The Unofficial Stonemaul Ogre Playable Race Discussion Megathread!

Community General Discussion
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I have some worries as well depending on if we get a full on old world (of Warcraft!) revamp.

-First, let’s talk about the idea of a Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms revamp in general.

I honestly don’t know if we’d get an expansion on the same scale as Cataclysm, with a Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms revamp of every zone and some new zones somewhere, or we would just get a zone or two revamped piece meal when applicable for expansion storylines.

I do think a Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms revamp is very much needed. Especially for new players to jump into after Exhile’s Reach. Something that is familiar and meaningful that may not be locked in a certain time era. Getting lumped into BfA and then going to whatever the current expansion is for new players is very confusing when it comes to getting into the story. Getting to be in the old world (of Warcraft!) is more meaningful in the long run and updates to it can keep happening depending on what is going on with the current storyline.

And of course with it would be a good way to introduce new playable races. Of course, as you mentioned, a revamp on the scale of Cataclysm with new expansion areas is quite a lot of resources, with new playable races adding more onto that work pile.

It makes sense to me to add in some new playable races with a revamp, as it would get people interested in the new revamped content with storyline opportunities along with the usual revenue streams that new playable races would add. There are several candidates that would work with it too in order to add in marketing hype as well.

But it’s hard to know realistically what the chances are to see playable races with that revamp. Moreso when Blizzard lately seems fairly stingy on the resources used on content these days. I’d hope for playable races to work into that content as well, as if it was like Cataclysm, new playable races would be great to get both new and old players to see the changes.

-And with my thoughts on general old world (of Warcraft!) revamp completed, let’s talk about the Horde Ogre clans in such a revamp.

If we got playable Horde Ogres with the revamp, then it’d be great. It’d be all sunshine, sprinkles, and happy puppies and kittens for all time. However, if we didn’t get playable Horde Ogres with the revamp, then I do have some worries about what could be done with them and if any would be written to do some heel turns and go traitor on the Horde. It sounds silly, but it is a worry of mine.

For the MU and AU Stonemaul Clans, it really doesn’t make any sense for them to turn on the Horde. The MU Stonemaul Clan owe a lot to the Horde for being able to exist and the storylines in both Dustwallow Marsh and Feralas wouldn’t work well with them as turncoats. Not to mention that if a new leader tried to perform a Mok’morokk or Kor’gall again, I would think several of the MU Stonemaul Clan members would be wary and stop it immediately before it got out of hand. It makes no sense for the MU Stonemaul Clan to ever turn on the Horde.

As for the AU Stonemaul Clan, they managed to escape the Lightbound thanks to the Horde and they need a place to exist, so I don’t see why they would ever turn on the Horde either. Not to mention that they’re key for adding in AU Draenor themes and cosmetics for if we got playable Horde Ogres ever and would work well with having to deal with the Lightbound again. It’d be silly to not expand their story and instead make them quest jobbers we have to beat up as they go into business for themselves for reasons.

The only Horde Ogre clan I could see turning on the Horde could be the Dunemaul Clan, maybe because of the treatment and lack of health benefits or something from Megs Dreadshredder. It’s hard to know what exactly she is doing with them, since that has been since Cataclysm when we last heard from her. Ideally, the Dunemaul Clan would still be part of the Horde and doing stuff for Megs and the Horde in general, such as the bodyguard for Horde NPC’s idea I’ve mentioned, but who knows how they would actually be utilized with a revamp of Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms if Blizzard needs mooks for us to beat up in Tanaris or where ever Megs took them.

As I said, it sounds silly to have any of the Horde Clans turn on the Horde, but it is a worry of mine. If we got playable Horde Ogres, then that would lock in Ogres loyal to the Horde and have storylines where it isn’t a worry. I don’t see any of the Horde Ogre clans turning on the Horde, nor should they just to have mooks for us to beat up. It would be an incredible disservice to Ogre fans and would just hurt more storylines than help.

In a realistic sense, at least the MU and AU Stonemaul Clans would and should still remain loyal. The Dunemaul Clan I could see going either way, but if it were up to me, I’d keep them loyal to the Horde also.

Hopefully the Horde Ogre clans will get treated decently and stay with the Horde when the eventual revamp of the old world (of Warcraft!) comes. Playable Horde Ogres with it would also be great, but a lot depends on the nature of the revamp and if Blizzard would use the resources to add playable races with it.

—55 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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My worry is that they’d just plain get ignored. Cataclysm had a ton of ogres in new zones thanks to the Twilight’s Hammer, but Brackenwall didn’t have its story advanced at all and the new Stonemaul Hold wasn’t even led by an ogre. With how many other playable races they’d have to squeeze into any new status quo now, I could see Horde ogres straight up having no new quests at all this time around.

