Guild Wars 2

From “Forging the Pact”.

“We’re trapped. But I can summon the reinforcements we need to fight our way out. This will require no small effort, but it is well within my power. Stand by. I need a moment to gather my strength.”

Aside from summoning 2 Flesh Worms at the same time back while retaking Claw Island, he doesn’t ever do this again as far as I know, despite fighting alongside us quite a few more times through the game in encounters where having multiple Flesh Golems would be handy to have.

That’s a flaw of the Personal Story. We see cool things like this and they never come up again. This also contributes somewhat to people’s hatred towards him: If he had thought to do this back at the first battle of Claw Island, our mentor would have no viable reason to have to sacrifice themselves.

Nilkemia.8507:

From “Forging the Pact”.

“We’re trapped. But I can summon the reinforcements we need to fight our way out. This will require no small effort, but it is well within my power. Stand by. I need a moment to gather my strength.”

Aside from summoning 2 Flesh Worms at the same time back while retaking Claw Island, he doesn’t ever do this again as far as I know, despite fighting alongside us quite a few more times through the game in encounters where having multiple Flesh Golems would be handy to have.

That’s a flaw of the Personal Story. We see cool things like this and they never come up again. This also contributes somewhat to people’s hatred towards him: If he had thought to do this back at the first battle of Claw Island, our mentor would have no viable reason to have to sacrifice themselves.

It’s pretty much just your choice of:

A) Inconsistent/bad/lazy writing – As Trahearne’s abilities aren’t pinned down, different writers probably have different ideas on what he can do, and it’s very easy to say “Trahearne can magic his way out of this situation I have created”.

B) Trahearne is more than he seems – If it’s not bad writing, then maybe Trahearne isn’t completely showing his hand. Dialogue-wise, we have no reason to believe this, but in terms of his behaviour and capabilities, he seems a little off.

Which of course brings to mind people like Vizier Khilbron, who told us he was on our side, and seemed to be, but also seemed to be holding stuff back.

C) “Trahearne is the best” – Not so much bad/lazy writing as misguided (for this kind of game) writing, where the writers want to show off how “awesome” Trahearne is, and the easiest way to do this is simply to have him demonstrate greater power than any PC can wield.

B is the only one that leaves GW2’s main writing team looking good (as regards the 30+ personal story – general lore-wise they look great), so I really hope it’s that and Trahearne does a face-heel turn, but I think a combination of A and C is most likely the real explanation. And yes, it really undermines the martyrdom of the earlier character, and makes you really wonder about Trahearne in a lot of other situations.

Thanks for the feedback on that. Just to be clear, I don’t dislike Trehearne so much as I dislike how they just shove him into the story and didn’t try to integrate him into it before meeting him on Claw Island.

He could’ve turned out to be our herald, telling us about the dungeons. He could’ve shown up with the Order representatives while you’re still choosing an order, trying to get them to work together and even help you during that.

While I don’t regard him with hatred, I can see why many do.

As for him turning evil…well, right now I just can’t see a good motive for him doing so, given what we know about him. He could get forcibly corrupted by Nightmare, but other than that, doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would turn against you.

he has Hiden Dark Powers Zaithan was holding his power back somehow now that the dragon is dead and he got his shiny weapon he gonna go bad kitten in the next Personal story that will be 2 years from here.

I predicted his new Full power Dark skin:

http://oi43.tinypic.com/dg41h0.jpg

HIS CHAINS ARE BROKEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nilkemia.8507:

As for him turning evil…well, right now I just can’t see a good motive for him doing so, given what we know about him. He could get forcibly corrupted by Nightmare, but other than that, doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would turn against you.

Indeed. But as the game actually points out, he needs to find something to do with himself post-Zhaitan, and given he doesn’t appear to particularly care about anything or anyone (not in an apathetic way, but in a disinterested way), it would be easy to see him deciding to champion something that maybe not everyone is keen on. His lack of purpose might make him a good candidate for Nightmare corruption, too.

Doesn’t really explain why he had all these abilities and so on, though.

The bigger question is why does Trahearne say that summoning 6 minions is difficult?

My necro can summon 6 minions more easily than she can draw breath, especially when she is in Orr where the air reeks with the putrid stink of rotting flesh.

Not just any 6 minions. He summons five Flesh Golems and a Shadow Fiend (They’re all named “Elite Minion” in this case however). And on top of this, he never does it again, not even during the boss fight in that very same mission.

Can normal necromancers summon six at once? I can see up to five at all times, six if we’re counting the jagged horrors (requires a specific trait though.)

Nilkemia.8507:

Can normal necromancers summon six at once? I can see up to five at all times, six if we’re counting the jagged horrors (requires a specific trait though.)

Bone Minions summon in pairs, so technically you could gave six at a time. Or seven with the Jagged Horror trait.

Nilkemia.8507:

Not just any 6 minions. He summons five Flesh Golems and a Shadow Fiend (They’re all named “Elite Minion” in this case however). And on top of this, he never does it again, not even during the boss fight in that very same mission.

Though this point still stands that Trehearne’s power fluctuates far too much throughout the Personal Story. Honestly, I think that, before an NPC is introduced, their abilities and capabilities should be written out, set in stone, and used at least semi-consistently to avoid making things too easy but to keep a tangible sense of character. at least then the writing would be more bearable.

Nilkemia.8507:

If he had thought to do this back at the first battle of Claw Island, our mentor would have no viable reason to have to sacrifice themselves.

I would love to know how the PC’s mentor would live their life if they had survived, I think they had far more potential as long term characters than as feelings fodder, though I guess that’s what made them feelings fodder in the first place, it’d be rather silly to have a lesser developed character that you’re not really interested in to die and serve as a major motive for your character to want to kill Zhaitan.

