Guild Wars 2

Trahearne… aka “Tree Dou… kitten” /shakehead

I pose to you all the question “Watch Commander Talon” recently asked (seen below in screenshot). Please ignore Talon’s dumb ways, he got what was coming to him anyway. Just take note of our self proclaimed “leader”, then answer the question: Why should (did) we trust him?

He has big wooden sword and he can summon something 5 elite summons at once.

Nismu.4019:

He has big wooden sword and he can summon something 5 elite summons at once.

But he doesn’t get said sword until later (has to see the Mother Tree /allkindsofwrongthere), nor does he show off his summon skills.

Just look at him, I sure wouldn’t trust him.

the same reason we trusted Kormir ….plot.Oh and so they could steal credit for what we did when they screwed up . Personally i’d never trust a monotone , no way to get a proper read on them .

Well, again, future interactions with Trahearne aside (OMG don’t get me started on his “This won’t end well” and “woe is me” bull!). The screenshot is when you first meet him (when not a tree). And yes, he spent the whole conversation that way, waving his arms and all…

Praise be to Treesus, our lord and savior, who formed the Pact with a little help from his second-in-command (whatever his or her name is) and defeated Zhaitan (and I guess Destiny’s Edge was nearby when it happened along with said second-in-command and four other people but who cares), who obtained the fabled blade Caladbolg and somehow became even more useless in combat with it, who will save the world from the other Elder Dragons so long as the second-in-command still cares when the other five show up.

We do not deserve his grace, and all it cost most of us was the best character in the entire game, Tybalt I will never forget you my dearest friend, I weep every day that we are no longer together but since I didn't see you die and I don't give a single butt about what the Sovereign Eye of Zhaitan says it means you're still alive but like, even if you're not then you will always live on in my heart and in the shrine I made to you in my closet.

Hyena.7963:

We do not deserve his grace, and all it cost most of us was the best character in the entire game, Tybalt I will never forget you my dearest friend, I weep every day that we are no longer together but since I didn't see you die and I don't give a single butt about what the Sovereign Eye of Zhaitan says it means you're still alive but like, even if you're not then you will always live on in my heart and in the shrine I made to you in my closet.

I rezzed Tybalt through the gate. Whyyyyy do they keep telling me he’s dead

Wow, my post got deleted for having a couple all caps words. Anyway:

“Remember, he did all that while talking to the wall!”

Well, i’m fairly sure he left the pact to the second-in-command (The player) but I think the activities of the pact are managed by the XOs of each order, and the player will be occasionally needed to keep them in line. Trahearne will most likely work as an advisor from now on (If even that), since his expertise of Orr was what made him Marshall for the campaign against Zhaitan.

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

Trahearne never wanted to be leader. He originally enters the story as an advisor due to his unparalleled knowledge of Zhaitan, the risen, and necromancy. As the different factions realize they need to band together and elect some one to lead, your character suggests that he take up that position. Although quite reluctant to do so, Trahearne accepts, realizing its something he has to do. Trahearne is someone that all the factions in the game equally respect and trust, so he is used in this manner to sustain the fragile bonding of the new Pact.

Arquin.1349:

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

There weren’t any Risen near the door at all. There was enough time for a full Heroic Final Speech and then a leisurely stroll into doom.

I’d be more concerned with the gigantic rotting dragon beast seeing your ship as it leaves and swooping in to sink it.

Hyena.7963:

Arquin.1349:

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

There weren’t any Risen near the door at all. There was enough time for a full Heroic Final Speech and then a leisurely stroll into doom.

I’d be more concerned with the gigantic rotting dragon beast seeing your ship as it leaves and swooping in to sink it.

Just bad scripting and hole-filled storytelling then.

Arquin.1349:

Hyena.7963:

Arquin.1349:

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

There weren’t any Risen near the door at all. There was enough time for a full Heroic Final Speech and then a leisurely stroll into doom.

I’d be more concerned with the gigantic rotting dragon beast seeing your ship as it leaves and swooping in to sink it.

Just bad scripting and hole-filled storytelling then.

I want my Tybalt back…

lol at the discussion about why and how we go about following him. That made sense to me on my first character (stories completed), other than the fact he seems to appear out of nowhere. It’s like “Claw Island is being attacked!” Go there and find a tree person there for no apparent reason, who suddenly knows all about what’s going on. Really?

