[WoW] So apparently, some screenshots of the new alliance race have already started to surface

[kierthos]

Depending on which paranoid, basement-dwelling geek you listen to, these are either the Eredar or the Dranei.

I'm at a loss. I wanted Pandarens.

Comments

[egearman.livejournal.com]

You will almost certainly never see Pandarens as a player race, for the sole reason that they are friendly with both sides. The best they would be is a sort of counter-point to the goblins.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Nooooooooo! ( yeah, I know, but geez... these guys look like shit )

[mithras.livejournal.com]

Quite true. They do look like shit.

Which means they will be able to play paladins.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, there's another screenshot of them wearing Lightforge Spaulders, so yeah...

[egearman.livejournal.com]

Well, the majority of the players wanted a 'pretty' race for the Horde and an 'ugly' race for the Alliance. It looks like they got their way on it.

[danicia.livejournal.com]

I think I'm the only WoWer who doesn't give a flying fuck about the new races on either side. :)

[halaku.livejournal.com]

And my first thought was "If those things on his face are prehensile, WoW smut writing will get quite interesting..."

[kizzie.livejournal.com]

you'll never get them I'm afraid... would upset the chinese too much...

[morinon.livejournal.com]

They won't ever have Pandaren, thanks to China. Damn you, China.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Okay, between you and Kizzie... what the heck are you talking about?

[morinon.livejournal.com]

China has a law on the books that prohibits showing violence towards Pandas within China, in any form. Ergo, in a game that involves fighting, Panderan would be considered against the law.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is what I thought you meant. That only applies to actual pandas.

If it's an animated digital representation of a panda-like humanoid (like, say, a Pandaren would be), no it wouldn't be against the law. This was actually brought up on the WoW forums, and a poster who lives in southern China debunked it.

If it was "Panda Hunter" (instead of Deer Hunter) where you blasted pandas into gory little bits... yeah, that might be verboten. Not Pandaren. Blizzard decided to go with these ugly-ass things instead.

[egearman.livejournal.com]

If that is the case, then you still have the problem of 'which side do the Pandarens join?'

If you say Alliance, then you obviously never played the orc missions in Frozen Throne.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't, but from what I know, there was one Pandaren in those missions. And, according to the lore of the game, the Pandarens have a good friendship with the Dwarves of Ironforge because they both like their beer.

[egearman.livejournal.com]

And since they have been mentioned only a little bit (very little 'lore') there would be massive amounts of pissing and moaning if you stuck them on either side. As NPCs, similar to goblins in that respect, they could function.

[morinon.livejournal.com]

Even so, they are on shaky enough ground in China as is.

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

Why? Because they keep banning the CGF's who continue to break the rules? Meh....

The only way Blizzard could upset China is to have a zone called "Free Tibet".