Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Hitei]

Pretty confident Dracthyr use an entirely new skeleton and base model.

The incubus is only similar looking in certain poses and angles when not in motion because they both have digitigrade leg structure (female draenei also "look like" that skeleton if you pause them mid run, only so many ways to have a bipedal digitigrade humanoid jogging). If you actually look at the two side by side, the proportions, limb/digit lengths, hips and shoulder widths, number of joints in the feet, chest and abdominal sizes and heights.. basically everything is different even ignoring the neck/head/wings/tail being nothing alike. They don't share any animations, the dracthyr running is visibly brand new, their idles are totally different, their combat readies are totally different

Don't think there's anything to suggest it's using the same skeleton, or even modified from the same one. It's actually super apparent they aren't the same if you look at anything but the couple framed stills of them running. Incubi are super stocky and short-legged, Dracthyr are lanky and very tall with long limbs.

[Hugnomo]

Alex definitely meant for Sylvanas to be an absolute cartoon of the kind she was in BFA. Even BTS, itself complete dross, had a version of Sylvanas incompatible with BFA and now contradicted by the new version where while the personality might mesh, the actions don't because the Bald Man wasn't invented yet. That Sylvanas would've been a raid boss in Afrasiabi's version is a given.

Yeah, nix what I said about ZM, I can't argue with the details into it and I suspect the artificiality was decided on very early. What they had settled wasn't what the basic gist of the Jailer would be, i.e 'toppled artificial arbiter on the destination of souls with an LK ICC aesthetic' but what his character would actually be. Is he a schemer? A brute? An out of control robot? An idealist. Fuck knows. You can find every version of it, all of them underwritten as all fuck, fitting in with how they didn't even know what he'd look like until a few months before release.

@Shadochi

Yeah, this is one aspect I think that Alex would've 100% done better or even Golden if she were cut loose with it, since she can do bleak when called for, most recently Delaryn's death and Sylvanas's own brief description of torture in the Maw in the book. The Maw is on paper an absolute hellhole and the exposition to it is all in the game. But we never see any of it and the most evocative descriptions of the idea of torturing souls as a dispassionate trial and error factory line, like those logs on the experimented upon Night Elf are absent from the game. I think they purposefully pussied out after the reaction to Teldrassil.

Regarding Afrasiabi and Sylvanas story arc, I honestly could have been satisfied with either villainous Sylvanas or pseudo redemption arc. The issue I have is that we didn't get a solid take on either of those arcs. Danuser and his team's take on the character is harmstrung by previous characterization and story elements. But Afrasiabi's Sylvanas in BfA was also, in my opinion, horribly frustrating and just doing things for the sake of doing them.
If we either had gotten a good, compelling moustache twirlling villain Sylvanas, or a complex, Severance style storyline that's nuanced and comples that puts her on the path to redemption, I would have been super satisfied. As it stands neither were fullfilled to their potential, imo.
Though I think the Severance style story that comes with two broken parts of yourself coming to terms with each other IS cool. And could have been greatly explored. It should have had more setup to not appear so tacked on. It should have had more story relating to it, instead of basically being reduced to a few minutes of a couple of cinematics.

[The Stormbringer]

He was Zovaal's pawn. After his defeat, Zovaal stated that every soul has a purpose and that Denathrius fulfilled his. Denathrius' whole purpose was to provide the Maw with massive anima, which he did successfully, at which point Zovaal simply discarded him like that Toy Story meme about the guy who doesn't want to play with his toy anymore.

And btw it's the same thing with Azshara. She thought all along that she was in control of the game until N'Zoth humbled her, by revealing that he was aware of her treacherous nature and that he was plotting and scheming to punish her.

Perhaps you should ask yourself if Mal'ganis and the other Nathrezim truly serve their creator (Denathrius), or serve only themselves instead. Now they have control of Denathrius who is sealed inside the blade, wouldn't it be presumptuous to think that they'd still serve their creator? When he is powerless and sealed?

Or was it Denathrius' plan all along? Muwahahhaha!

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Or was it Denathrius' plan all along? Muwahahhaha!

And he would of gotten away with it to if it weren't for those pesky mortals.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Honestly, they've been on a steady reduction of content and shipping less and less product to the consumer. Soo, I don't really believe much in the 4 Zones identity nor that the sizes will outshine the concept of more zones than a zone with several biomes and paletes in 4 megazones.

as far as zones and questing goes this isn’t really the case. we tend to more or equivalent content with less zones when you compare the number of quest per zones.

