Talk:Sylvari

Archive

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• 2011

Notes

Is it really necessary to have the gamescom note? i mean, after gamescom that note will be total waste... or don't u agree? Zora Diem 06:09, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

"The sylvari will be playable for the first time at Gamescon 2011 and PAX Prime 2011. <!-- remove this note when these events have taken place -->" When editing, you see that it's intended to be removed post Gamescom. And I just saw that it's typo'd as "Gamescon"Konig/talk 06:58, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Saxon?

"strong roots/ties to the authurian legends" source? --The Holy Dragons 18:33, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

• @5:10+ i suppose we could add this as a reference if needed. --Moto Saxon 18:39, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Yes, do. Outside the Green Huntsman, the idea of chivalry, and the Nightmare Court taking on medieval titles, I see no similarity atm. Konig/talk 20:23, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Please instead add this as a reference.

Thank much. :) A F K When Needed 20:27, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

"very much based in" was a verbatim quote from colin. that's why it was used, but it reads better now. --Moto Saxon 17:44, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm personally against verbatim quotations unless it's done to avoid speculation - in this case, the line is point-blank so a more direct means of stating it, rather than verbatim-quoting (without quotations at that! >:( ), is a much better approach. Konig/talk 22:04, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Names?

Does anyone know what their name come from(latin,african,greek, bleh!)?--Angelkiss 18:44, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Irish and Gaelic. - Infinite - talk 18:45, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Irish and Gaelic are the same thing, unless your referring to Gallic which is also called Scots Gaelic. User: ShadowedSin --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 97.113.9.221 (talk).

Is it Gaelic in origin? I had thought the term "sylvari" came from the Latin word "sylva", meaning woods or forest. Unless the question is where the NPC names come from, in which case, never mind. -Rognik 75.119.244.161 03:27, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

The topic is indeed on NPC names. Konig/talk 05:58, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

Pre-redesign pictures

Is it pertinent to keep pre-redesign pictures along redesign ones? Is it pertinent to keep them on the article at all? (Specifically speaking about the first three in the gallery at the bottom of the article.) Dhivuri 15:45, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

I'd say it doesn't matter really, whether they are kept or not. I'd like to see at least one kept, however, so that there's a comparison for the pre-redesign. Konig/talk 22:22, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Move them to an archive gallery of pre-redesign, for point of archiving changes, for people to see who they were, and what they are now? ~~ Kiomadoushi 23:30, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

That's what I'd like the best, so that there is no confusion between pre- and post-redesign. Dhivuri 09:25, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

It's all concept art though. We're not featuring the pre-redesign in-game models, so it's not like people can actually get confused with what they look in game. No concept art is the final product, after all, and there's plenty of articles on both GWW and GW2W that feature concept art that looks next to nothing like the in-game form. Konig/talk 09:56, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, that makes sense, I didn't think of it like that. Dhivuri 10:10, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

Anatomy

If they aren't mammals, why do they have boobs. It doesn't make sense --178.117.249.108 18:17, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

To clarify the difference in gender, which they do have. Or so I imagine. - Infinite - talk 18:19, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Not trying to complain or anything. Just weird :P --178.117.249.108 18:21, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Some flowers,orchids in particular, mimic insects both in scent and appearance for their own benefit, boobs benefit female Sylvari :)-- 92.5.194.170 21:06, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Because they look like humans. Now, the real question is why they look like humans. Konig/talk 22:11, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

My working theory - pure speculation on my part - is that the Pale Tree, in deferrence to the memory of Ronan and the daughter he lost, fashioned the Sylvari to resemble human beings. This includes anatomically-correct females as well as males. There's also a pratical reason the Pale Tree may have chosen the Human form for the Sylvari. It knew its children would have to interact with the other races of Tyria. It chose a form that would look familiar and be easier to approach and communicate with rather than a completely strange and alien one.

