Guild Wars 2

How come we share so many animations with humans? The other races all have unique movesets. We just run around differently.

(The centuar and human theory from GW1 doesn’t apply. We meet another Sylvari not from the grove.)

Because we are the exact same size and shape as them (ok maybe a tiny bit smaller). But anatomically we match humans almost identically, we even share most of their models. So it makes sense from a development standpoint to use the same animations. If they could have done so with the other races they would, but their proportions necessitate different animations.

If you’re asking WHY Sylvari are humanoid? That’s sort of like asking why humans are humanoid. They just are that way.

Basically what FlamingFoxx said. They’re not actually smaller though – slider is the same for both races.

Ezekiel.1985:

Basically what FlamingFoxx said. They’re not actually smaller though – slider is the same for both races.

Their body mass is smaller – by which I mean most of the body presets are thinner than the human equivalents (at least when it comes to men, I imagine the females are probably ridiculously proportioned for both Sylvari and human).

I actually started to point that out and edit my post, but I didn’t want to offend anybody in posting it. Yeah, they have smaller mass, definitely. Humans have some thicker choices. I wouldn’t really call any of them straight up “fat” though. Whereas the sylvari don’t really have thick/“fat”. They have thin and medium.

So yeah, agreed.

I wouldn’t call the humans fat… But they definitely don’t actually have the option of truly being thin (males at least). They all have barrel bodies, I think that’s possibly the best way of putting it, it’s not that they are fat, it’s just that there is no shape to their waists. Whereas the Sylvari definitely do have shape.

I just felt like we need more to set the two races apart besides looks and a very random English accent.

They’re distinct enough, imo. They border on being too different for me to play them. I don’t really do beast/animal races – I like the way they are. I won’t even do norn because of the shapes of their bodies. But I guess I’m sorta narrowminded in that regard. I’m ok with things being very human-ish, but of varying flavors. (see: elves being humans with pointy ears or dark/black [see:drow] skin)

I totally understand what you mean about norn and beat races.
I find it difficult to invest myself in a Charr or Asura. And the Norn are just plain ugly
Sylvari for me are just the right amount of different. Doesn’t hurt that humans in GW2 look really plastic which makes me not want to play them.