Guild Wars 2

Pretty late to join the discussion, but better late than never I guess. It would be a bummer if Cantha would never make it into GW2. It’s just part of the world and lore. Plus is there anyone here that doesn’t think the first two expansions will add the GW1 Factions and Nightfall regions? I already think GW2 has lost too many connections to GW1. Entirely new is great and also something the game needs to develop further, but for us GW1 veterans it’s also important to improve the connections to GW1.

deechow.3024:

@ Satzu.1356, if you really want to make the game only Euro-centric I suggest you should make another thread. This is because this is about Cantha (yes it is related but it would not benefit you as much talking here). Make a thread (or join a thread that’s more suitable to your case) and let ArenaNet know that you and (many others?) want Guild Wars 2 to only have Euro-centric themes.

Cantha, is already well established in the first game. This is why Cantha is important to many players. It is not solely on only because it is Asian. If you never played the first game and do not know what Cantha is aside from the fact that it has major Asian influences, please do some research. By the way, all three continents have a mix influences. Also, I do not care about what others game have done, whether they are only Europe themes or not. Those are other games, this is Guild Wars 2. Please don’t expect Guild Wars 2 must follow what other games do as if it is a law. Look at how ArenaNet decide to not have the holy trinity in Guild Wars 2. Sorry to disappoint you, but I think this game is just not for you.

tl;dr feel free to state your ignorance. It just wouldn’t help your case here. You’re better off making another thread (since I believe you are kind of off topic here) or playing another game. The Guild Wars 2 as it is wouldn’t suit your Euro-only theme taste.

I’ve played the first game, as I said that earlier in one of my comments (you probably only read one of them =/ ) and honestly, It was not really connected with the whole game as it was really just an isolated island that you can’t see on the global map and that you can’t access unless you go on a joyful ride on a boat.
Btw, Asian themes are in almost every mmorpg and so ArenaNet is just following the ugly trend.
Oh, and thank you for your suggestion! I will be making a thread soon.

Satzu.1356:

I’ve played the first game, as I said that earlier in one of my comments (you probably only read one of them =/ ) and honestly, It was not really connected with the whole game as it was really just an isolated island that you can’t see on the global map and that you can’t access unless you go on a joyful ride on a boat.
Btw, Asian themes are in almost every mmorpg and so ArenaNet is just following the ugly trend.
Oh, and thank you for your suggestion! I will be making a thread soon.

I think most of us want Cantha back because it was such a big part of the story of Guild Wars, not just because of it’s theme. Cantha is a huge part of Guild Wars, not some unimportant island as you painted it. It’s the starting point for humanity and the only other confirmed place to still have humans. I know you may not feel it’s relevant, but it really is. Even if you don’t like the asian theme doesn’t mean it should be scraped from the story. Many people want to go back. The enormity of this thread should be a good indicator that it’s very popular.

Satzu.1356:

deechow.3024:

@ Satzu.1356, if you really want to make the game only Euro-centric I suggest you should make another thread. This is because this is about Cantha (yes it is related but it would not benefit you as much talking here). Make a thread (or join a thread that’s more suitable to your case) and let ArenaNet know that you and (many others?) want Guild Wars 2 to only have Euro-centric themes.

Cantha, is already well established in the first game. This is why Cantha is important to many players. It is not solely on only because it is Asian. If you never played the first game and do not know what Cantha is aside from the fact that it has major Asian influences, please do some research. By the way, all three continents have a mix influences. Also, I do not care about what others game have done, whether they are only Europe themes or not. Those are other games, this is Guild Wars 2. Please don’t expect Guild Wars 2 must follow what other games do as if it is a law. Look at how ArenaNet decide to not have the holy trinity in Guild Wars 2. Sorry to disappoint you, but I think this game is just not for you.

tl;dr feel free to state your ignorance. It just wouldn’t help your case here. You’re better off making another thread (since I believe you are kind of off topic here) or playing another game. The Guild Wars 2 as it is wouldn’t suit your Euro-only theme taste.

I’ve played the first game, as I said that earlier in one of my comments (you probably only read one of them =/ ) and honestly, It was not really connected with the whole game as it was really just an isolated island that you can’t see on the global map and that you can’t access unless you go on a joyful ride on a boat.
Btw, Asian themes are in almost every mmorpg and so ArenaNet is just following the ugly trend.
Oh, and thank you for your suggestion! I will be making a thread soon.

