Guild Wars 2

To react to the hypothesis Shiren, I like your point but then we have to consider this.

I give you a reference from Season 1, Tower of Nightmares.

It was no joke when Jory had a somewhat sadistic, and cruel delight in overflowing the toxic tower with her toxins she laughed manically and made a point of how she was going to keep putting toxin in it until it couldn’t take anymore.

Jory is “not” a good guy, you need to realize this.

Of all the members of the Biconics Jory has the most connections to dark things, she saw questionable rituals being done when Mendel died, do you honestly think she hasn’t studied or been fascinated by them?

Would she be above using necromancy on her own sister? A grieving woman as you say? I don’t know, and I doubt it, because Jory as a character stated herself to Kasmeer that if she treats her any more sweetly she’ll break.

Which means shes willing to do very hard, very questionable things, to change the world.

Even if it means forcing death itself to bring back the sibling she lost.

How could she face a paranoid mother who already has enough issues with trust by giving her a dead sibling? She’d be thrown out of her own house and dismissed as a Deloqua family member, something I doubt even she has the willingness to face.

Jory, is a coward, she is not a good person, but that doesn’t mean shes a villain, just desperate, she would do it because she has a lot more to loose if she doesn’t try to bring her back and save herself from her mothers anger.

As for Livia, well, its entirely possible if not probable she paid the billet for Canach after all she is according to SoS still alive even after all this time and has preserved her beauty unnaturally.

Anise may also be her daughter, but I have another theory about Anise all together, what I do think however is Canach is going to be important next update.

And I also don’t put it above Jory to do something that dark to save her lost sibling, at any cost.

I don’t think we need a token Sylvari in DE2.0 I think its possible that Canach will remain a solo operative, but maybe from time to time we help him out.

The idea of having a race for every member hopefully never becomes a thing because do we really NEED every DE themed group to have one of every race?

The short answer:

No

The longer answer:

It takes away from the uniqueness of the current group by forcing a new character into it just for the sake of token character logic.

While I feel he would fit in the role well since Canach and Jory are both anti-heroes I do feel that his role wouldn’t feel right if he joined since hes a lone wolf and he prefers to do things himself.

Would we help him in a one off situation, quite likely, but will he decide to join us permanently? I hope not, it’d be too easy.

I want him to be a character that “maybe later” will decide to join DE2.0 but for now we just help him out giving him a reason to trust us.

So we know about whats going on with Marjory but I like a theory crafted on Reddit that I hope A-net pays attention to because this to me would be the making of Jory as a character.

Jory sent Kasmeer and you away, so that she could potentially practice necromancy on Belinda hoping to bring her back from the dead.

This, to me gives us TWO opportunities for some very interesting theories:

1.
Jory fails, Belinda is horrifyingly deformed or something goes horribly wrong, which in turn will change Jory significantly as a person.

2.
Livia makes her first major appearance in the setting, and agrees to help Jory in return for something, and possibly train Jory to become a powerful necromancer in the future.

Thoughts?

So, I recently went to Canach in Vigils Keep since I doubt alotta people go to pay attention to this guy, but he has had a small update.

The Lionguard holding him points out that he has been assigned to the Shining Blade.

Does anyone else get the feeling that Canach is going to pull an Aerin on us?

I did actually do EOTM primarily because I wanted to know more about Taimi but since I already pointed out that I liked the character in the first place I don’t quite think people understand my POV.

ALLOW ME TO REPHRASE THIS

I don’t HATE Taimi, I don’t HATE Braham, I don’t HATE, Jory or Kas.

What I DISLIKE is the fact these characters portrayals are so FORCED based on their cliche which, being someone that has read MANY fantasy books both from popular and non popular franchises, watched A LOT of ANIME both mainstream and non hardcore, played MANY RPGS both WESTERN (Dragon Age franchise, Kotor, Diablo, I could go on) and EASTERN (Final Fantasy, Valkyrie Profile) I can spot the tropes almost immediately.

Do they have to be original? No, could they be done in a less forced way, yes.

The problem is that these characters have grown on me, but that doesn’t mean I cant fault them for things “I” personally feel they have flaws in.

Am I alone in my POV? No, people have expressed to me before a love/hatred of the cast, and while I myself would like to say the only DE 2.0 member I actually dislike is Rox, the rest I only have flaws in because of what they are based on and made to be expressed as.

I am tired of people using expressionism to tell a story, did Guild Wars one need lesbians, dumb teenage men or disabled kids to make a good plot? No.

It didn’t have any of them and it still told a great storyline.

In fact it wasn’t until eye of the north we saw the ugly head of stereotyping peer itself on us because they wanted a cliche character (Gwen) in their universe (Emo Teen Angst Girl 101).

The problem is that good story doesn’t need characters that have to be predictable or done before.

A good story and because of that, good character development, focuses on the characters you now know and gives them flesh to the bone, it lets us know, what kind of person they are.

The great and the terrible.

The moment you make a char flawless or overly flawed you loose the point of development.

This is why Sakura in Naruto is such a hated character by the Naruto Fanbase, or why you can shun Robert Jordan for making plots that take forever to get to the point.

Do I like wheel of time? Yes, do I like Naruto, kinda.

But I don’t have to like it flawlessly if I find something that gripes me.

So I don’t hate the cast, I hate the way they are portrayed without any flicker so far of major transitional development.

Hopefully in Episode 2 onwards they will have genuine char events that alter the way they act and think over time, but for now, they remain unchanged.

That is a good point Face, I suppose if you are to take it from the other side of the coin she is someone with interesting potential but I still think we need to be able to have more of a direct role in her potential and to be able to help develop it.

Again, the way Ive always treated char development is, its the person, not the problem.

It should focus more on them, not the things that happen to them but the way they react to those happenings.

However, I do feel that Taimi does occasionally act too… …I cant find the right word, but I doubt I’m the only one that feels this way about her attitude.

Suddenly shes out of scrappy and just casually waltzing around then acts like a nutjob around everything Scarlet related.

She may be a teen to her defense but… again, it seems forced.

I don’t disagree with your statements about treating people as invisible, but that to me feels like something that should be dealt with in the real world, not stated and pointed out in a virtual one.

My biggest fundamental dislike for Taimi is that while she is a pretty hyper scarlet fangirl which can get quite tedious too after a while, her biggest flaw is that shes supposed to be some perfect, mental prodigy that’s what, 5 years old?

Edit: I did not know she was 13, but even then she seems too know it all.

While being handi-capped with a disability?

If were talking realistic then a prodigy can only know so much, making her seem mega-smart as if one day shes going to be the most intellectually advanced Asura of all time makes her fall under the “Mary Sue” level of believability instead of the realistic.

Id have accepted it if she knew about as much as we did, but every little detail she blurts out suggests shes some kind of mega know it all kid that seems surprisingly “non” handi-capped for someone that’s supposed to be a cripple.

Seeing her limp into Scarlets lab slowly and waddlingly just made me cringe irl as it reminded me how helpless I am as a disabled person, it didn’t comfort me, it hurt me, and it left me feeling disturbed A-net wants to use that as a point of reference when its not even fair to do so.

I don’t dislike the character for the basis that shes a young child genius with a physical impediment.

I dislike the character because they are making a point of that to make her anything at all rather than advancing her in other directions that might advance her as a person, not as a political symbol.

When you use characters like that purely to make a point they are a child and therefore you need to care about them, you have failed in your story writing to explain the most fundamental point:

Why?

The day I actually have a mission to carry Taimi on my back to her Golem because they got separated is the day I will care.

Until then, it feels dumb to actually expect me to care about this character on the basis alone they cant walk properly.

Give me a game motivation, give me a story reason to actually feel like I have to help take care of this character and that she isn’t just “there” for the sake of being “there”.

Then, I will care.

Regarding Braham and Eir:

We need a story that focuses on showing that relationship and the struggle of mother and son to get to know each other rather than just giving them this vague reference then leaving it at that.

I appreciate that Braham is a teenager, that too is a relevant point, but even then his attitude is too predictable and not entirely believable since even Magnus as a tyke had a brain, and Knut too.

Norn aren’t bright? Not true, Jora evidenced that in GW1. Proud, arrogant and stubborn yes but not stupid, even Eir in the DE books had more brains than to just to retake the dragon minions alone.

First allow me to be someone that says the following before being bashed:

I Like, Jory and Kas, a lot, and hell I even like Taimi.

The voice acting is good, the story is decent and I did enjoy the jory/kas romance build up.

But:

I also have to say that these characters all three of them and also Braham as well, come across as offensive to me personally.

How are these characters offensive?

