Guild Wars 2

So, I did this a while ago and now I am doing it again.
I do this for my own couriosity and I do it a little bit for the writers, to give them some visibility what we as a community want to have answered.

Some of these things are questions they failed to answer, while others are, but not in a direct manner (like some background chatter, or a hidden in the world.)

This will be the opportunity to get some answers yourself, have the devs chime in (as they have proven to do so in the past) and to collect ideas for the future.

*(Disclaimer, I didnt finish HoT, this is for the ones who allready did it and I will join, when i am through as well.)

Btw. Feel free to add questions which are still leftover from the core game, LS1 and LS2 as there are plenty of plot threads that have started there and went nowhere so far, even though the story went in that direction.

I’ll put some of my questions from other threads here -

What’s the deal with Malyck and his tree?

Who is E?

What happens to the Pale Tree now that her “master” is dead?

How did Rytlock get his powers / what is the origin of Revenants? We know he went to the Mists, but what went on there? Why did he come back with a bunch of random spirits?

Speaking of Rytlock and his time in the Mists, was he successful cleaning up the Ascalon ghost problem (original reason he went there)?

Tipper.6973:

Speaking of Rytlock and his time in the Mists, was he successful cleaning up the Ascalon ghost problem (original reason he went there)?

Actually he went down there after his sword.
The ritual just opened a portal into the mist and was a side effect, so we can assume this part is still on his to do list.

Now I wonder if the Dream is in fact Mordremoth’s mind all along and Pale Tree just takes care of a chunk of it, where she creates sylvari. Thats why it’s so important to her to protect it and that’s why we fought Shadow of the Dragon in tutorial. I wonder what happens with the Dream now that mordremoth has been killed

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?
I know we killed Mordremoth’s mind, but is his body still alive? I mean is there now simply a mindless mess of tentacles and roots that was once inhabited by Modremoth’s mind or did his body also die, somehow?
if we did kill Mordy shouldn’t bad things be happening?

Tipper.6973:

What’s the deal with Malyck and his tree?

Oh yeah they didn’t touch on that at all!

Tipper.6973:

What happens to the Pale Tree now that her “master” is dead?

Probably just go on doing what she has always done I guess.

Sublimatio.6981:

Now I wonder if the Dream is in fact Mordremoth’s mind all along and Pale Tree just takes care of a chunk of it, where she creates sylvari. Thats why it’s so important to her to protect it and that’s why we fought Shadow of the Dragon in tutorial. I wonder what happens with the Dream now that mordremoth has been killed

Doubtful, we kill Modremoths mind at the end after all, so if the dream was his mind then the dream would no longer exist.

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?

I think it’s kind of implied/said that Chak overran the city?

Dunan Atreides.5436:

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?

I think it’s kind of implied/said that Chak overran the city?

It’s implied, but did the Asura not see it coming? Did they all just decide to stay their and die? (although that seems likely given that they didn’t flee Primordus). I don’t know something seems a bit off about all the Asura of Rata Norvus being dead and gone, at least some must have survived?

CureForLiving.5360:

Dunan Atreides.5436:

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?

I think it’s kind of implied/said that Chak overran the city?

It’s implied, but did the Asura not see it coming? Did they all just decide to stay their and die? (although that seems likely given that they didn’t flee Primordus). I don’t know something seems a bit off about all the Asura of Rata Norvus being dead and gone, at least some must have survived?

You have to dig around for the reports in the open world but the gist of the events leading to Rata Novus’ downfall. One report mentions that they set up a kind of defense perimeter to keep the chak from burrowing in that should work so long as there wasn’t any power fluctuations. Another report mentions harnessing a source of power from the ley lines- doesn’t look like that worked out for them. (My best guess is Rata Novus was zerg rushed by the chak, hence lack of survivors. Good ol’ asura hubris probably works in somewhere too.)

Dunan Atreides.5436:

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?

I think it’s kind of implied/said that Chak overran the city?

There’s an item you can interact with that basically says the Asura were way too overconfident. “We’ve ran into a minor problem with these Chak. It should be dealt with soon.” or something along those lines. My guess is that they initially underestimated their opponents, and the defenses they set up were not enough to hold them back. If they were harnessing ley-energy for power, that would have also just drawn more Chak to them.

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?

Overrun by Chak. They just picked a really bad place to build a city, like Los Angeles or New Orleans IRL.

CureForLiving.5360:

My questions:
What exactly happened to Rata Novus?
I know we killed Mordremoth’s mind, but is his body still alive? I mean is there now simply a mindless mess of tentacles and roots that was once inhabited by Modremoth’s mind or did his body also die, somehow?

The Mouth of Mordremoth is his body. You fight it in the Dragon’s Stand meta event.

CureForLiving.5360:

if we did kill Mordy shouldn’t bad things be happening?

The egg absorbed the magic released upon his death. We’ve yet to see what happens a result, but from what I gather the egg/Glint’s baby is meant to be a giant magic sponge to keep said bad things from happening.

But seriously though, I really want to see what happened with Malyck/his tree.

