Blizzard, sadly made that zone a mess during BFA.
Would use the old one.
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Yes, because Blizzard mess with things and donât finish, fix or update things.
But thatâs their bad habits of not re-using content.
Started to see some change after they realized they got to actually listen to their customers or go down under!
Jokes aside yeah, the old one isnât subject to the forced void invasions or things from beyond slowing your flight speed for daring to fly across the VERY LARGE ZONE.
But in terms of lore and giving the zone some much-needed (and much-deserved) dignity, I love what BFA did. It made the Wastewander Bandits into a sort of anti-hero/redeemable faction instead of just âpirates that forgot how to sail,â and resolving the tension between the wastewanderers and the tolâvir.
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I see you focus on lore, and I frankly donât right now.
I would still use the space as I see fit, cause Blizzard make a mess of their own lore too.
The Lower City is also known for having a bustling tavern where all kind of socialites and party-goers are served, even demons - as well as a great trading scene that is generally overlooked by the authorities of the city. Thereâs even the opportunity to roleplay very unique things, such as humans who were born and have lived the entirety of their lives in Outland.
While making something âtruly neutralâ might be impossible, due to the setting is so varied with concepts that are incredibly far-flung from each other, Shattrathâs Lower City might just be the closest thing there could be to that.
Wasnât there a whole issue a while back about people using Pandaria almost exclusively as tourist rp? By all means visit Pandaria and all but funnily enough many Pandaren rpers/characters (my own included) react badly to people who treat their land as a holiday destination and not itâs own independent state.
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Honestly, I would love for Outland and Shattrath to have a thriving RP community. Collapsing world, whose peoples claw onto the last remnants of resources, knowledge, and magic? Sign me up, I like that more than Azeroth conceptually.
But I wouldnât see it functioning in the long-term sadly, itâs not as thematically welcoming to all sorts, especially those who prefer lower magic (like the OP wants to ensure feel catered for).
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This isnât the case in Valdrakken, but definitely for the rest of the Dragon Isles (except Amirdrassil). It got patched a few months ago.
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The only neutral hubs are the Goblin towns on Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms. Personally Iâm not a fan of a neutral hub in Winterspring due to proximity to Night Elven lands and Iâm sure in lore or whatever theyâd have ConcernsâŚ
Bogpaddle in Swamp of Sorrows however might be more viable, and likewise Tanaris with Gadgetzan. Apparently, Bogpaddle was a place where Horde and Alliance together went into anyway despite the ongoing war in the Swamp.
But both Everlook in Winterspring and Bogpaddle in Swamp of Sorrows (alongside Gadgetzan in Tanaris - which also has Hearthstone âloreâ about it on top) could function well as neutral RP hubs. However, by virtue of being in the setting of WoW, no place in the game could really be considered low-fantasy.
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Indeed. And rightfully so. Pandaria is so much more than just good decorations, and a lot of the tourist groups didnât give a damn about the lore or common sense behind the events they tried to host.
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I think Dalaran and Booty Bay work perfectly fine as neutral hubs and offer its own unique and great vibe each different. However I see people like to think toward goblin (Steamwheedle!) towns and I get that, goblins are the best. So for what itâs worth I would suggest looking into Fuselight, sometimes forgotten comapred to Gadgetzan etc, but it is in Badlands, not exactly but kinda in the middle of Eastern Kingdoms, not too close to Horde or Alliance territory (except Loch Modan, but it has giant earth crack between the zones for what itâs worth) like Everlook or Ratchet. It is walkable towards, it is split into Fuselight in the middle of the zone with flightmaster and Fuselight by the Sea, which has a harbour, so it can be sailed into. Split in two parts in not that big of a zone could encourage more travel and events all over the place, no phasing that I am aware of, only occassional exploding sheep (that do shake your camera a bit). Definitely more easily accessible to the alliance, as it is between Stormwind and Stromgarde, but I think the harbour and can make it easily accessible for Horde ic.
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Rustberg Village on Tol Barad has been mentioned several times above. The Cursekeeper Association has called that quaint little town their base of operations for the past three(ish) months and Iâll share my thoughts here:
Pros:
- Fully furnished housing with no NPCs! Thereâs a town hall with two floors, a sizeable inn, a large house and smaller houses.
- Easily accessible by both the Alliance and the Horde. Just pop into a portal located in either Orgrimmar or Stormwind. You can even unlock a tabard thatâll teleport you straight to Tol Barad!
