Guild Wars 2

Much like Amaimon said, I think Scarlett did what she did to escalate Mordremoth’s awakening, rather than wait for him to eventually wake up on his own. I think it was implied at some point that she was Soundless, meaning she didn’t have the Dream’s protection from his corruption, and Omadd’s machine unlocked the Mordrem part of her brain (or whatever sylvari use to think). That is when she started working on a way to get her lord and master up and running, and with all the leyline study and everything learned from the fight with Zhaitan (eg. dragons eat magic), she figured one strong injection of leyline energy will get him up and running faster than an asura could build a golem.

As far as the Zephyrites are concerned, I believe they’re all still trapped in Dry Top. Only the Aspect Masters show up in the Silverwastes, and even then, only in story instances. Maybe they’ll settle in Prosperity, rebuilding the city after the vine attacks. However, unless they have another egg or some other plot-related info to give, I think their tale has reached an end for now.

I’m not willing to write off all the old discarded plot points just yet. Remember that sylvari being dragon minions was a plot 2 years in the making, after some foreshadowing (they were the only race that couldn’t be corrupted by other dragons, because they were already claimed by one). We might meet Malyck yet in Chapter 3, but if we don’t see him soon, he might just be a casualty of the plot.

I apologise if this has been discussed before, but after the Commander mentioning that Taimi is 16, I got to thinking: just how old do asura live? When do they graduate from a college, usually? And of course, a question like that stretches out to the other races as well. We already know the sylvari are pretty young, so we can’t know their lifespan (if they even have a natural lifespan), and I recall it mentioned that norn generally don’t live to old age, and I imagine those that do are rare and possibly shunned for it. If we assume humans are much like ourselves, that just leaves the asura and charr. So, what do people know about their lifespans?

Pfft. Fire and Ice is SO 2013. (Or… 1275 AE? I forget the in-game year.)

One word: magic.

mysticsicness.7598:

I cheered when Trahearne finally bit the dust, because he was ruining the story for far too long. Lets all be honest, only one that would pull at our heart strings, is Taimi. Arenanet wouldn’t dare touch her adorable Asuran head though, right?

I dunno, she’s sixteen now. Another couple of years and she’ll be a full-fledged adult. Maybe. I don’t remember any articles talking about the lifespan of the asura. I know the sylvari and norn were mentioned; the norn don’t actually know how long they live naturally, as they all tend to die in battle. I can’t remember if charr lifespans were mentioned, either.

I think it’s safe to say that all the elder races are out. The Seer are extinct, the Forgotten have withdrawn to who knows where (maybe the Crystal Desert?), the Mursaat were wiped out with the War on Kryta if not sooner, leaving only Lazarus, the Dwarves are down to 1.2 known active members, and the Jotun are almost universally aggressive to the sentient races.

If we are getting a new race (which honestly looks slim after HoT only gave us a new profession), it’s most likely a young race that has yet to join the forces. We can’t rule the tengu out yet, the kodan are still potential if we fight Jormag, and the largos are still mysterious enough that they might help.

And just for the sake of inclusion, I don’t think any of the “lesser races” will be included, either. The skritt are definitely out, as their variable intelligence would just be too random. The quaggan are still far too peaceful, even if a few have started to embrace the rage. The ogres are still kind of sparse on the eastern edge of Ascalon. The grawl, who were a major enemy in GW1, have pretty much disappeared from many of the maps. Really, the hylek seem like the best candidates, but they don’t seem like the types to build a grand city like the major races have.

Kalavier.1097:

It does, however, provide interesting viewpoints on the durability of Stone dwarves. Do their heads have to be destroyed in order to be dead? Could they reform/rebuild each other if they had all the parts? Rhodan is a head, neck, and beard (and one shoulder I think), with his thumb nearby, yet can talk and is alive.

