#0 - Dec. 5, 2006, 2:26 p.m.
I humbly request that you restore our stealth animations to their state before 2.0 and TBC.
The speed increase to the animations looks atrocious. Our formerly "sneaky" animations now appear exaggerated and comical - Night Elves duck waddle, Orcs look like they've had too many at the club, and Undead look like they need a bathroom break (if that were possible).
I know you reserve the right to change animations/art style if you wish. However, players grow attached to the way their characters look and move - it's a part of our personality.
Do you remember when the "Fugly Rug" (the distended, amorphous bedroll) was added to the back of the Nightsaber mount? The community outcry, especially from Frostsaber riders, was so great that you removed it. Since animations have little to do with game balance, why not eliminate a grossly unpopular change?
I hesitate to make an ad populum appeal, but the rogue community has been united against this change. I've seen no support (literally, not one positive voice) and much outcry against the animation change. For a class that spends as much time in stealth as we do, a change to our stealth animations significantly impacts the way we view our characters.
Thank you for your time, and for the otherwise excellent game you've created.
Sincerely,
-Xandyr
P.S. I'll include some references.
Here are videos showcasing some unpopular animations (read the comments below the clips too):
Night Elf: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yYWVARG3dcA
Dwarf + Orc: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qVq95PcQu64 (the dwarf one I'm indifferent to - but the orc is about to fall over)
Undead: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MHmU_hGoCnM
Here are some threads expressing player discontent:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=49445482&sid=1&pageNo=1
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=75D600D709BC2247CD827BE55D61A23A?topicId=46968821&sid=1
http://beta.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=843DE797347E8DFB4556C74864ED2E93?topicId=1441631&sid=1
