SunRoamer.5103

Maybe he's demon Kirby?

But isn't that an unlikely hypothetical? Which situation would ever require for there to be a Tyrian sea map specifically right there? There is enough empty ocean just about everywhere else on the world map for some "random" sea map to be placed*. If for some reason, such a map had to be in the Horn of Maguuma, just put it a square up or down, or to the other side of the Wizard's Tower. The same complaint could then be ledged against The Wizard's Tower and Amnytas as well, since both maps are ridiculously high in the sky and there could have been a theoretical sea map underneath it. I understand your preference, however. In theory, the compass we now have could have made it more feasible to simply "switch" over to a separate world map specifically for Nayos (or similar overworld mist maps). That said, the way it is now, Inner Nayos might be the only map of that kind to ever exist, so it also seems impractical to have to switch over for all but a singular map. * In general I also think that, considering existing plot hooks and the like, any future sea/coastal maps are a lot more likely to feature the Isles of Janthir, the Unending Ocean, the Battle Isles or Drowned Kaineng/Canthan Coast/Eastern Shing Jea. Maybe even Orr.

I'd say that it's mechanical. Anet seem to have anticipated these questions, however, because when you look at the map art (while not zooming out too far, to be clear) there's a border of red swirls and circles running around the Nayos map. To me, this seems like a pretty intentional indication that it is, in fact, not part of Tyria. Regarding "map design", IIRC the quote from back in the day was specifically about actual overworld maps (in the sense of Queensdale, Skywatch, and now Inner Nayos) and how those should always be accessible via/located on the in game map. Lounges, raids, dungeons, PvP modes, story and group content instances such as the newest Convergences etc. obviously do not fall into that category and can therefore be treated differently (by way of an otherwise inaccessible fourth map layer, separate Mists map altogether, etc.).

I feel like it was brought up somewhere on either the forums or Reddit sometime right after it released. E: Did some quick online sleuthing and couldn't find references to any such thread/comment.

I'm not sure she received it from Mai specifically (or rather, only from Mai), but there are several mentions of Joon having read asuran research - we can find an annotated version of Novvi's Science Journal, and previous dialogue with Taimi also has her confirming that she read Glixx Lectures on Magnetism. These might have made their way over much earlier thanks to the Zephyrites (or other unknown channels). For dialogue pointing out Mai bringing her something, there are the Observations on the Steam Device and Steam Creature, which somehow led to some modifications to the Jade Mech designs (obviously meaning that Jade Mechs already were a thing well before this). There might be other instances of Joon talking about asuran research. For me personally, it felt like it was implied that Joon's achievements were building on asuran magitech to some degree - even if it were only older asuran research and technology from the time of GW1.

For people who want to take a closer look: an older article from MassivelyOP included a few extra screenshots not found on the release page, one of which shows the base of this structure.

Rather unlikely, but maybe Garrenhoff gets a visual update like the Wizard's Tower itself? Major contrapoint is that the "before"-shot uses the current models, of course. Although I feel like in either case they should update the old models, then (while I do find them somewhat more charming, the texture work on them is just incredibly outdated. And it will feel weird to see a different version in a higher graphical fidelity - even if they're Mist copies). Overall, I agree with you however, especially looking at the geography where the water would usually be. It looks like a sky island of sorts.

tl;dr from my post in the Fractal thread: Generally: tie in with Gyala Delve and WLB/WLW: corruption effects on naga and mini-boss, journal entries describing similar happenings foreshadow parts of Secrets of the Obscure? Specifically: Kanaxai is back and he has a unique model. He's not the Ravenous Wanderer. Captain Thess dies. Not sure if anything else happens to him/if Kanaxai does something to him that might hint at Thess becoming the Ravenous Wanderer Kanaxai introduces himself as the "Scythe of House Aurkus" during the fight - a Kryptis faction? Kanaxai instantly recognisable from Factions but with more details similar to other GW2-era demons (grotesque growths, extra limb on chest) A letter comments on the weird flora and funga encountered the deeper we went - similar to ??? in Jahai Bluffs and unexpected models in Gyala Delve

Why do you think they would spend plenty of time in these "skymaps"? Afaik Tengu can't fly and they don't look like they should be able to, in the first place. I could at most see the Zephyrites or other air ships - especially Aetherblades, since they also travelled through the Mists a lot - to reach there, although I guess it was impossible for them to reach the necessary altitude.

Personally feeling lukewarm about this for now, at least from a lore perspective. Suddenly being told that, all along, there was this secret society protecting Tyria from Mist demons feels a little jarring, especially with how kittened up things had become on the planet itself (several mist shenanigans included). For now, I also don't like all the names given to the different factions and objects, Kryptis (?) in particular. Not everything needs a specific appellation, and I feel like simply keeping it at Demon (or Mist Demon) would have made for a simple yet stronger term. A lot of this hinges on how it's actually addressed, presented and delivered in the game, however - we'll find out soon enough. E: Also not too hot on the Islands being an amalgamation of the lands below, ending up as a helter-skelter mix of different biomes and architectures of places we've already seen. By its very nature this tends to end up feeling like a theme-park more than an organic world - and I would have loved to go to actual new places.

