This was well pointed out.
I had forgotten this detail, that sauroks are structured enough to raise animals for various uses, not just being wild marauders in Pandaria.
2 Likes
Itâs interesting to see this, since at least the Skumblade in general are all ârelaying on pets to protect you is weak!â while it seems to be more commonly accepted among the Muckscale to have pet companions both to hunt and to use as pack animals. It is possible that the view of âusing pets is for the weakâ is exclusive to the Skumblade zealots while other Saurok tribes take a more practical approach to it.
Since some of the Skumblade are able to form bonds with their basilisks, I can only imagine that some of the Muckscale are also capable of forming a bond with their turtle pets. Maybe not all of them, but some could. It also could have been a thing where turtles are annoying to crack open and have little meat to offer, so why not just utilize them to make life a bit easier for the Muckscale? Regardless, itâs an interesting find.
I also wonder about the Salyin, who raise mushan as pack animals and also likely as combat pets, especially since Galleon is a walking fortress of destruction more-or-less. Itâs possible some of the Salyin might form a bond of some kind with the mushan they raise, though other than Galleon, I havenât seen them utilize any mushan as hunting pets or otherwise. The Son of Galleon mount shows that they might at least use them as battle mounts according to the flavor text for the mount:
âTrained from a young age, these massive kushan are taught to thunder into battle carrying a full saurok warband.â
Notice the drums on the side as well as being armored in general. Itâs possible some Saurok ride them as battle mounts until they get big enough to carry more passengersâŠwhich begs the question of how they get that big in the first place, whether itâs through organic or magical means.
On another note, I did discover the Skumblade have their own banner where they reside on the Isle of Thunder:
I tried to take the image as best as I could to see the design clearly. Itâs the only Saurok banner Iâve seen so far, though itâs possible I may have missed others. At the very least, it could help inspire a design and theme for a playable Saurok allied race banner at the Orgrimmar embassy in the future. One can only dream, of courseâŠ
Iâll continue to explore and look for more Saurok related stuff of interest on Pandaria. So far, Iâve found some interesting things, so hopefully there is more to find! 
More Saurok research to continue in the future! 
3 Likes
Saurok and Saberon would be awesome allied races.
4 Likes
So awhile back, I mentioned a potential idea involving Mogu artifacts being involved as an idea for reintroducing Mogu as a huge threat again, along with a possible reason to explain why playable Saurok, who got ahold of said artifacts, have become smarter than other Saurok and would also have some classes available to them. I noticed a quest for the Moguâshan Palace dungeon that somewhat goes with that line of thinking:
"The mogu have reawakened and are a threat to all of Pandaria. They are on the cusp of becoming even more dangerous.
There are four great mogu kings of legend: Zian of the Endless Shadow, Meng the Demented, Qiang the Merciless, and Subetai the Swift. Four artifacts of these kings are secreted away in the Vault of Kings Past, below.
You must retrieve these relics before the mogu discover them and become unstoppable."
When you think about it, the Mogu had a vast empire back in the day. As such, it stands to reason that they might have multiple vaults with many different artifacts that they either found or created themselves. Not to mention that different Mogu clans also have raided Pandaria once the mists around it were lifted, as evident from a âSpoils of Pandariaâ treasure you can loot in Zuldazar:
So not just on Pandaria, but there could be Mogu artifacts across the world (of Warcraft!) from traveling Mogu having raided Pandaria or having raided other continents on Azeroth. We honestly donât know what some Mogu clans have been up to, let alone what theyâre doing with any Azerite theyâve collected.
So how does this relate to Saurok? Well, as I mentioned before, there could be multiple vaults we donât know about on Pandaria, and if one tribe was able to infiltrate one of them (the Glintrok in the MoguâShan Palace), then itâs possible other tribes could have found other vaults and gotten artifacts there. Itâs reasonable to assume that the previous Mogu empire had all sorts of treasures which have different magical properties.
