Guild Wars 2

I’m not letting this go so easily. I don’t understand why they would take things out, and why, if they took anything out, they would take one of the deepest, most fascinating, and most fun chapters to play through.

Since I was lucky enough to play through the Personal Story before this mess, I found that my adventures through the Greatest Fear Plotline were still chronicled in the “My Story” part of the Hero tab. Hopefully that means we’ll see it re-instated? It hasn’t been completely wiped, at least.

I’m recently getting back into GW2 after a long dry-spell- nothing made me angry or quit the game, I just had my senior year of college to worry about.

Then I see this. This is insane- “Greatest Fear” was easily the best part of the later Personal Story. I actually wasn’t paying all that much attention, so I was actually shocked when it happened- it was a major blow for my charr guardian to be tricked and muck up so badly.

And I loved every minute of it.

I had heard so many good things about the other two fears, I couldn’t wait to try them out.

Now I can’t.

ANet, I love ya, but what are you DOING? I know I’m just repeating what a lot of other people are saying, and, well- good. Maybe if enough players keep saying the same thing, you’ll give us back what was a wonderfully told tale about the shortcomings of our hero- something we desperately needed for our hero to be relatable and human (or charr, asura, et cetera).

It just makes no sense to take away things that everyone really seemed to like.

To be fair, Revenants, as an undead fighter-esque class, are reminiscent of WoW’s Death Knights- they got their own starting area independent of their race, and were dropped into the game after playing through the starting area tied to the expansion’s storyline. Likewise, the first Death Knight(in practice) Arthas, also changed his race, going from Paladin to Death Knight. So, it HAS been done before. I, for one, don’t really care one way or another- I just think it’s a neat class idea, and I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Chadramar.8156:

The cultural story arcs are the best in the game, IMO, everything after that is just so … devoid of identity that I don’t know if I’ll manage to take any alts past Claw Island, if even that.

Wow, thanks to everyone who posted so far- I was hoping to generate good discussion. I didn’t want to post a wall o’ text, but everything you said, Chadramar, hit the nail pretty firmly on the head, I think, especially the above quote. I ADORED the first act of the PS; I think it’s really well done. And it’s why I so badly want Anet to keep trying with the PS, past Traehearne. I knew, again, this was a weak argument- I made it fit my characters so that I could still enjoy “their” story, and, weak though it may be, it’s still valid.

You don’t need to be a selfish glory hound to still have to learn about being a true hero- my point was, we’re right to expect more for our heroics; if any decent person did any of the stuff we do throughout the PS, they are completely within their rights to expect gratitude, and I bet that any decent person WOULD be miffed that Traehearne comes in and takes it all, while doing relatively little. But there’s the difference- a decent person would speak out. A decent person has their limits. But a true hero, while still upset that they’re not getting the recognition they deserve, simply plods on and does what needs to be done.

Again, I could be completely pulling this out of my butt at this point, but this is how I justified it for my character, because it fit with the personality I built up for him. Maybe it doesn’t fit other personalities people will ascribe to their characters. But I still say that maybe there was an idea to make Traehearne a conduit to pull out the true hero in a player character; showing that heroism is not just great deeds, but how you handle your victories and the attention you get following it.

So, I’m a fantasy writer. I’ve been playing around with grand, epic stories, creating characters and worlds for ages. Nothing’s come of it yet, but that’s not my point.

Guild Wars 2 immediately sold me on its story, in the beginning- I took my Blood Legion Charr out there and took him out into this living, breathing world, made friends, felt a part of something bigger than myself…

And then I joined one of the Orders. It was disconcerting at first, but, it was all good. Forgal was a entertainingly crothety old curmudgeon, and I still felt a part of something, I began to identify with the Vigil.

And then Traehearne happened.

I don’t like Traehearne. He’s not a bad guy, he started out okay, but really, he’s just… what WAS this? I know saying Traehearne is a badly written character on these forums is like saying the Romans were a bit militaristic- so obvious and overdone it’s really not worth mentioning. His absolute nadir, in my opinion, is when he has me running around saving Priory teams in Concordia, and he says, “Commander, to me, I need your opinion.” A cutscene then ensues in which my character says absolutely nothing and Traehearne pontificates to everyone about how great a necromancer he is and how he’s going to save us all. Uh, yeah, I can see you really needed me to weigh in on that, Traehearne. And then it hit me.

