So what's in the Jade Sea?

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

I know we'll find out in two weeks, but I want to see what we can think of before hand.

Something tied to the Oni/Kanaxi? something tied to the Deep Sea Monster? Maybe the Purists are trying to get some power to further their goals? Anet just abandons all the EoD plot threads they set up and goes straight into the god arc?

What are your thoughts/ideas?

Edited February 14, 2023 by Sajuuk Khar.1509

[Eekasqueak.7850]

Suppose it's whatever the jade maw came from, maybe latent corruption from the whole jade scream thing that gpt buried deep, jade corrupted leviathans and maybe more hints to whatever drove the quaggans and Krait out. 

[Zola.6197]

Honestly cannot fathom what they have planned. Beyond the nods to the jade sea reverting to a liquid state, there weren't a lot of hints setting up a clear story there that I can remember (beyond the poor working conditions of Joon's workers). The previous art they teased seemed to show ruined Kaineng, but the color palette was similarly that blue-jade color. Maybe it's an area where the jade sea and kaineng ruins collide?

It's possible too that the cavern in the concept art is just an instance we travel to, and perhaps something is awakening under the jade that the amassing risen in drowned kaineng want? Underwater tunnels that lead deep underground into this jade cavern?

My mind immediately jumps to The Deep/Kanaxai, Zhu Hanuku, or the Jade Maw. Those feel a bit too obvious though. Wonder if we would reach this new area through the thawing jade tunnel in Dragon's End.

It looks like there are leylines passing through frozen creatures in the walls of the cavern, and black motes that resemble some of the affects they used for Void corruption. The bright green glow from beneath makes me think of necromancers. Those platforms definitely look like the perfect set up for a boss battle lol.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Zola.6197

[Jimbru.6014]

The majority of the Jade Sea is still a solid mass of jade, so unless there's some kind of magic suspended animation thing going on, "what's in the Jade Sea" is probably a lot of dead critters and it's gonna stink like sin as they thaw out. If those dead critters have been corrupted by Zhaitan magic running loose via the corrupted jade, they might be Risen or Void enemies. Inconvenient.

Another thought with an older basis is that if the Jade Sea retains still retains any of Shiro's influence, perhaps the sea thawing might revive the Affliction, and of course we'll have to stop that.

We'll probably also have to be dealing with the political aftermath of there being no more Elder Dragons to fight. The common enemy is gone; now what? The Pact, the peace between the five races...serious potential for everything that's been built over the last ten years to fall apart. Oh, and the effects of jade tech beginning to disperse to the larger world; Tyria is no stranger to technology, but still...

 

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

I hope not Kanaxai, since we killed him and it'd be a needless nostalgia catering to bring him back. Similarly, I think it'd negate his role in GW1 if it ended up being a "the source behind Kanaxai". Sadly, the description and screenshot makes me think of the cave Kanaxai was found in, which while much more basic, had similar glow and mist - just no ley-lines or Void-like black goop.

And I don't think it'd be tied to the Unending Ocean horrors, since the Jade Sea is completely isolated. Unless this thread is in every single body of water if you go deep enough. Which seems a weird enough choice.

3 hours ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

The majority of the Jade Sea is still a solid mass of jade, so unless there's some kind of magic suspended animation thing going on, "what's in the Jade Sea" is probably a lot of dead critters and it's gonna stink like sin as they thaw out.

Should be noted that the Leviathans in GW1 were still alive when they broke free from the jade. One was fought in The Deep, was in a block of jade, and broke free as the party approaches.

To be clear, I'm referring to these Leviathans: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Leviathan; https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Petrified_leviathan
In GW2, we see such, but they're called sea wurms: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Jade_Wurm

So it is possible other creatures manage to survive, if these wurms can survive 200 years with no air, water, or food.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Konig Des Todes.2086

[Bobby Stein.3612]

Obligatory 👀 post.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

3 minutes ago, Bobby Stein.3612 said:

Obligatory 👀 post.

So this means that the thing under the Jade Sea is Zojja.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

6 minutes ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

So this means that the thing under the Jade Sea is Zojja.

No. It will be Lord Faren in his underwear again.

[Jimbru.6014]

The GW1 Leviathans use a model similar to the Junundu in PoF.  The Jade Wurm uses a model similar to the various undersea wurms, plains wurms et al that are found all over GW2.

The GW1 Leviathans are nothing like the EoD Adolescent Leviathans, which are basically shaped like big spiky walruses. EoD type Leviathan skeletons can be found in various other places in the GW2 world as well...Desert Highlands, beaches in Orr, and there's one hanging in the Durmand Priory of all places. Confusing to have two prominent but very different critters with the same name, but real world "possums" in America and Australia are completely different critters too, so it's not like such confusion is unprecedented.

