Anyone else disappointed with how irrelevant our trip to the Shadowlands has been?

[Zers Editor]

balls-to-the-wall ending

So far, the presentation of 9.2 (the cutscenes, the quest names, the boss mechanics (the Jailer and Anduin in particular), etc.) tries to bring to that. I hope it does. So far, it feels much less afraid of trying to be unnatural or mesmerizing. Personally, it brings a lot more interest in how it'll all go than it was with 9.1 or even the beginning of this expansion.

[nnelson54]

Maybe a Paladin whose faith is shattered when they here the afterlife is nothing like what was taught to them.

While not so extreme, they did touch on this with Alexandros Mograine during the Korthia questline. He starts questioning one of the high ranking Kyrians(I don't remember who exactly) about why he bothered dedicating his life to the light and his later years to fighting the undead if he was just going to be "doomed" to spend eternity fighting for the Necrolords, who are what the Scourge he spent his life fighting were based on.

[OrangeJuice]

I honestly had super high hopes for this expansion. From inevitably seeing Arthas again (hah!), to learning the source of Necromancy, getting to see some MAJOR Lore heavy-hitters (like Lothar or Doomhammer), and just finally getting a chance to see what the "afterlife" was all about in Warcraft.

Now don't get me wrong; I think the zones themselves -- Maw and Korthia notwithstanding -- have been absolutely beautiful.

But I also think, in an effort to try to "be smarter than we are", they tried introducing all these elements like the Brokers, and other clearly-living races and beings, hand-waving things away as "oh don't worry about all that, YOUR perspective is just too simple-minded to understand that even in the afterlife, there are all these other beings and whatnot".

And for me, it just doesn't work.

These zones are all very cool, but they literally feel more like "new elemental planes" than anything even remotely resembling an "afterlife". And the story and Lore have almost nothing to show for all our time here.

Like... are you seriously gonna sit there and tell me, NOBODY'S views on the afterlife -- or even life itself -- have changed since setting foot in the Shadowlands? Well of course not, because Blizzard just hand-waves THAT away, too, saying "oh, everybody gets their own afterlife of their dreams, at least until recently". Which is incongruent with their own story being told. Are we to believe that Draka was deemed more worthy a warrior than the likes of Lothar or Doomhammer?

Also, DA FUQ happens when I "kill" something in the Shadowlands? Since we and our allies are still living, does that mean we essentially all have "an extra life"?

Too much hand-waving things away, too much "don't think about it too much". And what's crazy to me, is that nobody even seems all that interested in the Shadowlands themselves, or what it might mean to them. I know getting Blizzard to create Class-based quests is like pulling fucking teeth, but how interesting would it be, to have EACH of the Class Halls asking questions, or having us further investigate, certain aspects of the afterlife?

For example, perhaps a Shaman losing a bit of patience, and hoping to actually meet their ancestors, rather than simply "believe they're watching over them". Maybe a Paladin whose faith is shattered when they here the afterlife is nothing like what was taught to them. Or a Mage who begins speculating that "immortality" may not be so infeasible after all, potentially leading them down a dark path.

And I still think Death Knights should've been particularly tied to this expansion, and actually learn where the flying fuck Necromancy actually originates from, how it works, who designed it and for what purpose, and perhaps give a greater purpose to the Ebon Blade now than just "make sure the Lich King doesn't return".

Like I said, not just trashing the expansion or anything, but it feels like a massively wasted opportunity.

Its just copy/paste content with only the aesthetics changed. I'm not disappointed because I saw it coming. Nothing matters or has any continuity in the game. Its just a treadmill to wear you down so you buy dopamine fixes from the cash shop.

[guisadop]

yeah, it's a filler expansion.
"shadowlands" were never a thing before SL, and will get a mention or two in quest texts in future expansions. kyrian? what animal is that?
it's ironic, really, how by writing about the "ultimate" cosmological threat, they managed to write themselves into insignificance.

[Maljinwo]

"shadowlands" were never a thing before SL.

The shadowlands were mentioned several times before the expansion kicked the concept in the balls

[guisadop]

The shadowlands were mentioned several times before the expansion kicked the concept in the balls

sure, in the same way that "afterlife", "the great beyond", "paradise" etc are mentioned in quests. it's not the shadowlands, though.

[Maljinwo]

sure, in the same way that "afterlife", "the great beyond", "paradise" etc are mentioned in quests. it's not the shadowlands, though.

Death Knights literally traversed the Shadowlands and took souls from it during Legion
Trolls already knew of Da Other Side and Vol'jin was already acquainted with the shadowlands
Odyn also knew of the Shadowlands
Uuna and the 'Dark Place' on her questline was part of the Shadowlands
The Drust were also part of the Shadowlands



It was always the same shadowlands, the difference is that Blizzard decided to treat afterlife as if we were just visiting a new continent