The simple truth is that I am mentally disabled IRL, and I have also got a physical handicap called Tendonitis that has a vaguely similar condition to Taimi’s which honestly I do not like being represented in a video game no matter how tempting it is to do so.

Some like the idea of their disability and personal standing being represented, but I myself do not like them at all because at the core of its universe guild wars is a FANTASY setting where by the problems of REAL LIFE should NOT apply to people in the same way it does in a virtual game that has no relevance on reality.

So whats the problem then:

Taimi is a disabled Stereotype

Your going by the idea that Taimi is disabled so we have to pity her, this actually is increasingly offensive to people that “are” disabled who despise being pitied in the first place on account we try very hard to cope with our day to day disabilities and the last thing we want, is to be reminded they exist in a world outside the real one.

I don’t need a character to remind me that I have problems I cant overcome without finding alternatives, and the fact she has a Golem to fix it actually makes it worse because by that definition your giving false hope to the physically impaired by making the character into a paragon.

Its downright inconsiderate.

Braham is a feminist view on males

Braham, hurts me, even looking at him I am treated as a man like an idiot being reminded that this guy is incompetent at anything because all he does is think with his muscle.

Have you ever considered some men actually don’t “have” muscle to think with and thus have to depend on other aspects of their abilities, or the fact we have the capacity to “think” with a brain.

This form of writing is forced dialogue to make a character seem like a stereotypical depiction of a gender, its the jar jar binx syndrome that made JJB so hated by the star wars fans.

You don’t get to do that to men and not expect backlash for it.

Jory and Kas relationship is enjoyable, but forced

When it built up to the kiss it was something special, now, unfortunately it looses its flare because we no longer have a purpose to serve other than to remind you that “aww we have a lesbian couple in our game”.

That, is a bad way to tell a plot.

If you want good story writing remember that your characters are “characters” in a “fictional” world where reality has no relevance or meaning, bringing political ideas of what people represent in a game is just a bad way to make a point.

I, hope, that the characters in future will slowly shift out of their comfort zones into more edgy, daring and interesting progressions that don’t just keep them stereotyped to their cliche but actually change the very nature of their persona.

Why cant we have a darker Taimi? Why cant Jory and Kas relationship have problems? Why does Braham have to act like an idiot when he could clearly have some development from some wisdom through Eir.

I want to see some “genuine” character development from the GMPC’s that shows they have changed by their experiences and that those changes will guide the direction they take from now on.

I don’t, want to see forced ideologies and politics make its way into a fantasy world, where they don’t belong.

Stop making a statement about life, and start making a statement about Tyria.

I want to know what Tyria’s world is like, not what Tyria’s connection to Earth is.

Because as far as I am concerned, it should have none what so ever.

Something else I have noticed for you eager to explore.

There is an even earlier sign that a waypoint is going to start flickering later.

Some of the WP’s have started to glow dimmer than others, you can see the small change in brightness around the gleam that comes off them which makes them seem weaker as if they’ve started to loose power.

This seems to be the first stage just before flickering that a WP is going to start flickering next.

Sooooo, there appears to be flickering at Fort Marriner the fort in Lions Arch.

kitten Magnus you just HAD to Jinx it didn’t you?

This also trails into the border of Bloodtide through Bloodcoast Ward to Archen Falls Waypoints, all are flickering right now.

Uh… something wrong with the topic?

Edit: NVM just didn’t seem to show my post on the previous page but anyway, check the previous page bottom post for my thoughts on that! But yeah it looks like this is gonna be baaaaaaad.

When it went through Fort Salma there was only one thing I could think of:

Tell me you didn’t see the same.

It appears the vines are traveling towards Lions Arch where the source of the “layline” disruption came from.

Huge cube similar to the blueprints scarlet described with tentacles inside it.

Timberline Falls attacked.

Were getting a second, new zone, the area between Sparklefly Fen and Timberline Falls.

Its worth noting that In Scarlet's laboratory you find a piece of scrap paper detailing "note to self, create mobile way point". In my opinion, this could be a foreshadowing of what is to come.

I don’t really consider myself either party since I have plenty of time to game I just choose not to actively play and thus dry up every last bit of content I have yet to do in the game.

From my PoV one of GW2’s biggest failings is story vs content, the story has delivered well but the content that comes with it as a consequence feels very hallow.

How to explain this:

Episode one of LS 2 feels great for its storytelling, its like an episode of wolf among us, well paced, exciting, and driving.

Then you finish it.

…And…. you do… what?

The problem I have with this update as I keep playing is that I find the content is so empty that I don’t really see any reason to do anything but go back to role-playing in a capital until the time passes.

I don’t think that LS2 is a failure, but I do fear that if this is the way future seasons will be done, the value will dry fast.

However, I blame the achievement system ever since WoW introduced it mainstream for the fault of making content extremely lackluster because achievements are the BANE of development.

Achievements are the reason that MMO’s in general fail to have any decent content, for the hardcore they are kitten points for the casual they are mini challenges, but what do they come at the cost of?

Actual content.

They don’t actually offer you anything you didn’t ‘already’ have, they are just bragging points for the sake of bragging and as a consequence, take them away for five minutes, and what are you left with?

Nothing.

You realize rather fast how hallow the content is.

This is why achievements in general are just a dumb idea, instead of achievements focus on adding “chunky” levels of content, should that mean pushing back time to add more and work more heavily on specific content updates? Yes, it should, because id rather have a long developed update with a lot of content to look forwards too than one I can finish in 2 hours and be bored kicking the dirt wondering “what next”?

And what kind of content do you ask?

- More bosses, with mega server friendly difficulty but perhaps some challenge or optional hard mode to make them more rewarding.
- Player Housing, which might require actively going into the world to retrieve house assets that can only be attained by re-doing the heart quests multiple times to unlock tiered layers of house assets.
- Guild Alliances, for smaller guilds struggling to survive and larger guilds eager for assistance to help them do missions.
- Guild V Guild
- Refined Dungeon and Fractal system.
- Changing how achievement based armor sets are unlocked from kitten points to something that requires actual long term work to earn but can be done within the span of a year.
- While adding the next tier the year after.

I recently looked back at WP’s tour of Dry Top and it wasn’t there when this patch launched which means A-net sneakily added it into the game.

I get the impression this is a sign more vines will start to appear later on.

Anyone else notice the sneaky new update a friend pointed out to me, A-net just added one of mordy’s vines casually poking a WP causing it to spark and repell it, its at the entrance to dry top.

It was “Not” there before.

Id like to give my impressions with this with my critisisms so ill be a fair one to give this an even handed review:

The Story

The launch of the new Season story was epic, the voice acting felt right, the plot development flowed brilliantly I enjoyed every moment of it.

Five new missions in a single episode was more than I was expecting, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see how much development went into giving flesh to the story side of the game, with some rich char development in the right places.

This paced better than its predecessor in the same way the flame and frost dungeon paced, it felt like a proper adventure and I enjoyed every moment of it, I was really enthralled by what was going on right off the bat.

Maybe its because I followed S1 to the very end and I enjoyed it story wise despite its flaws, but despite my bias, I really feel you’ve ramped up Season Two to a whole new level of brilliant.

Other MMO’s better be scared because story wise GW2’s really making a solid comeback.

The New Zone, Dry Top

A returner from GW1 but with SO much changed about it its almost unrecognizable, this small but simple zone features a good use of new templates, new zone assets and makes use of older mobs in an enjoyable way.

Visually, I love this place, its stunning, the audio for Dry Top is fantastic musically, the orchestra really gives life to it.

The use of Zephyr Crystals to explore the zone just makes it fun too, adding those little pockets to explore and puzzles to solve.

However, I can make one criticism about this zone.

While I do like it and hey, it includes a nod to personal story for certain human players (you know which char I mean!) It does have one major letdown.

The zone is tiny compared to even Southsun Cove.

Adding a new zone is hard work, I cant discredit that, however, this one feels like its not finished, and hopefully that is the case since I get the feeling this feels like a giant demo preview for the entire area, as Dry Top’s small region is… lackluster.

Not only that but the limited activities to do will guarantee that outside story and repeating it for achievement sake, you will run out of things to do here, fast.

My problem with that is that 2 weeks with a tiny new area and a single story update feel great except they also feel a little shallow.

Hopefully there will be other distractions that come with future Season 2 updates because without them, adding small zone additions per patch wont really be enough to feed the masses for long, especially given people are easily starved, and even more easily bored.

A possible solution:

Make use of existing regions in the game to add even more story missions thus giving people more to do while they wait, making each episode feel more like a lengthy chunk of content.

At the very least, this might please those that aren’t as easily distracted at others with something to do that isn’t just recycling 5 new missions and 1 new (small) zone.

