Guild Wars 2

Partly there’s the aesthetic – Rox kind of looks like the charr equivalent of ditzy, but apparently she’s not. And Braham, well… that hair. Do norn have punks? Guess they do now.

And then there’s some of the lines in the dungeon – “get the flock out of here”. Really? You know, I’ve always been under the impression that if you’re not allowed to use profanity straight you should avoid it altogether, because what you get otherwise is, like this, cringe-inducing. And the thing about the ram… that was just silly.

…well, I can only conclude they weren’t trying to be taken seriously. The tone of the whole dungeon was a little like that. Were they supposed to be cheesy? That’d be okay, but it doesn’t really mesh with the much more grim tone coming from the refugees.

Still, I guess if this is all I’ve got to complain about, it’s a good sign, right?

Roc acts much more experienced then in the last story part, that’s the only part that surprised me. I would’ve put both of them in the same age group judging from the razing, suddenly Rox goes all “calm and patient mentor” in the dungeon.

Sirius.4510:

And the thing about the ram… that was just silly.

Yeah, the emasculation of male characters & the masculine female characters in GW2 are over-compensatey.

WatchTheShow.7203:

When Rox said flock, she meant it literally. Get the group (flock) out of here. Then she makes a reference to sheep. “I’ll be the ram. You be the sheep and follow.” “Why do you get to be the ram?” “Because I have horns.” It wasn’t intended to replace the F word.

Double entendre – speech device where a word/phrase carries two meanings simultaneously.

I like rox a lot. She is growing on me ( I even see her eyes better now )
She is funny and a great lider, with a better history than braham.

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

Sirius.4510:

Partly there’s the aesthetic – Rox kind of looks like the charr equivalent of ditzy, but apparently she’s not. And Braham, well… that hair. Do norn have punks? Guess they do now.

And then there’s some of the lines in the dungeon – “get the flock out of here”. Really? You know, I’ve always been under the impression that if you’re not allowed to use profanity straight you should avoid it altogether, because what you get otherwise is, like this, cringe-inducing. And the thing about the ram… that was just silly.

…well, I can only conclude they weren’t trying to be taken seriously. The tone of the whole dungeon was a little like that. Were they supposed to be cheesy? That’d be okay, but it doesn’t really mesh with the much more grim tone coming from the refugees.

Still, I guess if this is all I’ve got to complain about, it’s a good sign, right?

Right.

I think they were meant to be cheesy, and I like it that way. The dungeon has it’s serious moments, like when the guy gets crushed that Braham knew, or when Braham asks a slave about Ottilia.
Both Braham and Rox are young, and not all serious like Rytlock and crew. In my oppinion they are a nice change of tone for once.

With that boss entrance, and the ‘Oh, we’re so dead’ stuff, it’s hard to take the bosses serious too.

I think this dungeon has just the right amount of cheese and seriousness. Loved it:)

I dunno, it’s the same amount of cheesy as tv series like Stargate. Captain Jack O’neill is always cheesy, not matter what.

Of course in contrast such series usually also have very dramatic moments. I feel there could be a little more drama in any of the dramatic scenes in the personal story. Or at least a better build up to it. (so many NPCs in the personal story that die dramatically while you think, I just met them, how stupid)

FrizzFreston.5290:

I dunno, it’s the same amount of cheesy as tv series like Stargate. Captain Jack O’neill is always cheesy, not matter what.

Of course in contrast such series usually also have very dramatic moments. I feel there could be a little more drama in any of the dramatic scenes in the personal story. Or at least a better build up to it. (so many NPCs in the personal story that die dramatically while you think, I just met them, how stupid)

This is off topic but:

I agree with you 100% on the personal story. Dunno wich race you did, and what choices you made, but mine was like: – Oh hai large Norn woman who I just met, oh wait, you are already dead.

And that happened like 5 times. I don’t even remember there names, when thy departed, I was like: meh – who cares.

