Guild Wars 2

A lot of people seem to like Canach as a character, from what I’ve been reading in lore posts.

He isn’t a villain per se, but a dissident trying to fend off his hunters while freeing the settlers. (This was illustrated poorly ingame.)

Eventually we fought him, and we discovered Canach as an expert in guerilla warfare and mines. Throughout our showdown against him we discovered Canach wasn’t no ordinary Sylvari, but not overpowered either, making him more realistic when compared with Trahearne, Scarlet, Faolin, etc..

To be honest I miss Canach, and I think think they should bring him back. What do you think?

Yes, but I worry that they’d just wreck him further. He’s got potential though.

I really want him back.

A Dev said that his appearance changed because he was going through hell, being hunt by mercenaries, being sleep deprived, starving, etc. I don’t believe it, I think that it was because “bad guys can’t look pretty”, since Kiel didn’t say anything about the change in game.

If Canach ever comes back, it would be cool if someone talked about his appearance in game. The player could just ask him “What happened to you? You look… uhh…” and having him answer “Are you trying to say ‘terrible’? I don’t need your sympathy”. It would be even better if he came back healed, though I don’t think that someone rotting in prison would be able to heal. Well, at least he can eat and sleep now, and nobody is hunting him down. They could give him an unique appearance, something between his old one and his new one.

Also, I would like him to come back as an ally, not as a villain. He could help us against Scarlet, hopefully he knows a thing or two about cannonballs :P

He is one of my favourite characters in the entire game, so I was very happy that I didn’t have to kill him in his lair.

The problem with Canach coming back is that so few people saw much of him in the first place. The reason those few people want him back is that he was a protagonist in a the living story, with his own motives, rather than just being another stereotyped defender of all that is good.

^Isn’t that enough reason to bring him back?
He is a good character.
For the people that don’t know who he is, there is the Wiki (though it would be better if they were told about him in game).

Nilkemia.8507:

Yes, but I worry that they’d just wreck him further. He’s got potential though.

This.

Gabby.3205:

A Dev said that his appearance changed because he was going through hell, being hunt by mercenaries, being sleep deprived, starving, etc. I don’t believe it, I think that it was because “bad guys can’t look pretty”, since Kiel didn’t say anything about the change in game.

It’s actually loosely upheld that sylvari appearances can change based on their psychological stability. Any life-changing events can end up changing their appearance.

Scarlet went through the same as Canach, for example.

I’m sure at some point Scarlet will corrupt, coerce, or co opt Canach. After all, she’s already managed to bring the Flame Legion, the Dredge, the Aethyrblade Sky Pirates, and who knows who else under her command.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

It’s actually loosely upheld that sylvari appearances can change based on their psychological stability. Any life-changing events can end up changing their appearance.

Scarlet went through the same as Canach, for example.

I am aware of that, but that’s not the problem I have with what happened to Canach. The problem is that nobody in game said anything about the changes. Kiel recognized him just fine and said nothing about it the fact that he looked like an entirely different person. It really felt like ANet just changed him because they needed him to look more menacing, and then came up with an excuse later.

darkace.8925:

I’m sure at some point Scarlet will corrupt, coerce, or co opt Canach. After all, she’s already managed to bring the Flame Legion, the Dredge, the Aethyrblade Sky Pirates, and who knows who else under her command.

I really hope not. He is a Secondborn, and a really proud one (with delusions of grandeur). I don’t think he would follow Scarlet’s plan simply because he would probably see her as someone inferior, since that’s how he see pretty much everybody else. Ending up under Scarlet’s command wouldn’t fit his personality.

Gabby.3205:

I really hope not. He is a Secondborn, and a really proud one (with delusions of grandeur). I don’t think he would follow Scarlet’s plan simply because he would probably see her as someone inferior, since that’s how he see pretty much everybody else. Ending up under Scarlet’s command wouldn’t fit his personality.

I’d say the same thing about the Flame Legion and the Dedge. And I’d say Queen Jenna using Watchknights to protect her city when Logan’s Seraph seemed to be doing a good enough job of it. What makes sense and what’s convenient to the writers are two entirely different things, and so far I’ve seen too much of the latter and too little of the former in the Living Story.

Gabby, if sylvari’s appearance changing is something relatively common, then of course people who are used to working with sylvari – such as Kiel – wouldn’t comment on it. She wouldn’t find it out of the ordinary. She knew it was Canach because it was his lair and his actions of fighting back was basically screaming “I’m Canach!”

The explanation of sylvari changing appearance due to psychological stress is something I heard was brought up in the very initial release in some dialogues. I don’t recall seeing it myself though so this is just a second-hand thing. So it isn’t ArenaNet “coming up with an excuse later” but using something they had to merit the change of his appearance.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Gabby, if sylvari’s appearance changing is something relatively common, then of course people who are used to working with sylvari – such as Kiel – wouldn’t comment on it. She wouldn’t find it out of the ordinary. She knew it was Canach because it was his lair and his actions of fighting back was basically screaming “I’m Canach!”

Hmm yeah, that makes sense. And Blingg recognized his voice before seeing him, if I remember the short story correctly. Kiel probably expected that his appearance was different and that he wouldn’t be in a good shape living as a fugitive, so that’s why she wasn’t surprised.
You are right, it is weird for the player at first but there is no reason for the npcs to say anything about it, since they should be used to it.