Guild Wars 2

By all means correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t the references to golden fruit all from pre-release?

Considering how much effort they put into making the game more like Ghosts of Ascalon (going so far as to add in towers to Ascalon City), and Killeen making mention of the golden fruit bit (as well as an NPC in-game I believe), I’d be surprised if they changed it for blue for… no real reason, by all given information.

Well this sucks. You can’t redo the “story” instance.

But I’m pretty sure the NC mentioned that the kraits were thinking they were krait prophets. And I don’t recall the bit of dialogue you mentioned :/ (and I would have noticed something like that, so maybe a bug ?)

As for the adds, I consider this to be a fight mechanic.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Nightmare_Incarnate.

And as the adds have dialogue, I’d consider them something more than a mechanic.

Which adds ? I was talking about those the last boss keeps on summoning.

And this is what I was talking about :
Toxic Baroness: As long as they believe we’re incarnating one of their true prophets, they’ll die to protect it.

Maybe I’ve gotten that bad in english, but this sentence doesn’t mean “we created a fake prophet and it’s going to be born soon”.

The one when the Hybrid enters his Third phase is interesting. " No you mustn’t" To whom and why? To us when we are killing him slowly or to the Hybrid itself?

It could only me, but listenig to this little one it sounds like they feared something. The Hybrid going out of control? Or us killing the Pokemon Prophet while the Krait are seeing him?

@RedStar I meant the same adds. When he changes stages, at roughly 75% health and 25% health (and iirc when they first spawn in right after he drops), all adds present will say something, one line for the krait and one for the Nightmare Court.

I agree that incarnating is an interesting phrase to use, but it has three meanings: “to put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea”; “to be the embodiment or type of”; and “to embody in flesh; invest with a bodily, especially a human, form”. You were thinking the second meaning, but the one that was meant was the third.

@Walhalla I’m fairly sure they just meant us killing it- the Nightmare Court seem much more invested in the hybrid than Scarlet was. At no point did the hybrid seem to be going out of control, in fact quite the opposite, as while you fight it it displays a rapidly developing capacity for intelligent thought.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Considering how much effort they put into making the game more like Ghosts of Ascalon (going so far as to add in towers to Ascalon City), and Killeen making mention of the golden fruit bit (as well as an NPC in-game I believe), I’d be surprised if they changed it for blue for… no real reason, by all given information.

I figured that they are golden most of the time and turn blue when they ripen and are about to drop sylvari because it does stare several times that the fruit do lower from the upper branches when the sylvari is about to drop.

RedStar.4218:

Which adds ? I was talking about those the last boss keeps on summoning.

And this is what I was talking about :
Toxic Baroness: As long as they believe we’re incarnating one of their true prophets, they’ll die to protect it.

Maybe I’ve gotten that bad in english, but this sentence doesn’t mean “we created a fake prophet and it’s going to be born soon”.

For the line you picked out, in of itself it is not clear. But it certainly isn’t saying “the krait are hallucinating us to be their prophets” it’s saying “we’re making a prophet” (roughly) – whether that making is “us becoming one” Gaheron style or “we’re building one” is not unclear in just that line. But the other lines kind of point that it is the latter. You cannot take a single dialogue and pit it against the rest when all are in the same context and non-contradictory.

Well next time I’m playing in french so there won’t be any double meanings. Of course, if they don’t do correct translations, that won’t be of any use.

For the thing about the toxins, yeah I realized that mistake after talking to the NPCs and seeing mentions that the krait had a part in creating it.

When they say that line at 25% health left Lady Kasmeer pops out of nowhere and helps in the fight. This is in the explorable version. I think they are talking to her with the lines,“No! You mustn’t!”

Edit: “how embaressing, it is mostly what was said allready, even more by König himself.”

What i always ask myself is:
What does Scarlet get out of the alliances?

She treads them as nothing more then a way to archieve her goal. She is not affraid to loose these alliances, in fact she doesn`t care if her supposed plans are beeing foiled.

Which brings me to the conclusion: The alliances are only means to a bigger plan.

They only matter in terms that they are able to create something she needs and to provide distraction around the world, so she can fullfill her true idea.