I read more than one, that’s why I didn’t quote (I did not read the one previous to it). However whether they are following trends or not, what I am saying is that it does not dictate that ArenaNet must keep the game to just one theme. They do have their creative freedom. Also, compared to other games they have done it more well (I do think it’s not done well in this Guild Wars 2 however). Also there is no global map in the first game. I also want to note that the original Kryta did not scream Europe to me, neither did Orr/Crystal Dessert. The first game screamed world tour to me. Factions for some reason did not (even though it essentially is). Regardless, if Cantha and Elona was not included, it does feels out of place now.

Good luck with your thread. My biggest concern about Cantha is the well established lore especially created by Winds of Change. I really would love to know more of the fate of the White Mantle and Mhenlo as well. Guild Wars Beyond was done very well, story wise. Cantha just happened to be Asian theme. If it was not, I still would not care as it was still done nicely. However, I just really condone that they’ve done a nice job and taken it out of the game. It was a huge cliffhanger to me. I just need some closure for it and I’m sure for many others. I personally do not have as much care for Elona as they have not included it in the Guild Wars Beyond giving me less of a relation with it. However, if the actual reason of taking content out is a political reason (especially to do with racism) I just have to frown upon it. We all deserves a better reason for them to do so. If Guild Wars never had anything Asian at all (including all of its expansion), despite my background I would feel adding Asian theme would be weird (as the way you have felt about how Faction was added for the first time. Don’t get me wrong, my initial reaction was o____o but I slowly enjoyed it.)

I just hope you understand the importance of providing closures to the cliffhangers they had created. The cultural theme just happened to there. I guess personally, stating faction as my favourite would be incorrect. Cantha, yes, but for most of the reasoning is due to Guild Wars Beyond. Honestly if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t care if Cantha comes back to Guild Wars 2 as much. If you do agree that the LORE of Cantha (at least in Guild Wars Beyond) is significant to the game (not the theme), then I hope you would want Cantha back too (I noticed other people in this thread had also stated they don’t care what theme it is). It is better to keep it to something that’s still logical of what would happen to Cantha (whether it remains the same theme). Regardless, have fun with your thread.

Just out of curiosity, Satzu, does this mean you do not want a return to Elona as well? Granted, the only real thing with Elonian influences is the Ossan quarter, in the Reach.

I have played gw1 from the very first day it was out, and some of the best and most memorable experiences was in faction. Just this thread alone shows the demand for Cantha’s return! For those that think Cantha have no place in the new GW2 world or need enjoyed faction when playing GW1 “I say good day” (that 70’s show reference). Don’t take Cantha away just because a few people don’t enjoy the content or the theme.

For those who are not interested with what faction has to offer when/if it is brought in to gw2, whether it’s a free expands ion content, don’t play it. If its a paid expansion like faction was in gw1, don’t buy it. There will definitely be enough of a player pool to make Cantha a second Lion Arch if you will.

Many of us got to enjoy Cantha in GW1. Let the new GW2 players that never got the chance to experience it try it out and speak for themselves. If I have to pay for the expansion pack, I will!

[img]http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/thumb/3/30/%22Peasent_Male%22_concept_art.jpg/800px-%22Peasent_Male%22_concept_art.jpg[/img]

Here’s a thing…Since I haven’t seen anybody else post about it (and if there was you can correct me)

After the passing of Emperor Kisu his successor Usoku took the throne. During his reign, He commanded royal guard and defeat the warring Luxon and Kurzick factions. Usoku also unified the Canthan nation behind a strong national identity and began to remove all non-humans from Cantha. Canthans who disagreed with Usoku’s views were forced to leave their homeland for either Tyria or Elona. This including Tangu ended up in Tyira. Taking claim of the Domain of Wind,(an island of the coast of Lion’s Arch in the Sea of Sorrows) They are the most informed of the events that have happened in Cantha. The Domain of Wind although not assessable in Guild Wars 2 can be seen by a gate in Lion’s Arch

An expansion or Campaign with Cantha would tie up the Tangu story line and add the Domain of Wind. Also this could include the underwater Elder Dragon (this dragon is unnamed but is fan-dubed “Bubbles” lol) because Cantha is so close to the waters where it resides. Another idea for a antagonist being Usoku himself and his guards. An endless number of possibilities.

cool little lore history there.

Cantha was horrible. I’m glad it’s gone. I hope it never returns. How can anyone think that place was fun?