Not really trying to say anything here, just thinking out loud through my keyboard.

[Jimbru.6014]

2 hours ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

Should be noted that the Leviathans in GW1 were still alive when they broke free from the jade. One was fought in The Deep, was in a block of jade, and broke free as the party approaches.

To be clear, I'm referring to these Leviathans: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Leviathan; https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Petrified_leviathan
In GW2, we see such, but they're called sea wurms: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Jade_Wurm

So it is possible other creatures manage to survive, if these wurms can survive 200 years with no air, water, or food.

That's right in line with my idea that maybe critters in the Jade Sea are just in some sort of suspended animation. They were frozen into stasis by the jade like Han Solo in carbonite, and they could come back to life as it thaws out.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

28 minutes ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

The GW1 Leviathans use a model similar to the Junundu in PoF.  The Jade Wurm uses a model similar to the various undersea wurms, plains wurms et al that are found all over GW2.

The GW1 Leviathans are nothing like the EoD Adolescent Leviathans, which are basically shaped like big spiky walruses. EoD type Leviathan skeletons can be found in various other places in the GW2 world as well...Desert Highlands, beaches in Orr, and there's one hanging in the Durmand Priory of all places. Confusing to have two prominent but very different critters with the same name, but real world "possums" in America and Australia are completely different critters too, so it's not like such confusion is unprecedented.

Not really trying to say anything here, just thinking out loud through my keyboard.

Let's make it more confusing!

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Leviathan_(species)

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Leviathan_(ship)

13 minutes ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

That's right in line with my idea that maybe critters in the Jade Sea are just in some sort of suspended animation. They were frozen into stasis by the jade like Han Solo in carbonite, and they could come back to life as it thaws out.

To be fair though, it seems that only The Leviathan was still living in the jade. Several other creatures were excavated and don't seem to have survived, given that nobles decided to use them as decorations in Kaineng. And part of the Naga lore is that their numbers nearly died out because of being trapped in the jade, and had to be resurrected:

Like the Wardens, the Naga people lost their homes when the Jade Wind struck. But the Naga population—water-dwelling creatures related to sea snakes which evolved a culture at peace with humans—was nearly wiped out by Shiro’s death wail. Thousands became one with the sea when it turned to gemstone. Hundreds more, mostly traders or mercenaries, died with the humans of Cantha on land. The only Naga that survived were those far enough away not to be trapped in the water when it turned to jade, and those survivors—only a few dozen in number—were scattered and terrified.
If not for a Naga priestess named Hanasha Coralfin the entire race might well have died out within a few years, perhaps even a few months. The priestess used what power she had left to revive those survivors she could find, who then brought more survivors to her, until a united Naga tribe of barely 40 individuals gathered. Under her guidance, the Naga abandoned their ancient moral codes and began to propagate freely and often, so that someday they might make the humans pay for what they had done.

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Note: As I have not played GW1, I am probably 100 % wrong.

I'll take a closer look at the picture they have added to the roadmap. Opposite to most other pictures that worked as a teaser, this one is not a concept art. It is a screenshot. Which means everything we see there will be accessible.

There is soil, rocks and liquid. We are somewhere in a cave. On the first looks, it instantly reminded me of Draconis Mons. Looking at the middle, there seems to be an arch that was not formed by nature. So whatever is down there, humanoids have probably been there too.

Looks like a mining expedition. Maybe the cave was discovered by a digging-crew several years before the events of EoD. Due to the lack of resources, Joon decided not to investigate the fate of the missing team much further. But the energy readings down there, due to the leylines, seem too powerful to be left ignored.

Some of the small details look like jade-tech. As ANet was so eager to get the bot-consoles in the major cities, they probably wanted us to train a bit with the feature. We maybe have to do some kind of exploration in that map. In tunnels which even the Skyscale cannot reach.

The massive stalactite looks like condensed ley-energy. Maybe as an alternative to dragon-jade. The platforms look like other stalactites, massive ones that fell down from the top. That would explain the rough edges and shattered pieces around them. And it would be an explanation for the flat shimmering surface, which you get when minerals break. This however means that there are or have been seismic activities in the cave.

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

21 minutes ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

The massive stalactite looks like condensed ley-energy. Maybe as an alternative to dragon-jade.

I could see this being part of the story here.

EoD left a handful of big plot points open

• The Risen in Old Kaineng/whatever Risen horror is in Raisu Palaca
• The Purist's plot to take over the city
• The Deep Sea Monster off the coast
• The eminent energy crisis now that Soo-Won is gone

In a more traditional LW season I would've guess the energy crisis might be a meta plot across the season, while the rest of the plots are taken care of. In this new format of mini-expansions I can see them doing the energy plot first, since its the most obvious pressing matter at the end of EoD, and using that to set up some future mini-expansions that deal with the Risen/Purists, and the DSM.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Sajuuk Khar.1509

[SunRoamer.5103]

53 minutes ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Leviathan_(species)

Looking at these again, it's interesting to see just how similar they are to the karka. To this day, I think that the karka have some of the most interesting enemy movesets in the game so I sure wouldn't mind if they were brought back in the Jade Sea as these leviathans.

