Guild Wars 2

I was going to run a sylvari ele and started thinking about how my previous sylvari run (engineer)seemed to have my character be most engaged with the world. The fewest characters out of nowhere and Trahern’s subtle hitting on my male character made sense. Even living story 2 had more dialogue.

So my dilemma is what would be the perfect, most seamless choices for a sylvari?

So far, I’m thinking:

• join priory(because it makes most sense for my powerful sylvari elementalist mentor who can’t be corrupted to go cause a delaying action instead of high ranking order members who will just give their secrets to the Dragon). Also, I will be rolling an ele after all.
• greatest fear that leads to finding the blue orb (since that really comes out of nowhere) they other options don’t really add much.

Debating:

• I’m not sure about starting options for sylvari. For instance: do I meet malyck because he might show up in some capacity in HoT or the invulnerable armor route because of the Smith showing up in Concordia?
• I certainly don’t know which lesser race to save.
• would accesses to the random order of whispers secret bases/double agents make up for tybalts last stand making the least sense of all?

Any thoughts appreciated

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

I’m not sure about starting options for sylvari. For instance: do I meet malyck because he might show up in some capacity in HoT or the invulnerable armor route because of the Smith showing up in Concordia?

Why not both? Green Huntsman and Where Life Goes are different questions in the bio/different story chapters.

Personally, though, I love Carys and Tegwan too much, and if you’d go Priory, then you can experience their full story – Act with Wisdom, Shards of Orr during Claw Island arc, set a trap for the Eye, and Vigil’s invasion plan into Orr.

The White Stag storyline also introduces Sariel who returns in the Twilight Arbor story mode. Shield of the Moon storyline however is unlikely to be revisited because Tiachern may live or die at your convenience. And the “All Things Have a Right to Grow” one doesn’t seem like it’d hold any lasting influence since the Zalisco Extract possibilities was never seen in the Zhaitan plot.

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

I certainly don’t know which lesser race to save.

Don’t think it matters, though there’s a small chance that hylek may prove to hold relations in the coming HoT storyline.

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

would accesses to the random order of whispers secret bases/double agents make up for tybalts last stand making the least sense of all?

Why doesn’t setting off a big bomb to blow many risen and himself to bittly bits make less sense than a season warrior swinging axes until he falls?

If only they made a crater during Retribution.

Priory members do have some benefits in the open world though, and they do have some unique dialogue for Season 2 (and did for minor portions of Season 1, if it ever comes back like they intend).

Konig Des Todes.2086:

And the “All Things Have a Right to Grow” one doesn’t seem like it’d hold any lasting influence since the Zalisco Extract possibilities was never seen in the Zhaitan plot.

Well no, they weren’t. But at the very least this story line introduced the concept of Sylvari twins, born from the same pod. Could be lovely RP’ing material.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Personally, though, I love Carys and Tegwan too much, and if you’d go Priory, then you can experience their full story – Act with Wisdom, Shards of Orr during Claw Island arc, set a trap for the Eye, and Vigil’s invasion plan into Orr.

Well that settles the priory choice right there.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Why doesn’t setting off a big bomb to blow many risen and himself to bittly bits make less sense than a season warrior swinging axes until he falls?.

I meant that it doesn’t make sense for either of them, but I suspect that our apple loving friend knows far more secrets than The last dolyak shaman. meaning his death in essence helps zhaitan more.

Evans.6347:

Well no, they weren’t. But at the very least this story line introduced the concept of Sylvari twins, born from the same pod. Could be lovely RP’ing material.

I may roleplay that with my wife if I ever get her to play her sylvari again, but I don’t know if it is the most important thing to the story. The further dealings with Hyleks are the most relevant if anything.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Anyway, I spent some time on the wiki, and wanted to run this by the lore forum before I make my elementalist. makes me almost wish I waited on my sylvari engineer.

Creation

• Sylvari (Engineer preferable)
• “Dream of the green huntsman” for Occam the smith, choosing “Hammer and Steel” To rescue him.
• “Act with wisdom, but act” for introduction of Carys and Tegwen, choose “a vision of darkness” at fork to go to orr.

choosing order:

• “Sharpened Thorns” because it pains me to see a sylvari use asuran golems given their history.
• “Secrets of the earth” because I get to literaly see into the sylvari past.
• “Trouble at the roots” because it introduces Elli and her Hologram? Although “The Bad Apple” feels more sylvari-ish
• “Dead of Winter” to become a priory member. Since Sieran can’t be corrupted, so it makes sense that I don’t get attacked by her when I return to claw island.
  The nice thing about this selection is I then work with every order once, which seems appropriate for the founder of the pact.

