Guild Wars 2

Wiki about the mists: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Mists
So, basically, Tyria is a floating pocket of reality, in a sea of energy. And there are other worlds there too, as evidenced by numerous events.

But what if there are other versions of the SAME world as well?

What if there are multiple copies of Tyria floating around in this ether, inhabited by entirely different populations?! Why, when using an Asura gate or Waypoint to travel, you could even be accidentally shunted from your familiar home, to some alien Tyria! Would you even be able to tell the difference?! Those who you stand shoulder to shoulder with today, may well be those who stand against you as foes in the mist war tomorrow! Only by grounding yourself with other familiar, strong-willed travelers, do you stand any chance of remaining in your own world; five seems to be the ideal number.

How do these transportation devices even work anyway?! To step through and travel such a great distant instantly seems impossible, but the mists are a place where time and space become extremely negotiable. It makes sense that the only way to accomplish this form of travel is to involve the mists in some form.

Furthermore, I highly suspect that the minds behind the Black Lion Trading Post are not only aware of this, but have discovered a way to access and exploit these other worlds. If anyone could devise such an absurd yet profitable cross-world trading network, its Gnashblade(s?).

Some other points of note!
-Slain enemies returning constantly
-Events and missions and conversations that seem to repeat in an endless loop
-Portals to a Battleground left by the God of War
-Some citizens of the world always remember you, while others always act like they’ve just met you for the first time
-Some areas such as dungeons, appear to revert to a fixed state each time you enter

Ahem. So, basically my fun (but pointless) theory is that each server represents a different version of Tyria floating around in the mists! Every commonly accepted MMO mechanic that people glaze over can be instead explained by this theory! I love it when mechanics and lore converge!

There’s actually an asura story mission that involves fighting an evil version of your character from another copy of Tyria that is slightly ahead in time to the version the character is.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Infinity_Ball

It’s pretty much established by now that Tyria and virtually infinite versions of it and its inhabitants are in some sort “blurry jumble of fractals” estate with different versions of itself changing, resetting and overlapping all the time with each other, and many parts of it frozen in time and looping within a short frame of time here and there.

Player characters would be special in that they have much less versions of themselves than NPCs. For now the minimum is 3: The player as commander, the player as party member of the commander, and for asura, the evil one.

It would be funny if after defeating all 6 elder dragons, whatever is keeping Tyria ‘fractured’ this way stopped, and Tyria became one and whole again.

I have long suspected that the Tyria in which our GW2 characters dwell is not the same Tyria our Guild Wars characters knew and fought to protect 250 years ago, but I had not considered gateways and waypoints as factors in the ever-increasing divergences. It does, however, make sense. /e +1

I came up with a similar theory when I tried explaining WvW to a friend of mine and she asked me if there was a lore reason for different servers to be fighting each other on the Eternal Battlegrounds.

I said: I’m not sure if there is actual lore behind WvW, other than that it’s supposedly in The Mists, which is a supernatural realm that connects multiple realities to each other and it’s also where the deceased people go to. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the servers we are matched up against in WvW are other versions of Tyria fighting against our version of Tyria over resources that The Mists have to offer?

LucosTheDutch.4819:

[…]the servers we are matched up against in WvW are other versions of Tyria fighting against our version of Tyria over resources that The Mists have to offer?

If I remember correctly, some devs have actually said that.

I could have dreamed it, though. I have very realistic dreams.

So essentially any character that is dead, dying, or will die can be recasted at any given time under a coat of “alternate reality” paint.

ZHAITAN LIVES

Azure The Heartless.3261:

So essentially any character that is dead, dying, or will die can be recasted at any given time under a coat of “alternate reality” paint.

ZHAITAN LIVES

Forget Zhaitan! Abaddon lives!

Azure The Heartless.3261:

So essentially any character that is dead, dying, or will die can be recasted at any given time under a coat of “alternate reality” paint.

ZHAITAN LIVES

Wait. Doesn’t this mean that Scarlet Briar lives as well? Makes you think. And while we are at it, the mentors also live. Cool. All the possibilities!

Uden Reavstone.3426:

Azure The Heartless.3261:

So essentially any character that is dead, dying, or will die can be recasted at any given time under a coat of “alternate reality” paint.

ZHAITAN LIVES

Wait. Doesn’t this mean that Scarlet Briar lives as well? Makes you think. And while we are at it, the mentors also live. Cool. All the possibilities!

Glint is alive
Scarlet is alive
Tybalt is alive
The tengu are in an alt reality an outgoing nation that occupy lions arch
Dhuum never lost his power in one timeline
The charr were eradicated in one timelime
Ascalonians never got foefired

Now I know why Rytlock is blind. He didnt want to see the spoilers.

Azure The Heartless.3261:

Now I know why Rytlock is blind. He didnt want to see the spoilers.

I always thought it was cause he couldn’t stand to read anymore warrior patch notes.

Dand.8231:

Azure The Heartless.3261:

Now I know why Rytlock is blind. He didnt want to see the spoilers.

I always thought it was cause he couldn’t stand to read anymore warrior patch notes.

He wasnt a warrior though. He had a pistol. Warriors are too dumb to use pistols, says Anet.

He fell into the mists and he was handed a script for the new season. Halfway through he said “nope”, put a blindfold on, and left.