What can it be? Well Scarlet is an engineer. She knows how to create machines and is quick on the uptake, etc…

What i noticed however is: “She doesn`t pursure magic.”, in fact everything she got out of the alliances was mostly (if no substitue was there) technological.

As she traveled around the world “learning”, she learned only skills that require your body or your brain. No magic.

The molten alliance allowed her to create a “computer”, something that has to be different from what we see the asura using.
It also developed the Dredge technology further, as they had now the flame legion as an energy source for their advanced technology (right now, no magic substitude for the flame magic).

The Aetherblades are using devices which appear to be electrical generators. they create a big enery to hurt people, so she basicly created weapons with “magical properties”, which everyone can use.

The toxic alliance gave her access to the hallucinatic gas. Again, no magic, a chemical effect. While she dabled in cross species genetics (or the nightmare court in that case, as they said “they created the false prophet”), i see this as an extension of her Hylek poison training.

(Clockwork Chaos… i don`t know: i guess it was just: “look i am here, praise me, look how awesome i am.” That she aquired the Watchknights for her deeds however shows how skilled in engineering she is. AS they are disguised by mesmer magic, the groundwork seems more technical, to a point it even facinated an Asura, which works “magical science, aka great alchemy”)

So right now almost everything Scarlet herself got out of every deal is technological.
She basicly pushes the technological developement of the world to magical level…
It might be just my idea, but if we consider a world of magic and her target beeing the pale tree, a beeing which thrives by magic, it is quite interesting to see a “plant” going the complete opposite way, recreating the world in her own, artificial way…

Clockwork Chaos is explicitly not part of her greater plan – she did it on a lark because she took umbrage at Jennah saying that “humanity has been tested and survived”.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I dunno… Scarlet may be insane, but she’s still no idiot. She’d know full well that the Pale Tree is the only source for sylvari – no Pale Tree, no sylvari.

Unless she does know about Malyck and Scarlet’s intention is to effectively do what Caithe and Trahearne feared the Nightmare Court would do (burn down the Pale Tree and “start over”).

Also, as to the Dream giving fundamental knowledge to all born sylvari – Malyck by all our accounts and knowledge had no influence with the Dream of Dreams – same or otherwise. And before the amnesia argument gets brought up: He didn’t have amnesia, that was just the player characters’ assumption based on the fact that Malyck didn’t know what the Pale Tree, Grove, and Dream of Dreams were. But despite this, Malyck has a basic understanding of the world – though how much of this is from him picking things up in the 2 weeks (?) that he was with the Wardens before the Nightmare Court attacked is anyone’s guess.

accept there is another tree without the dream

The theory that Scarlet is organizing alliances for a master plan seems reasonable, but her execution of that plan is questionable. You don’t build up your forces by randomly invading the countryside. You don’t strengthen your alliances by sending troops into pointless battles without delivering their goals. You risk your master plan by making enemies of every nation of Tyria. Your lose any technological advantage when you let your newly created enemies get their hands on your equipment and develop toxic antidotes.

I guess once the gripes get old and played out, then the good stuff can start again! Always exciting to see the Anet tag in here!

It’s good to see people working through the good sides of her character/story, even with her faults she has always had, and still has, potential to be a good character. The problem is that even if they fulfill that potential at some point in the future, it won’t change the fact that we’ve suffered through a bad story all this time already.
Hopefully Arena Net wraps up this mess of a Scarlet story post-haste, and takes it as a lesson for future story arcs and characters. Because above all else, they dropped the ball on the delivery in this case.

As far as Caithe’s Secret that Scarlet has…if you listen to all of her dialogue with Caithe in the TA Aetherpath….only two words come to mind. “Sex Tape.”

Quoting myself from another thread:

Duh it’s so obvious, she’ll just go and ressurect 6th jungle dragon cos she seems to be the only Sylvari that is still loyal to him.

dragonkain.3984:

Quoting myself from another thread:

Duh it’s so obvious, she’ll just go and ressurect 6th jungle dragon cos she seems to be the only Sylvari that is still loyal to him.

No no, Zhaitan will revive itself, bestow it’s powers upon Scarlet, and then spontaneously die again. Scarlet will then ride around Tyria with Tequatl as a mount before going to resurrect the jungle dragon and turn it into her minion.

^—Naw, she’ll make them become an alliance first!!