BFA 1400 or so quest leaving two zones out because there bloated by patch content.

Stormsong 322
https://www.wowhead.com/stormsong-valley

drustvar 274 https://www.wowhead.com/drustvar#quests

Nazmir has 396 quest. https://www.wowhead.com/nazmir

vol'dun 408 https://www.wowhead.com/voldun

Wrath 1500 or so quest leaving out one zone because of patch quest bloating the list.

dragon blight has 301 https://www.wowhead.com/dragonblight

zul drak 150 https://www.wowhead.com/zuldrak

howling Fjord 255 https://www.wowhead.com/howling-fjord

storm peaks 207 https://www.wowhead.com/the-storm-peaks.

Grizzly hills 205
https://www.wowhead.com/grizzly-hills

Tundra 316
https://www.wowhead.com/borean-tundra

Basin 113
https://www.wowhead.com/sholazar-basin

Shadowlands. Has 1600 quest or so leaving out what ever few there are in the maw.

Bastion. 412
https://www.wowhead.com/bastion

Weld 390
https://www.wowhead.com/ardenweald

revendreth 476
https://www.wowhead.com/revendreth

Mald 377
https://www.wowhead.com/maldraxxus

[Lady Atia]

The twitter space Q&A is now life

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1DXxyDXaWoYJM?s=20

[Berkilak]

Thank you. I had no idea how to actually access this.

[Alexjimithing]

I wish they had gotten literally anyone other than Taliesin to host it. I can't stand the guy, bad vibes.

[Sondrelk]

The twitter space Q&A is now life

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1DXxyDXaWoYJM?s=20

Said anything exciting so far?

[infinitemeridian]

I wish they had gotten literally anyone other than Taliesin to host it. I can't stand the guy, bad vibes.

Why?

/10char

[Greyfang]

Said anything exciting so far?

They've talked about alt friendliness, dragon riding/reps will be mostly account wide. Except in cases like if you unlock a ilvl300 helm from a reputation, that probably won't be available for alts right off the bat.

Also confirmed they're planning on doing something similar to the creation catalyst, and no mission table for DF.

[Ersula]

I wish they had gotten literally anyone other than Taliesin to host it. I can't stand the guy, bad vibes.

Taliesin is less cringe than Ion himself.

They should keep his contact with the public to a minimum.

[Kiivar86]

No mission table, and Ion says almost everything will be account-wide in Dragonflight.

Sounds good to me.

edit: Summary so far, notable thing to me:

-The Dracthyr starting zone will be used for more than just a starting zone

Yeah that's patch content then.

[Alexjimithing]

No mission table, and Ion says almost everything will be account-wide in Dragonflight.

Sounds good to me.

I liked the mission table but I get removing it- it wasn't really doing *that much*.

Hell yeah on the account wide business.

[Sondrelk]

"We want everyone to feel hope for the future, the future of the Dragon Isles".

I wonder if that is an intentional bit of preprepared PR blurb, or if he came up with that on the spot, because that sounded very much like he was actually saying "Make players hopeful for the future of WoW".

[Polybius]

Very true. I liked the Lich King, but I'm not going to deny that he was an evil fuck and that he committed atrocities. That said, liking darker/evil characters doesn't imply anything about you unless you are okay with their actions. Some of the Sylvanas stans on Twitter worry me more than a little.

Sylvanas and Garrosh. Some have turned out to be terrible people but others just love to roleplay.

[Cheezits]

They've talked about alt friendliness, dragon riding/reps will be mostly account wide. Except in cases like if you unlock a ilvl300 helm from a reputation, that probably won't be available for alts right off the bat.

Also confirmed they're planning on doing something similar to the creation catalyst, and no mission table for DF.

That'll be interesting seeing as they said we aren't getting legendaries this expansion.

[Kiivar86]

I liked the mission table but I get removing it- it wasn't really doing *that much*.

Hell yeah on the account wide business.

Yeah I actually enjoyed it pretty well. But not for everyone, I know.

That'll be interesting seeing as they said we aren't getting legendaries this expansion.

Creation catalyst is for tier in Zereth Mortis.

[Greyfang]

That'll be interesting seeing as they said we aren't getting legendaries this expansion.

I'm assuming they mean being able to craft Tier gear, not legendaries.

[Cheezits]

Yeah I actually enjoyed it pretty well. But not for everyone, I know.



Creation catalyst is for tier in Zereth Mortis.

I'm assuming they mean being able to craft Tier gear, not legendaries.

I already forgot what it does, LOL