【海外の反応】ガレマール帝国の一般兵の装備がショボすぎる→「あいつらガレアン族じゃないぞ」属州徴兵の設定が深い

They're conscripts from conquered territories.

Also at this point Gaius is pushing forward with the Eorzean campaign against the Emperor's wishes. Win and he'll be forgiven, but lose... failure isn't an option.

Realistically, even well-funded militaries don't equip everyone with the best. In my experience, we were using 1970s gear in the 2010s.

Eorzean soldiers are better equipped, sure. But Garlemald has numbers and their elites are stronger. Eorzea struggles because the city-states can't cooperate and fight separately.

Hold on. 'Eorzean soldiers are better equipped' is debatable. Your average Grand Company soldier gets a jacket and a funny hat. Only adventurers who survive long enough gear up with their own money.

Most are conscripts from conquered lands. You wouldn't give them top gear when they might turn on you. Only those who prove themselves through promotion get the real stuff.

You don't give conscripts good gear. They're cannon fodder. Drafted from occupied territories, they're expendable on the front lines while real Garleans in Magitek armor do the actual work.

Nah. You (the WoL with plot armor and anime protagonist powers, plus buying the best gear money can get) and GC adventurers who gear themselves are the comparison. Soldier to soldier, the gap isn't that big.

Look at Roman soldiers. They didn't have full helmets or protective trousers either. Weak individually, but strong as a legion.

No tanks, but there are plenty of armored chocobo cavalry. Still, Magitek armor is better. Faster to manufacture than breeding and training chocobos. As WWI showed, you can't manufacture horses.

Oh, I completely overlooked that the soldiers aren't Garlean... so they're people from occupied territories.

'Numbers and magitek' — that's what makes Garlemald terrifying. Plus the insane armor designs on their leaders are genuinely intimidating.