Guild Wars 2

This thread should be stickied.

Also, posting again to say I’d love to see Cantha again.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9881/cantha.jpg

Look at his avatar-face. Now read his name. Now read the text. Cantha is still up and running otherwise he would say something at past tens or similar.

I think they forgot to delete this character lolo

Rebound.3409:

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9881/cantha.jpg

Look at his avatar-face. Now read his name. Now read the text. Cantha is still up and running otherwise he would say something at past tens or similar.

I think they forgot to delete this character lolo

I’m guessing they forgot to remove this NPC when they blasted the Canthan district out of Divinity Reach and put a big crater in its place. Very very sad though as I, like most in this thread, love the Canthan culture and really wanted to see what happened to the Jade Sea after 250 years.

aspirine.6852:

Oh and if anyone from Anet is still reading this, the city part of Cantha sucked. No other words for it, ugly and repetative. The starter island, the forrest and jade sea however are great. The 2 large dungeons are also top notch.

But maybe I am alone in my view about the city part.

The city would have been a lot better if you weren’t fighting your way every few feet. I would love ta see what they could do with the city in the new game – a whole zone as just one city? That would be awesome.

Jack of Tears.9458:

I would love ta see what they could do with the city in the new game – a whole zone as just one city? That would be awesome.

Yes it would! Or even about five maps that are all city, its own region about the size of GW2 Kryta. This vast urban sprawl always fascinated me in Factions. It was such an amazing departure from your typical fantasy game, but also not urban fantasy in the sense we think of it as in, modern urban world with magic stuff. Such a creative blend…like a martial arts movie with wizards and fantasy creatures. XD

I think with GW2’s Z axis, a lot of the city areas would be much less punishing than in the original game. Also, keep in mind when we first slogged our way through Bukdek Byway and Wajjun Bazaar, we only had henchman. After the introduction of heroes, things did get a bit more sane as far as difficulty went. Until Winds of Change, of course. Haha. Those WoC mobs…. >.<

Rebound.3409:

Cantha is still up and running otherwise he would say something at past tens or similar.

I think they forgot to delete this character lolo

From a lore perspective, that’s quite true. Cantha still exists but is simply cut off from the rest of the world by the continuation of Usoku’s isolationist policies and the small matter of a pesky elder dragon. Somewhere it mentions that Canthan castaways still wash up on Tyrian shores from time to time, proof that Cantha has not simply been wiped off the face of the earth.

I’m so glad NCSoft’s gripe with the architecture of the Canthan district did not lead to them requiring Anet to purge all Canthan characters and other evidence of Cantha’s existence from the game. NPCs like Hao Luen give me hope!

I’d say Cantha is alive and well considering most all humans I’ve seen use the Asian-looking faces, the females anyway.

Well, this was just posted on MMOculture today, ArenaNet is finally getting ready to launch GW2 in China. Apparently, Colin said they plan to support the Chinese version with additional Chinese/Oriental themed art, armor, weapons, and other things.

MMOculture article

While I absolutely think this is awesome news, it actually frustrates me even more that we have no word on Cantha, and that for some dumb unknown reason they’ve decided to basically gut Cantha out of the game for the time being, when all along they could have kept it a part of GW2 and saved a great deal of hassle and disappointment all around.

If ArenaNet already intended to give the Asian releases of the games additional oriental themed stuff, then why in the world did they slash most Canthan references and locations (such as Divinity’s Reach Canthan District, and various NPC’s etc.) It really doesn’t make any sense whatsoever at this point, considering that Canthan content is the perfect marketing point for the Asian releases. Now I’m mad.

The decision to cut off Cantha was made no later than 2007 (listed in Movement of the World), which is probably well before Lion’s Arch was designed and populated with NPCs. I’d say Hao Luen’s dialogue isn’t an accident – he even says “influential in Lion’s Arch society since the city’s founding” which makes it plausible that while originally from Cantha, his family isn’t there any more.

Decisions like these makes you want to seek out the person responsible and inform them that pre-school diploma’s do not give you the neccesary skills to run a gaming company…

That is absolutely kitten guess I’m stuck wearing kittenty coats that make my daggers clip. GG Anet, you’re going downhill. Can’t wait for ESO.

