Good story this patch [minor spoilers?]

[Xenon.4537]

Just wanted to throw this out there. I think this patch (No Quarter) has some of the best story in terms of characters that GW2 has had in a long time. Anet is finally breaking out of the 1-dimensional comic book villain mold and really moving towards nuanced character conflicts. Villains are always more interesting when their motivations are relatable. Bangar is a little less complicated, but he has an interesting history with Rytlock. Ryland is where the story really gets interesting. We finally have some real meaningful character development thanks to the dramatic character conflicts between him, his mom/dad, his mentor, and his warband. We are seeing firsthand how someone with a good heart can be turned to evil, and we are looking for that sliver of hope to turn him back. Strong character arcs and motivations are how you get the audience to care about your story. I really think Anet are doing a great job with the icebrood saga in this regard. It's a shame there was no voice acting, but I still think the narrative itself is very strong, perhaps the best it's ever been. I really hope Anet continues down this road.

Let's not forget this episode has a fair amount of cool rewards to earn in-game as well. I think that's important to point out given that Anet are probably struggling right now due to the lockdowns and working from home. They could have really tried to milk the gem store, but they decided to give 2 whole weapon sets and some new armor as in-game rewards.

I just wanted to say this because I see some more prominent members of the community approaching this episode with sadly luke-warm enthusiasm and criticizing aspects of the story which (to me) seem so trivial compared to the far more important characters themselves and their immediate circumstances which are at the core of what makes the story worthwhile.

I'm not saying the story is perfect, but it's definitely at the top end of the spectrum of quality in GW2's history. I actually care about what happens to these characters for once, which is more than I can say for some past episodes. I'm looking forward to when Anet adds the voice acting, and I'm really looking forward to the next episode to see what happens. Thank you to the Anet narrative team, the artists, programmers, and everyone who worked on this episode despite the corona virus. Keep it up!

[Excursion.9752]

I played through it and I quiet literally did not attempt to read anything after the first time a character was talking and moving behind my POV and I didn't notice till the tail end and missed some things. It was at that point I just gave up and stopped caring. Maybe some day I will replay this part of the story once they add the voice acting in but knowing myself I probably will not. Seeing how I have not replayed any other story missions thus far.

I'm glad you thought it was great, I wish I could have the same experience as you did. I mostly was just wishing that I had a "Skip" button the whole time. Because I was fed up. An typically I like experiencing the story but this release just did not do it for me.

[Xenon.4537]

Well... yeah... without voice acting you actually have to read this time to know whats going on. I can see why some people get frustrated trying to read during combat. Unfortunately Anet wasn't able to bring voice actors into studio during lockdowns. Hopefully you give it another go when the voice gets added. Personally I consider the quality of the story structure itself as separate from the performance of it, and it's not fair to judge the performance when there WAS no performance (yet).

[kharmin.7683]

In case you missed it, they created a new forum for all Living World discussions.

[battledrone.8315]

good story? where? the PC is not the main character anymore, we are just sidekicks, doing chores for whoever needs iti bet you are going to suffer consequences for those executions and that grenade too, despite having no options to prevent themevery frigging boss battle, he just runs away to the next defense after you kick his ass.and dont get me started on the NPCs, they flip sides and opinions so often, that its not even funny anymore

[Obliviscaris.6937]

I still want to punch Braham in the tit.