Anet decided the game starts in 1325 while we align it with our human earth years. however this creates some discrepancies imo. it feels as if lore does not agree with game mechanics or vice versa. (it never really has for that matter but it becomes a slight issue if recording the game happenings down. prior to the start of the game on timeline we notice there’s more realistic few years of gaps between each recorded event, at least it feels like nothing else has happened that we know of)
Why I believe we are actually beyond 1326AE.. I feel the game and it’s universe has a separate passing of time. Of course you can argue the game mechanics show day and night switches every few hours while the server time rather than some fantasy sundial or whatever system is used as reference for time and game mechanics of course are separate HOWEVER, I see these things right off the bat:
- Human-Charr peace treaty and summits and taking place, separatists and renegade near Ebonhawke etc they are stuck in that manner in game in preparation to ally to fight the dragons
- but we have things in other parts of the game like Queens Jubilee which is like celebrating the peace treaties and whatever cross cultural racial stuff with ambassadors from diff cities
- Lions Arch is attacked and the PACT is newly formed through personal story and establish fort trinity and attack on Zhaitan
- they combine technologies mobilize large amounts of troops, create airships etc
- u see the pact operating in diff areas of the map combating different dragons while it seems like you’ve just founded the PACT with your dear Trahearne and fought the very first Dragon as the pact
- obviously cleansing of Orr in the personal story also never cleansed Orr
These are just a few examples of many many more that are game mechanics because obviously new players still get to progress through the events and so forth.
However to me, the things around the maps represent the simultaneous flow of time, meaning these are actually things that took place over a long time or at least some time already. Things that didn’t all take place in a year and is just there at the same time bc of game mechanics.
To me though the beginning of the game is 1325, I am very convinced we’re looking at Tyria at level 80 endgame that is already years past. It’s not overnight that a treaty can be established and signed nor overnight that the Destiny’s Edge will get back together nor the PACT being established or Orr being cleansed. The starving and weakening of Zhaitan obviously took a long time as well. non stop living stories every two weeks isn’t something that can happen in the real immersed lore time. The game mechanics might look like it’s still 1326 but it is actually representing a long flow of time simultaneously. all we have to do is click a waypoint and button with no need for preparations or realistic efforts
According to Anet’s real lore, their timeline actually has gaps of a few years between significant events recorded etc, pre-game. In the book Sea of Sorrows, we see Cobiah Marriner and Lion’s Arch destroyed from the rising of Zhaitan and Orr, and gathering survivors many things happened, noble life of a pirate, building a new Lion’s Arch, establishing its system and defending against human politics etc with the first battle of Claw Island… these things took place over many years in the book and most of his lifetime. Certainly human-charr peace treaties, founding of a massive coalition like the Pact, the construction of a fortress like Fort Trinity, creating and deploying of airships, helicopters, tanks, and gathering so many troops; starving zhaitan’s minions, they’re not things that happen over night. This is the same for pre-game background lore which is much more realistic. But once in game we have this time flow all compressed, just purely because of game mechanics, and the need to have content to play and so forth. I think if this was all converted to novels instead of game, it would play out a more realistic timeline. Of course, with the pressure of the Dragon threats, production and productivity would be faster, but the Pact and Zhaitan stuff alone would likely take a year or more itself
it’s easier to use our human years as reference But If I had to guess I would believe something like at least 3-5 years already past is more realistic in terms of lore for the endgame level 80. Doesn’t our lore time feel strange? human reference, gameplay and game lore all in conflict
(edited by takatsu.9416)