Does WoW need to return to swords and sorcery?

[Garybear]

I think that is just called escalation of power w/ storyline elements. So many other things do this and it is because that is really the only way to progress a storyline w/o it just becoming the bland repeated bull every year.

[Thoughtcrime]

I've talked about this extensively elsewhere, but put shortly yes I think we need to go back to a more grounded fantasy setting. Escalating threat and spectacle is not compelling and not relatable. I'm sure it works for someone; after all the Transformers movies are still a thing, but I find it boring.

Maybe like Bioware, Blizzard has decided that myself and people like me are not the target audience anymore and it's all about chasing that Michael Bay money. Which is a shame, but there's always CDPR.

[MechaCThun]

If anything, the game needs a "cooling off" period from the cosmic threats. A time to re-direct the focus back on the medieval-like aspect of the game.

It was eventual we would start dealing with powerful, space bound foes and it would end up us being in our suits of armor, swords and shields in hand fighting off alien spaceships who have far more advanced technology.

Or at least advanced in the case of being far ahead of swords, armor, magic from wands, and the like.

We haven't gotten too far in the sense of the gaming morphing from high fantasy, swords & sorcery to futuristic, cosmic-punk.

Maybe next expansion will focus back more on the world we dwell on and have us have to engage in the world "old fashioned" like.

[TheVaryag]

Does WoW need to return to a simpler time of swords and sorcery? We are increasingly rushing headlong in to greater threats and associating with beings of such great power such as the titans that I fear we are losing sight on the simplicity and enjoyment of the swords and sorcery aspect we were introduced to.

I understand the story needs to progress, but I am worried by the current expedited increase of the threats we face and our own grandeur and how we are becoming a galactic universal force of power.

Does anyone else feel we need to come back down to earth and confront threats out of our reach but feasibly able to defeat.

What do you mean you don't like playing Starcraft/Warhammer?

No but really, get rid of this sci-fi shiz that's not why I play WoW, definitely not to have demons re-re-reintroduced as just being technically savvy like the Draenei with rocket launchers and mines and spaceships that seem to be useless even though they could be bombarding Azeroth with all the hundred ships in Argus' sky and don't tell me we're on a "Stealth" mission, our ship Is a giant golden light shining thing you cant not see that.

I've the same worry, next we'll encounter the Empire and a guy In a black robe Introducing himself as "The Senate" and there we go from there.

Just go back to the whole sword and sorcery, to WoW's D&D roots, don't go full sci-fi, It's like fine, Draenei had help to travel the universe and got some extra tech, whatever. But now they apparently got freakin shield generators, like the Vindicaar has. If Draenei had that all along, where was that during the 4th War with Garrosh? Were they shy to show It off?

If I was Horde, and I am. I'd go to Exodar and plunder that damn city for all of It's advanced technology If I knew they had that stuff.

For those unaware Vanilla WoW and subsequently TBC and Wrath had this D&D Inspiration going on, with hybrid talents, every class had a weakness and strenght, but now they're trying to equalize everything but blind to the fact that's NOT going to happen. I'm sorry, you can't have a perfect balance In a game that Is D&D Inspired In the first place, with warriors, mages, rogues and so on.. one class -will- have an advantage and weakness because that's how that class Is suppose to be. And I hate saying that knowing how obsurd Rogues and Paladins were In PvP during TBC but that's nothing a few tweeks to abilities wouldn't fix.

[Deleted]

Too late, we are in the age of space ships and beings made of void.

[Lochton]

But, we still have down to earth threats... I died the other day, falling off a cliff.

[Arenis]

I think, what OP roughly means, is a little bit less of this:



And a little bit more of this:

[Magnagarde]

Does WoW need to return to a simpler time of swords and sorcery? We are increasingly rushing headlong in to greater threats and associating with beings of such great power such as the titans that I fear we are losing sight on the simplicity and enjoyment of the swords and sorcery aspect we were introduced to.

I understand the story needs to progress, but I am worried by the current expedited increase of the threats we face and our own grandeur and how we are becoming a galactic universal force of power.

Does anyone else feel we need to come back down to earth and confront threats out of our reach but feasibly able to defeat.

Pretty much, yeah.

I remember how things stood pre-Cataclysm where you'd find a felguard being summoned in the draenei starting zone and it was huge thing. There was a dreadlord in some caverns in Silithus and one was in the Ashenvale too. Any and all characters from the Burning Legion used to be a big deal back then and were considered an enormeous threat and killing them felt like something special, whereas now you go and kill Nathrezim left and right while collecting some spare parts for your Robocop.

