An almost absurd-looking “buff” for Shadow Priests in World of Warcraft is on the way. When you think about it, it’s actually really important.
Shadow Priests in World of Warcraft deserve some buffs. One will be coming that nobody expected, as it does not affect damage, mobility, or survivability. Instead, it’s more of a communicative buff: Shadow Priests will learn to speak a proper language again.
Why was that a problem? The fact that Shadow Priests speak in the language of the Old Gods, Shath’Yar, while in their Void Form is a cool little detail. Instead of using comprehensible words in the say channel, they use the same language that the Old Gods like N’Zoth, Yogg-Saron, or C’Thun have used.
However, that can lead to problems when players rely on communication. Because: All other classes cannot understand the language of the Old Gods and only see gibberish in the Shadow Priest’s messages in the say channel.
The disadvantaged here are players who are strictly reliant on communication in the say channel. These include guilds that are not in voice chat, or players who simply cannot do so, for example, because they are deaf.
For these players, clear communication is important, and especially the speech bubbles in the say channel can generate a lot of attention and are a helpful tool for communication.
How does Blizzard plan to change that? The current plan is that Shadow Priests will again speak their normal language while in Void Form – either “Orcish” or “Common,” unless they use one of the special racial languages (Darnassian, Goblin, etc.).
Those who wish can restore the functionality and will then be able to use a new glyph. If this is used, the Priest will again speak in Shath’Yar during Void Form and can delight their allies once more with exclamations like “Mg’uulwi N’Zoth, eth’razzqi worg zz oou.”
WoW has also had some pretty absurd bugs in the past…
The adjustment is, by the way, one of the examples that were brought to Blizzard by the “Community Council.” Many feared back then that the Community Council would have no influence whatsoever or that suggestions would simply be ignored. However, the upcoming change shows the opposite.
What do you think about this change? A good thing that benefits all players? Or should this feature have remained mandatory?
