Guild Wars 2

Arcanum.5203:

Was he in GW1, or is he nothing more than the hopes and dreams of bored MMO gamers?

There were no Elder Dragons in GW1. When they decided to make GW2, they just changed everything to include Elder Dragons.

The Orrian undead left over from the Cataclysm were probably killed off by the Lionguard/White Mantle/Shining Blade over the years.

They could just have a toggle-able “lantern” slot so you can have light at night if you wish and put the lantern away during the day or if you want to be shrouded in darkness at night.

HyruleanHyroe.1473:

I think I’d much prefer to see everyone’s torches/weapons/etc. It’d make events feel more like an angry mob, hahaha!

Of course, that would necessitate the introduction of the pitchfork weapon type.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Peasant%27s_Solution

BrotherBelial.3094:

They work by magic. And a small spell to relieve you of your coin.

That’s it! Mordremoth’s plan is to use the waypoint grid that spans the entire continent with the coin-relieving spell to simultaneously rob all of Tyria! The ultimate heist!

Jamais vu.5284:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Old, established lore are the pillars of a continuing story. A poor writer does retroactive continuities. A good writer works in a way to explain why old ‘facts’ became ‘lies’ and uses that to boost the story. A great writer puts in what they want while not destroying the established pillars of the story. GW1 throughout its lifespan did the last; GW2 at release did the middle; and the Living Story is the first.

Konig, as the king of GW lore, your honest assessment: do you, personally, even perceive GW2 as having a real connection to GW1 anymore lorewise? (Question also goes to all the other loremasters in this thread)
I think it doesn’t. They changed practically everything between the last “independent” GW1 installation, Nightfall, and GW2. Even between EotN and GW2.
E.g. the role and cultural diversity of humans, the downgraded gods, the extremely innovative races and enemies like Forgotten, Titans, Margonites, etc pp. which were all removed for more High Fantasy typical ones, the questionable new lore behind magic due to gameplay, the sheer geography of the world (Kryta not tropical anymore for example).
I was willing to humor them at release, but 2 years on it’s clear they don’t want to retread any facets of GW1 lore.

The best we can hope for is that they are reading this and will try to work on this in the future.

mrstealth.6701:

LadyGiselda.7956:

Im not a centaur expert but i think is more probably that the centaur give us problem than be an ally. Centaur are territorial and aggresive creatures. I imagine this centaur is watching us and preparing some interesting problems (ambush etc..).

Yeah, it seems more likely that they would attack. The Maguuma centaur were always aggressive in GW1. They were always fighting with White Mantle in some parts of the jungle.

I think the only non-aggressive centaur was the tribe in Elona that Zhed Shadowhoof belonged to. And even that tribe could be distrustful of humans, and Zhed himself used the derogatory term “two-legs” when talking to, or about, humans.

I could only see these centaur being friendly out of necessity if they believed that an alliance was their only chance to stand versus Mordy. I think it’s more likely that they are corrupted and already working for him.

There was also Ventari and his followers in the Maguuma that planted and founded the Pale Tree.

Sarrs.4831:

How about regular storms? :o

I’ve seen storms in Eternal Battlegrounds, so they definitely can do it.

Donari.5237:

The whole zone might not be called “Dry Top.” That’s the current name for the section we’re in. Maybe it’ll become a white name for the area with a beige zone name centered in the overall map?

It appears that the entire map is called “Dry Top” despite there only being a tiny piece of Dry Top included. Everything else is Ettin’s Back Aurora Gladee.

Thalador.4218:

It didn’t make much sense, imo. What are the chances that there was a mostly intact half of a giant beast’s ribcage hidden in the rock wall of a canyon? And just in the height they needed it…

But then again, I was never fond of the GW2 necro’s summon minions/bone hands/anything-solid-and-necrotic-related out of thin air. It was a lot more realistic in GW1 where a necromancer had to utilize his or her resources of corpses in proximity to create minions, wells, or explode remains and release nasty diseases, etc. …

If the canyon was a natural graveyard for the many beasts of the Maguuma that journeyed there to die, and Delaqua were to raise enough bones from the bottom to will them into a makeshift bridge… that would’ve been rather believable, actually.

