[Mild LWS4 Spoilers] Old LA and Kralkatorrik's new abilities

[Fundor.2098]

With Kralkatorrik's new abilities we would technically have a loreproof way for Lion's Arch to time shift into it's original GW2 state.Would you like to see old Lion's Arch return in this, or any other way?

[Fundor.2098]

I'd like to see old LA return as an access pass hub, mostly because it can still be explained through lore reasons and making it a gemstore item would also make adding it to the game worth the effort for Arenanet, whilst the current Lion's Arch would still be there.

I really miss the spirit and complexity of the old version of Lion's Arch and would love to explore it again (especially with mounts!). To my taste the current one has way too much open space to feel like a city, even if it does have it's great highlights, like the Field of the Fallen and Fort Marriner. :)

[Chyanne Waters.8719]

The new lore in GW2 for lions arch makes sense too. Lions arch has been destroyed not once but twice. First by the Karka then by Scarlet's friends. Since LA is a gateway to other lands they rebuilt it to what it is today. Thing is they did not rebuild it the next day like most or even all MMO's would have done it took time. Anet set up construction zones to give the illusion that it was being rebuilt. So Lions Arch should be left as is now

[Ayrilana.1396]

Just make it as a guild hall. Most of the assets already exist through the personal story.

[Donari.5237]

I'm conflicted. Current LA feels way too much like a barren theme park, at least in the main area. But old LA had its own problems. The biggest for me was that it was representing a port town of 40K people but felt like a small lakeside resort. I understand that MMO terrain has to represent huge places with small samples, but if DR can feel like a plausible city, I'd like LA to feel that way too.

I miss old LA for the RP my guild set there. In fact in many ways it feels like the death of LA was the death of our guild, since so many drifted away soon afterwards. Many characters never saw each other again -- so yes, I do have some rose-tinted views of old LA. Even so, I know it wasn't as amazing as memory paints it. Plus it's one of the few places where story events have affected the open world. I understand the issues with be-there-or-miss-it content, and agree that ANet made the right call in going to persistent content. Yet it removes the impact of world changing events when the world doesn't change a hair.

I guess I'd like, or at least not object to, an old LA instance becoming accessible in some fashion. Guild hall sounds neat but then it wouldn't have all the npcs that made the city live. Or stagnate, as the woman at the inn liked to say since "Nothing ever happens in the suburbs." Then again would any instance have the old npcs? Most of them are canonically dead, would they have to be sepia toned ghosts like in the Orr segment of Jahai? What form of old LA's return would satisfy all the rose-tinted memories swirling through the players?

[killermanjaro.5670]

I did quite like the old Lions Arch, and I really, really don't like the current one, but I don't think I'd actually want Lions Arch to revert back to its old form fully/permanently via an event/story. I think a VIP pass to the old version could maybe be a way of doing it, but you'd have to wonder if it would really 'feel' the same as old LA doing it that way, with players split between the current and old versions, I have a feeling it would somehow end up feeling a bit empty and not like a main city if it came back as a VIP pass. I think if old LA could come back for a temporary period (say a month or so) through an in game event, say some current event involving a rift thing which somehow shifts it back, then I'd rather that.

Alternatively what I'd much rather prefer is for current LA to gradually get updated and redesigned bit by bit, just in the same way normal cities evolve. Of course I don't imagine anything like that will happen due to time and resources involved, something like this would be a luxury and not a priority.

[b k.1648]

I'm not keen on parts of LA, mainly the trading hub. But I don't care for the old one either.

I'd prefer to have the built-up areas around the Commodore's Quarter and the north shore of the bridge extended around the main plaza so it feels more like a city. Ditch the shellfish and give it more of an Aegean vibe.

[Edit: Actually, the city of Kodash would have been fantastic... if Kralkatorrik hadn't sneezed purple all over it.]

[ChronoPinoyX.7923]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Just make it as a guild hall. Most of the assets already exist through the personal story.

This is the best compromise for this scenario. Reverting to old Lion's Arch via story wouldn't really have any impact on the game's narrative direction aside from nostalgia factor (and minimal one at that). I think just getting a new GH out of it would be better suited for it. There's already a huge chunk of blank space deadset in the middle of Kryta that goes unused in the map, they can try working it in there in terms of location.

[Danikat.8537]

I think if old LA came back, especially as a functional city, a lot of people would be disappointed. I know the new one has it's problems too and there are things I miss about the old one (like the original Troll's End, the canals running between areas and the tunnels under the city) but in functional terms they're pretty equal (especially looking at the distance between the bank and the Trading Post), although the new one is much less likely to look over crowded if there's lots of people in the main areas.

Change the floor pattern to look like bricks instead of grey concrete and maybe add a bit more decoration to the open area around the bank and the new LA would be better than the old one IMO.

[Drecien.4508]

Pretty sure they said the new one was on top of the old one and it couldn't be done.

