Some Thoughts on the Draenei

[Psychotrip]

This is a quote from the official forums on a thread called, "Ghostcrawler on Draenei". It sums up my feelings on their neglect quite nicely:

"01/29/2013 08:51 AM


This has become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. "We don't do anything with them because they don't fit, and they don't fit because we haven't done anything with them."

The draenei don't fit any worse in the current (WoW-era) state of Warcraft lore than anything else, but Metzen let the jokes about "lolore retcons lol" and "lololol spacegoats lol" get to him, went off to cry in a corner, and hasn't had the stone to touch the draenei since, even though they're really the one race in the lineup that isn't a takeoff of a standard-issue fantasy race. There have been plenty of ways to integrate the draenei into the greater Alliance and the greater storyline, Blizzard's just always been too lazy or too timid or too busy to use them.

-Nobundo was the first draenei to speak with the elements, and brought the concept of shamanism to the draenei who embraced it wholesale. He's a visionary, one of the major heroes of his race. Where is he in Cataclysm, the big shaman expansion? He doesn't get so much as a single line of dialogue, because Cataclysm was The Thrall Show.

-What about Vindicator Maraad? He's supposedly Garona's uncle by blood and a powerful vindicator, but he's never done a bloody thing in-game, just stands on the Skyshredder's deck in Icecrown as a piece of scenery.

-Draenei have long known the power of the arcane, their mages powerful and more, some of them boasting over twenty millennia of experience. Why don't we see a couple of them in Dalaran, sharing their knowledge? The Kirin Tor would lap that !@#$ up.

-Draenei count amongst their number their own paladin order, light-bringers who serve to protect their race and smash the unholy forces that oppose them. Why couldn't we see them bringing their own strength and experience to bear against the Scourge in Wrath? Blizzard gives us one half-assed explanation about some guy (who later turns out to be a Scourge agent) trying to stonewall them, then forgets about it entirely.

-What about Forest Song in Ashenvale? Why not use it as a jumping-off point in Cataclysm to show some bitter draenei taking the chance to take it to the orcs in revenge? Instead Blizzard spends their time turning Zoram'gar into a fortress and putting a mouthy fire elemental in the middle of the zone.

I'm just throwing this stuff out here, seriously.

-How about in Swamp of Sorrows a group of broken from the Harborage link up with Joanna Blueheart's army and start using the guerrilla tactics they learned staying alive on Draenor against the Horde there, butchering them and leaving grisly trophies hanging from the trees in warning, something that Joanna approves of, but maybe an uncorrupted draenei finds uncomfortable.

-When BC first dropped the draenei had racial buffs called 'heroic presence' (for melee classes) and 'inspiring presence' (for casters) because apparently the draenei are so in tunewith the Light that just being near them makes people feel heartened and energized. Why not play with this concept? Have an Alliance regiment somewhere with a draenei priest who acts as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, extolling the virtues of the Light mid-battle and urging them to fight harder, boosting their morale and making them far more dangerous.

Again, I'm just dropping this stuff off the top of my head. You're seriously going to tell me that Blizzard can't come up with this stuff in four years?

None of what I've listed here even bothers with the draenei's sci-fi trappings or touches upon their history with the Legion. These are all potential story hooks that Blizzard could use for the draenei, but don't because either they wimp out or they're too busy Horde-humping - which is why the worgen ended up with the same fate of irrelevence within their own expansion."

I agree with all of the above statements, and this is coming from someone who most exclusively plays the horde. What are your thoughts?

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I think the Draenei would be best served by making Broken playable as well.

Bringing a new race into the Alliance would increase their stock, and would give us two Argus-originated races to increase their legitimacy.

[Arbs]

I wanna see the Exodar updated from what it is in the Lore.

