Guild Wars 2

Even if the devs are somehow planning Cantha, they probably wouldn’t say anything about it, especially not here (as much as I’d love more dev comments). I’d say that a fair show of faith if the cultural issue did turn out to be mere rumours would be reinstating the Canthan district in DV, perhaps over time.
(Even if it is still a problem… I just want my Cantha district :| the hole is just too depressing to look at)

I just want to voice my support for bringing back Cantha.

Guild Wars 2 is to me the currently most amazing Fantasy MMORPG out there. I am really enjoying the whole setting and diversity on the Tyrian Continent (and looking forward to explore more of it).
However, I would also like to point out that you can easily avoid issues with the Cantha-Asian-Mix style. Just make it a purely Korean, or purely Japanese design. For one, there is no AAA-Quality MMO in the West with a purely Korean style. Nor is there an AAA-Quality MMO in the West that follows a purely Japanese style (by the heavens would I love to see Samurai and Sohei things that are not blemished by a horrible Anime style). You get a real chance here to bring something that is not (yet) on the Market. So turn the unfortunate decision of NCSoft to your advantage and bring something unique that no one else is offering in the AAA-Quality that you can deliver.

Think of what a purely Japanese theme would offer for a Cantha Expansion.
- Sohei Class
- A wide variety of beautiful Japanese Town-Fashion
- Breathtakingly beautiful Samurai style Armour
- The unique Sohei outfits that were used in feudal Japan
- Naginata Weapon
- Bamboo Staff melee weapon
- Katana (of course)
- Bring Kaineng City as a cleaned up and purified Edo-Style city.
- Add a Hanamachi District to the Major City to socialize (mostly desireable for your ever faithful Role-Play-Community (and no I am not asking for a Yoshiwara District))
- You can even add an additional “Slum” District as Edo used to have in the northern outskirts.

In addition of course mix it good with typical Guild Wars 2 style to give it a feel and a look that fits to the whole of the Planet of Tyria.

No one on the Western MMORPG Market has anything like this in AAA-Quality.

Furthermore, Lore wise the change to purely Korean, or purely Japanese would work out just fine. After turning Xenophobic and starting to “purify” Cantha, they could simply have turned all of it to a harmonic style (which follows perfectly the Daoist and Neo-Confucian philosophy anyway – which is in Korea and Japan just as prominent as it is in China).

Problem fixed.

Thank you for reading.

we can blame nc soft ‘s greediness and china’s stupid-ness.

what i gathered is, nc soft wanted to market guild wars 2 in china, but then china disliked the asian themes in guild wars factions so …

yeah, the problem is the mainlanders.

A petition seems redundant since this thread keeps surviving. Just make Cantha and block off all PRC from enjoying it.

djlowballer.7460:

A petition seems redundant since this thread keeps surviving. Just make Cantha and block off all PRC from enjoying it.

not happening since nc soft wants to farm their moolah off them

Neofelis.2856:

So turn the unfortunate decision of NCSoft to your advantage and bring something unique that no one else is offering in the AAA-Quality that you can deliver.

GW2 is not, as a whole, AAA. I can list many areas of the game that are basically still beta quality and rushed.

wolfie.7296:

Neofelis.2856:

So turn the unfortunate decision of NCSoft to your advantage and bring something unique that no one else is offering in the AAA-Quality that you can deliver.

GW2 is not, as a whole, AAA. I can list many areas of the game that are basically still beta quality and rushed.

Like in near every AAA title nowadays – you got a game, you have to download a few GB of patch at the install. Gaming is a business, a serious one. And shareholders don’t like to wait for their profits, so deadlines are rushed.

I want to add a note:

This thread has 23 pages and still going strong with support from players. For a thread to be this large, their is almost no chance that a good portion of ArenaNet employees have not seen this thread. I can understand why they wouldn’t publicly write opinions; but with this thread still being open, you can see where they side as well

Antara.3189:

I want to add a note:

This thread has 23 pages and still going strong with support from players. For a thread to be this large, their is almost no chance that a good portion of ArenaNet employees have not seen this thread. I can understand why they wouldn’t publicly write opinions; but with this thread still being open, you can see where they side as well

Why should they close a topic that is a perfect gathering of a content-wants from community? A customer polls are expensive and here they get it for free.

