[Official Thread] Mists of Pandaria!

[Talen]

I do remember an interview that said they wanted to do continents moving forward. Whether they are actually doing so with expansion 4 is another matter as said interview would of been given when MoP was still in the concept phase, but since "Pandaria" appears in the title rather then a more general "Forgotten Shores" or "Seas of Shadow", I think it'll be a continent after all.

IIRC, the interview stated the next Xpac will be a return to a continent.

I'm not saying there won't be an island zone or two - but all separating the zones out did for Cataclysm was remove any sense of scale. I could imagine a massive zone - the South Seas - filled with all these little islands and roving ships acting as mobile bases, but I don't think a zone list that reads "Tel Abim", "Zandalar", "Lost Isles", "Kezan", "Broken Isles", "Kul Tiras" and so on is going to be of major benefit to the game.

Many such isles ARE large enough to be treated as zones in their own right. The problem is the island hopping nature. Theres a stronger argument for bringing such islands in as "bonus" zones, something added in during a patch. The battle for Kul Tiras as a BG where you fight a Horde invasion, with aerial and naval combat and ground actions, involved questlines and dailies which have an impact on the actual zone.

Or Kezan and undercity....where the Bilgerwater Cartel engage in a literal trade war to claim Kezan from the other Goblin cartles.

Independent zones in other words.

But given the experience of Cataclysm, a continent approach seems to work best for the main plotlines.

EJL

[Polution93]

New MMO, IMO.

[Rexaton]

New MMO, IMO.

The only new MMO that is coming from Blizz is Titan and it's a brand new IP Pandarens are part of the WoW ip.

[TenkoTAiLS]

What if Goblin's left the Horde, what with Gallywix being an idiot and all. And Worgen left the Alliance. And new expansion had Pandarins and some other new race. Boom! New neutral side with 4 races. Just a random stupid idea I thought I'd share lol

[ForPandaria]

After reading through most of this thread I felt compelled to join the site and enter the fray. This is my first post here, so 'Salutations!'.

Pleasantries aside, the first big thing I've noticed a lot of people whining and complaining about the idea of this being a new expansion. No real reason is given for their wailing, just the normal 'this is stupid!' or 'this is gay' or 'if this is the new expansion I'll delete all my characters and quit!' My question to the unsatisfied is simple...Why? Why are so against the idea of (and this all assumption at this point) an island or continent styled in the aesthetic of the far east? What is so unbelievable about a race of humanoid Panda? We already have a race of humanoid cows and wolves? It seems to me that incorporating the magic and mythos of the Far East into WoW would be amazing. The landscapes alone should be amazing, not to mention the armor and weapon models, and the inevitable mounts. As far as the whole store and villain behind the expansion I'm confident in Blizzard. They have plenty of time to work it out and some of the best minds out there.

I am personally, and most likely very obviously excited by and completely for playable Pandaren. The prospects of the expansion are amazing, exciting and wonderful. Can I go as far as to say that Blizzard has never been wrong in their decisions regarding WoW? No. I won't, I can't. As a whole I was pretty disjointed with Cataclysm. The story was okay, the sundering was a nice change of scenery but I feel like the two new playable races that were included were a complete throw-away. That being said, I don't spend a lot of time on forums or listening to other people's opinions of WoW (I try to form my own) that being said I don't really think there was a huge public outcry for either the goblin or the worgen. I'm sure a lot of people said, "Oh hey, a goblin might be neat." but I really don't feel like there was a massive following for either new race. Perhaps I'm wrong but I feel like there is a pretty big group of people who would like to see playable Pandaren and I hope that Blizzard actually listens to us and decides to include them. I think one of the main areas that Blizzard has lost touch is listening to what people want. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Anyway, I'm excited. I can't wait for Blizzcon and hopefully more information about WoW: Mists. Until such a time I'll continue to wish and hope that one day I can fight alongside Chen Stormstout.

For Pandaria!