Why Human rather than Asura, Norn, or Charr? Probably because of the Pale Tree's close association with Ronan. It's the race it knew or had had a previous association with; the Pale Tree never had any such connection with an Asura, Charr, or Norn while it was a seedling. There's also still the mystery surrounding the seed's discovery; we don't know much about it other than Ronan found it in a cave. There may be more to the Pale Tree's story and - by extension - the Sylvari's than what has been revealed to date. Guild Wars 3 perhaps 02:29, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

That WOULD make human a more likely appearance than centaur, as per Ventari and the tablet of wisdom... or perhaps even that the tree became a refuge for Krytan humans, so like all beings hoping to fit in, it went with the crowd. Although she does make me wonder about who and what she is, besides just "a tree"... As far as I know, trees don't grow people. ~~ Kiomadoushi 05:54, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

edit: Oh, and @IP, are we sure asura are mammals? They appear like they'd fall under Reptilia instead... >.> That, and plants regularly have male and female parts. If they're going to have a human appearance, they still need their plant private parts, mimicking the human ones just as they mimic humans in general. ~~ Kiomadoushi 05:57, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

True, but don't those plants use such parts for reproduction? (I actually don't know much about plant biology, so that's an actual question.) If that's the case, then the fact that the Sylvari have them, when they (so far, and for all we know) have not been able to reproduce without the Pale Tree, draws into question why they would have any reproductive parts at all other than for the purpose of mimicking the human form (and, presumably, all sexual function short of reproduction). --ஸ Kyoshi 16:27, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

@Kio: Asura are indeed mammals. Stated by a dev in the Guru2 fan-fiction forum a while back - apparently Ree was reading through them and was put aghast by the fact a fan-fiction had asura laying eggs and just had to get, I think it was Regina, to clarify that they do not lay eggs and they are mammals. (Also, Reptiles don't have hair :P).

@Kyo: Plants do have male and female parts - but both within the same specimen, and their seed is pollen (yes, when people smell flowers, they take in nice big waffs of plant seed - that'll make you never want to smell the roses again). If sylvari were like traditional plants, they'd all be shemales with varying degrees of boob size (or no boobs at all). Why they have non-functioning breasts would be for pure mimic reasons. Why they have genitals could be either in mimicry or for the purpose of rule 34 (or both!). Konig/talk 20:17, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

Also, there are some plant species in which there are distinct female and male specimens. It's not common, but they do exist; the entire plant is either one or the other rather than having both male and female reproductive parts on the same plant. If all of one sex of that species were to be wiped out, the entire species would go extinct because it would no longer be able to reproduce. Furthermore, even in plants that possess both female and male reproductive parts, some can not auto-pollinate. They require pollen from a different specimen of the same species for successful reproduction. Thus the reliance on wind, insects, birds, mammals, etc. to help spread the pollen from plant to plant.

As to the female Sylvari "breasts", I doubt they're functional glands as they are in mammals. It's just simple mimicry. Examples of this exist in the plant world, as well, in which the flowers of some plants mimic the insect the plant requires for pollination. The insect thinks it's mating with the flower "insect", when in actuality the plant is just fooling the insect into spreading its pollen.

And, if I recall correctly, the Pale Tree was planted over the grave of Ronan's daughter. Given the Pale Tree's Dream of Dreams and collective consciousness with the Sylvari, it's obviously more than just a "tree". If it can have a psychic connection with its children that transcends phsyical limits, it may have the ability to connect to the Mists/spirit world, as well. It may even be channelling or integrating the spirit of Ronan's daughter for all we know, giving even more support for an anatomically-correct female Sylvari. Guild Wars 3 perhaps 21:41, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

(Reset indent) On that last bit, a couple notes: Firstly, it was a whole village (but centered on the daughter and wife's grave). Secondly, the "psychic connection with its children" is not exactly new - see gw1:Ancestor Tree, particularly the fact that eating the fruit the trees (note: there were multiple Ancestor Trees) passed down knowledge from one generation to the next (or something of the sort). Thirdly, I don't see how a mental connection is at all tied with the Mists... And finally, male sylvari are also anatomically correct. :p Konig/talk 02:39, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

My assumption: Mother tree wants her children to explore the world and enjoy their lifes, hence their curious nature. To enjoy life at its fullest, you have to feel love. Sex is a part of love, therefore they get some tools to do that. Gnarf 20:59, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

New to the whole wiki-editing thing, so I hope I'm doing this right. The wiki says (without citation) that sylvari lack thermoreceptors in their skin and therefore "they cannot feel the cold and are not affected by it." There's an NPC conversation in the Grove right now where one sylvari is sharing stories of her travels with another sylvari, and he asks her where her least favorite place was. She responds that it was Hoelbrak, because being so cold all the time sapped her strength. This is pretty inconsistent. Also, wouldn't the lack of thermoreceptors apply equally to heat? Guhracie (talk) 20:06, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

It's worth noting that during the mission "Meeting the Asura" (Living Story, season 2, Seeds of Truth), one of the Asuran researchers studying the Sylvari mentions that they have no reproductive organs whatsoever. You have to remain undetected for a little while to hear it. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.55.25.204 (talk).

