The REAL Lions Arch

[Kraggy.4169]

I viewed the destruction of Lions Arch in LWS1 as the same gratuitous vandalism as Blizzard perpetrated in Cataclysm, destroying a zone with huge character and interest and replacing it by a bland 1960's type concrete desert, a zone of no character, bland and boring to explore and generally a totally forgettable area of the world.

 

I miss the real Lions Arch and was very happy to find this video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcqe062dxc&list=PL9DoIQZfncBIRiewja155dYonfanEOmwA&t=15626s.  I'm sure there are many clips of this lost icon location but this is the first I've seen of such length; it's a music video of 8 hours but this link takes you to the start of the section I'm interested in.

 

This is for those who only started playing after this wonton destruction was perpetrated by Anet for absolutely no reason IMO, to the serious diminution of the game.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Kraggy.4169

[The Fear.3865]

I never went back to Lion's Arch since we got the new area, which is imo, a complete fail. 

 

I liked their idea to transform the world, what they did to kessex hills or lornar's pass. Even in Lion's Arch when the chaos just started and when they tend to destroy arround the city. But destroy the core Lion's Arch, with all the verticality of the design, the epic Lion statue with the bridge leading to the 5 asuran portals. All of these were put in a such logical way. 

Destroy the best gw2 capital to add a flat city with some octopus building and weirdo fontains, seriously... 

 

But it's done and we never get back the old Lion's Arch, just go to mistlock sanctuary and forget about it, at least the music is great. 

[Dawdler.8521]

But you got lobster buildings.

[Dante.1763]

38 minutes ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

But you got lobster buildings.

And a big ol pavilion that no one uses outside of halloween!

[Trejgon.9367]

Unpopular opinion: I like new LA more. Previous one was just assembly of semi-random wrecks, with a fort sitting next to it. New one is actually single coherent (fortified) city.

[Veprovina.4876]

Real LA had curves. Not this skinny new LA we got after.

[Randulf.7614]

I never liked old LA. I get why people do though

 

It was never a pointless decision and it certainly didn't cause the game to diminish in any way. The change to a different style represents GW2 moving forward in industry and technology. We are likely to see this on a larger scale in Cantha and beyond now.

 

One of the big themes of GW2 is change and progression of the World, where technology triumphs after all and the old ways are replaced. Piracy is also no longer a dominant force and so it made sense narratively to replace the structures with something new.

 

Plus blowing up LA got us one of the best LS episodes in the game

 

 

[Quench.7091]

It's more of a parking lot than it is a city.

[Dante.1763]

25 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

 

Plus blowing up LA got us one of the best LS episodes in the game

 

 

That i cant even experience. >.>

[Cyninja.2954]

Loved old LA. It was literally the center of the game.

 

The new one is meh. I don't mind it, but I am not using it as the central hub the way I used old LA.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Cyninja.2954

[Geckoo.6018]

The old one had a lot of personality and i personally like a little bit of chaos when it comes to cities on a fantasy setting since that's how cities with some history really grew. At the same time they went a bit overboard with the theme.

 

The new one does have it's own personality and style, the problem is that the whole utility area (bank, crafting, useless plaza & black lion market) exists basically outside of that style and that is where we spend almost all of the time. If you ask me, what makes current LA look good is not the massive octo-bank or lobster-docks... but the small streets and houses both in the bridge area and the hill next to the crafting zone. So in my mind the city would look way cooler and feel more like a city if those utility spots felt more integrated with the city itself.

[Teratus.2859]

Never liked the old LA, it was an ugly dump of a town map.

Current one is in no way perfect but it's definitely a much nicer place to spend my time.
Given the choice i'll take the current LA over the old one any day.
Same for Gw1 LA, again a much nicer map than the original Gw2 LA scrapyard lol

Edited August 4, 2021 by Teratus.2859

[Panda.1967]

I miss old LA… it had so much more character and history… new LA just feels… theme parky… very uncomfortably theme parky…

 

I would have preferred the rebuild to preserve the old cities charm and aesthetic while adding new constructions to repair the damage rather than the full gutting that the city got…

Edited August 4, 2021 by Panda.1967

[Ashantara.8731]

I don't get why we don't get Old LA as a VIP area in the Mists. It has been requested on multiple occasions. That way, everyone would be satisfied.

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Ashantara.8731

[jwaz.1908]

I'd like the new LA if it got flooded by a tsunami sent by the deep sea dragon, and was permanently underwater, perhaps with air pocket bubbles like the gungan city.

[Dante.1763]

4 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

I don't get why we don't get Old LA as a VIP area in the Mists. It has been requested on multiple occasions. That way, everyone would be satisfied.

 

That would be amazing. Id drop gems for that..

[Omega.6801]

Old LA was a city that felt grown, natural. New LA is a theme park designed to spread out people and be as uninviting as possible to sell lobby passes.

Has been requested many times, nothing ever came out of it. This won't happen. Sad story is sad.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

I loved the old LA and would like to be able to visit it again.  You can do it ANet -- a dream sequence, time travel, whatever.  Would make an interesting LW episode, eh?

[radda.8920]

I didn't like the old lion's arch (2012) but yes the new one is even worse

 

The one from gw1 really had a great vibe, this is the one I miss. The REAL lion's arch.

[Fueki.4753]

Last time I checked, the ruins of the real Lion's Arch were still there underwater.

[ChronoPinoyX.7923]

Me: Ayt Ima head back to GW1 for the REAL Lion's Arch

[Farohna.6247]

I can see the nostalgia for veterans, however for more recent players who have no fond recollections of the old LA, the current one is quite lovely.  The glass and sculpture to it are appealing and it has a bright hopefulness in contrast to some of the more dreary areas you might explore that have been decimated.  It gives the appearance of thriving and progress and a logical rebuilding from more gritty and ramshackle.  And burn me it's a stingray, but it's fun to look around.

[Azure Prower.8701]

This is the worst tragedy of old Lion's Arch loss.

 

 

[Excursion.9752]

aww common you mean to tell me that people don't like King Triton's version of LA? Every time I go there I hear in my head "Under the Sea". Sometimes just for fun I will actually sit by the bank and play it on the harp for laughs. Most times people in say chat will say "I miss the old LA"

 

Anet it is okay to admit the mistake of not rebuilding it back to its original glory. Just flip the switch already. The octopus & lobsters will be okay.

[Aodlop.1907]

It was unique looking. No other videogame city looked like old LA.

Now it looks like a generic port city, with some ugly modern art thrown on top.