[Potential new playable races' cities]

Yeah, a new race's looks are cool to think about and all, but have you thought about their CITIES? 
Imo cities are big factor contributing to a race's coolness - a way to show off their culture, their way of life. And while there was plenty a talk about the looks and mechanics of a race, I want you to share your ideas for their cities and/or starting zones, and which race you would be most excided about just based on that. 
That being said, I know a new race is unrealistic. But some fun fantasising can't hurt! 

I think skritt or kodan would definitely take the cake, both races proving that they can build monumental structures. I wouldn't mind a kodan city, actually floating and moving somewhere in the northern waters, perhaps spread over a couple of sanctuaries instead of one. Maybe they would carry with them/be connected to a big quaggan city/district as well. Kodan architecture is super distinct already, and they seem to have a lot of thing going on the technological side, so it would tick off their city having a unique feel. Perhaps their starting zone could either be a landing OR yet another (very problem-ridden) sanctuary. 

When it comes to skritt, a full-blown capital (official-er than Skrittsburgh) could show off their own style and tech -  besides the amalgom of stolen stuff. If more skritt = more smart, I can imagine them defying all expectations and forming some stunning artworks and efficient tech. Now, would it be used for anything else then hoarding and managing shinies? Perhaps not.
I, for one, would look forward to entire districts of proper shinies museums with walls of gold. 

[(Spoilers inside) Suspicious issues with Lyssa]

This may not be much, but this is what one finds in description of Vision: 
 

Quote

They killed him. Balthazar. If Lyssa ever learns of this...I don't know what she'd do—what any of them would do. They still claim benevolence, but let's hope they weren't watching too closely.

Now, I don't know how credible a description of a legendary trinket is, but this, again, emphasises Lyssa's relation to Balthazar. And that the gods probably don't know of his death.
If Lyssa, either alone or with the other gods, comes seeking vengence on us, I think it would make for a neat story and an excuse to see them again and see some development.

While she is known for her love for mortals, I don't know how she would react to this. I believe that giving ye ol' Balth the mirror was her wanting him to succeed at his plans, or at least live under an illusion of his (or her???) choice. I imagine getting the news about him dead would be at least annoying (provided she gets the news in... wherever she is now). 

[What Do You Think Dragon Jade will entail]

Seeing this Jade-ish technology in trailers (with a power plant of sorts?) I would imagine it's an energy source plain and simple, so this could directly tie into our skills or give us new ones. Double jumps, maybe? Walking on water? Oh that would be cool. Surfing on foot. Or maybe a skill that allows you to freeze time? See-through-walls jade sight(tm)? Build-a-Jade where you can make your own op companion? 

I am making stuff up, but frankly, this will probably be expansion-specific stuff instead. HoT and PoF each had threir "universal" masteries that worked in all maps, gliders and mounts respectively. I assume EoD's univeral would be the skiffs (and fishing), and that's it. Rest would be focused on expanding EoD's maps' functionality. Though so far, they have surprised me, so maybe they will surprise me again.  

[Underwater Gear Poll]

Almost all my characters have decent exotic underwater gear, for the sake of peace of mind. Getting yoinked into water in Ember Bay with lvl 10 spear that one time still gives me the creeps. So for the sake of survivality, exotic lvl 80. Random runes, random sigils. 
Even then, and even after the skill overhaul, I avoid water like the plague. Mix of everything dying like flies and me dying like a fly. 

Props on the last question. I intend to do absolutely nothing with this awareness :^) 


Edit: Asked a friend for their thoughts on the matter: 
"My underwater gear is the last thing I ever change, if I ever do"

"I have exotic if I ever remember to actually buy something"
"the whole game is 'water is lava' "

[Lyssa in real life]

As mentioned above, Balthazar is a name with a long history, and I mostly connect it to the wizard king visiting Jesus. 
Other than that, I know Abaddon is a biblical angel, surprisingly (admittedly one of destruction); Read here. 

 

 

[[Suggestion] Vertical mount races]

@"Eekasqueak.7850" said:Skyscale breaking it is the only worry I'd have.

