Which Installment of WoW Provided the Best Story?

[Venziir]

but wouldnt it be easier to just kill the one cenarion circle camp? they were allied with the fungal giants and the sporelings were pretty much extinct until you save them

Perhaps, yet, they probably didn't predict getting beaten by 25 random players, so they most likely assumed they had an infinite amount of time.

---------- Post added 2013-02-17 at 07:56 PM ----------

i might actually be wrong about the food part but im pretty sure i read that magical food pretty much tastes like dirt. although i might be remembering that from some different franchise since its a common theme for magical food to taste like crap

There's something about the gnome from Tides of War who apparently makes some fantastic mana-cupcakes or something like that.

[Immitis]

Perhaps, yet, they probably didn't predict getting beaten by 25 random players, so they most likely assumed they had an infinite amount of time.

it also doesnt make sense that the ones in outland would stop worshiping neptulon. unless they somehow made contact with someone from azeroth but the events in vashjir directly contradict this when lady vashjs statue is destroyed for following illidan instead of azshara

[Venziir]

it also doesnt make sense that the ones in outland would stop worshiping neptulon. unless they somehow made contact with someone from azeroth but the events in vashjir directly contradict this when lady vashjs statue is destroyed for following illidan instead of azshara

The Naga stuff is.... Messy at best. However, Lady Vashj's statue isn't destroyed (the statue is of her mother Lestharia), and Azshara wanted Vashj and a squadron of Naga to follow Illidan.

[K i s u]

No question it's Wrath for me lore and questing was a peek there, though I very much loved BC as a whole.

[McNeil]

If I'd have to rate all the lore in the expansions, its from best to worst:

WotLK > MoP > Vanilla > TBC > Cata

TBC did an overall poor job explaining any story, and we never even got to interact with the main villains. If people didn't play WC3 before, they would have no idea who Illidan, Kael, Vash, Archimonde, maghtheridon and Kil'jaeden are.

lets be honest here O-O the majority of those things you listed either got dropped pretty much right after launch or werent very important at all. not saying wrath didnt have lots of good moments but you didnt really pick them O-O

I don't see which ones were dropped or very important at all. Only the Nerbubians storyline could be seen as dropped because they didn't get their raid or zone. But they still got plenty of background lore and 2 dungeons right where they live.

Many of the MoP storylines came with the expansion and ended with it right away. Like the mantid, their story pretty much ended after you've cleared HoF. And before MoP they didn't even exist. They could still have a role in the future, but I really doubt that.

[Noah37]

I think this is mostly just a matter of what other games one might have played. Such as I always loved WotLK just because I beat Warcraft 3 more times than I can count. Same goes for BC just because Illidan was awesome in WC3.

I also think a lot of people may miss lore and storylines, because they play the game not reading any of the quest text, skipping all cinematics, and turn the sound off. I recently leveled slowly, reading, listening, and watching everything and most stories are well told and very interesting. It is just really easy to miss.

[Khaza-R]

but wouldnt it be easier to just kill the one cenarion circle camp? they were allied with the fungal giants and the sporelings were pretty much extinct until you save them

The Cenarion Circle came after they were already pumping the water. They clearly had bigger sights than just making some thirsty druids.

[Ishimada]

Wrath>Pandaria>BC>Cata, can't count Vanilla in.

[Deleted]

I would personally say Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, And Wotlk.

ETHEREAL POWER.

[Prokne]

Ok, then Sargeras would be just another demon. The single biggest baddie of the game would just be another low-ranking demon of the Burning Legion. In fact, would the BL even exist?

All we need is MORE characters in a story with many? It can be a pain to keep up with what is there as it is.

I try to think of it as less retcon and more that we didn't know the whole story yet.

There is a difference between retcon and fleshing out the story.

Fleshing out the story is something like: Kiljaeden is an Eredar, a demonic race related to Draenei which is why he found Guldan on the planet they had escaped to.
The original story was that Kiljaeden taught Guldan advanced warlock powers and was a demon.