TL:DR?
- The Story is fantastic, kitten you for leaving me on a cliffhanger, I want more!
- The new zone is visually and musically pleasing.
- The new update creates an over hype for wanting even more content sooner than later, hopefully the game will take advantage of this.
- Suggesting implementing more story missions/side missions in present and existing areas to give more chunk to the meat.

Skyrim’s soundtrack isnt that memorable if im completely honest, it suffers from classic Soule Symptons of being a recycled track from other things hes done before.

You want an example of everything Soule has done before that sounds like other tracks he’s done in comparison:

Armies of Exigo, Oblivion, Morrowind, Skyrim (mind you they are ES games so that’s passable), Kotor 1 (2 was done by a different composer, same guy who did swtor’s tracks), guild wars and its expansions (again, excusable until Skyrim and GW2 sounded exactly the same) oh and, Everquest Next, which again, has a carbon cut copy of his music style, as well as the original supreme commander, again, very much Soule style typical music.

Look, I don’t necessarily think Soule’s music is bad, but what it lacks is iconography.

Take Stormwind theme in WoW, there’s a very ICONIC theme tune to that, which specifically defines “this is Stormwind” take Bill Browns Lineage 2 music for each of the races in Lineage (Until Inon Zur took over >.>) Each one was very iconic and very defined from the other.

Soule’s music never has this, every track still manages to feel the same, which as a consequence, makes any difference between them redundant, e.g. The Norn theme in Gw2 is essentially a carbon copy of its predecessor in GW1, its also a little void of any strength because of that, it just feels cliche and empty.

I liked his human theme, I liked his Charr theme, I liked his Sylvari theme “but”.

I do not like Soule’s music over all when I compare it to Diemer’s who actually gives us a level of personality to every situation.

Take the Tower of Nightmares, for some that don’t know there is a track on the sound cloud that basically is the theme for Tower of Nightmares, its also Scarlets Iconic theme from Season 1, it had many different variants but it still felt sinister and driving and it gave her presence a menacing form.

The Zephyrite Theme was also his work (to those hoping it was Soule’s) and that’s why it sounds slightly different from Soule’s typical work, because it isn’t his work.

I don’t hate Jeremy Soule, but I doubt we will ever see him work on GW again, honestly, hes invested in ever quest next atm, so its most likely he’s going to be on that bandwagon for a while.

Id rather have Diemer as a fitting replacement, we have more atmosphere because of him and I hope it stays, that way.

As for the Orchestral Overkill:

That’s a WoW thing, I agree to a degree WoW suffers these days from having too many epic tracks “but” I also feel epic tracks are needed in certain situations or events where ambient ones don’t suit.

This is an idea that came to my mind as a sort of “what if” perspective of things we could do that might make the living story more interesting and give us an easier way of telling the origins of a character.

Basically, the idea goes like this:

Origin Stories

Origin Stories are basically a series of mini side missions where you play from the perspective of the companion npc’s giving you more insight into the people you’re supposed to care about in Gw2 from a personal viewpoint.

How does one attain them:

Each Side Story comes in a single episode per season, focusing on one character per season which costs 200 gems (thus an average season episode) for the entire story.

What does each story entail?

For example, lets take Marjory and her story in the Ministry Guard.

Rather than read the short story version of this, the player PLAYS a younger Marjory in a Ministry Attire, the story told in a film noir style with Jory speaking in first person dictations about whats going on and her feelings about it.

This could basically be how she meets Mendel, fails to save him, and in turn goes on to meet and save Kasmeer.

Why 200 Gems? Why not Free?

Unlike the main Season Stories these are purely optional for people that really are invested into the world and thus charging for them means A-net gets a small profit (or none at all given how easy it is to farm 200 gems) while you purchase a bonus chapter that gives you a detailed history of a few short episodes of who that character is, from their POV.

What other opportunities could we invest in?

Examples:

- Villain origins: see from Ceara’s eyes exactly what she saw in the mists and what drove her to become Scarlet Briar in the first place. See how Mai-Trin became the commanding Admiral of the Aetherblade Pirate Alliance.
- Destinies Edge Events: See first hand the present goings on of the DE cast as well as DE 2.0 from multiple perspective view points.
- Rewards: Receive special rewards for completing these quests, e.g. special armor or weapons or even face/hair skins only attainable via the side stories.

How viable is this?

Given the time and effort it takes to make a single episode of Living Story, it would probably be best to integrate these during a features patch at the end of each season arc as a bonus chapter for those hungry for one last thing before A-net takes their usual monthly break.

Its not undo-able but it is time consuming.

Is it worth it?

Entirely, lets face it, what better way is there to motivate you to care about a companion than to “play” them and thus see the world from their eyes, see what they care about, why you should feel interest in them, why it matters if they die or something bad happens to them.

In Conclusion:

I feel this would be a great way to make people more personally interested in the long term chars of GW2 and give us a more clear reason to ‘care’ about the minor and major chars of the setting.

Thoughts?

Dondarrion.2748:

Hehe, would be a nice “DLC” to Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars 2: Side-stories

A collection of short instances showcasing all the Queen’s Gauntlet champions; maybe they could be given a purpose outside gauntlet so that they are perhaps tougher solo/guild challenges.
Surely they live lives outside the gauntlet; imagine Liadri and Suriel teaming up in Orr and the damage they would do and what a mess they would leave in their wake.

I actually wanted to apply a similar idea which I will go into detail about in the LS forum later, but I do like the idea of side stories we play, sure, we could also pay for them too.

I feel like Diemer’s Music is more Iconic than Soule’s, Soule’s most iconic track was notably Morrowind Theme, which became the iconic style he used for every subsequent track he plays, the problem is, all his music uses symphonic scores and as a consequence, it sounds very hallow.

Diemer is using a full Orchestra and even before that, he was using music that made his pieces feel more independent of each other so each track has its own story.

A good Soundtrack tells an iconic tale of every landscape you visit, every character theme you come across, there’s something of iconic music that comes out in a score that gives it flavor.

The teasers we got were more than enough for me to know Maclaine is the person we need for future GW music, he makes the world come to life in a way that Soule’s ambient themes gave level and pacing, but never the most important part of the story, movement.

I am really looking forwards to S2’s score and I hope, if it succeeds, they will have money enough to fund season 3 and onwards with even more orchestra and iconic pieces.

Seriously, id happily donate to a private fund for Gw2 having its own musical orchestra, also, maybe give us a bard costume for everyone that donates for the fun of it

Maclaine, My heart goes to you that musikittenerally makes me shiver and I hope that every living story season gets an orchestra from this composition because that my friend was raw epicosity and I hope to god we see more of this in guild wars 2’s fantastic universe, you brought this setting to life, I want to see this more often.

Take my kitten money already!

They did say that new races will come before new classes since they found the concept easier to make so unless they go back on that idea atm its safe to say at some point a new race will come, this season however? Not likely, since it focuses too much on Sylvari.

There’s no need for an explanation to this one really because its glaringly obvious whats wrong:

The Overgrowth Observatory is one of the cheapest places to defend not only because there is a flat out way of exploiting it, but also because it has 3 cap points instead of 1.

Allow me to point out the problem:

The bridge directly connecting to the overgrowth cap point actually makes green players invulnerable, yes, literally invulnerable while they are stepping towards it, giving them a DRASTICALLY unfair advantage while roaming on that ledge.

This allows Overgrowth players to literally zerg up and charge without any means of protecting yourself from it.

Having to cap 3 points is also a joke, no other point in EOTM actually “needs” 3 different bosses to cap so I fail to see “why” the Observatory should be exempt from this.

Simply put, there is no justification to why this area cannot be altered slightly so that 1) the bridge access to it no longer grants overgrowth players immunity to damage and 2) the observatory should only need 1 point to capture instead of 3.

Overgrowth already has it pretty easy enough as it is, with cheap access points into its own keep that make it immune to damage while passing through them, really there was just a point where a-net had some really bad design ideas for that side of the map.

Fix them.

So I mentioned this in a topic a while ago but one thing that I stated before that I think the devs should use for the form of expansions is use expansions to add new continents to the game such as Cantha and Elona (maybe not even the entire thing but pieces of them such as Ishtan for Elona and Kaineng for Cantha slowly expanding outwards via LS).

This I feel would be a good way to cover expansions, by adding new continental regions the devs can go back to them over the period of living story and add new content within them while the rest of the world continually gets new regions to explore.

