Finally, we get some really cool info on the new expansion and I wanted to go through a lot of the things we have talked about and theories we came up with, as well as, add some cool lore stuff of my own. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for watching!
I missed videos like this. This is so exciting! I have two things that i thought of. 1. The town that is destroyed, does look different, but it also looks like it's floating in the sky. A bit to the right of the center of the screen, you see thunder and no water. Which lead me to believe that the water drained once the town was lifted up to the sky. 2. If it is indeed an alternate universe. One where Zojja is fine and is part of this order, it can also make sense that in this universe the seers did not go extinct. And of course the trailer is showing us an image of this universe's Wizard's Tower exploding for whatever reason. A lot of focus on hands, astral themes, and the colors white and black. Really looking forward to watch a playthrough once this releases.
Great points all around! Yes, you are right, having these alternate dimensions and such leaves a lot of possibilities open for where the story could go like Zojja being in the story and the seers! Thanks for watching!
I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this and its made me a bit excited for the expansion. I like learning about seemingly no name npcs (to me at least) and being shown the depth of lore in this game and the world of tyria. Well done, well put together! Always a pleasure. Keep doing what youre doing =)
always wanted to visit that castle in the sky. now, instead of looking up to it in the distance above kessexhils map, ill now look down from it into tryia.
Thank you so much! And yes, while GW1 is a very different game, it's really amazing in its own right, so I highly recommend it! None the less, I'm excited to share more in the future.
WHAT!! I'd never thought to think how Kanaxai presented himself. Demonic house factions...makes sense!!! That is such a cool detail!! Your whole video is incredibly fun and I cannot wait for the expac! Super excited:)
Anyone else noticing that the Wizard's tower in the trailer before it dissappears is the exact same as Amnytas that has the description "Hidden just below the planet's atmosphere is Amnytas, home of the Wizard's Court and the Astral Ward--" . Why change the wizard's tower to Amnytas? Is it because the wizard's tower *is* Amnytas? Because why would they use that and not the old model if it's not the case? Nobody has mentioned this from what i've seen so i'm curious.
I think the Wizard's Tower is just part of Amnytas. Looking at some of the picture - particularly the Skywatch Archipelago pictures - you can clearly see buildings that look like the new model of the Wizard's Tower but aren't the tower itself. So it seems that the tower is part of like a set. I'm guessing Amnytas is a city full of wizard's and the astral ward members and the tower is like the central hub for it or part of it at least. Then on a larger scale, outside the city will be the rest of the archipelago which will be map #1 I'm guessing.
If they are going the distortion or parallel world route, that Zojja could be a flip of our Zojja. But I doubt it, I think they will bring actual Zojja back to hype the expansion and bring back and retain players who have been asking for her for so long.
Either way, I'm excited to have her back in the fold. Really, they could twist it either way, but I think you might be right and this is the Zojja of our world. We will have to wait and see!
Really great video! Another thing that I think the expansion might touch on is Menzies. The creature we see in the trailer looks like it has no head and Menzies seems like he was beheaded given his item “the fate of Menzies”
I know a lot of people have been wanting Menzies in the story for a long time and I don't necessarily disagree but I personally think it's unlikely. He is part god and we are dealing with demons. Obviously, that doesn't mean he couldn't get corrupted or something out of desperation and now that is brother is dead and the rest of the gods are gone, he is using the demon faction to invade Tyria or something. It's a compelling story but I would really like it if we could lean more into the gods story when we deal with Menzies and I don't see any hints at the gods here at all which would be a waste, if that makes sense.
And just to add to this, what I would really love for Menzies and the other gods is that we get some story in this expansion (like one of the later releases of it) that leads us to dealing with the gods, like build up some hints and ideas as to the gods returning or Menzies invading as well. I just don't want him to be shoehorned in with the demons randomly tbh is all.
Considering the last few story steps we had are about mist demons I think it's safe to say we have some mist shenanigans going on. That said, like in the fractals of the mist, the mists can let use travel through time to witness and take part in past events. Who knows what else the mists can do
Thank you for checking! It was something that I thought about but forgot to check myself, so I'm glad someone did! I have a feeling they will have some sort of significance.
Wizard's Tower in Kryta and the one in Ascalon are places of magical study. The order is just the wizards of Ascalon that dwell in the tower of Ascalon. All human magic in Guild Wars Original except the druids (Rangers aren't druids) life magic is Mist magic.
