Now is probably the best time to work on the final part of Wrathion's Legendary Chain. If you managed to catch up, you should have your epic cloak at the ready.
There are only two simple steps to complete to get finish the legendary chain (well, to get your legendary cloak.) First, you must collect 5000 Timeless Coins. Sadly, these are consumed when you turn them in to Wrathion, so if you wanted to save them up for gear or whatever, you'll have to wait.
Getting Timeless Coins is a pretty quick process. You can do it in a single day, though some may choose to space it out a little. Simply doing the quests on the Isle (and especially killing rare spawns when they pop up) will get you to 5000 in only a few hours.
The more challenging aspect here is that you must defeat all four of the August Celestials. The good news is that when one is beaten, the next steps up almost immediately, so if you join the mob you'll have a good chance of getting all four in a row. These bosses are not trivial (and the lag will kill you) so expect a lot of graveyard zerging (the GY is very near the arena.) I expect this will be one of the harder things to do if you're late to the party, but I expect that in these first few days it will be fairly easy to get through.
Completing these tasks will have Wrathion sending you to the Seat of Knowledge, where he and Lorewalker Cho have somewhat different visions of your heroism. Wrathion then gives you the power to imbue your cloak, and a quick click will automatically power up your equipped cloak.
The new cloaks will occasionally get a little animation of your chosen celestial (Ox horns for me) and you'll get a souped-up version (automatically upgraded) of the cloak with a powerful proc. (The tanking one essentially gives you a Wrath-era Ardent Defender, making you immune to death on a 2-minute cooldown.)
With that, Wrathion gives you one final task: to defeat Garrosh Hellscream. I ain't there yet, so I'll let you know when I get there, but there are no more rewards to earn. With this cloak, you should be pretty well-prepared to enter the Siege.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Ner'zhul, Blackhand, Orgrim Doomhammer, Thrall, Garrosh Hellscream, and...
The Alliance is going to come out of the Siege of Orgrimmar pretty much intact. While they've suffered some terrible losses since Garrosh drummed up the war machine, it looks like Theramore was the last major victory Hellscream's Horde would make against its perennial enemy. So while I hope that we at least get to see a little more of the Alliance side of things, what's more immediately interesting is what will happen in the Horde's future.
I've often argued that the position of Warchief may be abolished. Thrall's Horde was built on the notion of freedom and cooperation. Sure, even in the best of times it bore some of the unsavory vestiges of its barbarous past, but fundamentally, Thrall was trying to build something that was sustainable, that would allow its citizens to be good citizens of Azeroth.
In such a society, does an absolute dictator really have a place? Thrall was a benevolent dictator who delegated his power to local leaders, but literally every other Warchief was essentially a brute, ruling through fear and violence.
That said, the Horde will need some sort of executive leadership. Even in a Council-like set-up, you need someone who can make the quick decisions, especially in a world as volatile as Azeroth.
So whether they call it the Warchief or the Chairman of the War Council or anything else, who should lead the Horde? For now, let's look at the various leaders of the Horde races.
Thrall: Assuming he survives the siege, Thrall would be the most obvious person to lead the Orcs once again. Thrall is really a sort of founding father of the Horde, and it was to Thrall that most of the other Horde races swore their allegiance. He is well-liked even by much of the Alliance, and his inclination tends toward a rapprochement between the two factions, which would make him an ideal peace-time leader. On the other hand, he bears a certain amount of responsibility for Garrosh. His leaving to become the World-Shaman plunged the Horde into tyranny, doing huge damage to his credibility. Likewise, he may in fact not want to lead his people. With a new family and a stronger connection to his Shamanism, he may prefer that someone else take the reins.
