MoP is one giant satire comedy with a poor theme and dry humor all around

[Mawnix]

Warcraft has never been about being lighthearted. The very name implies war. And the craft of said war.

The big reason, big lore characters were big to begin with wasn't because they were lighthearted nor because they were comical or Silly. They were individuals who made tough choises, went through tragedies and turned from having a very good outlook, to the complete opposite (i.e Arthas)

Now, you could try to argue that it's "fresh" - But if you don't like what is in essence YEARS of doing and YEARS of Thematic.. When A LOT of people follow that theme that has been around for YEARS... Yeah. You're probably not a majority then. WoD supports this idea. Because the developers themselves said they want to go back to what feels as "Warcraft".

Pandas being portrayed as light hearted, silly alcoholics - at least as far as i am concerned.. Does NOT fit the earlier theme that has been Warcraft in any aspect whatsoever. It would be a pretty hard argument to make as well that it would not break off TOO hard from that running theme of you know, people you come to love and apprechiate who then turn to destroy everything they ever had.

TL;DR - Silly Alcoholic Pandas does not match up to lengthy lore-heavy and lore-enriched characters who meet their fate.

Mind showing where they're displayed as this?

Like, seriously. I feel like you're making up a bullshit reason to justify your own reason. Tell me where they're dispalyed as Alcoholic and Silly?

The Pandaren I ran into dealt with matters of genocide, sacrifice, loss, and meaning.

But since they have a big belly and talk in a different accent/language you do they're silly alcoholics, right?

inb4 angry response

[PuppetShowJustice]

Pandas being portrayed as light hearted, silly alcoholics - at least as far as i am concerned.. Does NOT fit the earlier theme that has been Warcraft in any aspect whatsoever.

Can I ask how you can kick Pandaren under the bus for not being serious but make no mention of Gnomes?

[Deleted]

That's the funny part. People go on and on about "cutsey pandas" and "kiddie storyline" but ultimately MoP had more "Alliance vs. Horde" baked into the story than any other expansion, and was actually a pretty harsh genocidal "horrors of war" sort of story compared to previous ones.

In general people who wanted to hate MoP are just going to invent reasons to not like it. The whole, "Pandas and Pokemon" stuff is just a way to bash the game when they don't have any real reasons that they can articulate.

Yes, but always with a reminder that "we're doing it wrong we shouldn't kill ourselves".
Foreign concept for this game.

[The Madgod]

Warcraft has never been about being lighthearted. The very name implies war. And the craft of said war.

The big reason, big lore characters were big to begin with wasn't because they were lighthearted nor because they were comical or Silly. They were individuals who made tough choises, went through tragedies and turned from having a very good outlook, to the complete opposite (i.e Arthas)

Now, you could try to argue that it's "fresh" - But if you don't like what is in essence YEARS of doing and YEARS of Thematic.. When A LOT of people follow that theme that has been around for YEARS... Yeah. You're probably not a majority then. WoD supports this idea. Because the developers themselves said they want to go back to what feels as "Warcraft".

Pandas being portrayed as light hearted, silly alcoholics - at least as far as i am concerned.. Does NOT fit the earlier theme that has been Warcraft in any aspect whatsoever. It would be a pretty hard argument to make as well that it would not break off TOO hard from that running theme of you know, people you come to love and apprechiate who then turn to destroy everything they ever had.

TL;DR - Silly Alcoholic Pandas does not match up to lengthy lore-heavy and lore-enriched characters who meet their fate.

Vanilla WoW had murlocs. And kobolds. And gnolls. TBC had the sporreggar, the naaru. Wrath had the oracles and the wolvar. Every iteration of the game has had poop quests. Every iteration of the game has had pop culture references and several silly bits.

These are also patterns. Patterns from the beginning of the game.

WoW has always had a light-hearted side despite its name and Mists of Pandaria is the epitome of this. You CAN focus on the more light-hearted, even silly bits, or you can take a look at the story and realize that this expansion has the most grit and war and darkness of any expansion before it.

Even though they are a light-hearted race the pandaren can act seriously and have done so throughout this expansion. Chen wasn't all fun and games during the events leading up to the Darkspear Rebellion, even during then. Lorewalker Cho didn't floff about drunkenly when we were exploring the Mogu'shan Vaults (though no pandaren really did). Taran Zhu has never been silly.

Warcraft is a pretty gritty universe... but it's never been purely gritty. It's always had it's light side. Even the strategy games.

