Airships, technology, magic. Would that turn off a lot of people?
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At the risk of sounding flippant, don’t we have that stuff now?
I mean, if the Alliance were mechangnomes, gilneans, and dwarves/gnomes, it would basically be a steampunk faction, complete with victorian flair.
I get what you’re saying though. I think it would be like how people received dwarves during early WoW- complaining a bit about steampunk, and then totally and utterly getting over it.
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I think there is already way more technology in WoW than some people really want. There might not be any steampunk considering that the Alliance has jump started their technology with the Draenei.
Inventions aren’t just some solitary thing they branch out into so many different applications. Invention and innovation can lead to more invention and innovation and 200 years is a long time.
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WoW’s rule of cool has made trying to discern the general technological level impossible.
In the Battle of Lordaeron for example we see that siege towers and phalanxs are still tactically sound. As are bowman firing from parapets.
In this same battle a straight up tank that looks for all the world like it wandered in from Warhammer 40k turns up.
In what world would wooden siege towers and shield walls be an effective thing to deploy if the enemy has an armored division? Well one with magic I guess.
Until the magic suddenly and inexplicably isn’t viable. Like how we had to stress about naval power in BFA when the whole strength of a navy is being able to project a nation’s power from the other side of the world. Which is pretty irrelevant when entire armies can be instantly moved across the planet with portals - and indeed are we see exactly this happen in Dazar’Alor.
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I know it’s always been a part of the game, but I’ve never been a fan of the techno-side of WoW. Bringing more of it to the forefront would definitely be a huge turn-off for me.
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I think blizzard still wants fantasy, but with technology thrown in when it suits them. In a realistic world, this technology would be growing everywhere, exponentially.
In Pandaria a then Prince Anduin is caught by the Horde, who pin him down with the use of a long range sniper rifle.
Now, in fairness, the events leading to this capture are played through the perspective of other characters, some of whom are comically obvious unreliable narrators. So it’s possible the, no pun intended, scope of the weapon’s efficacy are over exaggerated.
But it’s still very funny to me. I think Rogues would be driven out of buisness overnight if assassination via sniper rifle became a viable tactic.
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Ya I somewhat agree. Blizzard is trying to live in both worlds and I think that hurts them
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This very much. All this tech killed our Knights in shining armor.
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WoW 2 should be Starcraft so they can have their scifi/fantasy and fantasy/scifi at the same time.
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Draenie Light-powered laser defense grids and space ships. Dwarf and gnome steamtanks. Goblin power armor. Airships on both factions. Rockets. Legion dimensional space ships. Rampant use of cannons.
I think going steampunk would be a technological regression at this point.
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We are already beyond most steampunk settings in terms of technological advancement.
Going into more specifics we’ve seen all sorts of crazy technology that seems to be on the level of, or in some cases more advanced than even RL modern tech. Though at other times that tech becomes laughably bested by sticks and stones.
We have the G.M.O.D from the goblins, which is basically a hyper-advanced mech suit that can, among other things, shoot missiles, fly between continents, shoot lasers, deploy shields, self-repair, and a few other things that I’m sure it hasn’t decided it can do yet.
There are massive airships that do inter-continental travel, serve as military bases for armies, and has machine guns / bombs on them… and can often be taken out by like one person and a few explosives.
In addition we have aircraft carriers, made of metal, that can support multiple ships, and a landing strip, which isn’t even always needed since we have VTOL aircraft as well. We have cannons, Anti-air batteries, Machine Guns, and outright lasers though they can often be matched by in effectiveness by what seems to be some arrows that somebody shoots really well. We have tanks, submarines, battleships (With the Iron Horde ones looking like modern day ones), effectively nukes, death robot suits, autonomous robots, flamethrowers, trains, trams, rocket-highways, cars, and with goblin ‘base-in-a-box’ technology, you can literally bring a fully deplorable military installation along with you.
On the ground we have deploy-able shields, grenades, missiles, stealth-field generators, snipers, multi-spectral goggles, self-injecting healing potions, and jetpacks.
To back this all up both factions have at least industrial revolution levels of production and assembly means that can turn many of these items out in mass quantities.
But don’t worry. A sword is still a viable weapon.
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One where a single guy can solo a tank with his sword.
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Don’t we already have all of that?
I was actually thinking of something around those lines. If there was a WoW 2 it should be set maybe a few thousand years in the future and the events of remnants of times. I’m thinking maybe whatever has been growing inside of Azeroth maybe has already been born and left.
Maybe kill all the elves or have them leave the planet, because there’s really no point to setting something in the near future if there are actually people that were alive during the time. Things really need to fade away to a point that history could barely be believed.
This would really give the designers a chance to make a world that has been shaped by peace. Maybe with the orcs, maybe with the undead, maybe take some inspiration from the Vatican City in Italy. So what ever comes back to invade Azeroth will really hit the world in a time of complacency and vulnerability.
Steampunk is more of an aesthetic than anything else. Basically, it is victorian garb with goggles and baroque technological pieces for ornamentation.
No thanks. Players can already so that if they want, but I’d rather not make it a requirement.
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And between those aspects the Gilneans, sometimes, have the Victorian England vibe whereas I think the Dwarves and Orcs have steam powered stuff.
The Goblins and Gnomes have tech that’s either sorta Steam Punk or some Star Trek level tech whenever the rule of cool demands it. Such as stomping around in Goblin mech suits fighting off an army of Gnomish kill drones.
Seeing as Magic and Technology can work in tandem or aganist eachother just fine I’m not sure what technological progression looks like in this world. At one point Darkspear Loa masks are just blasting through LForged war machines and fortifications. That’s one of the more primal magics smacking around the more advanced tech we’ve seen in setting so - doesn’t seem like you need to embrace better technology if you can already rely on magic and vice versa.
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We have Shadowrun for people who want that kind of setting.
…all that stuff is in WoW right now.
It doesn’t, and it never has.
Gnomes, Goblins and their various robots have been around since the beginning. The Legion’s hell robots have been a thing since BC.
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Wait…Wow2? Is this a thing or just wishful thinking?