The Jade Sea GW2 Era

[EdwinLi.1284]

Looks like the mass mining of the Jade Sea has affected the amount remaining.

Going into lower areas of the Jade sea appears to make the Jade look more blue like in GW1.

The words in the trailer are intreresting because it speaks about despite the prosperity Jade tech has brought to Cantha, there are going to be consequences that we maybe face in EoD.

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

>Imbued with the magic of dragons

Hopefully they mean it got that way AFTER it was jaded, because the magic that made it jade was not dragon magic

[Faridah.8431]

6 minutes ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

>Imbued with the magic of dragons

Hopefully they mean it got that way AFTER it was jaded, because the magic that made it jade was not dragon magic

Yeah I picked up on that line too.

[EdwinLi.1284]

18 minutes ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

>Imbued with the magic of dragons

Hopefully they mean it got that way AFTER it was jaded, because the magic that made it jade was not dragon magic

I suspect that the Jade in Cantha maybe absorbing the dragon magic passively.

If this ends up being true then Jade maybe another alternative to manage the balance out side of Aurene. However, the trailer mentions consequences so I am speculating that Jade does not properly release magic back into the world so the negative effects are now being felt. 

This does also bring us a possible reason why DSD may go to Cantha because if the Jade in Cantha is passively absorbing dragon magic released on the Elder Dragon's death that means Cantha is basically a all you can eat buffet for the DSD compared to other locations.

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[Ashantara.8731]

1 hour ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

>Imbued with the magic of dragons

Hopefully they mean it got that way AFTER it was jaded, because the magic that made it jade was not dragon magic

Yes, it would be quite disappointing if someone responsible for the upcoming story has forgotten about Shiro's betrayal, which makes for a much more interesting story (namely "The Curse") than another "The Elder Dragons' magic" iteration.

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

1 hour ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

If this ends up being true then Jade maybe another alternative to manage the balance out side of Aurene. However, the trailer mentions consequences so I am speculating that Jade does not properly release magic back into the world so the negative effects are now being felt.

I suspect at least some of the "consequences" mentioned are exploitation of workers, horribly unsafe working conditions, and mass ecological damage. As is typical whenever some "big new resource" rush happens.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Sajuuk Khar.1509

[Legion.4198]

They better have trains to carry all that jade around. 

[Randulf.7614]

Whilst I understand that many will really dislike it for the clear difference from GW1, I really liked the look of this zone. I was never Cantha’s biggest fan in GW1 - perhaps due to the rather dire story - but I’m quite excited and interested by what is shown here. The whole fantasy tech progression is something that seems to appeal to me more and more right now and the Jade Sea trailer struck a chord.

 

I’ve long since given up on GW2 staying true to GW1 anyway. That ship set sail many years ago. It’s clear the devs want to move away from it (as well much of the early GW2 lore). I think I’m ok with it as well.

[EdwinLi.1284]

15 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

Whilst I understand that many will really dislike it for the clear difference from GW1, I really liked the look of this zone. I was never Cantha’s biggest fan in GW1 - perhaps due to the rather dire story - but I’m quite excited and interested by what is shown here. The whole fantasy tech progression is something that seems to appeal to me more and more right now and the Jade Sea trailer struck a chord.

 

I’ve long since given up on GW2 staying true to GW1 anyway. That ship set sail many years ago. It’s clear the devs want to move away from it (as well much of the early GW2 lore). I think I’m ok with it as well.

A part of me do hope we can return to the Deep in GW2 since the mining of Jade has been implied to greatly taken most of the Jade Sea already.

It would be a great opportunity for a Meta event as well that focus on return to the spot where Kanazai is defeated to fight a Meta boss with the Meta story focused on discovering the unknown lore about Kanaxai and how he ended up down there before the Jade Wind trapped him.

Not to mention with a good amount of Jade Sea mined, it will not be surprising if Canthans have discover certain ruins that may cover the history of Kanaxai before the Jade Wind trapped him.

Edited November 17, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

17 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

Whilst I understand that many will really dislike it for the clear difference from GW1, I really liked the look of this zone. I was never Cantha’s biggest fan in GW1 - perhaps due to the rather dire story - but I’m quite excited and interested by what is shown here. The whole fantasy tech progression is something that seems to appeal to me more and more right now and the Jade Sea trailer struck a chord.

 

I’ve long since given up on GW2 staying true to GW1 anyway. That ship set sail many years ago. It’s clear the devs want to move away from it (as well much of the early GW2 lore). I think I’m ok with it as well.