[Maryth.9372]

I chose that I'd like it to return in some other way. Specifically, I'd like to have a flashback opportunity to replay Season one for achievement points that I did not capture because I wasn't aware of them back then. I you can play back any other story to work on those achievements except for the first one and my understanding is the reason we can't is because of the LA changes.

[Odinius.9826]

Concept for one time (2-3 month long bridge between last LW episode and the new expansion) event introducing new things before the actual expansion.

Tyria's World Fair Extraordinaire

Lions arch is transformed into the fairgrounds where the core five races and some of the other already met sentient races (quaggan, tengu, kodan, largos and skritt etc.) show off their new inventions and other stuff.Lot's to do and see:Stalls and exhibitions litter LA from new weird machines to household golems to exotic animals, archeologist finds, and occult curiosa.The Grand Piazza is removed and huge exhibitions with tarps covering them are on display and will be revealed during the event.Strange stalls and carts containing rare items from over the world, there are even rumors that there will be a Canthan delegation attending the fair.Musicians, acrobats and even a firebreather entertain the crowds, while they drink cocktails and eat exotic hors d'ouvres.A theatre with over 30 sittable seats plays out three historical acts, maybe we should see them all.Lanterns light up the walkways between the stalls, all those colors makes this a feast for the eyes.Fireworks light up the sky once a night, a spectacle that you have to see!

Different exhibitions open up during the course of the event and there will be a buildoff for the 5 core races.

The main idea of this event is to transform the Grand Piazza in LA into something else and with a reveal of a new Lion statue on the finale (plus introduce new items for free and gemstore with the underwater mount as an opening for the underwater expansion)

The five races will each have three teams of their best inventors/artists to make/show different things during the event.

[it says home instance but player housing would be way better if ever available]

Human:Watchwork Griffon (plus 2 others watchwork mounts)Human chair noveltyStatue for home instance or guildhall

Asura:Golem Raptor (plus 2 others golem mounts)Asuran chair noveltyAsuran lab items for home instance or guildhall

Sylvari:Plant Jackal (plus 2 others plant mounts)Sylvari chair noveltyPlants for home instance or guildhall

Charr:Charr car inspired rollerbeetle (plus 2 others charr mounts)Charr chair noveltyCharr bloodwhiskey setup for home instance or guildhall

Norn:Totem Springer (plus 2 others totem mounts)Norn chair noveltyTotempole for home instance or guildhall

Bonus Skritt with a wildcard:Shiny Skimmer (more on this in a bit)

For playing the event you can unlock all the first named mounts, the others can be obtained later on via the “World Fair Mount Adoption Licence” in the gemstore.There will be some sort of presentation per race where they show off all 3 mounts made (3 watchwork ones for humans) and one will be chosen winner by the LA counsil.This can be fixed but also player input could be fun.

Players can get 1 chair voucher during the event and 4 more can be bought in the gemstore.

Players can buy the recipe's or items for home instance/guildhall with ingame currency.More stuff will be available at the gemstore, stalls and through collections, novelties, weapons, inventor's glasses, minipets, wigs, 1900's style clothing outfits, tonics and lot's and lot's more.

We help out the different races with requests and collection to help them win during this event.

Most notable will be the Skritt which we will help building a shiny skimmer.This is a project doomed to fail, we help them gather stuff and recruit skritt to help them build it.Skritt are disorganised and always want more stuff! Leading the skimmer to be much to heavy to even hover.The design is also off so we can't even sit on it.Heavily armored and weaponised this overpriced piece of tech seems useless.And the skritt are the ultimate losers of the fair and will be the laughing stock for a while.Until we discover the true potential of the apparatus.Under water the skimmer is very well balanced and steers great, it's like flying through water, the asura move in to make some tweaks and the Skritt are heralded for accidentally making this fine weapon for the coming expansion for the underwater dragon.

The event comes to a close with the reveal of a new lion statue with an ever expanding market around it containing stalls from current events, living world and expansions, growing as we progress further into the story.

[Odinius.9826]

Also this, from a while back:IMO the lion statue should replace the event plaza.Surrounding the statue they could place an expanding market with stalls from Living World, expansions, current events and festivals, adding stalls to the market as the story progresses.They could sell: recipies, toys, tonics, books, skins etc. (Maybe even stuff for the hopefully upcoming housing system.(one can dream))

[Zaklex.6308]

Don't care, I don't spend any significant amount of time there so it's fine in it's present form...the new arisen from the ashes of the old.

[Zinerith.5203]

I honestly think that the Battle of the Breachmaker should return as a Fractal, since that's such an integral part of the whole Living Story 2. I also think that a fractal for the Orr attacks in the GW2 books would be great.

However, I also think that it would be great for there to be a historian in LA that you can talk to in order to visit an instance of Old Lion's Arch, reusing the assets in the Personal Story instances of LA but with no invisible limits outside of leaving old LA.

[hugo.4705]

Yeah maybe marionette fight as a fractal. Even only a fractal with scarlet prime hologram on the breachmaker would make me suprah dupah happy and satisfied. Dropping why not some tripart key bags?