Guild Wars 2

I will now be dedicating my time to figuring out the Destroyer Scythe. Been hunting down every “hot”, “fiery”, “destroyer”, themed item I can find/know. Hardened destroyer cores, ancient staff components, “lump of primordum”, dark steel, orichalcum components, vicious claws, large claws, creating a primodus staff to see if I could throw it in with anything, CoE dungeon token items, Blazeridge steep merchants/karma merchants. Everything. fun looking for the most mundane items which you’d never think go in the forge: i.e. Heart of Mellaghan and Ambrosia are extremely good examples. Who would have thought a sea satchel was made with a 20 slot gossamer bag or a stein made from a liquor CONSUMABLE sold by an everyday merchant. think outside the box and look even into the most mundane. Experiment, experiment, experiment.

John Smith.4610:

I’m definitely not a professional writer, but I did write this myself. I just thought that was a harder clue.

For wiki-archiving purposes: do you have a title for your short story?

John Smith.4610:

Sariel V.7024:

John Smith.4610:

I’m glad you guys liked it! You got the answer faster that I expected. That oasis clue would have taken me much longer.

Does this mean you didn’t write it yourself?

I’m definitely not a professional writer, but I did write this myself. I just thought that was a harder clue.

Professional writer or not, you did good.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

froacus.6892:

WHY ISNT JOHN SMITH WRITING FOR THE LIVING STORY TEAM?????

Because there’s a big difference between short connected vignettes like this, a short story, a novella, and a novel. Let alone between stand-alone fiction and a screenplay or a script for a video game.

It’s a very nice ending, and interesting to read through. But much like the short stories we were getting last season . . . would not translate well into a game.

hata.
Honestly i think if handled well by the game designers, it could have made for pretty fun content.

Edit: the destroyer staff might also be a skin that was only obtainable from the GW Hall of Monuments…so it might not even be a forge recipe.((

Sarasv.8962:

Edit: the destroyer staff might also be a skin that was only obtainable from the GW Hall of Monuments…so it might not even be a forge recipe.((

Destroyer Scythe could be put in the HoM in Gw1, but it has never been obtainable through HoM in Gw2.

Well, while the story was a pretty decent read for an amateur writer, The reward didn’t exactly live up to all the mystery the story made up about it. As a fellow thief, I think Lemark needs to get his act together, making all that effort for what seems to be nothing more than a rusty sickle with a fancy name.
Then again, i didn’t exactly get my hopes up, assuming it would be the addition of a forge recipe for an item that previously had no acquisition method. I find it fits the whole warmed up feeling this halloween has to it quite well, i suppose.
I am glad i didn’t experiment around with a lot of materials as some people might have done.
I will never understand why they made a fair 90% of dagger so blatantly ugly though… a filthy, rusty sickle is certainly not something that fits my thief’s “thievish” appearance, nor do most of the other daggers.
And even though it is not my style, leaving that point apart, the thing that annoys me the most about this particular dagger is that you hold it the wrong way around… and then strike with it using the standard animations. so, I just hit things with the handle now instead of the actual blade it seems. Well then.

But again, kudos to John Smith for the interesting read. I d like to see more of that in the future, if time and living story allows for it.

No I know this but the skin is in the GW2 wardrobe. Since there is already a primordus staff and the Scythe is actually also a staff itself – considering the weapons were renamed. It is either still in the game as its in the wardrobe; or something anet forgot to take out. Who knows~

phys.7689:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

froacus.6892:

WHY ISNT JOHN SMITH WRITING FOR THE LIVING STORY TEAM?????

Because there’s a big difference between short connected vignettes like this, a short story, a novella, and a novel. Let alone between stand-alone fiction and a screenplay or a script for a video game.

It’s a very nice ending, and interesting to read through. But much like the short stories we were getting last season . . . would not translate well into a game.

hata.
Honestly i think if handled well by the game designers, it could have made for pretty fun content.

What’s that first bit? I don’t get it.

. . . as for the second part? “If handled well” should be your first hesitation to wanting to add this. Though in essence I agree (and would like to see it expanded, such as being able to find people who hint at special Forge recipes rather than require Wiki Magic), I don’t have faith in “handled well” being a default mode for adding things in after the game/content has already gone live.

Nice job. Followed this thread the whole time.

