Talk:Embark Beach

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What's the point of spreading out the travel NPCs so much?

Seriously, is there an actually good reason for putting all of the travel NPCs on the opposite sides of the map? I can understand not wanting people to all crowd up in 1 small place but it's kind of ridiculous the way it is and the whole outpost is pretty big too. Why not just put copies of all 4 travel NPCs in each of the 3 points of interest? Yeah, it kind of defeats the purpose of having 3 different areas like that in the first place but the purpose is stupid as hell anyways. Pjwned 10:12, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

there are other towns that are much larger like lions arch or kaineng center compared to embark beach it makes it look really small.- Zesbeer 11:22, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

yes but it kills the point gong there to do missions when it takes longer to navigate and pick your destination than say, going "boat Lions arch, and Hells Precipce" than running around an island trying to find it, it should be nice and small like the Random Arenas or Fisherman's Haven Zachariah Zuan. 12:22, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

If all that is required is just a facility for meeting other players, getting quests and doing trade, then ultimately, you don't want an outpost. You want a dialog box with a big scrollable list of noticeboard items, and perhaps separate tabs for each NPC merchant. But this IS an outpost, and you have to pay at least lip service to the in-game fiction that it represents an actual location, with people taking up space and everything. Now you could argue that Anet screwed up (and people do, all the time) and they should just have provided a dialog box, but that's getting into hypotheticals. -- Hong 13:02, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

if you always log off with your toons in embark beach you will get used to using it. that's what i do and then right away i can get to anywhere in the game with a 8 man party. i would also like to point out that getting to any of the travel npcs is about equal distant to getting to any of the mission starers in nightfall.- Zesbeer 22:44, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I find it takes too long to target the right NPCs and/or walk to them. I can map travel and re-add missing heroes more quickly. I also hate going through the dialogue tree to find the right outpost. And, yeah, I don't like looking the mission NPCs in Nightfall any better; that seems unnecessarily inconvenient. — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 03:46, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I have to agree here, and one thing they could have done which would have been awesome (although with a lot more coding) would have one Travel NPC bring up a choice of maps of the continents. These would have all the mission outposts as glowing dots you can click on to select districts (much like a zoomed out main map, but with the dots clickable, not having to zoom in). ~Farlo Talk 04:02, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I like that suggestion, Farlo. With luck, it's just a matter of bringing up the world maps without having to map travel. Or, I suppose, they could have an EB portal in each campaign. So, instead of traveling to LA/KC/Kam, you travel to EB/LA, EB/KC, or EB/Kam. You can choose to use the travel NPCs to go directly to an outpost or you can do it the old way...without having to worry about dropping party members. — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 04:14, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, there are quite a few ways they could "cheat" the coding like that and have it and probably have a much simpler system than now. Even making a whole new interface for the map wouldn't be that big of a deal, just bring up a UI panel with the map on it and copy/paste the same scripts the storybooks use to teleport you, except change the button style and have them bring you to towns. It'd be a bit of work, but I think it'd look way cooler and be a lot easier. ~Farlo Talk 04:25, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm sure someone else has mentioned this before, but why don't they just add "Sunspear Sanctuary" and "Droknar's Forge" on the map travel? Or, if they want to stick with the "ship travel" theme, pick a port in like Nundu Bay (Droknar's Forge is already near water). --Kniblet Beast 04:28, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, that's another idea I think Anet grossly underestimated when designing the cross-campaign travel. It was really dumb of them to make Lion's Arch the hub when Factions was released, cause the 8 <-> 6 gap was bad enough, but then they made Kamadan the main port for Nightfall... that was just a very poor choice IMO. I know people complained that they wanted quicker access to the hub to change continents, but come on now...~Farlo Talk 04:50, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

i didn't realize you guys all worked so closely with Joe Kimmes to know exactly how it would be "so easy to change"....- Zesbeer 06:25, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Actually Zesbeer, I think it's the designers who put in the spawning points. May be wrong though. I don't see an issue with the travel NPCs - except for the Elona one though. But it's not that hard to get to them, and after a while you learn where they are so not being able to target them from a single spot would be irrelevant. As to why spread them out - most likely to fill up the outpost so you don't have 15 NPCs in one corner and nothing else everywhere else - e.g., empty camps. An alternative would of been to have some traders in one camp, others in another, and then the last stuff in the third camp. But people would complain about that too so... -- Konig/talk 06:30, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Actually konig i wasn't commenting on the spawn points i was commenting on these suggestions that changing the map mechanics is just so easy for anet. - Zesbeer 06:35, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

What makes for a good "home base" city?

Embark Beach looks like it's trying to be a good "home base" city, but fails. Elsewhere on this discussion people talk about the negatives. The fact that noone is in party search looking for group is further evidence that this town fails. With all the experience GW has with making towns, with the evolution of adding "home base" towns like Great Temple of Balthazar, and Eye of the North (outpost), you'd think they'd have it better by now. Other good examples would be guild halls, particularly Isle of Meditation (before the henchmen update). And yes, there is something to be said for a realistic layout and cool large town, but save it for normal towns, not home base towns. After the initial coolness impression, I care much more for the functionality of a town that its grandeur.

