Guild Wars 2

Not sure if it is the right forum section, but on the german forums some people complained about the swastika on the norn t3 heavy armor and now they german community manager said it will be removed. https://forum-de.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Sch-nheitsfehler
Please rethink this or refund my 119 gold. I dont want to see this symbol of luck used in many parts of the world such as in buddhism removed because of some good minders.

If some people do not want to have this symbol offer two versions of the leg piece.

I don’t know if the Bugs Forum is the best area for your argument against its removal, but I do wholeheartedly agree with your statement that it should not be removed.

The swastika is a symbol that has been used by civilizations for over 7 thousand years and the word “swastika” literally means “to be good”, or “luck”. It is the basis for how 4-leaf clovers were synonymous with being lucky because the 4-leaf clover resembles the swastika symbol. Should clovers on the Magic Find stat also be changed as the shape of the clover resembles the swastika and is also synonymous with bringing luck that is directly attributable to the meaning of the swastika? Just because one guy (relatively) recently used the symbol as the label for something bad, does not make the symbol bad, it makes the acts committed under the symbol bad.

“Or another translation can be made: ‘swa’ is ‘higher self’, ‘asti’ meaning ‘being’, and ‘ka’ as a suffix, so the translation can be interpreted as ‘being with higher self’.”

So it is also a symbol of spirituality and peace.

However, from a game lore standpoint, I wonder how this symbol came to be used by the Norn and what its meaning is to them within their culture and spiritual belief structure.

If it has no ties to any Norn ideals, philosophies or spiritual beliefs then it is nothing more than a real-world symbol existing completely out of place in the game world. If there is no tie between the Norn and this real-world symbol then it should not have been included in the first place and should be removed, but removed for the reason that it has no significance to the Norn in the game world and not because people made a stink about it due to it holding significance in the real world.

Norns are built on norse mythology and the swastika (to my knowledge) was used there, too. Either way its a pretty weak reason to remove it. Noone (or very very few since I didnt see anyone) complained about this in the 400+ days since release. And now someone mentiones it in german forum it gets immediate attention from the community manager? Seems fishy.

I am really angry about this. The new patch already included the change. I want 119g refunded or something.

The Old Norse may have used the swastika as a symbol for Þór (Thor), i.e. for the thunder and lightning, and this could very well be the source of its use in England (from the Norse invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries) and its use in the other Germanic countries.
Basically kitten Germany took an ancient symbol and perverted it to such a degree that it can never be used again without bringing up all the associations of death and hatred.

I’m sorry for you guys that’s really a shame. It’s unbelievable how ignorant some people are.

Can never be used again? I am pretty sure the finnish airforce still uses the symbol, same with buddhism (http://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Dalai-Lama-with-Swastikas.jpg)

Malediktus.9250:

Can never be used again? I am pretty sure the finnish airforce still uses the symbol, same with buddhism (http://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Dalai-Lama-with-Swastikas.jpg)

Clearly they are not as stupid as some gw2 players…
I doubt they will ever revert this change tbh. Sadly.

But its funny how someone complained about it 5 days ago and the armor already got changed this patch. Its unusual speedy for Anet.

Fjandi.2516:

Clearly they are not as stupid as some gw2 players…
I doubt they will ever revert this change tbh. Sadly.

Unfortunately this is more serious than just some people not liking the previous textures (or feeling offended). There are some very old and very dumb laws in Germany regarding the use of kitten symbolism (even out of context). In short (my layman terms; I’m no lawyer): You’re not allowed to reproduce these, unless it’s some historical document or art (art covers movies, Pictures, etc. but not video games).

If they keep it in the game, they might get sued for depicting it and the game might have to be pulled from store shelves and online for Germany/German audience. Sounds ridiculous? Yes, it is in some way or another. Considering it’s really just some tiny texture many possibly don’t even notice (and due to the low res you can’t even be sure it’s meant to be a swastika).

Remember the latest Wolfenstein game from 2008 or 2009? All copies had to be pulled from German store shelves despite being cut/censored already. The reason: They forgot to remove one low res swastika on a document that’s depicted on one wall in the whole game. Sad, but true.