They didn’t edit anything lol, they just couldn’t finish the patch and wanted to delay it.
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Don’t you think you’re overreacting?
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No I think I am rather under-reacting quite honestly
Does the book remember through all of this that Sylvanas is supposed to be undead
Does the fact that she’s undead ever affect her decision making
Given the set-up for this is Sylvanas chatting with Andy back in Torghast, they could have released the book any time after 9.1 and Sylvanas getting blue shoved in her.
This theory it had something to do with 9.2, a patch that would only have benefitted from already spin doctoring Sylvanas into some misunderstood, manipulated anti-hero who just loves her family maybe a bit too much doesn’t hold up.
Ainhin.
Why would the book remember that when the game itself seems to forget that undead are not souls the Arbiter can judge, that undead do not breathe because they are undead, or any of the other examples of the devs forgetting Sylvie isn’t a living or dead person, but somewhere in the middle?
If Golden forgot Sylvie is undead, that would be the most forgivable sin here.
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I am 100% confident that:
- Sylvanas’s motivations were settled toward the middle between 9.1 and 9.2, but before the book was sent to the publishers, so likely late Spring
- The book was pushed back because the original version intended for November was even worse than this book
Because remember Ion confessed that 9.1 major lore points were decided December 2020/January 2021.
So thus 9.2 would’ve been 100% settled around July/August 2021 if the pattern holds.
I think:
- Plan A = Zovaal and Primus are the same person and the Big Bad, and also Anshe was Primus Zovaal, predictable “Horde God is Evil and also Zombie Pope is Satan Lucifer Sauron”
- Plan B = Double Predestination we were alluded to in late previews and 9.0, but they realized they were justifying genocide in the narrative
- Plan C = This “free will!” nonsense in 9.1 but had a Hellscape Plot for Sylvanas that was even worse
- Plan D = what we are experiencing
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This is how the entire x-pac looks.
Yeah, this feels to me like Danuser and Golden got the reins when Afrasiabi was jettisoned, scrapped his plans, and then tried to find a way to salvage Sylvanas.
The Jailer simply comes off as a Sin-Eater designed to take the blame for Teldrassil off of Sylvanas, was given ties to any villainy he could, and will go poof once his narrative purpose is served with no lasting impact.
Honestly having Sylvanas having been mind controlled was the easiest solution. The Lich King did it until Illidan damaged the Frozen Throne so we know it is possible. The jailer is supposed to be the mastermind behind the Frozen Throne, Helm of Domination, and Frostmourne so why that was not his play is beyond me.
Instead of the Jailer being the Uber Lich King, he comes off as second banana to Arthas still as a villain. Which is a sad commentary given what the Jailer was supposed to be.
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I remember one of the big talking points during the SHL reveal was that Sylvanas’ perpetually hidden motives would be laid bare to the player in a one-on-one confrontation with her. Something about Sylvanas “letting the masks fall” and at long last cluing you into the music that’s been moving her since… whenever.
Well, that never happened, but I guess this book covers that base in a very regressive way. Tucking our soon-to-be-ex villain’s motivations away in supplementary lore is silly, this stuff needed to be front and center years ago.
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For it to be front and center years ago they would have had to decide it and commit to it years ago
Blizzard has a unique fear of commitment
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I remember in Vanilla when the rule seemed pretty clearly to be “if you’re undead you’re a manic-depressive sociopath even if you regain free will.” Nice and simple rule that can be consistently applied.
Now I don’t even know what undeath is. Nobody does. Blizzard doesn’t. It doesn’t sound like anything that Sylvanas is doing is something that she wouldn’t be doing even if she wasn’t undead.
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The ending of Sanctum of Domination is still my most hated cinematic in all of WoW. Even more so then the Anduin one.
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I can’t hate one of the best bits of unintentional comedy the game has ever put out
The funniest thing about this book has to be baals over reactions, I dont even know what he expected, I knew the book was gonna try to make us feel sorry for her, and I unexpectedly got the book not giving her a pass for the genocide. So to me the book sounds passable at least
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Christie Golden is the one writing the Cinematics(including the one where Pelagos becomes Arbiter) while Danuser writes the Narrative(shockingly enough the Quests do infact look nice with the Cinematics being the eyesores causing problems).
Removing Christie Golden and putting Morgan Day or Knaak or even Danuser in charge of Cinematics may do WoW some good!
Golden running the Cinematics caused Shadowlands to write itself around said Cinematics as clumsily as can be.
Danuser admitted that the Quest Team writes the quests because “everyone is a storyteller”
I will say, in contrast to almost everyone else here, I am pleased with the actual lore facts being revealed. The important lore points I wanted to see dealt with are being dealt with.
I was both hopeful and filled with trepidation about how Blizzard would deal with the ambassadors. I was really afraid they would double down on her villainy, and maybe have her order their deaths to prove some emogoth edgelady point. As well as to absolve the Alliance of any wrongs. Even if it is still vague, at least she didn’t have a hand in it.
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I imagine with Patty Mattson reading it to me, it will be 300% better… which is why I will get the audiobook edition.
Having Josh Keaton read BtS to me certianly made that book better.
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I mean certainly Eel Fetish Marital Angst + Fast & Furious Family Meme fills in the hole of “why Sylvanas committed genocide” as far as the narrative is materially concerned
but it’s “dealing” with the problem in the same capacity that if you want to remove weeds from your garden, a nuclear bomb technically does so
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