(Spoiler) Path of Fire release discussion

Keeping up with my tradition of trying to bundle new releases into one coherend thread, I thought the launch trailer that was released today will be a good indication on what to come.

So, without further ado, let's see what the trailer does hold for us:

• A voice similiar to Braham is talking to Kasmeer. Though Braham is said to make no appearance, so it might be the PC.
• Braham, the maniac, is wandering through the desert
• The trailer emphasizes the we against the god of war on several occasions
• We see some amazing structures
• Lot's of filler PCs fighting against random enemies. Some Anubis and Forged. We don't seem to see any new character
• It seems our partner will be Rytlock, Kasmeer and Canach for this trip
• We will look for something to fight a god in the desert
• We will fight Balthazar in some way
• Balthazar wants to absorb the elder dragons powers
• Balthazar wants a very powerful weapon, most likely the one that could kill a god
• Very interesting PC cinematics. Hopefully they aren't just trailer stuff.
• Of course we have to gather allies
• I think we see the bonepalace at 1:33
• Balthazar proclaiming that the gods have abandoned this world
• Balthazar is running away?

I have to say. It looks nice, however it had the uncomfortable problem of GW2 trailers of saying nothing with so many words. Balthazar seems pretty straight forward, even with the implications that he is running away from us at some point, like his own minions (first mission). He seems to be fighting cowardly, which might still imply that he isn't actually Balthazar in the end. At least I hope so. If not they hopefully have a good payoff, because so far i am only mildly interested after LS3.

The rest is filler and epic phrases. That could have really gone much better. Like showing off Joko, who will certainly make an appearance, or any other fraction we might recruit for our cause.All we saw were enemies and random fights, as well as Balthazar doing his stuff. Aside from the mcguffin weapon we might find along the way, this trailer was rather tame. HoT did bring a lot more to the table.Or maybe I just overlooked something.

Edit: With the release of PoF, I changed the title to be not misleading. We can gather all casual and simple feedback here

The trailer was interesting. I do like that they use in-game scene to make their previews. However, I do miss the old CGI ones just a tad bit. I have a few questions regarding it though, that has puzzled me.

• 'You know there's something in the desert to turn the tide on Balthazar.' -- Who is speaking? And how do they know the other person knows there's a way to hinder the god of war. Please no Deus Ex Machina. I'll assume that either Joko, Djinn, Order of Whispers or some other Elonian (ghost of the past/Turai's timeline) knows something about how to temporary disarm a magical being. Or maybe a member of the unknown group that weaken him.
• Is Balthazar a god? ANet seems to be either stating that or the Tyrians still see him as one.
• What dragon (champ?) is facing off on Balthazar.
• Something's happening when Balthazar tries to use or absorb some magic. His face expression makes seems as if it's a surprise. Either the magic is very unstable and/or something didn't go as planned.
• Is Rytlock communing with Glint? Or someone other being? The crystal like structures in the background and the sound of tinkering glass or crystal reminds me of Glint's lair. And since Revenants can converse with a being from the Mists...
• I love the use of shapes and the number 3 in the trailer. Particularly, the use of triangles.
  1. The flags at the beginning create motion.
  2. The triangles during Balthazar 'my power' speech. (Instability)
  3. Camera shots. (triangular movie/art composition)
  4. The Shattering Pyramid. (Tension, Conflict, Instability)
  5. Kasmeer, Rytlock, Canach.
  6. Joko, Balthazar, Kralkatorrik
• How does Balthazar know the gods have abandoned the world?
• Joko statues in behind Balthazar in final scene. Does this further imply that Joko either knows or has something Balthazar wants?

I really hope that either Abaddon or his influence makes an surprise appearance. Or perhaps the Goddess of Truth hears our cries. Balthazar seems to be in a rush to me. I can't explain why, but it feels as if he has to fight the clock. Maybe that's why he's using his underlings to hold off any interference.

Right before we hear "We know there is something in the desert that will help us turn the tide against Balthazar." at 0:29 we see a frozen palace. Is this palace going to help us somehow? Ice vs Fire? Does the palace have anything to do with Jormag (Elder Dragon of Ice) or with Grenth (God of Ice)?

Braham's voice actor gave the voice to the charr we will be travelling with to the desert.

One thing really interests me:

Canach ask: Is it your first god's battleRytlock answers: yes. You?

And Canach is like: "don't ask me" and " I know something".

I think he's already fought with a god!! A godess in fact!

He spent a lot of time with Anise, he must have learned something about Anise, he took an oath so he cant tell us, because he will be killed! So perhaps he knows that Anise and Jennah are Lyssa!!!

And he certainly fought with Anise as her puppy. You know Canach likes to fight for his own, what if when Anise defended herself, her disguise was broken for a while.

Interesting!

There are several interesting things in this trailer. Aside from what others have pointed out already...

