The Great Exile?

Friday, and time for a Reader Post. You know the post of the week where I look through what was sent to myself and pick one to showcase. Well this week I had a very interesting entry from Magmaer who seems like an obvious Alliance friendly player. Regardless of that he does make some pretty good points and it is an interesting read about how the Horde should be exiled. So have a read.

It's clear by now that the Horde has no future in Azeroth. Initially it was a demon-driven invading army that ultimately failed and got scattered. Then came Thrall with a vision of a new Horde: based on honor, companionship and, some might say, something more spiritually balanced than "kill all, take all".

When WoW started the Horde was a new family made of wild races looking for peace and prosperity. There was a dream, a plan. 

And it failed. 

Its very author, who used to seem wise and balanced, suddenly abandoned his post and chose, by reasons that defy logic, a unprepared new warchief that was the embodiment of everything that went wrong in the past.

The thing about rehabilitation is that it requires patience, work and continuity. It's a delicate work, and any fallback might ruin it indefinitely. Someone that starts over and falls again will, quite understandably, lose the trust of those around him. The dream of a new horde was first shaken, and them ruined. The inhabitants of Azeroth don't belive in them anymore- they'll always expect them to go bloodlust batshit crazy again. And - more importantly - the Horde members themselves don't belive in the vision anymore. Now broken, the core of the horde has no place in Azeroth anymore: a world filled with people committed to honor and decency, fighting against all evils. Now a invaded world, there is no more place for the unstable, crazy, maniac horde anymore. It would be a mistake to dismantle the horde: that would only create other, perhaps more complicated, future problems. Extinguishing them would go against the azerothian ideals.

The Horde should be exiled.

A golden opportunity showed up with ancient Draenor. The land is the original orcish world. It was preserved from destruction, ridden of the Burning Legion and of the most vile orcish leaders. In sum: it was cleaned up. It's a perfectly healthy world now and it's exactly what a group of wild and broken races need to forge a new future. How would this work? Orcs, trolls and tauren move to draenor, the native draenei move to their Azeroth settlement, the blood elves have the choice of remaining in Quel'Thalas or leaving, and the forsaken are left to their future in Azeroth. How often a chance like this appears for those that screw up hard and many times over? Some would say it's way more than they deserve, some would remind the things they suffered and how they do deserve a chance to start over.

In any case, it's way more than ever was offered the draenei.

There you have it. What do you think? Or is this too much thought for a Friday? As always thanks to everyone who sent something in, this wouldn't be possible without all of your contributions. Enjoy your weekend

There Is Still No Flying In Draenor

So I know I have talked about this before but I never really allowed a Reader Post on the subject. I have always thought during the leveling process you see more of the world created when flying isn't a factor. When you can enjoy the environments and just be part of everything. When flying is involved because of the speed at which you can travel leveling becomes so much more about efficiency, So with all of that in mind here is this week's post submitted by Rawri

Recently I read a forum post regarding the touchy subject of flying vs no flying in Draenor. The poster was pro flight. Their argument is that it amounts to taking away the choice of flight for pro-flight players the way things are, where if flight were allowed, everyone would have a choice. While this is true, as an anti flight proponent, let me say I don't want flight to be a choice. It's not because I would feel forced to fly to remain competitive if given the option. It's because I play on a pvp server. Imagine flying mounts inside a bg. Not a pretty sight right? It would in fact, ruin the content. Not just trivialize, but ruin it. I'm not the best at pvp. And I've been ganked by better players who surpassed me with better skill, gear, or a situational advantage. But I still like that the combat happens, even if I lose, I learn a little. Typical world pvp encounters usually begin and end with flying mounts anymore. One player, in flight, is able to scope out their opponents completely before deciding if they want to engage. Everyone is a rogue, everyone can choose their fights. If you no longer want to fight, it's pretty easy to get away. Ever been right at the end of a challenging battle, only to find yourself ganked? Yes you have, assuming you play on a pvp server. Did you want revenge? Did you know you could pay them back if you got the chance? How many times have you gotten that chance after the addition of flying mounts? It's like being punched in the mouth and then being told your assailant has called time out. 

My example has been largely pvp centric. But what I'm getting at is consequence, and interaction between players, and interacting with their environment isn't nearly as good as it was before it was introduced. Up until now that is. Warlords put some more war back into warcraft, and part of that comes from removing those flying mounts. When would I like to see flying in Draenor? maybe the final major content patch, or after the next expansion.

And with that enjoy your weekend!