Guild Wars 2

Hi,

So, a few hours ago I finished the main storyline for my Sylvari mesmer character. After defeating Zhaitan and taking part in celebrations I received an email inviting me to a history lesson in Lion’s Arch.

What it did not tell me is that I was about to embark on one of the most useless tasks in the world and lore of the game.

Who the hell is Scarlet Briar? Why is it necessary to remember a dead psychopath who looks like a hippie to continue on my journey?

This is one moment where I personally felt cheated. Surely, they could have come up with something better post main-story?

Oh, and while I’m at it I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a formal complaint about the rewards I received after defeating the dragon. Where is my reward? The stuff I received have already been salvaged and sold. I’m still looking for my prize…

Oh, and why don’t the dragons attack with fire from their mouths? This is half-complaint, half-observation.

Just saying

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

Who the hell is Scarlet Briar?

Oh, and why don’t the dragons attack with fire from their mouths?

Just saying

Scarlet Briar is the big bad evil enemy of Season 1. She awakened Mordremoth.

As for the dragons, I guess they’re not the fire-breathing kind. lol

Edit for accuracy

Celtic Lady.3729:

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

Who the hell is Scarlet Briar?

Oh, and why don’t the dragons attack with fire from their mouths?

Just saying

Scarlet Briar is the big bad evil enemy of Season 2. She awakened Mordremoth.

As for the dragons, I guess they’re not the fire-breathing kind. lol

Are u kidding me? Scarlet Briar? She sounds like a high school dropout with one tooth. If I had the power I would re-write the history books.

The Scarlet Briar stuff you watched is a summary of Living Story Season 1. They put it in so people who missed it can see what happened in-game before doing Season 2 (if they want to buy it/play it) or Heart of Thorns.

You missed the whole season 2 storyline arc ending with the destruction of Lions Arch (which was actually pretty epic). What you got there was the Cliff Notes recap so you’ll have some idea what went on before the current story line.

Be thankful that’s all you had to deal with.
Briar was literally a thorn. Not in a compliment kind of way.

Scattered, broken, inconsistent backstory and development that appeared out of no where and somehow made all the other NPCs drop several IQs during the seasons.
She had potential, but Anet blew that chance. She was just a reason to segway to the next dragon. Even if it made little sense.

The only good thing that came from her was the Marionette fight, which sadly still has had only poor replicas in its place in other areas.

Talonblaze.3175:

Be thankful that’s all you had to deal with.
Briar was literally a thorn. Not in a compliment kind of way.

Scattered, broken, inconsistent backstory and development that appeared out of no where and somehow made all the other NPCs drop several IQs during the seasons.
She had potential, but Anet blew that chance. She was just a reason to segway to the next dragon. Even if it made little sense.

The only good thing that came from her was the Marionette fight, which sadly still has had only poor replicas in its place in other areas.

I thought the Breachmaker fight was the best, but the Marionette was certainly a close second.

scarlet was a cringe-inducing self-insert fanfiction character that was somehow accidentally written into a major market game

RoseofGilead.8907:

Talonblaze.3175:

Be thankful that’s all you had to deal with.
Briar was literally a thorn. Not in a compliment kind of way.

Scattered, broken, inconsistent backstory and development that appeared out of no where and somehow made all the other NPCs drop several IQs during the seasons.
She had potential, but Anet blew that chance. She was just a reason to segway to the next dragon. Even if it made little sense.

The only good thing that came from her was the Marionette fight, which sadly still has had only poor replicas in its place in other areas.

I thought the Breachmaker fight was the best, but the Marionette was certainly a close second.

I really loved the Marionette fight. And the destruction of Lion’s Arch was really fun, too. I still remember running all over the city, amazed at how different it looked and shocked that they actually went so far as to change it like that.

Curse that scarlet…

Celtic Lady.3729:

RoseofGilead.8907:

Talonblaze.3175:

Be thankful that’s all you had to deal with.
Briar was literally a thorn. Not in a compliment kind of way.

Scattered, broken, inconsistent backstory and development that appeared out of no where and somehow made all the other NPCs drop several IQs during the seasons.
She had potential, but Anet blew that chance. She was just a reason to segway to the next dragon. Even if it made little sense.

The only good thing that came from her was the Marionette fight, which sadly still has had only poor replicas in its place in other areas.

