We need to manage our expectations about Mists of Pandaria
by Michael Gray 
Feb 23rd 2012 at 8:00PM
Diablo III is going to be awesome -- but it's not going to cure world hunger, solve the economic crisis, or cause shiny-happy rainbows to shoot forth from computer monitors. Most of us around here have played the beta and followed the game's news as if we write about a Blizzard game for a living. And we all love it. Really, the game's really cool. But there's no way it can live up to some of the hype it gets.
Star Wars: The Old Republic suffered some of the same problem from over-hype. By the time Bioware released the game, everyone expected a next-generation, MMO-redefining experience. That didn't happen. SW:TOR is awesome, but it's not the nirvana of MMOs. It is, essentially, an MMO like any other, but it's based in the universe of Luke and Vader. And that's good enough.
I fervently hope we don't end up doing the same with Mists of Pandaria. Everything about the expansion is incredibly exciting. Pandaren look cool (if you're into pandas), the new talents look exciting, and MoP promises a lot of new experiences. But let's not set it up for failure by expecting it to be WoW 2.0. It's still going to be a WoW expansion. It's still going to involve killing mobs, questing, and slaying bosses. Because that's the point of the game.
I'm not trying to discourage anyone here. I really, really love WoW. I'm just saying that we shouldn't put our expectations for Mists so incredibly high that there's no way Blizzard can meet them. It'll do an astounding job, as it always does, but let's not make it impossible for Blizzard right out of the gate.
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion, raising the level cap to 90, introducing a brand new talent system, and bringing forth the long-lost pandaren race to both Horde and Alliance. Check out the trailer and follow us for all the latest MoP news!
Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Josiah Feb 23rd 2012 8:16PM
This is just wrong on so many levels.
The reason I took a break from wow.
Pandas - Boring
Talent System - Simplified even more (which is part of what made cata boring)
Even my WOW guildies, from SM (which does a lot of server firsts) aren't excited about the expansion. Many of our top raid groups, have been playing other games. You hear more excitement about Guild Wars 2 then Mist of the Panda. It's crazy.
AltairAntares Feb 23rd 2012 8:51PM
I don't understand how pandas are boring- you either like them because they're fun and different or you hate them and consider them childish. But boring?
Joe Feb 23rd 2012 8:55PM
I don't think they fit Warcraft. I think Kung-Fu panda's are great. The don't belong in an expansion that is suppose to emphasis war. Give me Naga, Etherial, etc.. Give me Panda's when the world is at piece, and there's another reason to play.
RothKeahi Feb 23rd 2012 9:35PM
@Joe
But what better way to emphasize war than to show it's effects on a once peaceful and balanced land?
thawedtheorc Feb 23rd 2012 10:01PM
The moment I read someone bashing pandas, I stop reading. It is the new faux-bitter-nerd-cred going on at the moment.
The moment I read Kung Fu Panda, I realized I am reading from an intermediate player concerning the Warcraft Universe.
We know you dudes need your demons and tough guy toons to fill that hole. Yet you are ALWAYS the first ones to post on all Warcraft related forums.
I will pray for your tender senses at this week's church service.
jfofla Feb 23rd 2012 10:50PM
The moment I read "dumbed down talents" I realize that the poster is just spewing forth garbage he read in another post.
No real player can call the new Talent System dumbed down.
QM Feb 24th 2012 1:01AM
While I don't agree with OP, you can't say he doesn't have a point. From what little we've seen of MoP, it appears that Blizzard has run out of ideas. Night Elves were a beautiful fusion of oriental, Indian, and Native American. Trolls handily combine popular Jamaican culture with dark jungle mysticism. Draenei combine gypsydom, Eurasian, and a dash of Saharan African with their own unique flavor. Even the Burning Legion has a nice "Hindu Gods/Christian Demons" theme going on.
