D&D 4E My compiled list of 4E's WoWisms

[RigaMortus2]

I just want to say that for ill or for good, there are some glaring resemblances between what WotC is doing for 4E and things that can be found in WoW. This does extend beyond mechanics. I don't wish to debate if this is good or bad, nor do I wish to debate if something is "really" being imported from WoW or how far back it dates (ie "D&D has had this concept for years..."). If others wish to debate this, feel free.

These are just my personal feelings on what seems to be almost direct imports or ideas that the 4E designers seem to be "borrowing" from WoW (or other MMOs, but mostly WoW).

• WotC's Sample Dragon Fight is very similiar to the Onyxia Fight in WoW
• The Quest card "idea" - resemble WoW's quest log
• Level limits on magic items, rings specifically - WoW has items that require a certain level to equip
• 4E classes are now sub-divided into character roles (Defender, Leader, Controller, Striker) - WoW has similiar roles (Tank, Crowd Control, Healer, DPS aka damge-per-second)
• Certain creatures in 4E will be designated as "elite" creatures, meant for a whole party to take on one of these creatures; see the Eilte Bulette - WoW also has elite creatures

I will edit this as I remember more (there are a lot more than this, but my attention is being divided atm). For those who want to add more, post here and if I agree with you, I will add it to the list.

Disclaimer: If the "feature" above appears in WoW, then I consider it a WoWism. That does NOT mean that other media does not have it or that they didn't have it first. It does NOT mean that the "feature" doesn't predate WoW, it very well could.

To be clear: WoWism = feature that appears in WoW, regardless if it appeared/appears elsewhere as well.

 

[Hjorimir]

I'd like to see a list of WoW's D&Disms and see which is longer.

 

[GreatLemur]

[*]In the Gnome & Tiefling interview, the Tiefling ("demon" race) has a sort of Romanian (think Ernest Borgnine version of Dracula) accent - The demon race for WoW, the Draenei, have a very similiar accent.

Wait, when did Ernest Borgnine play Dracula? That sounds like an extremely weird casting decision.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Wait, when did Ernest Borgnine play Dracula? That sounds like an extremely weird casting decision.

Weird? I would say catastrophic.

 

[mhensley]

Weird? I would say catastrophic.

hey, he's great on spongebob playing mermaid-man

 

[Counterspin]

Given that you're unwilling to anchor yourself to the fact that these supposed "WOWisms" are good or bad, why should we care?

 

[Imban]

Possibly as a point of reference. While he may not have a stake in this, there are a lot of people who have accused 4e of drawing from WoW and been told in reply that it does not. Much like that "find the anime" thread, it makes it its own issue which can be resolved rather than being a constant sideline in 20 other debates.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I'd like to see a list of WoW's D&Disms and see which is longer.

I'll start!

• 
  WoW has classes
  WoW classes often fall into roles established in the earliest days of D&D (fighting guy = tank; artillery = dps, crowd control; sneaky guy = dps; medic = healer)
  WoW has levels
  WoW has a variety of races, some of which come directly from D&D: elves, dwarves, orcs, humans, and gnomes
  WoW gnomes are pretty much tinker gnomes from Dragonlance
  WoW involves going into dungeons, killing monsters, and taking their stuff
  WoW often requires characters to party up for maximum effectiveness

If there are any more, I'll add them to the list.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Weird? I would say catastrophic.

Alright, alright... So I meant Bela Lugosi... I'll have to fix that, lol...

 

[mhensley]

I'd like to see a list of WoW's D&Disms and see which is longer.

Eh, blizzard steals most of its ideas from games workshop.

warcraft = warhammer
starcraft = 40k

Every rpg steals things from D&D. 3e stole some ideas from Diablo. 4e will steal some from WoW. It's part of the cycle of gaming life.