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Will Blizzard ever give us Warcraft 4?

I never understood why they even made WoW canon to begin with. Can't the game exist in its own vacuum outside of the RTS storyline so they can allow for WC4 to take off around the timeframe of WC3??
 
Matriox said:
I never understood why they even made WoW canon to begin with. Can't the game exist in its own vacuum outside of the RTS storyline so they can allow for WC4 to take off around the timeframe of WC3??
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WoW is much more popular than the rest of the series. It would be absolutely silly to not treat WoW as canon.
 
They have a lot of assets done already in Heroes of the Storm. Please make WC4! Or allow it to be imported to SC2 and let map makers make stand-a-lone story driven maps. Please!
 
Dark_castle said:
Diablo 3 was disappointing game at vanilla release, but it's pretty solid now, seriously.
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This is absolutely true, and I don't think Blizzard is the disaster everyone makes them out to be these days. I really enjoyed the Starcraft segments they've released so far and I would be ecstatic to see a new Warcraft game to play. I love the concept of a hero-based RTS and I haven't stumbled across a lot of non-competitive games that have been able to scratch that itch...

That said, will they do it? It's hard to say, after so long and no rumblings of any kind to suggest it. Blizzard sorta does whatever they want to do and that doesn't seem to be pointing to Warcraft at the moment...
 
I've been a massive fan of Blizzard for years, the one thing that has disappointed me of late is pretty random;
the lack of a full cgi ending cinematic for D3:ROS.

A new ip from Blizzard would be more surprising, so I say Warcraft 4 is inevitable.
 
Seems unlikely at this point. From what I've heard starcraft 2 seems to not be having the long lasting impact that the original did, and if you look at what their most recent output has been (HotS and hearthstone), it's clear what direction blizz is going in. there's no room for Warcraft 4 in that future.

fanboi said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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image.php


I laughed.
 
Kenak said:
WoW is much more popular than the rest of the series. It would be absolutely silly to not treat WoW as canon.
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Why couldn't you keep the two stories seperate though? Make them Canon to their own respective timelines to preserve story elements from either.

Furthermore, Although I havn't played WoW since BC, how do the individuals who actually kill the main boss leads make it into canon? Or is that element scrapped to just point out there was a battle and X hero finished them off?
 
I bet when they are ready for whatever comes after WoW is when we will see Warcraft 4. It'll set up the new "universe" of the WoW 2.
 
Matriox said:
Furthermore, Although I havn't played WoW since BC, how do the individuals who actually kill the main boss leads make it into canon? Or is that element scrapped to just point out there was a battle and X hero finished them off?
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They simply retconned some of the older stuff (well, Onyxia mostly), but honestly since black temple they've gone out of their way to add major NPCs to important boss fights. Partly because they can add mechanics this way, but also because it is easy to say: Tirion and "the heroes" (that's us!) defeated the lich king, The Dragon Aspects, Thrall, and some heroes killed Deathwing, and so on.

Personally I've liked the shift to that because it doesn't make much sense for major story characters to send us on all these quests and stuff, but when the time comes to kill the big bad guy they are no where to be seen. Also it's usually pretty fun to fight alongside these characters because they have a mechanical importance to the fight, they aren't just hanging out waiting for us to do the work. Heroic Ragnaros is one of the more satisfying fights they've made imo and a part of that was because the interaction with Cenarius, Malfurion, and Hamuul in the final phase.
 
ZenaxPure said:
They simply retconned some of the older stuff (well, Onyxia mostly), but honestly since black temple they've gone out of their way to add major NPCs to important boss fights. Partly because they can add mechanics this way, but also because it is easy to say: Tirion and "the heroes" (that's us!) defeated the lich king, The Dragon Aspects, Thrall, and some heroes killed Deathwing, and so on.

Personally I've liked the shift to that because it doesn't make much sense for major story characters to send us on all these quests and stuff, but when the time comes to kill the big bad guy they are no where to be seen. Also it's usually pretty fun to fight alongside these characters because they have a mechanical importance to the fight, they aren't just hanging out waiting for us to do the work. Heroic Ragnaros is one of the more satisfying fights they've made imo and a part of that was because the interaction with Cenarius, Malfurion, and Hamuul in the final phase.
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That makes sense. Idk I just feel like it would be weird for folks that played WC1-3 and didn't play wow to jump into WC4 with so much that has changed. The numbers are probably small, but it would still be a weird experience. Hell I wouldn't mind if WC4 was just what had happened in WoW because I had missed so much of the story.
 
Matriox said:
Why couldn't you keep the two stories seperate though? Make them Canon to their own respective timelines to preserve story elements from either.
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Considering that there is time travel in the Warcraft universe, it could be hand waved now that I think of it.
 
If we ever get the game, I don't think it will be the way we want it. It'll have a big tie-in of micro-transactions and come out piecemeal over several years. No thanks.
 
Warcraft 4 is possible now that Blizzard remembered that they can make games other than WoW. i figure after Heroes of the Storm is done work will begin on the next strategy Warcraft game.

edit: Blizzard will not end Wow to make a Wow 2. Wow will become Wow 2 via expansions. With WoD it basically is Wow 2.0.
 
