8.3: Visions of N'zoth - Story Writing

[Nebron]

Well, it seems like a fresh wave of trash writing is coming our way.

• Azshara is probably going to help us to defeat N'zoth.
• After all, it was always N'zoth that was going to be the last boss of this expansion. Players realized it back in Legion, yet Blizzard tried hard to hide it with their vague talks - amd here we are.
• Calia Menethil - a new forsaken leader.
• Baine, Thrall and some other random guy (probably Rokhan) are going to rule as a council.
• Xal'atah is the weapon we need to destroy N'zoth. It was a part of Azshara/ Sylvanas bargain. Absolutely unpredictable...
• Wrathion succumbs to N'zoth's corruption and we need to purge him, yet he's about to be the next main most powerful character of 9.0... the guy that gets corrupted within 1 patch after being away for so long.

Although we get some cool features like Horrific Visions scenarios, this looks like a continuation in a wrong direction, especially lorewise. I would truly prefer a simple, predictable story rather than a one that was meant to be mysterious and with it's predictability - disappointing.

The whole war concept appears to be out of place and terribly planned out. It pushed story nowhere and leaves a feeling like the story wasn't strategically planned in advance (1-2 years), but it's been written quickly before the launch. The worst are all these cheesy, pompous dialogs. Look for the raid bosses descriptions - it's full of: "succumbed to N'zoth great, horrific power" or "Azeroth is on the brink of destruction"... just like in a fan-fiction.

What's wrong with them? Literally, everything is wrong. They failed to create the suspense. They failed to created ambitious dialogs. They failed to provide a satisfying behind-the-scenes plotting. They delivered the worst war-themed story this game has ever seen as the biggest faction war in the universe. They provided us with the greatest villians of Azeroth just to kick their asses like nobody elses (Azshara and N'zoth). They made TONS of leadership changes. They introduced Azeroth as a Titan, and it has no consequences in the story whatsoever. Plotlines are vague as hell, nobody understands the motives really. The whole Heart of Azeroth served as a plot device and the very moment they realized it's a horrible mistake in terms of a gameplay, they got rid of this ASAP. The story is absolutely inconsistent and all over the place. Too many characters were involved in the plot to relate emotionally to the story.

Blizzard, what is happening?? It's probably the worst expansion when it comes to lore. The scope was HUGE, yet the execution was terrible.

A tip for future: keep it simple and cohesive; provide only a few main characters; a conflict of interest; deep, psychological character development; create a satisfying villian with some other motives than 'destroy the world'; forget about cheesy redemption story arcs; establish new heroes and forget about the overused characters; actions ALWAYS need ti have consequences. That's all. Nothing more is needed to create a great story. It doesn't need to be HUGE in order to be MASSIVELY GOOD. And if you want to go with behind the scenes plotting, do it properly rather than giving some shady interviews denying all the stuff people predicted just for it to turn out to be true.

[Asrialol]

tHiS iS hORiBle wRiTInG!

Anyway, I quite enjoyed the story line thus far. I'm not a writer myself so can't really objectively judge their work, but still.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

This is honestly some of the best writing to come out of BFA, along with the Mak'gora in 8.2.5. For one main reason, it's consistent.

No more "your faction determins who wins" or "well to the Horde she's a hero" or outright out of character writing.

[Houle]

Agreed, from what we've seen so far, the lore will continue to suck.
Why will we let Azshara escape? So, she wanted to kill n'zoth too, but she's still the same cruel, narcissistic bitch.
N'zoth will get the exact same treatment Sargeras got, imprisoned in the dagger and stored away for the future. So much for the old god that was hyped since Cata.
Ny'alotha will be nothing special, just another version of Azeroth like the emerald dream, N'zoths former capital city will be all well see of it, and we'll completely destroy it in one raid.

[Weatherwax]

This is honestly some of the best writing to come out of BFA, along with the Mak'gora in 8.2.5. For one main reason, it's consistent.

No more "your faction determins who wins" or "well to the Horde she's a hero" or outright out of character writing.

It is. Still horrible, but better than what there was before.
Now let that rotten tomato sink in.

Seriously.

[Foolicious]

I would truly prefer a simple, predictable story rather than a one that was meant to be mysterious and with it's predictability - disappointing.

This just reads as "it didn't go the way i wanted therefore i hate it".

[Gawdzilla]

#lettessbeaworgen2k19

[Goldielocks]

This is honestly some of the best writing to come out of BFA, along with the Mak'gora in 8.2.5. For one main reason, it's consistent.

No more "your faction determins who wins" or "well to the Horde she's a hero" or outright out of character writing.

