Hello,
For a long time Blizzard has proven expansion upon expansion that successive writers see destroying places or even zones as an interesting plot point. This attitude peaked in Cataclysm where many of the zones and settlements of each faction were wrecked by either the Cataclysm or war. This was later followed by incidents such as Theramore and now the burning of Teldrassil and the blighting of Lordaeron.
No doubt it’s an interesting plot point which gets people riled up and interested for a while, but I’ve been playing classic recently and I’ve noticed that the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor were much better in their original states. Is it true that Blizzard are going way too far on their penchant for destroying zones and settlements like Southshore, Auberdine, Taurajo and various other places?
My question to you is: If Blizzard made an effort to actually see some places rebuilt in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor in the next expansion, what would they be, and how?
11 Likes
I think the whole thing is easier to understand from a developer or economic point of view. Rebuilding destroyed ones are to a certain extent wasted resources that cannot flow into new projects.
You divide up the existing resources, it’s not just about rebuilding, you have to change the areas, you have to create new quests and think up. All in all, it’s like creating the areas from scratch, the amount of work is the same.
And so this resource is missing in the development of new content. In many MMO´s destruction is therefore easier than rebuilding.
4 Likes
They rebuilt the park of Stormwind in 7.0. That counts.
Throw the alliance out. Problem solved. Most of them are either robot constructs or aliens anyways. I don’t see a reason for keeping them around apart from their entitled world view of “rightful world rulership” just because they stole troll, gnolls, Kobold and Tauren lands and are able to keep it. Nobody would miss them. Least of all, the races, who suffered the most from their conquests.
But they could also rebuild stuff to put some kind of content in it. I mean they already have done it somehow with Arathi and Darkshore.
1 Like
Yes, but they associated it with old stuff with new content and have thus also produced a profitability in their actions.
Of course I would also like to see many things changed, many things that look different, but the nature of a MMO´s, and especially of an MMO giant like WOW always makes reshaping difficult.
I disagree. A rebuild or new city doesn’t have to be a safe city. There can be shady areas, like in Boralis, there can be dangerous Catacombs, like in Stormwind, there can be spawn-events and world-quests that make a place temporarily more dangerous, there can be scenarios and dungeons that use the rebuild stuff as a baseline, and yes, they can put stuff like Warfronts in it. Really, there is nothing you can do with a destroyed city that you can’t do with an intact city. The difference is in the optics, not the possible content.
You just have to make the content. And you don’t get content from destroying stuff alone. As is clearly demonstrated with Theramore, Teldrassil and Lordaeron. There was content in these areas and it has been replaced with nothing at all. Essentially, the graphics work that went into destroying these places gave no content at all, and was thus, by your estimation, wasted.
4 Likes
Yes, one example I keep coming back to is Gilneas, seriously, just do SOMETHING with it. Make it a giant open world dungeon, a PvP zone, plomp some random mobs down, a couple of quests, literally ANYTHING. I don’t even play Worgen, but this giant space of emptyness is just sad. Make some quests around helping out the refugees in the cities, get them a new home. Tons of stuff, to do, rebuilding efforts are hard, tons of writing material. New quests, dailies, dungeons and other that could be pulled from it.
6 Likes
Rebuild or build?
Rebuild: Gilneas, Darkshore, ashenvale, Tedrassil, the barrens, undercity, etc.
Blizzard needs to stop destroying stuff.
It is very clear they dont give a rats behind about the world outside of stormwind or ogrimar.
The thing is:
I want to play WORLD of warcraft.
Not RAIDS of warcraft.
I want a world that is fun to travel.
Build:
Have all zones(including stormwind and ogrimar) destroyed by the black empire and allow players to build there own bases(Not garrision but destroyable basses on the accauly world for players to use as safe zone and pvp target)
Have crafting be usefull as a means to upgrade your none respawning gaurd.
Give players the means to craft there own story by shaping the world via there actions.
Right now blizzard needs to stop writting and start world building.
As bonus: Have all alliance and horde leaders killed off.
It would be a mercy kill.
As it would spare me having to deal with there brand of stupid.
1 Like
I want a new night elf zone, they have nothing left now. They could also rebuild gilneas and make night elves move in there
2 Likes
Rebuilding the lands may not be as difficult as we think.
During the Cataclysm inside Malfurion’s reach the druids and Shando managed to grow a giant tree that housed many troops and people in the Firelands, a place that is completely inhospitable.
Also as seen in the Darkshore Warfront Malfurion rebuilt the trees and destroyed forests. It is that easy. They should really create more scenarios/quest lines where we rebuild our society,regrow the forests, and provide the Kaldorei with a new home.
1 Like
True, honestly although I’m a massive Goblin fan my main gripe has been the treatment which the Night Elves have been getting as of late. Not only was Auberdine destroyed in the Cataclysm, but now Lor’danel and Teldrassil as well? I think it’s getting a bit out of hand by this point as the Night Elves have lost two iconic zones.