As for some ideas for what could happen after what is very likely going to be a Sylvari and Mordremoth heavy expansion, lets look at some possibilities:

The Tengu, and how can we make them interesting:

I’m gonna be honest here, I don’t like this race at all when it comes to its lore, if you take away the fact they are bird men they are a low tech carbon copy of the Charr with a bit more honor and that in a way makes them akin to the Norn.

Simply put, the Tengu have no lore or story that other races in Tyria don’t already fill in some way or form aside from their irrational xenophobia.

So how can we make them interesting:

Que Season 3/Expansion 1: The Invasion of the Jade Dragon Empire.

Cantha Invades! Not as old friends greeting us with open arms, but as a tyrant, aryanist human empire that has come to reclaim the resources of Tyria for its own struggle against the Deep Sea Dragon.

The Tengu wall is breached not from the front but from the back and the Tengu are forcefully exposed to the Tyrian threat for the first time as Cantha, their oldest enemy, tries to claim their homeland.

The Largos come to their unexpected aid (leading to future potential for their race to join the playable races) and the other races of Tyria help them fend off the Canthans, the Tengu now join the races of Tyria in their traditional quest to defeat the forces of the dragons and in turn, help turn the tide against this encroaching Canthan Threat.

The Tengu personal story aside and thus that much needed character development for the Tengu now completed, the Canthan invasion spreads not just to the Tyrian mainland, but to Elona too, and we are given a brief glimpse of Ishtan, now a vassal state to the undead armies of Palawa Joko, whom we are in need of aid to defeat the Canthans, who are phobic of the dead since the influences of Shiro Tagachi.

Queen Jennah makes an unholy alliance with Joko himself in return for the future assistance (fighting Krally) mutually given by the humans of Tyria (which could lead the undead of Elona to become a playable race too, the enemy of my enemy, etc.)

The Undead and Human forces combined drive away the expansionist Canthans back to the former Zaishen Isles, what remains of them, where they create an expansionist fortress to prepare for an assault on the Canthan mainland and Kaineng City.

Kaineng becomes a battleground, and the Imperial forces battle with the Tyrian and Elonan Undead driving their way through the streets to the Tyrant Emperor. The Emperor, whom may appear like a ruthless figure, is actually being manipulated by the machinations of (plot twist) the Mursaat, who used Cantha to attempt to re-instate themselves as the rulers of Tyria, and to get resources to fight the dragons.

This cleared up misunderstanding allows Jennah to reason with the Emperor, and possibly even the Mursaat (leading to yet another future playable race, the anti-villains) whom have vast knowledge of the dragons already.

The three nations combine and converge at the Zaishen Isles for the all encroaching threat of the Deep Sea Dragon, and unite together to fight against its almighty tidal fury creating a formidable army to strike against it.

The endless waves of troops die in the many but all hope is nigh lost when the dragon appears all but unsinkable.

Finally, the Emperor does the right thing and to atone for his past crime gives his own life to use as a weapon to injure the dragon with a wound deep enough to be exploited as a weakness.

The other heroes of Tyria use the injury to cripple the Dragon and finally kill it overpowering it at last, the three nations reunite for the first time in a very long time with the mutual agreement to defeat the Dragons.

But with Palawa Joko as the head of Elona still reigning corruptly, and the Ministry of Purity still ruling over Cantha’s aryanistic ideals, it will be a while before these foreign powers could offer genuine support to fight the Dragons again.

That would be my own personal idea for a third season/first expansion, the idea of adding “fragments” of the world rather than the entire Jade sea or Vabbi region, we get bits of them and thus casually expand into new continents over the course of the game taking us far beyond the simple game map we already have to new places never seen before in GW2.

Thoughts?

Maclaine to my knowledge recently did a full 30 minute composure with a big time orchestra for Season 2, which means I suspect were going to get a more over blown epic version of Fear not this Night or perhaps The Zephyrite Song (which by the way I would love to have, fully orchestrated with massive harmonic choirs and epic trumpets/violins, more fast paced and heroic beat).

There is also the iconic Mordremoth theme (From the Tower of Nightmares update, and Scarlet’s Death cinematic) which I liked, very jaws-ish and brutal yet also powerful in its own guttural way with the deep trumpets.

I also suspect part of it was Scarlet’s Theme but given Mordy is now at the forefront…

We need an epic theme for an epic monster, something along the line of Xaxas from WoW or the Armor Titan theme from AoT’s score.

Music wise what I hope to see from an orchestra is the full use of it, taking advantage of the epic moments, the dark moments, the light moments, the romantic and tragic moments, the joyful moments.

Music from an orchestra needs to be just that and I hope Diemer took his time to find the best of all worlds he could manage in that 30 minute composure, I’m really looking forwards to some big themes.

One question on that note if A-net is listening, will we get very iconic theme tunes from now on? Such as specific theme music to specific characters and re scores, or will it just generally randomize…

Hopefully id prefer theme tunes with iconic notes primarily because I feel that iconic themes give more of a sense of character to each thing, such a race, person and event.

E.g.

Having the Iconic LA theme for the Lions Arch Lament was brilliant because it gives that GW theme vibe but also very heroic/tragic, but what if said theme was used in a darker manner, and likewise, a darker theme like Scarlet’s theme was used in a Lighter one?

I just love the idea of using music to its fullest and taking advantage of iconic pieces.

Sykper.6583:

I like to impose some restrictions if you will-

- Siege Ladders are nice, but there has to be a limit on the number of ladders placed on a per wall basis. Maybe 1-2 ladders at any large wall segment (no ladders can be placed on mini walls). Furthermore being fragile and easy to move, let enemies be able to unhinge and throw ladders off the wall, knocking back climbers and destroying the ladder entirely after like a 5 second uninterrupted channel. Lastly, climbers will be unable to do anything as they channel the ladder in an odd animation showing them climb up it. I envision ladders as a means for a group to sneak onto walls, and where using them on a wall with numbers is not the wisest choice.

- Siege Towers are a different story. My thought is something more complex than what you described, here is my version of the tower:

> Takes a high amount of supply, clearing for making a machine capable of taking heat, whether it be 120 or 150.

> Build Restriction: Open Field only, no building of this structure allowed inside allied or enemy keeps. It is a large movable structure, there is more complexity in it than any other siege weapon in the game, even the golems.

> How it works: The Siege Tower is meant as a movable staircase to ascend enemy walls, its infrastructure can support holding infantry and protect them from attacks until the tower reaches the wall and both the top of the tower and the bottom of the tower open, allowing a bridge of sorts. You build it, people actively enter the inside of it and the First person inside drives it slowly (like the supply yak speed) to the wall. It can support…let’s say a cap of 20 people, clicking the structure will tell allies and enemies the number of infantry inside. Once it reaches a predetermined spot on the wall, likely certain highlighted points the driver can see, moving the tower there will open an extra skill called “Open Gates”. The structure then shifts from movement to stationary until it disappears or is destroyed.

> Once stationary, infantry inside the siege tower cascade to the top of the wall immediately, and the tower is now an object which has clickable entrances for allies and enemies to cross back and forth, and the tower itself can still be damaged by enemy fire. The thing is, a Siege Tower is literally a truck, Omega Golems are brutes but the Siege tower is a structure, its akin to a gate or wall. So how do you damage it?

> Fire. Defenders will be able to pick up a torch from the supply huts and use the bundle to stab and throw at the Siege Tower. This “On Fire” debuff stacks intensity, slowly ramping up and burns the tower to the ground. Obviously ally and foe alike going through the Siege Tower gets a healthy dose of ‘Burning’ on them, and yes things like trebs and ballistas do damage the Siege Tower as well. But you want to burn them down right? Also bear in mind that torches aren’t the only things you as defenders can use to apply burning…like another defense siege not commonly used.

> That’s right! Mortars! Mortars are devastating to Siege Towers, which are slow moving and not quite able to dodge incoming shells and fire. It’s silly to run outside your keep with a torch to deal with a Siege Tower that is likely defended by other militia, use your mortars instead! If and when it arrives, grab the torches and all hell breaks loose!

Kind of what I was going for anyway, but I actually like these additions, either way, I feel like adding a new way to deal with defenses could spice things up for WvW in a more exciting than problematic way.

In the case of smaller zergs and teams that have less defenders the answer would be, as quite rightly said, adding a vulnerability to the thing so it can be easily destroyed by well aimed concentrated fire.

The high supply cost also means larger zergs will have to constantly retreat to recover more supplies in order to build more, thus, it actually works more favorably for the little guy.

But it is an idea I think A-net should look into, ultimately, as I said in the case of ladders and towers, mobile, but switched into a stationary mode, however, this idea of turning the tower into an APC would work well too.

Why not just add all this to open world?