[KennyBoi3]

I have one quote for you all that shows the satire in every patch/ expansion:

"Prince Valanar: Naxxanar was merely a setback! With the power of the orb, Valanar will have his vengeance!"

[The Madgod]

When I hear things like this I actually wonder if people played this game in vanilla (drums of war thunder once again, it's in the cinematics for fucks sake), tbc (every zone had pvp areas), and wotlk (we kill each other in front of arthas in icc).

Yeah, I played Vanilla.

I also played TBC.

Neither of them had any significant story for PvP. It was a gameplay mechanic at best, nothing more. For classic WoW it was in the cinematic, yeah, but it never was presented as a central theme of the game. Even questing really didn't have any war. It was a cold war... disagreements, minor skirmishes at best, but never anything to the degree we see in Mists. Or even Wrath. Thinking otherwise is simply living a lie.

If you call a disagreement over land "war" then Mists of Pandaria must have been mind-blowing for you.

And like I said, Wrath started actual open conflict.

[Obtuse]

I think Mists was their best story telling to date. I felt more for the minor irrelevant characters of mists than I ever did for characters of previous expansions. In fact, I think I even had a tear or two come to my eye this time around. The "stop killing each other" story line is far more poignant and in tune with what we should be striving for on Earth as opposed to the perpetuation of war for the sake of killing the 'bad guys'. This expansion cut far deeper to my core than anything of the past.

[Deleted]

Not foreign at all. Did you bitch like this when Alliance and Horde teamed up to deal with the Qiraji?

Did you bitch when the Naaru encouraged Horde and Alliance to set aside their differences in Shattrath?

Did you bitch when Thrall - the leader of the Horde - was essentially trying to be a huge peacemaker his entire reign?

Did you bitch when Tirion brought the Horde and Alliance together against their common enemy?

Again, people keep claming that Warcraft was something it wasn't in order to attack MoP. It's ridiculous.

I think saying Warcraft isnt about horde vs alliance really is insulting to anyone that played the original games.

[Louis CK]

I think Mists was their best story telling to date. I felt more for the minor irrelevant characters of mists than I ever did for characters of previous expansions. In fact, I think I even had a tear or two come to my eye this time around. The "stop killing each other" story line is far more poignant and in tune with what we should be striving for on Earth as opposed to the perpetuation of war for the sake of killing the 'bad guys'. This expansion cut far deeper to my core than anything of the past.

I paid 0 attention to any of the Panda characters (or any other character besides Garrosh) this expansion. The only thing I remember, is when I was finishing my Legendary and that Panda kept correcting Wrathion to the point that it was contrived and irritating. Reminded me of a vegan giving the unwanted information to a stranger as to why he's vegan. It's like, yeah, we get it, you don't like to fight, now shut the fuck up.

[Tychus]

I think saying Warcraft isnt about horde vs alliance really is insulting to anyone that played the original games.

Straw-man.

[Raiju]

Can you go more in depth to explain how Lorewalker Cho was a terrible character? You haven't given any real reason to explain how he's comical.

Furthermore, this is one of the first negative comments I've seen about his character. I have a few friends who thoroughly dislike the Pandaren but loved Lorewalker Cho and even Taran Zhu. Interesting.

If you believe Taran Zhu is a popular character you should actually read some threads. He's probably the most hated pandaren of all for how much of a blazing plot armored hypocrite he is.

[Flutterguy]

Chen burying dead family members was some of the best comedy. I mean, lots of laughs all around.

[Obtuse]

I paid 0 attention to any of the Panda characters (or any other character besides Garrosh) this expansion. The only thing I remember, is when I was finishing my Legendary and that Panda kept correcting Wrathion to the point that it was contrived and irritating. Reminded me of a vegan giving the unwanted information to a stranger as to why he's vegan. It's like, yeah, we get it, you don't like to fight, now shut the fuck up.

Seems like this was a concious choice you made then. Just like I can't force the guy at McDonalds to build my Big Mac with care. I certainly notice the one's that do though and I go back there for their care and attention to detail. One of the biggest challenges we face in the ADHD era is finding people that actual have any idea WHY they're doing what they do. So often people see the end goal and ignore everything of substance in the middle. It's about the journey not the destination.

[Deleted]

I have to ask, what is the POINT of this post?

Okay, you feel this way. Post it your facebook wall.

I don't agree with you but I know as well as you that it won't do either of us any good to discuss it.

[Drilnos]

I paid 0 attention to any of the Panda characters (or any other character besides Garrosh) this expansion. The only thing I remember, is when I was finishing my Legendary and that Panda kept correcting Wrathion to the point that it was contrived and irritating. Reminded me of a vegan giving the unwanted information to a stranger as to why he's vegan. It's like, yeah, we get it, you don't like to fight, now shut the fuck up.

