EdwinLi.1284

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> As I just wrote on the other thread: I got every bit of Li Bo's story, but not a single bit about the fractal's. What made the element(al)s so angry? And who was the final boss, as I don't recall her name from GW1?

>

> > @"Bast.7253" said:

> > Well I feel like I remember reading those names on the graves, but it still doesn't really mean anything. Are they just a random family?

>

> Yes. The sad fate of Bo, Ai, and their daughter Lan (a tale of love, family, and war against the plague). It's their graves.

>

Perhaps the hint about Cantha the developers speaks about is not about the Fractal but the story of this family.

You said the story is about this family and the war against the plague.

Maybe the hint is about what this family went through.

Perhaps the hint is related to the Plague.

We maybe looking too much into the fractal as the hint itself but did not consider this little side story about this family and the Plague is the real hint or a important part of that hint about Cantha.

The more I look into this the more I feel the warning Ai maybe trying to keep people away from her because of something. Something that maybe involving herself becoming a danger to other people beyond losing control of her own powers.

We are after all acting in the place of someone who went up to Sunqua Peak to obtain something from this person and Ai keep saying it is not safe for people to be here. However, it is more implied, in my opinion, not safe to be near her due to her very presence maybe corrupting things around her to a spiritual level.

The mountain was never corrupted until this Ai arrived and isolated herself in Sunqua Peak which means she is the source of the unrest but why maybe inside this little lore about this family and the Plague.

Dessa says whatever is corrupted Ai it is not Dark Magic but something Sinister.

We see something new that appear in challenge mode fight being the embodiment of Ai's sorrow, fear, and doubt.

Something is feeding on her darkest fears, sorrow, and doubts to a point it consumes her and causes her to lose herself to its control.

It maybe gone by the conclusion of Sunqua Peak story when defeating Challenge mode but all Ai did was banish it from herself. That thing that tried to take control over her still out there.

I expect the city part to be almost like Maguuma Jungle if the city has been continuously built upward over the 250 years.

> @"Svennis.3852" said:

> > @"EdwinLi.1284" said:

> > > @"Svennis.3852" said:

> > > > @"Tyson.5160" said:

> > > > > @"Bast.7253" said:

> > > > > There’s also Dessa’s dialogue in the background. “Disembodied voices” and “I’m not gonna let you drown.”

> > > >

> > > > Yeah, it could be some foreshadowing of DSD minions. Could be putting the other elements out of balance.

> > >

> > > Disembodied voices that confuse and manipulate seems very Jormag. Do you think the devs would use the same schtick back to back?

> > >

> >

> > Psychological warfare was a constant strategy for these elder dragons that can communicate despite how they used it differs.

> >

> > With such little knowledge of DSD, we can't say much about what the DSD can and cannot do just because a Elder Dragon we face now or defeated previously already done this before. The Elder Dragons that lived may learn and adopt strategies from the other Elder Dragons from previous Cycle conflicts and even current events.

>

> I am thinking more from a writing perspective, doing the same gimmick back to back seems tacky to me. If Jormag is a master manipulator, I'd rather the DSD have a different gimmick.

Well some are speculating that DSD maybe the Dragon of Nightmares due to the darkness of the deep ocean sometimes represents the horrors that may be alive in the deep darkness of the ocean which will still involve manipulation through the fear of the unknown. Fear for the unknown is a monster in itself ripe for manipulation.

In a way Fear of the Unknown and offer of protection are never too far from each other.

Jormag has always been about giving people what they want and offering that Ice will protect them from harm. It is a manipulation by offering comfort towards the people she seeks to corrupt. Though in Ryland's case he was already ripe for corruption since deep down he already seeks comfort in something when he feels everything and everyone keeps betraying him.

If DSD is about Nightmares then the manipulation is about festering the fear of others. Fear is a monster that can drive people to do horrible things and sometimes people go to extreme lengths to remove that fear.

In a way fear for the unknown is a rather fitting theme for Cantha if DSD is involved. Being only recently open from isolationism with their exposure to the lands beyond being mostly from the Zephyrites, there is bound to be fear among the natives to Cantha. Some may even seek to respark isolationism politices due to that fear while others may go to extreme methods because of fear for the unknown.

