#hyped for battle for Azeroth

[voidsentprinces]

Youtube trying to hype me on WoW again like I haven't seen this all before. WoW is pretty much on the Sonic Cycle...

What is the Sonic Cycle?

To quote the video game critic, Yahtzee from his review of Sonic Generations:

"Now, the fan reaction to new Sonic games has been getting kind of predictable of late. The first thing that usually happened is that everyone goes, "Oh my god, it's actually good! Sonic doesn't suck anymore! Our saviour has returned! Paint your household pets blue and mutilate baby foxes in thanks!" Then, after a couple of weeks pass and everyone's had a chance to play it, things go mysteriously quiet. Skip forward a year or two and Sonic Team inevitably bring out another Sonic game and up go the voices again. "Oh my god, it's actually good! Sonic doesn't suck anym-" etc., etc. I've seen picnic blankets with less consistent patterns."

All the animations and Chris Metzen interviews in the world isn't going to sell me on how the next expansion actually IS. Everyone was super hyped on Warlords of Draenor and then Blizzard just abandoned it literally half way through. Everyone was hyped about Battle for Azeroth until they actually had to play Battle for Azeroth for a couple years. Everyone was hyped for Shadowlands until Shadowlands happened. And everyone was hyped about Dragonflight until...far as I can tell, they rushed the end of Dragonflight so they could use the rest of the X.X patches to hype up War Within.

I mention Chris Metzen interviews because I am pretty sure that man could sell the Elephant's Foot as the most delicious chocolate cake in the world to the WoW Fandom and they would of bought it in bulk.

Void, isn't this an FFXIV Blog?

Oh my sweet summer child...I use to be neck deep into WoW until Battle for Azeroth when I realized I had wasted my entire young adult and teenage life on Warcraft because it went from something semi-good and coherent to being run by the producers and writers of Netflix Witcher under the Harvey Weinstein production company. And now its just run by the producers and writers of Netflix's Witcher but Gamer Jeff Bezos is calling the shots now as the Monopoly of Bill Gate's Scrotum hangs over it all.

So I moved to Final Fantasy XIV. Which I mean...is a decent game and the last couple CEOs of SquareEnix have been...questionable at best. But at least it doesn't retcon its fucking lore every three expansions. It actually tries to build off the world it set up for itself.

So yeah this is the lamentation of an ex-fan having seen Warcraft go from Terminator 2: Judgment Day to...well actually to the Sonic Franchise come to think of it.

[angryaurikhori]

Having finished Dawntrail's msq yesterday, I figured I'd toss my review into the ring. I was hyped for the expansion for sure, but I kept my expectations low due to witnessing two back-to-back overhyped WoW expansions that were incredibly bad - in story, gameplay, and overarching expansion systems. Needless to say, I've been burned before in the mmo expansion circuit because of Warlords of Draenor, Battle for Azeroth, and Shadowlands - and quite badly by the latter two - but my overall feelings regarding Dawntrail are highly positive. I've put my deeper thoughts below the cut, as they'll be pretty spoilery. And quite long, as I'll be comparing and contrasting FFXIV and WoW's approach to expansions, characterization, and how they handle launches.

A lot of people would say that the story drags, but I love some good world building. I honestly really enjoyed the "back to basics" approach that the first half of expansion's story took - going around to meet the different people of Tural and learning about their cultures. It took me back to the early days of ARR where you're just a guy doing what they can to help people, and as a WoW refugee to FFXIV, an approach I definitely prefer over being THE Hero who often got sidelined in the big moments so Jaina/Anduin/Thrall could do their thing. Only this time, we're the ones doing the mentoring instead of the Scions/our Job Trainer being the mentor to us. True, we only had a few moments of actual mentoring, but there were plenty of "silent talking" moments that you can opt to fill in with giving Wuk Lamat advice.

