The Unofficial Saurok Playable Race Discussion Megathread! 🐊

Bagzak-rexxar · October 27, 2024, 4:47pm

Something I saw in another thread on these forums mentioned something interesting on the Saurok section of the WoW wiki regarding their creation:

“A saurok culture of superiority and hatred for weakness developed, fueled by the ego of the mogu masters. Soon, saurok guards began to plunder the very people they were supposed to police. They grew disobedient, turning on their own mogu commanders whenever they were displeased with the spoils of war.”

The wording makes it sound like the Mogu in general helped shape the Saurok into the personalities they seemed to have. The question here is as the Saurok procreated in areas without any Mogu influence, would that change the personalities and such of new generations of Saurok?

I mean, the Saurok weren’t especially happy at their creation. Being forced from a chill life to having a horrible, painful mutation of sorts and then being told to enforce the will of some narcissistic rulers and getting stiffed on payment would make anyone cranky. But how much of that is based on the Saurok themselves and how much is based on the Mogu’s treatment of them?

Sure, we’ve seen some Saurok that are near feral and of the “EAT YOUR FACE” variety, but we’ve seen several with different levels of intelligence and cultures. And of course we’ve seen several of them able to work with and mingle with other races.

It’s an interesting thing to think about, as it can give a pretty good reason for a tribe or tribes of Saurok that could be friendly enough to work with the Horde on something. Moreso if they are in a tricky predicament, like being hounded by evil Mogu clans.

Obviously, the disdain towards Mogu would be something passed down in Saurok tribes as new hatchlings emerge. However, these Saurok would be born in a form of freedom from the Mogu for the most part. And it isn’t like a lot of NPC races weren’t written to act differently than how we knew them, such as Gilgoblins with the Kelfin as an example.

I can’t say that Saurok would be completely nice lizards without Mogu involvement, but I feel like it’s something to help explain a Saurok tribe being willing to work with and respect others, especially when making them a playable race. Moreso when their freedom is threatened, again likely from an evil Mogu clan as that plays into Saurok story pretty well.

Just an interesting thought I wanted to share. I hope I worded it alright, as having a bad head cold makes it hard to concentrate.

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Gornur-nerzhul · October 27, 2024, 5:30pm

It’s possible. To be honest the Skumblade come to mind when it comes to this question. They’ve developed their culture, albeit one that prizes strength, have rejected the truth of the Mogu creating them, and largely remain in their territory on the Isle of Thunder. They clash against everyone else because of their distaste of outsiders over trying to expand their borders.

That’s a good question. An easy way to explore it would be if we got a Saurok leader or tribe that seeks a better future for their people as a whole. That would be a fun quest chain.

Fenelon-wyrmrest-accord · October 27, 2024, 8:17pm

I think there’s a very good chance we should see Saurok of all kinds. I figure if they and vulpera can both be pirates and one of those can also be nice. Why not Saurok?

Bagzak-rexxar · October 28, 2024, 6:49pm

This is a reason I usually present the idea of a Saurok tribe trying to unite other Saurok tribes to be able to fight against the Mogu, whether it was in the past or something in a current timeline where a new evil Mogu empire is rising and things seem dire.

In such a case, it would lead to an exodus with some tribes who join together to find a new place to settle would make for a fun storyline and be another parallel to the Orcs. And then lead into the evil Mogu finding them and in pursuit for reasons, such as the Saurok having titan related artifacts and such.

Several ways you can go about with this line of thinking.

Especially considering some races that became playable were rewritten to have them be different from their NPC mook counterparts. Kelfin are also a good example as a playable race candidate, and even the Mogu have done a face turn with the Rajani Mogu.

And if you can do that with Mogu with all races, then I don’t see why Saurok couldn’t get a similar treatment. Especially if they become a playable race.

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · October 29, 2024, 4:40pm

Saurok with engineering on an engineering mount.

One of the fun things about thinking of Saurok as a playable race is imagining them with roles like the above. I assume Saurok engineers would be making a number of inventions to help with hunting, cooking, and such.

Maybe a highly skilled Saurok engineer would have a mecha-devilsaur too. One that can shoot lasers and such. Quite the fun imagery!

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · October 30, 2024, 7:18pm

Patch news to report today in both my megathreads! I’ll be editing some of the sections to first their megathread’s theme.

Patch 11.0.7’s contents has been revealed, with its hitting the PTR on October 31st:

The biggest part of the news is that we’ll be visiting Siren Isle:

An abandoned island that appears to have rotating enemies. They are Vrykul, Naga, and “pirates.” The video shows a Hozen at the pirates part, so I assume they’ll be of different races.

Makes me wonder if there will be some Saurok pirates among them. Not that it particularly matters, since they’d be enemy Saurok, but it would be worth noting if there are any sightings. I’m guessing there aren’t any Saurok inhabiting the isle, seeing as it has been abandoned by whoever was working there, but I’ll keep an eye out for anything to report as usual whenever this patch hits Retail servers.