• If Mordremoth was able to hide his mind within Trahearne, does this mean Zhaitan could have as well? Is this why the risen in Arah act as if Zhaitan’s alive – he merely changed “bodies”? Is this why Tequatl got his power boost – he isn’t Tequatl any longer… he’s Zhaitan?
• Where the kitten was Malyck and his tree?
• Why give us the kitten cliffhanger of the egg absorbing magic with not showing what happens?
• So we are told the Nightmare Court also resist Mordremoth… but where the hell were they?
• What about sylvari in cities like LA? Anything happened to those further away?
• What will happen to the Mordrem? Will they remain until exterminated like Zhaitan, or with Mordremoth’s mind truly destroyed and a flash of magic bursting out (unlike with Zhaitan), are they all dead?
• What’s the story behind Rytlock? He STILL hasn’t answered Rox’s questions. How did he get his powers? Particularly Glint’s?
• What’s the story behind the druids? The one event chain about them left it… with no progress.
• Is Rata Novus the Uncategorized Fractal?

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• So we are told the Nightmare Court also resist Mordremoth… but where the hell were they?

Apart from Faolain, there’s ONE Nightmare Courtier in the story instance with Eir & Faolain. I actually didn’t see her on my first playthrough, I had to play a second time with another character to see her, and yeah, you can talk to her rather than insta-kill like most of the NC NPCs you met in the world. But yeah, no armies of Nightmare Courtiers like we saw in the first HoT Trailer (or they’re in an open world event that I haven’t seen yet, but I doubt about that).

-If obviously the Mordrem Guards can be freed from Mordremoth’s influence if they’re far enough (Rata Novus story instance), I guess his mind’s destruction also frees all the former Sylvari. But what about the clones ? Do they have the same memory as the originals ?

—…What about Malyck and his tree ? I thought this expansion would be finally where we get some answers, and… we got nothing.

-What about the Dream ? What is it ? Why can’t a Sylvari turn back from the Nightmare if obviously Mordrem Guards can be freed from the Dragon’s Influence ?

-Who is E ?

EDIT ! : Okay, so according to a friend, there are actually Nightmare Courtiers, and another NC duchess in the Mouth of Mordremoth meta event. This seem to be way more interesting than Faolain and that random NPC in the story instance. :p

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• If Mordremoth was able to hide his mind within Trahearne, does this mean Zhaitan could have as well? Is this why the risen in Arah act as if Zhaitan’s alive – he merely changed “bodies”? Is this why Tequatl got his power boost – he isn’t Tequatl any longer… he’s Zhaitan?

Just wanted to touch on this one as I thought about it today some more. The implication from Rata Novus that each Elder Dragon has a weakness and how we came to overcoming Mordremoth through his own element (Mind) has led me to thinking about how we broke Zhaitan.

First off, I want to say that I can accept how we were able to fell Mordremoth so quickly given that the Pact and us as a whole were in far better shape to fight Elder Dragons thanks to just ‘defeating Zhaitan’ in recent months (in game), AND that Mordremoth I believe had just woken up, his power that we saw in the Jungle was not at its peak, it was rising fast. We nipped it in the bud….Sorry.

Anyways, so the Elder Dragons have a weakness, and we spontaneously decided to fight the Plant Dragon in its own turf thanks to Proxy Traherne. Fair enough…but I believe this warrants another question:

Did we really fulfill that same requirement for Zhaitan?

I…want to believe so, as well as depriving him of sustenance (Magic items). Zhaitan’s Elements as I recall were (Un)Death and Darkness. Presuming that each Elder Dragon holds two elements such as a physical element (Natural Elements, Nature, Physics) and a metaphysical one (Mind, Strength/Power, Darkness) I am going on a HUGE leap here and postulating that…

We fought Zhaitan in his own element, Darkness, and brought Light. Not to be a coincidence with the Personal Story Quest “A Light in the Darkness” but rather we needed to twist Zhaitan’s influence over darkness against him. After all Darkness is the absence of Light. Ergo when we cleansed Orr, I don’t necessarily want to say ‘We brought light to Orr and diminished his power’ but rather we were countering Zhaitan at his own game. Not having Magical Artifacts will anger Zhaitan, but it won’t kill him.

If the conjecture is true, then I want to believe that all the Elder Dragons will have to be beaten in their Metaphysical Elements, diminishing what they hold so sacred in their instincts and personality.

…That was a ramble, back to Konig’s point, the possibility exists that maybe I was wrong and that we didn’t actually fight Zhaitan properly to kill him completely. Tequatl is a result of this juncture. Mordremoth is probably the only Elder Dragon at this point that is truly dead, beyond resurrection.

If Zhaitan’s weakness was “hope” then that was a horrible weakness to have.

And yes, “hope” is effectively what you were talking about, just metaphorically using light and shadows to go about it. And that’s also what all the talk of “darkness” and “light” is in the personal story – light is hope, darkness is despair.

Edit: I should clarify that in the personal story, the only NPC that really talks about darkness is the Pale Tree who uses it to refer to how easily it can be to fall into despair when facing impossible odds. Trahearne does refer to this as well but more directly, not in metaphors. But very little of the actual fight against Zhaitan is about morale being needed to maintain, which would in turn mean that Zhaitan was very, very bad at bringing despair. If his sphere of power that is shadow is metaphorical for sadness and loss of hope, he was very kittenty at that job.

Edit2: Furthermore, I would argue that his sphere of power that is shadow is more literal. For example, after the Cataclysm Orr was plunged into perpetual darkness. If you go into any Orr map and look into the sky the clouds are thicker than anywhere else – and at night the sky is so thick with Zhaitan’s corruption that it almost looks like water.

Our first in-game mention/hint of Zhaitan’s existence also described the force that was Zhaitan’s magic as a “dark, rising shadow” that would “swallow the sun”.