The retcon is that KJ and Mannoroth made the orcs savage and warlike so that they would kill the Draenei and invade Azeroth, when the story before was that the orcs were always that way and had already subjugated the Draenei. The retcon makes it look like the orcs were happy, peaceful shamans before the demons came and totally changes the character of a race that was always warlike and aggressive. Thats actually a WC3 retcon so they could make up Thrall and the new Horde.

Sargeras was always the top guy since he was KJs master and the highest ranked demon we knew. They just added to his powers by making him a titan and explaining that the Tomb of Sargeras only held part of his soul that he sent to fight Aegywnn. The Burning Legion was introduced in WC3 as Sargeras army of demons commanded by KJ and Archimonde.

So fleshing out = same story with more details, same characterization.
Retcon = changes story, characterization or other aspects that make something different than it was.

[Aeriedk]

For me, Wrath had the best questing and lore. I love the Scourge and the Lich King, so all of Northrend was like Christmas to me. I liked BC and the Lich King's questing more because we had an actual, tangible force that we were fighting against. The Lich King was everywhere in quests, and we were made to hate him so much that killing him in ICC felt amazing.

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Throughout the expansion you were simply made to hate him and the cinematics made everything even more epic. When you finally got the kill it truly felt like you were conquering some kind of true horror and evil.

[Rendia]

There is a difference between retcon and fleshing out the story.

Fleshing out the story is something like: Kiljaeden is an Eredar, a demonic race related to Draenei which is why he found Guldan on the planet they had escaped to.
The original story was that Kiljaeden taught Guldan advanced warlock powers and was a demon.

The retcon is that KJ and Mannoroth made the orcs savage and warlike so that they would kill the Draenei and invade Azeroth, when the story before was that the orcs were always that way and had already subjugated the Draenei. The retcon makes it look like the orcs were happy, peaceful shamans before the demons came and totally changes the character of a race that was always warlike and aggressive. Thats actually a WC3 retcon so they could make up Thrall and the new Horde.

Sargeras was always the top guy since he was KJs master and the highest ranked demon we knew. They just added to his powers by making him a titan and explaining that the Tomb of Sargeras only held part of his soul that he sent to fight Aegywnn. The Burning Legion was introduced in WC3 as Sargeras army of demons commanded by KJ and Archimonde.

So fleshing out = same story with more details, same characterization.
Retcon = changes story, characterization or other aspects that make something different than it was.

It still seems less of a retcon to me, overall. Yes, they happened, but it a lot of it seems to only have fleshed out the story. Again, I think it was more that they never envisioned it going this far, tbh.

Draenei, Garona, the "death" of Magtheridon, and the much to do with the Dragon Aspects is where most of the real retcons come into play.

KJ, for intents and purposes, CAN be labeled as a demon. He is part of, and acting leader of, the BL. Gul'dan was lured into believing that KJ would give him god-like powers for helping the legion. As of WC2 there wasn't much said of the back story concerning the Orcs on Draenor. Just that they were shamans, not warlocks.

IDK, I just find it hard to say "You cannot change or evolve your story at all! You are destroying your own story!" It is what it is, accept it and move on. Now that most of the major lore characters have been addressed in WoW there likely won't be any more retcons.

[Deleted]

WotLK all the way, first because it continued the Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne story. Don't have to mention how amazing the plot was, slowly gathering resources around in the Northrend, defeating Lich King's servants, plot twist into Ulduar, then back to the Icecrown and eventually the final fight.

WotLK for me was the best expac ever (stared in Vanilla @ private servers, so don't count that, and on Blizz servers since mid TBC) both lorewise and gameplay-wise.

Felt like reading a good book. Cata wasn't like that, too many plot twists, crazy changes, meh. The Burning Crusade was too static.
And MoP? Well, there is no story for me really, there are many plots all around the zones concerning some NPCs and their problems, but that's all. The Lorewalkers thingy is cool, though.

