Guild Wars 2

10/10, this episode BLEW ME AWAY! The last instance was particularly amazing and completely unexpected. This revitalized the game for me story wise (along with LS3 E1. The new map? I love everything about it, so much lore, so much everything. I havent begun to explore it fully but hopefully the consistency stays the same for future releases! Amazing!

Again, 10/10 ANET, loved it.

Ahah i feel exactly the same! Wrote it all down in my own topics.. great job just great, almost forgotten my sadness fron Trahearanes death and lack of any funeral (of a person known by bassicaly every npc ingame..)
Hope for more Aurene missions cant wait!
ill pay 2000 gems for aurene mini.. Too bad it would be a walking spoiler so its a no-no

Anet you knocked the ball out of the park!

Good lore, loads of potential plotlines, some comedic moments, great map with some great achieves.

I’ll praise it all now as I am sure I will be spitting feathers when it comes to the JP!!

Indeed this episode was amazing (The previous one was also great).
Good lore, good writing, great map and interesting gameplay (not those terrible boss fight mechanics from season 2).

Krinstin.6287:

Ahah i feel exactly the same! Wrote it all down in my own topics.. great job just great, almost forgotten my sadness fron Trahearanes death and lack of any funeral (of a person known by bassicaly every npc ingame..)
Hope for more Aurene missions cant wait!
ill pay 2000 gems for aurene mini.. Too bad it would be a walking spoiler so its a no-no

Why is it a “walking spoiler”? To an “untrained eye” it looks like a blue colored wyvern and the name doesn’t tell anything unless you’ve played the story. It’s not like it’s named “Glint’s Legacy”.
I would really like a Mini Aurene. The designers and artists did so great on her, when I first saw her I had a heavy urge to cuddle it.

I must say I had mixed feeling about all that “alive dragons absorb magic from killed ones” but then the last instance just blew me away

YES GIMMEH MINI AURENE!!!!111ONEONE"

I also liked the instanced story quests (first and last quest). Really good music in the first one. However they lack replayability. I found them reasonably challenging but I got all the achievements for them on the first playthrough, so no need for me to play them again.

I remember some old LS quests in Dry Top, I think, had challenge motes to make the quest harder and unlock new achievements. I wonder why ANET doesn’t do this anymore? The two instanced story quests in LS3EO2 would have been the perfect place for it.

Maybe I’m biased because all I’ve ever wanted in this game was a real baby dragon – okay, all I’ve wanted in any game.

But the writing was so strong in this chapter, it really got me hyped for more. I realise now how Mordremoth’s powers incorporated Zhaitan’s and how that was specifically mentioned multiple times in HoT but I just shrugged it off, and now we find out it’s a huge deal. Brilliant.

I’m really looking forward to what this’ll lead to. The Destroyers now have death and plant powers, and Icebrood will get them too. Knowing that each dragon we defeat won’t just go away, on the contrary, will contribute their section of the magic spectrum back to be absorbed by the other dragons – I can’t wait to see what comes out of that artistically. Didn’t expect it. Loved it.

The structure was good too. The single task that covered Ember Bay was easy to stick to, Rhoban gave a good comedic lilt, it had a strong adventurous theme and the fiery island was built up as intimidating and hardcore nicely, and that was bookended by returning to two familiar locations at the start and finish. And the dragon magic rebound was referenced at each end too, first by Taimi’s research, and then by the hatchling, who seems to have absorbed Mordremoth’s expelled magic while in the egg. She resembles the Mouth of Mordremoth, I swear.

I’m really getting into this story, I hope the writing team know they are pulling it off stronger than ever. (Only complaint? I’m a ranger and I’m the eggbearer – Aurene pet! AURENE PET!!! I WILL RAISE HER AND TRAIN HER and we will be BEST FRIENDS)

Pyreo.8517:

I realise now how Mordremoth’s powers incorporated Zhaitan’s and how that was specifically mentioned multiple times in HoT

It was? I’m not outrightly disputing you, but can you point any instances of that, because I can’t recall any.

In my opinion it was a pretty good episode! Got a feeling of progress (storywise, dragon-hatching, rewards)! Nice map design and some hearts again ;-) Thx for that ArenaNet.

Reintroduction of an old enemy, but approach from a different angle, new insights into the dragons/magic topic and thereby FINALLY some tangible insights into the overall plot plan for GW2. This reestablished my belief in an interesting and well-planned plot-outline (because for some time LS had a subliminal feeling of “where are they going with this or that?”… introducing too many subplots of no or at least not foreseeable consequence). Go on ArenaNet – tie it all together!!

Destroyer fight felt really cool, like several others have mentioned before – pressure, something at stake, cool enemy/boss.

And of course Aurene: a supercute blue and turquoise dragon babe with huge, expressive eyes that say “cuddle me” yet carry the potential for future greatness!

