New Race Idea: Kitsune

Disclaimer 1: Yes, it's another one of THOSE threads. Adding this idea to one of the others would be an attempt at derailing, however, so it stands alone. Sorry if this annoys you.

Disclaimer 2: I have not played GW1. While a quick search of the GW1 wiki showed nothing that contradicts my idea, it's possible that I've missed something. If so, please feel free to inform me so I can modify or abandon the idea as needed.

Frequent topics on this board are the ideas of adding a new playable race, and the return to the GW1 area of Cantha. I'd like to suggest doing both at the same time, while side-stepping many of the problems that come with a new race. My suggestion is to make a race based off of the mythical creatures known as Kitsune.

In GW2, Kitsune could be humanoid fox people with innate abilities that lean towards shapeshifting and illusion. They would have a very honor focused society, with conflict arising as they try to meld that with their natural flair for deception and their need to stay hidden. The last we saw of Cantha, the people in charge were pushing out any non-humans. This would leave the Kitsune working from the shadows to protect themselves and their allies, a change from every other race where the player character works in league with the predominant power in their area.

Personal story arc one could address how they view honor. Is it by remaining loyal to their friends at all costs? By doing their duty, no matter what is asked of them? Or by respecting and carrying forward the legacy of their revered ancestors? (Note: This happens at the same time as all of the other personal stories. It'll make sense, trust me.)

Personal story arc two could address how they choose to work against the human society that pushes against them. Do they try to enlighten some of the humans? Protect some of the surviving Tengu? Or do they work to push Kitsune power further into the human government to take it over from within?

The third arc would address the growing awareness of the shifting balances of magic within the world, and the fact that the Elder Dragons are a threat. Not only might they disrupt the magic that the Kitsune use to protect themselves, but the entire region is in danger. It ends with the player character being told that other Kitsune have slipped into central Tyria, and now it's their turn. They are sent off to meet with an ally the Kitsune have managed to make, our own dear Evon Gnashblade. They are also given a charm that, instead of shifting their form to human, it makes people simply not notice that they're a Kitsune. They see the Kitsune, but like someone holding an object in hand as they search for it, it simply doesn't register. Their mind fills it in with what they expect. (This doesn't work as well in Cantha, where Kitsune are known and might be suspected.)

Evon arranges for us to be there when the members of Destiny's Edge meet in Lion's Arch, in the hopes of introducing us to some possible allies before we go off to join whichever order we chose for him to introduce us to. The meeting in Lion's Arch plays out the same as before, but with Evon and you on the sidelines. After the meeting breaks apart, the player and Evon talk for a bit, and then you're off to meet your order mentor. From this point forward, things play out entirely standard, the fact that the story is made to work with members of any race means that it will work just fine here, too.

Finally, with the Cantha storyline, we're recalled as the disruptions to magic have outed several Kitsune and events are reaching a crisis point back home. Kitsune get a small side bit where the members of Dragon's Watch realize that they've been dealing with a Kitsune all this time, but have to come to terms with the fact that it really doesn't change anything. They know you, and your race is less important than the threat before them.

Issues and Answers

Kitsune are not in GW. The simple answer to this is "How do you know?" Given that they're able to look like other races, they could have been there the entire time. Also, the 9 tailed fox skin for the jackal suggests that the idea of them is there, at least.

Armor is hard to convert. The Kitsune can be humanoid, with a human/sylvari type build. The fox head and tail(s?) would be the main points of difference, requiring the reworking of mostly the helms. While lower legs could be more animal style, this isn't really necessary.

How do we account for Kitsune in the older world? Random NPCs can be picked for a slight rework. Just as some NPCs say something extra if you're from the Order of Whispers, so too could some say something extra if you're a Kitsune, showing them to be a Kitsune in disguise. We then have Kitsune where they need to be, without altering the old zones in any story breaking ways.