Order Neophyte:
CAN’T DECIDE between “The Stone Sheath” and “Containment” leaning towards containment because it further fleshes out Gixx, and we are literaly there for getting our double secret probation from him.

Minor race uplift:

• Choose Hylek because of their relationship to HoT
• “Chosen of the Sun” because it seems to reveal more of their culture

Battle of Claw island arc

• “Shards of Orr” Continues the story of Tegwen and Carys

Greatest Fear:

• “Make another suffer” for blue orb backstory
• “Willing captives” Makes a little more sense?

Victory or death:

• “Through the Looking Glass” Continues the story of Tegwen and Carys, and that kitten ed mirror of theirs.
• “Estate of Unrest” continues the story of Explorer Hekja
• “A grisly Shipment” because that Hylek alliance actually starts to make sense. Also a cooler mission.
• Choose Vigil plan to finish the story of Tegwen and Carys, and introduce Pale Reavers proper. I recall hearing the reaves were going to be noticible in HoT (although whispers plan is pretty kitten)
• “Romke’s Final Voyage” because “Cathedral of Science” introduces charecters a sylvari just can’t meet earlier, this one just introduces pirates that exist in world anyway.

Only problems: Galina Edgecrusher and Snarl Backdraft appear out of nowhere in “Estate of Unrest”. The post Zhaitan killing party also includeds like…every npc in game that doesn’t die. Is it possible to actually see them all in one story?

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

Only problems: Galina Edgecrusher and Snarl Backdraft appear out of nowhere in “Estate of Unrest”. The post Zhaitan killing party also includeds like…every npc in game that doesn’t die. Is it possible to actually see them all in one story?

Impossible. Although Galina Edgecrusher is Blood Legion and Snarl Backdraft is Ash Legion, they first appear in the Charr Iron Legion personal story and then later in the Vigil story. My own charr engineer (Iron Legion and Vigil) was kinda lucky that his choices allowed him to stumble into all of the Galina/Snarl missions.

If you want to know who these NPCs are, you kinda have to play all the variant missions. (Or you can just read about them on the wiki.) But obviously one character can’t play everything and sometimes you have to make hard choices for your character.

In terms of canon, I think all of the personal story branches are canon, except for the forks where you can only take one path of course. Basically, I think the canon is that there were (at least) fifteen heroes to begin with, but only one actually ends up as Trahearne’s second-in-command – the others either die along the way or end up in lesser positions. But at least the general shapes of the same events do happen.

I agree, I also believe that canonically all story arcs have happened. Mechanically, however, you only focus on your own story, making you as the player the special snowflake.

How many commanders are there then? Well that’s a tricky one isn’kitten Originally starting with 15 potential heroes, I’d wager those are reduced to 3 candidates, one for each faction.

Perhaps canon wasn’t the right choice of words? Obviously the game assumes anything a player character could do, happened.(example: It is very clear that regardless of greatest fear choices, all toms bombs are there, a mesmer is still tricking the pact, and the blue orb is found) Perhaps I should have said most complete narrative?

I feel like it is inescapable to have it suggested to join up with tegwen and carys, and they will always talk about their adventures in the mirror. I mean every every profession/race /order combination I try has them it seems. So I was trying to avoid such backstoried NPCs just popping out of nowhere.

So I was trying to make a play through where characters are consistent. Where the fewest things pop out of nowhere, and where everything has the most impact on future missions.

As for the number of commanders, anet has said there are many. I kinda think of it all as I was really doing the missions with a full party of every race and a mix of orders, and that they did their stuff with an appropriately mixed full party prior joining up with me.

draxynnic.3719:

In terms of canon, I think all of the personal story branches are canon, except for the forks where you can only take one path of course. Basically, I think the canon is that there were (at least) fifteen heroes to begin with, but only one actually ends up as Trahearne’s second-in-command – the others either die along the way or end up in lesser positions. But at least the general shapes of the same events do happen.

My thinking more or less. I doubt Malyck stopped existing just because I didn’t roll a Sylvari. I doubt thing the Priory and Vigil was just standing around doing nothing while the Order of Whispers patrolled the streets after Claw Island fell. Just because I decided to roll into Orr using tanks doesn’t mean the navel / cauldron route wasn’t taken as well.