I really miss the GW1 necromancers. GW2 necromancers don’t feel any different from any other class with the exception of the deathly skill names.

cheshirefox.7026:

it’s possible she was just using the word waypoint and not referring to the tyrian device..

Considering that there are vines probing waypoints in at least Dry Top and Brisban, I would doubt she meant anything else.

We’re going to go even further north into Majesty’s Rest. The vines are just to throw us off the track; the real final boss is Rotscale.

I completely support OP.

Jerus.4350:

Anyone imagine Orr being pitch black and needing a torch to get around?

Orr wouldn’t be any darker than anywhere else.

KarateKid.5648:

oh no! please don’t “Kessex” Timberline Falls, Anet! Mess up Frostgorge or something else equally lame and boring.

This please (minus the second part). When will Kessex and LA go back to normal?

nexxe.7081:

If the Pact is coming back, does this mean we’ll see Trahearne again?

Yeah, he shows up after you defeat Mordremoth to tell the Pact how he killed the dragon.

StinVec.3621:

Thank you for your posts, Konig Des Todes (your two latest and all others prior)!
I tried to put my frustration and utter disgust at his response into the appropriate words, but I could not.
However, your posts managed it magnificently!
Thank you for your past dedication to the lore and your engaging and intriguing discussions. I’ve truly enjoyed reading your words and thank you for frequently giving me quite a lot to think about.

This. Please don’t leave.

BobbyStein.2315:

lakdav.3694:

Well they did move away from most of the things they said during development (see the manifesto), it only figures that interview-lore isnt sacred either.

Unless we’ve built content around something, it’s usually considered malleable from a design and lore standpoint. Occasionally we decide to go in a different direction months or years after the first ideas are documented or even talked about externally. In some cases that means what one member of staff says in an interview can change when it comes time to building a release. It’s part of our iterative process.

In short, go by what’s in the game.

lakdav.3694:

I wouldnt even mind to rely only on lore that is presented in the game if there would be enough lore in the game. Im still hoping for some kind of codex in the hero panel.

My advice for you and others who care about the lore is to let us know what you think of the implementation in season 2. We’ve put a lot more resources into seeding each episode with loreful bits.

As always, thanks for playing and letting us know what you think.

Thanks for all the effort. I know this only benefits a small section of people, but any GW1 lore that could be folded into the story in a sensible way would be greatly appreciated by me and probably many others that played the first game.

Hopeless.5403:

Do not like the idea of “housing” but I haven’t really looked into “guild halls”. I truely could care less about a flipping house in a video game. If I wanted to play SIMS, I would just install that game.

In GW1 the Guild Hall was just a place hat you could buy services for your guild in a similar way that there are Guild Banks in major cities. It would station an NPC in the hall and members of the guild could visit it whenever they wanted.

Guild Halls had another bigger purpose: GvG. Battles between guilds would take place in their guild halls.

Good luck getting customizable homes. We don’t even have guild halls yet.

I don’t think that is changed. I recall it always having looked like that. I know this because I thought it was strange that this particular part of the map was so detailed yet inaccessible.

Raina.3516:

I have so enjoyed reading this forum. You all have brought this story to real life and so much better from the standard, “We love the update” and “We hate the update.” posts everywhere else.

I have most enjoyed the links back to the Wiki to support various points about who is involved and what may be the future of Tyria.

After GW1 I have learned to not trust the “first” person that is suppose to be “on our side.” Between White Mantle and the Lich we were led down a lot of rabbit trails. I STILL have no idea who the Seer was and what her/his “dog was in the hunt” other than to get rid of the Mursaat for his/her own reasons.

The speculation that the lay lines and the river of souls could be connected was quite interesting as well. I have wondered if perhaps Abaddon had been corrupted himself, as I think in the overall order of things the Dragons could do this. Maybe this is why the god’s left?

I agree with the point that was made that the Dragons are a natural part of Tyria. It makes me wonder how they balance each other? How did the world survive in the past when they awoke? It appears they do not awake “together.”

So many questions…so long between story updates.

Anyway, thank you again to all that contribute. I will go back to lurker mode now.

The seers were at war with the Mursaat in the past. The only reason we interact with them at all is because they know how to deal with Spectral Agony through their infusions.

