Guild Wars 2

Elementals in general appear to form in two means: first, created by a caster, whom has control of it; second, formed from a large amount of ambient magic, in which they’re wild and attack randomly.

Players assume – with no concrete evidence I will add, more of just supposition on taking particular pieces of evidence to incorporate more than it may – that sylvari are Mordremoth’s minions. But this holds little to no water currently, since there’s more support against it than for (it’s been so heavily discussed it’s not worth dragging this thread into it too).

Now, whether Scarlet was a champion of Mordremoth specifically is still unknown. But if so, this means that Mordremoth is the only Elder Dragon capable of corrupting sylvari (they’re outright said to be ‘immune’ to corruption by Kralkatorrik and Zhaitan – and by immune I mean that they die when touched by the corruptive energies – for the “sylvari are dragon minions” bit, people tend to use this for an argument for the theory, but it equally (at least) can be used against it given Crucible of Eternity lore). There is reason to believe she was corrupted by Mordremoth – though it’s also possible that Mordremoth was simply talking into her mind, and no corruption was actually taking place (just your typical driving someone mad via telepathy stuff).

There are arguments both for and against Scarlet Briar being a champion of Mordremoth. But it isn’t yet concrete nor clear in either direction.

I think Gadd found out about the Bloodstone because that’s what the Shining Blade there are after as well (primarily – given the three quests involved with Bloodstone Caves after that story step).

Rizalee.4593:

-snip-

1. Sylvari are immune to bring corrupted by dragons – immune in the sense that they die when touched by corruption. So this would not affect normal necromancy beyond the fact that normal necromancy uses bones and muscle – which sylvari lack, being plants rather than muscle, skin, hair, and bones.
2. There are some cases – such as the Daithor the Drill event chain in NE Kessex Hills – that imply that they still are made from flesh and bones. I’ve also seen players comment about Trahearne saying he summoned his minions from the Mists? Though I don’t recall this so take it with very loosely. Magic has overall become far more powerful than in GW1, so I wouldn’t expect it to be the same. But typically I view it as summoning the bodies deep in the ground. However, I’d say this is pure mechanic – one of the biggest downsides of playing a minion master in GW1 was that you couldn’t get your little fleshy army up until the battle was more or less done, and they often died of degeneration before the next battle.
3. Shadow Fiends share models with Shades, which are a type of Nightmare; in GW1, Nightmares were heavily hinted to be a form of twisted hostile spirit. With Necromancy’s delve into spiritual stuff (more than GW1 at least), it wouldn’t be surprising if the Shadow Fiends were spirits controlled by necromancers (not dissimilar to ritualists). It should also be noted that Bria in Iron March has Shadow Fiends that possess bodies – displacing the owner’s spirit in the process, further implying being spirits.
4. It depends on the ghost in question. There are typically three kinds of ghosts: those who were made by the Foefire, those who realize they’re dead, and those who don’t realize they’re dead and are thinking they’re still in that time before they died (much like the Foefire mentality but still different). Foefire ghosts view all non-ghosts as charr and share Adelbern’s hatred – though the more higher ranked ghosts have shown to be more intellectual, and don’t necessarily attack on sight (but by all indications still see all as charr). Those who realize they’re dead are often tied to the world by some desire or strong will – these you can talk to and make sense out of… if they want to talk. It should be kept in mind that spirits can hide themselves from mortals’ eyes (the reason behind needing Weh no Su in Factions). THe third kind are best seen in Aurora’s Remains in SW Brisban Wildlands – they are not tied to the Foefire, and see players for whom they are, but think they’re still in those moments before death (in this case, the White Mantle bearing down on Shining Blade and Krytan citizens brought for sacrifice). These ghosts also refuse to believe they’re dead. No devices are needed, just the aptitude.

JohnLShannonhouse.1820:

For #4, talking to the spirits of the dead is a risky proposition. Part of the human personal story with the orders involves summoning a dead pirate to get information. It is made clear that this is difficult and risky.

That’s summoning a ghost who’s in the Mists (in that case specifically, the Underworld).

The reason why it’s risky is because the Nightmares and demons are drawn to the mortal world like moths to a flame. They seek the world of mortals for food and to spread chaos. This does not count to standard spiritual talks (that is, talking to spirits whom are still in the mortal world).

Tamias.7059:

As for whether or not the Scepter of Orr was actually found in Arah, the fact is that whilst it’s possible that it was found elsewhere, with what we know it isn’t remotely likely.

Not remotely likely? I disagree. Because of the fact we know NOTHING of where Livia retrieved it. Literally. ArenaNet gave us a vague-as-all-hell wilderness-looking area with the Scepter of Orr next to a tree stump. That cuts out… only the harshest of environments, really. Livia mentions going to Arah, but as I pointed out, she was not only after the Scepter of Orr.

Tamias.7059:

If you believe, as I do (and as far as I know, you are the only person who does not), that Livia seeks the Scepter of Orr in Arah, then you have to accept that she believes that the Scepter of Orr is in Arah at the time of the epilogue.

Please stop putting words into my mouth. I said it is possible that she wasn’t seeking the Scepter of Orr in Arah – just as it is likely she was, but didn’t find it there.

