Suzaku.9537

Good news, everyone~ with the Canthan-expansion, there will probably be an addition of East-Asian faces (like with the addition of African-faces that came with the PoF). <--- Official Sunqua Peak Fractal teaser.

Tenguuuu~!!! The only reason to buy any more character slots--for me, anyway--is for a new race! Three more soldiers for the FashionWars!! Even though we're going to Cantha (another human-lore land), I'm excited for playable-Tengu because the Dominion of Winds has been locked off FOR SO LONG (and ANet's feather-game has improved so much T_T). We'll probably also run in to more Tengu in the Woodland Cascades when the Charr take us there for the next part of the Saga.I hope I'm done making Xiuquatl by then...

As a PvE'r, thanks for your input; it's exactly what my WvW-friend would have said and I don't think I could've put it better myself. I think it'd be pretty simple to keep the competitive modes happy by just having dedicated teams for those modes (if they do, sorry, but WvW and PvP just seem like side-projects, now), balancing and building new things. I think it's a sad thing to lose the competitive communities 'cause they bring in/retain a lot of players, too. PvP Shoutcasts are pretty exciting to watch, and matches really highlight the skills of each class/specialisation (and the person playing them). WvW is much more accessible for casuals and PvE-minded players, too, and can become a way for guilds to galvanise members rather than just wild-goose chase missions or even as a stepping stone towards sPvP. A lot of PvE'rs can get bored of farming for gold, achievement-hunting, or running dungeons/fractals day-in-and-day-out; I think we should still have WvW and PvP as viable options rather than just doing story and getting too deep into FashionWars. :lol:

I'm just here as a humble PvE'r worrying about Anet's sole focus on PvE--weird, I know, but know that I do love all the PvE content being put out. Prologue: Bound by Blood was more than I expected for a "prologue" but still won and done in one day. Loved the story and everything--the map was particularly gorgeous--but having two friends quit the game because their game modes are getting near sub-zero attention SUCKS. I worked so hard to get them to play and it was good to see them find WvW and PvP to hold their attention after they graduated from regular PvE content. And having three people have three different focuses on the game wasn't terrible! We all encouraged each other to break through our silos and I started to enjoy WvW and PvP a lot more with their encouragement. Conversely, I helped them reconnect with PvE content, dragging them along for any number of things like JPs, farming, and mount-acquisition. We'd play together in the varied ways GW2 allowed us to do so, and it was good. We could also play our own game-modes separate from one another, too, and that was also good (though, the game seems a bit too geared towards solo-players and you lose a bit of the community-building aspect of MMOs). Of course, many PvE players bemoan the toxicity of the competitive modes--and it's definitely there--but PvE content isn't free of elitists, nor are they free of trolls roaming about in chat. BUT, the game is designed in a way where the trolls can't do MUCH in PvE--which is a very good thing.Though, in the game I played before GW2 (Rohan: Blood Feud), the community was based around the traditional "holy trinity" of party-grinding: the tank, the healer, and the DPS (also, an archer for pulling mobs to the party to reduce need for movement). The community was drawn together through this grind because of the presence of PK'ing and the ability to grief other players by destroying their progress (dying meant losing % of XP and items/equipment). Guilds grew around the concept of providing protection from either rogue players or guilds built on killing other players. Guilds also were able to compete in GvGvG to compete for control of cities and even gain taxation rights. I remember, at one point, a guild called the Imperials came to power and dominated many of the cities, raising taxes to the maximum 10% and many of the other guilds banding together to take down the tyrannical PK-guild. It was fun, but it was built on the concept of pay-to-win and that wasn't so fun. The grind was disgusting, the trolls got too annoying (though, protecting guildies from them and hunting down these serial-killers/bandits was fun), and the boredom of playing only one class was palpable.The problem with PvP, as my friend stated, was that you never knew which classes would be ascendant after a balance patch and the problem was that any classes would become ascendant was anathema to the concept of "balance". Playing that game-mode became a joke and you could never have a favourite class because once balance shifted, you had to play "the meta" instead of just playing the game as it was meant to be played. Hackers and trolls were also a big problem, where trolls would just throw the game and fiddle around in the home-base, hackers would phase through walls and do impossible damage. They would even dare people to report them because they wouldn't be banned for terrorising PvP--possibly because there are so many people who cry wolf and some evidence was difficult to discern via screenshot. The problem with WvW was attrition. I remember playing, early on, and salted-trolls driving our commanders to other servers. Once we lost able commanders, players wanted to go where the winning was--where the rewards were. After the servers/worlds started emptying out, Anet started linking servers for WvW and in conjunction with the PvE mega-server system. The mega-server system was great! Having a friend on another server sucked because you couldn't play together just because they selected another server or your server was full. It was arbitrary and ridiculous. However, that remains WvW's problem: server-hopping and mis-matched matches that were entirely predictable and stale. WvW ran 24/7 and that was great for convenience of casual players who rarely ever touch the game-mode, but not really sustainable. In Rohan: Blood Feud, the GvGs for capturing cities were on specific days at specific times--a bit inconvenient if it didn't line up with your life-schedule, but a bit more manageable than 24/7. Hopefully, the Alliance-system comes soon with other QoL improvements and can align with the PvE megaservers to create a more sensical community (Ex. I'm in two PvX guilds and neither of them are on my server so most of us can't WvW with each other). Right now, PvE is getting the most attention (Raids, Fractals, new maps, new story, etc.) and it probably always will, but the other modes are just withering away. I know it's difficult to satisfy everyone, but even I can see that the PvP Shoutcaster program is a ghost-town when however many years ago it had this exiciting e-sports potential that even WoodenPotatoes was getting into with Grouch and that collaboration was really fun to watch on Twitch. The bridging between PvE and sPvP was great to see! But with the recent departure of another Shoutcaster (Jawgeous), it looks to be a scary time for PvP as a viable game-type--which sucks. I always hated PvP because of the toxicity and competitiveness, but I enjoyed playing with my friends and not taking it TOO seriously made it fun. Also: WvW was a really good bridge for me to get more into sPvP because it paired PvE blobbing with Person vs. Person which made it a lot more unpredictable than Person vs. NPC. My hope is that Anet will be able to revive PvP and WvW and that the communities will be less divided between one another and with PvE. Collecting skins and achievements gets a little stale and I value the ability to jump into PvP or WvW as much as I value jumping into Dungeons/Fractals.

