wow Sethrak in Dragonflight: Hope for Playability

[Starym 3,779]

 

The Sethrak have probably been the No.1 most requested playable/allied race addition since they arrived back in BfA, and their unique look is both the main reason they are so wanted, and why it was very unlikely that players would get their wish. However, two specific factors in Dragonflight have now given players some hope that we may one day actually see the sneks as a playable option.

First off, the basics: Dragonflight does indeed have some new Sethrak models, so let's take a look.

sethrak titan-forged? they seem to have draconic horn options and not the cobra fins in this version, so they've definitely undergone a very different evolution process pic.twitter.com/F5iHLepeEm

— Simaia - might post spoilers-ish ? (@keyboardturn) July 15, 2022

As mentioned by Simaia, these are both draconic and stony-looking versions, but the fact they have been brought back at all is certainly encouraging.

The second factor is significantly more relevant, and that's the Dracthyr themselves. For a very long time the argument against a slightly less humanoid race has been the armor dilemma as well as mounting and similar issues with less humanoid bodies. With Dracthyr, we can see possible workarounds for that, both with the partial armor application where it fits, as well as the Visage form solving the mount issue. The Visage side was already a thing with Worgen, but a lot more effort has been put in in with the latest race. And while a Visage form doesn't really make a lot of sense for Sethrak right now, that's a relatively easy hurdle to get across with a new subset of the race at some point down the line. Not to mention the fact that this sparks even more hope for other fan-favorites, like Nagas!

Now, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas did state there were no plans for new allied races in Dragonflight, but with the complexity of a potential Dracthyr-like system, it probably wouldn't be an allied race anyway - more like what the Dracthyr have been. So while it is still very unlikely that we see playable Sethrak in Dragonflight, the expansion did give us hope that we might one day be able slither in their shoes.

So, is all of the above just me doing some mental gymnastics because I really want to play the snakes, or does it actually make sense to you?

[poetrygeist 0]

Idk about this. 

Everyone I game with wants either Naga, Ogre, or Murlock. 

 

[edgomatic 17]

12 minutes ago, poetrygeist said:

Idk about this. 

Everyone I game with wants either Naga, Ogre, or Murlock. 

 

These are the typical races that player say they want but in reality they dont.

[Dejo93 984]

Fingers crossed we get a bunch of new races in 11.0 as a selling point 😄

[Dejo93 984]

Just now, edgomatic said:

These are the typical races that player say they want but in reality they dont.

*raises hand*

I do

[Leodagan 17]

44 minutes ago, poetrygeist said:

Idk about this. 

Everyone I game with wants either Naga, Ogre, or Murlock. 

 

Everyone I play with wants Sethraks or Tortollans. See how it's different from another pov.

[Balor 11]

Most request races that are not playable have been ogre, naga and ethereals for years before allied races was even an idea. I think Ogres most the make the most sense since they joined the horde 3 times since warcraft 3. Once with rexar, another time with the tribe in duskwallow marsh and the third time in Tanris when the goblins "Recruited" them.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Balor

[Arcling 877]

1 hour ago, poetrygeist said:

Idk about this. 

Everyone I game with wants either Naga, Ogre, or Murlock. 

 

Anecdotal opinions aren't representative, like many people hated Void Elves for whatever reasons, yet they are one of the most played races. Ogres would likely find their niche, but they would never become very popular. Besides, there is size issue, playing small ogre might feel weird, and they can't give us bigger ones, because they couldn't fit any normal doors. Half-ogres may be a good compromise.

As for Sethrak, some were expecting them in BfA, but nothing came out of it. And looks like any other playable race, they are either direct or indirect creation of the Titans.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Arcling

[SidonisAntares 288]

2 hours ago, Starym said:

Now, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas did state there were no plans for new allied races in Dragonflight

Like that's anything to go by after BfA and SL 😄

[SidonisAntares 288]

9 minutes ago, Arcling said:

"Everyone" meaning people you know. Anecdotal opinions aren't representative, like many people hated Void Elves for whatever reasons, yet they are one of the most played races. Ogres would likely find their niche, but they would never become very popular. Besides, there is size issue, playing small ogre might feel weird, and they can't give us bigger ones, because they couldn't fit any normal doors. Half-ogres may be a good compromise.

As for Sethrak, some were expecting them in BfA, but nothing came out of it. And looks like any other playable race, they are either direct or indirect creation of the Titans.

No half-ogres please, there's already plenty of R3xxxâr orcs and mag'har running around.

[Arcling 877]

34 minutes ago, SidonisAntares said:

No half-ogres please, there's already plenty of R3xxxâr orcs and mag'har running around.

Too many R3xxxâr orcs? Then how about... S3xxxâr half-ogres?

But we are getting dragon-like race with elf forms! Clearly, there aren't enough elves. 😁

[darkgreenwax 410]

I've wanted to roll an ogre-magi since the beginning. Just make it happen, blizz. Their racial can be getting stuck in doorways without a mount.

[SidonisAntares 288]

54 minutes ago, TyZone said:

I've wanted to roll an ogre-magi since the beginning. Just make it happen, blizz. Their racial can be getting stuck in doorways without a mount.

And Alliance can have a truly ugly race by getting naga, racial passive of all speech ending in sssss

[Rhondis 148]

4 hours ago, Dejo93 said:

*raises hand*

I do

Same. I was wanting the Sethrak as a playable allied race this whole time, but we got the dreadful vulpera and their horrendous models.

[darkgreenwax 410]

1 hour ago, SidonisAntares said:

And Alliance can have a truly ugly race by getting naga, racial passive of all speech ending in sssss

Make it happen, Blizz.

[Borgoff33 92]

the Vulpera were the No.1 race everyone wanted the Sethrak i would say would have been 4th or 5th

[Ken007 75]

When I saw this (and the suggestion of Naga as a race), I couldn't help but image a raid composed of only Dracthtyr, Naga and Sethrak.

[Starym 3,779]

1 hour ago, Ken007 said:

When I saw this (and the suggestion of Naga as a race), I couldn't help but image a raid composed of only Dracthtyr, Naga and Sethrak.

Dare to dream!

[Swarf 101]

Of all the possible playable races, Sethrak are literally bottom on my list.

[Migol 427]

For my part I've been hoping for Ogres from the beginning, when during levelling I found the friendly ones in Dustwallow and later on realized they're conveniently next to the starting areas...just need a small path over the hills.