Guild Wars 2

My breakdown:

My main character, who I play all the Living Story chapters with,

• will fully support Ellen Kiel. They have adventured together, and Ellen Kiel has always done her duty, been dedicated to her job; she is straight and straight-forward – much like my character; but she also has a moral compass that will make her bend the rules if she must do so to protect the innocent (Last Stand). Never has she acted selfishly, at least not that we witnessed. She may come across as gruff, but I believe she will get things done for the people, not stopping at anything as long as she can follow her moral compass.
• has no reasons to distrust Evon Gnashblade, but has no personal relationship with him. She will not support somebody she doesn’t know.

But which historical event deserves the funding for further research?

• The Molten Alliance made a bigger dent in Tyria than the Sky Pirates – a historical event of bigger proportions deserves bigger research funding.
• But the Sky Pirates story isn’t over yet – Scarlet is a loose end! Who is behind this plot? We need more immediate research on the because we haven’t found the villain yet and Mai Trinn isn’t cooperating!

On a meta-gaming level,

c’mon guys, Evon Gnashblade is obviously the baddie here, and Ellen Kiel is set up as the hero. We all know this, and it will make some of us vote for the hero (because it “feels right”), and some of us vote for the villain (because it “feels more interesting”).

I wouldn’t be surprised, by the way, if Evon was voted but turned out to be up to no good in a future chapter and we (the players) have to relieve him of duty somehow.

Either way, we cannot know which outcome will bring the more interesting living story chapter(s) with it – both options could be fine!

As a player,

• I want the Molten Facility back as a fractal a lot more than I want the Aetherblade Retreat.
• I still feel like I want to support Ellen, because I like her better.
• If we have to choose between the two dungeons forever I may have to vote for Gnashblade, but if it is just a matter of time before the other one is added, I’ll vote for Kiel.
• I am not interested in black lion keys, and while a reduced cost of waypointing would come in handy, it’s not important enough to me; so neither of these will influence/sway my vote.

I am under the impression that we will collect tokens, which we can then use to support one candidate or the other. Maybe it is technically possible to collect tokens for both of them. Maybe I’ll go fifty-fifty!

Ronah.2869:

Guys, remember, this is politics, so the promises are almost never kept literally

Yeah, thats kinda what I’m expecting. Or they keep what ever discount promise, but only for a really short time.

can some one give me the link for the promises? just found the general data mined for the cutthroat event, but nothing specific about the promises.

also if this really comes to past, i’d ask all those who want to vote for evon:
1. do u really think he would need a seat in the council to cause some mayham? the most successfull tradingcompany without enough influence to creat chaos, also through lobbying and bribing he certainly can get from the council what he wants, tradesman usually don’t have any conscience, espcially one that was a pirate will always find a way.
2. i doubt that the rewards for mf or ar will stay or is there another reason u want mf back?
3. and yeah maybe kiel will only lower tp costs by 5% and yeah that will mean a lot of tps before getting the same amount discount as with keys, but unlike with keys, u wont use tp that much more cause of costs, so evon will hardly lose anything, especially as not everyone uses keys, kiel on the other hand doesn’t have mounts of gold do finance her campain, the development in the mists and pay for EVERYONE’s tp.

that’s just aside the fact that kiel’s character is much better than evon who never even helped rebuilding la and robbed use with boxes and gem prices, since the gem price does not sink when we spent gems, but increases when we buy them

also i think kiel is the one with whom we might fight the next dragon sooner, though ofcourse perhaps evon is secretly in league with the dragons

Astaldocair.9063:

2. i doubt that the rewards for mf or ar will stay or is there another reason u want wf back?

Because my friends and I had fun in there.

Some new info/release page.
Release Page

Massively’s Article

Zam Article

Nice news!
I will support Ellen Kiel obviously. Not only for her beauty, but because Waypoint Travels discounts sounds perfect for Map Exploring, Guild Treks and whatever you do.
I hope they didn’t make the tokens activity something so boring and frustrating as the fortune scraps…

Summarized:

• The new fractal won’t be Molten Facility or Aetherblade Retreat, but Fall of Abbadon (Gnashblade) or Thaumanova Reactor (Kiel).
• The reduced price in waypoints (Kiel) and BL keys (Gnashblade) stay for 4 weeks only
• We will be supporting both candidates for achievements and rewards, probably similar to supporting both settlers and consortium earlier. So there might not actually be a player vote at all.

