The narrative style of the story of World of Warcraft causes problems. The way it is presented is unsatisfactory, and new features are counterproductive to the story, says Cortyn.
After I published the article “WoW: Even the ‘Red Shirt Guy’ hates the story of Patch 8.1” a few days ago, there was a nice comment from our user Myusca. The core message was that the issue with the story of World of Warcraft is not what is being told, but how it is being told.
A change in perspective is to blame: One reason for the changed perception could simply be the change in perspective that has taken place between Warcraft 3 and WoW. While in Warcraft 3 we followed the same hero through ten or more missions experiencing an epic campaign, it is different in World of Warcraft.
We are an adventurer who does not constantly follow King Anduin or Tyrande but wanders through the history of the world. Sometimes we help important nobles, then again simple farmers, each with very different problems. Just through the diversity and size of the game world, a single, red thread of the storyline cannot be established.
At the same time, one must also say that the MMORPG player base does not like a long story with consistent enemies. During the Legion expansion, there was repeated criticism that “you just can’t see the green anymore” and that “the demons are being shoved down your throat.”
This leads to problems in storytelling. Anyone waiting for an exciting development in the story of the Blood Elves will be disappointed – they have been in a standstill for years, similar to the Gnomes. Progress is truly being made only with one or two races that are in the focus of an expansion.
Standstill in new features
Certain new features, especially the Warfronts, are particularly critical. While these are designed to be exciting for many players, they are trapped in an endless continuum that never leads to a resolution or progression of the story.
Even worse: In the Warfronts, there are changing champions that we have killed. Did the heroes of the Horde and Alliance actually kill the great heroes Turalyon, Muradin, Rokhan, and Etrigg?
In other content, it is clear: When we can complete a raid or dungeon, then (with the exception of retrospective story changes) it is quite clear who dies and who survives. It is evident that Gul’dan met his end at the end of the Night Fortress. It is clear that Kil’jaeden was defeated with the completion of the “Tomb of Sargeras.”
With the Warfronts, it is unclear: Are the Warfronts and their actors actually part of the lore? Or is this “pure gameplay” in which they simply put popular and powerful characters to make it more interesting?
Unfortunately, they convey exactly that impression and thus are an almost disturbing element in the story that World of Warcraft wants to tell. Much worse is that one no longer knows exactly what the Warfront actually tells and what is merely pure gameplay. This works with nameless leaders in battlegrounds like the Isle of Conquest, but not in a Warfront with dialogues and great heroes.
This makes it difficult to follow the storyline and really understand how the titular war over Azeroth actually unfolds. Because as more and more Warfronts appear that are in an ongoing conflict, without ever being resolved, there is a standstill.
But now we come to you: Do you think that the narrative style of the lore has changed and thus loses its value? Or is it simply due to the medium “MMORPG”, which cannot focus on the same story for too long?
Maybe BlizzCon 2018 will provide new information…
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