World of Warcraft: Forever’s beta is here, offering us our first look at WoW’s reimagined vanilla or classic experience, and already it’s proving extremely popular. But there are points of contention, one being whether the new Skyborne race’s starting zone fits tonally with original-race zones.
Part of the pitch for WoW Forever, made at BlizzCon recently, was any new stories added to the vanilla or classic experience would remain grounded within the established stakes or tone of original World of Warcraft. However, the introduction of the Skyborne elves and the narrative established in their starting zone have caused some concerns.
At BlizzCon, the approach to updating World of Warcraft in Forever was labelled as “found photographs”, the idea being that anything new added to the game could have feasibly been present within Classic WoW. But some believe the major Skyborne starting questline pushes back against that premise. Spoilers for the Skyborne levelling zone ahead, heads up.
To sum it up briefly, the island the Skyborne call home was lifted into and hidden within the elemental plane of wind – known as Skywall – many years ago. And the conclusion of the starting zone questline has you watch while an elemental lord is summoned – one of the underlings of Al’Akir, the big nasty ruler of Skywall – to tell you he’ll return to take over the place in the future.
This immediately goes against the strategy of keeping things within Classic’s scope. Elemental lords are not seen in Classic WoW until players confront fire lord Ragnaros in a level 60 raid in Molten Core. But here, you’re thrust into a confrontation with one before you hit level 15. Compare that with the human starting zone, which ends with a confrontation with Hogger, a chieftain of a nasty pack of gnolls, and you see the difference.
“On Zephras Isle [the Skyborne island] you, together with the leaders of your people, face a raid-level threat at the top of the spire, through a scripted event with bountiful exposition text, and the leaders of the Kirin Tor and the Earthen Ring show up to fend off this raid boss,” wrote user OccasionallyRhyming on the Classic WoW Reddit. “If it was not for your actions on Zephras Isle, your people would be doomed.
“I’m okay with ignoring the Skyborne and enjoying the rest of the game, but everything about their addition just screams warning about how Blizzard will approach future content.”
This fear of Skyborne-related grandeur was shared by other players, who responded with their own concerns. “Meanwhile I’m over here pilfering Tirisfal pumpkins and picking Gloomweed,” wrote -Necron-Overlord-. Another user, Altmly, said: “Agreed, Blizzard is incapable of writing ordinary stories that have weight without involving some world saving, universe defining, celebrity creating mumbo jumbo bullcrap.”
However, it’s worth noting that elsewhere in the game, new quests are down to earth. Players have been picking up rocks off the ground in Orgrimmar or finding lost loved ones in new dungeons, and these seem to have gone down well. It’s just the inclusion of the Skyborne questline that appears to have jarred.
Ultimately, the fuller picture of Blizzard’s “Lost Photographs” approach will only be available once WoW Forever game releases in full on 4th November. For now, players remain curious to see just how successful a modern development team will be at capturing the spirit of a decades’ old adventure.
