on your way to brisban wildlands coming from beetletun, you have to pass thru kessex hills... am starting to wonder if this is related with the whole "body snatching in the west of canyon" conversation you hear in garenhoff.... perhaps a farfetched idea but maybe wizard fief has something to play in this mystery...
Hey WP! There's actually something really cool about the raid, if you go to the fire pit of bodies and the corpses at the bottom of the cliff-side as a NECROMANCER, you actually get some bonus flavour text! just a small thing but i thought it was a really nice touch. hopefully anet does more little things like this more often
I just realized something, our characters in GW2 cant see Lazarus unless he wants us to. that means if its true that there are more mursaat or if Lazarus is still alive they could be anywhere even DR and we could do nothing about it
I really wish Anet would add a solo mode to raids and dungeons with reduced rewards. It would allow players who want to see to story to do so, give players who want to practice raids and dungeons before grouping up a chance to do so (giving a 'middle step' between open world play and instanced group play), and (with multiple difficulty modes) give players like me who want a solo challenge something other than trib mode in SAB to look forward to.
I thought of another connection between Marjory's story and the raid wing: Some of the people that were sacrificed came from Beetletun? Well ... the ghost boy started telling Marjory about a certain Minister ... And who's residing in Beetletun at the moment? Caudecus. So maybe it's a hint at him (again)? He worked together with some bandits from the start, after all. And if this is the case, we can go speculating even further: His target is Jennah. We learned about that specific amulet which is capable of reveiling the true heir of Kryta. And don't forget the strange stone in the throne room. They could bring back so many loose ends and tie them together ...
Awesome and thank you WoodenPotatoes for these videos and all you do. I got into Guild Wars 2 about 2 weeks ago and have seeing your lore videos has helped me get up to speed with this beautiful and amazing world. I will keep playing and watching your videos. Thanks again.
Hey WP, i haven't been watching your content lately because I honestly got bored of Q&A's and lack on anything exciting you've been putting out. But I wanted to let you know I loved this video. Lore are your roots and its what you excel at and you need to do more of it. Maybe once a week it would be something to look forward too!
Hey WP! What if Hablion and Mathias are actually possessed by someone or by something ancient, like a master puppeteer...? This would be one explanation for their signature words. Oh, and you haven't commented yet on the mysterious - and odd looking - faces behind mirrors, who watch us in some dungeons, in GW1. I still can't figure out who they are...
Good job WP :) everytime you make a lore video like this I can't help thinking how much better the story of GW2 would be if you were in charge of the lore haha
Let's not forget that E also first appeared in the story (to us the players) during the Dragon Bash festival, which is a festival that finds its roots from an older Canthan Festival :P
Still secretly hoping that it's revealed that E is actually Evennia and we finally find out what happened to her when she went missing. With the resurgence of the White Mantle it would be an interesting link.
+WoodenPotatoes Hey WP is it possible that the reason why the WM is active now is due to our characters killing the Elder Dragon? Lazarus observes us killing Zhaitan and Modremoth from the mists -> returns to the WM and commands to heal/restore his body by using souls -> using the dead dragon magic (like we did with the blue orb assuming that the blue orb is the magic of the Deep Sea Dragon we saw in "The Machine" cut scene) of Zhaitan and Modremoth and use it to bring vengeance to "countless generations" -> this can then tie into the main story line where Glint's offspring is needed to prevent this from happening by absorbing Zhaitan and Modremoth before Lazarus does.
Just a 'wise in hindsight' point I'd like to make, in Marjory's story, the ghost boy says it was Minister... who did it. We now know that this minister is Minister Caudecus thanks to Out of the Shadows. So yeah, you were right in saying Marjory's story you feel is connected.
Hey mr. potatoes! just wanted to tell you great job on the channel! a new player in gw2 and enjoying it pretty much! I started watching the original lore playlist (the one with stories from gw1) and to my sadness i saw that it ended abruptly! so the thing is i can't find any videos like the ones you did over the web and since i am really interested in the lore I wanted to know if you plan on resuming it. I try to watch the various lore videos you post here and there but since it has no continuity i find it hard to really get into the story! even if you don;t do something like that (even a playlist for gw2 lore alone would be awesome ) just wanted to say a big thank you :)
My impression on matthius going abom was that he fused with the bloodstone shard the he was trying to use to sacrifice players with. That would explain his red crystal which kinda looks like bloodstone and why he doesn't sacrifice players.
On the topic of Saul, though a bit unrelated, he travelled into the jungle and found a golden city filled with Mursaat. Do you think it could have been the current Guilded Hallow?
Don't forget with the Marjory story that there is a long standing murder mystery in Divinity's Reach near the Grenth waypoint (IIRC) where they found at least 1 victim having been flayed alive (or otherwise killed in some incredibly brutal way). While Marjory's ghost boy story connecting to the raids is a very compelling story, I think at best the minister he was about to name would have the White Mantle connection. A White Mantle minister would then definitely open up the channels for other unresolved mysteries, Evenia, Livia, The Scepter of Orr itself. But it all would hinge on whether the boy, the DR murder mystery and the White Mantle are all actually connected. On a side note, there is (or was) a murder of a Sylvari on the beaches of the new Lion's Arch. Something unique to the two cities most closely tied to Humans afaik.
Lazarus recovered the body of Zaithan, and is trying to power it with souls to revive the elder dragons under his influence and eventually trough the magic of the elder dragons restore his race. :p
My guess is definitely that Lazarus is just using the white mantel to be healed/revived. With multiple elder dragons being killed it might be that there is a bunch of magic "up for grabs" and he wants to harness it using a bloodstone to try and conquer Tyria.
+Mayuri Kurotsuchi This would be SUPER kick ass - especially considering the envoys tend to be envoys as punishment for being assholes in life. And I've always wanted marjory to go off the deep and and become a villain.
+WoodenPotatoes Imo some good writing would be for her to get a little darker with all she's been through plus all the excess magic going around making people like mathias lose control, the dominoes are lined up WILL THEY KNOCK THEM DOWN?! Find out on an all new Bleach!