[killidan]

WotLK all the way, first because it continued the Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne story. Don't have to mention how amazing the plot was, slowly gathering resources around in the Northrend, defeating Lich King's servants, plot twist into Ulduar, then back to the Icecrown and eventually the final fight.

WotLK for me was the best expac ever (stared in Vanilla @ private servers, so don't count that, and on Blizz servers since mid TBC) both lorewise and gameplay-wise.

Felt like reading a good book. Cata wasn't like that, too many plot twists, crazy changes, meh. The Burning Crusade was too static.
And MoP? Well, there is no story for me really, there are many plots all around the zones concerning some NPCs and their problems, but that's all. The Lorewalkers thingy is cool, though.

In WotLK, you are skipping Naxx and ToC, which I believe interrupted the flow of the storyline and destroyed immersion. Both were terrible raids. Otherwise, WotLK had good story.

[Mawnix]

If I'd have to rate all the lore in the expansions, its from best to worst:

WotLK > MoP > Vanilla > TBC > Cata

TBC did an overall poor job explaining any story, and we never even got to interact with the main villains. If people didn't play WC3 before, they would have no idea who Illidan, Kael, Vash, Archimonde, maghtheridon and Kil'jaeden are.



I don't see which ones were dropped or very important at all. Only the Nerbubians storyline could be seen as dropped because they didn't get their raid or zone. But they still got plenty of background lore and 2 dungeons right where they live.

Many of the MoP storylines came with the expansion and ended with it right away. Like the mantid, their story pretty much ended after you've cleared HoF. And before MoP they didn't even exist. They could still have a role in the future, but I really doubt that.

I agree with nearly everything you said, McNeil.

My only hope is that with 5.3 and 5.4, Blizzard succeeds in making Garrosh on par with the Lich King's downfall.

I was so pumped up when ICC came out. I was looking exceedingly forward to fighting and beating Arthas.

I hope Siege is the same.

[killidan]

I think burning crusade did the best job personally.

In vanilla the story felt like it was all just so random... All these zones, each with their own little problems done in a self-contained way with no real effect on anything beyond that zone. The raids were all completely unrelated to each other and full of villains we'd never seen or heard of before. Etc.

In TBC however, we got to goto outland and fight the "bad guys" from warcraft 3. We fought kael'thas, vashj, and ultimately illidan. I wouldn't say it's WOW story was anything all that profound or amazing, but it was a continuation of the story that began in warcraft 3. Ilidan took over the black citadel in outland, locked up Magtheridon when he took his place as ruler, and just camped out with kael'thas and vashj all that time.

It was great. You had naga and blood elves all over the place doing their own little things all for the main unifying purpose of serving illidan. You also had the demons that were sworn to illidan serving him in shadowmoon valley as well. Nearly every boss in the expansion was taken from warcraft 3.

Gruul they made up.
Kharazhan was the home of Medivh, who was in WC3.
Magtheridon was from WC3.
Kael'thas was from WC3, Vashj was from WC3.

All of the caverns of time raid was just a recreation of the final battle in Warcraft 3 vanilla, including the hero units of the scourge returning as bosses you face.
Black temple brought back even more characters including Illidan, Akama, and Maiev. Even Teron Gorefiend who made his debut in Warcraft 2!

Then even after all that, you goto the sunwell to ultimately face Kiljaeden, also from Warcraft 3.

I mean the entire expansion felt like celebrity deathmatch.

TBC story was amazing and I also feel like Blizzard put their all into the game, but it had the downside that they used up lot of lore and did not generate novel lore for future use. They started to run dry after Arthas in terms of creativity and Cata/MOP seem like a dryspell. Thye eventuall broke off with the wracraft lore completely and started pursuing pandas, rabbits, farmville and Chinese Sha.

TBC's success was based on tying lot of lore to an end, killing main villains and depleting future story potential.

