Around Azeroth Beta Edition: Road to nowhere
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Aug 19th 2010 at 10:00AM
Tired of schlepping all the way across zones, but too broke to buy a flying mount and too lazy to use flight paths? Rhyara of <Comic Relief> on Cairne (US-H) has a solution for you, slacker. "When Blizzard announced it was revamping Azshara, I had hoped that that meant sinking the whole thing into the Great Sea, such was my hatred of this zone," Rhyara writes. "It's harder to get around than the Chicago suburbs. But with the addition of the Goblin Rocketway, making zooming around the zone easier and certainly a lot more fun, I'm willing to give it a reprieve. For now."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MW Aug 19th 2010 9:26AM
Hey, it's the Goblin Auto-Bomb!!!!!!!!
Scougelord Aug 19th 2010 10:21AM
In a vague nostalgic way, I like Azshara. In the same way, I liked when we had to pay about a million gold for our mounts and when gearing up meant endlessly running two level 60 10-mans. So I'm looking forward to these changes. You never could really do anything there anyway.
Tiis Aug 19th 2010 1:06PM
The zone looks terrible now
Digitalphreak Aug 19th 2010 2:23PM
Negative Nancy, Im sure you spent a lot of time there...
Radioted Aug 19th 2010 10:31AM
Annnnd now I have Talking Heads in my... head.
Yeng Aug 19th 2010 11:24AM
I'm so sorry. At least the title reminded me of Ozzy, which is a much better song ;)
Vandersveldt Aug 19th 2010 1:25PM
I guess I'm the only one who thought of Bullet For My Valentine? Damn good song
Alchemistmerlin Aug 19th 2010 10:51AM
Remember when the Draenai weren't "Fantasy enough" and people bitched endlessly?
Well...how exactly does a blacktop elevated highway not qualify as "Not fantasy enough"?
jealouspirate Aug 19th 2010 12:19PM
Draenei: a ton of people didn't like them so they picked the easiest ways to make fun of them.
Goblins: a ton of people like them so there are few complaints
Eternauta Aug 19th 2010 12:48PM
Goblins were in the Warcraft Universe since Warcraft II.
Draenei were a last minute RetCon. They took two existing races and completely altered their origins to create something new and (for some people) quite lame. Not to mention the continuity problems this created (Who corruped Sargeras again?)
Goblins are a "steampunk" race. Draenei are almost techno-magical space-opera aliens (kinda like Star Wars without laser guns or lightsabers).
It's not that I don't like Draenei (in fact I find them quite original), my point is: Goblins and Draenei are not the same. There's no point in comparing them.
Awallio Aug 19th 2010 11:05AM
Not a fan of highways and "cars" (and things like the motorcycle mount and even the gnomes mechanostriders) in WoW. I understand the technological lore of the goblins (and gnomes)... but something about that stuff that just takes away immersion for me. Its too "real world"'ish or something. Not a game breaker by any means... just something I particularly do not care for in WoW.
Yeng Aug 19th 2010 12:15PM
Warcraft has always been a steampunk environment. It has never been all about 'medieval fantasy', I think too many people forget that, or never experienced the other Warcraft games enough to realize it.
Brannon Aug 19th 2010 12:43PM
WoW has gunpowder, rockets, steamtanks, gyrocopters, fighter planes and interdimensional space fortresses. A little raised blacktop isn't going to bother me.
Awallio Aug 19th 2010 12:52PM
Aaaand, my opinion still stands. I don't like it. But if you do, then it's all roses. =)
bennet Aug 19th 2010 11:58AM
I remember happy hours harvesting herbs in Azshara pretty much alone, enjoying the nature and the quiet. Now entrepreneurs move in, lay down the asphalt, revving engines overwhelm birdsong...that's uncomfortably close to real life.
eblume Aug 19th 2010 12:24PM
I absolutely agree. Azshara has always been my favorite zone in the game simply because it is quite and beautiful. The designers did an amazing job making that area aesthetically pleasing. It's a shame that the questing and mob placement made it such an unfavorable zone.
I'm disappointed that it's going to change so drastically. I've spent many hours just wandering that zone, enjoying all of the interesting nooks and crannies.
Iirdan Aug 19th 2010 12:32PM
I love that Kalimdor has always had this industrial vs. nature conflict going on between the Orcs and the Night Elves. This just seals it and makes it even more interesting.
sherekhan88 Aug 19th 2010 12:00PM
This is giving me a whole deja vu vibe because I feel like I'm playing Brutal Legend again when I see that screenshot.
Amaxe Aug 19th 2010 12:40PM
I hope this doesn't come across as kvetching, but...
Why is it that the Goblins, which seem to constantly be portrayed as reckless and slipshod in engineering, are shown with things like this skyway, while the gnomes are portrayed with some relatively minor engineering feats (geared houses etc)?
And my engineer toons are all Goblin engineers btw, so I'm not simply anti-goblin. I'm just wondering if we will see the gnomes start developing their Alliance areas too?
Sounds like you could have fun with both zones with how gnomish and goblin engineering "oops" would affect the toons maybe some friendly Horde Alliance rivalry for which inflicts themselves more on their faction? :-D
wutsconflag Aug 19th 2010 1:37PM
I saw that title, and immediately thought of the offhand book that drops from General Drakkisath in UBRS. The one with the flavor text "A brode to nowhere".
:)