I call this post “In Defense of Traehearne” not because I like the character, but, I’m starting to see what might be the reason he became such a scene stealer. What if there’s a message tied to it? I know this may sound like a weak argument, and it probably is, but I just can’t shake the thought that I figured I’d share. I apologize right now if this has already been said; I haven’t heard it before, and I wanted to share. Unintentionally or not, A-net seems to be giving us a lesson on what it truly means to be a hero. Oh sure, Traehearne...supposedly saves the world, but we all know what’s really going down- we know who’s doing all the work, we know who...took the shot at Zhaitan. And we never get the recognition for it, we don’t feel like we’re getting the attention and thanks that we deserve.

But what if that’s the point?

What if it’s being shown to us that this is what a real hero does- he doesn’t fight because he wants the recognition, he fights because it’s the right thing to do. So, maybe it’s best Traehearne have the glory. We know who’s the real hero. It’s the old White Knight/Dark Knight gambit from… well, Dark Knight. Tyria wants a hero like Traehearne, but they need a hero like you. Honestly, if you want the recognition, it’s not like Tyria’s forgotten you- sometimes I like going back to old places I’ve been, seeing all the filled hearts and talking to the scouts- sure, it’s not a moving, cinematic cutscene that congratulates us, but the plainspoken, honest words of gratitude from the NPC’s that go out to you still make -me- feel like a hero. And maybe it’s best if Traehearne take the lead- perhaps you ARE simply too attached to other alliances, like your race or Order, to really be that unifying force Tyria needs.

So, go ahead, Traehearne. Take your lofty titles, your glory- go putter around Orr until you figure out how to be useful. It’s all good. Perhaps the personal story will continue as more content is added, and Tyria’s true heroes will be able to get their time in the sun. (Oh please, please let that be true- I LOVE the idea of the personal story, if not so much the actual paths it has taken)

In the meantime, I’ll just have to console myself with the fact that my Guardian could wipe the floor with Traehearne’s namby-pamby necromantic butt any day, if he wanted.

Okay, so, when I roleplay, I get into it. My main is a Charr that joined the Vigil, and, shortly after joining, I received a letter from Rytlock. It said how certain he was I’d do the Legions proud, how my home there would always be there waiting for me after the business with Zhaitan was done with.

I REALLY loved getting that letter. I thought it was an awesome, almost touching moment to think Rytlock would care enough about my character to have that sent, and it really made me want to get more involved in the story. The little touches like that help make this game my favorite.

I meant to save it.

I did not.

It’s now gone from my inbox, and it’s driving me crazy, because I REALLY wanted to save it. I don’t think there’s any way to get it back, but does anyone know it, so that I could save it elsewhere?

Two gate guards at the Southern gate in Nageling, on the Diessa Plateau, are listed as Iron Legion Soldiers, but they wear the red armor of Blood Legion, and say “For Blood Legion” when greeted.

Alright. Thanks for your help!

Some horns are for gouging, like those on a bull, and others are for ramming, like… well, a ram.

Alright, so, this isn’t so much an issue as it is a question; my apologies in advance if I put this in the wrong sub-forum.

The e-mail I’m currently signed in under is no longer active. In case trouble starts a-brewing with my account, I currently have no way to get any e-mails A-net sends my way. But I’ve been poking around, and I don’t see how to change my e-mail to my now only working one. Can anyone help?

Tryvalas, my Blood Legion Warrior. First in his official portrait, posing like a badkitten, and then just a shot with his kitten face, like the special little cupcake that he really is.

So, I was going around Lion’s Arch, enjoying the decorations, and then I saw a charr cub running around in an… “Assassin” costume. To anyone who’s played a certain series of well-known games by Ubisoft, this costume should look very familiar.

So, I was just curious, does Anet have anything to do with the Assassin’s Creed games, did they help develop them or something? Or do they just have some really big fans up in development?

…or are they secretly Templars?

So, maybe I was just blind and deaf when I was taking my first Charr through Ashford Plains, but I really don’t remember this. No offense to my Iron Legion brethren, but for my two Charr characters thus far, I went with Blood and Ash, because an engineer or mechanically-inclined, I am not. And when I was first leveling my Blood Legion Warrior, I didn’t hear anything- maybe Iron was too intimidated by him to say it out loud, or something.

