Breaking News: Ethereals better than Goblins!
by Alex Ziebart 
Apr 12th 2008 at 3:00PM
After looking back on my post about disliked races in WoW again and talking to some friends of mine, I can't help but notice one of my favorite races gets quite a bit of hate! Which is funny, because one of the races I greatly dislike(but didn't make my list) are sort of their 'competition' and get quite a bit of love!There are a lot of similarities between the Ethereals(like) and the Goblins(dislike), which is rather neat! It's interesting to see the two races somewhat rubbing against one another. Competition is fun to watch. Even more fun are the differences, though. I imagine that's where the opinions are formed.
Read on to discuss the Barons of Bling and the Planar Princes!
I adore the Ethereals. Despite being minor players in the story of The Burning Crusade, you learn quite a bit about them. Their history, their current state, all of that. You even run into multiple, unique factions. The Consortium, the suave, slick and sometimes slimey interplanar merchants. The Protectorate, the firm defenders and sworn warriors against the Void. The Ethereum, the evil, soul-sucking counterpart to the Consortium.
Despite being borderline thieves, Consortium members have a certain charm to them. Nexus-Prince Haramad is even kind of a bad ass! He runs in atop the Stormspire to help you fight off some of Kael's lackies. Very cool. Haramad even proves that he's not above doing good deeds. He hands an Ata'mal Crystal over to A'dal even though it isn't lining his pockets with gold.
On top of that, I really like the Ethereal character models. Most people don't and that's alright. It confused me when I first saw it, but I quickly fell in love. It was very sci-fi, very high fantasy. Again, completely understandable if you're not into the high fantasy. Me, though? Love! Their movement and models give this effect of moving in and out of phase, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of these guys. Plus, pseudo-Arabian motif fits them really well.
Goblins are tiny, ugly, and, in my opinion, crude. The seemingly most 'high class' of them all is probably Baron Revilgaz, and even he plays dirty and is a warty little green thing. They are very steampunkesque, which I'll admit is really cool at times, but it just doesn't compare to the high fantasy of the Ethereals. There is definitely something to be said about the more underhanded, seedy works of the Goblins, but again, I personally prefer the Ethereal way of things.
A lot of my split on this topic could simply stem from the fact we haven't seem some of the most interesting Goblin lore in the game yet. It all remains tucked away in some future expansion, where we may get to see Undermine and the Isle of Kezan, but for now the Goblins just aren't as interesting as the Ethereals.
My opinion may change one day, but the Ethereals remain my favorite race to come out of The Burning Crusade, and I'll be very sad if we don't see any of them in Northrend. Come on, just one? Please?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, The Burning Crusade, Lore
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nati Apr 12th 2008 3:10PM
Most people don't like how ethereals look? That's news to me! I'd much rather have playable ethereals than playable goblins! Though I'd much much rather have high elves. Or dryads.
Kadamon Apr 12th 2008 3:10PM
Most of the people I know looooove the Ethereals and cannot stand the goblins.
Mainly because they're phasing whenever they run and that's just freakin' awesome.
Pingmeister Apr 12th 2008 3:19PM
As a hobbyist writer specializing in SciFi I am certainly not jaded against that genre but I was very disappointed by the SciFi twist that the Burning Crusade brought to WoW.
I am nonetheless very fond of the Ethereals.
They are probably my favorite class other than Gnomes but wouldn't mind if they, the Draenei and all of the Sci-Fi components were removed from the gameworld.
Dunwich Apr 12th 2008 3:20PM
Yeah, the "high fantasy" stylings are alright I suppose, but I'm a steampunk freak, so I think Goblins have the edge. Because stargates pale in comparison to steam-powered mech-suits with sawblades for hands.
Might be why I'm turned off the Draenei so much... Their "tech" is simply a different way of using magic. Give me clockwork, steam and honking great pistons.
Verses Apr 12th 2008 3:32PM
I too am a steampunk fanatic but still... I love Goblins AND Ethereals, but still Burning Crusade kind of disapointed me, especialy Netherstorm... I'd rather have a full Steampunk theme or a "High tech, low life" cyberpunk thematic, The Burning Crusade just seems to be a bastard mix of these two and last minute cheap-o WoW lore .. Though WotLK will surely be better :P
Cat Apr 12th 2008 6:43PM
I love them both. I love the flavor they both bring to the table, though I really wish you could have an 'Ethereal' engineering specializations. Gnomes got the widgets, goblins have the bombs, the Ethereals have the guns.
'Hee hee... Death ray go boom!' and all that.
