World of Warcraft - Lore & Storyline discussion [SPOILERS] - Page 655

Zulrai · 10/22/10, 4:07 PM

Originally Posted by Fnar

I was thinking about the possibility of WC4, and the only way I can see it working (as long as wow continues to generate sufficient revenue for Blizzard to keep it going, so for the next 5/6 years at least)...

I'm of the opinion that they will eventually tie off WoW's influence on lore and let the game continue on as a revenue stream outside of creating major plot lines. Better put, I think that after 1-2 more expansions they'll just patch stuff into the game but not make any big storyline pushes with content.

Doing this would allow them the possibility to drive story in WC4 and pick it up again in a new Warcraft MMO or RTS after that. Otherwise WoW will have too much lore influence that they would need to maintain between games, a mess I'm sure they won't want.

Itzena · 10/22/10, 7:17 PM

About the Moira thing: Apparently in the book, she isn't characterised as the common fanon of "Evil. manipulative, power-mad bitch" but instead more along the lines of "Teenaged girl/young woman who's been told all her life by her father that he's always wanted a son instead, rebelled and ran away, genuinely (from her side, at least) loved Thaurissian, and returned to Ironforge not because she wanted the power but because she was the heir to the throne and so duty demanded it". (tl;dr - a lot more sympathetically).

Oh, and Varian is having rage issues. Specifically, the merger between his "Varian" and "Lo'Gosh" sides didn't actually work that well and he keeps defaulting to "Well if I kill everyone in my way, everyone near those people, and then all their families, household pets, and random bystanders it should solve all the problems...right? Blood for the Blood God!" Lo'Gosh-style, then flipping back to Varian Wrynn and going "My god, what have I done?"

Also: A lot of lore just got dropped at the Metzen & Furor comedy double-act at Blizzcon.

Like, say, the name of the next Old God, the new Aspect of Magic, the probable next Aspect of Earth, the final nail in the coffin on the Thrall/Jaina shippers, and so on.

Blayze · 10/22/10, 8:48 PM

And once again, I forget to ask someone to ask how changing the past at Darrowshire plays into the Bronzes' mandate.

Ah well. Looks like we may see the new Aspects all being mortals, especially given the talk of high costs during the Deathwing encounter. I myself would love to see Staghelm take up the Dreamer's mantle.

Garrosh's future as Warchief is also looking brighter, given Thrall may be getting promoted massively soon...

Danath · 10/22/10, 8:48 PM

Originally Posted by Itzena

About the Moira thing: Apparently in the book, she isn't characterised as the common fanon of "Evil. manipulative, power-mad bitch" but instead more along the lines of "Teenaged girl/young woman who's been told all her life by her father that he's always wanted a son instead, rebelled and ran away, genuinely (from her side, at least) loved Thaurissian, and returned to Ironforge not because she wanted the power but because she was the heir to the throne and so duty demanded it". (tl;dr - a lot more sympathetically).

Oh, and Varian is having rage issues. Specifically, the merger between his "Varian" and "Lo'Gosh" sides didn't actually work that well and he keeps defaulting to "Well if I kill everyone in my way, everyone near those people, and then all their families, household pets, and random bystanders it should solve all the problems...right? Blood for the Blood God!" Lo'Gosh-style, then flipping back to Varian Wrynn and going "My god, what have I done?"

Also: A lot of lore just got dropped at the Metzen & Furor comedy double-act at Blizzcon.

Like, say, the name of the next Old God, the new Aspect of Magic, the probable next Aspect of Earth, the final nail in the coffin on the Thrall/Jaina shippers, and so on.

Yes, I just read that. The new Aspect of Magic is fine, however I don't like the abuse of Thrall's figure.