The only other Elder Dragon to encase its territory in darkness is Kralkatorrik, but he does this with a perpetual thunderstorm, rather than just pure covering shadows and that almost looks like a shimmering bubble layer in putrid liquid. And that goes to Kralkatorrik’s implied sphere of air/sky (implied via Glint’s magic being used to make the Zephyrite crystals of sun, sky, and lightning magic – as well as Glint’s egg – and via his and his branded’s heavy use of lightning; it’s even implied when he turns into a sandstorm – a mixture of tiny crystals and heavy winds).

Zhaitan does attack at morale repeatedly through his risen, but I don’t think that’s his sphere of power. Literally or metaphorically.

Based on the original personal story, Zhaitan’s weakness was his gluttony. He relied on his minions alone to bring him sustenance.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• If Mordremoth was able to hide his mind within Trahearne, does this mean Zhaitan could have as well? Is this why the risen in Arah act as if Zhaitan’s alive – he merely changed “bodies”? Is this why Tequatl got his power boost – he isn’t Tequatl any longer… he’s Zhaitan?

With Mordy they did introduce this this idea that in fact Elder Dragons aren’t necessarily limited by something like their bodies, that they are entities that have transcended their own flesh. I rather like that concept, makes them a bit more eldritch. Although ANet could probably hand-wave this and say ‘well you see Mordy was the ED of mind and plants so that’s why his mind / body thing worked differently’.
But if they did include this idea that simply physically killing a Elder Dragons body is only one part of the fight against him, well that means we can finally get that end fight against Zhaitan that we all wanted.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• So we are told the Nightmare Court also resist Mordremoth… but where the hell were they?

I’m more interested in knowing what Faolain was doing in Magus Falls. Did the Mordrem capture her? Did she have some reason for entering Elder Dragon territory? We don’t see any Nightmare Court involved in Dry Top or Silverwastes so why suddenly in Magus Falls do we see a few popup?

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• What will happen to the Mordrem? Will they remain until exterminated like Zhaitan, or with Mordremoth’s mind truly destroyed and a flash of magic bursting out (unlike with Zhaitan), are they all dead?

Sylvari are still alive, so likely the Mordrem remain (we also got that impression from what we saw in the Raids).

Sykper.6583:

We fought Zhaitan in his own element, Darkness, and brought Light.

Ah ok so his weakness was lazers XD

They actually established the Elder Dragons as being less physical beings a long time ago in Edge of Destiny. A line that immediately caught my eye from the book about Kralkatorrik is describing him as “more magical than physical”.

Which made me a bit disappointed in Zhaitan’s final fight even more than just the spamming a key.

I thought with Zhaitan, we killed him with Death?

all of the energy weapons used against Zhaitan were based on Gorr’s vacumagic polarizers, which absorbed his energy, inverted the polarity, and shot it back. the result being that the two different polarities zero-summed and hurt zhaitan.

we were literally shooting Death (in the form of necromantic dragon energy) back at him to cancel out his own energy

Konig Des Todes.2086:

They actually established the Elder Dragons as being less physical beings a long time ago in Edge of Destiny. A line that immediately caught my eye from the book about Kralkatorrik is describing him as “more magical than physical”.
.

I’ve begun to notice this too actually.
I think there’s a reason behind Zhaitans design change. It always bugged me how he was a dragon made up off other things, is that just his body and how it is? Is it genuinely made up of other creatures bones? If so then that means Zhaitan would have to do that itself right?
Which got me thinking, what if the elder dragons only retain a biological dragon shape while sleeping?
Zhaitan had normal body then presumably became a composite of skeletons
Kralkatorrik’s body looks rather “normal” in GW1 and then in GW2 concept art depicts it as purely crystalline and can turn into a living whirlwind if I remember correctly
Then there is Modremoth and all it’s vines, sure an argument could be made about the Mouth but I think that’s just a large part of its entirety and maybe isn’t even the container for it’s mind at large.

This is pure speculation and spitballing but thought I’d throw it out there

Konig Des Todes.2086:

They actually established the Elder Dragons as being less physical beings a long time ago in Edge of Destiny. A line that immediately caught my eye from the book about Kralkatorrik is describing him as “more magical than physical”.

Which made me a bit disappointed in Zhaitan’s final fight even more than just the spamming a key.

I think the Mordremoth Fight is what Anet wanted the Zhaitan Fight to be. It was stated that this Fight was cut short because they hadn’t the Time and it felt like the Confetti Shooting was just an intermission Phase with at least another Phase where we got to kill the Magical Being itself instead of just the Body.

Calcifire.1864:

I thought with Zhaitan, we killed him with Death?

all of the energy weapons used against Zhaitan were based on Gorr’s vacumagic polarizers, which absorbed his energy, inverted the polarity, and shot it back. the result being that the two different polarities zero-summed and hurt zhaitan.

we were literally shooting Death (in the form of necromantic dragon energy) back at him to cancel out his own energy

Huh, do we have a confirmation his work carried over from ‘Magic Sucks’? Although his presence in the final battles facing Zhaitan might imply it does…

…Doesn’t quite help my theory though, unless it somehow extends to both spheres can be a weakness but that’s essentially ‘more than one weakness’.

Darn it.

- What about E?
- What Malyck and his tree?
- What about Taimi and her researches?
- What about Kasmeer, Logan and Zojja?
- What about the Pale Tree?
- What about the usual epilogue instance we have since the first Guild Wars?

