"The initial story of the Shadowlands doesn't really fit adding Allied Races"

[Arkthugal]

If you want them to be Allied Races, then you need to decide right now which two are going Horde and which two are going Alliance, because Blizzard have made it quite clear that they aren't doing neutral races anymore.

[Nagawithlegs]

If you want them to be Allied Races, then you need to decide right now which two are going Horde and which two are going Alliance, because Blizzard have made it quite clear that they aren't doing neutral races anymore.

Kyrians/Night Fare are pretty clearly Alliance inspired, from their rigs to their lore figures and aesthetics.

Necrolords/Venthyr less so, but the Vampires are clearly Nightborne inspired/rigged and have Kael as their lore character. Yep..

Everyone expects neutrality because "it makes sense"... while forgetting the Mechagnomes. Blizz don't care about what makes sense.

[Omedon]

On another note, gotta love the lore experts on these races introduced to the public a fucking week ago. LOL.

The concepts are pretty archetypal, there are some overall assumptions we can make for the sake of discussion.

We’re going “planescape” with shadowlands. Some of us old farts have been in this headspace before in other games!

[Zantos]

Remember how relevant Mag'har orcs were in BFA?

Exactly. This is why their excuse is just BS. Literally no build up to Mag'har orcs. The rep is 100% not associated with them at all, just like with void elfs and there is literally no mention of them until you hit exalted. You see them as flight masters at other points with zero context as to why they are there, or how they got there, but they are. I mean really, part of the warfront story requires unlocking each of the bases. One of which has a mag'har orc as the flight master! So, before we get to the story line of "hey, remember those orcs? lets go get them!", they are already there!!

The story could fit, they just don't want it to. They had story that fit for many allied races, but they just didn't want them yet. The entierty of 8.2 was a massive set up to be able to add mecagnomes and gilblin, yet they didn't and said "the story didn't make sense". Like, yes it did! More sense then void elfs suddenly coming out of no where.

[Sezh]

They have to phrase it like that because people like you can't handle them saying "We ain't doing that shit right now, get over it"

[Cosmic Janitor]

I'm sorry, but fucking *what*?

We're strictly allying with one of four new races in Shadowlands, that we're going to spend the entire expansion alongside. That is much more than we got for Void Elves. The only plot we got at all for those guys initially was a shoehorned quest specifically to recruit them. But regardless of the fact that there will be four heavily prominent potential allied races in this new expansion, are we forgetting that A) Zandalari trolls were in the BfA features trailer even though they weren't available until 8.2, and B) the first allied races in BfA were ones that were heavily featured in the *previous* expansion, instead of the new one? The idea that there wasn't a story-based reason to decide against allied races in 9.0 is insulting. It's because they didn't want to put the effort in, and they need to stop pretending it's not. Vol'Dun is a story that fits adding Sethrak. Naz'jatar is a story that fits adding Ankoan and Gilgoblins. Darkshore is a story that fits adding Night Elf Forsaken/Worgen. Shadowlands in its entirety is a story that fits adding the four Covenants as playable, after a campaign like Mag'har and Dark Irons got.


I dunno man, I'm just tired of them saying "It wasn't in the story" as a poor-ass excuse of an excuse to not include things that should obviously be there. the Vindicaar comes to mind.

These people are dead spirits. In the fucking afterlife of this franchise, they just stroll out there and someone gifts them a body? Not to mention there is some argument about them looking that way only because it's the way this realm shapes them from anima, that's not what they actually look like. I'm also sure they are positively thrilled to be forced to join in our little race war..

[setsuna f seiei]

I'm sorry, but fucking *what*?

We're strictly allying with one of four new races in Shadowlands, that we're going to spend the entire expansion alongside. That is much more than we got for Void Elves. The only plot we got at all for those guys initially was a shoehorned quest specifically to recruit them. But regardless of the fact that there will be four heavily prominent potential allied races in this new expansion, are we forgetting that A) Zandalari trolls were in the BfA features trailer even though they weren't available until 8.2, and B) the first allied races in BfA were ones that were heavily featured in the *previous* expansion, instead of the new one? The idea that there wasn't a story-based reason to decide against allied races in 9.0 is insulting. It's because they didn't want to put the effort in, and they need to stop pretending it's not. Vol'Dun is a story that fits adding Sethrak. Naz'jatar is a story that fits adding Ankoan and Gilgoblins. Darkshore is a story that fits adding Night Elf Forsaken/Worgen. Shadowlands in its entirety is a story that fits adding the four Covenants as playable, after a campaign like Mag'har and Dark Irons got.


I dunno man, I'm just tired of them saying "It wasn't in the story" as a poor-ass excuse of an excuse to not include things that should obviously be there. the Vindicaar comes to mind.

Didnt Blizzard say we are the only one's who can leave at our own will so telling these guys "hey, come join our faction but you can't leave this place" when they don't care about factions...and can't leave the shadowlands... how would it work?

[Gaidax]

If it were possible for them to be in 9.1, why weren’t they in the features trailer, like the Zandalari? And what about the races we interacted with this expansion that storywise have already joined a faction and could stand to get one more quest to officially recruit them as playable, like what happened with the first four in BfA coming from Legion content?

Because they are not a feature of the expansion, durrrr?

I mean, in BfA Allied Races were THE feature - we got them and got a lot of them. In Shadowlands - we might get some (or not) but one thing is certain - they aren’t the highlight of the expansion, as in Blizz does not intend to spam these in your face from the get go, if at all.