Interesting video. My thoughts (warning: wall of text incoming! Also I am writing this as listening to the video): First, a clarification: Verata is never once said to be after the Wizard's Tower. He is in the same spot as Galrath, but as far as we know, he was just camping out there. However, there was a second person going after Wizard's Tower: Justiciar Marron. Like Galrath, Marron was a member of the White Mantle (though Galrath was originally Lionguard), so it's curious how two separate White Mantle were interested in the Wizard's Tower. On "Ancient Fractures Deepen" - since this is a case of the Mists invading Tyria, this could be referencing some past event that weakened the barrier between Tyria and the Mists. Three straight up come to mind: Abaddon's fall, which created the Mouth of Torment; Nightfall, when Abaddon tried to merge Tyria and the Realm of Torment and opened countless rifts for demons to flood in; and Lord Odran, who created permanent portals to the Mists such as at the Tomb of Drascir, Tomb of the Primeval Kings, and Heroes' Ascent. Given there were many theories of Lord Odran being tied to the Wizard's Tower in the past, I'm thinking the last is pretty plausible. On the orbs in the room with the celestial gate, I do not think they're tied to the Elder Dragons or The All at all. For three reasons: One, we're done with that plot, so I don't see them continuing references to it in major things. Two, there are seven orbs visible, not six (the concept art you use even has seven orbs too), which wouldn't make sense in the scope of the All unless it was "six plus Tyria" but we also have a Tyria globe in the room separately. And three, those symbols are not new - Some of them are seen on Lord Odran's map of the Mists, while others seem to be shown on the Spellforge Backpack/Glider. The latter was, at the time, just random runic symbols. I think the "map in the arrows" is a bit tinfoil hat. ArenaNet has never touched true time travel and I doubt they will - and I **HOPE TO ALL GOD** they never do either because adding time travel and multiverses in a narrative not specifically created for exploring that with hard rules is always a convoluted mess (see: DC and Marvel as prime examples). That said, that doesn't look like a map to me, but like metallic rust spots. The spires also do not resemble Wizard's Folly Tower, imo. Those spires in the background are straight, while Wizard's Folly Tower are angled slightly. Given the distance, the spires are much, *much* longer too. While it's possible, I wouldn't really think of that. The gemstore images also have many tall towers and spires shown - the new redesigned Wizard's Tower even utilizes some of these tower designs. So it could simply be those. As to mister Crab Legs So Heavy He Has To Bend Over, it seems pretty likely that this guy is the leader of the Tanneks, I mean Cryptids, I mean Kryptis demons. One theory I follow is that it could be Menzies, as they did curiously make use of the Shadow Army for Gyala - which is rather bizarre. ArenaNet is not common to total reuse of assets without reason, previously. They might reuse models, but they would rename the creatures and maybe abilities - yet they did not do so here, and straight up Abyssals and Shadow Beasts, as well as Aatxes (which come from the Underworld). The use of Nightmares was to reference the Nightmare Horde from GW1, though it made no use of abyssals or aatxes, and had an entirely different name for their creature that used the same model as Shadow Beasts (Chilling Nightmares and Tears of Dwayna). We've also never seen or heard of Menzies' description, so it could be the good ol' Lord of Destruction himself. A note about Kanaxai and the house things - Both houses names are psuedo-Greek. Meaning that they resemble greek words, but aren't actually Greek themselves. House Aurkus -> Άρκος (Arkos) -> Arch; Mosyn -> Μοσσύν (Mossyn) -> which I am told for a wooden tower. What's interesting to note is that Luxons have influences from Greece, using Greek names and whatnot. This supports the theory that Kanaxai, like the Oni, may have originally been a Luxon human. Though his redesign does more closely resemble the Kryptis, and it's interesting he now all of a sudden as a "boss" of sorts. It should be noted that in all prior lore, the demons do not have a proper hierarchy structure ever displayed. The closest we get are imps with the title of "lord", and a generic "might makes right" kind of thing. All the powerful demons have either worked alone, or worked for a fallen god. So if this House thing does tie into the Kryptis, it's curious they chose a psuedo-Greek for naming (unless it's purely coincidental), but that they decided to suddenly create houses for them, which doesn't really fit "creatures born from negative energies of the Mists with the sole inclination of hating the living". It seems... contradictory. Which, ironically, would fit forces of chaos. As to Deimos, he is not connected to Kryptis - we know his origins. While it isn't said in-game, it was revealed by the devs on two occasions. Check his wiki page - he was created by the Bastion of the Penitent's close proximity to the Mists mixed in with the negative emotions and guilt of Saul D'Alessio. The arms on Deimos are a mantle representing the followers of the White Mantle that Saul had led to their deaths, and the guilt associated with that. This is why in the intro cinematic, the hands claw at Deimos' face. It's really stellar storytelling through animation and character design. As to Bahltek, it's been confirmed that he was added as a hint towards Utopia content. Nightfall had multiple small hints to the next story chapter, i.e., Utopia, in it. In addition to most of Bahltek's dialogue, Prince Mehtu the Wise talking about the island vanishing was also confirmed to be hinting at Utopia and Xotecha. Then there was in Kourna you could find a Preserved Red Iris Flower (hinting at Gwen's return). It would be interesting if they tie these into SotO since it draws so many elements from Utopia as is (but with, imo, worse names), but I wouldn't put too much expectation on that.
