Hidden Garden tree and suggestion for Mount Maelstrom update.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

I was at the Hidden Garden JP and I was thinking that the tree there might be a uncorrupted blighting tree like the Pale Tree or even a seed offshoot of her planted there by Dierdre well before GW2 started. She seems to be watching out from the tree; almost guarding it.

I said something on another forum and someone mentioned another tree on the map could be one but I looked at the tree the Nightmare Court are under at the Evisomancer's Resort POI and though that could be Nightmare Court twisted tree.

If Mount Maelstrom it would be interesting if that side of the map was dominated by a forest of sylvari producing trees; some uncorrupted and some twisted by the Nightmare Court. It'd be wondrous and nightmarish.

Is there a better name to call them than blighting trees?

[Aru.4156]

*Would also be nice if we had Malyck as an interactable npc/quest npc then.

However wishes aside, that sounds like a really cool idea. But then it would probably take a great amount of map reworking to add all these features, especially for a core Tyria map. We'd hit the issue of "Hey you updated one core map, now how about all the others?" (Definitely not against an overall core update.) And then we would also hit the barrier of lore consistency as Dierdre's been sitting in that garden with that tree this whole time. (How old would she be if she had planted it? Secondborn? Thirdborn? That'd be about 20 years. Maybe the seed mutated or is a species that grows that massive in that short span of time)

On the otherhand, it would probably provide a better explanation for why we have Sylvari scattered/populated in the maps that are across the sea from the Pale Tree/Grove. I personally find it curious how there's so many Sylvari on that side of the ocean aside from the fact that several are there for wildlife protection/wyld hunts in fighting risen Not to mention, the full on groups of Nightmare Court antagonizing everyone on those maps (in addition to Inquest but Inquest are everywhere).

So, cool concept. Very curious about the lore implications it could have if it was reworked that way.

Can't help yah with the name of Blighted Trees though.

Edit: Realized this is probably an impossible concept in core maps as it would screw over the Sylvari personal stories/intros where it's weaved around the fact that the Pale Tree is individual. Malyck himself is groundbreaking in personal lore esp since you would only know him if you chose the 1/3 story that contained him. So it'd be an unlikely thought in a core map. Future Living World maybe? Or a season that permanently changes the core maps like Season 1 with Lion's Arch? Who knows.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

@Aru.4156 said:

Edit: Realized this is probably an impossible concept in core maps as it would screw over the Sylvari personal stories/intros where it's weaved around the fact that the Pale Tree is individual. Malyck himself is groundbreaking in personal lore esp since you would only know him if you chose the 1/3 story that contained him. So it'd be an unlikely thought in a core map. Future Living World maybe? Or a season that permanently changes the core maps like Season 1 with Lion's Arch? Who knows.

There are ways they can change core maps and still keep the personal story unaffected. The most basic way is keep the current map for instances like they did with pre-LWS1 LA. With many maps hosting current events they become a mix of old and new elements. I'd like to see them scrub the risen off many of the open non-Orr/Sparkfly Fen maps in favor of krait. Not that I have any particular love for the krait but they fit as a more generic nemesis in swampy areas.

I suggested a revision to Timberline Falls that I think would be awesome. It would replace the risen with a krait spawning grounds event that would cycle until a meta starts that leads up to the lake where krait would attack settlements around the lake for stuff to build the krait tower and end in the krait witch upgraded to a world boss controlling ley-line energy with intense winds flowing around the krait tower to fling flying mounted players off while allowing gliding attacks w/Bloodstone Fen gliding skills while other players climb the tower to attack. The ley-line stuff I thought of recently.

With Sparkfly Fen they could remove the risen until a meta starts leading to the Tequatl event. They could change the lighting in the affected areas during the meta/boss event to indicate a change in the maps time period. Something like the effect of the Aviator's Memory Box.

[mindcircus.1506]

This idea holds little value to me.Mount Maelstrom is a pretty strong map as far as Core Tyria, there are others that could use some love way before MM.That said I would much rather see a new map than a rehash of an existing one.

[Aru.4156]

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:There are ways they can change core maps and still keep the personal story unaffected. The most basic way is keep the current map for instances like they did with pre-LWS1 LA. With many maps hosting current events they become a mix of old and new elements. I'd like to see them scrub the risen off many of the open non-Orr/Sparkfly Fen maps in favor of krait. Not that I have any particular love for the krait but they fit as a more generic nemesis in swampy areas.

I suggested a revision to Timberline Falls that I think would be awesome. It would replace the risen with a krait spawning grounds event that would cycle until a meta starts that leads up to the lake where krait would attack settlements around the lake for stuff to build the krait tower and end in the krait witch upgraded to a world boss controlling ley-line energy with intense winds flowing around the krait tower to fling flying mounted players off while allowing gliding attacks w/Bloodstone Fen gliding skills while other players climb the tower to attack. The ley-line stuff I thought of recently.

With Sparkfly Fen they could remove the risen until a meta starts leading to the Tequatl event. They could change the lighting in the affected areas during the meta/boss event to indicate a change in the maps time period. Something like the effect of the Aviator's Memory Box.

I must admit those sound like pretty cool changes to the maps.

