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  1. #1

    Does this game have proper lore ?

    Hi there,

    In anticipation of Guild War's 2 release and the fact that I am totally excited to start playing it I wanted to start some pre-release prep. So I read the Mass info for the uninitiated and it's a great deal of info, but (fortunately) it doesn't delve into details much. So, my question to you Guild Wars gurus is whether ArenaNet is baking a solid lore into the game or is it just a standard story serving as a pretext to the gameplay ? The latter won't keep me from enjoying the game but I'd like to know if there are any deep story lines, famous heroes and multi-layered characters that I should know of so as to experience the game fully.

    Thanks

    PS : Are there any Guild Wars books already released or planned to be ?

  2. #2
    Deleted
    There's tons of lore behind the GW universe, you can play the first game to play through the story etc and there is also books. There is famous heroes/villains in the lore aswell to give you a plot etc.

    You can always read through the wiki aswell to learn the story/lore.

    I'm not sure what order the books go in, so I'll leave the bit for someone else to tell you.

  3. #3
    I think the two books currently out are Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny. I read Edge of Destiny and it's actually a pretty solid book.

  4. #4
    I am Murloc! Mif's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrunkenBeard View Post
    PS : Are there any Guild Wars books already released or planned to be ?
    Edge of Destiny
    Ghosts of Ascalon
    Sea of Sorrows

    "Movement of the World" article

    Blog posts about minor (non playable) races
    Last edited by Mif; 2012-02-02 at 07:00 PM.

  5. #5
    Deleted
    The Lore is indeed really good I enjoy "Edge of Destiny" which I'm currently reading, gonna read "Ghosts of Ascalon" afterwards. The book is actually better than I expected a "gaming-book" to be, or no. It's actually ALOT better than I thought
    I'm normally into Dan Brown, russian "Tolkien-alike" books and thoose kind of books.

  6. #6
    I have read both Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny. There really isn't a solid read order between those two books, however; thinking back, I would read Edge of Destiny first and then Ghosts of Ascalon (I won't say why though).

    The books aren't the best written books I have ever read, but they are fun and the action comes pretty quick. There is a ton of lore that will pertain to why things the way they are in the GW2. Good weekend books.

  7. #7
    Just read Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny. You will get a feel for the world prior to Guild Wars 2 and some of the lore in guild wars 1.

    I would also read the wikia and just spend a few hours reading up on the races, the gods, the wars, and the history of each city both fallen and still populated.

  8. #8
    I enjoy the lore quite a bit. But I also played GW since it released. The game does very well with putting the lore into the game through missions and questing and such, at least if you pay attention to it.

    The GW and GW2 wiki is a good resource to read about the lore. You can also go to the story and lore sections of the GWGuru and GW2guru websites.

    There are a couple of novels and another on the way that can give you some idea of the world as well. I wasn't impressed by the books but they can be entertaining in a Harry Potter type of read.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by DrunkenBeard View Post
    Hi there,

    In anticipation of Guild War's 2 release and the fact that I am totally excited to start playing it I wanted to start some pre-release prep. So I read the Mass info for the uninitiated and it's a great deal of info, but (fortunately) it doesn't delve into details much. So, my question to you Guild Wars gurus is whether ArenaNet is baking a solid lore into the game or is it just a standard story serving as a pretext to the gameplay ? The latter won't keep me from enjoying the game but I'd like to know if there are any deep story lines, famous heroes and multi-layered characters that I should know of so as to experience the game fully.

    Thanks

    PS : Are there any Guild Wars books already released or planned to be ?
    at this point, it has more lore than World of Warcraft has, Yes I went there.

    Mostly cause Blizz deiced to call more or less all RPG books Non-Cannon.

  10. #10
    The Lightbringer Malthurius's Avatar
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    You can find a little bit of lore for all the races on the official website.
    http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/races/

    Also, here are all the lore related posts from the GW2 official blog (rather, ArenaNet's blog).
    http://www.arena.net/blog/tag/lore
    "Questions are for those seeking answers. Those who have answers are those who have asked questions." -Mike R. (Malthurius)

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Kharli View Post
    at this point, it has more lore than World of Warcraft has, Yes I went there.

    Mostly cause Blizz deiced to call more or less all RPG books Non-Cannon.
    Not to start a game vs game war here but I enjoy quite a bit of WoW's lore. The problem I have with it is that it is all over the place and then they change it up at the developers desire. As a contrast, GW has much more continuity in its lore I feel.

  12. #12
    Ree Soesbee is a pretty solid writer. She used to write for a card game called Legend of the Five Rings and had excellent work there as well. Looking forward to seeing what her and the rest of the story team have put into the game.

  13. #13
    To be fair, Jeff Grub started most of the lore in Guild Wars. Ree was hired because there was so much lore to cover that he was struggling to keep up.


