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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Has your opinion about the pandaren changed?
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 26th 2012 at 8:00AM
While not the strongest supporter of the pandaren in the beginning, I was of the mindset that it wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing added to WoW, so I wasn't going to complain. In a world where cow people walk side-by-side with the living dead and green linebackers from outer space, panda people didn't seem like too much of a leap of logic.
Actually seeing the implementation of the pandaren, though, changed my mind about them -- the realization of the idea rather than the idea itself is what allowed me to accept the thing.
Now that the pandaren are out in the wild, has your opinion about them changed? Were they once a jokey race now elevated to nod-worthy status? Do you need more time to see where Blizzard develops the pandaren story? Have pandaren not moved on your radar?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 7)
Luotian Mar 26th 2012 8:57AM
I wasn't interested in the monk at all, and was going to stick with my standby hunter (I have 4 of those) but...seeing those animations makes me want a monk so bad. They look amazing.
Hopefully, beta will give me the chance to play one, decide it isn't my cup of tea as all melee classes turn out in the end, and I can go back to my hunter/shaman.
Pam Mar 26th 2012 9:09AM
I didn't start till Wrath, so new races aren't really a huge deal for me. Just something else to add to the alt list.
I have rolled one of each out of the starting area, but most of the time I ended up deleting the toon after that.
My raiders are 3 Nelfs, 1 worgen (from a faction/race change), and one dwarf that I changed to human cause the yellow AQ dress looked like a squished banana on her. (I leveled her as dwarf for the guild achievement but just couldn't find the right xmog gear to fit her style).
ravyncat Mar 26th 2012 9:17AM
Yes it has!
When I first heard we were getting Pandaren I was sort of neutral to the idea. They didn't seem any weirder to me than Tauren, Worgen, Goblins, Gnomes, Draenei etc.
I wasn't sure I wanted to play one because I tried a Worgen and didn't like it at all. I just disliked the way they moved and that sniffing. And the poor female snarl face is just so ugly.
After seeing the actual Pandaren in the beta--just youtube videos as I am not in it--my mind changed to not only am I going to play one, I am making two or more.
They are absolutely adorable. I love the animation in their faces--they look so alive.
And they are one of the very few races where the male model looks as good as the female to me. I exclusively play female toons, but I would play the male Pandaren.
I really hope they upgrade all the older models to that level of awesome.
greenfuse80 Mar 26th 2012 9:17AM
WC3's Brewmaster was mayhaps my favorite hero so I've wanted playable Pandaren for a long time. I'm loving everything about their implementation in MoP thus far. Now, so help me Jesus, male Pandaren better have the red panda coloring + tail or a pox on Blizz's servers! A POX I SAY!
Shrikesnest Mar 26th 2012 9:22AM
I grew significantly more enamored of these guys the more I learned. An ancient race of bear warriors with a strong martial culture that has taken up a playful, zen attitude because their ancestral home plays host to evil spirits that draw strength from their negative emotions? Hell yes, that sounds good. Sounds to me like they have more in common with the Hares of Salamandastron than the Gummi Bears.
Starlin Mar 26th 2012 9:22AM
I was on board with the Pandaren from the beginning, but their jump animation is throwing me off. Hopefully Blizzard can rein that in a bit. If so, I may race change my main into one.
TonyKP Mar 26th 2012 9:22AM
They're still pandas, and I still can't not think of the Jack Black movies yet, but I'm trying to keep an open mind about it. If the story is good enough I think I'll be able to get past it (SW:TOR style spoken quest dialogue would've helped with this, though - I've gotten spoiled about it).
andrews Mar 26th 2012 9:32AM
Meh.