As for Verata: I suppose it was never stated he was there for the tower or whatever is within but I would find it to be a strange coincident that he would be there as he was a character that was really dedicated to his research and he might've been seeking more knowledge. But yes none of this is ever stated in game. And I totally forgot about Marron. Good catch. Seems he knew about Galraths plan to take whatever was inside the tower. As for the symbols: none of the symbols on either the map of the all nor the spellforge look like the ones above the door. They are pretty unique albeit very similar in style to those you mentioned, that's why I thought there is some more significance to them. I LOVE the greek influence. I had no idea, so thanks for that! Can't wait to see more of that appear! I think it's very exciting that we get some structure to the demons. It makes them feel much more sinister and dangerous if they are organized rather than just being simple run-of-the-mill demons. I wasn't on board with the deimos theory either and I'm still not completely convinced. I agree with you that he is pretty much the culmination of everything that lead up to it with the white mantle and saul. I love that we are getting more Utopia stuff, and yes I have said many times over that I do not think Anet has what it takes to make a compelling time travel story. Unfortunately. Though I do hopefor some aspects of time travel to appear here and there. Nothing to gourndbreaking though.
Just to add, I know the Wizard's Folly Tower thing is a total tinfoil hat theory for sure but it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that is was prehaps redesigned to be larger. I mean the wizards tower in kessex hills has seen 3 different iterations now with no explanation why it changed at all. So disconnecting the towers and having them appear larger and perhaps more dark wouldn't be so far off. As for Menzies, it's such a weird thing. I know everyone wants him in the story and yes seeing the shadow army seems to confirm that but I know Bobby Stein confirmed the demons and nightmares are currently considered to be of an unknown race, since nightmares aka Aatxe are usually associated with the MIsts, so it wouldn't be crazy to think that these serve some demons from the mists rather than Menzies. If Menzies were to return, I really hope they give him a really cool, proper storyline that doesn't have anything to do with demons, but more with gods and the pantheon and maybe extend that story that way.
Between Deimos and Samarog, any chance that Mursaat had connection to Realm of Torment, being a demonic race/tribe themselves? Could the Jade Constructs Mursaat used be in any way related to the dark corrupted Jade from void magic we see in Cantha?
Hmm I doubt it. I think the Mursaat were just an ancient race of spellcasters and in GW1 even tried to keep the demons of the realm of torment out at the door of komalie. While I hope we do get more Mursaat stuff in the future, I doubt it would be in conjunction with this release. Although, you never know!
@@Aerali I see, I thought they were just preventing the Prophecy of the Flameseeker from being fulfilled rather being specifically afraid of demons from that plane coming after them (which I think only did so because the Orrian Lich ordered the titans to do so, though I'm not certain). Demons, Nightmare Court/Toxic Alliance/Krait (+deep Unending Ocean horrors), Void Corruption, seem pretty unrelated but also share a theme of darkness deteriorating one's mental sanity and/or taking physical forms. They're probably only vaguely coincidental but I hope one day those concepts become developed enough to either distinguish their sphere of influence or somewhat tie them together.
Also, the file of that purple pyramid of SotO site is called AsuraIsland_Sketch_wallpaper soooooo...! Could we be meeting other Asuran societies out there?
Yes that one is very interesting to me as well. Gives off a specific Utopia vibe once again. It would be cool to have an island up there with some Asura up there!
I mean it most certainly be Zommoros. While I personally wish it was someone that we haven't met yet, I could definitely see him just having a different outfit for sure!
Peitha is definitely one of the more interesting characters. She seems nice and kind hearted but she is still a demon at heart. Maybe she will turn on us at some point who know?
I could easily see them retcon this tbh. They could say that it only appeared he was dead or maybe he was revived in the demon realm because of how powerful he was or something. But maybe not. Maybe they just used him as a story telling tool for the introduction to the demon plot and we won't see him.
I was wondering about an empty spot in panthon of gods. When Baltahzar fell his aetherial role as god was pulled back into Mists and his soul was devoured by Elder Dragons. If his spot is empty would anyone tried to take it? I think so. And how would that be achieved without killing a god? Answer lies in orchestrating war so big that it would be waged across entire world and let countless slained souls ammount be so large that allows ascending Godhood. By my thinking Kryptis are mere cannon fodder for someone who tries to bend Mists through Magic to his or her will to become next God of War.
Would be interesting to see a complete ulterior motive to just taking over Tyria. Having the demons just be used so the empty seat for the pantheon could be taken. Although, that leaves the question: is there only ever 6 gods? And why? Could anyone just become a god of they were powerful enough. I think the god story is something that would be better off in a different expansion, personally, because I want them to really make it good and deep rooted in the lore.
@@Aerali From interesting facts: Lately Elder Scrolls Online introduced new Daedric Prince and her name is "Ithelia" and and she is the Prince of Paths, "the Mistress of the Untraveled Road", "the Fate-Changed" and the "Unseen". Sound similar? You gave me now an idea. Maybe there is even new god we never heard about, banished by all 6. When Balthazar died seal was broken and that new/old god is free now. That's would explain why rest of the gods never killed him but imprisoned him and why Kormir had to take Abaddon's place in panthon. Entire cosmos/magic in Guild Wars universe must be in balance always: 6 gods makes even number by making neither of them takes over power, but 7.... odd number with one of the gods having no counterpart to check him in place. I suspect Kormir/Abaddon was counter force to Balthazar. Same with rest of the 6 being counterpart of the 7th, which might be most powerful of all. Now magic of the Unseen world is in chaos.
