Oh, trust me, I remember the Nagrand cherries. Good times—nothing like a little scavenger hunt for… uh, not-so-soft-serve delights. But hey, I’ve seen worse. It’s all part of the “soldier’s life,” right? Leaders in the back, troops in the trenches, getting their hands dirty—that’s just how it goes. Grunt work is where the real heroes shine, even if it’s picking up cherries that aren’t exactly ice cream.
But I’ll tell you what doesn’t sit right: doing all that dirty work while Superman and his Mary Sue pals hog the limelight. It’s not about the grunt work; it’s about feeling like a background extra in your own adventure. I mean, I’m fine with the cherries—I just don’t want to be the garnish on someone else’s sundae.
honestly, it kinda felt good to just be an “outlander” instead of the prophesied hero that will defeat the burning legion, close azeroths woons, and kill the god of super hell.
The stakes were just getting a bit too high. I’m an adventurer dammit! let me adventure.
players were never the star of wows lore. you were always an intern. in many previous expansions we had quests literally making us pick up poop. players not being the main driving force behind the story dates back to RTS days of warcraft 1.
i think the OP just doesnt like the story but instead of saying that they wrote a novel about their main character syndrome.
yea im fine with it either way. and i think it makes sense our player characters are just as chosen as main characters, our story is about saving and protecting azeroth just like theirs. but im also fine with them taking the spot light.
Oh, the power fantasy’s great—until it’s not, right? The whole idea behind MMORPGs is that none of this can be done alone. That’s why we loved it in the first place! But let’s not pretend this “you’re just a face in the crowd” vibe is some brilliant evolution. Remember Legion? The complaints weren’t about feeling too powerful—it was about the complete lack of team dynamics. We were supposed to be heroes, but we were off doing our own solo thing like antisocial champions. It killed the sense of community faster than you could say “Looking For Group.”
But hey, this new “immersive sim” approach isn’t exactly solving the problem. Who thought it was a great idea to make us feel like interns fetching coffee for NPCs right at the start? I mean, sure, I’d love to feel like I’m part of a living, breathing world, but not if it means playing errand boy to a bunch of arrogant NPCs who seem to have their lives together more than I do.
Honestly, did anyone even play-test this? Or did they just show it to a room full of CEOs and stockholders, pointing at the screen like, “Look at this epic cinematic we made!” Meanwhile, nobody bothered to check if the game actually plays well. But hey, as long as the spreadsheets look good, right?
i do agree the switch up was kind of jarring and took me out of the emersion, but im hoping it’s just temporary and that vanilla feel is somehow rekindled.
Yeah I think a balance being struck is important, to be heroes of the story there has to be a story to be told. That story can’t be told exclusviely through us without removing our agency this is when using their own characters as plot devices comes in handy but to do that they have to have those characters present enough to build up their stories for us to care about them or at the very least know who they are.
Game updates: the gift that keeps on giving… or at least, we hope! Here’s to hoping the next patch doesn’t just give us more chores. Fingers crossed for that spark of vanilla magic coming back—and maybe a little less “Intern Simulator 2024.” Keep the faith, my friend. After all, it’s a living, breathing world… with a pause button somewhere.
Look gathering poo is fine for a side quest and lulz. I love that stuff when we get it. These random NPCs (particularly in this expansion) out there have no knowledge of us, nothing to expect, nothing to ask other than “I need this thing, please get it for me.” If they do have knowledge it’s enough to know we can do it and they can’t.
But fetching shields and drinks as part of the main story? I can pass. I feel like in these situations, as part of the MSQ, we should be known and respected enough to not need this kind of RP and have something better replace it.
It’s largely an intentional change. During WoD and then through Legion there developed a sentiment here on the forums and other sites, where some players, very loud players, decided that they were tired of being treated like royalty, tired of the spotlight, being called General etc. and wanted the sort of rags to riches character story again, Blizzard acknowledged this, and over the next few expansions we’ve seen a gradual return to the player character taking more of a back seat to the lore heros.
This whole layout feels even more isolating, if you ask me. Sure, being treated like royalty and running our own garrison might have made us feel a bit too special, but this “back seat to the lore heroes” approach? Not exactly the recipe for boosting those stock prices. Let’s not forget how much those prices jumped when Classic was announced—people loved that sense of community, where everyone felt like they were part of something bigger.
Instead of showing off these overly polished, idol-like characters that we’re supposed to look up to, maybe a little return to the roots could actually make the company some money. I mean, I’m just saying… I can’t be the only one who feels like Ion Hazzikostas has somehow merged with Alleria Windrunner, right? It’s like watching a gender-bent version of him strutting around Azeroth. Maybe I’m overthinking it, or maybe I just miss the days when our characters were the ones leading the charge, not tagging along like glorified fan club members.
There was one point where Alleria and Anduin were talking about jumping off a cliff, and then it cut to the cutscene. Your PC just immediately jumps off like, “So long, suckers!” while the two heroes hang back and think about it for a moment. I was rollin’ on the floor laughing at that.
As a legendary hero in real life as it relates to my profession, I can tell you that many of these quests are more similar to being a real hero then you might imagine. I spend a majority of my time helping people accomplish their goals without actually going out and looking like the hero myself. I prop up others so they can learn to be heroic and see victory.
Accolades are for people who are not truly heroic. You know in your heart when you influence positive change and that is all that really matters.
The thing is it’s always been sort of there - there’s a canon wielder of every artefact in Legion filling in for the classes you aren’t for example (I only remember a few but I know people whined a lot about Liadrin getting Thunderfury)
Keep the faith, my friend. After all, it’s a living, breathing world… with a pause button somewhere. 