• NPCs grouped logically (Eye of the North (outpost))
• NPC groups not too far apart (Eye of the North (outpost) almost has this, but too spread appart)
• No NPC/Terrain body blocking features (Sardelac Sanitarium has an annoying storage agent blocking the chest... yes you can open a chess through her, but that's annoying. This annoying effect only is from one spawn point, it's just being used as the first example that came to mind, as I sometimes camp there)
• One common spawn point, as getting your initial orientation in any town can be annoying (Isle of Meditation has this).
• Storage close to spawn point, so you can immediately press "V", "Space" and be at storage (Isle of Meditation had this before new henchmen were added. Now you walk to a henchman instead, which is incredibly annoying if you were used to doing this before).

So, I'd do the following for Embark Beach:

• Spawn point off the coast a bit, just off the sand, on the grass.
• Storage (and just a single box in this case, no agent) just a few feet away, where the grass meets the sand.
• Along the Beach are NPC groups.
  • Activities Groups: Two close sub groups, one on either side of a dock.
    • Daily Group: NPCs like flags, coin rewards, zaishen key rewards.
    • Travel Group: NPCs like travelers and coop mission recruiter/diplomat.
  • Merchant Groups: Three close sub groups, not far down the beach from the Activities Group, where some low-medium cliff meets the ocean and runs inland. Keep a little of the market stand look (like Embark Beach, not like Rata Sum/Gunnars Hold.
    • Basic Merchant Group: merchant/materials
    • Special Merchant Group: rune/die/scroll traders
    • Crafter "Merchant" Group: crafters
  • Fun Stuff Groups: A couple close sub groups down the other side of the beach from the dock. On a little peninsula (but not a long walk), or where the map terminates at a mountain.
    • Vanity Stuff: hats, costumes, makeovers, mercenary registrar.
    • Guilds: guild register, guild capes, guild tours.
• Extra NPC's. NPC's that wouldn't have to be close and convenient. You wouldn't go to them much, so they could be placed kinda wherever for aesthetics, so long as they don't get in the way of the main guys. Could put storage chest agent here (with another chest or two) if she just has to be somewhere.
  • Henchmen could be behind your spawn point, further away from the beach.
  • Special appearance NPCs (like the April Fools helicopter) could be on the low cliff overlooking the Merchant Groups.
  • Possible Future NPCs: Keep the group of NPCs that look like a team of henchmen on the boat. That's a nice touch.
• Extra land. The explorable land behind all of this could be large or small. It'd just be there for fun/atmosphere. Could put easter eggs back there like a baby Plague Worm, Pygmy Hippopotamus, Cat, The Frog, woodpecker, seagull, graffiti, relics, etc.

NOTE: Comments specific to Embark Beach (2^nd bullet list) are just an example of how to use the comments from the good "home base" city (1^st bullet list), nothing more. The main point is that 1^st bullet list. --Mooseyfate 18:04, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

That is a very well thought out argument, and I basically agree with all of it. Sadly, since EB is already deployed, I doubt they're going to do a radical overhaul of any kind. It is rather sad, as an outpost like this had a TON of potential to really make a good grouping/LFG version of Spamadan for the entire game. What also kind of takes away from the ability of the town to do this is that you don't actually start the missions from this town, which sends all that LFG talk intot he individual outpost, which I guess is a good thing. ~Farlo Talk 20:44, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

(Reset indent) wrong place to put this please see Feedback:Getting started.- Zesbeer 05:36, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Why No Access To All Continents?

One issue I have with EB is that I can't access a mission until I'll been to that outpost with a specific toon. I made the silly decision and played through each of the campaigns with a different toon. Now that I'm focusing on one for the HoM I run into the problem of not having access to other areas even though I've completed them on other toons. It seems to me that it would be a good idea to allow us access the content that we've unlocked. Sadly now I have to spend hours running around and repeating all the content again on one toon so that I have easy access to it. --GraceAlone 05:26, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

it would not make much sense for a npc to be able to skip you around to places that your toon has not been to.- Zesbeer 05:30, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Each toon is different than from each other toon. Just because you complete everything on one - is a story for that one. The other one hasn't "experienced" all of that even though you have. Understand? I can help explain even more of how things work, but just think of it as a same basic story, but with a different style profession, background, name, etc. It may be the same main story, etc. but you're playing a different character whom has to learn how to use their skills, their weapons, etc. I hope this helps. 72.148.31.114 06:01, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

HoM counts your entire account, so there's really no reason to only focus on one character unless you're going for GWAMM (in which case you'll pretty much need Protector in all three campaigns anyway, so you're not losing that much time doing them in proper story sequence). - Tanetris 06:18, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