I hear a lot of people wanting the under-water mounts (incl. myself), but it seems like Anet has tried to reconcile the speed difference with swim-speed infusions. Maybe for the Selbub expac? :anguished:

^^Same!I've always pronounced it as "KAL-uh-DAWN" forest. Definitely influenced by a nearby road called "KAL-uh-DOH-nee-uh". "KAL-uh-DIN" sounds so posh :lol:

The Dragon Bash Fireworks are souldbound and I find it a ridiculous thing to be soulbound. At least make it Account-Bound. :expressionless:

If the Charr High Legions (Blood, Iron, Ash, and Flame) went to war against the last human nation in Tyria (the continent), then the Elder Dragons must be a non-issue, now. And even then, only rising tensions over some issue could ignite a war between the two polities. Let's say, perhaps, that tensions in Ascalon erupted into armed conflict between the nationalists on both sides. Queen Jennah and Imperator Smodur would try to ameliorate the situation, emboldening both the Ebonhawke Separatists and the charr Renegades due to perceived "racial betrayal". Kryta's crackdown on Ascalonian riots in both Ebonhawke, Rurikton, and Ascalon Settlement would show the charr Renegades that they could do whatever they wanted. However, Imperator Smodur would be under pressure from Queen Jennah to weed out charr renegade elements in Ascalon. Smodur would have the authority to do so, as Ascalon is traditionally the Iron Legion homeland. Unfortunately for peace, with the Elder Dragons gone and the Claw of the Khan-Ur, there would be no reason for the Ash Legion to support the peace treaty any longer and Imperator Malice Swordshadow would side with Imperator Bangar on the subject of reclaiming Southern Ascalon for the charr High Legions. Below are two scenarios of how either situation could result in war between Kryta and the four charr High Legions: If he does begin curbing Renegade activities, the Ebonhawke Separatists will spread propaganda through the Asura Gate into Divinity's Reach, Lion's Arch, and even Amnoon of a possibility of restoring Ascalon. Remnants of the White Mantle and bandits will join the Separatists in an attempt undermine Queen Jennah's peace with the charr and try to incite more violence with the Renegades. With support from the freed cities of Elona, Ebonhawke could destroy the Asura Gate from Divinity's Reach and declare sovereignty from the Kingdom of Kryta as a restored Ascalonian state, the Ascalonian Republic. The High Legions would see this as a prime opportunity to lay siege to Ebonhawke, as intel from Divinity's Reach would let them know about the sabotaged Asura-gate in Rurikton. However, a reluctant Smodur may take a page from Ash Legion handbooks and secretly use Iron Legion and sympathetic elements in the other legions (like Rytlock or Almorra of the Blood Legion) to stall an advance on southern Ascalon and Ebonhawke. The Free-Cities of Elona would aid their neighbours to the north through the Desert Gate.a) Kryta, still dealing with the centaur war-herds to the north, would acknowledge Ebonhawke's (and by extension, Ascalon's) secession from Kryta and free up resources to put towards pushing back centaur raids in Queensdale and elsewhere in her dominion. In Elona, support for the new republic would begin to wane as the war with the charr waged on and Lion's Arch's merchants gained from increased exports to the Black Citadel. Kryta also gained through tarriffs imposed on goods passing through Gendarran Fields, as the Black Citadel shut-down operation of their Asura-gate to and from Lion's Arch for security purposes. The merchant's of Lion's Arch would consider using the Asura-gate to Hoelbrak, but the Asuran gate-fees and Hoelbrak's tariffs alone would make the venture unpalatably unprofitable. Using the trade route through Lornar's Pass, though incurring Hoelbrak's lower taxes, would be treacherous and the insurance premiums on those trade caravans would be as steep as the cliff-roads they would be forced to traverse.b) If, then spurred on by her own people into action, Queen Jennah then had Kryta come to the aid of Ascalon and Elona--we would have our Second Human-Charr War. Through Kessex Hills, the Krytan Army would board warships in the Port of Garrenhof as Lion's Arch's Captain's Council would refuse so as to remain a neutral port of trade. Charr submarines would clash with Pact submarines on loan to Kryta from the Pact. Pact Marshal Logan Thackeray would be stripped of his title and put on trial at a military