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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzCon 2011: Samwise on Mists of Pandaria
by Matthew Rossi 
Oct 21st 2011 at 10:00PM
"It was one of the last things that I really wanted to see in World of Warcraft, which is Warcraft in general ... Now I can almost say, well, I think I've done good with Warcraft -- they're finally in."
Check out the full article.
The news is out -- we'll be playing Mists of Pandaria! Find out what's in store with an all-new talent system, peek over our shoulder at our Pandaren hands-on, and get ready to battle your companion pets against others. It's all here right at WoW Insider!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Lore, BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)
Nadia Oct 21st 2011 10:50PM
The panda girl in the snow?
That's a little kid panda girl! You can tell because she's building a snowman, and the article says it's a picture done by Samwise for his daughter.
Mike Oct 21st 2011 10:38PM
Sorry... I guess I'm just a hater - but this whole expansion's shaping up to look like shit.
I've already voted w/ my wallet... Kind of feels like breaking up with a girl you kind of liked but just knew wouldn't work out.
Marius W. Oct 21st 2011 10:44PM
See ya!! Less of people like you there is, the better the game community is.
Happy that all the QQ'rs who just want to punch dragons and rageface are leaving.
BEST XPAC EVER!!
Tfish92 Oct 21st 2011 10:49PM
What specifically about it looks like shit to you?
ElrithCC Oct 21st 2011 11:00PM
Just seeing their /sit animation has me all giddy. Hopefully the closed eye meditation look of serenity is the actual emote racial animation seen in the video.
Draol Oct 21st 2011 11:04PM
And what, perchance, is wrong with wanting to punch dragons?
Alchemistmerlin Oct 22nd 2011 12:55AM
Don't let the front door hit you.
See you when the expansion comes out.
Anaughtybear Oct 22nd 2011 4:33AM
@Marius W:
If all of us vanilla loyalists leave, there will be nothing left but pandas and belfs. I seriously do not understand what people like about pandas. Same with Twilight and Justin Bieber. To Quote the Almighty George Carlin, "The two pandas in the zoo: do you care if they f*ck? I don't. I have no emotional stake in panda fucking."
Jex Oct 22nd 2011 4:46AM
You don't have to vote the guy down and pidgeonhole him for giving his opinion. He's entitled to it and he hasn't insulted any of you.
Besides, there's nothing too unreasonable about being less than impressed when Blizzard announce an expansion thematically inspired by a naff Jack Black kids movie.
lolbearspwnlolcats Oct 22nd 2011 12:37PM
I'm a Vanilla loyalist and I believe that the pandaren are awesome. But i guess some people can't move forward. It's like, TBC, WOTLK and Cata all over again. Where the "vanilla" loyalists are throwing tantrums and think themselves as the supreme elite here and that if they leave the world will be doomed without them etc etc.
Grubba Oct 22nd 2011 6:11AM
Clearly that is the case when Kung Fu Panda was released five years after the Pandaren made their appearance in Warcraft III. Those rascally Blizzard employees and their being "inspired by" material that didn't exist yet!
Jex Oct 22nd 2011 7:39AM
Fair point - I stand humbly corrected by your brilliant sarcasm. The Brewmaster does pre-date the Kung Fu Panda material. I think it's fair to say the latter has shaped the expansion nonetheless, but that's an argument for a parallel universe in which there's nothing else to do.
In general, I don't see the need for people to jump on negative comments (particularly as the terrible up / down voting system here then makes it next to impossible to even read their points and give them a chance). MoP is an odd choice for an expansion and - as I've said somewhere else in this thread - it's obviously going to polarise people. There's nothing wrong with a tonal shift in WoW (it might be a good thing) but that doesn't mean everyone has to be thrilled by it or stay silent.
Grubba Oct 22nd 2011 2:37PM
From what I usually see here, most of the time it's not disagreement with other people that gets comments downvoted into oblivion, it's disagreement that is offensive, immature, or abusive. In topics that are, as you say, polarizing, I often see comments on both sides of an argument that get upvoted.
So no, I don't think anyone has to stay silent about whether or not they're excited about the expansion. I do think they might have to refrain from calling it "shit" or mocking the people who are excited about it.
ElrithCC Oct 21st 2011 10:40PM
That's one of the oldest pandaren illustrations around. Seriously, if you want to see the heart and soul of Blizzard and Warcraft, go to http://www.sonsofthestorm.com.
Samwise has many illustrations of his Pandaren there, as well as his viking panda race.
It's really amazing to see one man's art style create a phenomenon like World of Warcraft. His use of color and gradient style practically is the life blood of Warcraft's look.
ElrithCC Oct 21st 2011 10:41PM
By the way, Usagi Yojimbo is AWESOME! And really, that's what made me fall in love with the Pandaren originally.
Suzaku Oct 22nd 2011 3:37AM
It's worth noting that Stan Sakai is actually currently working with Blizzard (in what capacity is not known). He previously had a recurring comic in the WoW magazine, too.
ElrithCC Oct 22nd 2011 4:52AM
He is? He did!?
The last WOW magazine I got had Thrall on the cover I think. I had no idea a comic was featured in later issues.
joepsu777 Oct 21st 2011 10:47PM
Goodbye wow. MoP is Disney world. I knew this expansion was going to be a joke.
ElrithCC Oct 21st 2011 10:52PM
Good riddance. If just one percent of the people threatening to quit over Pandaren actually do, it will serve to get rid of many of the hazing, bullying, trade chat nerd jocks and their internet locker room fraternity mentality. If something like this pushes you over a line, you're better off gone.
Matthew Rossi Oct 21st 2011 11:13PM
Have you actually watched a Disney movie? Cause that's some dark storytelling, and you should be more open to it.
One of the benefits of actually being an adult is being able to enjoy things on their own merits if you so choose. If you don't want to, fine, but you should at least know what Disney is before you use it pejoratively.