The mainline of the series has been dead for so long now that we'd probably regret a new installment. Trying to expand further on themes from WC3 would either result in some "Starcraft 2 on land" feeling or, worse (and far more likely), something closer to a MOBA.

Loofy said:
Just give us 3D remakes of Warcraft 2 and Brood War.
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I would probably support this but there'd be way too much pressure to massive increase the amount of content in both, and WC2 in particular. Games of that level of surface-level simplicity are generally expected to be seen in F2P games for mobile. Actually, I can sort of see WC2 working for tablets and not being awful.
 
Matriox said:
That makes sense. Idk I just feel like it would be weird for folks that played WC1-3 and didn't play wow to jump into WC4 with so much that has changed. The numbers are probably small, but it would still be a weird experience. Hell I wouldn't mind if WC4 was just what had happened in WoW because I had missed so much of the story.
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Honestly if they ever made a WC4 it would be easy to just have a cinematic thing at the start of the game that recapped the major points of each expansion. Even though a lot happens each expansion most of it is irrelevant in a grand scale kind of way. It would be very easy to catch players up to speed on the important stuff. I used to want them to make a WC4 simply to add new story elements and then make a WoW expansion that picks up from the end of the game (with a bit of a time skip), but after MoP (which was like 90% new ideas) I don't really see it as needed anymore.

I still think it's a cool idea though, the thing about WC3 is that so much happens at a breakneck pace that it is easy to make large shifts in the world and story (which allows them to introduce new elements). It's back to that grand scale I mentioned. More major events happen in WC3 than have happened in WoW the entire time it has been out. It's just really easy to keep things rolling at a crazy pace in a game that isn't a MMO.
 
I am sure it will come. I just hope it is a ways off so there is time for the MOBA craze to wear off. I want a WC like #2 and less like #3.
 
Wow, I had no idea that WoW had that much story content. I don't play a lot of MMOs but I didn't think they were heavy on plot, it seemed to me it was mostly about equipment/loot and big dungeon raids.

How is the story told in WoW? Cinematics? In game dialogue?
 
kirblar said:
The RTS genre is pretty dead right now. I can't see it happening anytime soon.
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In the late 2000s, Blizzard was sitting on the most profitable MMO of all time, they had Dota right under their noses, and they were working on sequels to the most popular RTS and ARPG's of all time. Now interest in Starcraft is essentially dead, the MOBA craze has completely eluded them, WoW's western subscription base (the lion's share of their revenue) is dwindling, and they botched Diablo III (although it seems they righted a lot of the issues since launch).
 
ZenaxPure said:
Honestly if they ever made a WC4 it would be easy to just have a cinematic thing at the start of the game that recapped the major points of each expansion. Even though a lot happens each expansion most of it is irrelevant in a grand scale kind of way. It would be very easy to catch players up to speed on the important stuff. I used to want them to make a WC4 simply to add new story elements and then make a WoW expansion that picks up from the end of the game (with a bit of a time skip), but after MoP (which was like 90% new ideas) I don't really see it as needed anymore.

I still think it's a cool idea though, the thing about WC3 is that so much happens at a breakneck pace that it is easy to make large shifts in the world and story (which allows them to introduce new elements). It's back to that grand scale I mentioned. More major events happen in WC3 than have happened in WoW the entire time it has been out. It's just really easy to keep things rolling at a crazy pace in a game that isn't a MMO.
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Yeah I could see a cinematic working, I would just be disappointed to play WC3 and amp up the Lich King just to watch him die in a cinematic :S
 
JLeack said:
If so it'll have to be a prequel. By then everyone in the IP will be dead.
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It would be seriously very easy to come up with a sequel premise.

End WoW with Sargeras resurrection, Burning Legion invasion, have Azeroth lose, factions splintered as they try to survive, most heroes dead, few survive on this new world.

Place the game some odd 20 years later after the invasion, Azeroth a figurative Outland 2.0 with its demonic infestation. New factions form based on survival needs and proximity, have a new set of characters raised in this corrupted World rising up to fight back.

Its really not that hard working with fiction to just make up new plotlines, WC3 was almost entirely new plotlines with new main characters previously never mentioned in Warcraft before.
 
bananafactory said:
Wow, I had no idea that WoW had that much story content. I don't play a lot of MMOs but I didn't think they were heavy on plot, it seemed to me it was mostly about equipment/loot and big dungeon raids.

How is the story told in WoW? Cinematics? In game dialogue?
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Mostly through quest/in-game dialogue. With Mists of Pandaria Blizzard really upped their story game by using a nice amount of in-game cinematics at crucial moments and also having readable lore objects in the world.
 
Once the StarCraft team is done with the last addon. (Why does it take ages to make a RTS campaign these days?). They will start development on WC4.
 
I wish they would do it, but I have a feeling they won't.

