Rants tag

Rants, ruminations, and rambling remarks from my mad, muddled, meandering mind.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Cosmetic Changes in WoW: Cataclysm

OK, WoW CATA beta testers, I have just one question. Have the character avatars changed; and if so, what do they look like? I am worried because of some of the stuff I see in WotLK. Let me illustrate.
On the left, you see what Jaina Proudmore used to look like: a bland but pretty face that was available to any player role-ing a human female. I liked her almost as much as I liked my twins Rowanblaze and Hollyhammer (see below). The new Jaina, on the right, is pouty; her lips aren't quite right somehow. And don't even get me started on her eyes. Perhaps it goes with her new whiny, crybaby persona. As much as people seem to dislike Garrosh Hellscream, I think it is the suddenly weepy, pining-after-Arthas Jaina that has suffered the most annoying character change. I can't remember who brought it up in another blog, but why the heck does she call Varian Wrynn her king after the Deathbringer Saurfang fight? Absolutely ludicrous, as she is the sovereign of her own city-state on another continent, and didn't even come from Stormwind in the first place. It's as if Barack Obama were to address Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands as his queen. But I digress.

I am worried that my lovelies will end up looking like they are from LOTRO.
I hope that if they do make these cosmetic changes, that players are given the opportunity to re-customize their characters. I may not like the new face that Blizz thinks corresponds to my avatar's old face, but I may find another I like better.

6 comments:

  1. Ugh, before you put up the pictures side by side, I don't think I ever really noticed the changes. Jaina on the left looks dignified and classy. Jaina on the right looks like a bimbo.

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  2. I prefer the new models actually just because they have a lot more detail and look more up to date. Jaina isn't the best, granted, but the new Orc NPCs look awesome. I really hope that Blizzard update all of the player models at some point in the future and get rid of the posture problems that the majority of them seem to have :)

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  3. Ja,I have a friend whose biggest complaint about playing Horde (his main is a Troll warrior) is the posture issue. The males of every race but the Blood Elves hunch over, including the Tauren.

    And don't get me wrong, I welcome improvements to the game graphics. I am just worried that I'll get stuck with faces on my characters that I don't like. I don't know about other people, but I spent a ton of time thinking about how I wanted my toons to look, given that I would be looking at them for a long time (four years and counting).

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  4. Do you realize the size of the weapon? In classic WoW it was rather credible. In Cata it is extra-large.

    The face screams for a mentality that goes like this: All girls must be sexually attractive. Make her even more blond and look more like Barbie than charismatic.

    Terrible :(

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  5. I'll give them benefit of the doubt on the staff, given that the two pictures are slightly different angles. But yes, the apparent attempt at sultry eyes backfired, I think.

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