So here I am on the Dragon Isles, and I can’t help but notice that the buildings are suitable for antropomorphic creatures, in this case dragons.
Blizzard are almost always showing main characters - Alexstrasza, Kalecgos or Nozdormu as antropomorphic beings. It’s true that dragons assuming humanoid shapes have always existed in Warcraft lore, ever since Richard Knaak published Day of the Dragon novel.
But it was never implied that dragons prefer to live in humanoid buildings. Just look at the old raids - Onyxia’s lair or Obsidian Sanctum. They’re … dragon lairs, that fits their humanoid forms.
More than “antropomorphisation”…I would say “elvenmorphisation”…considering their blood elven visages and their elven look-alike buildings…
but you are right, in the old times Blizzard wasn’t afraid of displaying dragons (not just the evil ones) with a more “wild” and “bestial” side in general… I mean notice the difference between the savage and aggressive whelps of vanilla and TBC, and the dragon whelps now who are basically humanoids children…and so, Blizzard eventually modified the design of the old “buildings” and old dragon lairs too, in order to make the hub of the new expansion more appealing to players in general…
although they are still not as beautiful, magical and classy as the ones of the Blood Elves and Nightborne, of course…
The fact is that Activision and Danuser have turned dragons in WoW into something else entirely.
They used to be fierce opponents that could take out raids. Dragons largely didn’t concern themselves with the mortal races. They kept to themselves, killed or ousted us when we intruded upon their space and minded their own business. Most were aloof and just a chosen few actually interacted positively with mortals.
Dragons also didn’t have visages. They had magic, and could use that magic to disguise themselves. Only a few dragons did this and it was always to lay low, deceive or move unseen in the world. As soon as they didn’t need to, they didn’t use it.
Finally dragons were quite few. Sure, there were many drakes and whelps but full grown dragons were raid boss-tier and quite rare. Even drakes were often powerful elites. They had a manner of gravitas and pride, befitting long-lived beings with powers far greater than mortals.
Now? Now they’re anime waifu’s, man-children, cartoon villains, insecure weaklings and mellow softies. They spend time in their visage because it feels natural or lets them have quirky interactions with toads or something. The dragon isles doesn’t have a single area where I can believe dragons would have nested en masse.
The took what were essential Tolkien/Warhammer/DnD dragons and turned them into Pixar/Disney dragons, completely bulldozing their character in doing so.
And yes, the Dragon Isles are build for drakonid/dragonspawn. Not for dragons.
It’s not just dragons. Everyone has joined the super best friend cuddle club. So yeah, dragons are no dragons in DF. Just like humans aren’t allowed human failings, and so on. They didn’t even bother to explain why the dragons would invite tons of mortals to open spas near their capital, they just got a blanket invite to the new zones. Heck, the explorers’ league was once known for invading other lands for their digs, and calling the army, if some native objected. And the Reliquiary was essentially the same, just more focussed on ancient power than on science. Now they are invited to come and “visit” the Isles, ride dragons, dig wherever they like, and take pictures of cute animals. The world-building is pretty ridiculous. That’s why they really don’t want you to take it too seriously.
As I understood it, they were originally given the visage/shapeshifting ability so that they could commune with Azeroth’s denizens better on a less intimidating scale and interact with Titan facilities and technology better, as I’d imagine they couldn’t squeeze into a Titan building all that easily as a wyrm.
I do think this is one of the very few areas where the writing team have, dare I say it? Actually done an OK job.
The only intimidating dragon I’d say are part of the black flight or proto-drakes, the others are what I’d consider beautiful. Maybe Senegos and Nozdu what I’d consider the “wise old one” in my fantasy, Mommystrazsa is not a fierce one neither was Ysera or Sindragosa.
