Blizzard Hints at Pandaren Expansion

[Greg Tito]

Blizzard Hints at Pandaren Expansion

The race of sentient Pandas may finally get the spotlight in the next expansion for World of Warcraft.

The Pandaren were first introduced on a lark. Samwise Didier, chief artist of the Warcraft universe, drew the race of panda bears who walk on their hind legs to include in one of Blizzard's notorious April Fool's webpages in the days leading up to WarCraft III's release in 2002. The surprising fan response in support of such a race led to Blizzard including a Pandaren Brewmaster in the Frozen Throne expansion. There have been hints of Pandaren culture present in World of Warcraft, not the least of which was the minipet sold to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98391-Pandaren-Monk-Pet-Grants-1-1-Million-Worth-of-Wishes]. But now due to a trademark filing by Blizzard, it's a pretty good bet that we'll see more of the pandas in the next WoW expansion with the title Mists of Pandaria.

Blizzard submitted a trademark for that title a few weeks ago and based on other filings for Burning Crusade, WotLK and Cataclysm, it looks like this has a good chance of being the name of the next expansion. Pandaria is the name of the island that the Pandaren are from, rumored to be somewhere in the far seas west of Kalimdor. A new island or continent is always a good place for an expansion as it means brand new acreage for designers to plop in zones.

Also of note is an image released on the Warcraft Facebook page of three Ethereals selling stuff in an Alliance settlement. As a refresher about the race first introduced in Burning Crusade, Ethereals are beings made of light concerned mostly with profit and trading. The three vendors have interesting titles: Arcane Reforger, Void Storage, Transmogrifier. I have no idea what that's all about but if I learned anything from Calvin and Hobbes it means that in speaking to Vaultkeeper Razhid, I'll be able to create any item that I can imagine.

Will the Pandaren and the Ethereals be the two new playable races in Mists of Pandaria? Which side will they be on, Horde or Alliance? Is the image on Facebook just a red herring from Blizzard?

I suppose we won't find out for certain until BlizzCon in October. If I didn't let my WoW account expire last month, I'd definitely be a quiver with anticipation. For now, I'm only slightly vibrating in curiosity.

Source: Facebook [http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2399-Mists-of-Pandaria]

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[Shoggoth2588]

That would be enough to make my GF go back to WoW. I'd give it a shot too if only for the first 20 levels. Seems interesting.

 

[Aeshi]

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

 

[viranimus]

Yep I remember right around TBC era when Blizzard categorically said No Pandarens.

Yet in light of subscription figures slipping, not only are they already talking new expansion (which I did call) they are trying to lure people in by giving out something that once brought them a degree of poplarity.

I think this makes it official, WoW has finally humped err uhm jumped the shark.

 

[Brainst0rm]

The current WoW expansion is annoying me with the enormous void of anything interesting happening in the months and months between patches. Right now we can't say if the next patch is another filler raid or Deathwing himself.

And Mists of Pandaria is about the silliest name I can imagine. How on earth will the Blizzard marketers be able to make that into an epic commercial to set our nerd-parts a-quivering?

It also sounds disturbingly lore-free - there is almost nothing established about Pandaria, giving the developers almost complete creative freedom. And that...is scary. It COULD make an awesomely refreshing expansion. It COULD make the biggest pile of bullcrap anyone has ever seen. Time will tell...

 

[dreadbolt]

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

Didn't the goblins use to be all about being neutral? Didn't the worgen refuse to interact with the world outside Gilneas? Things change

 

[MisterShine]

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

Same could've been said for Burning Crusade.

OT: Too little too late, Blizz! You will not draw me from ToR!

 

[teebeeohh]

wait, do we get to kill pandas? like exterminate the entire race in order to unlock raid content?
pretty please, those useless furballs are being kept alive in the real for no reason, at least let me kill them ingame.

 

[frehls]

hue

 

[Ghengis John]

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

Yeah but you should know damn well by now that blizzard will INVENT a reason if none currently exists. That's their thing. Retconning their own lore in mind-boggling ways.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

Behold! Buy Burning Crusade to vanquish Illidan, the former Demon Hunter who absorbed the Skull of Gul'dan and now rules Outland!

Dare you go to the frozen wastes of Northrend, and face the mighty Lich King, he who brought ruin to the Human Alliance?

Do you have the willpower to face the mighty Deathwing, a Dragon of such epic power, it is tearing the world asunder?