But… (isn’t it always there?)…. I was kind of hoping for another rifle skin from the mystic forge (other than the ONLY 1 we can get right now (the Mystic Rifle). And yes I do realize there are 3 pistol skins and 5 shields…).

Perhaps for us Engiee’s who don’t get much use out of back items, Zomorros would like to offer us a Foefire/Spirit Rifle?

Just want to add my appreciation to this thread – a fun read and great to see the excitement shared between players and John.

It reminds me of the investigation quests in Secret World, which are perhaps some of the best designed quests in any game in both concept and implementation (and immensely satisfying to finish when you don’t use a guide or hints)

Whilst the clues here were above my head, this was excellent to watch unfold between John and the community. If something like this could ever translate into the game, it would be a winner, but for now – great job John. You are better some professional writers I have come across in my career…

p.s. I’m not a huge fan of the skin, but that’s really not the point anyway

John Smith.4610:

minfaer.2796:

John, please write an ending to the story of Lemark… of course, we know he gets it, but it feels so like a cliffhanger… maybe some surprise about why he wanted the reaper so desperately!

Lemark kicked in the door. “A WORM?!” he shouted, “NO… NO! A FREAKING 200 FOOT WORM!”
Zomorros was waiting for him, of course, a smirk on his smug face as he hovered at the end of the room. The whole place was lavishly decorated in a way that screamed wealth at anyone who entered. Zomorros wasn’t a being of subtlety… usually.
“My old friend,” Zomorros said lazily, his head tilted to one side as he examined Lemark’s battered appearance. “How are you? You don’t look so well, I’m sure I have something that can help that around here.”
“Save your gifts” Lemark spat, “I’ve no need for more chains”.
“Well, aren’t we dramatic today?” Zomorros replied with a smile as he continued to rummage through a chest of unorganized bottles.
Lemark began to walk deeper into the room. He rubbed a dirty hand across a tapestry that probably cost more than most Tyrians earned in their lifetime.
“I’ve come for what’s mine,” Lemark growled in what should have been an inaudible tone.
Zomorros turned with a scowl, all pretense of good humor evaporating. “There is a price for that”.
Lemark threw his pack across the room where it fell and slid into a wall beside Zomorros. The Djinn looked intently at the pack as it burst apart , the collected items hovering in air.
“No,” Zomorros almost sobbed, and Lemark was uncertain if it was a denial or disbelief.
“No,” Zomorros said again, more forcefully, “these are unacceptable!”
“They are not! The Contrac-”
“You do not want to hold the contract against me, child! This is mine and you cannot deserve it,” Zomorros said, visibly attempting to restrain his anger. “You don’t even know what it is.”
Lemark pulled a ratty parchment from his pocket and slammed it on the table in front of Zomorros. It glowed slightly in the Djinn’s presence.
Lemark put his hand on the parchment and stared directly into Zomorros’s eyes. “The contract,” he said slowly and precisely. The words echoed unnaturally around them.
A smile slowly transformed Zomorros’s features. The “skin” around his eyes tightened and his lips curled sadistically as looked up at Lemark from under his brow. “I am compelled,” Zomorros said slowly as a dagger bloomed from Lemark’s chest. The thief looked down in stunned disbelief. He legs went weak, but he caught himself with one arm on the table.
Lemark felt blood in his lungs; he held his breath and stood back up. Sheer stubbornness kept him on his feet as Zomorros moved in close.
Zomorros spoke softly, almost like a whisper, but every word was terribly clear and precise, “I never told you what this is”. He leaned in close enough that his face filled Lemark’s vision and wrapped his fingers around the hilt,
“It’s the reaper of souls.” He whispered as the dagger ripped free.

HOLY kitten JOHN! I almost cried at how awesome an ending this was! You should definitely try to do more of this in your spare time, because you have a talent for writing and for imagery! I REALLY hope you find an opportunity to share another awesome story with us in a future update.

Chapell.1346:

I feel bad for those who waste their time and materials to see such thing.
(to whom it may concern)

could be said about almost any forged named exotic. Beauty is in the eye of beholder.

Yup, this was fun. I just wish stuff didn’t require so much… stuff, ya know? Across 14 characters I’ve managed to accumulate a whopping 3 vials of powerful blood. I’m sure I’ve had more along the way, but that’s what I’ve got right now. Can’t buy enough to make this dagger, don’t have the gold.

