PanBelacqua.9058

I've made three weapons at this point (working on a fourth), and three skins (one each for Jormag, Mordremoth, and Kralkatorrik, with partial progress on a Zhaitan and Primordus skin), and after the Wind Through The Walls nerf, I think I'm done. The Jade Runestones were already enough of a gate when I was getting 26/day: at 13 remaining weapons and 93 more skins to spend Jade Runestones on, I was looking at 19,900 Jade Runestones, or another 765 days of effort. A little over 2 years to get that one material. Now that's shot up to 54.5 years. That's unreal. I know there are other ways to get the runestones, but most of them are RNG, and their price is sure to skyrocket now that the most reliable source is wildly diminished. Unless this is a bug and/or gets reverted, I'm done making these weapons.

The latter paragraph is all but confirmed by the game. Ela Makkay is by the Jade Monument in New Kaineng City, and says much the same thing - that it's alarming that all these subaquatic species began fleeing for shore not when Soo-Won woke, but when she left. It sounds like she was keeping something at bay down there, and Kuunavang's request that she save Cantha has left whatever lurks in the depths to run amok.

This is an incorrect statement as the very group you literally just previously mentioned have proven. Subject Alpha and Kudu's Monster - which predate the event in Malchor's Leap - very much prove that dragons can interact with one another's corruption. The entire basis of this false pronunciation comes from the sylvari being Elder Dragons and "immune" (in that they immediately die when exposed) to Elder Dragon corruptions. The irony is that the notion of their immunity was initially presented to be argued as evidence for the sylvari being dragon minions, despite the entire and total lack of any actual proof of it. In the end, the entire "dragon minions cannot be corrupted by other dragons" originates from literal nothingness, originally used to argue why sylvari are immune to explain their origins, then using sylvari's origins to explain their immunity! https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/66164/dragon-corruptionAndrew Gray refutes this here. I think Andrew's comment pretty succinctly addresses the "You're making the same mistake as the over-believed mistake of "dragon minions are immune to other dragons' corruption". " problem. This plainly states that dragon minions cannot be corrupted by other dragons. If the developer is to be believed, you are wrong, and dragons are not generally capable of corrupting one another's minions. External forces like the Inquest can engineer hybrid minions, and recent breakdowns in the once-solid rules have caused the situation to change, but this is still the general rule. If it were not, Taimi would have no reason to be surprised by Vine/Death-Touched Destroyers in Season 3, like you alluded to. This is new, we can still rely on "dragons can't corrupt one another's minions" in historical situations. I don't think that really speaks of much. It's crystals because those are minerals that aren't metals and are materials. Gold Ore nodes and Aurilium nodes are literally the same model. Except that the latter has a golden dust aura to it. Curiously, the wiki seems to use a rich node for the image of a normal gold ore node. But if you go into the home instance, it should be plain as day. I was wrong about the gold, my bad. As you said, the wiki uses a peculiar image. This said, I think you dismiss the crystal affinity too easily: the only items we bring to the Wealdwood are crystalline or sand-themed, both of which have strong connections to the Crystal Dragon lineage. Given that the Wealdwood is capable of corrupting other materials, like the earth surrounding it, the crystal obsession (added in 2015, 3+ years after Core's launch) seems noteworthy. Why not bring it a bunch of metals? Fun fact: Vlast's model is actually green crystals. Which is the same as the original designs of Kralkatorrik, who had emerald green blood and eyes in the Edge of Destiny novel. Yeah, this is legit. I would have to reread Edge of Destiny, but isn't Kralkatorrik described as having golden breath while forging the Dragonbrand? The wiki states this, though I can't back this up with a page source right now. They're gold because the Forgotten made them. They're gold because the Hall of Ascension and the Hall of Heroes are gold. Tarir and Kesho are made in their image. Like The Ascension is. The similarity is most evident in the egg chamber of Tarir. The golden designs of the Forgotten are allusions, references, callbacks, and/or extensions of the Hall of Ascension which, in turn, is such towards the Hall of Heroes itself. Which holds its origins in only the Six Gods and their servants (the Forgotten), and not the Tyrian-bound (until events of PoF) Elder Dragons or their scions. You've connected the Wealdwood to the Forgotten and their architecture (including the Mystery Cave in Point of No Return). There are definite similarities, in that all are gold. However, if we look at the GW1 timeline, we see the note "Serpents arrive on Tyria" in 1769BE. While some major shadows of doubt can be cast on this by GW2's revelations regarding their ancient history, we have to wonder how much of what we've been told with regards to the Forgotten and the gods is actually true. If Glint's grandmother were gold-themed, then the Forgotten could have created their architecture in the Mists in its image, allowing for Kesho and Tarir to be descended both from the Hall of Ascension, and Glint's grandmother. As for the Hall of Heroes, that is curious. I don't readily have any answers prepared for that, barring "Tyrians are capable of limited Mists-engineering now, the Hall of Heroes could have been constructed by mortals". Granted, the ghosts there tore Lord Odran apart, but that's explained away via him not being an architect of the place easily enough. The Forgotten have history that spans both Tyria and the Mists, so the bit about The gods routinely overstated their own accomplishments. For instance, "[Glint] was said to have been the first creature on Tyria, sent here by the Gods over 3,000 years ago to act as the world's guardian during its shaping, and was later given servants—the Forgotten—to aid her in this task." from GW1. Of course these situations were retcons, but I think we have to abide by the spirit of "GW2 is pulling back the curtains on the extent to which the gods forged the world". The most concrete links between the gods and the Hall of Heroes are (as far as I can see) the presence of statues and avatars there. It's easy enough to construct something in the Mists though, if you have enough energy. So, to go back over it...1) Dragons can't touch other dragons' energies. Hybridization only comes about through external forces, or breakdowns in the governing system like we're seeing now.2) We still only bring crystal and sand to the Wealdwood. There is nothing stating that we couldn't bring other items there for the other Legendary Collections, so this strikes me as noteworthy.3) Etymology still ties Aurene to gold, she was hatched in a map called Auric Basin, etc. It may be overreaching, but this would make for a nice way to subtly evoke gold surrounding her.4) The Hall of Heroes' origins are dubious, and the earliest record of it (851AE) is late enough that it could very well have been built in the Rift by the Forgotten. We've seen that it is possible to build in the Mists (Dessa, Arkk, the Fractal lounge), and the Forgotten have historically had major presences within the Mists (many within the Realm of Torment, and the pre-GW1 timeline mentions they came from the Mists). Not gonna deny that Orr/Aur- isn't a stretch: it totally is. But it's a stretch that would thematically connect the two. It's less 'evidence', and more 'would be fantastic retroactive foreshadowing'.

