Jewelcrafting Panther Preview, Theramore Scenario, Mists of Pandaria Quests

[javierdsv]

Speaking as a person that primarily plays Horde, I imagine that the Alliance storyline must be demoralising for players immersed in the story. Have they won any major battle for territory between the factions in recent memory? I understand that they may have successfully defended some areas but I can’t think of any offensives that have gained new areas or regained lost areas. I imagine you could count Camp Taurajo but that was an incredibly pithy, transient achievement. At present, the storyline is far too weak as the Alliance does not feel like an intimidating enemy. If they aren’t challenging then I can’t feel invested in the story.

Honestly, if they don’t get to melt Orgrimmar into a lump of metal and our Auction House isn’t reduced to a goblin inside of a cardboard box for the entirety of expansion five then Metzen hasn’t ‘compensated’ them. Sadly, I'm expecting they'll have the other Alliance leaders defer to Varian so that they only have to develop one character then they'll have him give a few generic speeches to crowds of NPCs rather than anything truly intriguing. I hope I'm wrong. Having said that, I'm enjoying everything else that I read about and Beta footage makes things less tedious than I expected.

There would be even another problem, if they melt down Orgrimmar, they would need another capital city... and Blizzard would design another one (unless they make Thunder Bluff the capital), making Alliance rage like ten thousand times more because they're stuck with SW forever..

[Nekosom]

Lore doesn´t have to be ´fair´.. they are telling a story. ´omg, wow is so unbalanced... the alliance has 1 less outpost in a zone I haven´t visted in 4 years´...

Do we really want to get to the point where every single story-arch involves the exact number of losses for each side? Other than your little ego, it does not affect any real gameplay issues. Blizzard created this world to tell a story, it doesn´t have to be balanced around factions.

ps.. yes, your mother loves your brother more than you.

The problem isn't "fairness." Because you're right, they are telling a story, and obsession with fairness would take away any flavor the story might have. But as a single character interacting with the world, the player only experiences a part of that story. And if there's one thing that cannot be debated, it's that Alliance players felt completely disconnected from the story in Cataclysm. I give Silverpine Forest as an example. Blizzard created a great narrative in that zone regarding the conflict between the Forsaken and the Gilnean Liberation Front. It reveals huge points of lore not just for the Forsaken, but for the Worgen. It essentially continues where the story in Gilneas ends. The problem? Worgen can't experience any of it! It is left entirely for Horde players. If you roll a Worgen, you never hear anything about your homeland by the time you reach Darnassus.

This isn't an isolated problem either. The Southern Barrens is a great example. In spite of being a zone that both factions have quests in, Alliance are once again left in the cold story-wise. Alliance players come in after Taurajo has been razed, being left to do nothing more than arrest looters. Fighting our way to Dun Modr, we are greeted with a giant explosion. We try to rescue some people and then...that's it. We don't get to be involved in the story much at all; we're just bystanders. Meanwhile, Horde players get to avenge Taurajo by actually being the ones to destroy Dun Modr!

This isn't about lost territory. It's about Alliance players being left out of the story entirely. Our contribution makes no difference, and we're left with words like "If you'd like to see how the Alliance reacts to these events, please refer the novel "Wolfheart©" $19.95 available now on Amazon!" Oh, I'm sure Alliance players will be there in Theramore, fighting the good fight, as our contribution means absolutely nothing as we watch the city crumble around us. Then we'll get to refer Christie Golden's novel to see how the Alliance reacts to it, while our characters sit and twiddle their thumbs.

The facts of the matter? Blizzard has completely outsourced Alliance lore. And because of that, our characters have no impact on the world they inhabit.

[Sidone]

Sigh i am sure you will get your silly lore too alliance.

[tyggyr]

Perhaps Thunderbluff, Undercity, or Stonard?

Jaina may be a boss, but though Theramore rates large as far as outposts go it is by no means a faction capitol like Thunder Bluff or Undercity.

Stonard could go, but it's hardly a fair trade. Really, the Horde doesn't have anything similar to Theramore; the most the horde has anywhere are small outposts scattered about.

Perhaps the destruction of Theramore brings us closer to a balance?

Don't forget how the Jedi were always "looking for the one who will bring balance"... when they far outnumbered the Sith.
Be careful what you ask for.

[Chuwero]

/tinfoil hat

I know I'm reading too much into this, but an asian-themed expansion that has a pre-launch event involving the sinking of the 7th Fleet seems a bit ... inappropriate.

/tinfoil hat

[Demithio]

Cataclysm was just a very poorly designed expansion in general, and yes it was Horde centric. Lets hope Blizzard learned from its mistakes, and pays more attention this time. If losing money doesn't teach them, then I don't know what will.

[zat]

i think the quest at the bottom of the stormwind tab should be in the orgrimar tab?