+WoodenPotatoes I think Minister Caudecus is a pretty solid contender for White Mantle Confessor. Confessor Caudecus. I do think they are planning on pushing the Human storyline further with these raids, much like the Sylvari storyline was heavily pushed in HoT. I think we'll be seeing that Caudecus is at least a major figure of the WM and so are his Ministry Guard. On top of this, we'll see that he either kidnaps people from Beetletun, I think that's where you said people disappear from. Or he's making it so Beetletun is the only safe place in Kryta, obviously because he controls the bandits and possibly we'll see some involvement with the centaurs. This will sway public opinion in his favor and give him the throne, and therefore give the White Mantle what they wanted. Lots of big stuff here. Possibly even expansion related. They did say that there's bigger stuff out here than just dealing with Elder dragons. We could see the next expansion dealing primarily with the Mursaat.
+WoodenPotatoes I mean. Don't Elder Dragons have souls too? Everytime we kill an Elder Dragon, who's to say the massive energy that gets released each time isn't being collected to revive the Mursaat or 1 Mursaat as an incredible being of power exceeding the Gods themselves.
I'm interested to see if Agony in fractals is tired back to Lazarus as some kind of attempt to safeguard his presence, warding off adventurers if you will because he is hiding in the mists. My thoughts on the operation of bandits under the white mantle 'banner' is, if Lazarus openly attacked Kryta (for vengeance) he may incur the aid and support of the other nations, whereas by acting through the guise of bandits, politics becomes more of a hindrance. The end game though I could only see him going after Glint’s Legacy, as a lot of unknowns seem to hinge on the egg.
hey seems like that patch really lifted your spirits, your vids were feeling a little cynnical for a bit there and now there all like fuck yea, btw tanks for the lore vid, haven't had the time to get into raids
+WoodenPotatoes dont get wrong I thought your "breaking promises"video was very well put. and as a mainly wvw im pretty damn hyped for the game again too! also when you eventually get around to it could you do the sb legendary quest, i did the first tier and was blown away by how much fun it was
So what I am piecing together is this: A speculative time line for the Mursaat activity in the background. Saul D'alessio has been in some sort of stasis, since whenever they took him away. Or they were in the process of figuring a way way to continue the Mursaat legacy; by experimenting on his body. Flash forward to after the point where Lazarus the Dire's aspect being corrupted. This is the point where he had a backup plan just in case this would happen. I even bet this is not the first time this corrupted aspect problem has happen. That is to use the bloodstone magic in order to heal his corrupted aspect with sacrificed souls (via bloodstone magic). However it's apparent that Lazarus has become a vampiric entity, and is much weaker then his peers. Due to this fix only lasting for a short time period. During this time the white mantle and some of the remaining Mursaat makes a plan in order to wipe out the insurrection that has happened within Kryta. However the White Mantle themselves have very little in numbers now after the events in Guild Wars: Prophecies. They use mercenaries and bandits in order to flesh out their ranks. However the Mursaat are also aware of Lazarus condition. They tell him to stay behind and continue their legacy if they should fail. In their minds they think it should be easy turning over this rebellion. Since they still want a larger foothold in Tyria. Now here is the last thing you are probably missing. The Mursaat are only interested and motivated by their own personal survival. It has been a big drive for them for the longest time. From surviving the Elder Dragons last rise to the Flameseeker Prophecies. They don't care about anyone, but themselves. However unlike the Krait, they do things diffrently. Rather then just have slaves, they realize that indoctrinating a race would inspire unwavering loyalty. So they have back stab, lied, manipulated, and cheated their way to the top. Nothing is going to stop that agenda now. Even keeping up the facade that they care about humanity. However the knowledge of their existence has made it more difficult to do this with any other major race beyond humanity. Even though in Brisban you kind of get a sense they are trying to branch out a bit (via the bandit ranks). To include Inquest and Nightmare Court individuals. Now flash forward 250 years latter. With the War in Kryta campaign being a total failure. There is only one person to carry on the ranks. That's right it's Lazarus, who was left behind due to his condition. However a weak Lazarus does not mean a less strategic and cunning opposition. In the end he has a love/hate relationship with humanity. He knows if they (Kryta royal bloodline) found out about his existence they would do everything they can to destroy him. So Lazarus strikes from the shadows as he has promised. Kind of like Senator/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars franchise. There could even be a possibility he was connected to those attempted assassinations of human world leader throughout Tyria (during the M.O.X. quest line). Just to put the world into a chaotic state and to pick up the pieces latter. By forming/establishing shadow governments. Now what has Lazrus been up to is the real question? I believe he is trying to keep his corrupted power in check. As well as continue the Mursaat legacy of survival at any cost.
I believe it only explicitly states that it connects to Brisban if your character is an Asura. Frankly, I think that having some small differences in dialogue based on what race your character add a nice little touch.
Q: WP do you think Raids are something they will release between story seasons to fill the empty cap with content and make the story more flued (no 5 month break with no story content) or just release them when there is a specific story or place they want to take us to or tell about? Personally i think they are mostly going to be something the fill the gap between seasons and maybe make a small raid with one boss in the middle of the season.
"All envoys were once wicked criminals in life, forced by the Oracle of the Mists to serve as soul shepherds as penance for their mortal crimes. " What if Saul D'Alessio had become an envoy or is going to become an envoy in the story? They are attempting to revive him similar to how Shiro was revived by finding sacrifices of the royal bloodline. (in this case, the krytan bloodline). Also, what if Marjory wasn't very interactive in HoT primarily because she's had things going on that's related to the White Mantle story. I remember somewhere in the story they mentioned that she and Kasper were awfully quiet.
Matthias's powerful and unstable magic seemingly originated from the extreme vicinity to the bloodstone - but which fragment of the bloodstone? By the type of magic shown, it could possibly be the "aggression" fragment or the "destruction" one - or both. So if it is indeed Lazarus that they're trying to bring back to life, his ultimate vengeful goal could be that of reassembling the bloodstone to unleash chaos on Tyria - it is after all a royal duty to prevent such from happening, since King Doric himself. Q: Would the reassembling of the bloodstone be fatal?
I would like to think Marj had more going on. I like that they explicitly had marjory tell you shes sorry shes had stuff on her mind and didnt get up to much in HoT. I was hoping this isn't just a silly excuse. If i remember the old POIs they mentioned how important that is was for them to put the whole Belinda and the Greatsword part of the story. They seemed to have just thrown it in because they really wanted to plant this seed
+Ben Smith another issue was that there was a big voice actors strike going on during the later part of HoT production. it may have just been hard to get all the voice actors in. it would also explain why there is very little ambient dialog in the open world.
