50 replies to this topic

[Mockingjay74]

Spoiler

Looks like we will be visiting a recreation of the Jade Sea for sure!

http://massively.joy...2s-lost-shores/

I wonder if it will be a recreation of said location in modern times or 250 years ago. If it's modern, it could be pretty interesting.

Edit:
Thanks to another thread going now, I kind of think it's something similar to Nifling the Chained. Here's the picture of him from the GW1 Wiki.

Spoiler

Perhaps I should clarify that I just have a feeling it may be something similar to him. I don't have experience with Varajar Fells other than reading the wiki page, but the similarities are interesting.

Edited by Mockingjay74, 15 November 2012 - 08:31 PM.

[Sans]

new screenshot of the giant

http://massively.joy...on/5434551/#/25

[Alexwentworth]

Since so many of the fractals appear to be something we have seen (the Jade sea, some Charr flame legion stuff, etc), my guess is that at least one will be entirely unrelated to anything in lore. A stand-alone if you will.

Big purple man could be just that

[Konig Des Todes]

Mockingjay74, on 15 November 2012 - 07:23 PM, said:

-snip-

Nifling was an undead human. The model he uses is shared by over 100 other undead NPCs in the game.

Besides, even if the Lost Shores = the Path of Relevations' distant shores (it isn't, Jeff Grubb said the quest was referencing Orr, iirc), Fractals of the Mists is not related to the Lost Shores with the karka - it's like Vexa's Lab that was released during Halloween; that is to say, content released at the same time to make the content updates larger.

[Orual Fox]

So under the Explorer Tab of the Hero Panel, they added a whole bunch of new achievements.  One is the "Take a Bow" achievement which is described as:  (SPOILER)



"You and the captured colossus of the Cliffside fractal share a moment of respect."


So, it's a colossus.  Either that's it's name, or it's just a reference to the size of it.

[Evans]

That makes sense. In essence it's just a metal (bronze) giant statue, which seems to be animated by that purple magic.

[GnomGnomGnom]

So i just finished the colossus part. I am quite certain that the whole scenario takes place in Cantha. The map, the mobs, everything point towards this.

Spoiler

There is two types of mobs that you fight (that I recall). One is the "Chanter", the other is the "Novice". They both have Ritualist and Assassin type attire. That is, the Chanters have their eyes covered and use focus/scepter? or was it dagger. The Novices use double dagger with a mouth/nose masking cloth. Not to mention all of them have black/gray/white hair (Canthan).

When you release the giant in the end, he walks off into the sunset. But not before he turns around, faces you, and does the "one hand as a fist put into the other hand's palm"/Chinese bow. The giant is definitely sentient or else it would not show us gratitude for his release.

The Colour scheme of the Novices/Chanters, and Arch Diviners also match the Am Fah. Well, this point is not as strong as the Am Fah really just wore rags. But their attire is all brown so...

Putting all the evidence together, I would be surprised if this scenario has nothing to do with Cantha. However, if it is true it does raise a lot more questions... What would the Am Fah be doing with a giant? Who/What is the giant? What has been going on in Cantha? Or had been...

Also a guildie thought he looked like Mr. Clean.

Edited by GnomGnomGnom, 17 November 2012 - 08:40 AM.

[Konig Des Todes]

Hmmm, relating him to Cantha. That's certainly a possibility - even if it's merely the location and everything *but* the giant (if that thing is of Canthan origin - or rather, a copy of something of Canthan origin, then where the heck did it come from in Cantha, given the absolute lack of anything similar to it in GW1). I'd have to go back there to see, but the area felt more mesoamerican to me, like the Ocean Ruins one which definitely felt like it was based after the Tarnished Coast.

But there's the Jade Sea one, so another Canthan one wouldn't be too surprising. Furthermore, all the enemies - if I'm correct - are human, and they're enslaving a non-human, which sounds like something Canthans would do under Usoku's reign. But then that brings up one very important question: Why is there 2 Cantha locations, but no Elonian ones.

I'd rather not fuel the fire with this, but this could hint to Cantha being upcoming content (expansion size, of course), with some art assets for Canthan locations being made now (or rather, put in game now, made alongside others?), and able to be used when making Cantha.

[GnomGnomGnom]

It should be mentioned that the champion bosses of that fractal is named a "Arch DIVINER", which may hint to the chained giant's nature.

Edited by GnomGnomGnom, 17 November 2012 - 08:45 AM.

[Agony]

Konig Des Todes, on 17 November 2012 - 05:55 AM, said:

Hmmm, relating him to Cantha. That's certainly a possibility - even if it's merely the location and everything *but* the giant (if that thing is of Canthan origin - or rather, a copy of something of Canthan origin, then where the heck did it come from in Cantha, given the absolute lack of anything similar to it in GW1). I'd have to go back there to see, but the area felt more mesoamerican to me, like the Ocean Ruins one which definitely felt like it was based after the Tarnished Coast.

