Guild Wars 2

Is the sight of revenants and/or ritualists the same as our own? Is it impeded? Enhanced? Are these senses fooled just as easily by mesmer illusions?

On ritualists:

From manual: They hood their eyes to better commune with spirits that grant great power and protection to Ritualists and their comrades.

On revenants (all comes from biography):

I fight with my _ blindfold on to shut out the distractions of the physical world and focus my magical inner sight.

Veil Piercer (“veil piercer”) — Form follows function with this blindfold, designed both to cover a revenant’s eyes and help punch through the barriers that conceal the unseen.

Resplendent Curtain (“resplendent curtain”) — The resplendent curtain is for revenants who choose to make a more elegant and stylish impression; because even if they can’t see the world around them, it can still see them.

Based on this and more that’s less obvious, ritualists and revenants both blind themselves to better see into the Mists/Spirit Realm. Basically giving them a weaker version of Ascension/Weh no Su.

So to answer your questions:

No, maybe in a physical sense, only in a magical sense, mesmers either alter reality or mess with the mind itself so in the case of GW1 and ritualists yes because it’s not what’s seen but what’s perceived that’s messed with and in the case of GW2 and revenants yes because illusions are physically there for a time.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

On ritualists:

From manual: They hood their eyes to better commune with spirits that grant great power and protection to Ritualists and their comrades.

On revenants (all comes from biography):

I fight with my _ blindfold on to shut out the distractions of the physical world and focus my magical inner sight.

Veil Piercer (“veil piercer”) — Form follows function with this blindfold, designed both to cover a revenant’s eyes and help punch through the barriers that conceal the unseen.

Resplendent Curtain (“resplendent curtain”) — The resplendent curtain is for revenants who choose to make a more elegant and stylish impression; because even if they can’t see the world around them, it can still see them.

Based on this and more that’s less obvious, ritualists and revenants both blind themselves to better see into the Mists/Spirit Realm. Basically giving them a weaker version of Ascension/Weh no Su.

So to answer your questions:

No, maybe in a physical sense, only in a magical sense, mesmers either alter reality or mess with the mind itself so in the case of GW1 and ritualists yes because it’s not what’s seen but what’s perceived that’s messed with and in the case of GW2 and revenants yes because illusions are physically there for a time.

Is this the spirit world as we saw with the Norn personal story? I assume they don’t run into things and they aren’t using echolocation.

To be fair, we have no real answer here.

We can only asume.

From what we know, they see everything in Matrix Code, as the Mist is what makes up everything.

Let`s just say they are able to see, but not in a physical sense. It might be more of a feeling maybe.

However you have to remember that they are still mortal beings.

Let`s take daredevil (the hero, not the class) as an example. He has enhanced senses, far beyond the ones of simple echolocation and still he will have problems with conflicting sounds.
Just because they might be theoreticly to be able to see the magic flow, the mist or whatever, it doesn`t mean they are able to grasp everything.

As Konig said, it`s all a thing of shifted perception (right now, without more information)

Canthans and norn both use the terms “spirit realm” and “spirit world” interchangeably and both refer to the place where spirits reside – and on occasion, it’s simply called The Mists.

Going off of Weh no Su lore and instances where the “spirit realm” or “spirit world” are mentioned, part of the Mists seem to overlap – literally – with Tyria and spirits in the world primarily live in this “overlap” if they haven’t moved on to the afterlives like The Underworld (e.g., lost or regret-filled souls). They are capable of hiding in this overlap, thus becoming invisible to – but capable of interacting with – mortals (the entire point of becoming Ascended aka Weh no Su in Factions is because Shiro pretty much did this to our PCs – hid in the spirit realm and killed the PCs).

Ascension allows a mortal to see this overlapping, to some degree. Ritualists – and by appearances, revenants – have taken practices which allow an even lesser version of this.

This overlapping of the Mists and Tyria also appears to be what allows the mursaat to become invisible. The Arah dungeon’s lines of them “slipping between worlds” refers to them entering this place, where mortals shouldn’t normally be capable of accessing (only mortals besides mursaat who can – known to us players at least – are havrouns, and for some reason, Svanir). And like souls, they’d be capable of interacting (just as we can kill risen while “phased out of Tyria” in Arah dungeon’s mursaat path’s final boss, all the while being immune to damage from them – and how similarly the boss can attack us but we cannot attack the boss until we’re also “phased out”). Thus why Ascension was needed to see and fight them.

