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Chadramar.8156

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  1. I'm actually quite happy with the references to Mordremoth, at least as far as ambient dialogue is concerned. Yes, in an ideal world there's be a lot more references to a lot of events and a lot more things to talk to a lot of people about, but as it is I'm happy for every like of racial dialogue for the PC and for the occasional background developments (like the sylvari's efforts and empathy for the Risen in Siren's Landing). What I'd still really like is an apology, both from non-sylvari background characters to sylvari background characters, and from our non-sylvari "friends" towards a sylvari PC. I remember Rytlock and Marjory being real you-know-whats during HoT, and now both had a taste of what an Elder Dragon can do to THEM, so maybe a bit of introspection is in order on their part. The GW2 story has this longstanding, aggravating habit of making the PC everyone's Agony Aunt while almost never receiving any support, concern or apology in turn, which makes those "friendships" feel pretty laughable IMO. Rytlock's actions during the climax of this new episode are a prime example of that. Braham's recent development, on the other hand, is a very welcome breath of fresh air in that regard.
  2. My opinion of Rytlock has taken three solid hits so I'm kinda "meh" about him. First his hostility towards a sylvari PC during HoT, second his lack of reaction to the PC's death and resurrection in PoF, and now his attempt to murder us. Also, there's the complete lack of apologies or concern for any of this, especially given the poignant combination of #1 and #3. (Braham, whom I couldn't stand, is actually getting to be quite all right in my book because he DID apologize and is making a genuine effort to be "better" in general, and as a result feels he has the most potential to become a real friend.) Also, it's a bad look when a near-total stranger like Crecia who just went through the same Jormag-mess as Rytlock, shows more concern for a downed-and-dying PC than a supposed old friend.
  3. That is a very good point! I didn't consciously think about it while it was all happening, but when Braham discovered that his bow was missing I had a definite "Oh s* don't tell me it was Ryland, I was happy they were hitting it off so well" moment followed by an "I knew it!" in the war room. That was quite satisfying, and only possible because we got to see/hear it develop in the background. It's also a good use for that stupid communicator, especially compared to what they used to do with it i.e. omnipresent omniscient asura remote-controlling the player character.
  4. This episode was really good and felt like a proper chapter rather than a mere prologue. I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it, most episodes have at least some moments that tick me off, but this one didn't -- and the map is well-done too. Attended my first concert today and am still humming SOUL! KEEPER! DRAGON! REAPER! to myself. ;)
  5. Pretty much this. Way too much self-important posturing, way too much magitech-this-that-and-everything, way too much "Taimi is the only one who knows anything". And if she does bite it, being remote-controlled by a different asura who instantly assumes her role (i.e. what Gorik seems to be built up as) isn't going to be any better. The only asura I've met and didn't immediately despise were Demolitionist Tonn (RIP) and Warmaster Efrut. If we must have an asura in the "guild", can they just have their niche and stick to it, please? The really ticked-off part of me wants her death to be no more than a brief laughing stock and then instantly and utterly forgotten, like the Commander's death and resurrection which she turned into a slapstick moment. I don't really have much positive feelings for any of the "guild mate" NPCs. There are some moments in which I do like one or the other, but that's rare and tends to be overshadowed by "meh" or negative ones ... especially with all the "let's put all the emotional focus on the NPCs, even at the PC's expense" moments in this game. That said, I don't loathe Braham as much as I used to, in fact even felt happy that he got along so well with a certain someone in the new story, until the
  6. I loved the concert as well! All the chaotic fun happening during it makes it hard to pay attention to the lyrics, but now that the songs are on Soundcloud, we can listen to them at will and uninterrupted. SOUL! KEEPER!DRAGON! REAPER!
  7. Fear Not This Night. Every single time without fail.Every moment in the personal story, HoT and the Caladbolg mini-arc in which you get special dialog as a sylvari character, especially with the Pale Tree.The Shadow's attack on the Pale Tree during LS2 ... then finally killing it after learning the terrible truth.The various visions from the Pale Tree and Aurene's egg.Playing with and teaching Aurene.Poor Vlast dying for my character, then finding his memory crystals.Regaining my memories in the Underworld."Still standing."The Zephyrite hymn for Aurene.Dragonflight.Aurene's ascension.Wintersday and the Festival of the Four Winds. There's such an air of delight and whimsy to it, just being able to kick back and have some relaxing fun. The Wintersday jumping puzzle and maneuvering the Labyrinthine Cliffs are a "joy of movement" thing for me. And the music for both is good too.And some memorable firsts! First world boss, which was the great jungle wyrm in Caledon.First time seeing Tequatl burst out of the water.First time beating Triple Trouble.First time doing the Auric Basin meta.First time in Dragon's Stand.First time on a raptor, griffon, jackal and skyscale. They add so much fun to the game.Other fond memories relate to what I did with good people, but this is what made the game itself memorable.