Actually what's said is that they have no internal reproductive organs. We've had long standing developer statements that they have external reproductive organs. Basically they can do the deed but cannot procreate. Konig 16:54, 27 February 2016 (UTC)

Sylvari lore about names

do the Sylvari take surnames? All the ones I can see in the books only have a single name. Are there any Sylvari with surnames? --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.28.229.104 (talk).

No, they don't. They all only have one name - much like asura. Konig/talk 18:27, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Luminescence

Sylvari do, more or less, glow in the dark. You can adjust the intensity in the character creation. Where do we put that information? Gnarf 20:59, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Other sylvari

Maybe someone could put a spoiler on the page about this? From the storyline there are several different tree's in the world which spawn the Sylvari and not all of them experience the dream due to it. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.28.229.104 (talk).

Where are you getting that from? Caithe says the Pale Tree is unique. And you didn't sign your comment. Ramei Arashi 06:51, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

It is part of a personal story option, second chapter, and a massive spoiler... I'm changing the header so RC'ers and those just seeing the title will be spoiled.Konig/talk 08:01, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Any connection to those "souless" non-dreaming sylvari I met, while I just wandering around, not in a personal story? Ramei Arashi 05:31, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

That's Soundless. They're from the Pale Tree, they just distanced themselves from the Dream via meditation. Konig/talk 06:17, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

Someone at Anet is a perv

Anyone else got the cutscene glitch where npc's clothes don't load fully? If you have, you may have noticed that female Sylvari are a little too 'anatomically correct' downstairs. Eiw.Riotstar 02:08, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

Well fanfics are advertisment after all, and i would much rather look at sylvari than asura x charr picture.

For one, we would like it if you could sign your comments IP. And to answer your question Riotstar, sylvari are essentially humans with a fey/plant cast. This is from the GW2 wiki: "Their 'gender' is selected by the Pale Tree prior to emergence and is distinguished by the same features as human genders; while sylvari can and do have sex, it is not for reproduction as sylvari can only be born from the Pale Tree." Darkshine 14:35, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Sleep

Do Sylvari need sleep? Or are they able to be awake 24/7? — Gnarf ~ El Psy Congroo ~ 18:50, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Sleep is a means for the mind to rest, so since they have a mind I would say yes. If I remember correctly Killeen does sleep in Ghosts of Ascalon. Konig/talk 19:24, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

The article states: While sylvari can seemingly absorb sunlight and become rejuvenated, they still must eat and drink to survive. That's what irritated me. — Gnarf ~ El Psy Congroo ~ 12:14, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Well that's talking about energy consumption. Insanity (and eventually death) by exhausting the brain is a different matter entirely and not one that's been explicitly pointed out. They can sleep, that's for sure, and it's likely they'll want to sleep, but we don't know if they must sleep to rejuvenate the mind. Konig/talk 17:54, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Rephrasing the first paragraph

"The sylvari are a young, inquisitive race of botanical humanoids spawned from the Pale Tree in Arbor Bay - the first sylvari emerging in 1302 AE. The tree was planted by Ronan and raised by Ventari, who were attempting to escape the violence that engulfed Tyria." Can we rephrase this now that we know there is more than one Sylvari birth place. Perhaps something along the lines of:

"The Sylvari are a young, inquisitive race of botanical humanoids. The first Sylvari spawned from the Pale Tree in Arbor Bay emerging in 1302 AE. The tree was planted by Ronan and raised by Ventari, who were attempting to escape the violence that engulfed Tyria. At least one other Sylvari tree is known to exist outside of the grove however its whereabouts is still currently unknown." What do you guys think? --Sir Biggus of Aggro 13:14, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Except for the unknown whereabouts - it lies to the west at the end of a river. Gonna make edit now. Konig/talk 13:56, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Split