As for the content adds, i guess it will be a bread and butter of expansion packs (i don’t believe there will be solely one). And this is how I perceive a “missing content” in a sequels in general – it’s hard to develop new content for vanilla sequel, while adding whole franchise’s lore in vanilla sequel as well. Especially when we have precursors like first GW, with a lot of expansions. How much time did they need to release whole GW experience? That’s the exact problem and plausible reason why something is not in the game already

I am about to boil in rage!
The idea of swords, magic, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. truelly belongs to Mideval European Mythology and NOT Asian Mythology.
I do not want to see any more Asian themes or I will scream and quit (just like I did with WoW)

Satzu.1356:

I am about to boil in rage!
The idea of swords, magic, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. truelly belongs to Mideval European Mythology and NOT Asian Mythology.
I do not want to see any more Asian themes or I will scream and quit (just like I did with WoW)

Then you’ll probably just want to quit, because if you’re a western mythology purist you’re going to absolutely loathe this game & the franchise as you do not seem to understand what is about, and therefor why this thread in particular is so massive.

Your logic (if there even is any in that post) is flawed. We live on the same planet as China, Japan, Korea, etc…But NA/EU are western regions, and therefor more deeply saturated in western mythologies. Asia is in the east, and more deeply saturated in eastern & oriental mythologies. Yet we all manage to coexist to some level, in the same world and generally enjoy each other’s different mythologies quite a lot in our respective regions and ultimately they both belong equally as a part of human culture & civilization.

Guild Wars, as an IP, operates in the same way that Tyria is the world, and there are many different cultures and societies within it. Cantha, which is heavily influenced by Asia (literally, Asia, not anime. Asia.) and this makes up the core & foundation of Cantha’s aesthetic, and identity. Just as you have Elona, which is very much influenced by Africa (Egypt included), and India, you’ve got Kryta which is influenced by Mediterranean Europe (Spain & France)..I Could go on but I’m pretty sure I’ve made my point already.

These things are not just ‘artstyles’, these are very much a part of the identity of the game & the world ArenaNet has created. The franchise is not based upon western mythology, and if you’re hoping it would be then you’re really probably playing the wrong game if you don’t want them to venture into other cultural influences, because if they don’t they will be betraying a good 80% of what made this IP so fantastic in the first place, to so many people.

Lastly…Swords & Magic are absolutely very much a part of Asian mythology, probably even more so than Western mythologies in many respects so you’re flat out wrong there. Dwarves & Centaurs also are in many Asian mythologies, their representation is varied from our own, though. So your list of what does and doesn’t belong in which regional mythos is about as incorrect as you could be. But ultimately, it’s not about real world Mythology. It’s about Tyria & Guild Wars. Cantha is Cantha, it’s not China, Japan or Korea. And as it is such a massive part of the identity of “Tyria” as a world, it absolutely belongs in this game just as much as any of the other cultures & regions do.

Shanna.4762:

Satzu.1356:

I am about to boil in rage!
The idea of swords, magic, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. truelly belongs to Mideval European Mythology and NOT Asian Mythology.
I do not want to see any more Asian themes or I will scream and quit (just like I did with WoW)

Then you’ll probably just want to quit, because if you’re a western mythology purist you’re going to absolutely loathe this game & the franchise as you do not seem to understand what is about, and therefor why this thread in particular is so massive.

Your logic (if there even is any in that post) is flawed. We live on the same planet as China, Japan, Korea, etc…But NA/EU are western regions, and therefor more deeply saturated in western mythologies. Asia is in the east, and more deeply saturated in eastern & oriental mythologies. Yet we all manage to coexist to some level, in the same world and generally enjoy each other’s different mythologies quite a lot in our respective regions and ultimately they both belong equally as a part of human culture & civilization.

Guild Wars, as an IP, operates in the same way that Tyria is the world, and there are many different cultures and societies within it. Cantha, which is heavily influenced by Asia (literally, Asia, not anime. Asia.) and this makes up the core & foundation of Cantha’s aesthetic, and identity. Just as you have Elona, which is very much influenced by Africa (Egypt included), and India, you’ve got Kryta which is influenced by Mediterranean Europe (Spain & France)..I Could go on but I’m pretty sure I’ve made my point already.

These things are not just ‘artstyles’, these are very much a part of the identity of the game & the world ArenaNet has created. The franchise is not based upon western mythology, and if you’re hoping it would be then you’re really probably playing the wrong game if you don’t want them to venture into other cultural influences, because if they don’t they will be betraying a good 80% of what made this IP so fantastic in the first place, to so many people.

