How WOW killed Warcraft III story

How WOW killed Warcraft III story

Cybersport.ru recalls the famous heroes of Warcraft III, whose journey through Azeroth and beyond did not end after the end of the campaign plot. In the first article we told about the fate of Jaina, Sylvanas, Illidan, Tyrande and Thrall. Now let us recall how the once noble Kael’thas became a traitor who had to be killed twice, and the wise Vol’jin made one of the biggest mistakes in the history of Azeroth.

Kael’thas – Servant of the Demons

In Warcraft III, the high elves were on the side of the Alliance. Their prince – the powerful magician Kael’thas Sunstrider – after the destruction of the Sunwell by Arthas, was looking for an opportunity to calm the magical hunger of his people. He combined the duties of the leader of the high elves and the leader of the magicians Kirin Tor. Caring for his people made Kael’thas take a desperate step – swear allegiance to Illidan, who at that time considered the rest of Azeroth as a traitor and villain. The demon hunter promised that he would provide the elves with magic for the rest of their lives. Together with Illidan and the mages, Kael’thas set off to conquer Outland.

Kael’thas

The continuation of these events is already described in the supplement The Burning Crusade and in the novel Illidan. In World of Warcraft, Kael’thas finally changed – he became cruel, impulsive, and doubts and fears began to torment his soul, which eventually led him to cooperate with demons. Illidan is partly to blame for these internal metamorphoses of the prince. The demon hunter did not particularly pity his allies, treating them exclusively as tools for implementing his own plan. Illidan, who promised to save the people of Kael’thas and return the Black Temple to the Broken, was in no hurry to fulfill this promise. Because of this, the distrust of the Sunstrider and Akama towards the demon hunter grew, which ultimately led to betrayal on their part.

Tempest Keeps – Kael’thas Abode

While Illidan created an army of Fel Orcs using the blood of the captive demon Magtheridon and fortified the Black Temple, Kael’thas settled in the Netherstorm, Storm Keep. He invited his people to join him in Outland, promising an early healing from magical hunger. Due to the alliance of Kael’thas and Illidan, the Alliance abandoned the high elves, who began to call themselves blood elves, so in World of Warcraft they are part of the Horde.

Kael’thas realized that Illidan would not help his people. The demon Kil’jaeden took advantage of these doubts of the prince, promising to calm the elves’ hunger and grant the Sunstrider an unprecedented power. Because of the alliance with the Legion, many blood elves turned their back on their leader, and for the Alliance and the Horde, he became a threat that needed to be destroyed. The first battle with Kael’thas occurred in Storm Keep. 25 heroes killed the prince, but Kil’jaeden resurrected the elf and filled him with fel power.

After the resurrection, Kael’thas looked a little different

At this point, everything that remained in Kael’thas from the time of Warcraft III has completely disappeared. Kil’jaeden dispatched an elf to the island of Quel’Danas to use the Sunwell to summon demons to Azeroth. To disrupt the plans of the prince, the heroes captured Terasa Magisters and finally killed the traitor, thereby preventing the invasion of the Legion. The developers did not revive Kel’thas anymore, however, it is already known that players will meet the prince in the Shadowlands expansion in the afterlife.

In World of Warcraft, Kael’thas echoed Arthas’s favorite Blizzard path: from a righteous protector of his people to a traitor who joined the forces of evil and was overwhelmed by a thirst for power. And if the prince of Lordaeron became a self-sufficient antagonist – the Lich King – and not just a pawn of demons, and Illidan, despite the methods, was able to achieve his goal and save Azeroth from the Legion, then Kael’thas had a sad fate – he ended his life Kil’jaeden’s servant.

Vol’jin’s Fatal Mistake

Among the trolls, fans of Warcraft III will most likely remember Rohan, who was one of the Horde heroes in matchmaking. However, it was his Black Spear tribe – Vol’jin – who played a large role in the formation of the Horde, although in WoW he was at first an inconspicuous character who could only give a couple of quests. Before the Cataclysm expansion, Vol’jin, along with his tribe, recaptured their homeland – Echo Island.

Vol’jin

The trolls did not have time to enjoy the victory. Garrosh became the leader of the Horde instead of Thrall, whose adviser Vol’jin had been for a long time. Relations with the young and hot orc at the troll did not work out. Garrosh’s impulsiveness and stiffness caused Vol’jin contempt – he questioned the leader’s actions, saying that he did not deserve his respect. Their hatred was mutual: the orc considered trolls rabble, so he sent them to the slums. At first, Vol’jin did not want to openly go against the leader, so as not to risk his people. During the capture of Pandaria by Garrosh, the troll arrived at the leader to carry out his errands. The orc sent a squad led by Vol’jin to search the cave with the Sauroks, who were created artificially using dark magic. The troll wanted to destroy the eggs, but Garrosh’s henchman stopped him, saying that the leader needed such strength. Vol’jin insisted that flirting with dark magic was contrary to the Horde’s principles of honor. For this disobedience, Garrosh’s henchman cut the troll’s throat.

However, Vol’jin did not die. After the troll regained power, he led the coalition against Garrosh. As soon as the combined forces of the Alliance and Horde overthrew the tyrant, Vol’jin became the leader. Despite the fact that the troll did not have the same warm feelings for people like Bane or Thrall, he tried to maintain a precarious world.

Under the leadership of Vol’jin, the Horde, united with the Alliance, gave the first battle to the Legion on the Broken Isles. In that battle, the troll was wounded by a demon. The fel that fell into his body did not allow the leader to recover, and he soon died in Orgrimmar. Perhaps the most important moment in the current Warcraft storyline occurred before the death of Vol’jin. In a recent address to the leaders of the Horde, he transferred power to Sylvanas, saying that the spirits had told him so. Nobody dared to challenge Vol’jin’s decision, and the banshee queen ascended the throne.


