I am not the Commander and I don't want to be

[Aridon.8362]

I'm sick and tired of being called Commander. It's not a title I'm find of, I don't command anything nor issue orders. I'm an adventurer and hero. I don't see why we need the player to be the Commander personally I wouldn't mind it if it was an actual defined npc, doesn't have to be any specific race honestly.

The way I see it, I prefer to look at my character as an adventurer and nothing more. A hero in the pool of many others. I sincerely hope they stop pushing harder effort into making everyone that level of important in the next expansion. I would absolutely love it if the Commander seriously kicks the bucket. The concept itself just doesn't fit well, and it feels like it's could be putting more stress on ANET as a whole. It should just be heroes of Tyria not Hero of Everything.

[Blocki.4931]

It's just a title so that NPCs have something to address us with. It doesn't bear any meaning beyond that really. What else should they say? Make every instance of (voiced) dialogue awkward by intentionally avoiding referring to us?

[thepenmonster.3621]

This is why I always rename Link "Zelda"

[Teratus.2859]

We are not the Commander anymore but many in Tyria recognize us by the title.

This is because of the personal story where we were the second in command, Commander of the Pact.When we give up that position others continued to call us Commander out of respect and habit, that's all.

Not all characters refer to us as Commander though, Aurine refers to us as Champion instead and occasionally our order Rank is used by members of our chosen order.

I wouldn't mind Canthans refering to us differently in the next expansion.Would be kinda cool for enemies too call us interloper! while friendlies call us the usual Commander.

[Teratus.2859]

@"thepenmonster.3621" said:This is why I always rename Link "Zelda"

What blasphemy is this!!?

[Aridon.8362]

@"Teratus.2859" said:We are not the Commander anymore but many in Tyria recognize us by the title.

This is because of the personal story where we were the second in command, Commander of the Pact.When we give up that position others continued to call us Commander out of respect and habit, that's all.

Not all characters refer to us as Commander though, Aurine refers to us as Champion instead and occasionally our order Rank is used by members of our chosen order.

I wouldn't mind Canthans refering to us differently in the next expansion.Would be kinda cool for enemies too call us interloper! while friendlies call us the usual Commander.

Well what I mean is, the Commander is way too important right now, and is more of a political figure and super hero. Too unstoppable, and I feel the new characters are an excellent approach towards a better direction into the commander's downfall. Someone has to put the Commander in check, and make the Commander realize that nobody's invincible. I feel that Jormag is capable of doing this perfectly, seeing that Mordremoth and Zhaitan barely put up a fight against the Commander, and To kill Kralkatorrik a little dragon was used, something has to be there to say "I'm better than the Commander".

[Teratus.2859]

@Aridon.8362 said:

@"Teratus.2859" said:We are not the Commander anymore but many in Tyria recognize us by the title.

This is because of the personal story where we were the second in command, Commander of the Pact.When we give up that position others continued to call us Commander out of respect and habit, that's all.

Not all characters refer to us as Commander though, Aurine refers to us as Champion instead and occasionally our order Rank is used by members of our chosen order.

I wouldn't mind Canthans refering to us differently in the next expansion.Would be kinda cool for enemies too call us interloper! while friendlies call us the usual Commander.

Well what I mean is, the Commander is way too important right now, and is more of a political figure and super hero. Too unstoppable, and I feel the new characters are an excellent approach towards a better direction into the commander's downfall. Someone has to put the Commander in check, and make the Commander realize that nobody's invincible. I feel that Jormag is capable of doing this perfectly, seeing that Mordremoth and Zhaitan barely put up a fight against the Commander, and To kill Kralkatorrik a little dragon was used, something has to be there to say "I'm better than the Commander".

That's exactly what Bangar is trying to do and tbh I am also enjoying this saga plotline so far ^^Looking forward to seeing how it ends and whether or not Bangar will end up corrupted or killed before he can be.

[kasoki.5180]

I actually love the concept behind The Commander and like it when NPCs refer to me that way. I personally don't prefer "the unknown here who somehow defeated every known danger in the world yet is completely irrelevant" narratives that some games have.

Also, Elonians refered to us mostly as "the Outlander". It is quite possible that Canthans will have another title for us

[bluecheeseplate.2753]

@"kasoki.5180" said:I actually love the concept behind The Commander and like it when NPCs refer to me that way. I personally don't prefer "the unknown here who somehow defeated every known danger in the world yet is completely irrelevant" narratives that some games have.

Also, Elonians refered to us mostly as "the Outlander". It is quite possible that Canthans will have another title for us

This is my issue with most MMOs I've played. Apparently I can defeat gods, quest for thousands of people and literally save the world four times, but people don't even acknowledge my existence. There's a massive disconnect there that doesn't sit well with me lore-wise, like I'm investing all this time for nothing. GW2 and BnS are the only two MMOs I've played that subverts this, and GW2 does a far better job of it. As the Commander, I actually feel like I'm not just along for the ride- my character's actions has an impact on the story, and are remembered for once.