I'm so fucking pissed about this. I've wanted GW1 stories put in GW2 since launch and now they are doing it through the raid? I do not have the time it takes to dedicate urself to have a permanent spot on a raid team every week, and I don't want to deal with the failures of pugs, so now I will have to experience this through you WoodenPotatoes. Here's to hoping that LWS2 will have some GW1 lore thrown in.
Well they have added bandit bounties and white mantle badge drops from bandits, so it's likely we will be getting the story from both living world and the 3rd raid.
hey wp. been wracking my brain but have there been ghosts of races other than humans? I know we have seen oakhearts able to sort of astreal project but any charr or asura ghosts for example? could there be something special about humans that they can become ghosts (which can also merge to become gorsaval and maybe titans too )
Think about this WP. Lazerous doesn't need humanity, he is just using them for his resurrection, as you said he can easily be promising power to them in order to gain his own once more. He is in a state where he is weak and his clan is likely gone. He probably has plans to bring other mursaat back from the mists, but can only do so by using the white mantle as pawns until he regains his strength.
:D Hey WP! I cant believe you didn't say anything about Minister Caudecus! You mentioned the White Mantle and the bodies coming from Beetelton but no mention of Minister Caudecus??!?! Before the spirit kid got ghost busted his final word was Minister! there is no way you missed that connection to Caudecus!
Caudecus is also a patron to Uzolan the circus inventor, and Uzolan might was the person who made the watchknights that went haywire in Living World Season 1, right? I can't remember whether Scarlet Briar turned them against Queen Jennah or whether there was human sabotage before she got to them. If the latter then Caudecus and the White Mantle could've been behind that.
My guess is that Lazarus sees the White Mantle as a means to an end, like you said he wants revenge, so he'll probably use the White Mantle to that end until they're no longer useful.
If we do end up fighting Lazarus in wing 3, I wonder if there will be some tie-in to Fractal Agony Resistance. I don't expect it to be a requirement, and I don't think it should be, but it would be interesting if they could work in some reference to it anyway. Alternatively, perhaps he won't be strong enough (yet) to use Spectral Agony.
Maybe Lazarus is trying to bring back his race and needs humans to do it or souls to do it. I don't think its ever been explained how the mursaat reproduce.
Seems you forgot to mention the novel series featuring the Destiny's Edge. Lazarus split himself into multiple facets that assimilated humans and one by one they were being slain to piece him back together. One individual (I forget the name) uncovers the conspiracy, determining that he was to die, and he ran away. So Lazarus got pissed. To answer your question, I'd think Lazarus is more interested in ascertaining access to the Isles of Janthir. In my opinion, the Mursaat may have thought that the Elder Dragons could not be beaten. But with the fall of Zhaitan and Scarlet's rise to power - he may have been watching the world to see what happens then. And then we defeat Mordremoth so now he's hyped - not to mention all the White Mantle activities are in the Maguuma Jungle and being dominated by Mordremoth. With his defeat, the White Mantle obviously rushed to gain control in the power vacuum.
I don't know if you will get wind of this message but: In Gw1 the mantle used the eye of Janthir to determine those with magic and send them to be killed, Matthias is killing people "at random" as some of the notes say. He does say "a worthy sacrifice" when he kills a player with the sacrifice mechanic (I'm presuming were abundant with magic like the heroes in GW1). Hes saying the stuff Justicar Hablion says in GW1. Does he have some method of determining people with magic thus the random killing or is he just an epic fail who contaminates himself and becomes an abomination. Now what gets me is there has never really been an abomination before and we are literally eating blood stone. When Matthias turns into the abomination does he actually die at 40% hp and become fused with the flesh of those hes sacrificed? (has it brought him life- the shards hes using to try kill us with)? Has Matthias got some sort of gift? Is the fire, rain and snow powers from the blood stone and if so is that magic sealed away from the Jotun, Seers ect? Seems like Lazarus The Dire is talking to Matthias, maybe Lazarus was *sleeping* until an elder dies, or the death gave him energy
Still wish there was a solo/zone version of the raid, even if it's locked several weeks after the raid portion was released. This story sounds better written and executed than the HoT main storyline. It should be easily available to the public.
Does any of this have a link to Rytlock and his journey after diving into the underworld aka the mists? Because remember he reappears within the jungle, not far from the first raid, and has new powers that rely on the spirit of past legendary beings. He has not shown what his motives are or what he has even learned(Even refusing to explain to his friends). The revenant is definitely related to this idea of souls being used for power. Speaking of souls and Ascalonian ghosts, their relation to the Charr invasions, to Kryta, to the Mursaat, and the elder dragons, perhaps this is one link in the chain of events that explains Rytlock's new found unrevealed purpose. Rivers of souls nearby and Rytlock popping out cannot be some mere coincidence. How does one leave the mists? It cannot be an easy feat, and souls nearby in the raid are spewing out like a leak-- not to mention many souls are being taken by the bloodstones as we speak. Thoughts anyone? I cannot feel that this connection is far greater than we see.
Hey WP i pretty like your theories and think around in the same way, but somehow im missing Livia in all this stuff we never seen what happened to her the only thing we know is that she was leader of the shining blades if remember right and also in the end of the normal Guild Wars there was a cutscene where she was shown with the Scepter of Orr do you think there is a connection between those things aswell?
They could go the route of "welp, I am the last of my race, might as well use the humans and instead of imprisoning the titans, try to release them. End the world faster". Or Laz could be thinking "The races of tyria don't stand a chance against the Dragons. So I will unleash the Titans who the dragons will be drawn to, and they will fight." Not really thought through, makes sense to one weak and desperate. What does he get out of it though? Do Mursaat have some sort of honor system? You help me, i'll help you?
Devs did say this was a story they wanted to tell but didn't find a place for it, so my guess would be yeah Lazarus is wounded/petrified/whatever, white mantle took a while to find him now they try to revive him and maybe make him eat some of dragon energy => as result of 3 wings we prevent that from happening. The end. I don't think this will end in a bigger story. If I'm wrong, yay surprised for me :D
This raid is a perfect example of ANet teetering on making a fucking AMAZING story, and maybe ballzing it up in the end. Cross your fingers and toes everyone, its gonna be a very interesting, bumpy ride!
