The Original Lions Arch - A Mariner Paradise
Old Lions Arch - or as most players know it; The Best Lions Arch.
This design is without a doubt the best one Anet came up with. In stark contrast with the modern Lions Arch that we know today, the original was filled with ship-shape (literally) buildings, wooden bridges and mariner architecture, old Lions Arch actually felt functional and impressive. Rather than the more modern, touristy feel that is the Lions Arch our newer player base is acquainted with.
Whilst it's newer design is controversial to say the least, a lot of people do not fully grasp why, as we as the players did have a small voice in the redesign of Lions Arch, the 'mock' that we saw during the renaming poll is far, far different to that which we got. As you may be able to see below, whilst we were never promised anything specific, in fact they went quite far to stress that it would me a much more 'modernised' version, we did not expect it to be something quite so plastic in appearance.
We fully agree that it isn't all as bad as some make out, and it does still retain a very very small amount of charm, but unfortunately the beauty that made it so unique has long since faded away. Because of this, Lions Arch is no longer the massive hub that it once was, and many of the older players go there simply to use the forge or the raid building, instead of congregating by the old Black Lion building or the Bank, meeting new players or simply putting on a musical performance as they used to.
As you can see, the layout that we were shown, (whilst admittedly they did say it was merely a concept and not the final) the redesign we were shown was that of a still quite maritime city, built upon several levels, and it is that that we expected to see in the finished redesign. We saw in this the potential to have a brand new meeting area, one to bring all of us together in a place that would hold at least a small part of Lions Arches unique charm.
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Although we know that we cannot you give an authentic experience just by showing you a few videos, we have tried our best to compile what we could. We are attempting to contact Anet to request temporary permission to explore the old map fully and bring you a complete walk through but as of yet have had no reply. Hopefully we will be able to bring you this in the future. |
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As you can see from these videos, we went from amazingly crafted wooden buildings, made from reclaimed ships and other drift, to giant shells that we assume were brought back from orr due to their size and irregularity. We went from the old favorite bar; the Crows Nest, to an open pagoda without a door to throw a rowdy Norn through. At this stage it is safe to say that Divinities reach is the Roleplayers favorite option to have a good drink now, rather than our 'Hub City'. |
One of the most important things about Lions Arch however is best summed up by Reddit User /K0kkuri who said
"The old LA, was (the) joined effort of Cobiath Mariner and his people; they spend whole years creating (a) city, fighting and setting (up) diplomatic agreements with other races to create (a) save heaven for ALL races. This new LA lack feelings, dedication and uniqueness like all others cities. I would really rather see some major changes to LA making it darker"
Although we cannot speak for everyone, it would appear a large portion of the playerbase shares K0kkuris sentiment and so maybe, just maybe, Anet will give us what we are asking for. As Redditer /Kilo_S83 said
" I wouldn’t even be mad if Anet just reverted back to the old LA without even an explanation, just a quick update and we never talk about it openly."
Here's to that impossible dream!