[Justignoreme]

Draenei in Forest Song were concerned with the Demons in Ashenvale, not the Orcs.
Draenei paladins are all over Krasarang, as well as fighting the Horde in Stonetalon.
Draenei are used as commanders of ships (especially the gnomish sub in Vashjir) probably because of their knowledge with navigating large vessels and their Russian accent reminds everyone of the Hunt for Red October.
Cataclysm was not the "Shaman expansion". Yes Thrall stole the limelight, are you really surprised by this?
Draenei were featured, in token force, in the Argent Crusade in Wrath.
The Draenei's entire purpose was bundled into BCs lore sadly. They didn't really set out a roadmap for them; remember Pandaren were supposed to be the original BC Alliance race before it was scrapped. Unfortunately it leaves the Draenei in a position for dangerous retcons, ridiculous moral authorities (which no other race gets) and so on. The best development of the Draenei after BC was in the Velen short story and it wasn't Velen's visions but rather how the Draenei handled the rioting humans in front of a fixed Exodar undergoing systems checks. It showed that if push comes to shove the Draenei will actually fight violently to maintain law and order but they will regret/mourn taking lives to do so, after the fight is over.

[Psychotrip]

This. Also, if they ever give us subraces with the new character models like they said they wanted to, I have no doubt that broken will be included.

---------- Post added 2013-02-01 at 06:58 PM ----------

When they appear they are primarily token characters. Very little lore has developed for them. I dont think it can be argued anymore that draenei CANT fit in with the alliance and the world as several ideas were thought up of the top of someone's head. So why NOT include them a little more? So many missed opportunities to do so have flown by already.

[Darkenedfist]

they wimp out or they're too busy Horde-humping - which is why the worgen ended up with the same fate of irrelevence within their own expansion."
I agree with all of the above statements, and this is coming from someone who most exclusively plays the horde. What are your thoughts?

While this is partiality true blizzard seems to have a hard on for human lore and having humans do everything better then all the other races which is why Anduin the teen prince who doesn't have any military experiance is leading the army of light rather then someone like Velen or Maraad. Hell I am placing my bets that blizz would pull a little patience 2.0 and have Turaylon or and Anduin show up the draenei and make them look like incompetent morons in an attempt to show the fanbase how cool these characters are.

[MoanaLisa]

It showed that if push comes to shove the Draenei will actually fight violently to maintain law and order but they will regret/mourn taking lives to do so, after the fight is over.

It seems as if that is the perpetual fate of my favorite race: mourning or trying to set right the consequences of their actions. It starts even before you hit level 1.

There's actually a lot of good story hooks in that if you think about it.

[Psychotrip]

Also, people keep using the excuse, "it's because pandaren were supposed to be the new race for ally". Well have you stopped to think WHY they weren't made the new race? Because they had no connection to outland NOR any strong reasonto join the alliance. Draenei fit more at the time, and if blizzard actually cared they could fit more now.

[Justignoreme]

It seems as if that is the perpetual fate of my favorite race: mourning or trying to set right the consequences of their actions. It starts even before you hit level 1.

And even when their actions were entirely justified. Though I suppose with the case of putting down so many humans they felt bad because they are supposed to be allies and friends; didn't see the same reaction in game when those the Hand of Argus vindicator smashed that blood knights head in lol.

Actually something I see a lot in stories is how some humans, at an individual level, like to wear their ignorance proudly. The Velen story, calling Draenei "hooved demons" or the Quest for Pandaria where the Captain told the two Night Elves aboard the ship they owed a debt of servitude to the Alliance and disobedience was treasonous. Both cases attacks on the non-human races resulted.

---------- Post added 2013-02-02 at 12:08 AM ----------

Also, people keep using the excuse, "it's because pandaren were supposed to be the new race for ally". Well have you stopped to think WHY they weren't made the new race? Because they had no connection to outland NOR any strong reasonto join the alliance. Draenei fit more at the time, and if blizzard actually cared they could fit more now.

It's not an excuse, it's all there was to it. Draenei as they are, were entirely made from scratch to fit into the BC storyline.

in WC3 Draenei referred to Broken and Lost Ones, like Akama.

