Guild Wars 2

So I was thinking about GW1 Charr and how they were much more diverse than current GW2 Charr. That is almost completely due to the lack of straight posture in GW2. I think it would be really great to have a new body style reflecting the straight posture that some Charr had in GW1. For those of you that never played GW1 see pics for reference. Keep in mind the straight posture Charr from GW1 kept a similar posture while wielding weapons and in combat.

Standing upright is simply too studly not to add. Was hoping you could choose between the types during char creation back before beta started.

Wouldn’t say no to this. Coming from the hunchbacks of the Horde to the Charr, I always get a little sad I can’t see my chest armor.

Doggie.3184:

Standing upright is simply too studly not to add. Was hoping you could choose between the types during char creation back before beta started.

I hoped for that too back in the days actually.

GW1 Charr also had armor covering their necks, at least for the warrior classes.

Doggie.3184:

Standing upright is simply too studly not to add. Was hoping you could choose between the types during char creation back before beta started.

Count me in that crowd as well! Although at the time I think I was too excited to care :p

This would be cool. I’m always in favour of customization.

this is something ive wanted id play more charr chars if they did

I made this suggestion a little while ago myself, along with the suggestion of giving Charr unique armor appearances.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Charr-and-Their-Visual-Appearance/first#post4927372

Take a look if you’re interested. I mostly like this idea because it would mean that my Charr would actually LOOK taller than all of the Norn running around, instead of just being taller and me having to run up next to them and do /bow to show I am.

~Kal

Kysin.6349:

So I was thinking about GW1 Charr and how they were much more diverse than current GW2 Charr. That is almost completely due to the lack of straight posture in GW2.

I disagree.

Oh my GOD! They look so much better in GW1. Wtf?! If they looked like that in GW2 I would play Charrs more often.

I would play almost exclusively Charr had this been the case. The design team screwed up big time with this one. Yeah I get it you want to be different, you don’t want elves or dwarves or humanoid animals… you may even want to use a Greatswords or a hammer as a ranged weapon (crazy but it can work). Who ever looked at the new style of Charr and decided it was better than the one you already had in your universe was just plain wrong.

Funny how Blizzard did the same with Orcs from WC3’s orcs having a straight posture and then WoW having them hunched.

I think the new charr postue is kind of the average of their GW2 postures, hunched charr were much more so in GW1, while caster types typically stood upright. Since in GW2 there’s no variable psture they just picked somethign roughly in the middle. Not ideal maybe, but it doesn’t bother me so much as the fact that the Charr’s hunched posture seems to be totally baffling to Anets armour designers. that and tails seem to trip them up more than half the time. If we could just have some more armours that are fitted properly for charr as opposed to just shoving the humanoid version on them and then warping it we’d have a much easier time finding gear that looks good for Charr players as well as everyone else.

If they put that in as an option I would definitely be interested. Maybe I’m nitpicking but the hunched over stance doesn’t look biologically efficient. They did studies on chimpanzees where they looked at the energy use of a upright walking chimpanzee versus a human and the human balancing their weight in an upright stance is much more energy efficient than the chimp’s stance, which is less balanced over the hips.

Looking at human evolution, once the human line committed to an upright walking stance, the energy costs of a less than upright posture pushed it towards the full upright position in a short time (in evolutionary terms). There would need to be some counter reason why the Charr didn’t go full upright to explain why they are “willing” to be so energy inefficient in their stance.

http://www.livescience.com/1702-walk-upright-beats-chimp.html

I would like to see less of a hunched over look, but I do want to point out that Pyre, the only charr hero you get to unlock, is hunched over, just not to quite the same amount as GW2 charr. At least a few of the charr npcs/mobs/bosses are also hunched over.

If it was less hunched, the idea of bringing back capes would be possible, with less of a clipping issue.
I’d also bother to play Charr, and probably make my Kimari Ronso RP character

Not really keen on this one. GW2 had to narrow down different versions of charr from GW1 into something that looked like a single species. They elected for the less human-like skeleton, and personally I prefer it that way.

