Curse

s73ve_o · Mar 10, 2009, 10:47 PM // 22:47

not sure if this is the right spot but i was thinking about how the different races may work into the storyline and after reading some info on GW2wiki (so i dont know just how accurate it may be) i have thought of how it may go down but keep in mind this is just speculations and is most likely completely wrong:

"Noob Island" Areas (different for each race)

Starting as a human: you start off in Kryta, get stronger on random mosters with some storyline about preparing for the charr or something, then going to the front lines to fight them at the foot of the shiverpeaks as they are coming down through the mountains in attempt to invade kryta, maybe have some sort of competitive mission against charr players that your have to win to progress through the game, but i doubt it.

Starting as an Asura: this is tough, since they are supposedly dedicated to maintaining neutrality. Maybe they just fight some sort of beasts that are causing trouble or something. I doubt there would be any sort of war between them and other races. i suppose the depths of tyria could be the beginning story for them but that would mean facing a dragon's minions right off the bat.

Starting as a norn: this is an easy one. Training at the beginning and facing some sort of lowly dredge enemies, working your way up to higher dredge, and so on in the war until you gain a foothold in the shiverpeaks.

Starting as a Sylvari: Growing and exploring the new dangers of the world for the first time, probably with some backstory to the reasons your are doing what your doing.

Starting as a Charr (assuming you can): you start in the old ascalon area or the area above the wall maybe, killing enemies as you go like always. Eventually you move to the front lines in your warband and attempt to take the last human controlled city in ascalon, though whether you succeed or not i have no idea.

Main Quest:

After all of these have been completed for each race there will probably be one final mission to really introduce one of the dragon as a threat (maybe they take major action on taking control of the continent) and in the mission maybe like halfway through you meet up with a couple members of each other race (possibly factions style with the (Foreign) and (Local) mission.

after this the races start to bond and work together for the cause of taking down this dragon in a long series of missions, and finally kill it off ending the threat.

after this is done i am thinking the others dragons will be in full-game sized expansion packs (not separate games though like GW1).

so what do you guys think?

Free Runner · Mar 10, 2009, 11:42 PM // 23:42

My guess is each race starts from different regions.

The Humans would perhaps start near Ebonhawke - perhaps a hint at the GW1 start where the human characters are part of the vanguard.

The Asura could start in the Magumma Jungle or perhaps a safe area of the depths that hasnt yet come across Primordus or his minions. Their story could be them trying to defend against the destroyers while maintaining relatiosn with the other races.

The Charr could start ether in the North or again near Ebonhawke. An interesting play on this would be Human and Charr characters having conflicting stories at the beginning.

The Norn would be probably start in the North Shiverpeaks since the Far Shiverpeaks are under watch by the Dragon of Ice and Snow.

And the Sylvari could start in a haven of some sort on the Tarnished Coast.

Each races story would unfold in the same way the stories of the Tyrians in Ascalon, Canthans in Shing Jea and Elonians on Istan did. All eventually meeting up at a point - Lions Arch/Guild Home. From this point o nthe story would branch off into different directions - if i remember correctly Anet said GW2 will not follow a direct story but instead have multiple story arcs branching off, but the dragons will no doubt have a main arc.

And funny enough each race has its own problem - the Humans have the Charr as a problem in Ascalon, The Charr have the Humans as a problem, the Asura have Primordus has a problem and the Norn have the dredge and the dragon of ice and snow as a problem. The Sylvari dont seem to have much trouble - although the mysterious nightmares in the dream of dreams will probably have an arc if they are not related to the dragons.

Once the dragons are dealt with or put into a state in which they are harmless (which i really do see happening) the story will probably move on to Cantha and Elona.

Daisuko · Mar 10, 2009, 11:55 PM // 23:55

I'm posative all races will start in the same area.

gremlin · Mar 11, 2009, 12:17 AM // 00:17

I am guessing that they will go with the standard way none human races have always been treated in rpgs and fantasy novels of the past.

The none humans are nearly always oddities amongst their own people either renegades or disgraced in some way or just those free spirits who have the wanderlust.

That's how they are nearly always depicted, Take the Elves Dwarves and Gnomes of fiction they are nearly always described as being races that prefer their own kind seldom venturing outside of their own lands.