> @"Svennis.3852" said:

> > @"Tyson.5160" said:

> > > @"Bast.7253" said:

> > > There’s also Dessa’s dialogue in the background. “Disembodied voices” and “I’m not gonna let you drown.”

> >

> > Yeah, it could be some foreshadowing of DSD minions. Could be putting the other elements out of balance.

>

> Disembodied voices that confuse and manipulate seems very Jormag. Do you think the devs would use the same schtick back to back?

>

Psychological warfare was a constant strategy for these elder dragons that can communicate despite how they used it differs.

With such little knowledge of DSD, we can't say much about what the DSD can and cannot do just because a Elder Dragon we face now or defeated previously already done this before. The Elder Dragons that lived may learn and adopt strategies from the other Elder Dragons from previous Cycle conflicts with each other and even current events to remember what worked and what did not before they were defeated to prevent the same mistake the others have made.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> > @"EdwinLi.1284" said:

> > Story wise, the Elder Dragon's have been properly contained within the current known area of the game being basically only 20% of the entire planet while the rest of the planet (and civilizations beyond our current region we have never known about such as the potential location that could have been Utopia in GW1) are probably completely unaware of the Elder Dragons due to never having any contact with the regions we current know about.

> I don't got much to comment on your post, but just one small correction: Utopia was to take place in the Mists, not in the world of Tyria.

A short summary of what I am talking about is that...

If the develoeprs do provide information about DSD in this fractal it may be more about DSD actions from a previous Elder Dragon Cycle and maybe a much older one at that.

Our current information and current events involving Elder Dragons have also been quite restricted to the current regions we know about and can play in as well which is only 20% of the entire planet. However, this can mostly be related to how the current Elder Dragon Cycle is still in the early stages when each Elder Dragon are trying to build their army first then expand into the other part of the world we have never explored before. Also, that constant conflict with Elder Dragons has isolated the current region we play in from the rest of the world thus preventing any expedition by the races into other regions of the world.

How the information about DSD maybe important, if they do provide information about DSD's past actions, we will just have to wait and see since we can't predict the Elder Dragon's actions in cycles beyond the last one and we have rarely expanded information about Elder Dragons into regions we could not explore yet.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> > @"Tyson.5160" said:

> > > @"Svennis.3852" said:

> > > During the live stream too the host, Rubi Bayer, did specifically mention that the peak was fractured/floating because weird kitten happens when locations/moments in history are pulled from the real world into the Mists.

> > >

> > > Edit: They did mention the fractal was about quelling the elementals (water, wind, fire, maybe earth) on the mountain, so I doubt we'll see any Ministry or DSD minions (though something they did could be what caused the imbalance).

> >

> > Maybe we will see the DSD minions in the water area of the fractal.

>

> I doubt this for three reasons:

>

> 1. Time period; this is supposed to be when Cantha is "on the verge" of going isolationist, which means it happens years or maybe a couple decades after GW1's time. While the DSD is heavily hinted to be the second Elder Dragon to wake up, it woke up in the ocean depths; and even if we're just talking about some champion herald like the Great Destroyer, I feel like that's too great a thing to come out of nowhere pre-isolation.

> 2. Fractal theme; as mentioned, the fractal theme is about "quelling the elements", and that's what all the other enemies are (elementals) except for the final boss, and among the elements mentioned is water. Dragon minions != elementals. Curiously enough, this game does not have any water elementals (or any elementals that are fought underwater either). So any 'water elemental' enemy would be brand new, and they may want to keep the brand new model a surprise for xyz reason.

> 3. Location; the fractal is a mountain, in the dead center of Shing Jea Island. Odd place for dragon minions for the deep sea dragon to be - even if it is a fractal.

Who can really say at this point. We only know there maybe a hint to what threat awaits us in Cantha expansion in the fractal.

Though if it is related to the Elder Dragons or specifically the DSD, then I speculate it maybe information about the DSD and actions in a previous cycle. There have been countless cycles after all and with that countless changes to the planet over these cycles. We can't really say if a DSD been there or if a DSD minion remaind there for centuries through the countless cycles or not due to the nature of the planet's history involving the Elder Dragons.

