Living World Season 1 and Scarlet.
1.) Short version? A genius for invention, an utter disregard for collateral damage, a persuasive streak we hear about but never see, and being left to work in the shadows until her pieces were already in motion. Most of her power, such as it was, wasn’t her own, but a result of the number and diversity of villains she got working for her over a fairly considerable period of time. Her inventions were formidable, but they were only the final product of that process.
2.) The Queen didn’t. The illusion was only a precaution for the final speech- and seeing as the opening ceremony had been disrupted, it was a reasonable one to take. As for Lord Faren, and the other representatives, Scarlet was looking to take the queen hostage. We don’t know why, since that part didn’t work out, but it stands to reason that she would have taken measures to keep her prize alive.
3.) A three pronged assault- the Aetherblade fleet from above, the Toxic Alliance out of the bottom of the harbor, and the Molten Alliance tunneled up into Fort Marriner and brought more forces in by portal. Once in place, these groups started setting up distributors for a miasma that put an end to any resistance within the city. Our liberation attempts were snuck in during the times the wind was right to disperse the cloud.
4.) Yes and no. Yes: we knew the attack was coming, and even warned the Captain’s Council, but besides for a couple members who were essentially in our pocket, they didn’t believe Scarlet to be a credible threat and didn’t invest in defenses. No: even if they had listened, the way they were attacked would’ve been nearly impossible to counter, especially given they had only about a month’s notice . Lion’s Arch at the time only had a couple airships to its name, so it couldn’t fend off the entire Aetherblade fleet. Repositioning their cannons might have helped, but those weren’t made to be used as anti-air weapons. Stopping krait from moving along the bottom of the harbor would’ve required engaging them underwater, where they have a huge advantage. And the Molten Alliance strike, which used dredge burrowers and Flame portals, would’ve been impossible to prevent.
5.) Before that instance, we engage her on her airship in the open world- and by ‘her’ I mean giant holograms of herself, but apparently destroying them had an effect. Feedback? Catastrophic overload? Trip on the stairs on her way out? We don’t really know.
6.) ‘Days’ is all we’re told- so somewhere between two to thirteen days is a safe range. The actual number doesn’t matter too much, though. ANet plays very loose with chronology.
7.) That’d take a much longer answer to tell in full, but again, short version? During the first Molten Alliance attacks, you ran into Braham and Rox, Braham looking for help for his homestead and Rox getting ordered to protect a Blood Legion hatchery, and volunteer to help both of them. Kasmeer you first bump into on Southsun, where she’s a bystander in the struggle with Canach, and then you’re later referred to her partner Marjory as the best detective to investigate the assassination of a Lion’s Arch council member. Taimi just shows near the end, eager to see the Marionette Scarlet built, and attaches herself to Braham to avoid being sent back to Rata Sum. If that sounds haphazard and all over the place- well, it was. It wasn’t until really about ten months into the season that an overarching narrative began to become clear.
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
(edited by Aaron Ansari.1604)
This is probably the best summary you’d ever get. Regarding your specific questions…
How did Scarlet become so powerful?
Define “powerful”. She was born smarter than the average individual, but she never had much physical strength to herself. Her capabilities was all done through studies, and truth be told, put up to unrealistic (even in a fantasy setting) tone. She tutored under folks and read books and with her high IQ was able to use this to build stuff and con folks.
How did the Queen know about the attack and how did Lord Faren survive that fall?
You refer to the attack during the Closing Ceremony – they knew it was coming because Scarlet and the Aetherblades attacked during the Opening Ceremony. Prior to that, they didn’t know.
As to how Faren survived the fall… who knows. Wasn’t explained. Maybe he got lucky and landed on that bail of hay. Or perhaps Scarlet’s devices caught him. Or he’s a cartoon cat and landed on his feet with no harm.
How was Lion’s Arch attacked? Wasn’t there a way to defend it?
Short answer: idiot ball handling
Long answer: Scarlet pulled all her alliances she conned folks into making (who for some odd reason, despite failing their objectives even though they were guaranteed success, still worked with her) and all her machines and launched a full scale assault on LA from the air, where LA wasn’t easily defensible.
It was established as a bit of a surprise attack too, however the PC, biconics, and Ellen Kiel all knew it was coming. Unfortunately, despite being on the Captain’s Council and being supported by the Slayer of Zhaitan, it seems Ellen Kiel’s words have no weight on the idiocy of the rest of the Captain’s Council, so no preparations were made for the two weeks or so advanced notice they had of the impending attack (reminds me of a certain Commander Talon who let Claw Island fall because he didn’t believe a credible source about an impending army assault).
How did Scarlet get wounded to the point that she couldn’t even stand?
During the Prime Hologram battle she eventually joins the fray, and I think what was supposed to be intended (but not easily seen if shown) was that the Prime Hologram’s destruction caused her injury – that, or she simply got injured during the fight. Either way, after the injury that destroyed her special battle armor (the helm, shoulders, and gloves that were once available via gemstore/achievements/mordrem invasions vendor), I think the idea is that she was suffering from heavy blood loss as she struggled her way into her airship, the Breachmaker.
The PC and biconics followed her in, and found her on the floor.
How long was she submitted to the asura’s experiments?
“Days” is what the short story tells us – if you’re referring to Omadd’s Machine.
If you mean their studying of her in general, several years since they were studying her (not really experimenting though, other than giving her the coursework) while she was attending the college which was roughly 3 years.
How do you meet the gang(Kas, Jory, Rox, etc..)?
Through different measures – Braham and Rox are both met first when the Molten Alliance was a threat; Kasmeer is met when Canach is causing trouble on Southsun Cove; Marjory is first met during Dragon Bash when Mai Trin makes her first appearance. There’s an in-game recap of Season 1 that you get directed to from the Story Journal under “Scarlet’s War”. Talk to the NPC after the cinematic recap for a recap on the biconics and how they joined the fray, and she mentions how each one is met. The link above also has that.
Dear ANet writers,
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
(edited by Konig Des Todes.2086)
Lions Arch had no air defences. Nothing at all.
Scarlet was a comic book super villain, and had access to comic book resources (to this day we don’t know where she got her men and material).
Scarlet was a comic book super villain, and had access to comic book resources (to this day we don’t know where she got her men and material).
The question of “where” Scarlet got everything she needed has already been answered plenty of times. She got everything by coercing fringe elements of already established organizations. The big question for her has always been “how?”. Unless she got some magical mind mojo powers from ol’ Mordy, her being able to strong arm so many groups into submission, no matter how many OP gadgets she invented, is still slightly unbelievable.
- Metals and Materials: Molten Alliance mining operations in the MFs.
- Toxins: Toxic Alliance, an unknowingly helpful hand from Marjory, and her own experiments.
- Twisted Watchworks and Steam Technology: A mixture between her own creations and hijacking stuff built on her own designs.
- Airships and Holograms: Stolen from the Pact and LA by the Aetherblades, and built and upgraded with help from herself and the Inquest.
(edited by Erukk.1408)