Guild Wars 2

Fay.2735:

Am I the only person who liked Scarlet (Even at the time)?

Nope. I loved her too. Logging in to do Season 1 achievements on Saturday was like turning on the TV to watch cartoons. The Season 1 episodes always put a smile on my face. It was sad that people screamed about how boring it was. It wasn’t boring to me at all. It felt like D&D finally had a decent video game incarnation for once (instead of the clunky dice ridden sad-excuse-for-a-video-game that is offically sanctioned by WOTC). I’ll admit that the story felt very thin.

I guess the Anti-Scarlet complainers were a bunch of young people who were spoiled by the modern games and forgot about the importance of good gameplay. I had alot of fun going through the Nightmare Tower with friends. I even enjoy the leftover Scarlet stuff in Fractals.

Thanks to Scarlet, SW and Vinewrath are easy peasy for my RP characters. Scarlet and her cronies were alot harder and more challenging than Mordremoth. Mordi is so easy that i’m able to breeze through an LS episode in less than two hours (while taking my time). The Jungle Dragon is so easy, I have to go to back to Draenor (WoW) to find a real challenge.

I will always see her as a tragic figure instead of a villain. ((salutes Scarlet))

Xaton.1902:

what if light armor is ceara before she turned nuts ?

Ceara was not a light armor class. She was an Engineer (medium armor class). The fairy-like salad is a new character we will meet in the next episode.

SPECULATION: The girl in question may be the person who caused Faolain to convert to the Nightmare Court. She is mostly likely a Secondborn Sylvari as well.

Weindrasi.3805:

-Internal screaming-

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Scarlet: “See, Caithe. Tyria really does need me. NOW DO WHAT I SAY!”
Caithe: “You’re not the boss of me!”

Okay, seriously… You’re first two shots were very, very convincing. This character’s height and proportions are the same as Ceara’s. At first, I thought, “OMG… She’s back! Anet really can’t stay away from the little red head!” The first two pics are as convincing as the “Ghost of Scarlet Briar” stunt we saw during Halloween.

You’re last screenshot… sadly gave away the joke. That’s not Scarlet’s face. And here I was… hoping for a Scarlet comeback…

With all these Scarlet clones and “sightings”, the little red-head Sylvari is slowly becoming as legendary as Elvis!

I think these “sightings” should become a permanent part of GW lore: “Some believe Scarlet never died that day in Lion’s Arch. They say that she lived on and continued to travel throughout Tyria…”

Shpongle.6025:

Haaaaiiii

So 2 days ago I was playing and the map was so full everywhere I went there were people playing, I even found maps that had 50-60 commander tags on them and the LFG tool was full of SW ferries, and now today I log in and all of a sudden it’s dead. Everything is dead, all the people disappeared, everyone is gone…

What happened ? It’s only been 2 days.

IF the the map you’re on seems dead, look in the LFG tool for an SW run. People often post taxis for Silverwastes in the LFG. If there isn’t any SW event listed, trying guesting on a busier server (preferably a server with a High or Full population).

Vapour.7348:

To be perfectly honest, I think Caithe was craving an omelet.

Forget omlet. She was craving a Cadbury egg!

Even better: Caithe is looking for a Wintersday gift for her precious Faolain.

I never did believe what she said about dumping the Nightmare leader.

kamedin.4698:

Good story, but I don’t think it really is being told as a “story” gets told. I don’t know about other people, but I read a story at least a chapter at a time, not a quarter of a page at a time, so I’m just wondering, is that how other people go about it, or just me?

In the United States, we are going into the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s probably why Anet make Episode 6 very short. People will be more likely to spend time with family and friends than play a game.

Here’s an excellent question for all of you to think about and respond to:

How do you think Living Story Season 2 will end?

Please post your thoughts, ideas, and speculations.
—————————————————————————————————-

I’ll start. Here are my ideas.

I really don’t think we’ll defeat Mordremoth this season. I see two ways this season could end:

(1) We’ll discover that the missing dragon egg was taken deep into Mordremoth territory. This will prevent the Pact from bombing the region.

OR

(2) We recover the egg in the next episode. Then the Pact will bomb Mordie and fail miserably. We’ll also learn some new secrets regarding Caithe, the Zephyrites, and the Sylvari along the way.

Okay. Anyone else want to share?

CaptainVanguard.4925:

With only 2 episode’s left to go, Mordremoth’s minions are the only thing that are a core presence in this season, and we have been told the dragon is awakening, it hasn’t fully awakened yet.

To kill it off that soon would be too early and it’d be essentially a waste of a dragon, so I doubt we are going to see him die this season.

This is what I’m hoping for. I think it’s too early to kill of the Jungle Dragon esp. since we have some unanswered lore questions (Examples: Caithe’s secret, the fate of the egg, the Sylvari dragon minion controversy, the Pale Tree’s condition, etc.).

I’m a story person, so I start with an idea for a great tale.

Before I bought GW2, I knew it was about heroes fighting evil dragons. When I saw the debut trailer, the rise of Zhaitan and the spread of his minions reminded me of the disease, Cancer. Then I thought, “What kind of food fights cancer?” The first answer to my mind: Blueberries!

I knew at that point that my first GW2 character would be a blue sylvari.

When I finally bought a copy of the game, I couldn’t decide on a class. I went back to my Blueberry hero idea. I thought of all the ways that blueberries fight cancer: shrinking tumors, stopping cancer migration, prevent the cancer from multiplying, and ultimately destroy the cancer itself. Since the game offered the Engineer class, I felt that a gun would be much more efficient weapon in my character’s quest than a sword.

For gender, I preferred the look of the male sylvari for this story idea.