1:01 shows a dragon approaching Balthazar. It could be depth of vision, but it seems too small to be Kralkatorrik himself. But from a distance, it looks too fleshy to be a champion a la The Shatterer. It looks almost like a more grown Aurene. Later on at 1:06 we see Balthazar fighting a dragon (mostly a wing over his head) but we can see on the left side of the screen some skin with crystals growing out of it. Yellowish crystals and not the typical purple crystals from Kralkatorrik's corruption. Judging by the background being the same as the shot of the dragon flying in, I'm assuming that is the same dragon. My guess is some relative of Glint, whether it's a suped up Aurene, Gleam, or some other offspring (as we did see a ton of eggs in the Dragon's Lair mission).

Additionally, the line where it says that "I fear he may get the weapon" sounds awfully similar to the voice we hear talking to the Master of Peace in Hidden Arcana to me (and confirmed on Reddit by Bobby Stein that it isn't Rytlock).

The weapon Rytlock is referring to might be the spear Destiny's Edge attempted to use against Kralkatorrik previously. It makes sense why Balthy would be going for it if he's intending to kill Kralk, as it is presumably the only weapon that would have a reasonable chance against the Elder Dragon.

@UnbentMars.9126 said:The weapon Rytlock is referring to might be the spear Destiny's Edge attempted to use against Kralkatorrik previously. It makes sense why Balthy would be going for it if he's intending to kill Kralk, as it is presumably the only weapon that would have a reasonable chance against the Elder Dragon.

Might be the spear, but it wasn't Rytlock that said it.

[–]Altcineva94 12 points 4 hours agoThere is a very deep male voice in the middle that talks about a weapon. One of the other gods?permalinkembedsavereportgive goldreply[–]duyh91 16 points 4 hours agowas Rytlockpermalinkembedsaveparentreportgive goldreply[–]BobbyStein 76 points 3 hours agoActually, it's not Rytlock's voice. Find out on Friday who it is.

Well it will be revived Poobadoo :)

Reveals:Rytlock in the mists, as well as the continuation of his other mystery, sohothin.Canach and anise fought someone who was powerful enough to momentarily break her disguise. She's a god and there was some powerful enemy that attacked them.Kasmeer not into the fight she'll betray us or not try hard enough and get killed.

Ok this mysterious voice is not certainly Rytlock's, Commander's or any other guy we know.

He sounds as somebody elder, wise, helpful.And he is related to the Crystal Desert so much. So it's not Grenth, the Forgotten are dead, so only one guy might have learned about the spear: Gleam.

It's very likely that Gleam will be introduced.

Also Balthazar stated the other gods abandoned Tyria. I think it's a lie, to punish Kasmeer and prove her she must serve him, because the others won't help us.At the some point of trailer she's lying on the ground, most likely attacked by Balthazar. No sign of Marjory, but it's likely we'll contact her by our skype ;)

I want Caithe in the story. She would be a really great addition to the story. :)

I hope the new voice is Jurah! That guy was awesome in Nightfall :)

the free Canach on frontline with us, make the whole thing worth it. i dont need nothing more.

@Vesuvius.9874 said:Right before we hear "We know there is something in the desert that will help us turn the tide against Balthazar." at 0:29 we see a frozen palace. Is this palace going to help us somehow? Ice vs Fire? Does the palace have anything to do with Jormag (Elder Dragon of Ice) or with Grenth (God of Ice)?

perhaps some link https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mausollus

Mausollus was a warrior-priest, and one of the first priests of Grenth. He is known for having been the first priest to spread Grenth's teachings to Elona from Orr, living among the people of Istan and Vabbi. In Orr, he was one of the priests who served at the Cathedral of Silence.

The Mausollus Sea was named after him, being the body of water he crossed to reach Elona.

probably there will be a Grenth Shrine around.

@gmugen.9382 said:The trailer was interesting. I do like that they use in-game scene to make their previews. However, I do miss the old CGI ones just a tad bit. I have a few questions regarding it though, that has puzzled me.

• 'You know there's something in the desert to turn the tide on Balthazar.' -- Who is speaking? And how do they know the other person knows there's a way to hinder the god of war.

Unless I'm drunk, it's the male Norn PC voice.

@Solek.3267 said:

@gmugen.9382 said:The trailer was interesting. I do like that they use in-game scene to make their previews. However, I do miss the old CGI ones just a tad bit. I have a few questions regarding it though, that has puzzled me.

• 'You know there's something in the desert to turn the tide on Balthazar.' -- Who is speaking? And how do they know the other person knows there's a way to hinder the god of war.

Definitely the Norn Player. Still have no idea who is saying that the consequences of Balthazar getting the weapon will be unpredictable though aside from him not being Rytlock.

Anyway have you seen this huge boss who walks on the map and smashes people??

That's HUGE!

You know what? I bet the voice at 0:25 is Ellen Kiel, after all she is more less confirmed to appear and I think that's her voice

Yes, its Elen Kiel's voice. Thats probably a fragment from the 1st instance in Lion's Arch, just before our flight to the Desert.

@Maethor.2810 said:There are several interesting things in this trailer. Aside from what others have pointed out already...

