The Unofficial Saurok Playable Race Discussion Megathread! šŸŠ

Community General Discussion
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The thing about that is that I personally support Saurok as a Horde race. Based on my own preferences, I really can not see them on Alliance.

Admittingly, I am primarily a Horde player, but my wanting them to be a Horde race comes from a few ideas. They are a tribal race that started off as slaves who fought for their freedom. This theme really goes well with the idea of the Horde and why the Horde races banded together: to survive together against a world who shuns them. Iā€™ve also mentioned a few parallels between the Saurok and Orcs that I can see them becoming kindred spirits. I feel they would be better treated and have great storyline potential on the Horde also, in my opinion.

In terms of interesting Alliance races, there are others out there that would fit. For example, Sethrak have had a heavy Alliance support, and I could see them going either Alliance or Horde. It does depend on what your definition is of interesting races, of course.

That said, I hope you donā€™t take my post the wrong way, as I promise Iā€™m not trying to be rude at all. I just really want them as a playable Horde race and is what I personally support, is all.

Getting Saurok on the Horde is a hope Iā€™ve had for a long time and would make me very happy if it ever came true. :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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who reads all this stuff?

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People whose opinions are far more valuable than yours, to be honest.

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I think Saurok fit the horde thematically andā€¦ uhmā€¦ beastially? I donā€™t really want to say it that way. But they kinda feel more Horde.

I too would love the Sethrak for the Alliance. Just feels thematically them.

While Iā€™m much more active with the Sethrak Folks, I feel very supportive of the Saurok Folk. Also the more you type up these veritable essays, the more I want to see them.

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So I did another animation test with the Saurok model Iā€™ve been using with my Rogueā€™s Glyph of Disguise, and turns out they have a backwards swimming animation:

Some people cite a backwards swimming animation as a hint of design for future playability. Of course, this could just be leftover from Blizzard using the male Worgen animation, though I think some NPC races that use playable race models as a base or rigging donā€™t have a backwards swimming animation. Iā€™m very curious if Saurok have a Heart of Azeroth animation now, and may need to level my other Horde Rogue and see what happens.

To be clear, itā€™s more of a ā€œfor funā€ thing than any evidence for future playability. Likely, as I said before, it could just be leftover from the male Worgen model. Then again, some male Worgen animations/emotes work with the Saurok model Iā€™ve linked while others donā€™t.

Just something interesting I saw in the game that I wanted to show off. It likely doesnā€™t mean a lot, but still neat to discover.

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

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Got another multi-part post today. Another Saurok sighting in BfA, a video to inspire some Saurok warrior animations, and also a screenshot I took.

With the new sighting, this is something that I think may have been in the game since launch. In Tiragarde Sound, there is an underwater bar area, which you can breathe in the general area, called the ā€œWhaleā€™s Belly.ā€ If you want to know how to find it, hereā€™s a video:

From what I saw, there were two Saurok in the area next to each other.

As far as I can tell, the tribe they come from isnā€™t clear. You canā€™t interact with them, and they seem to have male Worgen idle animations of sniffing in the air (how they do this underwater, I have no idea) and the green Saurok does a Worgen roar emote every few seconds. They do appear in friendly green text when you mouse-over them, and a Dwarf captain walking in the area walks up to them and does a friendly roar emote to them.

Obviously this place is meant to be fun and silly, but it does serve as another instance of Saurok being among other races, actually having fun this time, and not wanting to tear the other patronsā€™ faces off. It also shows that Saurok can swim quite well in order to get down to the area. Funny how ideas meant to be silly or cute seem to add more to Saurok personality. Hey, Iā€™m not complaining. I still hope to see the day Saurok hang out at different Horde establishments as members of the Horde.

The next part of my post involves a couple of playthroughs Iā€™ve found of Soul Calibur Vā€™s arcade mode as the character, Aeon, who is a lizardman character Iā€™ve talked about before earlier in this megathread. You can see the action here:

Different forms of Lizardman were playable in previous Soul Calibur games, where they wield a sword and shield. In this game, Aeon dual wields axes. Looks kinda like a fury warrior, doesnā€™t it? I thought Iā€™d share it to inspire some Saurok warrior animations, although I donā€™t expect Saurok to grow wings or breathe fire, cool as that would be.

Lastly, I did take another screenshot of my Horde Assassination Rogue using the Glyph of Disguise to turn into a Saurok. This time, I sent the Saurok ambassador to the Sethrakā€™s Temple to have him learn more about their race from the Blood Scribe there:

It was also to show that I do support Sethrak as a playable race, regardless of what faction they would be on. WoW could really use a playable reptilian race, and Saurok and Sethrak could offer a lot if both ever became playable. Iā€™ll always support Horde Saurok, and Iā€™m happy to see the support for playable Sethrak still going strong. Regardless of what happens in the future, the Saurok stand with the Sethrak! :snake: :crocodile:

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

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I had forgotten about this character in Soulcalibur.
His animations are very well done, as are several characters in this franchise.

Very well Bagzak. Congratulations!
You are doing a wonderful job with the sauroks and I support 100% that we can all see them as a playable race.

Preferably, in the horde because its aloof nature and tribal origin seems to scream horde.

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This made me think of a counter to the the Saurok are too stupid and violent argument.

So were the Gilgoblins in Cata. Back when they were first introduced in Cata Gilgoblins were hyper aggressive, violent, greedy and dumb as a brick. All they cared about was their stash of shiny things and adding to it. But in BfA they were changed into sweet, good natured and downright generous with the Kelfin.

This shows that Blizz is willing to change a race to better fit the story they want to tell. No saying they canā€™t do the same to a tribe of Saurok.