I’m pretty sure the dwarves lost the ability to heal, too. If it was simply a matter of sticking Rhoban on a new stone statue, he’d have asked someone to do so. No, I think once a dwarf is damaged, it becomes irreparable, just like marking a statue. But it might be that so long as the head remains, it can still communicate. Maybe if the head is destroyed but the body is fine, it will keep attacking aimlessly. That could be an interesting boss fight for the future.

It’s also possible to play many of the chapters if someone who has the instance unlocked starts it, but I don’t think you can earn the achievements for them without having the chapters unlocked yourself. The Silverwastes and Dry Top are open for any level 80 character to enter, but only those with the chapters can initiate the stories.

Bloodstone Fen and Ember Bay, however, have no direct portal from them to any other map. The only way to get to them the first time is to follow the story.

Personally, while I am worried about Lazarus and his possible betrayal, I’m kind of on Marjory’s side. I think he could be a powerful ally, and it explains his rather cryptic comment at the end of last chapter. Plus, I think the reason she wants to hang out with Lazarus (that being his brush with death) and her necromantic history makes sense. I’d almost forgotten that she was a necromancer, and that little reminder was a nice touch.

Djinn.9245:

Greyling.4768:

You’ll have to wait for her to move. Repeating the hunt in Frostgorge rewards you nothing additional and does not advance the event.

We do not know when she will be moving to Highpass Haven. All we know is that she says that’s where she will be next. As of an hour ago she had not moved out of FGS.

Yea, I’m not sure why she even offers it to you again.

Because some people enjoy the scavenger hunt nature of her quest, and it gives people something to do while waiting for the next step.

I also mourn the death of Plant, Taimi’s pet plant. Farewell, Plant! May you be reborn in the Dream, or something…

I’m pretty sure more guild halls will be coming in the future, but they will probably be for the new areas to be released in the future. I imagine new ones would follow a similar pattern to the ones we already have, where we have to clear out a bunch of dragon minions before being able to move in.

There’s at least 2 mastery points available on the new map, and you gain another for completing the personal story. Otherwise, I’d look through the achievements for all the green mastery stars and start doing them.

I’ll admit, I had a bit of trouble in this fight. Not from the mechanics, though, just raw power trouble. I did get downed a couple of times in the fight against Adrienne, but never defeated. I also thought that the bloodstone would become active sooner, and that just one hit would disable the shield instead of a constant beam like it was for the bloodstone elementals. The actual mechanics of counter-magic, though, were pretty well-explained if you listened and observed.

I watched AuroraPeachy and BogOtter’s playthrough of this instance, and they seemed to think that you had to have the beam go through the shield before you reversed the magic. I don’t know how they got that impression, so maybe players who were confused that way could explain it to me?

Morfedel.4165:

This seems to be following the same path. What I don’t get is, how is it that Primordus is “active.” From what I gather he was already active, just trapped underground fighting a neverending battle against the dwarves who had gone through the rite of the great dwarf.

I’m going to assume that the dragons who aren’t “active” are merely in a sort of idle-mode, kind of like how Jormag and Kralkatorrik are. They’re both awake, and still have minions, but aren’t currently in a state where they are a threat to the races at this moment. Primordus being active, however, probably means that there is a great increase in the leyline energy around him, and there’s a new surge of minions coming from his region. Of course, this is just speculation. I’m sure the first few lines of Chapter 2 will explain all of this.

Grebcol.5984:

Unlock them be default -> Problem solved. No Masteries should be locked.

This, I disagree with. For instance, there’s no point having Exalted Mastery unlocked when you haven’t even met the Exalted, and it unlocks as soon as you enter Auric Basin for the first time. The new ability is pretty much useless outside of Bloodstone Fen, at least for the moment. I think it’d be fine if the raid masteries unlocked as soon as entering a raid wing, even if the first ability is locked for a reason.

I just don’t want another experience scroll item. It was cool to have the instantly-to-level-20 item at first, but the instantly-to-level-30 seemed a bit redundant. I really don’t need a level-to-40 scroll this year, and I’m not sure the point except maybe key farming?

