Trahearne in GW2

I've been playing Guild Wars 2 since the game launched. So far, only one of my characters has completed the main story path of the game, which includes pairing with an NPC named Trahearne. I enjoyed playing the story arc through to the end, and didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other about Trahearne.

However, some players have very strong feeling about him. A sub-reddit just to complain about Trahearne even exists.

The most common complaints I've seen are that some players feel Trahearne takes the credit and receives the recognition for the battles and achievements by the player's character. These players want to be recognized as the hero of the land and the one who killed the rampaging dragon, not as the second-in-command to Trahearne who stands aside and watches him accept the credit and praise for the victory.

For these players, their experience is ruined. They feel frustrated and cheated at not being the greatest hero in their own story. I never felt this way, but I can understand how someone expecting to be biggest force in the narrative would be caught off-guard.

Of course, there are people on the other side of the issue. Some players have said that after creating a sylvari character, the same race as Trahearne, and seeing him in their character's story much earlier gave them a greater appreciation for the character.


The lead writer of GW2 responded to players on the game's official forum, saying that they are listening to user feedback and looking at how they will handle the Trahearne character and others in future content. He also made a point I think is very important (emphasis mine):

...Trahearne was intended to fill a very specific role that, in terms of both gameplay and story, the PC could not fill—an order-neutral character with extensive knowledge about Orr and the magic of undeath who could coordinate a global war effort and make the necessary plans, thus leaving the actual gameplay up to the player.

Trahearne was set up the way he was so the player didn't have to act like a manager but actually play the game; instead of choosing objectives to meet or who to assign them to, the player goes out and achieves those objectives him- or herself. If Trahearne's role in the story was any different, it would have negatively affected the gameplay.

The role Trahearne filled in the plot was necessary to keep the game fun to play, but the execution leaves some players feeling that their contribution to the story is not recognized. Editing Trahearne's dialogue to shine the spotlight more on the player's character or giving Trahearne more depth regardless of the player character's race may help resolve the issues some players feel exist in the main story. The GW2 team has been very open to the game community's concerns since the game launched, so I am interested in how future content will be shaped as the team takes in feedback from their players.