1:01 shows a dragon approaching Balthazar. It could be depth of vision, but it seems too small to be Kralkatorrik himself. But from a distance, it looks too fleshy to be a champion a la The Shatterer. It looks almost like a more grown Aurene. Later on at 1:06 we see Balthazar fighting a dragon (mostly a wing over his head) but we can see on the left side of the screen some skin with crystals growing out of it. Yellowish crystals and not the typical purple crystals from Kralkatorrik's corruption. Judging by the background being the same as the shot of the dragon flying in, I'm assuming that is the same dragon. My guess is some relative of Glint, whether it's a suped up Aurene, Gleam, or some other offspring (as we did see a ton of eggs in the Dragon's Lair mission).

I agree it is to small to be Kralk, but also too big to be Aurene. Last time we saw her she was a small, pug-face baby dragon. She won't grow that big in a week or even a month(we are CHASING a dangerous enemy so the time passed between last LS episode and PoF can't be like half a year). I can't see any yellowish crystals, anyway Aurene is shiny and has light blue colour. Dragon in trailer seems to be too dark to be her.

@Filodendron.6053 said:

@Maethor.2810 said:There are several interesting things in this trailer. Aside from what others have pointed out already...

1:01 shows a dragon approaching Balthazar. It could be depth of vision, but it seems too small to be Kralkatorrik himself. But from a distance, it looks too fleshy to be a champion a la The Shatterer. It looks almost like a more grown Aurene. Later on at 1:06 we see Balthazar fighting a dragon (mostly a wing over his head) but we can see on the left side of the screen some skin with crystals growing out of it. Yellowish crystals and not the typical purple crystals from Kralkatorrik's corruption. Judging by the background being the same as the shot of the dragon flying in, I'm assuming that is the same dragon. My guess is some relative of Glint, whether it's a suped up Aurene, Gleam, or some other offspring (as we did see a ton of eggs in the Dragon's Lair mission).

Yea, not exactly my first guess, but I couldn't make out much colour and if it was her (which I think it has since been confirmed that it's not, but not actually sure on that) she would have had to eat enough magic or something to grow that big that quick. So Aurene is the least likely candidate of all.

I stick to the thought that it's in the Glint family, though. Just judging by the crystals on the dragon and those not being Kralk's signature purple colour.

My predictions

• alliance or truce with Pawoko
• appearance of Gleam and/or the weapon made by Glint
• Canach's venta-black humor
• Rytlock's mentions of whatever's happening in Fissure of Woe (maybe Menzhies took control.. oh wait.. it's Mungus now, isn't it?)

@Arden.7480 said:Braham's voice actor gave the voice to the charr we will be travelling with to the desert.

One thing really interests me:

Canach ask: Is it your first god's battleRytlock answers: yes. You?

And Canach is like: "don't ask me" and " I know something".

I think he's already fought with a god!! A godess in fact!Or, you know, Mordremoth his creator? He's pretty much a god to the sylvari, even if he'd be a malevolent god.

Well that'd be really crazy plot twist if Canach'd have treated Mordy as his god. :)All is possible even that Balthazar is Poobadoo in disguise. ;)

That first line doesn't sound like Braham to me but the male norn PC. This wouldn't be the first time folks mistook the two.

The end line from the male human PC to Balthazar to stay and fight doesn't seem to me like Balthazar is running away but that he is constantly ignoring the PC. For example in the only shot of importance in the trailer, Balthazar knocks the PC and crew down but then promptly ignores them as he turns to face the Dragon. Similar to Heart of the Volcano. It's a series of "the commander is not of my interest I will not be distracted!"

@Maethor.2810 said:1:01 shows a dragon approaching Balthazar. It could be depth of vision, but it seems too small to be Kralkatorrik himself. But from a distance, it looks too fleshy to be a champion a la The Shatterer. It looks almost like a more grown Aurene. Later on at 1:06 we see Balthazar fighting a dragon (mostly a wing over his head) but we can see on the left side of the screen some skin with crystals growing out of it. Yellowish crystals and not the typical purple crystals from Kralkatorrik's corruption. Judging by the background being the same as the shot of the dragon flying in, I'm assuming that is the same dragon. My guess is some relative of Glint, whether it's a suped up Aurene, Gleam, or some other offspring (as we did see a ton of eggs in the Dragon's Lair mission).

Keep in mind that Krakatorrik has been confirmed to have absorbed Mordremoth's magic. He likely took in a lot of Zhaitan's too.

That would give him the power to create fleshy Dragon minions and have a yellow-green hue to them if they house death and plant magic.

@Arden.7480 said:Well that'd be really crazy plot twist if Canach'd have treated Mordy as his god. :)

Doesn't he already? Pretty sure Canach or Blighted Canach called Mordremoth the sylvari's god / equivalent of a god.

Yeah, I am not as familiar with the particular voices.It kinda sounded like Braham, so I just thought it was some NPC.

On the topic of Balthazars cowardness, I certainly agree, that he is running away or avoiding the PC and his antics, for his own goal. Why take a risk, or even a nuisance, if there is an eldar dragon to slay and power to absorb. Why care about an annoying human/char,/asura/sylvari/norn.

As for Kralkatorrik. he will show up in some capacity, but given the current story, he might not be a target. By all means, he could be even someone who we talk to as a cliffhanger for LS4.

Canach as a Sylvari might have a different view on gods as the other races, given his short age. He might be more aligned with Ryltock and the Charrs at this point.I smell some greek mythology here.