Lastly…Swords & Magic are absolutely very much a part of Asian mythology, probably even more so than Western mythologies in many respects so you’re flat out wrong there. Dwarves & Centaurs also are in many Asian mythologies, their representation is varied from our own, though. So your list of what does and doesn’t belong in which regional mythos is about as incorrect as you could be. But ultimately, it’s not about real world Mythology. It’s about Tyria & Guild Wars. Cantha is Cantha, it’s not China, Japan or Korea. And as it is such a massive part of the identity of “Tyria” as a world, it absolutely belongs in this game just as much as any of the other cultures & regions do.

For one: the whole idea of fantasy games were purely based off of European Mythology themes. Basicly, off okitteng Arthur and LotR
For two: the Dwarfs are from Germanic Mythology and the Centaurs are from Greek Mythology.

Skryim had very little Asian themes to it and look at how successful they were. I hope The Elder Scrolls Online doesn’t intend to stray away from their greatness.

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Blizzard listened to their fans and ended up turning WoW into a piece of crap.

Satzu.1356:

Skryim had very little Asian themes to it and look at how successful they were. I hope The Elder Scrolls Online doesn’t intend to stray away from their greatness.

the elder scrolls world has influences from all different cultures which includes Asian culture. Skyrim was just one part of the world which happened to be very Nordic/viking influenced.

i for one like to see things that’s not just the same old western fantasy and would love to see Cantha and Elona again and maybe even other parts of the world we’ve never seen before.

Probably too late to turn the train around, but I’m not even sure much of the premise of this thread is true. All that we know is that the Canthan district of Divinity’s Reach was removed because some people complained about it. I’m not sure we know whether it had to be removed or ArenaNet just agreed that it wasn’t up to par and decided to take it out; or whether NCSoft was part of that decision; and we certainly don’t know that there’s an overarching conspiracy by NCSoft to excise anything remotely Asian-themed from the game.

Cantha is probably not being “blocked” for cultural-sensitivity “business reasons”. It probably just hasn’t been made yet because ArenaNet wanted to start on one continent first, and Tyria made the most sense for that. Unless there is actually an anti-Asian business plan (which, as has been explained countless times above, wouldn’t make much sense since other games got away with this kind of content) Cantha isn’t gone forever, we just don’t know when we’ll be back.

I was dissapointed with the lack of oriental themes in gw2

Bring Cantha back!!!!

Sirius.4510:

Probably too late to turn the train around, but I’m not even sure much of the premise of this thread is true. All that we know is that the Canthan district of Divinity’s Reach was removed because some people complained about it. I’m not sure we know whether it had to be removed or ArenaNet just agreed that it wasn’t up to par and decided to take it out; or whether NCSoft was part of that decision; and we certainly don’t know that there’s an overarching conspiracy by NCSoft to excise anything remotely Asian-themed from the game.

Cantha is probably not being “blocked” for cultural-sensitivity “business reasons”. It probably just hasn’t been made yet because ArenaNet wanted to start on one continent first, and Tyria made the most sense for that. Unless there is actually an anti-Asian business plan (which, as has been explained countless times above, wouldn’t make much sense since other games got away with this kind of content) Cantha isn’t gone forever, we just don’t know when we’ll be back.

This thread is really big and no one from the Arena Net staff said a word. A simple Confirmation from ArenaNet (on this thread) that they will add Cantha would be nice, and would appease many.

Satzu.1356:

I am about to boil in rage!
The idea of swords, magic, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. truelly belongs to Mideval European Mythology and NOT Asian Mythology.
I do not want to see any more Asian themes or I will scream and quit (just like I did with WoW)

You have been to the Shiverpeaks? Seen the Kodan boats and Architecture? It’s heavily influenced by Tibetan Architecture, which is obviousely Asian.

Besides, like Shanna said, Guild Wars 2 is supposed to be “multicultural”. Buying and playing Guild Wars 2, and then complaining about an Asian theme in the MMO is like buying and eating an Apple and then complaining that it does not taste like a Banana.

The guild was franchise is all about different cultures. Nightfall was all about African and Middle Eastern culture, Factions was all about Asian cultures. To say you don’t want to see different themes in an MMO entitled Guild Wars is kind of silly.

By the way, gaming in African themed landscapes seems especially rare to me but I love Istan and Kourna. Do any other games have such settings? I applaud Anet for choosing the themes it did.

