Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Marlamin]

No, I live in a world where a giant corporation will become too large to realize the people talking about their spoilers is the entire reason they have a fandom at all. I'm just lucky enough to not be one of the wow youtubers whos livelyhood is slowly dying because of "spoiler control" I guess 3 months of nothing videos besides repeating blueposts verbatim will do that

It appears you missed the entire point there, as usual, but even then it's funny, because those same YouTubers are generally the ones advocating for better encryption/hiding of story spoilers as well. I'm sure there's some out there who will be negatively affected if Blizzard's policy were to change, but frankly, that's the business they chose to be in.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I also think if this happens, it will be really fun to see the Narrative Team get blown up when they can't receive feedback about the narrative during PTR and have to live with the ridiculous decisions they sometimes make.

So its a win / win for me.

[Marlamin]

I also think if this happens, it will be really fun to see the Narrative Team get blown up when they can't receive feedback about the narrative during PTR and make some ridiculous decisions.

Yeah, this is one of the only things, maybe -the- only thing that could negatively affect the game if story wasn't fact checked (or checked for other sensitivities) before release. The people's trust in Blizzard's story writing skills is understandably low at the moment, so that could backfire pretty hard if they continue to mess up and at the same time not be able to receive feedback on it.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

The problem to me is that there's no clarity on this issue from Blizzard Entertainment and when asked to expand on this, Ion was cut short from explaining himself during the question posed and so now we're just stuck not knowing what is going to happen with Datamining which I think sucks.

So either A) We discover it due to the continuous lack of spoilers on the 9.2.5 PTR B) A Interview happens where we actual get some clarification C) Everything on 9.2.5 ends up spoiled at some point and we're all confused.

Considering the drastic new tone about the Addon Situation and the response on Datamining. I sort of have to believe that this isn't a Nothing Burger and that things will gradually change over time. But, so far all we really have to prove this is the silence.

The fact that the Calia Menethil, Tirisfal Glades and the Darkfallen Allied Race Theory continues to be non-datamineable I mean at a certain point it is time to just throw in the towel and realize we ain't getting it until launch of 9.2.5.

[Sondrelk]

Yeah, this is one of the only things, maybe -the- only thing that could negatively affect the game if story wasn't fact checked (or checked for other sensitivities) before release. The people's trust in Blizzard's story writing skills is understandably low at the moment, so that could backfire pretty hard if they continue to mess up and at the same time not be able to receive feedback on it.

That is a very disconcerting point indeed. The story always suffers when it needs to constantly play catch-up to community backlash, and the lack of an iterative writing process in the PTR could massively impact this.

I can only hope that Blizzard stays with less large divisive stories like the Sylvanas story in SL, and instead stick to stories like the smaller levelling stories from zones like Drustvar or Ardenweald.

[Marlamin]

The fact that the Calia Menethil, Tirisfal Glades and the Darkfallen Allied Race Theory continues to be non-datamineable I mean at a certain point it is time to just throw in the towel and realize we ain't getting it until launch of 9.2.5.

The current situation with Tirisfal is identical to the one with the Orgrimmar scenario back in 8.x. Datamining tools have gotten better since then, but dataminers have also gotten lazier. I'm 100% certain there's more spoilers to be found, nobody just cares to look deeper, and that's perfectly fine. Hell, they could have entirely hidden Calia and the fact it's Tirisfal too but messed up with both. I've sent them an explanation on how both happened (as well as more messups that aren't public), so hopefully stuff like that will be hidden even better in the future!

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I have to be honest, its hard for me to care about letting the Narrative Team get a free "out" with their story being datamineable so that we can tell them to do their job properly.

As someone who love to theorize the lore and where it was heading, I've been placed on a goose chase twice with the N'zoth lore and the Jailor lore and again worst part is Steve has treated us like we should be in a mental asylum for even giving enough of a fuck while he forces us to put clown makeup on our face every single time while telling us we're insane.
(I mean even explaining the canon lore of Shadowlands will immediately get me executed on the spot these days because people won't even have an open mind to it. Just like how WoD lore was left abandoned because people shrugged it off.)

