Best of Ambient Dialogue in Guild Wars 2 - Part 1/?
It’s been more than 2 years since I started recording ambient dialogue across Tyria. 2,500+ conversations (much of it still in queue) and 40 maps later, this blog is where it is today. With the next expansion around the corner, it seemed as good a time as any to share some “best of” moments. (This compilation is a fraction of the planned whole–there are always tumblr’s file size restrictions to work with.)
Huge props to Arenanet for the staggering amount of effort and time they’ve taken to make Tyria vibrant, in particular through its many, many voices.
The Guild Wars 2 character creator has been updated with a
range of new faces and hairstyles for humans! You can access them during
character creation, or change the look of an existing character with a Total
Makeover Kit or Self-Style Hair Kit.
Charr are downright fascinating when it comes to their physiology. From the ears and their ability to hear different frequencies to their overall massive stature in comparison to the other races. There is one thing however that has been greatly debated upon within the community. Claws. And no, not the Claw of the Khan-Ur as that is a subject deserving of it’s own post.
There have been several discussions across multiple platforms regarding Charr and their ability or lack of to
protract their claws. Most proponents refer to
Almorra Soulkeeper
in Ghosts of Ascalon as an example for pro-retraction. Ghosts of Ascalon was released in July of 2010 and Guild Wars 2 two years later in 2012, a fact that anti-retraction proponents tend to utilize for debate. Two years of additional development is a significant amount of time for developmental changes to occur, however, Ghosts of Ascalon is an official lore source and is entirely valid to reference from! Many argue that the size of the claws are simply too large to retract while others state that the size is more for the aesthetics of the in-game model. Lets take a moment to look to nature!
Most big cats typically have hooked, retractable claws for grasping prey. In modern Tyria, the Charr no longer have a need to hunt as they have developed effective ranching methods. In the wild, excessively large claws/talons are typically non-retractable. Predatory avians such as eagles, owls and falcons exhibit large talons for catching prey whereas mammals such as bears and wolves have claws that are used for digging and gripping terrain as they run. Cheetah’s are a good example of a semi-retractable claw that helps them to make quick turns at high speeds. From a logical standpoint it would make sense for Charr to have claws similar to a Cheetah considering they tend to favor running on all fours when their paws aren’t occupied by weapons or tools. While I think it’s entirely feasible for Charr to have semi-retractable claws, my own personal opinion would have to lean more toward a “no” in regards to full retraction like a Tiger or Lion and other big cats that share the same trait. Considering the wide variety of patterns and builds Charr exhibit it could be entirely possible that each individual has different claw characteristics and varying degrees of retractability.
Looking through concept art from the first game up until GW2, one thing has remained a constant. Large, semi-curved claws and what I consider to be a vestigial bone spur on the hock that serves little to no purpose and perhaps is even a detriment in certain instances. Some people refer to this spur as a “dew” claw though dew claws tend to form on the front legs and rarely on the hind (except in certain species or dog breeds), while spurs almost exclusively form on the hindfeet. It was a fairly common practice for modern working dogs to have their dew claws removed as puppies due to the prevalence of injury and the tendency for them to be painfully ripped off or damaged to the point where amputation was required. Modern veterinary science however now recommends against preemptive removal of the dew claw in working dogs due to the “indication” that removed dew claws have a propensity to cause more foot injuries and an increased risk for the animal to develop arthritis. After the study of stop-motion photography it’s said that the dew claw “digs into the ground preventing twisting or torque on the rest of the leg”.
If the position of the “spur” on the Charr was placed moreso on the interior of the leg rather than the rear this could make sense but taking into account that Charr favor running on all fours, the spur makes absolutely minimal to no contact with the ground even while running on two legs. It comes close to ground contact in a couple frames of the run cycle but relatively remains contact free on an otherwise flat surface. The only time I have seen the spur touch ground on a flat surface has been during the standing idle. With elevation changes and different types of terrain perhaps the functionality theory that it does serve to prevent twisting and torque on the leg could be entirely feasible. On the other hand, how many Charr have had this spur painfully torn or even damaged to the point where amputation became a necessity?
Mayhaps in the primitive days of the Charr this spur could have been utilized as a way to mark territory or was used in elaborate threat displays. Some modern day mammals exhibit similar spurs with scent glands and modern day big cats and other predators like wolves utilize claw scratching as a means to enforce territorial boundaries due to the scent glands between their toes. Ultimately when it comes down to the debate of retraction, semi-retraction or no retraction, roleplay or draw what you enjoy the most. I would love to hear your opinions and I hope you enjoyed the read!