I feel that open world really should be specifically kept for people that want to level in the game and progress, its the same reason Tequatl and Triple Trouble have been a bigger failure than success because with the introduction of mega server, we have essentially made it almost impossible for players to successfully formulate proper groups against end game bosses without a bit of luck from the server part.

This is a more guaranteed way of giving people an open choice, a choice to actually go and do the hard things or simply relax and avoid it all together, but this way, the 1% get what they want (Metaphorical term obviously, hard cores aren’t a 1% in the slightest) and the rest get to lounge around and farm levels but care little for progressing beyond that.

Really this is to allow A-net to focus on the elite and their needs while leaving the rest of the world for the casuals and theirs, thus giving them an easier time to separate the two, possibly devoting a small team to additional bosses every living story update while the rest continue focusing on the bigger accessibility stuff.

Thoughts?

So, here’s another idea on the table, an endlessly updating zone that has small new additions every living story update, the Endless Labyrinth (Working Title).

What is the Endless Labyrinth?

The idea behind this between myself and a colleague was a giant maze like open dungeon accessible to every player in the game at any given time that has the first real sign of vertical progression in the game, agony atunement.

In order to enter the Labyrinth you only need to be level 80 and have finished at least 1 tier of fractals, allowing players to enter at any given time with huge zerg like raids designed for large groups and difficult encounters.

An idea of the Layout

So, imagine if you will, entering a large room which everyone enters as a form of open lobby, and at any given time you or anyone else can just waltz off into this endless maze, there is only one way point in the entire place which means that if you die alone you’re going to spend a while going back the way you came.

The zone winds into many different tunnels all with singular rooms specifically designed with miniature world bosses, each one a very tough and challenging encounter designed specifically to be progressively harder the deeper you go with yourself and your group.

Not only are the bosses more difficult, have more HP, do more damage, but in addition you require more agony resistance to progress deeper into each layer of the maze, giving you a reason to go back to do fractals of increasing difficulty, while returning to this endless open world raid for the real challenges of the hardcore.

Sounds fun, but what kind of rewards would I get for killing the bosses?

The Bosses would each contain a very specific skin drop that has a guaranteed chance to drop for any player that defeats them, but for obvious reasons, each one would be more difficult to attain than the last.

These skin drops would range from armor skins shared by all three classes, to weapon skins only attainable by downing the boss.

In addition, later and more difficult bosses would have chance to drop exotic and even ascended quality materials needed for crafting.

How many Tiers would the place have?

There is a reason it is called the “Endless” Labyrinth, so one can assume the tiers literally never end, however, obviously due to game play implementation there is only so much one can add initially and later on.

The idea would work along the lines of this:

Launch Tier: Ten Bosses, three at the first tier difficulty, two at the second tier, and then one for every subsequent difficulty beyond that.
Additions Tiers: Every Living Story patch a new boss is added to the dungeon at an additional tier, with even greater difficulty and new weapon/armor skin additions.

This essentially means that when you enter the open raid, there are three bosses for the easiest challenge, two for the moderate, and from that point onwards, only the hardcore would really dare to keep progressing onwards.

Boss rooms and between encounters would grow progressively harder as you go deeper, with agony resistance and a 3% increase to every random mobs stats for each tier.

Technically we already have Fractals for this kinda thing

We do, but Fractals are five man dungeons compared to a proper end game style raid, this is more of a challenging, zerg scaled tactics heavy gauntlet that requires a lot of planning and preparation for the end game guilds and essentially adds just that “the end game”.

In addition, there could be a leader board for the guild/players that kill the bosses the fastest, thus giving a form of pve competition to the end game.

I also feel this would be a great way for A-net to add new assets to the game subtly, as each boss room could be filled with elaborate in game detailing allowing for texture map tests and subtle teasers to new scenery they may be playing with.

Right now one of the biggest problems for smaller wvw teams, is that when it comes to attacking, if your enemy is on ball and has a larger team you are almost always going to loose. You can have the best commanders, most talented wvw guilds and it wont matter if the enemies group is literally a wave of death.

What people need is a new way to think outside the box.

This is what I propose, and how to make it work properly:

Siege Ladders:

These would be an alternative method of attempting to bypass a wall rather than trebbing it to death and hoping no one notices, or trying to mass produce siege golems on a slow march that gives your enemy enough time to prepare for them.

The idea:

Siege Ladders will cost 30 supply, be easily produce-able, but very frail, they are mobile, and can be moved into position near a wall using a diagonal ramp like ladder rather than a vertical ascending one, to switch out between “stationary” and “mobile” modes.

In Mobile mode, the ladder is considered a non physical object in the world, and therefore, can bypass players without much trouble, but in physical mode, the ladder can be used by both allies and enemies as a stationary position that can be ascended and used to leap onto walls.

Of course the ladder isnt without drawbacks, to balance the game-play, the ladder has a moderately lengthy deployment time of 5 seconds for each ladder and the ladders cannot be too close to each other either when deploying.

They also have a very weak amount of HP making them easily destroyed by heavy bombardment from other siege weapons but easily mass produced to allow smaller teams a chance to over scale more formidable defenses.

A more advanced version, the Siege Tower, costing a whopping 120 supplies is a slower moving mammoth of a thing that can take a much heavier beating and allows people to scale it in a similar manner, taking huge damage before falling apart but able to slowly advance to a wall and allow the players to bypass its defenses.

I’m not terribly good at design drawings but I would try to come up with it if I could in a way that one might be able to grasp the visual reference, but the point is, its not supposed to be climbed, so much as outright ascended, you leap onto it in stationary mode and rush up a ladder before emerging on the other side, which ends at a certain point, people can then use to leap onto walls (conditioned people can place the kitten thing well).

Why is this a good idea?

It helps smaller groups have a fighting chance against their larger and vastly more resourceful counterparts, as well as giving for a more epic battle for larger groups, storming the walls with their endless armies as the smaller ones hold them at bay with siege weapons from on high.

Not only is it good for atmosphere, its just good for balance. Sometimes players feel like they need more ways to play, ways that force people to think without just zerging things, building rams, trebbing walls.

It just adds another field to the game that forces larger zergs to think in a defensive way rather than just aggression.

It wont eliminate the zerg, and it wont stop large zergs attacking, in-fact it will make it a lot easier for them to do so, but, it also gives the players a fighting chance to do something about that, and, for smaller teams to start taking points instead of holding them from larger ones with occasional gains.

Thoughts?

To be honest I hope that it isn’t Kasmeer that paid his billet for one key reason:

Kasmeer is supposed to be skint broke, according to her back story, so while I appreciate killing scarlet might have given her a bit of gold in her pocket, I doubt LA was going to be giving enough that it rewards her with billions of gold coins after they need that same cash to rebuild LA.

No, this seems to me like it could be another char we haven’t met yet, or another char we have.

If it is Kasmeer that’s fine, but its a little on the cliche and it outright ignores the fact shes broke, plus, I see her using that coin to help give Jory good medical treatment to speed on her recovery, not on some random prisoner she hardly knows aside from a tenuous link from Southsun Cove.

I would think the other possible candidates are:

1. Mai-Trin, disguising herself again since shes pretty talented at that.
2. Countess Anise, that would be an odd choice but there could be a reason behind it (lets assume she could be MR E) for example.
3. Marjory’s Mother, or possibly other sister (No not Belinda, if you paid attention during Escape from LA, she mentions she has “sisters” not a sister). Not sure why though. It could also be Kasmeer’s mother for the same reason.
4. A member of the Consortium, most likely given Canach’s connection to them and the fact it might put some good word in for them to bail out one of their own.
5. A potential new antagonist or character that has no previous connection to the others.

I noticed several new characters that seem to have important dialogue:
Carden: Guy seems desperate to sell something and nobody is buying it from him.
Parker Cole: On the run from the Vigil, possibly a deserter.
Jess: A young boy (I suspect an LA survivor) who has followed Parker.
Trader Aerin: This guy seems ‘very’ eager to be involved with the Zephyrites, a Sylvari.

I don’t know if there are any other new potential long term LS chars but Carden, Parker and Jess definitely seem like chars we will see more than once.

Aerin might possibly appear in more festive things given his cheery persona.

Either way, it seems we have some teasers for new char potential in LS:S2.

Given the Canthans have isolated themselves from the continent of Tyria and Elona, do they actually acknowledge Kormir in their Pantheon of the gods? I am honestly curious considering she is Elonan and thus I would wonder given their isolation, if they actually consider foreign ideals on equal terms?

The key to making a Draconian and monstrous antagonist in general a threat is quite rightly stated by the OP, a matter of presence.

Dragons cant tell us how they feel, they cant give us inter-banter dialogue so their actions must speak for themselves, this means that the devastation is what has to be the method which gives the player pain and motive to vanquish them.