I don't really have much compassion in my heart for these fools. Lets see if they like a taste of their own medicine, I say.

Besides we've already gotten spoiled by Steve that the Dragonflight Ending is FUCKING EPIC BRO. (How he came to that conclusion considering the Narrative Team does not pre-plan or pre-write the story is anyones' guess)

[Lorgar Aurelian]

I also think if this happens, it will be really fun to see the Narrative Team get blown up when they can't receive feedback about the narrative during PTR and have to live with the ridiculous decisions they sometimes make.

So its a win / win for me.

Is that really any different then how they get blown up now for decisions they haven’t even made but people think they have because of out of context data mining?

The whole peligous arbiter thing was a stink for a while on the 9.2 ptr for the sole reason that they gave the first arbiter a single animation and a few out of context quest lines. Same thing with abunch of sylvanas stuff like Tyranda telling her not to save night elf souls.

[Sondrelk]

Is that really any different then how they get blown up now for decisions they haven’t even made but people think they have because of out of context data mining?

The whole peligous arbiter thing was a stink for a while on the 9.2 ptr for the sole reason that they gave the first arbiter a single animation and a few out of context quest lines. Same thing with abunch of sylvanas stuff like Tyranda telling her not to save night elf souls.

The problem is that all it wuld take is one poorly planned out quest like the 8.1 Tyrande "vengeance" questline where she grandly knocks a Forsaken to the floor that ends up not being fixed in time for release and the floodgates would open.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Is that really any different then how they get blown up now for decisions they haven’t even made but people think they have because of out of context data mining?

The whole peligous arbiter thing was a stink for a while on the 9.2 ptr for the sole reason that they gave the first arbiter a single animation and a few out of context quest lines. Same thing with abunch of sylvanas stuff like Tyranda telling her not to save night elf souls.

Well, removing that stink is better than to have it stink for weeks upon weeks. Not to speak of the whole clown fiesta of the Crown of Wills and it ending up on Pelagos's head. Again, I don't want to see this stuff anymore. Its' not fun keep it all compacted on launch and the latter weeks of launch. Most people won't care cause it isn't the only topic of interest at that point in time anyways. Lots of these lore dramas only become big community wide issues due to this being the topic of the week several times during Datamining.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

The problem is that all it wuld take is one poorly planned out quest like the 8.1 Tyrande "vengeance" questline where she grandly knocks a Forsaken to the floor that ends up not being fixed in time for release and the floodgates would open.

I can’t speak for the devs but I’d imagine one big floodgate would be better then current 5 or so we get every PTR where people complain about out of context stuff or unfinished stuff with every new test patch.

At this point I doubt it could even be bigger then the PTR freak outs as almost every one who follows the lore and is vocal about it sees it before it ever launches.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, removing that stink is better than to have it stink for weeks upon weeks. Not to speak of the whole clown fiesta of the Crown of Wills and it ending up on Pelagos's head. Again, I don't want to see this stuff anymore. Its' not fun keep it all compacted on launch and the latter weeks of launch. Most people won't care cause it isn't the only topic of interest at that point in time anyways. Lots of these lore dramas only become big community wide issues due to this being the topic of the week several times during Datamining.

That’s probably true the dramas would likely be alot quieter with its all coming out at once instead of every week for over a month there being a fresh Drama about PTR content.

[Ersula]

I have to be honest, its hard for me to care about letting the Narrative Team get a free "out" with their story being datamineable so that we can tell them to do their job properly.

Exactly.

Decrease the time period their story decisions get feedback <---> "well, it was too late in development to do anything about that, but we have some new surprises coming soon"

Circular logic.

[wowrefugee]

Judging by how a lot of WoW figures in the community are expecting an allied race, and the sentiment seems to be spreading through the community, I hope Blizz actually has one in store for 9.2.5.

Some people will say "well its not Blizz's fault that players made up something and got mad it wasnt legit" - and that's completely fair.

But I also think this is a lowkey side effect of datamining too. Players see hints of things, it spreads, Blizz never confirms or denies and then it is/isn't delivered on.

Without datamining, players would have far less to go on and would be less able to convince themselves that something is certain.