Cantha wasn’t bad…. It just wasn’t that great.

But a lot of time has past since the last game. (lore wise) and cantha could be an entire different place right now.

Maybe the jungle has taken over parts of the city. or other things happened.

It’s part of the gw universe and we are eager to know what happened there.

Just stopped by to say I love you, Cantha.

Elbegast.6970:

Cantha was horrible. I’m glad it’s gone. I hope it never returns. How can anyone think that place was fun?

Lot’s of people thought that it was amazing. Mostly from the lore, story, visual, cultural, etc side of things. Josh Foreman commented earlier in the thread about the technical limitations they encountered when building GW1, especially Cantha and how much of what was irritating about Cantha would not be an issue in this game due to the engine and technologies used to build GW2.

It’s cool if you didn’t like it, but please do elaborate on what specifically and why, and how would you change it for this game when/if Cantha is introduced.

Satzu.1356:

deechow.3024:

@ Satzu.1356, if you really want to make the game only Euro-centric I suggest you should make another thread. This is because this is about Cantha (yes it is related but it would not benefit you as much talking here). Make a thread (or join a thread that’s more suitable to your case) and let ArenaNet know that you and (many others?) want Guild Wars 2 to only have Euro-centric themes.

Cantha, is already well established in the first game. This is why Cantha is important to many players. It is not solely on only because it is Asian. If you never played the first game and do not know what Cantha is aside from the fact that it has major Asian influences, please do some research. By the way, all three continents have a mix influences. Also, I do not care about what others game have done, whether they are only Europe themes or not. Those are other games, this is Guild Wars 2. Please don’t expect Guild Wars 2 must follow what other games do as if it is a law. Look at how ArenaNet decide to not have the holy trinity in Guild Wars 2. Sorry to disappoint you, but I think this game is just not for you.

tl;dr feel free to state your ignorance. It just wouldn’t help your case here. You’re better off making another thread (since I believe you are kind of off topic here) or playing another game. The Guild Wars 2 as it is wouldn’t suit your Euro-only theme taste.

I’ve played the first game, as I said that earlier in one of my comments (you probably only read one of them =/ ) and honestly, It was not really connected with the whole game as it was really just an isolated island that you can’t see on the global map and that you can’t access unless you go on a joyful ride on a boat.
Btw, Asian themes are in almost every mmorpg and so ArenaNet is just following the ugly trend.
Oh, and thank you for your suggestion! I will be making a thread soon.

Please stop double or quadruple posting, instead try to reply within one post unless someone else has gone after you. We all get it – for whatever reason, you don’t like Asian themes and you don’t want an iconic part of the GW IP added to this game. It’s okay if you didn’t like Cantha but you are just arguing with people for no other reason than to argue with them as you’ve yet to provide any substantial or constructive response and/or feedback on the issue. The GW IP is multi-cultural, it always has been and always should be. We get that you prefer the norse & european inspirations and want the game to be pigeonholed into that very limited scope. But most people do not appear to want that, and are here to discuss Cantha & what they would like to see with it in this game, and to try to bring attention to the issues we don’t have answers for so far that could potentially prevent it. You obviously didn’t pay attention to GW1 if you played it, though as Cantha was directly connected to the rest of the game and was directly tied into content + story in both Elona & Kryta. It was not just an isolated island, it had islands but mainland Cantha was a continent… And you could see it on the map.

For those of you who haven’t already, check out the recent dev post about the Dragon Bash:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/dragon-bashers-welcome/

There are a few very brief mentions of Cantha—they basically state this is a makeover of the Dragon Festival. :O The article even mentions Kuunavang.

On the one hand, I’m so sad they have to downplay the Canthan lore elements and relegate them to a blog post, rather than in-game elements. On the other hand, I’m happy to see them acknowledge it here and really glad we still get to have our dragon festival, as different as it is. I’m excited for the bash!

If the living story somehow led into the rebuilding of the Canthan quarter in DR I would die happy…. I am fine with an expansion being in GW2’s long-term future, rather than right away, but if we could just have our Canthan quarter back sooner rather than later, that would be very vindicating.

gashu.8275:

I met my husband while playing Minister Cho’s Estate

WOW that’s wonderful. Amazing. Well you definitely have even more reason than most of us to have great memories of Cantha! If anyone wonders if Factions meant something to people, there is the answer.

Even for those of us who did not meet someone as significant as a spouse, the way it brought us together with friends and family has not been forgotten. So many good memories with good people!