I try sometimes to farm stuff, but ere long my eyes gloss over and I start nodding off, just like if I was at a real job! And I start thinking of things like how back in the early ’00s I used to play the fluff out of The Sims. How much more fun that would have been if, when my Sims went off to work, I could have played through their work day with them! And skipped all that boring at home stuff.

As for playing the tp, oh well. Flipper, the king of the sea, would be a better flipper than me. Even his evil twin, Flopper, after being shot through the eye by Bud, would be a better flipper than me.

Anyway, yup, this was fun. Like the big search for Final Rest, a while back. Moar, plz.

Astralporing.1957:

Chapell.1346:

I feel bad for those who waste their time and materials to see such thing.
(to whom it may concern)

could be said about almost any forged named exotic. Beauty is in the eye of beholder.

Well said, sir. Well said.

John, I’m proud of you John. Was a good story, John. I like saying John, John. You could say this whole guessing was enJohnable! Ha…ha…I’ll shaddap now.

Thank you so much though! I had fun reading all the comments.

if they did this for all new recipes in the forge it would be great but the only thing they gotta do is remove the delay in hints. It built some suspense but really was a let down in terms of how the item looks.

100 pb + 50 skillpoints for that skin?)……even if u sell it at 70g u still have no profit…on the contrary.

U guys at anet sure are funny sometimes … next time if u want to copy D3, please make proper skins :P

Rebound.3409:

100 pb + 50 skillpoints for that skin?)……even if u sell it at 70g u still have no profit…on the contrary.

U guys at anet sure are funny sometimes … next time if u want to copy D3, please make proper skins :P

You are aware that
1: The item have been in the game files since release, which was rather long before D3: Reaper of Souls was even released
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Rebound.3409:

100 pb + 50 skillpoints for that skin?)……even if u sell it at 70g u still have no profit…on the contrary.

U guys at anet sure are funny sometimes … next time if u want to copy D3, please make proper skins :P

then dont make one to sell?

lordkrall.7241:

…
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Except Anet does pretty much set it though, by controlling the drop rate

John Smith.4610:

minfaer.2796:

John, please write an ending to the story of Lemark… of course, we know he gets it, but it feels so like a cliffhanger… maybe some surprise about why he wanted the reaper so desperately!

Lemark kicked in the door. “A WORM?!” he shouted, “NO… NO! A FREAKING 200 FOOT WORM!”
Zomorros was waiting for him, of course, a smirk on his smug face as he hovered at the end of the room. The whole place was lavishly decorated in a way that screamed wealth at anyone who entered. Zomorros wasn’t a being of subtlety… usually.
“My old friend,” Zomorros said lazily, his head tilted to one side as he examined Lemark’s battered appearance. “How are you? You don’t look so well, I’m sure I have something that can help that around here.”
“Save your gifts” Lemark spat, “I’ve no need for more chains”.
“Well, aren’t we dramatic today?” Zomorros replied with a smile as he continued to rummage through a chest of unorganized bottles.
Lemark began to walk deeper into the room. He rubbed a dirty hand across a tapestry that probably cost more than most Tyrians earned in their lifetime.
“I’ve come for what’s mine,” Lemark growled in what should have been an inaudible tone.
Zomorros turned with a scowl, all pretense of good humor evaporating. “There is a price for that”.
Lemark threw his pack across the room where it fell and slid into a wall beside Zomorros. The Djinn looked intently at the pack as it burst apart , the collected items hovering in air.
“No,” Zomorros almost sobbed, and Lemark was uncertain if it was a denial or disbelief.
“No,” Zomorros said again, more forcefully, “these are unacceptable!”
“They are not! The Contrac-”
“You do not want to hold the contract against me, child! This is mine and you cannot deserve it,” Zomorros said, visibly attempting to restrain his anger. “You don’t even know what it is.”
Lemark pulled a ratty parchment from his pocket and slammed it on the table in front of Zomorros. It glowed slightly in the Djinn’s presence.
Lemark put his hand on the parchment and stared directly into Zomorros’s eyes. “The contract,” he said slowly and precisely. The words echoed unnaturally around them.
A smile slowly transformed Zomorros’s features. The “skin” around his eyes tightened and his lips curled sadistically as looked up at Lemark from under his brow. “I am compelled,” Zomorros said slowly as a dagger bloomed from Lemark’s chest. The thief looked down in stunned disbelief. He legs went weak, but he caught himself with one arm on the table.
Lemark felt blood in his lungs; he held his breath and stood back up. Sheer stubbornness kept him on his feet as Zomorros moved in close.
Zomorros spoke softly, almost like a whisper, but every word was terribly clear and precise, “I never told you what this is”. He leaned in close enough that his face filled Lemark’s vision and wrapped his fingers around the hilt,
“It’s the reaper of souls.” He whispered as the dagger ripped free.

