As a Guild Wars 1 player the gods were very much alive 250 years ago , but in the present it’s said they haven’t shown themselves. Have they left tyria? or maybe just gave up on the human race? Maybe they just faded away, I did an event in Orr a week ago if I remember correctly and I’m not completely sure if these were the exact lines but the priest/ or champion of Balthazar, which ever one said " Balthazar is dead, Zhaitan is the only one now " I’m not too sure if that was precise but that’s what I remember, so what do you think happened?
I believe the character in question meant that he no longer worshiped Balthazar. That he only drew power from Zhaitan now. We can indirectly tell that the gods still exist somewhere as the human racial prayers still have an effect just not to the extent that it had 250 years ago. Balthazar still sends his war hounds to protect those who worship him.
Actually, while its true that the gods have left Tyria for the most part, we know that they are still around (thanks to the human racial skills, wich are prayers to each god). Also in the human storyline a priestess of Grenth, human god of death, will open portals for you to the underworld to get some curcial information, in theory she wouldn´t be able to do so if Grenth was trully gone. Later on during the Orr storyline you can meet the same priestess and summon one of the Grenth´s Seven Reapers, wich confirms Grenth is still ruling the underworld, this is probably the evet you remember in wich you have to kill a corrupted priest of Grenth.
The general consensus is that the gods left Tyria, because they want the Humans to stand on their own along with the other races instead of babysiting them all the time. Still they have not left completly their chosen race and still answear their prayers from time to time.
My theory, which has no basis whatsoever in reality:
So, let’s presume that you beat Nightfall with a Prophecies character. There’s just under a decade from the Searing to the end of Nightfall. That means that you’ve gone from barely holding back and eventually retreating before the Charr armies, to straight-up murdering a god that even the Gods couldn’t permanently defeat in less than ten years.
Now what’s to stop you from pulling a Kormir or a Grenth and taking their power? Oh, right, some distance. So they ran, not from the Dragons, but from us.
Could it just be that they “left” so that the humans can grow as a race and become independant of them? I mean humans are a lot like the charr were in EOTN in the aspect of evolving as a race right now, false gods gone (and the white mantle being almost non-existant) and no one leader (we can take the importance of the gods for humans about as much as the khan-ur for the charr).
I think of the gods as “parents” of all humans, always being around, but as the humans are now going into a adolescent phase of evolution, letting us evolve and kinda not take the footsetps of Canthans who isolated themself, kinda went all religious and xenophobic.
When life gives you lemon, ask if its from a anime or manga.
They’re still sort of around. Personal StoryThere's a level 80 personal story quest that has you talking to an Avatar of Grenth, who I believe is actually one of the Seven Reapers, so Grenth is still very much active. He even wants you to kill this risen priest of Grenth so that the priest will return to Grenth.
The gods left Tyria well before the events of Prophecies – but their power was still tangible. The events of Nightfall shed light on how the humans view their gods and vice versa. This excerpt from the Gate of Madness details one of the final major interactions between the humans and the Gods, and basically sums up the current relationship:
Ending cinematic
Kormir: “Gods, we beseech you. Hear our prayers.”
<player name>: “We have come where living men should not be. We have fought armies, crossed wastelands and conquered demons.”
<player name>: “Now we are in the heart of Torment. We must destroy Abaddon before he destroys the world. But we cannot battle him alone.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “You are not alone. The gods are always watching.”
Kormir: “Watching? We need your help. We are only mortals, and we challenge a god.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “There was a time when the gods walked the earth. Every thought and achievement was a gift of the gods.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “But now you must realize that our gifts are within you. Dwayna lives in your compassion, Balthazar in your strength.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “Melandru dwells in your harmony, Grenth in your justice.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “And in your inspiration, Lyssa is there.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “The divinity is within you. And so, we give you our blessing. That should suffice for the task ahead.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “And to you, Kormir, a most special gift.”
Lyssa’s Muse: “This is your world, now. This is your decision. You must make the choice that only a mortal could make.”
Kormir: “Our decision? They leave us some words of encouragement and expect us to fight a god?”
<player name>: “The gods said we have a choice. A choice that only a mortal could make.”
Kormir: “Yes. Yes, there is a choice. We can end this. We don’t have to be driven by gods and their avatars. Let us go.”
Basically the power of the Gods lies within the human race. Their influence over Tyria has diminished but their will has lived on through the hearts of the people.
What happened to them? They stepped back in order to let humanity grow on their own without any “crutches” (so to speak) – that is to say, without much help from the gods unless it’s needed. This is the explanation Jeff Grubb and Ree Soesbee has given since 2009.
But as pointed out in the spoilers above, the Six Gods – or at least one of them – isn’t completely gone. They just don’t actively participate in Tyrian affairs unless they absolutely need to (and considering Elder Dragons consume magic, that’s probably a good thing that highly magical beings are no longer on Tyria).
Regarding that Priest of Balthazar’s line – all risen, except one (Priestess of Dwayna), have denounced their faith in the Six Gods in favor of Zhaitan, but this isn’t free will acting. They’re being forced to serve Zhaitan. It’s kind of odd that, if I was told right about the Priestess of Dwayna, she reveres/worships both Dwayna and Zhaitan separately but at the same time.
Dear ANet writers,
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
It would be interesting to know if the Six Gods were more reluctant to enter Tyria now that the dragons are out and about… since we can be pretty sure the dragons would be a threat to them!
As Darmikau said, the Exodus of the Gods actually happened long before the Prophecies campaign. The year 0 AE; AE standing for After Exodus (Prophecies is set in 1072 AE). That’s when they withdrew from the world and no longer dwelt in Arah. Of course their influence was still felt (we saw avatars fairly often in GW1), but they weren’t here in the world. They seem to have continued to reduce that influence.
The fact that the Exodus happened just after the drama with giving magic to humanity and the subsequent war with Abbadon (and creation of the Bloodstones) suggests that part of the gods’ motivation for leaving was that not only did humanity need time to grow, the gods’ presence might be making things worse, or more dangerous.
My theory, which has no basis whatsoever in reality:
So, let’s presume that you beat Nightfall with a Prophecies character. There’s just under a decade from the Searing to the end of Nightfall. That means that you’ve gone from barely holding back and eventually retreating before the Charr armies, to straight-up murdering a god that even the Gods couldn’t permanently defeat in less than ten years.
Now what’s to stop you from pulling a Kormir or a Grenth and taking their power? Oh, right, some distance. So they ran, not from the Dragons, but from us.
Right, whats going around killing Gods and Elder Dragons, we are. We’re more powerful than they are. They ran with their tails between their legs.
. We’re more powerful than they are. They ran with their tails between their legs.