Guild Wars 2

Just out of curiosity: did you mind that your character is the one that strikes the final blow on Scarlet? Lorewise, my character is somewhat or a pacifist. While she recognizes violence as sometimes neccesary, she fights in self defense, not to seek to end anyone’s life. Yet in this part of the Living Story, your character has to do just that: murder an enemy that’s already beaten and fighting for their lives.

I’m kinda upset that ArenaNet forces our characters to become mindless killers. I know that they’re not exactly innocent, but murdering in cold blood? I’d have preferred a capture. Or to at least have an npc strike the final blow.

What are your thoughts on this?

Mindless killer?

You know who’s killed right? A mass terrorist that has crippled a city that withstood an Elder Dragon’s assault; one who laid waste to four major groups. Someone who’s far too ingenous to simply lock up, who has an army at her back to spring her free just as she (nonchalantly) had her army spring her lieutenant (Mai Trin) free.

Did you have an issue killing Zhaitan? He was pinned down, beaten, and fighting for his life.

Wow, and I thought the people complaining that they don’t want their character to be the centre of the story (after so much feedback about players feeling sidelined) were bad enough. This takes “you can’t please everyone” to a whole new extreme.

I guess you could play a pacifist character, and do what an actual pacifist would do – just not go and fight Scarlet in the first place. Seriously, this is a MMO where, by the nature of the gameplay, the vast majority of your interactions with the world take place at the end of a sword. Don’t complain about having to kill stuff.

A lot of fantasy stories give the villains an ‘accidental’ death so that the heroes don’t need to kill them. I was slightly surprised that Scarlet didn’t get killed by her own machinery, lasers, clockworks, toxins, explosives, portals, etc.

I think ArenaNet overplayed that tool with most of Scarlet’s minions. Such as Frizz at Aetherblade Retreat. To ArenaNet, accidental death in a fight is a gag tool (gag as in gag comedy, you know, something to make you chuckle).

ThiBash.5634:

Just out of curiosity: did you mind that your character is the one that strikes the final blow on Scarlet? Lorewise, my character is somewhat or a pacifist. While she recognizes violence as sometimes neccesary, she fights in self defense, not to seek to end anyone’s life. Yet in this part of the Living Story, your character has to do just that: murder an enemy that’s already beaten and fighting for their lives.

I’m kinda upset that ArenaNet forces our characters to become mindless killers. I know that they’re not exactly innocent, but murdering in cold blood? I’d have preferred a capture. Or to at least have an npc strike the final blow.

What are your thoughts on this?

In the story all characters are mindless.

And yeah, considering how dumb are your allies, she can’t be locked up. I bet she could just fool the guards by saying their shoes are untied.

While they are wearing steel boots.

However, see it like this: your character has spent some time in the Heart of the Mists, where finishing players doesn’t kill them and is part of the sport. You did the same by reflex, because you got the habit of seeing stomping as something to do.

Other than that, taking and questioning her might have been kinda useful. Too bad your allies were dumb, and when she was willing to say it they just went “Lol who cares”.

I would have killed them right there. Not Scarlet.

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.
Even by killing her, our character doesn’t even seem to be the center of the story. The PC seems to be just a strong dude being there at the right time and taking orders from others. (But it’s not like it’s the first time :/ )

ThiBash.5634:

Lorewise, my character is somewhat or a pacifist. While she recognizes violence as sometimes neccesary, she fights in self defense, not to seek to end anyone’s life.

Your character has resolve, and therefore did not spare a mass murderer.

You witnessed Kasmeer Meade’s resolve. She did not stay in the corner with Marjory Delaqua and continued hiccuping. Kasmeer reacted and wanted to avenge Marjory.

@ThiBash: You can headcanon it as Kasmeer (wouldn’t that be fitting?) or Rox was the one to land the final blow. Both have ample motivations for doing it.

In my headcanon, all 5 of my characters are journeying together at the same time. My Charr Warrior is the one who gladly spiked Scarlet through the heart with his sword.

Tamias.7059:

Seriously, this is a MMO where, by the nature of the gameplay, the vast majority of your interactions with the world take place at the end of a sword. Don’t complain about having to kill stuff.

I’m sorry, but I do complain about being forced to play a role in a role-playing game. There are many ways to go about dealing violence. Some rush forward and gut everything that wasn’t smart enough to surrender. Some only defend when attacked. There’s plenty of games that leave things open enough that you can choose how brutal you want to be. To me, kicking someone when they’re down is only acceptable in the Mists, where it’s part of the sport and people res.

But I an understand that not everyone is as invested in their character as I am, because as a whole the RPG genre has been going downhill in terms of character investment and actual role-playing.

But don’t fault me for not liking my character to be forced into big moral dilemmas. If Kasmeer wants her revenge, she can go get it herself. If Marjory wants to murder her instead of bringing her to justice so be it. But don’t force my character to go Braham.

Zaxares.5419:

@ThiBash: You can headcanon it as Kasmeer (wouldn’t that be fitting?) or Rox was the one to land the final blow. Both have ample motivations for doing it.

