Funny thing is, it always had me hearkening back to WC3 (TFT specifically), where as I recall Sylvanas was the one character in the game to drop that word as she prepared to kill a paralyzed Arthas.
Then again, the RTS’s were always more prone to utilize harsher language; Uther’s words to Arthas before their fight included some stuff that I wouldn’t particularly expect to hear said in WoW.
So many people never played wc3 its sad
That’s so funny. Sylvanas has just had a monopoly on the b****es throughout this franchise.
I think the harsher language and more edgy themes in the RTSs could be attributed to being more of a college bro project rather than the billion-dollar committee-reviewed product it is now.
I guess I can’t help but mourn modern Blizz taking away from those origins a bit, even if I might roll my eyes at the earlier stuff. In a way, it felt more authentic and endearing for its moments of jankiness.
Godfrey uses it in Shadowfang Keep. One might assume because of the areas that it was the same writer.
It comes up in a number of books and comics, obviously less so in the game.
Anyway, I don’t think it needed to be removed.
But I think it is equally unimportant to ask for it back.
I feel like it’s less the developer team and more the target audience. WoW’s just plain more mainstream and aimed at drawing in a wider range of people than WarCraft, StarCraft or Diablo were. WoW’s target audience includes parents and their kids, so the Devs likely tend to tread more lightly with things like language for fear of offending one demographic into not allowing another one to play.
That said, new or old Blizzard, external materials like books and such have almost always been willing to go farther with things than the games themselves. Even back in the “darker” era of WC2 with its concept art of gruesomely dismembered combatants and the like, the game itself just had Lother die a generically heroic death (albeit at that time, as a result of a betrayal and ambush), while the novel outright made it clear that his chest got caved in and his head was mashed to pulp by the Doomhammer. Something I’d definitely not expect to see in WoW, and would even have seemed odd to portray in-game at that time.
Good point about the demographic shift! I definitely agree.
I always get a kick out of hero death scenes in older games that didn’t have nearly so many cinematics. All the dramatic, intense dialogue interrupted by some little guy on the screen doing a generic death animation? Gold.
It felt weird in WC3 too.
Why is this in the beta content? Are they connecting it to SL in some new way?
I’m Australian so my first thought was wanker and it cracked me up imagining Garrosh of all people dropping such an Australian phrase. “Sylvanas, mate, you’re being a real wanker right now.”
That said, it’s hilarious where they draw the moral line. The b word is no good but explicitly showing genocide, murder, rape, violation of bodily autonomy is a-ok. But don’t say any bad words while you’re doing it.
I assume someone just found it either datamining or happened to be doing the quest on the PTR.
UH OH!
Do we have a… NAUGHTY WORD?
Jeez! How did that happen?
The removal of this horrible no-no word is clearly our top priority. Despite it being in the game for TEN DARN DIDDLY YEARS!
A WHOLE DING-DANG DOODLY NOODLY DECADE! BETTER REMOVE IT NOW BEFORE SOMEONE STUMBLES ACCROSS IT!
Because it’s not like out story telling has made a hard right into the stupid version of Grimdark. Clearly intended for our aging fanbase. We need to make sure our game is consumable by more sensitive demographics… Never mind good story telling, game mechanics, balance and general quality control. That doesn’t nearly matter quite as much as that one a character who hasn’t been relevant in several years said a naughty word a decade ago…
Can’t bring myself to get worked up about this. What’s so important about the word that you have to demand it be in the game?
I don’t think anyone is demanding it be included such that there is confusion around why it’s apparently being removed at this time.
Doesnt tyrande have an orc head that she throws in the moonwell for the ritual in 8.1?
I honestly thought it was super out of place and didn’t belong in WoW. I wasn’t offended by it or anything, i just thought it was really weird for him to use.
I disagree that it should be changed back, that sort of language in this game is so out of place.
The thread title says “Change it back.”
Right, but again the Op asks,
I’m glad they removed this. This has always bothered me, because if you use that word in game you can get banned. Authors and developers don’t think about that when they use such dialogue. It’s a double standard and hypocrisy. Blizzard is better when they’re consistent.
Or the developers have changed and felt the word far more sensitive.
I never cared for the word, but removing it just feels too late and removes the impact it had how Garrosh and Sylvanas’ relationship as allies were. He responded to Sylvanas with a verbal lashing to her sarcasm and insulting gesture.
My preference? Profanity filter.
Checked on: Garrosh does not call Sylvanas a “female dog”.
Checked off: “WATCH YOUR CLEVER MOUTH 
”