We seem oddly incurious about the Heart of the Obscure *spoilers*

[Tanek.5983]

I am a little (a lot) confused about the Heart and have been since it was first handed to us in SotO.

I have more than a couple issues with the SotO storyline and how the Commander/Wayfinder acts in it, but the first was regarding the Heart. The Wizards have this unique, powerful artifact and it is just handed over to us for game tutorial purposes. There is never even any magi-babble reasoning for why *we* should be the one to keep it (we have a strange connection to it because of our link with an elder dragon or our previous experiences in the Mists, etc). I chalked that up to the somewhat rushed feel of the whole expansion, but now we have an opportunity to talk to the creator of the Heart and still...nothing.

Maybe this will be a discussion in the next chapters of the story? There is, I think, an indication that the Heart *is* bloodstone, or at least uses the same stolen power. Or I could be reading too much into the dialoge between Caithe and Waiting Sorrow.

I'm hoping I missed someting somewhere. that there is a reason no one asks questions about the Heart. why we are the only one to carry it rather than it being studied more or something. It just feels like a game mechanic rather than part of the story for me.

[Dean Calaway.9718]

There's only one? I thought other story characters had it too.

[Teknomancer.4895]

9 hours ago, Tanek.5983 said:

The Wizards have this unique, powerful artifact and it is just handed over to us for game tutorial purposes. There is never even any magi-babble reasoning for why *we* should be the one to keep it (we have a strange connection to it because of our link with an elder dragon or our previous experiences in the Mists, etc). I chalked that up to the somewhat rushed feel of the whole expansion, but now we have an opportunity to talk to the creator of the Heart and still...nothing.

Well, without the blue magic egg we couldn't find the rifts because it literally shows the way when we fondle it. The HotO is the "wayfinder," not us.

We're just the host organism; I like to think that when NPCs say "wayfinder" in our general direction they're really talking to the egg, not the player. 🤪 

It's just a storytelling MacGuffin, nothing more than a plot device.

[Poormany.4507]

2 hours ago, Dean Calaway.9718 said:

There's only one? I thought other story characters had it too.

Only one was crafted by Waiting Sorrow.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

10 hours ago, Tanek.5983 said:

I am a little (a lot) confused about the Heart and have been since it was first handed to us in SotO.

I have more than a couple issues with the SotO storyline and how the Commander/Wayfinder acts in it, but the first was regarding the Heart. The Wizards have this unique, powerful artifact and it is just handed over to us for game tutorial purposes. There is never even any magi-babble reasoning for why *we* should be the one to keep it (we have a strange connection to it because of our link with an elder dragon or our previous experiences in the Mists, etc). I chalked that up to the somewhat rushed feel of the whole expansion, but now we have an opportunity to talk to the creator of the Heart and still...nothing.

Maybe this will be a discussion in the next chapters of the story? There is, I think, an indication that the Heart *is* bloodstone, or at least uses the same stolen power. Or I could be reading too much into the dialoge between Caithe and Waiting Sorrow.

I'm hoping I missed someting somewhere. that there is a reason no one asks questions about the Heart. why we are the only one to carry it rather than it being studied more or something. It just feels like a game mechanic rather than part of the story for me.

My understanding from SotO's plotline is that the Heart of the Obscure got passed around and used by various Rift Hunters until they learn how to close rifts themselves. This would be why Zojja, a newish member and apprentice to Mabon, had it - and why she gave it to the Commander. Multiple Rift Hunters have talked about how they once used the Heart of the Obscure, and instruct the Commander on how to use it to find rifts.

It'd be silly to have a bunch of Rift Hunters who have zero means of closing off rifts, after all. So they likely have a means to do so that required handling the Heart of the Obscure for a while until they didn't need it anymore. The Commander, however, doesn't obtain such means (yet), and still requires the Heart of the Obscure. They get to keep it because they are a Wayfinder (Livia is a Wayfinder as well, but she seems to have a means to close rifts and counter possession like the Rift Hunters).

Basically, the player gets to use the Heart of the Obscure because they're handicapped and not as capable as the Rift Hunters / Livia / Zojja, and gets to keep it because they're important and still handicapped.

That's my interpretation at least.

3 hours ago, Dean Calaway.9718 said:

There's only one? I thought other story characters had it too.

Others had it for a time, studied it and got used to some of its magic (enough for them to not need it anymore, seemingly), but there's only one.

Edited October 4 by Konig Des Todes.2086

[draxynnic.3719]

I think this was somewhat justified in SotO because it was something left behind by Waiting Sorrow. The Astral Ward knew (some of) what it could do, but how it was made and whether it had any purpose beyond how we use it was a mystery to the Astral Ward as well so there was nobody to ask.

I was certainly waiting for the PC to ask Waiting Sorrow about it in Janthir Wilds, though, especially after hitting the story step where she starts telling you to use it for something you didn't use it for before.

[EdwinLi.1284]

36 minutes ago, draxynnic.3719 said:

I think this was somewhat justified in SotO because it was something left behind by Waiting Sorrow. The Astral Ward knew (some of) what it could do, but how it was made and whether it had any purpose beyond how we use it was a mystery to the Astral Ward as well so there was nobody to ask.

I was certainly waiting for the PC to ask Waiting Sorrow about it in Janthir Wilds, though, especially after hitting the story step where she starts telling you to use it for something you didn't use it for before.

Probably going to be explained in the next updates as my guess. 

The ending with Waiting Sorrow wanting to discuss what could be creating and leading the Titans in secret maybe related to its original purpose. At the sametime, the Heart of Obscure seem to be setting up for a bigger role in this new Mist story arc since each expansion looks like we will deal with a new Mist related threat that may require the Heart of the Obscure in some way.

Edited October 8 by EdwinLi.1284