It's worth noting that Kormir denies Rytlock calling the group "The Five". Despite the fact she was born with the group called that while Abaddon was imprisoned. At the same time, she states Balthazar is not of the Six. If Balthazar didn't have a replacement when he was stripped of power, then why would they still be the Six, and not the Five? So by all logic, Balthazar should have a replacement in godhood already. And this is even further supported by the Requiem short stories, specifically Zafirah's. She mentions how blessings from Balthazar felt inherently different than Balthazar himself when she met him in person, suggesting that the blessings weren't actually from Balthazar. Now by the timeline, Balthazar should have been replaced sometime ~200-100 years prior to GW2. So whenever I see discussions on who could have replaced him, the best candidate I ever can think of is: Razah. It was even speculated that Abaddon had plans of using Razah as a vessel once free, as the god certainly had *some* plans for this humanoid demon, to keep him imprisoned and kept in the most secret of places.
@@KonigDesTodes Razah is such a wild card and could be used with anything when dealing with the mists. I think a better contender for godhood would be Balthy's half brother Menzies. I mean if we are talking about bringing him back into the fold I guess having him succeeed at what he was trying to do for so long because his half brother isdead would make sense, yes?
Deimos is supposed to be Saul’s guilt and bad feelings personified (or so I’ve read), kinda like Silent Hill and Pyramid Head. Also… HOW COME YOU DIDNT MENTION MENZIES!? That demon we see in front of the eye might as well be Balthazar’a half brother, Menzies.
@@Aerali some say that because it’s mentioned that Menzie’s army is still in fissure of woe and with Balthazar gone… seems to be “the right path” tbh. Could be an alliance as well. We won’t know until it’s released 🤣🤣
@@ShamanKmoe you aren't wrong for sure! He did align himself with dhuum and Abaddon but even then these were all god-figures. The reason why I'm so against Menzies being in the fray here is because we are dealing with demons and not the gods. If Menzies appeared in an expansion/story I would want it to be in a god-centered story where we see other members of the pantheon maybe return to Tyria or something. I feel like if they add him here it would feel wasted. A great example of this is Joko. He was wasted because he was a fan favorite and they shoehorned him in the middle of the dragon story. I would love for them to give us Menzies stuff but not at the cost of just making him some random ally of the demon house, unless they find a great and interesting way to twist that story!
Buahaha, well I have been making videos for a few years now, so it's definitely something I would like to continue! The support has been really amazing lately which gives me even more incentive to do it!
![Building a Huge Army of Mercenaries | Manor Lords [Part 5]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PMFC--mJdt4/mqdefault.jpg)
Finally, we get some really cool info on the new expansion and I wanted to go through a lot of the things we have talked about and theories we came up with, as well as, add some cool lore stuff of my own. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for watching!
I missed videos like this. This is so exciting!
I have two things that i thought of.
1. The town that is destroyed, does look different, but it also looks like it's floating in the sky. A bit to the right of the center of the screen, you see thunder and no water. Which lead me to believe that the water drained once the town was lifted up to the sky.
2. If it is indeed an alternate universe. One where Zojja is fine and is part of this order, it can also make sense that in this universe the seers did not go extinct. And of course the trailer is showing us an image of this universe's Wizard's Tower exploding for whatever reason.
A lot of focus on hands, astral themes, and the colors white and black.
Really looking forward to watch a playthrough once this releases.
Great points all around! Yes, you are right, having these alternate dimensions and such leaves a lot of possibilities open for where the story could go like Zojja being in the story and the seers! Thanks for watching!
I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this and its made me a bit excited for the expansion. I like learning about seemingly no name npcs (to me at least) and being shown the depth of lore in this game and the world of tyria. Well done, well put together! Always a pleasure. Keep doing what youre doing =)
Thank you! ❤️❤️ Always a pleasure having you!
Top tier lore speculation right here
Thank you! ❤️
It was so exciting watching you theorize this when it released, awesome to see a summary! I love it! Great video!
Thank you! I hope there was some new stuff you found interesting in there! ❤️
wow, to get the spires and the map in the arrow...I'm at loss for word, but it clicks perfectly! awesome!! You are incredible!
That's so very kind to say! Thank you so much! ❤️
Oh Man, any Pre-Searing anything would be amazing. And I forgot about that other tower! oh man, I'm loving the idea.
Thanks! It's probably a huge stretch but yes I like the idea very much as well!
always wanted to visit that castle in the sky. now, instead of looking up to it in the distance above kessexhils map, ill now look down from it into tryia.
Yes!!! So exciting!
Underrated channel! You deserve more subs!
Thank you so much! That is very kind! ❤️
I too noticed the missing ocean on the second "Garenhoff" segment. Nice catch on the Wizard's Folly tower!
