Guild Wars 2

Nick.6972:

Is Factions main theme more Chinese, Japanese or Korean sounding, just wondering.

I think you’ve pinned down what NCSoft’s problem is with Cantha

Why isn’t there one of these threads for Elona? Cantha was cool and all, but I really loved Elona.

That said, I just want the map to expand. Be it further in to Tyria (Crystal Desert, deeper into Maguuma, etc), Elona, or Cantha, give me more!

LunaticSerenade.7615:

Why isn’t there one of these threads for Elona? Cantha was cool and all, but I really loved Elona.

That said, I just want the map to expand. Be it further in to Tyria (Crystal Desert, deeper into Maguuma, etc), Elona, or Cantha, give me more!

True enough. Crystal Desert, Ring of Fire, most of the upper third of the map.

I hear rumor that the Maguuma Jungle is the next place the story is going. Perhaps that’s been confirmed somewhere and I don’t know, but just in case I’ll leave it at “rumor.”

Andred.1087:

LunaticSerenade.7615:

Why isn’t there one of these threads for Elona? Cantha was cool and all, but I really loved Elona.

That said, I just want the map to expand. Be it further in to Tyria (Crystal Desert, deeper into Maguuma, etc), Elona, or Cantha, give me more!

True enough. Crystal Desert, Ring of Fire, most of the upper third of the map.

I hear rumor that the Maguuma Jungle is the next place the story is going. Perhaps that’s been confirmed somewhere and I don’t know, but just in case I’ll leave it at “rumor.”

The jungle dragon woke up at the end of the living story so we can only assume that’s where it’s heading. It’d be a bit lame of them to lead up to a dragon awakening over the course of a year and a half only to leave it for something else.

Obsidian.1328:

Ironically, ANet had a rather large exodus of devs in ‘08-’09. Wonder what they were unhappy with…

“their vision for their game”…right. You mean ANet’s vision and game? So glad people like NCSoft call the shots in today’s MMO ‘verse, and no one fathoms questioning that. Someone like Chris Robertson(regardless of what the future holds) should probably be knighted and given some kind of Nobel prize. Because he’s obviously one of the very few with the balls to stand up for his vision.

Not sure that convincing other people to pay to develop his game qualifies him for a prize.

The people standing up for something here are the property owners standing up for their right to do as they will with their property. If someone wants the right to decide what should and should not be done with GW2 all they need to do is buy ANet and the rights to the game away from NCSoft. Until then they own it and get to decide what to do with it.

Yes, because excluding certain parts of the world and have everything look greek/germanic is gonna make the game a lot more universal…..

Riathen.2641:

Those who hold the money get to call the shots. You can’t just say no to those sorts of decisions. It’s how most video game development works.

And people wonder why modern mmo’s have no soul.

Artistic integrity means nothing when the choice is between having your game funded or not. My suggestion to you is to never pursue a job in the video games industry because you’d never be able to find/hold a job with that state of mind. It’s not how things work.

Lol, don’t worry. I may be cynical but I’m not stupid.

Andred.1087:

Nick.6972:

Is Factions main theme more Chinese, Japanese or Korean sounding, just wondering.

I think you’ve pinned down what NCSoft’s problem is with Cantha

The thematic style of Cantha is an amalgamation of many RL “east Asian” cultural styles, those 3 included. Kurzick and Luxon obviously borrow from other areas. The Cantha storyline itself is based off of an old Korean folklore tale.

At any rate, it’s important to note that the GW1 developers went out of their way to not over-emphasize any one RL cultural influence to any single group. So while Cantha is obviously “east Asian” in flavor, it’s considerably harder to pinpoint any particular cultural examples in the game like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. This was done on purpose.

Obsidian.1328:

Andred.1087:

Nick.6972:

Is Factions main theme more Chinese, Japanese or Korean sounding, just wondering.

I think you’ve pinned down what NCSoft’s problem is with Cantha

The thematic style of Cantha is an amalgamation of many RL “east Asian” cultural styles, those 3 included. Kurzick and Luxon obviously borrow from other areas. The Cantha storyline itself is based off of an old Korean folklore tale.

At any rate, it’s important to note that the GW1 developers went out of their way to not over-emphasize any one RL cultural influence to any single group. So while Cantha is obviously “east Asian” in flavor, it’s considerably harder to pinpoint any particular cultural examples in the game like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. This was done on purpose.

