Patch 8.2 PTR - Build 30080 Broadcast Text

[justandulas]

Well there is one way to fix that, become an accomplished novel writer that is good enough to get picked up by Blizzard or any game developer then you are all set.. And really am glad they didn't go the Game of Thrones kill everyone off route, as that sort of thing becomes just too predictable and boring..

Nothing is more boring and predictable than plot armor. Bash GoT, but wow could desperately use some of that. Have sylvanas execute Baine, give horde players the option to stay horde or fight for the new alliance, etc

Instead, we get this copy/paste story written by and for 12 year olds. It’s comically bad

[THEORACLE64]

It just doesn't make sense how/why they'd greenlight a copy/paste story. Its bizarre to me to me that an entire team signed off on nothing new.
I truly expected there to be twists and turns - baits & switches.
You have to give the appearance of predictability to pull that off effectively. But we're now halfway through "this" storyline and they've kinda locked in what happens next.
Very disappointing.

There’s similarities, obviously, but we still have the other third of the story to go yet. I don’t believe it’ll end with Sylvanas being the final boss, and I don’t believe be we’ll fight her, but it was always clear she wasn’t going to last until the end of the expansion one way or another (thankfully).

[grexly75]

Nothing is more boring and predictable than plot armor. Bash GoT, but wow could desperately use some of that. Have sylvanas execute Baine, give horde players the option to stay horde or fight for the new alliance, etc

Instead, we get this copy/paste story written by and for 12 year olds. It’s comically bad

And yet what I find amusing is how you have those who bitch, moan and complain about losing main horde characters left and right, but yet are completely okay with losing another main horde character..

[ktc64]

It just doesn't make sense how/why they'd greenlight a copy/paste story. Its bizarre to me to me that an entire team signed off on nothing new.
I truly expected there to be twists and turns - baits & switches.
You have to give the appearance of predictability to pull that off effectively. But we're now halfway through "this" storyline and they've kinda locked in what happens next.
Very disappointing.

Yeah I was really hoping for some kind of bait and switch with this story, set everyone up to think it's just the generic Sylvanas is Evil storyline and then flip the script later down the line. But with every passing patch its looking more and more like they're just doing the generic Sylvanas is Evil shit. Feels very lazy.

As a Thrall fan I am happy to see he's back in some capacity though.

[Omedon]

It just doesn't make sense how/why they'd greenlight a copy/paste story. Its bizarre to me to me that an entire team signed off on nothing new.
I truly expected there to be twists and turns - baits & switches.
You have to give the appearance of predictability to pull that off effectively. But we're now halfway through "this" storyline and they've kinda locked in what happens next.
Very disappointing.

You can’t do sharp, GRRM or Vince Russo like swerves and twists in a medium that has and needs a PTR. There is a social contract to traditional heroic fantasy and I for one am pleased, as a consumer and as a customer, to see them appear to adhere to said contracts. The moment there was a “war on hope” declared, there was a path set in stone in order for the game to maintain its place and its rating to be quite frank.

[Villager720]

There’s similarities, obviously, but we still have the other third of the story to go yet. I don’t believe it’ll end with Sylvanas being the final boss, and I don’t believe be we’ll fight her, but it was always clear she wasn’t going to last until the end of the expansion one way or another (thankfully).

While I hope you're right, they've even copied the MoP patch cycles thus far.
As I noted above :
• Prepatch - War started by aggressive Warchief that destroys alliance city
• Launch - Go to new mythical land(s) to secure resources and allies
• First Patch - Escalation of the faction war with the Horde "losing" a leader due to "betrayal" and the Warchief's past actions
• Second Patch - Go to the ruins of an ancient empire to defeat its leader while the Warchief starts dabbling in Old God juju resulting in Lorthremar and Jaina teaming up

- - - Updated - - -

You can’t do sharp, GRRM or Vince Russo like swerves and twists in a medium that has and needs a PTR. There is a social contract to traditional heroic fantasy and I for one am pleased, as a consumer and as a customer, to see them appear to adhere to said contracts. The moment there was a “war on hope” declared, there was a path set in stone in order for the game to maintain its place and its rating to be quite frank.

Sure, but you can keep things "traditional" without retreading storylines about overthrowing conquest-driven Warchiefs with nearly identically named Old God weapons.

Also, they could save the twists for the cinematics that aren't data-minable.
Examples :
Who knew the dragon aspects would randomly become sterile post Deathwing?
We didn't "know" Vol'jin would become Warchief post SoO until the cinematics dropped.
Illidan opening a "permanent" portal to Argus post KJ.

[etheldald]

this story is so f... bad. Lol.
imagine being a belf/zandalari and helping jaina to kill more sunreavers OMEGALUL.

imagine being a nelf player and helping saurfang and baine who only deserve a painful death LOL.

the best part is that we all knew it since pre-patch but we refused to believe it.

[justandulas]

You can’t do sharp, GRRM or Vince Russo like swerves and twists in a medium that has and needs a PTR. There is a social contract to traditional heroic fantasy and I for one am pleased, as a consumer and as a customer, to see them appear to adhere to said contracts. The moment there was a “war on hope” declared, there was a path set in stone in order for the game to maintain its place and its rating to be quite frank.

Disagree entirely. Other mmo’s, such as swtor and eso, manage to have fully voice acted stories with twists and turns that YOU directly affect.

Don’t like a particular companion? They don’t have to survive. Don’t like working for a particular npc in eso? You can murder the entire town

There are ways to adhere to typical fantasy without repeating BAD poorly written story lines ad nauseum.

