I find this interesting in that it seems to go against what they said before.
I think, in some ways we’re frankly viewing this as a bit of a retcon. Like, we’re not going to change existing named, established characters and make them look different.
But what do you think, do you want all the cities adjusted like this? I feel like it will make the world feel much fresher.
I think it’s good and I think they should do it with all cities. More diversity is good and as long as they aren’t really major NPCs, I think giving them new customizations is a good thing, just like model updates for major NPCs.
I guess given they’re minor characters it doesn’t matter if they get race lifts as long as it never strays from that level of anonymity.
Are these old npcs or new ones? I don’t think they should change old ones because people know a lot of them and are attached to them.
I don’t see what the issue could be, for the Human NPCs, even given what they’ve said before. It’s not like the armor merchant has numerous in-canon depictions that it would contradict, like if they did it to, say, Anduin.
My only critique is the update to Ithurian, since, in everything we’ve seen previously, the Highborne don’t tend to tattoo themselves like the other Night Elves (assuming he is Highborne).
If favourful NPCs skin tones/hair styles/eye colours changing causes people’s attachments to said characters to fade, then I’m afraid that’s on them.
Like this… idk.
WoW Humans should be treated a little differently than other races in the game because we are Humans, so reflecting a bit of our ethnic diversity is good.
Other races don’t really have that issue. I guess the Blood Elves might get their new skin tones included in the populace if Quelthalas ever gets updated. But other than Humans and maybe Blood Elves, I don’t know if it matters. It’s not like Thunderbluff is full of White Cows, and IRL Brown Cows who play the game want representation. Their leader Baine is a Brown Cow, anyway. So calm down, Brown Cows!
I do like to see the world change and grow. Dazaralor and Boralus went a good way towards what I like about video game cities. Dazaralor had a little embassy row for the various Troll tribes. They had Tortollans about. Kiro visits for Rastakhan’s funeral. It felt alive and a part of the world. Same with Boralus. I enjoyed seeing the Vrykul there. Legion Dalaran has all those random NPCs from various Orders and Quests, which is neat. So cities having a variety of people and things going on is good.
Some of these npcs are iconic for example in Goldshire where people hang out. So I don’t really agree with this.
Blizzard can add all the diversity they want to Humans, they’re still the most boring race lol.
If they changed something actually significant about them - they removed the NPC, they changed some integral dialogue - then I’d agree with you.
They’re background npc’s who are essentially just meaningless. Allll for the flavour changes
Oh this is going to be gooooood.
/popcorn
This is probably part if the reason I’m so blasé about it, as the owner of a single Human character I struggle to get much further than halfway to max level.
But, if my old RP haunts in Darnassus still canonically existed, and they started giving the old NPCs the new skin colors, I would honestly just roll with it as how that NPC “always” looked.
Do people get meaningfully attached to generic NPCS?
I walked around Stormwind on PTR and there aren’t that many that changed. Only thing that stands out is the guards, a lot of them are black behind the mask. It kinda stands out a bit. Basically every unique NPC is still white but all the guards are like 1/3 black now. Don’t see any asians but it’s hard to see in the guard’s mask.
Me personally? I’d think they just got a face-lift at the barber. We do it, why not the NPCs?
I actually want some of the Blood Elves NPCs to also be dark.
Like they could make it so canonically, Blood Elf darker skins and golden eyes is due to extensive Light magic exposure, same way red skin and green eyes is due to extensive Fel magic exposure, or pale-blue skin and white eyes is due to extensive Shadow magic exposure, or purple skin and purple eyes is due to extensive Arcane magic exposure, etc.
So all the Blood Elves in the Warlock area (The Sanctum) still have green eyes, but the Blood Elves in the Mage area now have blue eyes, but the Blood Elves in the Paladin area are darker with yellow eyes.
Rommath gets blue eyes, Liadrin becomes dark with yellow eyes, Halduron and Lorthemar stay the same.
Elves are the eevee-volutions of WoW.
Also I feel like a character like Taelia, who is only 1 xpac old, can easily be changed to be black or asian (or both! the “Asian face” model with the “Afrotextured hair” model, or something like that one Afro-Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka!). Would be cool/cute to have a main-ish character use the new models in that way.
Also I want Lilian to use the new Forsaken girl hair with the giant mowhawk with the spikes slightly to the side, she’d gain so many cool points with that hair.
Doesn’t really hurt, besides
The good retcon is unskinking Zandalar.
Small point, but the very much not-Light infused Void Elves also get those darker skin tones.
Unless they canonically intend for the non-purple tones to be High Elves, I suppose. I don’t believe I’ve heard them say one way or the other.