I'm open to other suggestions. For all I care the architecture could stay Draenei or be something else, as long as the layout and the functionality plays more to the priest class fantasy. For instance I would be fine with a monastery built on a basis of the style of one of the horde races.
After now having watched some flythrough preview videos on YouTube of all the class halls, I have to say that I would prefer the layout of *any* of the others, compared to the nearly featureless hall we have now for priests.
Last edited by mmoc82af8aa2d3; 2015-11-28 at 06:22 AM.
It's gorgeous. I really really liked Auchindoun in Draenor (and was sooo disappointed about Karabor), so this makes me really happy. I'll love to spend time there on my various priests
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Also, good lord, not another Monastery please. I'm not a monk, or a human of the Scarlet Crusade.
This one is fitting for pretty much all races, just like it should be. I think the Priest Class Hall was probably the most difficult one to come up with a concept for -- because all Priests of the different races represent entirely different religions (or no religion at all). So the place should absolutely NOT represent just one specific religion. It should just be a place that looks "vaguely spiritual", like this one does.
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It represents the "priesty feel" I get on my Night Elf, Blood Elf and Gnome priests quite well. Sort of intricate, spiritual, but not overly religious.
What else would you want? Some holy cathedral? What about Night Elves, Trolls, Blood Elves, Goblins ...? They wouldn't fit in there at all.
The architecture is ok, but the problem is that there are four mayor lore foundations for the priest class and this is only one, and it is the arrogant one claiming to be the only real one, too.
I really, really dislike the Naaru as mediators between the priests and the light.
They might have great wisdom and a good handle on light (and shadow!) but they aren't as benevolent as they want to appear and I distrust them immensely from the rp point of view my priest has. She is a former mage who believes the ability to draw on the light is granted to her by the benevolence of Elune.
What the Naaru are doing and proposing is basically shadow magic: Forcefully drawing the light out of other living beings and restributing it, which could have the same effect but would be ethically reprehensible, possibly on the same level as (unconsentional) necromancy and demonology.
I'm not saying it shouldn't be a draenei temple (although one could make the same arguement that goblins, trolls, nelfs etc. don't really fit in a draenei temple any more than they do in a cathedral). The issue I have with it, is that it in no way looks like something remotely related to priests, it could easily be Random Draenei Ruin #49595 and it wouldn't stand out. The yellow room is the only one that comes remotely close to resemble something spiritual (or dark for shadow), but even that one is a little unimpressive for something that is intended to really help establish class fantasy (especially compared to some other class halls).
I understand the specific race(or rather deity)-related issues priests have makes it difficult, but this just feels like a bland cop out to be done with it. I really hope this is an early WIP.
You say it's a draenei temple because we know what it's supposed to be, but it really just looks like every other random draenei building I've ever been in. I really hope it's very much a work in progress and they're still going to do amazing things with it, but as it currently stands I think it's very unimpressive.
Yup. I agree with this.
It's an absolutely magnificent guild hall. It's a bit small, but one of the datamining videos for it suggests that there are at least two other sub-main floor rooms that are modeled and could be added on. It's clearly not finished in that it's missing a bunch of stuff. But there is some really beautiful texture work in there, and I think the artists did a great job of tying together what could easily be the most difficult class thematically, especially when you take into consideration the different races involved.
I feel a bit bad for monks and hunters, personally. The priest class hall really can't be mistaken for anything else (it might have a Draenai theme, but let's be honest -- no one is going to mistake it for Auchidoun or even Karabor with the light and dark setup and the cross on the floor), even without the doodads and extras. The monk building literally (I do mean "literally") looks indistinguishable from lots of other buildings in MoP, and the only real thing that seems to differentiate the hunter class building from the night elf buildings in Feralas is the snow on the ground.
If I were able to have a "wish list" as it were, I'd ask Blizzard to add maybe some beams of light coming up from underneath the platform on the light side, and add an extra room or two. Maybe have a room with a suspended walkway and some Lovecraftian shadow tentacles coming out of the walls, and if you're shadow-spec, your character gets whispered to in the room every so often by Old Gods. Or maybe have a room where holy priests teach new acolytes to mend wounds. Or maybe a room where disc priests teach followers how to balance light and dark sides, complete with training dummies sprouting tentacles or something, or some poor kid loosing his mind and running around screaming like a loon (followed by a holy priest who is trying to cure his madness, and an unusually cheerful disc priest shouting that he'll get it right soon). Maybe add actual training dummies in this area for players to practice on -- some for dps, some for healing. Maybe add in a library (hell, the druids have a library . . . and they're outdoors most of the time) with draenai-esque stained glass windows with a bunch of old guys arguing the merits of disc vs holy with a bunch of others glaring at them for making noise, and the crotchety librarian trying in vain to get them to leave.
All-in-all, it's a beautiful guild hall, and while it doesn't have all the goodies yet that I'd like to see, it's still a place that seems thematically appropriate and pleasing to the eyes.
Pretty typical of Blizzard. Our "class halls" are going to be a "class room" more then anything....
I was hoping for some ancient church with a large crypt or underground section where the Shadow Priests could hang out, not
"A room... that is round... and slightly "shadowy"
It isn't hard, Blizzard, to be creative. Same with the spell names
Void this and Void that... Shadow this and Shadow that....
good job Blizz =\
The sad story is we don't have a history. The lore about priests is too weak, all about the light is about pallies. So we have to borrow Naaru and Draeneis Temples. I'm glad we don't get Scarlet Monastery. I can't imagine an undead priest hanging around that place.
I love how there are two wings, one for Holy and one for Shadow. I think Blizzard did a good job on the Priest town hall.
Where is it located? Exodar? Or is it some sort of "rouge" Naaru spaceship drifting in deep space?
Am I the only one seeing Calia Menethil on one of the screenshots?