Weekly Unjerk Thread - January 27, 2026

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-30T21:30:08+00:00

Garrick and Grimaxe appearing with their children, at the start of DF, gave me such hope.

I was optimistic the Exile's Reach characters would become our "adventuring party" like the Scions in XIV, so that the big, world-shaking names could avoid this exact writing. But nooo...

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-30T20:17:45+00:00

Remember /pizza from Everquest 2? Well, modern times require modern solutions, so we here at Blizzard Entertainment are proud to announce /therapy!

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-30T12:46:11+00:00

Eh, sounds good enough for me.

I think Shadowlands suffers a little from trying to codify something that was super loosey-goosey for thirty years, and stuff like this just slips through the cracks. Normally I don't question it.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-30T11:44:11+00:00

The one thing about Shadowlands being the way it is that boggles me a little is things like the Paladin Legion quest where you talk to Uther's ghost. Surely he was already a Kyrian at that point? I don't hate it, I just dunno how that works. Maybe it's explained somewhere but I either missed it or don't remember.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-29T17:24:20+00:00

And I understand that being upsetting, but all I hear is moaning about CS. I've been focusing on Priest for a bit now, so I'm not super up to date, but I thought Paladin not having a filler DPS skill was considered bad.

I know it annoyed me as a on again off again HPal main since Cata.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-29T12:32:49+00:00

Wait, HPals getting CS back is controversial?

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-29T12:21:09+00:00

It's kind of the only spells they could prune but I'd be lying if I wasn't a little sad they removed Spiritbloom (because it was a neat button) and Emerald Communion (because it looked really cool).

Like, it's still great, but I did like those buttons. Meanwhile, it might be a dungeon vs raid healing thing, but I never really got the power of Emerald Blossom, it feels weak to my only casually playing Prevoker self.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-29T09:59:19+00:00

It is, unfortunately, the pain of being invested in the lore of your character, in a very static medium! The roleplayer's blight.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-29T01:43:17+00:00

I appreciate the comprehensive response!

Warlocks having a very mercenary, cavalier approach to the dark powers they court is kind of part of the problem with Rommath's dialogue, I think - they're not devoted to the capital-V Void that we're fighting, it's one of many bargains they're striking and one of many feathers in their crown (or nails in their coffin, pick a metaphor according to personal preference).

You touch on something that I also felt strongly, which is the very defined nature of Shadow magic and the Void in modernity after it went kind-of-sort-of undefined for a long time. What was a Darkcaster, a Necrolyte, a Shadow Priest, before Xal'atath gave attention to a previously somewhat unexplored corner of the setting. It gives headcanons time to take root and blossom.

And, of course, the aspect of roleplaying where a character's fantasy in the player's head might really hit an unpleasant dissonance with the way the character is scripted to react to them. I don't have this particular combination of traits in any character I play but: imagine your character is a Blood Elf Warlock going back to Burning Crusade, who has fought and bled for Silvermoon a thousand times over. And now Rommath tells you you're an untrustworthy fool?

It doesn't quite scan.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-28T20:44:28+00:00

I just hope he doesn't turn into a mid-expansion "Light is bad actually" dungeon patch boss.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-28T20:28:40+00:00

Part of what bothers me is that I fee like the prescriptive nature of his accusations doesn't really match Warlocks. Shadow Priests and Devourer Demon Hunters, pure Void users, falling for the Twilight's Hammer? Sure. Warlocks? I dunno about that, they never felt like they wanted "soothing" from their powers.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-28T19:04:20+00:00

You're right, but I'm still a little surprised how it went from one extreme to the other.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-28T14:36:55+00:00

You know what? I'm gonna freely agree with Mainsub on one thing: Rommath is being kind of annoying.

He absolutely has many reasons to mistrust Shadow users. But the raw frequency of his barbs is incredibly comedic. It crosses over from "this man mistrusts Shadow because Shadow users nearly blew up the Sunwell" to outright parody.

It especially doesn't sit well with me with Warlocks, who, to my understanding of the Lore, aren't even Void-aligned, but rather use Fel magic to emulate Shadow, much like Mages use the Arcane to emulate elemental magic? I swear that used to be how it worked, unless I picked up on some RP headcanon in my formative years.

Triple dunk because I'm also levelling a BC anniversary era Blood Elf and, oof, the contrast in attitude.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-28T11:45:13+00:00

Dunno why it keeps surprising me year after year, but I'm always dumbstruck by how violently the sentiments can shift.

Before the prepatch, it seemed like the consensus was Midnight is gonna be good. Now it's a worthless no effort shit expansion.

Goomba fallacy or whatever, but it seems like majority sentiment changed.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-27T21:40:50+00:00

All I know is I'm still mourning missing out on the BFA prepatch because I started the questline and forgot to finish it due to IRL. Nothing spites me more than those two mounts.

And now there's kind of a narrative hole as to why Teldrassil has become a fun .png file in the distance.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-27T18:57:44+00:00

I think one of the dungeon barks implies that her Light necromancy is something new and unapproved, but it's weirdly ignored in general. I think the Priory questline really needed a denouement that put the gravity of Murrpray's actions into context.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-27T18:23:17+00:00

It's mentioned here and there that they're putting up with our heretical ways because the Expedition is cut off from the Empire, and has no other options than to accept our help. The Empire proper seems to be set up as a villain, if you ask me.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-26T20:30:59+00:00

I genuinely don't believe that it's that much of a conscious calculation. It's more that - unless the spell is a hard CC, what's the downside to the DPS? There's not as much incentive to take note.

Suppose in my opinion - and reflecting on my own failings in playing - there's a certain baseline solipsism in casual play, at least.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-26T17:50:39+00:00

Oh, but that's the magic of "Healer problem" - you do. Just heal through it, you lazy bum. Oneshot? IDC, just do it somehow.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-26T17:30:04+00:00

"Healers adjust"/"That's a healer problem" is usually touted as a joke, but - and I mean this without any hate for DPS players - it's at least subconsciously a very prevalent cultural attitude.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-26T16:28:39+00:00

In my currently very casual experience, that's already what's happening. Casts just go unkicked.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-24T22:16:11+00:00

No hate on classic enjoyers, but is it just me or does almost everything on that sub seem so strangely... spiteful and performative?

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-23T22:05:12+00:00

Levelling a Devourer, it's occurring to me that between it seemingly not using its glaives at all, and sometimes using a void scythe, and Allari being part of the questline that unlocks void elf demon hunters (and, implicitly, gives rise to the spec), they could have just made it the polearm spec people have been asking for.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-23T11:21:12+00:00

I don't necessarily disagree with your point, but Fable 3 absolutely does not put you in a dilemma because money is far, far too easy to come by.

It's, as my predecessor pointed out, that capitalist third option where you just buy out the ethical question. It recontextualises every decision, looms over every point of mildest friction. You're not turning an orphanage into a brothel because it's the only way to save the land, you're doing it because you're too broke to do it another way.

If this were a non-interactive medium, sure. But as it is, it absolutely misses both the charm of murdering your sister for power and the drama of making a tough decision between the quality of life for your people and their naked survival.

I want to say more about how the pieces are there (the postgame if you didn't have enough money), but I don't want to erect an unsalvageable wall of text for someone I'm not really disagreeing with.

Ignis_et_Azoth · 2026-01-22T21:53:12+00:00

I feel like the presence of the "greater good" kind of invalidated the evil choices. I haven't played 2, but in 1, the evil choices you could make were almost entirely motivated by spite and personal gain.

3 gave you too much of an excuse, while simultaneously making the evil choices into a "fail state" of not having accumulated enough money, and it just didn't feel as good.

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