[GKT]

awesome pet,
\

[Eleveneleven]

man when i see these quest descriptions all together all I see is "Kill X Bears. Collect X Asses". 7 years later, SSDD

[scorpious1109]

Those panther mounts make me think of Voltron/Power Rangers

[Kuja]

"Important - This scenario is not complete and will likely undergo significant changes before it is playable. "

Makes me facepalm everytime! Ofc its incomplete since it's beta. Wonder why they have to remind about that in every post. o.O People still say it sucks and "it's beta, what else can it do?", no matter how many reminders you do.

[Daralii]

The problem isn't "fairness." Because you're right, they are telling a story, and obsession with fairness would take away any flavor the story might have. But as a single character interacting with the world, the player only experiences a part of that story. And if there's one thing that cannot be debated, it's that Alliance players felt completely disconnected from the story in Cataclysm. I give Silverpine Forest as an example. Blizzard created a great narrative in that zone regarding the conflict between the Forsaken and the Gilnean Liberation Front. It reveals huge points of lore not just for the Forsaken, but for the Worgen. It essentially continues where the story in Gilneas ends. The problem? Worgen can't experience any of it! It is left entirely for Horde players. If you roll a Worgen, you never hear anything about your homeland by the time you reach Darnassus.

This isn't an isolated problem either. The Southern Barrens is a great example. In spite of being a zone that both factions have quests in, Alliance are once again left in the cold story-wise. Alliance players come in after Taurajo has been razed, being left to do nothing more than arrest looters. Fighting our way to Dun Modr, we are greeted with a giant explosion. We try to rescue some people and then...that's it. We don't get to be involved in the story much at all; we're just bystanders. Meanwhile, Horde players get to avenge Taurajo by actually being the ones to destroy Dun Modr!

This isn't about lost territory. It's about Alliance players being left out of the story entirely. Our contribution makes no difference, and we're left with words like "If you'd like to see how the Alliance reacts to these events, please refer the novel "Wolfheart©" $19.95 available now on Amazon!" Oh, I'm sure Alliance players will be there in Theramore, fighting the good fight, as our contribution means absolutely nothing as we watch the city crumble around us. Then we'll get to refer Christie Golden's novel to see how the Alliance reacts to it, while our characters sit and twiddle their thumbs.

The facts of the matter? Blizzard has completely outsourced Alliance lore. And because of that, our characters have no impact on the world they inhabit.

There's also the fact that it doesn't make any sense logistically. Unless I'm misremembering, Stormwind's military is almost as large as the entire Horde's. Combine that with the massive technological(dwarves, gnomes) and magical(Kirin Tor, night elves) advantage and it makes zero sense why the Alliance has lost on every single front, and is now losing our only real stronghold on Kalimdor that's south of Darnassus. That's not balance, that's just awful storytelling.

[Linkhyrule]

There's also the fact that it doesn't make any sense logistically. Unless I'm misremembering, Stormwind's military is almost as large as the entire Horde's. Combine that with the massive technological(dwarves, gnomes) and magical(Kirin Tor, night elves) advantage and it makes zero sense why the Alliance has lost on every single front, and is now losing our only real stronghold on Kalimdor that's south of Darnassus. That's not balance, that's just awful storytelling.

1. The Kirin Tor are a neutral faction. Also, One of the council of six is a Blood Elf. So the Horde could use that to there advantage.

2. The Blood Elevs are more advaned in magic then the Highborne are. So pretty much, the Horde pretty much have more of an advantage on magic then the Alliance does.

[trolloks]

The Kill Kher Shan quest is a reference to Sher Khan, the tiger in "The Jungle Book".

[zerstoerer]

I wonder if this beta patch will actually fix anything / add anything to test. Right now there is nothing to log in the beta for - quests lines are all broken, there is no new PVP, no pet battles and no new content (the new continent is a barren wasteland except for the few (broken) questhubs). There's one 15 minute dungeon, no scenarios and no working professions. Not exactly what I expected from a public beta a half year after they announced this.....I can't test something that doesn't exist.

[Deleted]

Cool mounts

[Daralii]

1. The Kirin Tor are a neutral faction. Also, One of the council of six is a Blood Elf. So the Horde could use that to there advantage.

2. The Blood Elevs are more advaned in magic then the Highborne are. So pretty much, the Horde pretty much have more of an advantage on magic then the Alliance does.

I think the Kirin Tor went back to being Alliance aligned after the war against the Lich King. IIRC, there are still Horde quests to kill the Kirin Tor mages around Dalaran Crater.

I forgot to mention the draenei when I was listing off mages, though. They were mages long before they embraced the Light, and are probably the strongest mages in the known universe outside of the Legion/Guardians of Tirisfal.

[Deleted]

changes look cool

[Alayea]

They're all quite nice (except for Jeweled Onyx Panther, there's no image). I plan on getting all of them if possible, but I especially want the sapphire and emerald panthers!

theres something i don't like about not being able to grab the highest value reward item to sell off. why would i want a ring worth 3 gold when i could bag the staff that sells for 30

This should be an option imo. You should be allowed to choose between what your class can use and what has the highest value.

I agree. Anyone know if this has been posted in the MoP Beta Feedback forum?

[Jerakal]

Didn't blizzard say in one interview that the Alliance were going to stop getting their asses kicked this expansion? Or did I dream that?