MoP - Trying too Hard to be Mature?

[checking facts]

Allow me to start by saying that I have ALWAYS been a supporter of MoP since MMO-Champion first talked about how Blizzard had trademarked the name and it would likely be an expansion. I love the story, the feel of the zones, the dungeons and scenarios, et cetera.

But lately I can't help it but to have the feeling Blizz is just trying to overcompensate for the fact that people might perceive MoP as childish. I'm not talking about how the war is not pretty, or how evil the thunder king is. I'm talking about the pandaren themselves. It kind of started on Li Li's shortstories where we saw her drinking beer even though she's a kid, but the new "The Trial of the Red Blossoms" shortstory just blows away any notion that the pandaren were ever a peaceful and loving race of zen people we had since the pandaren were first introduced. Let's take a look at what happens:

• The Story is about a 14 year-old cub named Ten. He is a starving orphan who became a thief to survive;
• Ten mistakes the shado-pan for rich farmers and tries to steal from them. what he thought was something valuable was actually just a scroll.
• We discover Den Den had a sex doll in his bedroom;
• The Shado-pan catch him and give him 2 options:
  
  • 1 - Forced Labor to pay for his crimes of being a hungry child who steals to survive;
  • 2 - he'd be bound, have his eyes, feet and most fingers removed from his body, he'd be taken to the monastery, tortured and than thrown to his death in a canyon;
• Ten tricks the shado-pan into thinking he escaped. Hawkmaster Nurong appears and, impressed by his actions, gives him 2 more options:
  
  • 3 - Painless death;
  • 4 - Facing the Trial of the Red Blossoms to try to join the shado-pan;
• Ten chooses option 4 and Nurong gives him 3 months to reach the monastery in the tallest mountain in the world. it was the middle of winter and the boy barely had any clothes. he does manage to barely arrive in the time he's given;
• There were 12 other cubs there to take the trial. One of them was 3 years younger than Ten. Two of them gave up before the start of the trials, and they would never be given another chance at joining the shado-pan;
• The first trial was given by Yalia Sagewhisper. she made them fall into the lake (in the tallest mountain, in the middle of the winter), run out of the lake, grab a coin inside a lit brazier (under the coal), than go back and give the coin to her. out of the 10 cubs (children), 6 died frozen in the lake;
• The next trial was given by Master Snowdrift. He locked the remaining cubs in a room with some very heavy bells. they had to lift and ring the bells to pass. under one bell there was a poisonous snake. under another bell there was a tiger, and under the third one there were weapons for them to defend themselves. All who survived the trial would pass;
• One cub is bitten by the snake and dies;
• The tiger was actually carrying sha (it was a trap from the mantid). the kids cooperated and killed the sha;
• "You think I have never taken a beating, monster? Just last season I was whipped by a butcher for stealing his garbage, and by a blacksmith for warming my paws at his forge."
• The kids were accepted in the Shado-pan and they all lived happily ever after. except for the children who died. and their families;

So, are we supposed to admire and fight side by side with people who lock children in a room with a tiger and a snake just to see how many of them survive? After reading this shortstory I sincerely wish I could go at war with the Shado-pan and farm them endlessly all the way to hated. "Sword in the Shadows"? "Protectors of Pandaria"? My ass! They are nothing but murderers.

[Advent]

There have been stories like that since the game's inception. Wrath of the Lich King and the Burning Crusade (What happened at the Temple of Karabor, AKA The Black Temple) were about the same. Children seeing their parents die in front of their eyes, husbands and wives turned into ravenous undead to eat their children or their significant others happen constantly.

Hell, IRL Sun Tsu killed one of the emperor's chambermaids right in front of him to prove a point. I don't think they're overcompensating at all, in fact, the game has likely gotten somewhat softer. Though that's not a bad thing.

[Deleted]

Their job is to protect Pandaria from the Sha. They have vigorous trials to insure that their potential monks are up to the challenge. I see nothing abnormal about this at all. From a lore perspective, I don't think someone would be able to successfully fight and defeat the Sha if they couldn't complete those trials.

[skitzy129]

Nope. Nothings changed.

[checking facts]

There have been stories like that since the game's inception. Wrath of the Lich King and the Burning Crusade (What happened at the Temple of Karabor, AKA The Black Temple) were about the same. Children seeing their parents die in front of their eyes, husbands and wives turned into ravenous undead to eat their children or their significant others happen constantly.

zombies eating children does not feel forced. mindless zombies eat anyone who crosses their path.

zen people whipping starving children for stealing from their garbage feels like overcompensating.