I have a feeling that Cantha will return, but in a good many years, possibly as a grand finale.
Hopefully not though. Like many on here, Cantha brought me into the series and has a special place in my heart of hearts.

Oh my goodness, how have I missed this thread before? I am very bummed about the choice to remove Cantha. I mean, to the point that I’m no longer excited about the first or any expansions.

Cantha means a lot to the GW universe because it was the first added campaign and has so much to do with it’s story. Does this mean we’ll never get to see the Jade Sea in it’s real form? Or revisit my most favorite part in all of GW – the Kurzick’s Echovald Forest? Holy crap. Where do I send an angry letter to?

GW/GW2 are the first games I have played where having ANYTHING Asian themed is a problem. I can think of a lot of other games that have such themes. Hello, the WoW expansion Mists of Pandaria? I don’t even play WoW and I know that has Asian themes and I know that WoW is played in China. I was an EQ2 player and we had a race of Pandas called the “Hua Mein” which were heavily Asian themed.

Heck, even the Kodan in GW2 have Asian undertones. Just look at their architectural designs. Couldn’t the design of Cantha look a little bit like the Kodan buildings? A lot could have changed in 250 years. Could we get Cantha back with some creative art changes? GW/GW2 has some of the best artists I have seen. I’m sure they could come up with some way to make it more “universal”.

I can’t get over the fact they’re perfectly willing to go with the Asian thing for their releases in Asia, but for still think it makes sense to not add more Canthan content to GW2? And if Oriental art was ever a problem, they’re able to give them exclusive armor skins (probably gem store, or something), and other Asian influenced in-game stuff but we can’t have it? What about everyone in NA/EU that are Asian? I get doing it when you’re going to launch in the region, but I don’t get leaving the rest of us out of it & not using Cantha as the launching pad for those things. I’m not saying they should wait for a Cantha expansion, but they could do an update that adds more stuff relating to Cantha in general…I just don’t get it, and honestly it makes me angry towards them.

Kurojin.3495:

Can’t wait for ESO.

Too bad judging by the 25 minutes leaked footage that game is heading toward a SW:TOR leveling of disaster.

Lévis.5489:

Kurojin.3495:

Can’t wait for ESO.

Too bad judging by the 25 minutes leaked footage that game is heading toward a SW:TOR leveling of disaster.

Not to mention it’s the same old dark ages euro fantasy again. Kind of over that type of thing, I get that’s what ES is as a franchise, but I’m bored of that. WTB more cultural diversity in MMO’s. Cantha is a good start

I’ve been watching this thread for awhile and I have to say I am going to miss Cantha. I also have to keep this thread on the front page.

So I wonder if there are any picture from the chinese beta, I kinda want to see what is different and why they thought it was a brilliant idea to make this chinese only.

I am signing here to state that I would want Cantha to make a return despite the reservations certain people may have in this regard. I realise that Guild Wars 2 went into closed beta in China less than a week ago and most people involved in the project would rather not to Cantha for fear of implications in the Asian market but I do hope hope the people behind this reconsider. Cantha was a big part of the lore and very important in the grand scheme of things. If you have issues with naming of NPCs or other aspects of design that put the focus group off then consider using the 250 years of isolation as a deus ex machina to change them. Not having Cantha at all would be a bad move and so I hope you make the changes required to release Cantha nonetheless!

dont make the crime of not revisiting cantha …..

ow, but I want the Tengu race!!! and a huge celestial dragon. would be so cool.
I read a long time ago that anet wasnt allowed to make asian design and/or cantha at all.. I dont remember where though.

IDK if most of you guys noticed, but some of the ascended gear that has been added does come with flavor text referring to Cantha.

So it’s not like they are trying to make it go away and pretend it was never there, the flavor texts themselves suggest that these items where actually smuggled out of Cantha, that might be a hint.

Personally I would rather see a whole new place, Elona and Cantha are in the south of Tyria, why not go a different direction (literally) in Guild Wars 2?

Dean Calaway.9718:

IDK if most of you guys noticed, but some of the ascended gear that has been added does come with flavor text referring to Cantha.

