- I feel like it was 3 or 4 expansions! Blizzard’s most ambitious storyline since Cataclysm, which also felt messy. They did a better job this time around, but it is still messy.
- The nature of MMO storytelling means that pacing will always be agonising. An example of this was the constant complaint that Baine failed to act against Sylvanas in 8.1, that Blizz had made him a pussy, etc, only for him to act in 8.1.5. At most, people who consume serialised media tend to only wait a month between plot point if you are, say, a comic reader. In the age of binge watching, 3 months between plot points is unthinkable. I don’t think they can change this. I also think that there was more story content in every patch this cycle than there ever has been.
- While it could have been better, I think the complaint that Ny’alotha could be its own expansion is stupid. No one wants 2 years of purple swirlies and tentacles. People talk about orc fatigue… furthermore, I actually think the slow build up to N’zoth against the war backdrop is completely appropriate for N’zoth, who is all about manipulation from the shadows. The fact that this was an Old God expansion that was not marketed one is in my humble opinion, w brilliant one, and one of Blizz’s boldest ideas.
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Hmm…
I don’t see eye-to-eye with many of your points, but I’ll respect them, and envy your enjoyment of the expansion regardless.
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Only if we march under the banner of the Rat’s An*s.
The story of Battle for Azeroth probably sounded awesome back when they planned it: use a HvA story as the background to develop beloved characters, have a FF7-style subplot with azerite as the planet’s life and people mining it for money and weapons, and culminate everything with a showdown with Azshara and N’Zoth. Obviously, they failed to deliver that story in a satisfying way, and it’s a shame because now Sylvanas and N’Zoth are completely ruined as characters.
A MMO can definitely pull that off; it’s just an episodic story. TV series have been doing that for 70 years. For example they could have ended 8.1 on a cliffhanger where you see Baine being tormented by his inaction and then maybe Sylvanas suspecting him to defect. I don’t think the fact there’s 3 months between “episodes” changes much, people just need to know that there’s more to what they saw.
that did happen
I agree with this so much, and i feel the main reason not alot of people cared about this in legion is cause they didnt care about the story, with bfa it was much more personal cause it was your faction.
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I mean, I’ve seen worse wrong opinions before. Even though this one is pretty bad. And objectively wrong!
Because Alliance are boring.
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Hey, I liked it too! The whole expansion, in fact. Cool thread, your answers are very thoughtful and well-written ^.^
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You are no longer best panda
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If only we could have had Zandalar without all that faction war garbage. Then I would be able to like this expansion too!
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Essentially, I found I would rather have two expansions:
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a balls-to-the-wall faction war expansion that didn’t take place on new continents but in phased zones. I want to fight the Alliance in the forests of Ashenvale and the streets of Silvermoon.
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a more chill expac set on Kul’tiras and Zandalar with Azshara as the main villain and focuses on island exploration.
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What was your favorite patch? Or perhaps more specifically, zone/quest line.
Second question, what would you change about the story if anything?
New third question, Do you feel Anduin, Thrall, Rexxar and a few other alliance characters were under utilized, such as Vereesa? Characters perhaps, that should have gotten a lot more spotlight, considering the themes and major players within the expansion, IMO.
Sorry if you answered these already.
If they split it like that I would have been more on board with both. The second would probably be my favorite expansion of all time.
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Favourite questline was all of the Zandalar Forever line. That zone is just magic for me. I love the loa and the culture of the Zandalari.
As stated above, I would seperate the two stories into a Faction War expansion and an Island Exploration expansion. I love both aspects, but, mashed together, neither reached their full potential.
I think with such a huge cast, there are always going to be losers who don’t get the spotlight. Vereesa certainly could have seen more action. I was pretty happy to see as much of Rexxar as I did. I am pretty happy on the whole, and especially loved Saurfang and Jaina’s arcs. I can’t think of an expansion where almost all the racial leaders have had so much screen time, so very happy with that.
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Daelin Proudmoore: Can your blood atone for genocide, orc? Your Horde killed countless innocents with its rampage across Stormwind and Lordaeron. Do you really think you can just sweep all that away and cast aside your guilt so easily? No, your kind will never change, and I will never stop fighting you.
Has your ability to like the Horde been diminished by Daelin’s statement being vindicated for the second or third time?
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Yes. When I played the Alliance side of the campaign I felt like I was fighting with a tight-knit band of brothers against evil. As Horde, I felt like I was a stormtrooper who was ‘just following orders’, often working with people I didn’t trust or admire. However, it isn’t enough to take me away from the Horde because I just don’t find the Alliance that interesting.
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And you enjoyed that?
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The Zandalari I have and will argue are a highlight of the game in general in my book. Vol’Dun was a little weak for me - it’s just hard to buy the stranded in the desert angle when you’re obliged to come and go from this desolate wasteland of doom as easily as you do from the port capitol.
But otherwise aces all around. Especially Dazar’Alor. That is hands down the best city Blizz has ever done. Every inch of it is dripping with atmosphere. So much about Zandalari history and culture can be gleamed from just observing stuff. Plus it actually gets more fun when you can fly. Zipping around the ancient golden structures and down canals and waterfalls never ceases to highlight how breath taking it is.
So it’s very clear to me parts of BFA had the time and care they needed to be presented perfectly. I want an autopsy on this expansion because something had to have gone wrong somewhere.
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OMG, so much this. How long do you think it will be before we get one?
This is an MMORPG, and I think a lot of people forget the RP aspect of the RPG part, and I think the story provided a lot of interesting room for RP even if it was disappointing in others. I only completed the War Campaign fully on Horde cause I found it a lot more interesting than what was going on Alliance side. As I have said else where, I had options Horde side. I could be evil, a rebel, whatever else. Alliance was basically just “We gotta kill em all gang”.
I think a lot of the complaints deep down do come from the way some players enjoyed being able to stomp through Ashenvale and burn Teldrassil, but hated that the narrative did not reward them or pat them on the back for doing so, creating this dissonance in their minds. You see it in their statements like “It would have been a good expansion if Lordaeron and Teldrassil were reversed!”. I respect players who did not want to do any of that, more than I do the ones who embrace it but bemoan the narrative not rewarding it.
And, honestly, the same goes for the Alliance players. A whole chorus of people screaming for genocide starts to get incredibly creepy after awhile. The dissonance here comes from the fact they’re able to genocide and murder their way to victory over every single identifiable enemy in the game, but not the Horde.
My opinion is overall the expansion was bad but honestly largely not because of the story… but because I think the design is getting lazy in terms of gameplay. It has felt unfinished and rushed in many areas. The story had its plus and minuses and has to be judged by the standards of the media we are consuming, which is already cheap garbage.
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