tribunal as a result of protest from both General Almorra Soulkeeper and Preceptor Halvora Snapdagger in regards to Pact resources being used in a geopolitical conflict. The Master of Whispers would manipulate internal Pact politics enough to get Logan Thackeray off with an extradition to Kryta. With Logan Thackeray's pending extradition to Kryta being delayed, the return of Pact submarines, and sea-routes to Elona prowled by charr submarines, the Krytan reinforcements would be slow to arrive in Ascalon, unless they disembarked and hoofed it through the Shiverpeaks and paid a head-tax/bribe to pass through Norn lands. Or, if the Krytan fleet successfully evaded the charr submarines and made it through the Scavenger's Causeway, the allied Port City of Amnoon awaited their arrival. Kryta would then march north up to the Desert Gate and reinforce the Ascalonian position at Ebonhawke. The war would reach a stalemate, then and there (until others began joining in on the war or a treaty was signed).If he doesn't and, instead, sides with the other High Legions: Queen Jennah will be forced to answer a charr invasion of Ebonhawke or lose the confidence of her people--first, and foremost, the Ascalonians of Ebonhawke, Rurikton, and Ascalon Settlement. Humans of Elonan and Canthan descent would probably not view such a response in a positive light, either. The Free-Cities of Elona would probably see the Krytan-Queen's response as a sign of weakness, as well.a) Queen Jennah aids Ascalon. The gates of Ebonhawke would shut tight and Kryta would supply the garrison with enough resources through the Rurikton Asura-gate to withstand a charr siege, indefinitely. The Krytan Army could--with Knut Whitebear's permission, of course--march through the Shiverpeaks from Gendarran Fields, through Snowden Drifts and Wayfarer Foothills, to the Iron Legion's doorstep: Diessa Plateau. There, they could launch an assault on the Black Citadel and cut off the supply route. The High Legions would have to fall back to defend the Black Citadel and the Ascalonians and Elonans could then push north from Ebonhawke, from the Fields of Ruin, to the Blazeridge Steppes and the Plains of Ashford. From there, they could besiege the Black Citadel or join the Krytan forces on the Diessa front. The other races and factions would have little reason to intervene on the side of the charr High Legions, nor the side of the human nations. However, with the Black Citadel under siege, it is with hope that the charr High Legions would sue for peace--but not outright surrender. A treaty would probably be signed to cede southern Ascalon--perhaps, everything south of the shattered wall in the Blazeridge Steppes and the Plains of Ashford--except for the Black Citadel (or, they could keep the Plains of Ashford and the ruins of Rin).b) If she did instead decide to avoid conflict and called a truce for new treaty terms in order to save the lives of both Krytan soldiers and civilians of all human nations, she would cede Ebonhawke and the lands of southern Ascalon (the Fields of Ruin) to the charr High Legions. This would be met with oppositional uproar and would have basically the same result as scenario 1a. However, acting quickly--now that she basically has the Ministry on-side--Queen Jennah would force the relocation of all Ascalonians living in Ebonhawke and southern Ascalon. Separatists and the Ebon Vanguard would revolt and whoever didn't evacuate/relocate to Kryta would escape to Elona through the Desert Gate. Ascalonian refugees would then follow the steps of the Ebon Falcons and flee through Blazeridge Gap and the tunnels leading to the Desert Highlands. After fighting off the oozes, they emerged from the tunnels of Wayment Steep and make their way to High Jump Ranch. There, they are assisted by the descendants of Ascalonians. Some settle here, weary of the months-long trek, while others continue on to Makali Outpost, Kweli Village, the grand Temple of Kormir, and Amnoon--forming ethnic enclaves along the way. Wade Samuelsson and other Commanders of the Ebon Vanguard create a government-in-exile called the Republic of Ascalon to work for the return of Ebonhawke and southern Ascalon, with the ultimate goal of reclaiming all of Ascalon in the name of a sovereign republic. Ebonhawke is now a ghost-town--deserted. However, Queen Jennah keeps the gates shut until the new treaty is signed and works to keep the architecture of Ebonhawke preserved. The Imperators of Blood and Flame