Example from the books:

Krally took quite a big chunk out of Tyria when he first woke up, he created the brand and left a full swath of devastation where ever he went which was impactful because it shows how brutal the dragons path of destruction can be.

The key to a dragons influence, is to make their actions leave a trail, scars, devastation, raw chaos in its wake.

This also means, don’t pull the cheap thing of “and its already happened you arrive to see whats left” this means, show us a big pact fort, being ready to stand against the forces of the Jungle Dragon, Mordremoth, for example.

And suddenly, the defenses are tested, at first, a wave comes in, you fend off the first wave of minions, then the second, then the third, gradually, the defenses begin to get over-run.

Some might say “But isn’t that essentially Claw Island over again?” You’d be right, except for one big difference.

This time, we get to see what we are up against, the full might of Mordremoth, the Jungle Dragon, coming at the storm of its army.

There is that horrifying silence as every man stops fighting and time slows down to witness a towering dragons foot “shatter” the wall like it was nothing more than archaic stone.

Then another foot comes down and demolishes the gate, before the dragon roars a mighty breath and annihilates entire ranks of airships with one of its brutally powerful elemental breaths, be it flames, or some kind of endless mass of vines ripping from its maw like the Kraken in POTC dead mans chest, yanking the ship into the sea.

The Dragons power, must show exactly how horrifyingly unstoppable it can be when it is unleashed at full force.

And against it, you, are an insect, against a monster.

So the pact has brought its anti-zhaitan mega lasers from the pacts capital ship to destroy Mordremoth, they’ll save the day!

The laser fires, the dragon takes a hit, it gets wounded, but…

Suddenly, its hand, grips out and tears the capital ship from the fleet, causing an almighty explosion as its hand is ripped apart, but so to is the entire fleet of pact air ships annihilated in one brutal devastating explosion.

Despite everything, injured, but alive, Mordremoth rampages on, with a lost hand, a cut jawline, and an angry limp, towering over us without mercy, and shattering our homes without care.

It will pave its way to its target, until it has succeeded.

Or we end its horrifying existence.

That, is how you make a dragon fight and a dragons presence worth noticing, when it leaves kessex hills as nothing more than a smoldering ruin over-run by vines and nightmarish apparitions, when it seeks the other pale tree, and RIPS off its head barbarically, nourishing itself on the liquid magic from its torn stump to rejuvenate its health and life force.

When we finally confront it as it tries to do the same to the grove, and in a brutal and bloody battle we throw ‘everything’ at it in a desperate attempt to protect the pale tree from its doom.

When we finally stop this unstoppable juggernaut and send it into oblivion with its heart torn from its chest and its body ceased with a final laughter from its dark vocal cords of brutal amusement from its triumphs, and its ultimate defeat.

The dragon must hurt the world, before it can be a threat, to the world.

So, we have a fair idea of where the story is going, we’ve discussed and criticized what went wrong with it, we’ve debated as to what we want for the plot of the setting.

Now then, what do you say is priority for LS Season 2 to “add” to the game, features wise, game play wise, additions wise.

My List for this would be:

- New weapon types (possibly, crossbow might be nice, and great axe)
- More weapon options for current classes, e.g. Engineers with Maces/Hammers, Necro’s with Longbows!
- A refined Achievement system since the current one is too elitist, or even better, do away with the kitten thing and replace the rewards system with something else.
- New WvW Siege Weapons, Siege Methods and a balancing system for future 2v1 situations.
- Possibly more levels, POSSIBLY, honestly 80 is enough but if not more levels, more “leveling” zones to reach 80.
- Guild Housing (Even if Player Housing will take a while, Guild Housing would be a good base model to lead into it eventually, and allows them to beta test housing in general).
- Redesigned Guild Missions system for smaller guilds so that the achievement rewards can be easier to attain for them, and less tedious.
- More, PvP, Game, Types.
- More methods of attaining Tomes of Experience to help people level alts easier and mains for new players, such as WvW farming badges, or Laurels.
- Redesigned Dungeon Overhaul, merging currencies into one universal currency for Dungeon tiers, adding Tiered Dungeon game play to give the game a proper end game aside from fractals.
- Daily requirements more centralized around specific zones than regions, allowing leveling players to find company to help them get to 80.
- Possible feature, Raid Zones, designed for Zergs of players against the most powerful Foes Tyria has to face with great loot drop rewards (Think Southsun, only better implemented).

Thoughts? Opinions? Your own list?

Throw down ideas here.

Oliver:
A person that believes they are doing right falls under the anti-villain category, but can become an anti-hero if they are redeemed from their questionable path’s darker conclusion.
I do admit, having more than one big bad would be even more interesting, that way you could have ongoing antagonists just as you have ongoing companions.
It also gives them a lot more character development.

Avascar:

Y’know honestly ME3 was a love-hate for me but I do admit there were times it had stand out moments. Yes, it can be quite moving though to have a big bad that you can actually relate to or see exactly who they are from their past deeds or present ones.

I myself hope to see A-net’s focus on the antagonist of the story shift less from “I am evil MUAHAHAHA” to what controversial elements of evil a person can go through.

Again, there is also one trope I missed from the list before I feel should be added:

You

The main antagonist can in fact BE the protagonist, the most unexpected twist of all is that the hero may unknowingly be doing greater evil than greater good because of their actions, which they believe to be righteous, but may in fact, have much more lasting long term consequences.

This leads to the most interesting kind of antagonist, the hero antagonist, who is in fact a good person trying to stop “you” from doing bad things, even if you believe your actions are right.

It certainly gives you a fun experience being the bad guy even if inadvertently because it explores every aspect of the heroes qualities, their willingness to save the world, be it for themselves, or for others, their fallibility into the insight of a situation, or simply their arrogance to listen.

It can also be the most impact driven twist of all to know your actions have worsened a situation significantly, because then it falls directly onto the player to correct the mistake.

Its “your” fault.

The Fallen Hero
This is the opposite of the previous trope, this character WAS on your side, and may have even stood by you once. But circumstances have turned them into a bitter, cruel, husk of a shell of their former self. They have lost everything that ever mattered to them, all that remains now is revenge.
That is one way to approach it, the other is the fallibility of temptation, and that all heroes can fall if the prospect of something greater awakens a latent desire for greed. It is so very easy for a heroes ambition to help others to become one that helps themselves.
Either way, this character is someone you know, someone you may have cared about, someone that’s personality, directly opposes you because once, you were friends, allies.
Their betrayal of everything they stand for wounds you the most, they have become the embodiment of the very thing they were fighting against, and this is the worst possible fall a hero can have.
It is even harder to pull them back out of it, since many who fall that far, generally never come back, and some may not even want to.

The Traitor/Manipulator
This person is on your side, for now, but you always did suspect something wasn’t quite right about them. They seem to easily willing to do things that would make most stomachs turn, they don’t seem to care about life the way you do, worst of all, they are only using you, for their own ends.
Sometimes, you even know its going to happen, but its the when that gives the suspense, knowing that this unholy alliance is never meant to last, or that the person you suspect is probably going to strike you may in fact have accomplices you did “Not” expect.
No, that clever kitten managed to manipulate you perfectly, she got you to even think one of your other friends was the one trying to betray you, but all along, she stole the gem right in front of your eyes at the moment you suspected it’d be the other guy.
Foolish little hero, you should have just realized, you’ve been played.
And now she gets to do what ever she wants with you.

Those are a few of the tropes I feel A-net should consider following in future, reading more deeply into them than I do of course, and perhaps mixing them to create more original individuals with goals.

But ultimately, what we need is antagonists that we can get to know, personally, their personalities, their involvement with us, their reason for hating us.

The protagonist needs an obstacle, the obstacle needs to put its way into the protagonists path.

That, is the cycle of the bad guys role.

Thanks for reading, also, if anyone else has opinions as to what kind of antagonist we should encounter next, on the humanoid front, please throw down some ideas, it’d be interesting to see what discussions we can create.

So we have several options as to what that obstacle can be:

The Lunatic
Scarlet Briar in a nutshell, a Lunatic is someone that has either no obvious goal or creates a reason out of chaos. Their actions cause terror and anarchy everywhere they go and they leave a trail of unpatterned devastation anywhere they please.
The strength of a character like this lies however, heavily in their presence. They must convey a heavy sense of raw brutality, mixed with anarchistic cunning, allowing them to seem utterly unstable, even giving a few chills to you.
The weakness of the lunatic is reason, their actions don’t require logic, defining points, they are mad, their origin story tells the tale of who they were, what they are doing, why they are doing it. We know what they are now, and who they were then, that’s what defines the Lunatic, they are mad, or driven to madness, in order to make sense of their cruel lives.

