World of Warcraft: Current Year
- Thread starter hodj
- Start date
kitsune
Golden Knight of the Realm
- 624
- 35
Mate, Chen Stormstout was a tiny ass part of Rexxar's campaign and I don't think he even said anything. It was all like "hey, we made this sweet multiplayer hero and had no use for it in the campaigns, why don't you try it out?"
Chen existed in the comic, in WC3 and was hinted at in early WoW. There isn't a huge amount of him, but there's enough that questioning how he came to be could result in an entire island and expansion.
I mean honestly, did everyone just go, HUR THERE BE PANDAS?
Now, even with Pandas in the lore you have to admit it's ridiculously Kung Fu panda; I mean we're talking starter panda quests, to the troop of students trying to follow their master who you adventure with etc. I don't think I could have gleaned from the bit of Chen we got into the expansion that was revealed. I don't however, think that the lore was shit. Nothing is ever going to top space goats.
It's also not the first MMO, game etc to have you suddenly discover an entire island full of strange creatures never seen before. At least this one you can go, "So that's where soandso came from, or that's where the rest of his people are."
I mean honestly, did everyone just go, HUR THERE BE PANDAS?
Now, even with Pandas in the lore you have to admit it's ridiculously Kung Fu panda; I mean we're talking starter panda quests, to the troop of students trying to follow their master who you adventure with etc. I don't think I could have gleaned from the bit of Chen we got into the expansion that was revealed. I don't however, think that the lore was shit. Nothing is ever going to top space goats.
It's also not the first MMO, game etc to have you suddenly discover an entire island full of strange creatures never seen before. At least this one you can go, "So that's where soandso came from, or that's where the rest of his people are."
xzi
Mouthbreather
- 7,526
- 6,763
Didn't they originally do Pandaren as an April Fools like right before TFT came out a few years ago? And everybody loved the idea and wanted it?
edit-
found the jokehttp://classic.battle.net/war3/pandaren/
and some wiki pages
http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaren_April_Fools
http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaren
edit-
found the jokehttp://classic.battle.net/war3/pandaren/
and some wiki pages
http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaren_April_Fools
http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaren
Where ever they came from I already rerolled my Pandarian monk to Human. I just didn't like the models they came up with. Monk version 2.0 already crused to Outlands and can't wait to start MoP rep grinding in a couple of weeks.
I'm not a fan of Pandas, but this is just silly. WOW is one of the few games that does have some balance between growth and consistent gameplay.
Of course they are looking at things from a financial perspective, but they do a nice job balancing their desire for said growth, with the health and stability of their game and core audience. I think they are wise enough to not turn into that other idiiot company that really was just interested in growth, but not necessarily the health of their games. hi2u SOE.
My biggest complaint about Blizzard is not that they focus solely on growth, which they do not, but that they are very conservative. However my complaints are as a gamer, and they do a pretty good job of their games churning out money and keeping a lot of people happy, not easy to do in the MMO genre.
Caeden
Silver Baronet of the Realm
- 7,363
- 11,923
Back in tbc and even wotlk, I distinctly remember a lot of folks clamoring for Pandaren.
I was a "Kung Fu Panda" detractor too until I sat down and realized we had talking cows, goats, other bears, snakes, lizards, mini-jersey shoreites, and fish. Then I thought of the fact that killing a giraffe drops a worn boot....nobody questions that. Azeroth celebrates cutesy versions of every Holiday just about and has its own where you take a hapless orphan out for a fun-filled adventure for a week before locking it back in the orphanage for 51 more weeks. They've aped ancient Egypt, rainforests, Land of the Lost, Zoolander, Native Americans, Carribbeans/voodoo, metrosexuals, space, giant bugs, Greek mythology, and old England.
But damn if we don't draw the line at pandas and Far East mysticism.
I was a "Kung Fu Panda" detractor too until I sat down and realized we had talking cows, goats, other bears, snakes, lizards, mini-jersey shoreites, and fish. Then I thought of the fact that killing a giraffe drops a worn boot....nobody questions that. Azeroth celebrates cutesy versions of every Holiday just about and has its own where you take a hapless orphan out for a fun-filled adventure for a week before locking it back in the orphanage for 51 more weeks. They've aped ancient Egypt, rainforests, Land of the Lost, Zoolander, Native Americans, Carribbeans/voodoo, metrosexuals, space, giant bugs, Greek mythology, and old England.
But damn if we don't draw the line at pandas and Far East mysticism.
spronk
FPS noob
- 22,604
- 25,654
yup once you hit revered with a faction you can buy a token that gives double rep across all chars/servers (x-faction too). Its quite nice, especially since it works for all the starting quests for the pandaria factions too. For new alts, you can basically hit honored with shado pan, klaxxi, etc by the time you hit 90.
Hit exalted with the new faction this weekend, its a nice little story buildup (no spoilers) of the war against garrosh. Gotta try the alliance version to see that side of the story. I wonder what the 5.2 raid is gonna be, and how that will tie into Garrosh's story.
I don't hate Pandas as much as I thought I would, that said my monk is not one of them. I'm super jealous they get double well fed buffs for raids though, wtf.
with each expansion i ask myself, can they make this game any worse. eventually it gets answered when the following expansion is announced. imo shit was going down shortly after BC was released. Arenas and losing the honor system killed world pvp which was the only thing enjoyable in wow.
Wombat
Trakanon Raider
- 2,021
- 791
You really think so? I read that quest as the devs winkingly telling fresh 90s "Look, we admit this Panda stuff came out of nowhere, but we'll get back to the longterm storylines next xpac, so buy that one too!"
