So, first off, Blizzard’s Meme Team is on fire recently, possibly literally given how the country’s going right now, but that’s a whole different thread.
But with Blunderstuck on the literal horizon, and all the new additions to the Game-Mode, such as being able to buy what we want rather than having to rank-up for it, new weapons, transmog and mounts, I’m actually quite excited to see how this will play out.
I just know the Black/Midnight Plunderstorm mog is going to be all the rage for the next month.
But it does make me wonder, what other Game Modes could Blizzard introduce into WoW?
I’d actually be down for a ‘Escape from Statholme’ situation where you have to hide, run and scavenge as you try to escape the city, trapped between Arthas’s forces trying to murder you, the plague-infested Zombies trying to convert you, and the fire that is gradually pushing through the city, all the while scrounging for tools to help you bypass things like locked doors, jammed sewer grates, scalable walls and secret passages to reach one of four ‘Escape Routes’, which have a limited number of uses each.
There’s no ‘combat’ on the players part, but there is limited supplies, and the longer the session goes, the more frenzied the Undead become, the more of Arthas’s forces appear, with stronger abilities, and the further the fire will spread. Players might co-operate to get past certain obstacles, but the longer players are gathered together, the quicker the patrols, both Zombie and Soldier, will zero in on them, and there’s only so many people who can escape before Arthas’s soldiers figure out what’s going on and lock down one of the escape routes.
When all the players are dead, or all the potential escape routes are locked down, the game ends, and those who have escaped have ‘won’.
Bootleg and Bruisers.
Players have to run bootleg Kaja-Kola across Azshara to Orgrimmar, dodging Gallywix’s Goons, Naga and Kaja-Krazed wildlife, any way they can. From co-operative groups using big, slow but well-armed Kodo-drawn wagons with two turrets atop the sides, to hoofing it on their own two feet with a backpack, or somewhere in between, it could be equal parts Wacky Racers, Smokey and the Bandit, and Twisted Metal.
Players have to earn 500 Macaroons to pay off their debt to the Counterfeit Crew making the bootleg Kaja-Kola, and this can be done in several ways. A single massive delivery, several smaller ones, or robbing other Bootleggers and taking both their Macaroons, and their Kaja-Kola to sell yourself. Defeating Gallywix’s Goons and the Naga grants access to new abilities or upgrades that can be used either as an individual on foot, a driver, or a gunner. Defeating the Kaja-Krazed animals either grants more Kaja-Kola, or if the player is willing to risk parting with some of their contraband, temporarily ‘recruit’ these animals as bodyguards, with repeated ‘bribes’ of Kaja-Kola both healing them and refreshing their ‘loyalty’ buff.
The problem is, the buyer of the counterfeit Kaja-Kola only wants to buy so much, and it is a ‘first come first served’ kinda deal with them buying your supply.
And with the patrols of Gallywix’s Goons all across the road and settlements, a straight path is impossible, and Kaja-Krazed Animals in the wild lands slow down and drain Kaja-Kola from your rides.
Naga are terrifyingly strong meaning attempting to swim or use semi-aquatic or aquatic vehicles to cross not only makes it very risky, if very quick, but you also have to dodge sea-mines, and the canons from Bilgewater Harbor itself who are ordered to fire on any ship that does not have permission to be in the bay, so while it is possible to cross the ocean and cut out a lot of time, you have to have a vessel that’s very quick, very agile, or very tough to avoid the barrages, the mines and the highly aggressive Naga patrols.
Some abilities might call in a Zepplin to bombard your enemies or replenish your supplies of Kaja-Kola, bribe the Firbolg to harass an enemy camp on your behalf to stop it spawning patrols for a short while, ‘Snitch’ might allow you to hit an enemy Player with a Flare that draws hostile NPCs to them like a magnet, ‘Bribe’ might convince a patrol of Gallywix’s Goons to look the other way for a stash of Macaroons and a few cold cans of bootleg Kaja-Kola from your contraband supply.
Running on your own two feet is the slowest and carries the least amount of bootleg Kaja-Kola, but allows you to enter stealth, access rocket-jump abilities and access other vehicles with ease, which can add your personal supply of Kaja-Kola to theirs, and means if and when they make it to the supplier, you drain an equal amount of Macaroons from their take if you can claim a gunner or passenger seat. It takes four trips on foot with a full load of bootleg Kaja-Kola to earn the 500 Macaroons, and it takes 20 players on foot to fill up the quota for the buyer at Orgrimmar’s gates.
Kodo-drawn wagon is roughly the same speed, but carries the most of the bootleg Kaja-Kola, and enables two other players to man the turrets, which hurl explosive barrels of unstable Kaja-Kola syrup, which not only knocks enemies back, but sets them on fire from the explosion. A single Kodo-drawn wagon can make 500 Macaroons with a full load of bootleg Kaja-Kola, but it can struggle with any terrain but flat roads and ground, and 20 Kodo-drawn wagons fills the quota for delivered bootleg Kaja-Kola.
U-Hauler-5000 is a variation on the Goblin Limo from the Goblin starting area, repurposed into a cargo-hauler with room for one gunner/passenger, but it is a fuel-hog, draining bootleg Kaja-Kola once it runs out of fuel, can only fire in a 90 degree angle in-front of itself, and must fuel up at depos that are often patrolled by Gallywix’s Goons. That said, it is absurdly fast over short distances, but that is balanced out by its absurd fuel-consumption issue. Two trips with a full cargo of bootleg Kaja-Kola earns that 500 Macaroons, and 10 players making 2 runs each is enough to fulfill the quota. It also has the Boost ability that rapidly burns Kaja-Kola in exchange for a short-lived burst of ludicrous speed.
The Frogger is an amphibious 2-seater hovercraft similar to the Xiwyllag ATV mount, but has a similar issue to the U-Hauler-5000 in terms of fuel consumption, but can skate across the surface of the water and the land alike on two hover-pads. This utility is balanced by having no weapons at all and extremely fragile armor, able to take only a handful of hits before exploding and killing the player. Three trips with a full cargo of bootleg Kaja-Kola earns that 500 Macaroons, and 15 players making 3 runs each is enough to fulfill the quota. It also has the Jump ability that allows it to rapidly leap into the air, allowing it to scale cliffs or leap over patrols, but this burns fuel and/or bootleg Kaja-Kola excessively.
Finally, there is the Bilgewater Chopper, a reskinned version of the Mechano-Hog/Mekgineer Chopper, that is as fast as the Frogger, but even more lightly armored, and can carry multiple kegs of bootleg Kaja-Kola, or just a single keg and a gunner in the side-car, who can fire straight ahead or off to the side. Like the U-Hauler-5000 and the Frogger, is can burn Kaja-Kola in place of fuel, but also has the Boost ability that rapidly burns Kaja-Kola in exchange for a short-lived burst of ludicrous speed. Without a gunner, the Bilgewater Chopper has no offensive options. Three trips with a full cargo of bootleg Kaja-Kola earns that 500 Macaroons, and 15 players making 3 runs each is enough to fulfill the quota.
What are your thoughts? What other fun ‘Game Modes’ could Blizzard throw into the mix if Shidderstorm 2.0 ends up being as fun as the original iteration was?
goodnaturedly.