As for looks….. I’m a fan of JRPGs. I prefer my avatars to be bishonen and bishojos. Most anime & manga tend to have an average person in extraordinary circumstances instead of a beefed-up superhero. That’s my personal taste. So I settled on the basic looks for my main character. I have never used a make up kit on my main.

For me it’s a tradition to name my GW characters after gemstones and incense. That’s just what I like. I decided to name my main, Lapis.

The concept for my second character is based of the Rose from the children’s story, The Little Prince. Her name is Lazuli.

My recommendation: Use what inspires you to create your character.

kamedin.4698:

Add “Disco Inferno – by The Trammps” to the stun phase of the Tequatl the Sunless encounter. It would make it so much more immersive and motivational to defeat such a big opponent.

LOL!!! You’ve been hanging around with Of Disco and his friends, haven’t you?

On the TC server, some PvX guilds will play that song over voice chat during the burn phase. It’s a tradition!

((Sings)) Burn, baby, burn!

Mental Paradox.3845:

Airship, spam “2”.

Or worse, the Pact drops the a giant grenade on him (no thanks to the PC).

I hope to God that neither event happens. I don’t want a repeat of Zhaitan (“Oh no! It’s confetti! My one weakness!”). I hate Arah story because it feels too much like a theme park ride. As soon as I heard that the Pact wants to bomb Mordremoth from the air, I cringed and remembered the Disneyland disaster that is Arah Story.

What I really want to see happen: The Pact airship attack fails (which sets up the PC for a true epic fight (PC with ground troops taking on Mordie). GW2 doesn’t have ship fights the way ArcheAge does. Ships in this game are static pieces of furnature instead of moving vehicles.

I also want to see Mordie attempt to corrupt the PC via visions and telepathic messages BEFORE we attack. Heck, I wish Mordie was attempting a mental attack on the PC right now.

Just my two cents.

GoldenOblivion.6403:

My Class Warrior.
Here is my armor:
http://prntscr.com/4ztk65 Helm
http://prntscr.com/4ztkfr Shoulder
http://prntscr.com/4ztki3 ChestPlate
http://prntscr.com/4ztkk0 Gauntlets
http://prntscr.com/4ztklf Pants
http://prntscr.com/4ztkns Boots

Weapons I use:
http://prntscr.com/4ztksn Great Sword

http://prntscr.com/4ztl1n Bow

My Traits:
http://prntscr.com/4ztnll

If their’s anything else needed please tell me.

I see your problem already. You have Engie stats on a Warrior.

All Warriors require Power as their primary stat. Your current armor has Toughness which makes you into monster bait. That’s why you’re dying. Take the target off your back!

Toughness as a primary stat is good for Engineers. They have medium armor, so they need the extra protection. It’s great for increasing the survivability of an Engie character.

Warriors, on the other hand, have heavy armor.

The best stats for a good basic warrior are Berserker (a.k.a. Zerker) and Soldier. For Beserker, the highest numbers are in Power while the supporting stats are Ferocity and Percision. For Soldier stats, the highest number is in Power while the supporting stats are Toughness and Vitality.

Soldier stats are best for WvW and Tequatl. Soldier stats work really well in Crucible of Eternity dungeon (COE).
Beserker stats are good for WvW (if you’re feeling really gutsy) and PvE. It’s excellent for the Cathedral of Flames dungeon (COF).

Your first, really good basic set up should have the following: Beserker armor, Beserker weapons, Beserker Trinkets, Beserker Amulet, Beserker Rings, etc. It might take time to get this stuff because Berserker stuff is highly prized in this game. If you can’t afford to buy new stuff, just replace your weapons with Beserker weapons FIRST.

FYI — It took me a while before I got 100% Beserker stuff on my characters. Just buy, create, or wear what you can afford. The weapons are the most important thing when you’re on a budget. After you get Beserker weapons, then go for Beserker armor.

Onwards to Sigils and Runes:

For weapon sigils, you have two sigils that need to be replaced. Sigil of Intelligence (SoI) is an Engie sigil that only works on Zerker weapons. You can’t get Critical attacks (aka Ferocity attacks) with Knight’s weapons.

The other Sigil that needs to be replaced is Sigil of Fire. Again, that’s an Engie Sigil that works better with Engie’s flamethrower & guns. Warriors in this game don’t have the tech that Engies own.

Keep Sigil of Force on both weapons. Just replace the other Sigils with Sigil of Strength. If you can’t afford that, use Sigil of Frailty and save your money for strength sigils.

Once you get your Beserker armor, you want to get one of the three rune sets on all of you armor:

(1)Superior Rune of the Scholar (most expensive runes)
(2) Superior Rune of the Ogre
(3) Superior Rune of Rage (most affordable if you are on a tight budget)

Only use 1 set of runes on your armor. Don’t mix and match runes. The Rune sets have to work together. If you use Superior Rune of Rage, make sure every piece of armor has the same rune on it.

The current runes on your armor, Superior Rune of Flame Legion, are best on Engies because of their fire attacks. Just thought you should know that.

For traits, you want to ask the folks in the Warrior section about that. The only recommendation I can make is get extended range for your longbow since the upcoming Living Story episodes will feature Mordrem which love to stack torment on the PCs. It’s best to range them with Rifles or Longbows. The longbow in this game has better range than the rifle.

And there you have it! I hope that helps!

As we love to say on the Tarnished Coast server: Good luck, have fun, and don’t die!

SundayTrash.9562:

X T D.6458:

cya in a couple months when you realize nothing else comes close to beating gw2, eso,wildstar,wow? take your pick

Actually moving FFXIV

I hope you like cat people (aka Miqo’te) and boring old humans (aka Hyur). (See the screenshot from FF14 census below).

