Sylvanas was called a “bitch” in World of Warcraft for a long time – at least that’s what several NPCs referred to her as. However, this will soon be removed from the game.
Anyone currently looking at the pre-patch for Shadowlands on the PTR or the beta of the new expansion can experience some changes to old quests. Blizzard has slightly revamped some of the coolest quests from Silverpine Forest. In doing so, a curse word has been removed. Sylvanas will no longer be called a “bitch” in the future.
What is it about? Since the Cataclysm expansion, there has been a fairly long quest line in Silverpine Forest with Sylvanas in an important role. The series begins directly with “The Warchief Approaches” at the Forsaken command post. There, Sylvanas initially discusses with the then Warchief Garrosh about the approach to the humans of Gilneas and how the Forsaken can multiply. Garrosh is not thrilled and insults Sylvanas before his departure in the English client – “bitch”.
This term has been completely removed in two instances with the new expansion Shadowlands. The term is simply omitted. The text has been adjusted, and the corresponding sound file ends a second earlier.
Why was this changed? There has not been a statement from Blizzard explaining why this term was removed from the game. However, players derive many explanations for why the term was struck from the game.
- The insult “bitch” is exclusively used in Silverpine Forest and Shadowfang Keep. It doesn’t really fit into World of Warcraft. Here, (almost) always original creations are used as insults, often referring to other creatures of the game world (ogres, gnolls, etc.).
- “Bitch” allows for many interpretations of meaning. It’s not just “wretched dog” or “whore”, but also the sexually connoted “slut”.
- Some players suspect that Blizzard is having trouble enforcing chat policies regarding insults when terms like “bitch” appear in the game world.
Whether any of these reasons are actually true is, of course, not entirely clear.
This is how it was in the German version: In the German client, the insult “bitch” was never used anyway, instead, Sylvanas was referred to here as “Miststück”. This word is not so loaded and does not allow for multiple interpretations, as is the case with “bitch”. However, it is still unclear whether “Miststück” will also be removed from the German client.
Cortyn says: Honestly, my first reflex reaction was also negative because I really liked the quest lines in Silverpine Forest. I found the insult from Garrosh fitting because he truly despised Sylvanas. However, the more I think about it, the more I agree that the insult doesn’t actually fit into World of Warcraft. WoW has insults in many places, but they usually fit better into the game world, like an “ogre-faced clown” or something similar.
The negative term “bitch”, on the other hand, is quite modern. Furthermore, it was only used in Silverpine Forest and stood out significantly there. I can understand why Blizzard is stepping back from it and adapting it so that it fits with the rest of the game world.
What do you think? A good decision that makes the game world more consistent? Or are there other reasons behind it?