Same. That's why I thought it would be perhaps best to have it in some sort of mini-instance (like Sanctum Sprint), where there are limitations on mount choice. Unless the "no mounts" debuff in open world near jumping puzzles could be tweaked to only allow springers.

@Vavume.8065 said:They could re invent the springer a bit by adding a floor break through mechanic on landing, like the roller beetle has to break through walls, except springer could break through floors, ofc Anet has to add some breakable floors, but that could be a thing.

Please, this! I would want it to be the only way to access certain areas, but this could sadly keep some players out. But if it were for meaningful shortcuts and some secrets, it could be cool!

[[Suggestion] Vertical mount races]

I loved the implementation of more vertical movement with PoF, but springer has become slightly obsolete (at least with a full mount roster). An idea that came to me in half-sleep was races that focus on springer specifically, where the main movement would be directly up (up a big wall, buildings, mountains or floating islands), where precision of jumping would be the key. If the springer charge were slightly sped up in such a place/event, I imagine it would have potential for a lot of fun and hopefully challenge, especially if the platforms were small and/or moving in some way.I'd love to hear what you guys think.

[More (human) gods? [Spoilers LW S3+PoF]]

@"Teratus.2859" said:

I don't think humans are any more sensitive to magic than any other race.If a human can become a God then I would expect that it's possible for other races to do the same if they had the same blessing Kormir did.

This is the sort of mechanic I wanted to know about. But if it can only be bestowed, now with the gods gone, I can't imagine we'd receive it. But this is also a chicken and the egg scenario. Who was the first to achieve godly power? If it could only be bestowed by another god, then how did they became a god? Etc. That's why I lean slightly to the natural argument of one simply being able to accumulate this sort of energy throughout one's life.

In theory, if we had that same blessing Kormir did we could have potentially done the same thing when we killed Balthazar and become Gods ourselves.This obviously didn't happen though and his power largely got absorbed by Aruine and Kralkatorrik.. I am curious if we'll still see something come out of this in future.It would be great to be a god, but imagine the headlines. "God Commander commanding an Elder Dragon", "The Divine and the Dragon, aka the World's End". I also don't imagine our friends would be very much into it.

I have toyed with an idea of Rytlock eventually becoming the new God of War as it would fit well with the whole Revenant Mists link, not to mention he carries Sohothin which was originally one of Balthazars personal Swords (Yep old Balthy had a duel Swords build before jumping on the Greatsword meta XD)Likewise Logan could also be a candidate if the Magdaer storyline every actually gets a payoff in Gw2.Now pray that these two won't ever have disagreements again...

[More (human) gods? [Spoilers LW S3+PoF]]

Thanks for the answers!

@"Stephen.6312" said:

It's possible that the gods are a separate race. We tend to think of those that have ascended to become gods, such as Grenth and Kormir, as they were: human. But their incarnate form, once they ascend, may simply be a way for them to maintain a positive, personal relationship with whatever host race they inhabit or feed on.

So basically they become untouchable politicians? Oh, my favourite kind.

Please see my former answer. I'm not sure why you're downplaying the process of Ascension in Elona. The failure to ascend, in my opinion, is at the core of a deeper mystery within the Guild Wars franchise.

And this is interesting. I am not very familiar with the details of the original Guild Wars, part of the reason why I'm posting here, to find answers. From what I gathered, the mechanical aspects of Ascension made you more powerful, but the goal was never to become as a god, nor to be considered one of them. That seems more like a false hope an "ascendee" would have, or something it was... advertised as. I would imagine many people involved had improbably high expectations towards the outcome. Whether that's true or not, that's not the point. I was focusing on Kormir's case, because there you had a direct, visible source of godly magic, that a proper, visible outcome, and that counts more as a good example in my book, not a religious movement which tried to ascend through more, shall we say, artificial means, with no "officially godly" result to speak of.

We don't really know how Balthazar fared prior to his return to Tyria. To compare his last outing in Path of Fire, with his previous exploits, seems like a stretch too far. There is no way of knowing if he was more diplomatic or more aggressive when he first took humanoid form on Tyria.