Usually because they are members of far older races than the humans who are seen as too immature to be taken seriously being barely civilised, if I was a betting man I would say anet are unlikely to change the formula.

I believe there will be a single start area not least because to do otherwise would make to much of the map over to starting characters.

There are likely to be missions that are aimed at the various races and perhaps skills for those races otherwise race differences would just be cosmetic.

Konig Des Todes · Mar 11, 2009, 12:44 AM // 00:44

IMO, it will be like this:

Humans: Start in Kryta and main *not only* focus is first training to be a Lionguard than once becoming one, going to fight the remaining White Mantle in the Maguuma Jungle *movement of the world hints that they are still around*. (I disagree with humans starting at Ebonhawke, just personal opinion)

Norn: Pretty much as the OP stated, I'm guessing. Simple "prove your worth as a Norn" then have a part in the Norn-Dredge War.

Charr: As they are a war-like race, their training is during childhood and technically already exists, so we may go through a "challenge to prove ourselves" or something. beginning story for Charr would probably deal with the Ebonhawke humans.

Sylvari: Start near the tree I'm guessing - possibly as a fully grown "new born" - and take on exploration quests and tasks. Eventually meeting up with an Asura or Krytan in the Maguuma/Tarnished Coast area who leads them away from the Sylvari Tree.

Asura: Either starting underground or in Rata Sum is the only guess I could have atm, or sharing a starting point with another race *humans?*. As they are neutral, they wouldn't have a "main enemy" as far as we know aside from bandits. So their "separate and initial storyline" could be anything.

your lucky i · Mar 11, 2009, 01:19 AM // 01:19

all races start out in different places... then eventually they all meet up and kill the last boss (pve)

draxynnic · Mar 11, 2009, 01:25 AM // 01:25

Asura and Sylvari we don't really know, since they're both new races on the surface and, as has been stated, we haven't been given any indication of what their GW2 antagonists, if any, may be. Given that their expected population centers are close to one another (Rata Sum and Arbor Bay), it's possible that the two races will share a starting area. It wouldn't surprise me if, for instance, they had different 'apprenticeships', but the storyline that brings each to the central hub is the same afterwards. (Possibly an Asura experiment that goes wild and needs to be contained?)

Ebonhawke, I suspect, is going to be used as a Factions-style contested warzone between human players (and those who side with them) and Charr players (and those who side with them), unless the Charr PCs turn out to be renegades or something. The Turning of the World and Ecology of the Charr mention a large Charr city on the ruins of Rin, while Ascalon City is filled with vengeful Ascalonian ghosts, so I'd suspect that the initial storyline there may have to do with those ghosts. (Although it'll probably require some form of cooperation between humans and Charr to actually put them to rest... if it's even possible.)

For Kryta - we know both the White Mantle and the Mursaat are still around. Centaurs are also a threat to Kryta, but I suspect the Mursaat will be the main problem, with Centaurs playing a similar role to GW1.

Regarding the Norn - according to the Movement, they've been driven into the Borlis Pass region while southern Deldrimnor has been occupied by the Dredge, and the two cultures are in conflict. It's probably not too wild a guess to suggest that the Norn start will be connected to that.

darkagent343 · Mar 11, 2009, 04:40 AM // 04:40

What if there was only one starting area, but you only have one starting race.

Sylvari are a "new" race just as the players will be new to the game. Would be cool to see the developers force start all players as a sylvari and then after say lvl 5 you unlock the other races. (after you know what your doing enough to start in a less noob area)

I don't like being forced to do anything in a game like Gw but done right this might be a cool idea.

my guess as far as starting positions otherwise, would be around Eye of the North. Start out inheriting all your ancestors items and armor as a right of passage type thing. perhaps the noob area will be a mission or quest to get to eye of the north.

Konig Des Todes · Mar 11, 2009, 04:47 PM // 16:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkagent343

What if there was only one starting area, but you only have one starting race.

Sylvari are a "new" race just as the players will be new to the game. Would be cool to see the developers force start all players as a sylvari and then after say lvl 5 you unlock the other races. (after you know what your doing enough to start in a less noob area)

But wouldn't that promote grind...? >_> Something Anet is suppose to be against.

draxynnic · Mar 12, 2009, 01:12 AM // 01:12

I think what DA343 saying is that you play through an introductory area once, with whatever race is chosen to be the introductory race. Once you've done that, you can make characters of any race, but they don't have an introductory zone.

