[Spoilers Story] Concerns regarding Aurene's future

[Eric.7351]

For those that don't like Aurene, I have seen your opinions and even understand some of them, but this isn't about that. If you have a negative disposition with the Prismatic Dragon, I respectfully ask you to move on from this post.

 

 

It has been more then a decade now, since I first picked up this game in middle school. I never had the need to join the forum, but ever since the conclusion of the Elder Dragon story I have something on my heart, something that I hope gets to the developers. Over the years I tried many aspects of the game, but out of all of it I never expected the story to be what got me invested the most. Up to the end of LWS4 I still ever only finished the personal story. It was then when I decided to finally catch up and experience the game to its fullest. This was the right decision. It is hard to describe without talking about my mental health, but the fate of Tyria and this overwhelming threat of the Elder Dragons felt close to my heart. I fell in love with the world that the studio created, and the characters in it, even with their flaws.

 

There is one however that was and still is special to me. Aurene. I was in a rather bad place in life when she hatched from her egg. At first I didn't really know what to think about her, but she didn't mind and showed me affection regardless. This was something new to me and something that means a lot to me. Over the course of LWS3 I began to like her more and more. Once I got to Path of Fire I could feel the bond that the commander is supposed to have with her. I felt responsible for what happened to Vlast, but what really moved me was when this little hatchling tried to fight a god, to save us. From there on out I wanted nothing more than to fight for her. She gave me hope and not just for Tyria. The fact that Aurene cared, even though she is in the end just a fictional character, helped me. It gave me just the little push that I needed to get out of the bad place my life was in.

 

By LWS4 I loved her, she genuinely was and still is like family to me. I wanted to be there for her on this difficult path she was on. Be the family to her that she never had. That season was an emotional roller coaster for me, even now I am still not over it completely. I was overjoyed to see her again in IBS, all grown up and as beautiful on the outside as she had always been on the inside. I was proud of her decision to not intervene as it showed that she took to heart what she learned in her mother's lair. And more so that she believed in us as her champion, that we could find the way to resolve this.

 

With End of Dragons I was scared about losing her since the title was announced, yet that was not it. She instead found her place in the world. I was happy with every second we had in the expansion with her. Yet I knew what it meant, and my heart broke when the game spelled it out for us.

 

Quote

Seeing Aurene step into her new role was bittersweet. I know that a chapter of our relationship has come to an end. She isn't going to need me in the same way anymore and will likely become inaccessible in some ways. I will have to get used to that, and I know it's a good thing, but I will also miss what we had.

-Last paragraph of the "My Story" entry from The mission "The Only One"

I know that the studio wants to step away from the Elder Dragons, It has been ten years after all and I also think it is time for new stories. But I am scared, scared of losing a character that has brought so much good to my life. For me the game would lose a part of its soul, one of the reasons we played for the last ten years. I don't need her to be one of the characters that drive the story anymore, but please, for all in the community that love her and fought for her, give us ways to interact with her over the years to come, let us talk to her, let us spend time with our adoptive scion. It just wouldn't be right towards her if we don't see her again, she says herself that she does not want to be alone. We and Caithe are closest to her and I have no doubt that she loves her champion like family as well. And even though the commander is a more passive character so that the player can make them their own, EoD clearly showed that they care a lot for Aurene. I know that many in the studio love her too, otherwise they would not have made her into such a kind and loving character.

 

Please give us something to keep our bond alive. As much as I love to hear her voice, it doesn't even have to be voiced if that is too much of a hassle. The people that love her would just be happy to talk to her. You could make it an optional instance, just like "Precocious Aurene" so that those that don't like her don't have to do it. Give her enough dialogue to not make her feel static and add a few new ones as time progresses. It would be a reward for those that love her and inconsequential to those that don't.

[Poormany.4507]

As much as I like Aurene as a character, Anet wrote themselves into a corner making her an elder dragon at the time they did. How will Aurene, now as the most powerful being in Tyria (that we know of) not instantly solve any problem the antagonists throw at the PC? I feel like they're trying to get out of that corner by sidelining Aurene and, as you said, making her more static in the story. As you mentioned, the story journal itself mentions that the PC and Aurene will likely drift apart as Aurene takes on her new role as sole elder dragon. As much as I dislike it, I would not be surprised if Aurene is permanently sidelined in the next episode or mini-expac (most likely her being used to maintain the energy grid in Cantha long-term once we kill off the demon in the next episode). It just feels like a necessary step in the story to prevent the inherent "Why can't Aurene just defeat them???" question from repeatedly popping up.

That being said, I would love if there were periodic side quests (like Knight of the Thorn) to visit/check up on Aurene and see how she's doing and possibly bring her items from our journeys like in Precocious Aurene.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Poormany.4507

[Danikat.8537]

Aurene is like the Commander's adoptive child, and like any child will she's grown up (admittedly faster than human children do) and is now ready to be an independant adult. That probably means she's going to be around a lot less, she's got her own life and responsibilities now. (Also story-wise having an Elder Dragon to deus ex machina any problem would get boring.)