And quite honestly? No, we do not have to accept it because it isn’t proven nor is it very likely given how little knowledge we know. This is not a case like “Malchor is most likely Grenth’s father” in which we’re given specific hints to such (the love between the two, Grenth’s father called a mortal sculptor, Malchor being a mortal sculptor), but something far more vague – much more like what or who the entity is. The “occam’s razor” argument is perhaps what you are arguing in regards to this little piece (not how she learned of the Scepter nor why the unification didn’t finish until 1088), but it is far from the explanation we “have to accept”.

Tamias.7059:

it must be that the Scepter of Orr was in Arah after all.

Just like Thruln the Lost must have been telling the truth, right?

Wrong.

You’re making assumptions, Tamias. This is my biggest issue with you – you make CONSTANT assumptions under the guise of “most logical pieces of evidence”. But you never take into consideration writing styles, idea changes, or intentionally vague hooks because the writers don’t know what they want for sure yet. Or red herrings either, it seems.

Tamias.7059:

Otherwise, the game would be dropping a very big hint that the Scepter of Orr is in Arah and then going in a completely different direction.

You say that like it’s impossible.

Tamias.7059:

I disagree that this is all we are seen and told. Here is what I see:

• We are told that Livia seeks a ‘weapon of power’ to end the Krytan civil war.
• Livia is talking about the things she learned whilst working with Gadd, and mentions the Scepter of Orr.
• Livia is shown finding the Scepter of Orr in a flash-forward.
• Immediately after the flash-forward, Livia states her intent to head immediately to Arah.

That’s what we’re told. But you’re saying the ‘weapon of power’ Livia sought wasn’t the Scepter of Orr, that her mention of the Scepter of Orr when talking about what she learned from Gadd was a non sequitur, and that Livia intended to head to Arah for some reason other than seeking the Scepter of Orr, or possibly did not end up there at all. These possibilities, whilst not explicitly precluded, would contradict strongly established hints and are unthinkable to me.

To your points:

• Makes no sense when you think about it. How would Gadd know of the Scepter of Orr? See above.
• No, she’s talking about not being sad that she’s no longer working for Gadd. There’s a difference. She’s not sad because there’s a lot she learned from him – so it wasn’t a waste. See above.
• Yes, but where is unclear.
• Yes, but that doesn’t mean that’s where she finds it.

And again, I never said that Livia wasn’t searching for the Scepter of Orr. I said it wasn’t the only thing she was searching for. Stop twisting my words please. I also didn’t say that Livia couldn’t be going to Arah for something other than the Scepter, rather that it is possible she wasn’t. Big difference.

Tamias.7059:

It doesn’t deny it explicitly, but then neither does the line “I, Livia, learned of the Scepter of Orr from Gadd, who told me about it during the events of Eye of the North, in which I worked for him”, since it leaves open the possibility that she was somehow incorrect or lying. It would, however, then be a ridiculous assumption to make that she was wrong or lying, as it is here to believe that “I learned a great deal from [Gadd] that can help Kryta. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Scepter of Orr?” could possibly indicate anything other than that Livia learned of the Scepter of Orr from Gadd. Moreover, it shows that Livia intended to use the Scepter of Orr to help Kryta, which brings us onto our next point…

Actually, I think that such a comment would invalidate what I was saying. However, she does not say that.

However, answer me this: How would it make ANY amount of sense for Gadd – a creature who’s been underground for all of his life, unknowing of what humanity even is let alone existed by all indications, and once learning of their existence views them as little more (if nothing more) than disposable tools – learn about a piece of old culture of a dead human kingdom?

Answer: It doesn’t.

And that’s an even larger conundrum than what we’ve had thus far. Furthermore, I think that the context of the situation – that Livia just fired Gadd, more or less – gives a different light. Especially when knowing about Livia’s personality. I read that line as literally her saying “she’s not sorry that she left Gadd, since she gained a lot more than she lost, now she’s changing the subject to tease the audience.” I had never considered the possibility of Gadd telling Livia about the Scepter of Orr since 1) she’s Shining Blade and 2) it makes no sense for Gadd to know about it without learning it from the Shining Blade himself.

Tamias.7059:

The cinematic doesn’t show Primordus awakening, it shows him stirring, which is exactly what happens in Eye of the North.

You mean to say that an eye opening, the iris looking around and dilating from the new brightness, and then squinting of the eye followed by a roar while the camera fades to black is not Primordus waking up, but simply stirring? When every other Elder Dragon awakening features the same thing. I mean, Zhaitan’s awakening in the trailer is practically the exact same thing, and Mordremoth’s is just changing eye to mouth, but each open with vague off-screen roars.

But no, when a dragon looks around, and roars, shaking the surrounding (we saw some shaking movement as the camera faded to black), is just “stirring”.

I find this very hard to believe. Yet you’re telling me that I’m the one ignoring “the conventionally accepted interpretation of the evidence”.

Tamias.7059:

Similarly, Livia’s ‘fascination’ with anything that could help defeat the White Mantle during Eye of the North is one thing, but the manual article and hero unlock text both make explicit mention of a weapon of power, and the Scepter of Orr is the only means to defeating the White Mantle that is explored at any length in-game. So why is it unreasonable to say that she seeks the Scepter of Orr as a weapon of power to help defeat the White Mantle? I don’t understand why you are so determined to challenge this idea.

