I agree. The answer seems to be “hur dur current content needs to be relevant”
If I was put in charge of this seed story line, I would have it placed on an Altar in Hyjal, and radiate energy across the the zone. Maybe it could even have a form that is reflected in Ardenweald - like the seed is in Hyjal but the spiritual growth in the form of a visible tree is in Ardenweald.
But, Blizzard wants stuff to happen in the new zones. I can understand that motivation, even if I disagree.
I’m starting to think Mithonic had the right idea above: Blizzard needs to apologize to the players, both sides, for putting us through that.
Maybe, though an apology with no change in action has little value.
“We’re sorry you feel that way; that you didn’t like the perfection we in our infinite wisdom created for you.”
…oh, okay, that’s WAY too snooty, I know that they actual creators (as opposed to the bean counters) honestly do want to create a product that we play for fun and not just all the skinner boxes.
Still, there’s such a disconnect somewhere in the process, that I have the mental image of a man on a stage looking at the audience and asking “Do you not WANT to play as N###s/helpless N### victims?” in genuine confusion.
The night elf druid pointed at the large green pod surrounded by a mass of leaves and vines that had sprouted up from where they’d planted that big magic seed they’d been given a few days ago. “Look! It’s already grown so much in so little time. Huh. I know it’s magic, but I didn’t put THAT much fertilizer into the soil here…”
A second druid walked up. “Wow, the botani samples I planted here, it’s gown so much already!.. oh, hello, who are you?”
The first druid frowned at a random half-formed thought, but shrugged it off and extended their hand. “Random Druid #78649, and you say that you planted botani samples from Draenor here recently? But, I know that I planted a magic new world tree seed right here myself.”
“You did? Well, that’s MY fertilizer spread all over the ground here, and I’ve been adding water and super-nutrients to it every Mon/Wed/Fri.”
“Feed me…” a third voice said quietly.
“And I’ve been adding water and super-nutrients to the super-seed I planted here every Tues/Thurs/Sat!”
“Feed me!..”
“Oh… you don’t think the two samples… cross-contaminated do you?”
Both druids looked at the large green pod in the middle of the mass of plantlife.
“FEED ME, SEYMOUR! FEED ME ALL NIGHT LOOOOOONG!”
No, that wouldn’t cure it. But an honest, genuine, humble “Hey, this didn’t turn out the way we thought it would and we’re sorry for putting you through all that” might actually quiet down the bad feelings.
Casually forgotten fact: blizzard hired psychologists when working on BFA.
Oh, good. it’s not just me. They’re not awful but they strike me as … a little lower quality than I would have expected a company to spring for? Good emoji with full ownership run $30-120/per and these look more like $10/per. And that’s without getting into the fact that they do not scale well to the display size on my phone or on my computer, as if they were drawn independent of their actual use case.
Part of me would love to believe this, but I do not think this would actually be the case. Genuine apologies in PR do work, but they usually work when a company has a prior well of good feelings to draw on or has something immediately positive to point to; otherwise, they have a high risk of becoming a tempest of bad news, allowing content farms to create a cycle of click-bait rage where all the bad feelings are unearthed, recycled, and then someone ends on a vaguely open-minded sounding note about the future after having reminded their audience about every negative thing.
This should not be taken as a defense of the quality of those storylines, but social media has really maximized the power of “if it bleeds, it leads”, and effective rehabilitation is best done by stepping back and letting others bleed more prominently until you’re forgotten.
We have had apologies about game systems and other elements of shadowlands and BFA but we have yet to actually get an apology for the horrible story telling. Honestly it does feel like the writers aren’t humble enough to actually believe they had done anything wrong. especially based on that vid we got pre 9.2 as they tried to hype up the Jailer as some planned bad guy before wow even started.
For the youngin’s who don’t get the 90’s cultural reference 
I’m a firm believer that the only apology worth a damn is changed behavior.
And so far, yeah I was satisfied with the Tirisfal storyline. That’s the only reason I’m still subbed. I was initially back because I’d forgotten about the new autopayment system and man. I’ll tip my hat to the evil genius of it because $70 something every 6 months is in that perfect price range where I won’t look into the spike.
So I’ve to thank SL’s ending for being so crap that I simply had to come here and mock it. Lord knows how long it would’ve taken me to notice otherwise.