I too actually miss this “dragons are not visible for mortals who are not worthy for their blessing, they are dangerous, mysterious, but wise with knowledge of their endless lifetime”, if I want Disney, I watch Mulan
yep, and considering, not all dragons, even looks like dragons, but are draconoids whit eighter 2 legs and 2 arms or 4 legs and 2 arms, way more humanoid, theese are most likely the ones who build most things anyways, and the titans, becuse half of the dragon isle buildings are titan facilities pretty much, exept oh´naran plains and parts of azure span, that belongs to the Centaur and Tuskar more or less.
a lot of those buildings look like very elaborate perching spots and we see a lot of titan/keeper architecture in the area as well, could easily be made by them
We’ve had humanoid and centaur-like dragonkin in the game since forever, in the form of Drakonids and Dragonspawn. They make up a decent chunk of the population of the dragonkin we come into contact with, especially in Thaldrassus and Valdrakken.
It make sense that the buildings are for them, with the dragons using them as a side benefit, it’s probably more comfortable to sleep in a bed than on solid rock in a lava-filled cave.
For a dragon, a lava filled cave with a nice rock is actually like a 5-star hotel.
It’s a cave, nicely hidden away, out of the wind and the way
Lava keeps it warm and cozy, and the heat deters intruders
A rock amidst the lava means they can enjoy the warmth while sleeping
Bonus points for the cave entrance being inaccessible for grounded creatures
Bonus points for the entrance having a vantage point.
Valdrakken doesn’t look comfortable at all for a dragon. Constant noise, wind and cold, they can be seen and bothered while trying to rest, wake up at first light, only a few vantage points, no natural heat. It also… beneath their dignity to make their nest in a place infested with the mortal races doing their thing. Like a human sleeping in a hut next to a family of baboons. Why would you do that?
The City is a failure. Should have been only for the dragonkin while the dragons had a colossal mountainside with cave systems and lairs all the way from its frozen peaks, to its heated core with a lake of magma inside at the bottom that kept them and their eggs all warm.
None of what we are shown in DF is fitting locales or culture for the actual dragons WoW had. Then again… they’re not exactly still those same dragons, are they?
Oh they did… awhile back though, i.e. it’s all about bolstering that “Blizz human potential spark” that outshines even the most illustrious of Azeroth^^
I’m surpised they haven’t brought back Khadgar or Jaina as natural guides to enlighten even the dragons on their own bleedin’ island at every twist or turn of the storyline.
I got shunned on the general discussion forums for pointing out how Disney it looked. Glad that on the story section they still have some sense left, despite it being a ghost town. (and we all know why it’s a ghost town.)
I know how it feels. I also get lambasted on the general forums for observing reality. Story forum might be dead because nobody still cares, literally nobody. But those of us here generally agree that the current tone and lore is not a worthy continuation of the Warcraft legacy.
I just had a discussion with an MVP in the general discussion. Stating that “they were not under the impression that the game was dying” while also stating that “the Alliance couldn’t play the game at end game level anymore so getting rid of the faction restrictions is a good thing”.
How do these people continue to just be blind to what is going on around them. We had factions in place for almost 18 years. It was a fundamental part of Warcraft, and now they’re slowly dissolving them because the game is so death that one side can’t even play the game at end game anymore. Yet these people still insist that the game is doing fine and that it’s all good.
I am legit under the impression that these are Blizzard employees in disguise doing damage control. It wouldn’t really surprise me if it was. Their arrogancy knows no bounds after the horrible ads they put out.
If anyone wants to see them, how arrogant, how they think their expansion is a master piece that they think they can belittle anyone that dares to criticise it, despite it being the truth, check out this video.
I really tried to feel optimistic about DF. It’s great to have some non-spacey Azeroth stuff again. The zones are pretty. The main plot isn’t especially engaging, but at least it isn’t ridiculous. I personally haven’t seen any sense in the two-faction-system for years, so effectively getting rid of it shouldn’t necessarily bother me. And while I did feel that the prominent and artless diversity&inclusion-stuff was a negative that was creeping in, I thought that this wasway down on the list of WoW’s believability problems. And I never really needed the story to be edgy, or the stakes to be high, to feel immersed into te world. And the way DF deals with it’s historic and cosmic lore is actually quite nice, allowing for speculation and rethinking without really contradicting what came before. That’s something I feel we didn’t have since Pandaria.
