Why are we "The One"?

Straight forward question, and if any specific plot line points an answer and you can tell me which that would be great. Maybe I just missed it, as I've done all this over the course of 4 weeks. For context, here is my story:

I fought some centaursI held a party where Faren gets kidnappedI save FarenWe falsely accuse some high ranking person then do trial by combatI find out that Logan's soldiers are super corrupt (I get attacked by them...)My sister was in that company, then I save her in an entirely different locationI meet Priory/Vigil/WhispersI go with the Vigil to save kids and murder dead thingsLogan's soldier (they are Seraph, I just found out as I was typing) Kellach is evil and wants to kill JennahI summoned the dead pirate who pranked Kellach to think he needed to kill the queenI kill Kellach and join the Vigil (they said for the crusade. I'm a crusader. Nuff said)Logan takes me to meet his friends in Destiny's EdgeThey hate each other for some reason....I protect the Charr-Human peace treaty (why am I here after I meet Destiny's Edge? We never know)I get promoted in the VigilMy vigil mentor and I investigate the Hyleks for funTurns out the Hyleks are happily sending their people to dieWe find out they are dying for Zhaitan and not the Sun GodThe dead hyleks and some other Risen murder the Hyleks and we run awayI get promoted in the Vigil againI find out Zhaitan wants to punch Lion's ArchI go to Claw island to prevent thisClaw Island falls and my mentor dies (like a boss btw)I get promoted in the Vigil againThe Risen attack the Vigil Keep and I murder them for fun (I can re-kill the dead for some logically illogical reason)We finally say "okay, maybe the Vigil isn't enough" (despite saying in their initiation that we need all the help we can get...)We take back Claw IslandTrahearne (a super random person I meet) becomes the Marshall of this order now that we've seen we can slay a DragonTrahearne makes me second in command

The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?

.> I'm so confused.

For comparison, let's say you are playing Force Unleashed. You become "The One" by Vader liking you when you are a kid, then by becoming amazingly powerful through expositionary training, then by slaying everything you want after being ordered to then after you betray the empire, then by nearly killing Vader and Palpatine. That's understandable. You hunt other equally powerful people and contend with the two most powerful people in the galaxy. But in this game, I see npc's using my abilities. And mine do more damage for some reason.

Game mechanics =/= Lore

Lorewise your tutorial mission was a HUGE victory and something that makes you a hero. You're the one who turned the tide and decided it, now you get to be a hero somewhere else. You might want to read your story journal, because it explains the situation pretty well, or pay more attention to the NPCs for that matter. You always have a goal, though some story threads are a little weaker than others.

Mine just seemed super hasty until I hit the Vigil which made a lot more sense. I guess that makes sense. If I take my part out and start at the Vigil/Destiny Edge part it all makes more sense because the jump from rooting out Kryta ministers to fighting an elder dragon seemed like a big leap.

As a side question, why is Zhaitan sending minions to places like Timberline Falls and Lion's Arch when Rata Sum and Caledon Forest are roughly the same distance out? I'm assuming his launching point is from the entire island of Orr. Also, did any of them make it into the Crystal Desert?

Anywho, I'm going to read more closely. Thanks for clarification that tutorial mission= tide swinging success. I did not think of it as such because I'm used to Skyrim successes. Laying waste to entire villages, except for that one really evil super invincible chicken.

@StabbersTheThird.6053 said:Mine just seemed super hasty until I hit the Vigil which made a lot more sense. I guess that makes sense. If I take my part out and start at the Vigil/Destiny Edge part it all makes more sense because the jump from rooting out Kryta ministers to fighting an elder dragon seemed like a big leap.

As a side question, why is Zhaitan sending minions to places like Timberline Falls and Lion's Arch when Rata Sum and Caledon Forest are roughly the same distance out? I'm assuming his launching point is from the entire island of Orr. Also, did any of them make it into the Crystal Desert?

Anywho, I'm going to read more closely. Thanks for clarification that tutorial mission= tide swinging success. I did not think of it as such because I'm used to Skyrim successes. Laying waste to entire villages, except for that one really evil super invincible chicken.

Caledon is under frequent risen attack. It is possible metrica avoids the invasion as forces in caledon beat them back successfully enough and any attack on rata sum is better directly by sea against the ports. Timberline and Maelstrom are wild enough to maintain an unopposed presence, whilst LA was the result of direct mass sea invasions in both game and book (sea of sorrows)

Missed opportunity for all players to be equal to or slightly above the average mook NPC as far as the story is concerned.