[Landin55]

Draenei in Forest Song were concerned with the Demons in Ashenvale, not the Orcs.
Draenei paladins are all over Krasarang, as well as fighting the Horde in Stonetalon.
Draenei are used as commanders of ships (especially the gnomish sub in Vashjir) probably because of their knowledge with navigating large vessels and their Russian accent reminds everyone of the Hunt for Red October.
Cataclysm was not the "Shaman expansion". Yes Thrall stole the limelight, are you really surprised by this?
Draenei were featured, in token force, in the Argent Crusade in Wrath.
The Draenei's entire purpose was bundled into BCs lore sadly. They didn't really set out a roadmap for them; remember Pandaren were supposed to be the original BC Alliance race before it was scrapped. Unfortunately it leaves the Draenei in a position for dangerous retcons, ridiculous moral authorities (which no other race gets) and so on. The best development of the Draenei after BC was in the Velen short story and it wasn't Velen's visions but rather how the Draenei handled the rioting humans in front of a fixed Exodar undergoing systems checks. It showed that if push comes to shove the Draenei will actually fight violently to maintain law and order but they will regret/mourn taking lives to do so, after the fight is over.

Until they crash them...hehe couldn't resist.
OT:We have to remember that Blizz isn't some crazy retconning lore shit storm like some people believe. Remember these few things when it comes with Draenei and current problems. The Draenei population is severely low on Azeroth, some Draenei don't give a shit about Azeroth unless demons are involved, they still have their own problems going on even political issues. Good news is though that we might see a lot more Draenei (maybe too much) if the next expansion is in fact a demon one.

[Kisho]

-Nobundo was the first draenei to speak with the elements, and brought the concept of shamanism to the draenei who embraced it wholesale. He's a visionary, one of the major heroes of his race. Where is he in Cataclysm, the big shaman expansion? He doesn't get so much as a single line of dialogue, because Cataclysm was The Thrall Show.

Yeah, they missed an opportunity here. That said, while Thrall was of course a major element in the expansion, he was far from the only one.

-What about Vindicator Maraad? He's supposedly Garona's uncle by blood and a powerful vindicator, but he's never done a bloody thing in-game, just stands on the Skyshredder's deck in Icecrown as a piece of scenery.

And Garona is someone who isn't talked about much in the game. Before they can go about introducing Maraad as more than just another NPC, they'll need to actually bring Garona back first. Or have Maraad be involved in a questline about Garona. And to do that, they need an actual reason for Garona to turn up.

-Draenei have long known the power of the arcane, their mages powerful and more, some of them boasting over twenty millennia of experience. Why don't we see a couple of them in Dalaran, sharing their knowledge? The Kirin Tor would lap that !@#$ up.

Probably because we don't really associate Draenei with mages. They're more about Priests and Paladins. But yeah, we could use a Draenei representative in the Kirin Tor.

-Draenei count amongst their number their own paladin order, light-bringers who serve to protect their race and smash the unholy forces that oppose them. Why couldn't we see them bringing their own strength and experience to bear against the Scourge in Wrath? Blizzard gives us one half-assed explanation about some guy (who later turns out to be a Scourge agent) trying to stonewall them, then forgets about it entirely.

The undead are an Azerothian problem, primarily. It would seem odd for the Draenei to dash in and save the day here. I'm sure if the Draenei had more 'screentime' here, then we'd have people complaining about them not fitting in, going god-mode and saving the day, blahblahblah.

-What about Forest Song in Ashenvale? Why not use it as a jumping-off point in Cataclysm to show some bitter draenei taking the chance to take it to the orcs in revenge? Instead Blizzard spends their time turning Zoram'gar into a fortress and putting a mouthy fire elemental in the middle of the zone.

-How about in Swamp of Sorrows a group of broken from the Harborage link up with Joanna Blueheart's army and start using the guerrilla tactics they learned staying alive on Draenor against the Horde there, butchering them and leaving grisly trophies hanging from the trees in warning, something that Joanna approves of, but maybe an uncorrupted draenei finds uncomfortable.

-When BC first dropped the draenei had racial buffs called 'heroic presence' (for melee classes) and 'inspiring presence' (for casters) because apparently the draenei are so in tunewith the Light that just being near them makes people feel heartened and energized. Why not play with this concept? Have an Alliance regiment somewhere with a draenei priest who acts as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, extolling the virtues of the Light mid-battle and urging them to fight harder, boosting their morale and making them far more dangerous.

