To an extent I can understand most of the criticism in this thread, but I remember seeing the lack of Pandaren participants mentioned at the tournament specifically. There -were- a few guests that I recall. But participation was completely open, itās hardly the organiserās fault that none signed up. And the same was the case with when it was hosted elsewhere last year.
The problem with doing things in more popular zones such as Dalaran, however, is that these big events can be very disruptive for people that use them regularly. So yes, perhaps there should be less events in Pandaria specifically, but blocking people out of using the nicer designed places is a bit boring. If itās not directly stopping you from roleplaying, is it -really- that big of a deal?
I will just put it out there but sentiments Iāve gathered within the context of Pandaria is that some (Pandaren players) feel like guests in a place that lorewise is their homeland.
Nobody will demand that people who play in Pandaria must be Pandaren, but when they see areas constantly being used for events unrelated to their continent then they just tend to avoid them. This is why you saw hardly any, I myself counted less than 5 (including myself in that number). And whilst I understand the hosts of the tournament made an effort to adapt their event to the zone and culture, you see other events literally just disregard it for the sake of a pretty backdrop.
Edit: And Iāll just put this out there that this isnāt a āwoe is meā matter, these examples of Pandaria are because this feels like the prominent one right now. This is an issue that can easily replicate itself in other areas.
A lot of the big events in Dalaran tend to be co-ordinated by the active community that engage with the city. For the most part, the idea of hosting elsewhere to be less disruptive is more of a myth when it comes to the older world. I think the only times you might host elsewhere is because of a recent content patch in a zone (so as to avoid OOC crowds) or to avoid phasing.
But this is the thing and itās such a difficult thing to balance. Events should be held in Pandaria, but itād be nice if there was an effort to adapt to the localities rather than just copy and pasting the same event.
Donāt get me wrong I fully understand and agree with your observations, but having seen the same 3-4 āfestivalsā appear like clockwork for some time now, I think youāre better off trying to create that which you would prefer to see. If you have other pandaren role-players at your side in this matter already, surely it should be doable?
Tian is one of those places that when I see it in any event advertised, I can bet itās not going to be about Pandaria or Pandaren lore. Watching people flock to the area and claiming that the elder has given them free way to go ahead and use it for whatever they wished.
The problem has been there for some time - fashion galas and big shows held within the land that doesnāt even care for them. Using the Vale - the most sacred land for odd or disjointed events as it struggles to recover from Mogu, Mantid, and Old God influence. Beach parties on the Turtle Beach in Krasarang, without taking in the lore of the area - all for the sake of a pretty area.
Enjoy the lands, love it as everyone else does - but just include some Pandaren traditions as you go. Cut back how often you use Tian, because at this point those students must be a good two years behind training. Host beer parties, with local beers of the area - go to the silken fields and make some clothes or cloth. Just include a lilā Pandaren flare in your Pandaria based events. I donāt think thatās too much to ask.
Heyo! Jumping into the thread to say: I totally understand this!
I main my DI dwarf here and I have noticed an interesting trend, that as a dwarf ā¦ you sometimes get reduced to the bumbling one when you are around.
In the same vein as for any other non-elf or human, we sort of get treated with the initial stereotype of our race. (Drunk dwarf, funny panda, etc)
With that - I think then that mentality kind of bleeds into the locales for the races. Sadly making their homeground/ racial zones little more than set dressing
So I totally understand, as I think many kind of reduce the importance of certain things for the races IC. Like traditions and values - stuffs important yāall!
And with it being used a lot, tian and other places ICly, I think you get a situation where both the people and the place become a bit of set dressing for unrelated thematic events. Once or twice this can be all right I believe (tourney being great at that) but - yeah as many have said, tricky!
But have you thought of hosting an event ācateringā to broaden peopleās IC knowledge of pandaren culture - tea drinking / trying? Lectures on celestials? Fighting course? Etc.
Good point. The usual suspects that hold events in Pandaria donāt have a monopoly on doing so. And looking at the number of likes this thread has received, it seems like thereās at least some interest in something a bit more authentic and lore appropriate. What are you all waiting for Panda people?
Worth mentioning that even if a pandaren event was held every month, that would be one event versus like four or five that still use their culture as set dressing. It would help establish a precedent at least but it would be a notable minority of events. They would have to churn out an equal number, which is a tall order for a smaller RP group compared to the mass of others in question.
This say rarely ever applies to Pandaria. Disjointed concept are being used in locales that has the authority and the ressources to simply say āNo.ā and remove you from making a base out of it or having an event that concerns Pandaren in no shape of form. Need I remind you that the Shado-Pan are a thing and Pandaren are capable of self-gouverning and self-defense? The excuse of āThe Mayor/Elders allowed us to.ā comes more across as lazy than something that was thought through.
Kudos for people who do make the effort to implement Pandaren cultural aspects to what they use it for, but Pandaria is definitely a continent overly abused by people who like the Pandaren continent, they like the themes and the zonesā¦ But donāt ever want to RP the go to race for it being Pandaren, now you canāt get people to play a race they dislike but in this case just look at the numbers of Non-Pandaren Masters who apparently have crashed/discovered the continent and somehow lived there before the mists (Vulpera are so guilty of this.)
Back on tracks, thereās a plaethora of neutral settlements for people to use, people just lack the initiative to go look for them.
If there was a Harvest festival prompted by the Alliance, theyād pick Halfhill to do it when they have Westfall and Stormsong Valley right then and there who could use the economic boost.
Personally I do feel people can give feedback for event organizers even if they donāt organize events themselves. Not everyone has the capability or motivation to organize events. Having an unfitting / stale location choice is valid feedback.
For sure, feedback to the right places. Acknowledging the Pandaria trend is up to the the event organizers and their decision to reconsider or not.
Getting people to recognize that trend is both a player and organizer issue. I feel that was my point - saying āif you donāt like Goldshire vibes, you should organize events in Goldshire yourselfā felt off.
Main obstacle here is thereās so many of them. And without retroactively digging up past event details tracking down and DMing every single organiser to give very specific feedback on an event they did weeks, if not months, ago is awkward.
The purpose here is to make a broad statement to anyone thinking of hosting events that they should look for more suitable places to host events.
Checking the Argent Archieves, thereās been 5 big neutral Pandaria events (not all of them at Tian Monastery) spread across 3 different organisers in 2021. Sounds manageable enough to me.
I think youāre missing the point here, or perhaps assuming that people do not/have not done what youāve already suggested. There are already events hosted in Pandaria that have a solid reason for being held in Pandaria by pandaren players. I myself and others have given feedback to these large (and largely non-Pandaren) events and little has changed in the long run.
In regards to the fashion show which was held in the Vale, I communicated to a few people that I thought it was a little tone-deaf and questionable to hold a charity event for the Alliance and Horde in a zone that was more than directly affected by their blood war in Pandaria, nevermind that the location is a sacred place in Pandaren culture. I was met with responses along the lines of āWell thereās tens of people here so, I donāt see the problem.ā
Iāve brought it up that I thought it was weird to host a decadent brawling tournament in a monastery wherein people were selling luxurious goods, furniture, stolen/pilfered treasure, love potions etc. in a monastery thatās devoted to martial arts and spiritualism. The response youāre met with is that some imaginary NPCs allowed this all to happen and that it makes sense because said organizers operate in the area. Itās like they canāt connect the dots.
Hence this thread. Maybe if these frustrations are gathered in one place, they might mean more than the individual critique some have offered to past organizers.