@Fafnir: And if you read the post you quoted, a part of what you quoted in-fact, I acknowledged the fact that there’s another “pale tree” out there – and I noted how Scarlet should not know about it, but could. She would not be out to destroy the Pale Tree unless she knows about the second “pale tree”.

@Stooperdale: And in comes Scarlet’s egoism and narcessism that makes her believe herself better than anyone else combined with the possible exception of the Elder Dragons (and possibly by extension the Pact, which would explain why the only thing she’s done against them is the Inquest and Aetherblades stealing some airships from them before reverse engineering them). It’s a fact that she believes that only the Elder Dragons might pose a danger to her, and nothing poses a definitive danger. By this, one can presume that she is so careless about the alliance because: 1) their destruction after she gets what she wants is irrelevant, and 2) she thinks that the united nations of Tyria (let alone them individually) can’t do diddlysquat against her.

@BobbyStein: I’m rather shocked to see red in this thread. Curious as to how this is the first thread you commented on for “sharing thoughts” though. I find that there are many more – and far older – theorycrafting about! Hmm, probably because it’s about Scarlet.

@Arewn: I honestly would rather not have the Scarlet mess cleaned up “post-haste” because that’ll be little different than just ignoring the problem. They should work on improving her, and then (or at the same time) finish her plot. True, it won’t better the view of players who had witnessed the rather poor, to put it really mildly , delivery of the character and plot, but at least she can go out with a bang.

Hopefully literally. 8D

@Dragonkain: Nightmare Courtiers could be tied to Mordremoth and, IMHO, have a stronger chance of being tied to Mordremoth than Scarlet does. Scarlet just doesn’t have any trace of fanaticism which is commonplace across all sapient dragon minions. Nightmare Courtiers are fanatical, towards the Nightmare. They treat the Nightmare in a similar light that Risen treat Zhaitan, or Branded treat Kralkatorrik.

@Arewn (again): At the risk of giving ArenaNet terrible ideas…

Bubbles will arise from the ocean depths and corrupt Zhaitan’s corpse, making a tentacular undead dragon of poison and water. Scarlet will then shoot it with a missle to the knee and absorb the reborn Zhaitan’s power, thus becoming a undead-watery-plant of pure insanity. She will rise Mordremoth and it will meet up with the other six Elder Dragons (Zhaitan’s reanimated corpse is crippled and mostly powerless but not dead). In this meeting they will agree to put aside their differences and elimate the true threat of all life and will combine into The Elder Dragon – a dragon of all six elements that is the size of the planet itself! Together they shall try to take down the empowered Scarlet who has cyborized herself at this point unexplainedly after having created an alliance between Menzies and Palawa Joko to create an army of Awakened Shadows. However, even this planetary beast is incappable of stopping the cyborized undead sylvari lich of shadow and water, and she ends up taking their body for herself, possessing it in yet another unexplained manner and moves on into the Mists after having nuked all of the world.

That’s when we step in, as we were all in World versus World Season 2 at the time, grinding achievements.

Konig, bobby probably responded because this is the first real lore thread where the negativity about Scarlet has been toned down quite a bit. Since we are trying to be forward thinking about what her actions might be. Also on us keep the speculation below a certain wild and fantastic threshold.

And then I end up reading your final paragraph on Scarlet being tied into the Elder Dragons. For shame Konig. You know they don’t have an outline on Scarlet’s plans, and will just shoehorn our ideas (even the bad ones), so it would be less work for them…… “Just kidding” as Scarlet would say.

Sindex.9520:

Konig, bobby probably responded because this is the first real lore thread where the negativity about Scarlet has been toned down quite a bit. Since we are trying to be forward thinking about what her actions might be. Also on us keep the speculation below a certain wild and fantastic threshold.

And then I end up reading your final paragraph on Scarlet being tied into the Elder Dragons. For shame Konig. You know they don’t have an outline on Scarlet’s plans, and will just shoehorn our ideas (even the bad ones), so it would be less work for them…… “Just kidding” as Scarlet would say.

There have been a number of forward thinking reasonable threads about Scarlet, this certainly isn’t the first.
I believe he responded to this thread and not the others simply because this thread is speculating about her lore, rather then criticizing it.
They are two very different types of threads.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

@Arewn: I honestly would rather not have the Scarlet mess cleaned up “post-haste” because that’ll be little different than just ignoring the problem. They should work on improving her, and then (or at the same time) finish her plot. True, it won’t better the view of players who had witnessed the rather poor, to put it really mildly , delivery of the character and plot, but at least she can go out with a bang.

