It’s because all Blizzard cares about is the Wrynn family and them leading the alliance. Sadly.
8 Likes
I maintain that the decision to shift the primary Alliance capital from Ironforge to Stormwind during vanilla was a terrible one that has been very detrimental to the game.
Late additions to Stormwind look great, but Ironforge is more interesting as a city, and the dwarves are a great tone-setting choice to lead the Alliance that feel familiar while giving room for standing out uniquely. Having never had to seriously bear the costs of war on their own soil but nevertheless having sent wave after wave to die in defense of others, they would bring a dramatically different dynamic against the Horde: invested, but not so fraught over the past.
Hell, Magni even had a compelling backstory as a leader unlike everyone but Thrall in Vanilla, imo. “I am a quiet dude who just tried to lead my people well but I’m not super great at it and my brothers are probably dead and my relationship with my daughter is broken.”
10 Likes
Okay so that was originally how it was. I haven’t played Alliance in Classic and really thought that was the case but figured I misrembered.
The thing is I can see how using SW as the basis for the Alliance could’ve been a good idea. They’re pretty generic but that could be a strength if used right. Even someone not particularly familar with fantasy as a genre could walk in, look around and go “Alright knights, a king and probably something to do with a wizard and/or dragon. Got it”. Then from there you could introduce people to the more high concept factions like the Draenei, Worgen, Kaldorei etc.
Afterall a beige wall isn’t interesting on it’s own but it’s a better place to hang artwork than louder or more unique colors. But - they just keep the spotlight on the beige wall.
2 Likes
Yeah. Some people will actually argue over this, and I don’t know how to interpret it other than they must not been there or at least must not have been paying attention. SW didn’t have an Auction House until 1.9, and the majority of the big endgame quests start there, most notably AQ rep stuff. IF/SW was nowhere near as unequal as Org/Anything, but SW wasn’t a peer and can’t be confused for it unless you just spent your entire time completely not playing Alliance or staying out in the field.
That’s true but also, like, dwarves are not not generic by any means. Vanilla Night Elves, Vanilla Blood Elves, Trolls entirely, and Draenei are really the only places where “our X is different” really applies to any meaningful degree. I could be wrong without data in front of me, but I think this switch was motivated more by personal fondness for their work on WC1 than anything else; the Horde proves that most of your player base will ignore the aesthetic being slightly off on your main city if they get to play a character that fits their personal aesthetic.
In opposition to a lot of people who voice this complaint I like the Holy Light, 80s/90s Heroic Fairy Tale feel they ended up going with for Stormwind from MoP onward, but it’s badly implemented for an MMO as the consistent viewpoint perspective.
It’s three successive bad decisions that compounded on each other:
- Varian comes in, shreds the SW political situation to look macho or some crap
- “Oh crap, Alliance didn’t want to be blue horde”, backpedal Varian, there is now no tension in Alliance politics at all
- Anduin comes in and Anduins everything like a bishonen carebear, but there is no one for him to meaningfully bishonen/carebear at
7 Likes
Of course Cloudhoof had to die. He was supposed to be named after your character when he grew up, and Blizzard couldn’t afford a Codsworth situation.
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Pandaria cloud serpents have been moved to a new hunter pet family for draconic animals, which also includes the new dragon frogs.
It was in a short story released near the end of MoP.
Also shouldn’t he only be like, 11? Do tauren mature that quickly?
6 Likes
Kalec seems to have a new actor? Either that or Carlos Larkin is giving a different performance. It’s close enough that I can’t tell.
I really love Dezco, he’s one of my favorite characters. Such a tragic history yet he pulls through. I don’t like paladins though he’s the exception. I’m glad that his son got aged, I’m looking forward to seeing where his storyline goes.
Who would win: Avatar Aang, or the average shaman from Azeroth?
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The Centaur hounds can be tamed by hunters.
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Cool new mount.
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I like mounts like this, the Winterspring saber, the Pandaria serpents. We need more.
Edit: Oh this is actually more like Sinrunner Blanchy. Well as long as she’s not on an awful timer like that one.
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Did you know that there is an entire, fairly active subreddit with detailed citations for mediating out “who would win” fights between characters in the Avatar series?
I don’t even know how I came across it, I like Avatar a good bunch and I like thinking about fantasy fighting but I’ve never crossed those two interests.
1 Like
Rewards for Sabellian and Wrathion. A reminder that you can level both reps, one doesn’t lock you out of the other (at least so far in beta).
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Is the location of the Dragon Isles the polar opposite of Silithus?
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I’m doing Sabellian rep off the bat. After all these years, we’ve finally gotten a new pair of shorts.
I like shorts. They’re comfy and easy to wear.
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Same here. Because Sabellian is best boi and deserves all our love 
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I like both of them a lot, which is odd… I generally very much dislike dragons, especially WoW dragons. But yeah, absolutely psyched Sabellian is finally coming back after all these years.
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The quest chain sounds interesting and reveals that the harpies are not native to the Dragon Isles. It also ends with musings of a more peaceful harpy brood.
Now in light of the new Centaur, I feel that’s seeding the idea of friendly harpies down the road.
8 Likes