WP, what if Marjory is the new leader of the White Mantle? She was quiet during HoT because they found Lazarus and she was sending them orders magically and stuffs. She's behind some huge conspiracy to destroy Kryta since she thinks the leaders are corrupt. Anyway, that's only the beginning ut what do you think?
what if the exalteds are mursaat themselves or Lazarus's aspects and they lied to us just because they wanted to keep glint's egg which could be really powerful
Warning: may contain traces of tin foil So, I was doing events in AB the other day and thought back to this. Because bringing things back to life using bloostone magic is something they've already set a precedent for in GW2. In the Exalted. The first event of Northwatch requires you to gather bloodstone essence to revive Burnisher Kengo. Now I know that Exalted are not really being brought back to 'life' but there could be a few parallels. Firstly the whole Exalted = Mursaat theory. If true then they could be using bloodstone to revive Lazarus, or even other Murssat if they have their corpses. There is also another bloodstone/exalted link in that is what you feed Herta. Another option if we go with Saul being brought back is that he is created as an Exalted using similar to methods to the forgotten. As for how they found that out, is it any coincidence the Lost Precipice is so closed to the Bloodstone and where the raid is headed? Maybe, but still. The Lost Precipice was where the Forgotten and the humans destined to be Exalted first lived before they began their journey to found Tarir As said this is all wild speculation but could be worth considering
Great video! Another "clue" of bloodstone connection to human: their name, are stone of blood? blood is what ticks our bodies? Too bad one of the best lore stories are kept in raids, that are played by a very small amount of players.
Wait... so in year 2 when people were complaining about how awful the Scarlet story line was & how much time they spent on it & how they should have focused on the White Mantle, one of the devs said something like "we didn't have enough time to spend on such an epic story like the White Mantle". So 1 raid is "enough time" to spend on the WM? wow.. 2 years on Scarlet, a few months on WM. this to Anet is more effort than 2 full years of LS? Sound more like a hand wavy excuse.
I don't see why revenge isn't enough of a reason to act. He could easily be using the WM to accrue whatever power he needs. There would be no reason to wipe out the WM so quickly, if he can use them to crush all of humanity in the long run because humanity was able to crush all of the Mursaat.
I'm writing this at the 33:00 mark, when your asking what you hope Lazarus wants. I really REALLY hope/am fearful of, he wants Glint's Egg. He wants the offspring of the creature that prophesied the extermination of his race. And perhaps with the egg, he would obtain a new power equal to the level of an Elder Dragon. Which, to me, would be better. Like you have said WP, I enjoy villains like Lazarus, Shiro, and such, rather than the Elder Dragons, who at first were majorly hyped in power at the end of Eye of the North, but have been designed to be not nearly as imposing. The Murssat stole many of the previous races powers and magic that could have lead to their salvation and survival the previous time the dragons awoke. Maybe Glint's Egg is next :(.
Maybe Lazarus just needs them because he is weakened, it doesn't mean he 'needs humanity' he just lets them think that in order to restore his health/power. After that he can do whatever.
+SoulSlesh He is weakened, he tried to attain immortality by pulling a Voldemort - so to speak. But with how pissed one of the survivors, he swore vengeance.
Question, does Lazarus need to care about humans for the story to make sense, does he even need to be aware that they are helping him or them to try and help him? I think that 1- Hes to broken and unaware and the White Mantle found him and now think that if they help him he will help them back; 2- Hes manipulating them to get his power back; 3- Now that we are kicking the elder dragons asses he thinks he can use us to kill them and get whatever remains of the Mursaat back to Tyria; 4- maybe he thinks he can get teh elder dragons power to himself, or for the mursaat or 5- If the dragons die everything will be totaly fucked and afect the mists in such a way that even mursaat survivors in the mists are in danger and he wants to do something about it. Or something else entirely diferent....
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on your way to brisban wildlands coming from beetletun, you have to pass thru kessex hills... am starting to wonder if this is related with the whole "body snatching in the west of canyon" conversation you hear in garenhoff.... perhaps a farfetched idea but maybe wizard fief has something to play in this mystery...
Hey WP! There's actually something really cool about the raid, if you go to the fire pit of bodies and the corpses at the bottom of the cliff-side as a NECROMANCER, you actually get some bonus flavour text! just a small thing but i thought it was a really nice touch. hopefully anet does more little things like this more often
You're putting out a lot of high-quality GW2 content the last few days, it seems you got faith in ArenaNet again. Great job :)!
I just realized something, our characters in GW2 cant see Lazarus unless he wants us to. that means if its true that there are more mursaat or if Lazarus is still alive they could be anywhere even DR and we could do nothing about it
I really wish Anet would add a solo mode to raids and dungeons with reduced rewards. It would allow players who want to see to story to do so, give players who want to practice raids and dungeons before grouping up a chance to do so (giving a 'middle step' between open world play and instanced group play), and (with multiple difficulty modes) give players like me who want a solo challenge something other than trib mode in SAB to look forward to.
I thought of another connection between Marjory's story and the raid wing:
Some of the people that were sacrificed came from Beetletun? Well ... the ghost boy started telling Marjory about a certain Minister ... And who's residing in Beetletun at the moment? Caudecus. So maybe it's a hint at him (again)? He worked together with some bandits from the start, after all.
And if this is the case, we can go speculating even further: His target is Jennah. We learned about that specific amulet which is capable of reveiling the true heir of Kryta. And don't forget the strange stone in the throne room.
They could bring back so many loose ends and tie them together ...
It's funny. I never feel like actually playing GW2 unless I'm watching one of your videos. Once the video is over, there goes my interest.
same. WP makes it way more compelling
Awesome and thank you WoodenPotatoes for these videos and all you do.
I got into Guild Wars 2 about 2 weeks ago and have seeing your lore videos has helped me get up to speed with this beautiful and amazing world.
I will keep playing and watching your videos.
Thanks again.
Hey WP, i haven't been watching your content lately because I honestly got bored of Q&A's and lack on anything exciting you've been putting out. But I wanted to let you know I loved this video. Lore are your roots and its what you excel at and you need to do more of it. Maybe once a week it would be something to look forward too!
Feels like we went back to a year ago where we get alot of these type of vids, love your lore vids WP
Hey WP! What if Hablion and Mathias are actually possessed by someone or by something ancient, like a master puppeteer...? This would be one explanation for their signature words.