Point of criticism: Too short, as always ^^ (especially this time since it was so entertaining…)

Best regards to all playsers
Benjamin

dont get me worng the story ed everything was dope and the last instance with your kitten talking to lazarus was dope, but i was still kittened at how they introdused “new” mobs get the whole nature of magic and everything death = manipulating the dead and ressing them but the new death and vine touched destroyers dont show any of that only diff auras around them (als whats the vine touched supposed to mean are they able to mind control or what was mordy area of expertise

The story was ok. But the mobs were pretty much crap.

I was a bit disappointed when Lazarus wanted to join. Then again, this could obviously be a ruse. Who trusts what this guy says? Marjory was weird and inconsistent here. Heh yea she’s going to try and keep tabs on a GOD.

Meh, I’d rather see how this all plays out before I make a final judgement.

Randulf.7614:

Pyreo.8517:

I realise now how Mordremoth’s powers incorporated Zhaitan’s and how that was specifically mentioned multiple times in HoT

It was? I’m not outrightly disputing you, but can you point any instances of that, because I can’t recall any.

This is from my perspective/memory, I could be mistaken.

Taimi notes that virtually all mordrem are a result of the combined Zhaitan/Mordremoth magic. At least some of them show signs of being reanimated. They aren’t just vegetation, they look zombie-like or blighted. Think of Mordrem Wolves and their skull faces. I think all minions of that type are Mordremoth’s magic infusing a corpse of whatever the animal originally was. Fern hounds, husks, etc, primarily animals that are found in jungle/sylvari style areas like Caledon Forest.

There was a part of the story, I think when norn were questioning the Commander about Eir’s death, they asked why her body had to be taken care of immediately and not returned for burial. The Commander replies that it was too dangerous – it wasn’t just sylvari who were at risk of dragon corruption. Everyone was.

At the opening of the HoT story in Verdant Brink, one of the first things in the first mission involves you being told that the mordrem take corpses away. I didn’t even really think about it at the time. Turns out that was super important. Zhaitan’s main strength was his army of risen – the more our side lost, the more he could reanimate and the stronger his became. And now because we kill Zhaitan first, every other Elder Dragon has that ability in addition to their own elemental sphere of influence, which means we almost definitely killed the worst dragon first.

Everything in Maguuma with ‘blight’ in the name, and the blighting tree section in Dragon’s Stand. Blight is not a normal healthy plant thing. Blight is when a plant is infected and dying. (My tomatoes had it :C) I think it’s reasonable to figure everything blighted would not have been possible under Mordremoth’s magical spectrum alone.

Mordremoth’s minions, as we learned in the big reveal of the Living World, were supposed to be sylvari (who became mordrem guard). Possibly everything else he had at his disposal was through manipulation of Zhaitan’s spectrum. The end part of the plot where you have to rescue Logan and Zojja from the blighting pods? They were being slowly killed to become new templates for soldiers. Mordrem are clones, combining the use of dead bodies (Zhaitan) with pods that birth new life (Mordremoth).

To add a bit of conjecture, you could propose that the reason Trahearne alone was able to link into Mordremoth’s mind and channel your consciousness inside is that he is both plant (sylvari) and death (necromancer), making him the most in sync with the dragon. At the very least, it fits thematically.

9/10.

Why can’t we speak to the NPCs in the story instances to get more information? Surely text is such a cheap extra thing to add in.

Why can’t Taimi tell me about this new Krewe of hers at the end of Taimi’s Game? Why can’t the Luminate or Ruka tell me more about Maureen (Aurene) after the final story instance? Why doesn’t Caithe have anything to say? Why can’t Windall give me more stories of his time in the Fire Islands while he’s being treated by medics?

Too many missed opportunities in story telling for a full 10/10 from me.

Sarie.1630:

9/10.

Why can’t we speak to the NPCs in the story instances to get more information? Surely text is such a cheap extra thing to add in.

Why can’t Taimi tell me about this new Krewe of hers at the end of Taimi’s Game? Why can’t the Luminate or Ruka tell me more about Maureen (Aurene) after the final story instance? Why doesn’t Caithe have anything to say? Why can’t Windall give me more stories of his time in the Fire Islands while he’s being treated by medics?

Too many missed opportunities in story telling for a full 10/10 from me.

It’s too early to complain about all those :- o
What do you want to hear (read) from Ruka or any other about the dragon, as it’s new for them as well … ? :- o
Shouldn’t they ask you, as Commander, some question as you are babies champion?

There are so many episodes to give us some new informations. Windall might be taking part in next episode as e.g your talking travel guide backpack wifh lot of stories :- )

WannaFeel.7082:

Sarie.1630:

9/10.

Why can’t we speak to the NPCs in the story instances to get more information? Surely text is such a cheap extra thing to add in.

Why can’t Taimi tell me about this new Krewe of hers at the end of Taimi’s Game? Why can’t the Luminate or Ruka tell me more about Maureen (Aurene) after the final story instance? Why doesn’t Caithe have anything to say? Why can’t Windall give me more stories of his time in the Fire Islands while he’s being treated by medics?

Too many missed opportunities in story telling for a full 10/10 from me.