I don’t know about you guys but to me The Dragon Bash festival has Cantha all over it, look here: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/dragon-bashers-welcome/

Kuunavang, Shiro and Jade Weapons? Looks promising!

Lady Vireo! Thanks for the update and while I’m sad to see the Canthan origins of Dragon Festival get downplayed, I do understand the change in feelings towards Dragons given the events that have taken place since GW1! Maybe Canthan’s who still reside over there have shifted their views similarly since Zhaitan was the final blow in isolating them from the rest of the world.

Or maybe we will see the rise of a benevolent Dragon in the future? But it does appear that many of the aesthetics of Dragon Bash draw some noticeable degree of Canthan inspiration. I’m frustrated with the whole RNG for weapon skin tickets, I sort of hope they will give 1 ticket away for completing all the events at the end or something because I need at least 1 weapon from this :P

The return of the Canthan district in DR would be amazing, I agree.

The Dragon Bash has me nostalgic for Cantha. No more celestial visits. Here’s to hoping to see Cantha in game.

They skipped out on Canthan New Year this year, it made me sad..

Anyway i’d love to see Cantha again. It’s just downright nostalgic. I remember getting all these cool new skills with the introduction of the Ritualist and finally through Assassin.

Game mechanic wise, I think they can skip out on Ritualists and Assassins. They are very similar to the Thief and Engineer professions. It’s easy to come up with a lore to abolish them since a cultural revolution can easily eliminate the return of the two. Traditions may be great and all, but not every generations would keep it. People can become out of touch with Ritualist practices, especially due to the silence of the Six Gods (since they even stopped sending their avatars – or at least so frequent). Assassins and Thief are obviously similar, although lore can give them new utility skills (or possibly different racial skills perhaps to separate the Canthans and the Tyrians). It’s like how the expansions were done in Guild Wars 1. Utility skills can vary from locations to locations (or expansions to expansions). However I don’t believe the return of the Ritualists and Assassins is a must. Yes it was a Canthan identity in the past, but a new identity can also be created through history. However they can influence new utility skills but not be made as new professions.

To make a note, looking at the real life history of the changes of the appearance of modern cities, 250 years can change a lot – especially with the help of technology. I would really like to see a modern Kaineng (I don’t care if there is still a slum). Like some places can be really clean and other areas are really dirty. Who knows, Cantha can also adapt an environmental friendly law to clean up the city appearance. It would be nice if Cantha (or even due to Kurzicks with their Dredges monorails I’ve seen in Arborstone) to create a transportation model introducing the automobiles (cars essentially but only a rare few and for the wealthy). This would allow the development of actual streets and sidewalks into the scene. Of course, this is just a nice idea I thought of. Especially really nice of an idea if Kaineng became very populated still creating a three layer metropolis. The lower level are the poor, and the upper level are the rich. Kaineng Centre, the equivalent of DR size and the rest of the city alone can become a map as big as Kryta. Then there’s the “Echovald Forest” (quote due to if it’s even a forest or named that anymore) and the “Jade Sea”. Incidents into the game can also includes the conflict of some Kurzicks and Luxon still resisting Cantha even today to preserve their culture (including the defending of the “last house” of Kurzicks and the trying to revive a Luxon tradition Convocation. These can be nice meta-events).

The dredges could been enslaved by either the Canthan (due to Kuzicks treatment with dredges) or even the Warden in Cantha. The dredges there may not had revolted. What if there are SOME Asuran living there, but either 1. in hiding or 2. a minority group for the government to utilizes their technology. Basically, they could be reduced as a second class citizens. Yes, they’ve became xenophobic, but that does not mean everyone had been xenophobic. People could be sheltering them, even as high up as the ministers. It could take them 250 years to revolt (or to start revolting trying to get aid from Tyria where some people then goes off to Cantha to help to get the aid of Kuunavung like their relations with Glint. What better way to know the secrets of the Dragons than from a Dragon? The Kraits could had also went to Cantha (although failed to take over), skirmish to aid their cousins – the Naga to overtake Shing Jea Island and the Jade Sea. The Tengu could have experience an internal problem due to the Destroyers increasing presence.

tl;dr How does a more modern technological advanced Cantha sound? The architect does not have to be very Asian theme. It can look similar to Republic City in The Legend of Korra. War affected Tyria technology, but peace can also allow Cantha rise their technology in another aspect. I am really looking forward to having a metropolis (without a fort) that is so huge that the explorable maps are also nothing but the city itself. How nice does this sound to everyone? Sorry to everyone that wants a forest/jungle to every game, it’s just that as a city boy, I love to see this. I am not the type that likes to always be in the middle of nowhere.