This stuff would require ANOTHER old-world revamp, or at least changes to the mentioned zones. I doubt Blizzard is in a hurry to do that again. I'm sure Blizzard have had similar ideas; it's just about finding the right time to use them.

I like the Draenei. I think they're a brilliant, interesting race. I'd love to see more of them. But I wouldn't want to see them shoe-horned into any old stories where they don't make sense, just for the sake of appeasing people who desperately want to see more of them.

All that said, if the next expansion is Burning Legion oriented again, then you can bet the Draenei will be right at the centre of the action. It's something, at least.

[Psychotrip]

I will bet money that draenei will take a back seat to Wryyn's son during the next burning legion expansion. I bet he'll even be the one to kill Kil'jaedan. Seriously, quote me on this one. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but I almost GUARENTEE you all that that priest will lead this "army of light" thing.

[Landin55]

I will bet money that draenei will take a back seat to Wryyn's son during the next burning legion expansion. I bet he'll even be the one to kill Kil'jaedan. Seriously, quote me on this one. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but I almost GUARENTEE you all that that priest will lead this "army of light" thing.

...Of course Anduin is the leader of the Army of Light..... But do you remember anything from BC? I remember a lot of blue people everywhere. Thats what its going to be like. If you thought a Dreanei was going to the be the "hero" you were delusional they will play the role of "teacher" (Velen and Anduin).

[Psychotrip]

So draenei are just meant to stand on the sidelines? Only humans and orcs can be the heroes? I'm sure blizzard could give us, and ofher races, more than that if they tried. There's no reason not to. There's so many possible plot points to draw from, as expressed in the OP. It's just depressing seeing several races always on the sidelines with no real place in the world of warcraft, while everyone else gets to play the part of the hero.

[MoanaLisa]

So draenei are just meant to stand on the sidelines? Only humans and orcs can be the heroes? I'm sure blizzard could give us, and ofher races, more than that if they tried. There's no reason not to. There's so many possible plot points to draw from, as expressed in the OP. It's just depressing seeing several races always on the sidelines with no real place in the world of warcraft, while everyone else gets to play the part of the hero.

Just a thought about something to watch and probably off-topic but I'd keep an eye out on what happens with the new warchief Horde-side. If it's anything other than an orc it might mean that from a writing standpoint, Metzen is trying to get other races into more prominent spots. As well, it could mean nothing at all.

[Psychotrip]

I've been thinking the exact same thing! I hope this is true. If this is the case, It'll be pretty difficult not to incorporate the other races when one of them is in charge. I can only hope that type of attitude extends to the alliance as well as the horde.

[mistuhbull]

And Garona is someone who isn't talked about much in the game. Before they can go about introducing Maraad as more than just another NPC, they'll need to actually bring Garona back first. Or have Maraad be involved in a questline about Garona. And to do that, they need an actual reason for Garona to turn up.

Garona was a major figure in Twi-Hi on the Horde side. She was the one leading the efforts against Cho'gall while the Dragonmaw were busy playing with the Wildhammer

[Skytotem]

Garona was a major figure in Twi-Hi on the Horde side. She was the one leading the efforts against Cho'gall while the Dragonmaw were busy playing with the Wildhammer

I think you're forgetting Zaela and Lady Cozwyn :\

[mistuhbull]

I think you're forgetting Zaela and Lady Cozwyn :\

I said leading, not only one. Garona was Horde's Mathias Shaw in Twi-Hi

[Cernunnos]

I think the Draenei would be best served by making Broken playable as well.

Bringing a new race into the Alliance would increase their stock, and would give us two Argus-originated races to increase their legitimacy.

Draenei should have only ever been Broken Ones, not Eredar.

The whole draenei lore rewrite retcon from WCIII, has never sat well with me.

That way with the release of TBC, the horde would get a "pretty race" which is typically the domain of the alliance. And the Alliance would have gotten an "ugly" race, something the Horde has in spades.

This tit for tat thing occurs in cata as well, Horde get something on the short side (Alliance already has gnomes), and Alliance get some bestial fury (again, something the Horde has in plentiful stock)