Inquest

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Spoiler alert: The following text contains spoilers relating to the personal story, Living World Season 1, Living World Season 2, Living World Season 3, Living World Season 4, and Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity.
Banner of the Inquest.
“

Gathering information in its pure, crystalline form is their intention, and they will stop at nothing less than the sum of all knowledge. Indeed, the ultimate goal of Inquest research is to achieve control of the Eternal Alchemy, and with it, all of Tyria.

— That Old College Try

The Inquest (Asuran: Asuran alphabet I.pngAsuran alphabet N.pngAsuran alphabet Q.pngAsuran alphabet U.pngAsuran alphabet E.pngAsuran alphabet S.pngAsuran alphabet T.png), or "Asuran Inquisition", is a prominent asuran organization active throughout much of the continent of Tyria. While closer in size to the asuran colleges, the Inquest function as an oversized "megakrewe,"[1] with a notable difference in the permanence of membership (in a regular krewe, asura come together to complete a specific task or research objective, then disband or are released from the krewe by its leader).[2] Their primary guiding principle is that the Eternal Alchemy is a thing to be mastered and used, rather than merely understood, for the ultimate purpose of establishing asuran dominion over other species. The other guiding principle for which the Inquest are infamous is the lack of ethical principles in research methodologies and institutional actions.

Although a relatively new organization, the Inquest have garnered a large amount of influence within asuran society, even going so far as to have a member, Councillor Yahk, with a seat on the Arcane Council. Members of the Inquest do not go through a traditional apprenticeship, but a system of corporate training structured like a series of aptitude tests. When a member completes their task, they are immediately given the next level of clearance. The Inquest do not share their discoveries, and will occasionally even sabotage the work of one of the colleges if it is seen as impinging on their proprietary research areas.[3]

Structure[edit]

The Inquest seem to function as a pyramidal hierarchy. Superiors direct those below them, who in turn direct those below them. The Order of Whispers, which has been monitoring Inquest activities, believes that such a hierarchy is meant to be a security measure to prevent leaking precious knowledge outside the organization.[4] Because of this secrecy, it is currently unknown if the Inquest are led by a council or an individual.

Culture[edit]

The Inquest run a very tight ship—once an asura joins the megakrewe, they are expected to be members for life. The organization believes that everything their members learn is proprietary knowledge, and the Inquest thus have the right to reach into the members' brain and take it out, if they so choose.[6]

The Inquest have taken extreme steps to punish or reclaim those who try to defect from the organization. The agents are especially tough on those who try to get out if those people have valuable or incriminating information which the Inquest wants to keep to themselves. However, leaving the Inquest does not always lead to an automatic death sentence, but those who leave always have to spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. If the person who wants to leave has leverage over the Inquest such as incriminating evidence (that will be released to authorities or rival krewes if anything happens to the defector), or it is not politically expedient to exact retribution at the moment (because the person in question has friends in high places, or the heat is on and the Arcane Council is currently watching the Inquest's activities closely), the Inquest will bide their time and patiently wait for an opportunity to act.[7]

The Inquest have been known to occasionally partner with non-asura factions for a time if they deem such partnerships as useful to carrying out their goals. These partnerships tend to be temporary in nature due to conflicting selfish goals among the factions or due to outside interference ending the collaboration prematurely. Known partnerships include the Inquest teaming up with bandits and the Nightmare Court in the Sinister Triad in Brisban Wildlands, the Inquest joining forces with Tyrian pirates to found the Aetherblades, the Inquest collaborating with mercenaries to aid the mercenaries' boss while getting an opportunity to study the late asuran genius Zinn's artifacts in Draconis Mons, and the Inquest striking a deal with Castoran Freebooters to use them as muscle for their expedition while providing the Freebooters with outdated Inquest technology in exchange.