Thanks! We will see where things go!
Fantastic video! Love hearing all about the lore and speculations
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This was so entertaining to watch. I'm so hyped now (and weirdly want to play GW1 haha)
Can't wait for more
Thank you so much! And yes, while GW1 is a very different game, it's really amazing in its own right, so I highly recommend it! None the less, I'm excited to share more in the future.
fantastic lore video speculation...brings memories to the good ol wp gw2 mystery videos!
Thank you! Some of my friends will tease me with the title "Second Woodenpotatoes" 😂
Subscribed! Very cool lore and I love the deep dives. Looking forward to your next video.
Thank you! Appreciate it!
Great video. I would love to see more like these :)
Thank you! Hopefully as we get more info, I'll be able to cook up some more stuff!
Brother if you do a video clip summarizes the lore thatd be dope and might also bring more attraction to the channel, since thats how i found yours!
It's definitely an idea! I'm thinking of doing something like this for secrets of the Obscure!
WHAT!! I'd never thought to think how Kanaxai presented himself. Demonic house factions...makes sense!!!
That is such a cool detail!! Your whole video is incredibly fun and I cannot wait for the expac! Super excited:)
Thank you! Hopefully, I didn't stretch too far on some speculations 😆
@@Aerali that was a delight to listen to!
Anyone else noticing that the Wizard's tower in the trailer before it dissappears is the exact same as Amnytas that has the description "Hidden just below the planet's atmosphere is Amnytas, home of the Wizard's Court and the Astral Ward--" . Why change the wizard's tower to Amnytas? Is it because the wizard's tower *is* Amnytas? Because why would they use that and not the old model if it's not the case? Nobody has mentioned this from what i've seen so i'm curious.
I think the Wizard's Tower is just part of Amnytas. Looking at some of the picture - particularly the Skywatch Archipelago pictures - you can clearly see buildings that look like the new model of the Wizard's Tower but aren't the tower itself. So it seems that the tower is part of like a set. I'm guessing Amnytas is a city full of wizard's and the astral ward members and the tower is like the central hub for it or part of it at least. Then on a larger scale, outside the city will be the rest of the archipelago which will be map #1 I'm guessing.
Your video put a lot of color into this expac for me and got me hyped for the story/lore! Appreciate your work! :D
Thank you for watching!!! I'm glad you are excited! Obviously, as am I 😂
If they are going the distortion or parallel world route, that Zojja could be a flip of our Zojja. But I doubt it, I think they will bring actual Zojja back to hype the expansion and bring back and retain players who have been asking for her for so long.
Either way, I'm excited to have her back in the fold. Really, they could twist it either way, but I think you might be right and this is the Zojja of our world. We will have to wait and see!
2 towers and a sauron eye? weird
Buahaha good catch! And I'm not even a fan of the Lord of the Rings series! 😂
That character between Zojja and the Djin is Bouregard from critical role…. Change my mind.
Really great video! Another thing that I think the expansion might touch on is Menzies. The creature we see in the trailer looks like it has no head and Menzies seems like he was beheaded given his item “the fate of Menzies”
I know a lot of people have been wanting Menzies in the story for a long time and I don't necessarily disagree but I personally think it's unlikely. He is part god and we are dealing with demons. Obviously, that doesn't mean he couldn't get corrupted or something out of desperation and now that is brother is dead and the rest of the gods are gone, he is using the demon faction to invade Tyria or something. It's a compelling story but I would really like it if we could lean more into the gods story when we deal with Menzies and I don't see any hints at the gods here at all which would be a waste, if that makes sense.
And thanks for watching!
And just to add to this, what I would really love for Menzies and the other gods is that we get some story in this expansion (like one of the later releases of it) that leads us to dealing with the gods, like build up some hints and ideas as to the gods returning or Menzies invading as well. I just don't want him to be shoehorned in with the demons randomly tbh is all.
So much deep lore. I love it
It's always fun! I think this expansion will be really good for us lore nerds!
Considering the last few story steps we had are about mist demons I think it's safe to say we have some mist shenanigans going on. That said, like in the fractals of the mist, the mists can let use travel through time to witness and take part in past events. Who knows what else the mists can do
It's true! It'll be interesting to see where they will take a story that deals with the Mists!
@@Aerali I'm very curious to that as well!
I've been wanting something with Mist demons for quite a while now, I find them pretty interesting
@@TheScrootch yeah I'm definitely excited 😊
If anyone was wondering, the symbols aren't from any known in-game languages, at least that I could find.
Thank you for checking! It was something that I thought about but forgot to check myself, so I'm glad someone did! I have a feeling they will have some sort of significance.
Wizard's Tower in Kryta and the one in Ascalon are places of magical study. The order is just the wizards of Ascalon that dwell in the tower of Ascalon. All human magic in Guild Wars Original except the druids (Rangers aren't druids) life magic is Mist magic.
I love lore videos like this, even if I don’t always get it lol.
Aww, well thank you!
Your content is my favorite :).