Such artifacts could give increased intelligence while also explaining how playable Saurok could be certain classes. Dark Tomes could allow the Warlock class while magical Artifacts could give some Saurok the intelligence and knowledge to become mages. Some could just enlighten the Saurok in general, where they are able to form the means needed for some classes on their own as well. Itâs a way to add some classes to them while having a fun backstory to it.
This is all analyzing this train of thought, of course. This idea of the playable faction of Saurok gaining some intelligence from raiding their mortal enemyâs treasure vaults, as well as giving a particularly strong Mogu clan a reason to go after these Saurok, makes for a great opportunity of awesome storylines, of which players could really get invested in.
In terms of Mogu power, I have been looking a bit into Lei Shen for some inspiration:
It was touted and debated by people that Lei Shen was nearly as powerful, if not more powerful than the Lich King in theory. Assuming this is true, itâs possible with the right artifacts, other Mogu could become just as powerful with the right tools. Being a huge threat and overall being irredeemable jerks while loving it would make them a great villain in general, especially towards playable Saurok.
As I mentioned before, if we ever get playable Saurok, I really think that Mogu should be involved in their storyline while also being a big threat in general to the world (of Warcraft!). Aside from great storyline potential, there would be some interesting parallels to Orcs and what theyâve gone through, which would play also on feelings and give a reason to offer a playable faction of Saurok membership in the Horde. The whole theme of having been slaves fighting for their freedom and banding together with others against a world that rejects them just seems very fitting.
Anyway, my exploration of Pandaria continues as I seek other Saurok-related stuff on this long journey of mine:
More Saurok research to continue in the future!
3 Likes
So youâre saying you like Saurok?
2 Likes
Saurok Saurok Saurok!
3 Likes
Saurok Co-âŠplayable raceâŠ
2 Likes
I have successfully paid my respects to Kroshik for that one achievement!
I had to keep checking each day to see what was up. The first day was just the baby and sacrificed versions, the second day was the baby, egg, and sacrificed versions, the third day was just the baby, and the fourth day had the adult version I needed.
I also found that the adult version is attackable, mostly for hunters to tame it I assume, so my advice is to check each location of what you need each day and maybe wait a few minutes to see if the Adult version spawns. I couldnât find the spawn timer for it, so I donât know how long it takes for him to respawn.
On the subject of achievements, there are a few more for-fun Saurok related achievements.
This one just requires you to be on the Heroic version of MoguâShan Palace, located right below where the Lorewalkers reside in the MoP version of Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
After the first boss, you go down some steps to the next section. Eventually, a Glintrok Scout will pull a Metal Gear Solid and spot you, causing a 5 minute timer countdown. You just need to rush where Gekkan is and kill him and the other Saurok bosses to get this achievement.
There are a few other non-Saurok related achievements for the Heroic version of this dungeon, one of which is a bit hard to do solo for most classes, for those looking to do some achievements for fun.
This one is an annoying one that Iâm still working on. It involves going to where the Skumblade Saurok are on Isle of Thunder and squashing roaches. Really helps if you have the Saurok form unlocked for the area, as well as tracking the achievement on your screen as itâll both tell you the number of roaches you squashed and a timer when you begin (both reset if you fail). Itâs also a required achievement for those looking for the âStormbreakerâ title achievement reward.
Speaking of the Saurok form, I finally got that daily! The way it works is when youâre not mounted or in combat in the Skumblade area, itâll automatically turn you into a Saurok after a few seconds. If you attack a mob, youâll have to get out of combat and wait a second to get the form back. Your jump turns into a giant fast leap, which is a fun way to travel. Iâll have to do some exploring when I get the chance. It only works in the Skumblade area also.
Still hoping for a day I can have a real Saurok character that I can travel with across all the word (of Warcraft!). In the meantime, Iâll continue to look for more Saurok-related things of interest!
More Saurok research to continue in the future!
2 Likes
AHAH. I remember this.
