When can we get a playable Tengu Race? [Merged]

[Obtena.7952]

21 minutes ago, otto.5684 said:

Not if they added the Domain of Wind with some new bits of story and a tiny low level area, level 1-10. Though, it was not expected. 

Debatable for sure ... IMO, a few levels in a newbie zone does not justify the addition of a new race. 

[Paralux.6714]

I know they have said that they won't add new races but... why give so many Tengus in Cantha an unique appearence?

 Almost all non-playable races have faces which are almost identical. The Tengu we have seen before all have (sort of) the same face and build. This gives me the vibe that we will be able to play as a Tengu sometime in the future.

[Liewec.2896]

i didnt expect a playable race, but i sure as heck expected a tonic. (i hoped for a combat tonic)

Path of fire had some really interesting renown heart stuff like the embiggening and shrinking tonics.

 

i've been doing every heart i come across in hope that i can get an awesome tonic but its been rather disappointing, just a miniature (many of which are mount minis which we already have!)

[Omega.6801]

No. Merge with Tengu sticky plox.

[The Greyhawk.9107]

There's multiple threads explaining in detail why Arenanet is at least extremely unlikely to add ANY new races, much less the Tengu, as playable to this game.  I don't have the patience to do it anymore.

[DarkXi.3289]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:47 PM, Liewec.2896 said:

i didnt expect a playable race, but i sure as heck expected a tonic. (i hoped for a combat tonic)

Path of fire had some really interesting renown heart stuff like the embiggening and shrinking tonics.

 

i've been doing every heart i come across in hope that i can get an awesome tonic but its been rather disappointing, just a miniature (many of which are mount minis which we already have!)

This. Tho' people will find something to complain about that too, like "I can't ride my raptor as a Tengu" or "I can't go fishing as a Tengu". I would still love to see something like this being brought into the game.

[Omega.6801]

1 hour ago, The Greyhawk.9107 said:

I don't have the patience to do it anymore.

Embrace the "No.". The "No." is soothing. The "No." means freedom.

[ugrakarma.9416]

Tengu race will add nothing to expasion.

 

-the ppl who disliked expansion will continue disliking it.

-the ppl who liked it will continue loving it.

 

but its time to Anet lauch a combat tonic, to these tengu fans calm down.

[Nightsied.1975]

On 2/28/2022 at 7:44 PM, Randulf.7614 said:

New story, new dialogue, new scripts, new backgrounds - all need to be built and added at expense of time, money and reduction of other content.

 

new personal race story, probably, but most of the story has a lot of alternate dialogue based on the race and profession you decide for your character. This very noticeable in the heart of the thorns story were all the NPCs were suspicious of the sylvari. Some react to your chosen race/profession or just have neutral conversations.

 

I am disappointed that the Tengu are not a playable race considering the overwhelming skin variety this NPC races has when compared to the other non-playable races because I feel adding the Tengu as a playable race is so doable (via the lore) as some do leave the dominion of winds and explore Tyria. Now the question is if ArenaNet decided to add the Tengu in the future is whether they should start at level 1 or start the race at a higher level? Similar to what WoW did with the release of the death knight class which I believed started at level 60.

[Einlanzer.1627]

I really, truly don't understand why this is such a huge ordeal.  Just like with new weapon types, dungeon refreshes, and full Season 1 LW playability, new races would involve some work, but the bang-for-buck would absolutely be worth it and I don't understand why Anet keeps copping out with them and why people keep defending that.

It would just be a new "system" of supporting races, unlocked only with a level 80 primary race character that has finished the PS and up to whatever the release point of the LW is. They couldn't be  the commander, so they wouldn't be retroactively fit into the LW and would instead just have their own smaller in scale unique personal stories and would otherwise just plug into the open world and other content.  "BUT THE LIVING WORLD" is really just not a problem that needs to be solved.

Even the things that people suggest are problems, like "well then who would the commander be" should be pretty low hanging fruit to solve - for example, by having a selection for who among your characters the primary commander is and having that person be referenced in supporting race stories/quests. This would potentially even benefit & support other game system expansions later on down the line.

