Shiro Tagachi

From Guild Wars Wiki

Shiro Tagachi
Affiliation	Not specified
Type	Envoy
Profession	Assassin
Level(s)	31 (33)
Campaigns	Factions Nightfall
Map(s)
"The harbinger of the deceiver, the mark of the wicked, the guild symbol of Shiro Tagachi."
In-game screenshot of Shiro's guild emblem in Zen Daijun

“

No one but Shiro Tagachi knows what made this sacred imperial bodyguard—the emperor's most trusted servant—turn on his master on the Day of the Jade Wind. Did Shiro plan to sever the unbroken imperial bloodline and crown himself emperor? Was it revenge he sought, for some perceived wrong the emperor had done to Shiro or the Tagachi family? Could Shiro have been seeking some form of power that historians can no longer comprehend?

Whatever his motive, Shiro's act has been literally carved in stone. On the last day of the Harvest Festival, the emperor's favored bodyguard arrived at the Harvest Temple and was waiting when the emperor reached the pinnacle of the temple's tower. Shiro cut down the emperor of Cantha where he knelt on the holy floor, staining it forever with the monarch's blood. Shiro himself was slain only moments later, but his revenge on those who killed him was the most significant event in Canthan history since Kaineng founded the empire. In Shiro's final moments, he drew on all of his ill-gotten power to drain the emperor's very soul away. Seething with magic but mortally wounded, the treacherous bodyguard screamed, and his voice washed over an area hundreds of miles across. Shiro's death wail became the Jade Wind, a cataclysmic wave of energy that turned trees, animals, people, and open water into stone and crystal.

In the wake of Shiro's fall, the empire carried on. But Shiro's legacy on the continent is undeniable and permanent. Today, many signs point to Shiro's return after two centuries in the border realms of the afterlife. A spectral force driven by rage, a thirst for power, and a special kind of madness, he corrupts everything in his wake. The Canthan people know nothing of this, and suspect that the hideous results of "the Affliction" are some kind of monstrous plague. But even those who know that Shiro stalks the shadows have no idea of the power seething within him— or what he might do with it.

— The Guild Wars Factions Manuscripts

Originally a loyal, if ambitious, guardsman, Shiro Tagachi was noticed by Emperor Angsiyan due to his prowess with weapons and thus invited to join the Imperial Guard as the emperor's favored bodyguard. However, a demon sent by Abaddon had disguised itself as a Fortune Teller and told Shiro he would be killed by the emperor during the Harvest Festival.

Fearing for his life and confused by Emperor Angsiyan's odd behavior during the festival, Shiro stroke his master in the middle of the Harvest ritual, not before a ritualist had sent an alarm for the guards outside the temple. The guardsman killed most of the soldiers, and may have defeated the only two remaining warriors, the Luxon champion Archemorus and the Kurzick champion Viktor, if not by the intercession of the assassin Vizu, who crippled Shiro and allowed the two champions to deliver a killing blow.

Shiro's death triggered the Jade Wind, by releasing the energies of the Harvest Ritual. As punishment, Shiro's soul became an Envoy, ferrying the newly dead through the Mists. Two hundreds years after his demise, though, Shiro somehow learned to use the power of the Envoys in the creation of an army, unleashing first the Afflicted and later the Shiro'ken upon Cantha, as the former guardsman sought a way to return to life. After slaying Master Togo, Shiro's plan was successful, and he returned to life only to be killed again by the player characters. After his second death, the other Envoys took Shiro's soul to the worst prison in the afterlife...

...The Realm of Torment, which had been overrun by Abaddon and his demonic servants. Shiro became one of Abaddon's lieutenants and was defeated by the player characters in the Temple of the Six Gods. The fate of his soul is currently unknown.

[edit] Missions

Factions

• Kaineng City
  • Imperial Sanctum
  • Nahpui Quarter (only during end cinematic)
  • Raisu Palace
  • Sunjiang District
  • Vizunah Square (only during end cinematic)

Nightfall

• Realm of Torment
  • Gate of Madness

[edit] Skills

• Battle Scars (monster skill)
• Echoing Banishment (monster skill) (only in Imperial Sanctum)
• Impossible Odds (monster skill)
• Meditation of the Reaper (monster skill) (only in Imperial Sanctum)
• Riposting Shadows (monster skill)
• Invulnerability (monster skill) (in Raisu Palace & Sunjiang District)

[edit] Armor ratings

(in Factions)

Armor ratings
	93		93		93
	93		93		93		93

[edit] Quotes

[edit] Factions

"I have returned!"

"Weaklings!"

"You will do nicely!"

"Is that all you got!"

"Fear my power"

"Die!"

[edit] Nightfall

"Taste my twin blades of torment!"

"My blades hunger for your flesh!"

"I must have Revenge!

[edit] Notes

• Shiro can't be knocked down unless the duration of that knockdown was enhanced.
• Wild Blow, Wild Strike, Wild Throw or Whirling Axe are useful when fighting Shiro because they will negate his Battle Scars and Riposting Shadows.
• You cannot interrupt Shiro's skills, except for Impossible Odds. Using heroes or henchmen works best for this, as they are fast enough to easily interrupt a skill with an activation time of a half second.
• Shiro uses neither Shiro's Swords nor Shiro's Blades, as he has neither Life Stealing nor Health Degeneration.
• Empathy, Spoil Victor and Spiteful Spirit are useful.
• Shiro says "{Playername}, banished!" when he uses Echoing Banishment
• Shiro is on the cover of the factions manuscripts.
• A Miniature Shiro is also available as a Mini Pet.
• Shiro seems to use the same attack animation as a ranger with daggers.

[edit] Trivia

• Shiro's betrayal is the theme of the Guild Wars Factions cinematic.
• "Shiro" means "white", "castle" or "intestine" in Japanese. In some asian cultures, including Japanese culture, white represents masculinity and evil.