Yeah, they look less evolved in GW2, than the ones in your pics, assuming the evolutionary idea is cat>humanoid cat?

They now look kind of like a missing link.

Not that I dislike them in their current form – I don’t.

But, they do look a bit like walking upright might still be slightly uncomfortable for them.

I approve. The hunched over hump back posture and the clipping are the two biggest reasons I’ve deleted every charr that I’ve ever rolled.

I’d like the stand up straight option for charr, please.

Yes please! I loved the upright Charr and I had kind of hoped that in GW2 there would be a posture slider. I don’t want to be a hulking hunched over Charr :/

The only GW1 charr to stand upright were members of the shaman caste (mostly monks and fire elementalists), and they did so to appear superior to their warrior, ranger, and mesmer allies. They are what became the Flame Legion.

Ben K.7329:

Not really keen on this one. GW2 had to narrow down different versions of charr from GW1 into something that looked like a single species. They elected for the less human-like skeleton, and personally I prefer it that way.

I agree.

Sarisa.4731:

The only GW1 charr to stand upright were members of the shaman caste (mostly monks and fire elementalists), and they did so to appear superior to their warrior, ranger, and mesmer allies. They are what became the Flame Legion.

Always were Flame Legion, really. The Legions are older than humans in Ascalon.

Hey, it’s not the Charr’s fault they discovered computers. They’re years ahead of natural human evolution.

Tigaseye.2047:

Yeah, they look less evolved in GW2, than the ones in your pics, assuming the evolutionary idea is cat>humanoid cat?

They now look kind of like a missing link.

Not that I dislike them in their current form – I don’t.

But, they do look a bit like walking upright might still be slightly uncomfortable for them.

Its funny because charr’s body evolved backwards. They went from running upright 250 years ago to running on all fours today. Its weird. I mean did all the casters from back then who clearly have a different body type just die out?

I’ve been hollering for these body types here and on Reddit since launch. I think armor would look so much better with that body type. We wouldn’t have to worry about the long necks and running on all fours and we probably would have gotten capes because honestly i think the charrs current body type is the reason why its not possible to have them.

Sarisa.4731:

The only GW1 charr to stand upright were members of the shaman caste (mostly monks and fire elementalists), and they did so to appear superior to their warrior, ranger, and mesmer allies. They are what became the Flame Legion.

Yes true but clearly the charr in GW1 have different skeletons. I mean Pyre had a monk in his WB and he stood upright. I wish we could get it as well.

Keep in mind I am not suggesting that they remove any of the body types, simply add to the current options with a straight posture. Maybe even a slider, that would be too cool!

I much prefer them hunched over. Helps make them look unique and stand out against all the standard posture. Tired of seeing the beast races forced into upright postures. Still, I don’t see anything wrong with adding the option to have the Charr stand upright.

That would actually make me want to play a Charr.

Personally, I find the upright charr to… put bluntly, look extremely silly.

that being said, if it was an optional thing, and my charr could still look the way it is now, i’d be okay with it.

I like the charr posture just the way it is, as I understand why they made them hunched.

NO.

Simply because the Charr already have the perfect and anatomically correct posture for a quadruped that can also walk upright, if need be.

There already was this thread where somebody explained it.
It´s got to do with the connection of the neck to the skull and Charr have it more in the back of the skull, so they can actually freely look around WHILE on four feet.

Our “normal” monkey upright posture is built for freely looking around while on two feet due to the neck connecting under the skull.

Incorporating this in a mere fantasy MMO is GREAT design and all you Charr haters should feel bad. :p
;)

Rauderi.8706:

Hey, it’s not the Charr’s fault they discovered computers. They’re years ahead of natural human evolution.

I sit up or lean back though in my seat. :o

HawkMeister.4758:

NO.

Simply because the Charr already have the perfect and anatomically correct posture for a quadruped that can also walk upright, if need be.

