(WoW) Pre-Legion
So... yeah. I reactivated my account last night, then spent probably more than thirty minutes just sorting through abilities and gear just in my main character's inventory. I haven't even really hit the bank slots yet. With the new wardrobe functionality, there's apparently no need to keep gear around for just appearance purposes anymore - though they might need to be equipped before you can toss/sell them, I need to read up more on that. My action bars ended up with more space, which is probably good, though the difference in ability rotation/priorities is playing havoc with muscle memory. It'll take some training to get to where I can smoothly tankadin again. I'm also reflexively trying to use GW2 keys to do things, which doesn't work - pretty normal for me, really, when hopping between games.
Demon hunters are out for people who have purchased Legion. Demonic invasion events are happening, though I have yet to hit one. And there's a pre-expansion story scenario up, with a few quests built around it. The Broken Shore scenario is interesting. It's built to epic scale, with Alliance and Horde raids assaulting in parallel. It's also heavy on the cinematics. Technically, I think it works pretty well, though I have to wonder if that will remain the case when there are fewer people running it months or more down the line.
The biggest talking points, though, are story-based, and that gets into spoiler territory...
I've heard Varian Wrynn was going to die, so there's not much surprise there. Especially when one of the first things I did back in Stormwind was fly over the Deathwing-destroyed park area, which is now visibly named "Lion's Rest" even if any monument him is not visible in the game yet. Gul'dan taunts him as a king who will be remembered as dying for nothing, but... I actually found the way he went out fighting pretty inspiring and heroic. In comparison, Tirion Fordring's proclaiming the Light will protect him felt somewhat unsettling when it seemed to fail in saving him from dying to a demon.
While I dislike all the death of major characters, it does give a chance for others to come to light somewhat. Mekkatorque and Greymane both make solid showings in the fight, and it's good to see them active.
From the Alliance side, watching the Horde support disappear was... hmm... I cannot say it was a surprise. I sort of want to blame the Horde, but honestly, even in the moment, looking through the eyes of my paladin who neither trusts or respects Sylvanas, it very much felt to me like the Horde must have pulled back because they were being overrun themselves.
Watching the cinematics of the Horde side, yeah... the Horde was getting spanked. Thrall was down. Vol'jin was run through. Sylvanas clearly didn't make the decision to call a retreat lightly, and not out of maliciousness toward the Alliance - at least not primarily.
The Horde aftermath is... well... it certainly generates a lot of emotion from me, though I'm not sure it's what the designers were after. Vol'jin naming Sylvanas warchief based on her saving him and a vision... oof. Rough for Vol'jin fans (and I was one to some degree) as he really didn't do much more than transition from Garrosh to Sylvanas, given his sitting time in the position was during the period players were on another world. He says it's time for Sylvanas to come out of the shadows, which rings particularly true to me from a narrative perspective. She was positioned to be a major character coming out of Wrath, showed her ruthlessness in the beginning of Cataclysm, then pretty much completely fell off the map for two expansions and change. What I hate, however, is how she seems to be getting portrayed as more sympathetic and "good" all of a sudden. That really doesn't seem like her, and I'm utterly sick of the cliche character pivots in the game.
Which brings me back around to the Alliance side - I still hate what they've done with Jaina. It's not without in-game justification, but I just can't get over it. Her adamant refusal to allow Horde back in Dalaran, and the fact that Dalaran will be a hub city again in Legion makes it real obvious she has to be ousted from Kirin Tor leadership in some fashion. I understand Khadgar will take over, which makes sense, but... argh...
For all that, I do like Anduin. I'm not sorry to see him step up as king, and I feel like he has a solid foundation and future. I look forward to going after Ashbring, even if it is a secondary-spec weapon. I'm ready to kick some Legion butt and I feel like the story of WoW is progressing in a positive direction after the non-event that was Warlords of Draenor (which had its good points, but as an expansion overall was not very rewarding).
And... hey, Protection paladins get their Avenging Wrath wings back!
Demon hunters are out for people who have purchased Legion. Demonic invasion events are happening, though I have yet to hit one. And there's a pre-expansion story scenario up, with a few quests built around it. The Broken Shore scenario is interesting. It's built to epic scale, with Alliance and Horde raids assaulting in parallel. It's also heavy on the cinematics. Technically, I think it works pretty well, though I have to wonder if that will remain the case when there are fewer people running it months or more down the line.