Oh, and you haven't commented yet on the mysterious - and odd looking - faces behind mirrors, who watch us in some dungeons, in GW1. I still can't figure out who they are...
Good job WP :) everytime you make a lore video like this I can't help thinking how much better the story of GW2 would be if you were in charge of the lore haha
Fun fact, the asura gate text about the link only appears for asura I believe. Engineers also get a special note.
Hot damn. That was super engaging for someone who has been out of the game for months! Thanks, WP!
Let's not forget that E also first appeared in the story (to us the players) during the Dragon Bash festival, which is a festival that finds its roots from an older Canthan Festival :P
Fantastic video WP - Excellent explanation, well thought out, and some brilliant speculation!
Just gonna preemptively state that I have believed for a long time that Caudecus is somehow connected to the White Mantle
Whoah looks like Saul's GW1 staff skin is in GW2. The Memory of the Sky skin. I recognized it right away. Love your lore vids WP.
Still secretly hoping that it's revealed that E is actually Evennia and we finally find out what happened to her when she went missing. With the resurgence of the White Mantle it would be an interesting link.
+WoodenPotatoes Hey WP is it possible that the reason why the WM is active now is due to our characters killing the Elder Dragon? Lazarus observes us killing Zhaitan and Modremoth from the mists -> returns to the WM and commands to heal/restore his body by using souls -> using the dead dragon magic (like we did with the blue orb assuming that the blue orb is the magic of the Deep Sea Dragon we saw in "The Machine" cut scene) of Zhaitan and Modremoth and use it to bring vengeance to "countless generations" -> this can then tie into the main story line where Glint's offspring is needed to prevent this from happening by absorbing Zhaitan and Modremoth before Lazarus does.
Just a 'wise in hindsight' point I'd like to make, in Marjory's story, the ghost boy says it was Minister... who did it. We now know that this minister is Minister Caudecus thanks to Out of the Shadows. So yeah, you were right in saying Marjory's story you feel is connected.
Hm, interesting
Job well done WP. Great video!
What are the rainbow-coloured streams in the later parts of SP? (they can be seen at 27:42)
And maybe the WM's leader could be Confessor Caudecus.
Thanks WP I absolutely cannot do raids so this video is very helpful
I always feel the lore is so much darker then the look and feel of the game seem to imply..
Hey mr. potatoes! just wanted to tell you great job on the channel! a new player in gw2 and enjoying it pretty much! I started watching the original lore playlist (the one with stories from gw1) and to my sadness i saw that it ended abruptly! so the thing is i can't find any videos like the ones you did over the web and since i am really interested in the lore I wanted to know if you plan on resuming it. I try to watch the various lore videos you post here and there but since it has no continuity i find it hard to really get into the story! even if you don;t do something like that (even a playlist for gw2 lore alone would be awesome ) just wanted to say a big thank you :)
+Spyros Dekavallas Thanks to you too!
Really wish I could find a steady raiding group. My sPvP guild is not that interested. =P Does the spud club have raiding groups?
+Jacob Wells We do, yeah!
Awesome! I'll check it out WP. =)
My impression on matthius going abom was that he fused with the bloodstone shard the he was trying to use to sacrifice players with. That would explain his red crystal which kinda looks like bloodstone and why he doesn't sacrifice players.
On the topic of Saul, though a bit unrelated, he travelled into the jungle and found a golden city filled with Mursaat. Do you think it could have been the current Guilded Hallow?
Don't forget with the Marjory story that there is a long standing murder mystery in Divinity's Reach near the Grenth waypoint (IIRC) where they found at least 1 victim having been flayed alive (or otherwise killed in some incredibly brutal way).
While Marjory's ghost boy story connecting to the raids is a very compelling story, I think at best the minister he was about to name would have the White Mantle connection.
A White Mantle minister would then definitely open up the channels for other unresolved mysteries, Evenia, Livia, The Scepter of Orr itself. But it all would hinge on whether the boy, the DR murder mystery and the White Mantle are all actually connected.
On a side note, there is (or was) a murder of a Sylvari on the beaches of the new Lion's Arch. Something unique to the two cities most closely tied to Humans afaik.
Lazarus recovered the body of Zaithan, and is trying to power it with souls to revive the elder dragons under his influence and eventually trough the magic of the elder dragons restore his race. :p
My guess is definitely that Lazarus is just using the white mantel to be healed/revived. With multiple elder dragons being killed it might be that there is a bunch of magic "up for grabs" and he wants to harness it using a bloodstone to try and conquer Tyria.
Marjorie becomes an Envoy, calling it.
+Mayuri Kurotsuchi This would be SUPER kick ass - especially considering the envoys tend to be envoys as punishment for being assholes in life. And I've always wanted marjory to go off the deep and and become a villain.
+WoodenPotatoes Imo some good writing would be for her to get a little darker with all she's been through plus all the excess magic going around making people like mathias lose control, the dominoes are lined up WILL THEY KNOCK THEM DOWN?! Find out on an all new Bleach!
+WoodenPotatoes I think Minister Caudecus is a pretty solid contender for White Mantle Confessor. Confessor Caudecus. I do think they are planning on pushing the Human storyline further with these raids, much like the Sylvari storyline was heavily pushed in HoT. I think we'll be seeing that Caudecus is at least a major figure of the WM and so are his Ministry Guard. On top of this, we'll see that he either kidnaps people from Beetletun, I think that's where you said people disappear from. Or he's making it so Beetletun is the only safe place in Kryta, obviously because he controls the bandits and possibly we'll see some involvement with the centaurs. This will sway public opinion in his favor and give him the throne, and therefore give the White Mantle what they wanted. Lots of big stuff here. Possibly even expansion related. They did say that there's bigger stuff out here than just dealing with Elder dragons. We could see the next expansion dealing primarily with the Mursaat.
+WoodenPotatoes I mean. Don't Elder Dragons have souls too? Everytime we kill an Elder Dragon, who's to say the massive energy that gets released each time isn't being collected to revive the Mursaat or 1 Mursaat as an incredible being of power exceeding the Gods themselves.
