Project Lore

At BlizzCon, we learned that parts of Azeroth would be reshaped as Deathwing broke the the Plane of Earth and shattered the world. Azshara, The Barrens, Ashenvale, Desolace, and several more were showcased, both in panels and in the trailer for Cataclysm released during the event. But that doesn't mean those are the only areas that would be greatly affected by the destruction, just because that's all we saw at the time. I think it's reasonable to believe that Blizzard only showed those that were farthest along in development at the time. Stranglethorn in all its (current) glory. Well, thanks to the most recent issue of PC Gamer UK, we now know that the oh-so-infamous Stranglethorn Vale is set to join the ranks of those zones receiving a substantial face lift in the next expansion. But, you might ask, what's wrong with Stranglethorn? Clearly, something. In his interview with Gamasutra, Lead World Designer Alex Afrasiabi mentioned that they've taken a hard look at every zone internally, giving each a rating depending on how happy they are with it currently. So, if Stranglethorn is getting reworked as drastically as implied, either the development team has a really big beef with its present incarnation, or the redesigns are important to the continuation of the story. Knowing that, I'd like to examine several possibilities for the Vale of the future. Right from the start, I think it's safe to assume that the zone will undergo the typical terrain changes. There's always the possibility of seeing volcanic ruptures tearing through the ground, just as they do in several of the other transformed zones. And with most of its landmass being coastal, we may see parts of Stranglethorn flood or be washed away by tidal waves (hey, it's happening to Southshore). By doing this, they could potentially eliminate some of the quest-lines and reduce the overall amount of time that you'll be spending here as opposed to the past. Sometimes streamlining means trimming the fat, and while the zone currently showcases a wealth of content, it both completely supplants leveling in other areas (like Desolace) and requires a lot of back-and-forth between those of the same band. Leveling zones in Cataclysm will usually be right next to each other. As an example, Horde players often have to split their leveling with far away regions like Thousand Needles, Arathi Highlands, and Badlands from 28-45. If we take a look at the slides from the Preview panel at BlizzCon, they show new leveling paths moving from one adjacent zone to the next, largely eliminating the ludicrous amounts of globe-trotting required in the game now. We'll still go to Stranglethorn, but I think the question now is "when?" That's a tough one. The zone has always been closer to Alliance territory, perhaps implying that it will now be more integral to their mid-range leveling experience, but at the same time, they've only ever had a meager presence in the area. One might argue that neither has the Horde, but now we have a bit of a wild card to consider -- Garrosh Hellscream. We already know that he's bent on not only fortifying the faction's capital, Orgrimmar, but also tightening the grip on Alliance lands. If Zoram'Gar Outpost in Ashenvale is set to swell in size and importance, it's not a huge jump in logic to think that the Grom'Gol Base Camp might, too. Going a bit farther, I have a feeling that it will also move more in-land, with the original encampment being overtaken by the sea. Figuring out which level band Stranglethorn might occupy in the future isn't easy, but I imagine it'll be a lot more homogeneous, requiring only one trip around the zone, instead of making the Northern and Southern halves effectively separate in terms of difficulty. But let's take it to the next level, beyond the fundamental changes that have become a part of the Cataclysm experience. What's been going on there the entire time? For one, the animals of have been experiencing a small-scale Cataclysm all their own. Hemet Nesingwary and his cohorts have been decimating the local wildlife population unchecked for the past few years. And what about D.E.H.T.A.? Though I was surprised that it took them until Wrath of the Lich King to react to his genocidal ways, perhaps they'll return here in the expansion to protect the rich floral and faunal habitat that is Stranglethorn Vale. If we combine the threat of new found ecological disaster (as well as an old one, if the Venture Co. sticks around) with the Nesingwary onslaught, I'd be astonished if they didn't show up once again. Whether they do or not, I fully expect a revamp of Nesingwary's (or Nesingwary Jr.'s, if they keep him here) quests to be more in line with those in Sholazar Basin. In other words, a lot less "grindy" than they are now. Something else I'd really like to see is an extension of the war between the Blackwater Raiders and the Bloodsail Buccaneers. After all, who doesn't want more pirate action? Undoubtedly, the local swashbucklers will find some way to exploit the chaos of the Cataclysm, whether that be open plundering or an escalation of their conflict. This could have dire consequences for Booty Bay. Though I fully expect it to remain a hub of transportation, I suspect that it will not survive the Armageddon unscathed. And then there are the Gurubashi Trolls and Zul'Gurub. Now that we'll be able to fly over it, will we see activity, or will it look barren until you jump through the portal, like most current outdoor instances? If I recall correctly, the Darkspear Trolls (the faction associated with the Horde) once lived here, and I think it's high time that we got a look at their story again. I would love to see them join the other Horde forces in establishing a greater presence here, perhaps reclaiming their homeland from their corrupted brothers and sisters. If anything can be said about the Cataclysm, though, it's that it has affected the world in completely unexpected ways, and that may be the case with Stranglethorn Vale, too. The expansion provides Blizzard with the chance to really move the existing story in each zone forward, but at the end of the day, there's no way to tell exactly what they have planned until they let us in on it. Let's hope that day comes sooner rather than later! In the meantime, please chime in with your thought on the future of Stranglethorn, and what things you'd like to see change from the current version!