[The Juicer]

After reading through most of this thread I felt compelled to join the site and enter the fray. This is my first post here, so 'Salutations!'.

Pleasantries aside, the first big thing I've noticed a lot of people whining and complaining about the idea of this being a new expansion. No real reason is given for their wailing, just the normal 'this is stupid!' or 'this is gay' or 'if this is the new expansion I'll delete all my characters and quit!' My question to the unsatisfied is simple...Why? Why are so against the idea of (and this all assumption at this point) an island or continent styled in the aesthetic of the far east? What is so unbelievable about a race of humanoid Panda? We already have a race of humanoid cows and wolves? It seems to me that incorporating the magic and mythos of the Far East into WoW would be amazing. The landscapes alone should be amazing, not to mention the armor and weapon models, and the inevitable mounts. As far as the whole store and villain behind the expansion I'm confident in Blizzard. They have plenty of time to work it out and some of the best minds out there.

I am personally, and most likely very obviously excited by and completely for playable Pandaren. The prospects of the expansion are amazing, exciting and wonderful. Can I go as far as to say that Blizzard has never been wrong in their decisions regarding WoW? No. I won't, I can't. As a whole I was pretty disjointed with Cataclysm. The story was okay, the sundering was a nice change of scenery but I feel like the two new playable races that were included were a complete throw-away. That being said, I don't spend a lot of time on forums or listening to other people's opinions of WoW (I try to form my own) that being said I don't really think there was a huge public outcry for either the goblin or the worgen. I'm sure a lot of people said, "Oh hey, a goblin might be neat." but I really don't feel like there was a massive following for either new race. Perhaps I'm wrong but I feel like there is a pretty big group of people who would like to see playable Pandaren and I hope that Blizzard actually listens to us and decides to include them. I think one of the main areas that Blizzard has lost touch is listening to what people want. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Anyway, I'm excited. I can't wait for Blizzcon and hopefully more information about WoW: Mists. Until such a time I'll continue to wish and hope that one day I can fight alongside Chen Stormstout.

For Pandaria!

I am all for a far-east expansion. I kind of don't want WoW to have Pandas all over everything; log-in screen, launcher, etc. It's hard to convince people the game you're spending so much time on is cool when you have to force it to breed or else it would go extinct

[Karrotlord]

IIRC, the interview stated the next Xpac will be a return to a continent.

I would like to clarify this. The statement was that creating new continents is vastly easier that redoing existing ones. Not that they were making a new continent.

Anyway... I love the idea of the capital ships. Sort of like the Speedbarge in Thousand Needles only more suitably epic.

[Talen]

I would like to clarify this. The statement was that creating new continents is vastly easier that redoing existing ones. Not that they were making a new continent.

GC: "I think the next expansion will be something more like a new continent approach. More like the Burning Crusade or Nothrend, where we send players somewhere new that they haven't seen before".

EJL

[mvaliz]

My question to the unsatisfied is simple...Why? Why are so against the idea of (and this all assumption at this point) an island or continent styled in the aesthetic of the far east? What is so unbelievable about a race of humanoid Panda?

The problem is when some people think of the Pandaren, they think of this...




...Instead of this.

[Renley]

The problem is when some people think of the Pandaren, they think of this...




...Instead of this.

Pretty much this. People think the Pandaren are going to be cute and cuddly..but some of the art depicting them is pretty brutal and scary. The whole pandas are too cute thing irl doesnt fly either. Puppies, cows, wolverines, bears, etc can all be cute. They can also being ferocious and murder your face. Pandaren will be fine! We have already have tons of sentient animal races anyway. Furbolgs(bear), Wolvar(wolverine), Worgen(wolf), Tauren(cow), Arrakoa(owl/hawk), Murlocs(frog/fish), Oracles(frog/fish), etc etc. Accept it people! The pandaren are coming.

[Mynsc]

As long as gnomes are in the game and you're playing it, I see no rational way of getting upset at the introduction of a panda like race.