Miroe.2054:

DarcShriek.5829:

Except the seeds existed before Kormir became a god.

True story is true

1. Abaddon plants a nightmare tree in the middle of his realm to get more minions
2. The seeds are brought to Tyria and hidden in a cave where they are found by Ronan
4. One of the seeds becomes the pale tree, its still connected to the Realm of torment
5. Abaddon falls, the Realm of torment is being taken over by Kormir
6. Kormir turns the Seeds of her tree into something more civilized, human-like (she was human herself)
7. Kormir disappears along with the other gods
8. The demons that were hidden start claiming parts of Kormirs realm again
9. Thus we have the dreams which is Kormirs Realm and the distant shores and we have the nightmare, its corruption.

Do people really want to see the Realm of Torment again this badly?

DONO.8760:

Mickey Frogeater.1470:

In Abaddon’s case the vines were just large hairs not thorny vines….

http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/2/2c/The_Desolation.jpg

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Desolation

Are you trying to imply they were vines? The large tentacles in the pictures you posted were not plant-like at all. In regard to the Torment Claws found in the Realm of Torment, those are clearly not vines either and the closest parallel in GW2 would be the Undead Claws which you can see near Death’s Gaze Torch in Cursed Shore.

They vines may act similarly, but they are not the same.

I would like to see them add a new expansion as well.

igmolicious.5986:

Nightfall was only brought about by the actions of a god, a god which has been dead for 200 years and replaced by a new god as long. There’s no reason to believe he suddenly came back to life, took his powers back from Kormir, and decided to do his plan the exact same way again. The “thorny tendrils” are just vines. Whether the vines have something to do with Mordremoth or not is unknown but it’s not the first time that vines have done magical things. In GW1, you would use vine seeds to build vine bridges, for example.

SkipOne.8430:

you meen this painting? It looks more like the Realm of Torment

It really does, but I see no way they could connect the two.

Tamias.7059:

Yeah, Evennia’s death is an unsolved mystery to be sure, but don’t think we’ll find out anything about it during Season 2. Although she was Shining Blade, I think her disappearance was probably more involved in the plot surrounding the founding of Ebonhawke.

I was thinking Ebonhawke too.

I don’t know about Resurrection, but in GW1 I killed her then she talked to me later.
Just kidding, but still weird that they did that.

Mordremoth is the Pale Tree. You heard it here.

Zietlogik.6208:

I can’t be the only person who gets that vibe…the new story instances combined with the achievements give that same feeling of the Mission + Bonus system from Guild Wars (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Bonus#Mission_rewards)

Each story instance has its primary purpose, with a “challenge” attached to it in order to provide a secondary objective and reward (achievement in this case)

This is what came to mind when I originally started thinking about which missions from GW1 had challenging bonus objectives: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Dzagonur_Bastion

Hopefully this system keep making an appearance, it is a welcome change to story instances, giving you a reason to play them again, and better yet, play them again with friends.

I, for one, do NOT want to see this for fear that they fall into Factions-Mission-Bonus syndrome: here’s this mission, now do it in under this amount of time for a bonus! If they can manage to do prophecies-style bonuses which were often just side events, then sure; I’d welcome it.

In the “Cornered” instance, you fight enemies called “Overgrown Husk” and “Overgrown Hound”. Anyone else thinking these are the new enemies akin to the “Risen” or “Branded”.

It would be natural to think that they would include Ventari’s Refuge when they venture into this part of the world following a sylvari storyline.

I know you said the camp you found is in the obscured part of the new zone, but judging by this map it seems like the zone could contain Ventari’s Refuge if it stretches that far west, or possibly in an adjacent zone. Maybe what you found is just an outpost for the original Ventari’s Refuge or they just moved camp in the last 250 years?

Blackhat.4016:

6. You can repeat parts or play them later.

I know this is not a big deal for most players but for me this was the biggest reason to come back to GW2. I missed some parts of season 1 (the last chapter for example) because I was too busy IRL and honestly, I don’t like playing the first half of a game and then miss the end.

I probably won’t be able to play next month either which means I would miss an entire chapter again. No problem now, just buy it with gems and play it whenever I want.

