"Mandela Effect" Examples in World of Warcraft?

[Aucald]

When it comes to the nostalgia effect and how people's recollection of things have changed on a consensus level, I think WotLK is actually the starkest example of just how changeable the vox populi can be. In its heyday, I remember WotLK as being almost universally derided and criticized, both in the community spaces and in-game as well. There was the sense that the overall change to the combat flow (sped up and made much more ARPG than the Classic/TBC model) "ruined the game." There was of course the whole controversy and hate-fest around the ubiquitous GearScore add-on gating who was eligible to do what content. There was the addition of the Dungeon Finder LFG system, which was another addition players complained incessantly about. The TotC raid was received pretty poorly after much more epic Ulduar. Even the addition of Achievements to WoW was viewed by some as a "dumbing-down" of the game.

Fast-forward to today and WotLK is remembered mostly as WoW's Golden Age and its watershed moment, a high point at which WoW's popularity began to roll backward through successive but never quite as remarkable peaks and valleys. I have one guildmate who was deeply cynical and scornful about WotLK while it was current, but when I recently asked what they thought was WoW's point of greatest popularity, waxed on nostalgically about WotLK and how great it was.

[Kyux]

No, I understood what you said. I was saying that what you were explaining was not Mandela effect

Except it literally is. A group of people (current players) collectively misremembering the same thing (2012-2013 community perception of MoP).

You may disagree and say that (a) people today accurately remember 2012-2013 community perception of MoP, or (b) you may think the 2012-2013 community perception of MoP was positive (when I suggested it was negative). But that's you saying my example was a bad one and not present. It is still, however, the Mandela Effect. Collectively misremembering something.

People were fond of MoP during MoP. Different people can have different opinions of a situation and being critical of something does not mean you don't like it.

What you're presenting is both nothing to do with the Mandela Effect and is a non sequitur anyhow.

I know people were fond of MoP during MoP because I was one of them. I liked it then and I like it now. What I presented was an example of a group of people (current players) misremembering 2012-2013 perception of MoP. That is the Mandela Effect. See: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...ect#what-is-it
https://www.britannica.com/science/Mandela-effect

Finally, I don't think non sequitur means what you think it means. That phrase is to do with a conclusion that does not follow from previous premises. The Mandela Effect does not deal with conclusions flowing from premises. The Mandela Effect is not concerned with logical reasoning.

[Swarzsinne]

The memory of the picture is the "Mandela Effect" part of the whole anecdote. The Cata Alpha also had a huge and controversial dump of images leaked despite the NDA, which was something of a sticking point back in the day as all the community sites shared the images (of which a fair share turned out to be manipulated or outright fabrications). Mind you, I don't really give the Mandela Effect much credence, beyond the odd memory I have of an image that may well have never existed. I'm inclined to think I simply imagined what such a thing would be like based on descriptions and/or rampant speculation going down at the time, and due to the passage of time conflated my own imagination with a possible recollection.

Which is, at least in my personal opinion, probably what the lion's share of "Mandela Effect" instances actually are - confused and half-remembered memories coupled with social contagion of memory.

The Mandela Effect is a real phenomena. But there are plenty of conspiracies around it that are worthwhile to dismiss (like it being caused by merging alternate realities). I'm thinking when you say you don't put much stock in it you're too heavily associated the idea of mass misremembering and the conspiracy theories around it.

[schwank05]

For those unaware of what a "Mandela Effect" is: The Mandela Effect is a social phenomenon in which a group of people incorrectly remember very specific details about a person, place, situation or event as if it were a reality.

A pretty good example of one in popular culture is in the belief that the comedian/actor Sinbad played a genie in a movie called Shazaam. This one is perhaps the most bizarre of all. Many argue they're confusing this memory with the movie Kazaam, starring Shaquille O'Neal as a genie.

Anyway... I said all of that to say this: what are some examples of the Mandela Effect in World of Warcraft? A quote? Series of events? A name?