Kinda like if GW1 required your first character to be a Prophecies character, but once you've had your first character be Seared you can choose to start in Istan, Shing Jea or postsearing Ascalon with a level 5 character.

Basically, allowing multiple start points, but only requiring ANet to do the 'this is how you play the game' bit once rather than once per race.

s73ve_o · Mar 12, 2009, 01:24 AM // 01:24

ah i forgot about the white mantle and Muraat revenge plot, just not sure how it would wok out (maybe it will completely ignore that there are charr pressing on the eastern border and just focus on the mantle+mursaat

also was going to bring up ascalon city when was making the thread but totally forgot while in the middle of it. I would say it will be proving your worth, then going in to un-haunt ascalon city, and maybe, just MAYBE, there will later be an ebonhawk mission for the charr where they are in the process of taking it over when the dragon rises in its attempt to conquer tyria forcing them to stop the invasion and work with the humans and other races to save the continent

as far as the sylvari grind to lvl 5 thing goes i agree with Konig

i agree that humans wouldnt start in ebonhawk. it just doesnt sound right that a lvl 1 human would start in the last ascalonian fortress defending against never ending legions of charr

Free Runner · Mar 12, 2009, 05:07 PM // 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by s73ve_o

i agree that humans wouldnt start in ebonhawk. it just doesnt sound right that a lvl 1 human would start in the last ascalonian fortress defending against never ending legions of charr

How so? the levels are not exactly that deep lorewise so you get lvl 1 ascalon soldiers fighting higher level charr in GW1 - so why would GW2 be any different? having new recruits join the fight for Ebonhawke would make sense - they need fighters afterall.

Also i said near Ebonhawke not in Ebonhawke. I bet theres a few camps behind the Ebonhawke battlefront - the humans could start there.

Quote:

But wouldn't that promote grind...? >_> Something Anet is suppose to be against.

It would be the same as playing through Pre Searing the first time. No grind.

draxynnic · Mar 13, 2009, 02:45 AM // 02:45

Personally, I don't think the Charr will be pressing against Kryta's eastern border. They only got to Kryta the first time because the Norn let them through (or, possibly more accurately, couldn't be bothered to stop them), but the far northern pass seems to have been effectively closed by the dragon in Drakkar Lake waking up. Borlis Pass may be an option, but that may also be a warzone between the Norn and Dredge, which probably isn't going to be conducive to bringing a Charr army through - and even if it is, they're going to come out near Lion's Arch, which is probably not going to be an easy nut to crack.

Regarding Ebonhawke... the impression I've had of that is that it's essentially a volunteer position held by diehard Ascalon-supporters. I'd imagine the Krytan government tolerates and supports it because it distracts the Charr from looking west and because it likely produces a pool of veteran soldiers that can be reassigned elsewhere if necessary, but it's probably not considered a priority by any but those of Ascalonian descent.

Konig Des Todes · Mar 13, 2009, 04:23 AM // 04:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by draxynnic

Personally, I don't think the Charr will be pressing against Kryta's eastern border. They only got to Kryta the first time because the Norn let them through (or, possibly more accurately, couldn't be bothered to stop them), but the far northern pass seems to have been effectively closed by the dragon in Drakkar Lake waking up. Borlis Pass may be an option, but that may also be a warzone between the Norn and Dredge, which probably isn't going to be conducive to bringing a Charr army through - and even if it is, they're going to come out near Lion's Arch, which is probably not going to be an easy nut to crack.

Don't forget that the Charr are under different command now and may be fighting Ascalon for regaining their land. And, more importantly and less speculative, in the Movement of the World, it is stated that the Norn and Charr do not cross each other's boarders, and those that do are "open game" *each side having a different meaning for that term*.

draxynnic · Mar 14, 2009, 03:55 PM // 15:55

The impression I've always had is that the rebellion was less about changing foreign policy and more about internal policy. From my reading, the Charr still see humanity as scum to be wiped out (just as they did before the Flame Legion even found the Titans), they just want to be fighting on their own terms rather than acting as someone else's patsies. In fact, quoting directly from the source: "(the Charr legions) work together to maintain their territories in Ascalon, and make plans to spread farther--eradicationg humans wherever they fester on the face of the world

It's possible that the cooperation of the Fierce warband with humans in EOTN (and possibly even some of the human-Charr interactions in the Realm of Torment in Nightfall) may have put some cracks in the Charr attitude towards humans that may be used to create an accord in GW2... but it seems that at least to begin with, the Charr still have Kryta in their long-term plans. And even if they don't, I doubt Kryta's government would trust the regime change enough not to assume that they do.

