Guild Wars 2

I searched for this topic in the forum but couldn’t find anything.

Has anyone found an explanation for the massive change in ecosystem around Kryta? Is a flood really enough to turn a subtropical zone into a temperate zone?

For those who played Prophecies, you’ll remember the palm fronds, green fields, and turquoise beaches of Kryta. Right? What turned it all into deciduous “aspen”?

Down in Gendarran Fields, there is one Communing skill point that actually shows these old palm fronds through a mine and past a bunch of spiders. So, we know for a fact that developers are aware of this change, and are referencing the old ecosystem. Have they acknowledged it anywhere else?

The Tarnished Coast is still tropical, But What Anet is trying to do is “Ascalonian-ify” Kryta, they are essentially making Kryta into pre-searing Ascalon.

Perhaps we will be lucky enough to eventually see some “true Krytan” towns and areas in one of the expansions. With Krytan people and old styled Krytan architecture. I would figure there would be some towns that would be throwbacks to earlier times.

Well at least I hope so.

Poor Kryta, what a fantastic concept for a fantasy rpg. You will be missed.

It wasn’t just a flood. There was a second Searing of a large chunk of Ascalon (the Dragonbrand), along with 200~ years of Charr industry, a rather large volcano erupting down in the Southern Shiverpeaks, a complete shift in the Crystal Desert’s ecosystem (Joko redirecting the Elon), and the Kryta we’re playing is centered quite a bit farther north than Prophecies Kryta.

DarthAcerbus.3647:

the Kryta we’re playing is centered quite a bit farther north than Prophecies Kryta.

Not really. You could go to the spot where Divinity’s Reach now sits, only it was called Divinity Coast in GW1. It was the same as the rest of Kryta, not more deciduous.

Most likely, the honest reason is that an quasi-african country like Kryta just wouldn’t sell as well as the sole human nation as one with a more european ecosystem. It strikes the same itch for a generic beautiful fantasy kingdom that Ascalon did in GW1.

Grim as it is to say, that’s probably also the reason the majority of the people are suddenly white and the architecture is a lot more western.

Jenosavel.1756:

DarthAcerbus.3647:

the Kryta we’re playing is centered quite a bit farther north than Prophecies Kryta.

Not really. You could go to the spot where Divinity’s Reach now sits, only it was called Divinity Coast in GW1. It was the same as the rest of Kryta, not more deciduous.

Ok yeah, but there is still 200~ years of climate change from all the other stuff. It’s not super far-fetched that the tropical climate of Kryta would cool off quite a bit from all that.

Olithia.4635:

Perhaps we will be lucky enough to eventually see some “true Krytan” towns and areas in one of the expansions. With Krytan people and old styled Krytan architecture. I would figure there would be some towns that would be throwbacks to earlier times.

I don’t think old style Kryta will ever return. That only existed because the White Mantle enforced poverty among non-believers of the Unseen Ones. Since they’re no longer in power, that doesn’t happen and there are too many cultural mixings since then as well.

As to the OP: I think it’s Anet’s subtle way of trying to improve the realism behind the world’s geography. If one tries looking at Tyria in GW1 logically, it doesn’t make sense. It was an attempt at making six different climates for one game to allow a nice diversity.

Same as to why ettins got two heads instead of one-head-two-faces, or how centaur looks changed, wurm/oakheart/giant appearances, and Ascalonian architecture designs all changed.

So, in essence: retcon? Then why bother showing us that relic of the previous ecosystem? (Can’t remember the name of the area with the skill point in Gendarren Fields.)

Also, is the climate progression any more realistic in GW2? You still have a jungle on the same latitude as mountain/alpine snow.

As far as ecosystems go Tyria is a bizarre amalgamation of different ones in some areas. Also people can change the ecosystem quite well depending on what they are growing for agriculture.

earthsprite.7149:

So, in essence: retcon? Then why bother showing us that relic of the previous ecosystem? (Can’t remember the name of the area with the skill point in Gendarren Fields.)

Also, is the climate progression any more realistic in GW2? You still have a jungle on the same latitude as mountain/alpine snow.

I think somthing can be a retcon, while still having a vague attempt to justify it from the creators. For instance, how Tiber Septim in Elder Scrolls used crazy time magic to transform Cyrodill from a dense jungle to a generic forest just in time for the release of Oblivion. It’s explained in universe… But there’s a much more fourth-wall breaking explanation for why it actually happened. That is, because a game set in a jungle would be offputting to some.

I think going from jungle to Meadows isn’t that far fetched the humans did a lot of agriculture, used dams to drain areas ect. so them turning a swamp/jungle for farming dost seem out of reach what bothers me more is the lack of searing crystals in blazeridge steeps and the lack of Fort Ranik ruins. everything else is kind of spot on. see this map: http://images.playgw2.com/www/2012/05/10/i5ehlTmJSkaYv.jpg kind of dated but still shows you how close everything is.

Also lets be honest no one wants to play on the EXACT same maps again in a new game.

Thanks for that map. That’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for—-an overlay of the new and old.

Zesbeer, there actually are Fort Ranik ruins. The place was renovated by charr and is now called Fort Kinar (charr aren’t much on unique names).

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Zesbeer, there actually are Fort Ranik ruins. The place was renovated by charr and is now called Fort Kinar (charr aren’t much on unique names).

Konig that’s too far north. serenity temple was north of ranik in gw1.

Well, there’s the name (which follows other naming patterns of outposts built atop Ascalonian ruins), and I’m pretty sure there were ruins there. But then again, iirc, wasn’t Steeleye Span said to have been built atop Ranik during the first Gamescom with the demos?