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Episode 4: thread for spoilers and comments.


ugrakarma.9416

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Traditionally I create a topic for us that we do not have time to play so early, but for us, those we do not care about spoilers, we are just compulsive onlookers.

So does anyone have a summary of the lore of the episode?Speculations and general comments are also welcome.

Of course be warned whoever reads from now on can see spoilers.

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I was pleasantly surprised by the introduction of a priestess of Balthazar character and that she'll be sticking around. A lot of what she said really resonated. Relighting his sword and that doing so still activates his magic, and that the sword CANNOT be corrupted by the Brand is very exciting for me too in it's implications. Kormir's Fire keeping the Refuge safe from the Brand as well.

Kralkatorrik in the Mists is very exciting. Let's see what they do from here. Fingers crossed the Gods still have a role to play now there's an Elder Dragon romping about in the Mists.

But also, SCREEE CLIFFHANGER.

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Blish is dead...one of the best Asuran characters created...second only to Taimi.

Speaking of Taimi, we now have the potential to lose both Taimi (to disease) AND Aurene (to battle) in the next episode or two...right now I'm grieving even before their deaths.

Aurene had a Dr. Strange moment, except there isn't even a single solution.

Even though it was great to see Snaff and Eir to get some closure for the group (wish Logan had seen Snaff), I can't remember feeling this way ever in the Guild Wars franchise...MAYBE with the death of our Order Guide in vanilla GW2 or even the death of Master Togo in GW: Factions.

This episode should have come with some free ice cream because now I feel like I need some comfort food.

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Summary of this episode for those who are interested:

Part 1Taimi tells us to come to the summit, as Aurene has crashed it and she can't move her. We arrive and there's a new faction in the Crystal Desert: 'Free Awakened'. They are mainly composed of people like Sunspears, ( or defectors ) who were enslaved by Joko. The Mordant Crescent also attends, along with what's left of Joko's government of loyalists, the Sunspears, and the Order of Shadows. Archon Iberu tries to kill us at the summit after Aurene arrives, ( all the Joko loyalists assume it's an assassination attempt, even though Aurene just fell onto the summit floor and passed out, ) but Koss runs in out of nowhere and one-hit-KOs him. So he's dead, for the millionth time.( Oh yeah, Koss hangs out with us for the beginning of this episode. He and Kossan are buddies now, apparently. )Everyone is arguing when the Shatterer's head bursts through the window. Everyone works together to escape. The rest of the Joko loyalists are only willing to help us because they need help with Kralkatorrik. We don't fight the Shatterer, it basically becomes a map hazard as we try to get civilians to safety. Just watch out for it smashing you unless you want the achievement. One of the Joko Loyalists suffers this fate, I forgot his name. He was an Awakened, though, not alive. We fight a branded version of him at the exit while we're escaping.We are informed that Kralkatorrik has vanished, according to Kas and Jory. It's opening portals all over the place. The Vigil were in Ascalon and were alarmed to see it reanimate the Shatterer. They correctly assume it's headed for us, and they arrive at the end of the first mission. They take a backseat for the rest of the episode.

Part 2Kralkatorrik is in the mists now, and that's how it's been making portals everywhere. Glint is currently at war with it. More on that later. Anyway, it's disrupting the fabric of space-time and it's been moving random times and places into Jahai Bluffs. It's also actively hunting Aurene.There are mist portals all over Jahai Bluffs. One of them is a repeating loop of a battle between Charr and Humans underneath the Vizier's Tower. ( It really doesn't look anything like the one in Orr today, it's golden and there are no rock formations attached to it. I suppose those fell on it later on. ) We get to see the Vizier's letter to the orrian king that he wrote before he sank Orr, ( 'You'll never get to read this but I'm an Abaddon follower and what I'm going to do is going to save us from being remembered as another human country that got taken over by charr', essentially. ) None of the other things in the tower to day are in there, like the ruined statue and etc.We also get to read an old orrian poem Trahearne liked that he could never fully read.Later we have a drug trip on interdimensional mushrooms. ( The Commander slurs things like, "Have you ever noticed how soft Rytlock's fur is? Rwow." and is attacked by hallucinations of half-naked elf Faren and a bunch of characters with bobble-heads.)There's also a piece of the Maguuma Jungle in Jahai Bluffs that's overrun with Chak.

