[HoT spoiler] Eir

[Underdark.3726]

How and why did you decide that Eir had to die in HoT? Were there other characters that you planed to kill off in her place?

[Scott McGough.6897]

We debated long and hard about how we would portray the impact of Mordremoth's war against the Pact, and who (if any) of our main characters would die. During these discussions, literally no one was safe: we discussed the pros and cons of everyone's death--individually, in small groups, or the whole enchilada.

 

Interest in the character/the character's popularity both inside and outside ArenaNet was a consideration, but in the end, the deciding factor was always "what impact does this death have on the story we're trying to tell, the characters who survive, and any plans we had for the deceased character's future arc?" In other words, if we had clear plans for the character that would be featured in the main plot line going forward, that character was more likely to survive HoT.

 

Some decisions were pretty easy: we knew early on that we wouldn't bring Rytlock back as a revenant and then immediately kill him off; Canach was in the middle of a redemption arc and we didn't want to cut that short; we had inklings Logan would step up to take over the Pact marshalship after Trahearne died so we wanted to leave that door open; etc., etc.

 

We eventually decided that we did want to raise the stakes and lose one of our main characters--otherwise the war against Mordremoth would feel like it was only dangerous for generic NPCs. And we settled on Eir from Destiny's Edge because the story we set out to tell about her in GW2's launch was complete. Throughout GW2, she was still grieving over Snaff's death (for which she took all the responsibility, as she was the leader of that failed mission) and the subsequent dissolution of Destiny's Edge; she had a bit of a death wish/fatalistic view of her future (see the Honor the Waves dungeon's story path); and during the norn personal story, she expressed how she wanted to find the next great hero to lead her people to glory against the Elder Dragons, since she had failed to--again, grieving and fatalistic--and she found that hero in you, the norn player character.

 

That is not to say there weren't Eir more stories we could have told in the future, or we were out of ideas for her, but rather that we felt her story arc was pretty complete as it was; and as HoT was also meant to demonstrate a changing of the guard (from Destiny's Edge to what would soon become Dragon's Watch), it made sense to show viscerally the previous generation leaving to make way for the next generation.

 

And it's probably clear by now that we at ArenaNet (and me in particular) do not shy away from a tragic turn in the story--Eir had just begun to mend fences with Braham, so losing her like we did, when we did, was a real kick in the gut for him and for us.

 

 

 

 

[RainPumpkin.7253]

As a Norn main, Eir's death hit me as hard as Dobby or Fred Weasley death from Harry Potter.

Why? Unexpected.

[Klypto.1703]

Yep eir was killed off but kinda feels like Zojja was too since you've got a whole LS3 and part of LS4 and an expansion where there is nothing said about her other than send her a post card. Makes me wonder if she took over the inquest and has some kind of asuran plant technology to bring people to life after strangling them with a giant golem plant arm.

[Hesacon.8735]

> @"Scott McGough.6897" said:

> We eventually decided that we did want to raise the stakes and lose one of our main characters--otherwise the war against Mordremoth would feel like it was only dangerous for generic NPCs.

 

Zhaitan - 0

Mordremoth - 1

Balthazar - 0 (he came close, but couldn't close the deal)

 

Mordremoth is the most dangerous GW2 character. He destroyed Lion's Arch, nearly destroyed Divinity's Reach, drove the Pact to the brink of extinction, killed Eir, _and_ still has an effect on Tyria through _at least two_ remaining Blighting Trees. Can't top that.

[foozlesprite.8051]

> @"Hesacon.8735" said:

> Zhaitan - 0

> Mordremoth - 1

> Balthazar - 0 (he came close, but couldn't close the deal)

 

Zhaitan - 1

 

RIP Tybalt, the most important character.

 

(It feels that way to me, at least, but I don't actually disagree with your comment.)

[vampirelazarus.9403]

> @"foozlesprite.8051" said:

> > @"Hesacon.8735" said:

> > Zhaitan - 0

> > Mordremoth - 1

> > Balthazar - 0 (he came close, but couldn't close the deal)

>

> Zhaitan - 1

>

> RIP Tybalt, the most important character.

>

> (It feels that way to me, at least, but I don't actually disagree with your comment.)

 

I still wear my Tybalt backpack to this day.

[Koryander.3249]

I still feel like Destinys Edge has a score to settle with Kralkatorrik, with Eir most of all, and if anything it’s a shame she won’t be able to go to bat for that one.

 

I agree with a lot of the sentiment here, but considering that this guy is still alive and flying, and this was Destiny Edge’s goal, it still gut punches me that shell never get her round two.

[Ardid.7203]

Ok, let me be a little harsh here.

Eir 's death was very good in terms of timing and impact. However, in terms of execution it didn't feel appropriate for the character at all. This is a personal, subjective opinion, of course, but I know for sure it is shared with a lot of other players. Why wasn't Eir's death more heroic, more stoic, more Norn?

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

> @"Ardid.7203" said:

> Ok, let me be a little harsh here.

> Eir 's death was very good in terms of timing and impact. However, in terms of execution it didn't feel appropriate for the character at all. This is a personal, subjective opinion, of course, but I know for sure it is shared with a lot of other players. Why wasn't Eir's death more heroic, more stoic, more Norn?

 

I felt it was very stoic and norn, but I do think a lot of people's "complaints" would have been availed if she just charged the Vinetooth rather than stood defiantly.

[Rognik.2579]

This might be getting close to the wire, but can you discuss any of the plotlines you had considered for Eir's future if she hadn't died? I know we're all curious about Magdaer, but what else might she have done if she had survived the jungle?

[Hesacon.8735]

> @"foozlesprite.8051" said:

> > @"Hesacon.8735" said:

> > Zhaitan - 0

> > Mordremoth - 1

> > Balthazar - 0 (he came close, but couldn't close the deal)

>

> Zhaitan - 1

>

> RIP Tybalt, the most important character.

>

> (It feels that way to me, at least, but I don't actually disagree with your comment.)

 

It occurs to me Faolain might bring Mordremoth's score to 1.5 or 2, depending on how important you feel she is.

[Gaile Gray.6029]

> @"foozlesprite.8051" said:

> > @"Hesacon.8735" said:

> > Zhaitan - 0

> > Mordremoth - 1

> > Balthazar - 0 (he came close, but couldn't close the deal)

>

> Zhaitan - 1

>

> RIP Tybalt, the most important character.

>

> (It feels that way to me, at least, but I don't actually disagree with your comment.)

 

~sniff~ He was awesome and I miss him!

[MatthewMedina.5419]

> @"Ardid.7203" said:

> Ok, let me be a little harsh here.

> Eir 's death was very good in terms of timing and impact. However, in terms of execution it didn't feel appropriate for the character at all. This is a personal, subjective opinion, of course, but I know for sure it is shared with a lot of other players. Why wasn't Eir's death more heroic, more stoic, more Norn?

 

I will say, even internally there was some rather terse discussions about this moment and how we ultimately chose to represent it.

 

In the end, the question really comes down to how each person chooses to meet that final moment of their mortality. Do they fight and rage against it, or do they stand proudly, look it in the eye and accept its inevitability with dignity? It was our opinion that, in that moment, Eir should take the latter path. There's a lot more depth that we've explored through the years with the character that goes into the thoughts and beliefs which inform a choice like that, but at least for my money I believe her death _was_ heroic, and honored her heritage as a norn in the way in which she faced her end without fear, and with an affirmation that she had come to realize that her legend could be more than just battle.