Well done Anet, this might be the first time I’m willing to spend real money for gems.

Surely you could find the time to quickly log in one day?

Ignavia.7420:

I also like how it ties in with the personal story, e. g. when talking to Belinda as a human noble. The region based achievements are great and I hope to see those for the other zones, too. As far as I remember this actually came up in one of the CDIs. I’d also love if they added more environmental effect, like darker nights. The sandstorms and the quicksand are a cool start, though.

I noticed this too as my character was a human noble. Does anyone know if the dialogue changes for other non-human-noble characters?

Aedelric.1287:

The release was not perfect but Arena Net has definitely learned some lessons from season one.

I wouldn’t call it perfect either, but it’s a great step from S1.

I was never a big fan of the aspects either, but I don’t mind too much.

EnemyCrusher.7324:

Dry Top was an area from the first Guild Wars. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Dry_Top

I love it when they tie in the first game.

Except this Dry Top is barely the same at all.

1. To start with the obvious: a new zone is a major plus. I would have hated to just see Brisban get destroyed or something. Instead we got a whole new zone and creatures.

2. The sandstorm is great. It makes for a really interesting play when you can’t always see forever in front of you. On that same topic:

3. The mines that are actually dark. Thank you, really. Caves are supposed to be dark; they’re caves (plus I’m not afraid of the dark when I’m wielding dual Fiery Dragon Swords to light my way).

4. The story wasn’t awfully written. It was nice to have to walk around town gathering clues rather than just be told something or have to kill 20 enemies and a big bad guy before he’s willing to tell you what he knows.

5. A major point here: your companions felt like companions. You didn’t have to do everything yourself, but you were a major character. I was particularly happy that Kasmeer created a portal for us while the sylvari whatshisname and the Master of Peace were still talking. It helps to make it seem like we’re actually still there and not just listening to two people talk far away. On the topic of portals, it also made it feel like it’s not just you climbing the ruins and your followers hopping through time to keep up with you. They helped you and you helped them. We need more of that.

To conclude, thank you Anet. This release has been pretty good so far and I hope to see more interesting content soon.

I would guess that, if we were to see new maps, it would be Majesty’s Rest + Sage Lands, Dry Top + Ettin’s Back, and possibly Reed Bog +The Falls if they go that far.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Paragons actually do use magic – the wings, their singing, is magic by all appearances, and such was tossed in with monk and ritualist magic to form the guardian (all three seem to be of the Preservation profession – depending on how you look at the ritualist). Rangers also seem to use magic, though far far less in GW1 than in GW2, in the form of Nature Rituals (and Healing Springs, perhaps amongst other skills) which feels more in line with elementalism (Destruction school) or ritualist’s spirit summoning (which may be not tied to any school of magic).

That’s true. Less magic than a caster anyway.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

This is a better map, I think, since it shows labels and such. It is fan-made, but the fan is that_shaman who is rather well known, and it does bear resemblance to the one you linked, so i’m sure it’s fairly accurate. Note that this map is the entire planet of Tyria, not just the places shown on the in-game map. The map you linked to is literally just a recreation and labeling of the map I linked. With no added details – in fact, fewer details if you count the shades of red, orange, and dark dark green and the ridges in some parts to be details of landscape appearances (unlikely but possible).

What’s with the placement of the Desolation on that map? In Nightfall it was NorthEast of the Crystal desert.

JMadFour.9730:

I think we’ll find Malyck’s tree, and it will consist of Sylvari minions of Mordremoth. Malyck went to find his tree…and didn’t like what he found, and now we have to rescue him.

and we’ll discover that the playable Sylvari were meant to be his Minions, but their tree was altered by Ventari’s Tablet.

Hopefully. Maybe we’ll finally get some good writing, if somewhat predictable.

Just read the article. You can definitely hear the section of old music in the new song.

I’d like to see through Dry Top down to The Falls.

jheryn.8390:

kokiman.2364:

I doubt that because that would be a lot of work. We may see some small hints here and there but nothing major.

We should accept that they won’t go back to stuff like the mursaat, the underworld, etc… maybe they planned that for post-release but now we have the living story.

