Yesterday was getting kind of grim for me towards the evening, the counsel of two other Guild Wars 2 players was that Watchknight Proxies were worse than Waypoints.
It stung, deeply.
For the uninitiated, Waypoints are little dots on the world map that when you double-click on them take your character to where that waypoint is- and each is only unlocked as you get close enough to one. As an out-of-character mechanic they are brilliant as few people truly want to spend thirty minutes hiking back and forth across the game world.
Unfortunately they are not an out-of-character mechanic. They are an in-character one.
The distinction is subtle to some, but the problem for Roleplayers- as the eloquent Mr. Btongue would have put it- is that they put a tremendous strain on narrative coherence, and unlike other things that strain narrative coherence if you are taking Waypoints In-Character you are then confronted with them CONSTANTLY.
There is very little reason to walk or jog anywhere when, especially in the cities, you can waypoint to it. This would indeed be fine, if each time you used one there wasn't a small army of questions Arena Net can't be bothered to answer about how they hypothetically work.
THIS is all Arena Net has to say about waypoints.
Which doesn't explain such things as :
What keeps waypoints from being misused by villainous agencies? Bandits could use it for all manner of Heists.
Who pays for Waypoints to be installed at random locations devoid of strategic value?
How is the payment from Waypoints taken from the character? (I hear secondhand that in a podcast or during a convention that a developer answered this one as 'it just vanishes')
Why don't the Seraph use them to crush the Centaur?
Why don't the Pact use them to move all of their troops across Arah?
Why don't the villainous agencies destroy the Waypoints to deter meddlesome adventurers?
How are Waypoints used by the Player? There is no visible way to enter them, no buttons on them, no levers. They look like this.
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| Players need not even stand under it to travel. |
These are not all of the questions waypoints raise, but I think you might agree I have gone on about it too long already.
Now, again, I do not begrudge people who despite all these questions prefer to take waypoints as canon- they quite officially have license. I am simply explaining why it is a contentious subject for many to the point they are inclined to do their best to ignore waypoints.
For someone to tell me Watchknight Proxies are more absurd than Waypoints though...
I can answer any question regarding the functionality of Watchknight Proxies. As the authority ON Watchknight Proxies, that is my right. I can and will continue to answer all questions about them, Arena Net is unlikely to do the same for Waypoints.
I can tell you precisely why in-game malignant agencies will not be using Watchknight Proxies. I can tell you how they are operated. I can tell you what powers them. I can tell you who is making them. I can tell you why, for what a grand idea they are, they are not and nigh certainly never will be in the game- used by Seraph, Ebon Vanguard, etc. etc.
I cannot actually be tastefully contradicted on these points and it all does rather mesh with the lore better than Waypoints.
With waypoints, whatever players imagineer to answer the questions of Waypoints : How do they work?
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| *bleep* |
Those answers are unlikely to sync up with the answers of other players- which is perhaps why most solutions tend to involve awkwardly pulling out an Asuran Ipad and emoting Beeps and Boops while everyone stands in a terrifying amalgamation of flesh under the glowing cubed sphere.
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| "Can we go yet? Bloodgut Goatdefiler here hasn't bathed in weeks." |
These are a stark contrast to Asuran Gates, which are basically Stargates and are vastly superior already for it being apparent where you walk through them. Most are additionally guarded or tended by Asura staff- which answer many of the questions that irk about waypoints.
Between Watchknight Proxies and Waypoints, I find the assertion that the Proxies are worse... enlightening.
Niether are The Happening though, to be fair to Arena Net.
And I would note I am no longer ESPECIALLY irritated by this baseless statement. I've received some fantastic news I will be going into detail on next Monday!
- almost certainly. Pending agreement from #0.
Progress continues.
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