[Malacite]

True enough, they serve as anchor points yet there were no crags;

Furthermore what the hell about the Recalls? Each recall is in a present-day area that we can already access by default, yet the gate crystals are just magically gone (and yet we can still travel to these points, but only by going back in time... yet another in my long list of reasons of why I HATE TIME TRAVEL)

[Feba]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

Teleport functions and mother crystals aren't mutally exclusive, see also Meriphataud (S) and Jugner Forest (S). The ones at the crags were originally manufactured by the Zilart, but humanity figured out how to make their own to suit their needs at key points of exploration. The one in the northlands could only have been placed by humans since it would really make more sense to place it near Fei'yin.

Thing is, I could've sworn I read at some point about Teleport magicks working specifically because of the Mother Crystals and the Crystal Lines; that the White Magic basically transported you across these great distances by tapping into that energy, or something along the lines. Related to how Emptiness/Promyvion are formed.

The Crystal in Xarcabard makes sense, as it would be directly over the Vahzl mothercrystal. Presumably the actual telepoints that we are familiar with need to be placed with some proximity to a source along the Crystal Lines in order to be effective; the crags being the end points for these lines would make them convenient places to put the 'last station', and also provide the most security/hardiness for the telepoints, since the crags would need to be there for the Mother Crystals anyway (why they've survived as long as they have, especially in pre-COP days when we had the full three telepoints per crag, despite only one working as an exit point. Possibly the other ones were destroyed during the war, later troubles, or people intentionally avoided damaging the Crags for whatever reason.)

This also makes some sense for Recall-- there are Crystal Lines running through those areas, and from what I can see, the Meriph telepo is right underneath Drogaroga's Spine. The other Lines are much more... underground, but if the entire of Vahzl's Mother Crystal is underground, I see no reason the same principle can't apply. We merely do not know what sort of route the Lines follow, but it's not unreasonable to think that they are in close enough proximity to the telepoints to be functional.

Except in the cases of Altep and Yhoat. I don't recall any evidence of the crystal lines ever being extended that far, or the Zilart ever having much of a reason to do so. If anything, with the Kuluu in Elshimo, it would make sense for them to intentionally avoid putting Crystal Line out there. And there probably wasn't much that could be done about Pso'Xja and Horutoto; they couldn't exactly give up on Vahzl/Mea. But going out to Elshimo? Why?

EDIT: Also, teleport using the Crystal Line is linked to the shattered crystal leading in to Promyvion and the Dimensional Portal to Al'Taieu

[Armando]

I don't know about that. It was stated in CoP that you can't directly travel through the Crystal Lines; they're meant for energy, not people. Selh'teus needed the help of an avatar to use the Crystal Line to end up at Delkfutt's at the beginning of CoP.

But the Zilart were known to be able to harness the power of the mothercrystals. Didn't the Zilart create the Protocrystals?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

The Crystal Line isn't close to where the Recall point is in Jugner. The other is directly beneath the dragons spine in Meriphataude, so I'll give you that one. Bur if this is the reason, why are they not still there in present day?

The original Vazhl telepoint would have been destroyed in the Cataclysm that turned the North into a wasteland. If were to believe this telepoint survived such a catastrophe, how did the ones from the Crystal War not make it?

Finally, the telepoints for Yhoat and Altep have no mothercrystal to correspond with.

I think the best answer is the Vazhl, Altep, Yhoat, Jugner and Meriphataud ones were man-made.

Remember that the Tarutaru discovered magic from exploring the ruins of the Kuluu in Sarutabaruta and eventually shared their findings with other races when they all became more civilized. Each nation took that magic and folded it into their own ideals. Windurst explored all avenues of magic, maki0g it an academic venture. Bastok used that knowledge for industry. Sandoria for the clergy, paladins and early red mages.

I think the minds of Windurst or even Bastok could have devised reproducing a telepoint crystal while the clergy could devise the spiritual means to move them around to them.

But the Zilart were known to be able to harness the power of the mothercrystals. Didn't the Zilart create the Protocrystals?

Its never really made clear, as there are legends to the avatars that don't jibe with other stories about them, but I would go so far as to say they were people with strong souls crystallized by Altana either to honor a sacrifice made or prevent them from causing harm to others. I think the Zilart just coveted their power while the dawnmaidens, Kuluu, terrestrials and the more noble zilart still acknowledged and revered Altana.