[mordale]

considering how dark a job the shado-pan has, i can kinda see this as being realistic.

i mean the mantid swarm the wall every generation, and alot of shado-pan die.
when thats not going on they deal with; saurok invasions, yaungol invasions, sha outbreaks, mantid subterfuge, and the mogu.
all the while keeping the peace as basically the police.

the reason they thought he could be a mantid or sha agent is that they have shown mind-controlling aspects.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

I don't see how it's trying too hard, it's just a story of several thousands in the game, and out of the game. Also not every faction you meet is all nice and peaceful, all of them do have a past. Just look at the Klaxxi and the speech you get after you finish their last quest.

[checking facts]

considering how dark a job the shado-pan has, i can kinda see this as being realistic.

i mean the mantid swarm the wall every generation, and alot of shado-pan die.
when thats not going on they deal with; saurok invasions, yaungol invasions, sha outbreaks, mantid subterfuge, and the mogu.
all the while keeping the peace as basically the police.

they could take the children from the lake, warm them up, say "sorry, kid. you 'died'. go back home and be a farmer, cause you can't be shado-pan" and send them back.

but they probably like the taste of cub popsicle.

[Mexa]

The shado pan seem cool. They got my full support, and i think its nice that the pandaren arent just drunks and hippies, but actually got some backbone.

[Cernunnos]

shortstory just blows away any notion that the pandaren were ever a peaceful and loving race of zen people we had since the pandaren were first introduced.

This short story shows the Shado Pan are not like the farmers in 4 winds, or the people of Dawn's Blossom. The majority of Pandaren are still peaceful. It's really just the Shado Pan who act outside the norm.

[checking facts]

This short story shows the Shado Pan are not like the farmers in 4 winds, or the people of Dawn's Blossom. The majority of Pandaren are still peaceful. It's really just the Shado Pan who act outside the norm.

the people from halfhill whipped the boy for stealing from garbage and warming his paws. they aren't any better than the shado-pan.

[Arrashi]

It's OK as long as garrosh didn't did that. If garrosh did that it would be child abuse/genoicide/pointless cruelty. But since its our pandaren friends it harsh but fair and responsible parenting.

[bionics]

Pandaria... too mature? Well at least you have a unique viewpoint.

One has to look no further than old Vanilla quests like The Legend of Stalvan and the lore background quests of Scholomance to partake of occurrences far more gruesome than anything out of Mists of Pandaria.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

It's very dark, and I absolutely hate the Shado'pan anyway.

But honestly, it sounds to me to be a lot like the Jedi (torture aside).

[checking facts]

Pandaria... too mature? Well at least you have a unique viewpoint.

One has to look no further than old Vanilla quests like The Legend of Stalvan and the lore background quests of Scholomance to partake of occurrences far more gruesome than anything out of Mists of Pandaria.

the difference is that stalvan was one person, and scholomance should be a gruesome place full of evil people. the pandaren should be zen and peaceful. instead we get people whipping starving children and the "army" locking kids in a room with deadly animals.

[Algearond]

WoW has always been an extremely dark game, and one that is very effective and drawing out emotional responses like the OP's. Both of these too me are a great thing, as well as one of the reasons for it's unprecedented almost decade long success.

[Tziva]

While I'm not super knowledgable of WoW's lore, death, destruction and other heavy themes have always existed in the storylines. I don't get the impression they are overcompensating by going above and beyond their normal line. It seems pretty par for the course.

[mysticx]

I think Blizz are overcompensating for all the "Kung fu panda lol!"-sentiment, and for half the panda-related quests involving booze in some way, so we get an uber-gritty story that doesn't mesh with the "We must remain light-hearted to not get infected with the Sha"-dealie that we get our faces rubbed in every zone we quest in...

[checking facts]

WoW has always been an extremely dark game, and one that is very effective and drawing out emotional responses like the OP's. Both of these too me are a great thing, as well as one of the reasons for it's unprecedented almost decade long success.

shouldn't they try to direct that at the villains?

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

shouldn't they try to direct that at the villains?

Honestly I love how MoP isn't all about the black-armored villain that eats babies and kicks puppies. Wrath was fun, but Arthas got old fast.

I much more like the way MoP is playing out. Even the Argent Crusade of Pandaria isn't above the darkness that is seeping up all around them.