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

The Inquest were founded quite recently, although when exactly is not clear. They are at least old enough to have been the first asura to meet the sylvari, with Kudu, a high-ranking member who had once been Snaff's apprentice,[8] being the one responsible for the torture and disfigurement of the firstborn Malomedies some time after the secondborn Cadeyrn's awakening in 1304 AE.[verification requested][9][10][11] A commonly cited reason for the founding of the Inquest was the destruction of the asuran city of Quora Sum during the Elder Dragon Primordus's invasion of the Depths of Tyria some time after 1120 AE.[12] The founders of the Inquest viewed the amount of knowledge lost in that event as a massive "signal drop," and aspired to found an organization structured in a way that such loss of knowledge could never happen again.[3]

In 1324 AE, the Inquest were running an experiment on chaos magic at the Thaumanova Reactor in Metrica Province, with the secondborn sylvari Scarlet Briar as a "special consultant." The experiment helped identify the network of ley lines carrying magic around the world, but caused a large-scale natural disaster in the region when the reactor melted down.[13][14][15]

Later that year, the Inquest built the Infinity Coil facility and the Crucible of Eternity laboratory, run by Kudu. The Inquest classified the Crucible of Eternity as their most dangerous laboratory up to that point.[16] Kudu's former master Snaff had discovered that the Elder Dragons exuded their own unique dragon energies, but had stopped research because he felt it was too unstable to work with. At the Infinity Coil and the Crucible of Eternity, the Inquest continued Snaff's work and expanded on it by removing and concentrating these draconic energies and using them to create dragon minions that only they could control, aiming to rival the power of the Elder Dragons themselves. During this time they also attempted alliances with the dredge in Dredgehaunt Cliffs as well as with the human bandits and sylvari Nightmare Court in the Sinister Triad alliance in Brisban Wildlands.

Personal story[edit]

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Interested Parties[edit]

Kudu intended to use the Transatmospheric Converter, one of the Snaff Savant's old inventions, to flood Rata Sum and dispose of the Arcane Council to seed chaos and create opportunities for Inquest power grabs in 1325 AE. However, his plan was foiled by the Savant and Zojja although Kudu managed to escape in the ensuing chaos.

Sorrow's Embrace[edit]

Later that year, Kudu manipulated War Minister Shukov to begin a dredge uprising against their enemies on the surface. Using Snaff's research, Kudu had rebuilt the Iron Forgeman, fusing the energy of a draconic minion with the ancient dwarf creation. Zojja, aided by Caithe and the Pact Commander, managed to put down the revolution and destroyed the Forgeman, but Kudu got away as usual. After Kudu's departure, his apprentice Tazza continued experiments in Sorrow's Embrace, forcing the Commander's party to confront and defeat her with help from the Inquest defector Fergg.

Crucible of Eternity[edit]

Zojja eventually pursued Kudu to the Infinite Coil Reactor and the Crucible of Eternity, determined to stop him from using Snaff's research for evil. There, she was joined by the Pact Commander and the reunited Rytlock Brimstone and Logan Thackeray. Kudu was corrupting his captives with concentrated dragon energies, turning them into dragon minions that only he could control. Kudu, who had been experimenting with dragon energies on himself, was killed in the ensuing clash. Before perishing, however, he unleashed his greatest creation to destroy the group: a dragon champion of his own, created from experiments on a captured giant. However, the monster ultimately perished, and Zojja's party fled from the facility, denying Kudu his revenge.

The Ruined City of Arah[edit]

After the defeat of the Elder Dragon Zhaitan, Inquest operatives led by Belka and Brie were found in Arah where they enslaved the Risen with dominating devices while showing an interest in mursaat technology. They intended to unlock the relics' secrets in order to phase into half-world, or dimension, between Tyria and the Mists, where the mursaat had once fled the Elder Dragons to, and return and rule Tyria once the dragons had fallen asleep again. However, the operatives were swiftly defeated by a party of adventurers including the Pact Commander and Scholar Yissa.[17][18]

Living World Season 1[edit]

In 1326 AE at the behest of Scarlet Briar, the Inquest formed an alliance with some pirates to form the Aetherblades and took responsibility for the maintenance of the stolen Pact airships.[19] Their role within the alliance seemed to diminish with time, as they were not seen towards the end of Scarlet's campaign.