Hopefully literally. 8D

Pretty much this, for a number of reasons:

First, because it clearly hasn’t had the hoped-for reception, we’ve had a lot of indications from ArenaNet that they’re building up to something (they think is) awesome. While there may be undertones of throwing good money after bad here, I think they deserve the chance to turn the current reception around to “okay, it didn’t start out so well, but it was worth it in the end!”

Second, to take the more cynical approach – anyone who isn’t a head-in-the-sand whiteknight has, at this point, recognised that Scarlet’s story so far has been… less than perfect. Switching to a new storyline doesn’t guarantee that they’ll have resolved all the issues they’re having – until they’ve finished ironing out the problems, it’s probably better for them to keep with Scarlet rather than risk starting a new storyline with the same problems.

Finally, y’know, as much as this hasn’t been my favourite story, I do want to see how it ends. I hate unfinished stories, particularly unfinished stories where you know an ending was planned but the creator was prevented from getting to that ending.

Dropping this theory here, since it came about from a conversation with someone else.

Scarlet likes to tinker, since she has roots as an engineer. But that means disassembling something to “improve” or “fix” it. She did it to the Watchworks, and apparently has been able to do that to the krait and sylvari to make the hybrid.

She’s out to remake Tyria as she sees fit, not to just destroy it. I don’t think her goal is the Pale Tree specifically, as that’s too small for how she’s playing these days. It’s worth noting there’s something . . . similar, in how the Molten Alliance members look – they’re infused with magic much like Baelfire’s infused charr. Not just charr, but dredge using this sort of power.

“If that can happen with those two, why not with others?”

. . . also, fun thing. Anyone seen any “Azurite” references again? It was a somewhat unique touch to the Molten Weapons Facility, but it’s never been spoken of . . .

Harping on Königs idea of the hallucinic bomb i wouldn`t mind her “alpha-test” it on wintersday.
Like in our world this festival brings joy, hope and dreams to the people (as well as toys for everyone, greedy people :p ). What better way to test the power of such a device, then shatter these feelings, maybe even erasing them from their conciousness.

While this plot is nothing new. We have seen it used several times allready in fiction (let`s steal christmas everyone), her goal would actually be only to further her own ambitions, because if it succedes, it would be able to work on another “high profile believe”.

That said, i hope she doesn`t crash that festival, even though i want to know her true goals as soon as possible.

However, you allready mentioned a lot of things i stupidly said in my earlier post.
Though i am a bit more in the direction that she tries to get things done mostly without magic.
I think that is a crucial point.
She has access, but everything she takes for herself feels rather technology driven. As if she were looking for a solution to an “otherworldy” problem and is doing so, without any remorse.
Again, i have to bring the “computer” up again. Why did we focus on that in a sidequest, if we have seen asura using these things all over the place?
Could it be that she does want to create her own calculating device?
The Order of Whispers does use something similiar in their hideout. A mechanical costruct which helps them work their intel (though it could also be part magical device, but more beased on elonian magic design).
We know asuras tech is part technological, part magical.
What happens if she was able to isolate the magic component.
(though the “magical conducting azurite” might be an antithesis here, even though it could just be a fluff text. i might be thinking a bit to simple here)

For what we know, she never used any magic herself. Her “studies” were all based on “normal” mortal abilities.

draxynnic.3719:

-snip-

On first point: Indeed, and it would receive the overall view I got immediately after The Lost Shores – which was, to paraphrase Thalador specifically, along the lines of “it was the opposite of the fight with Zhaitan – that started awesome and ended poorly, this started poorly and ended awesome.” I most likely butchered his wording but that was the point he was making at the time. Hopefully, Scarlet’s will turn out the same: “started poorly, ended well.” In hindsight, it’ll likely receive the same criticism The Lost Shores receives now, which is typically along the lines of “it was really bad in delivery, but the story wasn’t bad and there were some great points to it.”