Click to read more ...

Some of the content in this post may be considered spoilers to those who have not leveled to 80. A lot of players ask questions like "how was Gnomeregan taken over by a bunch of level 40 troggs and why can't level 80 players clean it out?" or "the Exodar crash has been a few months ago for a couple years now. Why doesn't this change?" One of the reasons the world doesn't change is that Blizzard wants a "static MMO world" to a large extent where they have developed content that they still want to be accessible to players as they spent a large amount of resources developing it. Players also largely don't want to see content disappear. The disappearance of the Onyxia key quest chain in order to progress the story was controversial. The second answer to questions like this is that as far as lore goes, "level" is not a direct measure of power. It is unclear if Kel'Thuzad could best Ragnaros mano-a-mano. Lore-wise, cleaning out Gnomeregan is not as simple as a level 80 mage walking in and spamming Arcane Explosion. Gnomeregan has some additional radiation issues, but generally you can't just use levels to compare say Edwin VanCleef to Jammal'an the Prophet. The 8 "well-developed" capital cities have lots to do and there seems to always be some corner to explore, yet Sen'jin and Gnomeregan are extremely static and boring. Orgrimmar and Stormwind were attacked by the Scourge prior to the Horde and Alliance's invasion of Northrend, and all the capital cities usually have something going on with the world events. Sen'jin and Gnomeregan are left out completely. I wonder why they can't phase the Sen'jin and Orgimmar areas after you do the starting quests and maybe some "construction" quests like with the Argent Crusade in Icecrown which progress you through a series of phases. Some of my favorite content in the game has to be the aftermath of the Wrathgate incident. The phasing of Orgrimmar and the Undercity were fantastic, shocking, and memorable. Somehow I can't imagine why they can't do something with Sen'jin and other undeveloped areas. I think it degrades some of the "troll identity" in the Horde to not have a home city and having to slaughter trolls all the time. I smiled to myself when I completed Exalted Champion of Silvermoon and was able to choose "Bladebourne of Silvermoon" as a title. This is one of the reasons I have problems playing as a troll. Trolls and Gnomes were not even included in the original WoW cinematic and their inclusion in recent content always feels like "token representation". Vol'jin didn't even go into the Undercity during the attack on Varimathras and I really wanted him to bust out some voodoo. I hope that perhaps in the next expansion they flesh out Sen'jin and Gnomeregan, maybe through phasing, and give people a reason to visit them when they are at max level. I don't often go to Silvermoon City or Thunder Bluff, but I never go to Sen'jin. Is it worth it to build these cities up, or do you think the excuse of trolls largely being absorbed to Orgrimmar and gnomes into Ironforge valid enough to leave them as is?

Click to read more ...