User:Aliceandsven/Dervishes in Guild Wars 2
A Mini-Essay, June 2nd 2010
Never mind, World of Warcraft doesn't have scythes so this theory is completely debunked.
There are no scythes in Guild Wars 2, and this likely means that there will be no Dervishes either. At least, in the beginning there won't be. This is a speculative idea based on practically no facts at all seeing as of this date we have very little information on the professions or far-future of Guild Wars 2. Also I'm not as awesome as Konig. I just like writing, bear with me!
Summary: The Dervish profession hasn't been written out of Guild Wars, we just need to wait until the expansion/campaign for Elona.
Introduction: The Lost Nations[edit]
It should be no suprise by now what's going on in general in Tyria 250 years from today; Big nasty dragons are waking up and terrorizing the world. The entire premise of Guild Wars 2 is to stop the Dragon's from being big and nasty jerks. This goal starts with Zhaitan, who has been confirmed as the primary objective for our heroic dragon slaying adventures. Arena Net has mentioned that while the other dragons will be present in the world, they are not the focus.
Unfortunately, thanks to the dragons, access to the nations of Elona and Cantha are basically cut off. However, the Movement of the World made a point of telling us that very important events have been and still are going down in these nations while our characters are struggling against Zhaitan. It seems more than obvious that these nations will play some role 250 years from now. Anet telling us that Zhaitan is the focus for now leads me to believe that there will be an expansion, or one or two new chapters that shift the plot to the lost nations, as our characters learn how to combat the dragons and go after Zhaitan's peers once he falls. When our business with the dragons is settled, the call of heroism will lead us into Cantha to deal with the new Emperor Usoku's tyranny, and then to Elona to settle the score with Palawa Joko and his new batch of Death Knights.
It is my belief that scythes/Dervishes haven't been and likely won't be revealed during this phase of GW2 hype, because it is not yet their time. We will need to wait for access to Elona.
Culturally Bound Professions[edit]
And yet, daggers (Assassins) and possibly even something along the line of Paragons (war horns and torches) have been confirmed. So, were Dervishes scrapped because they were a bad idea? Maybe, but I think not.
There is a fundamental difference between Assassins/Paragons and Dervishes. Rogue/shadowy types are common-place as an MMO archetype. And Paragons are a close branch off from the common Warrior archetype (Resolute, vivacious, armored leader). Dervishes however are fairly unique. Their role is heavily dependent on the Elonian culture from which they derived, similar to the Ritualists of Cantha who are a unique take on necromancy/magic of the dead.
So here is the grouping of professions in my mind:
- Prevalent World-Wide before the "Split"
- Warrior
- Ranger
- Elementalist
- Monk
- Mesmer
- Necromancer
- Assassin
- Paragon
- Distinct To A Certain Culture
- Ritualist
- Dervish
It isn't hard to imagine Assassins and Paragons catching on in the rest of the world, and we have proof that they have (Anton and Hayda). It's likely that they caught on long before our characters ever set foot in Tyria, they are just common and obvious archetypes no matter what kind of nation you're in. So while these two professions made it into the rest of the world before the "split", Dervishes (and possibly Ritualists) may have been lost along with their respective nations and cultures. If there were any Dervishes or Ritualists elsewhere in the world at the time, the following just wasn't large enough to bring them into widespread use.
Now for a couple of side notes which I really felt like including that pertain to the super-awesome profession of awesomeness!
Kerrsh and M.O.X[edit]
M.O.X is not a Dervish. In-game, yeah, he is, but I believe M.O.X is something else altogether. Before M.O.X, we adventured through the Asuran lands and met Kerrsh who was devoted to researching the six human gods. He may have made some kind of discovery about the gods and their power, and this discovery may have spread, eventually reaching Zinn who incorporated this knowledge into a new golem concept. A golem that can attune to the power of the gods. It's not Mysticism but some sort of Asuran thingamajig.
Furthermore, to me it just doesn't make sense that M.O.X should be considered an actual Dervish. The description on the advertisement for the M.O.X update was vague and didn't really connotate the Dervish profession. Second, how is a Golem supposed to be a pious and devout follower of the human gods? And finally, M.O.X is never actually seen wielding the scythes you can equip him with.
M.O.X and Dervishes may be different concepts, but due to the mechanics of the game, using a Dervish as M.O.X's profession was as close as Arena Net could get to what they perhaps had in mind.
White Mantle Devotees[edit]
Um, yeah. If you don't even believe in the Six Gods, you can't be a Dervish. Lore-wise they're likely just scythe users or some kind of new flavor of Dervish, devotees to the Unseen instead of the Six (I believe they have Mysticism). However the Unseen are irrelevant to actual Dervishes and would only serve to separate the world from the concept of Dervishes that we are all used to.
Peacekeeper Sibyl[edit]
I honestly have no idea how a Peacekeeper is able to gain the blessings of Grenth, especially when they are the enemy to the side of humanity that is supposed to have the gods on their side. Let's grant them the fact that perhaps Grenth isn't as caring of Kryta as the temple priests believe, and doesn't care who he blesses, as long as they are devout. Still, why would the Mantle or the Mursaat tolerate or even consider hiring a devotee of Grenth. The Sibyl's Grenth build is likely just there for game play, and they are ordinary scythe users.
If anyone has anything they would like to contribute to this idea, or arguments against what I said, feel free.
