It's been a while, but ArenaNet has just finished off another week focusing on one of the five playable races of Guild Wars 2. This time around, it was the charr, the feline antagonists of Guild Wars: Prophecies. Both Human Week and Norn Week gave us an extremely detailed look at both the in-game lore and the intricate creation process behind the respective races. Charr Week is no different, offering new screenshots, story elements, and of course a new trailer for the charr homeland.
The charr are a warmongering race, and have both gained and lost much as a result of this defining feature. The Ash, Blood, and Iron Legions of the charr managed to overtake both Ascalon and Orr. Despite their propensity towards victory, the rise of the Flame Legion led to the worshiping of false gods, and the subsequent subordination of charr females. The charr females eventually rose up against the oppressors along with other dissatisfied groups, and the Iron Legion took back control.
They now reside in the grand kingdom of the Black Citadel, where the Iron Legion remains in charge. Because of the overwhelming threat of the Elder Dragons, humans are now allowed to enter the city, for no race is safe against the threat of the flying menaces.
Even the killjoy attitude of the charr is dampened by the truth that no single race can stand alone against Kralkatorrik, or any of the other Elder Dragons for that matter.
Take a look at the drama of the charr for yourself in the newest Guild Wars 2 trailer:
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There are many audio clips to give an impression of how the charr interact with each other. Scott McGough, one of the writers for Guild Wars 2, discussed how much fun the team had writing for the 'bad guys,' a group that was very prominent throughout the original game, but never received much recognition in terms of story and complexity.
The team was challenged to not only create an interesting story for the brutal and evil race, but also manage to erase any resentment the player might have for the race considering their role in the first set of Guild Wars games. One of the ways they have done this is by integrating the races:
"Smodur the Unflinching has a different approach to dealing with the living humans of Tyria: coexistence. Wisely, Smodur recognizes that both the human kingdom and the charr nation have enough problems without refighting old wars (especially those the charr have already won)."
As with previous weeks a big focus of this update was the charr starting area, the Plains of Ashford, specifically the Village of Smokestead. One thing to keep in mind is that the charr are the most technologically advanced race in Tyria, and therefore have grown quite gifted with metalwork. Smokestead went through many iterations during development and is now almost entirely metal, reflecting the fierce attitude and technology-centric mindset of the charr.
With all the information ArenaNet has made available on the playable races so far, which one is going to be your preference when the sequel to everyone's favorite CORPG releases? Tell us what you think in the comments below, and check out our hands-on preview to see what we thought of Guild Wars 2.