The Unofficial Saurok Playable Race Discussion Megathread! 🐊

Bagzak-rexxar · February 5, 2020, 3:46am

So I did another animation test with the Saurok model I’ve been using with my Rogue’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 don’t have a backwards swimming animation. I’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, it’s more of a “for fun” 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 I’ve linked while others don’t.

Just something interesting I saw in the game that I wanted to show off. It likely doesn’t mean a lot, but still neat to discover.

More Saurok research to continue in the future!

Bagzak-rexxar · February 6, 2020, 12:13am

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 “Whale’s Belly.” If you want to know how to find it, here’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 isn’t clear. You can’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 patrons’ 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, I’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 I’ve found of Soul Calibur V’s arcade mode as the character, Aeon, who is a lizardman character I’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, doesn’t it? I thought I’d share it to inspire some Saurok warrior animations, although I don’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 Sethrak’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. I’ll always support Horde Saurok, and I’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!

More Saurok research to continue in the future!

Grayphus-nemesis · February 6, 2020, 2:08am

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.

Redhound-thrall · February 6, 2020, 6:20am

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 can’t do the same to a tribe of Saurok.

Bagzak-rexxar · February 6, 2020, 10:19pm

What Blizzard has done with the Gilblins is a great example of fleshing out a NPC race that didn’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 Mag’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 aren’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.

I’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 can’t tell, I’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, I’m glad I went through with creating it.

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

Bagzak-rexxar · February 7, 2020, 9:24pm

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 Saurok’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:

You’ll likely notice the weapons attached to their tails. This is the idea I’m referring to.

At the very least, I could see this being put on Saurok NPC’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 they’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!

Inari-nemesis · February 10, 2020, 2:36am

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.

Bagzak-rexxar · February 12, 2020, 4:58am

So the past few days, I’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 I’m sure it’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 Rogue’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 haven’t gotten a male Worgen character through this quest, so I’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, it’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.

It’s also possible this isn’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 I’m unsure what to think.

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

More Saurok research to continue in the future!

Fezzy-draenor · February 12, 2020, 5:04am

That is the worgen animation.

Albien-draenor · February 12, 2020, 5:05am

Sorry that is the worgen animation.

Bagzak-rexxar · February 12, 2020, 5:06am

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

Fezzy-draenor · February 12, 2020, 5:08am

Both me. Posted on wrong toon.

Kaznarok-feathermoon · February 12, 2020, 5:46am

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 haven’t a clue where to begin.
Bringing them before the Horde Council you tell them of the Saurok’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.

Zaeliss-zuljin-879598 · February 12, 2020, 5:48am

Saurok wouldn’t work for the same reasons Ogres don’t work. They are primitive and stupid compared to other races.

Kaznarok-feathermoon · February 12, 2020, 5:54am

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

Zaeliss-zuljin-879598 · February 12, 2020, 5:56am

Two headed ogres are smart, but that’s it, and they are supposed to be rare.

Fezzy-draenor · February 12, 2020, 5:56am

Don’t mind Zaeliss. They just come into threads about AR’s to be negative.

(they’re upset they haven’t unlocked mechagnomes.)

Bagzak-rexxar · February 12, 2020, 6:07am

The thing about Ogres is that most are seen as stupid, but they have made quite a few innovations. Orc ship designs actually come from Ogres, and the Stonemaul Clan, who are already part of the Horde, did sail to Dustwallow Swamp. They may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don’t see how that would bar them from being a playable race. If anything, being dumb and primitive-like is a great character trait for them that offers some flavor among the Horde races in terms of worldbuilding. Not to mention some Ogre clans had empires in the past.

I have admitted, however, that some creative writing is needed for Saurok to make them work, but it isn’t impossible. An example I use quite a lot are the Gilblins, who went from dumb angry mooks who obsessed over shiny treasures and loot to potential allied race with some more intelligence and personality. If Blizzard can do that for Gilblins, then why not Saurok, who are smart enough to work in pirate crews?

Anyway, Ogres and Saurok are both my most wanted races, and I’ll continue to support both best as I can as playable Horde races, allied or core.

Ulendur-moon-guard · February 12, 2020, 6:07am

Where do people get this idea that sauroks are braindead slobbering knuckle draggers incapable of any form of coherent thought? They’re plenty smart enough to coordinate and organize themselves, speak (They don’t often, but when they do they don’t speak in broken english as you would expect a “stupid” race to do), craft very well made and stylish armor, etc.

Bagzak-rexxar · February 12, 2020, 6:27am

A lot of the Saurok we did see in MoP were not exactly civilized, with Lorewalker Cho even saying they were pea-brained. Some were above the others slightly in that regard while others tended to be feral-like at times, sorta like the recent Clearscale tribe. Though, we did see some like the Brinescale more civilized than we had seen previously.

The thing about being primitive is that it shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance. Way back in Warcraft III, the Darkspear Trolls were primitive in many ways, albeit not stupid of course, and were welcomed into the Horde. In some ways, you could say even the Orcs at the time had some primitive characteristics, which can be argued as a defining characteristic of the Horde in general, though not for all races of course.

Some time has passed since MoP, and it’s weird how some Saurok are still rather primitive and some have evolved some to engage as part of a society with others. Whether it’s natural evolution, part of the flesh shaping magic that created them, or if some gained intelligence from looting Mogu artifacts, there are Saurok out there that aren’t as we saw them before. They won’t be making their own space crafts and lightsabers, of course, but they’re far from being on the same level on a whole as something like Troggs.

Not to mention that there are multiple tribes that we’re meeting that have left Pandaria, so who knows what other tribes are out there and what civilization age they’re at? If the Brinescale can work with others as pirates, I still say there is a chance a tribe out there can work with the Horde in a bigger goal. Just my opinion, of course.