Where do we, as Players, stand?

#1 - May 3, 2011, 2:58 p.m.

This question came to mind thanks to reading another thread in which there was PVP complaints about the Overpowered Guards protecting towns and Cities. Now I agree that we should not have the capacity as a single entity to walk into a town or city and be able to destroy it single handedly. But the feel I get from it now is that even the most skilled Player Character is no more capable or skilled than the average Guard patrolling Stormwind.

So the question is this, where do we as Player Characters, stand within the Lore? What are we to the major events within World of Warcraft? What is our level of importance? And where to we stand within the games 'power structure'?

I'm curious because as it stands from a with game perspective we don't seem to be worth much Lore wise. If we look back at recent Lore History player character importance seems to have been written out entirely, as far as the world is concerned The Lich King was stopped by TIRION FORDRING! *see small note at bottom of page in fine print* 'and a small band of heroes'. This persists even back through prior expansions, Illidan was taken down by Akama and Maiev according to Lore, Kil'jaden was the Shattered Sun Offensive and the Spirit of the Sunwell. Even in Vanilla, despite the massive effort by the various player bases to Open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, rather than have the Lore name one of the various Realm Firsts, or the World first as the Scarab Lord, they name some random Night Elf NPC. Well at least we got credit for taking down Nefarion and Onyxia, oh wait that's right we didn't Kill Nefarion and we got retconed out of being the ones to take down Onyxia by the comics so the Twin Wrynn's and his band of scrappy allies could have the honor.

These complaints of course lead me to my next question what is the importance of Player characters to Major events within the game's Lore? Is there ever going to be any in game acknowledgment of anything the players do? Or are we all just backdrops as far as the Lore is concerned, just 'random allies' that minorly assisted whatever Big name NPC happens to be in the area?

Which brings me to my final question, where do player characters stand within the Lore's Power Structure? Are we nothing more than slightly skilled mercenaries? Or are we meant to be Hero's of the Realm? If the Horde and Alliance weren't at War, could a 25 man raid be easily replaced by a couple dozen Soldiers out of rank and file and everything would be alright with the world again? What I want to know is are we truly epic warriors that are called upon to do the impossible to save the world and manage to pull it off? Or are we just backup's for the the 'Big Names' who only are needed because the REAL soldiers are busy fighting each other?

I don't think I'll get it but I hope that I get a Blue Post to respond to this, as I'd like to know not only everyone's opinion on where we stand, but Blizz's perspective on our characters role in the Lore as well.

Daxxarri

Community Manager

#27 - May 5, 2011, 1:43 a.m.

Well I didn't get the Blue post I hoped for, perhaps this is a question they don't want to have to answer and don't want players thinking about, because if we begin to feel worthless in the gaming environment it could impact more than a few peoples desire to continue to play.

Either way, I did enjoy getting a few fresh perspectives on it and I hope that anyone that looked this thread over took some time to think on Player's roles within the game.

Not at all.

It's a big question, and one that's not easy to answer. I guess I should start by saying that the players of World of Warcraft are heroes. True heroes; the other posters in this thread have already brought up some of the truly amazing things that player characters have accomplished. It's true that sometimes notable lore characters will share the lime light, but at least partially, the intent is to point out not that the players are beneath those characters or that those characters deserve the credit, but rather, that players are more than fit to fight alongside them.

There are those who have pointed out that gameplay supersedes lore, and to an extent that's true. It doesn't make sense, for example, for guards to be as powerful as player characters; but they aren't entirely there for lore purposes. Their purpose is to act as a deterrent, and they couldn't do that if they were of an 'appropriate' level.

Still, the role that the heroes of Azeroth play is incredibly important, and we're always seeking a better balance between the starker demands of gameplay, and the rich and exciting stories that can be told via the same medium. The upcoming Thrall quest line is one example, and the new legendary weapon quest line is another. The new Regrowth/Molten Front quest hub will allow players to shape how a piece of the game world changes for themselves. We're excited about the future, and we can't wait to see what you guys think.