Scrolling way back to the Canthans though, I can see our new title being somewhat derogatory or insinuative from distrust. That'll be a nice change from the current praise or indifference (at worst) associated with us at the moment.

[Dustfinger.9510]

I don't mind "Commander" so much becasue we get constant reminders that everything we do is a group effort. So it keeps from creating the impression that we are a solo god amongst mere mortals.

[TheOrlyFactor.8341]

I eventually broke down and just made a Pact Commander character because a lot of the things the Commander has done are things my character(s) wouldn't do. I only use my Pact Commander character to get through the story and any Living World/story achievements before going back to my own characters.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

@"Aridon.8362" said:I'm sick and tired of being called Commander. It's not a title I'm find of, I don't command anything nor issue orders. I'm an adventurer and hero. I don't see why we need the player to be the Commander personally I wouldn't mind it if it was an actual defined npc, doesn't have to be any specific race honestly.

The way I see it, I prefer to look at my character as an adventurer and nothing more. A hero in the pool of many others. I sincerely hope they stop pushing harder effort into making everyone that level of important in the next expansion. I would absolutely love it if the Commander seriously kicks the bucket. The concept itself just doesn't fit well, and it feels like it's could be putting more stress on ANET as a whole. It should just be heroes of Tyria not Hero of Everything.

ANet needs a term to refer to the PC. And players hated when the biconics (now Dragon's Watch) just called our PC "boss". Commander is the universal term given to the PC by the events of the personal story, even though they are no longer a military figure.

It should be noted that there isn't just one Pact Commander. There are several, and some are named in Season 2. The PC was just simply the first Pact Commander, and the most accomplished one. NPCs continue to call them Commander because 1) it's a universal term for all PCs regardless of personal story actions, and 2) it's a title for life, even if they're not the one and only Pact Commander.

In the personal story, the PC didcommand and issue orders, as they did in HoT. They hadn't since because they instead became a guild leader in Season 3. But as I said, and as Almorra says in S3 when the PC retires from the Pact: military titles are for life.

@Teratus.2859 said:We are not the Commander anymore but many in Tyria recognize us by the title.

This is because of the personal story where we were the second in command, Commander of the Pact.When we give up that position others continued to call us Commander out of respect and habit, that's all.

Military titles are for life, which is why we're still being called such post-Season 3. It's not really about habit or respect - it's their proper, official title. For life.

[thepenmonster.3621]

If I had my way I'd probably go with Taimi's suggestion and use "Pooh-bah"

@Teratus.2859 said:

@"thepenmonster.3621" said:This is why I always rename Link "Zelda"

What blasphemy is this!!?

Like all blasphemy: The best kind.

[Diak Atoli.2085]

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@Teratus.2859 said:We are not the Commander anymore but many in Tyria recognize us by the title.

This is because of the personal story where we were the second in command, Commander of the Pact.When we give up that position others continued to call us Commander out of respect and habit, that's all.

Military titles are for life, which is why we're still being called such post-Season 3. It's not really about habit or respect - it's their proper, official title. For life.

The reasoning is not mutually exclusive, though. It can be out of habit and respect that you refer to someone by their official title, retired title, etc.

[cherrycola.3127]

Yeah, I'm still sad the community complained so much and got Dragon's Watch to stop calling us "boss". I liked that much better, it made them sound like they actually feel like they're friends with the commander and are gently teasing them. Having them all call us "Commander" is weirdly formal and creates such uncomfortable distance.

[Aridon.8362]

@"cherrycola.3127" said:Yeah, I'm still sad the community complained so much and got Dragon's Watch to stop calling us "boss". I liked that much better, it made them sound like they actually feel like they're friends with the commander and are gently teasing them. Having them all call us "Commander" is weirdly formal and creates such uncomfortable distance.

wait people complained about this?

[anninke.7469]

@Aridon.8362 said:

@"cherrycola.3127" said:Yeah, I'm still sad the community complained so much and got Dragon's Watch to stop calling us "boss". I liked that much better, it made them sound like they actually feel like they're friends with the commander and are gently teasing them. Having them all call us "Commander" is weirdly formal and creates such uncomfortable distance.

wait people complained about this?

Or course they did. People complain about pretty much anything. Every time some NPC dies, doesn't die, makes decisions, let's the PC decide, helps the PC, doesn't help the PC, calls the PC one way or another, recognizes the PC for their deeds or doesn't, is meant to be funny/serious/whatever, has character progress or stays more or less the same... There's bound to be someone complaining about it. Or actually any single thing ever done in the game, it would seem.

[Kulvar.1239]

Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

[Dustfinger.9510]

@Kulvar.1239 said:Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

Im okay with this. It tells us we are pretty high up, just not the highest up. It feels like a good balance. I'd rather not be a god amongst mortals and I understand people want to feel important in the story. This seems like a good balance. When we are always the top-most dog, we run into problems later on about why we didn't just easily slay the next big bad after having done it multiple times before. Then the writers have to keep making the next big bad exponentially bigger and badder than the last until it gets ridiculous.

edit: (I know from your post that being the toppest dog is not what you're asking for. I'm like you, I'd rather be as small as possible becasue it makes the world as big as possible. but, a lot of people like to feel like they are important in their stories.)