I would love to go to Cantha again. But honestly, if they were to add more locations as an expansion, they would add locations that are on the current map that we haven’t touched like crystal desert, ring of fire, far shiverpeaks, or maguuma jungle. As far as other continents go, they would probably go with Kourna and Istan (nightfall)because it is part of the same land mass as Tyria(the continent) and Cantha and shing jea are a different continent. Just my thoughts.

I think the first area we will explore in an expansion is the Far Shiverpeaks, then perhaps Elona, then Cantha. That said! I had a fantastic experience with Cantha in GW1 and look forward to it.

I don’t need a whole new Asian-themed continent: I just want to be able to make a character that looks like this:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Kodan_05_concept_art.jpg

If they put a special Cantha gate key at the end of a 100 level dungeon, I’d play it non-stop for days. Or if they made an elite Guild Mission that unlocks it, I’d force my guild to run it until we had access. Even if they put in a “Cantha Gate” in the Gem Store, I’d surely buy it.

Summary – Don’t care how it’s implemented, just do it!

I won’t rest till I have some variation of the most beautiful armor ever made, and by that I’m speaking of samurai armor with a fantasy twist.

Satzu.1356:

Skryim had very little Asian themes to it and look at how successful they were. I hope The Elder Scrolls Online doesn’t intend to stray away from their greatness.

Okay, and that’s because that’s what they went with so far. Guild Wars has never been exclusively western in theme or inspiration. Skyrim/ES franchise is as popular as it is because of the modding community, though. The games themselves are pretty weak when it comes to deep and engaging or traditional RPG ropes. Between the extensive modding capability, and the free roam of a huge world…That’s the draw to that franchise, it’s not because of how “engaging” the games are outside of those aspects..Because (arguably) they’re pretty weak outside of that…Again that’s the decision they’ve made so far and that’s great for them because it’s worked out. I’m sure TESO will be fantastic, and I’m sure I’ll also enjoy that game but it’s comparing apples to oranges when you compare the two. And honestly it’s extremely unimaginative and boring to stick to very specific “safe” cultural inspirations for your entire game.

However, Bethesda did talk about the Asian culture they have had fleshed out in that world a long time ago but it’s never been fully introduced to any of the games because they’ve not visited where they supposedly have it placed in the timeline with any of their games yet. So, you probably will see an Asian culture pop up in TESO eventually, like when they try to launch it in Asia :P. The biggest thing I remember about that dev chat was that they said the Asian themed culture was at one point almost wiped out to a plague. But that’s about all they’ve talked about with it. There are supposedly “easter eggs” scattered around the games that mention that event, though.

So, I don’t really understand why you would even care if there’s Asian themes or not in these games that but a huge emphasis on cultures. If you don’t like Asian/Oriental themes or inspirations then you don’t have to play a character from them, or explore those areas…Your personal preference to stick to western themed regions are just that. YOUR personal preference. And I see no reason why it would bother you at all that other people get what they want when you’re also, and already getting what you want out of it.

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

page 3. yeah open your eyes and close thy mouth.

It’s more than just the Canthan district, by the way. Josh Foreman (A developer) has already made several comments about it and did an interview a while back where he talked a little bit about the issues that arose years ago during “pre-production” so to speak, and the thread name was changed to “The Cantha Thread”, so I’m pretty sure they’re keeping up with the thread when they can…But they may not have anything tangible to say on the issue yet. But I do think it would be awesome for a developer, or someone from ArenaNet to join in a little bit more now that the discussion has been going on for a good while since the last time anyone said anything. Not necessarily with any updates on the issue if they can’t…But just in general maybe

I’ve only read up to page 7 of this thread, might edit this once I’ve read the whole thing, but it seems to me the main arguments AGAINST Cantha are lore- and story-wise, that it wouldn’t work for non-human races and that we have to kill the Dragons first.

First, the former: how is the Dragon Empire gonna stop the Asura from going wherever they want to? There was once a functional Asura Gate right in the middle of Kaineng City. Asura Gate technology has advanced enough that Rata Sum could certainly attempt a remote-fix on the gate, even just opening it up briefly for a small Krewe to go through and set up a more permanent gate (escorting said Krewe would be a great start to the Personal Story in Cantha, hint hint), while holding off the Dragon Empire long enough to bring in the other Orders.

