Except the ones that didn’t… Many have voiced this some on this thread, and on several other threads as well.
The “Not True Scotsman fallacy” meant to dismiss actual player criticism of a pretty shallow heritage quest line feels bad. You can disagree with people’s take away from the quest, but I don’t buy the “all true Troll players loved it” bit.
Except, have we? Blizzard has made a conscious effort to not include Darkspear in their choices for story moving forward. The Descision to focus on Varian’s death in Legion as a heroic martyr moment, but Vol’jin’s as a sort of after thought. This led to the constrained Vol’jin becomes a LOA story line that felt “tacked” on because of player criticism the Dev’s somehow missed would happen. Ironically, this “heritage” quest line feels like that too, a tacked on side quest that involves Darkspear, but doesn’t really give them any real personality.
I agree with the guy who clearly stated that this quest was written by a “worker” checking a box, not by a person deeply connected with the race or the players that chose them…. All you have to do is look at how Draenei are represented as a diverse group forgiving and coming together to be a stronger people, and Trolls continuing the “trope” of just deal with the “bad ones” so we can live with the “good ones”… ignoring the struggles of almost all Troll peoples having to fight for their lands as a historical part of the world. The quest doesn’t even give Witch Doctor Tzadah any real motivations to betray her people and join Mueh’zala. She’s just bad.
By “they” do you mean the Dev’s or the players? I don’t follow.
If you mean Dev’s, I disagree. I don’t think the Dev’s know what to do with Vol’jin. It’s clear that the way they choose stories and how to represent the different races through the actions of the “story characters” the Darkspear are just barely above the level of “troll villain tropes.” We see all the other tribes depicted as just bad but the Darkspear are “the good ones.” The feeling I get is this: The Dev’s look at all the work they put into Zandalari redemption as their means to correct the problematic narratives Trolls have been used for. The Darkspear heritage quest line is just the last box to balance the equation.
If you mean Players, I also disagree. I believe most players wanted Vol’jin and Sen’jin to be recognized, perhaps mentioned as part of some greater cultural ceremony. But I don’t think anyone was expecting a return from Vol’jin. I’m not even sure you could call it a heritage quest if it didn’t at least recognize the legacy of the two most prominent leaders. It would be like celebrating the revolutionary war in the U.S. but omitting George Washington, wierd. I know not every heritage quest line can be “It’s “X” special holiday, let’s grab the tribes together and celebrate. But in many ways, the most celebrated heritage quest lines do that.
Except when it does. The entire quest line is “The good ones” need to deal with the “bad ones.” The way it calls out all Troll cultures for violent in-fighting, as if Trolls are unique in this regard, or at the least more uniquely accountable for it than other races. It actively reduces the ritualistic aspect of the culture to a quick “arts and crafts” session, instead of doing real work by studying the actual cultures they’ve used to model their fantasy race around.
Also, the Dev’s using Rokhan’s expression of the Darkspear abandoning the old loa, as a stand-in for the Dev’s own acknowledgement of neglect for Darkspear seems a bit much. First, if it is true, that’s a poor way to deliver the message. It cheapens Rokhan as a character. Second, it would be ambiguous. People who got it, would see it as a cheap apology, those that didn’t would only know that Rokhan is speaking out of character.
Speaking of character, the entire quest line feels out of character for the Darkspear. If there is one theme I’d say is true about them, starting with Sen’jin and carried through Vol’jin’s actions and their connection to the Horde, is loyalty. Bwonsamdi says it at the end of the quest line, probably the only solid authentic Darkspear truth spoken in the quest line. So the idea that they “abandoned” other loa just feels out of character.