On second point: Also my hope. Use Scarlet as a whole to test out various things, then go and start the new storyline when you got at least a decent number of bad points from Scarlet’s plot and delivery ironed out. Like the constant usage of festivities in the main storyline – I think people have shown they’re tired of such a returning plot device, and I would hope that in the future even now Anet will just have the festivities run parallel to the main plot, rather than breaking or being part of it.

And on your last point: I too hate unfinished stories. I’m a completionist by nature though, so I’ll struggle through even the worst stories just to finish them. Though there’s still a point of no continuing – I don’t think Scarlet’s plot is nearly as bad as the Twilight series which is thus far the only (long) story that I never finished. Also part of the reason I hate the way manga are made – keep the plot going until popularity falls in which there’s an axe that prevents a proper ending.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

-snip-

I wouldn’t call the Baelfire rituals being used on dredge to be a case of taking apart and fixing/putting back together. But yes, I have noticed that there’s been no mention of azurite since Molten Facility. And it wasn’t just a unique touch to it – it was the second of two purposes for the Molten Alliance taking prisoners (the first being weapon testing subjects) – the prisoners were mining azurite in large numbers. And there’s even a “mysterious refined ore” found in a Flame Legion base that was added as part of Flame and Frost which calls it a newly discovered mineral – which I suspect to be azurite.

Not sure about her plans being beyond the Pale Tree. Possible, but her original statements were about the sylvari race specifically.

Jaken.6801:

-snip-

I hope no crashing of Wintersday. She’s crashed enough festivities. It’s boring to reuse the same plot over and over.

Jaken.6801:

Again, i have to bring the “computer” up again. Why did we focus on that in a sidequest, if we have seen asura using these things all over the place?

I don’t know what you’re talking about. We never focused on a computer. There was a single mention of a “kom-pew-something” which likely were to be a computer, but we neither saw nor heard of it aside from that single mention. There was no focus on it in a sidequest.

And I would argue that the asura don’t use computers. They use holographic interfaces with powercrystals to store data. They have a more magical variant which borderlines sci-fi by appearance, than a more modern computer idea – which the Molten Alliance would be more akin to getting, just fire-powered.

Jaken.6801:

The Order of Whispers does use something similiar in their hideout. A mechanical costruct which helps them work their intel (though it could also be part magical device, but more beased on elonian magic design).

…What device are you talking about? I don’t know of one…

Jaken.6801:

We know asuras tech is part technological, part magical.

Eh. While it is called “magitech” it is far more magical than technological. The amount of tech in it is exceedingly small outside of golems – as far as we’re told, at least.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

-snip-

Didn`t Scarlet mention we are save from her for a while? If so i hope Wintersday will be safe (like i said, we had these stories too much already)

Computer: Like you said, it was only mentioned so far at the end of the “sidequest” so to speak. As people translated the line from their languages it was indeed the equivalent for a “computer”. The thing is: Why mention and even let us discover something like this, if it doesn`t have anything to do? Was it just a throwaway line?

Yeah, they use Chrystals and stuff. it is more magical, but since they apply the eternal alchemy and everything is the eternal alchemy i always thought it was more of a mixture of both.
I mean, look at how many sci-fi series and ideas use chrystals. i would really scratch my head if the Asura would not combine mechanic means and magic?
Also the “holographic interface” is nothing more then a visual representation of calculations by the machine. If the Asura would be able to do everything in his ehad a visual interface, aside from showing it to others would not be nessecary.
They would just emit the needed magical energy to have their construct do what they want.
However we know that Asura tend to “simplyfy” things. If it works, why should they care about it. If a machine or construct can take care of calculations while he thinks about other stuff, why not use it?
So i would argue about saying that they only use it for data storage. (though i could have misinterpreted the notion of your sentence after that they might have a more sci-fi magic device for that notion)

nevertheless, the “computer” (and no, i don`t want to hammer it in. it is just because it was “there”) would make sense in terms of her “non-magical” approach (yeah her minions use some, not her. we don`t know the extend yet. Again my take here and i am just throwing it around)

For the OoW:
My mistake. i had a complete different image in my head here. Combined with my Nighfall memories, that magical devices don`have to look the same i came to a weird conclusion.

No, they just developed the printing press and a picture enhancer …. i thouht there was something different… nothing to see here

When did Scarlet enter the sensory deprivation tank? How long ago did it occur? Is it possible that it hasn’t occurred yet? Has Scarlet traveled back in time to stop an event that occurred in her past, that is still in our future?

