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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Awesome Animations
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Mar 28th 2009 at 8:00AM
So hot on the heels of the best mob noise in game discussion, I thought I'd ask another question: What about the animations? We probably don't think about it too much, but the sounds and animations of PCs and NPCs alike probably end up making a lot of atmosphere we take for granted. It fills out the world and makes it feel more immersive, more real.With that in mind, the noise topic got me thinking of what animations I really like. There's a lot of them that at least deserve a mention, from the howling of Coyotes to the nervous skittering of the Silithid. In the new animations, we get stuff like Stinker's escapades and the wildlife of Grizzly Hills going on with their every day activities.
Beyond that, even PC animations can have their awesome looks, such as a Draenei twirling a Polearm to attack or a male Blood Elf dying with Shakespearean dramatics. Ethereals also have some pretty graceful moves overall, even in the way their bandages move and their energy pulses.
What animations and graphics have you encountered in WoW that have made you stop and say, "Hey, that's pretty neat?"
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Johnnyd2 Mar 28th 2009 9:01AM
why has no one mentioned the drakonid twirling animation yet? i personally love that animation.
Finnegun Mar 28th 2009 8:59AM
I think the best animation is after the gnome/dwarf starting area. You pass the mortar team practicing on target dummies.
Its clever
Khanmora Mar 28th 2009 9:07AM
The new animation that I enjoy the best is the idle animation for the Ziggurat Defenders (and similar mobs throughout northrend). Occassionally their arm will fall off and try to use it's fingers to crawl away. The defender will notice and chase after it just to jam it back on it's body. It's hilarious to watch.
http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=26202#screenshots:id=92093
Priestilla Mar 28th 2009 9:16AM
Opening the door to the 50 foot woman in Uldaman gotta love the reference.
Fiammara Mar 28th 2009 9:16AM
One of my favorites is the 1H parry animation for female blood elves. Not sure why I like it so much, but it just seems smooth and graceful.
I also like how my pally spins around when SoC procs. 2H mace to the face!
Mapster Mar 28th 2009 9:33AM
My favorite animation is the "wake up"-animation of the slumbering vrykuls inside the Waking Halls at Gjalerborn in Grizzly Hills.
Norlak Mar 28th 2009 9:38AM
The orc bladestorm animation. It's uber epic when Saurfang does it in a quest (in Borean Tundra) and cleaves about 100 undead.
Deaderer Mar 28th 2009 10:11AM
The Vykruls on the southern coast of Borean tundra. I love when they die and go *poof* into a little sparkly pile of seaweed and debris.
Jason Mar 28th 2009 10:20AM
Personally my favourite animation has to be the Draenei Gun reloading animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBboHVc5sLw
Which if i remember right, which i'm probably not, is straight from Terminator. or at least another Arnie film which sticks in my mind.
ShadzKing Apr 8th 2009 4:25PM
Can't believe no one mentioned the Dreadlord's death animation
Sucha cool way too die :DDD
Sav Mar 28th 2009 10:26AM
There's some sisters in a glade in Howling Fjord that I was doing quests for on an alt just the other day. I noticed that they actually periodically get in snowball fights. I love touches like these.
Jermayan Mar 28th 2009 10:30AM
When a hawkstrider pecks at its wings, thens looks around for a second.
negativegirl Mar 28th 2009 10:45AM
Tree Form /cower
Stoneblade Mar 28th 2009 10:47AM
- The walking and running animations of Geists.
- The eating, sleeping and dancing animations of the Arrakoa and Ogre models. ESPECIALLY the Ogre's sleep animations. The fact that it sucks its thumb never ceases to crack me up.
MusedMoose Mar 28th 2009 11:08AM
Female BE mages doing Evocation - if I remember right, they actually float off the ground.
The female draeni "taunt" emote - nothing quite like smacking your ass at an enemy.
And any attach anim that involves spinning while dual-wielding. *grin*
MusedMoose Mar 28th 2009 11:09AM
Attack anim, I mean, not "attach."
*facepalm*
Blacklaw Mar 28th 2009 11:13AM
The furblog form from the Ashenvale questline looks downright badass when dual wielding. While out of combat, they lope along, all easy-going and whatnot. Then, go into combat with 2 weapons, and it's just arms and elbows flying willy-nilly all over the place.
Ravenson Mar 28th 2009 11:18AM
Highborne, Death Singer, Banshee, etc. Favorite death animation from classic WoW. The yell and "soul" lifting up and vanishing... creepy to this day.
The Revenants in Northrend blow up pretty spectacularly too.
Lochlorien Mar 28th 2009 11:30AM
Gnome female flirt/blush animations. The first time I saw that, I feel off my chair laughing! My daughter saw that and now she's copying it (she's 3). Cutest thing ever!
Radiophonic Mar 28th 2009 11:38AM
The only impressive animation I can note is the bridge before Lady Vashj. Most of the animations don't do much for me since they don't match up with the actions (ie. we walk, but we also slide across the ground).