The vanilla experience was priceless. Back then even so much as a red drake mattered. I remember there was one cruising through Hillsbrad and whenever one of our guildies would see it, we'd gather up and take it down feeling like we've dealt with something huge. Now? Let us go and murder a hundred dreadlords, felguards, doomguards and eredar to get 167 gold and 70 silver. They need to bring the World back into World of Warcraft, but the real problem is that the if the title and arc isn't "bombastic", it won't attract enough people.

[syar]

I don't see the problem. Its an invasion , if it would be 2 fel murlocks with wooden swords poking at us, would you be satisfied then ?
But joke aside, i think the tech is well within wow norms , its just everybody is kind of burnt out of saving the world , so we need a calmer xpac.

[nyc81991]

There is definitely something to be said about the extremely high fantasy theme WoW has evolved into and it's impact on the game.

With Legion it seems we have entered the Dragon Ball Super phase of Warcraft. We are approaching god tier power if we haven't already hit that point. There are benefits to that but the game does lose it's "humble" fantasy feel because of it.

[Soon-TM]

Only now? Mate, what you describe now was one of the biggest reasons for bitching during TBC

And especially during Cata, with the new "industrialised" Orgrimmar and heavy artillery in places like Ashenvale and Feralas lul.

[Deleted]

They should highlight every spaceship/space/interplanetary-related object/quest/item/NPC in the game and press delete. Only then will we maybe be on the path to being a fantasy MMORPG again.

[Skoll Shorties]

I don't see the issue. WoW has variety, both your swords and sorcery included friend. Such threats are common and in this time of WoW it makes sense we'd be taking on larger scaled threats while also the more mundane threats at the same time.

[A Chozo]

Nah dude. Gotta board the dimensional ship to fight the galactic devils from beyond the veil.

We just need to form Voltron and defeat Sargeras and the Galra Empire.

[Coffeexbean]

yea the game was more fun when it felt medieval.. they need to move away from the big focus on titans space and all that jesus divine lore bs its just not interesting.. I feel like im reading a boring ass book with characters in it like zeus and hades

[Forgottenone]

I understand things would start changing and whether for good or for bad I accepted the fact that as the expansions were coming along that things were going to drastically change. So while I miss the old ways I am happy with what we currently have.

[Fkiolaris]

I think, what OP roughly means, is a little bit less of this:

snip

And a little bit more of this:

snip

Someone who actually gets it.

In legion it really feels in many aspects that Blizzard is having an identity crisis with WoW, where they are trying to get all 3 of their traditional franchises into one box: the sci-fi of Starcraft, the systems of Diablo and the cover/link of Warcraft. How one likes this is to their own taste. Personally, I am with the OP.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Once you go intergalactic planetary you never go back.

I mean I get it. In WC3 I though the burning legion was some sort of magical portal driven race of demons. Turns down they are a galactic empire with Star Destroyers. Not where I thought it would end up if I were to go ask myself back then. But I am not sure if it really matters to me now.

I guess this is what happens with a game that spans into multiple generations of fans and developers. It goes to different places. Some will be good and some will be bad. All we can do is hope for the best.

[Deleted]

It's literally fanfiction at this point, it's what a 6 year old kid would make if you handed it the original warcraft lore.

[Deleted]

Someone who actually gets it.

In legion it really feels in many aspects that Blizzard is having an identity crisis with WoW, where they are trying to get all 3 of their traditional franchises into one box: the sci-fi of Starcraft, the systems of Diablo and the cover/link of Warcraft. How one likes this is to their own taste. Personally, I am with the OP.

Think I agree to be honest, this whole travel between worlds stuff is a bit much lore-wise. I don't even pretend to follow the lore anymore, luckily I've never been that fussed about it. But I was much more interested in WoW lore up until after WotLK. Now it's just so fantastical it's hard to take seriously. I play a Shaman and I expected my Shaman to be a powerful one, able to defeat tough foes. I didn't expect to be jumping on space ships and single-handedly fighting some interstellar empire which is what the Legion seems to be. WoW is now a space MMO, basically. Except I'm supposed to be a fairly primitive Shaman wielding the forces of nature? Eh... I dunno.

I just play for fun and my guild and whatever, so I can deal. But it is getting crazy lore wise.