But when I was leveling up my Ash Legion Necromancer, all I heard from Iron Legion NPC’s in the game world, especially Ashford, is about how much the other two Legions sucked, and how Smodur was going to be the new Khan-Ur. I mean, I dunno- I sort of thought Iron would be smarter than that. From what I’ve read, Khan-Ur has an occupational hazard not unlike the Roman Emperors whenever the Praetorian Guard gets particularly enthusiastic.

With the way things are, Iron certainly does have its strengths with the whole Black Citadel- but where do they get off thinking they can do it all alone? The Lore has made it very clear that without the Blood Legion acting as a Vanguard and general muscle, and Ash scouting ahead and rooting out sabotage within the Citadel, Iron couldn’t manage Ascalon- and Ascalon is only one third of the lands Charr Legions control, though it’s probably the Jewel in the Crown. So, is this something Anet added recently, perhaps maybe hinting at new plots in an expansion? Or is it just particularly zealous Iron soldiers blowing hot air, and I just missed it my first time in Ashford?

Tryvalas, my Blood Legion warrior, is a charming Ladies’ man- at least, that’s what he likes to think. Sometimes, he can be genuinely charming, other times, (that is, most times) it falls flat on his face. He’s quick with snarky comments, too.

This might have come off from spending practically all his Fahrar days with Reeva, who he fancied in his younger days. After a botched advance in which he thoroughly got his tail handed to him by Reeva, he settled with just being friends. His self esteem is fragile, at best- he will overtly boast about his strength and prowess in battle, which, being a Centurion in the Blood Legion, is boast-worthy, but the boasts are, more often than not, for trying to convince himself he’s competent than trying to belittle anyone around him.

Okay, juuust going to step in here and take a snippet from http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Flame_Legion this handy little site… “…has shaped current charr society towards maltheism.” Maltheism, or more properly, Misotheism, is hatred of Gods, not Atheism- and that’s directly from the Guild Wars 2 wiki, which in turn used a PAX Interview of Anet developers as its source for the article. Seems legit to me.

The same reason cultures with a deep rooted connection to Christianity name their children Christian names- like… well, Christian, Joshua, David, Mary, Joseph, Esther, etc.

The Sylvari have an intense connection to nature and, well, plants. Their entire culture is built around it, so, yes, you’re going to run into a lot of plant/nature-focused names. Seems pretty obvious, to me.

Ender.3508:

I sincerely hope you can break this mindset or you wont find the class fun to play whatsoever.

Ah, okay then. Thank you for the heads up. In most games like this, I’ve leaned toward the melee, so, a mage-like class is admittedly virgin territory for me. I’ll keep what you said in mind, then.

Alright, so, I really have fallen in love with Guild Wars 2. That does not, however, mean that I’m above pointing out some pet peeves of mine. Case in point, the Elementalist. Now, I set up my human Elementalist as being geared toward earth; a rather burly fellow with a green and brown theme going on with his outfits. I was under the reasonable assumption that by choosing earth in character creation, I was communicating that I wanted to have my man start with earth. I find out, however, that I have to unlock earth by mastering all four elements, which meant a lot of game-breaking time grinding up my skills in fire, water, and air so I could finally get my characterization right. I know it’s small in the grand scheme of things, in fact, some Elementalists that choose water and fire will never encounter this problem, and I ended up getting what I wanted, but it still seems a bit unintuitive. Why have us able to gear our player towards a certain element if we have to play with other elements first?

Just some food for thought.

So, I’ve only been playing the game for a couple of days, but I already adore it. My favorite is definitely the implementation of an actually coherent story for your character, the basis of which was more than likely ripped right out of single-player RPG’s. My question, though, is this- Is this the first time an MMO game has tried to implement a coherent, personal story for an individual character? Something more than “You are Alliance/Horde, kill the Horde/Alliance and whoever happens to be trying to take over the world at the present time!”

I know that sounds like an odd question, but I’m just curious if GW2 built off of earlier games, or was the first to try to marry off coherent, RPG storytelling with an MMO game.

I originally chose a Charr as my main because I REALLY liked the look of them- My main toons on WoW were a Tauren and Worgen respectively, so you can see a pattern. But I’ve absolutely fallen in love with their lore, which is funny, because the Antitheist, Militaristic, Pragmatic society is decidedly opposed to my real values. Though, seeing what they’ve gone through, how they’ve suffered, and how they’re fighting back makes me not only want to root for them, but jump right out into the battlefield with them.