LumAnth.5124:

They skipped out on Canthan New Year this year, it made me sad..

Anyway i’d love to see Cantha again. It’s just downright nostalgic. I remember getting all these cool new skills with the introduction of the Ritualist and finally through Assassin.

they never really celebrated that other than in the factions campaign anyway, seems to be consistent with that

@deechow Interesting ideas! I’ve always been a very strong supporter of Cantha maintaining it’s Asian inspirations, I think that adds a lot to what makes it so special thematically. But I do really like your ideas, maybe somewhere inbetween? I highly doubt that the “old world” would just cease, and that the culture & traditions, & architectural preferences would also simply cease within 250 years. If anything, due to it’s isolation it would be more realistic that it would continue to propagate and be deeper rooted in the newer & younger generations there. Also, a technologically advanced Cantha could be amazing, but imagine if that were an over time thing that we got to see beginning to happen once it opened back up to the rest of the world and we got to be a part of it. So when we get there initially, Kaineng has been dramatically cleaned up, even still maintaining much of it’s old districts but the old run down and horrible places have long since been destroyed, and built ontop of, offering a bit more of a multicultural experience giving Luxons & Kurzicks new districts in the city. And/or maybe some of the more ‘rural’ villages have developed into bigger hubs, and new villages have popped up in the mountains and such. There’s really so much potential and I think your ideas could fit quite nicely in some of it.

I have played GW since Closed Alpha in late 2003/early 2004. According to a chart Gaile Gray posted in the testing forums back then, I have been among the first 300 external alpha testers worldwide.

I was there, when Lion’s Arch was still Hakewood.
I was there, when Confessor Dorian was still Confessor Schessler.
I was there, when guild tabards were replaced by samuarai flags which were then replaced by guild capes.

Yet, whenever I get nostalgic about GW1, my fondest memories are tied to Cantha’s landscape, music, events and factions.
The world map is almost as diverse as Tyria’s, but in my eyes far more interesting (the “ghettos”, snow, green fields, the Jade Sea and — first and foremost — the Echovald Forest).

A considerable part of what fueled my hype during the endless wait for GW2 was the prospect of visiting Cantha with GW2’s engine and a truly open world experience.
In fact, that anticipation still is a driving force behind my motivation to play this game every single day.

To be sure, I do absolutely not miss the new classes (in fact I do not want to see any additional classes in GW2 ever – PvP balance is about as good as it could get in an MMO). I also don’t miss the completely laughable “alliance battles”.

A new continent (yes, that’d be Cantha) with factional open world PvP and real territorial domination of maps/cities/etc., however… now that would be different story entirely.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Simply re-visiting gorgeous Cantha in GW2 would be enough to warm my heart.

Shanna.4762:

@deechow Interesting ideas! I’ve always been a very strong supporter of Cantha maintaining it’s Asian inspirations, I think that adds a lot to what makes it so special thematically. But I do really like your ideas, maybe somewhere inbetween? I highly doubt that the “old world” would just cease, and that the culture & traditions, & architectural preferences would also simply cease within 250 years. If anything, due to it’s isolation it would be more realistic that it would continue to propagate and be deeper rooted in the newer & younger generations there. Also, a technologically advanced Cantha could be amazing, but imagine if that were an over time thing that we got to see beginning to happen once it opened back up to the rest of the world and we got to be a part of it. So when we get there initially, Kaineng has been dramatically cleaned up, even still maintaining much of it’s old districts but the old run down and horrible places have long since been destroyed, and built ontop of, offering a bit more of a multicultural experience giving Luxons & Kurzicks new districts in the city. And/or maybe some of the more ‘rural’ villages have developed into bigger hubs, and new villages have popped up in the mountains and such. There’s really so much potential and I think your ideas could fit quite nicely in some of it.