So people just don't react to a talking fox person? Right. In older zones and story instances, the magic on you will make them think of you as what they expect, usually a human. What they see simply doesn't register. Though adding in the occasional person that DOES realize you're a Kitsune doesn't need to break anything. And once the story catches up to the correct point, Kitsune becomes just one more race that the Commander might be known as.

What does the new race give us to make it worth it? Not only do they have a different focus for their world view (Honor), but the every race so far has been a member of the faction that's in power in their homeland. With Kitsune, you'll get a personal story where, for once, you're in the weaker faction.

They sound OP. Racial abilities have never been strong, and have been pushed aside even more with the introduction of the Revenant (which can't use them at all). Kitsune can follow this trend by having abilities that are more smoke and flash than serious combat use. A short range teleport, a half second daze or confuse, and an elite that turns you into an actual fox with a couple of weak attacks and swiftness. The theme could easily be kept while making them, if anything, weaker than the other race's abilities.

Hate to shoot ya down, but If we are not getting the most iconic race in all of Tyria, ... which are Dwarves... we are not getting humanoid fox creatures.

Id rather be a skritt

@Swagger.1459 said:Hate to shoot ya down, but If we are not getting the most iconic race in all of Tyria, ... which are Dwarves... we are not getting humanoid fox creatures.

And just what do you think those pet rocks are made from?

@Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497 said:Id rather be a skritt

Honestly? Me too. But there's a whole list of problems with trying to make skritt playable. Or tengu. Or dwarves. I suggest Kitsune because they actually bypass a LOT of these issues. The only existing race that's not lore-breaking is tengu, and they have armor problems. If a new race is added, it almost has to be something new, and then how do you merge that with the existing story?

I just wonder why outta all possible khajiits you chose foxes.

On the subject, we not getting, warves, we would never play tengu, we don't even have elves. hate to be that guy but you got the picture.

Oh, actually "one of those threads" where the OP has put some thought into it. I'm still not a big fan of expanding the race roster. Mostly because the effort it takes is huge and the effect it has is minimal. In GW2 race matters next to nothing, it matters about as much as outfits do. If this were a game where race actually mattered it would be great to expand the world by adding new races, but for GW2, which mostly expands in terms of geography and story, a new race is just not worth the effort. Everything that would come with it can be accomplished without adding a new playable race. New maps, new stories, new cultural weapons and armors even new racial skills can be done without the hassle of adding a new race and shoehorning it into the story. If they had to do it, I assume it would have to be one of the established races, like Tengu, Largos, Kodan or Dwarves to please the crowd. Kitsune as an eastern fantasy trope are fine and interesting, but I get so weary of reading always the same requests for already canonised cultures and races, but hey at least it's not an elves thread ;)

@"phs.6089" said:I just wonder why outta all possible khajiits you chose foxes.

From the myths that I know, there were three possible choices for "shape shifting/illusion using race from Cantha". Cats, tanuki, and foxes. We already have one feline-like race (charr), and as you point out humanoid felines are common enough in some other games. Tanuki are often seen as less serious and rounder in form, which would make the armor harder to fit, which is something I was trying to avoid. And foxes already have the Shrine Guardian jackal skin to suggest that the stories of Kitsune are already on Tyria.

We already have more than enough animal races.

@Palador.2170 said:

@Swagger.1459 said:Hate to shoot ya down, but If we are not getting the most iconic race in all of Tyria, ... which are Dwarves... we are not getting humanoid fox creatures.

@Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497 said:Id rather be a skritt

Ever hear of “stone” Dwarves? The current Dwarves are not mindless creatures... See Ogden Stonehealer... And to think it wouldn’t be “game logically” possible to introduce them would be silly.

It’s all moot anyway. The devs are not going to make a new playable race, Dwarf included by a clear dev statement, so the chances of us getting a brand new race is like 0. And I highly doubt more players would like to see a made up race as opposed to creatures existing in-game and in lore.