I’m pretty sure gears are turning in the Black Citadel, and Rytlock doesn’t want to be involved in whatever plot is going on. If Rytlock couldn’t read, someone would’ve informed him of the facts verbally, and he’s strong-willed enough to spit at that invitation as well.

Really, the only problem with the Raiding mastery is that it only unlocks after defeating the raid. If it could be unlocked more easily, even if it consumes mastery points, I’m sure people would not be so heated over this issue. Oh, people would still complain, as people usually complain about anything that isn’t standard practice, but it might be a little less vocal.

The truth is, we don’t really know that much about the bloodstones. They were created by the Seers, and we thought they were tied to the schools of magic, but it’s entirely possible we got it wrong and they were just pools of magic, similar to how dragons and chak seem to eat magic. You might call it a retcon, but since it was a human belief, other races might know more about this particular item.

However, even if it were true that the bloodstone explosion meant the limiters were off regarding magic, I don’t think it will affect us very much. Our classes are much more specialized than they were 200+ years ago, and only those in that particular field would probably notice, at least at first. Although, I suppose future specializations might tap into the idea if it’s true; Elementalists with necromatic life-draining powers, or blood wells… not a pretty sight.

Bbear.7830:

A bit off topic I know, but I’d also support a similar idea for weapon racks, either home instance or Guild Hall – be nice to have somewhere to store duplicate collected weapons not being used/salvaged for skins/sold.

I’m not entirely sure why’d you be keeping that many weapons or armor. I admit to being a bit guilty of the same thing, as I’m still hoarding the carapace armor from the silverwastes. But if you like the skin of it, the wardrobe keeps a record of it to place on future equipment. If you like the stats/skills for it, it’s a conscious choice to hold up inventory/bank space.

The books, though… the books are just information that clog up the inventory. I was greatly surprised that when I found a page that it was a collectible one instead of the static objects they were before, then annoyed when I had to use another inventory slot on my already overburdened character. Being able to shove those books in a bookcase or portable scroll or whatever would be nice, just so it can be put away and I don’t have to worry about it being discarded somehow.

Harak.8397:

Little off topic: Be carefull what you ask for when wanting Tengu as a playable race. They seem built on a rig similar to the Charr. ( That means ill fitting gear all around and goofy helmets… well, at least trhey don’t have horns to cut off )

But they do have beaks that’ll clip through face coverings. :p

As Anet has said repeatedly, most of Season 1 can’t come back since it involved changing the maps out in the world, so stuff like the Molten Alliance fight or the Marionette fight will sadly not be coming back. Bazaar of the Four Winds would be awkward to revive since the Zephyrites are all scattered about in Dry Top. The Queen’s Coliseum (not Jubilee, since that was an entire festival) could probably be brought back, but it would more likely be tied to some festival. Perhaps a celebration for the queen’s birthday, or in commemoration of her coronation. But I really don’t think much from Season 1 can be salvaged that hasn’t already been added back in.

Pyro.4765:

What do you consider ascended gear to be worth, by the way?

To me, ascended gear is just a bonus. At least for now. But hasn’t there already been a full suite of ascended gear released through other means? I doubt that the new stat combinations are that much more powerful than the other ascended gear already released.

It doesn’t even need to be an asura gate to get to get to Bloodstone Fen. Just have some path connecting it to one of the HoT maps, which is what I think the OP was requesting. If you don’t want people just randomly walking in during casual exploration, put up an obstacle that requires having been to Bloodstone Fen. Like needing to use Counter Magic to open the door, or crack a bloodstone crystal blocking the way that only happens on your version of the map, similar to how everyone can harvest a node. That would be an easy way to allow alts into the map without having to repeat the (somewhat monotonous) story.

Or I guess we can buy the scroll, if you insist…

Here’s the other thing that’s been bugging me: do you really need ascended gear, unless you’re diving into fractals? As I recall, the gear tiers before fractals were normal, fine, masterwork, rare and exotic. Is ascended really that much higher than exotic? I’m pretty sure you can run around the jungle just fine in rare gear, which is pretty easy to come by these days. No one is forcing you to get ascended equipment; it is a completely optional level with slightly better stats that is a reward for dedicated action. If ascended gear were handed out like candy, it wouldn’t be worth anything. Please keep that in mind before complaining about grinding for gear.