Ah, I miscounted. I forgot to include the Blood Fiend.

Blood Fiend + Shadow Fiend/Bone Fiend/Flesh Worm (2 of those 3) + 2 Bone Minions+ Flesh Golem=6 minions, 7 with a Jagged Horror out. There.

so how many times YOU guys can use YOUR ELITE skill to summon 1 flesh Golem ???

oh yeah 1.

while he can summon 5 + 1 fiend in a few sec lol

Eddie Royale.9605:

it’d be rather silly to have a lesser developed character that you’re not really interested in to die and serve as a major motive for your character to want to kill Zhaitan.

Oh you mean like every character in Act 3/4 who gets introduced and then killed at the end of the same quest or the quest right after?

Ellisande.5218:

Eddie Royale.9605:

it’d be rather silly to have a lesser developed character that you’re not really interested in to die and serve as a major motive for your character to want to kill Zhaitan.

Oh you mean like every character in Act 3/4 who gets introduced and then killed at the end of the same quest or the quest right after?

I don’t really consider most of them to characters that serve as a MAJOR motive for you wanting to kill Zhaitan, just standard causalities of war that is supposed to show that The Pact are putting their lives at risk to fight Zhaitan.

Eddie Royale.9605:

Ellisande.5218:

Eddie Royale.9605:

it’d be rather silly to have a lesser developed character that you’re not really interested in to die and serve as a major motive for your character to want to kill Zhaitan.

Oh you mean like every character in Act 3/4 who gets introduced and then killed at the end of the same quest or the quest right after?

I don’t really consider most of them to characters that serve as a MAJOR motive for you wanting to kill Zhaitan, just standard causalities of war that is supposed to show that The Pact are putting their lives at risk to fight Zhaitan.

If the story was well written, we would have wanted to kill Zhaitain long before the Battle of Claw Island because presumeably that’s the entire impetus behind all the actions actually leading up to claw island.

And the mentor character never really feels like she/he is killed by Zhaitain, rather she/he feels like she/he committed suicide just for the heck of it. I don’t feel angry at Zhaitain for Sieran’s death, I instead feel angry at the writers for making Sieran decide to commit pointless suicide when she could have very easily just come with the rest of us as we fled claw island cause let’s face it, the only thing that was really holding back the undead was that incredibly stout door. Sieran wouldn’t have even been able to provide 5 seconds of distraction given the large number of undead all trying to pile through that door to get to the rest of us.

Ellisande.5218:

the mentor character never really feels like she/he is killed by Zhaitain, rather she/he feels like she/he committed suicide just for the heck of it. I don’t feel angry at Zhaitain for Sieran’s death, I instead feel angry at the writers for making Sieran decide to commit pointless suicide when she could have very easily just come with the rest of us as we fled claw island cause let’s face it, the only thing that was really holding back the undead was that incredibly stout door. Sieran wouldn’t have even been able to provide 5 seconds of distraction given the large number of undead all trying to pile through that door to get to the rest of us.

Yeah, you have a point there. The mentor death thing could have been done a lot better.

They could have made it to the boat with you only to be swarmed by risen that you had to fight off, then there could have been a dramatic and heartfelt cutscene where they died in front of you from injuries as you sailed away from the island.

Looking at it from that point, I feel kinda cheated on the mentor’s death.

Ellisande.5218:

Eddie Royale.9605:

Ellisande.5218:

Eddie Royale.9605:

it’d be rather silly to have a lesser developed character that you’re not really interested in to die and serve as a major motive for your character to want to kill Zhaitan.

Oh you mean like every character in Act 3/4 who gets introduced and then killed at the end of the same quest or the quest right after?

I don’t really consider most of them to characters that serve as a MAJOR motive for you wanting to kill Zhaitan, just standard causalities of war that is supposed to show that The Pact are putting their lives at risk to fight Zhaitan.

If the story was well written, we would have wanted to kill Zhaitain long before the Battle of Claw Island because presumeably that’s the entire impetus behind all the actions actually leading up to claw island.

And the mentor character never really feels like she/he is killed by Zhaitain, rather she/he feels like she/he committed suicide just for the heck of it. I don’t feel angry at Zhaitain for Sieran’s death, I instead feel angry at the writers for making Sieran decide to commit pointless suicide when she could have very easily just come with the rest of us as we fled claw island cause let’s face it, the only thing that was really holding back the undead was that incredibly stout door. Sieran wouldn’t have even been able to provide 5 seconds of distraction given the large number of undead all trying to pile through that door to get to the rest of us.

She probably used the ‘OP’ tornado ele elite skill :P
Or she could have been using a bunker build or something lol.

In all seriousness, totally agree. The door did all the work! It was such a contrived death for all three of them. I would have preferred it if we saw a cutscene of the three mentors kicking kitten, or going off in a blaze of glory. Instead it was kind of
‘Imma die now, bye’.

Anyway back on topic, it’s just really annoying how inconsistent Trahearne is. Ultimately, it’s just bad story design.

(I still appreciate the hard work and awesomeness of the staff though <3)

Aria Venom, an NPC necromancer, puts player necromancers to shame. She summons 3 Flesh Golems at once, who automatically respawn themselves 10 seconds after they die. Sure wish my Flesh Golem would auto-res itself. :/

Player: “Why don’t you always summon 6 minions?”
Trahearne: “Because the manifesto says I can play my way.”

:P

Similar to the minion masters, the Mesmers in GW2 seem to have ridiculous amount of power—like Countess Anise, who can summon 6-8 phantasms with a flick of her wrist—yet in a battle these NPCs have nothing to contribute besides a large health bar.

Well, if I remember well, those elite minions got wiped out by a bunch of grubs.

I feel that was so embarassing Leafy Guy gave up on that idea from that point.XD