I'm interested to see if Agony in fractals is tired back to Lazarus as some kind of attempt to safeguard his presence, warding off adventurers if you will because he is hiding in the mists. My thoughts on the operation of bandits under the white mantle 'banner' is, if Lazarus openly attacked Kryta (for vengeance) he may incur the aid and support of the other nations, whereas by acting through the guise of bandits, politics becomes more of a hindrance. The end game though I could only see him going after Glint’s Legacy, as a lot of unknowns seem to hinge on the egg.
What song starts to play in the end of video? Obviously from Guild Wars but I cant find it
hey seems like that patch really lifted your spirits, your vids were feeling a little cynnical for a bit there and now there all like fuck yea, btw tanks for the lore vid, haven't had the time to get into raids
+justin Cynicism where cynicism was due I say! Glad you're enjoying the stuffs.
+WoodenPotatoes dont get wrong I thought your "breaking promises"video was very well put. and as a mainly wvw im pretty damn hyped for the game again too! also when you eventually get around to it could you do the sb legendary quest, i did the first tier and was blown away by how much fun it was
So what I am piecing together is this: A speculative time line for the Mursaat activity in the background. Saul D'alessio has been in some sort of stasis, since whenever they took him away. Or they were in the process of figuring a way way to continue the Mursaat legacy; by experimenting on his body.
Flash forward to after the point where Lazarus the Dire's aspect being corrupted. This is the point where he had a backup plan just in case this would happen. I even bet this is not the first time this corrupted aspect problem has happen. That is to use the bloodstone magic in order to heal his corrupted aspect with sacrificed souls (via bloodstone magic). However it's apparent that Lazarus has become a vampiric entity, and is much weaker then his peers. Due to this fix only lasting for a short time period.
During this time the white mantle and some of the remaining Mursaat makes a plan in order to wipe out the insurrection that has happened within Kryta. However the White Mantle themselves have very little in numbers now after the events in Guild Wars: Prophecies. They use mercenaries and bandits in order to flesh out their ranks. However the Mursaat are also aware of Lazarus condition. They tell him to stay behind and continue their legacy if they should fail. In their minds they think it should be easy turning over this rebellion. Since they still want a larger foothold in Tyria.
Now here is the last thing you are probably missing. The Mursaat are only interested and motivated by their own personal survival. It has been a big drive for them for the longest time. From surviving the Elder Dragons last rise to the Flameseeker Prophecies. They don't care about anyone, but themselves. However unlike the Krait, they do things diffrently. Rather then just have slaves, they realize that indoctrinating a race would inspire unwavering loyalty. So they have back stab, lied, manipulated, and cheated their way to the top. Nothing is going to stop that agenda now. Even keeping up the facade that they care about humanity. However the knowledge of their existence has made it more difficult to do this with any other major race beyond humanity. Even though in Brisban you kind of get a sense they are trying to branch out a bit (via the bandit ranks). To include Inquest and Nightmare Court individuals.
Now flash forward 250 years latter. With the War in Kryta campaign being a total failure. There is only one person to carry on the ranks. That's right it's Lazarus, who was left behind due to his condition. However a weak Lazarus does not mean a less strategic and cunning opposition. In the end he has a love/hate relationship with humanity. He knows if they (Kryta royal bloodline) found out about his existence they would do everything they can to destroy him. So Lazarus strikes from the shadows as he has promised. Kind of like Senator/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars franchise. There could even be a possibility he was connected to those attempted assassinations of human world leader throughout Tyria (during the M.O.X. quest line). Just to put the world into a chaotic state and to pick up the pieces latter. By forming/establishing shadow governments.
Now what has Lazrus been up to is the real question? I believe he is trying to keep his corrupted power in check. As well as continue the Mursaat legacy of survival at any cost.
i still think that minister caudecus is pulling the strings, or at least is mayorly tied into the white mantle story.
Oh WP, giving us glorious GW1 footage. :D
I believe it only explicitly states that it connects to Brisban if your character is an Asura. Frankly, I think that having some small differences in dialogue based on what race your character add a nice little touch.
Q: WP do you think Raids are something they will release between story seasons to fill the empty cap with content and make the story more flued (no 5 month break with no story content) or just release them when there is a specific story or place they want to take us to or tell about? Personally i think they are mostly going to be something the fill the gap between seasons and maybe make a small raid with one boss in the middle of the season.
"All envoys were once wicked criminals in life, forced by the Oracle of the Mists to serve as soul shepherds as penance for their mortal crimes. "
What if Saul D'Alessio had become an envoy or is going to become an envoy in the story? They are attempting to revive him similar to how Shiro was revived by finding sacrifices of the royal bloodline. (in this case, the krytan bloodline).
Also, what if Marjory wasn't very interactive in HoT primarily because she's had things going on that's related to the White Mantle story. I remember somewhere in the story they mentioned that she and Kasper were awfully quiet.
You mentioned necromancer striking down the ghost. Do you think this could be Livia with the Sceptre of Orr?
Matthias's powerful and unstable magic seemingly originated from the extreme vicinity to the bloodstone - but which fragment of the bloodstone? By the type of magic shown, it could possibly be the "aggression" fragment or the "destruction" one - or both. So if it is indeed Lazarus that they're trying to bring back to life, his ultimate vengeful goal could be that of reassembling the bloodstone to unleash chaos on Tyria - it is after all a royal duty to prevent such from happening, since King Doric himself.
Q: Would the reassembling of the bloodstone be fatal?
I would like to think Marj had more going on. I like that they explicitly had marjory tell you shes sorry shes had stuff on her mind and didnt get up to much in HoT. I was hoping this isn't just a silly excuse. If i remember the old POIs they mentioned how important that is was for them to put the whole Belinda and the Greatsword part of the story. They seemed to have just thrown it in because they really wanted to plant this seed
+Ben Smith another issue was that there was a big voice actors strike going on during the later part of HoT production. it may have just been hard to get all the voice actors in. it would also explain why there is very little ambient dialog in the open world.
I'm so fucking pissed about this. I've wanted GW1 stories put in GW2 since launch and now they are doing it through the raid? I do not have the time it takes to dedicate urself to have a permanent spot on a raid team every week, and I don't want to deal with the failures of pugs, so now I will have to experience this through you WoodenPotatoes. Here's to hoping that LWS2 will have some GW1 lore thrown in.