Not what I was going towards. The sole fact that he disguised himself as Lazarus and patiently plotted to get to the Bloodstone before revealing himself, that is playing defensively - that's my focus. Hiding himself behind the illusion made me think he didn't have the full extent of his powers, and that was true. So, how much magic could one have, and still be considered a god? It's the situation of an empty battery; you might have barely an power left, but still be fully able to take in power easily, if given to you. And that's just helps to illustrate the point of gods being either evolved humans or a separate species entirely, that's the idea of body that's easier to house magic in:

Your suggestion that the gods may be a separate race helps us to understand why everyone else went crazy when the Bloodstone exploded. Balthazar, as a member of the gods' race, is capable of metabolizing magic in a way that lesser beings, even magically-adept humans, cannot.

:-)

@draxynnic.3719 said:

@"Stephen.6312" said:It's certainly a common opinion in this forum. Do you have any references to help us ascertain whether humans are natives or immigrants?

The strongest ingame off the top of my head is the

Orrian History Scrolls

. I think it's been said more blatently in some out-of-game sources, but they're often hard (and in some cases impossible) to track down these days.

Also my main supporting source for the immigration story.

So, having a background from the Mists, and direct connection to their deities, it stands to reason that humans are likely to ascend if given the chance.But then, what stands in the way of another race to also transcend into the god "species"? Let's say an asura wanted to become a god, and lead his krewe through the Mists into another world, to investigate the psychological effects of immigration into a different dimension (would make a great research paper). It's probably only a matter of time until that happens. If there are physical limitations of a body, and they would HAVE to become humans, then the Inquest is already on it, probably. There is probably no limit that ambition won't break.So if there is a race that will achieve godhood, even if it were to fail many times, it would probably be asura.

Now, I only wonder what is the point at all in becoming a god. It was mentioned that gods may "feed off" their connected race, but then it would make no sense for the gods to leave this world, unless they had a specific intention of finding or making a new race with which to be dependent on. Still, I don't believe in the similarities between them and dragons. As far as I imagine, the gods don't have a life purpose (aside from playing their part in the Shakespearian play), and have a free will. With the exception of the rouge gods, they all seem to exhibit some sort of compassion for Tyria and their chosen race, and to me, their exodus cemented that belief.

Now to wonder, whether an asuran god would be capable of putting own ambitions aside and becoming at least somewhat merciful...

[More (human) gods? [Spoilers LW S3+PoF]]

There have been some questions streaming through my mind when it comes to gods, or divines in the world of Tyria in general. This is for the fun of speculation only!

According to Eternal Alchemy, beings such as the human Gods and Spirits of the Wild are only powerful entities, not creators of the world in any way. In that case, they are inhabitants of this world like anyone, albeit ones with much higher degree of power. If so, then:

• Are gods a separate race? One that comes with naturally high magic concentration/powers? Were some of them divine from birth, or existed since forever, while the likes of Kormir and Grenth are ascended humans or... half-breeds, in Grenth's case? Are gods simply powerful humans that can just spawn out of thin air? Or did they all ascend at some point in time, but maybe so long ago that nobody could possibly remember? I personally lean towards the latter.

• If it is possible to ascend, how does one acquire such power? Aside from sucking up another dying god, that is. Could one perhaps take in a large power pool from any source and just become a god? If so, then how many "gods" could there be in the Mists, if not all human(oids) came to Tyria? And potentially, how many can be created in Tyria itself? Can one take up magic over the course of a long life, instead of all at once? Could a long-lived race perhaps develop into something with similar power level to the Six? (let's just entertain the thought that Dragon's won't eat you, nor your magic)

• Are humans specifically sensitive to magic and taking it up, because of their direct connection with their gods and the possibility to ascend? (also looking at the fact that they hail from the Mists) Could a charr or a norn, for example, strive to achieve such power? (and I am talking a situation more akin to what made Kormir a goddess, not the kind of "ascension" going on in Elon Riverlands, just to clarify)

