The Queue: I’ve got your back…end

Welcome back to The Queue, our daily Q&A feature for all of Blizzard’s games! Have a question for the Blizzard Watch staff? Leave it in the comments!

You guys. I think I figured out how to make Uldum ridiculously entertaining again. It’s full of cut scenes just waiting to be crashed by a horse’s rear end. I’m just saying.

Oh right we have questions, let’s get to those!

I don’t know if there really needs to be more “class specific” questlines. I mean, I guess it’d be a neat bit of extra flavor, but overall I think Legion’s done a good job with putting the emphasis on classes. We’ve done all our individual campaigns, we’ve solidified ourselves as united classes, now it’s time to work together, you know? We aren’t really armies of whatever classes anymore — we’re presenting a united front and hitting the Legion with everything we’ve got.

As far as faction leaders learning anything…you know, I think Anduin may value this experience as an affirmation that no, he isn’t mad and yes, the factions can work side by side if needed. The reassurance that Azeroth — the entirety of Azeroth — is strong. And even if he’s not the warrior his father may have wanted him to be at one point, he can be even more valuable as a leader. One that makes sure those under his guiding hand don’t forget these dark times of war, and that moment of triumph at the end of it all.

…as for Sylvanas, I don’t know if she’s going to learn anything of value from all of this. At the moment, her focused is absorbed on two things — vengeance on the Burning Legion (which the Horde is handling nicely), and a way to extend the life of her people. The search for the latter one didn’t exactly go according to plan. I’m still not sure how Sylvanas views the rest of the Horde at this point — whether they’re valuable allies, or Forsaken just waiting to be risen.

That’s an excellent question! I think everyone just assumed it was a structure on the Broken Shore. I’m not sure if that’s Azeroth on the right, or just one of however many Legion-infested worlds are out there. If you look in the upper left, there’s a cracked planet that looks vaguely like Argus. If that’s the case, then no, we’re not looking at a structure on Argus — maybe Marduum? Regardless, it’s one of the better login screens I’ve seen.

I don’t know if Blizzard is ever going to revisit the old world to the degree that we saw in Cataclysm. The sheer amount of time and effort it took to update all those zones was an expansion’s-worth of effort, you know? I wouldn’t call that revamp a waste of time, as the vanilla versions of those zones were vastly, vastly outdated compared to new expansions and updated questing experiences.

At the same time, not as many people are rolling alts from level 1 anymore. The majority of players are leveling their mains — they aren’t going back to re-do old content. So you have to look at the amount of time invested, and whether the payoff is worth it. I don’t necessarily think it’s worth it anymore. Would I like to see it? Yes, absolutely. Do I think it’s any kind of priority for Blizzard? Not really, no.

{PB}I’m pretty sure that somewhere out there in Azeroth, there was an enterprising Goblin that managed to design and craft the perfect pair of Troll shoes. They were probably a masterpiece in design, comfortable, not too flashy, and designed with the unique shape and aesthetic of Troll tootsies in mind. I’m sure he thought he was going to make a mint when he took his Air Vol’jins to the nearest Troll village and proudly offered them what he decided was a good deal, price-wise.

What he didn’t think of was the idea that maybe hey, you know, Trolls like being barefoot. And his petulant fit when they turned his merchandise down was more than enough to seal his fate and insure that nobody would ever see him or his wares again.

Yes. Absolutely. Without question.

…but let me elaborate.

The Warcraft franchise is easily one of the most beloved franchises in Blizzard’s stable of IPs. Not only does it have the behemoth that is World of Warcraft, it’s also seriously got the nostalgia factor going for it. People have been playing these games for over twenty years. All they have left of those early pre-MMO days are fond memories for the most part. If Blizzard were to remaster and re-release those old titles, I’m pretty sure they have an audience of older players that would love to dive in and revel in the memories that come back to them.

I also think that there’s enough of an interest from the younger crowd to appeal as well. These games were some of the more popular RTS games out there — and Blizzard is very good at that particular genre. Sure, the older titles aren’t exactly broad in scope — but they represent a little piece of Blizzard history. I also think that they’d make for a good mobile title — they aren’t too technically complex, and if time were put in to develop a functional version for tablet and mobile, I think it’d sell like gangbusters.

I feel like I’m probably not the best person to ask about that — I play Assassination, and I’ve been playing Assassination for years. I played a little Outlaw in Legion beta, but other than that it’s been Assassination for me since…Wrath, I think.

And I can’t really complain about it. I mean…it’s not bad. It’s never been bad. It’s not what I’d call flashy, but it gets the job done. So I don’t really have any suggestions along the lines of changes, because…I don’t really think we need any. And by “we” I mean “me,” or Assassination in general. Outlaw and Sub might need some tweaking, but I’m not familiar enough with either spec to feel comfortable giving input on that front.

So instead I’ll just say what I’ve been saying since transmogrification has become a thing: I’d like to be able to transmog to something besides daggers, please. Yes, I realize Assassination is a dagger-only spec. After so many years of using the exact same weapon type, I find it incredibly dull. I have a mountain of other types of beautiful weapon models in my wardrobe, and I can’t use any of them on my main. It makes me sad. I mean…give me fist weapons at least. Swords? Something? Anything?

I’m not going to hold my breath, but I’ll keep my hopes up regardless.

That’s it for today’s Queue — if you have any questions you’d like to see answered, be sure to leave them in the comments below!