Unless they do it at some weird point in the time line (i.e. hundreds of years after the current WoW heroes like Jaina, Thrall, Anduin, etc. are dead)
 
bananafactory said:
Wow, I had no idea that WoW had that much story content. I don't play a lot of MMOs but I didn't think they were heavy on plot, it seemed to me it was mostly about equipment/loot and big dungeon raids.

How is the story told in WoW? Cinematics? In game dialogue?
Click to expand...

Quests are probably the biggest vehicle for moving the story along, but since TBC some quests have had cutscenes (and as the game has gotten more expansions those cutscenes have evolved in various ways). Besides that there are also dungeons and books (and there are a lotttttt of warcraft books, they've been writing them long before WoW).

Things have changed through each expansion, but the typical structure is that a storyline starts in a questing zone and you follow it (and any offshoots it produces) through the entire zone and then there is usually a more elaborate lengthier quest that caps off the story. Typically the end of those stories give you a reason to go into the next zone where you repeat the process, or a dungeon/raid. Then each dungeon typically has a little story but it is more of a low key thing you have to pick up by what bosses say as you fight them or their death texts. It's not really meant to be a big thing, but it does form a "story." Raids are a bit different since they are supposed to be more elaborate and lengthier. Usually raids are good at fleshing out the world you've been experiencing up until that point: Say for example there is a type of enemy you've had to fight while questing, in the raid you may go to a section and fight a boss who is charge of training or creating those enemies. It's a lot of world building in that way (and some of my personal favorite stuff).

There are other things they do as well (like the various evolving stories they had where things would permanently change in the game and you experience the story in "real-time"), but honestly it's kind of like I mentioned in my other post. It doesn't matter in the grand scale. A lot of those stories are awesome and I've had fun experiencing them, but very few major events (on the scale of what happens in WC3) have happened in WoW so it wouldn't effect a potential WC4 that much.
 
water_wendi said:
Mostly through quest/in-game dialogue. With Mists of Pandaria Blizzard really upped their story game by using a nice amount of in-game cinematics at crucial moments and also having readable lore objects in the world.
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Interesting. I wonder if it's too late for me to try and get into WoW for the story. Presumably most people playing at this point know what they're doing and won't care for a noob like myself.
 
I wish there were some graphics mods that overhaul the visuals in WC3 and FT.
They look a bit rough when I boot them up now.
 
Nope.
I'm hoping for some huge end of the world cataclysm
(intended)
event that wipes everyones characters and the servers just self destruct.
 
Blizzard havent even started talking Legacy of the Void yet... They have to finish the SC2 trilogy before moving on to other things. I wouldnt hold my breath.
 
Falcker said:
It would be seriously very easy to come up with a sequel premise.

End WoW with Sargeras resurrection, Burning Legion invasion, have Azeroth lose, factions splintered as they try to survive, most heroes dead, few survive on this new world.

Place the game some odd 20 years later after the invasion, Azeroth a figurative Outland 2.0 with its demonic infestation. New factions form based on survival needs and proximity, have a new set of characters raised in this corrupted World rising up to fight back.

Its really not that hard working with fiction to just make up new plotlines, WC3 was almost entirely new plotlines with new main characters previously never mentioned in Warcraft before.
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This I think is one of the main issues is that you would have to have some sort of drastic reset button pressed for a Warcraft 4 to be possible. What you listed is one way that would work and definitely up the scale nicely. Just with WoW being so up its own butt with its lore at this point that I think most who didn't read the books and raid religiously might be pretty lost. It's ridiculously dense and intimidating to get into to the point of alienating potential new fans. This is why I would like something like your solution, to wipe the potential Warcraft 4 of most of the convoluted barrier keeping new fans from understanding.
 
Crawl said:
Blizzard havent even started talking Legacy of the Void yet... They have to finish the SC2 trilogy before moving on to other things. I wouldnt hold my breath.
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Nah they have. David Kim just gave an interview in which he talked a bit about Legacy. He said it's been in development for a long time.
 
bananafactory said:
Interesting. I wonder if it's too late for me to try and get into WoW for the story. Presumably most people playing at this point know what they're doing and won't care for a noob like myself.
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Don't worry, the game is noob friendly, you won't feel lost (it's not holding your hand, if you're too dumb to avoid an AoE, it will be your fault, lol)
You can even take your time and do the Loremaster achievement if you fall in love with the story.
Depending of the race you choose you will have an intro like in Dragon age Origin with quests until lvl 20.
Enough for you to come to love the background of the race you choosen and not all the races are "good".

The only moment you may feel lost/underwhelmed is in dunjeons or in pvp because a lot of low level characters are rerolls with good equipements.
I advice you to avoid pvp until lvl max.
 
cwmartin said:
Diablo 3 is absolutely fixed and the best current game available in its genre.
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It's certainly a solid game but calling it the best available in the genre is certainly up for debate. Personally I would say that POE, Grim Dawn, Titan Quest and Diablo 2 are better.
 
Hmm, is Warcraft 3 still worth playing? Never done an RTS before, but always been a bit curious. It'd be interesting to see them do a new one, but the world seems more associated with the MMO than anything else.
 
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