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In Battle for Azeroth, Horde leaders began to have doubts about Vol’jin’s decision – Sylvanas chose increasingly frightening methods of warfare. Then the heroes appealed to the spirit of the former leader to explain what, interestingly, the categories he was guided by, putting forward Sylvanas.

It turned out that Vol’jin did not remember what kind of spirit whispered the name of Sylvanas to him. Together with the astral projection of the troll, the heroes traveled all over Azeroth in an attempt to find the force that influenced that decision, but it was not possible to find out. There are hints in the upcoming Shadowlands expansion that the “voice” Vol’jin heard came from the Womb in the Dark Lands.


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Vol’jin’s spirit even peered into Northrend to ask the Lich King, but Bolvar admitted that he had nothing to do with Sylvanas’s appointment

Cairn Bloodhoof Defies Tyrant

The mighty tauren was the “heart of the Horde” and one of Thrall’s advisers. Cairn barely participated in World of Warcraft story events, spending most of his time in Thunder Bluff.

Cairn in Thunder Bluff

Everything changed after Thrall resigned and transferred power to Garrosh. Cairne tried to dissuade an old friend from such a decision, indicating that the young orc would lead the Horde to war. Thrall refused, asking tauren to keep an eye on the new leader and instruct him. However, Garrosh did not need advice, and he immediately began an aggressive expansion. Cairne was outraged that the new leader was destroying peaceful Druids, so he summoned an orc to Mac’Gor.

At that moment, among the tauren appeared those who did not share Cairne’s peace-loving eyes and wanted to follow Garrosh. At the head of this movement was Magata the Evil Totem. It was she who, in front of McGore, smeared the weapons of Garrosh with deadly poison. Cairne was a powerful warrior, so he confidently kept in battle with the leader. However, the poison, falling into the wounds of tauren, did its job, and Garrosh eventually defeated the enemy without any problems. After the death of Cairne, his son Bane was able to suppress the rebellion of Magatha.

Arthas and the torn out heart

The main events in the life of Arthas are shown in Warcraft III itself. In WoW, he appeared in the legendary expansion of Wrath of the Lich King, after waking from a dream. All this time in the minds of Arthas there was a struggle – humanity remained in it, which was represented in the image of a little boy. However, the former prince of Lordaeron got rid of all the voices in his head, including the orc of Ner’zul. Arthas believed that he would become stronger if he got rid of everything that connected him with the past. In one of the quest chains of Wrath of the Lich King, players were shown that the Lich King had ripped out his heart and hidden it. Together with the heart, you can find the blond boy Matthias Netler.

Matthias Netler

Arthas was mistaken when he thought that the voices in his head made him weak. The Lich King lost some of his strength precisely after Tyrion Fordring destroyed his heart, in which the bright impulses of the former prince were enclosed. From that moment on, Arthas no longer had humanity – this was also noticed by Jaina, who wanted to find at least something from her ex-lover in the traitor.

After that, 25 heroes of Azeroth led by Tyrion Fordring went to the Icecrown Citadel and killed the Lich King. Before his death, Arthas became himself again. He saw the spirit of his father killed: he hugged and reassured his son. The throne of the Lich King was taken by the paladin Bolvar Fordragon, since the Scourge needed a host who would restrain her. On this, the story arch of the most famous hero of the Warcraft universe broke off.


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Cinematic after defeating the Lich King

In World of Warcraft, one could meet Arthas before he even went to the dark side. For example, in the Caves of Time, players were supposed to help the prince of Lordaeron clean up Stratholme. The developers of Shadowlands have already said that in the Dark Lands the heroes will meet Arthas again, but his story will be secondary.

Dungeon Cleansing Stratholme

Rexar – a supporting hero

Hunter Rexar is one of the most undeservedly neglected characters in World of Warcraft. Despite the fact that he somehow appears in the game, gives heroes tasks and even directs military operations, the developers did not enter him in the main storylines.

Meet Rexar was possible in the supplement The Burning Crusade. The orc settled in the Ostrogorye, where the heroes helped him in battles with the ogres and gronn. Reksar was not given an important role in the battle with Illidan. In Legion expansion, players had to go through a quest chain associated with the Order of the Invisible Path hunters, who wanted to invite the orc into their ranks. This arch, of course, was related to the battle with the Legion, however, it did not radically affect the overall plot either.

Rexar in Burning Crusade

In Battle for Azeroth, Horde players along with Rexar wage a campaign in Storm Valley. The hunter participates in the storyline associated with the recruitment of a priest of the sea, and also leads the assault on one of the villages of Kul Tiras. Sylvanas trusts Reksar, so she sends him on a secret mission to free Lady Ashvane from prison. It was after this operation that the orc begins to doubt the decisions of the Banshee Queen: in a small cut-scene, he says that “the Horde was at a crossroads … again.” Unfortunately, Reksar did not find a place in the cinematics. After Sylvanas arrested Bane, the hunter was finally disappointed in the leader. However, he does not participate in the mission to save tauren. In all further negotiations with the Alliance and the battle with Sylvanas, the main roles among the Horde are Thrall and Saurfang, and Rexar again goes into the shadows.

Rexar in the Valley of Storms

The plot of World of Warcraft does not always have enough space for all the heroes of Warcraft III. Some over the course of a number of additions may be ordinary NPCs that stand in one place in the capital; the stories of many of them also unfold on the pages of novels and comics. You can learn about four events from the world of Warcraft that were hardly covered in WoW, but that influenced the plot of the universe. here.

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