- The entire island of Tol Barad offers great places to RP! Thereâs furnished houses without any NPCs in the Wellson Shipyard as well, empty beaches and waterways.
- Due to it being Cataclysm content, the zone looks pretty nice and modern.
- There are useable ships just off the island that can be reached with slow fall/goblin gliders!
- There is an unoccupied watch tower at Largoâs Overlook. Youâll just have to brave the ghosts!
Cons:
- If you are below or around level 35, you gonâ die. Or at the very least youâll aggro every mob where-ever you go.
- Mobs! Outside in Rustberg, youâll find them anywhere. There are stealthed mobs that patrol the place, so if you wish to go for a walk or be anywhere in the harbor be prepared to get smacked. Even if youâre level 70, they will bump into you. In small groups this hasnât been much of an issue, but I imagine that it will take people out of the immersion.
- Although there are furnished houses in Rustberg, youâll find few places where you can actually interact with the chairs to sit down at a table. So you need either stand at a table where chairs are already wedged underneath, or find a spot where youâll have to press x to sit down.
- As far as Iâm aware, the island of Tol Barad remains plagued with ghosts and ill effects from either demons, potential Old God influences and otherwise unnamed sources.
- Going by the most recent lore regarding Rustberg Village (that being the 2021 Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms book) it is a den of pirates and villainy. Us Cursekeepers can rough up any would-be thug, but mayhaps itâs not an ideal location for the more gentle-natured characters.
All in all, I think Tol Barad and by extension Rustberg Village are fun spots to RP in! Weâd love to see more people around to RP with! However, Iâm not entirely convinced that it would make a good nor lasting neutral RP hub due to the level restriction and constant flow of mobs outside of the buildings.
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No, no. Backwards. Because of the ongoing war in the Swamp. Itâs a resort. Bogpaddleâs USP was a place of party, respite, AWOL, and just being away from the war because the poor sucker got drafted into the army and dearly needs that time-off.
Also it has a beach.
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Hello, recruits. You will now be fighting for the Allianceâs claim to this squalid stretch of bogland. Its most important feature is that giant, ruined temple in the east infested with the black magic of a voracious blood deity.
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P.S. Donât step off the road for even a second, because you WILL get eaten by a crocolisk or ambushed by territorial Lost Ones.
Or by trolls in said temple taking you in for blood sacrifice.
My troll just paid his blood tax, did nothing wrong.
As the leader of a neutral guild I can understand the need for a neutral RP hub that isnât Dalaran. While Dalaran is easy to access for many characters, the cushy surroundings and magical city vibes combined with the Underbelly now being a PVP free for all it doesnât lend itself well to the more high seas coast to coast mercantile RP nor does it appeal to mercenary types and such.
I think that the best places would be Booty Bay, Ratchet and Gadgetzan.
Gadgetzan: Easy access from Caverns of Time, itâs close to Uldum and is considered to be a major trade city in game. Has a bank and auction house as well as some flavour buildings and an arena making hosting public events easy. Downside is that itâs in the middle of a desert with not much else nearby. Youâll get sick of sand.
Ratchet: Itâs been my personal favourite for a while. Travel connections to Booty Bay and situated in the Barrens which means it can easily be connected to any Horde RP hub - something Horde sorely needs. It also provides plenty of different places for events but it suffers because all of the buildings besides the inn are sparsely decorated and thereâs no interior to its bank. The lack of housing can prove to be an issue.
Booty Bay: Situated in Stranglethorn with connections to Ratchet, Stranglethorn having plenty to do for events. It has a lot of buildings all of which are furnished and because it used to be a vanilla endgame hub it celebrates not only Pirate Day but also New Year and the Gnomeregan Run. Sadly though although itâs a Steamwheedle city it lends itself to more pirate themed RP and thereâs already a few guilds set up there which can be an issue for trying to set up an RP hub when 'ownership â conflicts come into play.
Still, Iâd support and probably help organise a hub project in any of these places!
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Iâm glad to see you speak on the matter, exactly because you lead a neutral guild.
Thank you!
I had similar thoughts about these locations, when running a caravan from Darkshire > Bootybay, and somewhat hoped it could help the neutral hub and if, people took and interest in Ratchet, I would go there too for trade!
It was on the table, but alas one thing at the time and then the interested died down.