Guild Wars 2

So I was running around as my Engineer, going through Snowden Drifts, and came across the Song of Final Exile. Its a Kodan/Norn camp in the south central area of the map. I’ve always loved stopping to check Kodan names, then I saw that it has profession trainers…

Elementalist: Churning Earth
Ranger: Pattern of All Things
Engineer: Enduring Unifier
Warrior: Conclusive Action
Guardian: Shield of All
Necromancer: Final Stillness
Thief: Nanashi – appears to be the only Human in the camp. Not sure how the Kodan would view a Thief.
Mesmer: Odile – a Norn Mesmer. Chaos-magic users seem to be the antithesis to the Kodan belief system. While I can argue that a disruptions in balance can be mended with proper chaos, the Kodan may feel that the risks outweigh the rewards. Either way, I love that there isn’t a Kodan Mesmer lol

Are there other Kodan Profession Trainers? Reasons as to why there isn’t a Kodan Thief? Have any random thoughts to add? Bacon?

Well, if it’s the case that the kodan simply don’t like mesmerism, it could be that this is extended to thieves – thieves are commonly suspected of utilising the same magic, after all. It could also be the case that, with their culture and size, the kodan just aren’t suitable to be thieves – the close-knit communities of the kodan probably mean that they never have a need to steal from or spy on others and that anyone who does so is found out quickly and dealt with harshly.

I always saw it kind of interesting how kodans lack users in Denial magic (the school that mesmers and thieves seem to use). It likely would deal with their faith and philosophy. They make a point in saying that not only preserving and giving new life (Preservation), but also destroying and death (Destruction and Aggression) are part of balance. Denial doesn’t really have a place in their belief of balance – regardless of the chaos concept, as I would say that chaos is needed in balance (in order to balance out order), it seems more of the general line of thought behind the school rather than the professions’ abilities.

Though I think there may be a mesmer in Frostgorge Sound, but I’m not 100% certain on this.

I’m not sure I’d say that chaos is necessarily a part of balance. Some settings do have the concept of a balance between order and chaos being necessary, but a finely balanced state is actually a fairly low-entropy system, and according to kodan beliefs they were created in order to bring balance and order to a chaotic world of rival spirits. While not so rigid as to be opposed to change, the kodan could well see full-on chaos like that exemplified by some applications of Denial magic as inherently unbalancing.

A Kodan in Frostgorge explains that seemingly chaotic phenomena such as storms and whirlpools are necessary to maintain the Balance.

Two comments there:

First, (conventional) storms and whirlpools would come under elemental magic (Destruction) which we know kodan do use.

Second is the word ‘seemingly’. Conventional storms and the like are, indeed, part of the natural order. A storm of chaotic magical energy that could generate practically anything, however, is not.

Between the two, it’s entirely possible that the kodan could have a distinction between ‘seeming’ chaos that is a part of the balance, such as natural weather events, and true chaos such as that generated by mesmers, which isn’t.

I wouldn’t really say that the other spirits were “rival” – and it seemed to be more that the original kodan, in their belief, was to begin bringing order when there was none and that’s where the order in balance comes from – if it’s not sought after, there will be none, basically. In other words, the kodan might view it as unnecessary to bring in elements of chaos, since that’s the state things go to without maintenance.

As I recall, the kodan background has the spirits competing with each other. They’re rvials to opposing spirits, not to the kodan.

In the beginning, the spirits of the world were wild and untamed. In time, many took physical form: spirits of stone, spirits of water, spirits of wind, spirits of soil, spirits of plants and birds and creeping things. All things with form have spirits… as do many formless things.

But one day the bear stood up and looked around him and saw that the spirits of the world were restless and chaotic. He could not understand the endless cycles of creation and destruction.

There’s nothing to say there were competing or rivalry. The closest you get is “cycles of creation and destruction” – but they were wild, untamed, and chaotic.

Interesting, I knew there were non-Kodans training professions in that camp, I found it curious but I never stopped to think they were Denial users.

This may add to the already long list of reasons why Kodan are not candidates for future playable races.

Just because the Kodan do not seem to prefer the use of denial magic doesn’t make them seem unable to be a playable race in the future. Remember that the charr despise everything magic because of the effects of the Flame Legion, but they still are playable and they logically use what they have at their disposal in the war effort.

The distinction is that the charr don’t want to rely on magic, but still recognise that it’s a useful enough tool not to discard. If kodan really do take it to the ‘we simply won’t use this’ level, then that’s a somewhat bigger deal.

It can be, but at the moment it is not a defining stake in the coffin of the Kodan Playable race. With absolutely no retcon from ArenaNet whatsoever they could currently make the Kodan playable should denial magic be the only factor.

Narcemus.1348:

should denial magic be the only factor.

It’s not like that’s the only factor, but I prefer to keep this thread on topic as this has been thrown in other topics related to it.

I understand that, I’m merely saying it is no nail in the coffin.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

In the beginning, the spirits of the world were wild and untamed. In time, many took physical form: spirits of stone, spirits of water, spirits of wind, spirits of soil, spirits of plants and birds and creeping things. All things with form have spirits… as do many formless things.

But one day the bear stood up and looked around him and saw that the spirits of the world were restless and chaotic. He could not understand the endless cycles of creation and destruction.

There’s nothing to say there were competing or rivalry. The closest you get is “cycles of creation and destruction” – but they were wild, untamed, and chaotic.

This kind of remembers me Zerus and the primal zerg…