Guild Wars 2

First of all, I’m not a gw1 player, but I find GW lore interesting enough to read some articles about its lore.

My question is basically, is it safe enough to speculate for some Mursaat’s returns anywhere in GW2? Doubt is born since Fractals deals (Spectral?) Agony, which I thought from what I could read that it was a Mursaat skill, so find it weird that other races can use it.

Also when Fractals came out, Anet introduced Ascended Jewerly with Infusion slot that can be filled it with Agony Resistance. I thought Infusion was a Seer creation to defend themselves from Mursaat (not from random bosses in Fractals that deal similar Agony as Mursaat did), which seems odd.

Also, adding whole Ascended jewelry items with Infusions slots makes me think that all that mechanic is a bit too much JUST to get use of them on Fractals (which not all people do, yet you can see many people with Ascended items who do not play Fractals at all)

Which leads me to my next speculation: Will Agony Resistance will be intended for something else (mobs) in the future, being Fractals a way to introduce players to these items and mechanics, but soon not the only place where Agony can be dealt?

Will we be seen Lazarus the Dire, and whatever is left from Mursaat, in GW2?

PS: I may have not read the enough of GW1 lore, so I may oversaw some important facts that could have answer my questions, if so, sorry about that, also sorry for my english…

Arenanet staded that they got some pretty cool plans for Mursaat in GW2. So I think they will retur somehow :P

Glad to see GW2 folks intrested in the whole lore You’ve pretty much covered the situation.

But I think agony will remain in the Fractals, making more dungeons based on agony may drastically dwell the number of ppl who go there.

Lazarus will probably make an appearance some point in the future, since he would make an excellent villain/antagonist. The Mursaat race, either groups or individuals? Not very likely.

Most, if not all, of their fighting forces seemed to have died in gw1. If there race had anymore survivors of the titans, other than Lazarus himself, they won’t stick their head out anytime soon, or they would risk loosing it. There is probably a special sect of the Shining Blades that looks out for possibly Mursaat activity, since they know that Lazarus is out there… somewhere.

As for the Agony in Fractuals, and the resistance armor, the Mists very broad and fluid lore most likely comes into play. The Mists copy stuff, and it’s both very good and very bad at copying stuff. It can copy events of the past, present, and future of Tyria, and it can even copy alternate events. The “what-ifs” and “what could have beens” of Tyrian history.

If the Mursaat’s Spectral Agony ability stood out enough, the Mists could copy that ability when it creates new creatures. Which it does a lot. The same could be said for the Ascended armor.

Gandarel.5091:

Arenanet staded that they got some pretty cool plans for Mursaat in GW2. So I think they will retur somehow :P

where did you read that? asking because from all Elder races, to me, Mursaat seem the most interesting one, so reading about them showing up somehow in GW2 sounds really nice

@Erukk: thank you for your insight too

Tormentor.2508:

Gandarel.5091:

Arenanet staded that they got some pretty cool plans for Mursaat in GW2. So I think they will retur somehow :P

where did you read that? asking because from all Elder races, to me, Mursaat seem the most interesting one, so reading about them showing up somehow in GW2 sounds really nice

@Erukk: thank you for your insight too

“After much discussion we have some really cool plans for the Mursaat”
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User_talk:Linsey_Murdock/Lore1#Asura_and_Mursaat

I think it’s also important to point out that the Mursaat used Spectral Agony and what we have in GW2 is just Agony. Yes it functions in much the same way, but the key word is agony, what is agony – excruciating pain. Spectral Agony I definitely think is something specific to the Mursaat (although if the Mursaat return Anet will probably use the exact same Agony mechanics for Spectral Agony which will be a bit -_-).

Gandarel.5091:

“After much discussion we have some really cool plans for the Mursaat”
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User_talk:Linsey_Murdock/Lore1#Asura_and_Mursaat

Thank you very much, just need to wait and see then…

If anything, to me, it seems to point to the fact that perhaps spectral agony wasn’t a creation of the Mursaat’s, but perhaps a magic that they found and were able to utilize in the mists. They then may have brought it back with them to use to great effect against the seers in their extermination of the race. Infusion may also be just a creation of the mists used to counteract the effects of agony, and it just happens to be a part of a being called an Eidolon which appears to be like a spirit (meaning it may be able to go in and out of the mists). I think it is a throw back to the mursaat, but it isn’t tied to them storywise, which means to me there is something other than the mursaat behind it. But don’t fear, I believe there is plenty of time for there to be content related to the Mursaat with the Isle of Janthir and the White Mantle still around.

I am hoping that we will see Lazarus the Dires return, since i got a score to settle with him and he swore vengeance to “countless generations” anyway for the damage done to him. If he will be capable of using Spectral Agony is questionable imo, since his power got “twisted” in some way. I hope he won’t, at least not on such a deadly level as in GW1, where infusion decided if you just dropped dead or not. Something like this should be limited to the Fractals imo, where everyone can decide if one wants to get exposed to Agony. ANet should not actively seek to split the playerbase into those who can play new content because of the proper gear and those who can’t.

And i would not like to see any other Mursaat return besides Lazarus, since the last few Mursaat were supposed to have gotten wiped out during the Battle for Lions Arch during War in Kryta. But that Lazarus was the last one was never definitely stated as far as i know. ANets wording about some plans for the Mursaat could be taken as a hint that there are more survivors than just Lazarus though.