Seriously I really have the impression that Anet just rush the end-game before the release and got no time to put something after

Sykper.6583:

Huh, do we have a confirmation his work carried over from ‘Magic Sucks’? Although his presence in the final battles facing Zhaitan might imply it does…

It’s used at Claw Island if you go with Gorr, and when the Priory is attacked they use Gorr’s experimental devices. The cannons on the Glory of Tyria (and perhaps the other airships) are hinted to be based off of his works while the “mega laser” (whatever name it actually has) is an evolved form of the laser used against Tequatl, amplified by Zojja who used Snaff’s and Kudu’s research on dragon energies.

joeyw.9531:

Seriously I really have the impression that Anet just rush the end-game before the release and got no time to put something after

Yeah. Everything after City of Hope felt rushed.

Prior to City of Hope, the only things I’d change would be Eir and Faolain living longer, and the Mordrem Guard commanders being recognizable foes like Faolain’s mordrem form is. Instead we get cyclopean swordmaster, red-pulsing axehead, and Sauron-crown-head staffmaster. I’m highly disappointed that there isn’t a SINGLE mordrem guard who has a name we can recognize from the personal story.

IMHO, the story should have gone as such:

• Canach voice the opening scene, not Laranthir, as it makes no sense to me that Laranthir can contact the commander while being trapped.
• Ibli and Tizlak joins the party for missions to come.
• Eir and Faolain held prisoner at the Corpse Grove in Verdant Brink. Instead of a Vinetooth which ends up being pathetic monsters later on, we fight the first Mordrem Commander who is designed like Faolain’s mordrem form and is someone we recognize from the Pact (e.g., a member of the Pale Reavers). Since commanders respawn infinitely we have to run out of the Blighting Tree re-killing it along the way until we reach far enough away. Yes, Eir and Faolain live.
• In Auric Basin, rather than only new Pact NPCs, we have a return of most (but not all) Verdant Brink Pact NPCs with some new Pact NPCs. This shows that the army is moving with us deeper into the jungle and while we’re evacuating the wounded we’re rescuing those trapped further within. Do this for Tangled Root and Dragon’s Stand as well.
• Instead of Mordrem Faolain in next instance when we meet Caithe, we run into Mordrem Commander #2 who’s based at the southern Auric Basin Blighting Tree. Caithe and Faolain afterwards (off-screen) continue on into jungle (into Tangled Depths) while Rytlock and biconics wait for commander to search for DE.
• After City of Hope, we track Logan, Zojja, and Trahearne (there was no need for him to die except to cater to the haters – no rhyme intended) to the Blighting Tree in southern Auric Basin. Like Ibli and Tizlak, Ruka the Wanderer joins us from here on. We rescue Logan, Zojja, and Trahearne and escort them north to Tarir while the commander harries us.
• Next instance we learn of Rata Novus, with Ruka not some random exalted, explaining the map and room to us. With no rush, we detour towards Rata Novus.
• In Tangled Depths, Malyk’s tree is there and is under assault by mordrem in open world. Meta wise, they could replace ogres or SCAR camps. In story, we catch up to Caithe and Faolain and defend Malyk’s tree (with reunion with him) from mordrem. In mordrem attack, Faolain falls and her body is swiftly taken away. (Dying at this point gives her a chance – albeit 3 instances – to have some proper screen time – note: Eir is with us the entire time so there’d be continued Braham/Eir development). After saving Malyk’s tree we go to Rata Novus.
• In Rata Novus, rather than “every Elder Dragon has a weakness”, we learn something tangential about the general idea behind each weakness and mention Mordremoth’s greatest strength – that he can regrow his body if he has any corruption spread out in the world. Rytlock/Eir make a comment about the fight with Kralkatorrik with leads to the conclusion that Mordremoth must be fought in his mind.
• Afterwards, head south into Dragon’s Reach for the final battle. In Dragon’s Reach we have a story instance that shows our group dividing to help lead the three lanes (NPCs – Ibli, Tizlak, Ruka, and perhaps others) show up in open world with their factions; meanwhile PC goes to weaken Mordremoth’s advances outside of the main assault force where they’re attacked by Mordrem Faolain, who kills Eir. Chase ensues, we end up at the Heart of Thorns. We kill Faolain, we dive into Mordremoth’s mind.
• I would change Mordremoth’s mindscape to be an eternal sky and eternal ground of the writhing vines seen in the chasms of Verdant Brink, with his “true mental form” being the shadow face we see – the two-legged krait oratuss thing would just be his “physical representation in his mindscape” while his mind itself is the shadow face. We defeat the physical representation (which would have a lot less health) to weaken the shadow face. Each time we defeat it, it comes back with allies (overtime this would be each of the iconics/biconics that didn’t enter, the order mentor/Trahearne, who died during greatest fear (Tonn/Syska/Apatia), and who died during invasion into Orr (Tegwen/Zott/Arda Gyreshriek)).

And of course, add some form of after-party celebration like with Zhaitan inside Tarir, with hints of the purpose of the egg and what happened to it. As it is, it ended with one hell of a cliffhanger with no hint that the story’s actually done except for the journal telling us so.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

• In Rata Novus, rather than “every Elder Dragon has a weakness”, we learn something tangential about the general idea behind each weakness and mention Mordremoth’s greatest strength – that he can regrow his body if he has any corruption spread out in the world. Rytlock/Eir make a comment about the fight with Kralkatorrik with leads to the conclusion that Mordremoth must be fought in his mind.

