Razah

Razah
Affiliation	Not specified
Type	Human
Professions	Ritualist Multiple
Service	Hero
Level(s)	20
Campaigns	Nightfall Eye of the North
Image(s)
Concept art by Kekai Kotaki.

“

The protomatter that makes up the Mists strains toward creation, often spawning demonic creations in nightmarish forms. Not all creatures from the Mists are demonic, however. When the Mists come into contact with a suitable human template, for example, it can copy that form, creating a sentient entity with humanoid appearance and an almost human mind.

Razah is one such creation. It has sprung into being a fully-formed adult. It has the knowledge and capabilities of a human, but lacks common sense. As a result, it asks odd questions about human emotions, contemplates human motivations, and attempts to duplicate human mannerisms. Razah is a contradiction: more than human in some ways, and less than human in others. It needs an identity, a personality, and a purpose. Hopefully, it will find its purpose by working with a hero. Otherwise, it could degenerate into an abomination as monstrous and inhuman as its demonic brethren.

— The Guild Wars Nightfall Manuscripts

Locations

• Core
  • The Battle Isles (only after completing Finding a Purpose)
    • Isle of the Nameless
    • Isle of the Nameless (PvP)
• Nightfall
  • Realm of Torment
    • Heart of Abaddon (only during and after completing Finding a Purpose)
  • Kourna
    • Command Post (only after completing Finding a Purpose)
• Eye of the North
  • Far Shiverpeaks
    • The Norn Fighting Tournament

Quests

Quests involved in:

• Finding a Purpose

Recruitment

Complete the quest Finding a Purpose, offered by Chaplain Phyratyss in the Gate of Anguish. Your character must have completed the Nightfall campaign.

Profession change

To change Razah's primary profession, make sure that it is not in the party and then revisit it in the Heart of Abaddon (just outside the portal), the Isle of the Nameless, or the Command Post.

• You can change Razah's profession without breaking apart your current party by map traveling to the Great Temple of Balthazar and entering the Isle of the Nameless. Afterwards, Embark Beach can be used to avoid breaking apart a party of eight when map traveling to Prophecies or Nightfall, since neither of their port towns (Lion's Arch and Kamadan, respectively) allow a party size of eight.
• When changing its profession, any profession-specific armor upgrades will be deleted from its armor. Weapons, off-hands and common armor upgrades will not be deleted. Razah will warn you it "must cast aside the equipment of [its] old path".

Skills

In the Norn Fighting Tournament

8-9 Channeling Magic, 15 Communing

• Anguish
• Bloodsong
• Boon of Creation
• Doom
• Pain
• Shadowsong
• Wanderlust (elite)

Equipment

A wallpaper featuring Razah.

See also: Razah's armor gallery

• Razah's armor has the basic armor stats appropriate to its current profession.
  • Initially, it uses Mysterious armor.
  • This can be upgraded to Ancient Armor (using Ancient Armor Remnants from the Remains of Sahlahja) or Primeval armor (using Primeval Armor Remnants from the Domain of Anguish).
  • Although the properties of its armor will change when its profession is changed, the appearance and animations of its model will remain that of a male ritualist.
• Its initial weapon is a perfect requirement 9 Spawning Staff with damage +15% while health is above 50%. If you change its primary profession before adding Razah to your party for the first time, it will acquire another default weapon:
  • Barrel Hammer; +20 health; requires 7 Hammer Mastery; 17-30 Blunt damage.
  • Wooden Longbow; +10% damage (while health above 50%); requires 5 Marksmanship; 11-17 damage.
  • Holy Branch; HSR spells (chance: 10%); requires 1 Divine Favor; 5-8 damage.
  • Unholy Staff; +10 energy; HSR spells (chance: 20%); requires 9 Curses; maximum damage.
  • Hypnotic Scepter; +5 energy (while health above 50%); requires 9 Illusion Magic; maximum damage. Plus: Jeweled Chakram; +20 health; requires 9 Illusion Magic.
  • Fire Wand; HCT Fire Magic spells (chance: 10%); requires 5 Fire Magic; 8-13 damage. Plus: Iridescent Prism +20 health; requires 5 Energy Storage; +8 energy.
  • Butterfly Knives; +10% damage (while health above 50%); requires 9 Dagger Mastery; maximum damage.
  • Suntouched Spear; +10% damage (while health above 50%); requires 8 Spear Mastery; 14-25 damage. Plus: Heraldic Shield; +25 health; requires 9 Command; 16 Armor.
  • Suntouched Scythe; requires 3 Scythe Mastery; 9-18 damage.

Dialogue

Before completing Finding a Purpose (or after Finding a Purpose, while Razah is in your party)

"You are not from this place. Who and what are you?"

After completing Finding a Purpose, while Razah is not in your party

"I have seen many wondrous sights in my travels with you, yet there are countless paths left to walk. What other knowledge might I gain by looking at things from a new perspective? Maybe it is time for me to answer a different calling. What say you?"