Story wise, the Elder Dragon's have been properly contained within the current known area of the game being basically only 20% of the entire planet while the rest of the planet (and civilizations beyond our current region we have never known about such as the potential location that could have been Utopia in GW1) are probably completely unaware of the Elder Dragons due to never having any contact with the regions we current know about.

Speaking of which this does opening up potential future storylines for GW2 if they plan to end the Elder Dragon storyline in Cantha (and the LW after Cantha) for future expansions. With the Elder Dragon threat gone, the civilization we know about can finally begin making contact with civilizations beyond the current known regions but in doing so we also expose ourselves to a new threat for this new story arc. It will certainly be interesting what new civilizations and stories they bring into the table once the Elder Dragon Arc is over and the new ??? Arc begins.

> @"Bast.7253" said:

> Unless the Cantha we're going to is splintered floating rocks. Then again they also said that they wanted the fractal to feel like Cantha but not spoil the surprise of seeing it in the open world when the expansion releases. So, who knows really. It doesn't seem like it can be something that ACTUALLY happened but I suppose it could be something that happened in an alternate reality but still sheds light onto our current predicament?

>

>

It is quite common for the fractals to be broken these days anyways. More due to how that fractal cannot properly form the entire land due to missing certain pieces about that spot's history.

> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> > @"EdwinLi.1284" said:

> > > @"Swagger.1459" said:

> >

> > > Do you think it would be a wise business decision for NC and Anet to do plague stuff in the Cantha Xpac while we are experiencing a real life pandemic that came from China?

> >

> > At this point the expansion maybe already done and the plot already set which means if the plague return in Cantha expansion then it was already planned before the Pandemic we are dealing with now.

> >

> > there is no need to drag politics into something that may have been already planned before the pandemic we are dealing with now even existed

>

> I’m not dragging “politics”. I’m stating a fact. And the fact of the matter is that some in the community and gaming news sites may see the plague stuff being implemented as tone deaf given the current state of things.

>

> I want you to read what you wrote and then pause to consider what is happening right now in the real world...

>

> “despite Shiro's death the Plague still carried its basic functions of how it infects people though.

>

> They literally had to cut off certain areas where the plague was affecting the most during Winds of Change so no one can enter those areas while they exterminate the remaining Afflicted. However, we never did see if they were thoroughly enough and if certain spots that were sealed off may have been missed which is a scary thought like how some well known deadly diseases that are considered wiped out now may still exists because of a small spot on Earth holding the virus for that disease.”

>

> Do you think it would be a wise decision for Anet to do this plague stuff while we are experiencing a global pandemic? One where devs are working from home because of it? And one where their product will go overseas?

I know you are rather concerned about how people will react to this in different ways especially negatively.

If you want what I think then there no right answer because I always believe artistic freedom should not be restricted simply because it fits the ideals or current ideals of certain people of the time or the majority due to reality issues while at the sametime people will always find something they don't like and relate it to a current global issue some how. When a story is being told it is a story about that world and its history, the message we see from it can vary based on the individual from relating to our world issue, personal issues, to lessons on life, and some may never have a answer for it.

There will obviously be people who disagree and say that a entertainment content should restrict the concept of something because they may find it too much of a current world issues or not enough of said current world issues.

However, we all have different views when it comes to these things especially in the stories being told.

> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> Do you think it would be a wise business decision for NC and Anet to do plague stuff in the Cantha Xpac while we are experiencing a real life pandemic that came from China?

At this point the expansion maybe already done and the plot already set which means if the plague return in Cantha expansion then it was already planned before the Pandemic we are dealing with now.

there is no need to drag politics into something that may have been already planned before the pandemic we are dealing with now even existed

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

>

> As Winds of Change presents it, the only corrupt members of the Ministry of Purity were ultimately Reiko, and probably the Ecclesiate Xun Rao (assuming he actually exists - we never do meet him in-game, and this was intentional; either implies him to be a figure who worked behind the scenes, or didn't even exist in the first place and was just a name for another (or others, plural)). And I imagine that's how it was for quite a while - the rest were just blindingly zealous to the point of not questioning their orders, except Zei Ri.