With the pre-LWS1 Lion's Arch though, it confused me for quite a bit why Lion's arch was so different in the instance when I played it (I joined early this year so newer player here). When I hit level 80, I finally learned of LWS1 and how Lion's Arch was reconstructed. So in terms of instances, while it'd work, I would be disorienting for newer players albeit possible.

[Khisanth.2948]

Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

@Khisanth.2948 said:Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

Not coming from a different tree but starting their own Nightmare tree. Plus the flood of magic with the fall of several elder dragons, a god and bloodstone explosion could account for accelerated magical tree growth.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:

@Khisanth.2948 said:Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

Not coming from a different tree but starting their own Nightmare tree. Plus the flood of magic with the fall of several elder dragons, a god and bloodstone explosion could account for accelerated magical tree growth.

A separate tree does not serve the Nightmare Court's goals

[Tekoneiric.6817]

@Khisanth.2948 said:

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:

@Khisanth.2948 said:Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

Not coming from a different tree but starting their own Nightmare tree. Plus the flood of magic with the fall of several elder dragons, a god and bloodstone explosion could account for accelerated magical tree growth.

A separate tree does not serve the Nightmare Court's goals

It does if they want to have new sylvari. Recruiting from existing sylvari has to be difficult.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:I was at the Hidden Garden JP and I was thinking that the tree there might be a uncorrupted blighting tree like the Pale Tree or even a seed offshoot of her planted there by Dierdre well before GW2 started. She seems to be watching out from the tree; almost guarding it.

It isn't. That garden is actually a druid-made sanctuary, as explained by the druids in Draconis Mons during the Warfarer's Hedge "quest". They created many gardens, hidden away, such as the one in Draconis Mons (one of the larger ones) but as time goes on more of the hidden gardens are unveiled and found. It's implied that the one in Mount Maelstrom belonged to Liriodendron. Despite the area being named after the sylvari Dierdre, it seems she merely found the place, not made it.

The sylvari are not capable of creating Pale Trees, either. Though they are capable of enhancing trees, such as the Terebinth and the Nightmare Tree.

Is there a better name to call them than blighting trees?Blighting Trees specifically refers to trees (seemingly Stonewood) that were corrupted by Mordremoth. There is no term for purified blighting trees like Malyck's Tree and the Pale Tree (and, I suspect, the Tower of Nightmares too), nor is there a term for plants altered by but not corrupted sylvari magic (they're not the same as blighting trees though, since they cannot produce mordrem or sylvari).

@Aru.4156 said:On the otherhand, it would probably provide a better explanation for why we have Sylvari scattered/populated in the maps that are across the sea from the Pale Tree/Grove. I personally find it curious how there's so many Sylvari on that side of the ocean aside from the fact that several are there for wildlife protection/wyld hunts in fighting risen Not to mention, the full on groups of Nightmare Court antagonizing everyone on those maps (in addition to Inquest but Inquest are everywhere).

We... already know why they're there. It's explained in the very story of the maps.

Nightmare Courtiers there are a splinter faction that are working with the Inquest at Crucible of Eternity. The rest are valiants who have been called either to combat the risen forces, or against the Inquest either directly or indirectly (cleaning up their polution).

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:

@"Khisanth.2948" said:Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

Not coming from a different tree but starting their own Nightmare tree. Plus the flood of magic with the fall of several elder dragons, a god and bloodstone explosion could account for accelerated magical tree growth.

The Nightmare Court trying to make their own nightmare-enduced Pale Tree more like something to do with a new map tbh, giventhat ArenaNet is settled into the whole "maps are stuck in time" mentality. Something Season 5 certainly could do, mind you, especially with the Mordremoth revelation. But not something that should be a retcon to old maps that already have lore established.

[draxynnic.3719]

@Khisanth.2948 said:

@Tekoneiric.6817 said:

@Khisanth.2948 said:Pale Tree was over 200 years old before the sylvari appeared. Any tree planted by a sylvari would be no more than 30 years old. Mount Maelstrom is in the wrong direction for Malyck. All the members of Nightmare Court are also from the Pale Tree. Making them come from a different tree would undermine their cause.

Not coming from a different tree but starting their own Nightmare tree. Plus the flood of magic with the fall of several elder dragons, a god and bloodstone explosion could account for accelerated magical tree growth.

A separate tree does not serve the Nightmare Court's goals

According to the Malyck storyline, it does (although arguably it depends on the faction).

The reason why Malyck's origin was kept a secret was that when all the sylvari come from the Pale Tree, the Nightmare Court won't do anything to hurt her directly because by doing so, they'd also be condemning their race to a slow extinction. If there's another Tree, however, this opens up the option of the Nightmare Court achieving its goals by turning the other Tree to the Nightmare, and then destroying the Pale Tree, removing the influence of Ventari's tablet from newborn sylvari altogether.

[MithranArkanere.8957]

Not all giant trees have to be magical entities like that.

Echovald Forest is, or at least was, full of trees that could dwarf even the pale tree.

[draxynnic.3719]

Well, to be fair, we know that the Echovald Forest contained magical trees even after the Jade Wind. But yeah, a tree doesn't need to be magical to be large.

I think it is fair to observe that the Hidden Garden region, including the tree, is magical. However, it's very strongly hinted in S3E5 that this is because it's an abandoned druid grove.

[Zola.6197]

Would love more stuff with Dierdre’s tree. Such a cool little place. Maybe they could do a side story like Caladbolg regrown?