I think allied race is still a thing but they changed what they will do for an allied race. Now we have: “skin race” + allied race + core race
The customization races will be for “skin races” with exactly the same shape as the core race (Fel/Chaos Orc, Leper Gnome, Frostborn Dwarf, Dragonmaw Orc, etc).
The allied races will be a race with an allegiance to the Alliance and the Horde (Broken, Jinyu, Mok’Nathal, Forest Troll (bulky troll), etc) and a rig from a core race but not the same shape as the core race (Saberon, Saurok, Sethrak, etc). They will get a little starting area without quests and they could go in one of the two capitals. They will get their own voice, racials and mount.
The core races will be a race with a new rig (Drathyr, Ogre, etc). They will get a big starting area with quests. They will get their own voice, animations, racials and mounts. They will get their own story too.
I think it’s the new thing Bliz want to do. Time will tell us if it’s true or not. But I think we could safely say it’s the new concept for playable race
It absolutely is, or might as well be, because allied races have existed for 5 years and had the time and effort put in to make them different from core races and not something they could forcibly shove into the latter at another time. The game was never meant to have a subrace system like FFXIV, or at least not one that lumps previously separate races together and promotes existing barber options like Wildhammers to their own slots.
Being able to pick and choose your racials is another untenable request/expectation because Blizzard has always been adamant that your character’s racials are important, so they’re not going to let you change them to that of another race on the fly unless it’s something like Blessing of the Loa.
The only thing less likely to happen than a subrace system is the other suggestion, which is to outright remove allied races from the game and retrofit their customizations onto their respective core races, ergo race-changing millions of existing characters in an event that would likely require the servers to go down for days.
Simple. To save time in scrounging up a new Allied race for the Horde to play to make both sides equal!
Though since Horde players could do the quest to unlock the Man’ari skin they could have just made them into another neutral Allied race to save time in finding a Horde counter part.
I’m glad we got ARs. I love having different racials, heritage armor and lore. I even enjoyed collecting them all! I’m all for adding new customizations for any race but I very much would like to see more ARs added, including super rare ultra grindy meta achievement unlockable ones.
There was probably one person in the office who was like, “You know, Draenei warlocks? People are saying we have completely given up on caring about our own lore here. Whats the absolute least we can do here and still be able to say we care when we see people at blizzcon? Give me your best half baked ideas, people!”
Neither should Void infused elves or Lightbright Draenei. Yet here we are.
Truthfully, I’m so done with Allied Races in general. I find it better to add new customization options to the existing races and give more cosmetic transmogs. As for Racials, Eh. I’m come to hate them recently so I don’t mind ignoring them. Though it was nice of Blizzard to have Draenei have fel corrupted rune for Gift of the Naaru.
And I agree with this. Except for Blood /Void, Night/Nightborne elves being cross faction, they all could have just been cosmetic changes instead of races.
Sure, but as I said, by the same logic, LF Draenei should also just be a skin. In my mind they are basically just the Light-equivalent of the Man’ari. Even before the latter became a thing I felt shorted with the fact that we basically just got yellow-eyed Draenei rather than it becoming a set of customization options.
Agreed with the point about the Mag’har Orcs, too. I get that they are technically different Orcs (uncorrupted), but to me the biggest plus I saw with them is that they could be priests but Orcs eventually wound up getting priests anyway, sooo…
tbh it should’ve been a cash shop one time fee of 5.99 without that atrocious story. No explanation necessary for why the alliance would allow them into their cities.
I didn’t think the story was too bad. Made far more sense than alliance agents assisting the forsaken in clearing Lordaeron of blight and practically putting out the welcoming matt for the undead to once again occupy the holy capital of the alliance.
Not to mention Calia claims she’ll “give gilneas back to the worgen” Despite the fact that the forsaken haven’t had armies in gilneas since they were routed by Lord crowley’s army all the way back in cataclysm and gilneas is occupied by alliance forces. You can’t concede territory to an opposing nation when that opposing nation has already secured said territory and routed your armies from it.
I think some could and some like Zandalari were too different to just be customization options. Why some were just skins and hair options and others were entirely new models/animations I have no idea.
I think the Allied Races were a mistake, as they should’ve just been customizations to the parent races, in my honest opinion, of course with exception to a couple. But there is no going back with Allied Races, so best to leave them to what we have. I think it would’ve been a bad idea to just add another allied race on when it should’ve just remained as customizations, since it isn’t really providing anything new.
Yes, i was just being silly for the sake of silliness. Of course they don’t care, each wave of new combos they release is basically a mountain of micro transaction cash.
Metawise, Gilneas has been a mess since Cataclysms ending. Mainly because they don’t know what to do with worgen as a race and because they wanted to keep fostering impotent Genn rage at Sylvanas and the Forsaken.
Over the years, Gilneas was either being actively fought over, completely abandoned, occupied by the Alliance or occupied by the Forsaken. All of this with almost no rhyme or reason outside of what was needed to justify Genn’s current presence in the story.
It seems right now we’re back to “Forsaken occupied” until the Desolate Council officially abandons it to the Gilneans but who knows when or if that’ll ever actually happen while the servers are still alive.
If you told me back in Cataclysm that Velen would stand over a defeated Kil’jeaden in the skies of Argus before the Worgen retook their home, I’d have called you a liar.
That is absolutely face-palm-worthy if true. Blizz received tons of feedback that ar’s should just be unlockable customization options for current races. But, it wouldn’t surprise me.