The Virtuoso NPC has some confusing dialogue; when exactly did Tyrians arrive in Cantha...?

[Gambit.9501]

So I talked to the Virtuosos guide NPC in Seitung Harbor, and some of yours and his dialogue seem a bit confusing to me.

 

So first off, for those who don't know, Daucus is a Sylvari.  Interesting choice by Arenanet, and one that I kinda like.  But here's where things start getting weird:

So when you ask him what he's doing here in Shing Jea, he says he came to Cantha "not too long ago".   That makes sense, nothing out of the ordinary there; he obviously must've came around the same that all the other Tyrian adventurers came.

So you ask him about the Virtuoso.  When he describes how the specialization works, you reply that it "must have taken years to master".  To which Daucus says "It did", before continuing to describe the spec a little bit more.

Huh???  What exactly is he saying?  Surely a sylvari mesmer couldn't have already mastered the arts of the Virtuoso so soon?  Or am I just misinterpreting the dialogue here?
 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Gambit.9501

[Palador.2170]

I think it's supposed to imply that he was on the path of "do it like this", and when he arrived he discovered they already had people trained to "do it like this", so he was a big step ahead and just needed the refinement they could give him.

[Shaaba.5672]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. My head cannon is that this sylvari had some wanderlust and ended up in Cantha years ago, before the Aetherblade, etc. Since Canthans had not seen Sylvari before or had any experience with them, they decided to let it slide and he got special permission to stay. Curiosity and no previous bias towards Sylvari made it ok. In my head at least.

[Danikat.8537]

Not all elite specs need to be directly tied to the expansion or exclusively developed in that region. For example PoF had the revenant's renegade spec which is very much charr themed and the NPC who tells you about it (Gorea Halfcut) says she went to Elona because it's a "spiritually powerful place" which helped her develop the magic.

In this case I agree with @Palador.2170 that it sounds like Daucus was exploring new ways to use mesmer magic anyway and going to Cantha just allowed him to combine what he was developing with their dagger techniques.

But also early in the story Taimi and Joon are able to discuss scientific literature they've both read, and the Aetherblades imply they've been coming to Cantha for quite a while. It sounds like it wasn't as completely cut off from the outside world as it seemed and just didn't have any official contact or established trade routes, so it's also possible he's been there longer than the week or so most the Tyrians have. (During the first story steps you skip ahead several days, 9 I think, which gives time for everyone else to arrive and get set up.)

[Tyson.5160]

6 hours ago, Danikat.8537 said:

Not all elite specs need to be directly tied to the expansion or exclusively developed in that region. For example PoF had the revenant's renegade spec which is very much charr themed and the NPC who tells you about it (Gorea Halfcut) says she went to Elona because it's a "spiritually powerful place" which helped her develop the magic.

In this case I agree with @Palador.2170 that it sounds like Daucus was exploring new ways to use mesmer magic anyway and going to Cantha just allowed him to combine what he was developing with their dagger techniques.

But also early in the story Taimi and Joon are able to discuss scientific literature they've both read, and the Aetherblades imply they've been coming to Cantha for quite a while. It sounds like it wasn't as completely cut off from the outside world as it seemed and just didn't have any official contact or established trade routes, so it's also possible he's been there longer than the week or so most the Tyrians have. (During the first story steps you skip ahead several days, 9 I think, which gives time for everyone else to arrive and get set up.)

I believe Zephyrites as well we’re still able to land in Cantha.

[Dawdler.8521]

Have you actually seen him do anything?

I mean it could just be a sylvari that was born yesterday, dropped head first from the tree and now thinks he's the greatest mesmer to ever exist.

[Ausar.9542]

8 hours ago, Gambit.9501 said:

So I talked to the Virtuosos guide NPC in Seitung Harbor, and some of yours and his dialogue seem a bit confusing to me.

 

So first off, for those who don't know, Daucus is a Sylvari.  Interesting choice by Arenanet, and one that I kinda like.  But here's where things start getting weird:

So when you ask him what he's doing here in Shing Jea, he says he came to Cantha "not too long ago".   That makes sense, nothing out of the ordinary there; he obviously must've came around the same that all the other Tyrian adventurers came.

So you ask him about the Virtuoso.  When he describes how the specialization works, you reply that it "must have taken years to master".  To which Daucus says "It did", before continuing to describe the spec a little bit more.

Huh???  What exactly is he saying?  Surely a sylvari mesmer couldn't have already mastered the arts of the Virtuoso so soon?  Or am I just misinterpreting the dialogue here?
 

or he had a teacher t\from Cantha that came to Tyria to teach him, like a wondering monk.

[Matt H.6142]

Let's not ignore his dialogue says Virtuosos don't use phantasms, but instead it should say they don't use clones.  I hope we don't have to discuss what is or isn't the difference between them.  As an npc trying to explain the spec, he should probably have his terminology correct.