There was only one true hiccup to my enjoyment of the Rite of Succession half of the expansion, and I'm sure it's also on everyone else's list of hated moments this expansion - Wuk Lamat's kidnapping. I get it's supposed to establish that Wuk Lamat's still a bit too trusting and naive to rule Tural, that Bakool Ja Ja is a true threat to the Rite, and give us some bonding time with Koana, but this section dragged on far too long. And it had two stealth follow segments in a row! TWO! Granted, they're a bit easier now with the big "DO NOT APPROACH" aura compared to how they worked in Endwalker, but it's still my least favorite gameplay mechanic.

The zone and dungeon designs were gorgeous, and the music team 100% hit it out of the park again. Out of all the early story areas, I think that the lower portion of Yak'Tel has to be my favorite, as well as Skydeep Cenote being my favorite dungeon. The music in that dungeon is appropriately haunting, given that it's a mass grave for all the failed Blessed Siblings that never had a chance to live. Speaking of...

I did not expect to enjoy Bakool Ja Ja's character as much as I did. He was introduced as a bully, willing to do whatever it took to be crowned Tulliyolal's new leader. Then the Mamool Ja storyline happened in lower Yak'Tel and my view of him did a complete 180. He was a guy who shouldered the hopes and expectations of his people due to the circumstances of his birth, but carried all the guilt of being the one to survive while other Blessed Siblings did not. Having a sympathetic antagonist is nothing new for FFXIV, but he never truly was a villain at heart. Seeing his growth as the msq went on was wonderful. I hope we get to interact more with him as a friend instead of an antagonist with patch content.

Going back to my earlier point of being sidelined so the Big Name characters can do their thing, it does happen in Dawntrail, but not in a way that felt overly egregious to me? It's entirely possible it didn't bother me as much because we were there to see Lamaty'i's growth first-hand versus needing to track down and spend real money on outside media to read about how Character A went from a normal person to certified Grade A Badass, which was the case more often than not between WoW expansions. I mean, I was floored when I first started playing and they kept the "next expansion preview" quests in-game versus an event that runs for about two weeks and is gone forever once time's up, so there's also that to consider.

As for the two "main" big bads of the expansion, I have mixed feelings. Zalool Ja was a far cry from the Saturday Morning Cartoon villains of WoW or the ARR days and I found him actually far more compelling than the other villain who I'll get into later.

[tastytofusoup]

I have heavy doubts that World of Warcraft committing 3 expansions/6 years to a storyline is a good idea, given their very hit-and-miss track record. Imagine if they'd been like 'get ready for our 6 year EPIC SAGA - it's called Battle For Azeroth!', and consider why I doubt it's a good plan.

It could be good. Maybe if it means they can put more thought into it instead of rushing out a complete expansion every 2 years. But...it's Blizzard so probably not. They are the 'cool idea in theory, shit execution' company. More likely rushing out 3 expansions as normal that happen to be directly related narratively, right?

Thrall featuring heavily though? Always cool. Earthern dwarf land? Pretty cool. Anduin looks like he's finally gone through puberty, which is good. (Although I've already seen someone saying 'wah they've made him UGLY'. Adult woman, if your definition of ugly is someone believably aging older than a 14 year-old boy, and they have some facial hair, facial lines, and short hair, while still being a conventionally attractive man, that sounds like a solid you problem.)

Are the Earthern that hype though as another Dwarf allied race reskin? Are the Nerubians really a compelling, exciting idea for the main villains in an expansion, rather than just forgettable side enemies until now? Could be cool I guess? You know the art team's gonna knock it out of the park as usual, so the zones should be great looking.

Not a great fan of the prospect of Arachnids: The Expansion, though, in the 'stop-putting-fucking-spiders-in-every-zone' game.

Apparently Chris Metzen's back involved, so maybe that'll help?

All-in-all, just the usual case of 'this thing WoW's doing will probably be disappointing garbage, but might on the offchance be good'.

HOWEVER

THEY'RE REALLY GOING TO PROGRESS CLASSIC TO CATACLYSM CLASSIC??

Who's going to fucking want that? Actually who? Cataclysm, the expansion universally considered shit. Cataclysm, the exact expansion that reworked the whole old world, making the original Azeroth extinct. Cataclysm, the expansion where those reworked zones are still the ones in the current game, unchanged, so what's the fucking point?

