Baine Bloodhoof: Where Is The Love?

[KrazyK923]

Slightly coincidentally (But only slightly, only slightly), I made a video about Baine Bloodhoof. With his sound files coming out today, it seems even more valid in the question I ask.

I do a recap of his history but I also wonder why he hasn't been included in the lore in a larger capacity. The video is here:



I was wondering what everyone else was thinking about Baine. Especially with what seems to be such a small soundfile and role in the raid, and such a noninvolvement in the Rebellion storyline up to this point, do you think Baine deserves a bigger role? He arguably has as big of a reason to hate Garrosh as anybody else who wants him dead, so whats the deal? Any thoughts as to why Blizzard decided not to just give him a big role?

Disappointed, Baine is awesome. Need bigger role!

[Trassk]

Baine is a very underplayed character, one such character that leaves little impact on the story sadly.

To this day, I believe them killing Cairne was the biggest mistake they could make. Sure it may have 'moved the story forward', but in no possibly good way for the tauren. Cairne had a presence, not just with his people but the horde itself.

Tauren fans have been wanting some serious development, but as a friend of mine pointed out, the only tauren stories going are those that end in misery and tragedy. And Baine is so underwhelming in the story he doesn't make any kind of impact.

Infact... and this is sad to think about, Gamon, a token joke character, has more status then Baine in the story, and who blizzard appear to be wanting to make into a more serious lore character, this will just cast Baine off even more from peoples eyes.

Don't get me wrong, I like Baine.. but he just has no pull as a character. Cairne was old, wise and yet still a very capable fighter and something to fear. Baine would not even avenge the old cow who betrayed his father, and since then, had really done little.

I want to see him actually DO something in the story that will make him stand out.

[KrazyK923]

Well as I said in the video, I felt like the death of Cairne could have been the perfect opportunity to launch Baine as a very prominent character.

But all they did was replace one guy standing in Thunder Bluff with another.

[Trassk]

The way I often look at vanilla wow, is that every major faction leader, who had such an impact on the story in WC3, all of them became cast aside in vanilla, and blizzard only slight peaked at them in tbc and a little more in wrath. It wasn't until cata they actaully began to develop these characters again... and whats the first thing they do with Cairne after years of nothing.. they fucking kill him -_-

And to top it off, taking his son, whos following the exact same footsteps as his father, with less backstory and less wisdom, now standing in exactly the same spot, doing little.

Think about it. Thralls been though his big change, Vol'jin's been though an assassination attempt, rallied his people, now fighting back against garrosh. Sylvanas lead a siege against gilneas, took control of the val'kyr, stood toe to toe against the lich king, and now lor'themar fought against the kirin tor and against the thunder king.
Thats right, lor'themar theron has had more development then Baine.. i'd even be prepared to say Gallywix has, in his one quest chain in the goblin starting zone.

[checking facts]

baine is to cairne what garrosh is to grom. not only a son, but a younger version of the same character, but with a few minor differences and a different appearance.

garrosh is a bald, bulky and unredeemable version of grom. baine is a clothed and boring version of cairne lol

[leaks]

baine is to cairne what garrosh is to grom. not only a son, but a younger version of the same character, but with a few minor differences and a different appearance.

garrosh is a bald, bulky and unredeemable version of grom. baine is a clothed and boring version of cairne lol

Yeah pretty much. He's not even a new character just a reincarnation of his father. He could use some personality of his own for sure.

[Lord Pebbleton]

I want Cairne.

[KrazyK923]

Baine and Cairne are very, very similar.

Honestly, I'd want more Cairne but he's gone and I've moved on from it. It sucks that he's dead but we have Baine now.

Especially with the Rebellion storyline, I can't believe that they gave him such a small role. Yes, Theramore was blown up by Garrosh. Yes, Garrosh crushed Anduin and has been invading Alliance lands. Yes, Garrosh tried to have Vol'jin assassinated.

But, Garrosh also killed Cairne. It was through subterfuge on the part of Magatha, but frankly that doesn't matter. Baine has had his own particular hatred for Garrosh for probably longer than anybody else.

[Trassk]

Baine and Cairne are very, very similar.

Honestly, I'd want more Cairne but he's gone and I've moved on from it. It sucks that he's dead but we have Baine now.

Especially with the Rebellion storyline, I can't believe that they gave him such a small role. Yes, Theramore was blown up by Garrosh. Yes, Garrosh crushed Anduin and has been invading Alliance lands. Yes, Garrosh tried to have Vol'jin assassinated.

But, Garrosh also killed Cairne. It was through subterfuge on the part of Magatha, but frankly that doesn't matter. Baine has had his own particular hatred for Garrosh for probably longer than anybody else.

And this is my problem with the writers in this. We expected Baine to pick up the mantle of his father, and yet maybe give something else to tauren lore being his own person. Instead he's just coming off as a younger clone of his father, which makes me beg the question, what was the point of Cairnes death and his son carrying on if all they did was make him a younger clone of the character??