Vol'jin: The next most obvious leader, Vol'jin spearheaded the entire rebellion against Garrosh. It was his willingness to put his people at risk that gave the Horde a figure to rally around and throw off Garrosh's shackles. Vol'jin and his Darkspear are some of the oldest members of the New Horde, and Vol'jin has been a trusted advisor to Thrall throughout his tenure as Warchief. Likewise, Vol'jin has shown a willingness to reach out to the Alliance, both in heading off the rise of the Zandalari during Cataclysm, and also coordinating with them in the run-up to the Siege of Orgrimmar. However, Vol'jin has only led one of the smaller Horde populations. He's proven himself as a military leader, and as a diplomat, but will he be strong enough to keep everyone in line? Any non-Orc leader is going to have to deal with Orcish attitudes about race, but Vol'jin stood as the main figurehead in opposition to that philosophy. Even if he is cheered on by the vast majority of the Horde, surely there will be some Orcs who liked things under Garrosh, and would want this mongrel usurper dead.
Baine Bloodhoof: Baine is young, but he inherited a lot of the credibility of his father Cairne. The Tauren have always been the friendly, quiet members of the Horde. Non-aggressive and deeply dedicated to the preservation of the natural world, it's hard to hate the Tauren, even if you're Alliance. Baine has also become friends with Anduin Wyrnn, which could be a good resource for maintaining the post-Siege peace. Also, the Tauren are one of the most established races on Kalimdor. On the other hand, the Tauren's idyllic lifestyle does not necessarily gel with the rest of the Horde. Does Baine know much about organizing an industrial society? The Tauren are forgiving enough that they may not quite be able to deal with some of the dangerous elements in the Horde. Speaking of which...
Sylvanas Windrunner: Sylvanas does not lack for ambition. More than any other racial faction, her Forsaken seem almost like an independent force of its own. Sylvanas could easily break away from the Horde and likely keep her current territory. She has proven to be an extremely successful war-leader - far more than Garrosh, actually - and after the Battle of Undercity, she has absolute control over her capital. However, there are a few huge problems. First, no one trusts her. Even her closest allies are wary of her methods and question her motivations. Secondly, those who are not her allies either hate her or want nothing to do with her. Sylvanas is not the kind of person who is going to be forging any useful alliances. She did bring the Blood Elves in, but even they are more comfortable with the Trolls and Tauren than they are with the Forsaken. Third of all, it's likely she doesn't really want to rule the whole Horde. She has her fiercely loyal followers (some of whom are brainwashed to adore her.) Why get into the messiness of politics when she has an empire of her own?
Lor'themar Theron: After years of obscurity, Lor'themar broke out onto the geopolitical stage in a big way. Lor'themar has proven to be a capable military commander, leading his forces to the Isle of Thunder. Also, unlike the other Horde leaders, he has a certain freshness, despite how long the Blood Elves have been members. Lor'themar does not have any enemies in the Horde (save Garrosh) and he may be the only leader who could actually manage to convince Sylvanas to play nice. The Blood Elves suffered a bit of a PR hit during the Burning Crusade, but that's long over, and the Kael'thas loyalists must be either totally marginalized or dead at this point. Admittedly, there are still some vestiges of the tyranny of the Magisters in Silvermoon, but overall Lor'themar has proven his people's willingness to serve the Horde. Sadly, his in with the Alliance has been all but scuttled thanks to the Dalaran Incident, so it is unlikely that he will have much of an easier time making peace with them, even if the joint effort of the Siege might ameliorate that problem a bit.
Gallywix: No one has seen or heard from Gallywix since the beginning of the Cataclysm. Beside that, the goblins have a strictly greed-based ethic, so Gallywix would only be Warchief if he could make a bigger profit that way than by serving under the Horde. I don't think the Horde wants an amoral mercenary for a leader.
Ji Firepaw: The Wandering Isle Pandaren are barely integrated into the Alliance or Horde. I don't think Ji ever had the kind of influence on Horde politics that any other racial leader might have. Frankly, after his experiences with Garrosh, I wouldn't be surprised if Ji left Durotar to live in Pandaria after this. More could be said about the influence (or lack thereof) of the Wandering Isle Pandaren on their respective factions.
So there you have it: some options for leadership. Frankly I'd say Vol'jin stands the best chance, but I would also like to see a kind of Horde reformation. Things only worked under Thrall because he managed to be incorruptible as a benevolent dictator. That's an incredibly rare thing, so I think the Horde needs to undergo some big changes to limit the powers of its executive, lest we stumble into another Hellscream situation.