That….Was…..AWESOME!!!!!!

The whole story was great!! I would love to see something more like this in-game too!!! Maybe talk to a NPC, and they give hints and clues about what to do next….I love stuff like this!
Well done sir!! Well done! Thanks again!

skullmount.1758:

lordkrall.7241:

…
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Except Anet does pretty much set it though, by controlling the drop rate

That’s not how that works. Powerful Blood is only worth what people will pay for it. Even if it is a rare drop, if nobody will buy it, then the price on the trade post will be low. Supply and demand, that’s how that works. If supply is low but demand is low, prices tend to drop low. If supply is low but demand is high, that’s when the money rolls in.

For things like Powerful Blood, the supply is fairly high, but the demand is even higher, which is the only reason the prices are as high as they are.

daft inquisitor.1605:

skullmount.1758:

lordkrall.7241:

…
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Except Anet does pretty much set it though, by controlling the drop rate

That’s not how that works. Powerful Blood is only worth what people will pay for it. Even if it is a rare drop, if nobody will buy it, then the price on the trade post will be low. Supply and demand, that’s how that works. If supply is low but demand is low, prices tend to drop low. If supply is low but demand is high, that’s when the money rolls in.

For things like Powerful Blood, the supply is fairly high, but the demand is even higher, which is the only reason the prices are as high as they are.

This. And that there are fewer farmers just farming the stuff to sell, as it’s not very profitable (in terms of gold/hour). If you ask anyone the best way to get any type of T6 the response is “farm dungeons and buy it off the TP”. Which only serves to increase prices, as it increases demand, and lowers supply.

John Smith.4610:

I’m glad you guys liked it! You got the answer faster that I expected. That oasis clue would have taken me much longer.

I have done Amber everyday for weeks, so I know the area really well. The last clue which mentions the ‘shrieking’ echo had nailed it. Thank you very much for the challenge. It’s really fun and refreshing. I hope we’ll get another one soon

daft inquisitor.1605:

skullmount.1758:

lordkrall.7241:

…
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Except Anet does pretty much set it though, by controlling the drop rate

That’s not how that works. Powerful Blood is only worth what people will pay for it. Even if it is a rare drop, if nobody will buy it, then the price on the trade post will be low. Supply and demand, that’s how that works. If supply is low but demand is low, prices tend to drop low. If supply is low but demand is high, that’s when the money rolls in.

For things like Powerful Blood, the supply is fairly high, but the demand is even higher, which is the only reason the prices are as high as they are.

This is not how it works. People have a lot of gold so they dont mind spending it on rare items. People wont just stop buying something in GW2 because its expensive, because buying expensive cosmetics is basically the endgame of this game.

Malediktus.9250:

daft inquisitor.1605:

skullmount.1758:

lordkrall.7241:

…
2: The prices of Powerful Blood and the selling price of the complete item is completly based on supply and demand and not something ArenaNet sets,
right?

Except Anet does pretty much set it though, by controlling the drop rate

That’s not how that works. Powerful Blood is only worth what people will pay for it. Even if it is a rare drop, if nobody will buy it, then the price on the trade post will be low. Supply and demand, that’s how that works. If supply is low but demand is low, prices tend to drop low. If supply is low but demand is high, that’s when the money rolls in.

For things like Powerful Blood, the supply is fairly high, but the demand is even higher, which is the only reason the prices are as high as they are.

This is not how it works. People have a lot of gold so they dont mind spending it on rare items. People wont just stop buying something in GW2 because its expensive, because buying expensive cosmetics is basically the endgame of this game.

Actually, no, that is EXACTLY how it works. If something is higher than a price point where someone is willing to buy it, one of two things will happen. Either 1), someone will start undercutting the higher prices on the market, it will sell, and the people with the higher prices will drop it down to a point where it would be sold, or 2) it will sit on the market for an extremely long time until someone gets enough money to buy it. If the wait is long enough, there is a good chance the person selling the goods will drop the price as well.