That is a interesting plot point though that is hopefully finally covered in GW2 Cantha Expansion. The developers did say Ecclesiate Xun Rao not appearing was intended but they never revealed why thus leaving it up to the player's theories. Yet we have a minion of him in GW1.

The GW developers also refer to Xun Rao as the "biggest threat to Cantha"

One can only speculate what this all means since they never revealed the mystery behind Ecclesiate Xun Rao.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> Xan Hei: "Time to see what this case contains. What the...? Of all the sickening... These are plans. Instructions about the magics necessary to make a Chalice of Corruption. I'm certain that you recognize that name, along with its significance. This means that someone within the Am Fah knows how to create this. We need to find out who that is, and we need them exterminated. Their knowledge can die with them; this world has no room for the kind of person who would knowingly inflict suffering upon others in this way. I will formulate a plan. Return and speak with me again later."

> https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Intercepting_the_Am_Fah

> Jeijou tried to spread the plans for the Chalice of Corruption, but were prevented by the Ministry of Purity. The question would be if the unrelentingly justice-obssessed Xan Hei would personally destroy them, or give them to his superiors - and if the latter, if said superiors would destroy or keep.

>

> Personally, Xan Hei kind of seemed like the person who wouldn't trust others with it and outright destroy it.

>

> At most, an insurgence of Chalice of Corruption caused Affliction will just be a simple dynamic event chain - _maybe_ a meta event - I imagine, and not some huge plot.

That has been one of the things I've been curious about, we intercepted the copies of the instructions and they assumed everything died with Jeijou and his followers. I always had this feeling even back in GW1 we were missing something because we never discovered if there were original plans or not and if those plans were properly dealt with.

Xan Hei was loyal to the Ministry's cause during those moments but even he eventually discovered the corruption of the Ministry. He may have been a person who will destroy any of the data and copies found but I always question if certain members of the Ministry have the same mind set.

There are plenty of reason why members of the Ministry may have kept the data and kept it a secret considering they never had found a actual vaccine for this new plague and the data there can be key to create one if someone was to recreate it again some how. Though there is the corrupt members of the ministry who may seek this data as a weapon for them to use and may discover a way to allow Necromancers to create and control a new Plague of their own making.

Though, as I said before, that would also be a interesting Necromancer Elite Specualization and one with a lore reason for its creation that relates back to a chain of events from GW1.

It will certainly justify Plague Events on maps as well to defeat these Afflicted then defeat the Plague Master Necro that control them. Maybe even for a specific Map Meta event that leads to the Plague Master's lab where a giant Afflected Abomination meta boss awaits those who seek to kill the Plague Master

> @"Steve The Cynic.3217" said:

> > @"EdwinLi.1284" said:

> > > @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > > That’s been answered though. It would be a reaction of surprise and confusion given we know the afflicted couldn’t still exist and their story is completed.

> >

> > So basically, the best way I can describe it, the same reaction people will have if Small Pox suddenly appeared in the world again in a spot too far from a place that stores the cure for it.

>

> Except that smallpox was kinda unique among infectious diseases:

> * It was a humans-only disease so there's no reservoir of unvaccinated animals that can reinfect humans.

> * There was an non-dangerous disease (cowpox) that, if you caught it, you would generate an immune response that's effective against smallpox.(1)

> * It was easy to extract an attenuated strain of cowpox and/or smallpox that would infect you (and create an immune response) but not make you sick.

>

> So in general a reappearance of smallpox could only happen if it is accidentally unfrozen and released from one of the very few labs (er, two, one in the US, one in Russia, that kind of very few) that still stores it. (This happened in England in 1978, and there was one fatality and no further outbreak.)

>

> And where exactly in the world is so far away, in the 21st Century, that it would be impossible to ship the necessary stuff there? (Vaccines effective against smallpox are still manufactured - the most recent one got FDA approval in 2007.)

>

> So the reaction would be a mix of "What's smallpox?" and "Oh, that was over quickly. Good thing they still make vaccines for it."