When I say “cat people”, I’m talking about humans with cat ears and extreme flexibility They’re not the cute, cuddly Charr who will rip apart a dragon minion at a moment’s notice. You may as well join the human RPers on Tarnished Coast server if want to play a human character.

My advice to you: Keep your stuff, and dont’ give anything away. It’s a GW2 wanna be with WoW mechanics. GW1’s storyline and WoW’s story surpass FF14’s tale with ease.

I tried FF14 last September. People are friendly, but it’s easy to get locked out of the populated NA servers. I tried out the various servers (Brunhildr, Exodus, Gilgamesh Balmung [LEGACY], etc). I manage to get on the populated servers by logging in during the odd hours in the Seattle area. When I tried out the game, alot of the NA servers were closed to new players. Worse, there is no megaserver system. If you don’t get onto a populated server, you’re out of luck esp. later when you have to find a guild for the raids. There is no way to get onto populated maps by friending others or joining a guild. It was extremely hard to get onto a populated server. There are no Network guilds that people can join, so they enter shards with like-minded folks.

(All you Anti-Megaserver folks can gripe all you want, but Megaserver is the biggest innovation to MMORPGs. It makes it easier to find people who better fit your gameplay style and guild.

Hardcores can find other Hardcores.
Casuals can find other Casuals.
RPers can discover new RPers.
And so on.)

Like ArcheAge, the game’s player housing is a gimmick and a joke. It’s too expensive for the housing. Unlike the home instances in this game, you don’t get player housing at the beginning of the game. FF14 players are paying $12 an hour for housing that is too expensive for the individual. Worse, you have to be part of a Free Company (aka guild) and chip in with others to get a house. This introduces a problem similar to what WoW has: People recruit guildies to get guild perks, and then they g-kick the guildies when they get the high level perks.

Unlike GW2, there is no dodging to avoid an enemy’s attack, and it takes time for skills to activate. Players have to stand in place while fighting esp. if you’re a mage. If you’re soloing a fast enemy, your character is forced to take damage while casting one dinky spell. Not even WoW’s mages were THAT bad.

Then there are the FF14 Raids. If one player on a team makes a mistake, the whole team fails. It’s too easy for a griefer or troll to mess up a team. Unlike Tequatl, there is no way to recover if a griefer interferes with the fight.

In FF14’s event system (aka FATE), only the person who does the most damage to the enemy gets the gold and loot. If you come in late during an event, you get next to nothing.

Then there is the monster camping. Yes,you have to camp for monsters like WoW. ((cringe))

During Sept, there were a couple of festivals, but those events were devoid of players when I got to the festival area.

In the end, Final Fantasy 14 is not worth $12 a month.

GW2 has its flaws which have been mentioned zillions of times on this forum. I get that. This game is the best non-subscription game on the market. At least you’re not wasting $12 a month on this game!

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Seriously, Scarlet’s been such a heavy focus that at this point I don’t doubt a certain writer at ANet would consider her the “heart of GW lore”.

LOL! She’s more like the “heart of GW2 lore” not all Guild Wars lore.

It all works out for me— both IC and OOC. I’ve been wanting to know why Scarlet did what she did. Players like myself really deserve an answer since “Bro-ham” (aka Braham) cut her off at the end of Season 1. Lapis’s RP storyline gets to progress as well.

For everyone who hates her, I dare you all to write a fan-fic that includes her. Scarlet is alot of fun to write. I can see why the writers continue to have her in the LS.

This story premiered during Halloween 2013 (Tyrian year: 1326). Whenever we play it, our characters are in the year 1326 for the duration of the story.

FYI— The current in-game year is 1327. So this Halloween is a blast from the past type event.

Pheate.5286:

A big change? No need for that, but every week there should be a option where people can contribute to one or more small events.

Like:
contribute x amount of wood to build a wooden house in LA
contribute x amount of rock to build a stone house in LA
contibute x amount of glittering dust to repair a waypoint

You can also make it like:
Contribute to x amount of events on a map to change a bit of that map

If you have the basic building blocks in place you can start setting up competition.
If more wood than ore have been contributed we get a wooden house…
If more events are done in one map vs another map.. the one with the most events done will get the change.

So many small things will help populate maps, bring the community together and really change the world with baby steps..

I agree on this. This is what people do in RL too! Anet, if you want to make a Living World, you have to let the players change the world in small ways too!

((EDIT: I’m removing the comment about GW2 having sandbox options. I’m not so sure how well this would work for this game.))

Now I’m going to add a possible event that I’d love to see. I think there should also be an event to help the Lion’s Arch Pirate Skritt. We need to help the rats get their pirate ship, so the humanoid pirates can get their old hideout back! What kind of ship should the Skritt get? They should get an airship!

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Imagine what Season 1 would have been like if after the Crown Pavilion, we went hunting for Scarlet to fight her on her own turf, finding her final liar to be in some fractal of the Mists that ended up being the home of the Grand High Sovereign – you’d be fighting in some alternate future Tyria where evil has long prevailed and ruled the world with an iron fist… to have suddenly disappeared one day (when he went to true-Tyria and was slain), leaving the lands in chaos, leaderless, and ripe for Scarlet’s taking. She’d have an entire pocket dimension under her control, and you’d have to fight your way through scores of minions, holding her teleporter rooms (that were akin to The Shadow Nexus in GW1) which was her means of traveling back into Tyria so that she couldn’t escape. Then, once backed into a corner, a final confrontation in the very fabric of creation.

If I could +1000 this post, I would.