Let’s have a WoW with real consequences and major deaths, turning points. Alliances made and broken in gsme and not through some meh cinematic

[Omedon]

Disagree entirely. Other mmo’s, such as swtor and eso, manage to have fully voice acted stories with twists and turns that YOU directly affect.

Don’t like a particular companion? They don’t have to survive. Don’t like working for a particular npc in eso? You can murder the entire town

There are ways to adhere to typical fantasy without repeating BAD poorly written story lines ad nauseum.

Let’s have a WoW with real consequences and major deaths, turning points. Alliances made and broken in gsme and not through some meh cinematic

A valid counterpoint with valid examples, and *if* WoW is headed toward a less unified presentation of its canon via options with consequences, then yes, that’s possible!

But... the one-word rebuttal to this point is “Chronicle.” Now, that’s the past, and maybe we never see another volume, but so long as that possibility exists, every expansion will have a unified canon.

Honestly, I’d be ok with a choice-heavy game if it let us choose as individuals that “my characters/guild aren’t in-world racists, faction divide gone! Bloodelf tanks healed by Void elf healers ahoy!”

[Yoshhh]

ye just like i thought - Golden's writing is beyong garbage and horde is once again pussy fraction being slaves to allience.

world of pussycraft combined with terirble naive writing on level of Naruto "talk jutsu"

they had a chance to make BfA into gory bloody Game of throne they made it into "my little pony friendship is magic " or how its called.

disgustingly bad writing

Dude, face it, anything they could provide, you'll tell it's garbage.

[justandulas]

A valid counterpoint with valid examples, and *if* WoW is headed toward a less unified presentation of its canon via options with consequences, then yes, that’s possible!

But... the one-word rebuttal to this point is “Chronicle.” Now, that’s the past, and maybe we never see another volume, but so long as that possibility exists, every expansion will have a unified canon.

Honestly, I’d be ok with a choice-heavy game if it let us choose as individuals that “my characters/guild aren’t in-world racists, faction divide gone! Bloodelf tanks healed by Void elf healers ahoy!”

Even if they don't give us choices; at least make the story better. I've seen saturday morning kids cartoons with better story telling, and im not exaggerating

I love wow but i give it tough love because it needs it, and the story telling is beyond bland.

EXAMPLE: As a horde player, i'd be FAR MORE PISSED at thrall and the blood elves who freed the traitor Baine, than otherwise. You want us to turn on Sylvanus? Why not have her kill baine in front of all of us, and threaten Thrall with death for his return? Have her actually DEFEAT Anduin in the field of combat, and right when we look like the horde is victorious once and for all... Nathanos stabs her in the back to steal the power of the throne for himself as he isnt strong enough to defeat Sylvanus traditionally, so has to be underhanded.

Instead... we get this rehash of Garrosh done worse, and even worse is that AGAIN like garrosh... my character would want NO PART of this. My character would be on Garrosh/Sylvanus' side. Why should my morality and choices be chosen for me by blizzard, and if that's the case, can we PLEASE get some quality story telling?

[The Stormbringer]

Sooo... why do the Naga have the Tidestone? Y'know, one of those artifacts we had locked up in Dalaran?

[Tazr]

TL/DR...more characters

[TickTickTick]

Puppets... fools. The Banshee baited you... to your own slaughter.
Gave Azshara... what she wanted. N'Zoth will rise... his madness... comes...

So, Sylvanas teamed up with Azshara? Wtf?

Out there... titan pillars. And chains descending into darkness...

Are these the pillars from Legion? How did Azshara get them?

[Tente]

- Ok guys, we are done, we activated the Tidestone and kicked some asses on the Tomb of Sargeras, let's move out.
- What about the pilars ? should we take them back to a safer place?
- It's 0:30 and the raid is over, leave them here, unguarded, forever, we don't need them anymore.

[Sigxy]

Well I guess this cancels out people's "New faction with Forsaken and BLOOD ELVES (and sometimes gobbos)" which I approve of. Blood Elves are meant to be the least loyal to the Horde and I'm glad they stick to that role!

So, Sylvanas teamed up with Azshara? Wtf?

I'd like to think this is part of the deal Sylvanas made with Helya. We don't know FULLY what the deal was but I'm willing to believe Helya worked with Azshara and that we somehow was part of the deal (reason she didn't help us Horde members out down there). And since we found out that she's not dead, I guess she has to keep that promise up.

[Yriel]

If, as a player, you support Sylvanas and tell Nathanos, at this point you really have most of the Horde leadership against you. I wonder why they give the player a choice in the first place and how they will finish this up because if they decide to go full rebellion against Sylvanas the player can't really stay in the Horde as if nothing happened when Sylvanas is banished/killed.
If anything that speaks for a redemption story, thats the only way the players loyal to Sylvanas can continue to stay in the Horde.

[kamuimac]

So we actually just kill Azshara with the power of friendship.. Just like that?

friendship and rainbows.

and after this horde can happily return to being slaves to the allience like before warcraft 3 -_-

[Tente]

If, as a player, you support Sylvanas and tell Nathanos, at this point you really have most of the Horde leadership against you. I wonder why they give the player a choice in the first place and how they will finish this up because if they decide to go full rebellion against Sylvanas the player can't really stay in the Horde as if nothing happened when Sylvanas is banished/killed.
If anything that speaks for a redemption story, thats the only way the players loyal to Sylvanas can continue to stay in the Horde.

Maybe she's right and the redemption is on the other side...or even better, there is no redemption to traitors.

[Daevied]

I somehow want to blame Golden for this shitshow, but in reality i dont know who to blame for this "brilliant" lore.