>

> (1) The term "vaccination" comes from the Latin word for cow, and strictly speaking on that basis you can only be vaccinated against things that cowpox infections are effective against, like smallpox. The word has, of course, been broadened to any similar process of immunisation, even one that doesn't involve a second disease.

Well you have to remember a Vaccine was never created for the Plague. The only "cure" for it they had was to attempt thorough extermination of all infected even those who were recently infected.

There is also still a concern if Jeijou, Shadow Whispered left research data about how to recreate the plague since his last words before being killed implied he has completed the data. If records still remain then anyone can recreate it if that data is found or has already been found.

I think a big mistake they made was to assume that data should have died with Jeijou that day.

though thinking about it Jeijou was a Necromancer/Ritualist(sub Profession) which maybe a potential Elite Spec focusing on using and controlling the Plague for Necromancer in Cantha Expansion. A Elite Spec that uses the data Jeijou created about recreating the Plague to cause Plague like attacks and maybe modify minions into Plague formed minions.

> @"Fueki.4753" said:

> The Metal Legion got converted into the Frozen Metal Legion and got smashed to pieces.

> They won't come back, unless ghosts spill out of the Mists **again.**

The Metal Legion are still alive as they have not been seen since events of Bound By Blood nor mentioned beyond that point.

Where they are now and what they are doing are currently unknown.

So it has been a while since we last saw the Metal Legion story wise.

Considering how unique this charr warband is (and probably ideally used for future story event for either comedy or just during moments when the Main Characters are on a break) when do you think we may see the Metal Legion again and why?

In my opinion, I expect the Metal Legion to return in the Credit stage of Icebrood Saga to have their songs be in the "credit" scenes. However, a slightly unexpect but funny way for them to return maybe at the finale after Jormag's defeat when the Commander and his/her allies are trapped with no way to escape. When they finally just reach terms about there is no way out they begin hearing the Metal Legion Music and they burst through the walls on their Charr War Tank thus having the entire finale just a fun relaxing moment of the Commander, his allies, and the Metal Legion riding the Metal Legion Custom War Tank shooting and blasting everything in its path as the tank autopilots its way to the exit while the Metal Legion use Sonic weapons that amplify their music on their tank into deadly sonic blasts to knock down and kill their enemies while blowing away any obstacles.

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

> @"EdwinLi.1284"

>

> True, they might have locked in a direction for the specs already. But it is still fun to make theories about what they might have in store for us!

>

> I personally believe that the elite spec will have alot of interaction with the toolbelt, but in a different way.

> We might see an elite spec that has focus on spamming the toolbelt skills alot. Like getting a F5 key like photon forge, but instead of replacing our weapon skills it will give us a new set of toolbelt skills temporarily.

>

> I think our next elite spec should definitely be a support spec like scourge or druid, with some conditions on the side.

> Found it quite interesting that Anet made changes recently to the trait soothing detonations (that still needs a name change.... it's not about detonations anymore), letting us heal in an area around us for casting toolbelt skills. Having a support elite spec that gives us additional toolbelt skills to squeeze out more healing from that trait would be an interesting interaction.

>

If that change maybe a hit to the next Elite Spec then I suspect it may relate to being a very toolbelt focused Elite Spec.

We currently have Scrapper for Tanking with Drone utility skills designed to support the scrapper and Holosmith for pure power DPS focusing on the Photon Forge (basically a customizable kit due to the trait tree) with utility skills focused on being more effective if players can manage their heat properly.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> It's unknown if you disregard the Prima Guide and Luxon dialogue that repeatedly calls it a nightmare demon / demon of nightmares, which feeds on and utilize victims' fears and nightmares (not to be confused with evil souls known as Nightmares).

>

> He didn't remain there by choice. The Jade Wind imprisoned him in the cave system due to the petrification of the Jade Sea.

>

> Like was said, there's no visual similarity between Kanaxai and the small description of the DSD. While it very well might be possible that they'll retcon to reveal it as a champion or something of the DSD, it seems unlikely to me given we are told what it is and why it is there in GW1. Its history may be unknown, but not its nature.