As for the Dragons: The only Dragon in Prophecies was the Oracle Glint. In Factions, we had the Oracle Kuunavang. Glint was the Champion of Kralkatorrik, a massive Elder Dragon of Crystal. Kuunavang? Is basically a long, sinuous, scaly sea-being (I know he’s based off an Eastern dragon, but the fact remains that with that kind of body, he’d do very well underwater). He could VERY easily be the current or ex-Champion of Bubbles.

And Ritualist for a new class wouldn’t work, it’d just be a reskin of Engineers really. Spirits = turrets, Ashes = weapon kits, and their other spells = Gadgets/Elixirs. That being said, I really would love to have a new class (a Medium-Armor-wearing caster is something I’ve wanted ever since I saw the Medium Armor style, even if they need another Heavy Armor class), and a Factions-esque expansion is the best way to introduce that.

Anyways. Those are my thoughts for now, might add or remove some of them once I finish reading the thread.

First edit: the concept art for Factions was absolutely amazing, and my biggest problems with Factions itself was that I couldn’t look as awesome as some of the NPCs. For a game as concept-art focused as GW2 is, ignoring the whole design of Cantha is a pretty massive oversight. Fun anecdote: I almost cried when I found out that Shiro’s Armor in GW2 looks nothing like Shiro’s Armor from GW1. Fun Anecdote #2: I literally cried manly tears when I went to Ebonhawke for the first time, and saw the graves of Gwen and Keiran Thackeray (they were actually the cornerstone for basically ALL of my hero builds, I just loved the pair so much), not to mention Nicholas “the traveler” Sandford and Professor Yakkington (my eyes actually misted up as I was typing this, and I wish I was exaggerating).

THIS is the impact that GW1 has had on your players. We loved it so much that we eagerly grasp at ANYTHING that reminds us of it in the “sequel”. Apart from Thackeray: I like the guy, I understand his point of view, but he made the wrong choice.

To get back to my point for the first edit: Everyone who loved Cantha in GW1 would love to see it back in GW2, it could bring some players to GW2 who didn’t like the direction the game has been going, and since it’d be (probably) a lvl 80 zone, people wouldn’t have to go there unless they wanted to.

Second Edit: Finally read every post for 23 pages :p RE the lack of Dev response, that could be purely because they ARE working on Cantha and don’t want to ruin the surprise. After all, the recent expansions have been moving southwards and seawards, instead of southwards and desertwards. Since the only way to reach Cantha is by sea, and the sea routes have been blocked by Zhaitan, the Karka and various sea monsters… Zhaitan is dead, the Risen are now an unorganized zombie swarm. Lost Shores dealt with the Karka, and we’re headed back to Southsun Cove right now, to clean up the problems there. Once Southsun Cove is cleaned up, what’ll it be? That’s right, a nice port onto the wide open southern ocean. You know, the one that leads to Cantha?

TL;DR – Cantha could very well be the next major content update, and the dev silence on the topic is sorta hinting at that (if they weren’t doing it, there’d probably be a response by now – since they haven’t responded, it’s likely because they’re not allowed to talk about it due to secrecy).

Anyways. I now have to decide which of my chars to delete in order to make way for a Canthan-inspired character. And since one of them is my main, and the other four are all co-op characters… Anyone have a spare character slot they could lend me? ;3

Oh boy do i love how they managed to avoid mentioning cantha completely in the dragon bash page. They only mention ancient Tyrian tradition as most (but not where it is from).

Yeah hurr durr its not like it got any history worth mentioning hurr.

Yeah, wintersday again, a tradition without tradition, so ready up for running services for the asura once again… Oh those fireworks are surely charr made.

Lex.3975:

Sirius.4510:

Probably too late to turn the train around, but I’m not even sure much of the premise of this thread is true. All that we know is that the Canthan district of Divinity’s Reach was removed because some people complained about it. I’m not sure we know whether it had to be removed or ArenaNet just agreed that it wasn’t up to par and decided to take it out; or whether NCSoft was part of that decision; and we certainly don’t know that there’s an overarching conspiracy by NCSoft to excise anything remotely Asian-themed from the game.

Cantha is probably not being “blocked” for cultural-sensitivity “business reasons”. It probably just hasn’t been made yet because ArenaNet wanted to start on one continent first, and Tyria made the most sense for that. Unless there is actually an anti-Asian business plan (which, as has been explained countless times above, wouldn’t make much sense since other games got away with this kind of content) Cantha isn’t gone forever, we just don’t know when we’ll be back.