I wish WoW team continuously introduced new stories and expanded the WARCRAFT lore (not pandas and shit). I wish they introduced new villains not to be killed this expansion or the next, but to be kept alive in reserve for a future expansion. I wish they weaved storylines into the current expansion now, but to be concluded in the future. It's like they could generate new "celebrities" in the current expansion that could be used in the future.

[Venziir]

TBC story was amazing and I also feel like Blizzard put their all into the game, but it had the downside that they used up lot of lore and did not generate novel lore for future use. They started to run dry after Arthas in terms of creativity and Cata/MOP seem like a dryspell. Thye eventuall broke off with the wracraft lore completely and started pursuing pandas, rabbits, farmville and Chinese Sha.

TBC's success was based on tying lot of lore to an end, killing main villains and depleting future story potential.

I wish WoW team continuously introduced new stories and expanded the WARCRAFT lore (not pandas and shit). I wish they introduced new villains not to be killed this expansion or the next, but to be kept alive in reserve for a future expansion. I wish they weaved storylines into the current expansion now, but to be concluded in the future. It's like they could generate new "celebrities" in the current expansion that could be used in the future.

Pandaren IS Warcraft lore. They are just as old as any of your "beloved" TBC "celebrities".... Sigh. And you wish that they weaved storylines into the current expansion? Hmmm kinda like they weaved the original warcraft story, being the Horde vs Alliance, into MoP?

[Mawnix]

I wish WoW team continuously introduced new stories and expanded the WARCRAFT lore (not pandas and shit). I wish they introduced new villains not to be killed this expansion or the next, but to be kept alive in reserve for a future expansion. I wish they weaved storylines into the current expansion now, but to be concluded in the future. It's like they could generate new "celebrities" in the current expansion that could be used in the future.

N'zoth is one of those villains though.

Same thing with Azshara over the course of the last few expansions, even though she isn't really a new villain.

And if the Sha end up leaving Pandaria due to Garrosh, that might be a big thing too.

Plus, the Mantid may have an impact on the story in the future due to the fact if the Old Gods do truly get free, they've said their allegiance lies with them.

And, lastly, Ra'den may become a villain if he survives his encounter. We don't know if the Titans are going to come and try to obliterate Azeroth or not at some point, and his allegiance would lie with them to be honest.

I still don't get the appeal of TBC's story. Everything just seemed disjointed with loads of massive plotholes left in the story.

---------- Post added 2013-02-17 at 09:02 PM ----------

Pandaren IS Warcraft lore. They are just as old as any of your "beloved" TBC "celebrities".... Sigh.

^This^

Killidan unfortunately your nostalgia for BC and hate for Mists is what clouds your judgment when it comes to anything present with WoW. It's become very apparent at this point.

Venziir is right, whether you like the Pandaren or don't. We could debate it all day long, but the outcome would still be the same.

[killidan]

N'zoth is one of those villains though.

Same thing with Azshara over the course of the last few expansions, even though she isn't really a new villain.

And if the Sha end up leaving Pandaria due to Garrosh, that might be a big thing too.

Plus, the Mantid may have an impact on the story in the future due to the fact if the Old Gods do truly get free, they've said their allegiance lies with them.

And, lastly, Ra'den may become a villain if he survives his encounter. We don't know if the Titans are going to come and try to obliterate Azeroth or not at some point, and his allegiance would lie with them to be honest.

I still don't get the appeal of TBC's story. Everything just seemed disjointed with loads of massive plotholes left in the story.

That is exactly what I want. That they do not kill off all the villains this expansion and let them grow through time. It feels much more epic at the end to kill a villain that has been causing trouble for long time.

Azshara, Sargeras, N'zoth are few. Having couple more would be great.

[Mawnix]

That is exactly what I want. That they do not kill off all the villains this expansion and let them grow through time. It feels much more epic at the end to kill a villain that has been causing trouble for long time.

Azshara, Sargeras, N'zoth are few. Having couple more would be great.

Well we have yet to see what happens with Mists.

Garrosh might actually end up surviving and becoming a huge villain next expansion.

There's also still Zul and King Rastakhen, too.