Feedback:User/Guild Wars 3 perhaps/Engineering...we have a problem...can you fix it?

There has been a lot of discussion recently concerning the release of the new Engineer class. Though it would be easy to sum up the differences of opinion as simply those who love it and those who hate it, it's not so simple. One such grey area concerns players who can accept the Engineer class in theory, but are having a hard time accepting the implementation of the class with regards to its functionality and aesthetics; specifically the turrets and the mines.

The argument against the turrets, in short, amounts to being unable to accept that Charr technology has advanced so far that they are capable of creating auto-targeting/robotic turrets. Putting a rifle on a tripod...that's OK. Giving the rilfe a hand-cranked spring to permit auto-firing...that's OK, too. But to have the turret auto-target, track enemies, and fire discreet shots at asynchronous intervals in the abscence of any obvious magical motive force leads to speculation that the only other means of accomplishing this complex task would be through the use of robotics...and that's not OK. That Charr technology has advanced to the Industrial Age is accepted. That it has advanced to the Digital Age to permit such a complex machine to exist in the abscence of any magical operation is not accepted.

My suggestion for reconciling this mismatch between the Charr's stated level of technology in the game lore (approximately Industrial Age) and the technology represented by the turrets goes like this:


 * It appears the four playable races of Tyria (I'm not including the Sylvari due to being so young) have had to change tactics - at least a little bit - as compared to their old ways 250 years ago. One such change sees the Charr actually learning the fine art of diplomacy with regards to their former Human adversaries.  What if - in addition to making diplomatic overtures to the Humans - the Charr have also been in negotiations with the Asura?


 * Despite Asuran technological superiority in the fields of Golemancy and Crystallurgy, they are few in number and have suffered a setback following their displacement at the hands of the Destroyers from their ancestral subterranean home. Even the arrogant and stubborn Asura are smart enough to realize they must forge new alliances with the various "Booka" races on the surface if they are to survive "up top" (or - at the very least - do their best not to make any new enemies).


 * Perhaps the Charr, smelling an opportunity, decided to try their hand at diplomacy with the Asura. The fruit of that negotiation amounting to something along the lines of, "We won't steamroll your fragile new settlement at Rata Sum if you will share some of your technology with us."  But in more genteel terms, of course (which for Charr means not bearing your fangs and pounding the table with your fist while negotiating).


 * The Asura - in their self-deluding sense of superiority - may have thought something along the lines of, "Hey, a chance to gain an ally at no cost to ourselves. We'll just give them some of our childrens' toys that use mini-crystal arrays to make them run around on the floor in circles.  Stupid furry Bookas will think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!"


 * Of course, the Charr are quite a bit more cunning and resourceful than the Asura would be willing to admit. Eventually, the Charr manage to reverse-engineer the toys enough to add Asuran principles of crystal-powered automation to their turrets.  With just a slight re-skinning of the turret models, throw in a bit of crystal-ly glow, and a little lore addition we now have Charr turrets that more plausibly fit within the game.


 * This could then lead to a bit of tension between the Charr and Asura in GW2. The Charr realize the Asura tried to pull a fast one on them.  The Asura realize they made a mistake in underestimating the Charr.  Consequently, neither fully trusts the other.  This then presents yet another challenge for the players to overcome in attempting to forge the five races of Tyria into an alliance to fight the dragons.


 * The resolution, or course, being that the players manage to convince the Charr of the Asura's value because - through them - the Charr were able to advance their weapons technology in a way they would never have been able to do on their own. For the Asura's part, they learn a begrudging respect - and even, perhaps, professional envy - for the ingenuity and engineering prowess of the Charr to develop a weapon from a child's toy that the Asura themselves never thought to create.  I'm not suggesting this has to be a major issue; just part of a single Dynamic Event chain or whatever mechanic is already in development for reconciling the differences of the five races.


 * Small brainstorm fluctuation update
 * Epitomize the reconcilliation between the Charr and the Asura I described above by personifying it as a burgeoning relationship between a female Charr Engineer and a male Asura Engineer as part of the Dynamic Event. They're forced to work together and - in the process - come to respect each other and eventually fall in love.  Two polar opposites in attitude and body but kindred spirits in mind who overcome their differences.  Cutesy, I know, but still has a certain...resonation and timeless theme...if you will.  The Charr Roar-Meow and the Asuran Joel-Let.  Yes, I know, that was bad...very, very bad.  But I couldn't help myself.

As for the mines, the main issue appears to be not the concept of the mine itself but rather the blinking LED-like red light on the top. My suggestion for bringing this more in line with the aesthetic look of the period represented in GW2 along with bringing it more in line with the Charr's level of technology is a little simpler than my turret suggestion. The Charr already had mines/explosives in GW1 that had a bunch of hair-trigger crystal spikes sticking out of them. How about the GW2 mines simply use a glowing crystal detonator on top rather than the blinking-and-beeping red light? It would be more plausible given their current level of technology as well as tie in better with their history from GW1.

Thanks for reading. Guild Wars 3 perhaps 11:41, 22 May 2011 (UTC)