I thought the Breachmaker fight was the best, but the Marionette was certainly a close second.

I really loved the Marionette fight. And the destruction of Lion’s Arch was really fun, too. I still remember running all over the city, amazed at how different it looked and shocked that they actually went so far as to change it like that.

There’s a lot of good stuff in LS1 – the Queens Gauntlet festival, The Invasions, the Tower and especially the Marionette and BAttle for LA. The story was utter nonsense, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of the gameplay aspects in the above examples.

The trailer of course glossed over the most crucial and exciting piece however…….

Celtic Lady.3729:

RoseofGilead.8907:

Talonblaze.3175:

Be thankful that’s all you had to deal with.
Briar was literally a thorn. Not in a compliment kind of way.

Scattered, broken, inconsistent backstory and development that appeared out of no where and somehow made all the other NPCs drop several IQs during the seasons.
She had potential, but Anet blew that chance. She was just a reason to segway to the next dragon. Even if it made little sense.

The only good thing that came from her was the Marionette fight, which sadly still has had only poor replicas in its place in other areas.

I thought the Breachmaker fight was the best, but the Marionette was certainly a close second.

I really loved the Marionette fight. And the destruction of Lion’s Arch was really fun, too. I still remember running all over the city, amazed at how different it looked and shocked that they actually went so far as to change it like that.

Yep. The Marrionette, the destruction of Lions Arch, the Krait tower in Kessex Hills. Those events were a lot of fun and changed the maps permanently. I doubt they’ll ever put in anything like that again, at least not on the core maps. Any big events will be on new maps from now on and as permanent content.

The reason for that recap is that they needed to put something in to bridge the narrative gap for people that weren’t around for LS1 (and tons of people begged them to do it, as a matter of fact, as a stop gap until they can reintroduce the content in playable form when it was originally designed to happen and end like RL events do).

I don’t think that recap explains things terribly well to someone that wasn’t there at the time; to me it feels more like a reminder for those who played through it. But it’s better than having no in-game indication of how things went from Zhaitan’s fall to Mordremoth’s awakening.

James Quall.6029:

scarlet was a cringe-inducing self-insert fanfiction character that was somehow accidentally written into a major market game

You’ve summed up my suspicions perfectly.

So, you watched an optional summary cinematic for Living Story’s first season, and its as if Anet shot your dog. Whats the point of this?
Anet simply couldn’t make LS1 re-playable, like they did with LS2, due to both its largely experimental and persistent nature. I won’t argue that the story line was far from perfect, and Briar herself was unbelievable and completely over the top (though, kitten if it didn’t feel great to put that rabid kitten down). However, LS1 had a lot of very enjoyable group content.

Donari.5237:

The reason for that recap is that they needed to put something in to bridge the narrative gap for people that weren’t around for LS1 (and tons of people begged them to do it, as a matter of fact, as a stop gap until they can reintroduce the content in playable form when it was originally designed to happen and end like RL events do).

I don’t think that recap explains things terribly well to someone that wasn’t there at the time; to me it feels more like a reminder for those who played through it. But it’s better than having no in-game indication of how things went from Zhaitan’s fall to Mordremoth’s awakening.

To be honest with you I’m trying my best to rush-play through the hot story, skipping cinematics etc (something I never do). I think at this point I’m a bit worn out after the really long plot I enjoyed with my sylvari character. It was fun, especially towards the end when things started heating up. I especially liked the whole Claw Island saga. Then we defeated the dragon.

Then came Scarlet Briar, and everything after that just seems like re-hash stuff. I mean after defeating the most evil enemy in all the land, to continue fighting and fighting again is just tiresome to me. This is not a complaint – for those who think I’m always complaining and bashing the game. I just feel like I’ve enjoyed what I was mean to enjoy.

Right now what I REALLY want is my glider mastery!

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

Oh, and while I’m at it I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a formal complaint about the rewards I received after defeating the dragon. Where is my reward?

In the gem store.

darkace.8925:

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

Oh, and while I’m at it I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a formal complaint about the rewards I received after defeating the dragon. Where is my reward?

In the gem store.

Well said.

Well as to the reward, it used to be you got a Pact token (maybe you still do?) redeemable for one blue glowy Pact weapon from the Quartermaster at Fort Trinity. As those are tradeable, plenty of them are on the TP. Even at one weapon per alt there are plenty of them people would rather get a gold or two for than unlock the skin themselves.

