I know most threads like this are “concern trolling” to stir things up, but im actually a little concerned we’ll never see another situation where
Each faction gets a new race
That race has a unique skeleton
They get their own starting zone
The last time we had that was Cataclysm and wre about to get Cata Classic.
Im worried that something behind the scenes is wrong and preventing new skeletons and starting zone design time. Pandas were unique but (afaik) Dracthyr are based on Worgen; zTrolls are based on Nelfs; Kul Tiran on Ogres; and thr Earthn are dwarves but taller (not sure if that required a new model).
Im generally a fan of moving away from factions, but i still think the ability to create new races is limited and concerning. Anyone else notice this?
But what youre forgetting is that from WotLK all the way to DF, Activision was in charge. Now that this has changed and Blizzard given back authority and Chris Metzen in charge, things could change after TWW.
That is not at all how it worked/works. Let’s stop perpetuating the myth that Blizzard is some perfect/innocent babe in the woods with big evil Activision whispering evil thoughts to it.
Microsoft purchased Activision-Blizzard, nothing else has changed.
Everyone likes new races. They drive race change/faction change purchases from the shop. However creating the new starting zone, isnt necessarily the best place to put resources. Creating new skeletons and models. Then animating them. Then getting armor and weapons to graft to them. Its a fairly labor intensive process.
We had Pandaren in MoP. Unique model with a Starting Zone.
Zandalari and Kul Tiran are unique skeletons. They may have similarities to others, but they are unique.
Dracthyr, while having some similarities to Worgen, they are a unique skeleton.
Mechagnome is a gnome skeleton, Vulpera is based off a goblin.
We have gotten new races. And whether we get more, will be partly based on investment vs return. The the cost of designing, developing and implementing a new race. Does it generate enough revenue to warrant it? If it does and by a large margin, we will prob see some new races.
Although I don’t agree on moving away from factions. I think 5 is probably best for storytelling reasons. Four aligned and one non-aligned races. Tribalism adds an element of depth of story and realism. In particular, I’d like to see an emphasis on the folly of blind tribalism leading to side character and main characters ruin.
Let’s not forget that KT skeleton (whether actually new or reused) is one of the reasons they delayed 8.1.5 for weeks.
Maybe they forgot how to make new ones, but most likely they just don’t feel the need when they can reskin existing models and players keep accepting them.
I’m honestly surprised we don’t have more people whining about how “making new races is evil because Blizzard is just trying to sell services” or something
If there is a new skeleton added in a future expansion, how hard will it be to get it to work in old expansions?
I.E.
If a tauren dies in current WoW you see a cow-like skeleton on the ground. will it be simple to add such a thing for new character skeletons?