But there's the Jade Sea one, so another Canthan one wouldn't be too surprising. Furthermore, all the enemies - if I'm correct - are human, and they're enslaving a non-human, which sounds like something Canthans would do under Usoku's reign. But then that brings up one very important question: Why is there 2 Cantha locations, but no Elonian ones.

I'd rather not fuel the fire with this, but this could hint to Cantha being upcoming content (expansion size, of course), with some art assets for Canthan locations being made now (or rather, put in game now, made alongside others?), and able to be used when making Cantha.

The fact that Zaishen have started pokin' around might add some sensibility to this suspicion.

[Konig Des Todes]

They have? What're they doing?

[Steadfast Gao Shun]

The Zaishen were part of the initial mob of lagfest NPCs as part of Defend Lion's Arch against super crabs. The way they phrased the dialogue made it seem like they knew something bad was going to be coming, and that they had been waiting for it.

There's also a number of them wandering around the bar near the portals where you get the dungeon armors that were recently added in sneaky updates. One of them occasionally gets clipped on the table underneath the giant moose head.

Edited by Steadfast Gao Shun, 17 November 2012 - 07:10 PM.

[Konig Des Todes]

The Zaishen were always there, ever since BWEs, both in and around Fort Marriner including that moose-head bar - and Levvi had been warning Lion's Arch for weeks about an oncoming threat.

So by the sounds of it, they're doing nothing new.

[Sonzai_Moto]

I think it's a member of the race that created the dragons.

[ErrantVenture]

Honestly the Colossus dungeon didn't seem very Canthan to me...what it most reminded me of were the White Mantle + the northern parts of Kryta in GW1. The Diviners and Archdiviners have clothing that seem very similar to the White Mantle Ritualists. The cliffs remind me a lot of the Northern part of Kryta, especially the Divinity's Coast mission and Watchtower Coast explorable zone. My bet is that we're looking at something White Mantle/Mursaat related in the cliffside fractal

[Thalador]

After playing through this fractal twice, I am personally convinced that this area and the cultists are connected to Cantha. More "evidence" I discovered:

1.) The rune on the seals:

Very Canthan/Chinese looking, especially if you compare it with the known Old Canthan ideograms from GW1: http://wiki.guildwar..._writing_system

I was a bit saddened that there was no exact match, but after showing it to Konig, he theorized that it could be a combination of two or more ideograms.

2.) The Cultist's Hammer:

It's mechanic is rather interesting. It applies stacks of corruption on the player, as well as random conditions, and if someone holds it for too long (around 40 stacks), he or she goes into downed state. However, the Archdiviners can use it without any issues.

Back in GW1 there was a Canthan relic that also worked with corruption. http://wiki.guildwar...e_of_Corruption

Not the same entirely, but it's worth noting that both works similarly in a way. Applying degenerative effects that could potentially kill someone who resists long enough, or in case the person gives in, he or she becomes a lunatic cultist (many Am Fah suffered that fate before totally succumbing to the Affliction.)

3.) The Petards:

The last trap on the way to the top is a scaffolding that has small, petard-like explosives going off in an orderly fashion. Although it could be just a simple environment design with no further thought behind it, it's worth considering since Cantha is famous for creating explosives both for military purposes and entertainment. Remember all those fireworks and rockets and sparklers from Canthan New Year.

Concerning the Colossus, I believe that while the cultists and the area are the Mist's recreation of a past or future situation in Cantha or south of Cantha, the Colossus itself is a traveler of the Mists just like the players. I have no idea how did such tiny people capture him, though... However, it would be a lot more interesting if the Colossus was a recreation as well. It would mean that we might have a chance at encountering him in the future, and on Tyria.

Edited by Thalador, 30 November 2012 - 01:18 AM.

[Konig Des Todes]

Thalador, on 30 November 2012 - 01:12 AM, said:

It's mechanic is rather interesting. It applies stacks of corruption on the player, as well as random conditions, and if someone holds it for too long (around 40 stacks), he or she goes into downed state. However, the Archdiviners can use it without any issues.

I just remembered something else that may be similarly related akin to the Chalice of Corruption: http://wiki.guildwar...Plague_Exposure

[Steadfast Gao Shun]

Think these are the same as the colossus mentioned by the OP?

[Evans]

I always thought the Krait fractal had a very Elonian feel to it.
Those statues are nothing alike imho. They're made of (sand)stone whereas the Colossus seems to be metal.

[bittersweeteros]

http://blogs.coventr...ilverSurfer.jpg

[Konig Des Todes]

I would have to agree with Evans that those statues don't look like the colossus in the Cliffside Fractal. The Oceanic Ruins Fractal, however, does not appear Elonian to me. They have a more mesoamerican appearance which reminds me of Utopia and, in turn, the Tarnished Coast. Considering humans once lived on the Tarnished Coast (both from Orr and outcasts from Kryta, as well as Rowan's village that was destroyed by mursaat), it's possible that fractal is from a time when there were more humans on the Tarnished Coast in the distant past.