I’m back on #TeamKiel!

I personally have no desire to sweep behind me as I walk in LA. You might as well stay in Divinitys Reach under the Seraph control. LA is a pirate town, ruthless merchants, dirty politics, fighting rings (you would know this if you read the 2nd book), and all the other good stuff in LA.

Give me a “Tortuga” of a town. Evon’s just the man. I want to be buddies with the guy who has the power, money, and connections. And trust me, anyone who has power and money, will have connections because they want to be near the power magnate.

Kiel tries too hard. Everything has to be to the stringent “law” and perfect. She’s the type of person who just has to pry in others business.

And though both would prefer to see the consortium gone, I think Evon has more of a backing force and would vest more time to crush them. Those are his rivals, and they are on his turf. Magnus sees more prospect in having both imo, As long as it brings more attraction and wealth to his city he’s happy. Kiel doesn’t have the backing currently to take out the consortium.

I’m not a charr, but I think I speak for all the norn and charr when I do say, I would prefer to stand behind Evon than Kiel. She needs our personal character, without us she’s out in the cold.

Plus, I’m pretty sure Evon would drink a good stout brew with me and share some laughs of victory. Kiel? meh she would rather patrol and hand out tickets to curfew violators.

oh and since I started this trend

#TEAMEVON

FALL OF ABBADON?! :Q__

A little known fact is that Kiel blew up a ship full of people. Ellen Kiel? More like Ellen the Killer.

Vote for Evon, the only moral choice.

Minos.3450:

That’s simply not true. I’m a huge lore fan in GW2 and in games in general and I have followed thoroughly the whole living story up to now. Yet, I’m going to vote for Evon for several reasons, none of them related to gameplay.
First, I don’t really like Kiel in general, she suffers from the same syndrom than Kormir or trahearne in the way she steals attention from the PC by cornering all the benefits from our actions. Moreover, her whole story with canach was imo too much Manichean : on one hand she want to stop canach action because he make innocents suffer to get to his ends but on the other hand she does the same in the end (that’s not like the ship she made exploding was empty…).

It was, actually, if you mean living crewmembers. From the dialogue:

“Luckily, my Lionguard had orders to clear the ship if anything unexpected happened.”

Translation: The crew (earlier discussions indicated that it was a Lionguard ship, not a Consortium vessel, although I can’t remember the exact words and can’t find the conversation now. It was between Kiel and Noll after Canach’s Lair became available, the gist being that Kiel claimed that a Lionguard ship would be safer because the Consortium ships would already have been marked as targets) were in on it and dived off the side before lighting the fuses.

More generally, in the case of arresting Canach and then doing what Canach was trying to do anyway: This is because she agreed with the means but not with the ends. Canach’s actions caused death and suffering to who knows how many settlers, Consortium employees, and innocent visitors, let alone the number of times we’ve had to repair our armour due to being trampled by a champion young karka. Kiel didn’t arrest Canach because he was trying to free the settlers from the contract, she arrested him because what he did was basically the equivalent of releasing packs of rabid wolves, starving bears, and man-eating tigers in a refugee camp. She agreed with Canach’s aims but not the means, and after arresting Canach for the death and suffering that he was genuinely responsible for, she found a way to achieve the same aim without causing additional harm. There’s no inconsistency in that.

As for the “Kormir syndrome” (aka Trahearne syndrome)… it’s kind of a necessary evil. The structure of an MMO just doesn’t allow for PCs to be put into those sorts of positions – being a god would be overpowering (and it’s a lot harder to write off thousands of gods running around the world than it is thousands of adventurers), while being the figurehead of the Pact or a Lion’s Arch councilor would be an entirely different game. Basically, they do the political stuff and the strategic planning, we’re the people that everyone knows that if there’s a problem that can be solved by killing lots of things in a variety of gruesome ways, we’re the people to solve it. Now, in the ‘official’ history, our characters can’t be identified by name, but the reason for that should be obvious.