When we're cleaning up a branded village we learn that large layers of bedrock can stop dragon corruption. Koss gets the idea to use the Sun's Refuge, ( He renames it that, ) but it's overrun with spiders. It's dark and we have to relight the braziers and torches in the cave. We have to deal with Braham running away squealing every time a spider gets close to him as we relight everything. Koss delights in his discomfort. We also get carried off by a giant broodmother several times, depending on how fast the player is and how effective they are in killing the spiders before they touch Braham.Taimi and a few others, ( including Blish and Gorrik, ) escort some survivors to the cave. Aurene takes shelter in the cave along with everyone else. However, branded attack through a portal in the upper reaches of the cave. A little into the branded attack, Eir Stegalkin and Snaff stumble out of the mist portal, ( there's a cutscene. ) We kill a boss with them. Braham is losing his mind the whole time as his mother scolds him for not being careful. Snaff uses a rifle. Eir remarks on how he "never changes" a few times. After the portal is closed they are able to stay for a short while. They've come to give Aurene a message from Glint. She has to kill Kralkatorrik and take his place now. Every moment we wait he gets stronger. On the way to Aurene Braham and Eir have a heart to heart. She says she wasn't a good mother, never can be a good mother, and that Braham is an idiot for being a jerk to his 'family'. ( Dragon's Watch. ) Braham is sulky for a surprisingly short time before admitting he's been a jerk to us and apologizing.Meanwhile, Taimi hero-worships and hounds Snaff for information about golemancy. He remembers that she's Zojja's apprentice and tells her that he's heard good things about her. She is elated. Snaff and Eir tell Aurene that she has to fulfill her role NOW. They say that Vlast apparently failed because he didn't have a champion, and that Aurene will be fine.Despite Eir and Snaff's encouragement Aurene has a ton of visions of different outcomes of the battle, in which every one everyone dies. We see Aurene painfully die over and over as her screams play in the background. After this horrific vision she runs away. She's gone for the rest of the episode. Turns out everyone else has seen the vision too, ( including the civilians in the cave, ) and it causes a mass panic. Blish stops this by ensuring everyone that he has a plan. He doesn't, really. He wants to find Balthazar's sword and use it as a lure to put a tracker on Kralkatorrik as an early warning system.

Part 3Blish tells us that he's decided to use science for good despite being inquest by Taimi's example. "Science gave me a second chance, I'll make it count."We hunt down the sword, starting at the ruined market, heading back south to Jahai Bluffs, and eventually finding the Priory team sent to get it. They've been decimated by a sniper. The sniper is a Deadeye Priestess of Balthazar. She wants to kill Kralkatorrik with the sword. Our actions resulted in the deaths of her family, ( her priesthood, ) and she is hellbent on killing us. We have to hide behind pillars while being attacked by unstable branded awakened to get to her. We almost kill her, but decide to let her live and help us. ( we saw her in a vision. ) She does so begrudgingly. We take the sword back. She stays as a guard in the cave.Blish encourages Gorrik to stay. He alone comes with us into the mists. The Commander and Blish run through a battlefield of souls, ( primarily primeval soldiers ) and branded. We help Blish set up the tracker by holding off branded. However, the sword has an unexpected reaction to the Dragon and goes ballistic. Blish has an extremely hard time setting it up. A brandstorm is getting closer and closer, and Glint warns us that Kralkatorrik is approaching.

  • M A S S I V E S P O I L E R - Blish realizes that he can't fix the tracker in time. He uses himself as a battery for the tracker and turns his primary functions off, ( essentially killing himself ) to power it. He tells us to tell Taimi and Gorrik that he's sorry. His last words on the intercom are of his amazement at the dragon, we hear it growl, and the intercom cuts off. Glint leads us out of the mists through an intense course and we barely make it out as Kralkatorrik chases us through a brandstorm. We tell Gorrik and Taimi the bad news. Gorrik just walks away. Taimi takes it pretty well after initial dismay at Blish throwing his life away so readily and losing what is implied to be her romantic interest. Caithe shows up and does absolutely nothing, and Taimi tells us her bone disease is getting worse and worse and that she's in real danger of dying very soon. Blish apparently knew this. The Priestess agrees to host a memorial for Blish.