[Makabreska]

Judging by how a lot of WoW figures in the community are expecting an allied race, and the sentiment seems to be spreading through the community, I hope Blizz actually has one in store for 9.2.5.

Preeeeety sure they would alr reveal AR for 9.2.5 at this point. They are no small feature to be kept hidden for this long.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Judging by how a lot of WoW figures in the community are expecting an allied race, and the sentiment seems to be spreading through the community, I hope Blizz actually has one in store for 9.2.5.

Some people will say "well its not Blizz's fault that players made up something and got mad it wasnt legit" - and that's completely fair.

But I also think this is a lowkey side effect of datamining too. Players see hints of things, it spreads, Blizz never confirms or denies and then it is/isn't delivered on.

Without datamining, players would have far less to go on and would be less able to convince themselves that something is certain.

I mean that isn't tied to Datamining so more as its tied to a 4chan leak and another person with accurate leaks being interconnected and then that being extrapolated to what is happening in Tirisfal Glades and then the theory that it isn't just customization for Elven Hunters and its actually a new Allied Race instead.

You have to be kind of cracked to really get upset if this all was a nothingburger. Obviously, not everyone is on the same page but at the same time. All we know about Tirisfal Glades is that there's some story stuff tied to Calia Menethil.

[Ersula]

Judging by how a lot of WoW figures in the community are expecting an allied race, and the sentiment seems to be spreading through the community, I hope Blizz actually has one in store for 9.2.5.

Some people will say "well its not Blizz's fault that players made up something and got mad it wasnt legit" - and that's completely fair.

But I also think this is a lowkey side effect of datamining too. Players see hints of things, it spreads, Blizz never confirms or denies and then it is/isn't delivered on.

That's not "the side effect of datamining." The exact opposite: That could be avoided by being up-front with us about what they're doing. We're not existing in a vacuum. They've had about 10 interviews since T&E* did that video about Darkfallen: Any wild expectations about an Allied Race could be defused by saying "Hey there's not going to be an Allied Race in 9.2.5" They've had plenty of opportunities to do so. That's why its wild to pin the blame for wild speculation on the community itself.

*obviously all speculation can't be addressed, but its a pretty substantial thing if T&E did a video about it, then WoW devs do an interview with them about it, still going unaddressed. Ion & Danuser can't claim ignorance about it at that point.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I don't know but humor in the answers on these subjects indicate stuff that we don't know or its just humor. Point is, that of in itself is a problem. But, also again telling Devs to never make jokes is also a weird thing because it can be construed to be a hint. So IDK.

[wowrefugee]

That's not "the side effect of datamining." The exact opposite: That could be avoided by being up-front with us about what they're doing. We're not existing in a vacuum. They've had about 10 interviews since T&E* did that video about Darkfallen: Any wild expectations about an Allied Race could be defused by saying "Hey there's not going to be an Allied Race in 9.2.5" They've had plenty of opportunities to do so. That's why its wild to pin the blame for wild speculation on the community itself.

*obviously all speculation can't be addressed, but its a pretty substantial thing if T&E did a video about it, then WoW devs do an interview with them about it, still going unaddressed. Ion & Danuser can't claim ignorance about it at that point.

Very true, I agree with you there.

[Sondrelk]

Very true, I agree with you there.

Couldnt it also be true that the devs did not disprive the existence of a Darkfallen AR by the logic that it's a silly idea for an AR? Surely some things can just go unsaid, and among them I would definitely rank a restrictive AR that could just as easily be a customization option.

[wowrefugee]

Couldnt it also be true that the devs did not disprive the existence of a Darkfallen AR by the logic that it's a silly idea for an AR? Surely some things can just go unsaid, and among them I would definitely rank a restrictive AR that could just as easily be a customization option.

I think what makes this unique is that plenty of well known figures in the WoW community expect it, though. Red Shirt Guy and T&E come to mind first. There’s enough evidence to have convinced the former. And of course there’s plenty regular players who are now expecting it due to influencer effect and evidence etc, so I think they should come out and deny it if it’s not gonna be a thing

It’s not any more silly than void elves, fwiw. Most allied races are just “could’ve been a customization”