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gears2gnomes · 1 year
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The End of Old Lion's Arch.
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konig-varorson · 11 months
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The Added, The Removed, and the Changed: Continuity Alterations of Living World Season 1 Return
So last year ArenaNet brought back "most" of LWS1 in 2022 after about 8 years of demands for it to be made permanent. What many people may not know is that, yes, ArenaNet did change things up. Be they for better or wose. As it got brought up while talking with friends in the GW2 subreddit's discord, I decided to write up what these changes are.
Overall: The Investigative Studies and Records
The most obvious additions to the lore span all five episodes, where each one got an achievement called Investigative Study. These were added lore books, using a UI created in Season 4, exploring backstory of various characters and factions.
Flame and Frost namedropped some Icebrood Saga characters like Crecia and Efram, while also delving into why the dredge and Flame joined Scarlet, for example.
From Clockwork Chaos onward, there were also the Investigative Records achievements, which were audio recordings from Scarlet to delve into her character a bit.
All of this stuff is brand new, and provides new insight on characters - especially Scarlet and her motivations.
Additionally, it is worth noting that when LWS1 first released, it was written from a perspective of "the events happen at any point in the personal story" - so you were not strictly "the Pact Commander". This created some dissonance in the original story for how characters reflected their state at the beginning of the Personal Story instead of the end - most notable being Destiny's Edge, who end the personal story claiming to stick with the Pact until the Elder Dragons are no more (specifically Logan doing so), but then when we meet them in LWS1, they're back with their nations doing their deskwork or what have you. That commitment didn't last long, huh? Well, it made sense if you were a level 10 going through LWS1. But the LWS1R firmly cements LWS1 as post-PS, dubbing you the Commander right off the bat to Braham and Rox, yet didn't change any this. Or explained it.
Flame and Frost
In addition to the above, Flame and Frost got one very peculiar change to it, which is arguably the biggest change in the entire LWS1R: Ottilia.
Ottilia is a norn from Cragstead that Braham had a "bit" of a crush on. In the original release, Ottilia was Braham's firm motivation for... the entire season, really. When the player first gets to ask about Ottilia, this is what Braham says:
Ottilia? Who's Ottilia? Well, she lives in Cragstead, and she's... kind of beautiful. I mean sweet. She's nice. Okay?
But in the re-release, Braham says this instead:
Ottilia? That conversation might require some ale. Ottilia is amazing... She's beautiful, and...not interested. But she helped me work through some angst about my family. My mom. I owe her.
Interestingly, despite 'helping him' cope with his issues with Eir, Braham's attitude towards Eir is still very harsh, unchanged from the original release. In fact, despite Braham "getting over her", Braham still writes cringy poems for her. Why say he’s over her, if he still acts like he’s pining for her and even writes cringy teenage puppy love poetry for her? Curious.
And in addition, there is an entire subplot following the entirety of Season 1 removed because the writers wanted to reduce Braham's puppy love.
First, Ottilia showed up in the bonfire in Hoelbrak at the end of Flame and Frost, though the wiki didn't record this unfortunately.
After, from Secret of Southsun to Cutthroat Politics, Ottilia and Braham had monthly dialogues in Cragstead. At the end, Ottilia leaves Braham for a merchant, and Braham joins Rox in leaving Cragstead. This is his motivation for being involved in the rest of LWS1.
In Clockwork Chaos, we first see him complaining about Ottilia. This complaining returns in his banter with Rox during Escape from Lion's Arch.
All three of those sets of dialogues were removed from LWS1Return. Ottilia is never seen by players now. According to Bobby Stein, the change was to "downplay the "puppy love" angle and tie in more as a support system for his strained relationship with his mother".
(Personal Rant: I do not like this change, as it flattens Braham's character, making him almost entirely just about his relationship to Eir with little else about him. Without him going to Rox as emotional support over the Ottilia breakup, their relationship seems simpler as well, like he's just tagging along just because - he has no reason to be involved with Clockwork Chaos, he's just there. Of course, I admit I am bias as back in the early 2010s I had a similarly bad breakup and Braham's bitter reaction to Ottilia was highly relatable for my late-teens self.)
Lastly, Flame and Frost saw a loss of the Lion's Arch refugee camp - NPCs that were tied to the non-returning Secret of Southsun arc vanishing along with it. Lorewise, this camp still existed, as it still gets referenced, and the events at Southsun still occurred. But the NPCs tied to the heirloom collections got moved to Hoelbrak and Black Citadel refugee camps instead.
Sky Pirates of Tyria
In the original release of Dragon Bash and Sky Pirates of Tyria, there were some protestors who showed up in the Grand Piazza - Merrik, Marren, Broll, and Roardina. These four would be protesting the celebration of Dragon Bash the first week, get questioned by Kiel about the assassination attempt in the second week, and call out for a hunt on the assassins afterwards as a point of concern for their own innocence being in question.
