Words of Warcraft – how the storytelling kills the sense of achievement by feeding on narcissism

Lore Story
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(I’m not native, so please forgive me for my English. Also, my only intention is to express constructive criticism).

I believe it was Chris Metzen who said that one of the most memorable things about the World of Warcraft is the world itself – every zone and life in it, every protagonist and antagonist. The player was thrown in the middle of its affairs and had to deal with it. A true RPG.

My insignificance strengthened that realism, made my adventures rewarding, and the sense of achievement powerful.

In the old days, it was me who was supposed to be in awe of this world.
Yet now, it seems, the world is supposed to be in awe of me.

“Without you, Azeroth would surely fail” – said Khadgar, “perhaps the most accomplished of all living wizards and one of the most powerful magi in Azerothian history” to a levelling newbie armed only in several greens.

“I don’t think the stone is responding to us. I think it’s responding to our hero” – said Lady Jaina Proudmoore (“considered one of the finest mages in all Azeroth and the most powerful human sorceress alive”) to Anduin Wrynn (“the King of Stormwind, High King of the Alliance, and commander of all Alliance forces”) about a levelling nobody who just showed up in the realm.

“Nicely done! I think the local moths could learn a thing or two from you” – said a quest giver, glorifying a newbie who picked up ten cones and depreciating an ancient local community who was picking those for millennia.

“It is clear – you deserve only the best.” – said NPC, seeing me for the first time and knowing nothing about me.

So I’m more powerful than the most esteemed characters in World’s history, I’m the only hope for civilisations, a role model for local societies and beloved and respected by everyone (except Nathanos, god bless him).

Several expansions are build on this approach; glorifying me on every step, mostly undeserving, is the norm.

So this is the team’s copywriting direction? Making me a Mery Sue?
What’s there to strive for since I achieved everything?
What is of value if, without me, nothing matters?
And so, I’m playing Me of Warcraft.

Please, WoW team, introduce more maturity and authenticity to the game. Don’t consider me infantile, narcissistic, and in need to be constantly praised and assured of my superiority.

Thank you.

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You are right. Currently there is no world. There is no war. And there is no craft, because they destroyed professions since WoD.

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Personally I consider the first one to be gentle sarcasm, while the second is entirely in character with a broker. Brokers always say that to people. It’s “go on, treat yourself (to my expensive wares)”.

But on the whole, I agree that we, the player characters, are overhyped. I’m tired of everyone telling me the world will fall apart without me. The crowning moment, imho, was ignoring the raid during the N’zoth cutscene, just so that everyone got to see themselves as ‘the champion’…

I preferred when the world had it’s problems, and I was just here to do what I could.

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Yes
WoW is hero(us) in center of the game - we are lost powerful being in WoW universe.

Tbh I don’t like us to be centered…I would prefer old warcraft 3 type story telling where hero’s are centered in story. In warcraft just bunch of people told a better story and made epic char(Arthas, illadan…) than current writers.

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I love this post! The game has become much too individualistic and I found the game much more intriguing back in Vanilla and TBC where we were just more or less ordinary brutes and scholars fighting our way through the mysteries of the world.

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After 15 years of saving the world, how can we be anything but? It’s not slanted well to new players or alts, it’s focused on someone who has played since Classic and built up their… legend.

But hey there’s that guy in Maldraxxus “Do I know you? Am I supposed to?”

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Beautifully well written.
Also OP I’d advice to move this to the lore forums. This will only get buried.

Play a single player game.

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Modern wow feels too much like a American comic book power fantasy i have hated this commander god emperor of the known universe crap since wod.

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Yes, it is I.

Dhoobs, destroyer of worlds. King of kings, world renown dragon slayer.

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It woul be difficult to write the continuation of the story.
Pre-expansion. The great hero who killed the big bad evil bady who wanted to eat the word(expansion’s last boss). Next expansion = back to unknown farmer John?
Huh? :man_shrugging:

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It makes no sense to be treated like the green-eyed adventurer after facing all we have. Considering what we’ve faced shouldn’t we get some recognition.

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Yeah but this works only for players what has been playing for those 15y. Not for someone what just started playing and is instanly called saviour of entire universe.

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But the story is always a continuation so of course it’s going to be thinking you was there as a player and didn’t just start in case you’re new.

Seeing as it goes expansion X > Y > Z etc. the story will follow so yes, you did beat all those big baddies as far as the story is concerned

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I don’t know.

On the one hand you definitely have the hero moments like killing N’zoth and being the star of the cinematic.

On the other hand you also have an event like The Burning of Teldrassil, which is without doubt the darkest and most horrifying storyline Blizzard have ever created for any of their games.

I think the main storyline and campaign is pretty solid. It plays on the big moments, as it should.

If the storytelling suffers anywhere, then it’s probably the side quests and World Quests that either feel childish or inconsequential or disproportional with regards to who your character is and has become established as.
But compared to previous expansions where I was killing large seagulls and finding nuts and catching squirrels, I think Shadowlands is a bit better at making the minor storylines seem relevant and fitting whilst tying them into the main storyline of the zones as well.

I don’t really get the criticism with being the hero. I don’t share that.
I wouldn’t mind if the story got a little darker and Blizzard pushed some more emotional moments into it, as opposed to everything being a rather carefree adventure.
Otherwise I think it’s okay. They seem to get better with the storylines for the side quests and world quests.

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That made me chuckle. As unlikeable as Nathanos was he refused to kiss the player’s boots and constantly mocked them. We certainly need more characters like that.

Also what this lore seems to need is bystanders, meaning that the characters who don’t know who you are just going to mind their own business and treat with politeness or indiference at best. They wont care who you are, of if you’re a litteral god slayer. They’ll just see you as the idiot who mounted a dinosaur in front of Stormwind acuction house.

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Not in mmo game.

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Most of the storytelling in games switched to having the player being a “fortune hunter” or “someone trying to survive” while blizz moved in the completely opposite direction.

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You’re forgetting the RPG part there friend.

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Which is exactly what I said straight after that sentence…