There already was this thread where somebody explained it.
It´s got to do with the connection of the neck to the skull and Charr have it more in the back of the skull, so they can actually freely look around WHILE on four feet.

Our “normal” monkey upright posture is built for freely looking around while on two feet due to the neck connecting under the skull.

Incorporating this in a mere fantasy MMO is GREAT design and all you Charr haters should feel bad. :p
;)

The game lore itself says they can stand up.

I’d be down with this.

I don’t play my Charr nearly as much as I’d like to ‘cos I just don’t like how different they are to the Charr I came to know, love and slaughter in Guild Wars.

ArenaNet please.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

HawkMeister.4758:

NO.

Simply because the Charr already have the perfect and anatomically correct posture for a quadruped that can also walk upright, if need be.

There already was this thread where somebody explained it.
It´s got to do with the connection of the neck to the skull and Charr have it more in the back of the skull, so they can actually freely look around WHILE on four feet.

Our “normal” monkey upright posture is built for freely looking around while on two feet due to the neck connecting under the skull.

Incorporating this in a mere fantasy MMO is GREAT design and all you Charr haters should feel bad. :p
;)

The game lore itself says they can stand up.

I think I also remember the lore saying those that stand straight up was a mutation of sorts, the casting charr using some sort of method to manually and permanently straighten their spine, kind of like breast enhancement surgery but the other way.

I could be wrong though. I’m going by what I heard on these forums about charr from the gw1 era.

They might ask, where’s the profit in this?

I’m curious about how many ppl quit the game after rolling a charr and previewing all the armors. Wouldn’t it be profitable to keep those players?

edit: If i could make Charr Chaot-like charrs, i would definitely buy some makeover kits too.

HawkMeister.4758:

NO.

Simply because the Charr already have the perfect and anatomically correct posture for a quadruped that can also walk upright, if need be.

There already was this thread where somebody explained it.
It´s got to do with the connection of the neck to the skull and Charr have it more in the back of the skull, so they can actually freely look around WHILE on four feet.

Our “normal” monkey upright posture is built for freely looking around while on two feet due to the neck connecting under the skull.

Incorporating this in a mere fantasy MMO is GREAT design and all you Charr haters should feel bad. :p
;)

I didn’t buy that explanation.

Charr could look around much better standing upright. Also, it’s much easier to use tools and weapons with hands that are hands and not another set of feet. Another factor, charr already look like a stiff breeze would topple them over when they’re standing on two feet — now add in the weight of gear and armor. Put a big metal helmet on the head at the end of that long drooping (especially on males) neck. Ouch.

Relatively short legs, long arms, forward-leaning posture, long neck… flouncing around swinging, say, a greatsword, and not just any greatsword, but a gigantic GW2 greatsword. It’s a good thing this is all fantasy, because it may (or may not, depending on the viewer) look cool, but it’s impractical as hell.

Most profitable occupation for a charr: chiropractor.

one problem I would see is, lore wise, how would a more bipedal, read humanoid, body structure be of an advantage in battle. Charr as they are now can run on all fours making them very agile. They can still fight while upright giving them the advantage of ebig able to move rapidly into combat. in comparison, a hominid strucactually nowhere near as strong.

If charr got hominid skeletal structures they would be a liability in battle since they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the front liners.
Of course in game mechanics they’re made more or less equal otherwise everyone would play charr for the speed advantage.

The upright charr would basically be a human frame with fur horns and claws. There wouldn’t be anything actually interesting about them.

Remember Pyre!

Tachenon.5270:

I didn’t buy that explanation.

Charr could look around much better standing upright.

Well yeah, Charr can look around somewhat easier when standing upright…but what proof do you have that they can look around easier standing straight upright? When we’re comparing the two (straight to hunched) the two have different necks. Even if one could look around easier than the other, it’s still two different anatomies. Can you prove that the current Charr anatomy, when lined up straight could see around easier? At what cost?

Also, it’s much easier to use tools and weapons with hands that are hands and not another set of feet.

