World Of Warcraft

Since I am singularly uninterested in yet another go 'round of "Which Horde Leader Is Just The Worst?", I'm going to attempt to introduce a completely different discussion topic.

When you play your characters, what motivates your choice of talents? Do you try to use the talents that everyone recommends? Do you prefer passives for simplicity? Is there a talent you like to use entirely due to flavor?

Most times I don't care too much usually cookie cutter things a bit, with the intent to personalize it as I get a feel for what works for me and what doesn't.

But I got to thinking of this because I've been leveling my Forsaken Affliction Warlock, Zeddward, with the faction invasions and looking up the recommended talents and such, as I usually do when I haven't played a toon in a while, I find myself making choices against it because they're spells I just like more.

For example, most guides recommend the Deadbolt spell as the lvl 15 Affliction talent. I like to go with Drain Soul, however. After so much time with Affliction being the spec that drains things, it just doesn't feel right going back to Shadow Bolt. By the same token, I don't use Grimore of Sacrifice because I like having my pet. Specifically I have my Felhunter glyphed into an Observer and I like having him around.

Edited by sgamer82 on Dec 17th 2018 at 5:42:48 AM

RE: Kiefen

The problem is how the writers are handling the Horde, so a war council wouldn't solve anything. Note the Alliance never has problems despite also being an absolute monarchy.

Finally the Horde's current leaders as a whole right now, don't really embody the philosophy of the Horde. Only the eastern Horde has power right now.

Edited by Monsund on Dec 17th 2018 at 4:52:34 AM

I usually just go with the recommended specs. However I do read and expect a full explanation of why a given talent is supposed to be the go to.

If I have a choice I prefer passive abilities because i don't like button bloat.

True the non-allied races' leaders are either against their own race's cultures (Baine) non-existent (Orcs, Darkspear) bland as cardboard (Lorthemar) or caricatures (Sylvanas, Gallywix).

Clearly the solution is for the allied races to take over.

Edited by Kiefen on Dec 17th 2018 at 1:59:26 PM

Yeah, in terms of the Warlock, I had that button bloat issue with Demonology. The recommended builds on Icy Veins give four active abilities to use. They are useful, when I've played with them, but just a bit too much for my personal taste.

It is ironic the allied races have better racial leaders, especially when its the non allied racial leaders that get all the focus. Even Nightborne, the least Hord-ish of the Horde allied race, has a racial leader far more in line with the philosophy of the Horde then any of the Horde's current leadership.

Another talent I tend to enjoy using, even though it's not necessarily the most practical choice, is Totem Mastery. I love that little callback to the days of dropping four totems at once.

In summary one could conclude that all of the 4 Horde allied races are basically un-flanderized versions of their counterparts, while the 4 Alliance allied races are extremist factions of their counterparts.

Thats a surprisingly accurate way to put it. Despite from an alternate past timeline, the Mag'har are more about the future then orcs are currently, Zandalar are more prominent then Darkspear, Nightborne are more dedicated to the Horde then Blood Elves, ETC.

It is funny how Alliance gets Draenei except love the Light even more and Gomes but love technology even more.

Edited by Monsund on Dec 17th 2018 at 5:25:30 AM

Back to the question of Warchief candidates, there's actually 3 different ways to read that question and all 3 give somewhat different answers, though with some overlap. These questions often get mixed up in these sorts of discussions.

Who do I think will be the next Warchief?

Who do I think should be the next Warchief?

Who do I want to be the next Warchief?

The first question, who do I think will be the next Warchief, has an enormous amount of uncertainty in any candidate I might name and the uncertainly only increases the further in the future we look. I put Baine in this category not because I think he's the best choice, but merely because I'm looking at the Horde characters in a leadership role Blizzard is focusing on right now and he's one of them. So he goes on the very long list of "characters I can't conclusively rule out as being the next Warchief". If I absolutely have to bet on single character, it's going to be Saurfang. But even in his case I can only claim weak-to-moderate confidence at best.

Who do I think should be the next Warchief? This answer is more based on "Who do I think would make the best story", I'd probably go with Saurfang or Thrall. Thrall is a bit of an out there choice right now given his absence from recent events, but I think the right story can both explain his absence and give him a proper grand return.

Who do I want to be the next Warchief? This answer is going to be determined purely by my own personal whims without regard for character popularity or overall story quality. And that person is Talanji. You might argue it's a terrible idea to make someone Warchief in literally the same expansion as she was introduced, and you would be right. But I am perfectly happy to irrationally and unapologetically shill for Talanji.

RE: Falrinn

Saurfang and/or Thrall could work.

True the writers are using Baine a bit, even if its mostly to constantly shill the Alliance at his own expense. Though if the current Baine become war chief, I expect a drop in subscribers. With how Baine is right now, the fanbase imagines Warchief Baine would lead to the Alliance enslaving the tauren and exterminating the orcs and trolls.

Well Talanji has experience leading and has had a good showing. She could be war chief this expansion, I imagine a big story showing her loyalty to the Horde would be prepare her for the role. She has already shown a close friendship with the Darkspear, particularly Rokhan.

Edited by Monsund on Dec 17th 2018 at 9:51:11 AM

I'm going to go fairly hard against any argument that "There will be a big drop in subscribers if X story decision is made".

