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

[sam86]

lmao
you don't know why they wanted to remodel everything in WOD?

no what i'm saying they changed the files format in WoD, so the program i was used to - mpq editor - doesn't work anymore, u need a different program and someone who 'mapped' all features to see them first urself
I used the old program mainly to extract wow music and mob speeches (like LK quotes in ICC or DK intro), but I still could see that - back then - u can see mobs who share same skeleton, like gnomes/goblins etc, heck there are many stuff that are saved in total different names than what they are in game, half of spells for example, i think the druid spell sleep was saved under priest category or something?
Well that editor is dead since WoD pre-patch, also with rise of youtube i no longer need to dig everything myself in mpq editor, even interesting boss quotes u can find them in wowhead, hence why i never bothered with learning how to use the new editor (also i left wow most WoD time)
TLDR: Each race had its unique model that isn't shared with any other playable race, unlike the very obvious reskinned race who share skeletons of already playable races, showing how much 'effort' it takes to make them, since even back then we had for same skeleton multiple mobs, heck Goblins even had their own unique dance when they still shared same skeleton as gnomes, a dance that i believe was never introduced officially to wow and could only be accessed with editor (it was like a wave dance, it isn't the dance the goblins got in Cata when they became playable)
So having a different dance and outside texture for same skeleton is something blizz did since vanilla

[Softbottom]

Do we really need more allied races? I unlocked the draenei and void elves when they first came out (because I was bored) and haven't touched the rest of them or even made a draenei or VE and never will. I don't feel like the game needs more races but hey that's just me...

[kaid]

He's right. It doesn't deconfirm Allied Races, but it makes zero sense that AT LAUNCH we would be recruiting them into the Alliance/Horde when the factions don't even matter at launch.

They are just playing it safe. They'll confirm them as playable when the models are ready: they don't want a repeat of the outrage when they delayed Zandalari for months upon months.

- - - Updated - - -



They aren't in the features trailer BECAUSE of the Zandalari. The Zandalari were marketed as being available at Launch and got pushed back until 8.1.5, which upset and soured a lot of customers. They likely will never do that again.

The Necrolords and Night Fae don't even have AR-ready models. They aren't ready to be announced as ARs.

Like with the kul'tirans a simple skin like zandalari trolls is pretty easy but a mostly new model/rig takes a lot longer. Wanting to have zandalari trolls out with the kul'tirans is why it took so long for the zandalari to be available. The kul'tiran took a LOT longer than the other races. Frankly a lot of their new customization stuff is giving you 90% of what a new allied race is sans a small questline and heritage armor.

Wildhammer dwarves are clearly going to be available in appearance if not as a specific allied race same with bunch of the other options.

[shoc]

no they don't
Goblins used to share it with gnomes, but when they were given proper race in cata, they got their own unique model
Also the tools i used to check were for pre-WoD era (i think the files back then were called mpq, now they use different extinction)
Every major race use a total different set than another, many monsters btw also use different sets, then u enter monsters that use different skin but same skeleton as i mentioned before Goblins pre-cata and gnomes, those tiny demon things in TBC, and so on
Blizz always did that since day 1, use a base skeleton of a race for as many mobs as possible, they only started to abuse that for reskinned race in legion

All playable models use the same skeleton. Even some non-playable races like Sethrak also use the universal animation system. They are just adaptively rigged.

[Drakesong]

No new races is a bummer... I mean, the portal to the shadowlands is in Northrend, they could have recruited the native races there, like frost dwarves, taunka, etc. I guess WoW is on maintenance mode now.

[plz delete account]

All playable models use the same skeleton. Even some non-playable races like Sethrak also use the universal animation system. They are just adaptively rigged.

Nice. @Steampunkette where did you go anyhow

[sam86]

All playable models use the same skeleton. Even some non-playable races like Sethrak also use the universal animation system. They are just adaptively rigged.

guess my info is really outdated
i did talk in details about mpq editor that i used to dive into pre-wod era in case u missed it
so that's the new system, interesting

[nysisyn]

During the demo at blizzcon, in Bastion we encounter a Kyrian aspirant who wish to visit our world.