Well they have added bandit bounties and white mantle badge drops from bandits, so it's likely we will be getting the story from both living world and the 3rd raid.
hey wp. been wracking my brain but have there been ghosts of races other than humans? I know we have seen oakhearts able to sort of astreal project but any charr or asura ghosts for example?
could there be something special about humans that they can become ghosts (which can also merge to become gorsaval and maybe titans too )
Think about this WP. Lazerous doesn't need humanity, he is just using them for his resurrection, as you said he can easily be promising power to them in order to gain his own once more. He is in a state where he is weak and his clan is likely gone. He probably has plans to bring other mursaat back from the mists, but can only do so by using the white mantle as pawns until he regains his strength.
How active is the spud clubs on pvp and raids? None of my guilds are very active :/ and is the spud club looking for members?
still sore about the fact I can't experience it cause I don't have a raid group nor the time to invest for every failure from a boss
:D Hey WP! I cant believe you didn't say anything about Minister Caudecus! You mentioned the White Mantle and the bodies coming from Beetelton but no mention of Minister Caudecus??!?! Before the spirit kid got ghost busted his final word was Minister! there is no way you missed that connection to Caudecus!
+Blaque Pauldron I agree, this has always been my speculation that Caudecus is part of the White Mantle.
Caudecus is also a patron to Uzolan the circus inventor, and Uzolan might was the person who made the watchknights that went haywire in Living World Season 1, right?
I can't remember whether Scarlet Briar turned them against Queen Jennah or whether there was human sabotage before she got to them. If the latter then Caudecus and the White Mantle could've been behind that.
You think they'll ever fix the sunken Temple of the Ages so it doesn't have a statue of Kormir in it?
My guess is that Lazarus sees the White Mantle as a means to an end, like you said he wants revenge, so he'll probably use the White Mantle to that end until they're no longer useful.
+Steve Craftwood or using the white mantle to heal his body then he'll just toss them away
sylvnfox
Basically yeah, if he decides he doesn't need their help whatsoever that would work too.
I've had many nonstalgiagasms in this video. I thank you :'3
If we do end up fighting Lazarus in wing 3, I wonder if there will be some tie-in to Fractal Agony Resistance. I don't expect it to be a requirement, and I don't think it should be, but it would be interesting if they could work in some reference to it anyway.
Alternatively, perhaps he won't be strong enough (yet) to use Spectral Agony.
Maybe Lazarus is trying to bring back his race and needs humans to do it or souls to do it. I don't think its ever been explained how the mursaat reproduce.
Seems you forgot to mention the novel series featuring the Destiny's Edge. Lazarus split himself into multiple facets that assimilated humans and one by one they were being slain to piece him back together. One individual (I forget the name) uncovers the conspiracy, determining that he was to die, and he ran away. So Lazarus got pissed.
To answer your question, I'd think Lazarus is more interested in ascertaining access to the Isles of Janthir.
In my opinion, the Mursaat may have thought that the Elder Dragons could not be beaten. But with the fall of Zhaitan and Scarlet's rise to power - he may have been watching the world to see what happens then. And then we defeat Mordremoth so now he's hyped - not to mention all the White Mantle activities are in the Maguuma Jungle and being dominated by Mordremoth. With his defeat, the White Mantle obviously rushed to gain control in the power vacuum.
+FatalFist I didn't forget, I just had no decent extrapolations on it. It's also just a Gw1 quest, not the novel.
WoodenPotatoes Ahhh right. He did play a short cameo in the novel though, no?
I don't know if you will get wind of this message but: In Gw1 the mantle used the eye of Janthir to determine those with magic and send them to be killed, Matthias is killing people "at random" as some of the notes say.
He does say "a worthy sacrifice" when he kills a player with the sacrifice mechanic (I'm presuming were abundant with magic like the heroes in GW1).
Hes saying the stuff Justicar Hablion says in GW1.
Does he have some method of determining people with magic thus the random killing or is he just an epic fail who contaminates himself and becomes an abomination.
Now what gets me is there has never really been an abomination before and we are literally eating blood stone.
When Matthias turns into the abomination does he actually die at 40% hp and become fused with the flesh of those hes sacrificed? (has it brought him life- the shards hes using to try kill us with)?
Has Matthias got some sort of gift?
Is the fire, rain and snow powers from the blood stone and if so is that magic sealed away from the Jotun, Seers ect?
Seems like Lazarus The Dire is talking to Matthias, maybe Lazarus was *sleeping* until an elder dies, or the death gave him energy
This was great and I'm so freekin excited!!!!!
Still wish there was a solo/zone version of the raid, even if it's locked several weeks after the raid portion was released. This story sounds better written and executed than the HoT main storyline. It should be easily available to the public.
Take a drink every time WP says 'Saul D'alessio'
What reshade setting are you using?
Does any of this have a link to Rytlock and his journey after diving into the underworld aka the mists? Because remember he reappears within the jungle, not far from the first raid, and has new powers that rely on the spirit of past legendary beings. He has not shown what his motives are or what he has even learned(Even refusing to explain to his friends). The revenant is definitely related to this idea of souls being used for power. Speaking of souls and Ascalonian ghosts, their relation to the Charr invasions, to Kryta, to the Mursaat, and the elder dragons, perhaps this is one link in the chain of events that explains Rytlock's new found unrevealed purpose. Rivers of souls nearby and Rytlock popping out cannot be some mere coincidence. How does one leave the mists? It cannot be an easy feat, and souls nearby in the raid are spewing out like a leak-- not to mention many souls are being taken by the bloodstones as we speak. Thoughts anyone? I cannot feel that this connection is far greater than we see.
Hey WP i pretty like your theories and think around in the same way, but somehow im missing Livia in all this stuff we never seen what happened to her the only thing we know is that she was leader of the shining blades if remember right and also in the end of the normal Guild Wars there was a cutscene where she was shown with the Scepter of Orr do you think there is a connection between those things aswell?
whats the song at the end?
They could go the route of "welp, I am the last of my race, might as well use the humans and instead of imprisoning the titans, try to release them. End the world faster".
Or Laz could be thinking "The races of tyria don't stand a chance against the Dragons. So I will unleash the Titans who the dragons will be drawn to, and they will fight." Not really thought through, makes sense to one weak and desperate. What does he get out of it though? Do Mursaat have some sort of honor system? You help me, i'll help you?
Devs did say this was a story they wanted to tell but didn't find a place for it, so my guess would be yeah Lazarus is wounded/petrified/whatever, white mantle took a while to find him now they try to revive him and maybe make him eat some of dragon energy => as result of 3 wings we prevent that from happening. The end.