Keep in mind I did say IF the hypothesis ends up being true. I am not in absolute certainty the nature of Kanaxai maybe related to DSD or not due to kanaxai's mysterious history about his past as the only info we have on Kanaxai is based around what Luxon's known about him from the short amount of time they encountered him and what he did in GW1.

I am aware what the Luxon called it and why but as I said their views about Kanaxai is based on what they believe the best explanation for what Kanaxai is since he was myteriously found in the deep and his appearance looked like a Demon. The title Demon of Nightmares most likely came from the Luxons because of his powers to cause nightmares, obsessive nature with nightmares, and affect people with nightmares.

Yes the Jade Wind made it into his prison but that also means Kanaxai was already down in the Deep before the events of the Jade Wind for currently unknown reasons. They never explained why Kanaxai was down in the Deep before events of the Jade Wind which is one of the big mysteries surrounding Kanaxai. Only thing we know about Kanaxai is what the Luxon called him and what he did in GW1.

Basically everything about Kanaxai before events of GW1 is unknown from Origins, Backstory, reason for being in the Deep before Jade Wind, if he has any allegiance, and etc.

It is because of this why I expect to some degree for Anet to answer the mystery behind Kanaxai either through Main Story, Side story, or Raid even if he has no relation to the DSD assuming Anet have not forgotten him. They left Kanaxai's story far too mysterious and open for future use.

If Anet does choose to relate Kanaxai to the DSD then they already have the current materials to explain why without any retcons since all information about Kanaxai is based on what little the Luxon knows about him and assumes about him during the events of GW1 and nothing about Kanaxai before the Jade Wind. They just need the right story to bridge the events to the moment when Kanaxai became trapped in the Deep by the Jade Wind. However, as I said this is only a IF Anet choose to relate Kanaxai to DSD since Kanaxai's mysterious past makes this character very flexable with his use in GW2 storyline for even a story unrelated to the Elder Dragons.

> @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > @"EdwinLi.1284" said:

> > Well if some how the hypothesis that Kanaxai maybe a ancient DSD minion, then DSD maybe related to Water and Nightmares.

> Kanaxi doesn't really fit the profile of a water based lifeform, nor does it match the description of DSD minions, which are described as tentacled horrors.

>

> Back in GW1 he was classified as a demon, so he likely came from the Mists.

It is unknown what Kanaxai really is even to this day. The Luxons only called it a demon due to his appearance and at that time it was the best they could do with describing him since little is known about him.

A lot of unknowns about where Kanaxai comes from and why he remained that "deep" in the Jade Sea is still in question which I do hope they answer in GW2 since we are returning to Cantha.

He could be just a normal demon that got accidently trapped there in the deep part of the Jade Sea or maybe a humanoid race corrupted during the previous elder dragon rising who is only in the early stages of the corrupt before the whole tentacle horrors takes form.

To this day I am still very curious about Kanaxai and why he was down there in the Deep because from what little we know about him, we know so far that he has always been down there in the deep for unknown reasons even before the Jade wind turned the sea into Jade.

Though the best thing I can guess if Anet decides to finally explain who and what Kanaxai is will either be the Cantha Expansion Raid or actually make Kanaxai or atleast lore about him part of Cantha's Main storyline.

Well if some how the hypothesis that Kanaxai maybe a ancient DSD minion, then DSD maybe related to Water and Nightmares.

The thing about the Deep part of the ocean is that it is a common ideal place for horror stories to hide being of nightmare due to how dark and unknown the deep part of the oceans are.

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

>

> I don't think the idea is too generic, but problematic to implement in the game.

> How do you determine which kit you are sacrificing for your wrist launcher? Seems like it would require some hud changes to make this possible.

>

> Also replacing the toolbelt completely may be a bit much of a trade off.

> Our toolbelt is an important part of our builds. It holds half of our stunbreak skills (elixir gun, thumper turret, slick shoes) as well as our personal healing skill in one case (med kit).

> Sacrificing this to get a kit replacement in the toolbelt seems excessive....