Except what we have are hundreds of The Main Hero / The Commander.

@Randulf.7614 said:

@StabbersTheThird.6053 said:Mine just seemed super hasty until I hit the Vigil which made a lot more sense. I guess that makes sense. If I take my part out and start at the Vigil/Destiny Edge part it all makes more sense because the jump from rooting out Kryta ministers to fighting an elder dragon seemed like a big leap.

As a side question, why is Zhaitan sending minions to places like Timberline Falls and Lion's Arch when Rata Sum and Caledon Forest are roughly the same distance out? I'm assuming his launching point is from the entire island of Orr. Also, did any of them make it into the Crystal Desert?

Anywho, I'm going to read more closely. Thanks for clarification that tutorial mission= tide swinging success. I did not think of it as such because I'm used to Skyrim successes. Laying waste to entire villages, except for that one really evil super invincible chicken.

Might also partly be that Rata Sum is a floating city. The way in and out if the naval ports are Asura gates that can be closed off. Caledon forest is closer and an easier target since it's by the sea.

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?Yes, it's a bit forced, but my headcanon goes a little like this:DE member liking the PC? This is not so weird, since they already caught their eye in the tutorial mission and just get along well. Also, the DE members might have good intuition and might just be good at finding promising people.I take it that the order missions we play are just examples of all the order missions our characters really do. There must have been more than the two or three we get to play.As for Trahearne, well... Just my headcanon again, but at the start of the Pact he seems to be pretty much in over his head. He does not really want to be any kind of soldier, let alone lead an army, is not prepared and is about as clueless as our rookie PC. The PC is someone he's known for a bit at this point and who is standing right next to him. I think he pretty much chose us to be his Second-in-Command on a whim.

In the core story the PC is not really someone special, but at the right places at the right times. :)

When I read the thread title, I thought you were referring to LS2 and onwards, were the PC unfortunately really becomes some kind of "The Chosen One".

@Fenella.2634 said:

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?Yes, it's a bit forced, but my headcanon goes a little like this:DE member liking the PC? This is not so weird, since they already caught their eye in the tutorial mission and just get along well. Also, the DE members might have good intuition and might just be good at finding promising people.I take it that the order missions we play are just examples of all the order missions our characters really do. There must have been more than the two or three we get to play.As for Trahearne, well... Just my headcanon again, but at the start of the Pact he seems to be pretty much in over his head. He does not really want to be any kind of soldier, let alone lead an army, is not prepared and is about as clueless as our rookie PC. The PC is someone he's known for a bit at this point and who is standing right next to him. I think he pretty much chose us to be his Second-in-Command on a whim.

That's how I imagine it as well. The order storylines show us the pivotal battles, the ones that got us the promotions. We were out doing other missions until these showcase missions show up. Otherwise it is just to jarring for the 1 mission = 1 promotion deal.

@"Fenella.2634" said:As for Trahearne, well... Just my headcanon again, but at the start of the Pact he seems to be pretty much in over his head. He does not really want to be any kind of soldier, let alone lead an army, is not prepared and is about as clueless as our rookie PC. The PC is someone he's known for a bit at this point and who is standing right next to him. I think he pretty much chose us to be his Second-in-Command on a whim.

[Warning: incoming ramble!]It makes even more sense for a sylvari PC, whom Trahearne has known for a bit longer than "meet at Claw Island, lose Claw Island, retake Claw Island, congratulations on your promotion to second-in-command of the Pact." With the sylvari PC, Trahearne's not only fought alongside them before (i.e., he knows what they're capable of), but he's also seen their growth and change over the months: [spoilers for sylvari storylines]

! from new sapling fearlessly volunteering to head off a Nightmare Court attack (and inadvertently stumbling onto a very different sylvari, and handling that situation with grace and tact), or helping out a pair of overwhelmed Wardens (and single-handedly rescuing one of them...twice), or recovering a deadly poison from hylek using their wits and good sense - to, a little while later, recovering Caladbolg and joining an Order of Tyria, though a mixture of cunning, strength, and wisdom - to, finally, meeting back up with Trahearne months later, now a full-fledged member of their respective Order, showing concern for not just sylvari but all of Tyria in attempting to warn Claw Island about the impending attack. During the subsequent attack, the sylvari PC proves themselves to be a good leader, a fearless and capable soldier, able to work as part of a large team, able to see the big picture ("we need to focus on dragons, not just 'yay we retook Claw Island, let's go back to the way things were'"), and, personally, a good friend to Trahearne. Who is implied to be a complete loner, unused to dealing with others, and, like you said, way in over his head with the whole Pact thing. In his own words, he's no soldier. But here's this person whom he knows and can trust, so if anyone's going to have his back, it'll be the sylvari PC.!! That, and the sylvari PC's Wyld Hunt is to kill Zhaitan. Trahearne knows very well just how important a Wyld Hunt is to a sylvari's life. By making the sylvari PC so high up in Pact command, Trahearne's personally ensuring they get a solid chance to fulfill their Wyld Hunt.