Living World Season 2[edit]

In 1327 AE, the Inquest appeared at the Zephyrite crash sites in Dry Top and showed hostility towards anyone trespassing in their territory. They became interested in the asuran prodigy Taimi's Waypoint Recalibration Device and chased after her, breaking her golem Scruffy during the pursuit. The Inquest squad was subsequently confronted and defeated by the Pact Commander's party who had come to Taimi's aid, however.

Living World Season 3[edit]

In 1330 AE, Pact forces following the rogue god Balthazar to Draconis Mons discovered Inquest forces already occupying the cavern. Inquest Datapads scattered around their camp in Rata Arcanum suggested that Balthazar, under the guise of the mursaat Lazarus, had paid the Inquest to set up a defensible camp within the cavern, possibly to hinder the Pact's efforts. While scouting the area, Inquest agents discovered evidence of the asuran inventor Zinn's former presence in the area and immediately began searching for artifacts and remains of his. Their efforts were significantly hindered by the presence of the druid spirits, who attacked several of their agents. At some point, Inquest leaders discovered Lazarus's true identity as Balthazar, but decided to keep this information among the upper ranks while focusing solely on the excavations at Rata Arcanum.

Living World Season 4[edit]

Daybreak[edit]

At some point in the past, the Inquest had set up a base hidden deep within the ancient, ruined city of Fahranur on the Isle of Istan. However, the base was eventually invaded by Awakened whom the Inquest mistook for Risen. The Inquest in the base were killed and subsequently Awakened to serve Palawa Joko, providing information about the use of asura gates as well as experiments. A chorus of Awakened Inquest were used to tamper with Taimi's Scruffy 2.0 in 1330 AE in order to turn the golem into a death trap, and they delivered Joko's sinister declaration of war to the Pact Commander who had arrived in the city to save Taimi before swarms of Awakened Inquest tried to take down the Commander's companions.

A Bug in the System[edit]

Despite their losses on Istan, the Inquest continued researching the Scarab Plague, an ancient disease hosted by scarabs discovered in Fahranur, and its effects on various races as a biological weapon as they captured Elonian humans for experimentation. The Olmakhan charr tribe also served as test subjects for the Inquest and their plague samples on Sandswept Isles. At the same time in their main Elonian complex, Rata Primus, the Inquest upgraded their ancient golem models and developed new marks of them like the ballista, phalanx and the feared exterminator golem, while studying Zinn's salvaged golems which they had managed to recover from Rata Arcanum.

Overseer Kuda studied synergy between dragon minions and advanced the late Kudu's research on crosscorrupted minions by introducing Subject Alpha's successor, Subject Beta. The Inquest of Rata Primus also researched the hive mind of captured new Branded minions, which the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik had empowered after the Elder Dragon Mordremoth's demise, as the organization searched for ways to enhance asuran communications technology.[20]

After the a malfunction at Rata Primus had caused an automated launch of assault golems on the nearby Olmakhan village of Atholma in 1331 AE, the Olmakhan decided to launch a counter-attack on Rata Primus with help from the Pact Commander's Dragon's Watch guild. However, during the Olmakhan assault on the complex, the Awakened hijacked the Inquest's asura gate network to launch invasions all across Tyria, led by Palawa Joko. Joko stole the scarab plague sample, triggering the self-destruction of the heavily damaged cube-shaped complex.

The Inquest had been using their breakthroughs at Lab Sigma-05 to develop even more advanced golems such as the DERV and Branding-proof Warehouse Defense Golems. Following the destruction of Rata Primus, however, the Pact took the surviving golems over and then used them against the Branded during the Pact's subsequent campaign against Kralkatorrik.

Long Live the Lich[edit]

The invasion on Rata Primus left many members of the megakrewe dead, whom Joko promptly raised as Awakened Inquest. He then led his undead servants to the Domain of Kourna to continue their research on the plague samples at Gandara, the Moon Fortress and other concealed labs, until his demise during the Battle of Gandara.

Visions of Eternity[edit]

Section-stub. This key section of the article is incomplete. You can help the Guild Wars 2 Wiki by expanding it.
Reason: Add missing information.

