My only question about a playable Vulpera race is … where do they go story wize? They seem to be getting a bit absorbed into the Zandalari culture and narrative, and (as interesting as it is) their civilization isn’t exactly particularly deep or rich. They really are going to need a new hook to keep them relevant and developing going forward (or will be at risk of ending up like the Pandarens).
I don’t think their story needs to change so much as they need a role in the Horde. A lot of the other allied races like the Mag’har and Nightborne aren’t really getting much story development (or at least not nearly as much as they could), but they both contribute something unique, and that’s enough to make them feel relevant. The Pandaren are a problem because they aren’t given a clear role on either side.
The Vulpera could be excellent scouts, medics, and salvagers. They would probably thrive in places like Orgrimmar considering how they’re already used to living in such harsh conditions.
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People have to remember with Allied Races, their main story resolution is what ends up completing their recruitment into one of the greater factions (Alliance or Horde).
Blizzard has said we get the bulk of that race’s story before we end up recruiting them.
These aren’t like the regular races where they’re expected to continue getting deep story development going forward.
Have we seen a whole lot of story progress for LF Draenei or HM Tauren? No of course not because their story developments occurred and then culminated in their recruitment.
This is how it works for every Allied Race. Vulpera got explored in Vol’dun, then we see how they’re moving more towards Horde in the Dazar’alor patch.
Sure, we could see some extra little stories from them possibly after they’re recruited, but it’s misplaced to think Allied Races function the same way as regular races story development wise.
Blizzard already came out recently and said there’s too much stories they have to tell and that’s why certain characters get left out, now imagine them trying to keep up story development for allied races as much as they try to do with the regular races. It would be a crazy mountain of work.
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I wish they would announce vulpera for horde already. Then i would be so happy. I plan on making a female vulpera monk
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I wouldn’t be surprised if vulpera recruitment is about them wanting to adventure further away from home, while the Horde needs them because of their expertise in survival, scouting and transportation in harsh environments, three very important factors in a war.
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But the Nightborne are intimately related in all of the Kaldorei based content, and the Mag’har already have future potential story threads regarding the Army of the Light and the Lightbound. This sets up a VERY solid foundation for the prior in regards to lore and relevance, and a pretty solid foundation for future growth for the latter. The Vulpera … lack the cultural relevance of the Nightborne and the potential for future growth of the Mag’har (atm).
They don’t NEED those sort of things, but unlike their AR predecessors (if they are really meant to be the Gob AR) they are not going to be able to lean as heavily on their core race’s lore and content to bridge that substance gap (which means they will have to be given something potent to keep them relevant; or risk them being even less relevant than Pandarens since MoP.
The Night Elves have had pretty poor development in an expansion that starts with them being slaughtered and losing their home. Tyrande and Malfurion should be the perfect writing devices to get the Alliance involved with Azshara, but neither of them are even going to be in Nazjatar. There’s no guarantee the Nightborne will be any better off.
The Mag’har scenario felt like a one-off instead of something that’s going to be expanded on in the future (though I’d love to be wrong).
Both of your ideas would make complete sense, but I don’t have faith in Blizzard putting that much thought into whatever events they have planned for the future.
The issue is, with the setup being what it is … there is absolutely no reason in hell for Tyrande to be in Naz’jatar. You can absolutely be mad at the setup, but functionally … it does make far more sense for the NE rep for that zone (with the premise being what it is) to be Shandris (as she actually has been working closely with the 7th legion this expansion; and has reasons to be on those ships).
Also … lets face it, there isn’t much more in the way of personal or emotional connections between Tyrande and any other WotA veteran. Her presence against the prior queen of the Kaldorei is one that more symbolic than anything else; extremely valuable (I’ll admit I am bummed that it isn’t happening) … but little beyond that. Also, the NBs do seem to have an OK presence in Naz.
As for the Army of the Light subplot, it is available AND it actually has some serious potential. But … back to the matter at hand. I like the Vulpera, but they feel very empty on the lore front. Even the Void Elves I can be more forgiving of because with Old God and Void HEAVY material seemingly on the horizon they are liable to play major roles. The Fox’s genuinely need a hook to keep them relevant (and above all INVOLVED) going forward; in order to avoid another Pandaren fiasco.
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They don’t though. What crazy relevant stuff have the highmountain done in bfa for instance?
You’re placing a requirement when there isn’t one.
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The Highmountain have their relations with the Bloodhoof Tauren (and can call upon that core races established lore to fill in the gaps). They are also the only real PC race in the game with any real personal connection to the fate and future of the Black Dragonflight. Both may not be the richest avenues for progression, but they are avenues.