Now this is exactly what I was expecting out of Season 1’s content. During Nightmare Tower, Scarlet gave me the impression that she was from another reality or Tyria’s future. There was even a point where I got the idea that the evil Sylvari was trying to start a new world order.

I thought, “Oh cool! Anet made a science fantasy story!” Then Season 1 unfolded, and the rest is history.

We have to remember that Anet abruptly ended the Scarlet story due to fan request. I bet you there was alot more to the story too. HOWEVER, THERE IS A WAY TO FIX IT!

How to fix the problem?

Introduce the alternate reality anyways! The PCs find a portal, go through it, the portal closes, then the PCs are trapped in the alternate Tyria! The heroes have to struggle with adjusting to the new world order, fight unique enemies, and find a way to return home! Voila! Instant story!

Tanith.5264:

Whatever Anet has in mind, they might want to pick up the pace a bit…Halloween is not far off, and the Mad King might not be pleased to find his favorite city destroyed when he didn’t do the destroying.

I hope that Anet added something like this to the 2014 Halloween update!

Gaile Gray.6029:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

Hell yeah! Death to all quaggans! Someone give that guard a raise.

Oh now! Come one, quaggans are great!

And no, I don’t mean they’re great because they taste just like chicken.

Finally! A dev that defends quaggans!

Wait a minute… Quaggans taste like chicken??? And how do you know this?

THAT’S IT! Sea Shepherd is coming to Tyria! :P

Hamfast.8719:

Duck season!
Quaggan season!
Duck season!
Quaggan season!

You’re both wrong! It’s MORDIE SEASON!

Quaggans are bad for your health anyways! Leave the quaggans alone! (:P)

Basaltface.2786:

skritt as race? Make it happen a-net.. (picture shows my reason)

http://www.tabletophell.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/skaven.jpg

Yes! Rats of NIMH, UNITE!!

I want a Skritt Engie now!

Rok.2963:

I have actually heard in-game chatter about this before, and people would share their wish quite passionately, so I think I’m far from alone when I say that I’d really love to see the Skritt as a playable race in a future expansion of Guild Wars 2, or—heck—dare I say, Guild Wars 3 whenever it is out.

Skritt are one of the most interesting, funny, “cool”, organized, and fast-paced races in the world of GW2; and these aspects or features of a race collectively make up a remarkably appealing “way of being” for a big group of players out there, I believe. “Yes, yes?” =)

I love these little guys! For me, these guys trump Asura any day! They’re cute, they’re charming, and they’re smart, instinctive little buggers.

The racial sympathy storylines involving the Skritt has won me over. We need these guys as a new race. If that happens, we should get a small group of 5 skritt instead of one character. We should be able to use the Hero flag system from GW1, so we can command individual skritt to different areas on the map.

Redxon.6832:

just did this hear that went against everything i believe in :/

Its the one in iron marches where you “motivate” prisoners by whipping them and the heart guy says you can whip them and fight them if they fight back but don’t kill them “because we aren’t sadists.”

I feel it’s much more sadistic to keep someone alive in chains and work them endlessly by whip rather than to just kill them :S

Remember that the Charr legions brag about “killing their gods” during the Charr intro. It goes to show you that it’s not God(s), atheism, or any other belief system that makes a person into a good being. It’s people’s choices & actions that determine if they’re good or evil. Stuff like this in the game is a reminder that people who commit terror will do so regardless of a belief system.

I agree with you that it’s very disturbing for those of us who see this type of abuse on a regular basis (thanks to the RL war that is going on in the world). Abusing those prisoners is wrong. Whether or not they deserve it doesn’t matter. Abuse is abuse. Luckily for us, there are alternative ways of fill the heart requirements.

In my view, the Charr Legions are in the same conundrum as the Asuran Council. They’re smart when it comes to making “stuff”. Sadly, they’re seriously lacking when it comes to ethics, morals, empathy, and compassion.

This situation in the game is up there with the last part of LS Season 1’s story instance where Jory (Marjory) makes fun of Scarlet’s death in a very crude way. In Jory’s case, she paid for her mistake by losing her sister in LS2: Episode 2. In that episode, Mordremoth gets revenge by choking Jory’s sibling to death. It’s only a matter of time before the Charr Legions pay for their abuses.

AsmrtOtaku.5084:

Hi everyone,

So with Zhaitan being dead in the Living Story and with so much changing in game I always wondered what would be a valid excuse to keep the Risen lore wise. The only other way to bring back the dead is via necromancy so I figured what if Zhaitain had a group of living necromancers? The concept is similar to the Sons of Svanir but the differences are that this cult comprises of multiple species and that they’re much more extreme in practicing their faith. Now that their master is dead, the cult is doing everything to keep Zhaitan’s memory and legacy alive by creating more Risen and finding a way to revive him. That’s all I have for now so feel free to leave any comments, criticism, or contributions that you see fit.

I got great news for you: The Cult of Zhaitan is FAN-CREATED LORE from the Tarnished Coast server. It’s been in existence for the past year. It’s not part of official lore… yet. (One can hope!) It is definitely part of my main character’s history (http://www.guildwars2roleplayers.com/home/m/2737230/viewthread/14016844-tc-lapis-n-lazuli-wip).

The Cult of Zhaitan was created by members of the guild, Apocalyptic Armageddon [AARM], as a guild Teamspeak 3 joke. I loved the guild joke so much that I turned it into a real random RP event on the TC server. Eventually, the idea found its way into my main character’s storyline.

