#jackal and skyscale could be just about anything

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

my highly niche curiosity about the new expansion is what the new skin variants will look like for each of the mounts. there'll likely be several variants of the goat skins for warclaw going by past patterns, but I wonder what new griffons, raptors, and jackals we might get...

[astralarias]

Skyscale Essay aka man I kinda miss the pre-skyscale days

Disclaimer that this is just my personal opinion and I don't hate the skyscale!! I think it's definitely a good mount for ease of access and is my second most used after the griffon! However, I've always felt it does take away from the other mounts quite a bit, so I wanted to go into that a little bit!

After mounts released with Path of Fire, the maps of that expansion and the following Living World 4 were built, in no small part, around the mounts themselves. Considering each mount’s unique ability and movement set led to what I feel was a very fun map design that almost was like a puzzle, and the mounts the missing pieces.

I could jump vast distances on raptor, then see a tall cliff and switch to springer to get up. At the top I might see a sand portal, and use jackal for a shortcut. At the other side of the portal, I could come across quicksand — the skimmer would fit this piece of the puzzle. Even with the griffon, the “prestige” mount, I would use a variety of mounts to get myself to a suitable launching point — and from there, a game with gravity and momentum began.

Although I can understand it may be frustrating to some to have to swap mounts often, I found that to be part of the immersion and fun. It felt like these mounts were not just transport but animals who filled different niches and belonged in the world, had adapted to it. It was engaging to me to look at where I wanted to go and consider not only the best but the most fun way to get there.

Then skyscale released. The change was felt, I believe, in the map that came with it. A lot of the map was just plain awkward and frustrating to navigate without the skyscale. You could get around it without the skyscale, sure, but it was a much less pleasant experience than before.

Ever since this mount was added, I feel the maps have been forced to cater to it, instead of the maps lending themselves to fun use of all mounts. Everything has to be designed with where the skyscale can go in mind. The puzzle-piece feeling of older maps is just gone for me.

Riding your raptor and see a tall cliff where springer would be ideal? Not any more. You’ll likely already be on skyscale, stay on skyscale, which is decently fast on land, and fly up the cliff. It’s efficient, but to me lacks so much of the spirit of GW2’s original mounts. Whilst you could still play this way — and I often do when solo — it’s become inconvenient to use other mounts when doing anything on a timer. Trying to get to an event, bounty, rift, etc? A flock of skyscales gets there first, bypassing any creative level design, and — oh, the event is over.

It just feels to me that skyscales, presumably intended to represent the freedom of flight, are just a roadblock in the way of more fun map design nowadays. The way new players whose only expansion is SotO are given an entire new way to unlock the skyscale, and given a permanent (to the SotO maps) rental skyscale — because the expansion is built around one mount, maybe two if you count the griffon at a stretch, and playing without it would be utter misery. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to give new players easier ways to get stuff at all, I really like it and it's something I'm always happy to see!! My concern is, when you’re fast-tracked to one specific mount, or else the expansion is blatantly unfun…that feels like such a reversal of the philosophy behind the original mounts — doing something new and unique, the idea of joy of movement. What’s joyous about the skyscale’s movement, that you couldn’t find in other games? It is wonderfully animated, but it has none of skimmer’s smooth grace or griffon’s dance with gravity. It just feels so bland, and brings down the map exploration aspect with it. 

[memoirsofratasum]

Aeromage Sanna: War Eternal

There has been a lot written about hope over the ages. That it doesn’t die, that there is always a sliver if know where to look and that’s enough to light an inferno. I’ve always been of the camp that hope is the product of hard work and determination, that it’s nothing passive you can just find like a pebble in a stream bed. You have to make it, even if it means doing the seemingly impossible. I wonder if Aurene and the commander would agree.

I had been tending to the wounded at Thunderhead Peak for what felt like years. There hadn’t been enough beds in the medical bay and we had to spread out into the larger cavern. We had lost some good soldiers, and others wouldn’t be the same. But it could have been worse. A lot worse. Kralkatorrik did not return for a round two and we were able to focus on those we could save in relative peace and quiet.

The mood in the mountain was somber. You could tell among the soldiers who had never faced bad odd before and those who knew that you can’t win every battle. But it was more than losing the battle that affected my patients. It was the loss of Aurene.

There had been so much riding on the young dragon that too many of the wounded claimed there was no point anymore and we should just give up. And untyrian attitude if I ever heard one! If you were still breathing that meant you could still do something! I did what I could to bolster their hope and had little time to myself to think about what had happened.

I never found that time either. After most of the wounded were healed up enough to be moved, the Pact had ordered a withdrawal from the fortress, leaving behind a skeleton crew and researchers. We may have lost but then mountain was still valuable. However we had only just returned to our own mountain at the Priory for a debriefing when new orders came.

Aurene was alive! And her and the commander were going after Kralkatorrik as we spoke! We all were ordered to board an airship immediately and follow the tracking signal within the crystal dragon. Gear was hastily packed back up and we were in the air within hours.