If he/she wants Eternal Legendary Guardian, he/she will have to achieve all the Protector and Guardian titles on one character. --Silver Edge 07:10, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Fair point. And legendary skill hunter, legendary cartographer, and legendary vanquisher too. 4 titles gets you at most an extra point (and it's possible to max Honor points without them, though it'd be way harder than it'd be worth). If you're just aiming for 30 points, I almost certainly wouldn't touch the vanquisher titles at all (maybe Cantha, but not Tyria or Elona), and probably not the guardian, skill hunter, or cartographer ones either. There's much lower-hanging fruit to get you to 30. If you're aiming for the 35 or higher vanity titles... A little extra running around to reunlock missions should probably be the least of your worries. - Tanetris 09:59, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

With texmod you can get canthan cartographer in about 3 hours, easy to obtain tbh. --File:User Chieftain Alex Chieftain Signature.pngChieftain Alex 10:54, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Stranded people at the beach

ever so often I come upon people who are new to the game and are stranded on the beach since they talked to a scout on one of the earlier outposts but not being able to travel back since they don't know how the travel NPC work properly. why not just locking the travel NPC on the early outposts for those who have no boat available yet? why not unlocking them together with the boat option? this way they could leave by boat easily without deleting and recreating the char if nobody is there to help them with the NPC handling. [[80.137.41.110 14:33, 24 July 2011 (UTC)]]

(Reset indent) wrong place to put this please see Feedback:Getting started- Zesbeer 19:26, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

The scouts are most important for those who have not unlocked the boat. In fact, I'd argue that all of the scouts that are post-mandatory-boat-unlocking can be removed - exception being those in the Realm of Torment mind you. Konig/talk 22:00, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

those who did not even unlock the boat most of the time didn't even do the first mission and visited the scout thinking it's another quest giver of that starter region. so why would somebody need the beach if he can only reach one mission anyway? especially if he is so new that he doesn't even know how to use the outpost properly? the beach makes most sense for those who can reach lots of mission outposts and would even be more useful if there were scouts on the other outposts and not only on missions.[[79.206.241.110 01:02, 28 July 2011 (UTC)]]

I helped one get back to Ascalon that was new. Basically, the best thing to do is have a walk through for each campaign for the new characters to find their way back to the campaign they came from. 72.148.31.114 02:34, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

what i don't understand is how do people not read what the guy says to you? i mean he clearly states "There are many threats in this world, and it is dangerous to face them alone, friend. if you seek allies, perhaps you will find them at Embark Beach. Do you wish to travel there?" and "Yes, please take me to Embark Beach." if people cant read that and figure out that he is about to take you some place other then where you are at then they don't deserve to know how to escape embark beach imho.- Zesbeer 02:48, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

"so why would somebody need the beach if he can only reach one mission anyway?" The player might want to get that mission's Zaishen Mission quest before completing that mission. --Silver Edge 04:01, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

those who do zaishen missions normally do not have the problem mentioned above as they already have the boat unlocked to reach the temple, any other suggestions for why they would need it right after starting the game and not being familiar with the game mechanics? 79.206.230.47 21:05, 4 August 2011 (UTC)]

Ah no, new characters that haven't reached a port town won't have the boat unlocked and can only get the corresponding Zaishen Mission quest before they complete a mission for the first time from the signpost in Embark Beach (e.g. The Great Northern Wall to Gates of Kryta for Prophecies characters; Minister Cho's Estate and Zen Daijun for Factions characters; Chahbek Village for Nightfall characters). --Silver Edge 21:18, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

ok, I rephrase for better understanding of the problem, guess how many people who know about the zaishen missions are in fact new players who do not know how to use the scouts due to already playing the game a little bit! I'd guess that amount worldwide can be counted on one hand, while real new players who just started GW and klick on a scout (due to the nice pointing arrow above their heads, indicating you can solve a quest or similar) are those I am talking about. the stranded people of the embark beach who don't know how to really embark anymore and loose interest in a game that traps them there. Note: on the beach the NPC no longer are called scout so somebody who travelled there by a scout will most probably search for a scout to get back but might have to talk to every NPC before finding out which one is the proper NPC to help him. Now count the amount of NPC on the beach (I counted 61 including chests) and tell me that this is really userfriendly in the end. maybe removing the green arrow above the scouts head might already help but I still think unlocking the scouts together with the boat is the better solution[[80.137.39.197 10:14, 21 September 2011 (UTC)]]

General bitching.

This should have been implemented long ago, before people chose Doomlore for runs, ToA (vs Zin Ku / Chantry) for UW/FoW, and Gate of Anguish for DoA. No one uses it for its intended purpose - not even grouping for Z quests - because people don't like change (screw you, people). So, someone like me who is pretty much up for anything, can't advertise such to parties needing another man without dedicating to a specific activity. Yes, this was mostly pointless whining. No, I will not take it to a forum. And thank you, I thought it was a cool story, too, bro.--Ph03n1x 17:40, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Background music

What is the background track for this map? It's so familiar. -- kazerniel (talk) 20:19, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Ashford Abbey theme, it's beginning part of the song plays in Pre-Searing before another song kicks in, often Gwen's Theme or Eye of the Storm. Da Mystic Reaper (talk) 21:12, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks :) -- kazerniel (talk) 10:41, 3 June 2020 (UTC)