I wish other races were able to meet Trahearne sooner than the beginning of Claw Island - it makes so much more sense for a sylvari PC purely because they actually do know him. For everyone else, he just...appears, and the norn/charr/asura/human PC has no idea who the heck he is.

To be fair, every PC has had a bit of time to get to know Trahearne before the Pact was founded. The vision of Orr in particular should have been some kind of bonding experience.At this point at the story, Trahearne seems to be a bit awkward when he has to deal with many people at once. So, the PC is someone who gets along well with people, was there in the Grove and totally supported the idea of founding the Pact and has heard Trahearne's doubts about his role. So, from his standpoint, the PC is indeed not a bad choice as second-in-command and especially as moral support at that very point.

Later on, of course this all changes a little and both get way more competent in their respective roles. But for the scene at Claw Island - I think it does make sense regardless of the PC's race. Although I do agree that yes, the story works best for Sylvari PCs :)

@Batel.9206 said:[Warning: incoming ramble!][...]I wish other races were able to meet Trahearne sooner than the beginning of Claw Island - it makes so much more sense for a sylvari PC purely because they actually do know him. For everyone else, he just...appears, and the norn/charr/asura/human PC has no idea who the heck he is.

You know, it would have been pretty amazing storytelling, if Asura, Charr, Norn and Humans had a Trahearne cameo at one point, where you meet him, but he doesn't have a large influence on the narrative.He could have visited Ascalon to gain information about the line of King Doric. Incidentially, Rytlock is an expert on orrian swords.There may have been a certain Sylvari scholar attending Professor Gorr's lecture, because it pays to keep up with new research.Trahearne may have iasked to study the magic of the human gods in Divinity's reach in order to cleanse orr.Also, the Norn and the Kodan are finely attuned to the subtle magic of spirits and the land, they might have some input on how Zhaitan was able to transform a land so utterly. Also, they have Jormag experience.

@StabbersTheThird.6053 said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?

I think context is rather important when you look back at these events. You didn't just 'fight some centaurs', you SAVED Queensdale. This starts you out as a hero of renown. I also think you have to look at the intended path of the game. When you finish the tutorial mission, near the end it tells you to seek out people to help in the area. Every heart in the map is a challenge, mission, heroic deed that is building the reputation of the PC. In essence, you could consider that in terms of story-lore, the commander completes every map before he moves on to the next one. He does every heart, helps everyone he can. Various heart vendors have Priory, Vigil or Whispers missions as well and if you remember that these happenings are part of the canon, then your character is doing a lot more work than just, one mission = one promotion. This is also why you have to level up between story missions, because the implication is that you need to spend some time doing those missions (the hearts, events, etc).

Would have been a really short game if Logan thought you were a dork and wanted nothing to do with you..

just saying XD

On Trahearne, I think the story would have been better without him at all.

@Ceit.7619 said:

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?

Oooooooooh. I used the 80 booster. I didn't know that you did stuff in-between quests. Now I'm a dunce >.<

I got spoiled a bit and told Sylvari were "made" (word they used, is that correct?) by Mordremoth who is another Elder Dragon. My question is: If Mord made Sylvari and thus "The Dream", is Mord effectively using "Wyld Hunts" as a way to probe at Zhaitan for a fight? Genuinely curious. I plan to run a Sylvari next time I do this story stuff (possibly sooner as Human dance<Sylvari dance).