Marvel at the Pandas and their... Panda-ryness...

Wow, that's anticlimactic. Hope the "Mists" are actually toxic to Pandas and are being released by a sea serpent who wishes to kill all land dwelling creatures so it may destroy the land to create more ocean for it's kind.

Calumon: Maybe it could be awesome, with them all knowing Kung Fu!

 

[El Luck]

If that means we get the Pandaren Brewmaster....Hell yes.

 

[Blueruler182]

I want a new heroic class, damn it! We have enough races, we missed out on having a Worgen heroic class (which would have been awesome), I want to have a monk class! Or brewmaster! I don't need to see Panda furries on the intrawebs, wow has given us too many of those already!

 

[Cowabungaa]

Since I heard about the Pandaren in Burning Crusade times I desperatly wanted to play one of them. If Blizzard would put them in I'd resub in an instant. They're just so freakin' awesome.

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

So were the Goblins, remember? Well, in a way they are still neutral, at least the majority of them. Just one cartel joined the Horde, it's not like Booty Bay is suddenly Hostile to Alliance players.

I can also see the Pandaren becoming friends with the Alliance quite easily. Or more specifically, become friends with the Dwarves. I mean come oooon, they're just made to be bestest friends. I for one would welcome our drunken, ursine sword-wielding friends.

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

Yeah but you should know damn well by now that blizzard will INVENT a reason if none currently exists. That's their thing. Retconning their own lore in mind-boggling ways.

Retconning? They're just constantly developing their world. Lore doesn't have to be a static thing, characters develop, alliances shift, the world just keeps on spinning. Why would Azeroth be any different?

 

[scw55]

I personally hate doomsayers, but, this occation I'm going to be a hypocrite. Given Blizzard again and again said they won't have Panderan, adding them will be a sign of them cashing in.
The longer they wait, the bigger the interest as slowly ovetime more people get consumed by the myth. If they just shell them out, mystery removed and all current interesters will invest and blocking any more interesters. Think of it as a last attempt at making koney before the good-ship WoW sinks. Or, it could be WoW's brief salvation.
Blizzard have done this say they won't do x but still do it after a period of time anyway. The list of contractions expands. Slippery slope the conspiracers say.

WoW is dead to me. If you got a free sexual partner with the next expansion I would still say no (not just because I have high moral standards). 6 years is a long painful time with memories you are sorrowful you'll never have and memories you wish you never had.

Or this is complete bullshit.

 

[jumjalalabash]

I like how the OP takes news of a trademark and completely unrelated patch based NPCs and is already making bullshit speculation.

 

[Loonerinoes]

And Mists of Pandaria is about the silliest name I can imagine. How on earth will the Blizzard marketers be able to make that into an epic commercial to set our nerd-parts a-quivering?

Very, VERY easily:

"Awwwww wook at da cute widdle pandy-wandy! Dey need your help! Won't you roll one and help them survive?!"

It will also signify as to whom WoW will strictly be marketed from that point on, if it isn't already marketed to that demographic as such at this point already.

 

[Brainst0rm]

And Mists of Pandaria is about the silliest name I can imagine. How on earth will the Blizzard marketers be able to make that into an epic commercial to set our nerd-parts a-quivering?

Very, VERY easily:

"Awwwww wook at da cute widdle pandy-wandy! Dey need your help! Won't you roll one and help them survive?!"

It will also signify as to whom WoW will strictly be marketed from that point on, if it isn't already marketed to that demographic as such at this point already.

I still won't believe it's a real expansion until/unless it's announced at BlizzCon.

 

[JasonKaotic]

I seriously doubt there'll be an expansion centred around Pandaria. We'll probably only have three more, more than likely Azshara, Sargeras and Old Gods, in that order. Or maybe Sargeras and the Old Gods the other way 'round. That's my theory, anyway. But an expansion based mainly on Pandaria wouldn't make much sense.
And also the Pandaren are completely neutral and the Ethereals only want what's convenient for them, so I doubt they'd be playable races. And as it's already been said, Blizzard have said a lot of times that the Pandaren won't be in WoW.
/nerd mode

Seeing as it's leaked by Boubouille he's probably not lying, it will probably be either a patch or an entirely new game or something. Or a book.

 

[EvilScoop]

I'm going to be calling bullshit if either become playable, since both the Pandaren and the Ethereals are neutral and have no reason to help either side.

So were goblins.