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Interesting video. My thoughts (warning: wall of text incoming! Also I am writing this as listening to the video):
First, a clarification: Verata is never once said to be after the Wizard's Tower. He is in the same spot as Galrath, but as far as we know, he was just camping out there. However, there was a second person going after Wizard's Tower: Justiciar Marron. Like Galrath, Marron was a member of the White Mantle (though Galrath was originally Lionguard), so it's curious how two separate White Mantle were interested in the Wizard's Tower.
On "Ancient Fractures Deepen" - since this is a case of the Mists invading Tyria, this could be referencing some past event that weakened the barrier between Tyria and the Mists. Three straight up come to mind: Abaddon's fall, which created the Mouth of Torment; Nightfall, when Abaddon tried to merge Tyria and the Realm of Torment and opened countless rifts for demons to flood in; and Lord Odran, who created permanent portals to the Mists such as at the Tomb of Drascir, Tomb of the Primeval Kings, and Heroes' Ascent. Given there were many theories of Lord Odran being tied to the Wizard's Tower in the past, I'm thinking the last is pretty plausible.
On the orbs in the room with the celestial gate, I do not think they're tied to the Elder Dragons or The All at all. For three reasons: One, we're done with that plot, so I don't see them continuing references to it in major things. Two, there are seven orbs visible, not six (the concept art you use even has seven orbs too), which wouldn't make sense in the scope of the All unless it was "six plus Tyria" but we also have a Tyria globe in the room separately. And three, those symbols are not new - Some of them are seen on Lord Odran's map of the Mists, while others seem to be shown on the Spellforge Backpack/Glider. The latter was, at the time, just random runic symbols.
I think the "map in the arrows" is a bit tinfoil hat. ArenaNet has never touched true time travel and I doubt they will - and I **HOPE TO ALL GOD** they never do either because adding time travel and multiverses in a narrative not specifically created for exploring that with hard rules is always a convoluted mess (see: DC and Marvel as prime examples). That said, that doesn't look like a map to me, but like metallic rust spots. The spires also do not resemble Wizard's Folly Tower, imo. Those spires in the background are straight, while Wizard's Folly Tower are angled slightly. Given the distance, the spires are much, *much* longer too. While it's possible, I wouldn't really think of that. The gemstore images also have many tall towers and spires shown - the new redesigned Wizard's Tower even utilizes some of these tower designs. So it could simply be those.
As to mister Crab Legs So Heavy He Has To Bend Over, it seems pretty likely that this guy is the leader of the Tanneks, I mean Cryptids, I mean Kryptis demons. One theory I follow is that it could be Menzies, as they did curiously make use of the Shadow Army for Gyala - which is rather bizarre. ArenaNet is not common to total reuse of assets without reason, previously. They might reuse models, but they would rename the creatures and maybe abilities - yet they did not do so here, and straight up Abyssals and Shadow Beasts, as well as Aatxes (which come from the Underworld). The use of Nightmares was to reference the Nightmare Horde from GW1, though it made no use of abyssals or aatxes, and had an entirely different name for their creature that used the same model as Shadow Beasts (Chilling Nightmares and Tears of Dwayna). We've also never seen or heard of Menzies' description, so it could be the good ol' Lord of Destruction himself.
A note about Kanaxai and the house things - Both houses names are psuedo-Greek. Meaning that they resemble greek words, but aren't actually Greek themselves. House Aurkus -> Άρκος (Arkos) -> Arch; Mosyn -> Μοσσύν (Mossyn) -> which I am told for a wooden tower. What's interesting to note is that Luxons have influences from Greece, using Greek names and whatnot. This supports the theory that Kanaxai, like the Oni, may have originally been a Luxon human. Though his redesign does more closely resemble the Kryptis, and it's interesting he now all of a sudden as a "boss" of sorts. It should be noted that in all prior lore, the demons do not have a proper hierarchy structure ever displayed. The closest we get are imps with the title of "lord", and a generic "might makes right" kind of thing. All the powerful demons have either worked alone, or worked for a fallen god. So if this House thing does tie into the Kryptis, it's curious they chose a psuedo-Greek for naming (unless it's purely coincidental), but that they decided to suddenly create houses for them, which doesn't really fit "creatures born from negative energies of the Mists with the sole inclination of hating the living". It seems... contradictory. Which, ironically, would fit forces of chaos.
As to Deimos, he is not connected to Kryptis - we know his origins. While it isn't said in-game, it was revealed by the devs on two occasions. Check his wiki page - he was created by the Bastion of the Penitent's close proximity to the Mists mixed in with the negative emotions and guilt of Saul D'Alessio. The arms on Deimos are a mantle representing the followers of the White Mantle that Saul had led to their deaths, and the guilt associated with that. This is why in the intro cinematic, the hands claw at Deimos' face. It's really stellar storytelling through animation and character design.