[Jaggler]

I'd rather they stay in the Shadowlands. They have little reason to join either Alliance or Horde. Thinking outside of Shadowlands, they would feel very out of place, spending a significant amount of time in the realm of the living.

[sam86]

why even care about reskinned races in first place?
unless they use a unique skeleton model as every race in wow used to, i don't give a f8ck about half-assed reskinned races, if anything i feel it is a spit in face and called content

[united]

They’re dead people/spirits. How are the incorporeal gonna go to Azeroth to fight for the Horde or Alliance? It literally makes no sense.

[Arainie]

Stop being so effing offended all the time.

[Puupi]

They will add them sooner or later. Probably when the sub number plummets before 9.1 just like in the beginning of BfA.

[Pheraz]

I think

The initial

Are the important words here. I guess they going to make more of those weird "theme-shifts" like in bfa, which started as a faction war, then shifted to Azshara and then OMFG Nzoth

[Revamp Man]

I think we don't know what the initial story of the shadowlands is so we should probably stay take a step back and wait

though to be fair blizzard tries to use twists and thinks that they have this super ultra big reveal planned constantly when in reality it's super basic so essentially the first storyline or first theme we're central theme or opening theme whatever you want to call it is getting the races settled

I mean think about it here we are immortal beings at least in terms of our souls being immortal walking in from the mall that no one has ever escaped but since we helped big Mama azeroth get all of her blood back we have this power

they see us we help them out initially and then we pledge our allegiance to one of the covenants they don't come and help us we are helping them they are not there to help us defeat our big bad we are there to help them get back on track and balance their world

we are complete outsiders not just in a sense of we haven't been here before but in the sense that we come in kinda say yeah our bad one of our people kind of caused this and we have to run maintenance on these four realms help the covenants get their s*** gathered and get back on track and oh by the way did we mention that the vampire covenant is in the first raid because their leader goes nucking futs and decides to essentially become Dracula and we are just going to walk in the front door and kill him which will probably not be a thing done by all four covenants but rather the vampires cleaning up their own mess

I can promise you that all four of those races will become allied races and likely they will become neutral races that you can choose based on the achievements for unlocking each covenant just because they haven't announced the allied races yet doesn't really mean anything because they announced the initial allied races for battle for azeroth and we didn't get them until near the end

- - - Updated - - -

why even care about reskinned races in first place?
unless they use a unique skeleton model as every race in wow used to, i don't give a f8ck about half-assed reskinned races, if anything i feel it is a spit in face and called content

I mean does it matter if it's a reskin literally reskinned races aren't content that's why customisation is so f****** simple and why the freaking barbershop exists if you see the aesthetics of a race as the only reason to play it cool that's on you you also probably gather transmog and that's cool and guess what transmog on that reskin race heritage armor is unique

personally I don't really care too much about appearance but the racials as long as they're fun is what I want

- - - Updated - - -

I'd rather they stay in the Shadowlands. They have little reason to join either Alliance or Horde. Thinking outside of Shadowlands, they would feel very out of place, spending a significant amount of time in the realm of the living.

Especially with literal vampires that cannot handle sunlight

Oh my s*** we're going to get daywalkers

[MatthiasLehner]

The Shadowlands races are aesthetically refreshing and cool, but, they literally dwell in the afterlife zone, not.. another planet, for instance. That's the iffy thing about them imo. It just doesn't feel right.

[Drewbacca]

Personally, I don’t want any allied races from these new guys. I’d rather them pick from older races that have been around longer, like Wildhammers (doh!), Furbolg, Taunka, Frostborn, Broken, Ogre, Forest Trolls, Vrykul, etc.

[How dare you]

Exactly. This is why their excuse is just BS. Literally no build up to Mag'har orcs. The rep is 100% not associated with them at all, just like with void elfs and there is literally no mention of them until you hit exalted. You see them as flight masters at other points with zero context as to why they are there, or how they got there, but they are. I mean really, part of the warfront story requires unlocking each of the bases. One of which has a mag'har orc as the flight master! So, before we get to the story line of "hey, remember those orcs? lets go get them!", they are already there!!

The story could fit, they just don't want it to. They had story that fit for many allied races, but they just didn't want them yet. The entierty of 8.2 was a massive set up to be able to add mecagnomes and gilblin, yet they didn't and said "the story didn't make sense". Like, yes it did! More sense then void elfs suddenly coming out of no where.

It certainly seems to be more a case of "what is popular right now" than what fits the theme.

[Khrux]

Aside from the fact they are not races, they are souls of dead Azerothians that take on a form based on their role in the afterlife - so they would still be human/orc/murloc/goat/bear when returning to Azeroth...

Races had a reason to be recruited in BFA, we're at war and need more armies/soldiers. The entire reason we went to Zandalar/Kul'Tiras was to recruit them for the war because of their Naval strength.

At least pay attention to the story if your gona claim story reasons for not doing something is bullshit!

[sam86]

I mean does it matter if it's a reskin literally reskinned races aren't content that's why customisation is so f****** simple and why the freaking barbershop exists if you see the aesthetics of a race as the only reason to play it cool that's on you you also probably gather transmog and that's cool and guess what transmog on that reskin race heritage armor is unique

personally I don't really care too much about appearance but the racials as long as they're fun is what I want

racials already cause massive problem in both pve and pvp, adding more racial for just reskins is bullsh8t that shouldn't happened
reskinned races should been barber shop customization for the already existing races, instead of a new lvl from scratch toon with classes we already have since ages
so my problem is both the fact that we wanted customization for already-existing races since ages not what we got, and also racials while a mandatory are given to a half-a88ed reskinned to increase the problem even more