This thread is really big and no one from the Arena Net staff said a word. A simple Confirmation from ArenaNet (on this thread) that they will add Cantha would be nice, and would appease many.

Actualy one dev. did state that it could had just been one employee from NCSoft who might not even be there now. So that does confirm it was an issue stemming from NCSoft but what we don’t know is who, how, or where the sensitivity came from sparking all of this.

Hello again, I am here to drop by to show my support for Cantha. I’ve been reading every posts from the first page and finally caught up. I am a slow reader ankitten ot much of a forum person so for me to post here means a lot to me. I had made 3 posts earlier (pretty much 1 big post in page 19) about what I think of this. There’s a few comments that I still have on this that I don’t remember seeing anyone stated (or had stated very briefly).

1. I want Cantha! Not Asian theme. I don’t care for the Kodan (although I do love Tengu – especially the ones from Cantha). I want Cantha! The beings living in the south to the Tyrian Continent. I want the humans, the Tengu, the Naga, the Wardens, etc. I want the LORE of it. I can’t help myself, ArenaNet did too good of a job and I know they can make a much better sequel with it. I want other races to acknowledge that there is not only one culture for humans. Acknowledge the Canthan, but also the Kurzicks and the Luxons. Also Elonians are so dry in the game that there’s barely any content (I love Cantha more but still), did we forget about the Istani, Kournan, and Vabbians? It feels rude to be blended into one thing (that is also very Euro-centric so it would be more “universal”) to be considered as human. Although I see why it is like that (for now) due to the Guild Wars 2 launch lore. At least have some Sylvari being very interested in these matter very subtly. It could satisfy me and hopefully many others for awhile. Let the distinction be known.

2. I say what I said above first is because I am starting to believe that ArenaNet are planning on Cantha. The silence about it lately screams secrecy to me (so I will not blame them – I would love them more the day it arrives). I believe AielloA.1629 addressed this at the end of his edit notes a couple of posts ago. If this is true, keep up the good work ArenaNet. Them changing the name of this thread really given me hope. It feels like its their way hinting us of what is happening.

3. I do not think NC Soft wants Cantha out either but my initial reaction was not too well in the matter. I absolutely see no real reason to take out a major content from the game due to “non-unified architectures” representing Cantha. If it was lore then it would make some sense to me. I mean, my first reaction to Faction was that I loved it but the names of the NPC bothered me at times as mixing up the naming system (I believe China and Korea uses the same system but Japan does not, I could be wrong). However that is so minor that I didn’t care for much. Yes, I being of a Chinese descendant would love to see my ancestor culture being represented in a game. I do not care much for the mix of other SIMILAR cultures. Besides, it is Cantha, not those countries. I really hope more is done to this issue than just leaving it blank (really hoping my point #2 is correct.)

4. No, ArenaNet does not have to unlock EVERY PIECE OF TYRIA current map before an expansion. They did not even do that in prophecies or in any map of the first game. There are many parts of the map I would love to travel to but the lore does not bring us there. When Guild Wars 2 was launched after Eye of the North map expansions, there are still A HUGE PORTION of the map that we cannot be ventured. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we should have them unlocked but I do mean that it is not a must. I said why in my previous posts of saying why it would still make sense to go to Cantha before fighting the other ED. I really hope this game is not a world tour (like other mmo where every piece of land is revealed for the sake of revealing). It’s nice to keep some places a mystery. For example I would love to visit the Isles of Janthir (I even join that server because of it – I don’t care much about WvW). I would like to see the home of the Mursaat but there is no real lore of why we should go there and it’s nice to keep my imagination thinking. This same concept is nice for Cantha for now but to me there is an actual lore reason to go there and it’s also a whole continent. There was not much reason for people from prophecies to go to Cantha aside from the excuse of Mhenlo. If that can be done once, what’s stopping ANet creative freedom from thinking of another one.

5. Lastly, I just have to thank Shanna for posting so much here. Honestly, reading every post on this forum taken me long but allowed me to notice that she were one of the reason that kept this thread alive. I do not agree with every post she had made but I do agree with the majority of it (and can see where she’s coming from.) She given a lot of insights on what she thinks and knows of the topic. It hurts me to say that I think she loves Cantha more than I do (I guess I’m not the type that shows it but she clearly demonstrated how she had felt to me). I’m glad to see how many people are still continuing to support Cantha and posting on this thread.

Just my thoughts on what I think no one had mentioned yet.