You also get a dance party, if you talk to the late arrival in the final episode and go all the way through his conversation choices.

Donari.5237:

You also get a dance party, if you talk to the late arrival in the final episode and go all the way through his conversation choices.

I remember the first time I saw that. It was the best thing ever.

It really was! Especially as I did it on Donari — I try to do all my exploration and story and events on him first even though he’s not a reaper — and since he is human noble I knew exactly who that late arrival was and I just loved how the ending tied back to the beginning.

I didn’t mind Scarlet. Canach was always more of a mystery.

Donari.5237:

Well as to the reward, it used to be you got a Pact token (maybe you still do?) redeemable for one blue glowy Pact weapon from the Quartermaster at Fort Trinity. As those are tradeable, plenty of them are on the TP. Even at one weapon per alt there are plenty of them people would rather get a gold or two for than unlock the skin themselves.

You also get a dance party, if you talk to the late arrival in the final episode and go all the way through his conversation choices.

No token anymore, just a box where you can select your weapon. The quartermaster is still there though.

Have to agree with the others about Scarlet being a terrible character and you actually dodged a bullet. If you ever get around to playing season 2 episode 1. Aerin’s story perfectly summarizes what happened to Scarlet. Without all the terrible theatrics that character put us through. As matter of fact the voice direction that was given to the actress who played her was of a British Harley Quinn archetype. Which would not be terrible if we did not have to take her that seriously. However the writers gave her way too much leverage that was never fully explained. She even got one of the most xenophobic race (Krait) in guild wars franchise to work with the Nightmare Court.

On the flip side: Yes, you did miss out on some really intriguing/inventive game play mechanics that came out of season 1. Due to Arena Net experimenting with the direction they wanted to take the game in. Some of the content was very zerg oriented, but as time went on it got a bit better. Furthermore some of that content does come back periodically. Also fractals sliced up two of the dungeons we got in season 1.

Yeah, Scarlet sucks as a character badly. Her observed character is basically fanfiction material.

However, I got to admit. Everything else except Scarlet herself during that time was pretty awesome and memorable to me. Even though Scarlet feels like she was written by a High School kid, it’s impressive that they actually did refer to her far before she came into the scene. A shame that despite the cool foreshadowing you got from imprisoned Dredge and Charr about a “silver-tongued Sylvari” and other subtle hints, the character turned out to be anything but silver-tongued and impressive as a character. Yet despite being Mary Sue, she was ultimately just another tool to Modremoth, and the lead up to the Sylvari being Dragon Minions was pretty awesome for me.

There were some good story elements that came out of Scarlet imo. Even Scarlet’s character had potential. But as usual for any MMORPG, the execution phase fails, and Scarlet herself was pretty bad, and not in the “cool bad guy” way.

Here’s to hoping Palawa Joko doesn’t end up the same. Unlike Scarlet, I think Palawa Joko’s character being ruined can impact the story a lot more.

Sindex.9520:

However the writers gave her way too much leverage that was never fully explained. She even got one of the most xenophobic race (Krait) in guild wars franchise to work with the Nightmare Court.

This actually raises an interesting point that has always bothered me. If one has done the different paths of Twilight Arbor (including the old spider path that they just got rid of instead of trying to fix) you see that with Faolain gone the Nightmare Court starts ripping itself apart with infighting at the first sign of a power struggle.

There was one living story update that included a bunch of audio logs from Scarlet and the entire deal was a clumsy, ham fisted plot dump meant to catch people up with the story. One of the logs was regarding getting the dredge and the Flame Legion to work together: “Flame Legion gets gears, dredge get magic, and I get two armies” or something like that. That was seriously all the explanation she had to give for how and why they worked for her.

Scarlet didn’t need (or apparently even have) any other reasons for why she could gather so many different armies with conflicting goals and ideals, including the Flame Legion who would never follow a woman in the first place. Somehow she got all of these people to be her perfectly loyal slaves that never disobeyed and there was no conflict between them and no infighting or power struggles whatsoever.