It's become clear from the "Where Life Goes" storyline that when we talk about the sylvari, we are no longer referring to a single monolithic species, but rather a splintered one. The question is, how do we document this on the wiki? Clearly, the majority that we encounter in-game are actually just a special case of a larger species, made special by what, exactly? The Ventari tablet? Mursaat magic? Looking at the article now it's all become very specific to what may be a very small subset of the sylvari, so for that reason I'm proposing a split - an article on the "general" sylvari as a whole (are they even called sylvari? Or was that a name created by the Pale Tree?), as in all creatures born from the seeds that Ronan found, and an article on the sylvari born from the Pale Tree, which would obviously be must more detailed. The only question is how we choose to document this - surely this should be the page for the more general case (if these others do call themselves sylvari), and yet when people search for and link to sylvari, they'll be more often than not looking for information on the specific case that we encounter in-game. --Santax (talk · contribs) 21:12, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Is there a particular line that points to Pale Tree Sylvari being the minority? I didn't get that impression at all. We know of one member of one other group of Sylvari (right?). The Sylvari we know and can play as are going to be the more important group, just as human is our main article, but we also have pages on kryta(an) and cantha(n) people, the other plant people can get their own subsection on this page, and eventually a "see main article ([[other plant people]])" if necessary. Manifold 21:55, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Do we split Human because we have multiple ethnicities? No. What we should do is rewrite the article, properly, not split it. However, given that we do not know anything about Malyck's tree aside from its very general location, seemingly being very young, and the lack of Dream of Dream connection, the article will remain roughly the same until we know more than what the Where Life Goes storyline gives us. History would be the same, culture would be the same, and so forth - the only difference would be specifically denoting that it's how The Grove Sylvari work, as opposed to the unknown distant sylvari (but really, that's like saying on Human how the Krytan society works while saying "we don't know didly squat about Cantha"). Konig/talk 00:42, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

Manifold: you're right to say the the Pale Tree sylvari aren't necessarily the minority, but we also have no information (not even enough to make an educated guess) as to how many more of those seeds in the cave Ronan found were planted, so we can't really say that they're the majority either. It's true that the sylvari we encounter in-game are the more important group to us the players, but in the grand scheme of things they are still just one group from a larger (but by how much we cannot say) whole. It doesn't seem right to have that as a footnote or a sub-section on the sylvari's page, when the sylvari belong to this larger group and not the other way round, despite how little we know about them.

Konig: it's true that we don't split human into multiple ethnicities, but we do have pages for the different human kingdoms and nations, which I would say this is more analogous to anyway. I get what you are saying about not having to change much on the page, but from a wiki writer's point of view it is difficult and awkward to add the caveat "and btw, this applies only to the sylvari from the Grove" to every sentence on the page. Going back to the Kryta and Elona analogy, I would say it would be more like having a page on Kryta, and not having a page for humans or Canthans at all (or treating Krytans as though they are more or less the same as all other humans, which in this case would be even more wrong since the Grove sylvari obviously have some huge physiological and philosophical differences from the others). I guess what I am saying is that the Grove sylvari are a special case of a more general sylvari-like race, and that the wiki needs to reflect this properly. --Santax (talk · contribs) 20:21, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

Oh, and the patronising tone (rhetorical questions tend to come across as condescending) wasn't really necessary. Thanks. --Santax (talk · contribs) 20:22, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

No offense, patronizing, or condescension intended. However, perhaps human is a bad example since they are spread across the world (however, on a side tangent, Kryta and the like are more about the location rather than the kingdom and thus society that makes up humanity in such places - both on GWW and GW2W (especially since Kryta holds Lion's Arch and its multi-racial culture and society, and not just the human nation of Kryta nowadays)). Perhaps a better example would be norn, which effectively have two distinct ethnicities and cultures - the standard norn, who live in the shiverpeaks, then the Krytan norn who live in and around Lion's Arch - the latter being different in that they have farms and are sailors more often than being herders and the like (for the more mundane norn - not all are adventurers after all).

However, regarding the sylvari specifically - the issue is that we don't have any history, culture, and so forth of non-Grove sylvari. All we know is that "there's at least one more tree out there, which may be younger or older, but holds no interaction with the rest of society so we know nothing about it" - as it is, the Grove sylvari are still, more or less, the whole of the race and are, to all current knowledge, the oldest (as Malyck gives the impression of his tree beying younger - perhaps more due to how fast the Grove sylvari spread after their initial awakening than Malyck himself). As such, if the Grove sylvari are the oldest, then their history is still the history of the entire race - it just changes from "the Pale Tree was such and such by Ventari and Ronan" to "the first sylvari tree, the Pale Tree, was such and such by Ventari and Ronan [...], but separate from this grew other seeds from the cave Ronan found (or maybe not!)" - still too many uncertainties and unknowns to treat the Grove sylvari as species (there may be one tree who's firstborn includes Malyck himself, after all).

