Guild Wars 2

I ran into this NPC on the path from the lowest level of The Grove. There’s this path that goes up a level, that also appears to have a connection to Privet Gardens on the map – though the way seems currently blocked off.

Here’s what he said:

The Nightmare Court could be hiding right within these walls, and we would never know.

(also see screenshot)

Could this be a hint for future living story, where something happens in the Grove and Privet Gardens involving the Nightmare court?

I don’t think it’s a hint to future living story – that line was probably in since release, and it doesn’t seem like the living story was really thought up until later.

It’s likely just another of those dime-a-dozen comments of false rumor/possibilities meant to create a real world sense of people not knowing things (something GW2 makes much emphasis on is the whole NPCs only having subjective truths).

The living story may not have been thought of exactly until later, but I’m fairly certain they meant to add more content from the start.

Just like the areas in The Grove that are inaccessible right now, I’m sure they mean to (possibly) use those in the future, so I don’t think it’s entirely unreasonable that it was meant as a sort of a hint

There’s plenty of inaccessible areas elsewhere, specifically in Rata Sum and the Black Citadel. However, I don’t really see any purpose in adding those areas – let alone some of the Grove’s areas. It’s likely that they were given names so that the Grove wasn’t so small map-wise compared to the others.

But again, comments like the one you noted are used throughout the game in such ways that they seem to be purely hypothetical scenarios by players and not hints to players.

Otherwise, I’d be taking Warmaster Efut’s explanation of her role being that she plans emergency actions for hypothetical events like Primordus popping up under Divinity’s Reach as a sign for the Great Collapse having been made by destroyers or it eventually planned that there’ll be a destroyer invasion at the Great Collapse. However, given the huge amount of these kinds of comments, again, it’s extremely unlikely. Possible, sure, but unlikely.

Moreso in this case, because the Nightmare Court are kept out of the Grove at all costs (except, it seems, when imprisoning them or luring them into the home instance during the personal story >.>)

Considering recent stuff like the Moto conversations with other NPCs about spreading the super adventure box to other cities, i wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss conversations like that

I don’t see how that’s relevant. The SAB was stated to be something that’s both complete and hoped to be like enough to merit expanding it by a developer (can’t remember where it was now… probably within the SAB subforum). The NPC dialogues are all just continued nods to making the SAB a continuous reference to older video games. Those very kind of conversations happened in reality – from marketting to “violent children” and even how they’d were originally considered nonsensical.

This, however, isn’t anything like those conversations with the Consortium – which aside from being a nod to rl actions, is also something that’s being tried to be made. On the other hand, this guy is making an unsupported statement the point of which is meant to show how little he knows and how little he believes others know. Two VERY different scenarios right off the bat, even when excluding the whole April Fool’s theme to the SAB content.

Different scenarios, but all made by the same team.

Sure it’s unlikely, but you can’t actually prove that it’s not a hint, which you’re desperately trying to do. Yes, I also can’t prove that it IS a hint either, I just hope it is.

Thanks for trying to crush the fun out of my game man.

Same company, not same team per se. Those working on GW2 divided up after release working on different parts of the game – the living story team is but one. So it might not have been the same folks putting that line in at all.

And I’m not trying to crush any fun. It’s just that it wouldn’t make sense lore wise for the Nightmare Court to actually be taking up residence so close to the Grove, and there are hundreds of similar comments throughout the game.

Things that hint to future content are more that are more tangible in their possibilities. Not hypothetical comments from bystanders, but things like the Desert Gate and the Desert Gate Guard npcs outside Ebonhawke.

Mind you, I’d love to be able to go into those areas, but Nightmare Court in them? Extremely unlikely – and TBH, the sylvari probably didn’t mean within that “Private Garden” by past that garden – outside the Grove.

(It’s “per se.”)

Yes, it’s a possible plot thread that ArenaNet can pick up on. However, there’s nothing to suggest any imminent plans. Pointing that out isn’t a desperate move to disprove anything, nor an attempt to crush any fun.

I think Konig would agree (just look at his first response) – that the NPCs have conversations and speculate like this is a very neat thing, making it seem like there’s so much more going on in the game world. There’s lots of vox populi moments like this, and it’s an excellent way of inserting bits of lore, culture, and yes potential plot threads.

(But mostly I wanted to post because the phrase is “per se.”)

Primal Zed.9714:

(But mostly I wanted to post because the phrase is “per se.”)

Fixed. I tend to drubble over that when I am typing fast and/or am tired.

And I’m a bit of both – though a little drive for an errand went and woke me up.