On the northern shores of Malchor's Leap, at the heart of the Pyrite Peninsula, we can find a golden orb of energy turning the land around it to gold. I posit that the orb is the Heart of Kralkatorrik's mother, that she was responsible for much of the gold we find around Tyria, that she influenced Orrian culture, and that her legacy lives on in her descendants. 1) The Nature of the OrbThe Pyrite Peninsula is a subregion of northern Malchor's Leap on the coast of Orr. A golden orb floats high above, gilding the land and its elementals. Nearby Inquest - a group known for their research into draconic energies at the Thaumanova Reactor, Infinity Coil Reactor, and Rata Primus - maintain a base of operations nearby, for the purposes of researching and harnessing the golden orb. During the event "Drive off the Inquest before channelers drain the orb's energy", the Inquest Overseer remarks "Look at this gilded flotsam. The corruption can't touch it.". Given that the Orrian corruption is coming from Zhaitan, this implies that the orb is draconic in nature. Dragons cannot generally interact with one another's corruption, barring recent events that postdate this event. While the orb has yet to play a role in any primary story, it has had interactions added since launch. With Heart of Thorns came Legendary Weapon Collections, and the collections for The Bifrost, Zap, and H.O.P.E. all bring players to the Wealdwood. For Zap, this involves overcharging a Charged Quartz Crystal into Metallically Overcharged Quartz, and for H.O.P.E. this involves a Case of Corrupted Crystalline Phials. The Bifrost goes a step further and has the player provide: Crystal LodestoneRuby CrystalOpal CrystalBeryl CrystalCharged Quartz CrystalMystic CrystalEmerald CrystalSapphire CrystalPotent Mastery Tuning Crystalfor upgrading. Evidently, the Wealdwood has an affinity for crystals. Later still, on May 12, 2016, players became able to empower a Pile of Coarse Sand at the location, and receive a Pile of Golden Sand. As of yet, this item has no purpose. Given the orb's draconic nature, and its relationship to sand, crystals, and the local earth elementals, it seems fairly safe to guess that the Wealdwood is related to Kralkatorrik. More specifically, the Wealdwood is the Heart of the 'Mother' that Kralkatorrik thought of as he died. 2) Fool's GoldTyria's gold nodes are strange. They are modeled far more sharply than the other standard nodes, with only Mithril and Orichalcum (one fantasy, one historical/incorrect) coming close. It bears a much closer resemblance, then, to Tyria's more fantastical nodes than to its mundane ones. In fact, gold nodes look more like Pyrite than standard gold. Heart of Thorns added Aurillum, and Aurillium Nodes (for the home instance) that more closely resemble the low-tier nodes and real-life manifestations of gold, than the standard gold nodes. A real-life geologist would likely identify Aurillium as gold, and would see 'gold' as pyrite, or something alien entirely. As Kralkatorrik was active last dragonrise, it is likely that his mother died over twenty thousand years ago. Her influence and corruption has faded, leaving only the gold nodes that we mine today. 3) Where Dragons LieIn 'Everyday Magic in Orr', found among the Orrian History Scrolls, an Ascalonian merchant from Foible's Fair wrote, "For the Orrians, magic is like any other tool, to be used at whim and with little concern.", after describing the many magical feats the Orrians employed within their everyday lives. This level of ambient magic can be attributed to Zhaitan, and the sleeping dragon almost assuredly contributed, but this level of magic is strange even for this scenario. The other dragon sites were capable of powering magical constructs, as shown by the asura using Primordus' magical radiation to power the Central Transfer Chamber, but even they were not shown to use magic so frivolously as the humans of Orr. If Zhaitan were sleeping beneath Orr and regions of the kingdom were being bathed in residual magic from Kralkatorrik's mother, this could further explain why the people there were so magically inclined. The entire land would have been awash in enough ambient magic to empower even the lowliest spellcaster to reach great heights. Additionally, the golden dragon's presence on Orr would explain a few things about the nation. Its name, Orr, is a homophone for Aur-, a prefix denoting gold. Orrians seem to employ 'memetic architecture': their towers are based on the rings that fell from high above (as stated in 'Strange Ring Structures'). If the land were corrupted by a golden influence, that would explain the land's golden architecture: our glimpse of Pre-Cataclysm Orr via the Displaced Towers showcases a golden version of the Vizier's Tower. 4) LegacyThis hypothetical gold dragon's influence lives on in her descendants. Her presumed gold pallet would explain Vlast, an anomalous yellow-gold amidst the blues and purples of his family. This revelation would also cast Glint's cities in a new light: Kesho and Tarir are both massive, golden, monuments, and could imply some measure of fondness on Glint's behalf for her grandmother. Aurene is named for aurene glass, which generally comes in two varieties: blue and gold. Aur, as stated above, is a prefix denoting gold. If Aurene's great grandmother were a dragon of gold, this adds a new dimension to her name. Her hatchplace of Auric Basin also becomes quite fitting in this situation. Closing Thoughts: The Pile of Golden Sand was added to the game 4 months before Aurene was, during the time that Rising Flames was being worked on. This implies that the Wealdwood may have been on the developer's minds in relationship to Aurene. While the developers stated that the 'mother' line was a hook for future stories, I don't think that precludes the possibility of core assets being integrated. The story of Kralkatorrik's mother is almost entirely untouched, and explaining that an asset from the core game is related to her does not make the entirety of the story 'something from the past'. As for community beliefs about the Wealdwood being related to the Exalted, these two things do not have to be mutually exclusive. As servants of Glint and her Legacy, the Exalted could very well be tapping into whatever modicum of her grandmother's power Glint is channeling. We see similarities in their magic as is, with both commanding some measure of power over sand. (Many thanks to https://littleantler.tumblr.com/ for pointing out the aberrant nature of Tyria's gold, and for bouncing ideas back and forth)

