BlizzCon 2011: Mists of Pandaria dungeon preview videos
by Robin Torres 
Oct 22nd 2011 at 9:00AM
Temple of the Jade Serpent
Shado-pan Monastery
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: BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ElrithCC Oct 22nd 2011 9:07AM
I love those floating rings in Shado-Pan.
mackejn Oct 22nd 2011 10:22AM
Ha ha, that was exactlly my first thought. I don't know what. They look awesome.
Darkartist Oct 22nd 2011 11:14AM
All I could think was, "You will kneel before Zod, Jor-el!"
Fletcher Oct 22nd 2011 9:18AM
Whatever else one thinks about it, even if one is of the "OMFG GG BLIZZ MY LITTLE POKEMON PANDAS R 4 BABYS GG I QUIT" persuasion, one can't deny that Blizzard makes beautiful scenery.
Bryan Dare Oct 22nd 2011 12:42PM
Indeed. Blizzard's art design is always top notch and the one thing I feel I never need to worry about. I think the only problem I've ever had with their art design would be worgen females. That's a damn good track record.
SamLowry Oct 22nd 2011 12:55PM
We're all better off without ragers who would quit over something like that.
Possum Oct 22nd 2011 7:26PM
People can and will argue it "looks like World of Hellokitty" to paraphrase one dipshit.
But I think the scenery is lovely at the very least.
Sqtsquish Oct 25th 2011 11:12PM
Sure it is beautiful scenery but I am not sure I am sold on playing a game focused on combat with such peaceful, serene overtones. Not saying I wanna strangle baby pandas or anything, but the scenery is more like where I'd want to take my girlfriend, than what I'd like to do battle in.
etherlithium Oct 22nd 2011 9:19AM
I was worried they were running out of original ideas. Haters gonna hate, but I love the look of these dungeons and the new xpac as a whole. I had cancelled my subscription; seeing these previews makes me look forward to going back for the expansion.
Literaltruth Oct 22nd 2011 9:19AM
Peaceful asian inspired music. Beautiful locations....then RAWRWOOSHAAARRRRRRR at the end with the logo to make you crap yourself.
Thyor Oct 22nd 2011 10:03AM
yeah turning my volume up just to hear the peaceful music was a bad idea.
Tiqu Oct 22nd 2011 3:39PM
I just might have to turn the music back on for this one!!!
general Oct 22nd 2011 9:22AM
Felt like I was watching a Perfect World trailer.
ukandrion Oct 22nd 2011 9:39AM
Yes, because when we're playing a fantasy genre, believability is TOTALLY what we have in mind.
Gaurisk Oct 22nd 2011 9:39AM
If you need someone to mail your stuff to on the way out...
HappyTreeDance Oct 22nd 2011 9:39AM
And see this....this is what I'm excited about. Those scenes were beautiful. No, they don't have random skulls and spikes stuck everywhere, but they're still compelling and best of all, different. It's good to change up art styles and approaches to design now and then, because if you don't, you get stuck in a terrible rut where every single thing you do looks the same. Having such a dramatic shift is a good thing. And I believe this will apply to the story as well.
Seriously, how many times can you have Big Baddie come and threaten to destroy the world without it turning into a formula? Yes yes, we know, Big Baddie. You are over confident and that will be your weakness and we'll see you at the end of the expansion when we will take your loot. What's the end of the expansion for MoP going to bring? We don't know--And that's exciting! Are we going to be battling through a raid instance against the opposite faction in the culmination of a war? Are we going to be fighting against some evil thing we haven't heard of yet? Are we going to find out that there's an Old God down there mucking things up? There are lots of possibilities, and they come from allowing the creative team actually step outside of their comfortable box.
Speaking as a creative professional myself, I'm excited that Blizzard is taking the chance to step outside of of their comfort zone. Am I worried that the expansion might be a little too sugary sweet? Possibly. But then I look at the history of the Asian countries that have obviously served as an artistic inspiration for this expansion and say....hey. There's a lot of brutal war there too. Just because what we see on the surface is pretty and light doesn't mean there won't be darkness underneath.
followthategg Oct 22nd 2011 10:24AM
Agreed, i must say i found the architecture for the Twilight's Hammer areas exceedingly dull after experiencing WotLK instances.
A breath of air, it's a little, well, for lack of a better word: shocking, but i think i could get settled into it.
Natsumi Oct 22nd 2011 10:49AM
Don't even get me started on how boring the raids have been visually.
T11: Everything is purple, purple walls, floors, fire, void zones, monsters, decorations, blood, etc. Everything is effing purple. BORING!
T12: Everything is Orange. Orange bosses, trash mobs, the floor, the sky, the clouds, the stupid effing rings of fire you have to fly through in the Alysrazor fight that apparently I can't see as they are the same exact color as the clouds and sky, the fire, the spells, the mounts, the loot, etc. Everything is orange. SUPER BORING!
WTB Tier of raids that isn't all monochromatic.
thepiratester Oct 22nd 2011 9:42AM
WoW's focus is to target their product towards 14 year old Asian kids.
RIP
Ad134 Oct 22nd 2011 9:46AM
The Warcraft universe was never meant to be dark and serious. Surely the mere existence of Gnomes proves that. Warcraft has always been tongue-in-cheek, and the last couple of WoW expansions have given it a much darker feel.
Yes, the more sinister aspects of Azeroth can be amazing, but they are even more poignant if there is something more lighthearted to compare it to.