Here is what I wrote on my Enjin page (http://www.enjin.com/profile/8202671):

*" “The Cult of Zhaitan” was an [AARM] guild TS3 joke that eventually became part of Lapis N Lazuli’s Orr campaign history. Whenever someone logged on to TS3 chat, people who were part of the cult asked, “Excuse me, sir (or ma’am). Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Zhaitan?”

“People who joined the cult had their Ts3 chat names end in “of Zhaitan”. Their TS3 avatar would be a picture of a baby Mouth of Zhaitan with a RL celebrity’s face on its stomach. The celeb’s face has to have an open mouth.

“This inspired a real random RP event in which members of the cult had to convert other players to Zhaitan in-game (including the devs).”

Over the past year, myself and other light RP guildies would RP the cult by going to random areas on the map trying to covert people (NPCs, PCs, and devs) to Zhaitan’s cause. Some times RPers ignored us. Other time, folks joined in on the joke.

I’m no longer an officer of AARM, and other players who were part of the event are off doing their own things. I haven’t done RP stuff related to this event in the last few months.

Feel free to create your own spin on this fan-created lore. It’s possible that a group of necromancers could be so fascinated by Zhaitan that they’ll try to keep the memory of the Undead Dragon alive. If you use this idea, be sure to credit me!

I’ve seen the waypoint situation roleplayed in a few different ways.

Some RPers will have their character visualize a location in their mind, and the waypoint knows exactly where the PC wants to go. In one RP session, my group was told, “Now concentrate.” Then all of the PCs suddenly materialized at the chosen waypoint.

Other RPers imagine that their characters have a handheld device similar to a tablet or iPhone. Sometimes the device uses holo technology. The PC clicks on the location they want to go, and they instantly materialize at the chosen locale. I’ve seen Asura RPers do this.

I love to think of waypoints as a type of floating Asuran golem that receives voice commands from the PCs (kinda like Star Trek). When I’m leaving an RP event, I’ll often have my character walk to the waypoint, stand underneath it, and then I’ll have my character say where they’re going (Example: “Reckoner’s waypoint please.”). Then the waypoint takes the character to his / her chosen location.

Basicly, there are different roleplayers and RP guilds that handle this situation in unique ways.

As always, if you’re part of an RP guild and you aren’t sure how to roleplay this situation, ask your guildies. Some guilds have their own lore regarding the waypoints and other mechanical devices in the game.

rapthorne.7345:

From what I understand, Lion’s Arch was destroyed as part of the Living Story.

it seems odd to me, given all the technology of the asura, and the architectural marvels that are the race’s cities, that no rebuilding attempt has been made.

Lion’s Arch is a sovereign pirate city-nation. Their motto is “From ruin we prosper”. The only people repairing Lion’s Arch are the pirates that reside there. (EDIT: I had to change the last sentence because of the forum’s overtly strict censorship system. :P)

The Asuran government in Rata Sum won’t help Lion’s Arch. Why? There are no political or social connections between the two nations. Counselor Phlunt’s behavior also demonstrates that the Asuran government only care about themselves (See LS2: Episode 3 & 4).

kitten.9065:

HI Anet! I just wrote yesterday because I returned to the game for LS S02. Guess what, I can’t finish LS because every time I go to the Frostgorge to help defeat the Svanir, farmers harass me for trying to complete the event and even if I ignore them, they make the Yak event fail, that’s on top of having to finish the previous event while being called and “idiot, troll, scumbag, kitten” and to GTFO.

kitten, what server world are you on? If you post the server name, that should push the devs into fixing the problem. I’m also wondering if you are on one of the hardcore servers.

Keep in mind that these players aren’t normal mat farmers who want stuff for crafting. They’re Farm Trolls.

Current suggested solution: BLOCK THEM. Then leave the map for a moment. Then re-enter Frostgorge. The Megaserver system should place you and your team on another map.

If the Farm Trolls threaten to report you for botting, BLOCK THEM.

If you have players who are sending you hate messages (racial slurs, lgbt slurs, etc), report them first, then block them.

Another solution: Guest on another server.

This isn’t the only area in the game that is affected by Farm Trolls. On the Tarnished Coast server, these type of players try in vain to stop zergs from opening the Gates of Arah too. I just add these guys to my block list when I start seeing the “Stop doing the event, you ******” messages.

It does help to be in a large group that intends to finish the event.

Farm Trolls: The #1 reason farming gets nerfed in this game. -.-;;;

Last month, Anet told us that they were choosing to work on Living Story instead of dungeons, fractals, and Super Adventure Box. There’s a good chance that Anet is currently working on integrating LS Season 1 into the story journal system.

All of last season’s events took place in the open world, so the devs are probably working on instancing everything.

GW2 Mounts don’t exist for copyright reasons. Moa mounts would be too simillar to FF14’s Chocobos. Dolyak mounts would be too simillar to the WoW’s Brewfest Ram mount.

It would be awesome to see mounts in GW2 (esp in WvW battles). Anet has to invent mounts that are unique to Tyria.

Wanderer.3248:

The reference to her being the spirit or soul of the tree could be a metaphor. In eastern religions, such as Shintoism, a spirit (representation) of some natural force (e.g the moon) could manifest as a physical being, such as a fish. Physical harm to the avatar could have repercussions for the health of the thing it represents.

This would explain why people have a hard time understanding the Pale Tree Avatar situation. Outside of Japan, Shintoism and its tenants aren’t known to most people. The two popular world religions, Christianity & Hinduism, teach that beings are either spiritual or physical. A deity or spirit being has to be born via a female’s body in order to exist on Earth. Shintoism teaches that a being can be spiritual and physical at the same time.

