If you hate the current iteration of the factions as much as I do, you’re probably in favor of scorching the current cast of characters and events and starting all over again. Same setting - but far removed from the horrible character assassination, loss of faction pride, and mindnumbingly-stupid narrative decisions that culminated in BFA.
There are two ways to do this:
- A Timeskip. In a recent interview, it was confirmed time passes differently in the Shadowlands, and we may return to an Azeroth many years later than we experience in the Shadowlands.
Next expansion may even involve timetravel and the infinite/bronze flights. We may try to travel back in time to avoid some catastrophe that occurred in our absence.
But this gives us our second possibility.
- Would you want to go back in time much farther? Say, to the end of Wrath?
Let’s say, during/after the infinite flight expansion, something goes wrong, and the players, the bulk of the factions’ armies, and non-duplicate named characters (ie Alleria, Turalyon, Geyarah) are stuck way back before the start of the Cataclysm. The expansion then becomes about trying to preemptively strike all the enemies we’ve defeated since (Deathwing, Old Gods, Sha, etc), uniting new allies we found along the way (Zandalari, Kul Tirans, Dark Irons, Vulpera), while the Infinite Flight likewise unites our enemies against us. This would create a new Main Universe for every expansion after. New characters would play through this new MU, unless they opt into the old content via Zidormi. What we experienced from Cata-BFA would otherwise be lost to the archives of WoW lore.
This presents us with the opportunity to avoid every god awful narrative decision made since Cata. Maybe Thrall never becomes World Shaman. Maybe Cairne becomes Warchief because we thwart Magatha’s poison. Maybe Garrosh just remains an enjoyably belligerent general who never causes a civil war, or even a legitimately GOOD Warchief. What if Anduin never becomes head of the Alliance, because Varian never dies? How about the whole High King shtick is abandoned completely and the Alliance is treated as a group of equals with no central commander. Teldrassil and Undercity are never destroyed. Characters we never got to know or wanted more of (Ulan Highmountain, Rastakhan) never die. Sylvanas never makes contact with the Jailor and never betrays the Horde. Zones are remade to reflect this new universe, and lasting eyesores like broken Loch Modan never happen.
So which would you prefer - Timeskip or Redo?
6 Likes
(Commentary): Redo, but let’s go all the way back to Pre-Vanilla, Post-WC3:TFT. We can stop dumb things like Forsaken joining the Horde or Night Elves joining the Alliance.
19 Likes
All things considered, I’m fine with time skip.
Lore is a big flawed mess, but it always has been. Would I like to see a different fate for certain characters and locations? Absolutely. Would doing so probably piss off people who enjoyed aspects of the outcome that I would alter? Seems likely.
For an extreme example, Sylvanas’s character was based around revenge, and she wasn’t even there at the end. I’d have left Tirion at the base of Icecrown, and had Jaina and Sylvanas at the final confrontation. Jaina would get wounded, and Sylvanas would get as grand a send off as Wrath could have provided with a mutual kill.
As far as I’m concerned, that’s a better end for the character than what we got. But there are plenty of people who liked her after Wrath plenty, who wouldn’t care for what I’d see done.
So may as well work with the history we have, and use the advantages a timeskip provides to best effect.
16 Likes
The Cataclysm revamp and the WoD time travel plot were both widely panned after the fact. Why would they go back to those wells? There isn’t going to be a timeskip.
And now that you can choose to level through whatever expansion you wish for 10-50, the effects of the world’s questing content being chronologically misaligned are muted. They effectively removed one of the best reasons to do a revamp.
5 Likes
Redo, all the way. A time-skip is just a cop-out that will say “And other people offstage fixed the things you’re mad about, and everything’s totally fine now!” It won’t actually address any of the seething resentment that both sides are feeling in the wake of BfA.
16 Likes
Redo
Would take it back to before Garrosh decided to become a racist moustache twirling villain, before Blizzard decided to try to take his story 200 ways at once and totally ruin it.
I would like to go back to Stonetalon Mountains Garrosh, we could have really had something there…but nahh we needed a catalyst and we all know Blizzard’s list of catalysts are
- Horde
- Horde
- More Horde
- Old Gods
- Demons
That or I would just have Cairne beat Garrosh and become Warchief. The outcome could have been great. No evil Garrosh, and no Anduin/Baine love.
But a redo will never happen, so a time skip might be nice. Get to a point where faction wars are old news and racial leaders have aged a bit.
9 Likes
None for one blizzard isn’t gonna do a redo and if the time skip is to short or to long it’s gonna ruin rp
2 Likes
Yet you trust the current team with a redo?
3 Likes
Not at all. But “the current team writes it” wasn’t part of the requirements for the choice given.
However, I don’t think even a brand-new writing team (or the old ones at the top of their game) can salvage the situation as it stands now. Redo is the only hope. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen.
2 Likes
People who want redos are just Sylvanas fans who want to keep their waifu just saying. Also they can update the zones without a timeskip cata was six years ago in the story that is more than enough time to heal and fix stuff
4 Likes
I would be perfectly fine with Garrosh killing Sylvanas after he called her a b**** in Silverpine in my redo. 
Could have made it into a decent story.
1 Like
A redo would be nice but I don’t really trust Blizz. But would the effects of Legion and Sargeras’ imprisonment be affected by time? Cata wound still have to happen in some way but we could make sure the aspects didn’t lose their power, Hyjal gets restored, and we catch Frandal early.
I’m ok with a time skip though.
Just throw the whole timeline away at this point.
15 Likes
You’re saying you wouldn’t take a redo where Teldrassil never burns? 'Cause I think a lot of NE fans who have no love for Sylvanas would.
2 Likes
No it wouldn’t it would rob everyone of having all her crimes out in the open way to throw 4 years of plot into the garbage
1 Like
Yeah I don’t care about losing my city I am getting a new one and killing Sylvanas a wow without drama is bland and boring
1 Like
That’s your opinion. I know on the story forum differing opinions aren’t aloud but it’s ok to think differently.
She was obviously already on the path she’s on now back in Cata, they could have fleshed it out a lot.
Killing her then isn’t fleshing it out
Ok not right at that second then, flesh out the story. Have that moment be where the story takes off and explodes. Find a way to include Gilneas in it. Have a horde Civil War but instead of Garrosh going crazy he’s the leader of team good guy.
This is all simply a quick thought in my head, not really a big deal.
You mean actually have the story blizzard wanted to tell where garrosh actually becomes a good leader and then dies with varian in the broken shore then we have bfa I wish to bad blizzard keeps listening to players
1 Like