, they didn't actually say anything.

 

For the most part I agree. Although I'm not sure there is much to say about sirenic armour anyway. Interesting to know with the rebuildathon that we can fail to completely rebuild lumbridge.

[God Of Lego]

That Mod made me feel a little weird.

[Sy_Accursed]

The fact the lumbridge rebuild is a community thing kinda disappoints me.

How much they've touted choice and unique player experience and divergent paths something so simply cosmetic you'd think they could've let us have an individual experience on how much we manage to rebuild Lumbridge.

 

But yes overall these October bts SUCK. After their big talk about 'more in-depth' and 'more of what you want to know' all they've delivered are BTS videos that tell us less than the old style.

I mean sure you gave us a big waffle on how you concept something but where was the details on what will drop it, will it crumble to dust is it power or tank etc.

[strilmus]

I really hope the rebuildathon is not just a static "put in X hours of collective labor to put this wall back up" in that I hope during this time somebody will attempt to sabotage the proceedings

[Platinum_Myr]

That was a pretty lame BTS, but I suppose there isn't a lot of detail they can share. I think some of those things they try not to share, and something so simple really doesn't have a lot else.

 

I hope we do manage to complete it, and I hope player choice has some impact on what the final outcome looks like for Lumbridge.

[Yoko Kurama]

They could share details about how the armour might work, for one thing... We still don't know if it will work like Tectonic (crumble to dust), or be rechargeable like Drygore.

 

---

 

As for the lore, Zaros does have sort of unsympathetic side. He promises all sorts of people all sorts of things, and two of them, he never bothers upholding his promises. He promise the Dragonriders fertility, and they eventually go extinct because of him. He promises the humans/Viggora power, but he never gives them this, and instead they feel decived and disillusioned and opt to support Zamorak instead. Zaros does have some holes.

 

And the narrative about ruling from the shadows seems something he cooked up after his fall, rather than before.

 

Also, the part about Nex not being special in the 2nd age seems to contradict a lot of the established lore. It seems to be an oversight on Jagex's part, hopefully they fix it.

[Sy_Accursed]

 

 

And the narrative about ruling from the shadows seems something he cooked up after his fall, rather than before.

 

But it's already something that did happen in the lore. It is established towards the end of his reign Zaros was withdrawn and only saw a few select high ups whom he trusted. If that's not ruling from the shadows I dunno what is.

 

 

Also, the part about Nex not being special in the 2nd age seems to contradict a lot of the established lore. It seems to be an oversight on Jagex's part, 

hopefully they fix it.

 

They did say they need to double check it, but I don't think its a problem really.

 

Afaik the Torva/Pernix/Virtus lore doesn't given any specific dates so isn't problematic.

Some comments from Viggora might contradict in passing, but it's easy enough to change that with a small retcon if they desire.

 

I kinda like the idea Nex only became a big name in the 3rd age, it gives more potency to the fact Bandos, Sara, Arma and Zammy baned together in GWD to imprison her. Almost like this sudden threat they didn't expect because she hadn't been a big name previously, unlike Azzanadra and others they knew needed to be taken care of. Plus it fits in nicely with this idea of the Zarosian power vacuum where people suddenly had the chance to do a lot more with their master gone and had to redefine their roles with the Empire as defectors left gaps in the ranks and the Empire crumbled around them.

 

I mean we have to remember the Zarosian Empire wasn't gone overnight; it existed for 2,000 years at least and was the biggest and most powerful Empire of it's time. Even with the main guy gone and a bit later on defections to Zamorak that kind of Empire takes time to fall apart/be destroyed and can put up a darn good fight. Plus in lore Zamorak actually disappeared for a time after stabbing Zaros before returning as a god properly, plus the 3rd Age lasted 4,000 years. So we are talking a good 500-1000 years in the late 2nd age early 3rd age for these things within the Zarosian Empire to develop before it was properly destroyed.

 

I'm looking forward to when we learn more about the Zarosian Empire, I mean that thing was a monster! With it's seat of power at Sennistein it encompassed all of Morytanina to the east, Lumbridge, Varrock and Edgeville at least to the west, with the possibility it got even further in uncharted as of yet lore. To the North it encompassed all of Forinthry (the wilderness) and even some inroads to the mountain regions (Ghorrock) and heading south they managed to conquer at least some of the desert lands. Plus all the gods they wiped out in the process of growing would be cool to touch upon. Heck I'd just like to see a more full lore of the 2nd age and what was where and who ruled what.

I mean 1st age we got pretty solid info on with the general species arriving etc.