But playing it, the result just feels underwhelming. The tensions we had before in the lore weren’t replaced, they were just removed, and what is left feels kinda hollow. What relevance has it that the story is about dragons, when dragons are just people like anyone else? Why would the primalist plot bring any tension, when I have no reason to care? How could the end of the faction conflict feel real, when there is nothing of the attitudes that made it happen around? How can characters feel interesting, when they are only allowed weaknesses for comedic purposes? How can there be interesting team dynamics, if everyone is kind, understanding, and always helpful? And how many children and cute animals do I have to save until the cute joke gets to be grading?
And worst of all for me… while the mistakes in the story of the last years felt like obvious mistakes, the defanging of Azeroth seems like a genuine creative decision that’s here to stay. And well… I’m not into it.
Concerning the factions… I loathed that the devs were still forcing evergrowing, unchanging, and unrealistic giant military blocks on us with the factions. But at least they forced the devs to explain why there would still be good people on both sides of a horrible war. They didn’t do that particularly well, but frankly, they didn’t need to, because the players were quick to provide their headcanon every time it was possible. It shouldn’t need the faction system to provide something as basic as that… but with the factions gone, they are highlighting the lack of it, instead of filling the gap.
I kinda feel more depressed about the WORLD of Warcraft than I did during Shadowlands, frankly.
I found it odd that the Horde attacked Teldrassil, and the Alliance retaliated by… trying to move into a northern former kingdom again. I get that the rule of cool is there, but god damn atleast TRY to make it realistic.
That’s really the problem I have with World of Warcraft nowadays. It’s not realistic. Every interaction feels really sterile. You are asked to introduce yourself to the opposite faction. Why? We just had a huge “fourth war”. 4 years after the third war, Nazgrel is still in Orgrimmar talking how much Thrall doesn’t want to listen that he shouldn’t trust the humans under Jaina Proudmoore’s command so much.
And right now, in Dragonflight we’re singing Kumbaya. Despite there being a bigger conflict between the Horde and the Alliance in the 4th war than it was during the 3rd one.
These writers need to get a reality check if it were up to me. It’s telling that they have 0 real life experience. Absolutely 0. In TBC all the vets you encounter seem somewhat crazy and edgy with their humour, why? Because they were stuck on a demon infested world and their PTSD is showing.
Where are those issues, or did everyone just decide to forgive eachother?
The current writers give JACK about the world of warcraft, they’re just there to write their own little fanfics and boast about it on Twitter. Absolutely disgusting.
That’s how you become an MVP, you snort unhealthy amounts of copium until your font turns green. They’re not Activision people doing damage control though, just people with pretty low standards, who have sunk so much time into the game that they became conditioned.
Is that real? That has the same vibes as some of the writing of the quests. A person with a very low IQ and EQ, trying to roleplay as a person with a high IQ and EQ. It’s unbearably cringe… I couldn’t look away. It reads like somebody who hasn’t roleplayed ever, trying to play edgy and smarmy, but instead coming across as extremely arrogant and idiotic. Ingame NPC’s also often act like Karens
DF is less than the sum of its parts, because while a few parts of the car are good, like the engine and the wheels. The seats are old and mouldy, the air inside smells like decaying waste, the dashboard has weird stains on it, the wheel is crooked and has bitemarks on it, there’s a cat that pee’d on the backseats, the radio tunes into the cringiest channels only, the horn sounds like fart, there’s a corpse in the trunk and the flattened pigeon crumpled into the wheel. Meanwhile the salesman is sitting next to you, watching and telling you to enjoy this great car.
All of what you listed comes together to make this Xpack feel dumb, boring, disjointed, disconnected, childish and more. Like you said and like I have made whole walls of text about on the general forums, the world feels dead.
True, and people do not understand that even a fantasy universe has to adhere to its own rules and logic and some universal common sense. Which DF tosses out entirely. The whole setting feels like a Disney fever dream.
This is wonderfully summed up. It feels written by babies and children with no clue about how the world works. And they catered to that audience, so these forums also lean toward that unrealistic worldview. They are, as you said, not experienced enough in real life to attempt to mimic it. So what we get is a clown world, where the sick headspace of these people is projected in all it’s glorious simplicity, and it’s gross.
Amen. I’m so glad I’m not alone, but we are few brother… so few…