    To be fair, as a long time player of WoW and a short term player of GW1, I have to say that Im enjoying the lore in GW1 a lot more. Prophecies was a bit weak in terms of character development, but they really stepped up their game from Factions onward and the interpersonal relationships you see develop between characters as you play through the game is really enjoyable to watch. Im not a particularly emotional person but I nearly cried when visiting the Underworld and Gwen found the ghost of her mother (Gwen being a particularly well developed character at this point)

    WoW lore is decent, but as stated, the devs seems to change it whenever they feel like it (HI WELL OF ETERNITY). Its hard to really develop an attachment to the lore when it feels so throwaway. Its also hard to really follow a lot of it when so much of it is external to the games. Comics, books, RPG games etc. all seem to contribute more to the lore than the actual game does and its very hard to keep up. Luckily Arenanet have said that their books will all be explained in GW2, theyre just to give a bit of extra backstory. (Just started "Edge Of Destiny" and it seems pretty good so far)


    So its not that theres "more" lore (how does that even work anyway? :P), its just that I think the lore in GW is respected a bit more than Blizzard respects theirs.

  14. #14
    Stood in the Fire MissCleo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashgar View Post
    Ree Soesbee is a pretty solid writer. She used to write for a card game called Legend of the Five Rings and had excellent work there as well. Looking forward to seeing what her and the rest of the story team have put into the game.
    Oh, holy shit. I had no idea - I used to love L5R, the CCG and the pen-and-paper RPG (1st Ed., bitches - it was f***ing easy as hell to die in that game). I think I still have my paraphernalia lying around, I should see if her name appears anywhere.

    ---------- Post added 2012-02-02 at 01:23 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Leben View Post
    To be fair, Jeff Grub started most of the lore in Guild Wars. Ree was hired because there was so much lore to cover that he was struggling to keep up.
    Jeff Grubb is another pen-and-paper game writer I love, although his name I recognized.

  15. #15
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    Just finished Edge of Destiny and getting Ghost of Ascalon next week! EoD was a pretty solid read, i'm hoping GoA is the same

  16. #16
    The Lightbringer Glytch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrunkenBeard View Post
    Hi there,

    In anticipation of Guild War's 2 release and the fact that I am totally excited to start playing it I wanted to start some pre-release prep. So I read the Mass info for the uninitiated and it's a great deal of info, but (fortunately) it doesn't delve into details much. So, my question to you Guild Wars gurus is whether ArenaNet is baking a solid lore into the game or is it just a standard story serving as a pretext to the gameplay ? The latter won't keep me from enjoying the game but I'd like to know if there are any deep story lines, famous heroes and multi-layered characters that I should know of so as to experience the game fully.

    Thanks

    PS : Are there any Guild Wars books already released or planned to be ?
    in addition to all the "guild wars 2" lore out there if you want a much more comprehensive picture of the lore go read up everything on http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

    also each stand alone game (prophesies, factions and nightfall) came with a booklet called the guild wars manuscripts that explain the backstory to each of the games which are a neat read if you want to learn about the time when the gods roamed tyria (proph), the in depth of canthan political system(factions) and the history of the sunspears (nightfall) you should be able to find a pdf version of each on the interwebs
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  17. #17
    I like this one from the blog on the sylvari
    http://www.arena.net/blog/dream-and-nightmare

    And these 2 on the asura are 2 of my personal favourites:
    http://www.arena.net/blog/mr-sparkle...sura#more-6264
    http://www.arena.net/blog/that-old-c...-try#more-6258

    Yes....there's a ton of lore already You can have a great time just going through the links at the bottom of each page...great way to spend a day.

  18. #18
    High Overlord Primal Zed's Avatar
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    Could also try to find interviews with Jeff Grubb. He's the head lore guy.

    edit: I generally like lore kind of stuff, and I can always get into a good story, but for some reason I've been avoiding the Guild Wars 2 books. I think I'm just worried I'd end up not liking them, especially since I don't know anything about the background. Good novels based on a video game are rather few and far between.
    Last edited by Primal Zed; 2012-02-03 at 01:35 AM.
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  19. #19
    Deleted
    Blizzard have stopped caring about their own lore a long time ago, and change it at a whim as and when it suits them. The Guild Wars guy have always been pretty solid and respectful of their canon though as far as I know, and I don't think that will be much different in the new game.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Rivehn View Post
    started reading the two books today, Loving ghosts of ascalon so far.
    Yeah I loved them both. Especially Edge of Destiny. I think the characterisation was great and King did a great job bringing them to life. Won't say more so I don't spoil it for u
    Really looking forward to Ree's book, Sea of Sorrows, as well. Although Amazon says it won't be out until August

    OP - Would highly recommend the books for lore. If you have a digitial reader of some sort, they've very cheap as digital downloads on amazon. I think I got them for like $4 each.
    Last edited by Squirrelbanes; 2012-02-03 at 01:45 AM.

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