I just don't get it.  I would 100% even support these being separate gemstore addons that weren't just free releases with expansions and I bet a ton of other people would too. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Einlanzer.1627

[Randulf.7614]

14 minutes ago, Nightsied.1975 said:

 

new personal race story, probably, but most of the story has a lot of alternate dialogue based on the race and profession you decide for your character. This very noticeable in the heart of the thorns story were all the NPCs were suspicious of the sylvari. Some react to your chosen race/profession or just have neutral conversations.

 

I am disappointed that the Tengu are not a playable race considering the overwhelming skin variety this NPC races has when compared to the other non-playable races because I feel adding the Tengu as a playable race is so doable (via the lore) as some do leave the dominion of winds and explore Tyria. Now the question is if ArenaNet decided to add the Tengu in the future is whether they should start at level 1 or start the race at a higher level? Similar to what WoW did with the release of the death knight class which I believed started at level 60.

But the overwhelming part of the story has the Commander fighting the dragons and interacting with various npcs from various organisations. All of which aren’t in social contact with the Tengu. So that requires significant rewrites that far and away transcends the kind of alternative dialogues the sylvari got.

Via the lore isn’t doable. Something has to be retconned to do it. It’s a case of how much retcon is acceptable. 
 

Then there is the question of whether the original rig they designed for Tengu works for all the released armours.

I get the appeal of new races and I hope those who want it get their wish one day, but there are significant hurdles to overcome whether people want to believe it or not. And those answers need to be viable

[Einlanzer.1627]

2 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

But the overwhelming part of the story has the Commander fighting the dragons and interacting with various npcs from various organisations. All of which aren’t in social contact with the Tengu. So that requires significant rewrites that far and away transcends the kind of alternative dialogues the sylvari got.

Via the lore isn’t doable. Something has to be retconned to do it. It’s a case of how much retcon is acceptable. 
 

Then there is the question of whether the original rig they designed for Tengu works for all the released armours.

I get the appeal of new races and I hope those who want it get their wish one day, but there are significant hurdles to overcome whether people want to believe it or not. And those answers need to be viable

 

It... really doesn't though. The "story" issue is not a problem that needs to be solved. They would only indirectly participate in LW through the open world and would otherwise just have their own small PS. 

The armor question is, but that's "normal work" for adding new content and doesn't deserve to be catastrophized as a means of excusing why we never get new races.
 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Einlanzer.1627

[Randulf.7614]

1 minute ago, Einlanzer.1627 said:

 

It... really doesn't though. The "story" issue is not a problem that needs to be solved. They would only indirectly participate in LW through the open world and would otherwise just have their own small PS. 

The armor question is, but that's "normal work" for adding new content and doesn't deserve to be catastrophized as a means of excusing why we never get new races.
 

The story isn’t structured to do that though. It’s structured as you as the commander and your background is well established. The living story is fully built around that and your connection to Aurene as the commander and champion is set in stone. To not interact with the LS at all would be half hearted and is there really any reason to do that?
 

I read your previous post and I actually kind of like the idea of assigning an alt as a secondary character, but that requires rewrites through every instance and dialogue. That is a colossal job.

The only lore friendly easy way is to buy a black lion overlay that changes your race. Given the rise in holograms and tech, they could just change your appearance that way and everyone would know underneath what you really are. We already have mounts with skins which can be easily explained by “illusions” or “holograms”. A race change via such a method would solve all but the rigging issues and that’s just one thing. Then they could open up a whole gem store of races and associated skins and make a fortune. No issues with the lore or issues with breaking story journal or anything like that. Some work sure, but worth it and then people could have Tengu, Kodak, Skritt, Giant Amorphous Ooze..

 

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

I do find some of these discussions highly amusing because they're based upon so many assumptions.

 

1. Tengu have been active outside the Dominion of Winds all along. Its repeatedly stated in Kessex and Caledon Forest (and most recently, in the DRM), that Tengu have always had "outsiders" of their race who live and work outside the walls and interact with the Humans, Sylvari and even the Asura there.

2. One Asura even has a mixed Asura/Tengu camp where she researches Skritt.

3. Its really silly to say a Tengu couldn't be the Pact Commander when a famous Tengu was literally part of the Pact.

4. All guild members have interacted with a Tengu on a regular basis, who, like the Tengu that was part of the Pact, is responsible for fighting against both the Modrem forces and the Mordant Crescent.