In JRPGS, the Japanese developers take time to slowly introduce Shinto concepts to the International players. In GW2, there was nothing in PS to prepare the audience for the fact that the Tree’s avatar was both physical and spiritual.

For this Sylvari RPer, this confirms that Sylvari culture is alot like Japanese culture!

HHR LostProphet.4801:

The Asura missing-neck bug, when it looks like the head would be directly tied to the body, should be a feature for respawning asura who were fired against a wall.

Two thumbs up! I like this idea.

Keep this up, guys, and you’ll definitely get me to roll an Asura! LOL!

Chris Whiteside.6102:

kta.6502:

Safari.3021:

PROPOSAL OVERVIEW

Guild halls? no. Guild Airships!!!!!!

I agree! This is the best guild hall suggestion yet!

We need to have our own upgradable Guild Airships and GvG battles over these ships!

We should also be able to wp to any major city in Tyria from the Guild Airship.

Guild Halls are the next phase of the CDI (-:

Chris

Awesome! Thanks!

Chris Whiteside.6102:

1: Alliances
2: More Chat Channels inc Multi Guild Chat Pane
3: More guild customization in WvW such a Tag on Keeps, Guild Siege Skins, Guild Flares etc

Chris

4: The ability to fire Asuran Special Forces into Enemy Keeps with a special Guild Trebuchet!!!!

+1000 for all of these ideas.

How about we have about Asuran Black Ops teams that sneak their way on board the guild ships while the Asuran Special Forces are distracting the fighters?

Safari.3021:

PROPOSAL OVERVIEW

Guild halls? no. Guild Airships!!!!!!

I agree! This is the best guild hall suggestion yet!

We need to have our own upgradable Guild Airships and GvG battles over these ships!

We should also be able to wp to any major city in Tyria from the Guild Airship.

PROPOSAL OVERVIEW

The guilds need Alliance chat.

GOAL OF PROPOSAL

Guilds that are allied with each other need a real time communication tool to keep their alliances strong & healthy. That last game, Guild Wars 1, had a very successful /Alliance chat system.

Under the current GW2 system, it is really difficult for different guilds to have impromptu get-togethers or even just communicate with each other on a regular basis. Guilds currently use mail or whispers to communicate with allied guilds. IF a small or medium sized guild wants to ally with others to take down Triple Wurm, it could take days or weeks to schedule a get together. If a guild needs people for a soon-to-spawn Teq run, they have to whisper each ally on their friends list. The same goes for Dungeon/Fractal guilds, WvW guilds, Roleplaying guilds, and pretty much any guild who is trying to coordinate an impromptu event with allies.

PROPOSAL FUNCTIONALITY

Just add a /Alliance chat.

ASSOCIATED RISKS

None.

Manasa Devi.7958:

At one point she says she’s a manifestation, at another point she says she’s a spirit. She can be both these things at once, they’re not mutually exclusive.

As I’ve shown in my earlier post in this thread, a manifestation can mean a “materialized” spirit in both American and British English. There’s no problem at all here except in the minds of people trying very hard to find issue.

I understand what you’re saying.

Where I live in the world (Seattle, WA USA), the word “manifestation” is only used regarding abstract ideas, ghosts, spirits, and deities. It is often used when people are talking about religion. The only exception is the phrase “physical manifestation”. The Pale Tree never used the word “physical” before the word “manifestation”. So I was left with the impression that the Tree’s avatar was a spirit. After LS2: Episode 4, I’m starting to believe that may not be the case. Perhaps the Pale Tree exaggerated what she said.

I do think that something is odd by seeing the Pale Tree’s body on the floor of the Omphalos Chamber. There were also other things that seemed off in the last part of Episode 4 as well. Hopefully, the future episodes will clear up this situation.

Congrats, Leah Hoyer!

Roybe.5896:

Not sure i see what the issue is.

There isn’t an issue. This thread is just a discussion about whether the Pale Tree’s avatar is a body, a spirit, or both. I moved the conversation here because the “Spoiler Alert: Srsly Wardens, Srsly” thread was getting derailed.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

And where, pray tell, do you get this conclusion from, exactly? You seem to present this out of thin air. You just present the two meanings of the word, and then go and say “it’s obvious this is the proper meaning” without any backing or proof. Do you have proof she’s physical? One that contradicts her own words and proves her own words wrong?

Yes. Look at the first two screenshots below. I don’t know about you, but I see a comatose body lying before my character. If she were a spirit (like the Ascalonian ghosts), she would of disappeared AFTER she went down. When the Ascalonian ghosts are slain, they disappear immediately.

BTW, if the Tree’s avatar is a spirit, how come she’s breathing? Spirits don’t need air, and they don’t go into comas either.

To me, the Pale Tree’s avatar is one of the following:

(1) an actual Sylvari body she created for herself OR
(2) a female Sylvari medium who allows the Pale Tree to possess her body and speak through her

Konig Des Todes.2086:

She tells us herself that the avatar is spiritual. And aside from the blunder of Episode 4’s finale, nothing ever indicates otherwise (and before you go with some “she isn’t see through” – well, neither is Mad King Thorn, who is very much a spirit).

As for what the Pale Tree herself says, remember that she is also Ceara’s mother. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

In-game, the Pale Tree has subtly shown that she’s a bit “out there”. Mama’s hero mentality drove her to command Trahearne to play his part in order to save Tyria during PS. (See the third screenshot as well as the youtube clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A03PArI2bJA) No coaxing. No motherly encouragement. Just the Pale Tree with a You-do-it-or-else attitude. Mama Tree’s firm tone towards Trahearne in the video reminds me a little of Ceara (aka Scarlet Briar). What was that threat that Scarlet told the Aetherblades? “Build me a comparable fleet, or I’ll kill you all and replace you with holos.”