I don’t know much about this tracker but since I’m not an airship captain I don’t need too. It led us far from the Shiverpeaks, southwards towards the Clashing Ocean in all haste. I don’t think I’ve ever been on an airship flying this fast before. We knew we were nearing the right spot when we spotted airships from the other Pact orders coming in on the horizon. No one was sure what was going to happen and so we were told to be prepared for anything. I don’t think anyone could have prepared for what happened next.

The sky tore open from a massive rift and the gigantic glittering body of Kralkatorrik plummeted into the ocean followed by solid chunks of earth. Our airship had to pull up to avoid the sudden tidal surge. The sea must have been shallow at this spot or more landmass than we estimated fell from the rift since Kralatorrik’s body and earthen escort did not sink, but stayed fully visible on the surface. 

 All the airships stayed in position and we could see the blue form of Aurene and the commander circling above, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Asuran scanning devices were placed on deck and the results I wasn’t allowed to see were shared among the net of airships with the conclusion that the dragon was out cold and the newly formed landmass was safe to land on. As an elementalist I would have loved to use those scanning devices for myself. I wonder what else they can do?

One of the other airships dropped the boxes of popup tents and supplies on the smallest island of the new landmass, allowing for a rudimentary outpost to get started while the rest of us disembarked and the commander finally landed. 

To say that people were excited would be an understatement. Not only was this place, uncreatively deemed Dragonfall, a new place to explore, it was new to Tyria itself! It was pretty clear that the land had been dragged out of Mists, likely pulled from Kralkattorik’s wake. We could learn so much about the Mists from this place.

But it wasn’t all Priory-style thrills. There was still a not-actually-asleep elder dragon to worry about. The outpost itself was parked right next to his tail! Every so often the tail would stir, causing the ground to shake and the water to surge, drenching the edges of the camp. Kralkatorrik was at our mercy for now, but that would not last forever and we had to act quickly.

The first order of business was scouting and establishing outposts in the other sectors. It was decided that the fastest way to scout the area was for team to fly down from an orbiting airship and report back on the landscape. Anyone who had a griffon or, like in mine and Tarnn’s case, a jackal who could effectively take the form of a griffon was called aboard the Order of Whisper’s ship The Silent Treatment, a small and quick medical airship. It was nimble enough to maneuver out of trouble should the need arise and fast enough that we would be back in only a few hours, just in time for outpost teams to move out.

There were three areas of interest to scout in Dragonfall. First we jumped to the south, diving headlong into a canopy so reminiscent of the Maguuma Jungle I was expecting to hear the drums and cords of the Itzel. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I wove Cirrus through the thick branches, following a pathway below that looked like a promising trail. There was the expected branded minions infesting the place, but also other figures moving together in formation through the underbrush. I wasn’t able to get a good look at them but Tarnn radioed in that they were Mist Warden ghosts, likely allies that could help bolster our own forces. Looks like his study into spirits was paying off. A source of fresh water was located and another group also announced that they had found a nice clearing and I confirmed there was a trail leading to it. After that I and the other elementalist cast some updrafts so everyone could get back on board.

The land to the west of the jungle was immediately much more hostile, chock full of undead and not the friendly kind. The humans were saying that this had to have been part of Grenth’s realm just as surely as the previous was Melandru’s. I can believe that. The air carried a foul scent and the sky was green. It was hard to tell if all the roaming undead were warring with each other or if they were just particularly territorial towards our trespassing. I have no idea how an outpost could be established in such a place but I was told there was an opening that seemed to be mostly ignored by the inhabitants that could be easily guarded.

There was something else in this area as well. I and a few others turned our attentioned to the southern coast, mostly to check if there was a settlement opportunity by the sea and partially to get some fresh air. But we had barely arrived before our griffons were beak to snout with some flying reptilian creatures! Our mounts were so startled that they scattered out of formation, causing the newcomers to give chase. Thankfully Aurene(!) arrived and herded the flying reptiles back to the cliffs and we were able to get calm our frightened mounts. Aurene apologized for the scare and explained that the skyscales were new to Tyria and were probably a little too curious for their own good. She invited us to land to get a closer look. The skyscales were definitely curious and kept sniffing at us, causing a few ruffled feathers. But my Cirrus and Tarnn’s Arkose were equally as curious, their sandy feathers shifting to scales as if trying them on. Aurene further explained that these skyscales were prime candidates as proper mounts for the war effort. She even had summoned the commander in order to use one for their mission. I wish I could say we had more time to talk, but we all had our duties and so after well wishes we returned to The Silent Treatment.

It’s almost kinda funny. Aurene is a dragon but you can tell she had spent so much of her life among Pact members. She was as professional and humble as any I’ve served with and speaking to her was like speaking to any other officer. Maybe it’s just me though.

While I was sad to leave Aurene and the skyscales behind, I was glad to leave the area as we headed north. We passed over Kralatorrik’s brandstormed covered body in silence and then came upon a conflagration. An entire forest was on fire but not being destroyed!. At first I thought this was exciting. What can I say, I’m an elementalist, I like fire. But mutterings of Balthazar squashed that. Even in death he still managed to make himself relevant. We dove off the airship without the usual commentary, some of the humans looked a little uncomfortable. 