 

It is 100% plausible that a Tengu could've ended up in a position as Commander of the Pact.

 

Its nice to make arguments but at least make sure you can put the evidence behind them--there is none here. The precedents have already been set by characters we've interacted with many times.

[Einlanzer.1627]

12 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

The story isn’t structured to do that though. It’s structured as you as the commander and your background is well established. The living story is fully built around that and your connection to Aurene as the commander and champion is set in stone. To not interact with the LS at all would be half hearted and is there really any reason to do that?
 

I read your previous post and I actually kind of like the idea of assigning an alt as a secondary character, but that requires rewrites through every instance and dialogue. That is a colossal job.

The only lore friendly easy way is to buy a black lion overlay that changes your race. Given the rise in holograms and tech, they could just change your appearance that way and everyone would know underneath what you really are. We already have mounts with skins which can be easily explained by “illusions” or “holograms”. A race change via such a method would solve all but the rigging issues and that’s just one thing. Then they could open up a whole gem store of races and associated skins and make a fortune. No issues with the lore or issues with breaking story journal or anything like that. Some work sure, but worth it and then people could have Tengu, Kodak, Skritt, Giant Amorphous Ooze..

 

 

Oh I'm sure it will involve some work; my point is that I think it's less work than most people assume and that it's totally worth it from a logistics point of view. I think by making it a skin-only thing, you lose a large chunk of the immersion factor that makes new races interesting.  Much of the work would be a one-time thing to set up a system that supports ongoing supporting race releases in the long run, and even then it's not as much work as it's being construed to be. It just requires some focused effort like any form of new content does.

People like getting new races, and there are potential benefits to other areas of the game by tackling it. Everyone naysayed mounts before they came along, which was never rational - mounts were always going to be a good addition to the game and they finally realized that and tackled it. 

edit: also - anyone who uses the laugh emoji on a serious post is an idiot. Don't be an idiot. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Einlanzer.1627

[Randulf.7614]

Just now, Einlanzer.1627 said:

 

Oh I'm sure it will involve some work; my point is that I think it's less work than most people assume and that it's totally worth it from a logistics point of view. Much of the work would be a one-time thing to set up a system that supports ongoing supporting race releases in the long run.

 

People like getting new races, and there are potential benefits to other areas of the game by tackling it. Everyone naysayed mounts before they came along, which was never rational - mounts were always going to be a good addition to the game and they finally realized that and tackled it. 

 

Well regardless I’m not overly fussed. But, I appreciate it’s a popular request and whilst it seems Anet are against it, I hope people get their wish one day and a workaround is found.

I finally got my fishing and boats after years of asking after all and I’m happy with them

[ChronoPinoyX.7923]

Development of a singular race isn't as simple as people make it out to be. It can easily take well over a year to develop a single race for this title, even with all the assets already involved.

And before people say "Why would it take that long when they got everything already?", literally take a look at every element of the game that revolves around the player character. Armour, weapons, professions, elite specs, weapon and profession skills, story element, mastery functions, cutscenes, interactions with game elements, character customisation etc. 

There's a massive list of all the things to consider before they can even start work on any of the existing races in the game that's not already playable. And considering the amount of development work as well as cost, I highly doubt ANet would add any new playable race anytime soon unless they make another expansion with a stupidly massive budget (and that will only happen when NCSoft stops leeching from ANet). 

[Nightsied.1975]

10 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

requires rewrites through every instance and dialogue.

Much of the story dialogue, especially the living story, is vanilla and generic to accommodate whatever choice a player makes as their race and profession. ArenaNet does include bits of dialogue that interacts with certain player choices in order to provide a personal touch for that player for example the commander having to fight their guild mentor in the final battle with Mordremoth.

[Sylvi.8372]

Gosh, imagine the backlog. I wouldn't want to be the poor people who would have to adjust the entire in-game wardrobe (thousands of items) to a new race. Even Charr gear clips right now, and I've heard Tengu is still a bit different to the Charr's model. Imagine all those people's salaries and man hours. Do we as players even give enough money to the devs to subsidize all that?