To quote the Kryta section of EotN’s manual: “In an attempt to find a way to turn the tides of war in their favor, both the SHining Blade and the White Mantle have sent agents across the reaches of Tyria, searching for powerful allies or magics.”

This is what the Shining Blade we meet in Eye of the North – including Livia – are doing. Searching for allies and magic to turn the tide. And they attempt such via Gadd.

It’s obvious Livia is after the Scepter of Orr, but not only after it (I do not deny this despite what you claim I claim – if you note, I never once stated she was not after the Scepter of Orr, just that she wasn’t only after it).

Tamias.7059:

True, but then that assumption imposes the absurd requirement that we think up some reason why Livia needs to travel to Arah that doesn’t involve the Scepter of Orr. Livia’s main plot thread throughout Eye of the North involves her discovery of the existence of the Scepter of Orr, her manual article and hero unlock text both mention her seeking a ‘weapon of power’, and of course Ogden’s Benediction shows her finally finding the Scepter of Orr. Whether or not she actually does find it in Arah, it is extremely clear that the intent is that the player believes that Arah is where she was in the cinematic (and to be honest, it’d be pretty confusing if it were anywhere else). Any explanation as to why she goes to Arah that does not involve the Scepter of Orr, would then be ridiculous by comparison, because finding the Scepter of Orr is at that point her only really established motive.

She shows a fascination in Orrian magic in Sea of Sorrows, and a fascination with ANYTHING that can prove helpful against the White Mantle in Eye of the North. I think that going to a place of the gods for powerful magic and/or artifacts would be enough reason, don’t you think? Or maybe she thought the Scepter of Orr was there but the search proved fruitless. Since we don’t know where she found the Scepter of Orr, there’s thousands of possibilities, and to limit all possibilities to include “the Scepter of Orr was found in Arah” is quite silly to me.

Tamias.7059:

But this level of pedantry usually means that you disagree with the conventionally accepted interpretation of the evidence, so I’m curious: what’s your personal theory?

What is the “conventionally accepted interpretation of the evidence” exactly? All we see and are told is:

• Livia (planned to) traveled to Arah.
• Livia found the Scepter of Orr at some point.
• Livia was interested in the Scepter before (planning to) going to Arah.
• Livia did not have the Scepter of Orr when seen roughly a year after mentioning going to Arah.

Yet from this you get “Livia was either not looking for the Scepter of Orr or she obtained it after War in Kryta content and used it in some unseen White Mantle battle in 1088 AE”.

See, that later hardly fits “conventionally accepted interpretation of the evidence” to me.

My personal opinion on the matter? Livia simply did not find the Scepter before the War in Kryta content (whether or not she went to Arah at that time), and the mention of uniting Kryta fully in 1088 is with factions not related to the White Mantle (or instigated by them akin to their attempt in Beetletun).

Where did she find it? Hard to say – that cinematic looks swampy and does remind me of The Heavencrystal Palace in Arah, but it could really be any swamp-like area. It seems a bit weird that the Scepter would magically return to Arah, when the previous time it was lost after a major cataclysmic event (aptly called the Cataclysm), it was next found in a tomb not far from the royal Krytan tombs in Majesty’s Rest. But if the writers want that to be the case they can make up a reason for it.

Tamias.7059:

Given that the next time we see the Scepter of Orr, it is apparently in Arah, we are kind of forced to assume that Glint spirited it directly to there, or via the Dragon’s Lair. We know literally nothing as to why and how the Scepter of Orr really got to Arah, so we’re unable to reasonably speculate on anything to do with the transit, I think.

Nothing really says that cinematic scene is in Arah though. That’s just your assumption for… no explained reason.

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Didn’t Glint disappear before the Scepter? Been a while since I played that mission. (grumbles about Sparks of the Titans)

Immediately before, yes. The player characters run, the Glint’s head disappears and the camera immediately pans down to show the Scepter lifting up in a swirl of blue light as it fades away.

Whether it was Glint’s doing or an automatic act of itself is never clarified.

Tamias.7059:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

When Livia found out about the Scepter of Orr is unknown (she’s now mentioned in the Prophecies epilogue area so it’s likely she learned about it the same time the rest of the Shining Blade learns of it).

Not true. The pertinent quote: “I learned a great deal from [Gadd] that can help Kryta. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Scepter of Orr?”

I fail to see how that line makes my statement not true.

See here, she is mentioned – and in good standing, enough to have support to be the next Shining Blade leader, so it’s highly likely she knew of the Scepter of Orr during Prophecies. Your quoted line does not deny this possibility.

Tamias.7059:

As I said, her exact words were “You survived. I’m pleased. When I return to Kryta, I shall say that heroes still exist in the world. But first, there is another place I must go… a little city called Arah…”. Difficult to interpret that as anything other than heading straight to Arah.

Maybe she didn’t end up going straight to Arah as she clearly intended, but the proximity of the epilogue to Ogden’s Benediction (the cinematic that gets shown immediately before you get entered into the epilogue instance, iirc), in which Livia is shown in a watery, unfamiliar (at least to me) environment retrieving the Scepter of Orr, suggests otherwise. But what I’m saying is that if this scene doesn’t take place until after the War in Kryta (which had not been planned when that cinematic was created), it was probably a retcon.