In my headcanon, all 5 of my characters are journeying together at the same time. My Charr Warrior is the one who gladly spiked Scarlet through the heart with his sword.

I suppose I could. I could even say ‘Kasmeer made me do it with mesmer magic’. It’s just that the whole thing makes me feel so cheap.

Exosferatu.2961:

Your character has resolve, and therefore did not spare a mass murderer.

I’m sorry, but my character is way too much of a whimp for even that. She even tries to avoid hitting critters with aoe while going about the game world if it can be done.

ThiBash.5634:

Exosferatu.2961:

Your character has resolve, and therefore did not spare a mass murderer.

I’m sorry, but my character is way too much of a whimp for even that. She even tries to avoid hitting critters with aoe while going about the game world if it can be done.

Your character must feel extremely sorry being enslaved by a wimp puppeteer.

The # of pacifists playing in GW2 is so miniscule that Anet really doesn’t care about designing content around those type of people.

Vol.7601:

The # of pacifists playing in GW2 is so miniscule that Anet really doesn’t care about designing content around those type of people.

Not true. You can decide the fate of Captain Tervelan.

And it’s more about having a choice to begin with, not have Braham make it for you.

Some of my characters are fairly pacifist- some are not so much.

I took my Priory Scholar Sylvari Necro- she felt bad but she figured rather she do it and do it well and make sure, than someone else botch the job.

ThiBash.5634:

Zaxares.5419:

@ThiBash: You can headcanon it as Kasmeer (wouldn’t that be fitting?) or Rox was the one to land the final blow. Both have ample motivations for doing it.

In my headcanon, all 5 of my characters are journeying together at the same time. My Charr Warrior is the one who gladly spiked Scarlet through the heart with his sword.

I suppose I could. I could even say ‘Kasmeer made me do it with mesmer magic’. It’s just that the whole thing makes me feel so cheap.

Exosferatu.2961:

Your character has resolve, and therefore did not spare a mass murderer.

I’m sorry, but my character is way too much of a whimp for even that. She even tries to avoid hitting critters with aoe while going about the game world if it can be done.

I understand what you’re getting at. My Guardian was originally similar to that in his back story. His only interests were in protecting others and healing wounds. Sadly, his perspective of the world changed after two large events. First, the centaurs took his sister forcing him to feel a failure for being unable to defend his own sister. Second, he walked out into Shaemoor only to find it burning under a centaur siege. When he saw this is broke him, it was then that he realized that sometimes you must kill in order to protect what you hold dear. This lead him down the path to eventually killing Kellach in order to protect his queen, and eventually killing Zhaitan. By the time he got to Scarlet, killing her was the only way to protect future generations of Tyrians from the types of evils she has performed… It was an easy task.

Yeah, my Sylvari just sorta cackled Maniacally as he called his pet wurm for feeding time as his bear fought for the kill himself….

I’d suggest that you just say Rox or Kasmeer did it, especially since that’d be what happens in canon anyway.

PS: it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who plays it off as all my characters traveling together (for the most part) xD

Narcemus.1348:

ThiBash.5634:

Zaxares.5419:

@ThiBash: You can headcanon it as Kasmeer (wouldn’t that be fitting?) or Rox was the one to land the final blow. Both have ample motivations for doing it.

In my headcanon, all 5 of my characters are journeying together at the same time. My Charr Warrior is the one who gladly spiked Scarlet through the heart with his sword.

I suppose I could. I could even say ‘Kasmeer made me do it with mesmer magic’. It’s just that the whole thing makes me feel so cheap.

Exosferatu.2961:

Your character has resolve, and therefore did not spare a mass murderer.

I’m sorry, but my character is way too much of a whimp for even that. She even tries to avoid hitting critters with aoe while going about the game world if it can be done.

I understand what you’re getting at. My Guardian was originally similar to that in his back story. His only interests were in protecting others and healing wounds. Sadly, his perspective of the world changed after two large events. First, the centaurs took his sister forcing him to feel a failure for being unable to defend his own sister. Second, he walked out into Shaemoor only to find it burning under a centaur siege. When he saw this is broke him, it was then that he realized that sometimes you must kill in order to protect what you hold dear. This lead him down the path to eventually killing Kellach in order to protect his queen, and eventually killing Zhaitan. By the time he got to Scarlet, killing her was the only way to protect future generations of Tyrians from the types of evils she has performed… It was an easy task.

My charr engineer is a brutal barbarian with love for brain-powered brawl.

He might have killed Scarlet.

After burning Braham, Rox, Marjory and Kasmeer alive. Or spilling their brains out with a wrench. Or turning their pretty faces into a pulp with his shotgun.

Because the thing he hates the most is idiots beside him.

Because if you don’t mind about what a neurotic individual whose resources are unknown and has already caused enormous damage might have in store for after his death, and what her motivation might be, you DESERVE to die.

