[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I played it. It is not bad (and it was nice that they were inclusive about romance) but has a flaw for me that prevented me from enjoying it fully. Naming it would be a spoiler, however. Still a nice game, though.

[Liue]

If there is something you can't kill, it's hope.

Anduin Wrynn: "No. This is the Horde. Led by you. Someone who has.."
Varok Saurfang: "Honor... I've never known honor. They deserve more. But the Horde is doomed to be shackled by the chains of the past."
Anduin Wrynn: "The Horde has no exclusive claim to regrets. Arthas, Daelin... The ghosts of the past hunt us as well."
Varok Saurfang: "We could not fill the chasm between the Horde and Alliance if we labored 1000 years. You know this."
Anduin Wrynn: "Then what are we fighting for?"

Varok Saurfang: "Soldiers! On your feet!"
Anduin Wrynn: "Start breaking camp immediately!"

Zekhan: "Lord Saurfang?"

Varok Saurfang: "Zekhan... Where is our home?"

Zekhan: "Orgrimmar?"

Varok Saurfang: "Not our city. Our home."

Zekhan: "Azeroth."

Anduin Wrynn: "And ours?"

Jaina Proudmoore: "Azeroth."

Anduin Wrynn: "Right now, there are only two forces in this world that matters. One bent on harming our world."
Varok Saurfang: "And one that will protect her."

Zekhan: "So... what are we doing?"

Varok Saurfang: "Breaking the cycle."

[DoctorEldritch]

@Liue I guess the alliance falls into this category as well. Though I am unfamiliar with WoW and all those people, so maybe I can't fully grasp the magnitude of it.

[Liue]

@DoctorEldritch It was not just alliance between factions anymore: Varok Saurfang, Anduin Wrynn, Jaina Proudmoore and Baine Bloodhoff became very close friends during Battle for Azeroth expansion (came out in 2018). It continued to grow during Shadowlands (came out in 2020), but ever since we returned from the land of death, it's been 5-years and only Baine is the one we have seen. Varok is dead, but what's the situation with Anduin and Jaina? Why they have not appeared to us in Dragonflight? No one knows, but there's something you can't kill - hope.

Here's another example, maybe it opens it up a little bit more:

Baine Bloodhoof: "Lady Jaina. Long has it been since we spoke peacefully in Theramore."
Jaina Proudmoore: "Theramore is gone. You did not ask me here to reminisce."
Baine Bloodhoof: "No. I have come to return one who was lost."
Jaina Proudmoore: "Derek... My own brother. I had thought better of you, Baine. So tell me. Is he the banshee's puppet? Crammed full of blight? Is he the bomb this time?"

Derek: "Yes. That was the plan. But... Baine took me from Sylvanas before, before I was twisted to her will. I'm still your brother, Jaina. For as long as stars do shine."

Jaina Proudmoore: "Why?"
Baine Bloodhoof: "The Horde has a sickness in it. We wage war, while the Earth Mother dies. We have forgotten what truly matters, and my heart can bear it no longer."
Jaina Proudmoore: "Sylvanas will kill you for this. And... she may not stop with you."
Baine Bloodhoof: "No life is worth living, if we cannot be true to our nature. I return home, to take what solace I can in my family. I hope you take solace in yours."
Jaina Proudmoore: "Baine... thank you."

[DoctorEldritch]

@Liue It is common enough in games to build tension by taking time with cameos and hero returns, particularly with games like WoW and its rich lore.

Then again, Mythiq Quest joked on the matter that sometimes writers just put "to be decided later" for some characters. For all we know, right now WoW devs may be running around in frantic panic shouting "when do we bring back Anduin and Jaina?! Does anyone remember?!"

Are there any news about future expansions?

[Liue]

@DoctorEldritch We just got one in November 22rd 2022, Dragonflight - so of course there's not. Not yet. You most likely can wait first leaks around Spring 2024, as there's usually approximately 2-years period between expansions.

Sylvanas Windrunner: "Why are you here, Anduin? Your kingdom, and your friends, are awaiting your return."
Anduin Wrynn: "My friends... the ones I almost killed... they believe my hands are clean. But they don't feel clean."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "It is perilous to confuse what you are made to do with what you choose to do."
Anduin Wrynn: "How can I not when it all blurs together? It was so horrific... and exhilarating. And it sickens me to think that satisfaction... may have been mine."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "Ah. So that's why you've come. You fear you might not be who you thought you were."
Anduin Wrynn: "I'm starting to wonder if I ever knew. For the first time in my life... I'm afraid that if I call on the Light... it won't answer. If I have no trust in myself, how can I expect my kingdom to trust me? To put their faith in me... when mine has faltered."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "Must you bear that weight?"
Anduin Wrynn: "A king does not have a choice."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "No choice? I thought you believed in free will."
Anduin Wrynn: " I need time to think. About many things."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "Anduin... I have faced who I was, and accepted what I've done. Now, the work begins."
Anduin Wrynn: "Yes. It does. Farewell, Sylvanas Windrunner. Until our paths cross again."
Sylvanas Windrunner: "Farewell... Little Lion."

[DoctorEldritch]

@Liue Ah, so there is no "Expansion Roadmap" that some developers make? I know some games, like Phoenix Point, made all their expansion and DLC plans and anticipated dates of release available from the start, so everyone would know which expansion would come out and when, and how many there would be in total.

Maybe harder for WoW as it is continuously evolving, but still, they could maybe announce their plans at least, like Ubisoft did for the future of the Assassin's Creed series, for example.

[Liue]

Unfortunately not, it is all about player's making guesses based on the quests and their texts, NPC lines and so on. At some point tho, datamining WoW data usually reveals what is about to come next. Usually that datamined code is also right. Dragonflight and it's web address got datamined like month before official reveal.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Liue I guess there is a certain allure in that approach, fan theories and all that. But I like it when Roadmaps are presented as well, you can see the support plan for the future all neatly laid out.

Maybe I like it better this way because I prefer to play games in GOTY editions with all DLCs out, so it takes me a while to get to some games (like Assassin's Creed, for example). This is one of the reasons I did not try Sims 4 yet either, those expansions just keep coming...

[DoctorEldritch]

It's February again, so it's time to bump up this thread from last year!

What is the best video game romance of 2023? Baldur's Gate 3 has a few...interesting...options. But maybe @Saka or @DracoTarot or @GoLLuM13 know any others? 😉