10/28/2018 05:07 PMPosted by
Yokumba
I have to say that I was disappointed (but not surprised) that there have been zero tensions between the Zandalari and Darkspear tribes shown in game. There's tons of opportunities for it to happen, but I have the sneaking suspicion that people will just play Zandalari like they play Blood Elves, and Darkspear players won't care.
All the other complexities and bureaucracies still exist, or have the capability to exist, among any of the tribes. Politicking, backstabbing, climbing the power ladder and posturing for status might even be exacerbated simply because of how otherwise small and focused any given tribe is, and that's just internally.
Everyone's trying to climb the steps to the Great Seal in Zuldazar, but recently the Darkspears were more or less given a place of honor while the other tribes (the ones that listened to Zul and agreed to his campaign) are slapped in the mouth.
They'd feel betrayed now, especially with the Horde's presence, while the Darkspear might feel retroactively let down because Zuldazar never reached out to them through their struggles in the wake of this sudden beneficence.
It's off-putting that it finally took a deal with the Horde to initiate talks, but we also did spring the princess from Stormwind County Jail after she was absent for an undisclosed amount of time. That's a fair spotlight.
The powers that be have a habit of standing back and letting things unfold, for better or worse. Or in remaining complacent while taking counsel from maniacal charlatans that have a habit of glossing over important details.
The Darkspears don't have their own district or the largest embassy in Zuldazar, but theirs is the most central and accessible, and under the most direct guard from the city's otherwise absent authorities in the area.
The Amani are beaten down on a daily basis for their hostility against the Horde, the Farraki are treated like wandering thugs and the Gurubashi are off in their own grounds getting taken out by the hundreds under a gong.
I can see the sudden invitation to sit at the grown-ups' table being jarring and disconcerting, insincere and fleeting even, to a group that had been derided as being the Least of all the tribes, despite their efforts proving otherwise, but they've found themselves at the forefront of sealing the deal between Zuldazar and Orgrimmar.
Seemingly, they've gone from being the bottom tribe to basically the only other tribe worth the crown's attention. This is a game of politics now, and the rest of the Horde is probably looking to the Darkspears to push negotiations, regardless of their opinions on the matter. No pressure.
Rokhan doesn't seem to have misgivings with helping Talanji through all of it (rescuing Zul on the other hand...), but then she's a far more active and cognizant presence than her inept father, and has demonstrated a ready openness to work with others. It's likely under her rule and guidance that some past discrepancies and shortcomings are rectified.
"Don't be sorry, be better" is an unspoken mantra across the Horde. I doubt there will be any sort of grand, formal apology for Zul's actions and Zandalar's distance over the course of history following the establishment of the other empires, but I'd imagine the conversation going forward will have a different tone.
Now, while it'd be cool for all the tribes to rehash their relations and resolve a forward route to everyone's benefit, I imagine it's going to be the Zandalari and the Darkspear talking, and everyone else having to listen, which itself might be off-putting to people playing trolls that aren't involved directly in the dialogue.
As for being played as blood elves, yes unfortunately this will probably happen. Beyond the air of superiority it's horribly wrong, but it'll happen.
Even then, the superiority stems less from good breeding and more from "because we're more religious and my gods said so, now look at these dinosaurs and the size of this temple."
Piety and individual merit against the filter of caste status at least makes a more interesting dynamic over how much blighted land you'll theoretically own once Aunt Millie finally kicks off.