[Jimbru.6014]

8 minutes ago, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

The eminent energy crisis now that Soo-Won is gone

In a more traditional LW season I would've guess the energy crisis might be a meta plot across the season, while the rest of the plots are taken care of. In this new format of mini-expansions I can see them doing the energy plot first, since its the most obvious pressing matter at the end of EoD, and using that to set up some future mini-expansions that deal with the Risen/Purists, and the DSM.

As of our last conversation with Taimi at the end of EoD, she and Joon and Aurene were already working on the energy problem and optimistic about a solution. I expect they'll end up merging jade tech batteries with Asura ley line tech, because I can't imagine Aurene allowing herself to be used like Soo-Won.

[Jimbru.6014]

13 minutes ago, SunRoamer.5103 said:

Looking at these again, it's interesting to see just how similar they are to the karka. To this day, I think that the karka have some of the most interesting enemy movesets in the game so I sure wouldn't mind if they were brought back in the Jade Sea as these leviathans.

I'd wager those ARE karka. They were just known by a different name two centuries ago.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

48 minutes ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

I'd wager those ARE karka. They were just known by a different name two centuries ago.

Well, only one of the three models are similar, and they're two-legged rather than four-legged.

But it wouldn't be the first time a creature is drastically retconned in appearance (krakens and hydras to name two). They could quite easily retcon them as being karka. Would be interesting to see karka again.

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

1 hour ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

As of our last conversation with Taimi at the end of EoD, she and Joon and Aurene were already working on the energy problem and optimistic about a solution. I expect they'll end up merging jade tech batteries with Asura ley line tech, because I can't imagine Aurene allowing herself to be used like Soo-Won.

We already know she fused Asura tech with jade-tech to make the Jade-tech prosthetics better, so it makes sense she would do the same with the energy stuff.

[Gibson.4036]

3 hours ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Note: As I have not played GW1, I am probably 100 % wrong.

I'll take a closer look at the picture they have added to the roadmap. Opposite to most other pictures that worked as a teaser, this one is not a concept art. It is a screenshot. Which means everything we see there will be accessible.

There is soil, rocks and liquid. We are somewhere in a cave. On the first looks, it instantly reminded me of Draconis Mons. Looking at the middle, there seems to be an arch that was not formed by nature. So whatever is down there, humanoids have probably been there too.

Looks like a mining expedition. Maybe the cave was discovered by a digging-crew several years before the events of EoD. Due to the lack of resources, Joon decided not to investigate the fate of the missing team much further. But the energy readings down there, due to the leylines, seem too powerful to be left ignored.

Some of the small details look like jade-tech. As ANet was so eager to get the bot-consoles in the major cities, they probably wanted us to train a bit with the feature. We maybe have to do some kind of exploration in that map. In tunnels which even the Skyscale cannot reach.

The massive stalactite looks like condensed ley-energy. Maybe as an alternative to dragon-jade. The platforms look like other stalactites, massive ones that fell down from the top. That would explain the rough edges and shattered pieces around them. And it would be an explanation for the flat shimmering surface, which you get when minerals break. This however means that there are or have been seismic activities in the cave.

The hole up center looks like the holes that appear in rock in ley line caves, with, of course, the glowing flows that look like ley line energy.

On the right, that form looks like a serpent/worm erupting from a burrow.

Up on the left, that opening looks like a mouth.

Creatures that merge/swim through Jade like Drakkar through ice?

[stormemperor.3745]

Jade

[EdwinLi.1284]

11 hours ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

I hope not Kanaxai, since we killed him and it'd be a needless nostalgia catering to bring him back. Similarly, I think it'd negate his role in GW1 if it ended up being a "the source behind Kanaxai". Sadly, the description and screenshot makes me think of the cave Kanaxai was found in, which while much more basic, had similar glow and mist - just no ley-lines or Void-like black goop.

And I don't think it'd be tied to the Unending Ocean horrors, since the Jade Sea is completely isolated. Unless this thread is in every single body of water if you go deep enough. Which seems a weird enough choice.

Should be noted that the Leviathans in GW1 were still alive when they broke free from the jade. One was fought in The Deep, was in a block of jade, and broke free as the party approaches.