It's basically due to a paradox where someone has to be deeply invested in the story to think story decisions are worth quitting over, but at that point they are generally too deeply invested in the story to quit over a single story decision.

Which means that anyone who actually checks out because a disliked candidate was made Warchief was probably on their way out regardless.

Plus, I doubt there are actually enough people invested in the narrative formthe sub drop to be noticeable unless it's combined with something else, like BFA's honestly fairly mediocre class and systems design.

But he is not wrong in said Baine is not a awsome chararter and not a pro horde a this point so yeah.

New Events in Wo W for December 18th: Cooking Impossible, BFA Dungeon Event, Havenswood

https://www.wowhead.com/news=289287/new-events-in-wow-for-december-18th-cooking-impossible-bfa-dungeon-event-havensw

A roundup if stuff coming I'm with this week's maintenance and updates.

If you all want a really out of left field Warchief candidate, look no further than Thrall's paternal uncle Fenris Wolfbrother. His ultimate fate is currently unknown so he could still be alive, and his relationship with Thrall could even be used as a stepping stone to get Thrall back into the story. Best of all, he's got the kind of personality that I'm sure a lot of people would want in a Warchief. To quote "Fenris was described as willing to acknowledge his own fears when facing a real danger, intelligent and also as not lacking courage. Unlike Tagar and his Bonechewers he noticed the peculiar structure of the Tomb. He also hated the treacherous machinations of the Horde's politics" as shown in the Beyond the Dark Portal novel.

x4 That's my view as well. I'm very comfortable arguing that Blizzard's "Azerite 2.0" system slated for Rise of Azshara, if it's a bust, has the potential to negatively impact subscriber on a far larger scale then even the worst plausible Warchief candidates.

Gameplay systems are something all Warcraft players have to deal with wether they care about the details or not.

I don't really disagree with that. As it stands it feels like Baine values peace with the Alliance more than how that peace would benefit the Horde, and in my opinion that makes him a poor choice for Warchief.

But his story is going somewhere, and with the general cloud of uncertainty regarding the future of the Horde I don't really have a choice but to put him on the list of people who could theoretically become Warchief.

Also, apparently the Saurfang questline has been unlocked. Looks like my theory was right and my speculation that it wouldn't take place until after the Vol'jin line would look silly when this week rolled around.

I can confirm the Saurfang questline is out now

https://www.wowhead.com/news=289288/the-fate-of-saurfang-horde-only-questline-now-available-on-na

By the power of runny makeup, Tyrande has pulled a powerup out of her ass.

But now I have runny mascara to show how emo my rogue is. My rouge?

I seem to be having bad luck in the Eye of Azshara lately. It's like that dungeon and Druids are a bad combination. x_x

Bad luck? Not sure I get you. I can solo Eye on Mythic at 120 easily.

Bite your tongue. Night Warrior Tyrande is awesome; it's about time she became proactive. More to the point, all of the Night Elves (and players) who criticize Elune for sitting on her ass (on her moon?) while her chosen people's home got burned down have a reason to feel some hope, finally. Hell, it's called out in the quest line and Warfront on multiple occasions.

What I wonder is: will Tyrande stay like this? Will her transformation permanently alter her character, so she becomes purely vengeance-driven? That could mark a turn towards her eventual downfall as a leader. I mean, by the lore that we've established, sooner or later she has to give up that power lest it consume her utterly.

Boiled down, what I see Blizzard doing in this expansion is having characters commit to irrevocable, status quo changing actions. There needs to be some payoff for this in the form of consequences to those characters, or it cheapens them. Fortunately, we've got two more major content tiers to go through before everything comes to a finale.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 20th 2018 at 9:21:12 AM

A few nights ago, the people in my LFG said my DPS was no good, and just last night they said my tanking was no good. I just can't win. >.<

Yeah, I remember that got Maiev in a lot of trouble.

the thing is, can they actually commit to changing the status quo when ending the eternal stalemate is gonna piss at least half the fans off.

The execution of the Night Warrior thing still feels kinda weak, I have to say. Sure, you do get a cathartic moment of Tyrande wiping the floor with Nathanos and a Val'kyr going down as a result, but when you go into the Darkshore Warfront world quests and she's doing the talking heads thing, it just feels so...like Tyrande was before? That Night Warrior spirit just kinda seems to have gone out of her even though she retains the dark eyes and whatnot. Her voice is the same, the delivery is the same, she doesn't even seem that aggressive when you're talking about eliminating part of the Horde opposition...this feels way too superficial.

It feels like the voice acting needing some kind of twist it didn't get to denote the character change, and I think it's a shame.

Again, I'm confused. How and why are you doing Dungeon Finder runs for Legion dungeons?

I feel that comes down to Gameplay and Story Segregation to some extent.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 20th 2018 at 12:12:00 PM

They need to do a bit more to help enforce her new status as The Dreaded, besides just changing her VA to be more seething.

Maybe when the N Elves own Darkshore they should have her patrolling down the roads as an invincible level ?? raid boss that starstorms any Horde she catches, PC or AI, into dust. Basically make her a new Fel Reaver that Horde players are always afraid they're about to get jumped by.