So by my interpretation, what ritualists and revenants see would be people’s souls and the flow of magic in things. The spirit threads as it’s called in Factions at one point.

Don’t mean to hijack this topic, but since it’s about being blindfolded… What’s the reason then for like Priests of Kormir being blindfolded? Shut down their sight to see the ‘real’ truth? That their sight wouldn’t be mingled by the ‘bad’ or corruption out there?

For priests of Kormir, it could simply be an act of piety to experience what their goddess experienced in the leadup to becoming a god. Similar (but less extreme) to people who crucify themselves in order to better understand Jesus’ sacrifice.

(It’s possible that priests of Kormir have also maintained the ritualist techniques for being able to see despite being blindfolded – but it really could be that the blindfold themselves whenever they don’t really need to be able to see (such as when reading) simply because they feel it brings them closer to Kormir.)

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Canthans and norn both use the terms “spirit realm” and “spirit world” interchangeably and both refer to the place where spirits reside – and on occasion, it’s simply called The Mists.

Going off of Weh no Su lore and instances where the “spirit realm” or “spirit world” are mentioned, part of the Mists seem to overlap – literally – with Tyria and spirits in the world primarily live in this “overlap” if they haven’t moved on to the afterlives like The Underworld (e.g., lost or regret-filled souls). They are capable of hiding in this overlap, thus becoming invisible to – but capable of interacting with – mortals (the entire point of becoming Ascended aka Weh no Su in Factions is because Shiro pretty much did this to our PCs – hid in the spirit realm and killed the PCs).

Ascension allows a mortal to see this overlapping, to some degree. Ritualists – and by appearances, revenants – have taken practices which allow an even lesser version of this.

This overlapping of the Mists and Tyria also appears to be what allows the mursaat to become invisible. The Arah dungeon’s lines of them “slipping between worlds” refers to them entering this place, where mortals shouldn’t normally be capable of accessing (only mortals besides mursaat who can – known to us players at least – are havrouns, and for some reason, Svanir). And like souls, they’d be capable of interacting (just as we can kill risen while “phased out of Tyria” in Arah dungeon’s mursaat path’s final boss, all the while being immune to damage from them – and how similarly the boss can attack us but we cannot attack the boss until we’re also “phased out”). Thus why Ascension was needed to see and fight them.

So by my interpretation, what ritualists and revenants see would be people’s souls and the flow of magic in things. The spirit threads as it’s called in Factions at one point.

What enhanced senses, magical or otherwise, could one draw on for RP, as applied to all 9 profession?

I know that necros can sense lifeforce. Mesmers I think can sense the framework and use of magic. Thieves have magically enhanced proprioception and balance.

Do elementalists know the weather? Can they tell temperature?
Can rangers speak to animals, see and hear through them?
Do guardians feel the light they shape?

Are there any passive abilities to the professions not directly related to enhanced senses, but which might be helpful in RP?

This? :P

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

This? :P

I really need to clean my computer screen. I was wondering what the spots they saw represented.

I’d actually imagine a ritualist/revenant’s sight – while blindfolded or simply blind – to be akin to Neo’s vision in the Matrix – just replace the streams of numbers and symbols with lines of magic.

Also:

• Necromancers can’t sense life force so much as better utilize it than other professions.
• Mesmers can’t so much sense the framework of magic. From past discussion you’re still taking Kasmeer’s knowledge of the Tower of Nightmares as meaning mesmers can sense all magic, but that was just Kasmeer recognizing another mesmer’s handiwork – no different than Marjory being capable of telling if anothers’ magic is necromantic or not.
• Nothing says thieves have enhanced – magically or otherwise – proprioception or balance.

All cases that you seem to be based off of – from past discussions – is just a magic user recognizing their professions’ magic. No different than an archeologist knowledgeable in the Mayan language recognizing Mayan writing in a museum.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I’d actually imagine a ritualist/revenant’s sight – while blindfolded or simply blind – to be akin to Neo’s vision in the Matrix – just replace the streams of numbers and symbols with lines of magic.

