#Guild Wars 2 Spoilers

[lady-quen]

Was rambling underneath @thornethenorn 's post and it finally kicked me into gear to design Mael's unique Death Shroud, so thank you dearly for that 🫡

Anyway. I keep saying PoF is where my Comm got a bit canon-divergent, and this is why. I wasn't a fan of how "easy" the ordeal of death and clawing oneself back to life felt in the actual campaign, so I've essentially made his Shroud reflect that, forever. Detail talk below cut!

The open mouth that manifests specifically in Shroud form is actually the same mortal wound Balthazar inflicted on Maelmordha, splitting his entire chest open with his greatsword. The scar runs down from the top of the sternum to the abdomen and serves as a constant reminder of the dire encounter - as well as a conduit for dark powers. Death itself is a necromancer's greatest source of strength, after all - even and especially his own.

The ghastly fangs are a remnant of the Eater of Souls whose life force substitutes the Commander's own - he is using a demon's vital energy to stay alive, so he wraps himself in magical chains in case he were to ever lose control over the magic. He has also gained the ability to manifest weapons from that same creature's essence and likewise uses chains to bind them.

Staying in Shroud for prolonged periods of time tends to be painful due to the enchanted hooks holding his chest open, even if the portal seals itself immediately when the magic is dismissed. However, with harbinger powers, pain itself is also used as a source of energy.

Due to the controversial nature of Commander Maelmordha's magic, only his closest companions in the Pact (and whoever in the future manages to snoop enough - *cough* probably wizards) know its source and nature. Being feared too much isn't great for diplomacy, innit.

[champion-of-aurene]

LOOK AT THEM!!!!

They are soooo cute, such absolute kbity :3 They are like lynxes with the face and the giant ears and paws but they ALSO have giant tails too! Fantastic 10/10 kitty design

[avoiceoffire]

Attack against @couple-o-commanders featuring their Commanders and mine, Titus during the Dragonstorm fight!!

[meeeeeeese]

So spoiler thoughts on one of the new kodan characters ahead

So Poky is basically just Braham 2 right?

He's a young adult with a dead mother who, though he means well, tends to rush headstrong into things without fully thinking his decisions through.

He's from an alpine culture and, while he starts out earning a fast respect for the commander, starts to chafe against their desire for caution. He wants to just go after the main threat menacing his people right away, and damn the consequences.

I swear he might even have Braham's voice actor too, though I'm not certain of it.

Now don't get me wrong I like em both, but there sure are a lotta parallels between the two.

[commander-gloryforge]

"You've upset the bees by petting them in the wrong order" is an insane sentence

[ginger-commander-is-tired]

Commander is truly dying inside

[quintiliusheartripper]

Ohhh from the spear news post

“Unlike the kodan that settled in the Shiverpeaks, the kodan of Janthir have long separated from their reverence for Koda. Instead, they’ve turned to the nature they’re surrounded by to guide their relationship with the world—the sun and all the benefits life seizes from it included. Certain spear bears look to the sun to channel inspiration in battle, aiding their allies and illuminating a path forward.”

They are so cute. Im excited to meet them.

[commanders-sole-braincell]

In honour of new story tomorrow, this monstrosity 

thanks to @zeeplaguedoktor for the screenshots of the Oni

[missbadafker]

Janthir Syntri

[rata-novus]

platonically & respectfully smooching the brain(s) of whomever decided kodan in janthir wilds should be based on brown/grizzly bears. like, yes. a bear race from a more temperate climate would look different! thank you!

[idrawtoomuch-gw2]

I just realized I haven't drawn Kai since deciding to toss Edmund into SotO narratively

Anyways here's my take on today's announcement

[plushjorms]

i'm never going to stop finding it so eerie and surreal the way guild wars 2 maps are all frozen in time. almorra is still here right in front of me. she's still alive. blish is still alive. aurene is still a child and i still get to give her a better life. all of this is true as long as i don't leave. the moment i walk away everything is lost again

[elderdragonapologist]

BRAHAM, BRAHAM IS HERE, THATS MY MAN, HE'S HERE

THERE HE IS THERE HE IS THATS HIM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[beebundt]

i finished the most recent gw2 eps out and i was sad so i drew some azzys to cheer up also a screenshot under cut of the wife and daughter to commemorate the occasion of despair

[mordremvari]

what lies within sure was an update

[commander-gloryforge]

okay after playing for a healthy and normal 10 hours finishing act one, here are my thoughts.

QQWWWWWWWWWWAAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH YYEAAAAAASSASS S WWEWEWEEWWWW AYYYWEEEAEEDEDDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSA WOOOOOOOOOOOOIHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

okay . god. okAY. fuck. okay. so. i dont even know where to start im enjoying myself so much here its crazy. like im having such a good time genuinely holy shit.

THE MUSIC. fucuukkkkk god the music. okay it has a lot of that one instrument that i cant name but its a very specific sound that they used a lot in ibs too and i genuinely love that sound. god. FUCK. the music is so good. i think i already have a fave track but im not gonna name it just yet bUT FUCK ITS SO GOOD. i think im gonna have to get that one on vinyl when they release it. GOD.

also voice acting? HELLO???? insane job done by the kodan ESPECIALLY poised arrow, he's AMAZING. and the uh. The Big Bad Guy we fight at the end of chapter 5. uhm. hello. the voice. hello sir. hey. hiiiiii.

the map. ive only seen the first so far but by god this is my favoruite place ever in the world. i really love how peaceful that place is, but how alive it feels. theres events everywhere, the hearts are wonderfully done, it LOOKS just simply beautiful. its so much fun to explore and run around in and just do nothing but sit there and listen to the kodan talk. this is genuinely the best of. all worlds? like its HUGE but never feels empty, its fun to explore but easy to get through, its diverse and beautiful and alive, it feels like a core map but BETTER. the adventures are fun, I GOT TURNED INTO A FISH, the events are lovely, i want to eat this map.

warclaw??? actually feels good to use????? genuinely love how it feels now, actually kind of prefer it over raptor/jackal. i only have the first mastery on it because im focusing on homestead mastery but omg the jumping abilities are so fun and i cant wait to level the mastery more... the skin you get is so cute and i might genuinely use warclaw so much more now. its abilities are actually kinda fun to use too

SPEAR. i didnt get to test spears out a lot but i can confidently say that I LOVE GUARDIAN SPEAR i switched auroras build and now story fights are actually fun. have not tested it with any other class but its GOOD.

characters. i cant say so much about the story itself yet but it does feel so much better than soto just because of the characters alone. instead of being thrown into some brand new mess with a bunch of characters we dont know that quickly become irrelevant, we actually have known faces by our side- like properly. caithe and malice are are GREAT companions for this, i love the tyrian alliance (despite being a jennah hater) because we keep coming back to these characters we've known, it doesnt feel like all the relationships weve made have been cast aside anymore. HELL WE EVEN GET CHARACTERS THAT WERE MISSING SINCE IBS BACK! even if its just for a short time, THEYRE THERE, WE GET TO CHECK IN WITH THEM! THATS GREAT! and even with all the new characters, they dont feel as overwhelming, they just feel.. good? its just good. its just right.

and theres so much more to say but its 5:30am right now and i need to wrap this up.

god. okay its easy to please me. take everything i say with a grain of salt. i am very easily impressed and excited, ESPECIALLY when it comes to gw2, but it really does feel like theyre figuring it out. it feels like anet really did listen to us, and learned from soto, and things are going well. im so happy. i love this so much. AAAAAAAH