And it's a cliffhanger. Yaaay.

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Generally speaking, that whole "rifts into the mist thing" opens SO many possibilities. Basivally, Anet could bring back whoever they want now.But I really felt the sadness at the end. Usually, MMORPG writing never really impacted me. Maybe it's because it was late. And maybe it's because I was pretty tired. But that whole end with Blish giving his life really made me sad. Anet finally managed to kill off a character in a way that affected me. Well, besides Lazarus. But his death only made me sad in terms of Mursaat being thrown away as a filler episode in season 3.I still have my hopes up for Mursaat as playable race someday. A man can dream.

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Well I imagine this deadeye is going to take Balth's place. Else what would the point of her introduction? What kind of role would she serve that some rando npc deadeye couldn't?

And this Kralk in space/mists thing was kind of off the wall. lol.... Is he going to battle Dormammu?

And I really hope they don't kill Aurene. I'm wondering if absorbing Joko's powers will give her somekind of unforeseen advantage? But I imagine she would have seen that in the visions. Then again, Glint's visions didn't always come true, right?

Speaking of which, I guess we aren't getting any backstory on Joko? Or his origin? Or maybe there is something in the collection achievement?

I think it's a great episode and I look forward to getting to play it more. But it feels kind of off.

Perhaps Kralk going into the mists is really just leading us up to the next season where a new villain arrives that's from the mists? Or an expansion set in the mists? At this point can we really rule out a time travel expansion?

Bizarre to say the least. Enjoyable though. It all seems pretty well done as strange as it is at times.

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@ThatOddOne.4387 said:I was pleasantly surprised by the introduction of a priestess of Balthazar character and that she'll be sticking around. A lot of what she said really resonated. Relighting his sword and that doing so still activates his magic, and that the sword CANNOT be corrupted by the Brand is very exciting for me too in it's implications. Kormir's Fire keeping the Refuge safe from the Brand as well.

Kralkatorrik in the Mists is very exciting. Let's see what they do from here. Fingers crossed the Gods still have a role to play now there's an Elder Dragon romping about in the Mists.

But also, SCREEE CLIFFHANGER.

In a way, we're seeing what we should have seen in Orr: the gods may be gone, but the things they left behind (and human knowledge therof) still has importance.

@Dante.1763 said:

@Mickey Frogeater.1470 said:Glint existing in the Mists and at war with Kralkatorrik gives me hope that she will help claim Zhaitan's spot just as Aurene takes Kralkatorrik's spot.

How would she be able to do that? her physical body has been killed off, Aurene still has a physical body and thus can absorb his magic.

For the sake of speculation:

She absorbs enough of Zhaitan's power to cause her own body to Rise, reinhabits it, and goes from there?

(I don't see this as being particularly likely, but it could be possible.)

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In this episode, in Aurene's possible futures. did commander even present there? Maybe i missed something but Character's model weren't even there ( maybe due to seperate-file Cinematic ).

I am starting to think, that one of side-effects that Commander have, after dead-and-back event, is ability to be hidden from any type of premonition visions. Like Dune No-Chambers. In other words, no one can see our Character's future. Also Fungus in Anomaly Zone is making fun of commander about been dead and back.

Glint, Snaff and Eir were telling Aurene that it is time for you BOTH to face Krakkatorrik. And they were really hard stepping on it.We now know about only one side-effect, which is actually a benefit - Scarab Plague Immunity. And i am eager to learn about more of those :)What i am trying to tell, maybe Aurene didn't see future with Commander right next to her.

P.s. if Commander actually have ability to be hidden from premonition visions, this can be a reason for Aurene's imbalance in her own abilities. Those two have a bond.

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@"cptaylor.2670" said:

Speaking of which, I guess we aren't getting any backstory on Joko? Or his origin? Or maybe there is something in the collection achievement?

