5 ways to explain we're not playing Kung Fu Panda

I think we've all settled into deep, personal relationships with Mists of Pandaria at this point. I know I love sitting up late at night, staring soulfully into its joyful, brew-laden eyes. I can't be the only one. It's like kismet or something.

But not everyone gets our love. They look at Mists of Pandaria and mistake it for a video game version of Kung Fu Panda. There's a better way to handle that miscommunication than making myself bald when I yank my hair out, screaming, "No. it. is. not!"

So in the interest of propogating better understanding between Mists of Pandaria lovers and those who confuse it for Jack Black's latest endeavor, here's 5 ways to explain that we're not playing the Kung Fu Panda MMO.

5. Pandaren have been in the game for a long time.
Panda have been snooping around Azeroth since the wizened old days of 2002. A decade ago, the brew-loving Pandaren made a splash as an April Fools joke. They were so beloved by the populace that Blizzard kept featuring them over and over. So, they've got some history with the game and it was inevitable that Pandaren would eventually be included.

4. The Pandaren enjoy beer as much as martial arts.
Your next angle to dodge the Kung Fu comparison will be to lean on that most stout of beverages: beer. You barely take a few steps into Pandaria before you're assaulted with beer, surrounded by beer, and deftly talking about beer. That's clearly not meant for kids, right?

3. It doesn't matter.
You can try the "it doesn't matter" point. It's probably the most true argument, after all. Mists of Pandaria is clearly not Kung Fu Panda, and anyone making the claim otherwise is simply being silly. But then again, if you didn't feel like being in such a silly discussion, you'd probably not need this list. You'd have just ignored it.

2. I don't play a panda.
This argument pops up on forums from time to time. "I don't play a panda, I'm just playing the same WoW I always loved." Of course, it has the same issue as #3; if you didn't care about half-baked jibes about Jack Black, you probably wouldn't have stepped into the conversation. Which really just brings us to the most important way to explain we're not playing Kung Fu Panda...

1. The only winning move is not to play.
With apologies to Mr. Broderick, let's all remember the only winning move is not to play. Stop feeding the trolls. Nobody who's seriously considering playing MoP really thinks that it's a rip-off of Kung Fu Panda. Oh, sure: we make jokes about it, because it's funny.

But if you find yourself wanting to argue seriously about how we're not playing a Jack Black MMO, do yourself a favor and just walk way.

Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.