> Like, you are giving up 5 skills (F1-F5) to potentially open up 1 skill slot (heal, utility, elite, depending on the kit you sacrifice) and changing up your weapon skills some.

> These new skills need to be **really** powerful to make that trade worth it.

It is only partly weapon skills and the F1 to F5 skills (Toolbelt skills) when it comes to Elite Spec Designs. Ultility skills and Elite Spec Trait Tree will also factor into the usefulness of a Elite Spec as well. The general aspect of Elite Specs is to introduce optional new gameplay styles next to Core and the other existing Elite Spec that either build on or change the Engineer's gameplay.

For example, a Trait in the Elite Spec tree can turn the Wrsit Launcher skills to also have Stunbreak, extra condition clense on use, or exta damage or buff for using F3 to F5 skills based on which one you picked. However, by default all Wrist Launcher skills for each Kit will naturally always have 1 or 2 Stunbreak skills and 1 or 2 condition cleans skills. Utility skills will also introduce new skills for condition cleansing and stunbreak which should be expect for all new Elite Specs but what they do as extra with their stunbreak is another matter.

However, I only speak about the wrist launcher and main weapon changes in my earlier post because I wanted to focus on the basics on where the Elite Spec would go into designing first being the Mechanic and Main weapon chosen for the Elite Spec. I would have gone into Utlity, Trait Skills, and each individual skill set for Wrist Luncher per kit and new skills based on each kit for the Main Weapon but that post would have been far too large since that would mean covering the entire Trait tree, every Main Weapon's new skills (Pistols, rifle, shield, and Greatsword) with Wrist Launcher skills based on each Kit design (basically 7 new sets of skills per Main Weapon depending on which kit is sacrificed and 7 different set of skills for Wrist Launcher), what Utility skills will be the focus for this elite spec (the 3rd most important part of the Elite Spec design), and theme based on what lore it may have.

Also, at this point there is not much we can discuss since by now we can expect all Elite Specs are already finished for Cantha Expansion, if we get new Elite Specs for Cantha, and are just waiting to be announced.

There is one othere type of Elite Spec I hope to see for Engineer but I feel it maybe too generic design wise being a Wrist Launcher Elite Spec that uses the Greatsword as a Main Weapon which changes the Engineer F1 to F5 skill into Wrist Launcher skills. The skills being used in the Wrist Launcher can be determined by which Kit the player choose to sacrifice to determine the Wrist Launcher skills such as sacrificing the Grenade Kit will give it grenade launcher skills, sacrifice the Elite Mortar Kit will turn it into Rocket skills, Flamethrower will give it flame skills, sacrifice the Bomb kit will have the wrist launcher skills being about placing certain types of landmines that will explode when enemies are nearby or when players choose to manually detonate them, and etc.

These skills will be different from the kit skills but they are designed to act as a secondary set of weapon skills that players use with their Main weapon. If they want to go a extra mile then they can also have the Kit sacrificed also change the Main Weapon skills as well to have it match the function of the chosen Kit sacrificed. Such as the Pistol condition damage style skills can become a new Power based skills if Mortor Kit, Flamethrower, or Tool kit is chosen to be sacrificed while Rifle skills can become new condition damage skills if Grenade or Bomb kit is chosen.

Thus the Elite spec becomes a Elite spec that focused on combining new Main Weapon skills and the Wrist Launcher skills for direct combat by using the Engineer's talent of deconstructing the kits and using the parts from that kit to modify their Wrist Launcher and Main Weapon for either Range, Melee, Tanking, Support/Healing, Condition, and/or Power damage. Giving the player options of choosing what type of role (Healer/support, DPS, or Tank) and combat style (Condition/Power and Ranged/Melee) they want to focus on through the Kit they have chosen to sacrifice

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> I was more making a satirical comment about how folks are focusing so much on the trailer's looks to guess what End of Dragons is about (particularly in other threads trying to link that purple mist to Lyssa).

>

> The purple and light blue are all pretty clearly just stylistic aspects to make the trailer abstract. Even Kuunavang is looking very stylistic and not GW2-artstyle. The designs are GW1 based because they're either not ready or unwilling to show GW2 designs.