I think it's a great episode and I look forward to getting to play it more. But it feels kind of off.

I enjoyed the episode very much. But what you mentioned will always leave a sour taste in my mouth.Not only because of Joko, but because of Lazarus and Dhuum as well. GW1 left some really nice loose ends, and Anet did everything possible to ensure that they get finished asap, wasting tons of possibilities.In the case of Joko: Yes, he was a kind of comical relief antagonist, but why his serious speech at the end? They clearly wanted to hint some kind of hidden ambition behind his motives, that there is more than his talk. There was actual character building. And for what? I mean, there is this new event with fake Joko, who uses Mesmer skills and taunts us hobby-lore-nerds with the "Strong mesmer skills. Always had them!" description, but I didn't manage to not fail the event yet, so I don't know what dialogue comes after it. It either is a troll from Anet, or hinting at the Lyssa connection, like many thing before.

In case of Lazarus: He was a Mursaat. Mursaat are awesome. He possessed knowledge beyond imagination. Why just finish him off in a filler episode? The potential for his involvement in the story was endless. Taunting us again with his introduction, only to discover that it's Balthazar, and then, after Balths part in the living story was done, giving us a filler episode about him, felt off.From being a very shaky ally, to revealing that more slumbering, outphased Mursaat exist, the possibilities have been there. But Anet wasted it by reintroducing Livia and... doing absolutely nothing with her from that point onward.

What I want to say, Anet can have good writing, and this current episode showed. They did a good job, introducing Gorrik and Blish, and making Blishs death very impactful and sad.But on other occasions, they make terrible decisions. And if other writers are like Jessica Price and possess a strong "artists pride", they won't take much criticism coming from plebs like us.

Anet writing is like the Targaryens. Every time something new releases, you can flip a coin about it's quality.

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I like very much the history, Kralk on the mists was needed to create the "epicness" effect.

But its create too much potential to lore-break stuff, perhaps, if Glint "soul" goes to the mists after death, so theres Zaithan and Mordy here?

And this create the inevitable conclusion that the gods will return here to clean up the mess.

Probably Kralkatorrik is not distorting only the reality between Tyria-Mists, but other realitys(hence the fungus comin from another planet), and the Gods must have noticed that there is something wrong in the kingdom of Denmark.

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@"Randulf.7614" said:It was a bit late when I played the story so apologies if these were answered, but I did have a couple of questions

  • Any mention of how the rifts were formed?
  • Any mention of how a rift big enough to portal an ED and surrounding storm didn't just destroy half of Elona with it?

i guess theres hints about it on Ep3 that rift will come more into history. but i cant remenber more details. theres some discussion here https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/583463#Comment_583463

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@Randulf.7614 said:It was a bit late when I played the story so apologies if these were answered, but I did have a couple of questions

  • Any mention of how the rifts were formed?
  • Any mention of how a rift big enough to portal an ED and surrounding storm didn't just destroy half of Elona with it?

kralk opens the rift, it's hinted at that he got that ability from balth.

the reason this hasn't been apocalyptic yet is thanks to glint and the other reasons why kralk (or any ED really) didn't destroy everything before that.

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@Aeon.4583 said:I am starting to think, that one of side-effects that Commander have, after dead-and-back event, is ability to be hidden from any type of premonition visions. Like Dune No-Chambers. In other words, no one can see our Character's future. Also Fungus in Anomaly Zone is making fun of commander about been dead and back.

That could be an interesting twist: Aurene fails every time because her precognition is missing her most important ally...

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@derd.6413 said:

@Randulf.7614 said:It was a bit late when I played the story so apologies if these were answered, but I did have a couple of questions
  • Any mention of how the rifts were formed?
  • Any mention of how a rift big enough to portal an ED and surrounding storm didn't just destroy half of Elona with it?

kralk opens the rift, it's hinted at that he got that ability from balth.

the reason this hasn't been apocalyptic yet is thanks to glint and the other reasons why kralk (or any ED really) didn't destroy everything before that.

Ah yes i can see the Balth connection now

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