She was just so brilliant and perfect and a master tactician and engineer and leader and she can do anything because she is just so wonderfully wonderful~ Seriously, the book Sea of Sorrows is all about how Lion’s Arch withstood attacks from Zhaitan and Kryta attempting to recapture their old capital. But Scarlet, who had been beaten at every turn and had wasted so many troops and resources, still managed to succeed in destroying Lion’s Arch where even elder dragons had failed. I really mean it, Scarlet was someone’s Mary Sue fanfic character that inexplicably got into the game.

James Quall.6029:

Sindex.9520:

However the writers gave her way too much leverage that was never fully explained. She even got one of the most xenophobic race (Krait) in guild wars franchise to work with the Nightmare Court.

This actually raises an interesting point that has always bothered me. If one has done the different paths of Twilight Arbor (including the old spider path that they just got rid of instead of trying to fix) you see that with Faolain gone the Nightmare Court starts ripping itself apart with infighting at the first sign of a power struggle.

There was one living story update that included a bunch of audio logs from Scarlet and the entire deal was a clumsy, ham fisted plot dump meant to catch people up with the story. One of the logs was regarding getting the dredge and the Flame Legion to work together: “Flame Legion gets gears, dredge get magic, and I get two armies” or something like that. That was seriously all the explanation she had to give for how and why they worked for her.

Scarlet didn’t need (or apparently even have) any other reasons for why she could gather so many different armies with conflicting goals and ideals, including the Flame Legion who would never follow a woman in the first place. Somehow she got all of these people to be her perfectly loyal slaves that never disobeyed and there was no conflict between them and no infighting or power struggles whatsoever.

She was just so brilliant and perfect and a master tactician and engineer and leader and she can do anything because she is just so wonderfully wonderful~ Seriously, the book Sea of Sorrows is all about how Lion’s Arch withstood attacks from Zhaitan and Kryta attempting to recapture their old capital. But Scarlet, who had been beaten at every turn and had wasted so many troops and resources, still managed to succeed in destroying Lion’s Arch where even elder dragons had failed. I really mean it, Scarlet was someone’s Mary Sue fanfic character that inexplicably got into the game.

Yeah, actually I have the answers to some of these question via Angel McCoy’s response she made on the official forums (under the lore section). I left it out originally because this evidence was never presented in game. So take it as will. Since I am still not totally convinced by it.

Angel.4918:

I believe Matthew was alluding to the fact that we didn’t detail out any specific leaders, other than the characters you met in the weapons factory.

So, I will say this. We have been going on the premise that the groups working with Scarlet are not the main population, but splinter groups. It’s not “The Nightmare Court” who has allied with the krait, but a sub-group of them. Faolain, for example, is not allied with either the krait or Scarlet. We have not publicly detailed out who each of these groups is or who their leaders are because we didn’t think that was something the average citizen of Tyria would know. If you’re really dying to know the answer, I can look it up in the next couple days and post something about it. But, they won’t be characters you’ve met before.

Angel McCoy.1832:

That’s actually 4 questions. Can’t fool me. Hehe. Konig, we devs walk a fine line between giving too much lore, thus spoiling players’ in-game discovery, and not giving enough. If I’m cagey about something, it’s because I don’t want to give you spoilers, and I’m confident that when you activate your superpowers, you’ll find the right conclusions yourselves—and have a lot more fun than if I had spoon-fed it to you in a forum post.

That’s the key. It’s all about you and your experience. Eight hours a day, five days a week, and often more than that, we’re all here, working to make your in-game experience as good as it can be.

Here are some concrete answers for you. Activate imaginations now!

1. Why did the krait agree to work with Scarlet?

Warning: The following is paraphrased in out-of-game language and doesn’t even pretend to be polished writing.

Imagine with me for a moment….

Scarlet sends a missive to the krait in the deeps there. It says simply, “I have shards of one of your obelisks. And, I know what it will take to bring back your prophet.”

The krait replies: “Take a hike. You’re lying. Prove it.”

Scarlet sends the smallest shard with a note: “There are more.”

Krait: “Give them all to us or we’ll kill you and enslave all your friends.”

Scarlet laughs. “You’ll have to get to me first. Can you fly? Of course, if you don’t want your prophets, then I totally understand.”

Krait (after much cussing and killing of slaves): “Hm. What do you want from us?”