Cantha had a lot of love put into its creation. A lot of sensitivity and careful building. That people still aren’t satisfied and feel the need to cry cultural appropriation and the like is downright frustrating.

Besides, as it’s been pointed out, the very dominance of Caucasian features/cultures in Tyria as it stands in the current timeline is considerably unrealistic, given that Ascalon (the Tyrian analogue to western Europe) was blasted out of existence in GW1. The lack of cultural representation in such a light is not only saddening, but even inconsistent with basic lore. Ascalonian or “Caucasian” features, in a lore-accurate Tyria, would be the minority, not the majority.

@Raeysa, I think a lot of the whitewashing comes down to a large majority of the player base being caucasian. Doesn’t mean that they should have done it >.>, but I have a feeling that is what it comes down to. At the end of the day white is so often considered ‘normal’ – obviously thats super problematic.

After over a year and a half of talk, along with a record number of views and replies, I think it’s about time to end the speculations. Can we have an official word if we’ll have hope for a Cantha expansion, or if Cantha is completely out of the question? I believe there’s a point where it’s ok to hope and dream, but we’re approaching the two year mark with no signs of our beloved Asian-themed continent. This issue has become the delicious cookie that our mom says we might get if we’re good, but gives us broccoli instead.

Please Anet, end this madness. If there’s truly no hope, just tell us. We’ll still love you either way.

That’s too bad. I was going to say that the Ancestral Armor people were posting looks great, but no Cantha is a shame….Wish they would do Elona at least if Cantha impossible at this point.

Can we get Cantha now that we have a Chinese audience that will be 2-5x times the size the rest of the world?

Yeah, Marjory implies that the festival is Canthan themed. Speaking with her at the bazaar, she mentions that the Zephyrites’ new stock is similar to items her grandparents passed down. We know that Marjory is of Canthan descent, so put two and two together.

Shew.6827:

Yeah, Marjory implies that the festival is Canthan themed. Speaking with her at the bazaar, she mentions that the Zephyrites’ new stock is similar to items her grandparents passed down. We know that Marjory is of Canthan descent, so put two and two together.

I think Anet wants to return to Cantha, but they can’t make any overt references to Cantha because they still have no real plans to go there yet. We can only hope that one day NCSoft’s desire for money outweighs whatever personal problems they seem to have about Cantha. I see this thread as a means to that end, and I hope it continues to get bumped.

The new Labyrinthine Cliffs is PURE OMYGOFFFSHHHH AWESOMENESS!!!!!! Pardon my temporary brain damage there due to awesome-overload.

Those little floating light boats are just…wow…..gives off that peaceful feeling. Imagine an entire sprawling Canthan city, coupled with serene BGM. I’d freaking stand there for hours just to look around.

Yeah, the new Labyrinthine Cliffs with all the gorgeous, gorgeous decorations… The place only makes me want Cantha more, it would look so amazing. Oh, Cantha. sighs

If we are gonna have a Living World Season 2, can we get a push into other maps and parts of the World. Don’t ignore the lore, its the only thing that still gives me any interest in this game outside wvw, and if WvW dies. so does my interest in GW 2 with out an Expansion of some kind.

Xenon.4537:

Shew.6827:

Yeah, Marjory implies that the festival is Canthan themed. Speaking with her at the bazaar, she mentions that the Zephyrites’ new stock is similar to items her grandparents passed down. We know that Marjory is of Canthan descent, so put two and two together.

I think Anet wants to return to Cantha, but they can’t make any overt references to Cantha because they still have no real plans to go there yet. We can only hope that one day NCSoft’s desire for money outweighs whatever personal problems they seem to have about Cantha. I see this thread as a means to that end, and I hope it continues to get bumped.

Seems like personal problems with eastern culture seem a little irrelevant now that GW2 is released in China and the two main characters have a same-sex relationship :/. But at least they waited till after killing Scarlet so they wouldn’t have to see a kiss by two women.

Still hoping for Cantha through Tengu/Dominion of the Winds!!

When Wildstar starts running, NCsoft will have enough resources to fund the next great project. Lets hope its a new, hyped and promoted content package. Thats the way it works, thats the way GW2 came to be, so lets cross our fingers.