The way I interpret agony as of GW2 is that it’s due to the fundamental nature of the mists, physical beings from Tyria on coming into contact with certain components of the mists experience massive physical damage, like a meta-physical law not meant to interact with physical matter that doesn’t apply properly to a physical object.

The Muraat’s understanding of the mists means they’re aware of that and can leverage it as a weapon – but it’s not a unique weapon of the Mursaat but something specific to the metaphysics of the mists.

I imagine they will return yes. The above indications, as well as the fact they have a minor presence in Kryta and some item saying something like “Some people believe the Mursaat will return to agonize the world”.

Mursaat were dope and kitten creepy villains much better than a kittenty dragon and its lame kitten eye of sauron rip off

Ryuujin.8236:

The way I interpret agony as of GW2 is that it’s due to the fundamental nature of the mists, physical beings from Tyria on coming into contact with certain components of the mists experience massive physical damage, like a meta-physical law not meant to interact with physical matter that doesn’t apply properly to a physical object.

The Muraat’s understanding of the mists means they’re aware of that and can leverage it as a weapon – but it’s not a unique weapon of the Mursaat but something specific to the metaphysics of the mists.

That’s pretty much what I was thinking. The mursaat escape strategy suggests that of the elder races, they probably had the best understanding of the Mists and metaphysics in general, which they used to develop a means of employing (Spectral) Agony as a weapon themselves (By contrast, the Seers seemed to have skill at manipulating Tyrian magic, the jotun at astrology, and the Forgotten at defeating dragon corruption.)

That said, I would hope that if the mursaat reappear, they’re not using Agony as we see it in Fractals… unless, of course, it’s in the fractals that they reappear. In GW1, infusion was something that anybody could get for free by doing a particular mission – now, agony resistance is one of the most expensive stats in the game.

If the Mursaat do have advanced knowledge when it comes to the Mists, is it possibly there could be a colony of them somewhere in the Mists or another world connected to it?

After running from the Elder Dragons during their last rise, I can see a bunch not wanting to return to Tyria because of them. Not to mention, that whole prophecy predicting their doom and all…

Possible. I think it’s unlikely, though – if it was practical to avoid the prophecy by just not being on Tyria, I suspect that’s what they would have done.

Even if there is a connection to the Mists, the mursaat escape strategy involved going ‘out of phase’ with Tyria rather than leaving it – technically speaking they were still around, it’s just that most things weren’t able to find and harm them. So my guess would be that either they didn’t truly leave Tyria, or that if they did, the place where they went to was equally dangerous. Maybe their hideout was found by demons, or by the Five, or maybe it’s simply that, whatever mastery of the Mists they had, it didn’t entail the ability to create stable realms for themselves to live there.

If, perhaps, they went out of phase with Tyria (kind of like during the mission where you and trahearne go to Orr) it is possible that the Titans could attack and destroy beings on both sides of that “phase” especially since they come from the Mists anyways.

That was pretty much my thought. Ascended, also, seem to have the ability to force them to battle, otherwise the mursaat we assassinate in the early War in Kryta quests would have been able to simply hide from us.

The day will come when the Mursaat return. I’m in denial that only Lazarus survived, so.

That said, nobody in the modern era is Ascended/has the gift of True Sight, and who’s to say the fractal “infusions” will work against Spectral Agony? Can’t wait to see what kind of fresh hell the Mursaat can put the world through when they come back.

I kind of want Lazarus to turn up at the end of a Living Story dungeon. Something like, the final boss shouting out for help from his/her master, but nothing happens. After you loot the chest, and the LS character/hero wonders off to investigate the area, you make your way to the exit, only for Lazarus to suddenly appear.

He doesn’t say anything. He’s just innocently floating right in front the path, blocking your way to the exit. Once the players get into range, he just calmly lifts his hand, then proceeds to instantly kill them with Spectral Agony.

Once everyone is dead, it fades to a black screen. The scene fades back into a cut scene of the LS hero reviving you.

It would be a fun way of introducing the players, who didn’t play gw1, to the Mursaat. With horrible horrible death.

Erukk.1408:

He doesn’t say anything. He’s just innocently floating right in front the path, blocking your way to the exit. Once the players get into range, he just calmly lifts his hand, then proceeds to instantly kill them with Spectral Agony.

Once everyone is dead, it fades to a black screen. The scene fades back into a cut scene of the LS hero reviving you.

It would be a fun way of introducing the players, who didn’t play gw1, to the Mursaat. With horrible horrible death.

Uh, try a perfect introduction. I think I’ll cry if the Mursaat/Seers are only part of a temporary 2-4 week Living Story shindig though… Like, legit cry.

Oh, based on Erukk’s description I can see Lazarus being a behind the scenes villain for a long portion of the Living Story. But personally I would prefer if Lazarus wasn’t a part of the Living Story (which comes and goes) but was instead part of a few dungeons or some personal stories. This way people could enjoy the content with him, even in the future.

Lore background on Mursaat is so interesting that would be a shameful waste if they bring them back just for Living Story….

What I meant for Lazarus being in the Living Story, is that he would be there continually. Like our supposed Personal Nemesis is suppose to be. Him killing us at the end of a LS dungeon would only be a first encounter. Just to show us that he’s there pulling strings, if you will.

If ANet really wanted to, they could build up Lazarus’ storyline in the LS, just to show us kind of what he is capable of. After a certain amount of time (so we can learn his history and motives), they can push his character into the personal storyline in a future expansion.

He would go from a shadowy secondary antagonist in the temporary LS, to a permanent outright villain in the Personal Story…

I might be in the minority, but I won’t mind seeing that.