Scarlet: “I’ll be sending a Nightmare Court posse along with further proof that I can bring back your prophets. Listen to them. If you kill them, I’ll assume our deal is off, and I’ll turn the shards over to your enemies. You do take your religion seriously, don’t you?”

2. Why did they not take the obelisk shards, perhaps enslave some of her minions, with the ruthlessness they are known for?

See above.

3. More so after their “prophet” died?

As you may have noticed, these krait were profoundly changed during their interaction with the nightmare plant and Scarlet. They are no longer the same creatures they were. They acquired a new look, new skills, and new behavior. Scarlet gave them their prophet, as promised—and may be able to do it again one day. Who was it that killed the prophet? Hmmmm.

4. Why do her alliances…continue working with her?

Each has its own reason.

Krait: They’ve been warped by Scarlet and the Nightmare Court. By the end, the scenario had changed. Scarlet proved she could bring back a prophet to their satisfaction (whether it was actually a prophet or not, no one really knows, but the toxic krait believe it was). And they can’t exactly go join other normal krait. How do you think regular xenophobic krait would feel about these toxic ones?

Dredge: They want power and magic. This group of dredge see an opportunity to add magic to their repertoire. Given their history, this would be a huge feather in their caps. Besides, how often do you get the opportunity to atomize a city like Lion’s Arch? Now that’s fun!

Flame Legion: They want technology and power. This group of FL is taking a huge risk. If they can go home with awesome swag, then they’ll be welcomed, but if they can’t, then they’re likely to be killed the moment they arrive. A large body count (especially the charr and human ones) along with whatever weapons technology they manage to acquire is an inspiring reward for them. And, they get to say they helped bring down Lion’s Arch. They hope to be lauded as heroes when they return to the FL.

You will, of course, have noticed that the three alliances don’t work in very close proximity to one another. There’s a reason for this.

You’ll also have noticed that Scarlet was extremely elusive in the tower of nightmares. Can you imagine why?

I think I’m worse off having read that. That’s all just so terrible.

I’m told that if an audience watching an opera, play or movie feels hatred towards a bad guy in the storyline, then the writer has done rather well.

So if a lot of people hated Scarlet Briar for whatever reason, then kudos to the person who created her!

penelopehannibal.8947:

I’m told that if an audience watching an opera, play or movie feels hatred towards a bad guy in the storyline, then the writer has done rather well.

So if a lot of people hated Scarlet Briar for whatever reason, then kudos to the person who created her!

People hate Scarlet because she’s a bad written character.
Not because she’s a good villain.

The Joker is a good written character (in most cases). Even though he’s a monster.
Scarlet can’t even hold a candle.

penelopehannibal.8947:

I’m told that if an audience watching an opera, play or movie feels hatred towards a bad guy in the storyline, then the writer has done rather well.

So if a lot of people hated Scarlet Briar for whatever reason, then kudos to the person who created her!

So you think that an antagonist is summed up by how much it hate it gets? Even if that hatred is because of bad writing, acting, or direction? So Jesse Eisenberg deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of “Alexander Luthor, Jr.” in Batman V. Superman? Which also sums up Scarlet persona to a point.

Sindex.9520:

So Jesse Eisenberg deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of “Alexander Luthor, Jr.” in Batman V. Superman? Which by the sums up Scarlet persona to a point.

Dang dude I don’t like Scarlet either but that might be the meanest thing anyone has ever said.

Talonblaze.3175:

penelopehannibal.8947:

I’m told that if an audience watching an opera, play or movie feels hatred towards a bad guy in the storyline, then the writer has done rather well.

So if a lot of people hated Scarlet Briar for whatever reason, then kudos to the person who created her!

People hate Scarlet because they think she’s a bad written character.
Not because she’s a good villain.

The Joker is a good written character (in most cases). Even though he’s a monster.
Scarlet can’t even hold a candle.

It’s all subjective at the end of the day. I don’t think the character was badly written myself. She was annoying, kitteny and arrogant. That’s the character. I think what was possibly done badly was the structure of Season 1 altogether. It wasn’t in any clear direction or set way of it being one story until it became close to the end.

Season 2 was a lot better, because we knew when and where each chapter started and finished. I don’t think we can lay the entire blame of Season 1 on Scarlet’s door. (Her house in Dry Top doesn’t even have one anymore anyway!)

