How does it make sense for physical attacks to hurt ghosts and spirits?

[orderchaos]

How does that make any sense? A warrior attacking a ghost with his sword? It wouldn't do any damage. It would go right through.

So Blizzard covers up Sylvanas' belly, because an archer can't leave her belly exposed, we need to change that for REALISM'S sake, but warriors slashing away at ghosts, that's perfectly reasonable?

[Echocho]

One causes the developers to sexually assault their female coworkers, the other does not.

[Fmr]

Shades and ghosts are immune to physical attacks in the lore. You can damage them for gameplay purposes.

[Eazy]

Same sense as it is to make them bleed.

It's just for the game-play.

[orderchaos]

Shades and ghosts are immune to physical attacks in the lore. You can damage them for gameplay purposes.

So how does that make any sense?

[Fmr]

So how does that make any sense?

Because you could not kill a ghost with a class that has no spells and you would post on the forum why your class cannot kill certain enemies in the game?

[orderchaos]

Because you could not kill a ghost with a class that has no spells and you would post on the forum why your class cannot kill certain enemies in the game?

No, how does that make any sense logically.

[CalamityHeart]

You'd probably be better off just saying what you want to say, and not obfuscating your point with weird comparisons like this. You don't actually care about dealing physical damage to ghosts or how much sense it makes. If you want to nag about the change in Sylvanas' armor design or just generally bait comments about the wokeness of desexualization, just do it.

You can hit ghosts with swords because decent gameplay easily trumps lore or 'immersion' in cases like this. There's not a lot of space for considering 'realism' in basic gameplay situations, and there's really not much more to it than that. If it really means that much to you, which I suspect it doesn't, just imagine it's a magic sword, with very basic ghost-touching enchantments on it or something. Produce the tiniest, tiniest bit of imagination, enough to suspend your disbelief and not let 'realism' ruin the most basic aspects of your gameplay experience.

[Raetary]

No, how does that make any sense logically.

Its an enemy NPC.
You gotta be able to attack enemy NPCs.
Therefore, any and all damage is applicable to that NPC.
Else certain classes would not be able to deal with said NPC.

The 'logic' is basic gameplay mechanics.
Hence why fire elementals aren't immune to fire damage.
Or undead of all types can bleed, etc.

I fail to see what's so hard to understand here.

[Santti]

Story should inform gameplay. Not the other way around.

And why stop at ghosts? Why not go into how we can pull a full menagerie of creatures to ride from our butts, or a million other "unrealistic" gameplay features? But this isn't about ghosts not being immune to physical damage, now is it? Just say what you want to say, instead of beating around the bush.

[Razion]

If you need a reason, not all ghosts and spirits on Azeroth can control how corporeal they are. Some (many) are mindless and feral.

Some can actively control being incorporeal (casting abilities that make them immune to or cause physical miss or dodges, etc.), but typically this isn't permanent / doesn't last forever except for powerful enemies. (Typically quests like these have quest items to dispatch them, or conditions like buffing players to be in their realm or empowering them with energy to allow them to damage them, etc. so it's not like ghosts can't have quests in cases where they are powerful enough to have perma control.)

With recent lore developments you may infer only some ghosts or spirits of Azeroth can control their anima and state of being. But mindless rage-machine ghosts tied to trauma probably aren't worried about being immaterial beyond lingering instincts to survive they hold onto and are probably more concerned with being physical to hurt whatever they're angry at.

Even for adventuring Shadowland denizens, it may be that making yourself immaterial for too long may disconnect the anima or something, like "unraveling the rope", to use the old analogy we got before. It may be dangerous for them to do it for too long.

[Stickiler]

How does that make any sense? A warrior attacking a ghost with his sword? It wouldn't do any damage. It would go right through.

So Blizzard covers up Sylvanas' belly, because an archer can't leave her belly exposed, we need to change that for REALISM'S sake, but warriors slashing away at ghosts, that's perfectly reasonable?

So how does that make any sense?

No, how does that make any sense logically.

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[Eazy]

Actually - your weapons are enchanted and your armor also. Your weapons are able to attack the ghosts. It makes sense.

[Daedius]

Easy.

Phantom pains.

[Syegfryed]

magic weapons, silver weapons and other weapons with magical properties turn that way around, the only weapons that are nothing like that are the grey/white ones.

Plus, they could just use one of those concepts of aura/mana, and you pumping your own power/magic into the blades, making possible to hurt then.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

No, how does that make any sense logically.

You are trying to argue what is logical in a fantasy video game, where we currently are running around in the afterlife filled to the brim with ghosts and spirits.


Please, spare us this seemingly "genuine curiosity" of a fresh burner account who immediately makes bait threads as soon as you created the account.

[vian]

Why doesn't it make sense, considering ghosts and spirits are figments of ones imagination.

[DarkAmbient]

The curse of the Sep 2021 join date continues.

[Huntaer]

No, how does that make any sense logically.

Logically it doesn't. But we can't let warriors do nothing do we. It's for gameplay reasons.
And, would you really ask for logic in a game that literally sends you dragons by mail?

[Shadowferal]

magic weapons, silver weapons and other weapons with magical properties turn that way around, the only weapons that are nothing like that are the grey/white ones.

Plus, they could just use one of those concepts of aura/mana, and you pumping your own power/magic into the blades, making possible to hurt then.

Was going to post something similar.
To me it's similar to character level. We can't hurt something that's high level. But advance high enough, the power a toon acquires can effect otherworldly beings.