1 Like
I was doing some dailies on Pandaria for various reps, and I came across an interesting quest! It involves a daily quest for the August Celestials where you have to beat up some named Saurok thatâŠwere allowed in the area and also behave themselves. I think I found yet another interesting find!
First, the link to the quest, given to you by Xuen, one of the August Celestials:
So you can likely tell this is a humorous take on pick-up groups, but itâs something worth analyzing!
The Saurok in question are these three folks:
I canât really tell what tribe they are from at all. Talking to them just gives some humorous flavor text making fun of the whole tank-healer-dps holy trinity that is present in pick-up groups.
Despite being a jokeâŠwe have some actual friendly Saurok here interacting in a civilized society among other races. Letâs analyze, shall we?
First, they are at Xuenâs Temple of the White Tiger as guests. Somehow, they had to approach the area and be friendly enough to be allowed in.
Second, obviously theyâre on their best behavior. Attempting to eat the denizens there would likely be frowned upon and not make them popular at all.
Third, they donât immediately try to eat your face when they see you. Theyâre pumped up for a fight, but they wait until youâre ready to do so.
Fourth and last, even when they lose, they arenât really mad at you. Theyâre annoyed with each other, which plays again on the whole P.U.G. joke, but talking to them afterwards has them mention training to become better next time you meet them. Theyâre determined to get better as opposed to all âRAWR HOW DID I LOSE I AM NOT THE WEAKLING HERE RAWRâ youâd likely expect.
So not only do we have Saurok able to be part of a civilized area peacefully, itâs during MoP! So they have some intelligence and restraint to be able to function in a society of some sort! It seems like there may be some friendly Saurok on Pandaria afterall, and somehow contact was made between these three Saurok and one of the Celestials. I really wish I knew what tribe they came from and more of their backstory!
âŠand yes, I mentioned this before, but I know the whole thing is a joke making fun of pick-up groups, likely not meant for nerds like myself to think too deeply on. Itâs funny how a lot of interesting things Iâve analyzed about Saurok come from things meant as a joke or to be silly. Still, we have more evidence that Saurok are capable of working with others and also obey rules of a society! An interesting find, to be sure!
Iâll continue looking around Pandaria for more Saurok-related stuff, but despite this being meant as a jokeâŠI think itâs a pretty awesome find.
More Saurok research to continue in the future!
3 Likes
You likely have heard by now, but the Shadowlands official release date is the 26th for the US (27th for Europe). You can see a global release time and date here:
As I mentioned before, I donât really expect much Saurok related during Shadowlands, other than some really dead (and likely hungry) Saurok around, but if I happen to see anything, Iâll be sure to report it here. Maybe Iâll get to tease Lei Shen and other Mogu in the afterlife for their mistreatment of the Saurok in general.
I did think some about Kroshik, who constantly is hatched from an egg and is sacrificed in the Skumblade area on the Isle of Thunder, and whether he kept going to and from the Shadowlands as he reincarnates. As it turns out, he apparently gets defiled and twisted while becoming a boss in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid:
This is the text during the raid that mentions it, said by a named Skumblade Saurok prisoner:
Akolik yells: Stop, my brothers! Do you not see the beast of burden before you?
Akolik yells: Do you not see the light of Kros? He has been defiled!
Akolik yells: We must consume his flesh, for he is weak! The cycle must continue!"
Another thing of interest is that Nesingwary may have tamed him as a pet at some point after he reincarnated again:
My guess is because of this, Kroshik is likely alive and not constantly being sacrificed, which seeing as he was allegedly a gift to the Skumblade by Kros, I have to wonder what theyâve been up to since then. Likely nothing good, and I doubt theyâre too happy about the situation.
At first, I figured we might see Kroshik in the Shadowlands (and he likely wouldnât be friendly to us at all), but in this case, Iâm guessing heâs alive and well currently. He is likely helping against the undead invasion by chomping them along with Nesingwary and his other pets.
