Guild Wars 2

why does Noll choose to send the contracts by ship when there is a asura gate to lions arch right there in lions islet?

Good question… Then again, judging by the conversation between the asura and charr in Lion’s Arch, apparently the Asura Gates have trouble sending large amounts of non-living matter through (enough that they charge extra for it). If the Consortium is a stickler for keeping expenses down as most corporations are, perhaps Noll requested an Asura Gate transport, only to get turned down by the accountants who pointedly remind him that the Southsun Resort project is already WAAAAY over budget.

Zaxares.5419:

Good question… Then again, judging by the conversation between the asura and charr in Lion’s Arch, apparently the Asura Gates have trouble sending large amounts of non-living matter through (enough that they charge extra for it). If the Consortium is a stickler for keeping expenses down as most corporations are, perhaps Noll requested an Asura Gate transport, only to get turned down by the accountants who pointedly remind him that the Southsun Resort project is already WAAAAY over budget.

I find that line of thinking to be weak at best(not yours but the reason for using a boat over an instant teleportation device) because the consortium is aware of how dangerous things are and are aware that the contracts easily means more money then some portal fees.

in addition I am sure that the cost of sending a few kilos of paper through (considering we go through wearing full suits of metal plate armor) is a lot less than chartering a ship specifically to send those papers all the way to LA.

I’m sure there’s a half-baked lore excuse. This is a fantasy world that the developers are making up along the way to supplement gameplay. Don’t pay too much attention to such miniscule details.

Pavees.7281:

Zaxares.5419:

Good question… Then again, judging by the conversation between the asura and charr in Lion’s Arch, apparently the Asura Gates have trouble sending large amounts of non-living matter through (enough that they charge extra for it). If the Consortium is a stickler for keeping expenses down as most corporations are, perhaps Noll requested an Asura Gate transport, only to get turned down by the accountants who pointedly remind him that the Southsun Resort project is already WAAAAY over budget.

I find that line of thinking to be weak at best(not yours but the reason for using a boat over an instant teleportation device) because the consortium is aware of how dangerous things are and are aware that the contracts easily means more money then some portal fees.

You underestimate the short-sightedness of bean counters in large corporations.

It’s also possible that Kiel volunteered the services of a Lionguard ship to bring the contracts back for free. Again, for companies to whom the bottom line means everything, “free” always trumps any other consideration.

Zaxares.5419:

Pavees.7281:

Zaxares.5419:

Good question… Then again, judging by the conversation between the asura and charr in Lion’s Arch, apparently the Asura Gates have trouble sending large amounts of non-living matter through (enough that they charge extra for it). If the Consortium is a stickler for keeping expenses down as most corporations are, perhaps Noll requested an Asura Gate transport, only to get turned down by the accountants who pointedly remind him that the Southsun Resort project is already WAAAAY over budget.

I find that line of thinking to be weak at best(not yours but the reason for using a boat over an instant teleportation device) because the consortium is aware of how dangerous things are and are aware that the contracts easily means more money then some portal fees.

You underestimate the short-sightedness of bean counters in large corporations.

It’s also possible that Kiel volunteered the services of a Lionguard ship to bring the contracts back for free. Again, for companies to whom the bottom line means everything, “free” always trumps any other consideration.

nah the ship was flying the consortium logo on the back.

The answer is that lore-wise the Asura gates shouldn’t even exist: they were merely put in for player/gameplay convenience. If this wasn’t a video game you can bet they wouldn’t exist, so it is probably just best if you consider them as non-existent for lore purposes.

Jabberwock.9014:

The answer is that lore-wise the Asura gates shouldn’t even exist: they were merely put in for player/gameplay convenience. If this wasn’t a video game you can bet they wouldn’t exist, so it is probably just best if you consider them as non-existent for lore purposes.

lore wise WP teleportation does not exist Asura gates are a important part of the GW2 lore. from wiki :-

In the original Guild Wars series, the asura gate network was assumed to be powered centrally from the now-destroyed Central Transfer Chamber by Primordus, who was then thought to be merely a statue of a dragon that radiated magical energy. Since then, Primordus has awakened and left, but the asura gate network is still functional.

The thing that I don’t understand in that story bit that starts when you talk to Kiel is: WTH would the settlers help Noll to get the contracts, that bind them to the Consortium, off the island?