Anyway, the point was the screenshot. Apparently people are missing it. Trahearne comes in and says “You have to listen to us!” to the wall. So not only is this guy a pessimist, but he’s blind. He literally ran up to the wall and started having a conversation with it. I guess trees and stones go way back!

Because Arenanet secretly likes veggie tales.

Hyena.7963:

Arquin.1349:

Hyena.7963:

Arquin.1349:

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

There weren’t any Risen near the door at all. There was enough time for a full Heroic Final Speech and then a leisurely stroll into doom.

I’d be more concerned with the gigantic rotting dragon beast seeing your ship as it leaves and swooping in to sink it.

Just bad scripting and hole-filled storytelling then.

I want my Tybalt back…

Me too, broski ;__;

Yes, Trahearne suffers from a severe case of Wesley Crusher syndrome.

There is entirely no reason why the order’s leaders would suddenly decide to put their fate in his hands, despite him showing no leadership qualities or organizational skills at all, other then “the plot dictates”.

Then again, there are a lot of points in this game where the storytelling just plain sucks. All characters across the board basically have no personality at all, there is entirely no development to be found and the horrible, horrible out of place stage-acting doesn’t make it appear any better to say the least. MMO standard these days.

Arquin.1349:

Knote.2904:

I don’t understand why he couldn’t just have came with us as we closed the gate, it’s like he just wanted to die for no reason and pretend it was noble. z.z

Well, imagine it like this. You and few others are escaping a horde of monstrous undead counting in thousands and try to lock them behind a door to buy yourselves an extra minute to run for the ship. If Tybalt had not distracted them, you never would have been able to push the doors shut due to the huge numbers of undead trying to push back.

Distracted them? There was literally like 50 5 feet away from him right as the gate closed and he slowly walked towards them. He just died instantly. Was basically suicide for no reason lol.

Trahearne: As a necromancer he has the power to summon sweet minions. However, he only actually does it in like 1 or 2 missions.

The story in this game is not exactly compelling in general and the good parts end up being short and useless. Trahearne is… just a symptom of that.

LameFox.6349:

The story in this game is not exactly compelling in general and the good parts end up being short and useless. Trahearne is… just a symptom of that.

Exactly. Somehow the game never made me care about people I meet. There is no personal interaction, no dialogue, no background, no nothing. When the game then proceeds to threaten/kill these characters and my character gives a speech how much he cared for them and bemourns their oh so tragic death, it feels just… meh.

There are points in the dialogue that really made me wish for a reply among the lines of

“You know what? No. I honestly don’t really give a kitten. At first I tried to, but then I really don’t. I mean I barely knew her for about 3 days, we were not really close, and to be honest I always found her quite annoying. There were no memorable moments we shared or anything, and now she basically threw her life away for nothing. I guess I should feel sorry for her, but in the grand scheme of things, entire races being threatened by an undead menace and all, I really couldn’t care less. Now move on please.”

Also, there are lots of wasted opportunities for storytelling in the game if you ask me. Think about the home district you never ever return to or care about for example, but I digress.

I have 5 characters. One thing that I’ve noticed in regards to the story is that they use NPCs from the storylines of the races. For instance Professor Gorr will make references too his research but you don’t really know what he’s talking about until you do the Asura storyline revolving around Professor Gorr. If you choose the mirror mission Tegwen mentions having gone in the mirror before but you don’t know what she’s talking about unless you play as a sylvarri and do that story arc.

It does make doing the stories on multiple races much more interesting, but it also makes your initial playthrough a little underwhelming.

I think there’s a few reasons as to why he was chosen to be the leader of the pact. However, I personally think it would have made more sense for him to be an adviser of sorts.

Trahearne is the main guy when it comes to Orr. He’s studied it all his life and he knows more about Zhaitan than anybody else. This makes him an obvious choice when you need information about the undead plague and how to combat it.

Trahearne’s wild hunt is to cleanse Orr. He is destined to cure Orr and make the lands fertile again.

Trahearne is one of the most powerful necromancers in Tyria. He knows the rituals and methods required to fight against Zhaitan.

However, I do not think he should have been made the leader of the pact. His leadership abilities are said to be rather poor and most characters put no real trust in him. He should have been kept to an advising role, if you ask me.

