Guild Wars 2

The game takes place 250 years after the first. Yet there is little lore around for the players to find. Orr is in ruin, the dragons are waking up and stuff got real! Ok, well I’m not looking for any spoilers to the story but I would like to find things in the game that are truly old that give a little lore to the game. I don’t want a few NPC’s and bits of info dropped form the personal story and that’s it.

I would love to see some explorable ruins with old books, journals, tomes and scrolls that the player can pick up and read (not in NPC conversation UI either) and learn a little about the past and the lore and what happened here. These things should tie in with possible upcoming content – the soon to be released and the still very far off releases.

250 years… where’s the lore? Ruins under water and Orr should not be all there is. There could be events where excavation teams uncover an old ruin under ground and change the look of a map forever.

1. There are books. For example run around the fields of ruin. There’s even an achievements for finding and reading them all in 24 hours.
2. If you don’t see the lore then you haven’t been listening to NPCs.

This should probably be under the Lore section, but may as well answer.

There are books, as said, but they’re often very brief and don’t always provide much.
The majority of the lore is out in events and listening in to ambient dialogue. It’s a mixed bag like anything else.

The personal stories are along the same lines, really.

As in the past, it seems, much of the more interesting stuff you’ll find out in the world and in some of the explorer paths of dungeons, but it can be trying at times to find the really good stuff.

Honestly, if you’re into lore, this game is okay but sits on somewhat shaky ground. I’d be more inclined to advise looking into the Elder Scrolls series going from Morrowind onward, Dishonored, a bit of Fallout, and so on. They have much deeper backstories going for them, and sometimes even really decent humor that manages to fit in. Bioshock also fits in amongst them, albeit less so with the humor, and if you can tolerate space soap operas, Mass Effect is supposedly decent.

Not to rag on GW2’s lore too much, but it shows the constraints of trying to build a rich world on the foundations of an online game. The methods of presentation suffer from the need to develop so many other systems to provide players a variety of activities to engage in (PvE, crafting, trading, WvW, PvP, etc.). It’s kind of a shame considering there are some spots that really show potential.

Lots of lore is hidden in dialogs you tend to skip, there is also a massive amount of lore to be found on GW2W which you should always take with a pinch of salt, since it is not official and everyone tends to write down their thoughts. Also I love reading in the lore section of the forum, we have some really good guys over there that seem to know everything about the GW universe.

The wiki should not be a games source of lore. And yes there are books lying around but as someone else has stated they don’t say much. The conversation that you hear from NPC’s tells a little, at least about the immediate area that you are standing in. My reason for posting this I guess is to address that there is a large gap in the game as far as lore goes and there is a lot of potential to make really interesting stories that can make the game deeper and more interesting.

I am not trying to bag on GW2 or talk it down. I enjoy this game and want to see it do well. It’s only about a year old, I know, but there is still A LOT that can be done with it that would make it better.

The only thing i’ve found that even slightly resembles Guildwars world is under the water in Lions Arch and the monsters, other than that this could change its name and be a whole new game..

Dante.1508:

The only thing i’ve found that even slightly resembles Guildwars world is under the water in Lions Arch and the monsters, other than that this could change its name and be a whole new game..

So you didn’t pay attention at all There is lots of stuff from GW1 to be found in GW2.

You should read the trilogy that have come out . As for in game stuff its all over the place in Ebonhawke , Divinities Reach,the different orders HQs , and Orr just to name a few places .

I agree in principle for the game’s lore not to be required to be found on the forums, or in the website, or the wiki . . . or books . . .

I think the basics of what’s going on are fairly well covered but historical background isn’t offered in many places outside the Priory members and a few books. Although, talking to NPCs can yield some interesting information from time to time. Especially in areas where original GW1 features can be found, like ruins around Ascalon.

Dante.1508:

The only thing i’ve found that even slightly resembles Guildwars world is under the water in Lions Arch and the monsters, other than that this could change its name and be a whole new game..

This might interest you then: http://zoom.it/TWLx

all the gw1 locations found in gw2.