I don’t know why we couldn’t see any of that. They could all be part of the LS. White mantle are humans which are already skinned for the game. Mursaat could be easily implemented by just adapting the human or norn skins.

And the bloodstone is just a large environmental slab.

It wouldn’t be any more work than anything else to bring back into the game.

All the mursaat are dead. The seers are probably dead too.
One thing from GW1 I’d like to see are the vine bridges and traps.

Aurelian Omenkind.2470:

Seriously doubt we’ll get a new race. The only one I can think of that’d be worth playing (in terms of lore and skill flexibility) would be tengu, and I don’t recall them being prominent in Maguuma. They originated in Cantha, so I wouldn’t expect that kind of expansion until Cantha is reintroduced into the game.

Personally, I’d hate to see most of the other tertiary races as playable — quaggan, skritt, etc. Too specialized and limited lore-wise, IMO.

All the tengu in Cantha left and are now in the Dominion of Winds in Tyria. I agree that it’s not going to happen for this release, but it’s a very real possibility that it could happen sometime.

I kind of like to think that the Elder Dragons all got together and had a laugh at Zhatian’s expense after they found out he was killed by tiny mortals.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

Well, I realise that it’s partly due to mechanics, but I would be inclined to say that a person figures out their profession whenever they decide to.

In GW1 the story sort of treats it as if you’ve just recently decided on your profession at the beginning of the game, and if you go off the character models that could be anywhere between the age of 20-35. GW2 operates in a similar way I guess, from the age/point of character creation you start learning your profession. Of course there are children who have professions seen in both GW1 and 2, so I would seriously just chalk it down to people having a particular affinity or making a choice.

Professions can also be changed if you go along with what happened to Kieran Thackeray in GW1 – so it’s not like the decision you make as a child is necessarily going to pigeon hole you into one profession for the rest of your life.

I seem to think that they just didn’t want to add ANOTHER ranger hero in the case of Keiran. Throwing spears is similar to shooting arrows anyway in that there is no magic involved.

Shiren.9532:

Maybe Glint’s children are in that direction? With Kralkatorrik corrupting the Crystal Desert the Maguuma Wastes might be a similar but safer environment to relocate them to?

You mean the Forgotten? They aren’t Glint’s children, they just served her. The lore says that they were only in the Crystal Desert because they left everywhere the other races went.

If they left the Crystal Desert because of the fighting between Palawa Joko’s undead and the Branded, they might have gone to the only other uninhabited place in Tyria – the Maguuma Wastes/Jungle. I suppose they could have gone to Ring of Fire as well.

Dondarrion.2748:

They posted two more concept artworks as exclusive teasers to Gates of Maguuma, and it looks like we’ll be seeing giant husks again and possibly some thorny roots/vines. Maybe not in the arid areas, but if they also have another more jungle-y zone lined up for us, they could likely feature there.

In the arid desert areas, we’re likely going to meet Thorn Devourers. Last time we ventured into those areas (in GW1) we also encountered Thorn Stalkers, that could be a new mob type, likely candidate for corruption by Mordremoth. Or what about the Moss Scarabs? God, getting all these flashbacks to GW1 and these areas where you’d run along all unsuspecting and bam, creepy stuff surfacing from underground or dropping down on vines!

And what about centaurs, could they still be present in the area? Corrupted or have they fled east so that we’re seeing the Maguuma clan in Kessex Hills? And if they indeed fled, how come none stopped in Brisban Wildlands?

I would like to see the the GW1 enemies come back, even the annoying scarabs that would steal all my minions. I would also be interested to see if they would try to introduce the vine bridges again.

Kalavier.1097:

kny.3789:

on second look devourers seems much more obvious, especially the smaller ones. could/would mordy hold sway over such creatures? or maybe its the classic “the local wildlife is riled up cause ‘x’ badguy is doing ‘y’ thing” i just hope they pull something completely unexpected like my initial “what if afflicted?” speculation. maybe blowing up the zaphyrites was unexpected but its hard to get excited about that.

Maguuma had lots of devourers in GW1. Likely just the crash/bad guys and good guys running around stirred up a nest.

Maguuma also had a lot of plant enemies in GW1 like the Thorn Stalkers. Maybe some other enemies will come back too, like the scarabs and aloe.