If the wiki isn’t enough, there are several youtubers who have gathered up all the lore of Guild Wars into easy-to-consume videos. Depending on which part of the lore you’re looking for (eg. White Mantle), you might want to search there. Wooden Potatoes is probably one of the larger sources for lore, but I feel he gets a little too biased at times. Hope that helps you learn what you’re lacking!

MasterKaon.4027:

I’ve been playing Gw2 since open beta, I had all the masteries I cared to obtain within a month of HoT release. Note, not all the masteries, just the ones I cared to get. I don’t need to play catchup. Other people will and in my opinion, the mastery system and what it did to Gw2 was the single worst MMO experience I’ve ever had even though I was using boosters and playing intelligently. It was still a soul crushing, boring, near game and deal breaking chore compared to vanilla.

Forgive me if I’m missing the point, but are you just championing a cause which doesn’t affect you? I understand if you feel it’s unfair to new players, but I haven’t seen any new players posting around here that they had a lot of problems getting around Bloodstone Fen. I did see the odd comment of “I went in and didn’t have gliding. lol” and the like, but they didn’t seem upset, more amused that they weren’t prepared for the setting.

Should there have been a warning before starting up the season that masteries will be needed? Maybe, but perhaps that’s where needing to buy HoT comes in. What’s the big new thing that came with the expansion, besides just new maps and story? Masteries. And basic gliding is the very first one. As many people have said, short of updraft and bouncing mushrooms (which are all required unlocks in HoT story), you don’t really need the other masteries.

I get that you don’t enjoy the mastery system, but can you keep your complaints to those that are actually obstacles, rather than theoretic ones with little to no evidence? Because otherwise you’re just making a lot of noise and everyone is getting upset over something that is not going to change. Masteries are here, and we’re going to have to deal with them, like it or not.

Serophous.9085:

I honestly hope they keep him in, like they did with hobotron

Let’s hope he has a better fate than Droobert.

As far as the dwarves are concerned, I believe most have either died or are at least deep underground fighting the destroyers already. Ogden is the only dwarf seen on the surface in centuries, and has ties with the Durmand Priory. I suppose it’s possible we’ll see the stray dwarf if we go underground to fight Primordus on his turf, but I imagine there won’t be many outside of Ogden himself.

The tengu will definitely be cool to see as a playable race, or perhaps just as an ally, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still a long way to go before those birds open up their doors to outside races, and I’m not holding my breath. I feel like they’ve become a secondary running gag in the community. “Primordus is active! Tengu confirmed!”

0. Caudecus isn’t a member, he’s the leader of the White Mantle. Or at least a splinter cell at this point.
1. We dealt with Caithe a little bit here. She might join us in exploration, but I imagine she’ll mostly be doing her own thing.
2. Primordus won’t be fully awake until the second expansion, assuming that’s the route that we’re going. More of his minions may be popping up, or the destroyers will get some power upgrades, but we’re not going to see him fully awake until it reaches a dramatic peak, which won’t be episode 2.
3. Play GW1 if you want to learn about the War in Kryta. That’s old news.

Lazarus might be the next significant point, if not investigating Primordus disturbances. Taimi will probably have a progress report on the research she’s working on. This is tin-foil hat territory, but I thought the chak might’ve been the Rata Novus asura transformed by some weird experiment. Probably not, but it’s a theory that amuses me.

Mental Paradox.3845:

misterman.1530:

Yeah. For someone with no knowledge of GW1, this “reveal” had no impact on me. Something shows up called Lazarus and then there’s mention of a dragon called Primordius or something (I assumed a dragon). The Lazarus bit was confusing. Here I am preparing for an epic battle and…it’s gone. Some talk about Mursaats went over my head as well.