I’m glad you liked these ideas. It’s really interesting nevertheless to imagine how it would like if it ever comes out. However my regard to Canthan culture is that it’s not entirely disappears but it’s slowly diminishing the old culture into the new culture crafted through technology, the silences of the Six Gods, and society. Ritualist is still viable in some sense, but not in the old spirit turrets system. They can summon ghosts that fight for them (like the mist skins that the Ghost of Ascalon uses but on Canthan etc.) and have ashes or something to change their weapon skills through their utility skills. In addition, they can also who know, dances etc. However, essentially it’s like a mix of necromancer and engineer if it becomes like that. However, if it’s not available to players but to certain npc trying to keep the ritualists practices (whether it’s an enemy or an ally) it would be very cool. Perhaps they can still be very strong at the harvest temple protecting Kuunavung.

Luxon unfortunately never had real town or cities as they are nomads. Even Cavalon in Guild Wars 1 only consists of a nomad settlements that exists once every 10 years that only lasts during the Convocation. Due to Guild Wars 1 game mechanic, a lot of people misunderstood it as a capital city. However yes, it would be really interesting if rural towns/cities were built among there after Cantha settlement merging the Canthan and the Luxon. I can see the Canthan offering protection against the Naga/Kraits.

However appearance wise, I can see a deforested Echovald Forest for some reason. House zu Heltzer can be dismantled by Usoku forces and establish a new capital of the Kurzick territory. Perhaps more to the south, there’s another pale tree, still petrified which is where the Warden lives. Just like how the Jade sea can still be not all water yet, parts of the Echovald Forest can be petrified. Overall, I can see a lot of potential changes to the scenery. The deforestation would also kitten off the Warden in the area.

tl;dr A semi-deforested Echovald Forest where Kurzick architectures lies in the verge of destruction like the destroyed House zu Heltzer where a new Canthan city is built on top. The Jade Sea would experienced a semi-thawed sea where they are forced to defend their land against the Krait/Naga (alliance?) where a possibly city built where Cavalon was held to force the Luxon tribes to stay together. Cavalon was never an actual city so it does not had to be destroyed. Shing Jea would still look semi-rural with a large monastery looking similar to the past. Kaineng would look like a three layer city, where the top floor is more modern with a clean street, cars and sidewalks. The middle floor would look similarly to the old rich districts, and the undercity would look the same as usual – like a slum. Lastly the culture does not have to be completely abolished but diminishing. Harvest temples (or any temples) could possibly still have ritualists (perhaps an npc guild) whether as allies or enemies may still exists summoning ghosts that is similar to the Mist skin (lie the Ghosts of Ascalon). Anyways, Cantha just have so much potential. However, my perspective right now is just very human-centric. :P

I want to throw my hat in for support of Cantha in Guild Wars 2 at some point in the future. Candidly speaking, though Factions was one of the weakest points for the original Guild Wars series back when I played early on, almost a year ago to the day was when I realized why Factions is actually a great place to have.

The main thing I enjoyed about Cantha was that it didn’t necessarily play into the typical Asian tropes and clichés that are shown in most Western games featuring Asiatic cultures or Asian-inspired cultures. One needs to look no further than Mists of Pandaria, where they took every single conceivable Asian trope and stuffed it inside of a game.

While Factions did have its share of clichés (Jade, an emphasis on Dragons, Emperor assassinations in ornate towers, etc.) the execution was pretty spot-on. Nothing felt tacked-on (except for Togo’s speech) and it felt like I was entering a truly foreign culture.

While I’ll always prefer Elona just because I love African/Caribbean cultures more than the played out Asian culture, the fact is that Cantha is pregnant for possible content and some pretty hefty scenarios if the developers do it right. We know Cantha has turned isolationist – somewhat by choice and somewhat by circumstance – and we know that Emperor Usoku has driven out all non-human races from his island.

We’re left with a hotbed of racism, militaristic isolationism, and potentially a Canthan civilization that will march onto the shores of Tyria to wage war. Who knows? My point being, there’s plenty to work with here and it seems petty that we’ll lose something as ripe with opportunity as Cantha because of a blending of architectures.

I think I can speak for almost everyone when I say that if it came down to a watered-down Cantha, visually-speaking, or no Cantha at all then we’d rather take a Cantha that exists, in some form, rather than never having that expansion/patch worked on and implemented ever.

So, with all this said I’ll reiterate my first point: I, and undoubtedly, many others would love to see Cantha make a return to the world of Guild Wars. We want to revisit the now-thawing Jade Sea and the slowly regenerating Echovald Forest. The prospects of massive cities rising high above into the sky, with jumping puzzles utilizing the heavy verticality of Cantha, mixed with a strong plot centered around racist ideologies, militaristic governments, and the potential threat of the DSD all work together to create the makings of an incredibly strong expansion pack.