Yeah at the end, this instance seems to be really useless: our character can find his idea to go inside the Dream without it. Moreover, Taimi is no longer seen.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

IMHO, the story should have gone as such:

/highly approves/ Oh my God, yes. Here comes my money for all of these edits. I wish we could have you writing the scenario… Your version is 100000 times better than what we’ve played…

Okay, I have finished. Let`s start just with the ones from the top of my head:

- What was Mordremoths big plan again? I thought he was very intelligent.
- What was the Egg for and why do we give it away so easily?
- Why did no one find the exalted in all these years?
- Why are the druids imlmemented so half-hearted.
- Why were there nobles in the attack?
- Why is Rata Novus, supposeldy visible from Rata Sum, not visible?
- Are Inquest part of former Rata Novus survivors?
- Where was the supposed Nightmare Court?
- Where does the amulet of Kryta come into play?
- Where are the inquest?
- How is “our” guild called?
- Where did Rytlock got his powers and why does nobody care?
- Why can we suddenly, without a problem enter the dream?
- Why does Mordremoth copy clothes and armor?
- Since when is Kasmeer a teleport ninja sneaky expert? I know she theoreticly can, but I want that as well. I am a mesmer.
- Why did we bring Braham along?
- What about the bloodstones?
- What about the Pale Tree?
- What about all Sylvaris around the world?
- How come LA does know about what happened?
- Why was there no Scarlet clone?
- Why is there no epilog?
- What about Malyck and his tree?
- How did we get out of Rata Novus?
- How did Taimi survive in an infested place?

Actually, the problem with HoT is mostly that it doesn`t give us much to ask question. It just does. So any potential question is mostly brushed aside, or taken care of with some reason .
The main question would be more along the lines: Why are these big things not touched upon.

The weird thing about the Inquest point is that their tech is in Dragon’s Stand. It’s even stated by an NPC to be Inquest. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be hinting at the Thaumanova/CoE research or what, but it’s there.

Jaken.6801:

Okay, I have finished. Let`s start just with the ones from the top of my head:

- What was the Egg for and why do we give it away so easily?

We didn’t give it away so easily. Even when Ruka helped us to escape the fight scene with the egg, we don’t trust him in the first place. Then we join Tarir and all the evidence is here : the egg belongs to this place.

- Why were there nobles in the attack?

Explained by Jasmina if you talk to her prior outpost events.

- Why is Rata Novus, supposeldy visible from Rata Sum, not visible?

It’s the reverse. There’s even an achievement for that.

- Are Inquest part of former Rata Novus survivors?

The Inquest was founded “quite recently”, so I don’t think so.

- Where did Rytlock got his powers and why does nobody care?

They (at least Rox) care about it, but there’s a war going on.

- How did Taimi survive in an infested place?

There is not a single chak remaining near the laboratory.

Seeing there is much unclear, I think it would be cool if we could get some of the writing team to do an AMA thread. I think we could need some clarification on some of HoT stuff and maybe hear the writers’ reasoning behind some decisions.

Jaken.6801:

- What was the Egg for and why do we give it away so easily?

The first’s answer is told – as much as ArenaNet seems intent to do – in the achievement A Study in Gold, as well as the final cinematic. If you don't mind not seeing it yourself...Basically Glint's legacy is *NOT* the egg. The egg is merely part of it. It's blatantly stated that the legacy's entirety will remain unclear until the end - in other words ArenaNet wants this to be the mystery defacto numero uno of GW2. It is the main plot now, not the Elder Dragons. And the legacy, when completed, will "change all civilization." - whether that's good or bad we'll find out later.

And we didn’t give it away so easily, but only after learning the Exalted’s story and seeing the city of gold which we knew from the beginning (the Pale Tree’s vision) that was the egg’s intended destination.

Jaken.6801:

- Why did no one find the exalted in all these years?

No one lived in Magus Falls for centuries. Those who did, did find the exalted. But they – the Rata Novans – were themselves secretive and isolated.

Jaken.6801:

- Why were there nobles in the attack?

They explain this if you talk to them at the beginning and throughout the meta event chain for them. Basically, Faren had this bright idea of “hey, the Pact Fleet defeated Zhaitan so easily so clearly they’ll defeat Mordremoth even easier since they’re prepared for Elder Dragon fights, have more resources, and Mordremoth’s just woken, so why don’t we get our own airship (”Faren’s Flyer") and watch the show!"

If you think that’s weird, it, sadly, isn’t so far off from how things were in American (and likely all of the world’s) history. The story reminds me very much of a historical fact I learned back in highschool about the American Civil War. Basically, the richer nobles back then would go out to hills overlooking battlefields… and have picnics as the armies fought.

Suffice it to say, not all of those picnickers survived.

Jaken.6801:

- Why is Rata Novus, supposeldy visible from Rata Sum, not visible?

Thick jungles and mountains in the way. Plus supposedly that pyramid isn’t all that huge.

Also you have to keep in mind that Tyria’s distance is much much larger than what we see in-game. From the lore distance there is, that pyramid likely looks like just some simple uninteresting mountain in the far distance.

Jaken.6801:

- Are Inquest part of former Rata Novus survivors?

Unlikely but not impossible. You make this correlation due to the interest in studying the Elder Dragons, correct? There’s a flaw in that correlation though:

First, Kudu was the one heading the Inquest’s study of dragon energy, and was doing so for his personal gain. Supposedly, before him and his being taught by Snaff, the Inquest didn’t have such an interest.

Second, Inquest study Elder Dragons to take control of them. Rata Novus studied Elder Dragons to kill them.