  8. I definitely agree with the approach of cutting down the number of NPCs in an arc/episode because there are frankly too many to include with the limited time and budget. However, I've long felt that the supposed protagonist gets put on the emotional backburner a lot in the name of giving the NPCs and their issues spotlight time. Are there are plans to improve on that? As it is, it leaves the impression that nobody really seems to care about the player character or what s/he is going through up to and including death -- which in turn makes it very hard for me to develop any positive emotions for these supposed "friends" the writers made us abandon the Pact for (still a massive WTF moment IMO). Braham's apology is an overdue step in the right direction, at least. What about the PC and Aurene, will their connection matter in the future? In keeping with the above, Caithe (a character I like, mind) swooping in to become Aurene's emotional focus and interpreter while I'd been craving a moment of connection and reunion with her ever since Balthazar dragon-napped her made me wonder what our bond with Aurene was supposed to be good for after all, except to provide a handful of places to press the special action key. Yes, the final cutscene with her was great and so was flying with her at last, but there are so many "missing moments" and missed opportunities between that and the long-ago episode where we teach and play with her. If you hope to give a bit more attention to the different races/cultures, will that also include letting them shine in the department of providing unique inputs and solutions? LS3 onwards has been far too heavy on Taimi knowing everything and solving everything with magitech, IMO, and the addition of Gorrik doesn't help in that regard. I really want to see sylvari magic and Dream-connection, Norn prowess and spirit-lore, charr discipline and ingenuity, etc. given room to help us save the day too!
  9. This was the all-time best LS episode by a country mile, though the ending absolutely gutted me. Please don't let this be the end, we barely got to spend any time with her. :anguished: Though I don't understand why Aurene didn't speak to her Champion? I also want to give a thumbs up for the absence of gimmicky BS boss mechanics in the story fights, which is a big breath of fresh air. The final battle felt appropriately pulse-pounding considering what we were up against, a huge improvement from the Mordremoth fight for sure. Can't say too much about the new map yet, though I'm glad to be out of the desert at last. Also I'm VERY happy to see the Pact again -- I still am extremely ticked off that you made us dump the Pact back in LS3 like it was last week's rotten dinner, which my characters would never do. Bringing everyone together to fight a world-ending threat is what I want from the game, so the more of that (and less "companion" drama) the better, please. (Side note: less Taimi and more Aurene would have done both LS3 and LS4 a while lot of good because aside from "Scion and Champion" we didn't really have any interaction with her at all since the fight against Big B ... and before that, we only had the one LS3 episode where we teach her a bit. So the emotional impact was not even nearly as big as it could have been.)
  10. Definitely not. And I particularly do not want another exclusively human-themed expansion right after this exclusively human-themed expansion. The norn and especially the charr are desperately overdue for some time in the spotlight, and I mean proper time in the spotlight, setting and lore and story and and characters and gear (!) and all, not completely shoved aside like sylvari were in "their" expansion after Verdant Brink. The devs can't just bank on GW1-nostalgia, especially since this game has multiple playable races.
  11. Gotta add some more: I was delighted to see Aurene doing flybys to help us during the map-metas, just as we ask her to do in the story. That's our girl! My burning question now is, where is Caithe? She did pledge herself to protecting Aurene.
  12. I sincerely doubt you'll get any new players by just slapping quotes from complete unknowns on a trailer. My friends may trust my opinion, but why would a stranger be impressed by seeing praise from some StringOfCharactersDotStringOfNumbers person? Regardless of what one individually thinks of big websites or big-name youtubers, their opinion would carry more weight. For example, I've heard various people claim that AngryJoe's GW2 video back in the day was one of the best bits of publicity GW2 ever got. And frankly, right now I think a lot of these people, if GW2 is on the radar for them at all, are more likely to be burned by the mount lootbox BS you pulled. Other than that, I'm sorry that I don't have much feedback because I'm generally advertisement-shy and tend to be cynical about trailers and whatnot due to too many disappointments.
  13. I'm really not keen on the 100-word format. If nothing else, I'll split mine into "map" feedback and "story"-feedback. Map: Good first impression, due to a decent variety of locales. It's mount- and glider-friendly and quite fun to move around in as a result. In terms of atmosphere, it also does a good job underlining how atrocious the Joko-regime is with or without him. The brand-metor thing seems a bit confusing though. Thumbs down for collection achievements that just sit in my inventory afterwards; PoF did such a good job letting us "consume" such items for karma. Also for the fight with Warden Amala. I also don't like that the Sunspear caches don't have location-cues in their achievement list. Story: Stop painting Taimi as the only brain in the world. Stop letting Braham trample all over the PC as if we didn't lose and suffer more than he did, without any of the support he got. Stop making us care so much about the NPCs who in return don't even acknowledge THAT WE DIED. Give me more of Aurene and our "bond" instead of these fake friends. I'm still annoyed we didn't get a mutually emotional reunion with her. Thumbs up for her redesign and for the profession-specific moment, down for the lack of much-needed racial dialog again. Let the Commander finally be more of a character and less of a story-vehicle and NPC-enabler.
  14. This thread is hard to keep up with, but in a way that is a good thing. Silence never helped or solved anything. Also, here's the obligatory thank god for Jim Kittening Sterling, son.
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