The Unofficial Saurok Playable Race Discussion Megathread! šŸŠ

So Saurok donā€™t have that many armor graphics in-game, but Iā€™ve thought some on something that theoretical heritage armor could be based on with the following armor graphic:

Iā€™m not too sure about the skirt part, myself. I see Saurok having more pieces of armor than loose material on, but the main feature of this is the war banner, if Iā€™m using the right term here, on the back.

Now, the use of a war banner on the back isnā€™t unique to Saurok, as other races utilize them as well, but the idea of Saurok representing their own clan or tribe as they go into battle is a thought I really like. This could add in some flavor if, as an example, you would unlock Saurok heritage armor as an allied race or even a quest chain as a core race where you gather the material needed to make the armor and war banner to represent whatever tribe became playable.

One thing I do wonder is if the banner might be annoying to view from behind a character in 3rd person mode. It may not be too much of an issue, assuming it isnā€™t too tall or big, though I could see it causing some potential clipping in a few areas.

A lot of Saurok that do have this type of armor graphic seem to be of the named variety, but some with generic names do have them, such as the Glintrok Hexxer:

Granted, this one is part of a boss group in a dungeon. If the armor and war banner is used as a form of status, however, then it would be neat to tie that fact into when you get Saurok heritage armor.

It just seems like a neat idea of theoretical playable Saurok being able to represent their tribe while fighting for the Horde. :smiley:

More Saurok research to continue in the future! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Why does no one ever picking anything cool like a Gnollā€¦

Iksar were my favorite race in EQ, Iā€™d love to see Saurok, and let them be necros! Thatā€™s my nostalgia right there, moreso than Classic which I passed on until some time into BC. :slight_smile:

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When I first got into Everquest, I remember Ruins of Kunark was out, and I was really excited about the Iksar. They had a really neat backstory and I really enjoyed them as a race, with an Iksar Shadow Knight as my first ever character. They quickly became my favorite race.

Interestingly, both of them started off being slaves to another race and then were freed for different reasons. Also on that same theme, I know that, in general, Argonians from the Elder Scrolls series were slaves in different ways. Seems like everyone in fantasy worlds want to pick on the lizardmen for some reason. x- x

If WoW ever gets the Necromancer class, then I heavily support that class for Saurok. Not just because I want to recreate my Iksar Necromancer from Everquest, but the evil Mogu used necromancy in different ways, and likely had a few artifacts and spell books lying around that Saurok, who raided their palaces and treasuries, may have gotten their claws on. Not to mention for meat eaters, wanting to utilize the leftover bones from meals and such seems practical, albeit in a sorta morbid sense.

Seems like the type of Saurok characters I want to make all related to dark magic in some sense. If they were options, Iā€™d make the following:

Saurok Necromancer or Warlock
Saurok Unholy Death Knight
Saurok Shadow Priest

As I said before, sometimes I think I have Iksar on the brain. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Youā€™re free to start a gnoll thread if youā€™d like. This one happens to be about Saurok however, in which the OP put in a lot of work to talk about. Perhaps if you put in as much work, you would also get some people discussing the possibility.

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It has been no secret that Iā€™ve been supporting Saurok as a potential Horde race since the beginning of the post. While Iā€™ve typed a little bit on the subject, I havenā€™t really gone too in-depth on why they fit the Horde. I think itā€™s about time I go into detail as to why I support Horde Saurok, and itā€™s not just because I prefer the Horde over Alliance personally.

A thing Iā€™d like to note, before I begin, is that all of what I type is under the assumption that we would get a playable tribe/clan of Saurok. Saurok, as we know them currently, need to take some hardcore sensitivity training and there arenā€™t any signs of whether they would prefer Alliance or Horde. Thus, I have to analyze what I have and make a case for why I believe a particular faction works better for them if they were to become a playable race.

With that said, letā€™s begin! Iā€™ll likely make at least two posts.

Culture

I feel the best place to start is with culture. Generally speaking, Saurok have a tribal, shamanistic culture. One particular tribe, the Skumblade, worship Kros, thought to be one of the many wild gods out there. I suspect that a playable Saurok tribe would worship a wild god of sorts, as that sure as heck beats worshiping the evil Mogu for their creation.

Looking at a Shamanistic point-of-view, I can say that this would fit the Horde better, as the Shaman class, at least originally, was the Horde more-or-less. When looking at the races that can be a Shaman in the Horde, many of them have a similar theme or way of operating. In order words: a form of tribal shamans.

Looking at the Alliance, there isnā€™t much in the way of that, aside from Wildhammers. Their shamanistic views are more regal and civilized-like. Draenei stike me as a bit too uppity to bond with, Kulā€™Tirans are far from a tribal shaman-like race, and Dark Irons and Bronzebeard Dwarvesā€¦just donā€™t quite fit that mold, in my opinion. Wildhammers are the closest, but I donā€™t see that quite working out too well between them and Saurok.