All that said, it’s a good point that just because we don’t see her using the Scepter of Orr during the War in Kryta, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have it. But that possibility seems unlikely to me, because that then requires us to explain why it was not seen or mentioned during that storyline. The idea that it was just too powerful and dangerous to be useful has been put forward, but even then I’d have expected to see that at least briefly addressed, and besides, that’s not consistent with the theme of ‘sacrifice’ that pervades around Guild Wars-era Livia. So in the absence of any other information, it seems to me that the most sensible assumption is that she did not have the Scepter of Orr at the time.

Ogden’s Benediction is shown before the Epilogue and most importantly does not happen in any relevant time to Eye of the North. The cinematic shows Primordus waking up (takes 50 years approximately), and the events for the rest hold no stated order to them.

Livia’s theme of sacrifice is for the betterment of Kryta. She would not be putting Kryta – or its royalty – at risk. Especially since Salma was the only (potential) royalty. It’s heavily hinted (in hindsight) that the Shining Blade’s “fanatic-like devotion” to the throne comes from Livia, as after War in Kryta one of the generic Shining Blade lines becomes: “Livia’s orders are clear: protect the queen at all costs.” And when Livia isn’t next to Salma, she’s next to asura whom had been the cause of R.O.X. that targeted Salma (so I doubt she’d be whipping out a highly magical weapon around them, knowing how asura are via her experience with Gadd).

And I agree that it seems more likely she did not have the Scepter – but that doesn’t mean she had gone to Arah and back in such a short time (less than a year, I believe).

@The Sixteenth: I really don’t think you know what you’re saying. That, or you’re trolling. Because let’s face it, there are infinite ways she could have gone about making Mordremoth relevant – like saying “hey, there’s a sixth Elder Dragon that’s still sleeping, here’s the Inquest’s research on it, and its approximate location.” even if said research wasn’t Inquest’s.

But instead she terrorized the entire continent. She messed up four major forces’ armies. She practically permanently polluted Kryta’s biggest fishing source. She destroyed the most united of all the cities, destroying their asura gates first I might add, and gave Mordremoth a constant power boost that likely makes him a bigger threat than Zhaitan – all the while the Pact is still recovering from the battle with Zhaitan.

@Kalavier: If you swim down, the drill is still in there. Jammed tightly in, and looking to be about as deep as before. There’s also a continuous pulse of electrical magic around it. The drill was even continuing deeper when the ley line “power” ‘exploded’ in that light. It doesn’t seem like it was a one-time thing.

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Before saying something’s a mistake, why not wait and see how it turns out?

These kinds of conversations are important to have in the community since it helps the Developers see what direction the game is going and how their community reacts to their development.

It’s very beneficial for ArenaNet as a company to know were their customers/players are coming from as well as how they can improve or learn from their past mistakes to succeed in making fun and enjoyable contents that expands.

We’ll see what happens but that doesnt mean we cant discuss about it.

The thing is, all the beneficial feedback came in when Season 1 had came out.

Right now, you’re just repeating what’s been said for months, and claiming to know how Season 2 has shaped based on the feedback for said months.

So unless you can foresee the future or know the inner workings of ArenaNet, all feedback that would be useful has been given – since everything I’ve seen since about Season 1 is really just an echo. And anything about Season 2 is pure speculation or “don’t be like this in Season 1!”/“we want more of this, which we wanted and said we wanted back in season 1!”

When Livia found out about the Scepter of Orr is unknown (she’s now mentioned in the Prophecies epilogue area so it’s likely she learned about it the same time the rest of the Shining Blade learns of it).

It seems weird to me that she would go to Arah before going to Kryta as she has to pass through or pass by Kryta to get to Arah (being north of Kryta and all that). I think that was more meant to be a “before the war ends, I intend to go to Arah” – but as we all should know, plans don’t always happen as we intend. As I said, nothing states she actually went to Arah between Eye of the North and War in Kryta – even if she intended to. However, I will also add: just because we don’t see her with the Scepter, doesn’t mean she didn’t obtain it. Keep in mind we know that she only had it “for a time”, so something or another may have prevented her from using it during the War in Kryta.

And a third possibility: she did go to Arah, but the Scepter wasn’t there. We don’t know where she obtained the Scepter – just because she decided to go to Arah doesn’t mean that’s where the Scepter was.

Tamias.7059:

Livia did not find the Scepter of Orr until after the conclusion of the Krytan civil war. When the epilogue dialogue was written, there were no plans for anything like Guild Wars Beyond, and it seems that the final defeat of the White Mantle was supposed to happen “off-screen”, and it involved Livia, the Scepter of Orr, and some sort of sacrifice. This is supported in the book timelines, which state that it was 1088 rather than 1080 when Kryta finally consolidated under Queen Salma’s rule.

Two things:

1) Nothing says that she went to Arah immediately after the Epilogue.
2) It was made explicitly clear that the White Mantle aren’t the only issue. In Eye of the North there’s mention of multiple warlords, iirc, and at the end of War in Kryta the Shining Blade in Lion’s Arch Keep says this: “The White Mantle were one among many threats to the queen. I hope the others learn from their defeat. I’d hate to have to clean my blade again.” So it isn’t surprising it took 8 more years to unify Kryta, when they had more than just the White Mantle to deal with. Openly, the White Mantle were defeated at the Battle for Lion’s Arch – this is the entire point behind Keiran’s quests during Hearts of the North, showing that they went into hiding during this time when they knew most of their forces may be defeated.