As a GW1 vet, this ignorance almost makes me want to cry. I wish I could share with you what I know, but the only way to truly understand is by playing it – which we both know won’t happen.

I have to agree on that. I’m a big sucker for lore and we’re finally getting some of the old lore being fed back to us in the new world. It only took 200+ years, but we finally have the payoff. :p

If you’re playing the Living World episodes and you know nothing about the old lore, that’s more ArenaNet’s fault for not including it somewhere in the game world. I think there’s somewhere that talks about the 5 Old Races with the mursaat being one of them, but I kind of think that’s tucked into a corner. So for that, I can understand.

However, if you don’t know who Primordus is, that’s your fault for not paying attention to the information about all the elder dragons. I can understand if you don’t want to dig through the old game for information, but you ought to know at least a little bit about the lore for this game, especially if you’re playing through the story bits. I know the destroyers aren’t the most common dragon minion out there, mostly relegated to the mid-Eastern section of Lornar’s Pass, Mount Maelstrom and a few instances like the Skritt recruitment storyline in the original Personal Story, but he was still one of the 6 Elder Dragons – the first to awaken – so you should at least know his name if not care that a new dragon is on the move!

SkyFallsInThunder.8257:

It is not made clear by anything that Lazarus was the one to absorb the dispelled magic, it is just speculation from the PC – minutes earlier the PC speculates it must be Caudecus. I trust that as much as I can throw it.

I doubt it is Lazarus who did that, because it would simply be too much for him…

It seemed like a reasonable assumption at the start that it was Caudecus who absorbed the magic. After all, it seems like the type of plan he’d have: suck up ancient magic, get super powerful, kill Jennah, rule Kryta. It’s only later, when we actually see Caudecus, that we realize that wasn’t his plan at all.

As for Lazarus, my mursaat lore is pretty rusty and I don’t really remember much myself, but I’m pretty sure he was DEAD or dying when we last heard from him 200-and-some-odd years ago. It would take a lot of magic to bring him out of that state, like that from an exploded bloodstone. I won’t go so far as to claim he’s more powerful than before, but I would believe he was why the bloodstone magic got released.

I rewatched the cut scene with Lazarus a couple times now, and I’m still not entirely sure what his motives could be. He has some sort of grand plan, but it goes far and above caring about humans now, and probably cares little for the other major races. I suppose it’s possible we’re going to find a friendly branch of the White Mantle after this, although they seem more willing to take extreme actions than even an insane Inquest asura.

Diovid.9506:

CaptainVanguard.4925:

I think Lazarus could be a VERY interesting “long term” antagonist, as opposed to a steriotypical seasonal antagonist, I think we have room here to make him a “reoccuring” ally/enemy who helps us at every turn only to claim the glory for the mantle, and himself.

We’ll see but I don’t think he’ll live past this season.

That, I sincerely doubt. You don’t just resurrect someone from the past to have them killed off again quickly. It might be more like Cadecus as an enemy, where it takes 3 years for the seeds of his plans to pay off, but he’ll be around for a little while, at least. He was a bit vague on what his grand plan will be.

I really don’t see him taking on a dragon, even if he is that strong. Killing an elder dragon is a big deal. So for one to die from anything but our own actions will definitely be anticlimactic. There are probably a lot more ways to demonstrate his strength besides killing off a dragon.

I think if you’ve done the core story up until the Mordremoth fight, you’re good to go in Bloodstone Fen. Maxing out gliding is probably a good idea, but I only have up to Updrafts and can get around well enough. You definitely want to have mushroom bouncing, if you somehow skipped getting that, as there are a lot of chained mushrooms to get back up from some of the lower levels.

The new mastery unlocked is mandatory for the last two story steps. You can get around the zone without it, but be careful of some bosses that will trigger it.

There are hidden mushrooms found in the zone, so if you want to do everything, you may want the spot-hidden mastery, but it’s not needed.

I don’t think any of the other masteries have any effect in the new zone. I could be wrong on that, though. Someone will probably correct me on that soon enough.