In a more optimistic angle, while we often talk about how efficiently a revamp can be done, another way to look at it is what their goal for a revamp is.

I’ve seen a lot of discussion of a “soft revamp” that basically just updates a lot of the models in the original zones, and that’s basically it. While it’s true that would be one of the cheapest routes they could take, it’s also a route with essentially no return on that investment, so it would still be a net loss. I think we’re likely to get something reasonably sized simply because anything small isn’t going to have enough impact to justify having done it.

Of course, again, that optimism is for a revamp in general, which still makes me kinda pessimistic about my main goal of ogres. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Although, now that I compare the two, I’m suddenly reminded of Demon Hunters. I believe they said they briefly considered the class for Burning Crusade, but didn’t think it was the right time, and waited for the next time the Legion was relevant to do it. I’ve said before that concept is muddier for ogres because they’re sort of “evergreen”, but maybe it’ll actually end up similar to the Demon Hunters after all. Playable ogres were considered briefly for Cataclysm, which had a world revamp. What if it’s the next world revamp that actually gets us playable ogres just like it was the next Legion expansion that got us Demon Hunters? That would be a funny, unlikely parallel.

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I really don’t see how the revamps wouldn’t be updates to the Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom zones to have them be more current with storylines of what has gone on there since Cataclysm, preferably making them more evergreen instead of time-locked when it comes to what is going on in each zone. As such, I don’t see why the Horde Ogre clans wouldn’t get updates of any sort in that scenario.

Dustwallow Marsh, Feralas, and Tanaris would have to be updated, and a lot of the current Horde Ogre related quests there wouldn’t work if the zones were made to be in current times. Things like what the MU Stonemaul Clan and Dunemaul Clan have been up to would have to be addressed and involved in storylines of that area. Sure, some quests to beat up mobs and gather X amount of body part Y could still be there, but I wouldn’t expect Mok’morokk to still be leader of the MU Stonemaul Clan again and we have to beat him up to send him running.

There is plenty to address with the Horde Ogre clans. What all is going on in Dustwallow Marsh and the old Stonemaul home? Did Tharg or someone else become leader of the MU Stonemaul Clan? What is going on in Feralas and Dire Maul? What is the Dunemaul Clan doing for Megs Dreadshredder? Where is the AU Stonemaul Clan? When will the Ogre Love Ballad be completed and available on Spotify and iTunes? Such questions would need to get answered and addressed with zones getting completely changed.

It’s hard for me to imagine revamps just being updated models and environments changes, and it really didn’t sound like it would just be something lazily done and still stuck in Cataclysm’s timeline. I don’t really see that being too popular, and frankly it would be depressing to see it just being that. Not to mention that Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms getting a revamp would give a bit more meaning to the rumored Cataclysm Classic that seems to be hinting lately.

I feel like when you hear the word “revamp,” people would expect zones to be updated in several ways. Thus I would hope that the Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom zones would get new storylines and such. Otherwise, it would seem to paint a pretty bad picture that people wouldn’t be happy with in my own personal opinion.

—55 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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In regard to that… We know that Blizzard wants to have moments like the retaking of Gilneas happen in-game over just having been offscreen or in a short story, but is that mindset just centered around the existing playable races? For example would a revamp give the Stonemaul back their village or would we have a reclamation of it in the vein of the retaking of the Isle Echoes?

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If it were up to me, I’d have a pre-expansion questline and event of the MU Stonemaul Clan retaking their home for good in the same theme of the Cataclysm pre-expansion events.

What I would do leading up to the revamp, like say if this were part of the 20th anniversary of WoW next year, is to have Horde Ogres and Alliance Furbolgs. Both races are part of and allied with their respective factions and have good history with Warcraft as a whole since the RTS days, along with both having multiple clans/tribes part of their playable faction.

For Ogres, questlines would start that reintroduced Ogres as part of the Horde and its clans, including a showing of the MU Stonemaul Clan, AU Stonemaul Clan, and the Dunemaul Clan. One of the ideas I’ve talked about before is how one of Onyxia’s offspring survived what we did in Cataclysm, having their egg taken to safety. Strong minions loyal to them would start causing trouble with an unknown power, which we solve and then take on that offspring in a pretty epic battle. The head of this offspring gets put on a pike in the reclaimed Stonemaul home.