Braham looks more like an emo drag queen than a punk.

He looked awesome in the wallpaper art, I don’t know what happened.

@ original poster
1) lets see how normal you are after one parent dies and the other disowns you. Then you have to go fight for survival.

2) I adored the ram comment. One the game’s funniest lines next to everything related to charr catapulting cows at a harpy nest.

Braham is a NORN guys, take that into consideration, and the fact he was raised away from his mother.
But it’s weird he was kind of exhausted after the battle with the 2 final bosses, shouldn’t he run after a couple of ales after the fight instead?

You do not like Rox and Braham? Get the flock out of here!!!!

Silicato.4603:

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

Which is perfect. We don’t want another Kormir or Trahearne taking the spotlight from the players.

Silicato.4603:

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

That’s great for me. Since I’m supposed to be the hero he can be a decent second fiddle—-er mace, whatever.

Rox is an entertaining and neat character, in my opinion, but she really looks like she’s seen a plastic surgeon or something. She’s so different from any other charr.

Braham should get a haircut, then maybe I might listen to him, I guess. He still seems like kind of a chump, but I do want to help him protect his friends.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

You get an inkling of their characters in Flame and Frost, just due to the nature of what is going on—they are focused on getting to the bottom of things and disrupting the Molten Alliance.

For more lore background on these two characters you can take a look at the following:

• TowerTalk Lore Special: http://wartower.tumblr.com/post/49691195928/in-this-lorespecial-episode (starts in German, but the podcast is fully in English. Angel McCoy and Scott McGough talk about Flame and Frost and give insights into the characters of Braham and Rox.)
• Braham’s Story: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/brahams-story/
• Rox’s Tale: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/roxs-tale/

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Silicato.4603:

I like rox a lot. She is growing on me ( I even see her eyes better now )
She is funny and a great lider, with a better history than braham.

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

Rox has grown on me, too. At the beginning I thought I would end up liking Braham better than Rox but now it’s the other way around. Braham really did have a “sidekick” feel to him in the Molten Facility. Then again Braham’s personality does seem a bit more rash as opposed to Rox’s more calm and collective personality that is better suited for leading.

DarksunG.9537:

Sirius.4510:

And the thing about the ram… that was just silly.

Yeah, the emasculation of male characters & the masculine female characters in GW2 are over-compensatey.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m against the idea of emasculating men, but I don’t really feel that this particular example is a representation of emasculation. Braham is young and inexperienced, but he is also strong. He even rezes the entire party at the end boss. Does Rox do anything cool like that? Nope. And even if one particular character is emasculated that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a trend of emasculating men. Different people just sometimes have different personalities. I think ArenaNet has done a pretty good job being gender-neutral and to argue that they have some kind of social agenda I think is a little unfounded.

Rox looks horrible. It’s like somebody tried to merge anime-styled cats with charr, and as a result, we have this big eyed, creepy looking character. Seriously, whoever designed her…we’ll let’s not go there. Please no more cutesy charr. She looks completely fine in concept art!

KorKor.9452:

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Says the charr with the neon purple mohawk.

Kojiden.8405:

Silicato.4603:

I like rox a lot. She is growing on me ( I even see her eyes better now )
She is funny and a great lider, with a better history than braham.

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

Rox has grown on me, too. At the beginning I thought I would end up liking Braham better than Rox but now it’s the other way around. Braham really did have a “sidekick” feel to him in the Molten Facility. Then again Braham’s personality does seem a bit more rash as opposed to Rox’s more calm and collective personality that is better suited for leading.

DarksunG.9537:

Sirius.4510:

And the thing about the ram… that was just silly.

Yeah, the emasculation of male characters & the masculine female characters in GW2 are over-compensatey.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m against the idea of emasculating men, but I don’t really feel that this particular example is a representation of emasculation. Braham is young and inexperienced, but he is also strong. He even rezes the entire party at the end boss. Does Rox do anything cool like that? Nope. And even if one particular character is emasculated that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a trend of emasculating men. Different people just sometimes have different personalities. I think ArenaNet has done a pretty good job being gender-neutral and to argue that they have some kind of social agenda I think is a little unfounded.