DarcShriek.5829:

When did Scarlet enter the sensory deprivation tank? How long ago did it occur? Is it possible that it hasn’t occurred yet? Has Scarlet traveled back in time to stop an event that occurred in her past, that is still in our future?

Answered in order…

In her short story. After she emerged, she renamed herself Scarlet, killed the Asuran headmaster that was helping her, and she started on whatever plan she has for the Sylvari and Tyria.

Unknown, since no specific dates were given. Though, I’m sure there are some educated guesses out there.

No…

and no.

I’d say not, for one reason: she was stated during the Queen’s Jubilee to be hylek trained, which was the last thing she did before becoming Scarlet. Even if she did go back in time (something that may not actually be possible) it could have been no more than a few months before the experiment (accounting for the things that happened before QJ). That said, I think all these time-travel suspicions are just needlessly complicating the most likely truth- Scarlet doesn’t actually travel through time.

Jaken.6801:

Computer: Like you said, it was only mentioned so far at the end of the “sidequest” so to speak. As people translated the line from their languages it was indeed the equivalent for a “computer”. The thing is: Why mention and even let us discover something like this, if it doesn`t have anything to do? Was it just a throwaway line?

It was explained in this livestream [12:00]. Basically the ‘computer’ was a name they gave to the machine mid-way in the Molten Facility.

Which, interestingly, leads up to those towers that have been seen across Tyria with electrical fields and “do not touch” warnings around them. What if those are part of someone’s plans involving the ley lines – either Scarlet looking to tap them in some manner, or someone else finally managing to steal the initiative and acting to prevent her from doing so?

draxynnic.3719:

One of the things that Thaumanova is associated with is opening portals that suck creatures in from random places. One of the things that Scarlet is associated with is opening portals that spit her minions out into seemingly random places, within a specific general area. Could Scarlet’s ability with portals have been developed through her observations of what was happening at Thaumanova – basically having found a way to deliberately do what has been happening by accident around the reactor?

Good connection. Most likely, I’d presume. Though the style of portals and teleportation is different.

draxynnic.3719:

Another thing that came up is evidence that Scarlet knows about the system of ley lines around the world. The Inquest might also know this (depends on whether those involved got out) and the globe in the Chantry suggests that the Order of Whispers is also aware. Knowledge of these ley lines might also be a factor in her portals (in fantasy, one of the things ley lines are sometimes used for is travel, including teleportation, and if the OoW has a similar ability, it would explain how they’ve remained in communication with Elona) or it could be an indication that whatever her future plans might be involve those ley lines in some fashion.

Nothing really supports the claim that the globe in the Chantry shows ley lines.

Given Scarlet’s dialogue, the ley line bit is a very recent discovery. That globe seems to be older than the Thaumanova explosion which is very very recent. I wouldn’t doubt that no one but Scarlet knew about the ley lines… until now. Kiel will share the findings, and others will find out and begin looking into them.

Her dialogue doesn’t really imply intending to use the ley lines. Just discovery of their existence.

draxynnic.3719:

Which, interestingly, leads up to those towers that have been seen across Tyria with electrical fields and “do not touch” warnings around them. What if those are part of someone’s plans involving the ley lines – either Scarlet looking to tap them in some manner, or someone else finally managing to steal the initiative and acting to prevent her from doing so?

Would seem a bit weird, given how new the information of ley lines is. Unless they’re Scarlet or Inquest made, I don’t think there’s a tie. Moreso if none is around Thaumanova.

Those beacons will probably be related to Scarlet and it seems reasonable to assume they are connected to the ley lines. Cue lots of open world events beating up things coming out of portals near beacons. The ley line research and portal technology originating from the reactor is actually one of the most believable things in the living story so far. Unfortunately it only gives another reason why Scarlet can do what we expected she could do (invent things) and doesn’t explain how she can do the unbelievable stuff (lead alliances).

