The lore - Too grey?

[Noomz]

I've been reading up on a lot of lore, researching the races, the faiths and big events. And I get this impression that it's all really grey or dark.
I know it's good to have greyzones and not just black and white, but I feel that the lore could use some more black and white to be honest.
Everywhere I look there's conflict upon conflict between everything and everyone. Some times these conflicts feel like they don't have much substance but are merely there to make the world feel more grey.
I feel there are very few certainties and I'm not sure I like it. I wish there was more "good", more white in the lore so I didn't feel so depressed about the extreme amounts of ambigouity.
And it's all so "uncertain". It feels like I need something solid and "good" to hold on to

[Valeron]

Kind of like our own history eh?

[Fencers]

You'd rather have a more pulp inspired lore?

also lol@ the guy wanting to kill garrosh above me.

[Loaf Lord]

I think it's sad and grey now so that they let us players make the world happier when he slay all the baddies. Gives us motivation if the world is sad and depressing.

[Raxingar]

I think they kinda want you to feel that way, it gives the game world more depth, and makes the 'light' moments seem that much better. It also lends itself to a lot of dark humor as a way to break up the mood, which I love to see in games.

[Verazh]

The world and lore is grey and black so that you, the player, want to be good. Its a key motivator for the thrill of being "the good guy".

[Jovanaar]

You could see stuff happening in GW1 what you'll see returning in GW2 and between GW1 and GW2 happened a lot.


Not even talking about 5 Elder Dragon's roaming Tyria for destruction and leadership. There are quite some black & whites in the lore though, and the amount of gray is great for expand the story.

[Khanjin]

Are you talking about too much "grey area"? Because I certainly believe that's a great thing. I'm never interested for very long when you know that "there's the bad guy. We're the good guys. We're going to go over there and kill him, because that's the goal, and when we do just that we won the game because the bad guy is dead." I don't think that's particularly interesting. I always think it's much more interesting when our own methods are questionable, their methods are questionable, there's room for intrigue between two greys. I think that's great.

[Ynna]

Honestly, in my opinion having more gray areas in a story is better than just White/Black morality. It makes everything more nuanced and interesting, and provides a lot more opportunities for depth.

Plus, that way, I can roleplay my Guardian as someone who beliefs the world is black and white, only to be disillusioned by reality. (And after that, maybe, he could decide there is still enough good to keep on fighting.)

[YoghurtSpoonDuckCeiling]

As someone who intends to role-play in this setting if there's enough of a role-playing community, I find myself relieved to see that this game's lore is more leaning towards the morally grey side of things instead of simple black and white. I grew weary of WoW's lore simply because far too many interesting lore figures were turned into crazed, pseudo evil raid bosses with little to no reasoning beyond 'the Old Gods did it'.

I favour depth, so I'd be very pleased if it isn't apparent which side is in the right when it comes to getting involved in a conflict in this setting.

[luishp95]

Gray is always better than white good or evil black, it gives us more chances to develop our characters stories without feeling compromised with either side (evil or good)

[Noomz]

I think they kinda want you to feel that way, it gives the game world more depth, and makes the 'light' moments seem that much better. It also lends itself to a lot of dark humor as a way to break up the mood, which I love to see in games.

But to me it doesn't feel like depth. It just feels like... I need some hope? I need something good to hold on to, that sort of thing. Some more light in all the greyness.

[Valeron]

But to me it doesn't feel like depth. It just feels like... I need some hope? I need something good to hold on to, that sort of thing. Some more light in all the greyness.

You can be that light when you play your character. I imagine your personal story will give you plenty of opportunity for that.

[Deleted]

I've done quite a fair amount of reading on the lore myself, and personally I find that the whole 'world is mean and terrible and full of conflict and black and gray' makes me want to play this game even more. Personally I find it makes the world more... 'real'. It makes it more believable and it certainly makes me feel more like I'm the center of the story (And other players) instead of for example a big 'good' lore figure taking the central point(Using the WoW example, my druid felt like nothing around Malfurion, even though I was supposed to feel like I was the reason the world was changing...).

It might be too dark or depressing but at the same time I think that will make player generated moments much more... cheerful and important. It is 'your story' and that seems to be a helping point.

[Fencers]

Well, you pretty much are a hero in GW2. I reckon the "light" is you, so to speak.

[Edge-]

But to me it doesn't feel like depth. It just feels like... I need some hope? I need something good to hold on to, that sort of thing. Some more light in all the greyness.

Human/Char aren't at war anymore! That counts for something!

Yeah, generally the whole, "the safety of the entire world is at stake" situations tend to be a bit more grim by nature : /

[Glytch]

Human/Char aren't at war anymore! That counts for something!

Yeah, generally the whole, "the safety of the entire world is at stake" situations tend to be a bit more grim by nature : /

*hides dagger* of course...no more.. war...yea...

[Adoris]

The way i see it, the races of Tyria actually have their rather believable racial struggles. As grey as they are, they are not just some contrived reason that hangs over the player from the moment of their character's creation to the eventual game. I really don't want to use World of Warcraft as an example, but it's what comes to mind first. there's an underlining concept of a faction conflict that's rather eerie at times. I mean they've banded together to save the world more often than not, and yet they still want to tear they guts out.
As Doozerjun said, the grey parts of the races history and struggles make it seem close to our own. And people relate to the familiar. It's pure storytelling gold, i tell you!

[DrakeWurrum]

The real world doesn't work that way, so why should a virtual one?

[airea]

I can't think of many MMOs, or anything in life to be honest, that clings to a certain right or wrong, good or bad.

In WoW, the Alliance says they're sophisticated, glorious, and fight to destroy the savage horde. The Horde says they just want to be left alone by the Alliance, and fight to merely stay alive. Obviously you have people like Hellscream who are hell bent on hate and destruction, but even then, who's to say that's wrong? Some horde players are just bloodthirsty, and they love it. Even on the Alliance you see complexities in both royal families and political matters. The citizens of Westfall and their story, for instance.

In SWTOR you have the Republic and the Empire. The Empire is based around self reliance, fighting for personal goals, and inner strength. The Republic is centered around working to improve the conditions and rate of expansion of your own people, while the Jedi strive to bring peace and balance to the world. Both sides view their causes as good, whether it be a good way to spend their time and energy, or merely pointing north on a moral compass.

When it comes to opinions and eventually conflict, everyone thinks they're right. There is no white and black to truly speak of, only shades of gray. For instance, you can claim the Alliance are the good guys and the Horde are the bad guys, but you're only going to get into a never ending argument with a member of the Horde over who's morally sound. Conflict is complex, and shades of grey serve to better unfold into lighter or darker tones for everyone individually as the game moves along, and we make differences in the world around us.