Lion's Court

This article is about the point of interest. For the strike mission, see Strike Mission: Old Lion's Court.

Lion's Court

Type

Point of Interest

Area

Grand Piazza
(Lion's Arch)

Game link

Image(s)

Normal appearance Lion's Court during Halloween 2012 Act II. Interactive map

The Lion's Court is a large glass-domed area in the Grand Piazza.

History

Previously, the Lion's Court contained a circular fountain that was placed in the middle of the Grand Piazza and consisted a large sculpture of a leaping lion in the center, atop a dome painted with a map of the world. Surrounding this dome was a ring of water with miniature ships and monsters magically navigating around the dome, with eight upright fish evenly spaced around the dome periodically sending spurts of water into the air.

The fountain had various levels of symbolism. It showed a lion arching to tie into the city's name. A globe displaying the continent of Tyria and the boats circumnavigating it depicted the city's aspiration to dominate via trade. The spitting fish represented a melting pot of different races and cultures with diverse interests from all over, exchanging goods.

The fountain was destroyed by Scarlet Briar when Scarlet's Alliance invaded Lion's Arch. It has since been repaired but not replaced in the Grand Piazza.

Gallery

• 

  Lion's Court's fountain prior to its destruction

• 

  The fountain in flames during the Battle for Lion's Arch

• 

  The destroyed fountain

Trivia

• The fountain was designed by Josh Foreman.
• The words encircling the fountain, translated from New Krytan mean "From ruin we prosper." (   .) This is the Lion's Arch motto.
• During Halloween 2012, the writing changed to "Welcome to madness". (  )
• Over the course of Halloween 2012, during each act, the Lion's Court was changed. During Act I, it was cracked with golden light coming from the cracks. During Act II, most of the lion's underside fell apart, and the water was replaced with tar. At the beginning of Act III, it was destroyed by Mad King Thorn. During Act IV, it was replaced with a large seal with Mad King Thorn's emblem on it. This emblem remained until the The Lost Shores, where it was replaced wood planks; during Wintersday: The Wondrous Workshop of Toymaker Tixx, the base of the Lion's Court was mostly remade. Flame and Frost: Prelude completed the reconstruction.
• The lion statue was destroyed, along with most of the city, in the Escape from Lion's Arch update. With the Festival of the Four Winds update, repairs to Lion's Court are underway, and a new statue is in the process of being mounted onto the metal framework. With the rebuild of Lion's Arch in June, 2015, the statue has been moved to Fort Marriner. In a poll, players voted to have the name stay "Lion's Court". The other option was to name it "Festival Plaza".

References

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Lion's Arch