The Sixteenth.2561:

Erukk.1408:

And Zhaitan did a huge meal ticket, it was the Artesian Waters. I’m not sure if it is as strong as it use to be, but the Waters radiated enough magical energy to draw the Six’s attention to Tyria in the first place. Something that can’t be said for the ley line convergence.

And that’s why it’s a lesser evil to bump him up now rather than let him sip the ley lines further more ! The point is that the magic he got with that spike of magic is less than what he could have gathered if we let him be. Moreover, there is the possibility that he could have wake up a few years after the defeat of the 5 other dragon, while the Pact reactivity went in peace mode or worst, is disbanded.
I must say that once again, Scarlet is a nice person !

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….

You reallize that she prevented magic from flowing elsewhere. It wasn’t a one time thing. It’s continuously happening.

Furthermore, while asleep, Elder Dragons do not feed (to our knowledge), but rather exude magic. So the magic of the ley line is more likely to have been going away from Mordremoth than it was to him. This means that Scarlet made the ley lines not only do a 180, but prevented them from going anywhere but Mordremoth.

And how can you call someone who intentionally killed thousands, uniting xenophobic factions against the greater united nations, and feed an Elder Dragon a “nice person”? That’d be like saying Hitler was a nice person because he brought Germany out of their own great depression.

I wonder when the complaints about temporary content will end since Anet said already that Season 2 will be all permanent….

Before saying something’s a mistake, why not wait and see how it turns out?

WereDragon.6083:

I reached the exact same speculation. The thing that pointed me to it was during the past LS where it mentioned the shadow and or corruption was already in scarlets mind and using the Asura’s machine unlocked it.

Omadd’s machine didn’t unlock it. It just broke barriers in Scarlet’s mind – barriers said by Vorpp to be in all of us (so asura and sylvari, if not all sentient beings) – which allowed the entity (which I should add has not yet been proven to be Mordremoth) to mess with her mind.

And it should be noted that just because Scarlet apparently brought it in doesn’t mean it was always with her.

There was never any statistic on population ever really given. Only population statistic we have is “Nightmare Courtiers make up about 15% of all sylvari from the Pale Tree”.

They said they were taking a break between the seasons. They never said they were “getting rid of it”.

Season 2 is all permanent content. So it’s obvious that some feedback was heard. As Pibriamal said, Season 1 was a “learn as you go” experience and now they’ve heard the responses to it and we’ll see how they go about altering it. But it’s all permanent either way.

Edit: How funny, the OP deleted his post.

You can buy Zhaitaffy and make a Jorbreaker well after Dragon Bash. Just gotta play the TP.

But Dragon Bash SHOULD return. I think it was said to be annual anyways. We may miss it this year because destroyed LA + Festival but otherwise… Well, no, we shouldn’t miss it this year. Dragon Bash 2014!

There is no such in-game speculation (if it is, it’s very new and hard to see, and likely just a nod to the constant player speculation). It’s all player speculation who’s support has long since been debunked. The speculation itself hasn’t been, but it holds no water.

There is, however, reason to believe the Nightmare is tied to Mordrmeoth.

Perhaps the “hated by monks” was a misremembrance, but they are looked down upon in general. In an interview, Jeff Grubb even said such well before release and that the rise of Orr made this view greater. In another interview, I think this was with Ree, she said that sylvari are typically the only race that doesn’t view necromancers poorly and thus has the most necromancers compared to other races.

Another part in Ghosts of Ascalon that shows this is when Killeen raises the corpse of a recently fallen Vanguard, disturbing the entire group.

As for the mention of pre-Searing, I was actually thinking of Verata’s lines to player monks, and Ciglo’s lines to player necromancers. Respectfully they are:

“Oh, look, a Monk! Afraid of the dark? You should be…”
and
“I can’t help you, Necromancer. The powers of darkness have no place in the light.”

And though Verata lacks a unique line for mesmers, Sebedoh has one for necromancers:

“Oh look, a Necromancer. ‘Tis one thing to exploit the dead, and entirely another to dominate the living. I don’t expect you to understand. Talk to Verata. You’ll know him by the smell.”

However, to all other professions they say the same generic lines. Showing a hostility between the two professions. Similarly, we see that Howland has unique lines for mesmers respectfully – which highlights the rivalry between those two professions just like the later mesmer profession shows vice-versa (which is also shown throughout here and there). And there’s similar between ranger and warrior (though any hostility between those two professions are less highlighted than between the caster professions).

The dialogue between the trainers also show something interesting: Verata never once talks to any of them, and Howland is disturbed by Verata (and his kindness in bowing), while Artemis and Sebedoh make jokes at him (though Artemis sounds more well-meaning than Sebedoh). Van also has a grim view of Verata (though this is not surprising given Verata himself).

The hostility isn’t to all of one profession (example: Vassar, whom mentions rivalry with elementalism, and Ralena, an elementalist). But it exists.