My take on the PS’s canonocity is aligned with drax’s.

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

So I was trying to make a play through where characters are consistent. Where the fewest things pop out of nowhere, and where everything has the most impact on future missions.

There’s pretty much one path like this for each race. For sylvari, you pretty much have it down for just the Personal Story itself – but when you add in Season 1 (should it ever come back) and Season 2, and the upcoming Heart of Thorns, it’s a bit more complex.

I will note that with Occam, you don’t have to save him – if you don’t, and talk to him during Forging the Pact you and he talk about how Caithe went in to save him afterwards.

As I see it, the choices with as much continuity are:

Sylvari:

• C1: Green Huntsman -> Forging the Pact; Victory or Death
• C1: White Stag -> TA story
• C2: Act with Wisdom -> Priory+Shards of Orr; Through the Looking Glass; Vigil’s Plan in C8; Source of Orr (if Vigil’s Plan); Victory or Death
• C2: Where Life Goes -> Season 2+maybe HoT
• C3: Trouble at the Roots -> if Whisper’s Plan in C8; Source of Orr (if Whisper’s Plan) + Victory or Death
• C3: Dead of Winter (Priory) -> if Act with Wisdom for Shards of Orr in C5+Vigil’s Plan in C8/for Estate of Decay

Humans:

• C1: Nobility -> if Whispers in C4; S2 (special lines from Kasmeer)
• C1: Street -> for S2 (Commoner/Street share special lines from Kasmeer), hinted to become relevant via Riot Alice in HoT (she was seen in open world during S2E1, said she was going north)
• C2: Dead Sister -> if Vigil’s Plan in C8
• C2: Circus -> CM story; S1; S2
• C3: Speaker of the Dead -> Cathedral of Silence

Charr:

• C1: Ash Legion -> has most open world dialogue from what I’ve seen, no influence on later PS post-C3
• C1: Iron Legion -> if Vigil for Defense Contract; Estate of Decay/Starving the Beast; Source of Orr; Victory or Death
• C2: Honorless Gladium -> if Priory
• C3: Whispers in the Dark -> dunno if ever nodded to, but has open world NPCs
• C3: Dangerous Research -> What The Eye Beholds; Source of Orr; Victory or Death

Norn:

• C1: Defeat Our Ancient Foes -> Forging the Pact; Victory or Death
• C1: Protect the Spirits -> Priory’s Plan in C8
• C1: Guard the Mists + Blessed of Bear -> Against the Corruption
• C2: Blacked Out -> Vigil’s Plan in C8
• C2: Lost an Heirloom -> Romke’s Final Voyage
• C3: Underground Scholar -> What The Eye Beholds; Source of Orr; Victory or Death

Asura:

• C1: College of Statics -> Cathedral of Silence
• C2: Transatmospheric Converter -> SE story/CoE story
• C2: Infinity Ball+Carry a Big Stick -> Forging Permission in C3
• C2: VAL-A Golem -> Whisper’s Plan in C8; Source of Orr; Victory or Death
• C3: Any -> Magic Sucks (Whispers C5); What The Eye Beholds; Source of Orr; Victory or Death

And unrelated to race, but tied to the order/minor race/fear you choose where you can meet the NPCs later on:

• C4: Vigil (Any) -> Whisper’s Plan/Priory’s Plan in C8; Against the Corruption; S1; S2; HoT
• C4 Priory (Any) -> Priory’s Plan in C8; S1; S2
• C4: Whispers (Any) -> Whisper’s Plan in C8 (meeting Benn Tenstrike’s parents); most open world dialogues
• C5: Hylek + Champion of the Sun -> Only one to return more than the others (Champion of the Sun nods back to C1/C2)
• C6: Priory + The Sound of Psi-Lance -> Priory’s Plan in C8
• C6: Priory + Shards of Orr -> same as sylvari’s Act with Wisdom
• C6: Whispers + Magic Sucks -> same as asura C3 (any)
• C6: Vigil + The Good Fight -> Victory or Death party
• C6: Vigil + Defense Contract -> same as charr Iron Legion
• C7: Let an innocent die -> Starving the Beast
• C7: Dishonor my allies + Volcanic Excavation -> Victory or Death
• C7: Make another suffer -> Retribution (continued from) + Temple of Forgotten God + Estate of Decay + Source of Orr + Victory or Death

That is an awesome breakdown Konig.