Also:

• Necromancers can’t sense life force so much as better utilize it than other professions.
• Mesmers can’t so much sense the framework of magic. From past discussion you’re still taking Kasmeer’s knowledge of the Tower of Nightmares as meaning mesmers can sense all magic, but that was just Kasmeer recognizing another mesmer’s handiwork – no different than Marjory being capable of telling if anothers’ magic is necromantic or not.
• Nothing says thieves have enhanced – magically or otherwise – proprioception or balance.

All cases that you seem to be based off of – from past discussions – is just a magic user recognizing their professions’ magic. No different than an archeologist knowledgeable in the Mayan language recognizing Mayan writing in a museum.

Actually the first and the third are based off of canon. Only the second is based off an assumption from the ToN event.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Into_the_Labyrinth
“Okay. I’m okay. If I can just concentrate, I can sense life force. It’s not strong or reliable, but maybe I can get us to Kasmeer and the others before it’s too late.”

For thieves I drew the connection because enchanced physical ability is enhanced proprioception and balance. You can’t exactly have increased agility without the former. This isn’t so much a lore thing but a biological thing.

But that isn’t important.

I was wondering if there were any passive aspects you would expect each class to have?
Like if elementalists can tell the weather.

No. Any “passive aspect” would likely be more tied to training than anything. Because one individual of a profession can do something doesn’t mean all can.

“A revenant’s signature blindfold isn’t mandatory, either, as revenants don’t become blind as a natural result of their profession. Most of them only wear a blindfold as a tool to help them commune with the legends, who are able to perceive the world through their own senses.”

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/hidden-arcana-role-playing-the-revenant/

Konig Des Todes.2086:

No. Any “passive aspect” would likely be more tied to training than anything. Because one individual of a profession can do something doesn’t mean all can.

Then what criteria do you use for abilities that are trainable.

Such as could rangers train to speak to animals vs could rangers train their pets to transmit empathic messages over distance.

Too variable to really theorize, IMHO. If you want to do something in RP, then you gotta explain why you can.

I would argue that a ranger could not speak to animals any more than anyone else could, nor could they train their pets to transmit empathetic messages. This does not, however, mean that they couldn’t train their pets to react to specific phrases in a certain way – no different than animal trainers in reality. Nor does this prevent finding a magic that could allow an empathetic bond (such as via a third party mesmer).

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Too variable to really theorize, IMHO. If you want to do something in RP, then you gotta explain why you can.

I would argue that a ranger could not speak to animals any more than anyone else could, nor could they train their pets to transmit empathetic messages. This does not, however, mean that they couldn’t train their pets to react to specific phrases in a certain way – no different than animal trainers in reality. Nor does this prevent finding a magic that could allow an empathetic bond (such as via a third party mesmer).

Could one justify a telepathic revenant given that Glint is telepathic?

What if I said the ranger was using nature magic to develop a bond? Would I have to use nature magic?

I have/do RP/explain my necromancer’s blindfold as not affecting her sight, because after being blinded (and then healed mostly by monk healing magic, partly another necromancer), her vision returned, but she could mediate and allow herself to see aura’s of living (and partly, undead) things.

I could be that Priests of Kormir, like Ritualists and Revenants now, enter a form of meditation and can ‘see’ fine, even blindfolded. It’s just they see extra things others do not.

Th old blind fold is of the Seer’s Set, which existed long before Revenant was a class.

I had it at one time on my elmentalist Yumiko Emi Ishida, but I didn’t really bother to explain it. I use the wraiths mask now to have her eyes glow with blue fire when she is at her maximum magical potential.

If I were to have the blindfold again, I’d probably have it on her so she can interact with the celestials as a Canthan should be able to do especially, Hai Jii, which is her patron celestial.

A world on fire.

Yumiko Ishida.3769:

Th old blind fold is of the Seer’s Set, which existed long before Revenant was a class.

and now I’m envious a little…
no blindfolds for medium armored classes :/

[and I really wanna that blindfold on my druidess – for rp’ing stuff]