Other than the heavy green coloring (but that might be explained in lore yet) contrasted to GW1's green-to-blue hue shift based on how deep the jade mining went, I feel this map is actually closest to a proper continuity from the plot hooks we were left with. Especially since we've gotten hints since Festival of the Four Winds 2014 that the jade hadn't fully melted.

If there's any disappointment, it's that there's no open waters of melted jade sea... but given how much of a hard on for avoiding underwater content GW2 has developed I'm in no way surprised.

[Randulf.7614]

1 minute ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

A part of me do hope we can return to the Deep in GW2 since the mining of Jade has been implied to greatly taken most of the Jade Sea already.

It would be a great opportunity for a Meta event as well that focus on return to the spot where Kanazai is defeated to fight a Meta boss with the Meta story focused on discovering the unknown lore about Kanazai and how he ended up down there before the Jade Wind trapped him.

I understand the sentiment and desire to know more, but I’d honestly try and not hope too much. I’d be surprised if Kanaxai gets much of a mention let alone additional lore. 
 

If they do, then It’s a nice surprise, but I’m expecting minimal nods to Factions
 

 

[Tachenon.5270]

Not sure where to ask this, but this seems like a good place, so here goes -- what happened to all the amber? Why is there no 'dragonamber'?

[EdwinLi.1284]

42 minutes ago, Tachenon.5270 said:

Not sure where to ask this, but this seems like a good place, so here goes -- what happened to all the amber? Why is there no 'dragonamber'?

I am guess amber is still there in the trees in the forest but since they may not absorb and conduct magic strongly as Jade does, the current Canthan government saw no need to farm the ambers.

[mythical.6315]

6 hours ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

>Imbued with the magic of dragons

Hopefully they mean it got that way AFTER it was jaded, because the magic that made it jade was not dragon magic

Wouldn't be the first time something got retconned. 

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

2 hours ago, Tachenon.5270 said:

Not sure where to ask this, but this seems like a good place, so here goes -- what happened to all the amber? Why is there no 'dragonamber'?

Since we don't know why it's become "dragonjade" instead of just "normal" jade still, we can't answer the "why there is no 'dragonamber'" question, but as for what happened - it's still there and used.

 

The warrior's Bladesword elite specialization specifically uses amber from the Echovald Forest to enhance their tools with magic, just as the Catalyst, Harbinger, and Mechanist use jade. I imagine it's not so common in daily Canthan life for two reasons: 1) the Echovald Forest seems to be outside of the Canthan empire's gaze nowadays, with the tengu taking control over it and the Kurzicks in massively reduced numbers. 2) the jade in the Jade Sea is, and always has been, far more numerous than the amber in the giant trees of the Echovald, though the amount of "purist jade" was limited to various locales such as the Jade Quarry.

[EdwinLi.1284]

I did notice those giant spider walkers in the mines. 

I wonder if those are meant for large Jade mining, transportation, or are there to act as defenses against any possible large threats to the mines and towns. 

Considering we see a giant chainsaw as one of the walker's weapons, I am assuming they are there mostly for defending the towns and mines from threats. A desirable need since the constant mining of Jade most likely awakened a lot of ancient threats to the surface like the Jade Maw.

I wonder if we may fight Leviathans in the Jade Sea.

Edited November 18, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[Blade Kuroda.1795]

19 hours ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

I suspect that the Jade in Cantha maybe absorbing the dragon magic passively.

If this ends up being true then Jade maybe another alternative to manage the balance out side of Aurene. However, the trailer mentions consequences so I am speculating that Jade does not properly release magic back into the world so the negative effects are now being felt. 

This does also bring us a possible reason why DSD may go to Cantha because if the Jade in Cantha is passively absorbing dragon magic released on the Elder Dragon's death that means Cantha is basically a all you can eat buffet for the DSD compared to other locations.

 

I mean the official description for "dragonjade"  on the website is
"The Jade Wind petrified everything it touched, devastating the southeastern coastal regions. A stone sea holds no food—but it’s absorbed centuries of magic. Canthan innovators have long sought practical applications for the material known as "dragonjade", achieving solutions undreamed of in the rest of the world."

[Harak.8397]

I'm a simple man. What caught my attention was facial tattoos on humans and seemingly odd walking animation the npcs have.😆

Edited November 18, 2021 by Harak.8397

[Fueki.4753]

15 hours ago, Tachenon.5270 said:

Not sure where to ask this, but this seems like a good place, so here goes -- what happened to all the amber? Why is there no 'dragonamber'?