What I mean to say is simply this: there's no need to split. We merely need to reword and, instead of tacking "this only applies to Grove sylvari" to the end of every sentence, we merely add an addendum paragraph to the history section since the Grove sylvari are, to our knowledge, the oldest and only sylvari to have a government and culture - though we certainly show that we don't know the situation of Malyck's tree, we cannot and should not treat it as if the Grove sylvari are oddities or special (nor should we do the other way around). Konig/talk 22:26, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

I think the issue is that from what we know, the Grove sylvari probably are special, or oddities. The sylvari's ethics and whole philosophy are generally accepted to derive from the Ventari tablet, and it's possible that the Dream did as well. Malyck had no such code of ethics, and did not remember his tree having a Dream of its own, so assuming all that checks out, it's probable that "our" sylvari are the exception rather than the norm. And we really don't have enough information to be thinking about the relative age of the sylvari to others spawned from those seeds - the world is so huge and Tyria is so isolated that they could have been around for ages without us knowing, potentially. There's just no way we can say at the moment with the information we have. --Santax (talk · contribs) 22:42, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

One thing to note, however, is that Malyck's personality is fairly similar to Caithe's - no mercy for enemies, trust must be earned, and so forth. He's not against deception like your typical sylvari either. While the Ventari Tablet certainly has affected them, it seems the only major change from it is that of the Nightmare Court. Though with Malyck as the sole comparison, this is highly subjective and far from conclusive. But still, it seems to be as different as comparing Shiverpeak norn to LA norn - there's differences, but it's all fairly minor. Konig/talk 00:02, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

I have taken out the rewrite tag. There are three important reasons for it. The first is that it is old and on a page of one of the playable races. The second is that it seems to be a result of a discussion between two editors that where to much on each other toes. The final reason is that I disagree with the reasons. Yes there is a second tree and maybe more. But we don't know much bout it, we know Malyck looks like a sylvari, but we dont even know if the off-spring off that tree is actually calling themselfes Sylvari. Is it considered a different race?? or a half breed race?? to many question marks. This page should be bout the playable race and with some small changes it reflects it (inmho). This should be bout the Playable race. Malycks story gets enough attention elsewhere (in many of the linked articles).195.240.63.18 22:41, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Age

In multiple cases it says the Sylvari have roamed Tyria for 25 years. That means the Sylvari are 25 years old. That means they were awakened in 1300 not 1302. Unless I see any proof for them to be 1302 (It is 1325 right now. They're 25 years old, not 23), this needs to remain 1300 (as I've fixed it). Official sylvari page, along with further information says they're 25.

References:

official Sylvari page. "The sylvari are an enigma. Humanoid in form, plantlike in nature, they are recent arrivals in Tyria who have roamed the world for only 25 years. No one knows why they have suddenly appeared in Tyria, least of all the sylvari themselves, and they seek to discover their purpose in the world"

Dream and Nightmare. "Twenty-five years ago, the first sylvari awakened. These firstborn knew comparatively little of the world, having experienced only the Pale Tree’s memories of Ronan, the centaur Ventari, and those who had visited during her first years. They knew, because the tree taught them of the tablet that Ventari had left behind, carved with lessons of his wisdom. Born as mature individuals, not children, the sylvari were curious, inquisitive, and eager to explore."

This should be all the proof you need. Official lore, guys... --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 23.16.84.170 (talk).

ArenaNet loves to give estimated dates for age, they love to give round numbers as well. The timeline - and only official one we have - from the novels Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny, outright states that 1302 AE is the date in which "The sylvari first appear along the Tarnished Coast, sprouting from the Pale Tree." - wording directly from the novels, and transcribed verbatim on Timeline. Until you get a line stating "the sylvari were born in 1300 AE" all mentions of "25 years ago" is estimation that is a beyond common-place thing for ArenaNet. Konig/talk 23:32, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

This really isn't a good argument. More recent things than books clearly state 25 years. The official page being one of the most important things - the official page being written by the ArenaNet and their lore team. It clearly states 25 years, not "estimated 25 years ago." Due to official lore stating that they're 25 years old, would it not be logical to say they awakened 25 years ago but did not start making appearances until 1302? I'm sorry, but saying they awakened in 1302 breaks every official thing they've said about Sylvari pre-release till now.

