Guild Wars 2

I’ve tried really hard to get a Sylvari I like (as much as Norn etc), but there is something wrong with the options and textrues or something in character creation.

I just can’t make one I like a lot. It almost is possible.

I am very surprised they did not update character creation for Sylvari as other people must have noticed this.

I think it’s the base body textures. Some of the overlays help but there is alwys some issue. It could also have something to do with the body shapes, or the clothing (*pukes* at light starter clothing). I’m pretty sure it’s the base textures.

Main thing that bothers me with Sylvari is I can’t bring myself to like a lot of the skin colors because they come with odd facial shading that’s completely different from the skin. Like blue skin of any shade puts purple all over most of the faces and it makes me sad. Gray skin ends up being the option for all of mine. :P

I think this is one of those problems that comes down to personal taste.

Sylvari are my favourite race and I’ve made a lot of them, both male and female. I think the range of options for skin and hair colours especially makes them more interesting than the other races who are limited to shades of cream/grey/brown.

I don’t understand what you mean by problems with the body textures. They are very different from humans but that makes sense because they’re plants, they’re supposed to look like they’re basically trees in human form, completely with bark instead of skin. But again that’s one of the things I like because it makes them more individual and interesting to me.

I really don’t understand what you mean about female sylvari making constant “uhffing” sounds and absolutely disagree that this is their only appeal. I can’t say I ever noticed that but it sounds like something that would annoy me and put me off using them.

If you want to try and persuade Anet to change them I think you need to give more detail on what exactly you don’t like and how you would suggest they fix it. At the moment all I can do is compare your opinion that the base textures are ‘wrong’ to my opinion that they look fantastic and the variety of patterns and colours makes them more interesting than other races and conclude that it’s just different tastes.

As far as I’m aware Anet are not mind readers so I can’t see that they would be able to instantly understand your problem without it being explained, and since they designed the sylvari originally I think it’s safe to assume they are also happy with how they look. Which IMO makes a lot more sense for explaining why they haven’t “fixed” them than assuming they understand why you’re unhappy without being told, agree it’s a problem but are too “arrogant” and “ungrateful” to do anything about it.

Ultimately if their only appeal for you is one of the sounds the females make (made) and you can’t make one that looks good to you then it sounds to me like you just don’t like sylvari.

Which is fine, there’s no reason you have to play one, since race doesn’t make any difference to your character. If you want the achievements from the story you could make one, ignore what they look like (if necessary make them a heavy armour class and keep the gloves and helm on so they’re fully covered) and then delete them when you’re done.

I like the sylvari. I think they’re very interesting and that the OP probably needs to go cool down somewhere at least until he realises that the fact that he doesn’t like something doesn’t mean that the developers are “arrogant”(?) and “ungrateful” (??!?).

Either that or Google those words. Probably both.

Doggie seems to know what I mean…………………but yeah it’s hard to describe. The base textures rather than look like trees……….look like a cross between a corpse and leaves….so :P……….especially around the private parts and along the back and shoulders, for example. Just so many wierd lines.

The appeal was that female sound where they keep getting hit and going oooh ohh oohh oohh ooh like a dozen times every 3 seconds………makes them sound alien like they’ve never felt pain……best thing was removed.

Their skin is a mixture of bark and leaves so they look like what they are.

Also, they don’t have private parts because they’re plants.

wolfie.7296:

Doggie seems to know what I mean…………………but yeah it’s hard to describe. The base textures rather than look like trees……….look like a cross between a corpse and leaves….so :P……….especially around the private parts and along the back and shoulders, for example. Just so many wierd lines.

Their literally made of bark and leaves.
It’s supposed to look like that. I also like the skin texture and find that the Humans could be made better,but that comes down to personal taste.

I agree with this line:

Danikat.8537:

I think this is one of those problems that comes down to personal taste.

It’s all down to taste. Their skin is meant to look like trees, but the corpse bit you may be thinking about could be because the character has to be flexible too (so they can actually be made of bark but can still move and fight!), so the looks reflect that I think.

Sylvari have my far the most handsome faces (for males at least). Only issue i have is that their facial sliders seem to be far less impactful then for let’s say humans or norn.

And as for body – just put some clothing on it. I sure got no complains about my sylvari’s look:

!https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/179217/gw688.jpg!

wolfie.7296:

I’ve tried really hard to get a Sylvari I like (as much as Norn etc), but there is something wrong with the options and textrues or something in character creation.

I just can’t make one I like a lot. It almost is possible.

I am very surprised they did not update character creation for Sylvari as other people must have noticed this.

I think it’s the base body textures. Some of the overlays help but there is alwys some issue. It could also have something to do with the body shapes, or the clothing (pukes at light starter clothing). I’m pretty sure it’s the base textures.

