Guild Wars 2

Yesterday I saw the Flame and Frost is coming up, and yes, I am excited. I feel like these events make Tyria seem like a world, where we get to experience the awesome events of the world first hand. However, the main storyline seems vague. The dragons, people, why are they a threat?

- I played as a Human through the storyline first, and the dragons does not seem like an immediate threat, but something sleeping in a far off place. Playing as an Asura I found out they are an immediate threat, since they use quite the amount of arcane energy, or magic if you will.
- I kind of miss the storylines… well… playing together, in some way. As a human they didn’t feel like much of a threat, but as an asura they were suddenly more of a big deal.
- What would I like ANet to do? Well, maybe some one-time events, or some rare dynamic events, where we get the feeling that Zhaitan is a threat. Or maybe if they had just implemented that in the storyline, more so than they’ve done now.
- Tyria is a Dynamic World, so make with some of Zhaitan’s power to corrupt certain places, then let them be purified when we have defeated him. Because that was the plan with Tyria, and you’re doing it with other events like the Lost Shores, and now the Flame and Frost story coming up.
- In other words: I won’t attempt to kill Zhaitan, if he won’t attempt to kill me.

- Seriously though: If you guys have played WoW during Lich King, you’d know that he seemed like a threat. As you travelled through Northrend, he would appear on several occasions. It felt like you progressed through Northrend and into Icecrown. Personally, I thought it was great storytelling, and I enjoyed that part a lot. Deathwing is a lot like Zhaitan: He doesn’t seem like an immediate threat, although he is and should be, so my point is: Make it happen.

- I think there is great potential to this storyline. Zhaitan in Orr, Primordus I’d think we are going to the Ring of Fire to defeat, Jormag in the Far Shiverpeaks (also opening up for Woodland Cascades and the Charr Homelands), Kralkatorrik in the Crystal Desert. People, I am excited to see where GW2 is going and to experience these future fights and such, but I’d like to enjoy the ride more, and have the main plot/storyline seem more important in Tyria, than it does right now.
- A good story and storytelling aspect will keep people playing. Why do you think people watch series? If there’s good storytelling, they’ll keep wanting to find out what happens next.

- Secondly, the world of Tyria has a lot of lore, and I’m not sure that they are implementing it in the right way. The old lore is what I’m talking about here. I don’t find much reference to GW1 in GW2. It is there, yes, ruins of dwarven villages and some such.
GW2 made amends with the Quest-System, which was used as a storytelling aspect in other MMO’s, so we’d be brought up to speed. Since ANet came up with the Dynamic Event system instead, I would like to see them implement some of the lore we know from GW into GW2 in some other creative way. A personal preference, that’s all.
- A world is not living nor breathing, if it doesn’t have a story/history.

Well, the Humans have theire own problems, as every race in Tyria. But playing a Sylvari, the undead have allways been omnipresent. I mean, Trahearne is the Marshal of the Pact. You get the guidance of the pale tree, and you get to speculate, what the pale tree itself is, etc. Even the Nightmare-Problem is in some ways related to the dragon-problem. From all races, the Sylvari are most focused on Zaithan and its Problems. This is why I also think, that every race has to face, in further expansions, one elder dragon, or at least a meaningfull champion of him, cause you see their caused problems all over Tyria.

The Humans have enough Problems to solve, and they are so far up in the north, so they dont feel the influence of Zaithan, I guess.

Just my two cents

1) I don’t think implementing the Elder Dragons into DE’s in the open world would help with immersion.

Case Point: Zhaitan is dead when you complete your personal story in Arah, but he’s still flying around in the open world…wait…whut?

2) I like the idea of long quest-lines to uncover lore as long as the game didn’t help you i.e. none of the ‘you need to go here’ stars. You’d have to find all the stuff out for yourself through reading in-game books, exploring ect.

…where is he flying arround? Didn’t see him, to be honest.

TheDaiBish.9735:

2) I like the idea of long quest-lines to uncover lore as long as the game didn’t help you i.e. none of the ‘you need to go here’ stars. You’d have to find all the stuff out for yourself through reading in-game books, exploring ect.

It would not be enough to read in-game books and such to figure Zhaitan’s influence out. If he is not an influence you wouldn’t be able to read it anyhow.
- Zhaitan never really appears to wreck things up. He is not being introduced at all. We just hear about him and that he is the major threat that all races have to band together to defeat.