Don't get me wrong: he's great and all, but they go as far as saying

Oh I just have to say it, you know Thrall is a shaman now. So what Aspect is missing from the family? Neltharion is out, the family has been broken for 10,000 years, what of the 5 aspects are you missing? Earth. So I'm just saying. Maybe that's a way Thrall can distinguish himself helping the family back together for a big win.

and, even more

We know that the whole Garrosh thing is "contentious" and it's part of a much larger storyline involving Thrall. Thrall is the most important person on Azeroth, the Garrosh storyline has a lot to do with Thrall. Thrall is a Clark Kent type character who doesn't really know his true strength, he was pushed into leadership very young and Garrosh is used as a counterpoint to Thrall. He's a hothead against someone who thinks a lot. Ultimately the story isn't about Garrosh, it's going to be some of the best storytelling that WoW has ever done.

So basically the whole Garrosh storyline hasn't to do with him, but rather Blizzard wants to use it in order to leverage Thrall to SuperOrc and "most important person on Azeroth". Frankly, that seems a bit over the top.

Also, regarding the first part, if there's anyone and I mean anyone that should do something like that, like bringing Aspects together because of his connection to Earth and all...Well, then he's called Malfurion Stormrage.
Someone who already played a major role ten thousand years ago in something very similar, eventually succeeding.

Danath · 10/22/10, 8:54 PM

Originally Posted by Blayze

And once again, I forget to ask someone to ask how changing the past at Darrowshire plays into the Bronzes' mandate.

Ah well. Looks like we may see the new Aspects all being mortals, especially given the talk of high costs during the Deathwing encounter. I myself would love to see Staghelm take up the Dreamer's mantle.

Garrosh's future as Warchief is also looking brighter, given Thrall may be getting promoted massively soon...

How exactly Kalecgos would be mortal? He's a dragon, like all Aspects are and like all should be. Seriously, if Blizzard gives Thrall the Aspect of Earth I will make a massive laugh out of it. Aspects are immortal beings meant to live thousand and thousand of years, standing from a much higher ground and looking down over the "ephemeral" races.

Blayze · 10/22/10, 9:03 PM

I meant eventually, as even Kalecgos has to die eventually and the dragons are meant to be in decline. It's yet to be seen if becoming an Aspect makes a mortal immortal, though.

Powerslave · 10/22/10, 9:10 PM

Originally Posted by Danath

Also, regarding the first part, if there's anyone and I mean anyone that should do something like that, like bringing Aspects together because of his connection to Earth and all...Well, then he's called Malfurion Stormrage.
Someone who already played a major role ten thousand years ago in something very similar, eventually succeeding.

Pointing our his years of experience doesn't really work here.If this is what mattered,night elves would be the best at anything.Logic says races that do not live thousands of years should not be put aside because of their mortality.
Also,in my mind ,druids sort of speak to the plants and shamans are closer to the elements.

Also the whole "thrall is the next deathwing" thing is probably a joke.

dustdog · 10/23/10, 4:27 AM

In the "what we get in 4.1" section, it mentions bosses will be having some lore written included with the atlas-loot treatment and what not which is nice. Alot of the 5man bosses may end up getting some colourless story about being a top ranking leader/tactician/fighter/whatever for whatever group they're apart of, but it's nice none-the-less. Just about every raid has atleast one boss where you wonder about what their story is. Icecrown is about the only one where there were bosses with a presence of some sort outside of the instance.

Kollar · 10/23/10, 4:58 AM

What are you guys doing with Kalecgos and the blue dragons?
- Metzen: Something amazing. (To Alex) Should I tell them..?
- Alex: Do it.
- Metzen: Kalecgos will be the new blue aspect. And just in time.

Finding this highly interesting. Didn't they from the beginning say that the Blue Aspect would not be a dragon? And now they are going back on that with Kalecgos being the new Blue? Also relates to the next qoute about Thrall possibly becoming the new Aspect of Earth.

Oh I just have to say it, you know Thrall is a shaman now. So what Aspect is missing from the family? Neltharion is out, the family has been broken for 10,000 years, what of the 5 aspects are you missing? Earth. So I'm just saying. Maybe that's a way Thrall can distinguish himself helping the family back together for a big win.

Oh, and I so called this aeons ago.

