The Queue: Time travel, the end of Hellfire, my problem with Monks

Okay, it’s The Queue, questions are asked and answered.

When I was a kid living in Rhode Island, I used to watch a show called Force Five, on Channel 25 (a Boston channel) which adapted several anime series for American audiences. Why am I bringing that  up? No reason. It’s just something I thought of.

On to your questions.

That’s a good question. The short answer is, I have no idea.

The longer answer is, I think we’ll stop Archimonde (perhaps more permanently in the Mythic version, if the dungeon journal stuff is to be believed) and if there’s a patch 6.3, we’ll be looking for payback against Gul’dan. Perhaps we’ll even get to Farahlon. I would enjoy that.

If there’s not a 6.3, then I guess we’ll somehow wrap up this entire expansion in 6.2, which seems exceedingly unlikely.

It’s hardly Blizzard’s fault that I was voted into playing a Monk when I’d hoped I’d get Paladin or Druid for the leveling group. Let’s be completely honest. I have two problems with playing a monk.

1. The class is ridiculously strong as a tanking class at low levels. Keg Smash just annihilates whole groups, and I feel so much stronger than I did on my most recent Prot Warrior that I can’t help but resent it. Essentially I feel like I don’t even need to know how to play the class, just run around and hit groups with a keg and they all die, and that’s not fun for me.
2. I find the Chi/Energy mechanic cumbersome.

That’s basically it. Nothing really wrong with the monk — it seems like a solid enough tank and a really versatile class. It’s just not one I particularly enjoy. But I haven’t gotten to play Windwalker yet, so maybe I’d like that better. At any rate, I don’t think Blizzard could do anything to get me to like them, and they should focus on a compelling design for people who do like the class instead.

Also, come on, you guys voted me into it knowing I would hate it. You wanted me to. Heck, even I think it’s funny to listen to me gripe sometimes.

Honestly, I’d love to do an expansion that dealt with the various alternate versions of famous characters we’re seeing in Heroes of the Storm. Imagine going off to fight Hellhammer Thrall, deal with the Betrayer Malfurion alongside Shan’do Illidan? I really feel like Heroes of the Storm’s Nexus could serve as a great location for a World of Warcraft expansion and I’d love to get to see a WoW expansion that jumped from world to world and reality to reality.

Probably Mists of Pandaria.

People liked to bag on Mists because it starred a race that was originally a background joke, but the fact is, the expansion set out to deliver a new continent, entirely new lore, and a pretty epic confrontation not just between the Alliance and the Horde, but between each faction’s darkest impulses. Our characters brought war and conflict to a land that hadn’t seen them for 10,000 years, and we had to deal with the consequences of our actions.

There were themes of stagnation vs. change, even if change must be bought at a great price to those who undergo it, about isolationism and its dangers, about how innocents can be dragged into harm’s way, whether you can always work from inside or if it’s ever justified to abandon your honor to save others. It’s got a lot going on, and it managed to cram a ton in. Sure, SoO was way too long. But overall, Mists was the most engaging (especially in its endgame, level 90 content) that we have seen.

I really liked the Klaxxi, the patch 5.1 story, Throne of Thunder and Siege of Orgrimmar as raids, and seeing the Vale of Eternal Blossoms become the Vale of Eternal Sorrows. I wish we’d gotten to clean the Vale up after we beat Garrosh and the Heart of Y’Shaarj. The expansion brought us the mogu, the saurok, explained pandaren culture and mores… I found it charming and well done.

Honestly, I don’t think Hearthstone is aiming for the same audience that Magic did — it’s meant to be easier to get into and play. I expect there’s room for both games — Elder Scrolls fans will be all over the Elder Scrolls: Legends game, and if it’s designed like Magic it’ll appeal to old school gamers.

I’m sure Blizzard will pay attention to ES:L when it launches and if it’s a good, fun game, at least some of them will be playing it. But Hearthstone is not only a runaway success, it’s one that is aimed for ease of play. I really don’t think they’ll overlap too much.

Okay, and that’s the Queue for today. Man, I wish Xenogears was getting a big remake.