Essentially, to draw an analogy, Trahearne and Kiel are the Agamemnon to our Achilles. They’re the ones that go down in history for the planning and logistics, we’re the ones that go down in history for killing things in the face lots. Since Guild Wars 2 is, ultimately, a game about killing things in the face lots, I’m happy to be Achilles… when I want to be Agamemnon, I play a strategy game instead.

Still voting for her after all the news that has been released.
Kiel stopped the villain of Southsun, with our help, while Evon simply sold the merchandise of the Consortium in his stores.

She wanted to help the settlers, Evon would just as happily leave them in their slavery contracts.
Also as a Guardian I respect the fact she was out there dealing with the threat at the island. These reduced waypoint costs will help us mobilize people into action across all of the map.

Voting for Kiel not only benefits Lion’s Arch, but all of Tyria.
From a OOC player perspective I really want to see the reactor before it went kablooey anyways.

Adventurers of Tyria,

By now, you’ve seen the opening volleys fired by the two candidates for the empty Captain’s Council seat. In the interests of keeping both sides honest, let me remind you that moving images such as those you’ve seen would have been created by mesmer illusion, and thus may not be faithful renditions of true events. In fact, the odds in both cases are against it. I’ve certainly seen no indication that Evon Gnashblade, or any charr for that matter, suffers from canophobia.

With that said, those of us who fought on Southsun during the recent emergency will know that Ellen Kiel certainly did not travel there for the purpose of holidaying, and what vacation time she did spend was due to a direct order. With Evon’s contacts, he should be aware of this, and yet he deems this message “acceptable”. Either Evon considers it acceptable to begin his campaign with a bald-faced lie, or Evon has proven himself to be less-than-competant at keeping himself informed of recent events.

Ellen’s campaign launch, by contrast, is based on solid facts that we know that to be true. While it has to be said that Evon’s relationship with the Consortium represents anything but choosing not to allow principle to overcome business practicality is extrapolation, we know that the Black Lion Trading Company did indeed trade in Consortium goods. Furthermore, hundreds or more of my fellow defenders of Tyria have fallen victim to the shady business practices of the Black Lion’s own products, where instead of providing items at a fair price, the Black Lion Trading Company has exploited my less financially savvy comrades by refusing to sell them except through lucky-dip boxes that may or may not (but usually do not) contain anything the buyer actually wanted. Even now, Evon shows that he is out of touch with the needs of those fighting to preserve Tyria’s future – while Ellen’s offer to reduce waypoint fees will benefit all defenders of Tyria, all Evon promises is to exploit the more gullible among us a little less.

Fellow adventurers of Tyria, we all know the dangers that threaten Tyria. Minions of three elder dragons continue to harass our citizens, and at least two more remain lurking outside Tyria’s borders or perhaps sleeping beneath our very feet. Dredge, centaurs, and krait seek to invade our lands and enslave our peoples from without, while criminals and traitors seek to undermine us from within.

Evon has shown himself willing to exploit the defenders of Tyria at every turn, and has started this campaign by showing himself to be incompetent or a liar. Ellen has fought by our side against karka and Aetherblade alike, and her policy will ease the financial burden on every hero who needs to quickly respond to a hotspot or a life-saving escape from danger when overwhelmed by foes.

We are the thin line that stands between Tyria and destruction. Which candidate would you trust to stand behind us and help secure Tyria’s future? A liar who would strip your pockets to fill his own, or a fellow soldier?

Make the right decision, my fellow adventurers. For Tyria.

- Lothar of House Draxynnus, Magister of the Durmand Priory

Preceptor Valenze,

It is interesting to note that, after having kept the peace with the Consortium in Southsun – however distasteful she found their methods – by painting them as a villain to discredit Gnashblade by association, she has effectively declared herself as an enemy of the Consortium.