Miroe.2054:

When Wildstar starts running, NCsoft will have enough resources to fund the next great project. Lets hope its a new, hyped and promoted content package. Thats the way it works, thats the way GW2 came to be, so lets cross our fingers.

I sincerely doubt that GW2 will see any money from WildStar – especially if WS is really popular. If WS is the better money-maker (and 2 days into it WS is already more polished and has more content than GW2 does over 2 years into it, so I suspect WS might be the better money-maker) then I wouldn’t expect at all to see any of that spent on GW2.

If I were NCSoft, and that were the case, I’d focus primarily onb feeding the better game, and hire someone new to manage unscrewing the broken one (perhaps by adding real content like an xpac with Cantha, rather than the current poorly-written temporary swill).

But if they’re going to add Cantha and treat it like they’ve done Tyria, then no thanks. I’d rather remember the old Cantha of GW than see it ruined.

We need new content. The fact that Cantha and Elona have nearly been forgotten is rather disappointing. I used to play this game alot. And I mean Alot. Now, I barely bother to log in and do the dailes and they take what? 30 minutes? 40 max?

It is just two much effort for a game that is slowly falling off my raider.

I haven’t both gems in months, and I doubt I will again if something doesn’t change.

Talyn.3295:

We need new content. The fact that Cantha and Elona have nearly been forgotten is rather disappointing. I used to play this game alot. And I mean Alot. Now, I barely bother to log in and do the dailes and they take what? 30 minutes? 40 max?

It is just two much effort for a game that is slowly falling off my raider.

I haven’t both gems in months, and I doubt I will again if something doesn’t change.

That’s the thing. People (myself) are just starving for anything new. If you zoom out and just kitten lust over all the unexplored and grayed out areas on the continent of Tyria alone and fathom all of the amazing potential for new enemies, mechanics, loot, crafting, AND SO ON, how can you help but not feel engaged after two years without having even been able to set foot into a new part of this world.

Yeah – any expansion would be great!
That said, I’d love going into a different continent just so that we could experience other cultures than just Europe. I think that was one of the reasons I loved Nightfall so much. No other MMO went so deep into an african/arabian world. It was such a breath of fresh air, and it was amazing!

Been like how long now? Two years? A year? I can’t even be bothered to look back through all these pages of people asking for Cantha or Elona to see the last time we got developer feedback.

Same few names appearing on this thread. Same questions. But no answers.

/sigh

Oh well, guess its time to just give up on this.

People are still arguing about this?

Yes, Cantha and Elona would be awesome to have in this game, because they were part of GW1.

However, in the end, it’s ANet’s decision. Whether they decide to use a terrible excuse (Cantha and Elona exploded and were eaten by darkness) or whatever, or maybe they just don’t want to work on those two areas for whatever other reasons, it’s their decision. We have no say over it.

Yeah, we pay for the game, and without us, they wouldn’t exist anymore, but still. We have been complaining for a long time, and still nothing. Just give it up and do something productive.

Maybe someday we’ll get Cantha and Elona. Maybe not. I honestly don’t even care anymore.

After Cantha sank to the bottom of the ocean we started hearing rumors in the former Cantha district of Divinity’s Reach. Before the news could be spread outside the town, a loud rumbling was heard then the ground shook and the whole town was swallowed into a sinkhole. Everyone was killed, the next day the devs woke up and pretended Cantha never existed and this was all a figment of our imagination as was this thread.

AdelaisAer.4109:

I honestly don’t even care anymore.

I think this is a very dark sign of things.

If we don’t get Cantha we riot.

I think it’s possible, tho how do the other 4 races get around there, since last things heard from Cantha, were that it turned somewhat pro-human and drove all non-human races out from there.

But 200-250 years according to lore, is long time and things can also change, even if just little.

General events:

Cantha as a Unified Empire has been at war for nearly all of the 250 years since Guild Wars One. The Undead armies of Palawa Joko have plagued Cantha’s south east for decades.. back and forth fighting has made Cantha a highly militant state. How ever, Things turned in Cantha’s favor in a most unlikly of times. Just 2 years ago, A new Empress takes the throne at a time when Zhatain and Palawa Joko have formed a alliance to conquer Tyria… In a Decissive battle the entire war was flipped on its head.

