Do you know who threatened Azeroth the most during the WoW Classic era? Or what was the lore explanation for the lack of worgen, draenei, blood elves & co? We will help you on the jumps and tell you the status quo at that time.
Ah, Azeroth, how confusing you have become. But who can blame you? After 14 years of war-filled history, hardly anything can have stayed the same. We’ve already swarmed villains to nirvana, and we’ve also had to say goodbye to some heroes from Alliance and Horde. Continents were discovered, regions devastated. In 2004 the world was different – and with the release of WoW Classic, your return there is possible! But so that you don’t suffer the complete temporal shock with regard to the lore of the time, we give you an insight into the status quo of Classic: What did the different factions look like in this era, who held the reins? Which villains played a role, who was no more than an ominous whisper on the wind at this point?
Starting point Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne
The story and basis for the original WoW does not spring from a vacuum, but is based on the strategy games in the Warcraft series and ties directly to Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. For example, in the final installment of the series, the legendary orc Thrall builds as the leader of a new, pristine Horde in the land of Durotar, which he named after his father, on the continent of Kalimdor, with Orgrimmar as its capital, where the Horde welcomes all its members .
The Orcs share this haven with the Darkspear Trolls, another race that makes up a large part of the Horde. The people, led by Vol’jin, feel indebted to the orcs for giving the trolls a place in the Horde in an hour of need. Equally grateful were the hulking tauren, who were being tyrannized by the vicious centaurs and turned to Thrall and his horde for help. Since the trolls and orcs were looking for more spirituality, the tauren were the perfect addition to the Horde, offering to support the Horde’s shamanism and help out with their knowledge of it.
Also in The Frozen Throne, the former high elf Sylvanas Windrunner broke free from the control of the Lich King Arthas and became the leader of the free undead, the Forsaken. Now, within the ruins of Lordaeron, she has gathered her subjects who continue to have a strong connection to the ancient kingdom from which many of them originally hail. Their alliance with the other races of the Horde is one of expediency, not genuine solidarity. The alliance as an opponent? That has to be enough as a community for now.
She, on the other hand, welcomes into her ranks the mysterious night elves who had lived in secrecy for thousands of years prior to the Third War in Warcraft 3. While Malfurion Stormrage lingers in what seems like an eternal slumber, it falls to Tyrande Whisperwind to lead the night elves through troubled waters. In doing so, she also has to deal with the archdruid Fandral Hirschhaupt in her own ranks, who criticizes her leadership style and would prefer to be the leader of the ancient people himself. But while the alliance of humans, dwarves, and gnomes has grown with the addition of the night elves, a greater power has vanished: the high elves were all but annihilated by Arthas’ campaign. There are only a few thousand left who still see themselves as such, the rest call themselves “blood elves”
In Ironforge Fortress, the hardy dwarves share their home with the gnomes. The inventive tots were forced to abandon their capital city of Gnomeregan after released radiation rendered it uninhabitable. This cataclysm was the result of a longstanding conflict with the troggs that the gnomes had fought out in secret; during the Third War they didn’t want to bother the Alliance with this problem. The top priority was not to let the human kingdom of Lordaeron fall into the clutches of the Burning Legion. In a treacherous turn, Sicco Thermawire had finally decided to defeat the troggs with radiation, but the result was that the gnomes had to abandon their homeland; Sicco was left behind as a mad autocrat. Led by High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque, they continue to provide the Alliance with the most sophisticated gadgets. But even after years of exile in Ironforge, Mekkatorque is working on plans to reconquer his homeland.
At the head of the dwarves is Magni Bronzebeard, the eldest of the three Bronzebeard brothers. He is still dealing with the loss of his brother Muradin, who accompanied Arthas Menethil on his journey to seek the cursed blade Frostmourne. It was through these that the dwarf was supposedly defeated.
The humans are led by a character that players of the live version may not recognize: Anduin Wrynn was also the leader of the humans 14 years ago, but as a small boy who was supported and advised by the regent Bolvar Fordragon. In this way he should learn to govern and later be able to sit ruling on the throne. His father, Varian Wrynn, is currently in captivity, having been kidnapped by the criminal Defias Brotherhood.
Horde and Alliance – two growing factions
Not only are the maximum levels and areas of WoW more compact in Classic, but also the different peoples that form the Horde and the Alliance. As a player, you have to deal with the fact that you can only choose from the four groups just described per faction. But how is that explained in the game? And what are blood elves, worgen, draenei & co doing at this time?
The blood elves lick their wounds
In Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, the former high elves, led by Kael’thas Sunstrider, renamed themselves blood elves in commemoration of the fallen. After miserable treatment by their human allies, Kael’s troops joined Illidan along with the naga, with whom the blood elves share their morbid addiction to magic. He lured them in with a promise to teach them how to access alternate sources of magic after the Sunwell was destroyed in the Third War. Not all blood elves joined Kael’thas in the war, however, many remaining in Silvermoon City, ruled by veteran Lor’themar Theron in the Sunstrider’s absence.
The Tragic Path of the Draenei
Before becoming part of the peoples of Azeroth and joining the Alliance as part of The Burning Crusade, the draenei wage a bitter war against the orcs on the planet Draenor. Originally, the two races lived there in peaceful coexistence, but that changed after the greenskins were corrupted by the Burning Legion. In devastating battles, the draenei lose over 80 percent of their population before finally escaping the planet. But in WoW Classic they don’t play a role yet.
What do the people of the Kingdom of Gilneas do?