I don't think this will end in a bigger story. If I'm wrong, yay surprised for me :D
This raid is a perfect example of ANet teetering on making a fucking AMAZING story, and maybe ballzing it up in the end. Cross your fingers and toes everyone, its gonna be a very interesting, bumpy ride!
What if Lazarus wants to bring stability to the world of magic again in some way? (Bloodstone creature, him sucking in all the dragons magic)
The inquisitor as well as the crystal form of the boss fight is a reference to Dragon Age: Inquisition.
WP, what if Marjory is the new leader of the White Mantle? She was quiet during HoT because they found Lazarus and she was sending them orders magically and stuffs. She's behind some huge conspiracy to destroy Kryta since she thinks the leaders are corrupt. Anyway, that's only the beginning ut what do you think?
What is the final song in this video? It sounds so familiar but I can't place it.
+vipero07 It is from a game called ''Little Big Adventure 2'', a childhood favorite of mine.
+WoodenPotatoes interesting, I don't believe I played that, but it sounds very familiar
+vipero07 I have heard it before as well. It is definitely not from Little Big Planet.
Joosy Froot Well... +WoodenPotatoes said Little Big Adventure 2, so ya, you are correct, it isn't from little big planet.
you got your queen bee back from anet?
what if the exalteds are mursaat themselves or Lazarus's aspects and they lied to us just because they wanted to keep glint's egg which could be really powerful
yay a lore video
Warning: may contain traces of tin foil
So, I was doing events in AB the other day and thought back to this. Because bringing things back to life using bloostone magic is something they've already set a precedent for in GW2. In the Exalted. The first event of Northwatch requires you to gather bloodstone essence to revive Burnisher Kengo. Now I know that Exalted are not really being brought back to 'life' but there could be a few parallels. Firstly the whole Exalted = Mursaat theory. If true then they could be using bloodstone to revive Lazarus, or even other Murssat if they have their corpses. There is also another bloodstone/exalted link in that is what you feed Herta.
Another option if we go with Saul being brought back is that he is created as an Exalted using similar to methods to the forgotten. As for how they found that out, is it any coincidence the Lost Precipice is so closed to the Bloodstone and where the raid is headed? Maybe, but still. The Lost Precipice was where the Forgotten and the humans destined to be Exalted first lived before they began their journey to found Tarir
As said this is all wild speculation but could be worth considering
Calling it now - Caudecus is involved.
3.34 What!? The background on two steps from hell- protectors of the earth belongs to GW1 ? hooooly dooodieeee
it would be cool if while in the mist rytlock somehow steals their power, so rev is somekind of musaat thing
The player character only knows pirate and new lions arch so when they are being told the history what would they visualize but pirate LA
Great video! Another "clue" of bloodstone connection to human: their name, are stone of blood? blood is what ticks our bodies? Too bad one of the best lore stories are kept in raids, that are played by a very small amount of players.
That excerpt was so deathmetal haha
Maybe Lazarus is using humans to gather bloodstones to revive the whole Mursaat race?
Wait... so in year 2 when people were complaining about how awful the Scarlet story line was & how much time they spent on it & how they should have focused on the White Mantle, one of the devs said something like "we didn't have enough time to spend on such an epic story like the White Mantle".
So 1 raid is "enough time" to spend on the WM? wow.. 2 years on Scarlet, a few months on WM. this to Anet is more effort than 2 full years of LS? Sound more like a hand wavy excuse.
+Draskang 2 raids so far, and a 3rd on the way
trigunvash10110
This is *wing* 2 of Raid 1. Even when complete, It's still not much content at all. it's just really hard.
THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO
I love you.
I don't see why revenge isn't enough of a reason to act. He could easily be using the WM to accrue whatever power he needs. There would be no reason to wipe out the WM so quickly, if he can use them to crush all of humanity in the long run because humanity was able to crush all of the Mursaat.
If the Elder Dragons are the Reapers, then the Mursaat are the Protheans.
I'm writing this at the 33:00 mark, when your asking what you hope Lazarus wants. I really REALLY hope/am fearful of, he wants Glint's Egg. He wants the offspring of the creature that prophesied the extermination of his race. And perhaps with the egg, he would obtain a new power equal to the level of an Elder Dragon. Which, to me, would be better. Like you have said WP, I enjoy villains like Lazarus, Shiro, and such, rather than the Elder Dragons, who at first were majorly hyped in power at the end of Eye of the North, but have been designed to be not nearly as imposing. The Murssat stole many of the previous races powers and magic that could have lead to their salvation and survival the previous time the dragons awoke. Maybe Glint's Egg is next :(.
LAZURSU MUST BE TEH FINAL RAID BOSS
Maybe Lazarus just needs them because he is weakened, it doesn't mean he 'needs humanity' he just lets them think that in order to restore his health/power. After that he can do whatever.
+SoulSlesh He is weakened, he tried to attain immortality by pulling a Voldemort - so to speak. But with how pissed one of the survivors, he swore vengeance.
E for Envoy(s). You heard it here first, folks.
+PiippoToo E for Exalted
+sylvnfox F is for Friends who do stuff together
What if we throw a bloodstone in the water?
4.00 You say THIS is the best mystery!? WHAT ABOUT THE GARGOYLES, WP?? WHERE DID THEY ALL GO?
Mathias becomes a Red Templar from Dragon Age XD
Question, does Lazarus need to care about humans for the story to make sense, does he even need to be aware that they are helping him or them to try and help him? I think that 1- Hes to broken and unaware and the White Mantle found him and now think that if they help him he will help them back; 2- Hes manipulating them to get his power back; 3- Now that we are kicking the elder dragons asses he thinks he can use us to kill them and get whatever remains of the Mursaat back to Tyria; 4- maybe he thinks he can get teh elder dragons power to himself, or for the mursaat or 5- If the dragons die everything will be totaly fucked and afect the mists in such a way that even mursaat survivors in the mists are in danger and he wants to do something about it. Or something else entirely diferent....
Hey wp, if this prophecy about the human race is in your top 3 of mysteries, what, if I may ask, are your other two top mysteries?
top notch video :)
Man, the story of Gw1 was fucking dark.
is that red lyrium??? it looks like a red templar!!! lol