Like I said, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. For the time being, it might be best to take the Pale Tree’s dialogue with a grain of salt.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Furthermore, ArenaNet always uses American English. Check all the various spellings, phrases, and so forth. Even though sylvari tend to have a British accent, Anet uses American English. It is humor, not humour. It is judgment not judgement. Etc. And the reason for this is quite simple: ArenaNet is based in America. It is not British made, unlike Harry Potter. So if ArenaNet requires a translation for other dialects of English, they’d need one for British English, not one for American English.

Just because a company is based in America, doesn’t mean that its workers are from the US. American business is global these days. It’s also common for Seattle companies to hire folks from around the world. One of the devs I met in-game comes from outside the country.

The point I was trying to make is that the word manifestation means different things to folks living in two different countries. We are on global servers after all, and both societies are extremely diverse these days. Some players see the Tree’s avatar as a spirit. Others see her as a physical being. Then there are folks who think the avatar is both spirit and a physical being. Folks are taking the word manifestation to mean different things. We do need the writers to clear up this situation.

khulse.4896:

But what really bothers me is the echoing silence from the Anet staff on the matter. A simple ‘we understand your frustration and will be more careful in the future’ would be enough for me. Sadly, even that much seems to be too much. There has been no Anet/dev response to the above thread since my complaint (along with about 20 pages of primarily negative feedback, though granted most of it isn’t related to my particular complaint).

Anet is not the only one that is silent. The Wildstar devs are doing the same to their players. I’m pretty sure that the current silence is due to a policy that was set in place by NCSoft. This letter from Missing Worlds Media illustrates some of the publisher’s business practices: http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,10284.0

For those who don’t know, Missing Worlds Media is the group that is trying to buy the old NCSoft MMORPG, City of Heroes.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

adozu.6398:

i also remember how an asura turned us into an avatar of balthazar to fight off the undead in lion’s arch, i dunno, that’s another great opportunity wasted for humans to do… something? (granted that was the best transform in the game)

Though the ritual – while led by Gixx – was performed by four human “ritualists”.

Of course, one of them flubbed up killing herself and the others. Leaving only Gixx alive, because he didn’t mess up his end of the ritual – wait, what?

Actually, Adozu is referring to the Personal Story step titled “The Ghost Rite” (http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Ghost_Rite). In that story, the Priory PC has to wear a suit of armor that transforms him/her into an Avatar of Balthazar. The goal is to avenge Magister’s Seiran’s death. Of course, Gixx doesn’t tell the character about the ritual’s side effect until the end of this short story.

I swear, Steward Gixx runs the Priory as if it’s his own Asuran krewe.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Konig, just because it is expressively stated that the avatar is a manifestation, does not mean that is was not physical.

You apparently didn’t read my full post. Because at the the first quote I used is the Avatar of the Tree stating that she is the Pale Tree’s SPIRIT.

A spirit is not physical, is it?

GUYS! GUYS! CALM DOWN! I started a new thread that covers this subject. I also discovered an explanation for the problem. Please go to this thread: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/lwd/Changing-lore/first#post4376194

As for the warden’s actions, this is more of art problem. Anet doesn’t exactly have the animation folks from FF14. Maybe the artists didn’t have animated wardens available. It would be nice to see people attending the Tree instead of standing around.

I went to the Grove just now on my third character, Amthyst Sandelwood. The Pale Tree did tell my human character the same info that is mentioned in the wiki (See the screenshot below).

The Pale Tree does use the word “manifestation”. It’s interesting to note that word does have different meanings in both American and British English.

In American English, manifestation means the spiritual embodiment of an abstract idea, ghost, or other spiritual being (like God). (See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifestation)

In British English, manifestation can mean a physical embodiment of an abstract idea or spiritual being. (See http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/manifestation) It seems the Pale Tree is using the British definition of the word. Anet may have used a British writer to create Mama Tree’s lines.

If you’re wondering why I’m using two different dictionaries, it’s because Oxford is not a recognized dictionary on the US’s west coast. Why? The US and Great Britain are slowly diverging cultures. Our languages have been changing over time. That’s why British books will often have an American “translation” (the Harry Potter series is a good example). Certain British words don’t carry the same meaning or context in American English.

Since we know that the Pale Tree’s avatar is an actual body, manifestation isn’t the correct word in American English. The correct phrase is “physical embodiment”. The second line in the screenshot should say, “This avatar is a physical body I use to put visitors at ease.” To folks in the US, those words would communicate that the Pale Tree’s avatar is an actual physical body.

This is not the first time that American gamers have misunderstood the info in GW2. We really need to have American game writers to create the lines for the NA version.

Stooperdale.3560:

There are some inconsistencies here but I suspect there will be some explanation that does not break the lore. The magical workings of the the Pale Tree are largely unknown.

True. Mistakes happen. A game this large does need folks who can help make sure that all info in the game is consistent. That takes alot of time to do. Like I said, Maplestory faced the same problem and their story mistakes were huge compared to this game. Even WoW has this problem from time to time. That’s why it’s important to screenshot the mistakes and bring the problem to the devs’ attention.

DISCLAIMER: This is just a discussion thread about the Pale Tree’s avatar. Is she a physical body or is she a spirit? I moved the conversation over here because the Wardens thread was getting derailed with stuff about the Pale Tree. This is not discussion is not a contest. This is a thread to share ideas on this subject.