Steel yourself and walk the path of a Warrior.
Become one with nature, and walk by its side as a Ranger.
Mend what is broken; safeguard brave souls as a Monk.
Unravel the secrets of death; become a Necromancer.
Master the arts of illusion and subterfuge as a Mesmer.
Channel the power of raw destructive energy; become an Elementalist.
Learn lethal precision and refined deadliness; become an Assassin.
Commune with spirits and draw upon their power as a Ritualist.
Inspire those around you and lead them to greatness as a Paragon.
Become a righteous weapon of faith; walk the path of the Dervish.

"I must cast aside the equipment of my old path before I can walk a new one. Is this acceptable?

Yes, everything is prepared.

[sic] No, let's set aside the valuables first.

Quotes

In Heart of Abaddon after Finding a Purpose

"I spent days staring into the eyes on these walls, wondering why they were watching at [sic] me, what they were thinking, who they belonged to. Are there souls behind those waxy stares, or are they simply the facade of the tormented and soulless dead? I do not have the answer."

"These plants are fascinating, are they not? They grow throughout the realm wherever there is enough blood for them to feed. Do not touch them; one prick will lead to a painful and certain death."

"Although I was bound here, I have no resentment towards this place. The soft, pulsing light that permeates the land reminds me of the Mists."

Idle quotes

"Destruction seems a natural part of the human condition."

"Human rituals seem to involve a great deal of talking, and dancing, and making speeches. This much I have seen... but I do not understand."

"I have learned this much: in all of human existence, there are many kinds of life... and many kinds of death."

"If I learn to cry, it will not be for me. It will not be for Istan. It will be for the gods themselves, who cannot be a part of the very thing they created."

"It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."

"Tell me, are all humans as obsessed with yelling and bludgeoning things, or are you an unusual representative of your species?"

Battle quotes

"Ah! I begin to understand pain! Thank you!"

"I barely touched him... and he broke. You humans are so fragile!"

"I cannot understand why you shout such things."

"Now you will know the emptiness of death."

"Retreat or die."

"Such unlimited potential! Such limited imagination."

"These people are my friends. I will not allow you to hurt them."

"This conflict does not educate me. Cease and desist."

"We rise and fall together."

"What a waste, to understand life, and yet throw it away for such a trite cause."

"What is this 'pain' you feel?"

"May the Mists be with you."

"You are not ready for immortality."

Notes

• A duplicate Razah will show up as a "Mysterious Entity".
• After acquiring Razah, you can change its primary profession.
  • Changing Razah's profession on one character will not affect its profession on any of your other characters.
  • Changing its profession for a second time resets Razah's skill bar and attribute ranks.
    • All skills will be removed from its skill bar, except for Resurrection Signet and skills from its new primary profession, if any. E.g. if you change its primary profession to Warrior, change its secondary profession to Ritualist, equip Sight Beyond Sight on it, and then change its primary profession to Ritualist, Sight Beyond Sight will remain on its skill bar.
    • All attribute points become unassigned, except for attribute ranks from its new primary profession, if any. E.g. if you change its primary profession to Warrior, change its secondary profession to Ritualist, set Channeling Magic rank to 12, and then change its primary profession to Ritualist, its Channeling Magic rank will remain at 12.
  • Razah will also keep the weapon it is currently holding; it will not get a new default weapon. E.g. if Razah is a Warrior the first time you add it to your party, and you change its primary profession to Ritualist, Razah will not acquire the Spawning Staff listed above.
  • Changing Razah's profession does not unlock any additional skills, even if Razah obtains them as part of its default skill bar.
• An account does not require Guild Wars Factions to unlock Razah.
  • Without Factions, the hero can use any of its default skills (including Wielder's Boon) and any of the unlocked 25 ritualist skills from Nightfall (including 10 elites).
  • You can unlock 10 other skills if the account has Guild Wars Eye of the North.
• Razah was created by mimicking a human, not born; it has no gender. Although its species is unknown, the game treats it as human; in particular, Razah will transfer disease to or from other human party members.
• As with most heroes, this one has a tonic form.

Trivia

• Razah's name is a reference to the tabula rasa.
• Razah's profession is listed as "variable" in the Nightfall manual, but "constraints of technology that [ArenaNet] had at the time prevented this feature from functioning correctly", so Razah was introduced with Nightfall as a Ritualist only. After the April 28, 2011 update, its primary profession could be changed because of the Mercenary Hero technology (source).
  • Before the April 28, 2011 update, a duplicate Razah would show up as "Ritualist Entity".
• Razah is the only Nightfall hero with visible headgear.
• Originally, there was no way to acquire Razah's upgraded armor due to a bug that was ultimately fixed in the September 6, 2007 update.
• Razah's personality and affect are similar to that of the character Data, from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• "It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." is a quote by Captain Picard in the Peak Performance episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
• "You are not ready for immortality." is an exact quote of Kosh's from Babylon 5 and a common tropism of the You are not ready form.
• "May the Mists be with you." parallels the well-known Star Wars phrase, "May the Force be with you."

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