Rox rez supported me while rezzing my party that was down. So yeah she does something cool like that and stays alive more than oh were so dead guy. They’re probably both around the same age too, but I am now calling Braham a cub.

Quarktastic.1027:

KorKor.9452:

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Says the charr with the neon purple mohawk.

I’m a player character out to have fun and my colors have been changed to make it work. Either way I am not a major story npc and Braham has deep red hair so these colors can work when done right. Once again though I’m not a major story npc trying to join the warband of the stinking blood legion who is a kitten.

Disney anime princess and kitten do not mix.

KorKor.9452:

Quarktastic.1027:

KorKor.9452:

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Says the charr with the neon purple mohawk.

I’m a player character out to have fun and my colors have been changed to make it work. Either way I am not a major story npc and Braham has deep red hair so these colors can work when done right. Once again though I’m not a major story npc trying to join the warband of the stinking blood legion who is a kitten.

Disney anime princess and kitten do not mix.

I don’t know what you’re saying, but I sense a great force of jealousy within you. Blood Legion ftw

I actually loved the dialogue, but everybody likes other things I guess.

I found I rather liked the two of these NPCs. (Frostbite ROCKS! ) It was rather nice seeing a couple of characters who don’t already have a bunch of history like Destiny’s Edge or the other NPCs. Being able to see their story from the very beginning could help to make them more relateable to players.

EnemyCrusher.7324:

Silicato.4603:

Braham, on the contrary, I don´t like him. He looks to me like the eternal secondary, behind of the real protagonists.

Which is perfect. We don’t want another Kormir or Trahearne taking the spotlight from the players.

I never thought of it that way but that is an excellent point!

Perhaps that’s why I rather liked Brahm’s reactions in the dungeon, he struck me as being along the lines of Hudson in the movie ‘Aliens’ (‘Game over! Game over man!’) Brahm isn’t that bad but it is a nice touch to have someone that needs the leadership of the players, rather than giving the impression that the player is just a cog that could be replaced with any warm body.

I personally found both NPC’s over done, neither appealed to me like like Eir or Zojja did, they are proper NPC’s these two new one’s feel like they were over compensating and try too hard too me, in narrative and aesthetic wise…

That said though i’d rather have both than trahearne ruining my storyline yet again, but “undead rainbow unicorn babies” would be better than trahearne anyday..

There probably is one thing to be said for Braham: yes, it is different to have a character of this sort, which is probably a good thing. I don’t really like characters that ooze “rebellious teenager” all over, but I don’t have to, right?

Ugh. That hair.

ANYWAY. Agree that Rox looks better in the concept art. She’s probably the more likeable character of the two, even if I still don’t find her quips funny. Again, maybe they’re supposed to be lame?

KorKor.9452:

Quarktastic.1027:

KorKor.9452:

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Says the charr with the neon purple mohawk.

I’m a player character out to have fun and my colors have been changed to make it work. Either way I am not a major story npc and Braham has deep red hair so these colors can work when done right. Once again though I’m not a major story npc trying to join the warband of the stinking blood legion who is a kitten.

Disney anime princess and kitten do not mix.

What, you never heard of “Beauty is a Beast”?

Ben K.6238:

WatchTheShow.7203:

When Rox said flock, she meant it literally. Get the group (flock) out of here. Then she makes a reference to sheep. “I’ll be the ram. You be the sheep and follow.” “Why do you get to be the ram?” “Because I have horns.” It wasn’t intended to replace the F word.

Double entendre – speech device where a word/phrase carries two meanings simultaneously.

he’s saying it’s not a double entendre. So don’t read into it as if it were.