Known bases[edit]

Rata Primus, one of the largest Inquest installations on Tyria.
Ascalon
Castora
Crystal Desert
Heart of Maguuma
Kryta
Maguuma Jungle
Maguuma Wastes
Ring of Fire
Ruins of Orr
Shiverpeak Mountains

Types[edit]

See also: Category:Inquest
Inquest golems
Augmented creatures
Others

Gallery[edit]

Screenshots
Concept art and lore drops[5]
Emblems

Related items[edit]

Sigil of Mad Scientists Rarity Level Bonus
Minor Sigil of Mad Scientists.pngMinor Sigil of Mad Scientists Masterwork 0 +3% Strike Damage vs. Inquest
+1% Strike Damage
Major Sigil of Mad Scientists.pngMajor Sigil of Mad Scientists Rare 39 +5% Strike Damage vs. Inquest
+2% Strike Damage
Superior Sigil of Mad Scientists.pngSuperior Sigil of Mad Scientists Exotic 60 +7% Strike Damage vs. Inquest
+3% Strike Damage
Potion Type Level Duration Effect
Outgoing damage Incoming damage XP
Drip of Liquid Karma.pngWeak Potion of Inquest Slaying 5 30 m +3% Damage vs. Inquest — +10%
Sip of Liquid Karma.pngMinor Potion of Inquest Slaying 20 30 m +5% Damage vs. Inquest — +10%
Vial of Liquid Karma.pngPotion of Inquest Slaying 35 30 m +7% Damage vs. Inquest -4% Damage from Inquest +10%
Gulp of Liquid Karma.pngStrong Potion of Inquest Slaying 50 30 m +8% Damage vs. Inquest -6% Damage from Inquest +10%
Jug of Liquid Karma.pngPotent Potion of Inquest Slaying 65 30 m +9% Damage vs. Inquest -8% Damage from Inquest +10%
Powerful Potion of Inquest Slaying.pngPowerful Potion of Inquest Slaying 80 1 h +10% Damage vs. Inquest -10% Damage from Inquest +10%
Powerful Potion of Inquest Slaying.pngExtended Potion of Inquest Slaying 80 2 h +10% Damage vs. Inquest -10% Damage from Inquest +10%
Miniatures
Mini High Inquisitor Maut.pngMini High Inquisitor Maut
Mini Inquest Assault Cube.pngMini Inquest Assault Cube
Mini Inquest Exterminator Golem.pngMini Inquest Exterminator Golem
Mini Inquest Extinguisher.pngMini Inquest Extinguisher
Mini Inquest Golemcaster.pngMini Inquest Golemcaster
Mini Inquest Technician.pngMini Inquest Technician
Mini Mark I Assault Golem.pngMini Mark I Assault Golem
Mini Sebb.pngMini Sebb
Equipment sets
Crucible of Eternity armor
Extremis armor
Bleeding Edge Inquest weapons
Dark Asuran weapons
Inquest weapons
Inquest Mark II weapon skins
Other items
Conundrum of Maut.pngConundrum of Maut
Inquest Apparatus.pngInquest Apparatus
Inquest Device.pngInquest Device
Inquest Mechanism.pngInquest Mechanism
Inquest Mega-Spanner.pngInquest Mega-Spanner
Inquest Overseer Chair.pngInquest Overseer Chair
Inquest Overseer Glider.pngInquest Overseer Glider
Inquest Tuning Rod.pngInquest Tuning Rod
Kudu's Phasing Matrix.pngKudu's Phasing Matrix
Mark Y Golem.pngMark Y Golem
Phase Scalpel.pngPhase Scalpel
Relic of the Biomancer.pngRelic of the Biomancer

Related achievements[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • Some asura deridingly call the Inquest as Murder and Evil Inc.[21]
  • Rata Novus uses Inquest tiles. It is unknown if this is simply asset reuse or if there is some connection between the fallen city and the Inquest's emblem.