And third, we’re told that the Inquest isn’t that old. We don’t know how old, however. More importantly, however, is that we were told on why the Inquest were formed – to avoid losing the knowledge that was lost when The Great Destroyer forced the asura to the surface.

Jaken.6801:

- How is “our” guild called?

Destiny’s Edge. In S2, the Pale Tree calls you a member of Destiny’s Edge, even though the PC denies it. With Braham and Marjory starting on about “our guild”, and seemingly including Rytlock, that means it’s not “DE 2.0” but “DE’s new members”.

Jaken.6801:

- Why can we suddenly, without a problem enter the dream?

Why could we during A Light in the Darkness?

The action is the same in both cases. Using a conduit to enter the Dream. The conduit the first time is the Pale Tree. The second time it’s Trahearne.

Jaken.6801:

- Why does Mordremoth copy clothes and armor?

I’m placing that under “mechanics”. Would be weird to fight Logan and Zojja in their underwear.

Jaken.6801:

- Since when is Kasmeer a teleport ninja sneaky expert? I know she theoreticly can, but I want that as well. I am a mesmer.

See Season 2 Episode 1. She teleports everyone in two instances twice. For the sneaky bit: See Tower of Nightmares. In the first instance where you meet up with them outside the tower to see the unveiling, she was keeping herself and Marjory invisible (though her hicups gave away their position). It was also a perma-invisibility until you reached them.

Jaken.6801:

- Why did we bring Braham along?

Because Ka-Braham!

No, not really. Uh… cuz he’s friends?

Yeah, I got nothing.

Jaken.6801:

- How come LA does know about what happened?

Where’s this stated?

Though given that they outright confirmed the canonocity of the Mordrem Invasions with Canach’s dialogue, that means that word got out incredibly fast to the Durmand Priory, and that also means the dialogue from during the rebuilding of LA (before the rebuilt part) is also canon, which means that the Order of Whispers were recalling all troops due to the few survivors of the crash.

How that can all happen in 24 hours it beyond me though!

Jaken.6801:

- Why was there no Scarlet clone?

Because HoT is full of community pandering, as obvious with Trahearne, and they thankfully also listened to the hatred of Scarlet.

Jaken.6801:

- Why is there no epilog?

I’m gonna say “wait for the raid release, since that’s post-HoT we might see something”.

Jaken.6801:

- How did we get out of Rata Novus?

There was a second asura gate where that instance ended.

Jaken.6801:

- How did Taimi survive in an infested place?

We cleared the infestation. In that area, at least.

BuddhaKeks.4857:

Seeing there is much unclear, I think it would be cool if we could get some of the writing team to do an AMA thread. I think we could need some clarification on some of HoT stuff and maybe hear the writers’ reasoning behind some decisions.

I agree. I would like this.

Jaken.6801:

- Why did no one find the exalted in all these years?

They were asleep…

Jaken.6801:

- Why were there nobles in the attack?

Stupidity mostly. They wanted a front row seat to the death of Mordy.

Jaken.6801:

- Why is Rata Novus, supposeldy visible from Rata Sum, not visible?

It’s technically underground.

Jaken.6801:

- Why can we suddenly, without a problem enter the dream?

Because… plot reasons…

Jaken.6801:

- Why does Mordremoth copy clothes and armor?

Mordy is strongly anti-nudist.

Jaken.6801:

- Why did we bring Braham along?

Where? In HoT in general or are you referring to a specific instance? Basically I think it’s a matter of needing all the help you can get.

Jaken.6801:

- Why was there no Scarlet clone?

Because Mordy seems to require a physical body to clone.

@Gorgaan Peaudesang

Exalted
The thing is more about (how in the story and not in the open world), we meet him, he helps us and then he shows us something they could have fabricated.
We are still under the asumption that Mordremoth is able to mess with our minds and since we met him, we got split from the group and run around alone with the exalted.
We then even proceed to just give them the egg.

I know, it is the rushed storytelling, but as I just don`t trust Glint anymore (I am a Shadowrun player, i don`t trust dragons. Even more none with plans that no mortal is able to concive), as she is just too convinient.

Chak
Yes, near the laboratory. What stops new Chaks from getting back into it? They managed it the first time and seeing how the thing is busted I dont think the defensemechanisms are a big hindrance anymore.

@Konig

the egg
Yes, things point there. I blame the rushed story then. Why do we always have to give in so easily…

No one in the falls?
I cant really believe that. We know of the Asura, sure, but we know the White Mantle are at least went in the jungle area.
Also there were several hundreds of years and thanks to our GW1 heroes knowledge of what can be found there. I mean, there is even a temple to Balthazar here, which could have been a place to pilgrim too after it was rediscovered.

Rata Novus
Well, we are still talking about Asura. I ebt they have some nice telescopes around.
However yeah. The map doesnt have to be accurate.

Inquest
So nothings speaks against the idea that the Inquest could have been from ancestors or survivors of Rata Novus.

If they are a recent group, the basic of their Dragon research could have been from Rata Novus.

We dont know who survived. If it is the back stabbing personal gain kind of Asura who mostly got out, then it could easily become Inquest down the line.

I he is the ancestor of a former Rata Novus Asura, he can still be taught by Snaff.
He just might have had another hidden agenda, thanks to his parents.

Well it doesnt have to be, but I like the Idea. I am just unsure about the timeline, though.

Guild
Oh, its that easy? I want a memo as well next time, since apearently I am the Boss now as well.
When did that happen, then? The PS epilog said, that I killed Zaihan alongside DE, if I am not msitaken, and then I wandered around alone gathering my new friends to take down Scarlet, all while they joke about creating their own guild.
When did the transition and inititation happen? Off screen again?

