So I finally got around to completing the Death Knight starting zone that the world and his dog have been raving about. I should be joining in with commending on how good the quests are (they are) and how well designed it is (it is) and what a great, story driven experience the whole thing is but as much as all that really is true, I just can’t bring myself to do anything other than complain.
Nota bene: there will be spoilers and this is fair warning about them. Read on at your own peril if you have yet to roll a Death Knight.
So the setup is this: you are a former hero of Azeroth, slain in combat and resurrected as one of the Lich King’s Death Knights. You’re entire purpose is to serve him and lead the armies of the Scourge against the combined forces of the mighty Horde and the pitiful wretches in the so-called Alliance. After some initial training and briefings, you finally get to the front line of the offensive against the Scarlet Crusade and sure enough, you begin to spread terror and destruction as you raze their army to the ground, baby!
With New Avalon and Havenshire burning, the Lich King turns his attention to the Argent Dawn holed up at Light’s Hope Chapel. Now a champion of the Scourge, you shall join the other Death Knights and the legions of undead as you wipe them from the face of Azeroth. 10000 of you, 300 of them. But something is rotten in the Eastern Plaguelands and it’s not that decomposing limb you keep cleaning the maggots off. After quite an epic battle in which the forces of Light pull of a coup worthy of the English fighting at Agincourt and defeat the Death Knights. The next thing I know, I’m blindly following Darion Mograine, so called “highlord†of the Death Knights as they secede from Arthas’ army.
And I’m thinking “What? Now just wait a damn minute there, sonny…!â€
I quite enjoyed seeing the Scarlet citizens cowering before me or running way in fear as I turned up. I had no qualms about going all Jack Bauer and torturing the enemies of the Lich King to extract vital information. You want skulls washed in the tears of innocents then I’m your man. Or orc. Or undead thing. Whatever. The Lich King’s will is my will. I exist to serve him. There is a world filled with life and beauty beneath us. I see it and I want to set it on fire. I want to burn it down for my lord Arthas and for the greater glory of the Scourge.
But oh no, somehow I’m being made to follow this cowardly traitorous, weak-willed cur. Yes, I’m quite aware that my will is not my own but really, my devotion doesn’t run to siding with losers and failures just because they had a truly touching, soap opera, chocolate box moment with their dear departed dad. Yes, I know the Lich King apparently “betrayed†us but I refer you to the bit where I exist to serve yadda yadda yadda. Not to mention the fact that Morgraine’s emo sulk means there’s a job vacancy open and I’m ready for a promotion.
So here I am, trudging through the streets of Orgrimmar, metaphorical cap in hand, off to beg a second chance from the so-called Warchief. By rights, I should be in Icecrown right about now, plotting the downfall of the Alliance and the Horde and bringing down countless legions of zombies and ghouls upon them and not suffering the iniquity of being pelted with rotten fruit by the very people who should be trembling and cowering in my presence.
It started off so well but I’m so totally disappointed with this turn of events that I’m not sure I can bring myself to play the Death Knight anymore. I know Paladins have been complaining about the seemingly endless cascade of nerfs that have hit them recently but quite frankly, this is far more humiliating and depressing. I could have been part of something amazing, something fantastic but no, I’m just part of the same old, ambitionless, neutered Horde as ever without even the vaguest hint or promise of being corrupted with the blood of a demon.
Thanks, Blizzard, thanks a lot.
I think part of it is that being, you know, the Herald of the Lich King involves being really really evil. I think Blizzard assumes that you, as a hero, when freed form Arthas’ influence, realizes that they’d been being a monster and wants to stop being evil. You don’t get the ‘keep being evil’ option; WoW isn’t that game.
If it’s any consolation, you can still attempt genocide against wildlife and slaughter innocent NPCs. Goblins make funny popping noises when they die, or so I hear.
“Not to mention the fact that Morgraine’s emo sulk means there’s a job vacancy open and I’m ready for a promotion.”
lol.
Yeah that kinda bummed me out too. They should have added another quest or even to aid the transition of the DK to his old faction.
First version of this criticism that I have seen. Bravo. “Death Knights: more emo than evil.”
Yes! I definitely enjoy my DK, but I completely felt the same way. I was just standing there, watching it all happen, and it was so sudden that I felt like I’d missed something. Then I went to WPL and started killing the same ghouls that I’d killed three weeks ago with my regular, living human, non-heroic pally.
Agreed. An option to remain evil would’ve been great.
Personally I’m not -too- discouraged by how things played out at Light’s Hope because it advances the storyline(s), sets a few things up for Northrend and gives you a plausible, sensical, albeit hard to swallow, reason why your DK is now out and about.
In my opinion, the problem is not how Light’s Hope was done, story-wise at least. The problem is that we’ve been given a class with a lot of decidedly evil baggage, and many of us would like to continue in that vein, but we can’t. So pretty much -anything- we can set up to happen at Light’s Hope is gonna feel flat and unrewarding, because it’s not what we want. We bitch at Mograine’s fall from unholy grace and rise into something more presentable as ’emo’, but that’s as good as anything they could’ve done. What are the other options?
Fordring beating Arthas hand to hand? Would feel flat too, we know it wouldn’t happen.
Something magical happening and suddenly the Lich King loses control of his minions? Would feel flat and like the easy way out.
The problem is not emo Mograine, or Light’s Hope. That’s fine, and okay as story goes (excellent execution though). The problem is that we want to be evil, but we can’t. The ideal solution at Light’s Hope would’ve been to let it play out as it is in-game, up to a point in which both the Lich King and the redeemed Mograine each call to the player, and the player makes the choice. Bit of a bitch to code, and you’d need not only content for the Lich King’s player faction (starting in Icecrown, of course) but also the mechanics of what’s essentially a brand new third faction.
That would’ve been ideal, but well, WoW is not an ideal game. I’m still having a lot of fun with the class, though. It’s pending for a nerf, I’m sure.
The mechanics to allow players to be part of a third faction are definitely in place as evidenced by the controversial, pre-WOTLK zombie invasion event. Players of either faction became zombies and became part of the Scourge and could communicate/trade/group with each other as well as conning green with Scourge NPCs. But the addition of a third faction, races, classes, quests and the balancing thereof (as well as three faction battlegrounds and so on) would be more than just an expansion pack – it would be a whole new game in itself.
Probably called Universe of Starcraft or something.
I don’t really have any criticism of the DK starting area – it really was very well done. However, one thing I would have liked is to have been able to be a DK for your faction but choose the body of a race from the other faction. This is already canon – Teron Gorefiend was an orc that was raised as a Death Knight in a human body by Gul’dan.
On the other hand, that would have meant the possibility of gnome DKs in the Horde and that would have been unbearable so it’s probably a good thing we can’t do that.
My DK to the rest of the Horde:
You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am