With dragons about to make a return to Azeroth inWorld of Warcraft: Dragonflight, fans of theWarcraftMMO brace themselves for the plethora of changes happening to the world after they crusade against the Jailer at the Maw atShadowlands. AsBlizzardpromises something more grounded with this ninth expansion,Warcraftplayers may be eager to learn more about what the dragonflights have to offer with regard to Azeroth’s life and culture.
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Before players jump right into the upcoming expansion, they may want to review some of the changesBlizzardmade for their hit fantasy franchise to coincide with the story of some previous expansions. And while some retcons inWorld of Warcrafthave earned the ire of players, some changes prior toDragonflightmay have been for the best.
10The Draenei Makeover
As fans ofWarcraftlore might remember, the Draenei have made their first appearance inWarcraft 3as a race booted by the Orcs from their old home of Argus. However, by the time the Draenei became a playable Alliance race beginning inThe Burning Crusade, major changes had to be made to accommodate this “promotion.” Now, the Draenei are explained to be exiled Eredar led by Velen, who escaped Argus and went to Draenor (now the Outlands) just after his fellow Eredar leaders Archimonde and Kil’jaeden were corrupted by Sargeras. Unfortunately, the Draenei players encountered inWarcraft 3belong to the Broken faction, a group of heavily-mutated Draenei who “lost in touch” with their connection to the Light.
This change in particular had to do with the creative team wanting a “lawful good” variant of the likes of Kil’jaeden and Archimonde, both hailing from a race of corrupted beings known as the Eredar. As a result, much of the artistic changes that the Draenei underwent to achieve their current form were based on combining the general aesthetic of the Eredar with heroic poses, as well as fantasy technology bordering on sci-fi.
9The Horde Popularized The Fantasy Warrior Culture
Throughout the first two (2)Warcraftgames, the Orc and the Horde were described more or less asbloodthirsty warriors from the world of Draenorwho came to Azeroth after being manipulated by a pitlord. This kept the image of Orcs as rather monstrous and chaotic, whereas the Grand Alliance was described as orderly and civil.
This all changed inWarcraft 3, particularly when Thrall began exploring Kalimdor to unite much of what would be known as the Horde. It’sWarcraft 3that fully fleshed out the major Horde races and their notable cultural traits that made them recognizable assets of theWarcraftbrand, such as the Orcs and their warrior culture, the Tauren and their nomadic lifestyle, the Trolls and their Voodoo-esque mysticism, as well as the technologically-advanced Goblins.
8The Blood Elves And Their Horde Allegiance
Fans might remember thatWarcrafthas a ton of supplementary idea designed to further improve the existing lore inWorld of Warcraft, and the Chronicles series of books adds a lot of further context to the nature of the Blood Elves’ connection to the Horde. InThe Burning Crusade, the allegiance of the Blood Elves towards the Horde is simply explained as Sylvanas offering the Blood Elves aid in reaching their leader Kael’thas in the Outlands. This situation leads to some rather odd situations, such as Kael creating a portal connecting Outland to Bloodmyst Isle but somehow not directly into Quel’thalas, and the Alliance somehow randomly stopping a Blood Elf pilgrimage in Outland.
The books further enhance this backstory with a rift between the Blood Elves and the Alliance in the first place. Fans may rememberthe Blood Elves siding with the Alliance against the Scourge, but prejudices against Warlocks and Fel Magic led to general mistrust towards the Blood Elves. And with the sin’dorei generally ignored by the Alliance despite their losses, the Blood Elves may have had no choice but to side with the Horde.
7Death Was The Shadowlands
One of the biggest retcons seen inWarcrafthistory has to do with an entire expansion, in this caseShadowlandsofWorld of Warcraft. Prior to this recent chapter, literature from aroundWarcraft 2declared that spirits of the dead went to the Twisting Nether, something thatWoWfactions such as the Scarlet Crusade espouse when hostile against players and especially the Undead Scourge.
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However, this changed in the first volume of Chronicles, released prior toLegion, where it was revealed that a mysterious realm called the Shadowlands became the next destination of the dearly departed. This was confirmed when Sylvanas’s attempted suicide at Icecrown had transferred her to the Maw in the Shadowlands, supposedly a place of torment for the vilest of souls. Exploring the Shadowlands would have it revealed as an entirely new dimension altogether, serving as a culmination of all afterlife beliefs powered by anima, or the culmination of one’s mortal experiences.
6The Holy Light Helped Move Away From Medieval Fantasy
It was way back inWarcraft: Orcs and Humansand evenWarcraft 2that the playable Clerics of Northshire worship a “God” and believe in concepts of Heaven and Hell, as well as angels and demons. This seems to be in line with whatWarcraftwanted to achieve at the time, which was an inclination towards Medieval Fantasy without pertaining to any one religious belief.
This changes to around the time ofWarcraft 3, where Clerics and Paladins are now shown to be followers of something simply called the Holy Light. Instead of being a religion, the Holy Light is more a “philosophy” and a reference to one being who created the universe. This is separatefrom Druidism and the Emerald Dream, which are nature-oriented. The concept of Light is further improved upon with the introduction of the Draenei inThe Burning Crusade, a race from the doomed planet of Draenor who can wield the same Light courtesy of the Naaru, a race of energy beings. It’s the Naaru who are also dedicated to fight the Burning Legion, led by the Dark Titan Sargeras who turned mad by the Void Lords, which are beings from the Void or total darkness and opposite of Light.