ANets Blog - By Ree Soesbee August 12th, 2011 "Twenty-five years ago, the first sylvari awakened."

This is new information, and in my own opinion - and many other Sylvari players opinion - is more correct. Furthermore, 'sprouting' can be a term used for 'departing.' In no way does that line say "awakening from the pale tree," which is what official lore says, that they awakened 25 years ago (that being 1300). To be quite frank, I think they would have said in their blogs about the race that they were 23 if they were 23, but they didn't, they're 25. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 23.16.84.170 (talk).

25 years ago can mean from 23-27 years ago imo, an exact date is much better.--Relyk 05:15, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

(Edit conflict) Provide to me ONE source which states "1300 AE" and not just "25 years ago." Look at the dates for when GW2 takes place - 1325 AE. However, it's said to be 250 years after: The Searing, the Cataclysm, Nightfall, Eye of the North, and the Foefire. Respectively, those dates were 1070, 1071, 1075, 1078, and 1090 - that is to say, 255, 254, 250, 247, and 235 years prior to GW2's year.

Furthermore, considering that the sylvari are plants, I doubt "sprouting" would be used metaphorically and in this case would use the same meaning as one would use the term for plants - sprouting from the ground. Or, in this case, birth. Given the fact that ArenaNet almost always over generalizes when using "x years ago" in their phrases (that is to say, never being to the exact year), regardless of how often the phrase is used, it is not a reliable phrase. Your "sylvari players" who view that to be more correct clearly don't realize how general Anet's terminology typically is, especially in this phrasing. You'll be hard pressed to ever find Anet use the phrase "23 years ago" or similar ones (e.g., "255 years ago" "234 years ago" etc.). For one example, see Ghosts of Ascalon - "250 years ago, Ascalon burned..." - this is in reference to the Foefire, and the time of the book was 1324 AE - the Foefire, as said, happened in 1090 AE. That is to say, 234 years prior to the book is when "Ascalon burned." Take a look at any - any - case where ArenaNet uses the phrase "# years ago" and you will never find a number that doesn't end in 5 or 0 so long as it's more than 10 (in fact, probably so long as it's more than 5). Konig/talk 05:21, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

In the end, I can see this frustrating a lot of people when all other sources say they're 25 years old, and only this wiki says they're 23; but, in the end, this is the site most people will use. Also Introduction Sylvari Video - This is the video you watch when you first play a Sylvari. Again, your character says 25 years ago. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 23.16.84.170 (talk).

Hmmm, but does it ever actually say they're 25 years old? All your sources you've linked says "25 years ago" - never "in 1300 AE" nor "25 years old." Also, please start using the show preview so you don't have 3+ edits to your comment, and sign using four tildes (~). Konig/talk 15:57, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

"I am Sylvari, 25 years ago my people first appeared in Tyria," direct quote from the introduction cinematic to Sylvari. The one you watch when you first create a Sylvari character. Also, I've been editing to add things, not because I screwed up on something. Anyway, staying on topic, this is something in game that says 25 years. In game > Book. Also (added): the official page actually says "25 years." Not 25 years ago. It says "The sylvari are an enigma. Humanoid in form, plantlike in nature, they are recent arrivals in Tyria who have roamed the world for only 25 years. No one knows why they have suddenly appeared in Tyria, least of all the sylvari themselves, and they seek to discover their purpose in the world"23.16.84.170 00:19, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

You seem to be missing my point. Further argument seems to be moot until you do. Konig/talk 01:31, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I've given you plenty of references confirming the idea of them being 25, and not 23. I've given you both examples of in game opinions, and a hard "25 years." As you've asked. You've simply decided to not use any of this evidence because you'd rather use your book - despite newer information saying that is wrong. Now, I have decided to bring this subject to the attention of a game designer, and see if I can get his answer on it. Until then, I would at least appreciate if you took the "23 years old," note out - allowing people to judge for themselves. As right now, more people agree with me, than you. My goal is to have this wiki correct, with the information that is provided - which I'm sorry, all goes against your 1302. As I've said, I'm willing to seek compromise on the subject - allowing people to decide themselves.