3rd age god wars is obviously well filled out as it has 1 primary overriding theme to it (though some nuances of the Zarosian Empire falling would be awesome)

5th and start of 6th being our age has plenty of details.

4th we don't have a huge amount, but we know about the Elven empire and it's fall and the fact most life was rather tribal until humans discovered magic and gain dominance. Plus with it being tribal it's expected to be patchy.

But 2nd age we have the whole near blank slate, we know there were gods here in quite large numbers bringing in new species and forming bases of power until this massive Zarosian Empire swept the land and became dominant. But we don't know who was where and doing what in any great detail.

[Yoko Kurama]

We know that Torva/Pernix/Virtus lived in the 2nd Age.

 

As for Zaros, I don't know if there's any concrete signs that he retreated to the shadow, or was more hands-off during the end of his reign (though the book mentions it, I think, I will double check that). It was too small a time frame. It's possible if he had lived longer he would have been more hands-off. At the moment this, to me, seems like a self-serving narrative that he cooked up after his loss (oh, well, yeah, I was gonna leave everyone mostly alone, anyways, so my defeat was no big deal!). 

 

Also, his lack of revenge seeking on Zammy is problematic. Various people have alluded that he would come back for revenge, including Azzanadra (or was it Wahisetal?). . 

[Sylpheed]

We know that Torva/Pernix/Virtus lived in the 2nd Age.

 

As for Zaros, I don't know if there's any concrete signs that he retreated to the shadow, or was more hands-off during the end of his reign (though the book mentions it, I think, I will double check that). It was too small a timeframe. It's possible if he had lived longer he would have been more hands-off. At the moment this, to me, seems like a self-serving narrative that he cooked up after hid loss (oh, well, yeah, I was gonna leave everyone mostly alone, anyways, so my defeat was no big deal!).

 

Also, his lack of revenge seeking on Zammy is problematic. Various people have alluded that he would come back for revenge, including Azzanadra (or was it Wahisetal?). .

Even though Sy just provided concrete info that Zaros was already exhibiting signs of becoming a recluse before he died?

 

Even the ghostly robes mini quest provides snippets of dialogue that suggests that Zaros had placed trust on a handful of people and only they were to commune with him.

 

A change like that doesn't just happen overnight, but as Sy said, the second age is the one we know the least about so we still have a lot to learn.

[Yoko Kurama]

 

We know that Torva/Pernix/Virtus lived in the 2nd Age.

 

As for Zaros, I don't know if there's any concrete signs that he retreated to the shadow, or was more hands-off during the end of his reign (though the book mentions it, I think, I will double check that). It was too small a timeframe. It's possible if he had lived longer he would have been more hands-off. At the moment this, to me, seems like a self-serving narrative that he cooked up after hid loss (oh, well, yeah, I was gonna leave everyone mostly alone, anyways, so my defeat was no big deal!).

 

Also, his lack of revenge seeking on Zammy is problematic. Various people have alluded that he would come back for revenge, including Azzanadra (or was it Wahisetal?). .

Even though Sy just provided concrete info that Zaros was already exhibiting signs of becoming a recluse before he died?

 

Even the ghostly robes mini quest provides snippets of dialogue that suggests that Zaros had placed trust on a handful of people and only they were to commune with him.

 

A change like that doesn't just happen overnight, but as Sy said, the second age is the one we know the least about so we still have a lot to learn.

 

 

Yes, I saw Sy's post. I am not suggesting he is wrong on the lore. What one must keep in mind is that a lot of lore is told to us by certain parties, and there are always biases around and that puts the accuracy of the lore into question. Like Vigora, for instance. His lore is questionable because he was vehemently anti-Zaros; so is his account of Zaros' fall really accurate?

 

What I was suggesting, as pure conjecture, was that this part about Zaros retreating to being a recluse before his fall might be something that Zarosians exaggerated in order to save face. Again, it's just a theory. So we're just having some fun speculation. This part about Zaros learning not to rely on too many followers and ruling from the shadows seems like something he might have learned post-betrayal. Even if the lore is true, and the Zarosian account of Zaros' retreat pre-fall is correct, I think it would be more sensible if the story writers made it so that Zaros learned that lesson after his fall; it would make for some good character development: Zaros is betrayed and learns an important lesson to not be so heavy-handed.

[Sy_Accursed]

But Zaros has 2 different lessons from the podcast:

 

The first is during his Empire he retreated and wanted to be seen ruling less and let it be more autonomous.

The second is after being betrayed he is no thinks an Empire was the best way to go about his goals at all.