Satzu.1356:

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Blizzard listened to their fans and ended up turning WoW into a piece of crap.

WOW turned into a piece of crap when BC ended and they began to cater to casuals… end of story.

Camaro Charr.2805:

Satzu.1356:

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Blizzard listened to their fans and ended up turning WoW into a piece of crap.

WOW turned into a piece of crap when BC ended and they began to cater to casuals… end of story.

Oh hey! Think about Nintendo in the 80s/early 90s. Catered to the serious core gamer, then BOOM! this term “Casual” gamer came and nintendo didn’t just include content for them, they DESIGNED content from them, leaving behind the core gamer. But hey guess what, Look where nintendo is now. Sitting behind the other platforms. That’s what’s happens when a company starts cold-shouldering the core gamer who is devoted, for the guy who wants content to be mild/a cakewalk just to feel acomplished at the end of his/her day.

I’m all about including content for Casuals, but you have to keep your core gamers satisified too. Because when “Kittens” hit the fan and your true fans start “arunnin”, they “aint” comin" back.

Satzu.1356:

I am about to boil in rage!
The idea of swords, magic, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. truelly belongs to Mideval European Mythology and NOT Asian Mythology.
I do not want to see any more Asian themes or I will scream and quit (just like I did with WoW)

It’s not about Asian mythology, it’s about an already-established area of the Guild Wars world being removed for external, political reasons.

Satzu.1356:

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Blizzard listened to their fans and ended up turning WoW into a piece of crap.

It was a piece of crap since Cataclysm, anyway.

Satzu.1356:

Nick.6972:

Arena Net still ignoring this thread, as usual they don’t care about their fan base.

Blizzard listened to their fans and ended up turning WoW into a piece of crap.

Except in this case, if the rumors are true, ArenaNet is listening to people who aren’t fans over the people who are fans.

I don’t know the inside story, but as we all know, the rumor is they removed Asian-influences because nationalists were offended. Problem with that logic is do you know ANY Chinese or Korean GAMERS offended by Cantha? The people complaining to NCSoft and ArenaNet are probably just the ultra nationalist activist groups who probably don’t even play video games in the first place.

It’s like trying to make a hamburgur party for PETA. What the hell is ArenaNet doing, catering to nationalists that don’t even play video games in the first place? Are they going to start inviting antisemites to a bar mitzvah next?

Next you know, we will hear about Elona being removed because a group in Saudi Arabia was offended.

miriforst.1290:

Oh boy do i love how they managed to avoid mentioning cantha completely in the dragon bash page. They only mention ancient Tyrian tradition as most (but not where it is from).

Yeah, I am glad for new updates, but am pretty disappointed that there is nothing (so far) mentioned about the actual dragon festival. Not even some small celebration in Divinity’s Reach? Ah, well. I guess there is always RPing for that…

No mention of the actual dragon festival, but did you guys see the Dragon’s Jade shield? Between the use of jade (for the other weapons. Not sure if the shield has any jade in it) and the fact that it uses an eastern dragon as a part of its design, it does have a Canthan-y feel. At least I think so.
Link for reference

Blade Kuroda.1795:

No mention of the actual dragon festival, but did you guys see the Dragon’s Jade shield? Between the use of jade (for the other weapons. Not sure if the shield has any jade in it) and the fact that it uses an eastern dragon as a part of its design, it does have a Canthan-y feel. At least I think so.
Link for reference

This definitely gives me cautious hope for future references to Cantha or a Canthan expansion. Even if it is never explicitly stated, just a few nods to items or events which may have been influenced by Canthan culture are encouraging.

It’s been debated to death here, but I think the issue of asian inspired aesthetics are easily flexible. Cantha itself can be physically altered so that any of the so called ‘offensive’ elements are removed to the approval of NCsoft Korea. Tyria has changed dramatically over 250 years, so why can’t Cantha? I think so long as we retain the primary lore and references to historical events in Canthan history, it should be possible to bring back a new, improved continent for players to explore. Since technological advances are influential in Tyria now, who is to say that there won’t be other Tyrian influences to be found within a Cantha that has opened it’s doors to the world again.

There must be a way to compromise with NCsoft on bringing back Cantha.

Not having Cantha in Guild Wars 2 is like not having the Charr race in Guild Wars 2.

This is an entire continent we’re talking about, an entire continent we didn’t get to explore fully because ArenaNet decided to dedicate their resources to developing Guild Wars 2 instead of expanding further south past the Jade Sea and Echovald Forest.

