New Female Charr VA is...disconnecting.

[Phantoms Shadow.4512]

So I wasn't aware of a VA change as I don't keep up on the news of the game, so when logging in after taking a break of sort and seeing a new Living World Ep was available I was excited to say the least. But then starting the episode up and suddenly hearing my female charr having a different voice I was taken out of the experience and the game.I asked a friend who's more involved in the game, who keeps up on the news more and so on and they mentioned the recent lay offs and I was instantly disappointed. I knew about the lay offs but I didn't think they'd lay off the very people who are the gateway into the world of GW2.

Honestly the new VA is just...bad. She's lacking the emotion and heart of the last one for the Female Charr and that's on top of the out of no where change and this late into the games content development is just bad.

I don't get how or why the Management at the studio thought this was a good idea. This is going to make it really hard for me to want to play my Female Charr character and that's not a good thing. Because she's my most developed character on my account. I've grown to love and had become attached to her and a good amount of that is because of the past Female Charr VA. So playing her now is just...it entirely breaks the immersion and suspension of disbelief.

It's like if you were watching a movie series, a trilogy, and the first two movies had the same actor cast for the protagonist but in the third movie it's someone entirely different. They say things different, their tone is different, they act differently. It's not even the same character or movie anymore. That's what's now happened with this very sudden change. The female charr isn't the same character anymore, and like I said. A VA is the window into a games world. They bring life into said world for the player to interact with. The allow the player to feel like they are a part of it and the allow the player to interact with the characters of said world. So when you out of the blue change the person who is leading the player into and through this world we've come to love, it's no longer the same and it harms the experience for those it affects.

I hope the Dev studio can get back the old VA and have them rerecord the lines for the Female Charr. I doubt it, but it's something that's really needed honestly.

Just bummed and going back to play any other story missions or anything prior to the new LW4 EP is going to really...taking me out of the game and the experience.

[Randulf.7614]

The original VA couldnt commit to the role any further due to orher projects. The VA change wasnt optional im afraid - they had to recast and is unrelated to the lay offs. You were misi formed there.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/meet-the-new-voice-of-the-female-charr-player-character/

An earlier thread can be found here if useful to youhttps://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/75962/the-new-charr-female-voice

[Kiza.5630]

Give Mara some time. This was the first episode with her as female charr VA. After that she can judge from reactions of the players what they expected, what they liked and what they disliked. I miss Kate too, but mostly because I heard her voice for, well, forever.

I think Mara is great as well. I quite liked her more playful voice on the new episode. But maybe that's part of the change ppl didn't expect. So I don't think Mara's voice is lacking emotion, maybe even the opposite. At least for me, they both make the commander sound sweet in their own way.

[Yannir.4132]

@Phantoms Shadow.4512 said:Just bummed and going back to play any other story missions or anything prior to the new LW4 EP is going to really...taking me out of the game and the experience.

Like @Randulf.7614 said, this change of VA is unrelated to the lay-offs, and happened because of personal reasons on behalf of the VA. So ANet really had no choice in the matter. Sorry if you're bummed but this will be rather unlikely to change.

[Nazferatwo.1764]

honestly guys, i would focus all this energy and criticism to help the devs with new content.just because the voice actress is new dont mean they will change her again.

[TheBravery.9615]

Who care

Give us more voice actors, at lease for combat. I'd gladly pay up gems to get a custom combat voice pack for my characters.

[Ben K.6238]

This is interesting, because my perspective on this is nearly in direct opposition.

I didn't like the previous voice. It bugs me a little that I still hear the high-pitched lines from the beginning of the game in combat.

Part of the reason why I had a problem with it, and why I like the new voice actress, is because there was too much emotion and not enough weight in the old voice. I'd expect a 400kg military-trained battlecat to have a relatively deep voice and more stoic demeanour, particularly with some of the older character faces which caused quite some dissonance before.

I don't know that the new voice is perfect, but I do know that it's stopped annoying me. Which seems like a step in the right direction.