While humans make up a large part of the Alliance’s troops, there are rumors of an isolated population staying away from what’s happening in WoW Classic: The Kingdom of Gilneas is said to continue to thrive after all treaties with the Alliance have been dissolved, behind the titanic Greymane Wall. He even protected the lands of King Greymane and his subjects from the abominations of the Scourge during the Third War. But the living weapon of a magician from Dalaran, who wanted to ward off the undead with it of all things, had found a way behind the protective wall – the talk is of the wild worgen. These wolf-like monsters infect humans when they bite them, turning them into worgen as well. Over the years, their numbers continued to increase, which is why the Gilneans wage a bitter war against these beasts in the shadow of their mighty wall. Only the cataclysm will ensure that the isolated kingdom opens up involuntarily. But then there will not be much left of the proud people.
The Goblins – helpers of the Horde, but nothing more
Been there for a long time, but somehow not: That’s how the goblins in WoW Classic can be described. Because in your explorations you will undoubtedly meet the green-skinned tots. Among other things, they operate the zeppelins that let passengers travel between Orgrimmar and other Horde cities. However, some skirmishes will occur for both Alliance and Horde when encountering the Venture Co. members. This nefarious goblin trade syndicate doesn’t give a damn about sustainable methods and could use logging and mining to turn the lands of Kalimdor into vast deserts. The Bilgewater Cartel, on the other hand, which controls Bilgewater Port on Kezan, the goblins’ home island, will later forge an alliance with the Horde, but that will not happen until.
No pandaren – despite appearance in Warcraft 3
The last real increase in the playable races of Azeroth (allying races are always offshoots of known factions) was for the live version with the pandaren in Mists of Pandaria. But for many years, the people of the black and white bears were more of a joke – until then their only representative was the traveler and brewmaster Chen Stormstout, who had an appearance in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. There he met Beastmaster Rexxar, presented him with the latest creation of his brewing skills and even accompanied him on his further journey. Along with Rexxar, Horde leader Thrall, and mage Jaina Proudmoore, he repelled Kul Tiran troops and was part of the offensive that ended with the death of Kul Tiran admiral Daelin Proudmoore. After that, the master brewer went on his travels again.
The threats of WoW at that time
While we have already put a stop to most of the sinister figures of Azeroth in the live version of WoW and even the Burning Legion is history, some villains in WoW Classic are far from being tamed. But what were the meanies doing at that time?
The scourge as opponent number 1
Ahead of the hard-fought victory of the Horde and Alliance heroes in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the Scourge remains the greatest threat to all life. Originally unleashed by the Burning Legion as a weapon against the peoples of Azeroth, the entity of the Lich King (now with the human Arthas Menethil as the dominant personality within) has broken loose and pursued their own plans for absolute domination of the planet. While the undead ruler himself has not yet taken action, his decaying forces are ravaging the lands of both Horde and Alliance. However, the troops of the Scourge are primarily active in the Plaguelands, because there is also their central fortress in the form of the ruined Stratholmes, which fell victim to the machinations of the Scourge during the Third War. The lich Kel’Thuzad leads the Lich King’s forces and dwells in his necropolis, Naxxramas, which looms over the Eastern Plaguelands.
Ragnaros, the fiery destroyer
The legendary ruler of fire, ash and destruction is still an important opponent in Classic. The proverbial force of nature has existed since before the Old Gods ever set foot on Azeroth. Even then he was engaged in fierce battles with his elemental brethren. But whether as a slave to the Old Gods or as a tyrant in his own right – Ragnaros’ greatest wish remains the destruction of the planet. Through a foolish summoning by the Dark Iron dwarves in the War of the Three Hammers, Ragnaros has returned to Azeroth from the Firelands. His home is now the Molten Core, the heart of the Blackrock volcano created by Ragnaros’ return. In the depths, he gathers his strength and waits to finally realize his dream of a fire-devoured Azeroth.
Deathwing, the black terror below
While the Cataclysm expansion has dedicated itself to the lord of the black dragons tearing the world apart, he doesn’t even make an appearance in Classic. In Deepholm, the realm of the earth elementals, earthen, and stone troggs, the Deathwing, formerly known as Neltharion, driven mad by the Old Gods, recovers from his final battle against the peoples of Azeroth. In him, all the dragon aspects had joined forces again to face the death wing, which was strengthened by the dragon soul. After the brave wizard Rhonin destroyed this powerful artifact, the remaining Aspects regained the power to stop Deathwing. However, the mad leader of the black dragons managed to escape and has been waiting for the day of revenge ever since.
With Classic back to the beginning of the journey
After all these insights into missing races, villains and nations, some might think: “What the hell? Why should I do without my worgen, blood elves, draenei & co? And the Lich King isn’t even an issue?” It’s a legitimate approach to dropping Classic, but going back to the beginning of WoW also has an appeal that the game doesn’t have today. Back then, of course, the factions were smaller, but they were also more defined. No prettyling blood elves. No alien draenei. For example, if you joined the Horde, you really wanted to play an alliance of freaks and aliens that relied on shamanic flair and ferocity (or you chose undead). Also, without the big world destruction stories of the later expansions, there was more room to craft your own story, where we start out as an absolute nobody, heading into a relatively down-to-earth fantasy world that has only just come through major catastrophes. Because the eventful history of Warcraft 3 has left open many narrative threads that have to be taken up in Classic.
What is WoW Classic?
World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.
Getting Started
All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
- Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
- Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
- Click the Play button when the installation is complete.
You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!
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