Lightbringer Aeron Draxynnus

It’s times like this that you must ask yourself, who would Tybalt vote for! I say he would vote for great prices on Black Lion Keys and the opportunity to kick Abandoner’s butt!

My family history records how Abaddon was defeated – because they were there when it happened. Either Evon is actually looking to research the events that lead to Abaddon’s confinement instead, or he has shown himself to be even more out of touch.

- Magister Lothar Draxynnus

draxynnic.3719:

My family history records how Abaddon was defeated – because they were there when it happened. Either Evon is actually looking to research the events that lead to Abaddon’s confinement instead, or he has shown himself to be even more out of touch.

- Magister Lothar Draxynnus

Yes, I believe he is researching the original defeat where Abaddon was cast down and bound by chains in the Realm of Torment.

On a fractal note, all I ever hear is “No more scifi, more fantasy!” which is really where these dungeons will boil down.

Abaddon’s demise will be fantasy driven, vs the reactor explosion which will be sci fi driven.

Despite my desire for cheaper waypoints, I will have to put my vote in for a slice of Abaddon event driven history.

…. This is getting exciting…. Supporting and voting??? it’s pushing the world of Tyria into a direction we can be involved in. I like this alot!

Kay, Abaddon is pretty darn cool… i think it’s not fair to give Evon such a good upperhand there lol… but i mean its just one fractal… in the future if Evon gets on the Captain’s Council, i really don’t know what might happen in the storyline…

so i’m #TeamKiel! Don’t let a greedy money hungry BLTC charr control more than our economy! And come on, for the past three weeks Kiel has been investigating and fighting alongside us in whatever crap that came up

This reminds me of the book Sea of Sorrows. If you read it and understand the history of Lion’s Arch and all its gone through, you should feel some sort of belonging/patriotism that makes u feel like we need to make a stand for justice, from the grassroots people who really want to defend the city not defend the money and the economy that feeds off of the people, like Cobiah did against the Risen over and over again

Everyone go vote Evon! All price reductions are temporary and won’t matter in a month! What really matters is that we can relive one of the most important historic battles in Tyria’s history! Seeing how Thaumanova was blown? Meh, it would be better that some existing fractals… but no way better than historical kicking against Abaddon!

/Manipulative politic voice on:

Vote for Evon unless you’re the kind of evil that would’ve supported Abaddon in his campaign and don’t want to conmemorate his defeat and confinement.

Go ahead, vote Kiel if you want to insult the memory of our ancestors that destroyed him. Insult the titanic effort of the gods to bring him down in such an epic battle that created the desolation and transformed the crystal sea into the crystal dessert.

Lokheit.7943:

Everyone go vote Evon! All price reductions are temporary and won’t matter in a month! What really matters is that we can relive one of the most important historic battles in Tyria’s history! Seeing how Thaumanova was blown? Meh, it would be better that some existing fractals… but no way better than historical kicking against Abaddon!

/Manipulative politic voice on:

Vote for Evon unless you’re the kind of evil that would’ve supported Abaddon in his campaign and don’t want to conmemorate his defeat and confinement.

Go ahead, vote Kiel if you want to insult the memory of our ancestors that destroyed him. Insult the titanic effort of the gods to bring him down in such an epic battle that created the desolation and transformed the crystal sea into the crystal dessert.

Vote Evon if you want to insult the memory of all the poor Asura and misplaced animals that were lost due to the reactor incident.

Those poor, poor, poor souls…
#VoteKiel

Evon runs the black company, he gives you trash in black lion chests, steals your gold everytime you sell something on the trading post and now he wants even more power.

“Trust in Charr won’t get you far.”

Tinni.4351:

It’s times like this that you must ask yourself, who would Tybalt vote for! I say he would vote for great prices on Black Lion Keys and the opportunity to kick Abandoner’s butt!