But that doesn't mean she's going to be out of the Commander's life completely. I'm sure she'll still show up periodically, including sometimes having tasks for us. After all Dragon Champion isn't normally a job you get to stop doing.

[Eric.7351]

13 hours ago, Poormany.4507 said:

As much as I like Aurene as a character, Anet wrote themselves into a corner making her an elder dragon at the time they did. How will Aurene, now as the most powerful being in Tyria (that we know of) not instantly solve any problem the antagonists throw at the PC? I feel like they're trying to get out of that corner by sidelining Aurene and, as you said, making her more static in the story. As you mentioned, the story journal itself mentions that the PC and Aurene will likely drift apart as Aurene takes on her new role as sole elder dragon. As much as I dislike it, I would not be surprised if Aurene is permanently sidelined in the next episode or mini-expac (most likely her being used to maintain the energy grid in Cantha long-term once we kill off the demon in the next episode). It just feels like a necessary step in the story to prevent the inherent "Why can't Aurene just defeat them???" question from repeatedly popping up.

That being said, I would love if there were periodic side quests (like Knight of the Thorn) to visit/check up on Aurene and see how she's doing and possibly bring her items from our journeys like in Precocious Aurene.

I know that they have little choice with side-lining her as a major driving character. I just hope they find a way to do that while still allowing her to interact with the world around her and all those she has bonded with, she has learned the means to do that after all. The game really wouldn't be the same with her absent entirely, it would also go against what she would want. Even if she couldn't intervene herself, she would do her best to help us through advice (which doesn't have to be the definitive solution to every problem) and words of encouragement.

 

I also hope that narratively they find a way to keep their options open about her being able to return one day, even if that is a few years in the future. There are ways to do it. Maybe at some point she is sharing so much of her magic with the people of Tyria that she does not have any overwhelming powers anymore, becoming more equal to her champion again. This would enable her to fight alongside her friends again without upturning the balance of power. She would tag along us every now and then, trusting her companions with the major choices in the coming conflicts that she might not fully understand.    

Edited April 2, 2023 by Eric.7351
clarification

[Funky.4861]

I'm not worried about her future at all; anet have effectively created a Mary Sue so powerful that she can affect the whole world through her control of every element of magic. I'm concerned that you felt the need to dismiss all dissonant opinions to create an echo-chamber on a public forum, where the only valid posts are those which agree with your sentiments. I would suggest against sourcing ones' wellbeing from other people or factors beyond your control; it leaves one quite vulnerable.

[Arthelad.5418]

We all have experiences like this. This is why characters are made to be sympathized/emphasized with. Gw2 has always had a recurring theme about hope. With all the tragedies that happened to the main protagonist and how they still kept getting back up. Judging from the current stage of the story, with the commander learning how to deal with entities that use your memories and deepest fears against you, it would make more sense if Aurene would be there for us. Some people forget that in IBS she was more wise and mature than in EoD, because she's an Elder Dragon, which comes with an understanding of the world that you never experienced before.

Aurene is an integral part of gw2 and it would be really weird if these characters suddenly stopped interacting with each other. So as long as the writers handle it with care, I don't think you have anything to be afraid of in the near future. I do think they will write her out at some point if they want to raise the stakes again (because an ally elder dragon is op) by sending her to sleep and be able to concentrate on filtering magic that way but they still can make her telepathicly speak to us while being asleep, or something like that. I just hope they give her a satisfying ending for the characther and an satisfying imminent plot exit. Unless it means stomping kormir's face in the dirt with aurene powered god mode is off the table ofc.

[Kalavier.1097]

Aurene will be around, but at the moment she's off in the jade sea with Caithe, as per last story update.

[Gibson.4036]

Don’t worry, empty nester, Aurene will come to visit during holiday break, when she needs to do her laundry, or wants a break from eating ramen.

[voltaicbore.8012]

I think having a "Precocious Aurene"- esque instance where those who actually want to see more of her can do so is a fine idea. As OP notes, such an instance could also prove to be a very lightweight way to provide small updates to Aurene that don't really impact the rest of the game, but throw the Aurene lovers a bone from time to time.

If it were up to me, I'd prefer to see Aurene lose her physical individuality. Kind of melt into Tyria/The Mists, so she could embed her super magic filtering abilities directly into the fabric of reality.

Edited April 5, 2023 by voltaicbore.8012

[Zok.4956]

On 4/1/2023 at 9:31 PM, Eric.7351 said:

But I am scared, scared of losing a character that has brought so much good to my life.

This is not a bad feeling. I guess, every parent has a similar feeling when their child leaves home. But life goes on and so should you and so should the story in GW2.

Aurene won't leave you completely because you still have the opportunity to reminisce and replay parts of the story.