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What Blizzard has done with the Gilblins is a great example of fleshing out a NPC race that didnā€™t have much to it in order to make them more in-line as a potential playable race. What use to just be all angry male mooks who just pilfered shinies to store now turned into a potential allied race candidate that was part of the Nazjatar storyline.

Several player races use to just be enemy mobs that were there just for players to kill. Dark iron Dwarves and Zandalari are good examples where they took good members of those races and did something neat with them. Even the Magā€™har consist of members of the Iron Horde and their kin, let alone the Illidari are part of the Horde and Alliance as the Demon Hunter class of all things. We even have a NPC clan of Mogu that are not evil, from what we can currently tell.

In my opinion, Saurok arenā€™t too unreasonable to consider as a playable race and certainly something could be done for a tribe of them that could end up as a playable Horde race. They have a great backstory to work with, having been former slaves of evil Mogu who overthrew them and became free, and lizardmen are a staple of fantasy races in general.

Iā€™m sure if given some love and creative writing, Saurok would add a lot to the game as a playable Horde race. While not the most requested race, they would still generate a lot of marketing buzz and excitement, I am sure.

If you canā€™t tell, Iā€™m very passionate about lizardmen in general. They are, after all, my favorite fantasy race, and having wanted Saurok as a playable race since I first saw them in MoP, I never thought they would be possible. Seems like as time goes on, their chances, while still low, seem to gradually go up, and while I was worried when I first made this megathread, Iā€™m glad I went through with creating it.

I said it before and Iā€™ll say it again: I dream of the day we see Horde Saurok running around Orgrimmar, and Iā€™ll keep supporting Saurok as a playable Horde race, allied or core, as best as I can. :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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So I thought of a fun idea for Saurok customization and a racial feature: Tail Equipment! Basically, the idea of attaching weapons or items to a Saurokā€™s tail, either for visuals or possibly a small buff.

To illustrate this idea, I have a couple of pictures of Lizalfos from the Legend of Zelda series:

Youā€™ll likely notice the weapons attached to their tails. This is the idea Iā€™m referring to.

At the very least, I could see this being put on Saurok NPCā€™s. Saurok guards in particular would likely have them, and whoever the leader of the playable Saurok faction would also have some sort of weapon on their tail when theyā€™re decked out in full battle attire. It makes Saurok seem even more fearsome in battle and just adds some character to them, in my opinion.

As for player Saurok, this idea could be just as a visual look to complement transmogs or could even apply a small buff. For example, a spiked ball tail attachment could have a chance to stun enemies briefly while an axe attachment could slow mob movement speed. For casters, they could have orbs or totems that offer buffs like spell haste. Of course, such options should be allowed to be invisible if players want their Saurok to have nothing on their tails.

The idea of buffs does come from the Zandalari, where they can pick a loa to worship to gain a small buff of some sort. Nothing too overpowered, but something that gives them more character and flavor as a player race.

This is just a fun idea I wanted to share. I figure if Saurok utilized all of their body in combat, they would likely innovate how to make their tails even stronger as a weapon.

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

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I remember the film Dragonheart, in which Draco the dragon used his tail like a club, but could also use it as an axe, causing sharp spores to emerge from the tip of his tail, as when he fought with knight Bowen, when they first met Time.

Adapting an axe or apple to the tail, such as extra weapon, would be a good option.

The X-Men Nightcrawler is also shown fighting with two swords but he also uses a third blade, manipulated by his tail.

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So the past few days, Iā€™ve been leveling an Alliance Rogue, as he was closer to L110, to see if Saurok have any Heart of Azeroth animation of some sort. I used the Glyph of Disguise on this mob to turn into one:

This model has all the same emotes available as the one I used for my Saurok ambassador, so Iā€™m sure itā€™s just as functional for this test.

Anyway, the cutscene did not show me in Saurok form, but I did take a couple of screenshots, although I forgot to remove my Rogueā€™s name but no biggie. One is where you absorb the thingies and the other is when after you absorb all the thingies:

Both are using the same animation. Anyway, I havenā€™t gotten a male Worgen character through this quest, so Iā€™m unsure if the Saurok is using that animation or a generic casting animation.

Regardless, It does seem there is a Heart of Azeroth animation of some sort.

Assuming this is using the male Worgen animation, itā€™s likely just sharing those resources as opposed to being something unique to Saurok themselves. If playable Saurok ended up using the Worgen rigging, this could just be used in place of that.

Itā€™s also possible this isnā€™t the male Worgen animation and is just using a generic casting animation as a result. It seems odd how the Heart of Azeroth is kinda just floating there, so Iā€™m unsure what to think.

As I said before, this experiment was just for fun and Iā€™m not reading too much into it. Still, the results were interesting that there was an animation of some sort. I donā€™t know what happens if a model is used when there isnā€™t a HoA animation of any sort.

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

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That is the worgen animation.

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Sorry that is the worgen animation.

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That would explain it then. I figured it was just a leftover from the male Worgen animation. Thank you both for confirming! I wouldā€™ve been surprised if it was something unique to Saurok. :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Both me. Posted on wrong toon. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Had a thought of a potential recruitment scenario for Saurok. During a mission a Horde party is ambushed but saved by a mysterious band of Saurok. Seeking to thank these strangers you are sent to find them. Once found you discover that this group seeks to build a society for themselves but being born as weapons they havenā€™t a clue where to begin.
Bringing them before the Horde Council you tell them of the Saurokā€™s desire and the council agrees to accept the Saurok into the Horde to add their strength to the Horde and guide them on how they can build their own future.

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Saurok wouldnā€™t work for the same reasons Ogres donā€™t work. They are primitive and stupid compared to other races.

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I dunno, Ogres managed to build an empire back on Draenor and there have been cases like the Ogriā€™la Ogres who were rather intelligent.

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Two headed ogres are smart, but thatā€™s it, and they are supposed to be rare.