(In fact, the Movement of the World mentions that the Norn do allow Charr passage, either as warbands or as individuals, through their lands. It also mentions both sides being cut down without prejudice... but I'd imagine that these might involve some form of insult, such as failing to go through the proper means of making contact, or when members of one race actually try to occupy some of the other's land rather than simply visiting (as was the case in Blood Washes Blood).)

Nathaniel (Was 'ere) · Mar 14, 2009, 10:33 PM // 22:33

Hmm..
Sylvari: Starts with a cutscene of how you slowly begin to travel, the building up confidence, you go out to sea and are attacked by a Sea dragon, the start of the game could be you being found washed up on the coast of Cantha and having to escape before being executed, as Cantha has become an isolationist country.
For humans maybe you get to choose, I can't remember what happened to Elona but maybe if you start in Cantha you're training to be a guard (then realise the error of your messed up governments ways. Now, where does that seem familiar..?), Tyrian, in Ebonhawke and in Elona (I know it has spread) you could be training to become a Whispers Agent.

draxynnic · Mar 15, 2009, 01:17 PM // 13:17

The impression I'm getting is that Cantha and Elona have been 'cut off' so they can serve as locations for future expansions. So we likely won't have anyone starting there - possibly ever (although they may introduce new races and professions with time, just not at the rate they did for the original), but certainly not in the first installment.

Free Runner · Mar 15, 2009, 06:28 PM // 18:28

Yeah they sound more like expansions - think of how big Tyria would be when GW2 is released with all three continents available. Cantha will probably get some mentions like it did back when Prophecies was the only campaign.

And decendants of Canthan/Elonian heroes will be the decendants of the imigrants who escaped to Tyria a hundred years earlier (i think it was mentioned in Movement of the World that some people left for Tyria in at least Cantha).

Karuro · Mar 18, 2009, 08:34 AM // 08:34

Well, here's my take.

As we more or less know so far, as conflicts go.

Humans hate Charr, Charr hate humans.
The Asura think they're above everyone, neutralish.
The Sylvari probbaly won't even know what a Charr or Human is.
It's possible they know the Asura, same region and all.
The Norn and Charr have a sort of mutual understanding with eachother.
The Norn also view the humans as weak, due the peaceful Queen.
And well, we humans are trying as hard as we can to survive with all the evils in this world trying to kill us.

Humans will probably start in Divinity Reach. As a new chap, training and exploring here and there. And as always, your skills get recognized or you get unwillingly dragged into a deeper plot after stumbling on something. Heck, even a Sylvari npc could bump into you and dragging you into the battle against the Dragons.
Anywho, since there are multiple stories, one of them could be to travel to Ebonhawk through an Asura gate to resupply and do several tasks there.

The Charr in the Charrlands, planning to retake Ascalon as always, but their plans getting foiled by the silly humans. Charr & Human stories could overlap at a battle for Ebonhawk/Ascalon or something.

Norn probably something like the Charr. Fighting off Dredge to retake an outpost, learning everything as you go. How to become the bear etc.

The Asura are tech savvy. Maybe a tutorial in Golem making and to get *outside* you gotta supply any of the races with some goods and go on from there.

Sylvari don't have a real threat from the beginning, since they don't know anything yet about the big world. Maybe that *any* of the races stumbles upon their little village and a crazy adventure ensues.

draxynnic · Mar 19, 2009, 04:45 AM // 04:45

The Asura aren't just "neutralish". Neutrality is something they've carefully preserved as part of their long-term planning.

As for the Norn - I don't think the Norn consider humans weak per se, at least not more so than any other member of a non-Norn race. Instead, it's the human social structure they distrust.

Interestingly, it does seem, reading between the lines, that the Norn do realise that other races aren't as individualistic as they, so they do allow their perception of a ruler to influence their thinking, but their first instinct probably remains to judge members of a race as individuals rather than as a race or nation.