Battle of Heaven and Earth :

Zhaitan, believing he had broken Tyria.. turned nearly all of his might against the last true power to oppose him. 100s of thousands of undead, 10s of thousands of bone ships. In one massive strike he would crush the Dragon Empire once and for all, with Palawa Joko attacking jointly from the south. A Brilliant and young Carthan general how ever, set a trap.

Zhaitans forces where lured into Narrow straits in the mountains of the black tortoise, A powerful artifact was used and In a single day, Zhaitan had lost more than 8/10ths of his force sent to Cartha. It was called ’ defence of heaven’s gates.

Palawa, in the south landed virtually unopposed. Believing he would fast win the campaign, he split his legions in two sending the mostly living army into the east and the undeded along the coast of the west. But this too was planned by the Brilliant General Zhang, The same artifact that was used against Zhaitan was used against the Undead armies of Palawa in the east… Only just had the news of Zhaitans defeat in the north Reached Palawa when he suddenly found the back of his army broken from the east and his living legions crushed against the shores by a strategy he had planned to use him self.

The War turns :

Zhaitan had underestimated Tyria.. having dedicated more than half of his entire army to the conquest of Cantha… he was startled to find the Pact had unwittingly came at the perfect time.. Zhaitan was out of the war for Cantha at last…. his back broken in Tyria and the pact tightening a noose around his kingdom in Orr.

Palawa how ever… Followed a crushing defeat with a massive blunder. Palwa had discovered their artifact used to defeat both Zhaitan and his forces could not be used again, convincing him self that Cantha was on its heels Pawala Again sent his forces in a massive attack against Cantha, spiting his forces between the mainland’s south where he army still clung desperately to a foot hold and to the Islands of Shing jea.

How ever, the Dragon empire was in the hiegh of a rally. And Palwas attempts to break Cantha in the south failed… even with Canthan defends out numbered 5-to-1 by the undead hordes. The Decisive battle was on the plains of at the foot of Echovald forest. Palawa attempted to win with over whelming numbers in the south and decisive strikes in the north but was defeated totally.

… Now Palawa too had depleted his forces, but secretly had claimed a prize. The brilliant General Zhang that had lead Cantha to victory was slain in battle and his body captured. palawa now faced the possibility of a Canthan attack on his own continent. Zhang resurrected and corrupted to repel his former home land but would soon have other ideas in mind.

Zhang’s corruption

Abandon the dark god was furious with the failures of Palawa Joko… And saw in Zhang an opportunity to replace him. News of Scarlet’s destruction of Lions arch was the first news of Tyria to reach Cantha in decades… but it arrived on the same day as the news that not only had Zhang been corrupted… he has usurped Palawa Joko as the lord of the undead in Elonia.

There is a topic with dev post (red icon) in the front page: The-Cantha-Thread

The Emperor has closed off Cantha to the outside world so we will not see Cantha until the Emperor dies OR all the Elder Dragons are dealt with.

We won’t see Cantha anytime soon.

I’m kind of with Woodenpotatoes on Cantha. He says he is sure Anet will announce an expansion within a year. I’m of the mind that if they don’t announce something by then, I’ll probably quit all together. Literally the only reason to log in after July 1st will be for 2 seconds to unlock each episode every 2 weeks. It remains to be seen whether the episodes will even be worth doing.

Dusty Moon.4382:

The Emperor has closed off Cantha to the outside world so we will not see Cantha until the Emperor dies OR all the Elder Dragons are dealt with.

We won’t see Cantha anytime soon.

Nothing is impossible. It’s fiction after all. They can make up whatever they want.

Certainly an elder dragon could attack Cantha, and Cantha could call for our help. Or a new enemy could take over Cantha and attack us, forcing us to retaliate. The old emperor could simply die and the new one open Cantha for us. An asuran temporal vortex could bend space/time and teleport Cantha on top of Orr and replace it while adding lolipops and rainbows. Anet could literally pull anything out of their bum and make up a reason for us to go to Cantha.

Anet has to actually want to take us to Cantha. I’m not sure why they don’t want to. There’s plenty of overt support from the community for a full fledged expansion. They seem to be on some idealistic crusade to make Living World the “next big thing” in MMOs.