are annoyed, but agree to the terms as these are lands are under Iron Legion's jurisdiction, anyway. There would be peace, for a time--until each Imperator drew up designs for the rest of Kryta in separate attempts to gain enough clout to claim the title of the Khan-Ur. But maybe one of them would first clear out the ogres from the Blazeridges to gain the title of Khan-Ur before declaring war on Kryta or Elona.Smodur, Malice, Rytlock or even Bottica claims the Claw of the Khan-Ur and unites the High Legions to forge peace with the humans. If either Smodur, Malice, or Rytlock become Khan-Ur, the Flame Legion would be pretty much be demolished. If Boticca became Khan-Ur, the Flame Legion will change greatly--none of that sexism and the High Legions would once again accept spellcasting on the battlefield. Not sure what "great act" any of the four would have to do to gain the loyalty of the four high Legions, though. The last (and, so far, only) Khan-Ur was from the Gold/Flame Legion and he conquered what is now known as the Blood Legion homelands and then Ascalon before it was called that or the "Iron Legion homelands".Now for the different factions:Krait = neither; too preoccupied with enslaving and sacrificing.Harpies = neither; the matriarch's are too preoccupied.Choya = neither; unable to communicate in New Krytan and, like the grawl, are too tribal.Centaur Alliance = broken by the Krytan-Iron Legion Alliance. Modniir, Tamini, and Harathi are now separate tribes. The Modniir scattered back into Far-Shiverpeaks and the Harathi into the Woodland Cascades and Northern Maguuma. The Tamini have returned to their nomadic roots and joined the peaceful Maguuma tribe who are descended from the Harathi.Giant = neither; very few left.Jotun = neither; their society is too fractured and culture too fragmented.Ettin = neither; too tribal.Trolls = neither; not interested and are tribal.Ogres = neither--generational grudges remain in most kraals against the charr and humans of Ascalon who took their ancestral lands from them.Grawl = neither; would have to be recruited on a tribe-by-tribe basis.Skritt = neither; too disorganised and confused when they scatter outside their Scratch.Hylek Blue-Green-Yellow-Red = neither; still rebuilding after the Fall of Zhaitan.Hylek Itzel-Nuhoch = neither; too far to the west, relatively peaceful, and still rebuilding after the Fall of Mordremoth.Hylek Coztic = neither; dislike outsiders.Hylek Heket = neither; still rebuilding after the Fall of Joko.Quaggan = neither; pacifists rebuilding in the north with the Kodan after the Fall of Jormag and in the southern ocean after the Fall of Steebubbles.Kodan = neither; still rebuilding with the Quaggan after the Fall of Jormag.Tengu = neither; still behind their walls after the Fall of Primordus and rebuilding in the Maguuma Jungle after the Fall of Mordremoth.Largos = neither or both, as assassins.Dwarves = neither.Forgotten = if any are left, they would join the humans in honour of the the Human Gods.Djinn = neither.Dredge = neither; but would probably use the aftermath of the Second Human-Charr War as a pretext to invade the surface world--perhaps the Asura have similar designs.Norn = neither or both. Only would join for glorious battles as mercenaries.Sylvari Dreamers = neither or both. Like the norn, would join either side for the experience as mercenaries.Sylvari Soundless = neither. Want nothing to do with the Dream or Nightmare, or non-Sylvari--especially after the Mordremoth fiasco and its wake of anti-sylvari sentiment.Sylvari Courtiers = neither or both (as mercenaries). Whichever spreads more bad feels into the Dream of Dreams. Not sure if Duchess Chrysanthea becomes the court's Grand Duchess after HoT or if she thinks differently from Cadeyrn and Faolain.Asuran Collegiate = neither, but profits off the war (Asura-gate usage-fees, weapons-trading, etc.).Asuran Inquest = neither, maybe helping the bandits/White Mantle in Ascalon, but also profiting off the bloodshed.Captain's Council of Lion's Arch = neither; war is good for profiteering if you aren't involved.Asuran Consortium = neither; like the three above, will profit off of the Human-Charr conflict.Aetherblades = neither, or both--whoever pays the most.Assorted Tyrian Pirates = neither, or both.Corsairs = neither, or hoping Elona hires them as privateers/mercenaries.Toxic Alliance = neither.Molten Alliance = neither, or charr High Legions depending on what the High Legions can offer the Moletariat.

