Darker or lighter expansion theme

[Deleted]

Which one do you people like more? A dark theme like in TBC was demons and Wotlk undead or MoP "slow down" theme?

[Deleted]

Not sure if you're keeping up with 5.1 details, but MoP is shaping up to get pretty dark indeed.

[Faroth]

Both.

Mists of Pandaria was needed. A story can't be doom and gloom "end of the world" climax after climax after climax with no denouement. However, with the 5.1 info coming out right now....holy moly MoP sounds more awesome thematically than TBC or Wrath were with their (lacking) dark themes.

Mists seems light at first, but it sounds like things are going down a much more mature and sophisticated path of storytelling.

[Deleted]

Both.

Mists of Pandaria was needed. A story can't be doom and gloom "end of the world" climax after climax after climax with no denouement. However, with the 5.1 info coming out right now....holy moly MoP sounds more awesome thematically than TBC or Wrath were with their (lacking) dark themes.

Mists seems light at first, but it sounds like things are going down a much more mature and sophisticated path of storytelling.

It doesn't have to be the end of the world for something to be dark.

[wooootles]

MoP is looking like it's both lighter and darker at the same time. On one hand, it's farming giant carrots and karate kid, on the other, it's a true 4th war between the Alliance and Horde. The 5.1 spoilers so far makes TBC and WotLK campaigns look 'childishly' dark with stereotypical paladins vs demons/undead themes...

[Zaelsino]

Darker for sure.

[The One Percent]

The only zone so far in MoP that I would count as light-hearted is Valley of the Four Winds and even that had a Mantid invasion that was pretty dark.

[Daverid]

Wait did you seriously just infer that MOP is a "Slow Down" or Light-Hearted expansion?

Have you even PLAYED it? The only Light-Hearted Zone is Valley of the Four Winds, and even then you've got The Mantid breaking through the Wall and a Hozen and Virmen infestation of Stormstout Brewery..

Then 5.1 ... My God 5.1 ... You can't even begin to say MOP is Light-Hearted after you read what's happening in 5.1 and listen to some of the VO's that have surfaced.

But to directly answer your Question : Never has the game really been full on 'Light-Hearted', so it's hard to say whether I'd prefer it over Darker. But based off how awesome some of the other Darker stories have been, I'd say Darker.

[Wildmoon]

TBC and WotLK's theme pale in comparision to MoP's war theme.

[Fahrenheit]

Since the jury is still out on just how "dark" MoP will get, I'll have to go with TBC/WotLKs "Demons/Undead" still. Besides you hit a nerve with the whole "slow down" thing from the pandafolk....

I swear everytime one of those cock suckers says "slow down" I want to reach through the screen and bash their brains in till it's a viscous pink soup of frothy gore all while yelling "NO MOTHERFUCKER! HOW ABOUT YOU SPEED UP!"

[Thage]

Abstaining from voting because you make it sound like bringing a race war to a foreign land's soils for the purpose of stripmining the place and pressuring the locals to join your side, while your emotions manifest in creatures that lay waste to the countryside, and where the two factions erupt in global war that puts them on the brink of mutually-assured destruction, potentially leaving them in a good situation to get kicked around by the next Legion invasion, isn't a dark story.

You don't need an end-of-the-world threat to make a strikingly dark story; Jeph Loeb did it perfectly with Batman: The Long Halloween.

[Chonar]

Wait did you seriously just infer that MOP is a "Slow Down" or Light-Hearted expansion?

Have you even PLAYED it? The only Light-Hearted Zone is Valley of the Four Winds, and even then you've got The Mantid breaking through the Wall and a Hozen and Virmen infestation of Stormstout Brewery..

Then 5.1 ... My God 5.1 ... You can't even begin to say MOP is Light-Hearted after you read what's happening in 5.1 and listen to some of the VO's that have surfaced.

But to directly answer your Question : Never has the game really been full on 'Light-Hearted', so it's hard to say whether I'd prefer it over Darker. But based off how awesome some of the other Darker stories have been, I'd say Darker.

Well, to the OP's credit, every other Pandaren NPC I close a dialogue window with says "SLow dooowwwn.... life is to be savored!"

[kronoss]

Dark always works well for MMO's

[Deleted]

Can there be dark without light?

We need both. I honestly can't vote on one or another. Chaos after chaos would degrade its value. The Cataclysm pretty much showed that explosions, action and freaking end of the world won't guarantee a good story.

As long as it's well written, I will settle with both.

[Deleted]

if it's too dark, how am i supposed to see the shadows creeping up on me?

I like MoP because it shows the contrast of light and dark pretty good.

[Veyne]

It can't rain all the time.

Mists still has plenty of darkness in it. It's just not shoving the apocalypse down your throat.

[Kisho]

The only correct answer is 'both'. A good story needs both 'dark' and 'light' elements to be successful. It needs the periods of calm and serenity, so that when the drama happens it feels all the more powerful and devastating.

This was the problem WoW had in the past. It was just constant darkness and destruction; sure, it was THE END OF THE WORLD, but it was ALWAYS THE END OF THE WORLD. We had nothing to compare it to, so it got boring. 'Ok, who's trying to destroy the world THIS week...'

We needed MoP. So, so badly. We needed to take the time to simply help some farmers out, take a breather with Chen and Li Li. Then when the Mantid break through the wall, the Mogu burst out of the Vale, and the Alliance and the Horde rip out each other's throats, it feels all the more destructive and overwhelming.

After all, we need to know what is worth fighting for.

[smokii]

ummm....

MoP is starting off light and getting darker and more miserable as it goes along, darkness is on the horizon.

[Verdugo]

Can there be dark without light?

Yes, its called void. Darkness is perfectly fine without light.

[Thage]

Yes, its called void. Darkness is perfectly fine without light.

The Dark Age of 1990s comics, now largely regarded as a joke in regards to storytelling and characterization, disagrees that a story made up of nothing but darkness makes for engaging storytelling. Eventually you stop caring because you know the heroes are doomed, the good guys will fail, or there are no good guys and it's just a matter of rooting for the least of multiple evils.