World of Warcraft Fans Think Blizzard Is About to Try and Revisit Its Least Popular Expansion

World of Warcraft: Midnight is simply a precise purple expansion, acknowledgment to its superior antagonist being the Void. There's a large purple beam shooting from the entity successful the region each the time. Most of the enemies are purple. Two retired of 3 of the large raids and respective dungeons and delves are purple. And the main villain, Xal'atath, is precise purple.

Given each the purple going around, it's not excessively overmuch of a daze that Blizzard yet brought backmost 1 of its simultaneously best-loved and most-hated purple characters for a crippled twist astatine the extremity of the astir caller raid. What is shocking, though, is the quality that quality delivered: a hint that we mightiness beryllium careening toward a revisit to 1 of World of Warcraft's astir maligned (and lone occasionally purple) expansions: Shadowlands.

Warning: Spoilers travel for World of Warcraft: Midnight's communicative truthful far, up to and including the cinematic that plays aft The March connected Quel'Danas. Read connected astatine your ain risk.

WoW: Midnight opens with Void harbinger and baddie-of-the-decade Xal'atath unleashing the Voidstorm supra the Isle of Quel'Danas successful an effort to corrupt the Sunwell and crook it into a void-powered Darkwell. For the bulk of the expansion's questing, dungeons, and raids, we the adventurers are trying to find a mode to halt her from succeeding, portion the Army of the Light holds disconnected the void's power arsenic agelong arsenic they tin negociate to support the Sunwell.

However, astatine the extremity of The Voidspire raid, Xal'atath manages to merchandise the acheronian Naaru L'ura from her situation wrong Alleria Windrunner, and uses L'ura to decorativeness the corruption of the Sunwell, creating the Darkwell. In response, the assorted armies hanging retired astir Silvermoon City unite to effort and retake the Darkwell from Xal'atath, with the effort taking spot successful the astir recently-released raid, the March connected Quel'Danas. The 2nd and last brag is nary different than the acheronian Naaru herself, L'ura, and we negociate to decision her earlier she tin afloat marque usage of the Darkwell's powerfulness to ruin everyone's day.

L'ura

But that inactive leaves Xal'atath hovering astir and making quips and threatening to destruct everyone. Yet different confrontation with her plays retired successful which she has the precocious manus (this happens a lot), but she's interrupted by nary different than Sylvanas Windrunner, erstwhile Horde Warchief, erstwhile Ranger General, and nighttime elf genocider extraordinaire. Sylvanas manages to blast disconnected 1 of Xal'atath's funky void enarthrosis decorations with an arrow, lone for Xal'atath to repair it easy and disappear. Sylvanas cryptically announces to her sister Vereesa and nephew Arathor: "The Shadowlands are not astatine each what they seem. I cannot remainder until I uncover the truth. Still, I anticipation to spot you some again, earlier the extremity begins."

Okay?!?!?!?!?

Sylvanas, Revisited

If this isn't having the interaction connected you that it is connected me, fto maine recap a spot of what's been going connected with Sylvanas lately. Sylvanas has a long, agelong past successful the Warcraft beingness that would instrumentality a full Wiki nonfiction to cover, but capable for this is to cognize that she was a beloved "antihero" quality to the fanbase for galore years. She's tortured and tragic, but besides powerful, noble, ruthless, and dedicated to her people, the Forsaken. Through a bid of analyzable events, she became Warchief of the Horde during a clip of tense, tentative bid betwixt her faction and the Alliance. Sylvanas, however, was convinced that bid could ne'er last, and that the Alliance would inevitably travel backmost and effort to destruct the Horde. So successful effect to events that hadn't adjacent happened, Sylvanas made the perfectly unbelievable determination to commit genocide connected the Night Elves by burning down the satellite tree, Teldrassil.

This, understandably, pissed disconnected a batch of Sylvanas fans (and haters!). Sylvanas had ever been ruthless, calculating, and cynical. But outright, remorseless genocide was ne'er thing they had considered to beryllium wrong her quality description. In the ensuing chapters of the story, some Alliance and pissed disconnected Horde members pursuit her astir for awhile, astatine 1 constituent laying siege to the Forsaken superior Lordaeron, wherever Sylvanas makes different unhinged determination to drown the spot successful Blight alternatively than let it to beryllium taken. All the while, Sylvanas keeps making cryptic comments astir Death and her "master" and however 1 time everyone volition recognize wherefore she's doing what she's doing, etc.

After she demolishes 2 beloved superior cities, it is yet revealed that Sylvanas has been moving for immoderate evil being called the Jailer who rules the Shadowlands, the realm of decease and the titular mounting of the Shadowlands expansion. Her goal, which she besides thinks is the Jailer's, is to subvert decease and reconstruct existent escaped volition to everyone successful the world. Surprise surprise, the Jailer is evil and really conscionable wants to subjugate everyone, an evident information that Sylvanas doesn't fig retired until she's already done tons of warfare crimes. She yet agrees to assistance the heroes decision the Jailer and stands proceedings for her crimes, yet being sentenced to escaped the souls successful the Shadowlands that she had condemned by her actions until each past 1 was astatine bid - a task that could easy instrumentality virtually forever. She's been down determination ever since.

Back into Shadow

Sylvanas' cryptic comments earlier heading backmost into the Shadowlands permission america with much questions than answers.

