Patch 5.1

[bldavis]

Just translating for you

i think that is a sign we have been in a guild together too long

[Sagara]

I'm getting really interested in the 5.1 quest chains - after merely 3 chains, it really feels like the Horde is imploding. What I was wondering is if it was visible from the Alliance POV? Maybe we could share notes on our respective quest chains?




*** SPOILER ALERT AHOY ***




Chapter 1: Dagger in the dark (Day 0) On Patch day, we were given the "honor" of escorting Garrosh and secure the island that would become Domination Point. With construction underway, we were surprised by an unexpected guest: Vol'jin had arrived on Pandaria by his own means.
The divide between the troll and the orc was evident when Garrosh extolled the virtues of his war of conquest, while Vol'jin reminded him of exactly how he was viewed from the outside. Still, Vol'jin was sent on reconnaissance with an orc party and ourselves as "local expert".
While the orcs secured the northernmost point of the Veiled Stairs, Vol'jin and us explored the cave that leads to Kun-lai, stumbling upon a saurok nest containing mogu relics discussing the creation of the sauroks. Vol'jin was disgusted, while the orcs wanted to exploit the mogu's ideas for their own. Discussions heated, accusations of betrayal were made and a fight ensued where the orc party was wiped out and vol'jin wounded. Vok'jin went under the radar, officially killed in the cave.

Chapter 2: Voice of the Gods (Day 2) We were summoned to the Shrine of two moons, where Lor'themar and a band of Reliquary archeologists had set an advance base. We were sent to an excavation site on a plateau in the Vale of Eternal Blossom around the time a quilen statue was unearthed.
Sadly, no-one had cared to warn the elves about the quilen's unique properties, and we had to put the beast down, looting a mogu tablet describing some kind of weapon: "A bell cast from the makers' flesh, shaped by stars' fire, and bound by the breath of darkest shadow. This bell, when rung, could shake the world and call to the heavens."
Needless to say, Garrosh was overjoyed at the discovery. More importantly, the Reliquary provided us with a transcript of the tablet, mentionning they trusted "that you will not share this sensitive information with just anyone." Wether the Reliquary is aware of Vol'jin duplicity is unclear at this point.

Chapter 3: The Horde is Family (day 4) Chen has been a friend of Vol'jin's for a decade now, so when Chen called us to Kun-lai, it should have been a small surprise to know he was tending to a bedridden Vol'jin, poisoned in the battle a few days before. After some treatment, Vol'jin is aware enough to hand us a hearthstone - that serves as a distress signal to the one person Vol'jin trusts above all.
We thus teleport to the Valley of Trials, where Thrall and Aggra are teaching orclings. The Hearthstone's meaning is clear to Thrall - Vol'jin feared for his people, and trusted Thrall to help them in his absence. To Thrall, the Horde is a family that protects one another. Garrosh, not so much: the Echo Isles are under martial law, with orc warrior and warlocks keeping the trolls under constant watch.
To his chagrin, Thrall asks us to break the occupation by force. With the trolls freed, Thrall takes over leadership in Vol'jin's stead, mulling wether he has any right to force the Horde away from Garrosh's vision. He asks for our silence until he has found his own answer.



*** END OF SPOILERS ***



So, it seems the boiling point is much closer than expected, in part due to Garrosh's heavy-handed methods. But considering we hardly heard a peep of the Alliance activity in Pandaria, I was wondering what was going on on your side, and wether you guys had heard something of the current tensions on the red side?

[benebarba]

So, it seems the boiling point is much closer than expected, in part due to Garrosh's heavy-handed methods. But considering we hardly heard a peep of the Alliance activity in Pandaria, I was wondering what was going on on your side, and wether you guys had heard something of the current tensions on the red side?

So far at the point I'm at: No. (but I've only got up to the point where we go find the 'retired' SI-7 agent at the brawler's guild... for what purpose, I'm not entirely sure yet.)

We have a scenario ('A little patience') and an couple intro quests that seem to be tailor-made to make the ally player base stop hating Varian. And, to be honest, it is kinda working. He openly discusses how he's come to appreciate compromise, and that he's not going to fight the war on the Horde's terms. Tyrande actually berates him for this in the scenario, but comes to understand after he breaks down and explains it to her at the end: basically that there's more to war than killing and dying in honorable combat, there's protecting what you love and not losing yourself in the process(at least that was my read on it).

But for the most part it's been: go kill horde, destroy their supply chain, and take care of whatever issue the archeologists have dug up.

[Teranoid]

Seeing Thrall made me want to flip my desk.

Good to know Metzen managed to go a whopping 2 1/2 fucking months before jamming him down our throats again.

[Sagara]

Well, at least he's on a bus in the Echo Isles for now. The datamined info doesn't point to him popping up again in the near future.
And to be honest, what non-Darkspear would have Vol'Jin turned to? Rexxar is in Outland, and Rokhan or Zen'tabra are trolls, and likely to be targeted first by anyone going after Vol'Jin.

... Ya know, I would have LOVED to have Rexxar instead.

[KysenMurrin]

This could just be a final "why bringing Thrall back won't work" subplot, to close that off for good.

[Sagara]

This could just be a final "why bringing Thrall back won't work" subplot, to close that off for good.

I'd rather have Vol'Jin (or someone else) move forward, and Thrall being the "Wise Hermit on the Mountain" that adventurers are sent to for guidance.

[Klaudandus]

i dont think thrall is coming back at the end of MoP

[Newsom]

Vol'jin is obviously the next warchief. Did you even read Thrall's dialogue during the quest?

[Sagara]

Well, I don't remember anything being especially noteworthy on that front.

More like: "Ok guys, I'll fill in for Vl'jin during his sick leave. Where's the hookah?"
I'll go re-check.

[KysenMurrin]

To be fair, I don't think anyone has actually said they do think Thrall will come back as Warchief.

[Fenris]

So far at the point I'm at: No. (but I've only got up to the point where we go find the 'retired' SI-7 agent at the brawler's guild... for what purpose, I'm not entirely sure yet.)

He's our lead into the divine bell-stuff

spoiler










And the death waiting for resurrection-maybe not death of Anduin by Garrosh hand,if i remember the datamining right





/spoiler

Good to know Metzen managed to go a whopping 2 1/2 fucking months before jamming him down our throats again.

The problem isn't with Thrall though.It's the way they handed him to us as the green-skinned Jesus in Cataclysm that was terrible.

[Forgrim]

i have very little issues with thrall, but apparently, the lot of you seem to hate him with a passion of a thousand raging suns.

[Teranoid]

This could just be a final "why bringing Thrall back won't work" subplot, to close that off for good.

As long as Chris Metzen has any sort of creative input in World of Warcraft I refuse to believe this will ever be the case. :\

i have very little issues with thrall, but apparently, the lot of you seem to hate him with a passion of a thousand raging suns.

He is the biggest mary sue in the history of the world.

Metzen took him from revered warchief of the Horde to "I'm fucking Superman watch me save the world as I appear every 10 quests in Cataclysm!"

It was worse than Arthas showing up to get his ass kicked and run away in every zone in Wrath (although it was comical to see him have a different amount of HP every time).

The problem isn't with Thrall though.It's the way they handed him to us as the green-skinned Jesus in Cataclysm that was terrible.

Bingo.

[KysenMurrin]

Eh, I didn't really have a problem with Thrall in Cataclysm. They needed to get him out of the way of the Horde for the purposes of the current storyline, and do it without marginalising him, so they made him into a hero for Cataclysm.