While I fully expect Elona to be released first (if only because it’s actually ATTACHED to Tyria), I hope that one day, even if it isn’t soon, that we will see Cantha presented to us in all the glory of Guild Wars 2’s revamped engine, complete with jumping and an actual Z-Axis.

Because I hated those kittenin’ ramps all over the place in Kaineng.

I’d love to see cantha again, not sure I’d want the whole kurzick/Luxon lark back in as it’d divide the community, but the areas were interesting and hey, some of it is already in.. (Jade Maw!)

But I’d rather see the paragon class make an appearance instead, loved that thing.

So what about Cantha? Is there any reason to treat it worse than the other continent(Elona)?

I heard months ago NCSoft did not want Cantha because they did not want Asian stuff(aren’t they a Korean publisher and Asians themselves?)

Then I heard about this: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Thank-you-Snowcrash-ANet
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1g0zqb/tc_fireside_chat_with_former_lead_producer_in_la/

A dev said Cantha is “not cut from the game”… so it might return… but still be treated worse than the Elona?

Or are they going to treat Elona and Cantha the same? (like for example if they are not going to give us the whole Cantha and only making a few maps then doing the same for Elona instead of doing the whole Elona and bringing tons of maps and for Cantha only a few).

Personally I think the Asian style is more interesting… and I don’t want Elona that much but I want Cantha. I would only buy an Elona addon it they promised to treat Cantha the same.

Edit: Does anyone know the MMORPG “Vanguard – Saga of Heroes”? Crappy SOE publisher and had been subscription only for a long time… and now that it finally is F2P I don’t want to play it anymore… graphics too old and their F2P model is not that good… also no PvP and focused on PvE…

But that game had awesom music and it had different continents you could explore and 3 different human races. I really liked that… started at the small Asian human continent and was fun to explore the world and see the other continentes there… they had some African/desert style human city and a european middle age like human city as well.

Edit2: So is there any other reason than some Asians that complained? And how are they going to remove Cantha from Guild Wars 1? I mean if people complained it it not enough to only not bring it back in Guild Wars 2 they also would need to remove it from Guild Wars 1 and remove all their(NCSofts) other Asian only grind games from the market.

Or… would be easier: They could just bring it back and fine tune it a bit so Asians are happy… maybe if chinese don’t like how Asians are represented change the NPCs dialogues and the politics at that continent so they are happy again… better than not let us playing that nice Asian styled setting/theme.

Oh, come on! Cantha was my favorite continent, the asian-like was great. Everybody (or at least a big part ) likes the asian stuff… and nowadays more than ever!
That colorfull, sprightly but ancient content (that always the asian culture is) is just a treasure to exploit.
Sincerely, Arceso ~

There’s another thread around here where the previous game designer (now still a dev but working elsewhere on the game) said that Cantha is not out of the game but we’ll just need to wait and see. Hopefully that’s true.

Guild Wars 2 NEEDS Cantha.

I browsed through the last several posts, but didn’t see this :

Straight from the Dev’s mouth this past Sunday –
(Q:) Will we ever be able to go to Cantha?
(A:) (Paraphrasing) Cantha is definitely not cut from the game, you will just have to wait and see.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1g0zqb/tc_fireside_chat_with_former_lead_producer_in_la/

Oh happy day. Rejoice!

Good to see more references to Cantha, though i doubt it will change much at this point one can always hope….

Shing Jea Island is probably the best intro tutorial thingy ive ever played in any game.

The game was simply stunning.

“Btw, Asian themes are in almost every mmorpg and so ArenaNet is just following the ugly trend.”

Aren’t European themes in every mmo? yeah LOTR etc provdes the basis for alot of lore, but these Asian themes are in these games because people find them compelling and the idea of a ‘world’ with one universal culture is very ridiculous.

Besides if Cantha does become released which i hope it does, its notlike you will be forced to play it.

Here’s hoping that with enough people saying they want it (and this thread seems to have already bolstered a heavy amount of support) we’ll see Cantha returned to us one day!! I for one loved the aesthetic and hate to see it stripped from the game.. I’m glad this recent Dragon Bash festival has brought some of that Canthan flare back~

I was really hoping that when they said we’d hear familiar music that it would be the Canthan Login music from Guild Wars 1. So disappointed Bring back Cantha!

You can use this http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Customized_soundtrack to dump the factions music ingame while we wait. Ive got the factions theme on my login screen.