Nope, he would vote for Malone!
#Apples

ellen kiel for life

who cares about evon anyway he never rolled with me on missions we aint homies :P

Evon makes me money, and a guy who makes me money is my homie. Kiel just steals my pride, my work, and my glory. Get out of here Kiel

pfff .. obviously, you can not have both-_-

Both fractals are interresting! Abbadon, as the reactor, it intrigues me, I want to know both .. why we do this Arena net? é_è

nooooo !!! I lost one of the two if I chose .. huuuuu T_T

If you really want to argue from a lore perspective, then Evon embodies the spirit of Lion’s Arch far better so he’d be more fitting for a town of pirates (maybe not to the Hero, but certainly to the pirates). Besides, all of his actions start and end with gold on his mind. Who knows what the mass murderer and terrorist Kiel is after?

As for benefits- Evon’s discount will be useless to most, and Kiel will only save you a gold or two. Both are kind of meh as far as impact is concerned.

Also, Abaddon fractal>all other details :p

Wolfheart.1938:

FALL OF ABBADON?! :Q__

The original, Pre-GW1 one, not the events from Nightfall. Which means it would be truly epic.

I’m not sure any of my characters ICly care about the election. Though Donari certainly would vote for the human woman, he’s wired that way … However, after reading Sea of Sorrows I have to say Evon fits the position far better once you get your mindset into the Lion’s Arch culture.

That doesn’t mean I’ll necessarily go for him. I like Ellen Kiel (I even share her first name!). But I think he’d be a much stronger member of the Council.

i’m gonna vote for kiel.

nothing beats cheaper way point fees.

Deimos Tel Arin.7391:

i’m gonna vote for kiel.

nothing beats cheaper way point fees.

You have to remember it’s only cheaper for 4 weeks, so it’s probably not really going to save you much unless it’s a huge discount.

draxynnic.3719:

Adventurers of Tyria,

[….]
I’ve certainly seen no indication that Evon Gnashblade, or any charr for that matter, suffers from canophobia.

With that said, those of us who fought on Southsun during the recent emergency will know that Ellen Kiel certainly did not travel there for the purpose of holidaying, and what vacation time she did spend was due to a direct order. With Evon’s contacts, he should be aware of this, and yet he deems this message “acceptable”. Either Evon considers it acceptable to begin his campaign with a bald-faced lie, or Evon has proven himself to be less-than-competant at keeping himself informed of recent events.

And who knows, maybe she took more of a break than you think, and her appearance at the Effigy stage (while not during short on-duty shifts at the ceremony itself) was just having fun trolling thousands of you “adventurers”

draxynnic.3719:

Ellen’s campaign launch, by contrast, is based on solid facts that we know that to be true. While it has to be said that Evon’s relationship with the Consortium represents anything but choosing not to allow principle to overcome business practicality is extrapolation, we know that the Black Lion Trading Company did indeed trade in Consortium goods. Furthermore, hundreds or more of my fellow defenders of Tyria have fallen victim to the shady business practices of the Black Lion’s own products, where instead of providing items at a fair price, the Black Lion Trading Company has exploited my less financially savvy comrades by refusing to sell them except through lucky-dip boxes that may or may not (but usually do not) contain anything the buyer actually wanted. Even now, Evon shows that he is out of touch with the needs of those fighting to preserve Tyria’s future – while Ellen’s offer to reduce waypoint fees will benefit all defenders of Tyria, all Evon promises is to exploit the more gullible among us a little less.

And who knows, maybe the Consortium wanted to sell you their goods at 1200 gems each until Evon got his paws on some of their horribly overpriced merchandise.

draxynnic.3719:

Fellow adventurers of Tyria, we all know the dangers that threaten Tyria. Minions of three elder dragons continue to harass our citizens, and at least two more remain lurking outside Tyria’s borders or perhaps sleeping beneath our very feet. Dredge, centaurs, and krait seek to invade our lands and enslave our peoples from without, while criminals and traitors seek to undermine us from within.

draxynnic.3719:

My family history records how Abaddon was defeated – because they were there when it happened. Either Evon is actually looking to research the events that lead to Abaddon’s confinement instead, or he has shown himself to be even more out of touch.