The Monster
There is a crucial difference between the above personality and this one, the method in which they achieve their goals and the level of sanity in their actions.
You see, unlike the Lunatic, the Monster HAS a plan, even if they are touched or a little mad, they are an utter sociopath and void of any empathy for their foe.
They take a cruel, unnecessarily ruthless pleasure in hurting people, because they can.
This is the character, when written well, the audience loves to hate, such as Joffrey Baratheon in GoT, who’s personality is the rotten child that takes sadistic pleasure in using his subjects like playthings without any regard for their lives.
The Monster is either powerful or powerless, but ultimately ascends the ladder of power by murdering his or her way there without a care for anyone caught in the crossfire.

The Tyrant
Unlike the Monster the Tyrant has a degree of reasoning behind his cruelty, his actions justify the greater good or at least his perception of this in his reign as king or lord or her reign in power of something greater.
Tyrants are respected, feared, and revered by their subjects, their strength is in their personality, they must be authoritarian, ruthless, and willing to murder thousands that the few may live.
Some Tyrants are worse than others, but Tyrants strength lies in their motivation, they seek power, to enforce it, weather to rule independently and establish an empire that will last their name a thousand years, or because they have seen the weak failures of lesser races and believe they can achieve better with more questionable methods.
The Tyrant is not without mercy, depending on how close to the Monster he is, but his actions define him as a man hated by his people.
Weather it is for questionable good, or simply a desire for power, he will do anything to hold what he has gained, no matter how many lives perish in the process.

The Anti-Villain
She had motives you can sympathize with, but her methods could do more harm than good. She’s a person whose tragedy inspires you to feel remorse for what you do to them, you do not take any pleasure in fighting this person, but your views and theirs are polar opposites.
Anti-Villains have a great respect for the protagonist, traditionally, be it because of their methods or simply their morals. But they also have their own way of achieving the greater good, and this often involves sacrifices and using unholy rituals to kill thousands that a few might survive.
Much like the Tyrant, this trope shares the desire to achieve something, but the goal is more altruistic, and tragic, the player can feel a sense of remorse to their enemy this way, and hopefully, maybe even save them from themselves before its too late.
If, they can be saved.

Humanoid antagonists, are a big problem for many a franchise.

Many stories set up the hero to be the most significant character in the story, or, they do the same with the antagonist.

This, in itself, can be the defining fall of any good story.

Scarlets plot demonstrated that an entire audience can be split in two as to where they stand be it that they enjoyed her raving lunacy, or that they found it highly irritating.

I myself believe Scarlet was a lesson to be learned from.

What do I think A-net needs to do when making future humanoid villains?

Start with the Humanoid

There are a few tropes one can go for when creating an ultimate villain but lets not even start with the bad guy/girl yet, and instead focus on the players interaction with them and what makes that significant.

The protagonist, first of all, does not necessarily have to be the GOOD GUY.

The protagonist literally means, the main character, the defining person of the story, and at times, we can be faced against enemies that may actually try to hinder us, because our actions may create worse through our ignorance, hubris, or simply ambitious goals.

The Hero can be flawed.

We make the immediate assumption the major antagonist isn’t you, but the thing is, the antagonist, by definition, is the obstacle, the problem that the protagonist must overcome, personified.

Really what the game needs is the ability to Choose what part of a mega-server you are secluded to, such as RPers being engaged specifically with rpers, while pvpers would be stuck with pvpers, etc etc.

Like an open forum allowing players to choose their preferred audience, regardless of server, allowing for a bit more old school GW1 style player management.

So, the simple topic I am bringing up after a while of considering this is:

1. Underwater Weapons used On Land

This seems like something that’s probably been brought up a few times but I wonder if its really been heard properly, the first topic id like to bring up, is why we cant simply use spears, tridents and even impractical as it may be, harpoon guns, on land.

It seems like something far easier to program by using existing models, and adding a few new over-water skills for them, than to add new weapons that will require months of additional programming.

So, simply put, I am not posing my idea of what each class ability should be over land, but rather, why not simply allow players to use spears, tridents and harpoon guns over land as well as under water, just for verity sake, and possibly more options for combat over land.

Naturally, their weapons would be limited to what they have already unlocked class wise, meaning classes with spears and tridents may not use harpoon guns if they cant, or trident wielders and harpoon gun users being unable to use spears.

But it adds an interesting few extra options to game play, thoughts?

2. Why even have armor types?

Aside from a small difference in visual aesthetic there isn’t really much reason to have differing armor types anymore since skin collection would essentially nullify the point of having to collect them on multiple alts.

I propose simply redesigning armor into “armor” and allowing players full customization rights of every armor type regardless of class, allowing them to truly give themselves a unique identity cosmetic wise.

As to how to avoid flooding someone with so many armors to choose from:

- Option A, have a favorites list so players can choose what specific armors they prefer customization wise.
- Option B, have each armor split out into specific categories while allowing people to mix and match armor types, e.g. “Robes/Leathers/Plate”

Either way, the point of armor seems utterly redundant now that the entire system’s only reason for separating it is to give “some” uniqueness for class identity, which actually makes it counter-productive since it doesn’t really matter at this point anyway.

I can imagine it may take time to script/program a system that would allow all armor types to be wielded on a player but I don’t see much reason “not” to include it.

Food for thought.

Speaking of which, thoughts?

Norn and Charr actually regarding which race is the elephant in the room right now, oh and Asura, in fact, barring Sylvari and Humans I don’t think either of the other three races really got any love.

Norn and Charr got a minor cameo in what should have been a major debut for them with Flame and Frost, their involvement was limited down to two new chars who for the time were potentially develop-able only to be replaced by far more interesting chars aka: Kas/Jory/Taimi.

Charr are a one dimensional stereotype right now which is a big drawback, their entire culture is limited to violence solves everything and army heavy gears of war vibe war stories about war and death and destruction.

If that’s your cup of tea, then the Charr are for you, but unlike the Sylvari and Humans, they lack adaptability.

The same problem applies to the Norn, the Norn were written well in the novels and short stories, but delivered terribly in the game. All of their plot revolves around bragging rights and lots of drinking contests, it lacks any kind of potential for character development unless your Magnus the Bloody Handed.

Oh wait, he got an eye patch, that’s about it.

As for the Asura, well if SAB or inventing isn’t your thing then this obnoxious race of gremlins isn’t really going to be much interest to you, nor is their potential character development.

So regarding those three races id say:

- Give the Charr more in terms of personality, so they are a culture of nomads, hunters, warriors, savages, there are many elements to that, not just war and destruction, make them a little less bland and a little more diverse, in more than just how they kill people.

Norn need to have good stories to tell, epic adventure, so why is there no bards, no skalds, why are there no songwriters, or lesser heroes for Norn?, Equally, those adventures require just that, epic adventures, and adventurers, with interesting diversity and awareness that has come from venturing far away from home.

Asura? That’s the hard part, there’s always going to be a but end of the joke race that’s treated like comic relief, so how do you make them bad kitten , inventive, creative, potentially thrilling to read about.

The answer is, take advantage of their megalomaniac tendencies and advance them, make them more aggressive, more threat evoking, someone you don’t take lightly in a conversation.

Humans are diverse, so are Sylvari, that’s why people are attracted to them. Focus, on making the other races the same.

I have a few other pointers I feel that could work:

Make a Personal Nemesis, PERSONAL

Its worth noting that a Personal Nemesis should actually be someone that makes your life, hell, on a one to one level, hurting the friends you come to love, destroying the landscapes you worked hard to build.

A fantastic clip from a certain movie should give more than enough reference as to what a personal Nemesis needs to do, I believe this clip sums up exactly what emotions it should provoke.

http://youtu.be/e7X01_j_oDA?t=25s

The banter between Kahn and Kirk in this scene sums up perfectly what a Personal Nemesis should do to the Main Character, they need to “hurt” you.

Not only that but looking at the wonderful emotion conveyed and cruel emotion in Kahn’s tone you get a shiver as he hurts Kirk personally.

This, is what a Personal Nemesis, should do.

Another example?

Enemy At the Gates:

You don’t even need emotion or words in this scene, this is the kind of hatred you should feel for your personal Nemesis as they meet their final moments.

Grim, cruel, and cold, the farewell salute of the German Officer before he takes a bullet to the skull shows just how cold the protagonist is towards him, he took away everything, he wont even give him a salute or a farewell, he dies, now.

Scarlet calling you her special project was a reflection of the fact they created her to be a personal nemesis, her function, her role, was to be the antithesis of the protagonist, not a misunderstood hero in disguise.