If Blizzard choose to make them playable, it will be easy to do.

Things is we don't know exactly how Shadowland worked and how it work now that Sylvanas break the machine.

And it make sense to wait for player to meet the races, play with them, earn their trust before thinking of recruiting them.

My hope are just that no more race become neutral.

[shoc]

And it make sense to wait for player to meet the races, play with them, earn their trust before thinking of recruiting them.

Of course, it wouldn't make sense to align the Shadowlands denizens with the Alliance or Horde from the get-go.

[TigTone]

When shadowlands releases keep an eye out for light related things.

[Mixxy]

But, if you look at it objectively, instead of "I want!", it doesn't make sense to let players choose races that don't appear in the greater WOW universe, are only found in an alternate dimension/plane of existence, and would make no sense questing around in Azeroth as one of them.

Mag'har orcs.

[shoc]

But, if you look at it objectively, instead of "I want!", it doesn't make sense to let players choose races that don't appear in the greater WOW universe, are only found in an alternate dimension/plane of existence, and would make no sense questing around in Azeroth as one of them. You're going to purgatory, basically, and meeting races that aren't of your existence, you could look at the Shadowlands creatures as angelic beings, not flesh and blood creatures. It's not even a "from another planet" thing, where theoretically they could travel to Azeroth, but going to a plane of existence that won't be possible to travel to and from once the expansion is concluded.

They may find a way later to bring the races in as playable races, but as it stands, it doesn't make sense to unlock them as an allied race. They're not terrestrial beings to Azeroth. Every allied race lives and exists on Azeroth. Where are the owl creatures on Azeroth? Where are the vampire gargoyles?

Again - stop using 'I want!" to justify things. They're making a reasonable decision here, story-wise.

Aren't the Shadowlands denizens now just as real and part of the world as Highmountain Tauren, Nightborne, Lightforged Draenei, Void Elves... etc? We already have Kyrian Aspirants in Bastion dialogue going on about adventuring in Azeroth. From what I understand the 9.0 launch event is an invasion event so the argument that Shadowlands denizens can only exist in the Shadowlands is kind of weak. Even the argument that Shadowlands races have no interest in Azeroth's affairs is weak too.

[nysisyn]

The invasion in 9.0 is not from Shadowland. It's from the scourge, going wild because there is no lich king

[Flurryfang]

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.

M8, we have ten, TEN, allied races being added within the last 2 years, and to be honest, that is more than enough.

Allied races are really losing their spark and are just drowning the idea of exciting customization. Its time, that they put focus on other areas and just leave the races alone for a while. Let us miss the idea of a new race/allied race and give the content feature a break.

Like im not even excited for Vulpera and Mechagnomes, because i have already greated 6 new characters and gotten them to max lvl in this expansion, just to see the new allied races. Im tired of it to be honest and would love for other features to come out, aside from things that can only be enjoyed by doing the entire leveling process again, again.

[Sungamnori]

All of the allied races so far have been variations of the existing main races. The only ones we don't have analogs for yet are:

Undead
Worgen
Pandas

If you can find a way to have variations of those races in Shadowlands, then they can be added as allied races.

[Pebrocks The Warlock]

All of the allied races so far have been variations of the existing main races.

Vulpera are their own race that use a heavily modify Goblin skeleton.

[Flurryfang]

Vulpera are their own race that use a heavily modify Goblin skeleton.

Which just kinda makes them a variation on the goblin.

[Sungamnori]

Vulpera are their own race that use a heavily modify Goblin skeleton.

Yes, that is my point..

[Khrux]

Undead
Worgen
Pandas

If you can find a way to have variations of those races in Shadowlands, then they can be added as allied races.

Pandas - Ogres (though Kul'Tiran are basically the Panda analogue already)
Worgen - Those Gargoyle things in Venthyr
Undead - Something from Necroland

Or - no more allied races because they are just are just needless wastes of development time.

[lordsesho]

These "races" are dead people / spirits who can't cross over into the living world...

Funny how ppl keep saying this withtout knowing if they really can cross or not, just to say "YOU CANT HAVE IT HAHAHA"