(NOTE: Konig’s post comes from this thread: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/lwd/Spoiler-Alert-Srsly-Wardens-Srsly/first#post4371047 )

I’m moving my response to his post here because this subject deserves its own thread.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Except that in the past it was explicitly stated to be a mere manifestation. Something “physical” is not a “manifestation”. She ever calls the avatar “the spirit of the Pale Tree that surrounds you.”

1. an act of manifesting.
2. the state of being manifested.
3. outward or perceptible indication; materialization: At first there was no manifestation of the disease.
4. a public demonstration, as for political effect.
5. Spiritualism. a materialization.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/manifestation?s=t

“I am the avatar, the spirit of the Pale Tree that surrounds you. I am the mother of the sylvari race. I am Tyria’s ally. "
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/A_Light_in_the_Darkness#Dialogues

“I am not as I appear to you. This small body is but a manifestation I use to put visitors at ease. My entire being stretches deep into this world and out into the Dream. I am more than you can imagine.” (to non-sylvari)
“It is by the love of my children that I flourish. This manifestation I use for visitors cannot express the depth of my roots or the breadth of my branches, both here and in the Dream. "
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Avatar_of_the_Tree#Dialogue

I’m sorry, but it IS a ghostly apparition. She says so herself. It is not physical. Anet’s writers flubbed up there.

It is possible that Anet is retconing (a.k.a. changing) Sylvari lore. This is not the first time an MMO has retcon lore. MapleStory also had inconsistent lore in that game’s early years. The young players noticed the story mistakes in MapleStory, and they brought the problem to the attention of the devs. The MS devs handled the problem in a very interesting way. They gave the kids some hints that “a mysterious force” was to blame for the game’s problems. They never told the kids that the Black Mage was to blame UNTIL the release of the Big Bang patch. (http://maplestory.wikia.com/wiki/MapleStory:_Big_Bang)

My recommendation: #BlameScarlet or #BlameTaimi (If Anet is going to follow in MS’s footsteps, I bet you there’s another Scarlet in a dimension next door who is messing with Tyria’s history & mechanics at the moment. Ceara in our world did mess around with portals and things related to Quantum Physics. Another possible explanation would be Taimi’s tinkering with Scarlet’s old toys caused some inconsistencies to show up in Tyria.)

In the meantime, I want to see those words in-game for myself.

Sariel V.7024:

Ravenhunt.2735:

Shes not dead ;_;
She is faded away. >_<

She has fallen into shadow

comic edit –
Mordremoth sent her to another dimension!

Oh!!!

You may be on to something, Sariel!

And the plot thickens…

sorrow.2364:

WvW is not grind.
The actions you perform in WvW is not repetitive at all as they change according to the situation which is different from time to time.

I agree with this… to a point.

If you’re on a Tier 1 server, you’ll see some variety in how WvW is played. Not all guilds and groups join the karma train. There are many groups that use strategy, stealth, and alliances during gameplay esp. when fighting the hardcore server, Blackgate (BG). With BG around, there are days when BG’s train makes it impossible for the other servers to run a karma train. Some days, WvW turns into Game of Thrones on the T-1 servers. Then on other days, it’s hilarious to see a small group of 50 highly powered & highly skilled WvW / RP players keep a 150 man BG zerg from taking a fort!

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

Did the community stop suddenly?
Did we give up?

Will we have another SAB Event to show support to our beloved SuperAdventBox?

I wish this was permanent so we could play it anytime we wanted.
Is it too much to ask to turn it back on? =(

No, the community didn’t stop all of the sudden. Like everyone else, the SAB folks are most likely taking a breather.

Just so you know, there are alot of different GW2 communities that feel the same way as the SAB community. There are alot of folks who feel ignored and continue petitioning the devs to fix certain things in the game. Not everyone comes onto the forums. Some folks know the devs in-game, so they talk to them directly. Other folks will brave the forum despite the trolls. Other players are voting with their money. Still others are spreading word about their game experiences (to the public and/or the animation / game industry).

Be assured GW2 is not the first NCSoft title to run into problems with the fans either. Wildstar is having similar problems. Tabula Rasa & City of Heroes had these problems during their run. In the case of City of Heroes, the fans are still fighting with to get their game back from NCSoft.

Slagar.7125:

Hey all. I would just like to introduce myself on the forums of Guild Wars 2. I have been desiring this game for at least 5 years, but my parents would never give it to me. I finally went out and earned some cold money into my PayPal, which was extremely hard to do considering my age, and now I am finally here. My game is 85% downloaded, and it has been downloading for about 5 hours. I am sooooo excited…

Welcome to Tyria! It’s nice to meet you!

Tip: Let me give you the lowdown on the Tier 1 North American servers. Blackgate is where alot of the hardcore types go. Jade Quarry and Sanctum of Rall are PvX servers (which means the people tend to do a little of everything in the game). Tarnished Coast is the Roleplaying / PvX server.

As for the other servers, I haven’t had first hand experience with the other worlds. If anyone wants to recommend a friendly server for this guy, please feel free to post it.

If you want to roleplay (RP) in this game, you’ll want to introduce yourself to the RPers on their unofficial site, Guild wars2 Roleplayers (http://www.guildwars2roleplayers.com/).

Another Tip: Before you join a guild, figure out what you like best in this game. Then find a guild that matches your interests.

Hi! I’m currently in Straits of Devastation, and I tried to participate in the Defend Lone Post from Risen Hordes. The event is frozen atm. The map’s ip address is 64.25.38.232:0

Lucius.2140:

Kta: Dont join any zerk, meta, speed run, farm run, dont join any AP+ achivment. Stick to the safe zone.
.

LOL! Thanks for the response. Doing that stuff just to “stick to the safe zone” would make the game unplayable for me. I love doing all the stuff you mentioned.