And then pandas. Not a unique take on pandas, either. They basically took feudal China, hit copy paste, added some anthropomorphic pandas and called it a day in the cultural identity department. This is my biggest (and really, only) problem with MoP, one that's been gnawing at me since early Cata. Uldum was basically stylized Egypt, the Highlands were Scotland, Gilneas was Victorian London. There was very little originality in the world creation. I didn't feel like I was playing WoW. It felt nothing LIKE WoW. Since when has stone pyramids, sphinxes, obelisks, and jackal-headed constructs been a staple of the Titans? Oh right, they haven't (they were Quiraji, which also used a strong Arabian theme), and these Egyptian cutouts completely jar with the awesome holographic/cool-blue/Roman-Greco theme of Ulduar, which I personally feel hit the nail on the head when it comes to Titan aesthetics. When I run through Uldum, or Gilneas, or Kezan, and see aesthetics that have never been seen in WoW before, that seem ripped straight from RL like an Amusement Park, it kills my immersion and pulls me right out of the game.
Uldum, Highlands, and now an entire continent have become a gimmick. When I see Pandaria, I don't go "Hey, I can't wait to explore Pandaria!," I go "Guess it's time to explore Eg-, er Lon--, er Scot--, er China in WoW." WoW is losing it's visual and aesthetic identity to cheap pop culture references and annoying cultural gimmicks. And it makes me furious to see such an awesome game - a game that's created unique cultures and civilizations like the NElfs, BElfs, Trolls, Draenei - treated so callously.
I'll be honest, I haven't played WoW since November. I didn't quit... I just lost interest, and let my subscription time out. I think the pandas were just the final nail in a coffin constructed of top hats, pyramids, and cheesy Scottish surnames.
lilywillylover Feb 24th 2012 6:28AM
Anyone who says Pandas do not fit WoW should not be taken seriously.
How can you say Pandas do not fit WoW yet we have man-cows?
TonyKP Feb 24th 2012 8:59AM
@QM, great post. You hit the nail right on the proverbial head.
@Lillywillylover, Minotaurs have an ancient and rich mythological legacy, and the original Blizzard development team managed to blend that with a complex nature-based shamanism that suggested Native American culture without being a blatant Hollywood-esque "How, me name Tonto!" ripoff.
Mists is a Jack Black movie (at least as far as anyone who hasn't played Warcraft III, aka "pretty much the entire new consumer base that Blizzard is trying to reach", is concerned).
Lignar Feb 24th 2012 9:08AM
I agree we need to be careful about not hyping. I don't recall if it was Bashiok or Zarhym that posted about not to expect too much from D3 (which the internet responded with "Blizz told us D3 isn't going to be good"). Really it was because people have built the game up in their minds to be the best thing since peanut butter met jelly. We need to not do that for Mists.
When people go on and on anout not liking Pandaren and then give an uninformed reason why, I cringe. What to we know about them other than their appearance, they love life and balance and they've been hidden for 10000 years?
Don't like it if you don't want to, just please don't make reasons up. I'm glad I stopped judging books by their cover a while ago, I've learned there's some cool stuff out there that you don't expect to be cool at first glance
Jorges Feb 24th 2012 9:50AM
The funny and ironic thing is: NO ONE OF YOU HAVE PLAYED MoP YET. No, Blizzcon doesn't count, it was a pretty small and controlled environment.
I don't mean to tell you all to STFU, but can't we just wait until beta to have a good and OBJECTIVE opinion?
QM Feb 24th 2012 11:13AM
@Jorges You don't need to play the game (or the beta) to get an idea of what the aesthetic, visual, and cultural theme they're going for. When they released the WotLK announcement, for example, it was pretty obvious they were going for a Nordic/Scandinavian/Viking feel. There is NO WAY you can watch the MoP trailer and not see that it is directly based off feudal China (specifically the Western perception of fuedal China). The architecture, the clothing, the music, the MONKS, and even the agricultural methods reek of it.
I am not judging the gameplay, or the talent system, or the new class changes, or any of that. I'm sure it will be of the best quality; after all, Blizzard is REALLY good at making games. My only complaint is that they're diluting WoW's unique aesthetic feel with a "China IN WARCRAFT!" gimmick.
Killik Feb 24th 2012 11:21AM
We haven't seen anything of Mists except a couple of screenshots and a little pre-hype from Blizzcon. It's a little early to look at such meagre information and say "Oh, they've obviously run out of ideas."