I am almost certain they are Scarlet made. I have made screenshots of all dialogues in the fractal. I post the part where Scarlet appears here:

http://i.imgur.com/vHsOBUm.jpg?1

She talks about the magical network but the thing I find more interesting is that she talks about that Thaumanova is on an intersection of those channels! I almost directly thought about the Infinite Coil reactor. I am completely sure that the reactor is also built on such intersection. Then I started thinking about the Chaos Crystal Cavern. I think this spot is on an intersection as well. What is also very interesting is that all of these three locations have a lot of diffirent enemies spawning; they are teleported from somewhere… I believe this somewhere is anothere intersection. Therefore I think that if controlled, these intersections of magic can transport vast quantaties of creatures between eachother. I think the explosion or the experiments with the reactor just pushed the magic off balance and thus the teleportations. If you know more locations where there might be an intersection of magic please share it with me! Now it looks like Scarlet was planning on experimenting with this network again, but as far as I know, she hasn’t got a place for this experiment yet. I think we can relate this network to what Scarlet saw. She saw the world, and the network of magic, magic hotspots etc. She is certainly doing something really important with this.

There have been many sightings of the weird things coming out of the ground. It is really nice that they also appear in Orr. This is why I think they are build to channel magic, but NOT on the intersections, the lines between them! Maybe she realised this might be much safer and it might mean that she can teleport to any of these pillars if she wants. These pillars seem to be pumping something though………

Actually, Blurk, I would argue that the Infinite Coil Reactor is likely to not be built atop those ley lines. Thaumanova failed because it was built atop the ley lines and the Infinite Coil Reactor was built after the Thaumanova explosion as its successor.

Also, there’s no creatures being teleported in at the Infinite Coil Reactor. Unless you’re referring to the creatures just south of it where the Inquest were, once again, experimenting with chaos magic. While your theory of teleprotation between intersections is interesting, that kind of argues against it. Inquest aren’t exactly idiots to make the same mistake twice about performing a failed experiment without altering why the experiment failed the first time. Furthermore, creatures teleport into Toxal Bog in Brisban Wildlands – this is due to the research that was saved from Thaumanova being brought just north of Toxal Bog (it’s even a skill point – Thaumanova Energy Core I think it’s called).

Yes it is pretty clear that the Infinite Coil Reactor focuses primarily on capturing Dragon minions, and creating a habitat for them, in order to research them. This is a far more organized approach, and leaves less to the randomness of ley lines it would seem. Having played through the Thaumanova reactor, I’m left with a few questions. Granted, we rushed through it, and I might have missed some dialogue.

What caused the meltdown exactly?

Was the Thaumanova built intentionally on top of those ley lines?

Do you folks think the Steam Portal in Lornar’s Pass is also on top of a ley line? It’s one of the few portals that seems stable.

Is the Frost Portal in Frostgorge Sound on top of a ley line?

What is the link between Subject Alpha (Crucible of Eternity), Subject 6 (Thaumanova) and Subject 7 (Queen’s Gauntlet)?

Blurk.6231:

She talks about the magical network but the thing I find more interesting is that she talks about that Thaumanova is on an intersection of those channels! I almost directly thought about the Infinite Coil reactor. I am completely sure that the reactor is also built on such intersection. Then I started thinking about the Chaos Crystal Cavern. I think this spot is on an intersection as well.

I recall it being said outside Chaos Crystal Caverns, the source of the distortions THERE is how one of the crystals from that cavern was used in Thaumanova experiments which went wrong when the chaos energy was unleashed and it traveled back there.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

What caused the meltdown exactly?

Per Scarlet’s dialogue, it was the experimenting of chaos magic and/or draconic energy on top of an intersection of ley lines. Though given the fate of CoE (it also melted down, though due to overpowering the reactor by Kudu making himself a dragon champ), it may be simply the study of dragon energy.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Was the Thaumanova built intentionally on top of those ley lines?

The experimentation is what led to the discovery of the ley lines. The existence of ley lines was unknown, but the asura may or may not have known about the area being magical.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Do you folks think the Steam Portal in Lornar’s Pass is also on top of a ley line? It’s one of the few portals that seems stable.