I've often argued that the position of Warchief may be abolished. Thrall's Horde was built on the notion of freedom and cooperation. Sure, even in the best of times it bore some of the unsavory vestiges of its barbarous past, but fundamentally, Thrall was trying to build something that was sustainable, that would allow its citizens to be good citizens of Azeroth.
In such a society, does an absolute dictator really have a place? Thrall was a benevolent dictator who delegated his power to local leaders, but literally every other Warchief was essentially a brute, ruling through fear and violence.
That said, the Horde will need some sort of executive leadership. Even in a Council-like set-up, you need someone who can make the quick decisions, especially in a world as volatile as Azeroth.
So whether they call it the Warchief or the Chairman of the War Council or anything else, who should lead the Horde? For now, let's look at the various leaders of the Horde races.
Thrall: Assuming he survives the siege, Thrall would be the most obvious person to lead the Orcs once again. Thrall is really a sort of founding father of the Horde, and it was to Thrall that most of the other Horde races swore their allegiance. He is well-liked even by much of the Alliance, and his inclination tends toward a rapprochement between the two factions, which would make him an ideal peace-time leader. On the other hand, he bears a certain amount of responsibility for Garrosh. His leaving to become the World-Shaman plunged the Horde into tyranny, doing huge damage to his credibility. Likewise, he may in fact not want to lead his people. With a new family and a stronger connection to his Shamanism, he may prefer that someone else take the reins.
Vol'jin: The next most obvious leader, Vol'jin spearheaded the entire rebellion against Garrosh. It was his willingness to put his people at risk that gave the Horde a figure to rally around and throw off Garrosh's shackles. Vol'jin and his Darkspear are some of the oldest members of the New Horde, and Vol'jin has been a trusted advisor to Thrall throughout his tenure as Warchief. Likewise, Vol'jin has shown a willingness to reach out to the Alliance, both in heading off the rise of the Zandalari during Cataclysm, and also coordinating with them in the run-up to the Siege of Orgrimmar. However, Vol'jin has only led one of the smaller Horde populations. He's proven himself as a military leader, and as a diplomat, but will he be strong enough to keep everyone in line? Any non-Orc leader is going to have to deal with Orcish attitudes about race, but Vol'jin stood as the main figurehead in opposition to that philosophy. Even if he is cheered on by the vast majority of the Horde, surely there will be some Orcs who liked things under Garrosh, and would want this mongrel usurper dead.
Baine Bloodhoof: Baine is young, but he inherited a lot of the credibility of his father Cairne. The Tauren have always been the friendly, quiet members of the Horde. Non-aggressive and deeply dedicated to the preservation of the natural world, it's hard to hate the Tauren, even if you're Alliance. Baine has also become friends with Anduin Wyrnn, which could be a good resource for maintaining the post-Siege peace. Also, the Tauren are one of the most established races on Kalimdor. On the other hand, the Tauren's idyllic lifestyle does not necessarily gel with the rest of the Horde. Does Baine know much about organizing an industrial society? The Tauren are forgiving enough that they may not quite be able to deal with some of the dangerous elements in the Horde. Speaking of which...
Sylvanas Windrunner: Sylvanas does not lack for ambition. More than any other racial faction, her Forsaken seem almost like an independent force of its own. Sylvanas could easily break away from the Horde and likely keep her current territory. She has proven to be an extremely successful war-leader - far more than Garrosh, actually - and after the Battle of Undercity, she has absolute control over her capital. However, there are a few huge problems. First, no one trusts her. Even her closest allies are wary of her methods and question her motivations. Secondly, those who are not her allies either hate her or want nothing to do with her. Sylvanas is not the kind of person who is going to be forging any useful alliances. She did bring the Blood Elves in, but even they are more comfortable with the Trolls and Tauren than they are with the Forsaken. Third of all, it's likely she doesn't really want to rule the whole Horde. She has her fiercely loyal followers (some of whom are brainwashed to adore her.) Why get into the messiness of politics when she has an empire of her own?