rukamich Mar 26th 2012 9:37AM
No, I still view them as a joke and feel that this is really a customer-grab for Blizz.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be buying the XPac, but it is very likely my last. After 6+ years, I'm tired of the grind. I'm mostly interested in trying the new class and killing Garrosh. I've hated having to answer to him as a Hordie. :/
Caylynn Mar 26th 2012 9:41AM
Yes, my opinion has definitely changed. I had no plans to roll a Pandaren. Wasn't interested in them at all. Was going to roll a monk, but have her be draenei or dwarf. Now that I've seen the Pandaren models, I am very impressed, and will be rolling a female Pandaren monk, but one without the long tail. The only problems I have with the current model are: a) the tail looks like it's coming out of the middle of her back, not her tailbone, and b) the grin is still a little too "round" for my liking, but since I hardly ever look at my characters' faces, that won't be an issue (maybe that's why I don't mind the way my worgen female looks? I hardly ever see her face).
So yes, Blizz has done a wonderful job in making me change my mind about Pandarens. Now if they can do the same thing with pet battles (which currently hold absolutely no interest to me - I'm far too old to have ever played Pokemon, and the idea of battling my companion pets with others just has absolutely no appeal) it will be a minor miracle. ;)
Mycroft Mar 26th 2012 9:50AM
I'd say my opinion actually has changed. I used to be all for them, and horribly horribly disappointed that I couldn't race change my druid to be one. After I saw some of the male models, especially the facial hair, I'm not as enthused. They look like bears. I'm not talking the hunny-eating, pic-a-nic-basket-stealing kinda bears, but the gay culture kind of large-frame-hairy guys. Maybe whenever I get to control one myself I can play with it enough to get a better feel, but that kinda style has *slightly* turned me off about them.
In a total reversal, I'm totally loving the female model. I absolutely adore red pandas so much, and the inclusion of a stripey tail cinched it even before I saw the animations. Everything else about them has been icing on the cake. If mounts and achievements go truly account-wide (maybe along with rep, or maybe all rep-buyable things becoming boa) then I might consider switching mains over to something that can be a panda just because I like them so much.
Lariko Mar 26th 2012 1:00PM
Me too!
Wilkrian Mar 26th 2012 3:08PM
"but the gay culture kind of large-frame-hairy guys"
Uhhh...what?
Tabasa Mar 26th 2012 8:11PM
@Wilkrian - "Bear" is sometimes used as slang to refer to gay men that are heavily built and hairy.
detailbear Mar 26th 2012 8:49PM
^^ Case in point.
Cultural references:
John Goodman in _Normal, Ohio_
Dave Karofsky in _Glee_
John Waters' _A Dirty Shame_
robsmith77 Mar 26th 2012 9:53AM
I never played previous Warcraft games so I never had any preconceived notions of what Pandaren are all about. To me they're just as plausible as Gnomes, Elves or Humans. So my opinion hasn't changed - they're a cool addition to WoW.
Jermakis Mar 26th 2012 10:04AM
I purchased the BlizzCon live stream. And I'll admit, when they announced MoP, I was extremely skeptical. So much so that when SW:ToR came out, I unsubbed and was intent on not coming back. THEN, the NDA lifted and I got to see not only the Pandaren, but an absolute ton of information about what is going into MoP. And that got me to come back to WoW, and I am very excited about MoP.
That, and the symbiosis talent for druids look amazingly fun!
eel5pe Mar 26th 2012 10:06AM
I lurk a lot so I know I'm defintiely in the minority here, but I think female pandas look ridiculous.
Dude Mar 26th 2012 10:18AM
We live in a diverse world.
evoxpisces Mar 26th 2012 10:33AM
While I was never against seeing them put in the game, I wasn't sure it would ever happen. I never took them as a joke, I mean just because they're big fluffy pandas doesn't make them any less of a race. After seeing them in-game and seeing Pandaria and everything Blizzard has revealed about them...I couldn't be more excited for them and while I was kinda apathetic about them on the whole whether or not they ever made it into WoW, I actually really like just about everything I know about them. Best of all, they brought the Monk class with them, which I have been waiting for since day 1 of WoW, so yeah I'm pretty excited!