The Water Reaver was a temporary elemental enhancement for the Wraith Blade. Of Ancient vampire origin, it was intended to be gained by Raziel in Soul Reaver 2 but ended up being cut due to time constraints.
Development
Discussing abilities planned for Raziel to earn in a May 2000 interview concerning Soul Reaver 2, Amy Hennig commented on the development of the Wraith Blade enhancements: Template:Quotebox-Opaque As well as confirming the presence of "nine additional spell-type things", she caveated this information, saying it "could change", "based on our schedule and what we're going to have to adjust as we go".[1]
The Water symbol in the Sub-Pillars dais texture
The Water Reaver was one of these enhancements. An upgrade for the Wraith Blade associated with elemental Water, it was intended to be discovered by Raziel in the Water Forge somewhen in the latter stages of Soul Reaver 2. As with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver however, the locations related to this enhancement were not completed in time and were ultimately removed from the final game[2] (presumably along with any water-attuned Reaver fonts) and the final version of Soul Reaver 2 featured only four of the seven planned Reaver enhancements and their associated forges. Despite the removal of the forge and its enhancement, the Water symbol can still be observed in game on the dais of the Subterranean Pillars Chamber.
The specifics of the usage of the Water Reaver are unknown, though it is likely (as in the case of the Reaver enhancements that are present) that the abilities and appearance of the Water Reaver would have matched those of its more permanent successor in Defiance;[2] with the Water Reaver a pale-blue enhancement capable of dousing lit Fire plinths and scones, using a range of ice-based attacks, and able to 'freeze' certain Waterfalls, enabling them to be climbed for a short time.[3]
The Water Reaver would ultimately make an appearance in a more permanent form in Legacy of Kain: Defiance.[2]
Notes
- The Deleted Elemental Reavers can be enabled in-game through the use of the debug menu. When used, each of the deleted Reaver enhancements appear as an invisible 'placeholder' blades with no special abilities and with the blade itself doing no damage (though the Water Reaver does appear to have a minor blue usage effect).[2][4] A different placeholder, arguably based on the Dark Reaver, was accessible through debug menus on the earlier 'Air Forge demo'.[4]
- The Water Reaver was originally intended to have several other abilities which were intended to be gained from a separate Water Reaver augmentation. The augmentation abilities were ultimately cut from Soul Reaver 2, but would be implemented in Defiance as the ice-related Charged attack and Reaver spell of the more permanent Water Reaver.[5]
- In a similar manner to the various Fire Reaver enhancements, versions of the Water Reaver were planned to appear in every game in the Soul Reaver arc; with a Water Reaver planned for inclusion in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, but ultimately cut due to time constraints; although its appearance in Soul Reaver was more related to the Glyph-style Reavers from that game and is possibly not an Ancient vampire creation for this reason.[6] With the Water Reaver removed from Soul Reaver 2, it would be left to Legacy of Kain: Defiance to debut the more permanent Water Reaver enhancement and its special abilities.
- Soul Reaver 2 contains several locations where the supposed abilities of the Water Reaver could be used (assuming they are the same as the Defiance Water Reaver); most noticeable are the Waterfalls at the Great Southern Lake and Uschtenheim, though lit braziers (doused by the Water Reaver) were not used in Soul Reaver 2.
Gallery
Appearances
- Soul Reaver 2 (cut)
- This article is about The Water Reaver enhancement seen in Soul Reaver 2. For the enhancement seen in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, see Water Reaver (SR1). For the more permanent enhancement seen in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, see Water Reaver (Defiance).
See also
- File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.pngDeleted Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- Water Forge (SR2)
- Water Reaver augmentation
- Water Reaver (SR1)
- Water Reaver (Defiance)
References
- ↑ Template:Icon-IGN Soul Reaver 2: Director's Interview - PlayStation 2 Feature at IGN (by Douglass Perry), page 6
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.pngDeleted Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ File:Wiki-Icon-DC.pngDefiance: Raziel's Reavers at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn )
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.pngThe Debug Menu at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.pngReaver Upgrades at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.pngThe Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
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