Content update 8.2.5 went live on September 24th in North America and brought with it the conclusion to the long-running arc that was set in motion after the burning of Teldrassil. The update came with a couple of fantastic cinematics to tie up the story, but mostly I was left with questions. While 8.2.5 was the end of the war campaign, it’s now clear to the players that there are many other things happening behind the scenes that I’m guessing will become the main story focus in 8.3 and beyond.
The Future of the Horde and Alliance
During the first cinematic, called “The Negotiation”, Anduin meets with Saurfang in secret to ready for the coming battle, but also to inquire about the future of the Horde. Saurfang talks about how the Horde was built on dishonor, thus the problems and conflict among their rank, but the future of the Horde has a chance to change all that. Right now there is an uneasy peace, or, as the soldier NPCs call it ingame – ceasefire- between the Horde and the Alliance. Many wonder if it will last with all the fighting and actions that have been committed by both sides over the course of the expansion (looking at you, Teldrassil and Undercity).
My guess is that it won’t last, because this game is built on conflict and the faction system . Although I can hope for a relaxing of those factions, especially seeing as the Forsaken have been left by Sylvanas. Many will remain loyal to her, but some might want to follow the newly-undead Calia Menethil, who was the Princess of Lordaeron. Lordaeron is the place that many of the original Forsaken come from, and still picture themselves as citizens of the city.
I also know that the game can’t keep on injecting points of conflict for the Horde and Alliance just to see them fight, it gets old. It’s getting old for me, and I think that the conclusion to the war campaign was a good end for any major Alliance/Horde conflict. I’d like to see them work together more (because they have in the past), but still have a distinctly Horde and Alliance faction line. It would be cool if members of one faction could join the other, like Blood Elves or Nightborne. I know the Alliance have Void Elves now, but I would love to see Blood Elves and Nightborne switch sides. Basically I want all Elves to be in the Alliance.
Tyrande and Vengeance
The (former?) High Priestess of Elune and leader of the Night Elves was pointedly absent from the final war campaign battle in Durotar. In her place was Shandris Feathermoon leading some Night Elf archers and Sentinels, though it was a small force. After the burning of Teldrassil, it really doesn’t surprise me that not many Night Elves – or even Tyrande herself- showed up to support Saurfang’s rebellion. But a deeper problem is hinted at with Tyrande when Anduin says he fears that she has been consumed by vengeance. Ever since Tyrande underwent the ritual of the Night Warrior and became the avatar of Elune’s wrath, she’s gone rogue. Who knows if she’s in her right mind, but she’s definitely focused on getting justice for Darkshore and all of the Night Elves.
We need a questline, maybe next expansion or the pre-patch to 9.0, revolving around Tyrande and the abilities she’s been granted by Elune. The Night Warrior is still a mystery, and we don’t know the long-term effects of channeling the wrath of a goddess (or whatever she actually is). My dream is for Blizzard to remake Teldrassil, like they did Darkshore, and for players to go back there and assess the damage. Then, in the process, learn more about the nature of Elune. I can only hope that the burning of Teldrassil is going to lead to a big story arc with Elune and the Elves, because otherwise it seems like a waste. And Tyrande isn’t going to like the new peace with the Horde, which will hopefully lead to more story involving her. The fact that Teldrassil wasn’t really dealt with in this expansion leads me to believe its a setup for future story.
Sylvanas and Death
Horde players who remain Sylvanas loyalists through the whole war campaign get to see a special ending in the Ghostlands, where Sylvanas escapes to after the Saurfang cinematic. Sylvanas lets slip that she is gathering souls and that the whole point of the war was a large body count. Obviously she is an undead creature and serves Death, but she talks about it like its a person or creature. It sounds like she’s serving Death, and she has a deal with it to create more souls.
The Shadowlands is a part of WoW not really talked about in detail, but we know that it’s a realm that mirrors our reality like the Emerald Dream. Will we go there and find whoever Sylvanas serves? I hope so, because I’m curious what the Shadowlands would look like and how it would tie into Old God/Void stuff. In the comic with the Windrunner sisters, it is hinted that Void fears Death or at least that they’re opposing forces. Yesterday I saw that an encrypted 8.3 build is being added to the PTR soon. I wonder how many of these things will be set up for 9.0, and if our questions will be answered or just replaced with more questions.
I’d love to see WoW start allowing players to pick the faction for their characters, and not be locked into “these x races are Horde, these y races are Alliance.”
A change from traditional factions would be interesting! It would definitely make more sense than it purely being based on what race you pick