Besides, you really think the point release flow is corrupted leaders to the entirety of the burning legion (not dealt with for, what, 5 years?) back to the Mogu emperor? I am positive BL is next xpac.
I will say that, on the alliance side at least, Jaina turning into Vengeance Boss is handled about as well as I can expect Blizz to manage nowadays (namely, moron hothead Varian having to say lines like "Yeah, Garrosh crushed my child, but let's not jump off the handle here!" to establish Jaina as the crazy one.) This is as good as you can expect Blizz to be (which is praise and damnation at once).
Valderen
Space Pirate
- 4,451
- 2,623
I guess I'll offer a different perspective. This is for me the most fun I've had playing WoW since Vanilla/TBC.
I am somewhat casual, leaning on hardcore at times. The game just suits my play style and availability.
I always have something to do any time I log on, I can look forward to very cool gear that doesn't require me to play the game like it's a second job. I can progress at my own pace with my little group of friends.
Daily grind isn't so bad when you play somewhat casually, because it is not a rush to complete at all cost. I will on any play session do maybe 1 to 3 factions. I alternate between them...sometimes I go a week before I do the same set of dailies since they are not the same every time.
I can do dungeons, and LFR on my schedule...I hadn't played Cataclysm so this is my first taste of LFR and I love it...raid happening, when I happen to be on...rather then "having" to be on to raid. I am a bit disappointed by the fact that we can ignore most of the actual mechanics of the encounters though.
I have unlocked all the raids now in LFR. I have all factions at revered, far from exalted still though, and still have lots to do before I consider my character "complete" as far as my personal objectives. In other expansions, I would either be done by now and quit, or playing an alt and quit soon. Right now I can easily see myself playing my main for a few more months before I even bother with an alt...if they can release content faster like they mentioned, they might actually keep me subscribed for more then my usual 3 months and quit till next expansion.
I am also definitely enjoying the storyline of the Dominance Offensive faction. With a new little story every few days or faction progress. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen there.
All in all, it's a way cool expansion in my opinion. I might not have said that a few years back, but it totally fits the way I play now.
I am somewhat casual, leaning on hardcore at times. The game just suits my play style and availability.
I always have something to do any time I log on, I can look forward to very cool gear that doesn't require me to play the game like it's a second job. I can progress at my own pace with my little group of friends.
Daily grind isn't so bad when you play somewhat casually, because it is not a rush to complete at all cost. I will on any play session do maybe 1 to 3 factions. I alternate between them...sometimes I go a week before I do the same set of dailies since they are not the same every time.
I can do dungeons, and LFR on my schedule...I hadn't played Cataclysm so this is my first taste of LFR and I love it...raid happening, when I happen to be on...rather then "having" to be on to raid. I am a bit disappointed by the fact that we can ignore most of the actual mechanics of the encounters though.
I have unlocked all the raids now in LFR. I have all factions at revered, far from exalted still though, and still have lots to do before I consider my character "complete" as far as my personal objectives. In other expansions, I would either be done by now and quit, or playing an alt and quit soon. Right now I can easily see myself playing my main for a few more months before I even bother with an alt...if they can release content faster like they mentioned, they might actually keep me subscribed for more then my usual 3 months and quit till next expansion.
I am also definitely enjoying the storyline of the Dominance Offensive faction. With a new little story every few days or faction progress. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen there.
All in all, it's a way cool expansion in my opinion. I might not have said that a few years back, but it totally fits the way I play now.
Ryoz
<Donor>
- 831
- 181
^^ This.
I got my DK to 90 and have been playing the same way. Spend some time soloing old raids and heoric dungeons for fun, transmogs and that slim chance at a mount drop.
Have to agree on the LFR part. I barely made ilvl 460 by having a bunch of cloth heroic drops in my inv while actually wearing ~ilvl 445 gear, and I faceroll tanked all the bosses in MV with 0 deaths / wipes. That's borderline retarded.
Ukerric
Bearded Ape
- 7,921
- 9,572
That's also my reading of the questline. Besides, we do know that the last raid is dislodging GarroSha from Orgrimmar, and devs seem to be satisfied with 3 primary raid tiers, and apparently expect to tide the time between tiers by having a 5.1 (and possibly a 5.3) being additional non-raid content that allows us to add half a tier to a couple welfare epics (before upgrading them again). So it's introduction tier, badass pandarian pvp-sha-themed raid tier (did I hear the devs comparing stuff to Ulduar?), then ultra-badass Orgrimmar raid tier. And that's all. Maybe we'll hear about the old gods again, possibly thru Klaxxis stuff (if you're revered Klaxxis, remember: you ARE becoming an indirect ally of the Old Gods too).
The Legion is big enough a threat to warrant one full expansion. And everyone is clamoring for more demons to come back; after all we didn't had as much as expected in BC, then they went completely away. So people are clamoring for more Legion action the way they were continually asking for pandas. So expect early next year, or maybe at Blizzcon at the latest to hear about World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Strikes Back.
(and it's not as if they haven't dropped heavy hint about it. There's even a login hint about the return of Alleria and Turalyon)
kitsune
Golden Knight of the Realm
- 624
- 35
Don't forget us nordics and our viking culture for the entire WOTLK-expansion! Most the names are based on icelandic/norwegian/swedish as well. Astrid Bjornrittar - Astrid Bear rider. She rode a bear. Moo