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

We've been called alot of things over the years, and during LS1-2 we were even just called "Boss".

@Aridon.8362 said:

@"cherrycola.3127" said:Yeah, I'm still sad the community complained so much and got Dragon's Watch to stop calling us "boss". I liked that much better, it made them sound like they actually feel like they're friends with the commander and are gently teasing them. Having them all call us "Commander" is weirdly formal and creates such uncomfortable distance.

wait people complained about this?

There was a long dry period for a few years during LS1 & 2, where story deviated from the Dragons, our Pact Commander role, etc. And there was massive backlash, with people just wanting it to return back to the main storyline, and it eventually did, with ArenaNet modifying the Scarlet storyline to lead into Modremoth, and for our group of friends to effectively become Destiny's Edge 2.0.

Many people won't be familiar with this because they can only play the game that resulted after the changes. In fact "Dragon's Watch" didn't even know who we were or that we were part of the Pact, just some adventurer saving the day with them.

It was one of those things that you either loved or hated.

[Dayra.7405]

I think it's nice that we refused to be pact marschall. I think nowadays this "commander" is only a historic reference to the time where Traherne made us his special-force and deputy and gave us the title commander. And of course during HoT, we succesfully commanded the survivers of the pact-fleet to defeat Mordremor. So being called "commander" is just a nickname we got cought in.

Last but not least, all these NPC's have problems pronouncing our name(s) correctly, so they prefer an easy pronouncable nickname :#

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

@Dustfinger.9510 said:

@"Kulvar.1239" said:Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

Im okay with this. It tells us we are pretty high up, just not the highest up. It feels like a good balance.

that's literally the current situation. The Pact Commander isn't the highest - they're below the Marshal, and on par to dozens of others in ranking. And as of Season 3, it's a title and nothing more, we're not even in the military hierarchy anymore. We aren't the "topest dog" who is practically a god among mere mortals. All of the Commander's deeds are done through teamwork, either with other heroes or with a freakin' dragon.

[Kulvar.1239]

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@Dustfinger.9510 said:

@"Kulvar.1239" said:Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

Im okay with this. It tells us we are pretty high up, just not the highest up. It feels like a good balance.

that's literally the current situation. The Pact Commander isn't the highest - they're below the Marshal, and on par to dozens of others in ranking. And as of Season 3, it's a title and nothing more, we're not even

in

the military hierarchy anymore. We

aren't

the "topest dog" who is practically a god among mere mortals. All of the Commander's deeds are done through teamwork, either with other heroes or with a freakin' dragon.

All except when we 1v1 Balthazar :(I would have preferred for him to have been injured a bit by Kralkatorrik before our arrival to justify our win.

[Gorgaan Peaudesang.8324]

@Kulvar.1239 said:

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@Dustfinger.9510 said:

@Kulvar.1239 said:Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

Im okay with this. It tells us we are pretty high up, just not the highest up. It feels like a good balance.

that's literally the current situation. The Pact Commander isn't the highest - they're below the Marshal, and on par to dozens of others in ranking. And as of Season 3, it's a title and nothing more, we're not even

in

the military hierarchy anymore. We

aren't

the "topest dog" who is practically a god among mere mortals. All of the Commander's deeds are done through teamwork, either with other heroes or with a freakin' dragon.

All except when we 1v1 Balthazar :(I would have preferred for him to have been injured a bit by Kralkatorrik before our arrival to justify our win.I don't think we would’ve finish him without Aurene.

[Kulvar.1239]

@Gorgaan Peaudesang.8324 said:

@Kulvar.1239 said:

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@Dustfinger.9510 said:

@Kulvar.1239 said:Because ArenaNet can't make the story branches in different directions based on our decisions, I would prefer for the commander to be a NPC that we follow as his crew. It always feel weird to be both told we're in charge when we mostly follow what other NPC tell us to do.

Im okay with this. It tells us we are pretty high up, just not the highest up. It feels like a good balance.

that's literally the current situation. The Pact Commander isn't the highest - they're below the Marshal, and on par to dozens of others in ranking. And as of Season 3, it's a title and nothing more, we're not even

in

the military hierarchy anymore. We

aren't

the "topest dog" who is practically a god among mere mortals. All of the Commander's deeds are done through teamwork, either with other heroes or with a freakin' dragon.

All except when we 1v1 Balthazar :(I would have preferred for him to have been injured a bit by Kralkatorrik before our arrival to justify our win.I don't think we would’ve finish him without Aurene.

It's true that Aurene get a role in the fight end. I can hardly consider it relevant because she's not doing much. She's either chained, wandering, or enhancing our special button attack. She's entirely passive in the fight. I would consider her help if she also actually did something on her own and we would have to exploit the given opportunity. Having both her reacting and us reacting to her.