As to Bahltek, it's been confirmed that he was added as a hint towards Utopia content. Nightfall had multiple small hints to the next story chapter, i.e., Utopia, in it. In addition to most of Bahltek's dialogue, Prince Mehtu the Wise talking about the island vanishing was also confirmed to be hinting at Utopia and Xotecha. Then there was in Kourna you could find a Preserved Red Iris Flower (hinting at Gwen's return). It would be interesting if they tie these into SotO since it draws so many elements from Utopia as is (but with, imo, worse names), but I wouldn't put too much expectation on that.
As for Verata: I suppose it was never stated he was there for the tower or whatever is within but I would find it to be a strange coincident that he would be there as he was a character that was really dedicated to his research and he might've been seeking more knowledge. But yes none of this is ever stated in game.
And I totally forgot about Marron. Good catch. Seems he knew about Galraths plan to take whatever was inside the tower.
As for the symbols: none of the symbols on either the map of the all nor the spellforge look like the ones above the door. They are pretty unique albeit very similar in style to those you mentioned, that's why I thought there is some more significance to them.
I LOVE the greek influence. I had no idea, so thanks for that! Can't wait to see more of that appear! I think it's very exciting that we get some structure to the demons. It makes them feel much more sinister and dangerous if they are organized rather than just being simple run-of-the-mill demons.
I wasn't on board with the deimos theory either and I'm still not completely convinced. I agree with you that he is pretty much the culmination of everything that lead up to it with the white mantle and saul.
I love that we are getting more Utopia stuff, and yes I have said many times over that I do not think Anet has what it takes to make a compelling time travel story. Unfortunately. Though I do hopefor some aspects of time travel to appear here and there. Nothing to gourndbreaking though.
Just to add, I know the Wizard's Folly Tower thing is a total tinfoil hat theory for sure but it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that is was prehaps redesigned to be larger. I mean the wizards tower in kessex hills has seen 3 different iterations now with no explanation why it changed at all. So disconnecting the towers and having them appear larger and perhaps more dark wouldn't be so far off.
As for Menzies, it's such a weird thing. I know everyone wants him in the story and yes seeing the shadow army seems to confirm that but I know Bobby Stein confirmed the demons and nightmares are currently considered to be of an unknown race, since nightmares aka Aatxe are usually associated with the MIsts, so it wouldn't be crazy to think that these serve some demons from the mists rather than Menzies. If Menzies were to return, I really hope they give him a really cool, proper storyline that doesn't have anything to do with demons, but more with gods and the pantheon and maybe extend that story that way.
With time travel and rifts, maybe there will be a connection to the whole Auris Weirdbringer side story...
Good point! We never did get a resolution to that story did we?
@@Aerali but Auris reappeared in Blood Keep and potentially in Seitung when gorrik broke one aetherblade's device :)
@@pablopancho true but it would be cool to have him be back for this expansion
Between Deimos and Samarog, any chance that Mursaat had connection to Realm of Torment, being a demonic race/tribe themselves?
Could the Jade Constructs Mursaat used be in any way related to the dark corrupted Jade from void magic we see in Cantha?
Hmm I doubt it. I think the Mursaat were just an ancient race of spellcasters and in GW1 even tried to keep the demons of the realm of torment out at the door of komalie. While I hope we do get more Mursaat stuff in the future, I doubt it would be in conjunction with this release. Although, you never know!
@@Aerali I see, I thought they were just preventing the Prophecy of the Flameseeker from being fulfilled rather being specifically afraid of demons from that plane coming after them (which I think only did so because the Orrian Lich ordered the titans to do so, though I'm not certain).
Demons, Nightmare Court/Toxic Alliance/Krait (+deep Unending Ocean horrors), Void Corruption, seem pretty unrelated but also share a theme of darkness deteriorating one's mental sanity and/or taking physical forms. They're probably only vaguely coincidental but I hope one day those concepts become developed enough to either distinguish their sphere of influence or somewhat tie them together.
Also, the file of that purple pyramid of SotO site is called AsuraIsland_Sketch_wallpaper soooooo...! Could we be meeting other Asuran societies out there?
Yes that one is very interesting to me as well. Gives off a specific Utopia vibe once again. It would be cool to have an island up there with some Asura up there!
The demon houses sound similar to Largos houses
I was thinking of that as well. The Tethyos Houses are just as mysterious.
what if the dschinn/seer/....? is zommoros himself?
I mean it most certainly be Zommoros. While I personally wish it was someone that we haven't met yet, I could definitely see him just having a different outfit for sure!
common , Zommoros just wanted to dress good for visiting Isgarren, just to ask him what he actually thrown in the mystic forge
OMG! That makes total sense! 🤯
@@Aerali 😓😁 its in the gw2wiki i thought you read that part
@@hk015 🤣 had me actually checking the wiki for a second
I think Peitha will betray and destroy us all!!! I still love her
Peitha is definitely one of the more interesting characters. She seems nice and kind hearted but she is still a demon at heart. Maybe she will turn on us at some point who know?
but we killed kanaxai in guild wars 1.