Her story was a twisted reflection of yours, if you want redemption, look at it this way.

Her goals, her way of life, her development, all written in her short story, shows that her tale is a tragedy of her dream to know literally everything there is to know, and not being satisfied with what she found out.

She broke herself from the rule of the Pale Tree, only to be a slave, but in that context she redeemed her race by proving there is a great danger from willingly abandoning the Pale Tree, yet ironically, she also doomed the Sylvari by proving that they are in fact NOT immune to dragon corruption, they are simply protected by it by the Pale Tree.

Which in fact makes the Nightmare Court right all along.

What I think has come to pass is that Scarlets actions will eventually allow Dream and Nightmare to bond, as one, in a redemption of harmony, with Faolain and Co exposed to the Dream and able to atone for their losses, while the Nightmare, necessary evil to the Sylvari, serves to act as the antagonizing side of their nature, needed for when times are dire, and action must be taken, however desperate, to destroy the Dragons.

I feel that would be the redemption Scarlet gave, not her own redemption, but as she stated in the short story, she believed both dream and nightmare were wrong, however, she may have inadvertently upset both forces, which may ironically lead them eventually to converging together, against a common enemy.

The Dragon.

I believe that story strongly ties with Caithe and Faolain though, and the eventual redemption of Faolain who honestly had far more pitiable qualities than Scarlet.

Faolain may have done terrible things, but all in all it was all because she truly loves Caithe to the point she would do anything for her.

Even kitten her own soul to torment.

Scarlet on the other hand “had” the chance, she had the chance to change, to redeem herself, she even foresaw what may have been a foreshadowing of the Nightmare/Dream converging, in the form of the Briar that wrapped itself around the Pale Tree, as if it was meant to be apart of it.

This could represent that the Sylvari, are both good and evil, and need both in order to fully exist in this world, and Scarlets vision was not herself, but in fact the nature of the Sylvari as a whole, and that the Pale Tree is afraid to welcome the dark side of Sylvari culture for fear it will corrupt them all.

We will see what the future holds, but for me, I feel that Scarlets future was sealed, she was designed, purposefully to be your nemesis, her revenge against you was for foiling her fun in the Queens Jubelee and upsetting her other minor antagonisms on the world prior to her open reveal.

Seeing Menzies again would be awesome, but honestly, id rather they saved him by actually reading his back story, involvement in GW1, and focusing on how best to integrate that into the current lore, taking time to research current lore and fit it into new lore would make Menzies return more interesting.

As a main antagonist, Menzies would be great, but not for this coming storyline, maybe after we defeat the giant jungle dragon we can give humans some love again.

Menzies to me, would be the best antagonist to introduce when they truly want to go down the darkest chapter of GW2, he’d be great at cementing uneasiness in the loyalties and interests of every faction and putting tension into the races of Tyria, possibly working along side our old comrade Lazarus the Dire.

Menzies and Lazarus would be best reintroduced as a massive Human heavy story theme with their ties to the other races of Tyria, possibly with the duo trying to create hatred between man and its allies.

Menzies would be ideal at corrupting the heroes with whispers of doubts and betrayal while Lazarus would cement it by offering power and prosperity.

Light and Shadow working as a twisted unity would be interesting to say the least.

Honestly I REALLY hope they don’t redeem scarlet for one kitten good reason.

Antagonists being redeemed is an over-hyped cliche and it offers no real longevity to the character, her death being a mad psychopath was actually the best way for her to go.

She died as she lived, evil to the kitten core.

I am not against redeemable antagonists but Scarlet never strikes me once as being someone that had a redeeming quality, in any form.

Yeah please take the sexuality debate into another topic, this one is about pointing out constructive criticism not a debate as to weather men or women are equally or less represented in GW2.

So, you have to come up with a concept for a GW2 expansion, purely for funnies.

You have to give details in bullet points, keep them short and concise, e.g.

Guild Wars 2 Expansion Name Here

- Feature Included
- Level Cap/Skill Additions
- New Race
- New Region
- New PvP/PvE additions/game types.
- Anything else you can think of.

My Idea:

Guild Wars 2: Awakening

- Continue where the Living Story ended, and face Mordremoth in the new Maguma Wastes and Magus Falls regions.
- Level Cap increased to 100.
- New alternative progression system: Skill Unlocks.
- New Dungeon, Bloodstone Fen.
- Introducing Raid Zones for large scale PVE.
- New WvW feature, Siege Towers.
- New PvP battlegrounds and game type: Gauntlet.
- No new races.
- No new classes.

Aedelric.1287:

That is highly subjective, you may personally found it better, that does not make it fact. The story to Dragon Age 2 bored me to absolute tears, the characters were all unlikable and the choices meaningless. Origins on the other hand had an engrossing story, wonderful, likable and unique characters, the entire game was riveting.

Arena Net are in no way as bad as the current Bioware (DA2/ME3) but the living story is very far from the best writing Guild Wars has ever had. A lot needs to change as the Living Story is such a let down in so many way, especially the various characterizations and overall story.

I really hope Arena Net takes the op’s post to heart.

I wont take this topic off its roots of pointing out how to improve a story but I do have to point out that when it comes to plot, Origins was as ripped off LOTR/Warcraft/Every-Generic-Fantasy-Ever-Written as you could get.

2 actually had originality over 1, its concept didn’t entirely pay off but who ever wrote it wanted to break a lot of stereotypes by challenging them and using old traditions on a new spin, which worked nicely and from another side of the coin, id argue, it gave a lot more personality to your companions than origins did, which gave you “the” most generic cast of predictable cliches you could band together.

Comparing Origins to 2 isn’t really fair since Origins itself wasn’t loved by those of us who read the novels before even playing the game. It portrayed Loghain inaccurately to his personality in the novels while giving him the appropriate voice actor for the task. Duncan too, who went from being overly adventurous in the calling to some really bland stereotype in Origins.

In Origins we had:
- Generic Witch with mysterious evil origins who totally isn’t evil in any way despite every sign in 500 yards pointing to her intentions being blatantly narcissistic.
- Generic Paladin guy who was likeable (Alistair was my favorite by a long shot) who had a noble personality but incredibly cliche one, Ive seen this guy in many fantasy games and books before now.
- A drunk dwarf, oh how surprising.
- A silent bad kitten (my favorite, Sten ftw) though his lack of personality made him as intractable as a brick.
- A bisexual Elf, oh what a surprise.
- A bisexual french spy, oh what a surprise.
- An old woman that knows just about everything and is seemingly the voice of reason in the party, hmm, wonder where we’ve seen that 50000 times before?
- A living stone construct with a minor personality, but not enough to make it anything more than an angry robot.
- And if you spared Loghain, a broody former antagonist who was evil for the sake of… being evil?

Now compare that to 2.

- A bi curious wizard with schizophrenia problems and demonic possession.
- A zealous Scottish paladin archer who basically is so puritanical that you cant budge him an inch without him screaming “mages are bad, really, really bad”.
- A freaking Qunari Elf (Granted Felica Day’s cameo was little more than just that but it was still awesome) Its a freaking Qunari, Elf.
- A beardless dwarf with enough sass to turn Kirkwall into his own personal Playboy Mansion.
- A blacksmith turned guards woman who had moral dilemma’s about moving on from her former husbands death.
- A welsh elven woman who had innocent but tragic intentions that would lead to dire consequences for her and her people.
- A playful female pirate that actually happened to be the bad guy for the most part despite her intentions being good.
- And you, the mercenary with no real great role.

DA2 had the personality and originality that Origins lacked, and with it your companions actually developed because of friendship/rivalry and choices, which they would come to bite you in the be-hind later.

Now while GW2 can never quite have character depth and RPG mechanics on that level, it isn’t too much to ask for originality, then again, we already have that, we just don’t have it developed enough.

- A disabled Asuran prodigy that has a fan interest in Scarlet.
- A lesbian couple who are everyone’s favorite shipping right now.
- A prodigy of Eir trying to make his own legend (granted, he really needs some personal char development).
- A Gladium trying to get into Rytlocks war band and then deciding she doesn’t want to be apart of it. (Which to me kind of annoyed me A LOT considering how much Roxx was so “notice me senpai” about Rytlock).

People can hate on DA2 all they want for being short, but it definitely had the more original and interesting character cast when compared to its predecessor.

Top it off with the fact there was some spectacular VA in 2 when Origins tended to fall flat on making chars sound way too unenthusiastic about situations or mechanical.

You can see why I defend it, and why I hope Gw2 is inspired by that idea to use originality in cliches rather than sticking to one dimensional tropes.