So it’s not like they are trying to make it go away and pretend it was never there, the flavor texts themselves suggest that these items where actually smuggled out of Cantha, that might be a hint.

Personally I would rather see a whole new place, Elona and Cantha are in the south of Tyria, why not go a different direction (literally) in Guild Wars 2?

Im with u on the last part but im sure anet really does want to go to cantha but i dont see it happening and dont u remember this http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guild_Wars_Utopia i would love to see them work on the new areas we didnt know about untill gw2 came out. Now NCsoft would look at this topic and all the post and then maybe look at how much money this game is bringing in before it decides to tell anet to go ahead with cantha. Now i do believe anet could do cantha, elona and a brand new continent if they wanted to so all i can say is keep supporting anet in not only this post but in the marketplace as well.

I think that, ultimately, people want this game (GW2) & World (Tyria) to feel like the same world as the 1st game, and feel like the sequel it’s supposed to be by bringing us to the places we love. Yes, new places are massively important as well…But I honestly don’t think that it’s more important than going back to the major places from the 1st game. They can do both, and honestly they are in desperate need of regions that are very, very, very much intact with how they used to be. Cantha is perfect for this, as it’s an ancient region/culture/empire that has seemingly stood the test of time and many other things. It would make the most sense for that than Elona, which would most likely dramatically different than it used to be and we already have that with almost every part of the current game, and it would likely feel far too similar to the story of Orr if they still go with the last thing we knew happened there..Which is also okay, because I suppose they could preserve parts of Elona and change other parts, but over all they really do need a much more present sense of continuity than they currently have.

Cantha, it’s just so much a part of the mythos and lore of Guild Wars as a franchise that has almost no worthwhile reason to be changed too much, and it’s such a work of art. Going back to such an ancient and deeply rich, vibrant, and familiar place where the only changes may be an improved quality of life, and then some other more minor things but mostly maintains very recognizable and fully functioning locations, and could even have new locations in the regions that were wide open valley’s and such…I dunno there’s just so much potential there, and it could satiate the appetite for both new and old. Imagine a town built along the mountains, the villages that have maybe only slightly grown and developed, new towns that never existed before…Maybe regions of Cantha that were never even in the first game…

Also, yeah…Utopia sounded amazing and I would LOVE them to go there with this game at some point as well if they could. That Aztech theme would be pretty exciting

somewhere on those 13 pages there is a developer post… but where?

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

somewhere on those 13 pages there is a developer post… but where?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/How-is-getting-rid-of-Cantha-a-universal-representation-of-humanity/page/2#post1385108

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/How-is-getting-rid-of-Cantha-a-universal-representation-of-humanity/page/4#post1395531

Even if Cantha does not return I hope they bring forth some Cantha inspired gear.

scizwig.5492
have to commend you for posting this thread and making us aware of this. I have to say i would shell out full game price $$ without a second thought if anet was to release cantha in the coming months.
I played Gw1 three months after it first launched till the end and loved every aspect of it, sure part of each campaign had its quarks but which game is absolutely perfect?
Was it amazing? heck yes!
Along with Cantha, i also really hope UW and Fow is somewhere in the making since those were 2 areas that were also amazing.

Avatar Rage.4369:

Even if Cantha does not return I hope they bring forth some Cantha inspired gear.

Canthan inspired gear would also be very welcome. With the impending release of the game in China, this is a perfect opportunity for such a thing. So far, the most oriental themed looking outfit is the T3 human cultural (medium) armor set. But according to ArenaNet, there is going to be new armor and weapon skins for China’s release, so hopefully we will get those too.

Aww i cant imagine gw2 without Cantha. Not my favorite expansion, but still such a huge part of Guild Wars. And even if they decide not to release Factions/Cantha, i still wish ritualists make it into the game. To me they just feel so classic. It would be cool to see assasins aswell but i feel that the thief concept is pretty similar. But maybe thats just me.

A few of the classes in GW2 are hybrids of others from the 1st game, and turned into “new” classes for this one. I wish they had gone the assassin route with the thief, myself…but oh well lol. Definitely want the Ritualist back, and if they do that they need to bring it with Cantha!