Amber is petrified tree resin and Arenanet has (most likely randomly) decided that the Echovald Forest is completely de-petrified while the Jade Sea for some reason is still solid, even though the reversal of the Jade Winds' effects should have the same pace). So, there's less Amber than jade.

Another thing to note is that one of the worst two new specializations, Bladesworn, is based on amber technology. Meanwhile, two of the better specializations, Harmbinger and Mechanist, are jade-based.

Maybe Arenanet just doesn't like amber, but loves green to an unreasonably degree.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Fueki.4753

[Tails.9372]

On 11/17/2021 at 5:01 PM, EdwinLi.1284 said:

Looks like the mass mining of the Jade Sea has affected the amount remaining.

Weren't they mining this stuff even back in GW1? Now, especially with their advanced automation, I'm surprised that there is still so much of it left.

[Randulf.7614]

33 minutes ago, Tails.9372 said:

Weren't they mining this stuff even back in GW1? Now, especially with their advanced automation, I'm surprised that there is still so much of it left.

Depends on the size and depth of the Sea. Given the sheer volume of trees cut down from the Amazon rainforest everyday for decades and how much is still there (albeit sadly too little), it’s not inconceivable an entire Sea is still intact by such a proportion 

[Tempest.8479]

So I have some speculation based on the trailer. What if we get to Cantha and find an empire at the height of a technological revolution, but we learn that the mass mining over the years is threatening to tear it all down because it's going to run out soon?

This could open the door for some interesting plot threads as we could see the Ministry of Security or whatever branch of government has this knowledge trying to keep it a secret and silencing whistleblowers, or an increasing tension between the common people and the elites if it's public knowledge or if the news gets out through the story. Maybe we find ourselves dealing with a revolution of some kind?

I can also see a plot where a character like Joon and whatever organization and/or branch of the government she wields power over, pushed to the brink by the impending shortages, attempt more radical solutions to solve the energy crisis. This could lead her/them into direct conflict with the Commander as the solutions become more destructive. What if Joon attempts to artificially recreate the Jade Wind in order to drastically boost supply? This would be in line with the wording of the trailer, while lending itself thematically to a story about the consequences of unchecked technological advances.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Tempest.8479

[Zola.6197]

1 hour ago, Tails.9372 said:

Weren't they mining this stuff even back in GW1? Now, especially with their advanced automation, I'm surprised that there is still so much of it left.

The devs seem to indicate Jade Tech is still pretty new, also. They likely haven’t been utilizing the Jade in this way long enough to risk depleting it.

[EdwinLi.1284]

10 hours ago, Zola.6197 said:

The devs seem to indicate Jade Tech is still pretty new, also. They likely haven’t been utilizing the Jade in this way long enough to risk depleting it.

Yes it is new but new enough that most of Cantha have learned to accept it already and demand for it is high.

However, high demand means demand for more jade so faster mining of Jade in large quantities becomes more in demand. 

The Jade mining was not large as in GW2 era since only Luxons and Kurzicks mined the jades in small amount since there was not much need for to mine large quantities at that time due to their smaller society. 

Now the Jade demand covers the entire country of Cantha due to Jade Tech. Not to mention if Jade tech requires a lot of Jade to work, then that will add to the demand by making the demand higher.
 

11 hours ago, Tails.9372 said:

Weren't they mining this stuff even back in GW1? Now, especially with their advanced automation, I'm surprised that there is still so much of it left.

It a Supply and Demand Economics thing. Jade demand is different in GW1 era since Luxon and Kurzick smaller society did not have a the amount of demand that is in Cantha now during GW2. Thus the amount of supply needed was much lower during GW1 due to mostly Luxon and Kurzicks using the Jade.

GW2 era demand for Jade is hundreds of times higher since now the entire country of Cantha need it for their Jade Tech which leads to demand to mine Jade faster and in larger quantities to meet the supply required to meet the demand. Not to mention we don't know how much Jade is required to power the Jade Tech but from what we have seen, a lot of Jade is required so that will add more to the demand by raising it higher. Thus raising the expect jade supply required to meet that demand.

Edited November 19, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284

[EdwinLi.1284]

Well the preview of the Jade Sea (that has all enemies and NPCs removed) is over and they bring of somethings I think are important to being....

1)The story about jade sea slowly returning to being water again and part of the map is to discover a bit about that.

2) They mention how Canthan government are doing whatever they can to gather as much jade as possible to support their country's supply and demand. This type of mind set always leads to a lot of issues with any government and many we will face once we enter Cantha.

Edited November 20, 2021 by EdwinLi.1284