We also have to consider that Saurok are a newer race compared to other races. In this case, I see them getting more out of being Horde than they would being Alliance. Sure, they would have their own culture, but in other ways, there is plenty to learn about the world, both through a shamanistic point-of-view and also in general. The Horde can always help guide the Saurok in different ways because they share some similar forms of culture. A bond is more likely to form, and having a place in the Horde would be a lot more meaningful. Not to mention that even under Thrall, there were Colosseum fights, and I think Saurok would enjoy that and have more fun than being in the Alliance.

Survivors against a cruel world

So imagine this: youā€™re a lizard. A regular one of the animal kingdom variety. There you are, happily munching on some bugs, relaxing near a calm pool of water. Life is awesome! Then, all of a sudden, some jerk Mogu snatch you out of your habitat, perform some horrible, painful rituals on you to turn you into something entirely different, and then force you to to be a slave-soldier to take over stuff.

Doesnā€™t that bite? Of course it does! But the thing is, you also are capable of biting, and so you and your group of lizards fight back and manage to topple the evil Mogu over. It then leads to different tribes of your kind taking over different territories and fighting each other while youā€™re off to fend for yourself. Life really bitesā€¦but you know how to bite harder.

The theme of the Horde, in my opinion, is that of banding together to survive against the world that looks down upon them. Having been former slaves, I feel like this theme would work well with Saurok. This especially since there are a few parallels between them and Orcs, which I mentioned a few posts ago.

Assuming that Saurok evolve as a race some, possibly based on the magic that turned them into Saurok, a situation would likely occur that causes them to be more open to working with others. This isnā€™t impossible, seeing as some work with other races as pirates in BfA, and in doing so, an opportunity arises for the Horde to perform some diplomacy, possibly over a meat loverā€™s pizza.

Seeing as Saurok are a race that is fairly new, it would be a neat storyline to see some open up and become more than just angry lizards. Making their place in the world and making allies would be an awesome thing to see.

I just donā€™t see this occurring with the Alliance. Sure, they band together, but it isnā€™t really as a ā€œsurvival against the worldā€ thing. Likely, many in the Alliance would just see Saurok as uncivilized brutes, and seeing them hanging around Stormwind or Ironforge just seemsā€¦out of place, in my opinion.

Saurok just seem like a natural fit in the Horde, and with them as a reptilian race, it just adds more flavor to the Horde as a whole. Itā€™s cool to see races of different types join up as the Horde grows and evolves, and I feel that Saurok would fit quite well while offering quite a bit to the Horde.

Whew, that is quite a bit of typing so far. Iā€™ll think more on the subject and continue this line of thinking later.

More Saurok research to continue in the future! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Sauroks are one of the few interesting races in the game I could see myself race changing all my characters to.

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So there is a bit of Magniā€™s 8.3 storyline on Wowhead, including some of what goes on in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Iā€™ll be speaking generally, to avoid spoilers, but if youā€™re curious, you can check out the text here:

Avoiding spoilers, Saurok donā€™t make an appearance in Magniā€™s questline, as far as I know.

Of course, there will be assaults and, I assume, world quests in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Hopefully, if Saurok do make an appearance of some kind, they arenā€™t just plopped there for players to have stuff to kill for world quests. After all, the evil Mogu are trying to take advantage of the situation there while Nā€™zoth is up to no good, and Iā€™m sure the Saurok wouldnā€™t be amused at their mortal enemy still being around and causing trouble.

Iā€™ll still keep an eye out for any Saurok activity during our return to Pandaria in 8.3 and hope for the best, as low of a chance friendly Saurok are. I would honestly be surprised to see them as part of the next allied race pair, but regardless of what happens, I will always support Saurok as a playable Horde race. :smiley:

On another note, one week until Blizzcon starts! We should hopefully be getting new expansion news, so Iā€™ll be curious to see what itā€™ll be.

More Saurok research to continue in the future! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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A good duo release as previously stated would be the Sethrak and Saurok combo. Leaving both sides to have a choice of a cold blooded reptile.

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Of all the Lizard races, Saurok are my favorite. Every fantasy game needs a Lizardman. Saurok for the Horde! (after Ogres of course)

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This is a pretty neat combination as a sort of ying and yang feature, where Sethrak represent order while Saurok are more chaos oriented. :smiley:

Thinking about playable race pairs in general, it seems like most of the pairs revealed since Blood Elves and Draenei donā€™t have much relation to the other, be it through storyline or otherwise. Itā€™s neat when it does occur, but it may not be a requirement when they pair off races to be playable, so Saurok could likely fit with any other race as their Alliance counterpart, in my opinion.