Clothes and armor
Well, he could use their body as a base and deform them. Like everyone else. Its not like he enhanced the others as well (Faolain, moredrem Guard…). I count it more alongside the mordrem frogs we meet, who are jus a darker tone in color, aka reused model

The Dream
He is a Necro and a Fristborn. Yes he could be a conduit, but something like that could have been introduced earlier. I accept the pale tree, as she is the creator, but without a hint, it comes around as very easy solution to a significant problem.

Kassmeer
I know. She just really jumped in scope, when we consider our gamemechanics. It just feels disconected.
On one side she is the sheltered noble (her comments to ansty things for example) and then she is suddenly the master ninja. Yes she had the abilities. However she now uses them in the midst of enemy territory and has no problems with it.

Epilog
I dont like waiting for Elite Content Side Stories/bridge to new content and fill in the gap LS3 . I like my traditional epilog.
However, that might just be me.

Taimi
Yep, in that area. Let them swarm in after her protecors are gone MUHAHAHA

Rata Novus Escape
Which was broken like the one we got in. Also, the nice green star didnt point to the gate, but towards the way we got in, so technicaly we are still there and everythign after it is just a hallucination, thanks to us starving.

But seriously. The thing was broken. How did we get out?

@CureforLiving

Exalted
Big golden City. Even if it didnt shine, they were big ruins. Someone who wandered there might have noticed.

Amor and Clothes
I aaccept that answer

Braham
Sure, however what can he do that others can? Aside from being Eirs Son and smash thing he didnt really do much.
Sure he was Taimis babysitter and started the search for Scarlet for the Norn, but after that?
Yes, we need every help we can get, but I am asking about what skills does he bring to the table? I f it is just smash things we got Rytlock now and he has at least some extra snark with him.
Most of the time I feel like he is just there for reasons and not neccessary for the story (even if he gets a big downer in HoT)

Scarlet
Actually I was mostly joking with that one. Would have been interesting though, as it would bring the Who talked really to her debate down. It could still have been some demon.

Did we find out who gave the egg to the Master of Peace?

- I saw the Master of Peace take an egg.
- Fear not. He did not steal it. He was given custody of it.
- By whom?
- You know. You witnessed it, didn’t you?
- Not clearly.
- Then you’re not meant to know just yet. All things in their time.

Underdark.3726:

Did we find out who gave the egg to the Master of Peace?

- I saw the Master of Peace take an egg.
- Fear not. He did not steal it. He was given custody of it.
- By whom?
- You know. You witnessed it, didn’t you?
- Not clearly.
- Then you’re not meant to know just yet. All things in their time.

No we did not find out. My guess is Gleam, Glint’s older child. But it could be anyone, really. Mister E? Ogden himself? Livia?

Jaken.6801:

Exalted
Big golden City. Even if it didnt shine, they were big ruins. Someone who wandered there might have noticed.

Well we can debate the someone part, a certain Saul D’Alessio did stumble across a golden city after all…

Jaken.6801:

Chak
Yes, near the laboratory. What stops new Chaks from getting back into it? They managed it the first time and seeing how the thing is busted I dont think the defensemechanisms are a big hindrance anymore.

You should play the TD meta events, specifically the one in Rata Novus. minor spoiler following There you help a OoW Agent (I think Zildi was her name) to get into Rata Novus and take control of it’s golems. So the city is secured by the pact and mostly kept free of chak, that includes Taimi’s location, the hidden laboratory.

Where is the epilogue to help process Trahearne’s death? I’m flippin sad here

Jaken.6801:

Exalted
The thing is more about (how in the story and not in the open world), we meet him, he helps us and then he shows us something they could have fabricated.
We are still under the asumption that Mordremoth is able to mess with our minds and since we met him, we got split from the group and run around alone with the exalted.
We then even proceed to just give them the egg.

That’s a lot of work for mere fabrication.

Plus Mordremoth showed no signs of influencing non-sylvari, and it was clear from the interaction with Faolain – at least to me – that Ruka was not allied with the mordrem.

Jaken.6801:

Yes, things point there. I blame the rushed story then. Why do we always have to give in so easily…

I don’t think the egg part was rushed at all.

Keep in mind that we’ve had the egg plot since Season 2. You cannot think of HoT as standalone. S2 and HoT are basically two halves to the same story, the same plot, unlike the PS and S1.

They could have added a line referring to the Pale Tree vision, but that would just be to remind folks/tell those who didn’t do S2 of that fact.

Jaken.6801:

No one in the falls?
I cant really believe that. We know of the Asura, sure, but we know the White Mantle are at least went in the jungle area.
Also there were several hundreds of years and thanks to our GW1 heroes knowledge of what can be found there. I mean, there is even a temple to Balthazar here, which could have been a place to pilgrim too after it was rediscovered.

The White Mantle seem to have kept to the north, in old centaur lands. The Exalted came into being after GW1, so there is no “several hundreds of years” – there’s just 200 years. In the time of GW1, the only inhabitants there were asura – mainly just one: Zinn – and the Shining Blade, who left for Kryta. The White Mantle never went close to the Magus Falls, the druids were gone, leaving only the two hylek sun-species, and Rata Novus (originating from Zinn).

Jaken.6801:

Rata Novus
Well, we are still talking about Asura. I ebt they have some nice telescopes around.
However yeah. The map doesnt have to be accurate.