Just gonna pop in to show a Jade Sea-inspired Warcraft 3 that I’ve made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hao3DCgwfzA
I’ve also posted a thread for it in the Fan Generated Content, but I though someone here might be interested in it too.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

I browsed through the last several posts, but didn’t see this :

Straight from the Dev’s mouth this past Sunday –
(Q:) Will we ever be able to go to Cantha?
(A:) (Paraphrasing) Cantha is definitely not cut from the game, you will just have to wait and see.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1g0zqb/tc_fireside_chat_with_former_lead_producer_in_la/

Oh happy day. Rejoice!

OH MY CELESTIALS.

It took a minute for the full meaning of this to sink in.

This means we have gone from, “Probably never” to “Maybe if you ask hard enough” to “Yes, it’s definitely coming back.”

CANTHA THREAD PARTY, RIGHT NOW.

We’ll never know exactly what went on behind the scenes, but it sounds like to me we made a difference!

Okay, I have to stop typing, otherwise the rest of this post will be a wall of ecstatic fandom text and I’ll get infracted for overuse of capslock.

XD XD XD

Is it true that the bigwig at NCSoft who nixed Cantha is no longer there? I really hope so. We don’t need racists like that deciding what is in the game.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

I browsed through the last several posts, but didn’t see this :

Straight from the Dev’s mouth this past Sunday –
(Q:) Will we ever be able to go to Cantha?
(A:) (Paraphrasing) Cantha is definitely not cut from the game, you will just have to wait and see.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1g0zqb/tc_fireside_chat_with_former_lead_producer_in_la/

Oh happy day. Rejoice!

It has to come back, it really was great.

I would assume the only reluctance to implement Cantha would be due to historical numbers being low from Guild Wars 1, but when the main way to get to Cantha was going to Kaineng Center… I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the case that Cantha’s numbers were lower than Elona or Tyria, because Kaineng Center’s layout was super confusing and claustrophobic to me at first.

Just make Kaineng City less of a funnelled maze and it’ll all be good. Shing Jea Island, the Jade Sea, and Echovald forest were great.

Cantha was the best experience I had in Guild Wars 1. You simply cannot leave it out… It’s part of Guild Wars and it shall nor will never go away!

I personally doubt they will ever bring Cantha or Elona back. At this point I don’t even expect to see the Crystal Desert. The devs are taking GW2 in new directions. They have no reason to revisit those lands.

I’m starting to think that Colin is trying to pull one of the greatest MMO pranks in history. Pretend Cantha is gone, and spread rumors that NCSoft forced them to leave out Asian themes. Then, when no one expects… BAM! Cantha expansion.

I’m gonna invest in Gems now before they spike through the roof with Cantha minis and weapon skins.

I really envy you guys who played GW1. I never did – in time I was interested in GW2 (around the time they started pumping up blog posts or so), I was just fed up with hotbar/autoattack combat mechanics and just couldn´t play it…but anyway,that´s not the point.
I love GW lore and world and I always wanted to see Cantha (and Elona too, ofc) on my own eyes so…please, let me

I support Cantha.
:)

You know, with how kitten the Dragon Bash is, i hope that they make a in game joke next year/whever cantha gets in GW2, that they allowed people in just because they dont want to see other people suffer under RNG kitten and bad pvp minigames.

Arenanet probaly doesn’t read this forum post anymore. And what Josh says isn’t that right, NCsoft owns GW2 pretty much, they decide what comes in the gem store and they get the profit, so you are thinking let’s buy something in the Gemstore to help Arenanet to make new cool expansions, than you are wrong. It goes to NCsoft and they probaly spent it on Aion or something like that, but I read somewhere that Arenanet is working on a new expansions, so fingers cross

And every time when I log in, I see or start a conversation about Cantha ( I play on FOE, one of those low servers).

I support Cantha and Elona

I have never played any of the GW1 expansions, I’ve only ever got to play Prophesies saddly. I would love to be taken to that continent with GW2…

I support Cantha and Elona.

I miss Cantha – Factions was the game that got me into Guild Wars in the first place. Not a playthrough goes by without wondering how the rest of Tyria is doing, especially Cantha… And I was really looking forward to seeing Cantha again in Guild Wars 2’s future…

Cantha <3

I don’t really see why they would skip cantha and elona, they’re part of the same world as tyria and surely they can’t have gone unaffected by those events.