You know, I never really gave that too much thought. Maybe because I play Horde mostly and Alliance concerns are a bit less on my mind.
Jaina lost her entire city. If her people were the people of Theramore, her people lost the most. Maybe they did not suffer the most in that their death seemed quick. But her people were all but wiped out.
Voljin is in that room too, and he was almost murdered. Anduin was severely injured by Garrosh himself.
Sure - Thrall and Varian agree with the Panda. But it does seem a bit self centered of the Pandaren to say such things.
Stupid Varian. If he had only let Thrall smash Garrosh then and there.
I hated MoP. War Crimes was the rotten cherry on the sundae that was MoP. And WoD was as if some one just walked by and vomited on it.
I hated taran zhu with all the bones of my body and was really glad when he got possesed by the sha of hatred like the sanctimonious hypocrite he is, i dont hate him now, he and ji firepaw got gutted and beaten for all their troubles and i hope they learnt something, rest of the pandas are fine, even nomi and shaohao.
The only hope BFA destroyed for me was of Jaina going even further off the rails to the point she’d need to be put down for good.
Got to fight her as a raid boss at least, but it was a real disappointment that she bubble hearthed at the end. Would have been nice to bring the current chapter of her story to an end.
I guess Alliance characters just get to vacation in crazy town and don’t have to retire there like Horde racial leaders.
It killed my hope for Sylvanas actually getting an end to her arc that would be satisfying for everyone, and that happened technically in Legion, during the War of Thorns. Ever since Helya had been introduced, as this malevolent figure who controls a portion of the afterlife, I’d been eager for the reveal that Sylvanas would be the one wanting to literally kill the gods of death so her people, and herself, wouldn’t need to fear their end any more.
It would have been a way to encompass all the different races, factor in the Old Gods, everything, in a way that would have made sense. But with the Burning that killed my hope for an actually good version of that, if it ever comes to pass. Because even if the Shadowlands leak is true, it doesn’t come close to balancing out anything Sylvanas has done, and it puts her on the pedestal of messiah.
Not to mention it does nothing to address all the Horde soldiers eagerly carrying out her bidding despite not knowing about her big secret plan.
Imagine a cohesive arc where the whole time since seeing that hellish afterlife, Sylvanas has been searching, not for a way to have her people live on forever, but to hunt down the gods of death and end them.
I wish I could like this post more than once. The Alliance has so many legitimate reasons to go to war. It doesn’t even have to be them declaring it as a faction all at once. Do a small time jump from Legion, where people like Danath and Tyrande are having skirmishes with the Horde that slowy start escalating that eventually leads to a full scale war.
That would make the Horde actually being reactive for once which is MUCH needed. It would also let the Horde go back to its roots of being afraid that the Alliance will always be a threat to them. “For the Horde!” Would actually mean something again.
But almost more importantly, it would give the Alliance teeth. Fiercer skirmishes in Ashenvale would make the Night Elves feel like they’re REALLY protecting their forests, like they should. Show both sides the Horde on the backfoot through maybe a small quest chain that the Night Elves have been using kids gloves on the Horde, and make the Horde feel like being in Ashenvale is a real commitment that needs more than two small outposts.
The BFA lead in quests should have taken place in multiple locations with small battles where the Alliance win some and the Horde win some. This way both sides get to actually experience the ups and downs. It would also be a good time to add in new NPCs which the Horde in particular desperately needs.
Nearly every war besides WW2 in history is complex. And for a Fantasy setting when we are fighting NPCs simple good vs evil is fine. But that doesn’t work with the Faction Conflict in WoW without alienating nearly everyone. And now here we are.
A wc3 style Alliance offensive on the Eastern Kingdoms offensive similar to the Isle of Thunder in MoP where you can choose between pvp and pve
A decisive and emotionally overwhelming Kaldorei victory over the horde where a major Horde character is executed and made into a decoration by one of the Night Elf Leaders.
Malfurion purging the Cenarion Circle while ignoring condemnation from Cenarius and the Green Dragon flight.
A Lower + deeper Grim Batol dungeon and raid in the fashion of Blackrock Mountain.
A Dragonmaw resurgence in both the Horde and Khaz’Modan.
Naga assaults upon all zones similar to the Zandalari Warbands in MoP or the Legion invasions of Legion.
an Azshara gank ride similar to Deathwing’s flight of burning everywhere and everyone alive.
Thrall refusing to help the horde and stubbornly content to live out his days in Outland (reflecting Metzen’s retirement.)
A Wintergrasp style battle for Gilneas city
a druidic campaign to rally the Mountain Giants and grow Ancients to move against the Horde.
the Horde taking complete control of the Swamps of Sorrows and sacking Goldshire.
Arathi Highlands made into a Tol’Barad style PVP zone.
the Drenai established their fortified Forest Song construction with 100% WoD style Drenai Buildings and Energy Shields complete with a Naru in the main building.
Stratholm becomes the centerpiece of a Scourge insurection lead by Kel’thuzad with harbor area being completed, and sewers added as a raid.
The Port of Nembis in a Haven morth east of Winterspring revealed to have been taken over by Shen’dralar, and reveald to Malfurion for a price unspecified.
The Stillpine Tribe Joins the Alliance on behalf of the Draenei.
the Exodar takes flight and maintains station over Teldrassil Dalaran style to put out the flames and launch attacks on Horde Shipping.
the Prophet Velen joining Maiev and Malfurion on their campaign in Kalimdor.