Telescopes can’t see through mountains/lush jungles, or through the ground – keep in mind that only one pyramid is above the surface; the rest of Rata Novus is deep underground.

Jaken.6801:

Inquest
So nothings speaks against the idea that the Inquest could have been from ancestors or survivors of Rata Novus.

If they are a recent group, the basic of their Dragon research could have been from Rata Novus.

We dont know who survived. If it is the back stabbing personal gain kind of Asura who mostly got out, then it could easily become Inquest down the line.

I he is the ancestor of a former Rata Novus Asura, he can still be taught by Snaff.
He just might have had another hidden agenda, thanks to his parents.

Well it doesnt have to be, but I like the Idea. I am just unsure about the timeline, though.

• True, hence why I said a possibility but ultimately unlikely IMO.
• The intent and way of studying the Elder Dragons completely differ. It’s like saying someone training a dog to act as a seeing eye originates from the teachings of someone dissecting dogs.
• We don’t know IF anyone survived. Remember, Rata Novus is called the lost krewe. It’s largely unknown, its location unknown, its fate unknown, even its existence is called into question according to Taimi. Rata Novus was a myth to modern asurans. So the chances of a lot of survivors is minimal – the chances of a few survivors is unlikely.

Jaken.6801:

Guild
Oh, its that easy? I want a memo as well next time, since apearently I am the Boss now as well.
When did that happen, then? The PS epilog said, that I killed Zaihan alongside DE, if I am not msitaken, and then I wandered around alone gathering my new friends to take down Scarlet, all while they joke about creating their own guild.
When did the transition and inititation happen? Off screen again?

It happened more as a “word of mouth” added the Pact Commander as a member of DE for bringing them together and fighting beside them and being friends with all of them. For all intents and purposes, the Pact Commander was a member. Just not officially. And as news spreads, it twists a bit, and suddenly “one of DE’s students assisted their reunion and fight alongside them” to “the Pact Commander joined DE, reunited them, and fight with the guild to bring down Zhaitan.”

If you re-read the Pale Tree’s dialogue, that seems fairly obvious.

Jaken.6801:

Clothes and armor
Well, he could use their body as a base and deform them. Like everyone else. Its not like he enhanced the others as well (Faolain, moredrem Guard…). I count it more alongside the mordrem frogs we meet, who are jus a darker tone in color, aka reused model

Everywho else?

Mordrem hyleks don’t use clothing (and it’s more than darker tone – look closely and you will see young bark textures). Nor do mordrem saurians. The Mordrem Guard aren’t even grown but physically changed just as Caithe and Canach did.

Jaken.6801:

The Dream
He is a Necro and a Fristborn. Yes he could be a conduit, but something like that could have been introduced earlier. I accept the pale tree, as she is the creator, but without a hint, it comes around as very easy solution to a significant problem.

He also has a strong connection to Caladbolg due to all his time carrying it – which he explains – and Caladbolg is a piece of the Pale Tree.

Pale Tree is not the creator of the Dream, but its caretaker. Big difference.

Jaken.6801:

Kassmeer
I know. She just really jumped in scope, when we consider our gamemechanics. It just feels disconected.
On one side she is the sheltered noble (her comments to ansty things for example) and then she is suddenly the master ninja. Yes she had the abilities. However she now uses them in the midst of enemy territory and has no problems with it.

The sheltered noble disappeared at the end of S1, if you were paying attention. It’s not sudden at all. She had the entire Season 2 as well as Scarlet’s End instance to go from sheltered noble to wild adventurer.

And she did.

Jaken.6801:

Epilog
I dont like waiting for Elite Content Side Stories/bridge to new content and fill in the gap LS3 . I like my traditional epilog.
However, that might just be me.

Me neither, but this isn’t the first time ArenaNet’s added an epilogue soemtime after release.

On another note: did you bother talking to the NPCs after Hearts and Mind, in that open instance? They change dialogue before and after doing that.

Jaken.6801:

Taimi
Yep, in that area. Let them swarm in after her protecors are gone MUHAHAHA

Open world meta event. Do it.

Jaken.6801:

Rata Novus Escape
Which was broken like the one we got in. Also, the nice green star didnt point to the gate, but towards the way we got in, so technicaly we are still there and everythign after it is just a hallucination, thanks to us starving.

But seriously. The thing was broken. How did we get out?

It wasn’t broken. The one we came through was broken.

Jaken.6801:

Big golden City. Even if it didnt shine, they were big ruins. Someone who wandered there might have noticed.

Big golden city that didn’t exist in GW1.

Rinselius.2587:

Where is the epilogue to help process Trahearne’s death? I’m flippin sad here

I’m not sure if folks noticed, but you can talk to the five iconic/biconic NPCs in the final open-instance again and they have different dialogue than if you talk to them before completing Hearts and Minds for the first time.

@Konig

I did notice I could talk to my group but that’s not particularly satisfying as an epilogue. They don’t even really talk about what happened just “we got the dragon now we work on more / take a rest”.

Rinselius.2587:

@Konig

I did notice I could talk to my group but that’s not particularly satisfying as an epilogue. They don’t even really talk about what happened just “we got the dragon now we work on more / take a rest”.

Well from a narrative position if ANet wants to pick up S3 directly after killing Mordy including a epilogue would be a bit out of place (but yeah a proper epilogue would have been nice. Trahearne needs to be laid to rest, we can go visit Eir’s grave, get some info on what is the future of the Pact etc.).