A lot of the “uniqueness” to personalities between the professions have greatly reduced with GW2, but in GW1 there were clear traits that fit each profession more than others, with them changing ever so slightly between continents (for example, Tyrian elementalists are constantly in pursuit of knowledge, while Canthan elementalists are more about combat and power, closest to Tyrian elementalists being pursuit of new more powerful means of combat). But throughout all three continents, and even in GW2, the distrust of necromancy has remained.

Actually, Kalavier, Necromancers ARE looked down upon by most humanity due to a misunderstanding (and vocal minority of power-abusing necromancers such as Verata and Oberan) of necromancy. This is not just in humanity, but all non-sylvari races actually. And this disdain on necromancy grew more with the double onslaught of Orrian undead (by Khilbron and by Zhaitan).

If you think that necromancers are never truly treated with disdain or dislike in GW1, then you didn’t play necromancer-only quests much. It’s rather made a point that they’re misunderstood – and hated by monks especially. This is pointblank shown if both a necromancer and a monk player go out together in pre-Searing and neither did that first quest.

It’s said throughout Edge of Destiny that both Anise and Jennah are very powerful mesmers.

And if you remember, Kasmeer summoned 4 clones instantly during the fight with Scarlet.

Uhm, Andele, Balthazar is never shown with wings (I’m guessing you’re mistaking the fur-shouldered cloak in this depiction to be wings?). Grenth is, however. But Dhuum is never depicted and his actual self has no “shadowy green tentacle ‘wing like’ thingys” (nor does he have cloak, really) – and Grenth doesn’t have such either. Of the two links you gave (both being Grenth), the first are wings – the latter just has a cloak. Better images on the wiki: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Grenth_mural.jpg and http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Grenth_mural_%28Ascalon%29.jpg

And we can’t say how much of his power Dhuum was at when we fought him, since we don’t know how strong he would be usually.

And I don’t think “lore power level does translate to scale” – while it is true that bosses are scaled larger, this is more so that they can be seen, rather than that they have a stronger ‘lore power level’. I mean, for example, there were champions in the Scarlet invasion that were far bigger than any other champion of the same race (even the charr being larger than Gaheron, or the humans bigger than Mai Trin). But they’re certainly not stronger than the others – it was done so that they could be seen over the huge number of players and skill effects.

Kalavier.1097:

Then I missed that :P. but I do recall how it was a major thing when Adelbern took the throne because he was NOT of the royal line/at all related to the throne, while Barradin was actually in the royal family.

The issue was that he was not the “rightful king” – in that, he wasn’t the previous king’s heir – not that he wasn’t of royal lineage. He was a commoner, but with traceable ties to Doric (this is little different from Shiro Tagachi, whom was a commoner but was able to trace his family back to Kaineng Tah, the first emperor of Cantha). It’s likely that Adelbern’s ancestors split off of the royal family into a noble house and at some point in the line, lost their fortune. It’s not unheard of.

It’s clearly the source of the Crystalline Dust. It’s all Ground Glint.

>.>

<.<

This was already asked to the devs during a livestream, actually, and Angel McCoy responded with that there is nothing – they’re just friends.

The solid telegraphing of AoE skills are used ONLY by major bosses. They began with the Triple-headed Jungle Wurm and Marionette in Origins of Madness. It was given to the Assault Knights and Prime Hologram. And now to Boss Blitz and Gauntlet bosses.

Bandit Saboteur are not major bosses. They’re mooks. Grunts. Trash. Adds. Whatever term you prefer.

The bad thing about the Saboteur is that they don’t even give regular AoE circles. Which is downright weird. And this is not just in Boss Blitz but everywhere.

I got so excited about the red icon… Should have known.

I like the flavor of dungeons being contestable. But the events could be shorter for opening it. Honestly, I’d like all dungeons to be contestable, but that wouldn’t make sense with Caudecus’ Manor. Well, a way could be found.

Dungeons are meant to take time. Just because players learned to speed run them or have figured out the optimal ways to go through them fastest, doesn’t mean we should ensure they’re short.

Improving the contesting so that you don’t land in an instance where it was never opened recently could be improved. Having greater chance to return to the shard you were in previously. But don’t remove contestable dungeons on a whole please.

I thought it was said they would dismantle him (either during Wintersday or Escape from LA). Which goes to why it was a Minstry Guard after him this time. Caudecus has shown interest in asuran works indirectly, so dismantling a golem legally procured and reverse engineering it to one-up humanity – and Queen Jennah – would be if great interest to him.

Their size varied. Both Dwayna and Lyssa appeared before humans in normal human sizes (under illusions mind you). Abaddon was huge while Kormir normal human size when we saw her as a god, and Dhuum was about Risen Giganticus Lupicus size. Balthazar and Grenth are also depicted as very big in their scriptures, Iirc.

It seems to me that they could change their sizes at will, but their “natural” size was gigantic. Arab was built for them so the giant doorways that the Giganticus Lupicus is a few heads from hitting the top of is probably the best measurement for natural god size.

Drax, Anise knowing history due to the duties of the Shining Blade makes sense.

What doesn’t is her being a history buff and retracing her line about the trial. Alone, either can be easily put aside. Together… Well, why does she make that apparent connection? Even if not Livia, she is hiding something about her ties to the past.

Though if she is Livia the question becomes why she is hiding her identity now when she didn’t in Sea of Sorrows. Even if she is a “hidden leader” that question still exists. It may have something to do due with the Ministry taking power after Jennah’s father’s death.