The Vulpera in contrast (while mechanically they are in REALLY good shape) are severely lacking in just about every story element. While they may use the Goblin rigs (and are a mercantile species as well) … they cannot call upon Goblin lore to bolster their own; nor do they have any established conceivable connections to major plot points beyond Vol’dun.
While I would love to see them become business partners with the Cartel, their admittance into such an arrangement (that wouldn’t just risk having an ex slave-race be exploited and enslaved by a man who’s legacy is enslaving his own people on two exploding volcanoes to die for his own short term gain) is dependent on a change in Bilgewater leadership.
While I would absolutely ADORE the Vulpera as an AR, if they are meant to be the Gob AR (which, is the most likely option) … then I want them to actually have value beyond people just wanting the aesthetics of playing a Fennic Fox person (and not JUST for the Vulpera’s sake in future stories, but for the sake of one of the single most neglected PC races in this game; the Goblins themselves).
EDIT: I mean … hell, the last time the Bilgewater (not the Steamwheedle) had any real value or progression as a race in a story was the Lost Isles intro; which concluded with the Harbinger of our people’s destruction (and the antagonist of that story) being shuffled into the leadership spot by a man who no longer wanted anything to do with Horde leadership (Green Jesus).
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Wanted to mention that the game I mentioned previously, Tunic, has a playable demo at E3 this year, so we may get different videos of people playing through a demo build of it. Theres a developer interview and a brief gameplay demo here:
Edit: Added a video that skips straight to the Tunic part.
Again, coming to Xbox One and PC. Also available on Steam. Hopefully it’ll come out sooner than later and give us our Vulpera fix. ^^
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Plot twist: fooxes contain azerite
I mean. the books say that goblins are actually mutated from another species thanks to experimentation by the titan watcher dude who got turned into a mechagnome. It could’ve been Vulpera. Iirc it refered to them as furry creatures. Which would link them to goblins.
Hello! And welcome to a new feature I like to call:
ARTuesdays!
Every Tuesday I’ll be highlighting a piece of Vulpera fan art and the artist behind the work. To inaugurate this new feature, we’ll be talking with Kris, who currently co-administrates the Vulpera Hype Caravan discord group.
How long have you been drawing?
I’ve been drawing since I was a child (4ish years old), with breaks here and there of course.
How long have you been playing World of Warcraft?
I’ve been playing WoW since Vanilla, with a large break in WotLK and then return in MoP where I never unsubbed since.
What activities do you like to do in the game?
I enjoy farming mounts, doing quests, exploring, looking for hidden things in the game and getting cool transmog; and most of all I enjoy Roleplaying.
Besides drawing and World of Warcraft, what other activities do you like to do?
In my spare time I like to play with my pets; my crazy cute budgie and my mischievous degu. Apart from that I like playing games, watching films and taking long walks.
What about the Vulpera inspired you to draw?
The thing that inspires me to draw Vulpera is the cartoonish feel about them, the fact that they are foxes and that they are unique in their own way and not just the ‘regular anthro fox’.
What do you plan to name your Vulpera character, should they become playable?
I will name my Vulpera Tyrko.
Thanks, Kris for being my first highlight, and thanks for keeping the discord alive and well! Everybody show Kris some love and if you’d like to be showcased in a future ARTuesday, contact me through the Discord at Rae#2239
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And goblins and pygmies share a common ancestor, so pygmies would come from vulpera!
Awesome, thankies for sharing :3
“I’m sorry Starfox, I can’t let you mog that.”
You know I got to say, I have come into this thread 3 different times offering ideas on how the Vulpera could work and have been met pretty negatively. My whole point for the three times I made it was that Blizzard is going to have to give something on par with Vulpera to Alliance considering they are an actual new race, rather then a preexisting one. The response I got was in short “screw you, Blizzard should give them to us because we want them.”.
While I would like them to be playable I got to say, some of Vulpera fans are…yeah…
I apologize on behalf of anybody who treated you harshly. As somebody who feels more at home on the alliance, I definitely understand wanting your favourite race in your favourite faction. I do believe that the horde NEEDS the vulpera more than the alliance does. However, I understand that players on both factions do want want them, and I wish that could happen without damaging faction identity.
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I still think Sethrak would be really awesome to add. Vulpera would have been an interesting candidate for a netural race, but that kinda got tossed to the ground and stomped on when the invasions came out and the Alliance went ahead and burned some of their caravans. I think the Alliance should get something nice as well, a new race would be cool. Maybe Ankoans (I can’t spell) if Sethrak don’t work out.
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