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A grand Elder Dragon fight, a beautiful map, and a ton of excellent story moments. All worth praise and I'm so glad everyone is as hyped as I am.
But one thing I'm noticing going unmentioned is the wealth of smaller details that really brought this all to life.
In the past, I've felt that ANet has a tendency to focus a bit too much on "does this have immediate story/gameplay relevance?" Especially in LS maps. I had really hoped for even smaller areas that are purely atmospheric where players can feel a sense of belonging and peace in between conflicts.
So, as my first point, they totally delivered.
The underground areas, including the Forge and the Barracks, feel amazing. The barracks especially feel like a great area, full of people who are discouraged, eager, or even having fun (the gambling pit is great). The idea of people goofing around in the face of horrifying odds is incredibly human, and it feels better than everyone standing around being moody over it.
And to further sell it all, the voice acting was great this episode. I've gotten a bit frustrated with some of the voices, but at least on the character I played, I felt like there was some real improvement. From cheering on discouraged soldiers "I know it's hard to keep fighting, but I know you have it in you," to the final resounding "I don't know." I never felt like it was out of place. (Give me your feedback on race/gender combos. I main human female.)
And that's the thing, this was an incredibly gloomy episode, from seeing Glint's body (that hit me hard) to losing Aurene to a similar fate. And yet this episode was able to keep light without ever feeling like it was detracting from the more serious tone. That's gotta be hard to pull off.
Like there's the lonely dwarf ghost who follows you through the tunnel as you try to leave, trying to keep you around because he's lonely in the tombs. Or the dredge sniper who remembers the names of his old acquaintances who got branded, some having positive emotions and others, not so much. ("I never liked you, even when you did make me mole sweets.")
Or one of my favorites:
Canach: "Winner: Team No-Fun-At-Parties!"
Logan, quietly in the back: "Hey, I'm fun at parties."
Plus, the whole dynamic with Aurene. Through subtle and not-so-subtle means, I feel like I bonded with her a ton in this episode alone. She no longer felt like "oh yeah, we have a dragon. She's cool." But instead felt like "I swear to Grenth this dragon is the dearest thing to my heart."
Even Thunderhead Keep (or Stonefall, specifically). I was SO HAPPY when I saw this place, originally a big defense spot against enemies coming in on both sides, was remade into a big defense spot against enemies coming in on both sides. That is fan service done right. Not depressingly broken, not glorious and pander-heavy, just the right amount of fulfilling.
Speaking of fan service, the use of Gwen as the ghostly messenger who wasn't specifically named. That's awesome. Like, you'd have to be pretty out of the loop to not know who that is, but she arrived without fanfare. Who she is isn't important, but for anyone who does know, they know she's giving her all out there in the Mists.
Another favorite exchange from Thunderhead, btw:
Gorrik: "Flee for your lives before the Brandstorm takes you!"
Canach: "Victoriously flee for our lives, I think he means--"
Logan: "Shut up and run, Canach!"
I just love all of it. I'm so glad they put so much attention, love, detail, and nuance into this. It makes the whole experience feel so much better.
Edit: And how could I forget the Zephyrite choir? 10/10
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