Light Forge Draenei taking affront to Prophet Velen and launch a campaign to place Turalyon as their racial leader.
a pvp quest where you bring the livers of slain Horde players to Genn Graymane.
a Open world Hellfire Peninsula style capture the fort objectived in Ashenvale. Pvp objectives are:
A) Mor’shan Rampart + 10% movement speed.
B) Stardust Spire +10% critical strike damage
C) Maestra’s Post +10% experience bonus from quests and kills.
D) Silverwing Outpost +10% versatility.
E) Kargathia Keep +10% experience from quests and kills.
F) Blackfathom Camp +10% movement speed.
G) Raynewood Tower +10% Haste.
H) Hellscream’s Reach +10% Versatility.
Splintertree Post is destroyed by Malfurion in an ingame cinematic: he entangles the entire town and everyone inside in thorns; bleeding and squeezing to death everyone inside: including Horde Players.
Warsong Lumber camp becomes the new Quest Hub for Horde in Ashenvale; and the Blood Elves are taking command and setting up Blood Elf fortifications.
The Wildhammer sets up a WoD style Bunker in Astranaar, with an Azorite powered cannon that adventures have to use to kill a horde player by randomly firing Azorite Shells into Orgrimmar.
Astranaar’s defenses is upgraded with Silverwing Grove style walls and a Workshop where Glaive Throwers are built.
Silverwing Grove is now a quest Hub, and has been upgraded with a Chimera Roost and Ancient of Lore; used to raid horde towns in Ashenvale with Chimeras and Mountain Giants.
Assembled at Astranaar, and Warsong Labor Camp are NPC armies of relevent forces:
A] Warsong infantry lead by a Blademaster, Forsaken Calvary lead by a Death Knight and supported by a Goblin Zeppelin armed with cannons and backed by Blood Elf casters
B] The Alliance regional forces are composed of Worgan infantry lead by Darius Crowley, backed by Draenai Calvary and Night Elf Huntresses lead by Drelanim Whisperwind , who is supported Chimeras and Glaive Throwers for support.
Both armies ensemble at their respective zone capitals every six hours, then move out, attacking any Horde, player or NPC along the main path of the Zone, Occupying a lesser quest hub or a zone entrance hub.
Warsong Lumber Camp is also upgraded with a Demolisher factory; where Horde players get to rent a demolisher to raid Alliance towns and kill adventurers.
Demon Fall Canyon has been updated, with an Eredar Warlock taking command of a Demonic strike force that randomly sorties and sacks a random faction city if it isn’t stopped.
Zoram’Gar Outpost now has a Goblin Submarine that transports players around the North of Kalimdore and into Orgrimmar.
I’m sorry but the Battle for Azeroth has been anything but a battle for Azeroth…
I can’t pin point when i lost hope i have just been slowly losing it as the story went on. Thr updates seem extra slow abd dont explsin much just feels like they gave up on half the story
nah that would remove the agency from it, if he stays young and fit he can simply keep making the same mistakes and fighting brutally knowing he can’t die but can fight forever.
If there is a ticking clock it means he needs to try redeem himself before he is too old to get his “honorable death” that he wants.
Dod you reply to my post in another thread? But yeah no i no matter what dont beilive in even possable infinate punishment for finite crimes. Thst is just me though so to me he needs the chance to redeem himself over sone tine limit thst likely is rigged.
That’s actually a reoccurring theme for Blizzard as far as WoW is concerned. The stories that play out while leveling, can end up being pretty good. I recall during WoD the leveling experience was praised (garrison parts notwithstanding) because the zone storylines were pretty good.
It’s when they attempt to tie up the overarching narrative has they failed miserably.
My understanding is that the actual writers are given a much wider berth when it comes to leveling content so long as they hit a few key points. Things only fall apart when everything has to be compressed into the nonsensical mold that is the main story.
This expansion actually did kill off anything I liked about Night elves. I used to be a huge fan of them but now I really don’t like them. They’re just so weak and constantly bullied around and contrived to be the damsels in distress that I don’t really care if they do just go extinct. I don’t care about them getting vengeance or whatever because it doesn’t matter. They’re irrevocably destroyed in my eyes.
Lost Hopes?
To be proven wrong about the inclination that Blizzard was capable of doing some decent gray vs gray story telling, that they had the capacity to allow alliance to be complete jerks sometimes, and to lay off beating the horde with the villain bat.
**lifts up a broken baseball bat with more blood on it than an episode of Walking Dead and tosses it out for everyone to see
Behold, said villain bat. Used this expansion to absolutely maul the Horde and the alliance was, once again, relatively untouched.
Now I’m hoping they completely give up on doing any more faction vs faction story all together, because, honestly…
I was hoping this would be a story driven by the faction war and about the faction war. Instead it feels like they are making me feel bad to want a faction war and in truth this is about how faction wars are wrong, factions are wrong and it really is about Old Gods and the Shadowrealm and a soft reboot of the direction of the story and the big bads after Legion.
I was hoping they would reframe the factions and the war and show that although war is horrible, between these two factions it is inevitable. I was hoping to see things set so that no one was at fault, and it would be all grey with both sides being able to argue their point of view.
sundae that was MoP. And WoD was as if some one just walked by and vomited on it.