Lor'themar Theron: After years of obscurity, Lor'themar broke out onto the geopolitical stage in a big way. Lor'themar has proven to be a capable military commander, leading his forces to the Isle of Thunder. Also, unlike the other Horde leaders, he has a certain freshness, despite how long the Blood Elves have been members. Lor'themar does not have any enemies in the Horde (save Garrosh) and he may be the only leader who could actually manage to convince Sylvanas to play nice. The Blood Elves suffered a bit of a PR hit during the Burning Crusade, but that's long over, and the Kael'thas loyalists must be either totally marginalized or dead at this point. Admittedly, there are still some vestiges of the tyranny of the Magisters in Silvermoon, but overall Lor'themar has proven his people's willingness to serve the Horde. Sadly, his in with the Alliance has been all but scuttled thanks to the Dalaran Incident, so it is unlikely that he will have much of an easier time making peace with them, even if the joint effort of the Siege might ameliorate that problem a bit.
Gallywix: No one has seen or heard from Gallywix since the beginning of the Cataclysm. Beside that, the goblins have a strictly greed-based ethic, so Gallywix would only be Warchief if he could make a bigger profit that way than by serving under the Horde. I don't think the Horde wants an amoral mercenary for a leader.
Ji Firepaw: The Wandering Isle Pandaren are barely integrated into the Alliance or Horde. I don't think Ji ever had the kind of influence on Horde politics that any other racial leader might have. Frankly, after his experiences with Garrosh, I wouldn't be surprised if Ji left Durotar to live in Pandaria after this. More could be said about the influence (or lack thereof) of the Wandering Isle Pandaren on their respective factions.
So there you have it: some options for leadership. Frankly I'd say Vol'jin stands the best chance, but I would also like to see a kind of Horde reformation. Things only worked under Thrall because he managed to be incorruptible as a benevolent dictator. That's an incredibly rare thing, so I think the Horde needs to undergo some big changes to limit the powers of its executive, lest we stumble into another Hellscream situation.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Possibilities for Future Expansions
Mists of Pandaria proved that you don't need to always go back to the old wells for fodder for a future expansion. BC, Wrath, and Cataclysm all dealt with characters and forces established in the RTS games (Cataclysm was the first to go back to WCII.) While Mists was certainly informed by concepts established from the very first game (Horde vs. Alliance, even if technically there was no Alliance in WCI) and other major concepts that have been present throughout WoW (Old Gods, Titans,) as well as everyone's favorite "they'll never do that" playable race, the Pandaren, the majority of Mists was new stuff. Pandaria's geography had never been established before. The Mogu were an unusual twist on the typical Titan stuff, while the Sha were simultaneously an illuminating reveal (see: that's why the Titans didn't just want to kill the Old Gods) and also a really different take on Old Gods and their type of corruption.
And then there was a bunch of stuff that was just plain new: Jinyu, Hozen, Grummles, Saurok. While other expansions had introduced new races and cultures, none had fleshed them out to the degree that the denizens of Pandaria were. Plus, we got new "forces of good" out of the Celestials, whose relationship with the Ancients, the Loa, and the Titans is not spelled out.
So, in fact, Blizzard has proved that it can, ultimately, pull an expansion out of the aether, and is not totally beholden to the game's past.
That said, there are plenty of dangling threads big enough to support an expansion.
The Old Gods:
We've actually been dealing with the Old Gods for quite a long time, but ironically, we haven't actually fought one in an expansion that centered around them. Vanilla had no real central focus, and C'thun was not even the final boss before 2.0. In fact, C'thun's buddy Yogg-Saron was also upstaged by the Scourge, given that we fought him before moving on to defeat Arthas.
Cataclysm was probably the most Old God-themed expansion yet, but ultimately we were dealing not with them, but with their most powerful servant. Deathwing was a fairly powerful force on his own, with the Black Dragonflight and the Twilight Dragonflight serving him.