[Feba]

One, on Jugner, I'm not saying directly adjacent to, just in close enough proximity. And again, significant portions of Crystal Line being underground makes it hard to judge.

It could be that the energy of the Mother Crystals is what keeps the crystals in one piece. As they weaken, the ones farther away from the Mother Crystals lose their composure first. Or Zilart structures in proximity to the Mother Crystals that were designed to use them also protected those telepoints; the Crags and Fei Yin. Or given how much Zilart technology is still functioning, it could even be that the telepoints were repaired/regenerated automatically as an emergency fallback measure of some sort. Keep in mind that it took big problems in order to shatter ONE telepoint at each crag. It's not inconceivable that that's a safety measure, like flipping a circuit breaker. Zilart were crazy, not stupid; surely they would've taken energy fluctuations into account BEFORE they started screwing around with its flow.

I mean, the thing is, if they were made by the five races, why in the world would they place them in the ass-backwards locations they have in Altepa and Eslhimo, for one? And two, why wouldn't they have them in more places; in the middle of towns especially. If they were very expensive or made from rare materials, it wouldn't make sense to exclusively use them to get to hicktown. And if they were cheap, they'd have them all over the place (at least as common as FF12). In any case, the Outlands are the last place they'd be put.

Unless they were placed in those locations because they were the most convenient places they could get them to because of the Crystal Lines' path. Which still leaves Altep and Yhoat unaccounted for.

[Armando]

There's always the possibility that they're man-made but recent - they could've been made by Kam'lanaut and Eald'narche after they reawakened in modern times. Don't forget it's thanks to those two fuckers we have crystal synthesis and airship technology.

[Feba]

Either way, the locations of Altep and Yhoat make no sense (except from the gameplay perspective; which is really insignificant with all of the other ways that warps could've been added)

Whether they were placed there by Zilart, Man, or Zil'art'Ma'n, they don't make sense. If it involves the Crystal Line, we're not aware of any reason for Line to be run out there. If it involves Zilart, why would they want to put them out there? If it involves Zil'art'Ma'n, what purpose would they have for building them way out there, instead of somewhere it would be more useful to them or increase their popularity? If it's totally do-able by the Altanic Races, why don't we see them in more practical locations?

[Armando]

If it involves Zil'art'Ma'n, what purpose would they have for building them way out there, instead of somewhere it would be more useful to them or increase their popularity?

Crystal War perhaps. The Sahagins were the Kindred's navy, and everyone would've been fucked if all the Antica came out to play. If not Crystal War, just general Age of Adventurers shit. Let's send as many adventurers as we can to remote places and have them kill shit. Is this not the whole point of the game?

But hey, you're trying to rationalize the need for teleport crystals when we can apparently be warped to any location we want ("If we can make an outpost here we can warp you to it.")

[Ziero]

Originally Posted by Feba

(except from the gameplay perspective; which is really insignificant with all of the other ways that warps could've been added)

Except at the time it wasn't insignificant in the least since Teleports, Warp spells, Chocobos and Airships were they only ways to travel.

Hate to say it, but the only reason some of those tele-crystals are where they are is because of gameplay convenience rather then actually having a decent story behind them. All other forms of travel were added after them and done so because it was just easier for players to move around in a slowly growing world. It's also why they added the telepoints where they did in the past, right on the doorsteps to the beastmen strongholds to help players get to them faster. The Meri S crystal is under the spine because Oz is under the spine. The Jugner crystal is a stones throw away from Davoi (or whatever the hell it was called back then) but not near any piece of Cerment. And I don't even know where (if there actually is any) the cerment in Pash S is, but the crystal is a hop, skip and a jump away from past Beadeaux.

Sad to say, but there is no actual story reason these things are where they are, it's all gameplay mechanics.

[Karinya]

As far as I can remember, the crystal line doesn't run through Pashhow at all; according to FFXIclopedia no weapons spawn there, and they're usually all over anything related to the Ark system.

Maybe it's underground -- that would be consistent with the association between magicite and the crystal lines, since Beadeaux's magicite is also underground in Qulun Dome.

Also, if telepoints were consistently based on the Arks, the Vahzl telepoint would be closer to the Ark of Vahzl, i.e., Fei'Yin.