Baine waited from 8.0 until 8.1.5 to rebel against Sylvanas despite his reasoning being something he should have stuck to since Azeroth was stabbed. Azeroth was dying for a long time and now he does this? Yeah okay lmao

This is an MMO writing tactic. Shit not making sense to pad out expansions and it's been executed terribly here.

[Gadzooks]

tHiS iS hORiBle wRiTInG!

Anyway, I quite enjoyed the story line thus far. I'm not a writer myself so can't really objectively judge their work, but still.

You don't need to be an author to judge writing - if that were required, many people would be out of a job.

I can't criticize the actual writing - dialog, plot points, etc. But overall, this expansion has been...unsastisfying, even from a bystander perspective. If you use the raids to follow the weave of the plot, it's:
Uldir: for Horde, a win. For Alliance...they don't really know, they didn't get the story.
Battle for Dazor'Alor: Nobody is really satisfied with the outcome, and the Alliance uncharacteristically back off and walk away.
(Mini raid nobody cares about)
Palace: Players actually lose, because N'zoth is freed.

A good story should rise and fall - struggle, victory, struggle, victory, etc. It's a simple formula that drove WoW for 15 years, and they seem to have abandoned that for artificial and forced cliffhangers and "big moments" that don't really pay off. It strikes me as more of the "subversion" that Hollywood is in love with right now, and it's getting tiresome - that Afrasiabi and the others are NOT professional authors really shows when they try to break out of the tried and true format that drove the game all these years - and their proximity to Hollywood is not lost here, either, with them (probably) chasing Hollywood trends in storytelling and plots.

They made a big mistake in WOD, building a story to a climax, and that climax falling flat letting the orc take the victory lap. It felt hollow.

This time, they're driving towards some big climax, but the journey itself feels hollow. This is fantasy. You're supposed to build the story to a satisfying ending. It's what works. Whatever they're doing here? Doesn't.

[Polybius]

It is. Still horrible, but better than what there was before.
Now let that rotten tomato sink in.

Seriously.

WoW's stories never made sense. Let that sink in...

[Stormbreed]

Story is great so far.

Problem is we don't get to see the why's enough.

Either way Blizzard is back on track and showing us why they are the greatest MMORPG IN HISTORY.

[TayFarr]

WoW's stories never made sense. Let that sink in...

Anything before World of Warcraft did, however!

[Nebron]

tHiS iS hORiBle wRiTInG!

Anyway, I quite enjoyed the story line thus far. I'm not a writer myself so can't really objectively judge their work, but still.

Well, I'm not a professional musician, yet I still judge the music people create. I'm not a screenwriter, yet I still judge the movie's plot
You don't need to be a writer to judge the story

[thilicen]

The irony of complaining about "shitty writing" by throwing out the same old cliches.

[Nebron]

This just reads as "it didn't go the way i wanted therefore i hate it".

Obviously... I gave you reasons for why I think the story in Battle for Azeroth was bad and why it seems to continue this trend. Is there anything essential you can say, or just point out that I don't like the story because it didn't go my way? If that's the case, well, good luck.

I play this game and still want it to be good very badly.

- - - Updated - - -

The irony of complaining about "shitty writing" by throwing out the same old cliches.

So... what's cliche about what I wrote? Of course I'd love to see some complex story here, but it looks like writers at Blizzard are absolutely incompetent to provide one.

[letssee]

why is calia becoming forsaken leader a bad thing?

[Aeula]

No matter how bad it gets, Blizzard can always make it worse.

I’ve felt that way since WoD. Especially in regards to lore.

[Gurahk]

We don't even know if Calia IS becoming the leader, she hasn't been crowned yet and this might go in a completely different route. Xe'ra-infused Illidan anyone? Good times.

[Nyel]

The problem isn't the 8.3 story, that's the only good thing coming out of BfA. The problem is the awful faction war that has been forced onto us and never made sense. The faction war ruined an expansion that could have been so much better if it was clearly about N'zoth the entire time (and things like Azerite gear never happened).

[Syegfryed]

Its kinda the thing of when it start bad there are few chances to end up good, started shit end up shit, its not that 8.3 is bad, its just the result of shit lore from rpevious patch, that this time i think they tried to soften

who had hope for wow lore should have know by now that was not going to end good, and it all started with broken shore, how they killed the horde leader after building him up an entire expansion of betrayal and revolution so he could do nothing, killed soo the fanfavorite assume and they could do this mess of history of "evil warchief to shit things again" cause for then, MOP didn't teach us a lesson enough, the lesson is democracy apparently.

but they said when you are at the well end, the only way is up, maybe blizzard will learn with their mistakes and start doing something decent

Or they could just start digging the hole deeper, and that is what im thinking it will happen.

why is calia becoming forsaken leader a bad thing?

because she is an alliance character, and a lighforged undead