A small piece of worldbuilding that is lacking in LWS1 - more on the first part. The part where there were active protests against Dragon Bash. With the actual Dragon Bash returned celebration in Hoelbrak, we got new protestors about the celebration, but it was more of a highlight in the original patch that wasn't part of the story instances, and thus did not get a place in the LWS1R.
A somewhat weird addition is that at the end they added a line of Magnus talking about Southsun Cove's events as if the Commander wasn't there. But all the old reference tags for dialogue reflecting you having done that content in the original LWS1 releases remain. I guess Magnus is a bit senile.
Clockwork Chaos
In addition to Braham+Rox's dialogue about Ottilia, there is another duo dynamic that was changed a lot in this release. That of Hobo-Tron and Marcello DiGiacomo. While these two do still show up in both the Closing Ceremony instance (redubbed The Queen's Address) and Scarlet's Playhouse, there was an entire dynamic between them in open world which is now MIA, and paints the entire spat of the two which continues on into Lion's Arch to this day.
Additionally, a lot of their dialogue in Scarlet's Playhouse itself was simplified, reducing their banter during your fight with Scarlet. Though it didn't provide much depth, as it was just the two name-blaming the other as being connected with Scarlet.
On an aside, in LWS1Return, during Scarlet's Playhouse you confront a hologram of Scarlet... But in the original, it was Scarlet Briar herself. Odd change.
There's also the change of the Watchknight models, but that discussion has been done to death back when the content released. Here's referencing that can o' wurms.
Tower of Nightmares
Similar to the two above, there are some open world dialogues that did not make the cut for LWS1. Most can be found on the wiki. The most famous of these dialogue, or rather infamous, is Kasmeer telling Marjory at the end of the arc that her dress that she's been wearing the entire time in the Tower was an illusion, and that she was naked all along. With the change in society and media, I can understand the mentality of the changes. But this is also a very curious aspect of Kasmeer's mentality as former nobility - at this point in the story, Kasmeer has not yet entered that "adventurer's mindset", and still favors not tearing a dress over her own safety.
In addition to that infamous dialogue, there is other stuff. Most critical are the prologue and epilogues to the arc. The entire time of the camp being established with Marjory and Kasmeer studying the veil that hid the Tower is MIA, and so is the gathering afterwards in The Dead End.
Aside from the cut content surrounding our dear proto-Dragon's Watch, we also have a lot of Bloomanoo and Penelopee dialogues cut. For those who weren't around in LWS1, these are two quaggans first introduced in ToN, who had cameos in almost every (or every other) episode until they settled down in the rebuilt Lion's Arch at the end of Season 2. They would often show up in a place that would soon to be attacked by Scarlet's or Mordremoth's forces, making them a hilarious harbinger of doom duo.
Also not making it was the quaggans refugees who took refuge in Fort Salma. There wasn't much, but those poor quaggans.
Lastly, did you know that the finale of Tower of Nightmares was also the very first time we met Belinda? She even had dialogue for whether or not you were involved.
Overall, Tower of Nightmares had the most content cut from its return. Mainly, I imagine, because it was worldbuilding fluff and not part of the Golden Path, like Ottilia, the Dragon Bash Protestors, and Hobo-Tron.
Battle for Lion's Arch
Surprisingly, Battle for Lion's Arch was perhaps the most comprehensive and inclusive of all five releases, making the fewest reductions, changes, or additions. To the point that as I write this, I can only think of two points (besides the Assault Knight model change).
First, we have Canach. While he does show up in Fort Marriner, his audio lines and dialogue with Sheriff Siriam were removed. He was also removed from Escape from Lion's Arch instance, though it a minor appearance.
Escape from Lion's Arch is the second point. Due to the reduced area of the zone players could access during that story instance, several events and related dialogues were removed. The two critical pieces were the escorts of the ogres and the racing moas - especially, curiously, the racing moas.
Though the wiki does not have the dialogue (for some reason), it was a plot point that during the escort for the moas, the group woudl be attacked by a giant Toxic Wurm Queen, leading to the follow-up event. Narratively, this wurm queen eats the moas. Tigg even commented on it, blaming the players for the moas' deaths. And in Dragon Bash's return in Hoelbrak, we get a new set of moas, including one named after one of the dead moas.
But in LWS1R, the moas (and other escort NPCs) are there to interact with and they vanish, presumably escaping the city without issue. The moas never die - they survive now.
But the dialogue of their death remains.