Next, much to the delight of some and the chagrin of others, is a return of Plunderstorm early next year:

It’s suppose to take place in the Arathi Highlands again. Don’t expect much in the way of Saurok, of course. Also with new rewards, I’m guessing I’ll have to sacrifice myself many times to the storm or to bloodthirsty PvPers until I get the rewards within. Fun times.

We’ll also be seeing the “fate of the Kirin Tor,” a story prologue in the next patch, and also Elf ear customization for Humans and Kul Tirans:

New customization options for existing playable races is always a good thing!

As usual, I’ll be keeping an eye out for any Saurok sightings for our continued Saurok research whenever we get more info on this patch.

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · October 31, 2024, 4:02pm

Happy Halloween!

Got a couple of videos to share for the occasion! First is a bearded dragon all dressed up for Halloween:

And second, a video of alligators and crocodiles enjoying pumpkins:

Whatever plans y’all have today, please have a fun, happy, and safe Halloween! Hopefully Saurok will be able to enjoy Hallow’s End someday! :jack:

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Gornur-nerzhul · October 31, 2024, 4:28pm

Happy Halloween All!

Bagzak-rexxar · November 1, 2024, 7:17pm

Today starts the new Trading Post catalogue, with rewards shown in the article below. The rewards all seem to be transmogs from what I’ve seen:

Didn’t see anything Saurok related, though some transmog options would look pretty great on Saurok.

Wowhead also posted an article about the rewards in the returning Plunderstorm, with a revamped rewards system here:

I remember Blizzard mentioning that Pandaria Remix could return in the future, and looking at Plunderstorm’s return, it’s possible we could see new items appear again. Maybe we’d get some more Saurok related items to collect then if we’re lucky!

Though if it does return or another Remixd expansion event happens, I hope we get more character slots added again. I’m always in need of them as I keep a few reserved in case certain races become playable.

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · November 4, 2024, 4:41pm

This lizard is trying to get people’s attention to let them know it is a new month and they need to send in-game feedback for races they want to see playable, like Saurok!

With the beginning of each month, I make in-game suggestions for each race I want to see playable along with a mention of their respective megathreads on these forums. While it is far from a guarantee of seeing our dreams come true, I do think every little bit helps, and doing it monthly I feel is reasonable and not that intrusive or annoying.

If you’re interested in doing the same for races you want to see playable, I made a little guide on how to do so in-game here:

I hope for the day to see many happy lizards in-game!

-9 days until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · November 5, 2024, 8:37pm

As you may know, it’s a pretty big day for those of us in the USA, as it’s Election Day!

I imagine it’ll be pretty crazy out there as the day goes on, so whatever your plans are, please take care and stay safe!

-8 days until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · November 6, 2024, 5:09pm

I noticed that MoP NPC’s were around in the anniversary event area in Tanaris. I looked up models on Wowhead, and apparently one of them can be a Saurok:

Now if the following link works, it should immediately load up an animated model of the Saurok model you can see there:

Unfortunately, in the several times I’ve been there, I haven’t seen any Saurok NPC’s having spawned. Aside from Pandaren, I’ve mostly seen Mogu, who likely are reveling in taunting me. Sigh…

Not that it matters a whole lot, since you can’t really interact with the NPC’s. It is great that there is some form of Saurok representation of some kind, even if they currently elude me. I’m not sure how often the NPC’s switch out from expansion sets either, but I’ll keep a look out for if I see that Saurok NPC anywhere while the MoP NPC’s are up in the area. Hopefully it cycles through the expansions multiple times in case I don’t get lucky.

At least some Saurok get to enjoy the festivities!

-7 days until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Gornur-nerzhul · November 7, 2024, 4:22pm

We are six days from the Warcraft Direct.

When it comes to any potential race announcements, I can’t help but recall how nothing about Battle for Azeroth screamed AU Mag’har and how the Man’ari (hyped as WoW’s first playable demons) were randomly inserted in Dragonflight. Granted it’s good to temper expectations, but it is something to consider.

Now when it comes to Saurok themselves. I do feel that there is always a chance. After all we did randomly get the Man’ari in DF from the Seeing Red quest chain. So we could have a quest where Cho comes to us for aid from a renewed Mogu resurgence and in the process we aid the Saurok in fighting against them, earning their respect and allegiance in the process.

Bagzak-rexxar · November 8, 2024, 6:09pm

Part of me feels like interest in Saurok is steadily growing. Maybe not a huge amount, but still growing some. I’m trying not to let my bias cloud my judgement, but between growing interest from players in playable Horde Saurok and the love MoP has been getting in general lately, it seems like there could always be a chance in the future to see Saurok become something more. Not guaranteed, of course, but chances could be increasing some.

And yes, the playable Saurok faction fighting against a huge evil Mogu threat is something likely to be part of their storyline, given the importance of that in Saurok lore in general. The question is how big would this battle be and where would it be located? Many possibilities can be done depending on current storylines and such. And I’m sure Lorewalker Cho would be excited to meet with such a tribe.

As for the Warcraft Direct, I don’t really expect anything Saurok related in it, since Saurok aren’t really near the top of iconic races for Warcraft as a brand. Although, maybe MoP Classic will get announced then. I’m sure that announcement is inevitable, and if so, maybe there could be a chance for something Saurok related to go with it of some kind.