I mean, you may be right. But at this point you're really only guessing. And in some cases people are just going negative in an attempt to look 'cool' and 'worldly wise'.
lilywillylover Feb 24th 2012 11:45AM
You people are ignorant. A Jack Black movie? You people do know Pandaren predates Kung Fu Panda, right? Pandaren have been part of the lore for the last decade, they're not going anywhere. Get over it. They're joining the ranks of man-cows and wolfmen.
QM Feb 24th 2012 12:15PM
Okay, you're right Killik. I may be jumping too conclusions, but then again, Blizzard hasn't had a good track record when it comes to original aesthetics these past couple of years...
*looks at Vrykul, Uldum, Worgen, Wildhammer, and Goblins*
Note how I'm not slamming the game. Note how I'm lamenting how little effort Blizzard seems to be putting into how well they develop interesting and unique cultures for their fictional races.
Also Note @lily: if you're fall-back argument for Blizzard using anthropomorphic pandas as a new race is "We already have wolf-men and man-cows, deal with it," ...well... That's like saying "Oh, you've already been robbed twice. Oh, you've been robbed again? Deal with it." You're missing the entire point. Tauren and Worgen have been in the lore for over half a decade (longer for the 'man-cows'). They're established, with solid, in/out-game lore supporting them. Pandaren were an April Fool's Joke. A JOKE. They were never a part of the lore until the MoP trailer was released. (And Chen doesn't count, he was just one of many references made by Samwise; see Illidan's Glaives, aforementioned April Fools). This wouldn't be a problem if Blizzard set them up in an original setting; after all, Blizz is by no means a good story teller, and they frequently ass-pull story developments. But sticking anthro pandas in feudal China is just a little too much pulling of the ass.
Strawder Feb 24th 2012 3:45PM
Brother, you either like MoP around these parts, or you stay quiet and lurk and don't post.
That's how it rolls.
TonyKP Feb 24th 2012 4:41PM
@Lilywilly, Thawedtheorc, etc... - *Y*ou know that Pandaren predate the Kung Fu Panda movies, *I* know that Pandaren predate the Kung Fu Panda movies, most people who know that this website exists know that Pandaren predate the Kung Fu Panda movies, but that's because we are among the teeny, tiny percentage of the world's population who both played Warcraft III ten years ago and are still playing fantasy computer games today. The vast, vast, vaaaaaast majority of the rest of the world looks at Mist and the first thing they think is "huh, a Kung Fu Panda game".
Pandaren may "fit" WoW, in that there is a ten year old precedent for them, but they don't "help" WoW, in that hardly anyone in Blizzard's target audience *knows* that there is a ten year old precedent for them. If Blizzard is looking to reverse Cataclysm's lost-subscriber trend and bring in some new blood they're going about it the wrong way.
Joe Feb 26th 2012 5:00PM
You guys have helped me decide to officially quit WOW again. I find it disgusting, how little respect the community has for peoples feelings/perceptions. Aesthetics reactions, feelings, etc are personal. The amount of attacks, and nasty emails is a bit over the top. I expressed my feelings from being at Blizzcon. You can choose to like them or not, but in no way will I feel discredited.
If Blizzard didn't want us to receive this vibe, they wouldn't of presented it in the manner they did at Blizzcon.
The game is going to be released this year. We should have a good feeling on how it will turn out by now. We did in the past earlier in development. The game is loosing it's Identity. The magic, "originality" seems gone. I felt like I was looking at level design straight out of Skies of Arcadia with Kung Fu Pandas. Not the Pandarians from W3, they still feel original, the WOW Pandarians stripped the few elements that held onto what made them feel unique, and replaced them with pop cultural references from Kung Fu Panda. If that wasn't what Blizzard was going for, they wouldn't have presented it that way.
SamLowry Feb 23rd 2012 8:17PM
Hmm, they're destroying Theramore and forcing us into world pvp--I'd say my expectations have already been set quite low.
george Feb 23rd 2012 9:28PM
i admit i was confused about "more world pvp" too. maybe they intend to do away with pve realms? as long as ppl can turn on the flag and pvp whenever/where ever they want we dont need more "world pvp". ......a fishing daily in a pvp only zone? srsly?