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mdwop · 8 months
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Hey, you up there, have you ever wanted to play Pathfinder 2, or want to play it moooore? Well, my newest friend, have I got a deal for you! The Living World server Kelek is currently recruiting players and Game Masters to join them in a post-apocalypse city where you can undertake dangerous missions, find incredible loot, and uncover the secrets of the cataclysm. We are playing in foundry vtt in Pathfinder 2, and are primarily a USA and European based server using the free archetype, and proficiency without level variant rules. If you want to know more about the world, you can check out our wiki: https://wiki.indiactive.net/index.php/Main_Page Or head straight to the discord: https://discord.gg/kelek to get right into the action! Feel free to direct message me, as I am one of the gm's for the server, and can answer any more questions you have before joining if you're anxious or worried in anyway. We try to make the experience as comfortable as possible, so please feel free to reach out about any accommodations you would need as well.
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guildwars2 · 2 years
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Summer Roadmap and July 19 Update Preview
Our latest developer blog is here! Get all the details on upcoming summer events and updates from the Guild Wars 2 team.
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yersaphotography · 10 days
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seagull party at the morning
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francisg · 1 year
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this is a drawing of Agnes wearing the little touhou outfit I designed when I was younger that I was going to wear when bayonetta decided to pick me up from the place she left me at while she was busy buying cigs . Very excited for bayonetta origins. Hopefully after this next game she’ll call me. It’s been ten years now
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asura-sisters · 1 year
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It's coming...
Art sponsored by @ArenaNet
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belghast · 9 months
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Just Wait it Gets Good
Just Wait it Gets Good - This morning I talk about GW2 and the existential problem facing aging MMORPGs of having a clear point where the story massively improves.
There will be some potential Guild Wars 2 story spoilers in this post so be warned. Hey Folks! I have been busy this week with work and finishing up all of the assets so that I could make the Blaugust 2023 announcement yesterday. When it comes to gaming, I have mostly been focused on catching up with my Ranger with the story content in Guild Wars 2 and preparing them for the expansion drop in…
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View On WordPress
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fenrirlives · 1 year
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twitch_live
TONIGHT
THE VIOLET CONSTELLATION BEGINS!
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join myself, Xenodev, and @unadulteratedpiratepizza
as a Tabaxi Fighter and Thrro Merchant set off to restore a lost city in this Brand New Campaign from the Living World of Septem Lucia!
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gw2calendar · 1 year
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Living World Season 1 Episode 5
The fifth and final episode of Living World Season 1, “Battle for Lion’s Arch,” will return to Guild Wars 2 on November 8. This will be a permanent addition to the game, free to all players. With the release of “Battle for Lion’s Arch,” we’ll also be adding a new Strike Mission to the game: Old Lion’s Court.
For players looking for a greater challenge, a challenge mode version of Old Lion’s Court will be released with our November 29 update.
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gears2gnomes · 2 years
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The Puppet Master is back.
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mamaangiwine · 3 months
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I don't think many people realize how much they've been turned into a bunch of casually cynical jerks.
Someone may come to their parents and say "I want to write a book" and their parents will say "it's really hard to get published".
Someone might confide in their sibling and say "I want to sell my art on "x" platform" and that sibling will say "do you know how many people you'd be competing with? Do you know how many shops are even on that platform?"
I know a kid who once told his best friend "I think I wanna start a dnd podcast" and the friend was like "do you know what the word "oversaturation" means?"
Personally, I don't know why any of that matters? And even if it did, perhaps your response should be "Do it! Do it and see where it goes!"
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andy-dandy · 3 months
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love seeing the beginnings of perseus "pay your fucking child support" jackson's crusade against the gods' parental negligence problem in ep 1 & 2 of the pjo show. the absolute KING of "my daddy gave me issues so HE'S about to HAVE issues"
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guildwars2 · 2 years
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Living World Return Season 1 Begins Now
Experience Living World from the beginning and see where the members of Dragon’s Watch began their journeys. The first episode of Living World Season 1, “Flame and Frost,” is now playable in Guild Wars 2 for the first time since 2013, along with new and returning rewards and new achievements. Living World Season 1 episodes will be free additions to the core game and available to all players, permanently.
Today’s release also contains the Aetherblade Hideout Challenge Mode Strike Mission. Read today’s update notes on our forums, and don’t forget to check out our latest studio update blog for more Cool Guild Wars 2 Facts! ฅ/ᐠ ‧̫‧ ᐟ\ฅ
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qiinamii · 6 months
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we'll do fine.
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francisg · 1 year
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HELL illustrations - these are intended for a project I’m so excited to have almost finished … I hope I’ll be able to explain more soon. Also, having these next to each other helps me see if there are any huge inconsistencies in the format so idk if these are the final edit
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