My personal theory is much like Blunk’s – that the teleportation effects may hold ties to the intersection of ley lines. But the argument he holds doesn’t make much sense – arguing that the Chaos Crystal Cavern and Infinite Coil Reactor are on intersections. I think the former of the two is receiving the effects for the reason the Inquest member gives: crystals used at Thaumanova was taken from there and that creates a resonance with the location; Infinite Coil Reactor is receiving the effects for the same reason that Toxal Bog is – the Thaumanova Power Core or similar effects were taken there (that is to say, what ended up going haywire at Thaumanova was moved to Toxal Bog and later Infinite Coil Reactor). My theory still maintains the notion of teleportation via ley lines, but rather than denoting those places mentioned by Blunk as ley line intersections, the intersections are where the creatures are coming from. Per a thread made by Stephen who looked into the origins of the creatures being teleported, it mainly seems to be Lornar’s Pass, Blazeridge Mountains (ogre lands specifically), and iirc somewhere else.

I do not think “stable portal” is equivilant to ley lines, though. Trying to make such a connection is fallicious since the portals in Thaumanova are not only *un*stable, but a result of chaos magic – not ley lines.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Is the Frost Portal in Frostgorge Sound on top of a ley line?

Doubtful. If you’re arguing this because it’s a portal, then anywhere could be a ley line by that argument – because portals are capable of being made anywhere. Portal != ley line. And we have dozens of places where those blue portals are. Blue portals are, typically, just a sign of a portal into the Mists (and specifically non-Underworld Mists, as the Underworld portals are green). The Frost Portal – and the Lornar’s Pass equivalent which spawns Ice Imps (despite the event claiming icebrood pop through) is the same as the kind of portals that the Sons of Svanir made to enter the Mists in the personal story and at The Frozen Maw.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

What is the link between Subject Alpha (Crucible of Eternity), Subject 6 (Thaumanova) and Subject 7 (Queen’s Gauntlet)?

Not sure how Subject Alpha ties into it, but I can only presume that Subject 7 is another attempt at the study which made Subject 6. I don’t think Alpha holds a tie to the other two, given the other two are oozes while Alpha was a multi-dragon minion. If there were a “Subject Beta” so to speak, it’d be Kudu’s Monster without a doubt – and arguably Kudu as a Subject Delta (or whatever a third version would be). It should be noted that, chronologically, Subject 6 predates Subject Alpha should Alpha have been made in the Infinite Coil Reactor.

A bit off topic, but are the blue portals seen anywhere else besides used by norn or ice creatures? And I know it’s been coming up a lot of late, but is there anywhere where it is stated that the Crucible of Eternity was created after the Thaumanova disaster?
EDIT: I know the reactor was, but was the whole complex as well, or was that already there? It seems a bit hard to believe that such a huge complex could’ve been excavated, constructed, made operational, and been well on it’s way to achieving viable results, all within a span of months.

The Crucible of Eternity is the center (underground) complex of the Infinite Coil Reactor, the later being the full complex. There is an NPC – I think a Whispers agent and you must be Whispers to get the dialogue – that states that the Inquest don’t learn and built the Infinite Coil Reactor after Thaumanova. While the Crucible of Eternity is specifically meantioned, the CoE is – as I said – the center part of the Infinite Coil Reactor. To claim it was there before would be like arguing that the basement of a house was present before the house was built when someone said the house was built at a specific time. While possible, it is part of the house so there’s no reason to believe it predates the rest of the house.

Given how Fort Trinity is constructed in less than a few weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Infinite Coil Reactor – which spans the full complex – was built and operational within a few months.

The Inquest, of all people, would be more than willing to let whoever built parts of it for them die of exhaustion, as long as there were results faster because of it.

They also have golems and portals to help with the construction. There’s plenty of room for a magical excuse for the fast construction times. I’ll accept that.

Thanks for the answers btw Konig, and very intriguing.

Does Kiel tell us anything new about the Consortium in this update? The way I read it, she’s wanted to find some evidence against the Consortium but the reactor explosion was in fact all about Scarlet as usual. I couldn’t understand why Kiel wanted to arrest Dessa at the end either after Dessa had opened up the fractal for her.

It was far from “all about Scarlet” – I wish people would stop over dramatizing Scarlet. She may be a terrible character at least in presentation, but not as much as folks claim is actually tied to her.

As for Kiel and Dessa – Kiel claimed at the beginning that Dessa is a member of the Consortium and wanted to bring her in for questioning about the Consortium’s ties to Mistlock Observatory. Kiel doesn’t seem to understand that Dessa dislikes the Consortium, and takes Dessa’s resistance as Consortium loyalty.