Warning: Rant ahead. Directed at Anet mostly.

I’m sorry, Anet, but the Living World just doesn’t hold a candle to what GW1 had. I’ve recently gone back to work on GWAMM, and I’m still not even 30% of the way done with GW1 after 8 years. I’ve got 8 characters there who are not even close to complete. My main still hasn’t finished hard mode missions. My main hasn’t even fully unlocked all skills or fully specced hero gear with runes, etc. There are countless titles I have yet to finish, ALL of which actually MEAN something in that game.

Contrast with GW2, where I have 7 characters all 80 with full exotic with ascended trinkets, all traits and skills unlocked. I’ve finished the personal story and cleared every dungeon. I have dozens of titles and achievements for which I barely had to lift a finger to earn. They mean almost nothing. In fact that’s the reason I went back to GW1 for GWAMM. It’s one of the only titles in GW2 that actually means something. And it’s meaning is entirely based on a different game. That’s just sad. All of this over the last 2 years, which by the way I earned 90% everything in GW2 within the first year.

So basically there’s roughly 8 times more substance in GW1 than in GW2. After 8 years of GW1 I’m still learning new things about it, and I feel like there’s still way more content ahead of me. In GW2 I feel like I finished it a year ago, and I’ve been waiting for something new ever since.

This was just me sharing my ideas… not expecting it to happen.

Aquarius.7948:

This was just me sharing my ideas… not expecting it to happen.

Yeah… Its good to post ideas, but I think a lot of people are just tired of asking and not receiving. The Cantha Thread has 2234+ replies, 137196+ views, has been consistently bumped to the front page every week since the game launched, and yet Anet doesn’t seem even remotely interested in pursuing it.

Xenon.4537:

Dusty Moon.4382:

The Emperor has closed off Cantha to the outside world so we will not see Cantha until the Emperor dies OR all the Elder Dragons are dealt with.

We won’t see Cantha anytime soon.

Nothing is impossible. It’s fiction after all. They can make up whatever they want.

Certainly an elder dragon could attack Cantha, and Cantha could call for our help. Or a new enemy could take over Cantha and attack us, forcing us to retaliate. The old emperor could simply die and the new one open Cantha for us. An asuran temporal vortex could bend space/time and teleport Cantha on top of Orr and replace it while adding lolipops and rainbows. Anet could literally pull anything out of their bum and make up a reason for us to go to Cantha.

Anet has to actually want to take us to Cantha. I’m not sure why they don’t want to. There’s plenty of overt support from the community for a full fledged expansion. They seem to be on some idealistic crusade to make Living World the “next big thing” in MMOs.

Warning: Rant ahead. Directed at Anet mostly.

I’m sorry, Anet, but the Living World just doesn’t hold a candle to what GW1 had. I’ve recently gone back to work on GWAMM, and I’m still not even 30% of the way done with GW1 after 8 years. I’ve got 8 characters there who are not even close to complete. My main still hasn’t finished hard mode missions. My main hasn’t even fully unlocked all skills or fully specced hero gear with runes, etc. There are countless titles I have yet to finish, ALL of which actually MEAN something in that game.

Contrast with GW2, where I have 7 characters all 80 with full exotic with ascended trinkets, all traits and skills unlocked. I’ve finished the personal story and cleared every dungeon. I have dozens of titles and achievements for which I barely had to lift a finger to earn. They mean almost nothing. In fact that’s the reason I went back to GW1 for GWAMM. It’s one of the only titles in GW2 that actually means something. And it’s meaning is entirely based on a different game. That’s just sad. All of this over the last 2 years, which by the way I earned 90% everything in GW2 within the first year.

So basically there’s roughly 8 times more substance in GW1 than in GW2. After 8 years of GW1 I’m still learning new things about it, and I feel like there’s still way more content ahead of me. In GW2 I feel like I finished it a year ago, and I’ve been waiting for something new ever since.

Have you read the book in the Priory outpost in DR? I don’t think we will go back with that comment.

Here is the comment…..

Smooth Penguin.5294:

If there’s truly no hope, just tell us. We’ll still love you either way.

Speak for yourself :P

I’ve pretty much given up. It seems they’re determined to prevent this game from being fun.