Most of those protesting need to resist the first impulse, wait a bit and then think of how awesome an oriental style could be. This includes everything from vegetation to architecture and type of quests. It's also completely new territory and this makes the possibilities endless and extremely interesting.

Even so, what I think will completely squash the "haters" or it will give them more fuel and ammo, will be the main villain behind this expansion. Deathwing's shoes are pretty hard to fill and right now even an Old God I don't think wouldn't be able to fully close the deal. Not because they're not powerful, but because you know from the start that you won't truly kill him and because they've been used quite a lot before, even as a simple content patch boss.

It's true that my options on this subject are limited, mostly because I am not extremely familiar with WoW lore, but from what I've read in this thread, I really think this is going to be the big hurdle this expansion has to pass and not the pandas.

[Narshe]

After reading through most of this thread I felt compelled to join the site and enter the fray. This is my first post here, so 'Salutations!'.

Pleasantries aside, the first big thing I've noticed a lot of people whining and complaining about the idea of this being a new expansion. No real reason is given for their wailing, just the normal 'this is stupid!' or 'this is gay' or 'if this is the new expansion I'll delete all my characters and quit!' My question to the unsatisfied is simple...Why? Why are so against the idea of (and this all assumption at this point) an island or continent styled in the aesthetic of the far east? What is so unbelievable about a race of humanoid Panda? We already have a race of humanoid cows and wolves? It seems to me that incorporating the magic and mythos of the Far East into WoW would be amazing. The landscapes alone should be amazing, not to mention the armor and weapon models, and the inevitable mounts. As far as the whole store and villain behind the expansion I'm confident in Blizzard. They have plenty of time to work it out and some of the best minds out there.

I am personally, and most likely very obviously excited by and completely for playable Pandaren. The prospects of the expansion are amazing, exciting and wonderful. Can I go as far as to say that Blizzard has never been wrong in their decisions regarding WoW? No. I won't, I can't. As a whole I was pretty disjointed with Cataclysm. The story was okay, the sundering was a nice change of scenery but I feel like the two new playable races that were included were a complete throw-away. That being said, I don't spend a lot of time on forums or listening to other people's opinions of WoW (I try to form my own) that being said I don't really think there was a huge public outcry for either the goblin or the worgen. I'm sure a lot of people said, "Oh hey, a goblin might be neat." but I really don't feel like there was a massive following for either new race. Perhaps I'm wrong but I feel like there is a pretty big group of people who would like to see playable Pandaren and I hope that Blizzard actually listens to us and decides to include them. I think one of the main areas that Blizzard has lost touch is listening to what people want. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Anyway, I'm excited. I can't wait for Blizzcon and hopefully more information about WoW: Mists. Until such a time I'll continue to wish and hope that one day I can fight alongside Chen Stormstout.

For Pandaria!

Welcome to the site, and nice post. Can't believe you took the time to read through this whole thread, thats dedication

[ForPandaria]

Welcome to the site, and nice post. Can't believe you took the time to read through this whole thread, thats dedication

Hahahaha, thanks. The Pandaren are something I've been rooting for since I first read about them. I had a major nerdgasm when I heard that Blizzard had trademarked Mists.

---------- Post added 2011-08-09 at 07:38 AM ----------

Mvallas -

You're probably completely right. It's a shame that most people can't see the amazing potential this race and expansion has.

[wanax]

Surely I can't be the first to come up with it in 50 pages, but I think it'd be a fantastic idea to have a race specific class available to only Pandaren for both Horde and Alliance. Whatever this class might be, they could have 3 specs chosen from Pikeman, Wardancer, Geomancer, Shodo-Pan, and Brewmaster.

Blizzard is doing new and interesting things all the time, so just because we've gone 2 races -> 1 class -> 2 races for each expansion thus far doesn't mean they won't branch out and do something completely different all together.

