War of Transgression

Dive into the history of Final Fantasy XIII's War of Transgression. Learn about the conflict between Gran Pulse and Cocoon, the role of fal'Cie Anima, and the legend of Ragnarok.

Hey there! So, you're curious about the big conflict that shaped so much of what happens in Final Fantasy XIII? Let's break down the War of Transgression. It all kicked off over six hundred years before the game's main story, a massive war between Gran Pulse and Cocoon. You can still see the scars of this war today, like at the Hanging Edge on Cocoon, and you'll find old war machines scattered across both worlds.

For ages, people on both Gran Pulse and Cocoon were fed lies, told that the other world was full of demons just waiting to invade and destroy their home. This built up a ton of bitterness and hatred, mostly for no good reason. Eventually, things boiled over and war erupted, apparently kicked off by a Pulse fal'Cie named Anima. This Anima l'Cie chose two other l'Cie to become the legendary beast Ragnarok, with the goal of destroying Cocoon.

Here's where it gets complicated: the transformation into Ragnarok wasn't fully successful. One of the l'Cie wasn't fully on board with the plan, so Ragnarok only managed to wreck Cocoon's outer shell, not completely destroy it. The aftermath was pretty rough for Cocoon, with lots of damage. The Cocoon fal'Cie then used salvaged parts from Pulse to try and fix things, which only made the fear and hatred of Pulse even worse, lasting all the way into the events of FFXIII.

Pulse, on the other hand, got hit way harder. Most of its people were wiped out during the war, and many were turned into Cie'th. Cities crumbled, and all that's really left of Pulse's civilization are ruins and dust. It's a heavy history, but understanding it really helps make sense of why things are the way they are when you start playing.