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Tiny but mighty, Guild Wars 2’s forward-thinking Asura tend to carry with them an air of superiority that isn’t entirely unwarranted.
The Asura have been a part of Guild Wars 2 since the beginning, quaint goblinoids who cast a large shadow beside the four other playable races of Tyria despite their small size. With part of the lush Maguuma Jungle under their control, the Asura have established a grip on advancing technology and commerce. First appearing in Guild Wars: Eye of the North, they are an inherently magical race, using enchantment and the arcane to enhance their scientific research.
Despite their humble beginnings as a wholly subterranean race, they have soared as Tyria’s best tinkerers, and Asuran gates, or portals, are one of the primary methods of travel in the game. Tiny but mighty, Guild Wars 2’s forward-thinking Asura tend to carry with them an air of superiority that isn’t entirely unwarranted.
Originally, the Asura were designed as a non-player race. Early concept art portrays aquatic creatures with fins and webbed feet, with one piece offering a view inside a cave with small, creeping figures that bear no small resemblance to Gollum. By the time Guild Wars 2 began production, Asuran faces took on a rabbit-like look, shedding their amphibious traits. Destined for grandeur even then, the Asura rose from drastic design changes and relatively sparse lore to becoming one of five balanced playable races. Now, they are free to explore the world outside of their geometric capital, Rata Sum.
Asura typically stand at a truly intimidating two-to-three feet tall. Some could argue that their appearance is rodent-like in nature, but they lack a tail and fur. Instead, their grey or brown skin can display splotches, stripes and freckles, and a few have blazes running down their owl-eyed, squashed faces. Ears, another pronounced aspect of Asura appearance, are often long and sometimes sport tears and holes from combat or laboratory mishaps. It should be noted that Asura are one of the two potentially androgynous playable races. Females lack breasts and “are mostly differentiated by voice and ear structure.”
Scientific endeavors and feats of genius drive Asuran thinking. As some of the greatest inventors on Tyria, Asura are responsible for portal networks and golems, floating furniture and weapons of mass destruction. Education begins early in life, and depending on their interests, a progeny can choose between the College of Statics, College of Dynamics or College of Synergetics. In adulthood, Asura join tightly-knit Krewes of like-minded individuals who resemble family as much as coworkers.
Even the matter of religion is viewed by some Asura as scientific. All things in the world are likened to metaphorical cogs in a machine of fate. Known as the Eternal Alchemy, it is the one system that the Asura don’t seek to conquer or manipulate. Instead, most work toward understanding it. The only exception is a villainous group known as the Inquest, who believe that the Eternal Alchemy and all of its components should be manipulated and controlled. This includes other people and their memories.
As far as much of Tyria is concerned, Asura have always been arrogant, but the latter would insist their behavior is for good reason. Two hundred years ago, the Asura lived below ground. So xenophobic and secretive were they that they remained a subterranean people until volcanic destroyers laid waste to their magical gateways and snuffed out their cities. Now they walk among surface-dwellers, replicating the empire they lost centuries ago. They have since succeeded their history and survived the near-extinction of their culture only to build higher and thrive.
Surprisingly, Asura make excellent diplomats. Perhaps it is for this reason, along with their boundless desire to learn, that many decide to set out on their own. Certainly, the Asura adventurer stands out in a crowd with a deceptively diminutive appearance masking a larger-than-life intellect. Having overcome their tragic past to the point of prosperity, the Asura have every right to be prideful. After all, at such an outstanding pace, they’ll soon have all of Tyria wrapped around their little fingers.
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