For Furbolgs, I’d have a new type of corruption that starts overtaking the tribes on Kalimdor that the Alliance helps at the request of the Night Elves, as well as having allies on Kalimdor that would give the Alliance more of a foothold on there. Questlines would lead into helping multiple tribes get cured and with a discovery and attack on this source of new corruption, with multiple Furbolg tribes joining the Alliance afterwards.

The event and questlines would be something anyone of any level can participate in. The event would be something available after doing the questline that you can talk to a NPC to be able to join that instanced scenario with anyone else who has done so. Both races get unlocked for everyone soon after that, likely when the revamp patch occurs, and any rewards part of this event would be freely available to get and earn in a reasonable manner after the whole thing ends.

If possible, a joint attack on Dire Maul by the Horde and Alliance because of Mok’morokk becoming Gordok King and causing headaches for everyone with a huge army could also happen at the end of the events mentioned above, with the members of the Dragonscale Expedition taking over researching the area and sharing findings with both factions to prevent the Horde and Alliance squabbling over who owns it. The Gordunni Clan can also join the Horde when a trusted MU Stonemaul member becomes Gordok King to keep them in check.

Obviously, the specifics of the questlines and events would be something that would need a lot more fleshing out. I think it would be a very popular event that people would be excited for, as well as getting new playable races out of it being the icing on the cake. Thus why I’m a big fan of doing something like that with Ogres.

Not to mention that with playable Horde Ogres becoming a thing, having an event to go along that would just make it that much more epic and memorable. Taking back the Stonemaul home for good finally would add a lot to that. :smiley:

—54 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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I would love playing those quests chains.

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would this be alliance or horde or maybe neutral like panda
s

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I found this on a website and I like it. We could get this background for our Ogre character in the character selection screen.

Imgur
by ChroniclerWabba

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That would be the perfect background for the Stonemaul.

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I’ve seen several awesome mock-up images of what playable Horde Ogres could look like on a character creation screen. It’s something that makes me wish it would become a reality sometime.

If the playable Horde Ogre faction consists of the MU and AU Stonemaul Clan, then a background of Dustwallow Marsh works perfectly. Maybe with some Ogre related buildings, both Azeroth and AU Draenor design, would be great to see.

If there are multiple Ogre Clans involved in the playable Horde Ogre faction, maybe Dire Maul would be a better spot for it. A lot depends on where Ogres would start out at creation.

Still hope to see Ogres on the Horde side of that character creation someday! :smiley:

—52 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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One thing I noticed during the Man’ari quest chain (linked for anyone that wants to view) was how there was this feeling of the Broken being seeded as a playable race. Which I see going Alliance, leaving us needing a Horde equivalent which just screams Ogre to me.

I do wonder if we’ll get a quest chain with Rexxar or some other character to help seed the idea in people’s minds or if it would just be treated as a given and be unveiled in an announcement.

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Broken could work, but I don’t know a variant on Draenei would be the best to go alongside Horde Ogres…and yes, I’m aware of the race that shall not be named being a variant, but that is a bit different. Granted, Ogres on the Horde would likely overshadow anything the Alliance gets other than the race that shall not be named.

If it were up to me, I’d have Broken on the Alliance and San’layn on the Horde. A bit of a twisted throwback to Burning Crusade that would have some interesting parallels between each other seeking acceptance and the respective factions learning to see the true meaning of Winter Veil and such. Seems like they’d be a perfect combination, in my own personal opinion.

I honestly can’t really say what the best race to put alongside Ogres would be. I still stand by Alliance Furbolgs for many reasons, myself. Alliance Broken could work alongside Horde Ogres, though compared to getting Ogres, who have all the marketing potential with female Ogres and two-head customization, I don’t know if that would be the best compared to something that isn’t a variant of an existing race. All in my own personal opinion of course.

As for seeding the thought of playable Horde Ogres coming, a lot really depends with Rexxar. We had a lot of opportunities with BfA and a huge war and Rexxar all “people should hear the horrors of what Garr-err, Sylvanas is doing!” and then…nothing came from it.

The only time I could see the thought of playable Horde Ogres would be if we see the Horde Ogre clans again, specifically both the MU Stonemaul Clan with the AU Stonemaul Clan. Seeing them appear again to help out, possibly mentioning how they totally owe the Horde several big favors would be the best hint towards that.

Hopefully we’ll see them again in the near future. And to be clear, I do support playable Broken on the Alliance. I just can’t really say what would be perfect to go with Horde Ogres is all.

—51 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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The Broken teasing is curious. It seems pretty direct, but it’s not just ogres I don’t see them as a good counterpart to. As much as I think Broken should be playable… They’re too different from Draenei to just be a “new customization”, but not different enough to be “a new race.”