I will kill myself if I don’t get to visit Cantha in GW2….Suicide as in, in-game ofc

Sorry to disappoint you all.

EDIT: SPELLING ERROR

I never was a big fan of Cantha, but that was mostly due to the weak storyline, and the tight areas cluttered with enemies.

Elona and the Far Shiverpeaks however, I adore. I hope in future expansions we’ll see more of those parts of the world, and also of the crystal desert.

There is a thread on reddit talking about some of the things that will very likely be coming in the future if the dat file is anything to go by.

…one of those things are the dun dun dun Dragon Festival! :P

Kaineng city was huge, when I first played factions I didn’t understand it wasn’t just a zone but a plagued city I was running around in, then the wow factor came. I loved the look and feel, I thought it was great. The first time you leave the city and meet master togo in pongmei valley the scenery was amazing.

I couldn’t have got into GW as much as I did without factions, simply put. I want to meet shiro again and see where in the underworld he’s been rotting away at since the envoys said they prepared a special place for him… must be pretty intense.

The only place I want to visit equally as bad is Elona and ONLY because palawa joko is one of my favorite characters from GW, not because I especially liked Elona that much even though defeating a god was pretty epic. I need Cantha to keep me hooked, no doubt.

We can only hope that Primodus or some other Elder Dragon had their minions level the slums in Kaineng; because that place suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked hard.

And it’s not even that far fetched; place looked like a tipped lantern away from an inferno even centuries ago.

Yeah, the slums are hopefully significantly reduced and a lot more Canthan’s are hopefully doing much better for themselves these days. I hope that they keep that very ancient Asia, and traditional feeling/atmosphere but there’s bound to be some changes somewhere too. Maybe in Kaineng itself, they could keep the upper levels of the city where people congregated the same or very similar, but where the slums used to be it could be totally revamped to be much cleaner and far less suffering & peasants. The isolation should work for their benefit imo..It would be nice to see an iconic and huge place from the 1st game and the lore being mostly in tact and doing well for itself for once, since everywhere else seems to be overrun with doom & gloom so far….

Also, venturing outside of Kaineng City…I would love to see the mountains and valley’s again, the small villages, temples….and maybe even new places in Cantha that we never got to see, or didn’t know ‘existed’ before….There’s so many possibilities that air on the more positive side that are very worth looking into….Of course, everyone has their conflicts and their pressing matters..So seeing what they do story wise is intriguing as well.

When it comes to Elona, I agree we need to go there as well. My only worry has been that it would be too similar to the Orr experience with the whole undead hordes and mass destruction of death and doom. I feel like that theme has exhausted itself a bit.

I’m not too worried about the undead in Elona – in GW1 they were a more ancient breed of dead, and were also quite self-aware. Plus, Palawa Joko is a king and a much more “involved” ruler than Zhaitan is. He has a kingdom, after all. If Elona comes around, I see us facing a more organized version of the undead. Also, mummies.

I would be kinda disappointed if Kaineng’s slums were gone. They weren’t a pleasant place, but they were not meant to be. It’s a dense, urban environment unlike anything else in GW. It would be interesting if some of the maps were stacked on top of each other – we could have the skeevy criminal underworld at the sewer level, the poor above, and the wealthy at the very top.
I would love to see Shing Jea preserved in its former, serene state; an island monastery for young heroes to train in, and as a landing point for foreigners to bypass the security of the mainland.

interpol.2397:

I’m not too worried about the undead in Elona – in GW1 they were a more ancient breed of dead, and were also quite self-aware. Plus, Palawa Joko is a king and a much more “involved” ruler than Zhaitan is. He has a kingdom, after all. If Elona comes around, I see us facing a more organized version of the undead. Also, mummies.

I would be kinda disappointed if Kaineng’s slums were gone. They weren’t a pleasant place, but they were not meant to be. It’s a dense, urban environment unlike anything else in GW. It would be interesting if some of the maps were stacked on top of each other – we could have the skeevy criminal underworld at the sewer level, the poor above, and the wealthy at the very top.
I would love to see Shing Jea preserved in its former, serene state; an island monastery for young heroes to train in, and as a landing point for foreigners to bypass the security of the mainland.