Durzlla.6295:

Yeah, my Sylvari just sorta cackled Maniacally as he called his pet wurm for feeding time as his bear fought for the kill himself….

I’d suggest that you just say Rox or Kasmeer did it, especially since that’d be what happens in canon anyway.

PS: it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who plays it off as all my characters traveling together (for the most part) xD

Oh yeah, you aren’t alone. My backstory includes all of my characters meeting each other slowly right after the racial PS and slightly before or during the Orders scenarios. Later all becoming good friends of Trahearne and together becoming Trahearne’s commanders (his closest friends and advisors). Although not all of them have even gone through their personal story, this is how it works in my mind. Some of my friend’s characters are even included in this.

Personally, I resented having to stomp Scarlet. My ranger has a bow, and is very, very good at using it… but instead of being able to put an arrow through the head, I had to pull a random banner-stake out of nowhere and impale her with it. It didn’t feel right.

So I’m with you, Thi, in not liking how the mechanics crimped my character’s style.

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

EDIT: I liked the stomp itself, it felt finisher-ish to me. Hands-on if you will.

CureForLiving.5360:

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

EDIT: I liked the stomp itself, it felt finisher-ish to me. Hands-on if you will.

yes- I wanted to smack him in the face actually.

I was thinking- now you decide to speak up? can you shut up already and have someone with a brain decide this mmm?

He got of lightly with a broken leg- I would have done much worse if I had the opportunity- pacifist or not

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Personally, I resented having to stomp Scarlet. My ranger has a bow, and is very, very good at using it… but instead of being able to put an arrow through the head, I had to pull a random banner-stake out of nowhere and impale her with it. It didn’t feel right.

So I’m with you, Thi, in not liking how the mechanics crimped my character’s style.

You don’t actually have to stomp her, it’s just easier that way. My guard threw up a wall of reflection early in the battle and she quickly ’naded herself to death.

CureForLiving.5360:

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

I feel like Braham’s dialogue wasn’t necessarily the problem, it was more the fact that we just don’t hate Scarlet that much. The last couple of updates have shown a lot of NPC’s going through pain and suffering, but none of it quite connects back to Scarlet’s actions. Some people even feel sorry for her.

If we hated Scarlet as much as people hate, say, Joffrey Baratheon, I think we’d me more ok with the smash first, ask questions later mentality. As it is, though, I don’t think ANet communicated Scarlet’s pure evilness effectively enough to attempt that subversion of the big villain speech trope. It’s also possible that later down the line it’ll turn out that had we given Scarlet five more minutes she would have stopped Mordremoth from waking up or something and Braham’ll look like a tool for not letting her explain herself, which’d be a neat bit of storytelling, but that’s just speculation on my part.

I quite liked delivering the final blow. As an army we broke down her door, but it was “me” who finished off this criminal. A fitting end for season 1.

Morrigan.2809:

CureForLiving.5360:

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

EDIT: I liked the stomp itself, it felt finisher-ish to me. Hands-on if you will.

yes- I wanted to smack him in the face actually.

I was thinking- now you decide to speak up? can you shut up already and have someone with a brain decide this mmm?

It wasn’t just Braham. Marjory was actually the one who stepped forward with the seeming intent to kill Scarlet.

Shiren.9532:

Morrigan.2809:

CureForLiving.5360:

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

EDIT: I liked the stomp itself, it felt finisher-ish to me. Hands-on if you will.

yes- I wanted to smack him in the face actually.

I was thinking- now you decide to speak up? can you shut up already and have someone with a brain decide this mmm?

It wasn’t just Braham. Marjory was actually the one who stepped forward with the seeming intent to kill Scarlet.

She was going to arrest her- that is what she said.
It was overconfident and stupid but she had no interest in killing her

Shiren.9532:

Morrigan.2809:

CureForLiving.5360:

RedStar.4218:

I mind that when Scarlet asked “do you want to hear why I did all that ?” some idiot said “no” and we didn’t say anything.

This is actually the thing that could have been done better. For a while now I’ve been saying we need more meaningful dialog (RPG style). If we had that we could have chosen “Shut up Bro-Ham, I’ve been slogging through the Scarlet Alliance for months and I want to know WHY!?”. But since we can’t talk…

As for the final blow… well people have been asking for our characters to be the Hero for a while now, and now we have what we wanted. Another community-ANet catch-22.

EDIT: I liked the stomp itself, it felt finisher-ish to me. Hands-on if you will.

yes- I wanted to smack him in the face actually.

I was thinking- now you decide to speak up? can you shut up already and have someone with a brain decide this mmm?

It wasn’t just Braham. Marjory was actually the one who stepped forward with the seeming intent to kill Scarlet.

Yeah, what an epic fail.

“Look how heroic I am, I will finally bring justice by cold-bloodedly killing someone who already surrendered and is not even able to stand. I’m so sure of myself, what could go wrong?”

“Oh, hey, even if she is not able to stand she is still able to kick my kitten .”

Kasmeer wanted to make Scarlet pay because, even if Marjory didn’t die in the blast, her dignity did.XD