- I think I miss some conflict between races and such. The only time I felt the Charr and humans as old enemies was during the gathering of Destiny’s Edge where Rytlock and Logan argue.
- The Personal Story is kind of the main storyline and where you get the story served, but I haven’t enjoyed it nearly as much as I had hoped, and that really bugs me.
I hope they improve on that storytelling aspect later on, and on the character’s personalities. The Magister of the Durmand Priory that serves as your guide is far too immature. I haven’t enjoyed the Durmand Priory quest line at all, as far as I’ve played it right now. Lousy introduction. “Get real, ANet” is my advice. I have any friends that played that quest line and liked her. They left.

- If the character’s in the game can’t take things seriously, why should we?

@Sinifair

With the quests, I was referring to the lore and history of the world, not the Elder Dragon’s influence.

Zhaitan isn’t ‘introduced’ because he’s already in the world when the game started, hence that’s why we hear about him. And as I stated before, since you kill him at the end of the storyline, you can’t have him out in the world.

Although I agree the storytelling could have been better. Too rushed, imo.

One thing you’ve got to consider is the dragons aren’t a threat only in their immediate area and not only to things they themselves attack directly.

Those undead which are swarming all the coasts – even as far as the Southern edge of Kessex Hills and Lions Arch – those are the threat from Zhaitan. The fact that the dragon himself is still in Orr doesn’t change the fact that it’s his minions and his influence that is endangering huge areas of the world, including Kryta.

The same goes for the other dragons. Even if they’re far away the Icebrood, the branded, the destroyers and whatever it is that’s driven all the deep sea races from their homes are still raging around the world corrupting or killing anything they come across, which is a big problem for everyone who isn’t already corrupted.

it must be very difficult to make everything gel together and equal for everybody.

my main concern is not the fact that some people will experience the conflicts differently, it is more that as a casual player who was enjoying the lore, i got disapointed by some… turn offs:

fractal of the mist
-unexplained bits of random lore that doesnt make sense.
seriously this could have been made more lore related, EASILY.

wvwvw
-fighting for your server? which happens to have a region (that you cant go to) name ?
why not give the server some kind of very wide non restrictive identity and let player choose what they fight for?
i think Teso is doing something very good with their “a player can be crowned emperor” thing. its way cool!

lion’s arch
-definitely need some kind of leader!
this one isnt a major issue, just that i think its weird!

For the story, since you singled out the human one, the 20-30 personal story missions are supposed to extablish the Risen as a threat. Perhaps it could have been done better but just a relic from Orr caused a pretty major emergancy for Kryta.

These events push the story from the dragon’s being a vague threat to Zhaitan being someone we are directly at war with and who is targeting us.

Even then it feels vague to me.
- Why would Zhaitan not make an appearance himself in the battle for Claw Island? Why would he wait in Orr for us to get strong enough and cut off his supplies (the Mouths and eyes) and defeat him?
- It feels like he is going stealth mode. Slowly putting out his undead forces, instead of going all in. Why not make some truly life or death scenarios with Zhaitan actually making an appearance? I haven’t met him yet, and he is waiting in Arah for you to come.
I miss some more of the main plot to be implemented in the world. I know it is not the main issue in many zones… but it is not the main issue in too many zones, in my opinion at least.

Hope you guys can follow me on that.
- I want the game to be what it has the potential to be.

ANet is working to make GW2 a Living Breathing world. Zhaitan should have some influence while he is a threat. (I know there is little chance that they will “kill him off”).
People are already giving their attention to the next phase with the Flame and Frost content starting to evolve the world.

yes, so far the added content lore is not “efficient”.

-FotM are pure random bits of boring lore.
-Southsun Cove anyone ?
-Living Story have so far 5 lines of dialogue.

but, really, making an mmo, with “repeatable stuff” is difficult.
unless your whole story kind make it logical for it to repeat. which is difficult.

i still find they made a decent job at hiding zaithan story in the personal story dialogues.
rarely in the open world you will hear its name.
that helps!

i love the living story concept and adjusted downscaling.
i just hope they can actually… do some content…
and that it will have a nice lore.
the last “content” have been disapointing lore wise. very.

Sinifair.1026:

Even then it feels vague to me.
- Why would Zhaitan not make an appearance himself in the battle for Claw Island? Why would he wait in Orr for us to get strong enough and cut off his supplies (the Mouths and eyes) and defeat him?

Okay i dont think u get it, the dragons JUST WOKE UP, they didnt attack us , they didnt send anything at us , they just woke up and THIS IS THEIR INFLUENCE, simply that. The battle with Zhaitan was us against a weakened , sleepy dragon.

When the other dragons will attack us, and i mean full attack not sleepy influenced minions attack, trust me , we will feel it harder than ever.

^

hahah

dragons are finished already.

give us dredges in a dungeon, they’re harder