I like the base idea a lot... but If they are going to be just another skin over the typical human rig, I'm not interested. I understand this will be way easier to implement... but I prefer zero new race to half new race.

A group of Norn who follow Fox. Big deal.

this reads like a bad fan-fiction.

I can hear it now:"What does the Kitsune say?"Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding! Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding! Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!"

@Swagger.1459 said:

@Palador.2170 said:

@Swagger.1459 said:Hate to shoot ya down, but If we are not getting the most iconic race in all of Tyria, ... which are Dwarves... we are not getting humanoid fox creatures.

@"Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497" said:Id rather be a skritt

Meh last time I checked the stone dwarves are a puddle of lava.. "Molten Dwarves"

So basically, "please make the norn the real shapeshifters they're meant to be." Now that would be great and lore-friendly.New playable species, on the other hand, are very unlikely to happen.

If they are just gonna reskin a human model, lets just go with the Largo's... As for Tengu not much problems there, they already use many of the Charr assets, even have animations all ready for many weapons. Even have a known area where the starting city can be.

Will the Kitsune have 9 tails? The game needs a fox race with 9 tails to ride around on our 9 tailed fox mounts.

Wouldn't a kitsune-themed gemstore item (or shrine maiden/nine tailed fox themed elite spec) be the way to go? I could definately go for a nice Miko outfit and fox ears. xD

Please merge with all the other threads about new races. Thanks

kitsune, big chested chars like ahri to please the players? anet! make the pixels a reality!

Why create a whole new race which while possible (there are continents undiscovered in the world of GW2) is kind of pointless when there is already races that would make good playable races in game? Making the Largos or Tengu playable would be so much easier and is already highly sought after by players. They already have lore, they already have models.

I like kitsune, if they were already a playable race you could bet your kitten I would be playing one right now. But they do not have a place in GW2 as it currently stands.

Please, if we were to get a race all about honor it should be Tengu.Charr have been purposedly made so they were not just humans with cat ears/tails. Making just humans with fox ears/tails doesn't seem right for this particular game.(I don't hate that kind of concept, but I don't see it fit here)

Okay, addressing a bunch of things all at once.

• Tails. Just one per customer. Yes, more would fit into the lore, but it might add a burden to the game engine. For the sake of the graphics cards, I didn't suggest adding more.
• Largos. Part of the appeal of the Largos is that they hold their secrets close. Making them a playable race would destroy that.
• Tengu. Yes, I'd LOVE to play Tengu, more than Kitsune. But sharing some assets with charr doesn't mean that it's good, there's still solid complaints about armor on charr. Fitting them into the pre-existing story would also be hard.
• Yes, this is basically a human frame with some details added/changed. You could also say that about the sylvari, though, and ANet showed they can make them more than green humans.
• Bad fan fiction? Then, according to some people on the forums, they'll fit right in with the feel of the story anyway!
• Tengu again. Yes, Tengu are the ones that should be honorable. But if they don't become playable, a second race from the same area having a similar world view would make sense and allow the exploration of the same themes.

Do I think this will ever happen? No. Would it be worth the effort? In my hands, no, but I could have said the same about mounts. This is simply an idea that occured to me the other day, and as I played with it I realized it bypassed a lot of the reasons why they currently don't want to add a new race.

Will they add a new race someday? I think they will. Elite specs and new maps can only go so far before they become "more of the same". To keep the money flowing, sooner or later it'll be time to jump that shark.

Massively OP Summarizes Mike Zadorojny's (April 2018) Comments on New Professions, new Races

We also talked a bit about things that are probably not happening. New professions, for example, have probably been sidelined forever in favor of new elite specializations; they allow the team to change the feel of a given profession without actually forcing you to play a new character along the way. New races, too, are a lot of work for limited rewards, and any sort of console development is also not something the team is focused on.

Obviously, none of this is set in stone; he stressed that the quote to take away is not that new races will never be added. It’s just not the current direction.

Nothing has changed since then.