I mean, she goes into this yell about how they need to ‘fight for their lives’ and ‘fight for their place in the world’. But the creatures that were crazed by Canach are there, whether the contracts are saved or not, so these two matters have no connection whatsoever and the settlers joining the escort doesn’t diminish the danger factor.

If I’d been a settler I would have punted Noll off the nearest cliff the moment Kiel wasn’t looking and set fire to the contracts.

Jabberwock.9014:

The answer is that lore-wise the Asura gates shouldn’t even exist: they were merely put in for player/gameplay convenience. If this wasn’t a video game you can bet they wouldn’t exist, so it is probably just best if you consider them as non-existent for lore purposes.

Yeah… no. Asura Gates are part of the lore and they’re brought up numerous times within in the personal story. Most notably when you’re with Trahearne in Orr.

Eh, ok they are referenced in lore, my bad. However, I have little doubt that they were originally conceived as convenient gameplay constructs and half-heartedly worked into lore after the fact. In my opinion this never should have never have been done, for the exact reason this thread elucidates. Asura gates are just too powerful as plot devices, much in the same way the eagles in Lord of the Rings are (a major plothole in the series is the fact that the ring could simply have been flown by eagle to mount doom).

kNite.6504:

Jabberwock.9014:

The answer is that lore-wise the Asura gates shouldn’t even exist: they were merely put in for player/gameplay convenience. If this wasn’t a video game you can bet they wouldn’t exist, so it is probably just best if you consider them as non-existent for lore purposes.

lore wise WP teleportation does not exist Asura gates are a important part of the GW2 lore. from wiki :-

In the original Guild Wars series, the asura gate network was assumed to be powered centrally from the now-destroyed Central Transfer Chamber by Primordus, who was then thought to be merely a statue of a dragon that radiated magical energy. Since then, Primordus has awakened and left, but the asura gate network is still functional.

Is it just me, or were all the dragons sleeping on various high powered magic nodes?

Maybe it’s a liability thing: maybe whoever operates the Asura gates (who DOES the money that we pay go to anyway, lore-wise??) disclaim that they cannot be held liable for any material losses when you pass through, such as hair clips or your fillings or a box of contracts.

The Consortium strikes me as an organisation who would be extremely aware of fine print and would avoid using the gates, playing it “safe”. (And while you say that a transport by ship cannot be deemed safe, I have no doubt that the ship would have made it to LA safe and sound if not for…)

So yeah, the Consortium trusted in the Lion Guard’s honesty and professional attitude, and that backfired… I guess Noll (or whoever decided to not use the Asura Gates) has some explaining to do of himself now.

kiell told noll to send the contracts by boat so she could secretly arrange for them to be destroyed, and then conviently blame conach for their destruction. ie she opposes the slavery of the refuges as much as cannach.
did you not find it convenient that she said there were none of her men on the boat.

Arc DLad.2194:

kiell told noll to send the contracts by boat so she could secretly arrange for them to be destroyed, and then conviently blame conach for their destruction. ie she opposes the slavery of the refuges as much as cannach.
did you not find it convenient that she said there were none of her men on the boat.

This exactly. Even when she’s like “Ooohhh no the contracts are destroyed who could have EVER foreseen this event?” she’s sarcastic as hell.

If you really want something that makes no sense, where is the reason throwing karka eggs at the karka queen is the only way to beat her? Lazy/bad design? :/

Zaxares.5419:

You underestimate the short-sightedness of bean counters in large corporations.

It’s also possible that Kiel volunteered the services of a Lionguard ship to bring the contracts back for free. Again, for companies to whom the bottom line means everything, “free” always trumps any other consideration.

Why is gw2 suddenly using accountants in large corporations as part of their story telling. Accountants are boring at the best of times, do we have to deal with them in game now? boring boring boring….

Jabberwock.9014:

Eh, ok they are referenced in lore, my bad. However, I have little doubt that they were originally conceived as convenient gameplay constructs and half-heartedly worked into lore after the fact. In my opinion this never should have never have been done, for the exact reason this thread elucidates.

The asura-gates were not “half-heartedly worked into lore” as gameplay construct.
The asura-gates are lore since GW1, years ago. And there they were no instrument to transport the players from one place to another. They only had story-related reasons of being there. Maybe they thought about them as good means of transportation for the future, but then that was forward-looking and not “half-heartedly worked into lore”.