I know, I’m just saying anything to do specifically with undead may feel exhausted right now, that is just my opinion on the one aspect though. I really want to get back there too because there would be so much to do and see, and story wise it could be fantastic.

I think they/we can still have the criminal underworld, and the dense urban environment all over Kaineng City (and maybe some other locations) but it doesn’t have to be overrun with slums to do that. The idea of reducing the poverty/slums comes from not wanting to be offensive or totally insensitive to any situations in the real world that it could be compared to. (I know, that sucks, it’s part of the discussion with Josh Foreman several pages back). But if it comes down to losing the poverty/slums, or not having Cantha at all then I’d rather do away with the slums/poverty lol. And from a lore perspective it draws from the fact that the last we knew, the Ministry of Purity went on a crusade of sorts to reduce crime and poverty all around. Where it went about 50 years after GW1 is a mystery though.

Shanna.4762:

Yeah, the slums are hopefully significantly reduced and a lot more Canthan’s are hopefully doing much better for themselves these days. I hope that they keep that very ancient Asia, and traditional feeling/atmosphere but there’s bound to be some changes somewhere too. Maybe in Kaineng itself, they could keep the upper levels of the city where people congregated the same or very similar, but where the slums used to be it could be totally revamped to be much cleaner and far less suffering & peasants. The isolation should work for their benefit imo..It would be nice to see an iconic and huge place from the 1st game and the lore being mostly in tact and doing well for itself for once, since everywhere else seems to be overrun with doom & gloom so far….

Also, venturing outside of Kaineng City…I would love to see the mountains and valley’s again, the small villages, temples….and maybe even new places in Cantha that we never got to see, or didn’t know ‘existed’ before….There’s so many possibilities that air on the more positive side that are very worth looking into….Of course, everyone has their conflicts and their pressing matters..So seeing what they do story wise is intriguing as well.

When it comes to Elona, I agree we need to go there as well. My only worry has been that it would be too similar to the Orr experience with the whole undead hordes and mass destruction of death and doom. I feel like that theme has exhausted itself a bit.

I posted this about several pages back, but I think what we want to see of Cantha is less poverty stricken and more culturally accurate, like an Asian Divinity’s Reach; with falling petals, people travelling in and out of the city, playful children, shops, mansions, and the usual city hustles. Comapre:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Divinity%27s_Reach_loading_screen.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOVOB9oD97I

Mouhappai.5406:

I posted this about several pages back, but I think what we want to see of Cantha is less poverty stricken and more culturally accurate, like an Asian Divinity’s Reach; with falling petals, people travelling in and out of the city, playful children, shops, mansions, and the usual city hustles. Comapre:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Divinity%27s_Reach_loading_screen.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOVOB9oD97I

Aye, I imagine Cantha could be beautiful now 250 years after the plague. And, your video totally reminded me that Factions had some of the best music.

http://youtu.be/4LtSMlkBAFE?t=26m36s (the best)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LtSMlkBAFE

Mouhappai.5406:

Shanna.4762:

Yeah, the slums are hopefully significantly reduced and a lot more Canthan’s are hopefully doing much better for themselves these days. I hope that they keep that very ancient Asia, and traditional feeling/atmosphere but there’s bound to be some changes somewhere too. Maybe in Kaineng itself, they could keep the upper levels of the city where people congregated the same or very similar, but where the slums used to be it could be totally revamped to be much cleaner and far less suffering & peasants. The isolation should work for their benefit imo..It would be nice to see an iconic and huge place from the 1st game and the lore being mostly in tact and doing well for itself for once, since everywhere else seems to be overrun with doom & gloom so far….

Also, venturing outside of Kaineng City…I would love to see the mountains and valley’s again, the small villages, temples….and maybe even new places in Cantha that we never got to see, or didn’t know ‘existed’ before….There’s so many possibilities that air on the more positive side that are very worth looking into….Of course, everyone has their conflicts and their pressing matters..So seeing what they do story wise is intriguing as well.

When it comes to Elona, I agree we need to go there as well. My only worry has been that it would be too similar to the Orr experience with the whole undead hordes and mass destruction of death and doom. I feel like that theme has exhausted itself a bit.

