Newcomers' PoV about GW1 lore

[Lascax.2163]

I want to know what's the approach for conveying story and lore regarding GW1 lore in the newest episodes.

I had to read on the subreddit who actually Lonai was and this is the second time it is happening since EP1 in the Living World ( the first case being the re-introduction of Koss ).

I get that the Commander and Tyrians in general have a better knowledge of the world's history than us, but can you look for a better way to convey the background of those GW1 Lore references?

I really loved how the Olmakhan are presented to the players and how widespread their lore is present in the map interactions. They're a new element but they're really solid!

I would love to see something similar for GW1 stuff tho, like the Specialization NPCs of the core PoF or like the Collection for the Draconic Mons backpack which made us know the history of that region step-by-step. I can see why some elements like knowing who Lonai is can't have that much representation, but even an acknowledgement by the story NPCs would be much appreciated ( the Captain, for example, being an elonian ).

What I don't want is something like Koss: I know there are books here and there, I know there is a book to read after the fight, but he's suddenly presented like it's a big twist that I don't understand, having not played GW1.

This is more a request than a question, I know, but I would love some feedback about this and how do you think this could be done or have been done successfully.

[Gaile Gray.6029]

If you're curious about Guild Wars lore, I can't recommend the Guild Wars (official) wiki enough! It's a huge, excellent resource, and I'm sure it will provide you with much happy reading. Find it here: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

[Lascax.2163]

I visit it a lot already, but I'd still like something ingame when a character appears to be relevant but not explained enough ( like Livia ).

[Crab Fear.1624]

> @"Lascax.2163" said:

> I visit it a lot already, but I'd still like something ingame when a character appears to be relevant but not explained enough ( like Livia ).

 

Sorry, the game has not made a Claptrap yet

[Ithilwen.1529]

I began playing GW1 out of curiosity, after starting in GW2. More than a year and a dozen maxed titles later... *it has added incredible depth to Tyria and GW2.* Playing the older game is highly recommended to players who are interested in the lore and history of Tyria.

 

There are also the GW2 rewards that can only be earned by playing GW1. The Fiery Dragon Sword is the coolest sword skin in the game, IMO.

[mindcircus.1506]

If you want to know the lore of Gw1, put on Wooden Potatoes Let's Plays of the games from youtube on in the background while you play Gw2. His knowledge and presentation of the lore is a great way to immerse yourself.

While I agree the Livia and Koss things came out of nowhere for newcommers to the franchise, watching the LPs gave me great context.

[Red Haired Savage.5430]

I'd say asking on here will usually get good results. The knowledge on here is easier to get info out of over the wiki since you have to know what you're looking for on the wiki. Like say if you asked how people learned skills in GW1 and just looked at the wiki you'd just learn about skill tomes, skill merchants, unlocking them in pvp and then unlocking it with a tome, skill points. But what you probably wouldn't find out is that there was originally another way to unlock skills with skill gems if you were just going through the wiki. Is there a wiki article for them yes, but isn't it a little more fun to find out this way?

[Svarty.8019]

I believe they made GW2 based off a BOOK that came out between games. I'm not the biggest fan of this strategy and feel that it alienated the vast majority (and I mean, nearly everybody, even die-hard GW1 fans) of players from the plot at the beginning of GW2. The characters of Destiny's Edge really fizzled in GW2 - they didn't really work, nobody knew their backstory because nobody read the book, players had no reason to care about them.

 

Woodenpotatoes brings GW1 lore to life on his channel with raw enthusiasm. I've not watched him recently, but he struggled to muster the same vim for the lore of GW2.

[Lascax.2163]

While I agree that there are numerous ways to learn about certain characters in GW2, what I am asking is for a much more cohesive experience. Koss and Livia are major characters of the GW Universe and even our Commander is surprised when they meet. However, from a player's standpoint, you're just confused and don't know why they are so important, unless you rely on external sources ourside the game.

This in my opinion devalues the characters and the intention of the story. One shouldn't have to go outside the game to know why our character is surprised: good narration implies explanation. They are not explained in the game, and it's a shame since there's even a good story behind them that could be easily told by NPCs.

What if before meeting Koss there were some discussions about who Koss is? Or what about having Livia introduce herself properly or have some discussion during the Trials about her?

When we meet the Omalkhan they are properly introduced in a really nice way without prior knowledge, and even characters like Trahearne ( for non-sylvari ) have some sort of introduction. Why major ones like those don't? I know I may be repeating myself but I just want to be invested when I play the story rather than watching a WP video after some days to know why my Commander was so impressed.

[MithranArkanere.8957]

It would have been nice to have the some books in the secret library in the sunspear sanctuary in Istan talk about the previous sunspears.

 

It would have been even better if the book panel could have pictures embedded.

 

This way there could have been a book talking about the people in the order of sunspear like Sogolon and Lonai with pictures so they can be recognized if seen later.