>

> Though given how heavy they're pulling up nostalgia though, it really wouldn't surprise me if Cantha is unchanged from Factions...

I suspect the upcoming Vision of the Past 2 may give us a better understanding of the Teaser trailer.

The teaser trailer, in my opinion, looks almost like a vision by the way it is presented and how it has that vision like effects on the side bar of the teaser trailer.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> If the teaser is anything to go by, it hasn't changed one dang bit, possibly the same since pre-Winds of Change even given the purple mist mirroring Miasma.

I still doubt Cantha will look exactly the same as GW2. The build design may stay the same but there may be expansions or renovations of certain areas since back in GW1 a lot of the City was mostly makeshift buildings in residential areas unless it was in the market locations and/or closer to the palace.

Those designs are not built to last but to be easily replaced and repaired.

As for the purple miasma, I still uncertain if it is really miasma or just mists painted purple for artist creativity considering how colorful they wanted the teaser trailer.

So how much do you think Cantha city has changed over the years along with the Jade Sea and Echovald Forest?

From the teaser trailer it seems their building design remains mostly the same but that may only be a certain area of the city that is either too old or too poor to update their buildings to a newer design.

Do you think they added a extra layer to the city for the top side where the rich live with all new and more fancy designed builds?

Is there going to be a Red Light District in one of Cantha's City layers? :3

Do you think they dug deeper into the Undercity to create more lower levels for sewers and maybe poor people living areas?

Do you think that small tree garden from GW1 maybe still there but the tree may have grown much larger now?

Do they still sell three eye fishes in the market and say it is ok to eat?

Should we expect the return of certain Gangs and maybe new Gangs?

Has Shin Jea Monastery expanded in size over the centuries to take in more students or still the same size?

Can we expect generic bad/evil arragent Cantha student and nobility from Shin Jea Monastery and Cantha's Noblity families that looks down at our character because they are from a "prestige" Cantha nobility family known for being highly skilled in many profession's arts and we are just outsiders? Of course then later beat them up when they attack us just because they think they can get away with it because they are from a prestige Cantha noble family. B)

Is the Deep and Urgoz's Warren going to be where our character go for Story reasons or it may end up as Raids?

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

> Didn't even know about this.

>

> So I can still hope for us to get a cool plague doctor elite spec for engineers which is using viruses, acids, and other stuff!

> It just fits so perfectly.

Ya part of the reason for defeat the Am Fah was not only to end their plans to spread the Plague but also hunt down the person who has learned how to create a new version of the Plague that can be created by anyone if they learned his methods.

A nightmare scenario for certain if the knowledge that Jeijou, Shadow Whispered had manage to slip out but with his death it is assumed that knowledge is lost. Of course there is the question about if he had recorded his research or not because that means some where in Cantha is the knowledge to recreate the Plague.

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

> As others already stated, it is unlikely that the plague can keep existing after so much time without the actual source, which has been Shiro Tagachi.

>

> Also I think they might not use the plague as a big part of the story for the simple reason that we already had something similar. The whole thing with Palawa Joko and the scarab plague. Throwing another magical plague at us as part of the story might feel a bit redundant.

>

> I want the plague referenced in the story and get told how it influenced the history of Cantha. But I don't think we will really deal with it again.

> And I would also like this disease to play a role in the development in one of the elite specs. The Am Fah were experimenting with the disease back then, using it ruthlessly to let their own power grow. They might have experimented with alot of other stuff, too.

>

> If this could be the birth of an alchemy/bio-engineering based elite spec for the engineer, that would be my dream scenario.

The Am Fah was also researching into creating a Virus based Plague as well which was stopped in GW1 Wind of Change though uncertain if all samples were destroyed.

That would also mean they may have samples of the plague in storage for research like how scientist keep samples of deadly diseases alive in highly quarantined research facilities. However, that will then be against other people's statement and the public knowledge that all physical existance of the plague is wiped out and no chance of returning because if there are samples remaining then it can always return if an accident happens or some idiotic researcher been experimenting on that plague sample to create a new strain of plague that is more virus based than magic based.

Though we all know how Public Knowledge tends to backfire.