- Magister Lothar Draxynnus

Your attempt at roleplay makes me want to laugh and spit and curse at the same time. While I understand that people have much fun roleplaying in this game, using this method to try to convey your messages is just annoying. Using titles like “Magister” and “Lightbringer” (even if you have them in-game) only makes me feel as if you are trying to exaggerate your authority and power. You can read all the lore you want about both cases of the fall of Abaddon, claiming that your “family” retains record of it is just another attempt to sound more powerful.

Continued….

draxynnic.3719:

Evon has shown himself willing to exploit the defenders of Tyria at every turn, and has started this campaign by showing himself to be incompetent or a liar. Ellen has fought by our side against karka and Aetherblade alike, and her policy will ease the financial burden on every hero who needs to quickly respond to a hotspot or a life-saving escape from danger when overwhelmed by foes.

After saving you 5% of 1-4 copper responding to a “hotspot” (the latter of your suggestions just shows your own lack of research and “records”, you can’t wp while in combat), you can then proceed to help Kiel (we haven’t even met Ellen as a character, only Kiel, the now-captain in the Lionguard) with another tedious activity in which she takes the credit.

draxynnic.3719:

We are the thin line that stands between Tyria and destruction. Which candidate would you trust to stand behind us and help secure Tyria’s future? A liar who would strip your pockets to fill his own, or a fellow soldier?

Make the right decision, my fellow adventurers. For Tyria.

- Lothar of House Draxynnus, Magister of the Durmand Priory

Again, more usage of titles and roleplaying to exert more authority and power than is held. A fellow soldier? I don’t remember any time at which Kiel and I fought together, except for the escorting the dolyak, which doesn’t count bc the only reason she was there was to watch it sink and magically receive a promo as Magnus somehow appears. I do, however, remember when she stood at the entrance to Canach’s Lair while I got my butt whooped.

draxynnic.3719:

Preceptor Valenze,

It is interesting to note that, after having kept the peace with the Consortium in Southsun – however distasteful she found their methods – by painting them as a villain to discredit Gnashblade by association, she has effectively declared herself as an enemy of the Consortium.

Lightbringer Aeron Draxynnus

More titles, More authority, and, suprisingly, a little truth. The Consortium will not like her much, but who knows what ungodly things the Consortim would have do to sell their stuff if Evon hadn’t gotten it.

Honestly, I don’t care what people want to say about Evon Gnashblade, that guy has more panache and more personality. Kiel is like a cardboard cut-out. If you stuck one of her in the middle of Lion’s Arch, no one would tell the difference.

Gnashblade for one simple reason, Abaddon!
If you need more, cheaper BL Keys.
Vote for Gnashblade!

If this isn’t at least region based if not server based, the outcome of the voting is still in the A-Net hands and not the players. Even if we have a percentage score on the UI showing us how the voting are going, they still can manipulate it.
As Colin said yesterday in the Twitch interview, this ARE NOT democratic elections

Ronah.2869:

If this isn’t at least region based if not server based, the outcome of the voting is still in the A-Net hands and not the players. Even if we have a percentage score on the UI showing us how the voting are going, they still can manipulate it.
As Colin said yesterday in the Twitch interview, this ARE NOT democratic elections

The election is a sham!!!!

Both of them are only giving a small variation of their election manifesto!

So, nothing is actually worth kittens at all. Maybe some would want to have the Waypoint discount or the BL Keys discount………

This is REALLY CUTTHROAT politics at it’s best……….

so all I can say is….. this is kittens to the MAX!!

I would like to choose Captain Kiel thought…. the reactor thingy is much more interesting! :P

Not that I can actually choose the one I want….

you all should say it is WHAT ARENANET WANTS. NOT THE PLAYERS>……. :P

Evon because he is going to make BLT keys cheaper and I can finally get rid of my chests.

Eldrake.1543:

Vote for Evon, the only moral choice.

Best Joke Ever. XD

I vote for Evon anyway, just because he is such an immoral a**h**e. A real politician. :-D

Eldrake.1543:

A little known fact is that Kiel blew up a ship full of people. Ellen Kiel? More like Ellen the Killer.

I hear you on that. Oh wait I slaughtered a couple hundred aetherblade’s today, not sure I can talk about morals