See also[edit]

Associated races

References[edit]

  1. ^ Inventing Asura: Guild Wars 2's Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb, VG247.com
  2. ^ Guild Wars 2 Asura interview part two: Love and Inquest, PCGamer.com
  3. ^ a b That Old College Try
  4. ^ Marpo
  5. ^ a b Official short videos, bsky.app, Facebook.com, YouTube.com, X.com
  6. ^ Guild Wars 2 Q&A, GuildWars2Guru.com (Archived)
  7. ^ Post by Scott McGough in "Lore Q&A", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
  8. ^ Where Credit is Due
    Zojja: Violence. What do you know about a wretched little pipsqueak name Kudu? Cross-reference "criminal," "megalomaniac," and "plagiarist."
    <Character name>: I've heard of him. He's an Inquest bigwig now, but he used to be Snaff's apprentice. Then you came along and Snaff traded up.
  9. ^ Post by Angel McCoy, Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
  10. ^ Dream and Nightmare
  11. ^ The Newly Awakened
    Cadeyrn: I've only been awake for a few months, but I can already tell that the tenets don't cover all facets of the vast nature of life. They are too...idealistic.
  12. ^ The Elder Dragons
  13. ^ Captain Ellen Kiel
    Captain Ellen Kiel: I'm glad you're here, <Character name>. I could use some help spreading the word about delivering on my campaign promise to investigate the Thaumanova Reactor disaster.
    <Character name>: What do you want people to know?
    Captain Ellen Kiel: Just the basics: the facility was intended to study chaos magic, but the Inquest and their so-called "specialist," Scarlet, pushed things in dangerous new directions.
    <Character name>: How so?
    Captain Ellen Kiel: They claimed there was a link between the Thaumanova's chaos energy and Elder Dragon energy. They ramped things up past the point of safe operation, and the reactor melted down.
  14. ^ Thaumanova Reactor Fractal
    Veteran Inquest Technician: What are you doing? This entire place is about to go up in a blinding flash of chaos magic.
    Veteran Inquest Operative: Chaos magic? That's not what the special consultant says. You don't have any idea what's really going on here, do you? [...]
    Inquest Technician (2): It's all that special consultant's fault. She came in, started making recommendations, egged the krewe chief on...
    Inquest Technician (1): He responded, too. Got into a "who can push things further faster" contest. She's got a history with us, apparently.
    Inquest Technician (2): Great. Studying chaos magic wasn't enough. Oh no. Scarlet has to harness it and amplify it and agitate it.
    Inquest Technician (1): Leave it to a sylvari to foul up machinery. She doesn't even recognize chaos magic. Says it's something else entirely.
  15. ^ Connecting the Pieces
    Marjory Delaqua: The Thaumanova Reactor accident was the worst asuran disaster in recent memory. Ellen Kiel investigated it and discovered that Scarlet was involved—as a special consultant to the Inquest.
    <Character name>: What are Kiel's conclusions?
    Marjory Delaqua: She believes Scarlet blew the place up to sow terror. One sleuth to another, that's too easy. If we theorize that all Scarlet's moves have been connected, she must have been after something.
    <Character name>: I agree. But why? What else has Scarlet said?
    Marjory Delaqua: Mostly crazed prattle— Hmm. Now that's interesting. Kiel's report says Scarlet called the energy flowing into the reactor "dragon" energy. She also talked about the ley lines that crisscross Tyria.
    <Character name>: It all tracks back to the ley lines. We know she's been actively researching them.
    Marjory Delaqua: Scarlet and the Inquest turned a risky research experiment into a time bomb so they could study how it ticked.
    Marjory Delaqua: They also discovered new info about ley lines. If Scarlet is using that info to plan her next major attack, it's coming soon.
  16. ^ Elite Vixis
  17. ^ Scrawled Notes
  18. ^ The Ruined City of Arah explorable Mursaat path
    Scholar Yissa: Stop right there! You've stolen enough mursaat relics.
    Operative Brie: We've only just begun. With this knowledge, we can become like the mursaat themselves!
    Operative Brie: We will leave this world to the Dragons, and then return and rule once they sleep again.
  19. ^ Aetherblade Pirates: Look Up!, GuildWars2.com
  20. ^ The Road to Rata Primus
    PA Announcer: Imagine! Communications technology enhanced by the unique hive-mind abilities of Kralkatorrik's minions.
    Taimi: What? Their hive mind?
    Taimi: I wonder if that ability is something Kralkatorrik absorbed after Mordremoth's death. Some piece of its magical nature...
  21. ^ Krewe Leader Ambr
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