Wait OT but also kind of OT are you arguing that Sinbad did infact not play in a Movie Called Shazam back in the day? Because you are clearly mistaken.

[Kaleredar]

When it comes to the nostalgia effect and how people's recollection of things have changed on a consensus level, I think WotLK is actually the starkest example of just how changeable the vox populi can be. In its heyday, I remember WotLK as being almost universally derided and criticized, both in the community spaces and in-game as well. There was the sense that the overall change to the combat flow (sped up and made much more ARPG than the Classic/TBC model) "ruined the game." There was of course the whole controversy and hate-fest around the ubiquitous GearScore add-on gating who was eligible to do what content. There was the addition of the Dungeon Finder LFG system, which was another addition players complained incessantly about. The TotC raid was received pretty poorly after much more epic Ulduar. Even the addition of Achievements to WoW was viewed by some as a "dumbing-down" of the game.

Fast-forward to today and WotLK is remembered mostly as WoW's Golden Age and its watershed moment, a high point at which WoW's popularity began to roll backward through successive but never quite as remarkable peaks and valleys. I have one guildmate who was deeply cynical and scornful about WotLK while it was current, but when I recently asked what they thought was WoW's point of greatest popularity, waxed on nostalgically about WotLK and how great it was.

And people near the end of about MOP used to complain… heavily… that flying was ruining the game and needed to be removed. Which blizzard took to heart in WoD, meaning that the scanty content that existed was even more time-consuming and grating to achieve until they finally realized their mistake and added it back in the final Word patch.

But flying was a pretty beloved thing before that. It was touted as a major selling point of BC, the end game zones of WotLK were designed around it, and when old world flying was announced for Cata at blizzcon the audience cheered.

Selective memories indeed.

[Shaqthefat]

Except it literally is. A group of people (current players) collectively misremembering the same thing (2012-2013 community perception of MoP).

You may disagree and say that (a) people today accurately remember 2012-2013 community perception of MoP, or (b) you may think the 2012-2013 community perception of MoP was positive (when I suggested it was negative). But that's you saying my example was a bad one and not present. It is still, however, the Mandela Effect. Collectively misremembering something.

Except that isn't how MoP happened. When MoP launched people weren't that pleased with it because of the excessive daily grind. By the time 5.4 came out a lot more people were happy with MoP because of the changes and the content that got added. This isn't mandela effect it's people opinions changing and the majority of them only considering the review of the final product.

[Mecheon]

Looking back now there are several. Like Flying in the old world happening in TBC. Like I often swear I have memories flying around the old world before Cata changed it... think this was like during Legion I had this feeling it wasnt until someone was like 'what are you talking about?' had me it it up and my brain has been fried since lol.

There was a glitch you could do where druids could fly in the old world. Problem is we had no idea how to pull it off, and the one time it worked? Like, a week before Cata's launch

[Aucald]

The Mandela Effect is a real phenomena. But there are plenty of conspiracies around it that are worthwhile to dismiss (like it being caused by merging alternate realities). I'm thinking when you say you don't put much stock in it you're too heavily associated the idea of mass misremembering and the conspiracy theories around it.

I'm aware of the phenomenon itself, although I consign it more to the social contagion of memory than I do any of the farcical conspiracy theories about "residue" slipping between alternate realities. Doubly since the very name of the Mandela Effect arises from a misunderstanding of a book, "English Alive," which is a collection of student short stories, one of which details the fictional event and ramifications of Mandela dying in prison and never going on to become the president of South Africa. The widespread misunderstanding and subsequent misremembering of this fictional event is pretty much what the social contagion of memory is in a nutshell.

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And people near the end of about MOP used to complain… heavily… that flying was ruining the game and needed to be removed. Which blizzard took to heart in WoD, meaning that the scanty content that existed was even more time-consuming and grating to achieve until they finally realized their mistake and added it back in the final Word patch.

But flying was a pretty beloved thing before that. It was touted as a major selling point of BC, the end game zones of WotLK were designed around it, and when old world flying was announced for Cata at blizzcon the audience cheered.