[White Kitsunee.4620]

I think the main problem is we've had 1 voice for the past 5 years and it's hard to get away from that.

The new VA is okay, it definitely bothered me in some places. But overall I feel like it could be alot worse.

[Zoid.2568]

I think she does the voice for Aurene and not only the female charr. I did not really like the voice for Aurene. Felt very weird when Aurene started to talk out of the blue.

[Blockhead Magee.3092]

Its like the Darrin change (the old timers know what this is). Very disconcerting and a distraction whenever Rox is in a scene. I think it would have been better to kill off Rox and introduce a replacement than change the voice actor.

[NanoEliteSixSixSix.8935]

Eh, I thought she did all right. We'll have to see how she works the character in the future, but it wasn't too hateful of a first impression. Certainly better than what happened to Rox. Poor, poor Rox...

[Telwyn.1630]

I have no problem with voice change I mean their nothing we can do about the voice changes besides complaining won't go anywhere I find with it.

[Ultramex.1506]

Heh mine is opposite, i liked her. I used to like Kate Miller before HoT, she sounded normal and was able to show more emotion, now she just lack emotion because she tried to sound like a "real Charr", if you find her pre-HoT acting break immersion i say "Who care?" Unable to emotionally connect with my character because of the acting is more immersion breaking than anything,but my question for this game voice acting is...WHY DOES EVERYONE SOUNDS EXHAUTED WHEN THEIR CHARACTER ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING?!

[mercury ranique.2170]

Voice actors are always hired contracts and never employed. The reason is that the voice acting takes only a few hours and the rest of the time they do other projects. So it got nothing to do with the lay offs.

It often happens when voice actors can no longer fit it in their schedule, they need a solution. Often this is found in cancelling the character for a while (this is presumably the reason we do not see much of Zoija), but with the player character this not a solution. So they had no other option then to stall new releases till she had time or replace her.

[Leethe.3514]

Mara sounds different - because she is a different person. As pointed out, nobody finds it desirable to change a VA midst episode of something that has been going for years. Sometimes it happens anyway, though.

You will get used to her. And be sure: if she tried to copy someone who she is not, instead of giving her own best, it would sound terrible.

p.s - I like you Mara !

[Ben K.6238]

@"Ultramex.1506" said:Heh mine is opposite, i liked her. I used to like Kate Miller before HoT, she sounded normal and was able to show more emotion, now she just lack emotion because she tried to sound like a "real Charr", if you find her pre-HoT acting break immersion i say "Who care?"

This goes both ways, though. Someone could say "who cares?" about there being more emotion in the charr pre-HoT dialogue, and it would be equally as valid. You could find people who care about both.

Charr are far from emotionless, but a convincing performance has to convey emotions that match the character. The new voice seems to be closer in that regard.

[Tinker.6924]

Less emotion? yesThe right amount of emotion for a battle hardened dragon and god killer and army leader? Definitely

[NanoEliteSixSixSix.8935]

@Ultramex.1506 said:WHY DOES EVERYONE SOUNDS EXHAUTED WHEN THEIR CHARACTER ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING?!

I mean, have you seen all the crap we've been through up to this point? It's enough to wear anyone out for several lifetimes. :P

[Desert Fox.3194]

The voice change also took me out of the game a little. Mainly because it sounds younger and less caring. The mature caring voice fit my guardian perfectly.So it bugs me that my character sounds less experienced and almost generic suddenly.

I didn't mind Rox's voice change at all. In fact I thought she was just putting it on to fit in with the Olmakhan and now it's a habit.

[Linken.6345]

@Yannir.4132 said:

@Phantoms Shadow.4512 said:Just bummed and going back to play any other story missions or anything prior to the new LW4 EP is going to really...taking me out of the game and the experience.

Like @Randulf.7614 said, this change of VA is unrelated to the lay-offs, and happened because of personal reasons on behalf of the VA. So ANet really had no choice in the matter. Sorry if you're bummed but this will be rather unlikely to change.

Really makes you think when they will do the same for Zojja so we can either have a end with her or her on out team