Catching up with YouTuber – Nobbel the Noble
If you are familiar with Warcraft or Legend of Zelda lore then you have probably come across the YouTube videos from Nobbel the Noble. His channel features game guides, lets plays, and lore videos from WoW and LoZ universes.
Normally when I watch lore videos (WoW lore specifically) my attention usually wanders. It is a very tricky balancing act to get all the variables right in order to produce a lore video that is interesting to watch, but is also simple to understand and follow along. Nobbel has this talent.
Don’t take my word on it though, check out his YouTube channel and see for yourself – you may even learn a thing or two.
Gracing me with a few moments of his time, Nobbel answered a few questions I had for him about his videos, and his opinions on some WoW lore topics. Take a peek at the full interview below!
What inspired you to start recording lore based videos on YouTube?
The lore videos were inspired by a video that I did during the Mists of Pandaria beta. There were rumors going around about Theramore, that it might be destroyed, and I thought it would be fun to make a speculation video on the subject. People were really interested in the story, I was already hooked on the lore since Wrath of the Lich King so I figured…why not? Let’s make videos to share the story behind World of Warcraft.
What is your current favourite geographical zone in the game, and is there any special story behind the sentiment?
I don’t have just one favourite zone, I like a lot of them but if I had to choose I would say Badlands. It doesn’t look great, but it has Wrathion’s origin story. We the players manage to create the first uncorrupted black dragon in millennia who goes around breaking peoples legs and manipulating both the Alliance and the Horde. It also has the “The Day that Deathwing Came” questline and of course Uldaman. Titan facilities are great places for speculating about the lore and this was one of the first locations we ever got to see that held the secrets of the Titans.
You have a video up mentioning your top 10 favourite final bosses, but who would you say is your favourite hero?
My favorite hero would have to be Thrall. Varian has also received a lot of development in the last few years, but Thrall just has the best origin story. A slave who sets himself free and works to restore his peoples honor and fights for a place in this world. The story that they gave him in the Cataclysm was not really my taste. I liked him more when he was just shaman Thrall and they turned him into this all knowing, overpowered Go’el character who saved the world while we got to follow him around. I really expected them to leave him alone after that, but it looks like Thrall’s going back into his armor with Warlords of Draenor. It’s going to be interesting to see if they either repeat the mistakes of the Cataclysm or do him justice this time.
Puny humans, bow down to Thrall.
What player class do you identify with the most/has had the biggest impact on you?
I don’t really identify myself with the character or class that I play, but the paladin class is my favorite. I recently did a video on the light in World of Warcraft and it’s very interesting to see how many philosophies are behind wielding the light. On top of that you also see a lot of paladins who try to uphold they’re beliefs, their faith, but in the end they fall from grace and turn to the dark side. We’ve seen this with for example Arthas, the headless horseman, some of the scarlet crusade and when a paladin goes dark, he goes really dark.
Do you have any personal opinions in regards to Garrosh and his contradictory behavior? (For example: He was firmly against Sylvanas utilizing the plague yet he used a mana bomb on Theramore, etc)
I think that the transition from Cataclysm Garrosh to Mists of Pandaria Garrosh was a bit sudden. Garrosh received some character development and in the Cataclysm they truly gave him some moments where the old orcish pride would show. Condemning Sylvanas for resurrecting, throwing Overlord Krom’gar of a cliff for bombing a city. It looked like Garrosh was taking the Horde to the next level. He wasn’t a Thrall, he wasn’t all about negotiating and trying to make peace, but atleast he had a bit of honor.
In Mists of Pandaria they decided to turn him into the bad guy and they did this by forgetting all that development. I thought that was a real shame and Garrosh’s character had a lot of potential. With that said, he will also have a place in the story of Warlords of Draenor and they said that he won’t get a redemption, but it will be a satisfying ending for both the players and Garrosh. I can’t wait to see how they’re going to do that.
Misunderstood and badass, Garrosh will always have my vote
You mentioned Yogg-Saron is your favourite Old God, can you tell me more about why you chose Yoggy? Is it because he is the percieved “cooler” Old God? Is it because he makes the cutest plush toy?
Haha, yep it was the plush toy! Nah, I picked Yogg-Saron because he has a little bit of speculation behind him. When you fight him he drags you into his mind and you see 3 visions (creation of the Dragon Soul, Garona killing the king and the Lich King torturing Bolvar). It’s speculated that Yogg-Saron has influenced these 3 specific events which makes him more than just a single boss, it makes him a master mind behind much larger plans.
For reference – This is the plush toy “Cuddle Me Yoggy” modelled after the Old God and Ulduar boss in Warcraft, Yogg-Saron.
You have mentioned you are excited about the Warlords of Draenor expansion, and the World of Warcraft seems to be taking a turn for the better. Are you still hopeful for the future of WoW, or are you cynically expecting Blizzard to cave into the community cries again and slowly break the game?
I’m positive when it comes to WoW, otherwise I wouldn’t be playing. Warlords of Draenor has a lot of potential, both for the story and to bring new and old players into the game. It looks to me like they’re really aiming at getting those subscribers with an instant level 90, a world similar to the Burning Crusade, a story based on heroes of old, etc. Subscriber numbers don’t say everything about the state of the game, but Blizzard does need to make money to keep the game going. I’ll be playing the game for as long as I enjoy it and hopefully Warlords is going to be a success.
Do you think Blizzard will tie up loose ends, such as the potential for another Lich Kind threat from Bolvar/Ner’Zhul?
Haha, Blizzard isn’t known for that so I doubt it, but we can always hope of course!
Oh Bolvar, we may never witness the end to your epic story
What are your opinions on the free boost to level 90? What do you think the benefits will be to the community? Your concerns?
Leveling has become so easy with all the experience boosts that I don’t have a problem with people buying a level 90 character. I personally would never spend money on that, but I don’t have a problem with others who do. Warlords of Draenor already offers a free level 90 with the expansion so those who wanted to buy a 90 could do that by buying another expansion and transferring that character to their account. Some make the argument that we’ll end up with a whole bunch of level 90’s that don’t know how to play. From my experience, you don’t really learn how to play your class until you reach max level. What they could do to solve this problem is create an area where people can use their skills and learn what they do. They did a similar thing for the Monks in Mists of Pandaria and this would be perfect for all classes.
I was watching a funny video from Fatboss the other day which showed a Blizzard developer meeting and they were making fun of the decisions that Blizzard had made over the years. Besides the funny stuff, they also made a very good point which was that instead of offering a free level 90, Blizzard should improve the leveling experience. I don’t have a problem with that instant level 90, because leveling doesn’t really teach you how to play your class or requires anything other than time.
But what if it did?
What if they did spend some extra development time on making that leveling experience part of the game again. Not just an obstacle or a time sink, but really an essential part of the game. That’s my one objection with this instant level 90, I’d rather see Blizzard improve the game then give people the option to skip it.
What race model update are you most excited for and why?
I’m excited for all of them! The new models truly look amazing and I can’t wait to see what the new animations are going to look like. If I had to pick I would say…night elves, because the male models have horrible teeth and the females do this silly little bounce every once and a while. I hope they’re going to change that.