I played through it once now and didn't have time to hunt for extra lore "interactables". Generally, it seems to tie in with some of Gyala Delve (corruption effects on the different kinds of mobs and mini-bosses) but more so foreshadow parts of Secrets of the Obscure? More specific observations in spoiler tags: As for what this means for the future... it actually hasn't changed my opinion too much. Personally, I hope that the specific antagonists mentioned in this thread from both Gyala Delve and Silent Surf will remain dead and simply serve as a first taste of demonic influence on Tyria.

That particular thought hadn't crossed my mind at all, but now I'm intrigued. However, I think I'd prefer if they keep it at a "double" identity at most, not a triple one - i.e., either Thess is the Ravenous Wanderer and Kanaxai remains a separate entity (could still be responsible for this transformation, but confirmed dead as per the story of The Deep), or the Ravenous Wanderer is Kanaxai (or an aspect of it) but then Thess either just survives as a human, dies, or becomes an Outcast. I grabbed a screenshot after you said that - it does seem very similar in both outfit as well as hairstyle, especially boots, leg armour, shoulders and hair seem to be a really close match. Maybe people more familiar with the meta can confirm? The Wiki only has screenshots of the Wanderer's Oni form. Or who knows, maybe that's just the generic "historic Luxon look" that ANet decided on 🤷‍♂️ Speaking of which, I'm a little disappointed that the Fractal doesn't seem to transform us into actual Serpent Clan members - I always liked that about the Battlefield, Sunspear and Thaumanova fractals. I understand that some people might be disappointed to have their "look" taken away from them, but I think narratively it would have fit this fractal very well. Plus, it's a missed opportunity to see more historic characters. Also grabbed a screen of that. Seems like less of a match to me, especially the lower half looking like this foe is wearing pants that flare outwards toward the bottom (vs. the boots that overall slim down from calves to feet). What seems to be the top bun also looks more prominent than in the other hairstyle, but both observations might just be due to a difference in perspective and the lovely particles (Twitter video quality also clearly doesn't help 💀). I didn't expect a major tie-in with the upcoming expansion (beyond "demons bad"), so your prediction #4 in particular caught my eye. Like you said, we will see next week! I know, sorry if I wasn't being clear - by "experience [...] the origin", I simply meant that we might get to witness this process first-hand (well, by proxy of a fractal) instead of reading/hearing about it, not that this would reveal any new information about their origin.

Hey everyone, it seems like the newsletter finally gave us a bit more information on the fractal that's coming next week. From the previous studio update, we already knew that we will get a chance to "peer further into the shadows under the Jade Sea". Here's what it says in the newsletter: Catch your breath fast after the WvW beta, because on June 27 there'll be a new Fractal of the Mists to conquer - Silent Surf. As mentioned in the latest studio update, this new fractal will deliver a tighter gameplay experience while still providing exciting story content. Are you ready? A new threat emerges in the aftermath of the Jade Wind. Captain Thess and his Serpent Clan salvage crew arrive at the wreck of a trade convoy that recently departed for the Harvest Temple. Their search for fellow Luxon survivors leads them beneath the petrified sea, unaware of the growing evil that awaits them. What's interesting to me is that it seems to be set quite close to just after the Jade Wind, since the newsletter mentions its aftermath in particular. Silent Surf also was an actual region in GW Factions, and this time the name was taken 1:1 (as opposed to the most recent Gyala Delve, which was quite far removed from the similarly named Gyala Hatchery). For reference, here you can find it on that_shaman's Historical Guide to Cantha. The Serpent Clan was also still active during the time of Factions and they are one of the major Luxon clans. The studio update was written in the context of WLB/WLW, so with the "peer further into the shadows under the Jade Sea" line, I still expect the Fractal to go more in-depth on Oni/Kanaxai lore. With how everything lines up, we might in-fact get to experience the first time the Luxons discovered Kanaxai, and therefore the origin of the Outcasts (maybe Captain Thess and his crew themselves will turn at the end). As per the lore of The Deep: Deep beneath the surface of the Jade Sea, a demon of nightmares was trapped when Shiro's death wail struck. A remote Luxon tribe discovered the demon's resting place while mining the sea for jade and other resources and became corrupted—thereafter they were known as Luxon Outcasts. The Luxons ask their boldest heroes (who must be members of the highest rated alliance on the Luxon side) to seek out the source of the Luxon Outcasts, which may also be related to the reappearance of the wicked Oni in Cantha.

On that note: with the upcoming "Cantha-Themed Fractal Dungeon", we are set to "peer further into the shadows under the Jade Sea", so I expect us to get a bit more context on the Ravenous Wanderer and Kanaxai - mainly, confirmation on whether they are one and the same, after all. That might also be a reason as to why they intentionally avoided mentioning the name until now. (Also expecting the whole Wanderer/Kanaxai subplot to be fully done after that, though.)

IIRC we have out of game confirmation that the Dragon plot is wrapped up and we're moving away from that.