Not only that, but a continent rich in lore. NCSoft is willing to throw that away because of the opinions of kitten Asians? I’m sorry, but will NCSoft throw away Elona if a bunch of Africans wrote angry letters addressing the African cultures that inspired the creation of the Elonian continent?

I can respect ArenaNet’s decision to not focus on an expansion right now. I’d much rather they fix the current problems Guild Wars 2 has before throwing more into the pile with a new expansion. But all these rumors anger me every time they are brought up in-game through map chat. I HAD to post something in this thread, it’s getting to me.

I hope ArenaNet and NCSoft listen to fans of the first Guild Wars game, instead of hyped up band wagoners who bash on World of Warcraft because of the Pandaren race and give their useless opinions concerning a continent that was part of a campaign they never even played.

King Arthur and Lord of the Rings are the basis of fantasy games.

paperboa.3182:

Satzu.1356:

Skryim had very little Asian themes to it and look at how successful they were. I hope The Elder Scrolls Online doesn’t intend to stray away from their greatness.

the elder scrolls world has influences from all different cultures which includes Asian culture. Skyrim was just one part of the world which happened to be very Nordic/viking influenced.

i for one like to see things that’s not just the same old western fantasy and would love to see Cantha and Elona again and maybe even other parts of the world we’ve never seen before.

The Elders Scrolls world does not have influences from all different cultures…
What mmorpg game just has European fantasy? I don’t see how you are all in awe and amazed at how amazing European Mythology is.

Cristobal.8640:

. . . . .Asian cultures provide some of the most aesthetically (If not the most) interesting architecture, landscapes, clothing… etc.

So yeah, get your crap straight.

I disagree as I find the ancient European mythology theme more attractive and beautiful

cesmode.4257:

I see. Well that stinks. Why stay away from asian style themes? Who cares? Does it offend people? I hope not.

It offends me. =/

Serephen.3420:

Guild Wars is not Guild Wars without Cantha, enough said.

I enjoyed the first Guild Wars without Cantha, tyvm.
It’s just an isolated island way off of Tyria (the official area of GW)
It’s like living in a world for thousands of years and all of a sudden, an island appears and everyone is saying “This world wouldn’t be itself if it wasn’t for this random island!”

Factions was my first expansion to Guild Wars, and really my first online game.

I met my husband while playing Minister Cho’s Estate (my brother introduced us, so I’ll never hear the end of that). We played through the entire campaign together. I still get a nostalgic feeling anytime I take a character to Shing Jea Monestary. The storyline was fun. I loved the missions where two parties would join and eventually help each other. Factions introduced a lot of different PvP matches. You could choose to side with Kurzick or Luxons as a guild and take control of enemy cities. You could also go alone and grief players in Jade Quarry or Fort Aspenwood, my fondest memories of PvP. My guild also loved to run The Deep and Urgoz, a twelve man dungeon where wanding could wipe the party.

Since the Jade Wind had begun to diminish at the end of Factions, I wonder if the Jade Sea is actually more sea than jade now. If Echovald Forest is a little less petrified now. It would be incredible to see those two factions again. If they have unified, if they have kept their cultures in tact, if the Luxons still have Siege Turtles.

The new Dragon Bash Festival really has some Canthan inspiration, which I love. I just wonder if this was content created before Cantha was removed and just renamed. As it has been said, the new weapon skins are made of jade and have dragons that look nothing like the dragons we have seen in-game, but were used a lot for decoration in Factions. (Maybe there is a new dragon that resembles this and we haven’t seen it yet.)
Dragon Ball is Dragon Arena, but is vaguely referenced in origin. My hope is this event is nodding to a future expansion which includes our beloved Cantha and not just a renamed event.

My other concern is the Tengu. I loved them in the first game and the redesign really made them stand on their own as a playable race. Cantha seemed like the most obvious introduction as they were the last race to leave the continent and know more of what is transpiring inside Kaineng City. If Cantha is removed, will this playable race be delayed or perhaps just wishful thinking? I really hope not.

I don’t think any of us here are saying we need Cantha now, but please don’t count it out. You made such a unique continent, and maybe it was the intertwined Asian cultures that made it work. We just hope all of that lore and content isn’t just thrown away.

A lot of us just hope to revisit Noob Island and get lost in Bukdek Byway again.

@ 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.