Moyayuki.3619:

Sir Alric.5078:

Why lies? I remember my character saying that she died killed by a powerful Winetooth. That’s exactly what happened, so no lies there.

My toon explicitly stated somewhere in that chapter that it was in battle. It may have been during a conversation with another NPC (I talked to as many of them as I was able).

What is your character’s race? I’m pretty sure that has an effect. I know my asura talked about the Eternal Alchemy in the final speech, which I don’t see the other races doing.

Sartharina.3542:

I am irritated that the Pact Commander stood down to stay with Guild Stupid, but not really surprised. kitten, I used to have a team, but Living Story took it away.

Would you prefer to be stuck behind a desk, and never allowed to explore and be on the front lines again? If so, I’m sorry you can’t see the bureaucratic side of Tyria.

Honestly, I’m disappointed by Caudecus. I thought he was a little bit more clever than that as far as revealing his schemes and failing so completely. I mean, he was patient for, what, 4 years and then he just throws it away in a second?

Another thing that has been decided long ago is that, at least in PvE, everyone will always be on the same side. Adding the White Mantle as a faction you can join would affect so many things, including joining the bad guys as mentioned many times above. Not. Gonna Happen.

Not sure if it’s just me, but my game keeps freezing/crashing at the end cut scene of the prologue. At least, I assume it’s the end of the prologue. I get past Amber Sandfall, and can talk to Canach and Taimi with no problem, but when I head to the next green star, it just freezes, and I can’t even tab out of the game. I’ve tried it a few times, but only on the one character, not all of mine.

Charr don’t always join warbands. Much like the Primus, they also have smiths who make the weapons and armor, or farmers who ensure the army’s stomach is filled. A charr is only really considered a gladium if the warband they are assigned to is lost, or they abandon their troop. Of course, some of these ideals are outdated, as the shift in focus goes from a conquering warband to defense against the dragons and an unending tide of ghosts.

As far as pregnancy goes, I presume the pregnant charr would go on a form of maternity leave, as giving birth on the battlefield would be awkward and dangerous for mother and cub. As stated above, a soldier is only a gladium if they lose their warband in some way, either being the last alive or abandoning the duty. Once the child is sufficiently mature to be taken to a fahrar, the mother most likely goes back to her duty.

As for actual family bonds, it seems that most are pretty loose. It’s been hinted that Rox is Rytlock’s sister, which is why the two are so close, but unconfirmed. In the Vigil storyline, Almorra has you kill her own son (for the greater good). She regrets it, but saw that it had to be done. In “Ghosts of Ascalon”, we see Almorra meet her granddaughter, but the two barely acknowledged the relationship. The charr residing outside of Ascalon, like Lion’s Arch, might have a different method of raising children, but that isn’t expanded upon any more than traditional charr upbringings.

As far as potato chips go (and this might be an urban myth, just a disclaimer), it was said that they were created when a fussy customer kept sending back a plate of scalloped potatoes because they weren’t sliced thinly enough. The chef, in a fit of rage, took the potatoes and deep-fried them before sending them out. The customer delighted in the novel food item. Assuming this is true, scalloped potatoes and deep frying would be needed to make them.

As for nachos, those are traditionally made with corn chip. No idea if you could make corn chips without the idea to make potato chips, or the exact process involved, if it was more complicated than just deep-frying sliced potatoes. However, thinking to melt cheese over them isn’t all that outrageous.

Now, I don’t think the chef’s recipe book is an exhaustive list of food items. There are vendors in Divinity’s Reach that sell cotton candy, which a chef cannot make, along with other foods from the other continents, mostly those of Canthan or Elonian origin. While Tyrian technology is not exactly equal to current day technology, it’s pretty close with certain variations (like a laser beam powered by magic instead of rockets and bombs). If we want to have nachos during RP, you can have nachos during RP.

