X.X.5 Patches have started to take on greater significance in WoW, sort of taking the place of Mists's odd-numbered patches in giving us new story content. 8.1.5 saw the arrest of Baine and the return (or infiltration) of Derek Proudmoore.
With datamining flooding the usual sites, these are some intriguing hints at what the future could hold.
Wrathion's return is particularly exciting, given that we haven't actually seen him in person since Mists. Wrathion's last public act was to free Garrosh Hellscream from the Temple of the White Tiger aided by Kairoz, some "True Horde" loyalists who would go on to help form the Iron Horde, and a number of Infinite Dragons. He then lost favor with the Iron Horde and was a prisoner in Admiral Taylor's garrison, where he tried but failed to warn the Admiral of the treachery in their midst (which, but the way, we've never fully unraveled. We still don't know who Ephial's master was.)
Given that his stated reason for trying to push the Alliance and Horde into an all-or-nothing war was the hope that, should one side simply conquer the other and absorb its people into its ranks, that Azeroth might stand united for the impending threat of the Burning Legion, it's ironic his actions indirectly gave the Legion a new Gul'dan to kickstart a full invasion. On the other hand, divided or not, Azeroth managed to pull off a victory - though the massive sword in Silithus makes the victory a little less complete.
But one could easily ask where the hell he's been. Well, perhaps we'll get an answer, or at least find out where he is now.
Calia's probably the one I'm most excited about, given the implications for future stories relating to the undead. As what people have been terming a "Lightbound Undead," Calia is not decayed and rotten like the Forsaken, but she's also clearly not strictly human anymore.
I suspect that Calia will be key to deprograming whatever sleeper agent commands Derek has been seeded with, but her future role in the world of the Alliance, Horde, and Forsaken remains to be seen. Personally I really hope for an undead allied race for the Alliance that serves her as the True Queen of Lordaeron, but I'll have to wait and see what happens with her.
Valeera is a bit more surprising. Her primary role has been as a kind of neutral figure, pointedly not choosing sides in the Alliance/Horde conflict, even as she has maintained friendships with important members of both - particularly the late King Varian. The hope for this expansion is to see a meaningful peace forged between the factions, and she's in a pretty good position to help that happen.
Naturally, any patch is going to be a source of excitement. As far as I know we don't have models for the Goblin and Worgen heritage armor, but I'm both very curious about that and also wondering how motivated I feel to get my Goblin from level 100 to 120 in order to unlock the armor.
No comments:
Post a Comment