Selective memories indeed.

Flying has kind of always been a bit of a lightning-rod issue for WoW players, even back in the day when it was first introduced in TBC. At first, a lot of people assumed that flying mounts would be more or less confined to TBC, which made sense given the nature of Outland as a fractured world full of free-floating islands in the Twisting Nether, and its abundance of verticality such as with Nagrand and Netherstorm. I'd say on the whole flying is more popular than its alternative, though; but there's still a pretty vocal but minority group of players who have and will likely always bemoan its addition.

[Kyux]

I'm aware of the phenomenon itself, although I consign it more to the social contagion of memory than I do any of the farcical conspiracy theories about "residue" slipping between alternate realities. Doubly since the very name of the Mandela Effect arises from a misunderstanding of a book, "English Alive," which is a collection of student short stories, one of which details the fictional event and ramifications of Mandela dying in prison and never going on to become the president of South Africa. The widespread misunderstanding and subsequent misremembering of this fictional event is pretty much what the social contagion of memory is in a nutshell.

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Flying has kind of always been a bit of a lightning-rod issue for WoW players, even back in the day when it was first introduced in TBC. At first, a lot of people assumed that flying mounts would be more or less confined to TBC, which made sense given the nature of Outland as a fractured world full of free-floating islands in the Twisting Nether, and its abundance of verticality such as with Nagrand and Netherstorm. I'd say on the whole flying is more popular than its alternative, though; but there's still a pretty vocal but minority group of players who have and will likely always bemoan its addition.

I think the issue with flying is that it probably should not have been added in the first place. I know people will disagree and that's cool, I'm not here to discuss the merits of flying per se. But, having introduced flying Blizz had let the cat out of the bag. It would have been a really bad move to take it away, as we've seen from the response to every pathfinder achievement. Flying is fun, no doubt, but if WoW 2 were ever made or if we could go back in time I'd prefer it not be added.

Ironically, Blizz doubled down on flying with dragonriding. Vastly speeding up how we travel. However, that was balanced with massive zones and more interactive gameplay when flying.

Anyway, this is not on topic and I know it's contentious.

[Just Passing through]

The Molten Core naga-like things are called flamewakers, not flamewaLkers.

Haha..I wonder if that is the Mandela effect or me just being bad at reading name plates...I always read them as Flamewalkers

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When it comes to the nostalgia effect and how people's recollection of things have changed on a consensus level, I think WotLK is actually the starkest example of just how changeable the vox populi can be. In its heyday, I remember WotLK as being almost universally derided and criticized, both in the community spaces and in-game as well.

My experience is different - my guild and me really, really loved WotLK. Never raided so much. Maybe we loved it so much because we were not hardcore enough and WotLK was the "correct amount of casual"? We cleared MC and BWL and in TBC the raids including BT, but didn't get anywhere in AQ 40, Naxx 40 or SWP.

So I was really shocked when I signed up to MMO-C in 2008 with my now deleted account (had 30k posts on it) and found how much WotLK was hated by some folks on this forum.

Well, all in all this forum was more vicious back then, less moderated too.

[huth]

I know people were fond of MoP during MoP because I was one of them. I liked it then and I like it now. What I presented was an example of a group of people (current players) misremembering 2012-2013 perception of MoP. That is the Mandela Effect.

No, it's not. What people remember did, by your own admission, actually happen. That some people had a different opinion is immaterial.

And you concluded that it was the Mandela effect from premises that do not lead to that conclusion.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Wait OT but also kind of OT are you arguing that Sinbad did infact not play in a Movie Called Shazam back in the day? Because you are clearly mistaken.

Sinbad did not play a genie in a film called Shazaam.

[glowpipe]

Well I'll be damned.

Idd. Mind blown.

[Lolites]

The Molten Core naga-like things are called flamewakers, not flamewaLkers.

well they "corrected" that in anniversary BRD as there are flamewalkers

https://www.wowhead.com/npc=233203/flamewalker