Dunwich Apr 12th 2008 6:58PM
I dunno, I could see Ethereal Engineering creating "utility" devices like teleporters, portals and Phase Devices (Kinda like the one for the Bashir Landing SSO Daily), Gnomes going for general devices like they've got now, and Goblins sticking with high explosives.
A "Dwarf Engineering" would suit gunsmithing best. But I'd love to see a gunsmithing specialisation for Engineering.
awann Apr 12th 2008 3:55PM
The goblins are steampunkesque? Weird, they always seemed like the outdated Jewish stereotype...merchants, lame "Cawfee Tawk" dialect, the noses, etc etc. I have always been surprised that I haven't seen any complaints about it in fact.
Dunwich Apr 12th 2008 6:42PM
They're as Jewish as the Dwarves are Scottish. Which is to say, they're not.
They're Goblins. They're a fictional race of self-obsessed arms-dealers with no regard for personal safety. Which is to say, they're awesome.
Rocklifter Apr 12th 2008 7:10PM
I always thought of the goblins as WoW's Ferengi, myself.
Vendrill Apr 12th 2008 4:03PM
goblin hating? Anti-semitism?
Since it's obvious that the goblin characters were modeled after the Brooklyn Jew stereotypes from some old black and white movie... I'm curious to see if anyone out there makes a connection to goblin dislike and anti-semitism. Do you guys think that the author is contributing to that scenario as well? I'd like to hear how others feel about this.
Verses Apr 12th 2008 4:13PM
I see them more as Some New-York/Jersey commerce oriented people rather than Jewish archetypes, I won't go in the "what is a Jewish and what is not" conversation but as far as it goes, they're sneaky little capitalists, though I would love to hear one say: "I've got what you need, Ya Shmuck!"
seankreynolds Apr 14th 2008 12:52PM
Brooklyn, yes, but not necessarily Jewish. I lived in Brooklyn for over a year, and there are many many people there who talk like that and aren't Jewish.
Kronack Apr 12th 2008 4:04PM
I love em both, and I love how they mix in with goblins. Mainly because they are probably among the smartest and technological races in the universe...and..of course..the goblins try to steal from them to carry on they're explosive nature on a higher level! It just cracks me up whenever I do that goblin questline from Mildream to Stormspire and hear the goblins tell you that no one suspects a thing, yet the consortium prepare a lock down of stormspire. :P
The Ethereal have my heart for best though, and I knew it the first time did that escort in Mana Tombs. I mean it was just awesome, send in a group to destroy your enemies base of operations, teleport in, steal stuff, teleport out. I just have always loved how effective they are in their sneaky and organized nature. :)
Destron Apr 12th 2008 6:13PM
I prefer goblins to Ethereals, but I definitely like the Ethereals. I wish we knew a bit more about them though. One thing I did find interesting was the fact that Ethereals generally seem to be extremely polite.
Rovec Apr 13th 2008 12:59AM
--Despite being borderline thieves, Consortium members have a certain charm to them--
Why do you say borderline thieves? I've done every consortium involved quest out there and they have never shown thief like behavior at all. In fact, they show quite the opposite. They express disgust at the fact that the sunfury blood elves would steal from them (very unprofessional after all) and act so selfishly. One Consortium member said this-
"Well, I for one am glad that this petty little business is behind us. I cannot remember a time when the Consortium has had dealings with such boorish and untrustworthy beings."
and another says
"The blood elves are fools! I'm glad that our trade relations with them have fallen apart. In all of my travels throughout the cosmos, I have never encountered beings so selfish.
They continue to destroy the land around us with their manaforges, so let's see if we can put a dent in their operations across the bridge at Manaforge Ara."
To me, there is nothing even remotely thief like about the consortium. They act completely professional. Just because they're merchants and are interested in making a profit doesn't mean they'll stoop to any level to do to it. Too many folks think of goblins from WoW or Ferengi from Star Trek when the word merchant comes up.
Anane Apr 12th 2008 6:30PM
As much as i like the story and looks of Etherals id really love to play a goblin. The possibilities are endless for rp, the greedy little merchants are way more wicked than gnomes and they could surely sell someone bag of sand at Tanaris desert or icecubes to Lich King himself.
thatquietgamerdude Apr 12th 2008 8:15PM
I love both ethereals and goblins.
Sloegin Apr 14th 2008 2:30PM
Count me in the unimpressed by Ethereals camp.
Electric mummies FTL.
Goblin dancing, an awesome thing. Do electric mummies have a dance? Didn't think so.
Of course I have a goblin bias, and am a bit of a collector. Laybrinth DVD, MtG goblin deck, goblin art, etc. :)
cvpuck Apr 14th 2008 2:30PM
I wouldnt mind playing an ethereal... only if you could choose between bound and unbound.. looking like a phantom would be awesome..