It’s too early to complain about all those :- o
What do you want to hear (read) from Ruka or any other about the dragon, as it’s new for them as well … ? :- o
Shouldn’t they ask you, as Commander, some question as you are babies champion?

There are so many episodes to give us some new informations. Windall might be taking part in next episode as e.g your talking travel guide backpack wifh lot of stories :- )

I only gave examples of what I’d like to hear. Talking to NPCs is a very, very basic thing players who don’t just play for loot expect to be able to do. We want NPCs to give further information to give background and context to what is happening. Take Taimi’s Game for example. At the end of the instance you can’t even speak to Taimi. She’s stood there but all she’s got for you is a Big Pile o’ NOPE – to me that’s not right.

I’m not asking and wouldn’t expect explicit explanations of everything. For the record though, I’d expect the guardians of Glint’s legacy to know a tiny bit about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and what makes Aurene worth caring for. I never expected to be told what Aurene’s purpose is or what she’s expected to grow up to be.

It’s all about background and context for those of us who don’t want to just rush through, grab the loot and log off.

Sarie.1630:

I only gave examples of what I’d like to hear. Talking to NPCs is a very, very basic thing players who don’t just play for loot expect to be able to do. We want NPCs to give further information to give background and context to what is happening. Take Taimi’s Game for example. At the end of the instance you can’t even speak to Taimi. She’s stood there but all she’s got for you is a Big Pile o’ NOPE – to me that’s not right.

Got your point wifh Taimi here, and so wifh all other acts like this. I didnt even think to talk to her, as she said so many things while ‘The Game’ was on :- )

Anyway, would be good for you if she would just ‘write’ all the same what she just said ? :- )

Sarie.1630:

I’m not asking and wouldn’t expect explicit explanations of everything. For the record though, I’d expect the guardians of Glint’s legacy to know a tiny bit about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and what makes Aurene worth caring for. I never expected to be told what Aurene’s purpose is or what she’s expected to grow up to be.

… they said a lot about Glint, and related to her cases in HoT

Sarie.1630:

It’s all about background and context for those of us who don’t want to just rush through, grab the loot and log off.

I don’t think, any of those who visist this part of forum is rush and quit RPG player :- )
But some of us just don’t dig deep untill something comes to an end :- )

WannaFeel.7082:

Sarie.1630:

I only gave examples of what I’d like to hear. Talking to NPCs is a very, very basic thing players who don’t just play for loot expect to be able to do. We want NPCs to give further information to give background and context to what is happening. Take Taimi’s Game for example. At the end of the instance you can’t even speak to Taimi. She’s stood there but all she’s got for you is a Big Pile o’ NOPE – to me that’s not right.

Got your point wifh Taimi here, and so wifh all other acts like this. I didnt even think to talk to her, as she said so many things while ‘The Game’ was on :- )

Anyway, would be good for you if she would just ‘write’ all the same what she just said ? :- )

Well yes, it would be better than nothing. It would be the game’s way of confirming that what she’s already said is all the information you’re getting for now. It also gives the player the opportunity to pour over some of it again.

Notwithstanding that, however, she could have been given some unrelated “extra” stuff, such as…

Player: So how did you come to know Cami?
Taimi: Cami and I met over a deep shared hatred of Phlunt [insert background story here]
Player: How long has Cami and the rest of your Krewe been on the Fire Islands?
Taimi: Only about …. days but they’ve sent back some very interesting information so far.
Player: Any useful information to give me a heads up on what I can expect when I get there?
Taimi: Well there are Destroyers of course, loads of those. There also seem to be some remnants of Mursaat Constructs there guarding an old fortress. Skritt too, they kept stealing Windall’s notebook apparently, haha. Shame really, apparently he drew a picture of a three headed monster he saw on a far off island in there, I’d have liked to have seen what his crazy dehydrated mind made up.

See what I did there with that last bit? Yeah, I’m a pro writer, right? But hopefully you see the point. You can plant very sketchy ideas in player’s heads if they bother to read the optional dialogue and that in itself is the reward for bothering to do so. What I found most strange was that in Episode 1 the “optional dialogue” was explicit. At the end the story mission actually told you that you could speak with Canach for more information… but that’s not only been lost in Episode 2 but even the optional text seems to have been abandoned.

WannaFeel.7082:

… they said a lot about Glint, and related to her cases in HoT

If they already know then there’s no reason that can’t reiterate then, is there, for those of us with terrible memories!

WannaFeel.7082:

But some of us just don’t dig deep untill something comes to an end :- )

I’m not sure where the fun is in that. By the end, you know the story. I wouldn’t then go back to read through all the teasers I stoically ignored all the way through!

I dunno, man. There were a couple of sloppy bits of implementation in this patch for me; dialogues being one of them. The rest, by the way, all the voice acting and the “in-your-face” story was excellent.

So I’m sticking to my 9/10!

My only real complaint is that Jormag got thrown in almost as an after thought. I hope the story takes us to the Northern Shiverpeaks soon. Would hate to have waited 4 years as a Norn only to have Jormy thrown in and not really given a spot to shine. Other than that it was a great story patch. Can’t wait for the next.