@Kain, the voice actor isn’t the same as Livia in GW1, or at least isn’t the same tone and pitch. But this doesn’t say much because the PC’s voice actor changed between each campaign in GW1, as did Jalis’ (far more noticeable) between Prophecies and Eye of the North.

Zephyrite magic.

Prestige shouldn’t be “I did something you can’t access anymore” but more like “I did something difficult” – like if Liadri was permanent, the mini and title would be prestige to doing that and would be good.

Weapons/Armor skins… are not good prestige items. Titles are. Minis are. Tonics… maybe (would be better if there was a collection tab for them), but skins? Why limit looking cool to prestige? But still, prestige should be “I did something challenging” and not “I’ve been playing longer than you!” or “I logged and did something simple when Anet wanted me to.”

The reason why skins are not good prestige items – despite GW2 being “all about skins” – is that if you want to show off that prestige… you’re going to have the ugliest match-up armor ever. Imagine Molten Gloves + Zephyrite Helm + Twisted Shoulders + Tequatl Wings … Yeah…

And Anet, please, make stats available at all time. And not just via TP. I’m looking at you, Settler’s, Sentinel’s, Celestial’s, and Zealot’s.

Of course, I’d wish that Season 1 would become permanent and some sort of extension of the Personal Story (even if not by that name, I’m talking about the green UI with series of instances/open world events/NPC dialogues). If they did that from the beginning… this topic wouldn’t exist, now would it?

I think the “no charr Zephyrites” come from how warlike the race is – none are really peaceful enough to be interested in becoming a Zephyrite, let alone be accepted amongst them. While the asura have a tendency to mess with things they don’t understand but want to, and the Zephyrites don’t want their magics messed with (for good reasons).

This is the most recent thread on the topic that I oculd find so I’m necro’ing this. Been redoing the human storylines and I found something that’s been overlooked. During Minister Wi’s party, if you go up to the various guests you sometimes get gossiping lines. One of which is:

Guest: Oh, look at the countess, will you? Such a beauty. She has the entire room in the palm of her hand.
Guest: Did you know she’s a history buff? Ancient Kryta is her subject of expertise.

Furthers the theory. But on the flip side, it could be used to explain the second bullet point the OP makes – why she would know that there hasn’t been a trial by combat in 50 years.

He, and many other NPCs throughout Kessex, got updated with the Wintersday/The Nightmare Is Over release back in December. Doesn’t seem like it got updated (sadly), but it does certainly give Anet a little door for a new plot.

You have to keep in mind something though.

The ones going after o-Tron this time is the Ministry Guard, whom only answer to the Ministry – most to Caudecus himself. Caudecus is no ally of the other races (especially charr), so I see going after o-Tron and the Minstrel as a means of defaming Lion’s Arch and sylvari indirectly (how, I’m not really sure, for the initial part – though in o-Tron’s case it may have been more of trying to get a golem to reverse engineer, knowing how the asura are with their inventions; now though, it may be a political pull of “see this ‘hero of Lion’s Arch’? It’s a villain whom aided Scarlet! Can you trust LA officials knowing that they let those who aided Scarlet, the one who destroyed your homes, run free?” and try to pull a subterfuge-version of Prince Edair in trying to get LA under Krytan control). Though previously it was the Seraph going to recover o-Tron, it was under Ministry orders I believe.

Theorycrafting though.

I think it has more to do with “I don’t know what to do with this character anymore, but the players love it so it must be in the game!”

I don’t think they’d add it for the same reason that Dragon Arena wasn’t added. They’re festival activities.

Though why they kept Sanctum Sprint as constant is questionable. I’d have thought both would be festival (read: only occurs when the Bazaar’s around) activities.

Eir doesn’t get mad at you, iirc. She disagrees and doesn’t help, but she isn’t mad. Closest to mad she is would be Rytlock about Logan after CoF – disagrees, doesn’t like it, but not upset at Logan (anymore).

Horst Hortensie.5420:

We do not see where the fighter take their rest. The Arena in LA got closed not very long before the game started and it was long enough to set up the former gate hub onto the position. There are some smaller arenas, but nothing that we can access or we see any fight Tyrian vs Tyrian (not beast, summon or whatever/just playable or cultivated races).

My first assumption was that those arenas just don’t exist anymore, but since Canach got bought, there must be at least one. We never meet one of the queen’s gaunlet in the open world and the informations of them are well choosen to make them interesting for fights while leaving out any background. We (the player) buy the tickets for the fight and an invisible audience (you can hear them from time to time) gets entertained. The raw description of the fighter additional gives a feeling that they are not very welcome (for example Doobroosh which is aggressive until provoked, then plain aggressive).

At all it looks like an adapted version of the LA arena plus an additional entertaining slaughterhouse.

Hmm, I don’t think the existence of a billet means the existence of an arena. They can be bought for more than just arena-fighting. Arena-fighting is just what the Lionguard did (specifically Magnus, mind you). Sheriff Seriam actually mentions the thought of Canach cleaning dishes because of the person who bought his billet had a noble demeanor.

As for the “invisible audience” – they’re actually on the walls of the Pavilion itself, there are some niches and platforms you, at least during the Jubilee, could see nobles and the like.