I posted this about several pages back, but I think what we want to see of Cantha is less poverty stricken and more culturally accurate, like an Asian Divinity’s Reach; with falling petals, people travelling in and out of the city, playful children, shops, mansions, and the usual city hustles. Comapre:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Divinity%27s_Reach_loading_screen.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOVOB9oD97I

Yeah, I think Cantha could capture the hustle & bustle of both urban, and populous farming and trading cities. It could all be so amazing with this engine, btw that music is really nice

A member of our very own community made a song “A Dream of Cantha” for our community several pages back, you should check it out here.

https://soundcloud.com/lzn02/gw2-dream-of-cantha

It’s quite amazing

and after spend sometime reading most of this thread, i only have to say:

i been playing gw1 since PVX beta and still log to see if i have any new present from my birthdays. been playing gw2 since the 1st open beta and the only i have to say, from all the time dealing whit anet they never, never, never, never, never listen customers and careless what we have to say.

So dont waste you time.

whit love kikittener

BTW anet my nick is: kikittener no kikittener. idk what the heck is kikittener always replace my nick

GIVE US CANTHA NCSOFT ! just my statement

LUXON FTW !!!!

Shanna.4762:

I can’t get over the fact they’re perfectly willing to go with the Asian thing for their releases in Asia, but for still think it makes sense to not add more Canthan content to GW2? And if Oriental art was ever a problem, they’re able to give them exclusive armor skins (probably gem store, or something), and other Asian influenced in-game stuff but we can’t have it? What about everyone in NA/EU that are Asian? I get doing it when you’re going to launch in the region, but I don’t get leaving the rest of us out of it & not using Cantha as the launching pad for those things. I’m not saying they should wait for a Cantha expansion, but they could do an update that adds more stuff relating to Cantha in general…I just don’t get it, and honestly it makes me angry towards them.

This is a long thread so I don’t blame people for missing this. However the issue was never that they had Asian themes, the problem was that they mixed a lot of Asian cultures together and presented them as one. This is a sore subject and basically had a very negative reaction (Japanese themes intwined with Korean adding Chinese etc. in the mix). If Cantha did not lump them all in together they would have been fine.

I’m not saying that it makes it as I think it is overreactionary, however I’ve been raised in a much different culture so who says I’m right there…In any case, the example of adding Chinese themed skins and the like is not a problem as long as it doesn’t make the same aforementioned mistake.

I guess I’ll have to go with one of my GW1 guildies on this….

FOR THE TENGU!!!!!!

Definitely would like to see Cantha again.

Bring CANTHA back!

Please PLEASE bring cantha back, everybody and I mean EVERYBODY LOVES Cantha.

Honestly, it was the best guild wars 1 game, and I simply loved the whole continent and the lore. This was also the only game of which I was interested in knowing what happened to it.

Please devs, make an expansion about Cantha!!!!!

I started my Guild Wars experience with Factions. I loved the art style, the music, the story, the lore, the very feeling that the world gived to me. Expecialy i loved both the Jade Sea and the Petrified Forest.

I have so many good memorys of Cantha and the whole Faction expansion. And I hope, i realy do, to see that world that amazed me, what seems ages ago, rebuilded and reshaped in the amazing world that is Guild Wars 2.
Don’t rebuild what was to begin with a very beutiful world in the next game of the series seems a crying shame to me. I’m amazed of what you did with Divinitys Reach, Hoelbrack, Lions Arch and what you’re continuing to do with the whole world. Wow, i even love the art style of Orr!

I can only imagine what beutiful locations you could create in a such lush enviroment like Cantha and how the story could progress now that the Empire has suffered so much.

I seriusly hope that my words, and those of all the people that posted here before and after me, will show the love of the community for that zone and his story.

I was really looking forward to having different cultural areas. Cantha added environmental diversity to GW1, and I’m pretty sure it would be appreciated in GW2.

Well as for me… I can’t imagine Tyria without Cantha. It’s like 1/3 part of whole game so without it world of Guild Wars will be handicapped.

Pleas ANet bring back this beautiful land and fill the collapse made by it in Divinity’s Reach! As you can see there is huge response from the fans so go to NC Soft and tell them: “Cantha will live on!”