It’s easier to run faster with an extra set of hands than it is with just two feet, not including that it’s easier to bound with digitigrade feet, but I don’t see you commenting on that.

Luckily for you, though, charr don’t have hands that resemble feet. It’s actually an attribute of most felines to have fore paws with individualized toes built for grabbing and clawing at prey which Charr take to the next level with thumbs.

Another factor, charr already look like a stiff breeze would topple them over when they’re standing on two feet — now add in the weight of gear and armor. Put a big metal helmet on the head at the end of that long drooping (especially on males) neck. Ouch.

Are we looking at the same model? The upright standing Charr look like they’d fall over to a stiff breeze. Look at how close their feet are together, practically right under their knees. You try standing on your tip toes and walking/standing around on your tip toes.

Current Charr stance, they are hunched lower to use their various appendages to better balance not to mention their feet are spread apart (almost shoulder length apart) lowering their center of gravity…oh, and if they do fall over, they have hands they can readily rely on for balance, recovery and movement.

Relatively short legs, long arms, forward-leaning posture, long neck… flouncing around swinging, say, a greatsword, and not just any greatsword, but a gigantic GW2 greatsword. It’s a good thing this is all fantasy, because it may (or may not, depending on the viewer) look cool, but it’s impractical as hell.

Do not bring up the size of greatswords. Then you get into the whole mess of how the other races and genders look ridiculous wielding one. It’s not pretty.

But having shorter legs and a forward-leaning posture and broad neck help distinguish them as a race. The above Charr mesmer from GW1 look like a human with a swapped head and feet with a tail attached.

If you want human skin swaps with as little imagination or uniqueness, why not just ask for that instead of going on these round-about rants on the apparent ludicrous structure of the Charr? I mean, it’s one thing to want a certain thing and it’s another to incorrectly criticize something else to get what you want.

Take a look at who stands upright.

Shamans.

Now look at the gw2 shamans. They’re all Flame Legion spellcasters, and they stand upright.

Per lore, the upright standing of charr is not natural, and a practice of the shaman caste.

It was established in lore that the reason why they are hunched over was due to their bone structure and their center of gravity. Said lore came from the same interview that revealed why charr have four ears, iirc.

Their physical appearance does result in some poor armor, but this is due to the fact that all non-cultural armor is designed for humans and just stretched/shrunk non-proportionally for the other races. If armor is the issue, request for better armor designing for charr.

this… would fix… EVERYTHING

Flame Legion were the only Charr that stood upright. Class dismissed.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Take a look at who stands upright.

Shamans.

Not every Charr standing upright is a Shaman. Four of seven Charr in Pyre’s own Warband were upright standing Charr.
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Fierce_Warband

In the cinematic after the defeat of Hirophant Burstsoul, which unless I’m mistaken is the main blow in the revolution against the Shamen, most of the Charr cheering on Pyre’s victory are upright standing Charr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSzTYe-AOII&feature=player_detailpage#t=1751

Demonstratively from GW1, upright standing Charr are not shamen, even though shamen might stand upright. It’s like squares and rectangles: a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square.

Surbrus.6942:

In the cinematic after the defeat of Hirophant Burstsoul, which unless I’m mistaken is the main blow in the revolution against the Shamen, most of the Charr cheering on Pyre’s victory are upright standing Charr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSzTYe-AOII&feature=player_detailpage#t=1751

Demonstratively from GW1, upright standing Charr are not shamen, even though shamen might stand upright. It’s like squares and rectangles: a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square.

I see about half and half there. Half standing upright, half hunched. But yeah, I agree that it’s not just the charr shamans who were standing upright. It was casters, in general, who stood upright.

Having Charr hunched is one of the reasons I can’t get myself to play that race. Really having them upright when relaxed and hunched when running/fighting I wouldn’t mind.

They are willing to put female Charrs in human sexy dresses now with a corset style bodice and off the shoulder straps when, to me, that is against lore. If they are willing to do that, then they can stretch the lore a bit to bring back something that was in Guild Wars 1.

If this is possible then something from the original game is also possible.