World of Warcraft - Lore & Storyline discussion [SPOILERS]

Duilliath · 10/23/10, 5:46 AM

Maybe that's a way Thrall can distinguish himself helping the family back together for a big win.

It is possible that this means that Thrall, with the help of Alexstrazsa, installs a Pure Black as new Aspect of the Earth.

Danath · 10/23/10, 6:02 AM

Originally Posted by Blayze

I meant eventually, as even Kalecgos has to die eventually and the dragons are meant to be in decline. It's yet to be seen if becoming an Aspect makes a mortal immortal, though.

No one has ever "become" an Aspect as far as I know. Aspects were given their powers by the Titans themselves, and it never occurred that a mortal got the Aspect status/title. Fortunately...

Originally Posted by Powerslave

Pointing our his years of experience doesn't really work here.If this is what mattered,night elves would be the best at anything.Logic says races that do not live thousands of years should not be put aside because of their mortality.
Also,in my mind ,druids sort of speak to the plants and shamans are closer to the elements.

Also the whole "thrall is the next deathwing" thing is probably a joke.

I'm not saying that races that don't live thousands of years should be put aside. I'm saying that Malfurion is an immensely powerful being which existed for millennia, plus he already dealt with Deathwing back in the War of Ancients, when he first went mad. He knows how to fight him, it would make perfect sense for him, not Thrall, to lead the charge against the Destroyer.

Thrall should obviously be right there too, but the way they make it sound, it's almost like Thrall becomes the only possible being on Azeroth that can save the world, bring the Dragons together after ten thousands years and maybe fly around like Superman in Metropolis. It's just a massive exaggeration.

Tinwhisker · 10/23/10, 9:19 AM

Originally Posted by Danath

Thrall should obviously be right there too, but the way they make it sound, it's almost like Thrall becomes the only possible being on Azeroth that can save the world, bring the Dragons together after ten thousands years and maybe fly around like Superman in Metropolis. It's just a massive exaggeration.

I'm not saying it's a bad storyline or anything like that but realistically, we've been headed this way for a while; you only have to look at the statue outside Blizzard HQ to see it. Oh, and don't forget that Thrall is also an alien from a dead/dying world.

Cybsled · 10/23/10, 12:09 PM

The thing to remember is that Thrall is a very long lived concept/character. He had his own game (Warcraft Adenvtures, which got canceled), he was a strong focus in WC3, and obviously he is a central figure in WoW. Also factor in he has had a healthy number of novels that involve him and he's basically Metzen's unofficial avatar more or less. While Malfurion was a major character in WC3, he has been mostly MIA in WoW save for a "ghost" cameo during a quest in TBC and he is only truly returning in this expansion.

Besides, while Malfurion is Mr. Nature, the druid's realm is mostly life. Shamans, on the other hand, are mostly elements. Obviously they overlap in many regards, but I've always viewed their specialty fields as such and they have been more or less demonstrated as such in the lore/game. If there are problems in a forest, the druid is going to ask the trees and animals, while a shaman will ask the rocks, water, and air.

Ashen · 10/23/10, 12:11 PM

It's probably less him becoming an aspect and more him channeling the powers of the missing aspect (Neltharion) for the necessary battle against Deathwing. I fully expect that they will install a new Brood Aspect, which will most likely happen with the help of Alexastrasza. But the fact that Thrall will play the major ambassador figure in the fight should be fun.

Monocle · 10/23/10, 2:41 PM

I am very pleased to see that Blizzard did not abandon the Abyssal Maw, and we are getting it in 4.1. Adding a 5 man each patch is a great way help people get geared up for a tier and continue some story threads. With all the stuff Cataclysm is going to cover, Blizzard is going to need every in game venue they have to try to do that.

Cataclysm looks like it is going to be packed with story stuff in future patches. Both the situation with the Bronze Dragons and Ni'zoth will have to be covered. Well Ni'zoth could wait a little, but if Nozdormu will be at the draconic family reunion, we may finally see some resolution there. Also means if he is a raid boss, he will not die, though all bets are off in the final patch, Deathwing could very well blow him up.