5The First Ones Add Mystery To The Cosmos
Throughout the history of modernWarcraft, creation itself was eventually attributed to the Titan Aman’Thul who, in his quest for companionship, went across the Great Dark to search for worlds with dormant Titans in them. In this rousing, he eventually found and created the Titan Pantheon, who were responsible for Ordering or creating the many aspects of existenceas well as the Dragonflightsuntil the Dark Titan Sargeras betrayed them.
However,Shadowlandsswitches up theWarcraftcosmology by introducing two (2) new factions. First are the Eternal Ones, ancient beings predating creation who are said to be responsible for the many machinations of the dead in the Shadowlands, much as the Titan Pantheon are in charge of everything related to the living. Not only that, it seems both Pantheons were created by beings further predating their existence. Known only as the First Ones, these beings work in processes so mysterious that their existence is simply connected to numbers.
4The Ogre Became More Respectable
When a person into pop culture hears “ogre,” they may immediately think of Shrek. Outside the green ogre, however, much of what the imagination holds for ogres would describe brutish monsters. Such was the case in the early days ofWarcraft, where Ogres are more or less a neutral faction in Azeroth and are looked down upon due to their initial introduction as beings of lower intelligence. This continues throughout much ofWorld of Warcraft, where Ogres are often described as terrifying beings of nothing but strengthlike theWarcraftWarrior, with the occasional magic user.
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This stereotype changes inWarlords of Draenor, when it’s explained that Ogres were actually native to Draenor and were formerly enslaved descendants to the Orgon prior to their insurrection. The expansion also showed Ogres as beings of a hierarchical society, with a sea-faring and conquering culture comparable to that of the Roman Empire. This additional depth and sophistication to the Ogres have made them more appealing and respectable from a lore perspective, and the maintaining of their status as a neutral faction makes one question just how powerful the Alliance or Horde could get with the Ogres on their side.
3Lei Shen Died A Totall Badass
It was inMists of Pandariathat boththe Monk Classand the secluded island of Pandaria had finally been revealed. Alongside the reveal of Pandarens having a rich culture separate to that of local Azeroth was the existence of Emperor Lei Shen, the Thunder King. And under Lei Shen’s brutal rule was the rise of the powerful Mogu Empire. InPandarialore, Lei Shen was said to have died of natural causes until centuries later, when the Zandalari and the Mogu had conspired to resurrect the all-powerful Thunder King.
However, the Chronicles series of books reveals the true nature of Lei Shen’s death. In truth, the Thunder King had perished in his attempt to take Uldum as part of the Mogu Empire, with Uldum being one of the last bastions of Titan lore and technology. The residing Tol’vir realized they don’t have enough forces to match the godlike Lei Shen and had activated the Forge of Origination, a regulator of Azeroth’s world-soul and a life-purger in its corruption, to finally kill Lei Shen and destroy his forces once for and all.
2The Devastating Battle Of Shattrath
One of the most interesting aspects ofWarlords of Draenoris its time-travel component, which is new in the context ofWarcraftlore. In theWorld of Warcraftexpansion, exiled former Horde Warchief Garrosh Hellscream travels back to Draenor prior to its destruction and prevents the corruption of the Orcs,creating the Iron Horde. During the latter stages of the expansion, the Iron Horde would find themselves invading Shattrath, seemingly having defeated the peaceful Draenei living there through sheer numbers, as well as a bit of assistance with the lethal Red Mist and the Felblood.
However, the Chronicles books also added much more context to just how devastating the Battle of Sattrath had become to the Draenei. Instead of the Iron Horde just outnumbering the Draenei, the united Orc offensive in the Battle seemed much more than what the Orcs back in Azeroth could muster. Not only that, but using the deadly Dark Star weapon as well as additional demons added to the intensity of the Iron Horde’s forces that truly decimated the Draenei in their capital.
1The Great Sundering Did Not Leave Complete Destruction
Prior toWarlords or Draenor, only the oldest of beings such as Night Elves and even ghosts were able to share their versions of stories of what transpired in events priorto theWarcraftMMO. One such event was the War of the Ancients, described as when the Night Elves had first brought the Burning Legion to Azeroth. In an effort of Malfurion Stormrage to save the planet, had forced the first Well of Eternity to collapse upon itself and destroy 80-percent of Azeroth’s existing landmass. This event, known as the Great Sundering, formed the major continents of Azeroth today.
And while the idea of civilizations buried in the Malestrom is intriguing,Battle for Azerothshowed that multiple landmasses had indeed survived the Sundering in their own way. These include the Goblin and Troll homelands of Keza and Zandalar Isle, respectively, and the ancestral homelands of the Dragonflights known as the Broodlands. The existence of surviving islands that predated the existence of modern Azeroth can give players a more concrete look into “ancient” Azeroth without the bias of in-game authors and storytellers.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflightis now available on PC.
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