I unfortunately won’t be able to watch it live, but when I can, I’ll be sure to comment on announces and such. And of course regardless of what is or isn’t announced, playable Horde Saurok will continue!

-5 days until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Gornur-nerzhul · November 8, 2024, 6:18pm

I’m in the same boat. I have to work, so I’ll be checking wowhead on my breaks/lunch. I’ll likely end up sharing my thoughts on the Warcraft Direct after I’m home.

Gornur-nerzhul · November 10, 2024, 6:40pm

This Wednesday is the Warcraft Direct and I must confess that I would be pleasantly surprised by the reveal of playable Saurok.

Bagzak-rexxar · November 11, 2024, 9:19pm

Nice as that would be, I’d be very surprised to see that announced at the upcoming Warcraft Direct. If they were somehow announced, I’d wonder if they would be Neutral or if not, what the Alliance would get as a pairing to Horde Saurok.

That said, I’m starting to really think we may see a MoP Classic announcement. It would be a fitting time, since I think Cataclysm Classic is close to the end of its progression. Makes me wonder what extra goodies could be added for sale like the other Classic expansions had bundles for things like mounts and such. If they put in Saurok related items and lock it only to Classic, I will be disappointed in not getting it on Retail.

Something that will be neat is that if MoP Classic becomes a thing, which is 99% likely I’d say, then it’s going to be a focus in news and such for quite awhile. It gets that expansion and several of its storylines and denizens from the continent in various parts of the limelight, which will be great in drumming up more playable Horde Saurok interest in general!

And it would be neat to see some MoP related events in Retail to celebrate MoP Classic becoming a thing, though I don’t recall that happening for any version of Classic. Ah well.

We’ll see what gets announced on Wednesday and discuss it then. I still think it’s both awesome and a bit suspicious that MoP has been getting a lot of love in various ways for quite some time. Maybe we’ll be lucky and see Saurok get some love in the near future.

-2 days until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Gornur-nerzhul · November 11, 2024, 10:07pm

I’m in that crowd as well.

Bagzak-rexxar · November 12, 2024, 3:11pm

Wowhead posted an article on updated items for the MoP Timewalking merchant:

Of particular note is this Saurok wand item:

I’m not sure when MoP Timewalking will happen, but when it does, you should be able to get the items in that article from this merchant in the Timeless Isles:

Looks like I’ll need to get this item for my Saurok-related item collection.

Also, tomorrow is the big day of the Warcraft Direct! Wowhead also posted an article of Blizzard going over general things for the Direct, including a description of the upcoming Warcraft Direct had this regarding WoW:

“20 Years of World of Warcraft: Relive the evolution of the world’s most beloved MMORPG and discover what’s next on the horizon for both WoW Classic and Modern…and a special announcement at the end.”

Not really sure what all to expect for a special announcement. I mean, tying playable Horde Saurok into that with MoP Classic likely being announced would be great, though in a more realistic sense, I’m just going to temper expectations and see what all gets announced with an open mind.

Soon as I can watch it tomorrow, I’ll be sure to go over what gets announced!

-1 day until the Warcraft Direct! (Nov. 13th)

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!

Bagzak-rexxar · November 13, 2024, 7:27pm

As it turns out, I was able to watch the Warcraft Direct live since I got some things done earlier than expect! I’ll be talking some about it in my megathreads, though some sections will be different to fit the theme of each megathread.

So first of all, no new playable races of any sort was announced. Not really unexpected to be fair, but figured I’d go ahead and say that. So let’s see what all for WoW was announced of particular interest.

First, as expected…

MoP Classic was officially announced!

It’s pretty exciting, since this means MoP gets some more love and focus for quite a bit longer. This also includes Saurok as part of that limelight, which is always a good thing.

Now, as I said before, I’m not sure I’ll be able to play MoP Classic. Playing Retail WoW takes enough of my time, and I was finding it hard to play between Retail and Classic, and with job hunting taking up a lot of my time, I don’t think I can really focus on Classic enough to get to MoP and be able to do stuff with it.

And to be honest, I don’t know how much would be in MoP Classic that wouldn’t be in Retail, and I’ve gone through MoP on Retail several times. Sure, there is always something I missed or needs another look at, but I can mostly do that on Retail.

Still awesome to see MoP continue to get some love. And this’ll last for quite some time, so it’d be great to continue showing playable Horde Saurok support!

Now then, for Retail stuff…

First, we have a new road map for Retail WoW for what appears to be 2025:

It seems like we’ll be getting Midnight revealed near the end of Summer 2025.

Speaking of, this seemed to be the special announcement:

Player housing seems to be a feature of Midnight. I do have to wonder if we’ll be getting any new playable races next expansion or if resources will be focusing entirely on Player Housing, whatever it will be. Guess we’ll have to wait longer to find that out.

Theres been several other announcements for WoW and other Warcraft related games, though that is about what I wanted to focus on for Saurok since I’ve got more things to do later today. I’ll look more at the other announcements and see if there is anything in particular I should type up when I can.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to imagine Saurok riding those hot rod vehicles from the Undermined announcement:

More to come when I can!

-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!