I actually had hope when reading the shattering, since it had Baine establishing ties between him, Jaina and Anduin.. but he then leads his forces against theramore because garrosh orders him too, and he looks on forlorn as Garrosh blows it up. It feels like the writers didn't even gave a shit after any of this.

[Florena]

I really like Baine's story in The Shattering, his short story and Tides of War but agree they need to do more with him in game.

[Derpules]

I suspect the death of Cairne was more about showing us the absolutes that Garrosh thinks in, rather than a way to bring Baine to the big boys club (tragically at the expense of a loved character).

So while the whole thing is peppered in tauren lore (Grimtotems/sunwalkers/friendship with Anduin) I think it's just a cop-out to get us hating Garrosh sooner

[KrazyK923]

Well in fairness, Garrosh didn't know about it, so unless they retcon that, I donno if they could count that.

[Derpules]

I'm sure he didnt know about the poison, but to up the anty to a death battle, either one winning would mean the other is dead and a loss to the horde.

[Deathsknight]

For me Cairne's death was more to further development on garrosh without giving anything real to tauren. Baine is just another character that blizz doesn't seem to care about despite being a faction leader and someone who should be getting more development time. Yet all he has seemed so far is a guy who is just in for the ride.

I noticed blizz literally ignores some of the faction leaders to a degree that u don't really know who they are at all (Baine,mekkatorque,velen,genn,tyrande) Yet when they do give these characters screen time its purely to further someone else's storyline not their own. It's seriously getting to the point where they can replace their names with "Tauren Faction Leader" and such and you wouldn't know the difference.

[Madruga]

Maybe if they replaced Dresco Sunwalker with Baine in Pandaria we could have a means to love the Chieftain...

[Confirm Deny]

I feel that the development of Baine as the peace broker between factions was undermined when Blizzard decided to green light Garrosh's downfall - as it put those aspects of "hope" for the Horde's future at an awkward pace that will (if at all) have to resume after this expansion or be scrapped. The Sunwalker Dezco character acting as substitute in Mists seems interesting, and I'm sure players should be glad to have another potential tauren hero, but if it were another expansion Baine would be much cooler.

It's not that Baine's role has been put aside necessarily, but Vol'jin's importance in the Rebellion plotline in particular is stealing the spotlight - of no particular fault of Vol'jin. It's a good story, the tauren plot pacing is just off due to it and it appears Blizzard has to focus on Vol'jin/Sylvanas/Lor'themar + Varian/Jaina/Anduin now. (As many who feel that Garrosh went too crazy too fast would probably agree)

That being said, I would gladly let the permanent canon go down as stating that Illidan Stormrage gets his eternal, demon soul forced to lose in complicated board games of Azerothian Risk 'til the end of time with no chance at redemption if it meant that we could have Cairne back.

[Ah, yes. After the whole video it's pretty much the same sentiment. Baine had every right to have as prominent a role as Vol'jin (more so in my opinion). However, what I was really focused on is how Baine is being set up for the future as the "diplomat," which (ignoring Garrosh in general) has been put on hold. I hope they can resume it with some high quality storytelling]

[KrazyK923]

Maybe if they replaced Dresco Sunwalker with Baine in Pandaria we could have a means to love the Chieftain...

That would have worked especially since Baine is the one who dreamed about the Vale.

Then it would have gave the Horde's representative for those quests an important character. I like Dezco, but he's still pretty insignificant.

[zanzan28]

I agree with you that Baine should be included more-but for different reasons. Not only does Baine have reason to want Garrosh dead-but is also a STRONG war leader-as seen in the books The Shattering and Tides of War. It just seems stupid to me to have played him up in both those books (actually playing down Vol'jin in Tides of War to some extent) and then have him inexistent. He should be warchief! This guy is not only friendly with the future King of Stormwind, and Jaina, but is also a wise chieftan and strong character in his own right. He IS different from Carine. Baine's storyline revolves around him living in his fathers shadow and trying to become more like him-and what his father wanted was Garrosh dead and someone reasonable on the throne-and Baine is the PERFECT person for it-If they had played him up instead of Vol'jin he would have a much bigger chance-but alas Vol'jin most likely will be warchief if there is no council of sorts-but I do believe Baine was the better choice-and has as you said-had reason to want Garrosh gone since BEFORE CATA.

[KrazyK923]

He is a strong character, and I feel like that would be a good difference between him and Garrosh/Malkorok/Vol'jin/Lor'themar. Because where they are strong as well, Baine still has the knowledge and appreciation of diplomacy. Lor'themar is the only one out of those four who comes close.

[Zulkhan]

Being the son of a badass father it's quite a crap; his shadow constant and overwhelming, the comparison too similar and in the same time still lacking, and most importantly that goddamn fear of the son to not be at the same highness of the father that constantly keep him lingering.