We do have concrete evidence he retreated in to the shadows before his demise: The jmods in charge of the story have told us he did it, as do several in-game npcs. Yes it is not in-game cannon yet, but when people like Mod Osbourne tell you something is a fact, it is.

 

As for Torva/Pernix/Virtus: The lore doesn't contradict their idea of Nex only being some special in 3rd age.

http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/Nex%27s_followers

This book specifically starts with 'shortly after Zamorak became a god' Nex was at the peak of her power.

Zamorak becoming a god heralds the start of the 3rd age, so the peak of Nex's power was in the 3rd age, which fits nicely with her being nothing special in the 2nd age.

She then thinks back on her human servants Torva/Pernix/Virtus and how they led her armies and died of old age, which does of course place them in the 2nd age, but just because she wasn't anything special in the 2nd age doesn't mean she can't of been a lower general with armies to command.

 

As for the revenge strand, maybe his followers have alluded to it but his followers are not him. Just like all the gods so far their followers haven't told the full story or, especially in Zaros case, don't know where he is at with these thousands of years with no communication. Plus once more it comes to the fact of the jmods in-charge of these stories have categorically given an answer so it is a fact.

[HunterDexter]

As Nex had a palace of her own, I do think they made a fault in the podcast. After Zaros fell, Azzanadra and Nex planned everything from that palace to make a stand against the forces of Zamorak, Saradomin and the crumbling empire.

It might be that she, just like Azzanadra, had a whole other function than warlord before the third age, suggesting her peak being at the third age, but to say she was insignificant during the second age would be very odd. You don't offer a palace to someone low ranked.

[Sy_Accursed]

The exact wording was 'nothing special' given the kinds of creatures and levels of power Zaros has she could've easily been reasonably high-up and still of been 'nothing special.'

 

Though of course they did say it was an idea and they needed to double check before it was finalised and of course it was a fairly vague comment. I suspect the final version is likely to be that she rises more during the 2nd Age and then peaks in the 3rd than a literally binary of nothing to everything. Or perhaps, to view it from a different angle, her being 'nothing special' was not so much to do with her power but the limitations and restrictions imposed upon her by Zaros eg she was a high-up general but her fighting powers and true strength was not shown off so that on the world stage she was nothing special. Then with Zaros gone and a power vacuum forming she was able to stretch her muscles and make her mark.

I mean maybe Zaros purposefully held her back because of her seeming affinity for humans, when the Empire as a whole looked down on humans it seems.

 

Also side thought: Are we ever actually told when Nex got her palace? I know we are told about her and Azzanadra planning from it after Zaros death, but if that is the only time-specific reference there's also a plausible explanation in that she simply did not have it before Zaros demise. She could've simply claimed a palace vacated by one of the deserters as she rose in power.

[HunterDexter]

The notion "nothing" special does feel awkward to me, she's a very special creature, and Zaros loves his special toys. Her name, Nex, meaning Death also echoes raw power.

Also, from the book of gods, it looks like Nex always had the palace. The Divine Palace got lost, so the Zarosians went to the next hub they had, the Palace of Nex. How it got described gives me a sence of a power seat, I really don't think Nex claimed it after others left it.

[Alg]

Are we at the point where we can say that a lot of the older lore is inaccurate (note: not necessarily wrong) until proven otherwise, yet?

[HunterDexter]

Not really, it's just a lot of speculation now. :p

[Sy_Accursed]

Well I think we can safely a lot of the old-older lore is just outright wrong safely, when thinking of the original God letters as that entire block has been retconned.

 

As for parts being inaccurate or unreliable Jagex has always intentionally wrote things that way. It was established very early on in god letters Zaros did indeed exist and hinted at that Saradomin in particular had purposefully removed Zaros from history so we knew from day 1 kind of that much of the in-game lore from Saradominists was inaccurate even if they themselves did not know it was.

 

That's part of what is good about Jagex lore they largely try to avoid larger retcons (beyond the retcon of the 3 brothers thing) instead preferring to simply one up sources with more authoritative ones in due course. For example it's perfectly plausible for Viggora's account of Zaros demise to be flawed, but as we have no other source we have to take it at face value - but at some point when Zaros, Char, Azzanadra, Zamorak or the like tell us, or we find like their diary or w/e, we will have a better source and can see where Viggora was flawed.

 

This Nex tangent is just highly speculative because in the podcast they just mentioned they do have this current idea of Nex only becoming a big deal in the 3rd age, but they haven't fleshed it out or even verified the details against existing lore. As it stands we do not have much solid info on Nex origins and power levels so there is many ways to view what the 'nothing special' means and how well it fits with current facts.