So, the Wealdwood. It is immune to other draconic corruption, corrupts nearby creatures, and can interface with sand and crystals. It's also gold, similar to the cradles for Glint's two children, and the first half of Aurene's name - AUR (yes, I know, Aurene glass). I decided to fly my Skyscale into the orb for funsies, and I'm pretty sure it got a LOT bigger. The glow is certainly more pronounced. ^Wiki image, and my experience Pre-Skyscale.^After I flew my Skyscale in. Given that the Hero Challenge was updated 4 months before Aurene was added, to give Golden Sand, nd its visual similarities to Kralkatorrik's Heart, I think we're looking at the long-dead remains of Aurene and Vlast's great grandmother: the mother Kralkatorrik spoke of with his dying thoughts. EDIT: Never mind. The orb grows shortly before the Inquest channeling event, and stays grown unless the event is lost. At this point, it stays smaller until the event comes back around.

People like boring races, that's...basically it. The devs could lavish us with tengu, kodan, and all hosts of races unique to the setting, and people would still want the most humanoid races they could find. I can't see the largos being added. The devs stated that tengu were a cut 6th playable race, and that kodan were the most likely expansion race (this was wayyy back in the PCGamer EotN/GW2 interview, so take it with a grain of salt). Tengu were cut, and kodan haven't been added. Largos were, at BEST, third on their list, and the first two haven't made it.