I very much agree that fantasy games, MMOā€™s in particular, should have a playable lizardman race. This was one of the reasons I made the megathread in the first place, and it would add so much to WoW, in my opinion. They also have a lot of interesting story potential. :smiley:

Horde Ogres are currently my most wanted race, but Saurok are right behind them. Hopefully, I will see them both playable on the Horde someday! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Sure! Why not both! It is a win-win solution!:snake: :revolving_hearts: :crocodile:

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Friendly reminder that Saurok would make an awesome playable race. Look at how Kelfin were shown to have culture. Deep sea gilgoblins. I donā€™t think itā€™s too much of a stretch to apply this concept to Saurok too. They work with other races anyway through being pirates. Not exactly the most noble of professions, but it shows that they are capable of getting along with others beyond themselves.

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Ours is to smile at your passing. May the hist guide you.

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Just what I think!:ok_hand::+1:

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I think for any race Blizzard would want playable, they will write whatever they need to in order to make it work. Weā€™ve seen this with Dark Iron Dwarves, who had a lot of lore created for them to have a good faction of them to join the Alliance, both before becoming an allied race and when they actually did become one, when they were originally all just evil dwarves that were causing problems and were there just for you to have as antagonists in certain areas and dungeons.

The Brinescale Saurok that joined the Bilge Rat pirates had to have been in some sort of situation that required them to join up as a form of survival, which is a pretty big incentive. If we were to take a theoretical faction of Saurok that would become playable, they would have the evil Mogu chasing them down as well as the Skumblade Tribe, who is likely growing in power and becoming zealots that are overpowering other Saurok against their will, to contend with. Either of these would give a good incentive of survival for Saurok to be more open with working with and even joining the Horde, and Saurok in general fit the Horde thematically.

Speaking of, I was thinking a lot of what the Horde can do for the Saurok, but I did overlook something important that, generally speaking, people mention when discussing new racesā€¦what can the Saurok do for the Horde? Itā€™s something I plan to type out in the near future and have had some fun thinking about.

At any rate, all I can do is present ideas and show support for the Saurok as best as I can, and Iā€™m very appreciative of others that post here and also show support. :smiley:

Hopefully, the Saurok will rise up and have their day, and we will see them as members of the Horde someday! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Thatā€™s why the only one making sauroks and other races as ā€˜impossible to useā€™ is Blizzard itself!

I hope everyone is having a good Halloween. Itā€™s a fun holiday, and itā€™s also exciting that Blizzcon is tomorrow.

Iā€™m not sure what to expect, other than weā€™ll likely see the next expansion announced. We may also get more 8.3 information, including more on what is going on in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. If anything Saurok related comes out of Blizzcon, Iā€™ll be sure to talk about and analyze it, for better or worse.

On another note, I was recalling my Everquest 1 days when I remembered something pretty cool regarding the Iksar. In Everquest 1, Monks had all sorts of melee attacks you could skill-up in. At the time I played, there were only Human and Iksar Monks, and there was a difference regarding this. Humans got a ā€œDragon Punchā€ skill while Iksar got ā€œTail Rakeā€ skill. They performed roughly the same, just with a different name and animation. Itā€™s a cool thing Iā€™d like to see in WoW in general with different races of the same class that adds some flavor with race selection and fantasy, in my opinion.

On the subject of a tail rake skill, I thought a pretty neat racial Saurok could get would be a tail sweep skill where the Saurok spins around, stretching out its tail and anything around them falls down stunned for a second or two. Obviously, this is something that would need to be tested and fine-tuned, and to be fair Iā€™m not the best at designing racials with PvP in mind, but itā€™s a neat skill idea. It would obviously need a decent cooldown, as the Saurok doing it might be prone to getting dizzy. :stuck_out_tongue:

Saurok strike me as a race that would make use of their entire body in combat. Imagine, if you will, a scenario where an Alliance human managed to knock a sword out of a Saurokā€™s hand. The human would think that they have the upper hand while the Saurok, thinking the sudden bravado would be cute, would quickly remind the human that they have teeth and claws still. This makes them quite the useful ally on the battlefield and they may not need to be fed much if they manage to win some battles. :v

Anyway, that is enough rambling from me. I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween, and I should hopefully be around tomorrow for Blizzcon stuff. Hard to believe it has almost been a year since the last oneā€¦my how time flies.

More Saurok research to continue in the future! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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If Blizz were smart they would be churning out every allied race they could think of.

Questions for the QnA tomorrow are being taken here:

Iā€™ve already asked a question regarding Ogres, but if anyone wants to ask any Saurok questions, please feel free to. To be honest, I am unsure what type of question to even suggest asking regarding Saurok. x- x

I donā€™t recommend people ask if theyā€™ll ever be playable. Obviously, that wonā€™t work. :stuck_out_tongue:

If I happen to think of some suggestions, Iā€™ll be sure to mention them.

Also not much info given on 8.3 at Blizzcon. Iā€™ll type up some thoughts later after I have time to digest the announcements.