Ideally I would see the now more Alliance leaning Cenarion Circle allow the Night Elves to build a new city upon a rejuvenated Mount Hyjal with the help of the Draenei and Worgen. The Night Elves would then push out to control Winterspring, Felwood and parts of Ashenvale such as Astranaar again, likely building a sentinel keep where Hellscreams Overlook used to stand.
In Azshara the Night Elves would be using the Furbolg tunnels to build a new outpost and harass Goblin operations in Azshara.
Meanwhile in Darkshore, Bashal’aran would ultimately fall into the hands of the Night Elves, and they’d use it as a fortress from which they’d protect a reconstructed Auberdine which is once again a major Night Elf port town where the residents continue to protect their homes with their lives as they did before.
However there must be some take as well for the Horde in Kalimdor as the ideas IS that the Horde have destroyed Teldrassil and are now contesting Ashenvale and once fully Alliance controlled Darkshore. Therefore in Darkshore Lor’danel will have been torn down and Ashwood Depot would expand to become a Horde port from which the Horde sustains their efforts in shipping lumber from Darkshore and protecting the Shatterspear Trolls from further Night Elf assaults.
In Azshara the Horde will have stomped out Talendris Point and turned it into a Goblin outpost, building a sturdier bridge over the Southfury River. Forest Song has been overrun and the Nightborne have set up a research post there and Silverwind Refuge has been fully turned into a Horde outpost. Stardust Spire has also fallen allowing the Horde to build a highway which allows them to carry resources from Azshara to Stonetalon through Ashenvale.
3 Likes
and naga/pirate attacks (wqs’s/events) for any sea side towns/cities. Could just have themed events like legion prevent invasions.
Like seaside towns/cities get naga and pirates.
All can get some rogue demon group let by a more powerfull demons (like for example a pitlord wants to take ironforge and you gotta defend city and defeat demons and keep them from destroying the gates of Ironforge)
Aslo can have faction themed ones.(maybe triggered like garrison invasions killing certain type of mobs makes that type invade.
Or need to go to hyail to fight of fire elementals coming.
The plaguelands may have some cult of dammed members or just undead attack(maybe commaned to attack by kelthuzad since he is still alive ?)
Is alot you could do with such events.
And its what i want most(along with all cities updated and made usefull) witha world revamp.
1 Like
Also all cities should be updated(silvermoon adn exodar first and bring them in main world and let people fly there(like imagine silvermoon with surumar lvl graphics).
And all cties get all needed npc’s(mog,voidstorage,portals,barber,ah etc)
Blizzard destroys things because its easier than building them.
And because it offers the kind of cheap shock value that they think its essential to keep people hooked.
Thats why they often decide that the way to keep things fresh, is to remove what players assume as a given.
Something they think will make players go “Woah, didn’t see that coming! Thought X dude or Y settlement would always be part of this game!”
Whats the downside of this? That when things are done, and they look at the wreckage and the aftermath of it, they don’t like what comes next.
They go: “Oof, and now we have to rebuild?..We need to create new stories from zero, and develop stuff to the point players feel as attached to them as they were to this stuff we just blew?..Man, thats boring. Will do it maybe later*.”
(*) Later: Some time when they feel like throwing a half-baked and tiny band-aid.
8 Likes
Problem is they just spend too much time in expansion content.
But once that content is exhausted, none cares.
I think people are more attached to their homeland, than for example, Draenor, Northrend, Dalaran, Pandaria, AU Draenor or the Broken isles.
In example:
Will Zandalar and Kul-Tyras work as future integrated cities in the next expansion ?
Same can be said for Suramar, Highmountain and other allied races zones.
I suspect the answer is no.
Ironically one of the few times they did some revamp on the old world during Cataclysm, it was for destroying things.
Like adding all the destruction that Deathwing left in his path.
Many people prefered the Old Barrens as it was.
I think the Night Elves community miss the old Ashenvale as well.
That’s some of my thoughts.
Cheers.
3 Likes
Old Ashenvale was my favorite zone, a place notorious for PVP at low levels, amazing design,beautiful location, fauna and flora.The lore behind it is amazing too.
2 Likes
Hellscreams Watch kind of ruined Astranaar for me, I just feel as if it was unrealistic for the Night Elves to not have that place protected seen as it gave the Horde a vantage point from which they could siege Astranaar. If they make a new version of Astranaar at any point I’d like to see the village having turned into a town in the wake of Teldrassil and for there to now be some sort of sentinel keep standing where Hellscreams Watch once stood.
3 Likes
Without reading any statements, Cataclysm was invented to vanish classic and refresh WoW. This on paper was good, but for me wasn’t. Old historic feelings were gone with cataclysm.
May be in future, that’s is going to happen to refresh WoW again and all destroying to remake stuff is goal of writers.
1 Like
The issue with Ashenvale is that it changed so much in game, and even more so in the novels, pre BFA the entire land of Ashenvale was liberated from the Horde during ‘‘Wolfheart’’ however in game none of that was seen, so canon wise Hellscreams Watch shouldn’t exists, they really had a hard time reflecting Night Elven victories in game.