I genuinely hadn’t intended to play past the few months I had left but it did coincide with the Tirisfal patch which I was completely dreading. After the Elune bit about the only positive thing I could say for SL was that it didn’t further ruin my beloved Forsaken but oh God they’re coming back around to finish the job!
And it wasn’t just fine but good. The Forsaken got to be the hero of the story in their own way. Nobody wagged their fingers at them or did some moral grandstand. Hell the only character there who might do that was Calia, who was openly apologetic for being such a lame character and was just happy to be there. The excellent Forsaken Flame song plays triumphantly as you retake Capitol City. And we get a new Desolate Council with characters representing each big Forsaken branch. Sans the COTFS tragically but even the Priest Hall questline barely remembered they exist so I’m not exactly offended.
Oh and I find it absolutely delicous that for the Lux Vult MHP crowd to get an Of Lordaeron title - they’ve to LARP as a Forsaken and help them retake the place. Just, chef’s kiss. I could drink that sense of schadenfreude like a fine chianti.
Really the only bit that had me miffed was that somehow Belves got the new customization options out of it. And somehow Alliance elves got most of them. But that’s not a story gripe. It had a lot of stuff I explicitly asked for and some stuff I wouldn’t have had the audacity to. There just isn’t anything worthwhile to complain about.
It’s absolutely a step in the right direction. A decisive one, but still a step, which will mean precious little if they then immediately walk off a cliff. But that was the first story beat they handled after the mess that was BFA and SL, and it was well done.
If they continue in that fashion they’ll be no need for an apology. Because the better content will serve as one better than any words can.
I don’t understand this sentiment.
I just link the bald nelf looks hot.
I play several Night Elves. Not a single one of them are helpless victims. Yes they’ve had adversity thrown at them, but they’d only be helpless if they gave up.
The disconnect you’re thinking of is the internal meltdown that drew from an internal spite war in the creative dept.
BFA was the collateral damage.
For the point of her needing to face “Alliance justice”, the fact remains. She did.
Also, I give Tryande more credit than that. She put justice ahead of vengeance.
I know you wanted her to be saying “I enjoyed ever moment of the suffering I inflicted and I should have gotten away with it” as she was executed. But Blizzard could do that.
I don’t want that at all. I don’t even think you know me that well.
Fair enough. What do you want?
I mean, she was judged by the Alliance character who hated her most and was most hurt. She sentenced her to a task that may never be done which undoes some of the harm she did. The only thing that I can see that’s left is for her to have been killed or executed.
I don’t have an opinion on that sorry.
I wouldn’t impute this on Milthonic, but I’m sure that the Night Elf Victim Brigade would be satisfied with nothing less than a classic Auto-da-fé performed on the onetime Banshee Queen.
Preferably, Tyrande gets the kill back during their fight in Ardenweald. That would have done multiple things, including “having Tyrande feel competent for once”. I’ve never gotten that vibe from her for the entirety of WoW and I roll my eyes at her appearances about as much as Baine (actually, moreso – Baine didn’t really end up on my list until he failed to have an arc in SL). Kill-stealing Nathanos when he was at 20% after a dramatic power-up didn’t feel like much; Nathanos is still the guy hanging out at level 60 with his dogs to me, able to be taken down by a small raid, and having his life bookend at his old house kinda cemented that.
But honestly, if the exact same events had played out and they hadn’t emphasized “feel bad for Sylvanas” so much – like making us slow walk her to judgment while she mercifully forgives her angry accusers – I would have been fine? It’s not the events, it’s that the entire tone of the finality is framed as if Sylvanas were a martyr. And I suppose in a meta way, she was, because this entire arc was engineered for the worst possible reasons. But whenever I have to go to meta to understand something in WoW, that’s not good.
Personally I think she should’ve gone out like Garrosh did.
She’s cornered, she knows she’s licked, and rather than submit she gives us one last villain monologue for the ages before destroying herself in an attempt to take as many of us with her as she can.
But if we want a less dignified exit, I would have her death mirror Scar’s from the Lion King;
Tyrande tosses Sylvanas back down into Azeroth, where she lands amongst the Forsaken.
Would’ve been a great opportunity to reuse that line from the Forsaken intro. Massacre any threat posed to their new order; human, undead, or otherwise.