Regardless, this is an interesting find to see Kroshikâs fate. Kros is still around in some fashion I assume, and it still brings the idea of there being other wild gods that different Saurok tribes could follow. An interesting opportunity for story potential in terms of playable Saurok, of course.
More Saurok research to continue in the future!
3 Likes
In the story you get from completing the âBetween a Saurok and a Hard Placeâ achievement from Lorewalker Cho, a bunch of reptiles walk around to represent the Saurok before they were turned into what they are currently. I managed to find a video that has a closer look at those lizards.
They appear around the 51 second mark in this video if the video does not load around that time:
Looks a lot like basilisks, donât they? Itâs possible that some basilisks were used in the creation of the Saurok, but according to Wowpedia, it mentions this with regards to the lizards used for Saurok creation:
âThe mogu chose several particularly sturdy varieties of local reptiles, and twisted them in body and mind, imbuing them with an upright gait and sufficient intelligence to wield weaponsâ
This text, according to the source cited, came from an official Blizzard article, called the âMists of Pandaria Beastiary,â which goes over several races and species found on Pandaria:
So could basilisks have been used? Itâs certainly a possibility seeing as there are some basilisks that inhabit Pandaria, granted Saurok donât have a petrifying gaze Iâm am aware of. Any basilisk features could have been changed or removed with the flesh-shaping magic the Mogu used, seeing as Saurok only have two legs and two arms instead of having second pair of arms or legs.
I do think that basilisks werenât exclusively used, as mentioned by the text I linked above with the term âvarieties.â I think the Mogu used whatever reptiles they found. Itâs why we see Saurok with different features, such as frills and different scale colors or patterns.
In terms of playable Saurok, having different features and varieties in customization options would play into the idea that several kinds of reptiles were used in their creation. Not to mention that real life reptiles have a lot of great features that would translate well into customization options. In my opinion, there are a lot of customization ideas that would be amazing to work with and design, especially given how the character creation process is being revamped in a few ways. I could really see playable Saurok being able to become very diverse.
As for the basilisks in that story, I think it was just used to make things simple for whoever designed and programmed the story sequence. After all, the important thing was watching the story unfold as opposed to a nerd like me analyzing it to such a degree that I can type several paragraphs over that one detail. Still, it was something I felt was worth mentioning.
Since Iâm again at three posts in a row, if someone could make a post in this thread, I would again be appreciative of it so I can continue to make more posts. Iâve been finding a lot of interesting things so far in my journey across Pandaria, and Iâll be continuing to post some more Saurok-related findings.
More Saurok research to continue in the future!
3 Likes
I suspect that if Blizzard went back and redid that scene right now theyâd use the large lizards you see around KulâTiras and Zandalar instead.
Or as you postulate basilisks and other lizards were combined to make them.
Its interesting thoughâŠ
What if a playable Saurok, werenât necessarily âSaurokâ but a basilisk version with a stun based racial gaze attack?
Though Iâd probably rather that we see Saurok with different skin tones and features to represent being made from multiple lizard types. 
2 Likes
Basilisks as a customization option would be neat, but in my opinion, they shouldnât be the sole reptile they are based on.
The idea behind Saurok in general is that they come from multiple reptiles the Mogu used to turn them into what they were, and as such should have a wide range of customization options to represent that fact. Not to mention that people likely would want to make a Saurok based on what theyâve seen of them currently as opposed to being specifically basilisk based.
Imagine there being playable Saurok and running into different player characters. One chose a neat horn and spike design while another might have a magnificent frill or other features. Itâs something that offers a lot of creative customization options and would really be fun to design characters around. Itâs why being based on multiple lizards is a really awesome part of Saurok backstory. If Blizzard can make some neat differences between the MagâHar Orc tribes, Iâm sure a lot could be done with Saurok. 
The racial idea is a neat idea to go with the different types of lizards that make up Saurok, though I donât know how that would work with regards to balancing and such. I figure something more likely is something similar to Zandalari, where you can choose between different racials that work best for different classes. Sorta how I thought up my tail equipment idea. I do like the idea of different racials based on what reptile your Saurok was created from, though.