Wrathion is two years old and he was acting like it in that scene. And he was corrected once, by a guy who had been completely mute for four full patches, and only because, in his temper tantrum, Wrathion trashed his inn and checked a tray of drinks out of his hands. Ignorance is not a virtue, and misinterpreting events because you couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them is not something to be proud of.

[pimpeddakota]

WoW has lost its tone of seriousness and with it

I forgot how serious it is when a cow is running around naked healing me....

[Louis CK]

Seems like this was a concious choice you made then. Just like I can't force the guy at McDonalds to build my Big Mac with care. I certainly notice the one's that do though and I go back there for their care and attention to detail. One of the biggest challenges we face in the ADHD era is finding people that actual have any idea WHY they're doing what they do. So often people see the end goal and ignore everything of substance in the middle. It's about the journey not the destination.

Your poorly veiled insults are cute, albeit unnecessary. It was a conscious decision of mine to ignore the story, just as I have in past expansions.

And the writing and dialogue that I have bothered to engage in in WoW were so poorly written and contrived, it never pulled me in or proved worth my time.

Don't get me wrong, reading the synopsis, or the overall story, of WoW is quite intriguing. The story is good, but it doesn't mean the writing is worth enough for me to bother spending my time sifting through terrible dialogue just to get what's going on. A good story is not always well written enough to bother with. This is one of them. It's almost like a director was given a great script, but terrible actors. Sure, the movie might be a good story, but the acting is so bad it makes it hard to watch.

I wouldn't suggest to you that you partake in stories that don't interest you, nor would I insult you for not indulging me.

You can enjoy sifting through poorly written dialogue if that makes you happy, more power to you. Not everyone plays the game for that reason.

- - - Updated - - -

Wrathion is two years old and he was acting like it in that scene. And he was corrected once, by a guy who had been completely mute for four full patches, and only because, in his temper tantrum, Wrathion trashed his inn and checked a tray of drinks out of his hands. Ignorance is not a virtue, and misinterpreting events because you couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them is not something to be proud of.

I was commenting on the writing, not the character. I have no idea who that Panda even is. It's just poorly written, that's all. I'm sure the story was great, but not worth my time when it's written the way it is. I'm not sure why my lack of desire for poorly written stories upsets you =/

[Drilnos]

Your poorly veiled insults are cute, albeit unnecessary. It was a conscious decision of mine to ignore the story, just as I have in past expansions.

And the writing and dialogue that I have bothered to engage in in WoW were so poorly written and contrived, it never pulled me in or proved worth my time.

Don't get me wrong, reading the synopsis, or the overall story, of WoW is quite intriguing. The story is good, but it doesn't mean the writing is worth enough for me to bother spending my time sifting through terrible dialogue just to get what's going on. A good story is not always well written enough to bother with. This is one of them. It's almost like a director was given a great script, but terrible actors. Sure, the movie might be a good story, but the acting is so bad it makes it hard to watch.

I wouldn't suggest to you that you partake in stories that don't interest you, nor would I insult you for not indulging me.

You can enjoy sifting through poorly written dialogue if that makes you happy, more power to you. Not everyone plays the game for that reason.

It's fine if you don't want to pay attention to the story, that's your right and prerogative. But you should realize that you have no basis for criticizing it if you don't even know what it is. You don't even know what was going on in the one scene you claim to remember.

[Louis CK]

It's fine if you don't want to pay attention to the story, that's your right and prerogative. But you should realize that you have no basis for criticizing it if you don't even know what it is. You don't even know what was going on in the one scene you claim to remember.

I can criticize it all I want. Lazy, contrived writing is lazy, contrived writing regardless of the context or setting. Or maybe quality writing is a lost art form nowadays *shrug*

Glad you enjoy it

[Drilnos]

I can criticize it all I want. Lazy, contrived writing is lazy, contrived writing regardless of the context or setting. Or maybe quality writing is a lost art form nowadays *shrug*

Glad you enjoy it

If you don't read it you can't know if it's lazy or contrived. I did read it, and I am an avid reader. And I can tell you as such that the weakest sections of the writing were the bits when Garrosh was in the frame. He seemed locked into idiot mode, even when compared to some of his previous appearances, and he'd lost a couple thousand words off of his vocabulary to boot. If those were the only parts you paid attention to, I'm sorry to tell you that you were reading the worst of it.