It's all wishful thinking though, because it's completely possible they won't be playable at all. =(

Yeah I actually suggested something similar a few days ago on one of the many threads. Have specs similar to druid that almost make them a different class in each spec. So like Monk, Brewmaster, and Archer or something along those lines. Out of the ones you listed any are possible with the exception of Shodo-pan. If you look it up on one of the WoW lore sites (WowPedia or WowWiki) Shodo-pan is a title much like Warchief. But back to the class being 3 REALLY different specs with the 3 i listed I'd like to think they'd break down to be.

Monk- close-combat/ melee that deals dmg with a staff or fists with the purpose fo building up (insert resource) to deal increased dmg but all dmg from the Monk heals nearby targets.

Brewmaster- Imagine similar to like a melee spriest that uses different alcohols like poisons to apply debuffs and utilizes buffs to increase raid power(yes, i want support classes back.) Melee. Fiery Belch(dot), Keg Roll(knock down), Tale of Glory(plays a tune to increas X)

Archer(needs better name)- Ranged class using a bow to heal. Hits targets with arrows that dont have heads but pouches containing salves to heal. Using abilites adds combo points to cast larger heals.

[dev'olution]

I for one welcome our new pandaren overlords.

[john duo]

Pretty much this. People think the Pandaren are going to be cute and cuddly..but some of the art depicting them is pretty brutal and scary. The whole pandas are too cute thing irl doesnt fly either. Puppies, cows, wolverines, bears, etc can all be cute. They can also being ferocious and murder your face. Pandaren will be fine! We have already have tons of sentient animal races anyway. Furbolgs(bear), Wolvar(wolverine), Worgen(wolf), Tauren(cow), Arrakoa(owl/hawk), Murlocs(frog/fish), Oracles(frog/fish), etc etc. Accept it people! The pandaren are coming.

i hope your right, the second pic looks more warcrafty then the 1st...but its not up to us..its up to blizz,
its all up to them to design the new panda models and as past xpacs when worgens got new models which in some cases tended to be
less cruel then the original worgens - i realy dont think the new pandas model will look like the 2nd pic, same as the new worgens they will probably end up as pandas on 2 legs which will look like the 1st pic and that will ruin the game

[ferbguy7]

Padas omaigawd

---------- Post added 2011-08-09 at 03:07 PM ----------

Damn you lore nerds, damn you!

[mvaliz]

We have already have tons of sentient animal races anyway. Furbolgs(bear), Wolvar(wolverine), Worgen(wolf), Tauren(cow), Arrakoa(owl/hawk), Murlocs(frog/fish), Oracles(frog/fish), etc etc. Accept it people! The pandaren are coming..

Vultures... not owl/hawks.

There... my OCD is now satiated. :P

On a serious note, thanks for agreeing with me. Yeah - they're not going to make the Pandaren all cute and fluffy-cuddly. Ever since I saw the action figure and how they clearly made a serious re-design from the WC3 version (right down to giving them a crest), I knew then that they were attempting to bring Pandaren into the game.

[Preezrak]

Any opinions on the northwest part of Stonetalon? It's kind of empty. There were rumors of a Pandaren outpost there at some point.

[Renley]

Vultures... not owl/hawks.

There... my OCD is now satiated. :P

On a serious note, thanks for agreeing with me. Yeah - they're not going to make the Pandaren all cute and fluffy-cuddly. Ever since I saw the action figure and how they clearly made a serious re-design from the WC3 version (right down to giving them a crest), I knew then that they were attempting to bring Pandaren into the game.

Oh! That makes more sense. To be honest, I kinda guessed on that one. I thought owls because of all the Kaliri flying around. x.o sorry!

The other thing I just remembered. Worgen..remember the beta? The uproar over the "cuteness" of them? Blizzard did their best to cater to us. They tried and tried and tried to make them perfect so the vast majority would be happy. I'd say they did a good job. I'd imagine they'll do the same with Pandaren.