Also, let’s not forget that the more one might have felt annoyed and frustrated with Scarlet, it only meant it to be more satisfying that she was dead in the end.

Sindex.9520:

So you think that an antagonist is summed up by how much it hate it gets? Even if that hatred is because of bad writing, acting, or direction? So Jesse Eisenberg deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of “Alexander Luthor, Jr.” in Batman V. Superman? Which also sums up Scarlet persona to a point.

I didn’t quite say that. As above with the bad writing bit.

James Quall.6029:

scarlet was a cringe-inducing self-insert fanfiction character that was somehow accidentally written into a major market game

Bullseye.

Sindex.9520:

So Jesse Eisenberg deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of “Alexander Luthor, Jr.” in Batman V. Superman?

I only joined the game a year ago and didn’t see Scarlett but I did see Batman v Superman.. and Jesse’s Lex Luthor appealed to me. And to my surprise, Afleck is a great batman. There. I said it. Now back on topic..

Who?

penelopehannibal.8947:

Also, let’s not forget that the more one might have felt annoyed and frustrated with Scarlet, it only meant it to be more satisfying that she was dead in the end.

Funnily enough, I was actually one of the few who was mad about her death. It too was rushed just to push the setting for HOT.
It didn’t help with Anet’s purposeful use of Braham to silence Scarlet when people actually WANTED her story to be developed.
“Don’t you want to know WHY I did it?”
“No.”
Pretty much the opposite of what everyone actually wanted. (Besides the eventual impaling.)
Near the end of her lifespan, she showed promise and actual intrigue. By that time of course it was far too late. Which is now never actually going to be expanded upon or ever revealed. She had no investment and that was the issue.
That only added to her poor writing. She came in as such and ended as such.

We can not forget her if you keep bringing her up!

She was a weak villain and Arena Net’s writers pushed the character too hard as a `personal nemesis´ even after the initial poor reception.

Personally, I think the Scarlet storyline was awesome. The destruction of Lion’s Arch was epic. And the effects on the world were entertaining with each episode.

But, even if you hated it, it’s better than what’s happening now . . . which is a lot of nothing.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Personally, I think the Scarlet storyline was awesome. The destruction of Lion’s Arch was epic. And the effects on the world were entertaining with each episode.

But, even if you hated it, it’s better than what’s happening now . . . which is a lot of nothing.

There’s a difference between the storyline of LS1, and the character Scarlet Briar herself. Overall, its Briar whom has the greater share of our collective ire.

I liked Scarlet AFTER we learn why she was so crazy, everything makes more sense, and whether we like it or not Scarlet’s history will forever be remembered. (from her constant mentions in LW S2 to that poor charr coughing and cursing at her :P)

The Greyhawk.9107:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Personally, I think the Scarlet storyline was awesome. The destruction of Lion’s Arch was epic. And the effects on the world were entertaining with each episode.

But, even if you hated it, it’s better than what’s happening now . . . which is a lot of nothing.

There’s a difference between the storyline of LS1, and the character Scarlet Briar herself. Overall, its Briar whom has the greater share of our collective ire.

That’s a fair point. +1

Why are Anet so obsessed with Sylvari..

Trahearn, Scarlet, heart of Thorns… After all these years and they are still pushing Sylvari at us, I honestly think the race isn’t that pioneering to be honest..

Plant based elves to me doesn’t really seem like a break through race wise, sure i understand they like sylvari but what about the rest of the races get a look in for a change…

Asuras history would be awesome, Norn even Charr?

eduardo.1436:

I liked Scarlet AFTER we learn why she was so crazy, everything makes more sense, and whether we like it or not Scarlet’s history will forever be remembered. (from her constant mentions in LW S2 to that poor charr coughing and cursing at her :P)

Very true.

Anet played it up like Scarlet was the Joker, messing around with Batman while his real plan was in motion.

The problem is that only works if the audience is the third party and can watch the drama unfold between them. We personally played the part of Batman, being jerked around and taunted as we tried to constantly save the day but were really doing nothing to stop the real threat.

It’s simply not a fun position to be in. Scarlet goes from a fun foil to just a massive annoyance. Everyone loves the Joker but no one loves being the one who gets the laughing gas filled pie thrown in their face.

I think if Anet had let us in on the fact that she was under the influence of a Dragon who also sort of broke her mind in the process, I think people would have liked her more since it would have felt like the whole series of incidents were building to something bigger.