Still, I do like the idea of basilisk features being a customization option, as basilisks were likely some of the lizards used in Saurok creation. I just want there to be a variety of customization options based on multiple lizards and for playable Saurok to be very similar in design to how they are currently as NPCâs is all.
2 Likes
Now that would be neat. Different types of Saurok clan⊠If they went all out they could update tribes like the Scumblade and Clearscale to be more unique to one another. (and all the other tribes) use the features to show what tribe youâre from.
2 Likes
Different Saurok tribes sounds really cool. Iâd love to see more lore like that.
2 Likes
There are quite a few Saurok tribes, though there isnât much to most of them. There is a full list here:
I think if Blizzard were to go with existing tribes as the playable race, the best and easiest thing would be to have them all unite together against as one tribe against a huge threat, likely Mogu related, that is constantly hunting them down. The Skumblade would need to kick out their zealot leaders and start cleaning up their living areas before you could do anything with them, however. I donât see them being friendly at all otherwise.
In such a scenario where they start getting hunted down by Mogu, it would give all the tribes a reason to band together as well as actually communicate and work with the Pandaren who have tried to make peace with them constantly, according to Lorewalker Cho. It likely would give a new Saurok rep to grind out and some pretty neat quest ideas, such as riding Galleon and blasting enemies, assisting the Glintrok in strikes against the enemy, and other things that relate to existing Saurok tribes and NPCâs. It would also give roleplaying opportunities to have your Saurok be from one of the previous tribes.
Even if Saurok werenât destined as an allied race during BfA, it wouldâve been more interesting to see them and a few other Pandaria races coming together to fight against Nâzoth. Instead, we get the Clearscale as a primitive form of Saurok that nobody thinks about helping to save them. Itâs especially apparent when you do the questline with Chen, who is more concerned with his booze. I suppose I could try to explain my plan to Li Li, but sheâd probably look at me funny. Of course, I try to free the Clearscale, and they just try to attack me afterwards, which is different than the Saurok slaves on the Isle of Thunder who previously just attack Mogu when you free them. Go figureâŠ
Working with the current Saurok tribes as the playable Saurok faction is possible, though it would take some creative writing. Not impossible, of course, though Iâm not sure if it would be easier with a brand new tribe elsewhere on a new expansion continent or with an older existing tribe or tribes. Really depends on what Blizzard would want to do with playable Saurok as an expansion feature.
Either way, as long as I get playable Horde Saurok, Iâm happy.
4 Likes
Fingers crossed that someone does look into all the work you put in and gets a good idea ^^ Never know. I still would roll a Saurok in a heartbeat.
3 Likes
If and when we get Saurok Iâve already been planning out several characters for playing on an rp realm. A saurok warrior who scavenges mogu ruins for weapons and armor to repurpose and a savage swamp/jungle themed saurok rogue. Also a guild themed around a saurok warband lead by my warrior.
2 Likes
I have at least three Saurok characters in mind to make if they become playable with certain classes, with a potential fourth. I havenât thought too much on their backstory or design, as it would depend on what playable Saurok backstory in general would be as well as customization options.
I remember when I first got into Everquest 1, seeing a website for an Iksar-only guild in the game. I imagined leading a whole group of Iksar on a conquest across the different continents and raiding the different towns and stuff, even if it wasnât a practical thing to actually do in the game. Iâd be curious if anyone would create Saurok-only guilds, especially on role-playing servers. I think there would be a lot of role-playing opportunities for them.
Maybe if they become playable, I should help lead some Saurok attacks on Alliance cities. The sight of all the Saurok causing chaos in Stormwind would be really fun and make for some awesome screenshots and such.
Hopefully, playable Horde Saurok will become a thing someday. I know Iâll keep marching my support for them as best as I can.
3 Likes