AQ again

Indeed... and as much as Blizzard has publicly stated they never want to do anything like the opening of AQ again, the Emerald Nightmare could have been an amazing way to close out Wrath. We'd all been fighting our way to the top of ICC for 12 months-ish... Halion & Co. are history... bam, server event, then when it's over, earthquakes, Twilight cultists, etc.

Have it last a week or two, everyone gets tranplanted to the Dream (NPCs as well--I believe that was part of the point in the book--and that way nobody can complain that it's interrupting their AH play or /2 spam) and make the interactive part about the size of (old) Barrens plus Mulgore. Use that new-fangled microphasing (i.e. Firelands intro) they're so proud of to give everyone level-appropriate mobs; no complaining you can't go level. Show us what happened to bring Malfy back. Show us why Fandral Stickuphisbutt is selling world of warcraft accounts now a prisoner.

Don't just say "look! the world changed! Malfurion's back (and Tyrande's a wuss now). Southshore's trashed, and the Forsaken own it all. what's that? what happened? Deathwing, of course... what? Emerald Nightmare? Just a rum--oh. Someone told. Okay, uh... go pay $6.99 at Borders and we'll tell you."

That last part? -That- is what pisses me off about the tie-in novels. Forget that KYL and wowpedia eventually let the rest of us know what's going on. You want to tell a story with your game, fine. Tell it... in the game. That's where it affects Shallie, and Dora, and Shandrakor, and all my other toons. That's where it affects Varian, Tyrande, Garrosh, Lor'themar TheWho, Revilgaz... everyone. They lived through the Dreamer's War. They assaulted ICC. They defended (or attacked) Southshore. Andorhal. Stonetalon, Ashenvale, the Barrens... They, and the lore events, deserve more than an asterisk leading to buy wow accounts a footnote that says "and this happened too."