Added:

Q: When they were first born into the world, how did the other races initially react? Were they generally welcomed or did they have some sort of proving of themselves they had to do? Was there anybody there when the first group awoke? Ree: There were no other races at the Pale Tree when the Firstborn awoke. They began to explore the world, and first found the asura, who saw the sylvari as a particularly new species of flora—test subjects, at best. After that particularly rude awakening into the social environment of Tyria, the sylvari were far more cautious. Luckily, the second race they met were humans. The sylvari already knew of them because the Pale Tree held the memories of Ronan and his encampment so many years ago. That was a far more positive encounter, and taught the sylvari that there are good people in the world as well as bad.

The sylvari did have to prove themselves – they still do! It’s only been twenty-five years, and many of the other races don’t wholly accept them. The sylvari struggle to discover their place in the world, and to forge those relationships. They are very much the ‘outsiders’ in Tyria, and they face a world that is unsure about their nature and their capabilities as a race. It’s a fascinating story to tell! Sylvari Lore Interview with Ree Soesbee & Kristen Perry 23.16.84.170 01:42, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

That is still using the same argument you've been using from the start. They do not give a specific date, just say "25 years ago" in some way or another.--Relyk 02:17, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Maybe because they're 25 years old? They seem to use it a lot. Added: Seeing that they use it so much it's kind of hard not to believe they're 25. I was asked to give an exact "25 years," without "ago." I did, twice.23.16.84.170 02:33, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

You're still ignoring ArenaNet's almost grotesque love for generalization and estimations and all other things that gives them leeway to make changes to their lore (this is why they rarely, if ever, can be called out for retcon'ing - because what they change are always given an uncertain feel, which is the very foundation of GW lore). No, they will not say "about 25 years ago" but they will never say "exactly 25 years ago" either - I can bet you that when the timeframe of current GW2 pushes to 1326 or further on, the sylvari will still be around since "25 years ago" and that will likely continue until "30 years ago" becomes more accurate (read: 28+ year gap).

And no, you were asked to give "1300 AE" as the year of birth, or alternatively "they are 25 years old" - neither ever said. Anywhere. Granted, your interview quote is indeed the best source thus far for your argument, but it's still a rather generic phrase truth be told. However, a book which was methodically edited by Jeff Grubb, one of the two individual's who's primary job at ArenaNet is keeping consistency with lore, that was so edited to the point of Jeff becoming a co-author of the book stating 1302 AE as the year is far stronger proof than either an interview or the easily estimatable phrase of "25 years ago." "For 25 years" is of the same feel and usage, as is "only 25 years" and variants of - these phrases are interchangable in their usage and in their ability to be generic while seemingly not - it's a wordplay-to-meaning trick that writers can use both to create and to escape with the precision of text, think of it as the literary form of an optical illusion if you must. Being an English major, I've had a multitude of classes about wordplay and the hidden and exposed meanings behind them, though I won't say I'm infallible in this. Konig/talk 03:06, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I will see if my post is responded to. However, I still would appreciate if the note about them actually being 23 was taken down, due to all these "estimates," that you talk about. If it is so 'up in the air,' we might as well let the player base decide until further elaboration - if further elaboration - comes in. 23.16.84.170 03:23, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

The note was added for the sake of clarity regarding the issue that you yourself brought up, seeing how you apparently were unnaware that we're given a specific date to when the sylvari first awakened beyond the "25 years ago." That is to say, it was added to prevent a repetition of this very talk page section. If one were to remove it - and it does nothing to alter how the article's presenting the age of the sylvari given the 3 references of 1302 AE, however I reworded the note for sake of clarity in the future (they will not always be 23 years old as a race, after all). Konig/talk 03:32, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you. If anything else comes up (or my post is responded to), I'll be sure to add it here for further discussion. I certainly prefer the edit made and thank you again for discussing this subject. 23.16.84.170 03:35, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Sylvari Thermoreception

This was asked before, but never answered. In the description of Sylvari it says this: "In addition, Sylvari lack thermoreceptors in their skin, as they cannot feel the cold and are not affected by it." While I'm not sure if they can or cannot feel cold, they are affected by it. One of the Sylvari NPC's in The Grove talked about how she disliked Hoelbrak because being so cold all the time sapped her strength. I think this implies that they can feel and are affected by cold. Should I/someone edit this or not? 174.89.234.94 22:26, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

