Now Blizzard is also removing jokes and flirt lines in World of Warcraft. Many of the ancient lines have disappeared.
The extensive alteration of content in World of Warcraft continues. New changes or rather removals have been found on the PTR of Patch 9.1.5. Some of the popular jokes and flirt lines of the characters have disappeared – they simply no longer occur.
What is being removed? If you log into the PTR of Patch 9.1.5 with the English client, you will notice some changes. After prior images of women, sex servants, and even undead were altered, jokes and flirt lines are now being removed as well. Many rather risqué lines and jokes have been removed from the English client – the corresponding jokes simply are not presented anymore when you type /silly (/joke) or /flirt.
Some of the affected English jokes are:
- Male Pandaren:
- ‘Nice pants. What’s the drop rate?’
- ‘Hey, hot stuff. Want to try breeding in captivity?’
- Female Dwarf:
- ‘I’ll have you know I can flatten steel with my thighs.’
- Male Tauren:
- ‘Free rides for the ladies.’
- ‘Y’know, older bulls really only have one function.’
- Female Tauren:
- ‘I’ve got big, soulful eyes, long eyelashes and a wet tongue. What more could a guy want?’
- ‘One time I laughed so hard I milked all over the floor.’
These are just a few examples; many races have had jokes and flirt lines removed.
WoW is supposed to adapt to the current values and beliefs of the developers
Why is Blizzard doing this? A few days ago, Blizzard issued a statement regarding why so many old contents are being altered or removed. The developers are primarily concerned with updating a 15-year-old game to the current values and beliefs of the developers. Everyone should feel welcome in World of Warcraft – jokes should be inclusive and not disheartening. More on the developers’ reasoning can be found here:
Does this also apply to the German jokes and lines? This is not entirely clear yet. Since many jokes and flirt lines in the English version are based on wordplay that cannot be translated directly into German, the characters in the various localized versions – such as the German one – sometimes have completely different lines and jokes than in the English version. Therefore, it can be assumed that it will also be weighed which German jokes and flirt lines will be kept and which will be disabled.
Is there a replacement for the missing lines? That’s a good question. Although Blizzard has not said anything about this yet, it could be difficult to add new lines to replace the deleted ones. This is mainly because voice actors recorded the original lines sometimes over 15 years ago. Whether they can all be contracted again – or are simply all still active – is doubtful.
New lines would likely require that the entire voiceover of a character be re-recorded, which would bring entirely different problems. After all, many players are attached to the familiar voices of their characters.
What do you think about Blizzard now disabling flirt lines and jokes? Is it acceptable to adapt World of Warcraft to modern circumstances? Or do you find the changes just silly?