To be clear, I'm referring to these Leviathans: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Leviathan; https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Petrified_leviathan
In GW2, we see such, but they're called sea wurms: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Jade_Wurm

So it is possible other creatures manage to survive, if these wurms can survive 200 years with no air, water, or food.

I doubt it is Kanaxai since we did kill him in GW1 but there maybe another or more similar to Kanaxai hidden in the Jade Sea

 

The Mysterious Origins of Kanaxai has yet to be explored after all and we are never certain if he was the only one down below.

 

It is possible the new threat maybe the Origins of Kanaxai being something ancient from a time before the Gods enter Tyria and maybe before the Dragon Cycle was created. It maybe even something that survived a previous cycle and only survived due to how well hidden it was until the Luxon's accidently dug it up which lead them to Kanaxai (which may have been only a lowly servant)

 

Either way, looking at the image there is certainly a Demonic Horror theme for this area as we see Mouths on the walls where layline energy is going into or coming out of. Along with what looks like twisted dead bodies of somethings being fused with the walls.

Edited February 15, 2023 by EdwinLi.1284

[Zola.6197]

I could see them more broadly exploring beings similar to Kanaxai/its origins. Might not be directly connected to the deep sea horrors, but I could see both having a common origin. Similar types of creatures originating from the mists, with whatever is in the ocean being much, much more powerful.

The notion we go down there in search of something to power the jade tech is a good idea, especially if there's some form of... condensed/solidified ley energy resource?

Edited February 15, 2023 by Zola.6197

[HotDelirium.7984]

20 hours ago, Bobby Stein.3612 said:

Obligatory 👀 post.

sigh, im so starved for content I can't help but think obligatory googly eyes in a hint HALP

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

12 hours ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

I doubt it is Kanaxai since we did kill him in GW1 but there maybe another or more similar to Kanaxai hidden in the Jade Sea

Honestly, "we did kill him in GW1" is no longer sufficient reason for believing someone won't return anymore, after all there are other NPCs who inexplicably returned in GW2 despite being killed in GW1, or moving on to another realm entirely. Turai Ossa, for example, moved on to the Hall of Heroes after the Prophecies PC became Ascended, but in GW2 we see him chilling out in the Temple of Ascension (Dunes of Despair mission area). Similarly, we have many ghosts of killed GW1 minor foes, like the White Mantle Demagogue from Aurora Glade, and defeated ghosts we were told were sent off to the Mists returned to their haunting spot in GW2 - Murakai and Primeval King Jahnus for prime examples. Even Urgoz is stated to be capable of returning in EoD.

ANet has brought back so many entities from GW1 that were set up as being settled matters, I can't see "we settled the matter" as being a reason to doubt anything else will return. It isn't quite as bad as WoW, since WoW brought back major figures who were dealt with through huge sacrifices, while GW2 is only bringing back side content foes, but it wouldn't surprise me at this point if "somehow, Abaddon returned" ends up playing out.

12 hours ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

The Mysterious Origins of Kanaxai has yet to be explored after all and we are never certain if he was the only one down below.

I don't think Kanaxai's origins need to be explained. He was a demon, a Nightmare Demon to be specific, and mentions being from the Nightmare Realm - another name for the Realm of Torment. We know the origins of demons, they are born from malevolent energies in the Mists, so Kanaxai is probably the same. And that's fine to leave it as such.

12 hours ago, EdwinLi.1284 said:

It is possible the new threat maybe the Origins of Kanaxai being something ancient from a time before the Gods enter Tyria and maybe before the Dragon Cycle was created. It maybe even something that survived a previous cycle and only survived due to how well hidden it was until the Luxon's accidently dug it up which lead them to Kanaxai (which may have been only a lowly servant)

Nothing can be "before the Dragon Cycle was created" since no life existed on the world before Soo-Won created her children based on her dialogue in EoD.

That being said - Kanaxai was only "dug up" because the Jade Wind trapped him in the cave initially, so anything else found would have been capable of free reign before the Jade Wind as well.

[Bast.7253]

The Krait finally summoned whatever they were trying to summon with all those obelisks.

 

Come to think of it we’ve had quite a few Elder dragon corrupted/empowered Krait over the years and I don’t think there was any reasoning behind it but having them and the obelisks connected to the void could be interesting I guess.

 

With the announcement of smaller expansions I’m assuming the story within them will be similarly scoped. Really don’t think it will be Kanaxai and the teaser just looked like jade maws feeding on ley lines to me. Perhaps they’re distant relatives to the Chak and we’re starting to see an infestation now that Soo Won isn’t in the reactor, and presumably, Aurene is now funneling a bunch more magic into the ley lines?

 

idk. Wild guesses and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a gods plot arising from the visit of Ihn in divinity’s reach but this teaser doesn’t tell me much behind tentacles with mouths and strike mission/story instance loading screen given the platforms.