That’s perfect for an Allied Race, but there’s a lot of grey area in that concept now, especially with the way the new customization (like man’ari) have been handled.

If we get Broken, I think there’s a chance we’ll get more than two races like Battle for Azeroth. However, in such a situation I think we’re much less likely to see something that requires deeper investment like two-headed ogres.

It could still just mean nothing, though. It wouldn’t be the first time a plot has set up the idea that something is coming for the players, but it doesn’t come for many more years.

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Considering the Darkfallen became a customization, I don’t really see Blizzard going out of their way to make them a proper playable race.

Which is a shame because playable Darkfallen would have been cool.

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Battle for Azeroth is the odd man out. I suspect some day they’re going to roll races like Lightforged Draenei and Mag’har orcs into their “base races”. Until then, it certainly gives a strange impression of the race options.

Even back in Cataclysm, “Allied Races” were handled through customization. The new race/class combinations were, in some places, supposed to represent new groups that had allied with us. Night Elf Mages weren’t just a new class for them, they were the Shen’dralar, highborne who rejoined their people.

There’s a reason that Dwarf is still called “Dwarf” and not “Bronzebeard Dwarf”. It’s supposed to represent all dwarf options, not just one clan.

Battle for Azeroth changed this pattern by making races like the Dark Iron a completely separate race option, but Shadowlands immediately went back to the original idea.

Man’ari are far more distinct than the Lightforged Draenei. They absolutely would have been an Allied Race in Battle for Azeroth, but Blizzard’s changed their mind back on how they want to handle that sort of thing.

Sure, we miss out on an extra level of dedication when these things are done through customization rather than distinct races (like having unique Racial Abilities), but the customization route makes it a lot easier to get way more of these in the long run. The Allied Races didn’t really end up saving the time they were meant to, and they were already reaching for compelling Racial Abilities.

When it comes to Heritage Armor, we don’t even have to miss out. Blizzard said they actually do want to still do Wildhammer Heritage Armor, so it’s not impossible with the current system (it’s just not fast-tracked).

At this point, I expect any future Allied Races to be things like Broken rather than San’layn, because they require an entirely new model. Things that don’t require a new model will just be customization because that’s all they really are anyway.

The one thing we’re still missing, as I’ve said before, is that “Sub-Race Template” fan idea. If you haven’t heard of it you should go look it up. It’s basically a cosmetic way for the game to acknowledge the “customization races” as distinct without falling back into the trap of putting full-race work into them.

Back to the question, I think Mok’nathal do make another good idea for an Allied Race that’s technically a variant of an official race but can’t use the same model.

Edit: I just learned that the man’ari have a different effect for their Gift of the Naaru racial, so we now also have precedent for customization changing racials.

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Ogres good. More elves bad.

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They’ll give us dumb furry/scaley races but neglect one of the pillars of warcraft, the mighty and noble ogre.

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It’s hard for me to imagine a revamp of the playable races with most Allied Races being shoved into Core Races unless a new sub-race system is created. And to be frank, I’d be surprised if they made a sub-race system at this point, since it would be a lot of work that would’ve been done by now if they did it. A sub-race system would’ve been great before the Allied Race system and Customization Races, since most Allied Races have muddied the waters. :person_shrugging:

That said, I still haven’t been happy with how Customization Races have been treated for various reasons I’ve harped on many times. It’s a reason that while I expect San’layn to end up as a Customization Race being more likely, they’d get better treatment and have more of an in-game presence and storylines than if they were slapped onto Blood Elves. Not to mention the whole vampire thing being more pronounced as their own race. But I digress, as this is yet another thesis paper I could write about.

At least for Ogres, we can expect them to be a full race should they ever become playable, which is quite the relief. I’d hate to have Ogres get the short end of the stick treatment like Customization Races have gotten.

Also, it was stated that the next Dragonflight patch won’t be the end of Dragonflight, which makes sense. I’m assuming we’re still likely to get a new expansion announcement at Blizzcon with a talk on the next major Dragonflight patch after the Emerald Dream one to keep us busy until the next expansion releases, likely later next year if I’d have to guess.

Haven’t seen too much that would be of Horde Ogre interest in the next Dragonflight patch, aside from speculation that it could lead into all races being able to become Druids in the future. But I’ll keep an eye out regardless for anything to help report for anything. Best to keep an open mind, of course.

—50 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—

-Dream big, Ogre fans! :cut_of_meat::japanese_ogre:

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I’m in agreement with you. But at least I take comfort in races like Ogres being too different from the existing playable races ensuring they wont becone customizations.

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do they wear armor