Wyverns aren't the same body type as dragons (and some could argue griffons are different than those two). Yeah, I know. I saw it too after looking again at it. A bit of a bummer, makes this the 3rd mount with the griffon skeleton....I agree. I was pretty disappointed to see the six limbs on the new mount because I had originally thought it was just going to be another griffon re-skin. If it were a wyvern body-type, we could get flying bipedal tetrapods..! If we had wyverns, I think a great premium mount would have been a phoenix because vestigial claws on ducks and cassowaries--not to mention hoatzin chicks and archaeopteryx--are cool. Alulas (bird "thumbs") are a wonderful thing :love: http://www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com/Hoatzin.jpg Enter: Jinguofortis perplexus, the toothed bird that clawed its way through the early Cretaceous 147 MYA: (Illustration: Chung-Tat Cheung/PNAS, via Smithsonian Institute).Convergent evolution of flight is fascinating--from insects and reptiles (pterosaurs), to dinosaurs (birds) and mammals (bats).http://www.macmillanhighered.com/BrainHoney/Resource/6716/digital_first_content/trunk/test/hillis2e/asset/img_ch14/c14_fig20.jpg TL;DRIf it were a wyvern, we could get a phoenix skin :disappointed:

What is this Nope you have unleashed upon this innocent page? I'm lovin' the giant flying Nope..! Who's the artist, @sorudo.9054 ?? I'd actually really love to have giant Lucas-the-Spiders jumping all over the place at least as a Springer re-skin :lol:

Hrijn EivorsdottirDaughter of a skaald, Eivor, the 'Wailing Valkyrie of the Shiverpeaks' was known to many as a mirage flickering on a distant mountain-peak. When Hrijn was born, she was blessed by snow leopard but is a favourite of Raven. She is often heard in echoing hymns and sagas of the Spirits of the Wild in the valleys and vales that criss-cross the great mountain range--a past-time she once shared with her mother. http://i67.tinypic.com/2dagc9d.jpg http://i65.tinypic.com/2j0zfa1.jpg http://i68.tinypic.com/jk7orn.jpg

Xyrra, Asuran Chemical Engineer, graduated from the College of Dynamics and a free-lance researcher with Goldenlight Hallows Laboratory. http://i68.tinypic.com/b662o5.jpg She keeps her research safe with her trusty Super Hyperbeam Alpha Rifle.