One of the first things I noted and radioed in was how breathable the air is. Sure it smelled like smoke but it didn’t choke or burn the lungs. Normally I would have expected the smoke and fumes to have killed us before we finished diving. But we were able to breath and see clearly. Balthazar must not have had time to make renovations before his demise. There were the expected beasts; salamander drakes and hydras and the like. There were also strange shadowy creatures I didn’t recognize. When I asked about them all I received over the radio was a human saying they would tell me later. Must be a god thing. But I digress. A pass by the western coast proved fruitful. We found an open clearing mostly devoid of fire with flat ground and places for fortifications. With confirmation from the airship and a particularly daring griffon that there was a trail back towards the main Pact outpost, we returned to the ship and made our way back to base.

Our reports had spread fast. We saw the Olmakhan just exiting the gate for the Grenth clearing and the jungle team was already long gone. We were told to rest up, the Pact wasn’t going to wait around for Kralkatorrik and so we needed to be in top shape when the order was given.

While we sat around a fire with hot food and drink we got the rundown of what the scouting team had missed while out in the field. Word was that the commander was figuring out how to fashion a real dragonsblood spear using blood from the torn off wing. No details other than it was looking promising. Once the outposts were prepared and the commander was ready we’d face Kralkatorrik again, ideally before he woke up. With the way that tail thrashed I’d say there wasn’t much time. 

We got the call to action a few days later. The outpost engineers had set up brandstorm disruptors and ley line reflectors which would disperse the brandstorm shielding Kralkatorrik. While we were attacking the body, the commander and Aurene were to make their way underground to where the crystal dragon’s head was submerged for a more direct assault. Reminded me a little of the final fight against Mordremoth.

We watched as the brandstorm was pulled away, revealing the stone and crystal body of Kralkatorrik. He knew he was big, I had seen him more than once, but embedded in the rock and earth I could see how he once was mistaken for a mountain range. There wasn’t a lot of time to admire the scenery though. The commander was making their way down below and we needed to move. Almorra roared her signal and hundreds of mounts in a riot of colors descended upon the dragon’s body.

There were crystal lesions on his scales, injuries from the Mists that were not healing. They might not seem like much but those weak points would cause a lot of pain and distraction for the commander to do the real damage. This task wouldn’t necessarily take the army to perform, but the dragon’s branded minions were not sitting this one out. Menders attempted to out heal our attacks and gigantic branded monsters came out of hiding to defend their master. And then we’d go back to attacking the lesions. Rise and repeat. It wasn’t a slick and clean fight, it was rough and chaotic and maybe more than a little desperate. There was supposed to be a sign of the commander’s success but who knew what that would be. In the meantime we kept fighting.

And then it happened. 

We were scrambling over scales and stone when a surge of magic reverberated below us, something unbelievably strong but deep enough that it only knocked us off our feet. It would have been cause for alarm if it wasn’t for the change that came over the branded minions. They were suddenly stumbling and shuffling as if the gravity that held them on Tyria had shifted planes. In a way it did.

Almorra blew the horn for retreat as streams of rainbow light started to pour out from between the cracks in the scales, brighter and more numerous with each passing second. We had to get off Kralkatorrik’s body. Raptor and jackal riders scooped up the stranglers while springers and griffons made for the cliffs. A stampede of people and mounts cleared the elder dragon corpse in a matter of moments, leaving behind dazed and confused branded. And not a moment too soon. Just as the last sylvari was hauled up to safety, the body of Kralkatorrik burst in a flash of nearly blinding rainbow light.

The light reached into the sky before turning back towards the earth and speeding just over our heads and then pulled up again, like a griffon filled with the joy of flight. I don’t know who first shouted her name, but once they did I was able to clearly make out Aurene’s draconian form and brilliant prismatic wings. The cheer was deafening. She had done it! She had become an Elder Dragon!

I don’t know how long we all stayed on that cliff watching Aurene. She flew around us on her brand new wings and bid farewell to the commander and all of us before streaming towards the horizon. And just like that the war was over. Kralkaotrrik’s remains were nothing more than lifeless crystal and his minions were staggered without their leader. There would still be some mopping up but the major threat was gone.

That night the Pact Outpost was transformed into a party that I’m sure the norn skaalds with sing about for ages. Music, that engine degreaser they call spirits, even the rations were dressed up a bit thanks to some foraging in the jungle. The next day we would return to the mainland, spreading the word of our victory while research teams were free to study Dragonfall and the fallen dragon to their heart’s content. But right now the Pact was letting its hair down and I don’t think anyone was letting it down more than Almorra who we discovered will start singing after getting a few mugs in her.

There was one person missing from the festivities though. The commander was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. Tarnn was the one who finally spotted them, standing high above on the top of a docked airship and barely discernible against the night sky. They clearly wanted a moment alone. They certainly earned it. 

But if you looked in the direct the commander was facing, far out towards the edge of the world and let your eyes adjust a little, you could almost make out the gleam of rainbow light.