@ Dusty Moon

That’s an interesting find, but again I say nothing is impossible. If you take that book into context, I believe it is meant as exposition to show Cantha’s xenophobia. They perceived a threat and decided the best thing to do was close off their borders and defend themselves. Zhaitan’s naval presence stopped trade, so it wasn’t worth it for Cantha to maintain ties. They are also very far to the south across a vast ocean. Sending aid to fight the dragons isn’t worth it to them. Dragons aren’t attacking Cantha as far as we know. It was hard enough getting people to cooperate right here with the Pact. There’s no good lore-based reason never to return to Cantha. Anything can happen to the lore. See Scarlet as an example.

And if you’re thinking the devs put that book there as a secret message that they actively plan never to release a Cantha expansion, I think you’re seeing things that aren’t there. If it were truly part of Anet’s mission statement to never release Cantha, they would say so. Just like they said they would not add a subscription fee. There’s simply no good reason from a business standpoint to 100% deny potential new revenue from an expansion. And there’s no good game design reason to tease at something that is completely off the table. The very existence of your example suggests Cantha is on Anet’s mind. There are also numerous references to Cantha in recent releases.

Why is everyone obsessed with getting Cantha and Elona opened up for us? IF/When it happens, it will most likely be in the form of an expansion that you’ll have to pay $70 for. We have plenty of map space in Tyria that still needs to be opened up and will probably be opened up for FREE in the form of LS updates. I’d much rather the devs focus on the parts of Tyria not open yet and FIXING the things wrong w/ the game(Rangers not living up to ANet’s discription, pets suck, new trait system driving away players, etc).

Galphar.3901:

Why is everyone obsessed with getting Cantha and Elona opened up for us?

Because we’re hoping for something fun to actually happen. Game’s a bit stale as it is…

Galphar.3901:

Why is everyone obsessed with getting Cantha and Elona opened up for us? IF/When it happens, it will most likely be in the form of an expansion that you’ll have to pay $70 for. We have plenty of map space in Tyria that still needs to be opened up and will probably be opened up for FREE in the form of LS updates. I’d much rather the devs focus on the parts of Tyria not open yet and FIXING the things wrong w/ the game(Rangers not living up to ANet’s discription, pets suck, new trait system driving away players, etc).

Why would it be $70? Unless you’re talking about some sort of limited special edition?

And the LS updates have been underwhelming at best as far as “an expansion’s worth of content” is concerned. We have 1 new zone since launch, and it’s only very recently (over a year since it was added) became fun. If Anet were to add a new zone only once every two years, it would take them decades to release an expansion worth of content. And that’s not counting new races, skills, dungeons, etc.

Season 2 had better be drastically different. Your expectation of free content delivered piecemeal every month hasn’t even come close. The starter zone of Factions was 5x larger with more content than all of the last two years of living world.

We want Cantha!

bump

Y’all noticing there’s been a slight increase in Canthan related items recently? The Assassin outfit.. DEFINITELY the Ancestral outfit.. Belinda’s katana.. and the violins in the new soundtrack sound eerily similar to some of the music from Factions (the low strung violins, almost hum-like). You can hear it towards the beginning of the Dry Top song. Maybe it’s just an odd coincidence as violins are obviously very frequently used in a lot of songs unrelated to Cantha, but it’s definitely a familiar style of sound that was used a lot in Factions. There’s still hope! :P

JustTrogdor.7892:

We…

I want more Tyria, and realistically, the rest of us should, too.

Josh does mention it’s likely years away.

iStoked.4018:

bump

Y’all noticing there’s been a slight increase in Canthan related items recently? The Assassin outfit.. DEFINITELY the Ancestral outfit.. Belinda’s katana.. and the violins in the new soundtrack sound eerily similar to some of the music from Factions (the low strung violins, almost hum-like). You can hear it towards the beginning of the Dry Top song. Maybe it’s just an odd coincidence as violins are obviously very frequently used in a lot of songs unrelated to Cantha, but it’s definitely a familiar style of sound that was used a lot in Factions. There’s still hope! :P

It’s because Arena Net knows people want Cantha, and instead of actually making it, they’re releasing “Cantha” looking gem store items.

It looks like Cantha will have to wait. Maguuma is their focus now.

I have nothing to add,im just writing to keep this tread on first page. Cantha <3