IIRC, the Gauntlet was introduced as a “fighters from around the world have come to test their skills” kind of thing. Sounding like they’re just like the players (honestly I thought it would be a 1v1 PvP activity rather than PvNPC), adventurers who felt like having a healthy fight.

Was going to post the above. That’s all I saw (and during Boss Blitz so maybe that was just a bug or they’re very, very slow in cycling through?). Didn’t see any other lines but those were all subsquent and I didn’t wait a very long time (maybe only 30 minutes).

The Gauntlet is an arena for fighters, not a prison fight. I don’t see where you get that they have billets.

Dondarrion.2748:

Shiren.9532:

I’m also curious as to why there are no tengu Zaephyrites. We’ve seen sylvari, norn, asuran and primarily human zephyrites, but no tengu? It just kinda seemed like a race that valued trade so much would have some involvement in these two trading bodies. This is one time I hope the game is just not showing us the tengu and they are actually on one of the ships we don’t see, but when the time comes, tengu do show up at the Bazaar (there’s always next time, we really need some tengu characters in this story, even if the game isn’t ready to go beyond the wall, I wouldn’t mind meeting a female tengu).

Have we? I was running through the Labyrinthine Cliffs yesterday and after a while I was noting that all Zephyrites or Strangers were all human. Sure, there’s some named NPCs of the various races aboard the Zephyr Sanctum, but I don’t think they’re Zephyrites and instead just festival attendees.

So, I was wondering if the Zephyrites are all-human? Just curious.

There are some NPCs named “Zephyrite” that are norn and sylvari. Not sure about asura, but there’s 1 sylvari and 3 or so norn “Zephyrite”.

Note that Strangers are not Zephyrites (and they come in all major races but sylvari – human, charr, norn, and asura) – they’re either the inhabitants of Labyrinthine Cliffs and/or attendees at the Bazaar.

Kalavier.1097:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

A relic corrupted by Jormag, Kalavier. Context is important.

Yes, and that’s why I said “One of my early experiances”. It honestly seemed in that storyline no matter what you did, people got very, very angry at you.

Still, there are a number of Kodan around that treat EVERYBODY but Kodan as lesser beings incapable of understanding their views. Some are nice, some are neutral, but there are a good bit it seems that just are judgemental. Zephyrites on the other hand, don’t show such behaviours at all, are much more friendly across the board and are openly willing to consider allowing people to join their travels and learn their ways.

The Kodan actually hold you in high regard if you decide to destroy the horn. Of course, the horn is destroyed either way.

I haven’t seen many “that just are judgmental”, honestly. Most seem to try to teach, or think you’re not yet ready for teaching, but I don’t think that’s being judgmental or mean, as it isn’t a “you can’t understand” but more of a “the time is not right” – how I take it, at least. Yes, there are some that are judgmental, but far from a lot.

It may even be that they’ve set it up so that more dialogue is added later on, because the first day Kasmeer and Jory did not go to the beach at all – but they did the following day and since.

Trader Aerin has also gotten new lines the third or fourth day in.

In the Sea of Sorrows, the elementalist himself states that the elements can be unpredictable when he accidentally struck his own allies. We don’t see it in gameplay because our characters are just full of awesome, but there you have it – elementalism is less reliable than mesmerism.

And it doesn’t seem like coastal winds dealt with all the miasma (especially since the alliances were unleashing containers constantly), just the biggest portion of it. It wouldn’t surprise me if the pockets of miasma gas is dealt with by elementalists.

It does reflect poorly on Jennah, but also on Logan as to how people interpreted and argued it (hey, I’m not saying the arguments were logical!).

As to the charr having Ascalon “first” – this is untrue. The charr conquered it some time before humanity did – charr come from the east, off the map, and invaded into what’s now called the Blood Legion Homelands (homelands in this case not being point of origin, but where they lived for quite some time) and then south again. The only known native species to Ascalon are the grawl – whom were partially displaced into the Shiverpeaks when the charr took over – with heavy hints of dwarves being in the area.

So indications show that the charr took the land from dwarves first, and then humans took it from charr, and then charr from humans.

As to Wade taking over the Krytan throne? Won’t happen. He holds no power over Kryta and at most he’d just be “Regent of Kryta” like Jennah is presently the Regent of Ascalon. But Caudecus would have a stronger means of taking power than Wade Samuelsson does.

And that was really the start of the issue. Per Logan during the Dead Sister storyline, after Jennah’s father died she was too young to take power, so the Ministry took it instead to ease the burden off of young Jennah. When she became old enough to govern Kryta on her own, the Ministry had to give that power they had for who-knows-how-long up, and to put it simply, they hated it and have been trying to get the power back ever since. Not all Ministers mind you – those like Minister Arton whom are loyal to Jennah are not working for Caudecus.

@Angangseh: As a charr fan, I take offense to your statement, especially given that I don’t claim the humans are “evil” nor do I say the charr are “good” or “nothing they do is wrong”.

In fact, other than pure jest comments, I seldom see such things. Of course, charr NPCs would say just that because… who’s going to say “Hey! I’m evil! My enemies are good!”? Besides, neither side is really evil nor good. Both sides did their own atrocities.

@Sartharina: But her death would have still lead to any number of possible uprisings and civil wars that humanity – and in truth, all of Tyria – cannot handle.