I just don’t understand why they have made the Kormir mistake again. In the Prophecies, we were the main hero. In Factions, we were helping major plot NPC’s (Togo, and to a lesser degree Mhenlo), but still we were on the center stage. In Nightfall, we kept helping Kormir and fixing all her mistakes, so in the end she should get the whole glory and reward. Trahaerne is not so disaster-prone as Kormir, thankfully, but still seems to exist only to steal the spotlight from the player. That is not a good design.

Frankly, i have similar problems with Destiny’s Edge members as well. I just don’t see why there’s so much plot importance on them. I get it that it was supposed to be symbolic, but playing a nanny to a group of angst-filled kids seems to play too much important part of the game.

“What is your story?” the game asks us, and yet soon we are shown, that the story we’re playing is not really ours.

@Astralporing: Plus “Destiny’s Edge” sounds like the name of a really bad Simon Cowell boy band.

Perhaps he finds the wall a more engaging conversational partner than us. Condescending kitten…

Just wanted to mention, when I chose the human/noble/“lost sister” route…after going through all the story and finally finding my sister, I never saw her again after that one meeting in the cave. Looked for her in the home district house Lord Faren inhabits (he sits not on the couch but inside the couch by way of a massive graphical fail, if you’ve ever bothered going back there), and nothing, nada, zip. No sister, no mention of sister. What’s with that?

Trahearne is a manifestation of ArenaNet’s collective subconscious desire to be the star of their own show.

Trahearne is the leader for many reasons. Some of which you only get if you talk to him outside the missions. First, he is the leader of the pale reavers, an elite sylvari special unit who can not be corrupted..ever wonder HOW he got all his knowledge? He also has no allegiance or fealty save his own love for the Pale Tree, so he could combine the strongest 3 factions and all the races together where nobody else could.

tybalt and forgal dont die closing the stupid door..they die buying you time to get to the boat!! Once you get past the gates, there are risen already there, only a few though..there are only a few because Forgal or Tybalt decided that no matter how strong the risen were..they couldnt have you.

Ever notice that whoever your guide is..be it Forgal or Tybalt that they both adore and really like Trahearne? That immediately imo puts that character in good graces with you..if you have built a relation of respect to someone and they show someone else respect and admiration, you will follow suit most of the time. Also..Trahearne doesnt back down an inch..not one kittening inch from the Risen even though he thinks at first there is no hope.

its not the “best” storytelling by any means..its no where near as bad as most people claim it to be. You have to actually pay attention to things outside the cut scenes though to get the full grasp of it.

AcidicVision.5498:

Trahearne is a manifestation of ArenaNet’s collective subconscious desire to be the star of their own show.

LOL, kind of reminds me of when one of my friends in high school would DM our D&D session, and then put “his” character in the campaign that was extremely uber and would just lead our characters around by the nose.

Joking aside though, I really felt that Tybalt was a much better character than Trahearne. Many, many players actually seemed to feel a bond with him, emphathize with him, and enjoy his humor. It would have been amazing if you and Tybalt wound up being the main heros.

i take it that i was the only one to acidentally takl to tree face right before the crown him leader. they only pick him because picking you would make one order above the others. i mean you promoted to second in command instantly and make all the important calls. Hell the only thing tree face does is give it that stupid name and rainbow spin.

Creslin.1758:

AcidicVision.5498:

Trahearne is a manifestation of ArenaNet’s collective subconscious desire to be the star of their own show.

LOL, kind of reminds me of when one of my friends in high school would DM our D&D session, and then put “his” character in the campaign that was extremely uber and would just lead our characters around by the nose.

Joking aside though, I really felt that Tybalt was a much better character than Trahearne. Many, many players actually seemed to feel a bond with him, emphathize with him, and enjoy his humor. It would have been amazing if you and Tybalt wound up being the main heros.

i think they had to make you one of the soldiers..less it really break the entire immersion of Orr, its not great to begin with..it would be worse if you were supposed to be leading the whole thing and nobody was listening to you.

Anet has a grand vision of the story narrative, they want their characters to shine and we the players are just along for the ride. The problem is not a lot of people like that as evidenced by the threads in these official forums, and among others, as well as the blogosphere.

I frankly don’t think the next chapter will be any different, they write these stories well in advance so it’s probably too late to make any real significant changes to the how it’s presented. With the Jormag’s tooth broken by a chosen Norn which is going to be an npc like Trahearne most likely, it’ll be the same with all the other dragons as well. Some npc takes the glory we just stand by the side giving a thumbs up.

I’d be honestly happily amazed if I’m wrong about the story in the coming chapters but I’m not holding my breath.