Wrath of the Lich King was the end of classic WoW because of that overhaul. They're going to replace Wrath Classic, and once again the original old world questing experience will be gone, and the only way people will be able to experience that will be private servers.

The private servers that were popular and Blizzard didn't like it so they shut them down then made Classic because of the amount of interest and now they're going to do the same shit they did on Live and create the same situation again and the private servers will become necessary again anD ARE THEY FUCKING STUPID?

[goodguygarog]

So... I forgot to post this about a month ago. This was a lovely piece done by Roloviel over on Wyrmrest Accord and let me tell you. WHEN I GOT THIS FOR MY BIRTHDAY I COULDNT STOP SCREAMING AND CRYING BECAUSE THIS IS SO GOOD OF MY WONDERFUL ORC SHAMAN! But yeah, i need to share it with all my lovely friends on Tumblr!

[warcraft-lore-archives]

Introducing Troll Lore Month!

The results are in and I’m excited to announce you have all voted for trolls for February Lore Month! They won with 34 votes, a mere six votes ahead of night elves. Worry not if the race you voted for did not get chosen – there are plenty more months in the year.

What is Lore Month?

For the entire month of February 2020, I will be providing you with an in-depth look at everything troll from their history and culture to the very people who make up the disparate troll tribes themselves. Alongside my regularly scheduled posts, I will be delving into troll lore in a series of short and long posts dedicated to not only revealing random facts but also going into great detail about specific aspects of their culture, both past and present.

How is this different from what I normally do?

Lore Month gives me an opportunity to cover certain races in-depth that I may not normally be able to otherwise. I’d like to think Lore Month stands somewhere between my weekly lore facts and Highborne Lore Project in terms of detail. In other words, Lore Month is by no means a comprehensive source of information on a given race, but it also is not just a brief lore summary.

What have I done so far?

As a quick primer before any official Troll Lore Month posts, here are some posts I’ve already written on the trolls if you’re interested:

Horde Cultural Beliefs About the Afterlife

Screenshots on the Zandalari Caste System

Lore Fact #60: On Troll Cannibalism Practices

Lore Fact #59: On Yazma

Lore Fact #39: On King Rastakhan

Lore Fact #22: On Old Drakkari Worship Practices

Lore Fact #4: On Loa Worship

Tags: #lore month, #troll lore month, #loremonth

As always: any questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions? Let me know!

——————————————–

Previous Lore Months:

Nightborne (June 2018)

Kul Tirans (August 2018)

Blood Elves (September 2019)

[soulleschild]

Me: *watching the new cinematic*

Wrathion:

Me:

[boilingheart]

WRATH

[damien-ward]

Worgen Heritage Armor without top hat and shoulder plates.

I think this looks WAY better without the shoulder plates. My only issue with the armor is the coat should be longer, like how Genn has it.There is also a robed version!

[motherazeroth]

IT’S HAPPENING, PEOPLE!!!

[calywitsune]

Listen I may be totally for the Horde but nothing hurts my heart more in the BfA cinematic than seeing Anduin’s face full of sadness and conflicting feelings when he fights that troll

[bran-ridire]

Currently playing WoW and TESO myself... okay so actually I'm playing a fuck ton of Star Trek Online these days... A buddy of mine just got back into FF cuz he needed a WoW break.

The points here are all valid, and I hope Blizzard hears them...

[srslysims]

YAY! Global release for Battle for Azeroth!

“ For the first time in World of Warcraft® history, the next expansion—Battle for Azeroth™—will launch in the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia/New Zealand at the same time. Wherever you live and whatever faction you fight for, you can be part of one globally unified front as the battle for Azeroth begins. “

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21849061/battle-for-azeroth-one-launch-to-rule-them-all

[warcraftjournal]

Battle for Azeroth

Which side are you on?

[theronlorthemar]

Ours is a cycle of hatred. Alliances forged and broken. We have paid the price for sharing this world and we have forgotten what makes us strong.

[fawke]

Finally got caught up on all the blizzcon info from the other week..That trailer was pretty wizard . Speedy Anduin with his slightly new look

[themeanbunny-art]

I am hyped for those Kul’tiran druid forms.