I am curious who they are marketing this game to. These stories always seem so goofy with joke lines and predictable characters and plots. I want something serious for once.

VOLKON.1290:

KorKor.9452:

Quarktastic.1027:

KorKor.9452:

Sorry! But with the anime eyes and now the whole -pickheart- bit which was only missing a prince charming or animals showing up as she sings really bad Disney corniness. The more this character goes on the more I wish a demon dog would eat Rox’s eyes. So at least one bad trait would be gone and she’d look more kitten that way anyways and we could get back on track to her being a kitten trying to join Rytlock not a cuddly anime charming disney cuteness.

Never going to like her as is period and if you ever give me an option to kill her in personal story it will happen.

Says the charr with the neon purple mohawk.

I’m a player character out to have fun and my colors have been changed to make it work. Either way I am not a major story npc and Braham has deep red hair so these colors can work when done right. Once again though I’m not a major story npc trying to join the warband of the stinking blood legion who is a kitten.

Disney anime princess and kitten do not mix.

What, you never heard of “Beauty is a Beast”?

Haha this +10

I do think Rox looks way sillier than she acts. It’s a horrible miscast. Do the art team actually communicate with the story team?

I nominate Braham for Teen Angst of the Year award. That said, I do enjoy the ‘Oh we’re so dead’ every time. The rest of it usually gets turned off so I don’t have to slap him.

Contrary.4036:

I nominate Braham for Teen Angst of the Year award. That said, I do enjoy the ‘Oh we’re so dead’ every time. The rest of it usually gets turned off so I don’t have to slap him.

Lol Rox would say (he’s a cub)

So you’re saying that everyone must look their part.

Every hero must be chiseled and ripped and perfect. Every heroine must be completely and utterly flawless. Good lord, lest their be any heroes who aren’t the perfect greek heroic trope of fixing all flaws as soon as they overcome one hurdle.

I loved both of them for their flaws rather than their strong points. They are the anti-Trehearne. He had no flaws and no real visible issue. They have a ton. He’s impetuous, doesn’t act like a Norn and doesn’t get it. She’s impatient, kitteny and talks down to people. The Norn lost his friends, family and what I assume was his crush. The Charr lost her family.

I’m sorry you guys don’t like Rox’s visual appeal, but not every hero should look perfect. I like Rox for the fact that she’s a bit odd looking. I like Braham cause he’s a bit of a coward and a bit of a dolt.

They’re far improved on Destiny’s Edge, where their issues suddenly disappeared due to singular events. They are slowly working through their issues and we get to see that. They seem much more living rather than static.

“Oh we are so dead” is possibly one of the only moments of this game that left me completely on the floor laughing.

So ya, thanks Arenanet.

If you really insist on giving Rox those big, horrible eyes, at least make her able to blink instead of just tweeking out every few seconds. It’d be easier to deal with a major change to a model if it was actually handled in a believable way.

I don’t know if that dude getting crushed was “serious” our group actually found it rather comical on our first run.

This guy getting ACME- anviled and then Braham going “Hey I know that guy!”

Comedy Gold. All it was missing was the dredge weapons operator going “meep meep”

I actually love Braham to be honest. Rox felt kinda flat, but Braham’s lines always make me laugh! “Hey, ugly!”

I wouldn’t mind seeing him in future content. He’s a useful NPC who actually does stuff (Guardian bubble), and he’s quite well written without becoming too goofy.

On top of that, both his backstory and personal confict are interesting. It’s another case of “saving the girlfriend”, but in this case the girlfriend might be the villain!

Furthermore, considering how much some players hate Destiny’s Edge, it was great to see him give Eir the middle finger!

I like this guy!

Braham and Rox were leagues better than Trahearne. I felt like I was actively aiding people in a team-up, not doing the work so they could reap the glory and pretend they were all sensitive and burdened about every action they made me carry out.

I didn’t know Eir even had a son, that was neat. I want more of them and characters like them.