A 1000g item on the trade post that isn’t selling is worth FAR less than a 750g item that IS.

So the item was Reaper of Souls? I’m disappointed, I expected something actually cool after all the hinting.

Wait a minute….

Lemark = Le Mark = The Mark = Mark Katzbach!!!!!

Dun Dun Duuuunnn!!!!

Very well done on the story John. Every time I’ve seen a friend pull something awesome out of the forge I’ve always said “how’d you pull that out of your kitten”. I’ll need to rethink my choice of words now.

Astralporing.1957:

Chapell.1346:

I feel bad for those who waste their time and materials to see such thing.
(to whom it may concern)

Beauty is in the eye of beholder.

Unless they are blinded fool.

Welcome to gw2 where immersive content comes in the forum instead of the game client. #underwhelmed

John, can you say whether or not you’ll do this again for any other undiscovered Mystic Forge recipes?

I would certainly love to see more story-driven hints for any more undiscovered recipes.

For now, I’ve been highly curious to see if the Destroyer Scythe is amongst those undiscovered MF recipes and am looking for potential items for such.

Even though I didn’t participate (don’t use the forge too much) I really enjoyed reading the thread. +1 for more!

just an awesome thread. much appreciated, John. such a cool way to interact with a playerbase.

John Smith.4610:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

John, can you say whether or not you’ll do this again for any other undiscovered Mystic Forge recipes?

I can’t say for sure, this wasn’t really planned
We try to pay a lot of attention to our community here and elsewhere, so if you’d like to see more show your support for it. We’re always reading.

you should add extremely rare drop chance items into the game that tell the story, make it in parts so its essentially the same as what happened in this topic, make it so rare that people lliterally have to come together and share there parts of the stories they have found in order to find out what the whole story is, it would add a whole new fun aspect to exploring the game.

John Smith.4610:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

John, can you say whether or not you’ll do this again for any other undiscovered Mystic Forge recipes?

I can’t say for sure, this wasn’t really planned
We try to pay a lot of attention to our community here and elsewhere, so if you’d like to see more show your support for it. We’re always reading.

I think it worked out well for something that was unplanned. I would like to see more like this done in the future. It would be especially interesting for any of those recipes that have been in game since day 1 that haven’t been discovered.

I know people like to see things in game, but this is also a good way to interact with the community outside the game in a fun way. And, if it sparks ideas or ways to create scavenger hunts in-game or other type systems, then it could be a useful developer tool too.

The story seemed to be received well, so there is opportunity for the story-team to get new ideas (or try new modes) outside the game before trying changes in-game that may not work the way they intended.

for those of us getting into this late is there a summary of what this is all about?

VitisVinifera.2834:

for those of us getting into this late is there a summary of what this is all about?

A long while back John mentioned that there were still undiscovered Mystic Forge recipes. I don’t think that resulted in people finding new ones.

This thread was made by John to give hints in story format to figuring out the recipe for Reaper of Souls; every two hints pointed to a single item, though it seems John had expected to make more hints for the final item – no one knew what the recipe would result in, and the hints were presented in story format about twice a day (I think that was the rate – one early and one late in the day). All hints exist on the first post of the thread, and John wrote up an ending to close Lemark’s (the character in the story hints) adventure with Zomorros (which is not on the first post but can be found here ).

Hope that helps.

daft inquisitor.1605:

For things like Powerful Blood, the supply is fairly high, but the demand is even higher, which is the only reason the prices are as high as they are.

Yes, because anet does not manipulate the supply and demand in order to affect prices. Right.
Oh wait.

Just saw that dagger reward on Dulfy.

Zommoros can keep his secret.

Trolls……. OMG why do people like you exist? We get something nice and a fun experience and they talk kitten. Wow…..

John Smith.4610:

I can’t say for sure, this wasn’t really planned
We try to pay a lot of attention to our community here and elsewhere, so if you’d like to see more show your support for it. We’re always reading.

First time forum poster and just had to show my support for this! I enjoyed the story and the hunt, please continue to build on this idea it’s a really good one. As others have mentioned before please make it an in game experience; reading the thread was fun but experiencing it through my character would be more immersive. Thanks again

And here I thought it was going to be something cool like a new Halloween skin, tonic, or endless use item, why else would John draw attention to it? Turns out to be some rusted piece of junk.

You win troll post of the year John! The hunt was a lot of fun to watch though.