This has been on my mind for years subconsciously, but the more I notice it the more It’s starting to piss me off.
Once you enter the Shadowlands and the maw, you are followed by Darion, and soon come to discover Jaina, Thrall, and Anduin.
This is the first time we’ve seen this group of characters be in the same boat. And all the interactions in between them are set to a bare minimum insanely formal level.
We found Jaina, at last. Darion:“Looks like we’ve found the grand admiral”
“Is that all of you?”
Basically single sentence is exchanged like this, and it’s unsettling. Not a single bit of chemistry, banter, bickering, any humane display of emotion. Absolutely nothing.
When I think about it, it’s been like this for years now. But why? Every single character in the scene has a huge background and amount of lore, yet they’re reduced to mere NPCs. You could literally replace the four with 4 random footmen and everything would go the same.
So frankly, I’m confused. Why would they choose to go this route? I would dare say it might be intentional, because If you gave me these four characters to work with, I’d have to try really hard to come up with such neutral dialogue. The beauty of big RPG stories is that it’s a huge machine where each individual for has its own individuality and value. If that’s no longer the case, then don’t be surprised to find me less than impressed about sylvanas’ 200 iq machinations. You can’t expect me to just care about one character, especially one you chose.
if it works why change it? also blizzard is not exactly known for their stellar writing if you want a deeper story where the story has more value maybe try ff 14
I’m with you OP. I’ve noticed this too. Everything seems very uninspired. I can almost sit there and picture the quest/dialogue designer clockwatching waiting to go home, completely uninterested in bringing the characters to life.
Thing is, it doesn’t have to be stellar or deep really. Just a bit of human interraction. A bit of back and forth between them. So they actually do feel like characters, not just mindless NPC units.
You know what is even more disappointing ? No personal connection between the npcs and player character. I literally went to hell to get Anduin and Jaina back, and what did they say “see I knew he would come and get us”. Open up god damn, I went to hell to get you guys back and you are just treating me as a side of meat. I’m a person, I was worried but you guys seems to be doing pretty okay. Go and burn in hell
Remember back in Legion, when Illidan, Malfurion and Tyrande where standing on the very same Island for the first time since… what, 20 years? And they dont even speak ONCE.
Remember when in Nighthold, you had Tichondrius, supreme leader of the Dreadlords, one of the masterminds behind the third war and the very reason Illidan consumed the skull of Gul´dan and became a demon? He has no interaction whatsoever. Not with illidan, not with anyone. You meet him, he shouts 2 generic one-liners, he dies.
Remember when you had Gul´dan in Legion? First setting foot in Azeroth, learning of his main universe self? Did any character even interact with him, in any way, shape or form?
Remember the big reunion moment of Alleria and Vereesa? And the entire talk about Sylvanas fate, the fall of Quel Thalas and the state of her son Arathor happening off screen, because they coulnd be bothered to pick up this golden opportunity for narrative?
Or in BFA, when the old sons of lothar war comrades Turalyon and Danath Trollbane stand together in Stromgarde, reunited for the first time since the days of Warcraft 2? No interaction at all.
Or lets just take the most recent one. Taelia meeting Bolvar in Oribos. Wow, a big character moment! What will they talk about? What wont they talk about? What emotions will come into play? “Lets talk about this later. (Off-Screen) Champion, go do a random quest for me!”
Agreed, there seems to be a lack of emotional connection and personality in their dialogue a lot of the time. I’m a lot more invested in the characters we’ve met in the Shadowlands at the moment.
That moment me and Darion were in the maw and he couldn’t shut up about how powerful Jaina “the admiral” was. Had me eye rolling.
And ofcourse, she escaped numerous times from her cage. Because she is just superduper awesome and powerful and oh my god man. The writers really picked their favorites.
I don’t know… Currently I am playing arcane, and yes, Jaina seems to prefer frost, but still, after killing Serath the Gluttonous (no loot, just a little xp), his comment about a regular Stygian Giant
The Lord Admiral is truly formidable, to have bested one of these monstrosities.
made me think “is this supposed to be impressive?”
Because dialogue and story plot are kept to a minimum in this game. Have a look at what is being asked of you when you do quests? Exactly! Just “butcher mobs a-z”. Nothing else. This game - and I know I am going to draw ire here - has a pvp / raid / dungeon focus. Ignore the cinematics - just look at the nature of the quests. There is no brain work involved. Just “hit 'em left, right and center”.
Since I am more or less of a “visual person”, though, I still like this game because I really appreciate the effort of Blizzard’s visual art teams . There is much attention to detail (something, lore enthusiasts would like to see in story-telling, too) . So I settle for the “visual experience”
Mind you, unlike BfA, I find it terribly off-putting (personally-speaking) that Blizzard forces me to do zone a, b,c,d in the order of their preference. Like BfA, I would rather like to choose where I want to explore (including doing side quests). Alas!
Shadowlands improved significantly in this department. There are riddles and thinking work in a good bunch of Quests.
Of course “kill X” still is the majority, but there’s much more around now.
The only character who really irks me this time around is the Winter Queen.
When she said I had found an ally in her, I thought ‘Huh, Your Preciousness barely acknowledges my existence, even after everything I done for your weald.’
She strikes me as cold and impersonal - the undead are far more heartwarming and “alive”
Are you not familiar with regal behaviour? Royalty vs. peasant? Always the same tune. Wait till Revendreth Royalty kicks your butt You’d wish you were back in Ardenweald Master Hunter!
Yes, I do get it. I wasnt born yesterday. But it was beside my point, and so I chose not to be funny.
Nobody in Revendreth bothers me. “Vampires” with their noses dramatically stuck in the air is hilarious at worst, and they seem much more personable.
The Winter Queen simply seems extremely indifferent to me - with the player character as well as her little helpers as well. I don’t care how sparkly, blue and fluttering her realm is. She doesn’t generate any sympathy in me, she has no winning personality (or any at all, even), that I feel a good leader should possess to at least to some degree.
The pranking among the residents feels awkward and hollow, and like a failed attempt to make up for the lack of personality of their absent leader. /rant