• Iirc, Balthazar did not use a lot of his powers between coming back to Tyria and eating the Bloodstone; all the visual tricks have been done by Lyssa's Mirror. He relied on diplomacy, rather than strength. He was a shell of his former self, and yet, he sponged in the power of the Stone easily, while everyone else either died or went crazy. Was his body somehow different from your regular human? Easier to house magic in, resilient to side effects? Again, back to the first point, is it a predisposition one is born with, or is it developed? (now that I think of Balthazar's body, which disappeared during his death, was itself only/mostly magic? If so, is it held in this state of matter by the strength of will, since it has a tendency to spread out? Do powerful beings possess some sort of gravitational-magical pull that keeps it together?)

• If it is... developable, I am tempted to say there should be "deity academies" which teach people how to harness enough power to become gods, but that would probably be considered sacrilege.

It's a bit clunky post, correct me if I've forgotten something (it's late over here when I was writing this). Otherwise, what do you guys think? Would gladly read any theories that you may have.

[[Feedback] Shadow in the Ice]

Had me on a minor emotional roller-coaster, this one. In terms of quality.

The story was... all right. I actually like commander stepping down a bit, not being the centrepiece of kitten everything that happens in the room. About time we had our team do something, grow in a visible way. With this, though, I'd wish for a bit more digging into the psyche of the commander. Playing the story as a norn really adds to it (compared with my friend who played sylvari), props to the voice actor!

Thanks for making Braham go through a change, I think it's earned and slow enough to be believable, but the montage of him gaining the powers of the Spirits was rather meh. They seemed way too easily convinced, copy-pasted, almost. Great voice acting, again, it's the lines they were given that broke it. Seemed rushed. A minor thing, but it broke the immersion.

The map is all right (though quite the contrast to the 1st part of Bjora Marches... not complaining, I am having a better time playing in this new part, doesn't make me depressed all the time), but I found myself disappointed at the boss fight. Makes sense story-wise and all to have Drakkar cornered, but the location, going about it and scope itself is underwhelming.

Music, atmosphere and details (the kodan spirits on the ship, for example) are all very nice! Living in a colder climate myself, I applaud on the artistic side of things. There is definitely something captured here, on both sides of the map.

I looooooove Jormag. Please, please, I beg you, on my knees, drag this out. This is by far its strongest side, to be alluring, drag people into traps they make themselves, to go about it slowly, seductively. I wouldn't mind if it remained but a voice, and never actually appeared in flesh, if this level of writing for it continues. It seems very close, and yet very far, teasing and laughing secretively. It seems to be taken from another world, as if separate from everything else until then. Idk if it's about the writers giving it more attention, or if it's just me, but for the love of everything that is holy, you have a very good rising tension in this character. I think blowing it is what I'm most concerned about.

I don't think the story was too short, it was things that were just going on far too quickly, jumping from one thing to the next (that is, same length of story, but dragged out a bit more, could've worked better). Felt a bit like a list of easy chores to be done, and as soon as you are done, you are left a bit dissatisfied. That's why i think Jormag is by far the episode's best part, because it shows what it may lack. The interest that drags out beyond several hours. Even if the tasks were gruelling, I'd rather do more, fight more, in a more demanding fashion, to earn a good reward. Not even in terms of actual rewards (though those might be nice, too), but story-wise.The events were a small taste of variation, but they were completed quickly.In other words: find ways to make it difficult! You have the story to push people forward, decent rewards, and intelligence to make interesting events, so why not pull them all together, so they might play off each other, to create something more demanding AND rewarding?

All in all, it's enjoyable, but too easy and underwhelming in places.

[Which class do you identify with?]

Just like me, guardians have low hp, but regenerate quickly.At school I was the only person who actively ran in the way of the ball during PE. I had no clue what to do with it, I just have the inner urge to block potentially dangerous things. People. Animals. Balls. It's like a weird instinct, because I do it without thinking. I run. I block. I almost black out. I get back up and repeat. made me a great football keeper tho. and a one-man circus.