I can see what you mean. When they first released the concept art drawings of the Sylvari race and their lore at the time, I was spellbound and kind of instinctively promised to make my main character a Sylvari when gw2 was released.

I wasn’t surprised or unhappy with the results at character creation, I guess because the game is just so rich in content, but I think the overall ‘look’ of the Sylvari is a bit cartoonish.

That’s in comparison to the concept art. I can’t quite place it, but there’s something about the way they look that makes me take them less seriously – and possibly doesn’t make them sit well in the lore of gw2 as the other races.

I guess I imagined them to be a bit more human-like, taller, and beautiful. A bit more like elves, than actual leaves.

It is just personal preference but I just can’t come to terms with plant people.

Pifil.5193:

Their skin is a mixture of bark and leaves so they look like what they are.

Also, they don’t have private parts because they’re plants.

They do that’s why the area is “covered” with too many lines etc. Plus you could say the same about any anatomical feature. They’re plants so they don’t have eyes, fingers or heads.

Lore-wise, they have everything except the gonads. The pale tree wished sylvari to be able to partake in most things human can…

Ardid.7203:

Lore-wise, they have everything except the gonads. The pale tree wished sylvari to be able to partake in most things human can…

They actually do have sexual organs, and they can have sexual intercourse, they just can’t reproduce.

That is what I said… gonads only are needed to repreduce, not to have fun.

Ardid.7203:

That is what I said… gonads only are needed to repreduce, not to have fun.

This reminds me … there is an NPC somewhere that sneezes then mentions that there must be a cat around which is probably referring to a nearby charr but I haven’t heard anyone complain about pollen yet.

sooo you want to play a sylvari character…but you want it to look like a human?

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

I can see what you mean. When they first released the concept art drawings of the Sylvari race and their lore at the time, I was spellbound and kind of instinctively promised to make my main character a Sylvari when gw2 was released. …. (snip) ….
I guess I imagined them to be a bit more human-like, taller, and beautiful. A bit more like elves, than actual leaves.

On the second part of that extracted quote: They initially were like that, which is what those initial concepts showed. Then ANet decided they didn’t want wood elves, they wanted actual plant people (which still mostly look pretty close to human imo, enough that cosplayers just need some skin paint and applied prosthetics to make convincing sylvari) so they revised the look dramatically. Some of the results are disturbing to my eyes, some too close to mammal, but it’s possible to make ’varis that really do look like bark and leaves shaped into faces without looking too mangy.

On the first part, it tickles me that you have now confirmed you’ve been around this game since vanilla launch despite your recent posts being all surprised at core concepts of game play

Donari.5237:

Cedric Ambidexter.9174:

I can see what you mean. When they first released the concept art drawings of the Sylvari race and their lore at the time, I was spellbound and kind of instinctively promised to make my main character a Sylvari when gw2 was released. …. (snip) ….
I guess I imagined them to be a bit more human-like, taller, and beautiful. A bit more like elves, than actual leaves.

On the second part of that extracted quote: They initially were like that, which is what those initial concepts showed. Then ANet decided they didn’t want wood elves, they wanted actual plant people (which still mostly look pretty close to human imo, enough that cosplayers just need some skin paint and applied prosthetics to make convincing sylvari) so they revised the look dramatically. Some of the results are disturbing to my eyes, some too close to mammal, but it’s possible to make ’varis that really do look like bark and leaves shaped into faces without looking too mangy.

On the first part, it tickles me that you have now confirmed you’ve been around this game since vanilla launch despite your recent posts being all surprised at core concepts of game play

Oh, great catch!

I like my Sylvari. I’m especially fond of their glow. I’m not sure what OP means about their texture being amiss.

Subjective taste and lore ignorance (or interpretation) problem.

Sylvari are fine to me, altough I wish there were more extreme plant-like faces.

Remember that the race’s aesthetic options being unappealing to you does not mean that there is something wrong with them. One of the reasons for there being multiple races is to appeal to the varying tastes of different players.

I have to agree with others…all personal taste…I think my sylvari is beautiful

penelopehannibal.8947:

Ardid.7203:

Lore-wise, they have everything except the gonads. The pale tree wished sylvari to be able to partake in most things human can…

They actually do have sexual organs

And they indecently flaunt them everywhere! Ladies and gentlemen, please cover your flowers. You don’t want us spraying our genetic material all over the place, why do you want special treatment for your pollen!?

Sylvari can be hard to design correctly due to several factors, but the end results you get can be incredible. I play charr and sylvari, and while I love my charr as well I can’t argue that my best looking characters are the sylvari. You can make a sylvari beautiful or disturbingly creepy, and I love that about them.