It would have felt like it was part of the Dragons arc rather than another episode of “Scarlet’s Wacky Hijinks!” with everyone wondering why we are messing with some lunatic when there are genocidal super beasts eating the planet.

Scarlet will NEVER be forgotten as long as the majority of my alts keep their wonderful/awesome unopened gifts that she sent them!

So na na!

She was forgotten until you made this thread about her……

I think the biggest problem with LS1 and Scarlet in particular is that ANet massively over-estimated how patient players would be. They wanted to drip feed hints of the overall plot buried in other lore and events over a year or more so we could gradually discover what was going on and how all these different stories and events tied together.

But players wanted a straight forward “this is the bad guy, this is their plan and how it ties into the dragons, this is how you stop them” and got angry and bored when that didn’t happen.

When Anet realised they then rushed to include as much of the remaining info as they could and finish that storyline so we could move on to something simpler and more obviously related to the dragons. Which is a shame, but understandable.

I actually think the story (and Scarlet) worked well in retrospect, but you need to have followed all the different themes and know how it ties together to get it.

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

Hi,

So, a few hours ago I finished the main storyline for my Sylvari mesmer character. After defeating Zhaitan and taking part in celebrations I received an email inviting me to a history lesson in Lion’s Arch.

What it did not tell me is that I was about to embark on one of the most useless tasks in the world and lore of the game.

Who the hell is Scarlet Briar? Why is it necessary to remember a dead psychopath who looks like a hippie to continue on my journey?

This is one moment where I personally felt cheated. Surely, they could have come up with something better post main-story?

Oh, and while I’m at it I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a formal complaint about the rewards I received after defeating the dragon. Where is my reward? The stuff I received have already been salvaged and sold. I’m still looking for my prize…

Oh, and why don’t the dragons attack with fire from their mouths? This is half-complaint, half-observation.

Just saying

Since it was living story updates.
I think you’d take a psychopath who looks abit like a jester more seriously. :P

Your reward, not exactly winning the story, since you still have stuff to do in the game…

Why not breath fire? Because not every single dragon in mythology breathe fire.

Didn’t care for her character at all, but godkitten those Scarlet’s Invasion events were some of the most fun I’ve ever played in this game. Massive, map-wide zergs with tons of champ bags and boxes to open afterwards.

With Scarlet’s purported insanity Anet had a prime opportunity to create a nuanced and unpredictable character with some great depth and characterisation as you see how she struggles with her mental state.

Instead of that, however, we were given the Ooky-Kooky WunderSylvari who is just the bestest ever at everything and despite apparently being functionally insane, it doesn’t impair her performance or productivity at all. I mean, when it comes to forging alliances between six highly xenophobic and malignant groups, I probably wouldn’t choose someone whose mental state is explosively turbulent to negotiate and forge those alliances. But that’s just me, right? Scarlet apparently had no problems on this front because Scarlet is gonna Scarlet. Nor apparently were there any issues creating technology the likes of which Tyria has never seen. Because why wouldn’t Scarlet be the world’s best inventor, best negotiator and best strategic military planner (she raised how many armies, invaded how many places and successfully achieved her ultimate strategic goal) in all of Tyria. And all that while being insane.

What a burden insanity proved to be for Scarlet, just imagine how many productive hours she spent mailing whacky bombs to adventurers and how much she could have achieved if she’d not had that compulsion.

Sarcasm aside, Scarlet was a god awful character. In tabletop gaming circles she’s what one would call a Fishmalk. In Vampire: The Masquerade, players can choose to play a Malkavian vampire and one of traits of Malkavians are that they are mentally ill. Instead of approaching the subject with some kind of dignity or seriousness and creating a strong character with realistic mental issues, many players instead opted to play their character as the kind of kooky character who would be liable to smack someone with a fish and dash off hooting. Hence, a Fishmalk. Which is exactly what Scarlet’s personality was. This alone would be bad enough without the addition of the Scarlet Is The Best At Everything Ever elements. Scarlet as an entire concept is the kind of character that you shouldn’t even see created by an author of low grade fanfiction let alone a professional writing team.

@Dante If you really want to know why Anet is so “obsessed” with sylvari I suggest you to play the original Guild wars