Couldn't scream asura-engineer more than this great look :bleep_bloop: :relaxed:

Your charrgineer is such a beautiful beast :bleep_bloop: :love:

Are those glowing yellow and red syringes part of your gloves?? What are they called? :hushed:

* flattered* Low-key tempted to make lore blurbs for all the other mounts (skins) now :flushed: --and ranger pets. :grimace: I'd like to thank years of watching David Attenborough and David Suzuki nature docs as well as reading books by Jane Goodall, Bridget Stutchbury, and E.O. Wilson for inspiring me to in-game stare at pixels and come up with elaborate back-story on fictional creatures research griffons and bring them to the forefront of Tyrian conservation efforts. #savethegriffons #dontpraisejoko #saynotopoaching #boycottsaleofgriffonclaw #savethedesert

Thanks! I made it up, hehehe :lol: I wiiiiish Anet had more canon lore about stuff :confused: So in the meantime, I just make up my own :tongue:

Tengu avian race to complement the glorious griffons~! Anet has been working on their bird/feather textures game: Maguuma Quetzal Tengu Guild Hall Avicara(?) Tengu Mists Tengu Vigil Tengu Tweet, tweet! :star:

I was furious with the adoption system when I first saw the skins because (when you adopt something, it usually isn't at random), like everyone else, I wanted very specific ones--however, I understand that it all served a purpose (visual pollution reduction and revenue generation). Over a day or two of debating with myself, my will-power ambitiously lost out (R.N.G., WHY YOU HATE ME?). And now... Personally, I would've enjoyed immersive side-quests connected to the acquisition of the different skins that related to its characteristics. :bleep_bloop: :#

Name: Nayerlu VespertineSpecies: CharrLegion: AshProfession: Revenant (Renegade)Order: Vigil http://i65.tinypic.com/2mg35e0.jpg

Name: Jeide LuenSpecies: HumanStatus: NobleProfession: Thief (Daredevil)Order: WhispersOccupation: "Recovery Agent" A canthan of relation to the Luen banking family, she was raised not only to be a shrewd businesswoman but also to be a proper lady in the halls and gardens of the upper city of Divinity's Reach. She tired of Krytan politics and yearned for her early childhood in Lion's Arch--a city far more vibrant than the cold stone walkways that lined the streets of the capital. On the eve of her adulthood, she dyed her hair blue and shed the trappings of nobility and left them like an abandoned skin in the home of her adoptive parents. With her newfound wings, she fluttered across the country-side from town to town and eventually found herself in a Lionguard Haven. How did she survive without her royal stipend? First, stealing; then, dabbling in some "merchant-business"; and, finally, leasing her services of "property recovery" to the highest bidder. http://i64.tinypic.com/30cytl1.jpg "Skills include: requisition and elimination;" http://i68.tinypic.com/25j8sg8.jpg "Inquisition, infiltration, subterfuge, and sabotage." http://i68.tinypic.com/5aqgk1.jpg "A giant boar ate your engagement ring..? Seriously? I'm charging double if you don't tell me how that happened." http://i67.tinypic.com/2v12lo1.jpg "Ihan sent me to fetch some apples..." http://i68.tinypic.com/29gic92.jpg

Name: AedraeynaRace: SylvariGender: FemaleCycle: Dawn, SpringProfession: Guardian (Dragonhunter)Order: Vigil (Tactician)Tenet: "All things have a right to grow."Favourite stanza of a sylvari poem:"My body luxuriates in the sun's rays, and when it rains, my skin tingles with greed. I am that which begins and ends with the Dream, a spring child of the wombless seed.” http://i66.tinypic.com/25ro2ts.jpg

Tengu~! I loved how the Quetzal tengu looked when I first came across them in the jungle. So vibrant... <3 I always thought that there would be three additions 'cause humans and sylvari are paired in their basic size and shape:Charr --> TenguNorn --> KodanHuman --> Largos(yes, I know they're already paired to sylvari but I had never realised this until now.. maybe sylvari and asura are paired, or they have no pairs!) The human races never really interested me either. Human and norn were always at the bottom of the list. I have four sylvari (one for each of the seasons), two asura, and a charr. :3