 

Plus the entire beginning of this game (Personal Story) is dependent on someone's race. Would we rather ANet mess with old code, voice over the PC's lines, (and possibly break the whole game) than spend time making new Living World seasons and content? 

 

They would even need to create new maps and storylines for the Central Tyria-based Tengu. Even if the people who want Tengu don't care for this, it's not fair to those who buy the game and select Tengu as their playable race for ANet not to go through old content. It will also be strange since the expansions and living world chapters don't have Tengu.

Just saying its highly unlikely. (Unless some millionaire/billionaire swoops in and provides the funding and workers for this. XD jk jk)

[Sirius.4510]

While it would be possible to retroactively add tengu to old story as previously explained, all the VO work would be really expensive and I'm not sure I see that ever happening. Which is the primary reason they're not here in EoD.

Post-EoD, though, it looks a lot more possible. Do a time skip or something, new storyline, make them only playable as a main character in the new storyline (older stuff you have to join someone's party). There's still the armor/outfit stuff to deal with but the building blocks already shipped in EoD for NPCs (not just the armor pieces but I notice they now have color channels too).

[Jianyu.7065]

I can get behind this...but what about the "other" races....🤔

[Obtena.7952]

5 hours ago, Einlanzer.1627 said:

I really, truly don't understand why this is such a huge ordeal.  Just like with new weapon types, dungeon refreshes, and full Season 1 LW playability, new races would involve some work, but the bang-for-buck would absolutely be worth it and I don't understand why Anet keeps copping out with them and why people keep defending that.

Because you are probably wrong. A new race isn't like most the things you list, at all. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Obtena.7952

[Esorono.1039]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:02 AM, lokh.2695 said:

No. Merge with Tengu sticky plox.

They probably forgot about it, but since I love the people in this forum soooo much, I will revive it all for you guys so A-Net can likely merge it with it easier. No need to thank me.  

[Esorono.1039]

There isn't any Tengu tonics, guess that means they are planned to be developed. Also raised this thread back up due to some 'requests'.

[lothefallen.7081]

I know that this topic has been absolutely beaten to death and ArenaNet has said that they will likely not implement Tengu as a playable race, but seeing all of the different NPC models (Crane, Owl, Sensali, Caromi, even the guild hall NPC) for Tengu and all of the individual customization options that ArenaNet has already implemented for Tengu as an NPC race, it really seems strange that out of all NPC races, they have invested the most care and time into displaying the variance of Tengu physiology. 
 

Spoiler

With the crane Tengu standing in the Seitung Prison as a guard in the early instance of EoD, it's clear that they have the rigging and the armor design capability to implement them as a playable race. You see them wearing the same armor as other races, wielding weapons with different skins, and even have The Dominion of Winds still undiscovered near Lions' Arch. 

I know people are absolutely tired of talking about this and there are tons of other topics, but I really think it's an absolute shame for ArenaNet not to take advantage of the opportunity to add Tengu as a playable race with all the given information above. The main complaint and counter point that I always see from people who speak out against this potential implementation is that it would be too difficult to model existing armors on the Tengu rigging, but is it 100% necessary that the Tengu have access to all the old dungeon armors for example? There's no reason why ArenaNet couldn't just release them as a playable race with less armor options at the start then build on that base with EoD releases. To me, that's such a weak reason not to implement a playable race that most people would absolutely love. Others complain about animations, but there are NPC Tengus with bow, sword, etc animations already in the game. ArenaNet could easily implement them if there was a will to.

It would bring people back to the game. It would increase the number of players that play alts, it would give people tons of options for fashion wars, and it would be a great opportunity to revitalize the starting zones by bridging the Dominion of Winds' story into the starting areas and funneling them to EoD then whatever is beyond that. This would increase the amount of veterans playing in old areas which would also be great for new players to the GW2 community. I'm sure there are many more reasons, but really, I want to know from ArenaNet a simple outright "No" if there will never be plans to implement them as a playable race since I've been holding out on making alts of certain professions in the event they ever become playable.

TL;DR:

 

Please, ArenaNet. Can we just get an outright "No" at this point if playable Tengu are completely off the table?

Cheers,

Edited March 3, 2022 by lothefallen.7081