If your Sylvari character is chilled, they say "F-Freezing", as well, so I'd say they're definitely affected, at least for gameplay purposes. Vely^►t►e 22:39, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

Trahearne's Glow Color

In the trivia section, it mentions that Trahearne is one of the few sylvari to have a glow color besides white or yellow, and that his glow color is dark orange. However, if you watch his character clossely during certain cutscenes, it's fairly obvious that his glow color is in fact white, and the dark orange glow is simply one of the dye channels on his cultural armor.--107.220.241.52 13:16, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

All sylvari with an orange-ish glow have a white glow during the 2-character cinematics. But in the open world, his face and hair *NOT* his cultural armor) glows a darker orange than other sylvari - not much darker, but noticeably darker. I paid close attention when trying to figure out if there was something to this in lore (seeing if Scarlet and the Toxic Alliance weren't the only unique glows) and nearly jumped for a "eureka some progress!" when I saw Gavin had a white glow during a cinematic... to find he had light orange afterwards. I'm not sure why the glow turns white though. Seems only the PC's glow doesn't alter (well, can't check Scarlet and the TA even if we tried). Konig 19:45, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Sylvari history and world building lore from 2012 by Ree Soesbee

I stumbled across this blog that contains a vast amount of writings from Ree Soesbee regarding the various races of Tyria, including the sylvari. I haven't seen these texts referred to before, but some of it is really interesting. Could we record this information somewhere on the wiki in case the blog gets deleted? --Phex

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2604075-dream-and-nightmare

More here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73825.Ree_Soesbee/blog

Sylvari glow colors

According to the IP's changes, the sylvari glow color was changed during Season 2, however there are two problems with this claim:

1. Caithe and Traheanre never had white glow. They - and most other NPCs (in fact, every NPC I checked) - glowed white only during the side-by-side cinematics. (EDIT: I'd note that Amaranda also appeared as a white glow in these cinematics - this leads me to believe this is an issue of the cinematic, not the cinematics showing 'intended/original glow color' otherwise Amaranda would have been green.)
2. The Toxic Courtiers still glow lime green - I just checked.
3. I did my research on the topic during Season 2, this research included asking developers themselves for the reasons. The only NPCs that have a white glow are actually villager NPCs that have no natural glow - the glow comes from their armor, when Anet added a glow mechanic to sylvari cultural clothing during the Tower of Nightmares release.

I don't know what the IP's research is, but mine was after the supposed "change date" and that included checking the Toxic Courtiers and Amaranda, as well as Caithe and Trahaerne and many others (Gavin, many Nightmare Courtiers, etc. etc.). They all had orange, except for the first time. Before any more revert wars, I'd like some proof because it goes against my own direct research. Konig 01:02, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Nicknames

I would love to see a compilation of all the nicknames that Sylvari have been called throughout the game and storylines. (ie, Walking Salad and the like) --174.52.8.94 21:53, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

They've mostly been variations on the theme of calling the salad or vegetables. It would take a lot of work, too, as some of the nicknames are locked away on specific Personal Story chapters. I'm not up to do that myself, but have at it if you're feeling bold.--Rognik (talk) 21:52, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

Sieran (mentor for Priory storyline) is called a 'talking tree' once. She says she's more insulted by the lack of thought, though. TiffanySmith.8216 (talk) 21:39, 12 August 2018 (UTC)

Racial Sympathy

They should add a centaur racial sympathy for sylvari. Like, you try to make them good or something but it fails (obviously). But it would be nice, because they're all about Ventari's Tablet, and he was a centaur. Would be cool. Or maybe there's a peaceful centaur tribe in one of the expansions, and prior to that only accessible in that racial sympathy storyline? Would be cool. TiffanySmith.8216 (talk) 21:42, 12 August 2018 (UTC)

If you play through the Living World Season 2, you'll find there is a group of centaurs in the Maguuma Wastes that are fairly peaceful. I think they're primarily in Dry Top, because the ones in the Silverwastes got wiped out. I won't say more, as it gets revealed in the various chapters.--Rognik (talk) 16:32, 15 August 2018 (UTC)