It depends with what time period you’re working with, exactly. Before Primordus’s rising, I don’t imagine norn were ever seen south of the Far Shiverpeaks (where exactly that boundary is, I don’t know). After the events of Eye of the North, though, they probably started to integrate with the other races.

If you want to create a story, though, I’m certain the odd norn ventured far and wide, looking for new lands to make their legend. So long as they could make it back to their people to have their legend told, they could be pretty much anywhere. However, they weren’t widely known by humans, so they were probably never near major settlements. Even small ones like the Nebo Village probably never saw one. Take that in consideration when you create your story.

The thing is we don’t know much about the sylvari who have fallen pray to Mordremoth’s influence. If the demo has shown us anything, it’s that many sylvari are still unaffected by the corruption. We don’t really know why, or how to predict which sylvari will be affected. For all we know, every one of the sylvari who fell to the attack was one of the Soundless, which is very much a conscious choice on the sylvari’s part. (This is highly improbable, but still possible.)

I don’t like using the alcoholism comparison, in part because of your story and in part because it’s not exactly apt, but I’m going to try using it as an analogy. You are a known alcoholic, or at least have the genetic make-up for it. Do you avoid alcohol entirely? What would happen if someone – for whatever reason – slipped some alcohol into your drink? For reasons beyond your control, you would be exposed to this “corruption”, if you will, whether you wanted to be or not. This is how I’d prefer to think of the sylvari being corrupted by Mordremoth, not just a fight of your will versus Mordy’s. At least, until we have more information.

Once they’ve been unlocked in the luminescent collections, you no longer need them. Feel free to turn them in for crests, or just discard them.

This seems vaguely reminiscent of the discussion(s) on “sexy male armor” held in the General Discussion. I get the sense you don’t necessarily want more flesh-revealing armors, but it does have that slant. I’m not sure I’ll be able to add much to the discussion, but know this has come up before.

I’m all in favour of both genders having equally flattering armours, however that might be done. Skin-teasing, close cut, or even just interesting patterns. I’m not all that fussy in what’s offered, but it’s “not fair” that it’s only the female armors that show off our overly-toned heroes. Even the human NPCs all have six-pack abs.

Braham probably didn’t take up the “Eirson” name until after he left Cragstead, learning about his mother. Being part of Destiny’s Edge makes her a bigger legend; while his father’s duty is no less important, how many people actually remember his name? On that same token, everyone knows of Eir and at least some of her legend. By norn tradition, he takes her name. Or maybe it’s just a cruel reminder to his mother of how she abandoned him.

You can argue all you want, Fext, about what norse naming convention is (which is sexist while the norn are more equal opportunist), but the long and short of it is he can call himself whatever the cat he wants to. Unless Eir is somehow NOT her son (and she has admitted as much, many times), it’s not the wrong name.

Being Soundless is far more than just not talking to the Pale Tree. It’s a conscious effort to disassociate yourself from the Dream, so that no saplings nor the Tree herself can absorb the life experiences. It also requires daily meditation to keep this separation up, as it’s not just a one-time act.

As far as Aerin is concerned, I don’t think there is any proof of him being an engineer, either. He does use grenades, but Canach used mines and I’m pretty sure he’s not an engineer. So the profession of the sylvari is unrelated to whether s/he will turn or not.

Hmm… if that map is accurate, it looks like Ventari’s Refuge is currently located around where an Inquest lab is set up… I doubt that’s a coincidence. As for some of those other locations, it looks like Heart of Thorns may be set up across from Druid’s Overlook and exploring some of those old lands.

Well, they are only unlockable from achievements because they want this part of the collection to be a sign of achievement, rather than just buying them outright. As for why they can be bought after earning one, there is a chance that someone likes the stats, or just wants to keep it around after accidentally deleting it, or even as something for an alt. I think it’s a nice gesture, since it’s far too easy to accidentally get rid of it.

Rhaegar.1203:

She even has a book at home on how to make long-distance relationships work.

Not kidding.

I thought that book was more about repairing the relationship of Destiny’s Edge, not Faolain.