The biggest talking points, though, are story-based, and that gets into spoiler territory...
I've heard Varian Wrynn was going to die, so there's not much surprise there. Especially when one of the first things I did back in Stormwind was fly over the Deathwing-destroyed park area, which is now visibly named "Lion's Rest" even if any monument him is not visible in the game yet. Gul'dan taunts him as a king who will be remembered as dying for nothing, but... I actually found the way he went out fighting pretty inspiring and heroic. In comparison, Tirion Fordring's proclaiming the Light will protect him felt somewhat unsettling when it seemed to fail in saving him from dying to a demon.
While I dislike all the death of major characters, it does give a chance for others to come to light somewhat. Mekkatorque and Greymane both make solid showings in the fight, and it's good to see them active.
From the Alliance side, watching the Horde support disappear was... hmm... I cannot say it was a surprise. I sort of want to blame the Horde, but honestly, even in the moment, looking through the eyes of my paladin who neither trusts or respects Sylvanas, it very much felt to me like the Horde must have pulled back because they were being overrun themselves.
Watching the cinematics of the Horde side, yeah... the Horde was getting spanked. Thrall was down. Vol'jin was run through. Sylvanas clearly didn't make the decision to call a retreat lightly, and not out of maliciousness toward the Alliance - at least not primarily.
The Horde aftermath is... well... it certainly generates a lot of emotion from me, though I'm not sure it's what the designers were after. Vol'jin naming Sylvanas warchief based on her saving him and a vision... oof. Rough for Vol'jin fans (and I was one to some degree) as he really didn't do much more than transition from Garrosh to Sylvanas, given his sitting time in the position was during the period players were on another world. He says it's time for Sylvanas to come out of the shadows, which rings particularly true to me from a narrative perspective. She was positioned to be a major character coming out of Wrath, showed her ruthlessness in the beginning of Cataclysm, then pretty much completely fell off the map for two expansions and change. What I hate, however, is how she seems to be getting portrayed as more sympathetic and "good" all of a sudden. That really doesn't seem like her, and I'm utterly sick of the cliche character pivots in the game.
Which brings me back around to the Alliance side - I still hate what they've done with Jaina. It's not without in-game justification, but I just can't get over it. Her adamant refusal to allow Horde back in Dalaran, and the fact that Dalaran will be a hub city again in Legion makes it real obvious she has to be ousted from Kirin Tor leadership in some fashion. I understand Khadgar will take over, which makes sense, but... argh...
For all that, I do like Anduin. I'm not sorry to see him step up as king, and I feel like he has a solid foundation and future. I look forward to going after Ashbring, even if it is a secondary-spec weapon. I'm ready to kick some Legion butt and I feel like the story of WoW is progressing in a positive direction after the non-event that was Warlords of Draenor (which had its good points, but as an expansion overall was not very rewarding).
And... hey, Protection paladins get their Avenging Wrath wings back!
Jaina picked up the idiot ball and Sylvanas has to stop being pants on head evil to lead. I -did- like how in the cinematic as the camera looks down on her and Vol'jin in the Warchief's seat, it shows time passing, her just standing there, stock still staring at his corpse, then the empty seat with fewer people in the room, then dark, like at night, alone and still staring. It's like hse's warring with herself about the position, not taking the seat right away. I also wanted to her her in-game line, "I never asked for this."
ReplyDeleteConsidered in a void absent of other baggage, I actually like what they're doing with Sylvanas. Without a word, there's very clear internal conflict both in that scene and in the retreat from the Broken Shore. Also, given the character's full history, I don't find it unreasonable she's growing into a good leader after the Lich King's "demise." But in the context of WoW itself, she's previously shown very little outside of ruthlessness and atrocity. That, compounded with the way NPC alignment shifts in the game seem so common, really rubs me the wrong way about it. I feel like all of that has ruined for me a character I could otherwise actually enjoy seeing in the game. Talking with Kystrian last night was interesting. We're both very put off by recent big story stuff in the game, but we're each more bothered by different things. She's more frustrated with the deaths of characters she liked. I'm more frustrated by the flip-flopping of some other characters. But Blizzard has managed to find different ways to make us both focus on the negative. Heh. We suck, I guess. ;) Still, as I told her, I have a stronger desire to see where things go at this point and be involved in the game itself now than going into Warlords of Draenor (which I didn't actually pick up until trying out a 'free days' promotion).
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