I don't deliberation anyone was amazed to spot Sylvanas herself again - she's 1 of WoW's astir recognizable and beloved (at slightest astatine 1 time) characters. But her insinuation that determination mightiness beryllium unresolved plot successful the Shadowlands is genuinely a surprise, and 1 that's being met with mixed reactions.

Shadowlands was...not a fashionable expansion. A batch of that genuinely had to bash with the aforementioned Sylvanas story, and the ways successful which a fig of different previously-beloved characters acted successful ways that did not marque consciousness with past lore. The uncover of what happens aft "death" successful Azeroth ended up weird, confusing, and inconsistent plot-wise with a batch of different established facts astir the world, portion simultaneously trivializing decease successful the beingness entirely. There was besides a batch of "all volition marque consciousness erstwhile the existent program is afloat revealed" going astir during that clip without a satisfying payoff. Many players were besides annoyed that an expansion-long travel to the literal realm of decease didn't connection much opportunities to conscionable much beloved deceased characters and spot however they were doing successful the afterlife. Yes, we did surely conscionable some, but a batch of others were conspicuously missing.

On apical of that, Shadowlands had agelong stretches of clip betwixt patches wherever determination conscionable wasn't overmuch to do, and erstwhile activities were introduced to support radical busy, they were beauteous grindy, boring, and slow, truthful a batch of radical fell off. There was besides the Covenant system, which galore felt forced them to take betwixt committing to a communicative and aesthetic they enjoyed for a batch of the endgame content, oregon playing thing little fun, but much optimal for raids.

Some folks person travel astir connected Shadowlands a spot successful the years since, arsenic WoW does thin to person cycles of players disliking an enlargement erstwhile it's current, past praising it years down the enactment (see: Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor). But Shadowlands is inactive broadly spoken of with a sour sensation successful the mouth. Many players person been blessed capable to simply determination onto antithetic storylines unconnected from the Jailer oregon whatever's going connected successful the onshore of the dead. It's done, it wasn't great, wherefore fuss reasoning astir it anymore? But with Sylvanas coming backmost and suggesting thing other is incorrect down there, players are present speculating that Blizzard is preparing to embark connected a travel to salvage those crippled threads via a retcon, oregon astatine slightest a recontextualization.

It's unclear what signifier this could take. On 1 hand, it could beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic doing a Shadowlands Remix successful betwixt the adjacent 2 expansions, ala Mists of Pandaria oregon Legion Remix. On the utmost end, we could precise good extremity up backmost successful the Shadowlands for an full enlargement oregon astatine slightest a large patch, either successful a acquainted portion oregon an unfamiliar one, picking isolated what precisely the "truth" is of the Shadowlands that Sylvanas is talking about.

Revisiting Shadowlands, successful immoderate capacity, would besides springiness Blizzard the accidental to revisit Sylvanas. She's been retired of the representation for respective expansions, with Blizzard rightly recognizing the quality needed a lore break. But bringing her backmost successful immoderate context, adjacent aft a hiatus, is afloat of challenges. Her personality, motivations, desires, and fears aren't truly wide anymore aft the crippled pulled her successful truthful galore antithetic directions for aggregate expansions, and bringing her backmost would necessitate settling connected immoderate benignant of steadfast outline of who Sylvanas is, now, aft everything. It would besides necessitate fundamentally each quality excusing the Night Elf genocide capable to let her to beryllium astir successful a much imperishable way, and an atrocious batch of players would apt consciousness a spot uncomfortable with that scenario. Probably the Night Elves, archetypal of all.

Also, not for nothing, but Sylvanas supposedly was being guarded by a large owl. How is she adjacent leaving the Shadowlands without getting into owl trouble? Why did she amusement up, sprout disconnected 1 of Xal'atath's decorations, and past disappear? Heck, wherefore did Xal'atath permission erstwhile Sylvanas appeared, isolated for the information that she emerges victorious and past vanishes mysteriously astatine the extremity of each large brushwood we person with her?

In the end, we don't cognize what Blizzard is planning. Maybe this was each conscionable an excuse to necktie Sylvanas backmost into the Windrunner-heavy crippled and connection immoderate way to reconciliation with her nephew Arator (who seems stoked to spot her), and sisters Vereesa (who gives her a large hug successful the cinematic) and Alleria (who fell into a large void fountain astatine the extremity of Voidspire and whose existent presumption is unknown). For each we know, we ne'er spot Sylvanas again! Or, arsenic others are speculating, it's all connected, Pepe Silvia-style, and Blizzard is concocting immoderate ridiculous program that volition marque each the Shadowlands issues marque sense, necktie successful the existent crippled worldly with Xal'atath and the World Soul and the Titans and all, and redeem Sylvanas someway each successful 1 fell swoop. That seems similar a gangly bid to me, but what bash I know? I tin hardly support each the Dragon Aspects straight.

We're conscionable going to person to beryllium tight. March connected Quel'Danas virtually conscionable came out, and upcoming spot 12.0.5's astir breathtaking instauration is simply a prop hunt mode (though that is admittedly beauteous exciting). We've got months of raiding up of america earlier thing Sylvanas- oregon Shadowlands-related could adjacent statesman to manifest itself. We're also, situation I accidental it, successful the mediate of a beauteous amusive enlargement mostly arsenic acold arsenic questing, raids, dungeons, delves, and satellite activities go. I'm personally good with letting Blizzard navigator connected this one... adjacent if I did rotation my eyes into the adjacent region erstwhile I saw 2 of Blizzard's galore tragically conflicted purple women person a brief, inconsequential staredown.

We'll get Xal'atath adjacent time, I hope.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].