I could easily see them retcon this tbh. They could say that it only appeared he was dead or maybe he was revived in the demon realm because of how powerful he was or something. But maybe not. Maybe they just used him as a story telling tool for the introduction to the demon plot and we won't see him.
@@Aerali would not surprise me if he was still alive. what would still be causing people to loose their minds still in the jade sea.
I was wondering about an empty spot in panthon of gods. When Baltahzar fell his aetherial role as god was pulled back into Mists and his soul was devoured by Elder Dragons.
If his spot is empty would anyone tried to take it? I think so. And how would that be achieved without killing a god? Answer lies in orchestrating war so big that it would be waged across entire world and let countless slained souls ammount be so large that allows ascending Godhood. By my thinking Kryptis are mere cannon fodder for someone who tries to bend Mists through Magic to his or her will to become next God of War.
Would be interesting to see a complete ulterior motive to just taking over Tyria. Having the demons just be used so the empty seat for the pantheon could be taken. Although, that leaves the question: is there only ever 6 gods? And why? Could anyone just become a god of they were powerful enough. I think the god story is something that would be better off in a different expansion, personally, because I want them to really make it good and deep rooted in the lore.
@@Aerali From interesting facts: Lately Elder Scrolls Online introduced new Daedric Prince and her name is "Ithelia" and and she is the Prince of Paths, "the Mistress of the Untraveled Road", "the Fate-Changed" and the "Unseen". Sound similar?
You gave me now an idea.
Maybe there is even new god we never heard about, banished by all 6. When Balthazar died seal was broken and that new/old god is free now. That's would explain why rest of the gods never killed him but imprisoned him and why Kormir had to take Abaddon's place in panthon. Entire cosmos/magic in Guild Wars universe must be in balance always: 6 gods makes even number by making neither of them takes over power, but 7.... odd number with one of the gods having no counterpart to check him in place. I suspect Kormir/Abaddon was counter force to Balthazar. Same with rest of the 6 being counterpart of the 7th, which might be most powerful of all. Now magic of the Unseen world is in chaos.
It's worth noting that Kormir denies Rytlock calling the group "The Five". Despite the fact she was born with the group called that while Abaddon was imprisoned. At the same time, she states Balthazar is not of the Six.
If Balthazar didn't have a replacement when he was stripped of power, then why would they still be the Six, and not the Five? So by all logic, Balthazar should have a replacement in godhood already. And this is even further supported by the Requiem short stories, specifically Zafirah's. She mentions how blessings from Balthazar felt inherently different than Balthazar himself when she met him in person, suggesting that the blessings weren't actually from Balthazar.
Now by the timeline, Balthazar should have been replaced sometime ~200-100 years prior to GW2. So whenever I see discussions on who could have replaced him, the best candidate I ever can think of is: Razah.
It was even speculated that Abaddon had plans of using Razah as a vessel once free, as the god certainly had *some* plans for this humanoid demon, to keep him imprisoned and kept in the most secret of places.
@@KonigDesTodes Razah is such a wild card and could be used with anything when dealing with the mists. I think a better contender for godhood would be Balthy's half brother Menzies. I mean if we are talking about bringing him back into the fold I guess having him succeeed at what he was trying to do for so long because his half brother isdead would make sense, yes?
Deimos is supposed to be Saul’s guilt and bad feelings personified (or so I’ve read), kinda like Silent Hill and Pyramid Head. Also… HOW COME YOU DIDNT MENTION MENZIES!? That demon we see in front of the eye might as well be Balthazar’a half brother, Menzies.
I know a lot of people want that to be Menzies, I just don't see why. There are no connections here? Or am I missing something?
@@Aerali some say that because it’s mentioned that Menzie’s army is still in fissure of woe and with Balthazar gone… seems to be “the right path” tbh. Could be an alliance as well. We won’t know until it’s released 🤣🤣
@@ShamanKmoe you aren't wrong for sure! He did align himself with dhuum and Abaddon but even then these were all god-figures. The reason why I'm so against Menzies being in the fray here is because we are dealing with demons and not the gods. If Menzies appeared in an expansion/story I would want it to be in a god-centered story where we see other members of the pantheon maybe return to Tyria or something. I feel like if they add him here it would feel wasted. A great example of this is Joko. He was wasted because he was a fan favorite and they shoehorned him in the middle of the dragon story. I would love for them to give us Menzies stuff but not at the cost of just making him some random ally of the demon house, unless they find a great and interesting way to twist that story!
As-yer (how ya pronounce Aziure) :P
I was guessing maybe like Azure would be pronounce: a-zhr? 😂 I don't know.
@@Aerali yeh close enough, as long as people know what yer trying to say xD
enjoyed the vid, new subscriber
@@mishking9547 haha true enough. And thank you! I appreciate it
Please become the new lore guy gw2 sorely missing it. WP seems to be done/ no longer invested
Buahaha, well I have been making videos for a few years now, so it's definitely something I would like to continue! The support has been really amazing lately which gives me even more incentive to do it!
pronounced sho-tek-uh
Thanks! I don't know how to pronounce anything xD