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:

As a side question, why is Zhaitan sending minions to places like Timberline Falls and Lion's Arch when Rata Sum and Caledon Forest are roughly the same distance out?The lore is big on this one https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rising_of_Orrand there is more, much more

just something to watch after you done personal story as this was removed from the game and never coming back

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:I got spoiled a bit and told Sylvari were "made" (word they used, is that correct?) by Mordremoth who is another Elder Dragon. My question is: If Mord made Sylvari and thus "The Dream", is Mord effectively using "Wyld Hunts" as a way to probe at Zhaitan for a fight? Genuinely curious. I plan to run a Sylvari next time I do this story stuff (possibly sooner as Human dance<Sylvari dance).I highly recommend playing the core story + LS2 + HoT with a Sylvari at least once. :)

No, it does not seem like the WHs are usually fabricated by Mordremoth. With some notable exceptions, though. He only becomes relevant to the Sylvari once he wakes up. Until then, the Pale Tree's protection works really well.But I admit I also was suspicious of that. When learning about Mordremoth, I thought that spreading Sylvaris in all three anti-dragon orders so fast, getting them access to pretty important roles, including founding and leading the Pact against Zhaitan - all that could have been some subtle plot to get rid of a rival dragon. However, the actual story does not back this up.

 

@StabbersTheThird.6053 said:

@Ceit.7619 said:

@StabbersTheThird.6053 said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?

Mordremoth didn't make the Dream of Dreams, we don't know its origins still. Wyld Hunts and Dark Hunts come from the Dream and Nightmare respectively, and both of those oppose Mordremoth.

@XenoSpyro.1780 said:Missed opportunity for all players to be equal to or slightly above the average mook NPC as far as the story is concerned.

Except what we have are hundreds of The Main Hero / The Commander.

couldnt agree morethe MC should just be another wanderer

@Moonyeti.3296 said:

@Fenella.2634 said:

@"StabbersTheThird.6053" said:The story is fun, don't get me wrong. But why did Logan take a liking to us? Why did we get him to introduce us to both Destiny's Edge and the Three Orders? Why did the Vigil decide to continually promote me after only 1 mission? Why did Trahearne pick me to become second in command?Yes, it's a bit forced, but my headcanon goes a little like this:DE member liking the PC? This is not so weird, since they already caught their eye in the tutorial mission and just get along well. Also, the DE members might have good intuition and might just be good at finding promising people.I take it that the order missions we play are just examples of all the order missions our characters really do. There must have been more than the two or three we get to play.As for Trahearne, well... Just my headcanon again, but at the start of the Pact he seems to be pretty much in over his head. He does not really want to be any kind of soldier, let alone lead an army, is not prepared and is about as clueless as our rookie PC. The PC is someone he's known for a bit at this point and who is standing right next to him. I think he pretty much chose us to be his Second-in-Command on a whim.

Also have to remember that there are multiple order(Vigil, Priory, OoW) events that are occurring around the world, at around the same level that the PC could be taking part in. Kinda like how when you play HoT the story is best experienced with the story missions and the map events occurring in tangent. You may not be running shoulder to shoulder with your mentor, but you are still assisting your order in smaller missions.

...because everything you did, you did with distinction. Even among your failures, you never once "lost" (else the story couldn't progress, could it?). You always gained or contributed positively to everything you were involved in. You ended up meeting more and more powerful/influential people, and you impressed them. You gained their trust and confidence, and they returned it by putting more trust and confidence in you, which caught the attention of other powerful and influential people, and so on.

It seems stilted and cliche, and it is, because this is how people gain success and influence. That's how lives and careers are built. This is as "real" a story as a fantasy about killing magic apocalypse dragons could be.

@Castigator.3470 said:

@Batel.9206 said:[Warning: incoming ramble!][...]I wish other races were able to meet Trahearne sooner than the beginning of Claw Island - it makes so much more sense for a sylvari PC purely because they actually

do

know him. For everyone else, he just...appears, and the norn/charr/asura/human PC has no idea who the heck he is.

Speaking as someone who was so against Trahearne after he

I would have loved to have had this, because after becoming very invested in Sylvari, I felt a little bad for disliking him throughout my first run of the story.

You're not "the one" though. You're in the right place at the right time, sure. You have a friend in Destiny's Edge no matter what race you are, which doesn't hurt. But the bottom line is, it might have been anyone, and you where positioned advantageously.

What gives you the idea that you are "the one". I don't know about you but I'm fighting with an army.

Why not? Someone has to be.

As for the "Sudden Promotions" and "Sudden Friendships", a lot of your character's missions are either suicide missions, incredibly difficult, or hinging on you as a character. The Reason so many people give you credit, is that the average NPC would have been destroyed had they attempted your mission.

Likewise: It should be noted that there are several different "The Ones" that you run across in game. Many of them fail in their stories, requiring you to continue where they left off.