One of the interesting new aspects for the announced WoW expansion Warlords of Draenor is the followers, NPCs in the service of the player, who take up residence in their base, the Garrison. We summarize what is already known about them – and draw parallels to other MMORPGs.
The idea is reminiscent at first glance of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Recruitable NPCs who unlock missions, go on crafting missions, and generally belong to the player’s entourage. Upon closer inspection, the companions seem more like the crew from Star Trek Online. Haven’t played either MMORPG? No problem, that’s what we’re here for.
Slaves Companions for all!
In November last year, Blizzard first announced the system.
Upon arriving in Draenor, the player is appointed the commander of their own fortress, which gradually grows and thrives. It serves as the base for the campaign to retake Draenor. In this Garrison, the player would be quite lonely and lost on their own. So, Blizzard provides the hero or heroine with companions.
It has already been confirmed that these companions will come in four quality levels (in ascending order): white, green, blue, and purple. A player can become the “master” of a follower in various ways: some can be obtained through quests, others can simply be bought using a mercenary contract for cold hard cash.
The followers level up from level 90 to 100 and can be further enhanced with specific items, with one weapon slot and one armor slot available. Equipment will particularly play a role when they reach the maximum level.
The followers level up through their own Garrison missions. These resemble a browser game (or the crew missions from Star Trek Online): There’s some problem at hand, in this case, ogres have taken up residence in an oasis, and the player can now select the right man, elf, or panda from their pool of companions. They assemble a team to tackle this task.
The followers set out, take on the individual sub-tasks of the mission, and either return home victorious or not. The result has to wait in real-time for a few hours, during which the computer can be off.
Oprah Windfury and Umad Brew
As can be seen from the screen above, Blizzard has come up with some interesting names. The good Oprah Windfury seems to be based on US talk show legend Oprah Winfrey. Leeroy Jenkins is likely an even more familiar name to WoW fans. “Umad Brew,” on the other hand, is a play on the internet slang expression:
“You Mad, Bro?”
Especially interesting are the individual skills and classes of the followers; they apparently possess traits that make them predestined for specific tasks.
This gentleman, for example, is only a “green” warrior, but seems to be particularly specialized in fighting dragons and could prove to be a valuable companion when it comes to dealing with the scaly brood.
[pull_quote_center]This will further enhance the collecting passion.[/pull_quote_center]
(Caution: Contains a high level of speculation) Because in Star Trek Online there are “critical” successes in such missions. They occur when particularly suitable officers are selected for an assignment. Such “critical” successes grant rewards that cannot be obtained otherwise. The most lucrative missions are also not constantly available, but appear rarely and take particularly long.
My own Ogre!
In recent weeks, it has been revealed through Twitter remarks from the designer Jeremy Feasel, who is responsible for the Garrison, that followers belong not only to player races, but that an Arokka or an Ogre might also be included. Furthermore, the followers are “highly interactive”; it is possible that they will unlock their own quest lines for the player!
After all, they help the player by chopping wood, so they can freely fulfill the dream of the companion and slay a humble dragon or two! Such things did not exist in Star Trek Online. There, you only got your own Borg drone, which horrifically remained silent to remarks like: “Haven’t we raided together before?”…
When the followers are not on a mission, they roam around somewhere in the Garrison and live their normal lives. A blacksmith will mistreat the anvil, while a miner might dig up some ore deposits.
In any case, Blizzard seems to have come up with an interesting approach with the followers, which goes in a similar direction as the pet battling in Mists of Pandaria.
[pull_quote_center]The more we dealt with it, the more we saw parallels to the Duty Officers in Star Trek Online, the ship crew.
They can also be sent on journeys in mini-games and crafting missions. They also come with various specialties, rank levels, and as members of different races – and they also do not play a role outside the mini-game.
Now, Star Trek Online is not exactly a smash hit, but we found the Duty Officer system to be innovative in our review and wished for more of it.
Collect them all!
With Blizzard’s existing system, it will be a joy for fans to assemble the best team of specialists to tackle even the toughest missions.
Perhaps bosses in raid missions will then drop a particularly coveted follower, or they could even be a reward for a hearty achievement!
There will certainly be no way around the companion system in WoW for fans of the Garrison, as upgrading the Garrison will require a special resource. And guess where that comes from.
It will be interesting to find out whether the followers are numerically limited in any way or if, like pets, you can just collect them all.
Also still exciting:
- Will followers be able to trade among themselves or not?
- How many missions can one take on at the same time?
- What additional rewards will the followers bring in, and will they also play a role outside of the fortress?
- And will there be special achievements for this again? (Just kidding … OF COURSE there will be special achievements for this, after all, it’s Blizzard!)
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[intense_testimony_text]As soon as we have answers to the other questions, you will find out at mein-mmo.de.[/intense_testimony_text][intense_testimony_author image=”https://images.mein-mmo.de/magazin/medien/2014/01/Logo-022.png”][/intense_testimony_author][/intense_testimony]