We know that there's a real danger in killing an Old God completely, assuming they could each pull of something like the Sha. The Titans seemed to think that the whole planet would be ruined if we did so. Now granted, Pandaria is not totally ruined, and in fact, one could argue that as long as things like the Shado-Pan can keep things under control and the Pandaren lifestyle can continue, the Sha might actually not be as bad as what a living Old God could accomplish. Still, in the short term, it sounds like it's better to just keep them locked away and hidden.
Still, the Old Gods seem like something we're going to have to deal with in a serious way eventually.
The Demons and the Burning Legion:
Sargeras and the Burning Legion are, of course, a huge threat to Azeroth, and Kil'jaeden's defeat at the Sunwell was clearly nothing more than... wait for it... a setback. The Burning Legion is still going strong, and we haven't significantly weakened it since the Third War.
But even though it's pretty clear what the Legion intends for Azeroth, there remain a few mysteries.
The Green Fire chain hinted that the demons currently in the Legion were actually servants of the Titans. Sure, Sargeras turned ages ago, but you have to wonder: what exactly were these demons before the Legion formed? The Nathrezim are supposed to have been the ones who originally corrupted Sargeras (a retcon that was required so that the Draenei would make sense. Originally the Eredar had served this role) but that makes you wonder what made the Nathrezim? After all, the Dreadlords look fairly humanoid. Were they perhaps once a mortal race?
The Titans:
And while we're wondering about the origins of the demons, it stands to reason we'd wonder about the nature of the Titans. Blizzard has been pretty emphatic that the Titans are not gods, exactly. Are they a super-advanced race of mortals? Are they demigods? How did they come about?
And then, of course, are they friendly?
Sargeras clearly isn't our buddy, but what we've seen of the Titans suggests that while they may have created/shaped Azeroth and its people, they appear cold and distant, perhaps unfeeling. We had to fight Algalon pretty damn hard to prevent him from atomizing the planet, and it sounds like it's something he's done plenty of times before. The other Titans may not hate us the way that Sargeras does, but they also might not give a second thought to erasing tens of thousands of years of history in the blink of an eye.
The Naga:
The real question I have about the Naga is to whom they are beholden. Is Azshara another puppet of the Old Gods? After all, she must have struck some kind of deal for her people to be transformed in such a way to survive the Sundering. But on the other hand, before then she was playing host to Sargeras, so she has a close tie with the Burning Legion.
She might, in fact, simply be a master of Machiavellian maneuvering. The Naga pose a huge threat to the world, that's sure, but what is the nature of that threat? Is this a source of monsters that want to see Azeroth annihilated? Or are they conquerers, who would make Garrosh's imperial ambitions look quaint?
The Scourge:
We spent two years in Northrend fighting the Scourge. No previous force had exploded so swiftly into an existential threat for all life on Azeroth. The Scourge devastated Lordaeron and Quel'thalas, and the defeat of Arthas was literally thanks to a miracle.
And the worst part is that we didn't really put a dent into them.
The Scourge is still there, and still strong. For all the abominations and armies of the dead that we put down, we left plenty of fodder for the Scourge to raise. The only lasting thing we did was to remove Arthas as Lich King, but in doing so, we nearly unleashed an unstoppable zombie apocalypse upon the world. It was only through the coronation of Bolvar as Arthas' successor that we managed to stop them.
And if anything happens to Bolvar Fordragon, we're back to square one. Or perhaps worse.
And that's before we even get into Sylvanas. While Garrosh is currently the most visible offender in terms of ruthless conquest and brutal tactics, the Banshee Queen is slowly becoming more and more like the Lich King, raising her own followers and eradicating entire towns with Blight. The Kor'kron were just barely keeping her in check (though not really,) and with the weakening of the Horde in a post-Garrosh world, who's to know what she will accomplish? Might the Forsaken wind up being a greater threat to the world than even the Scourge under Arthas?
In Conclusion:
There are plenty more threats that we might encounter again in WoW, and tons of new plot threads that could emerge. I didn't even talk about the Infinite Dragonflight here (can you ever be sure you've totally dealt with a time-traveling enemy?) or whatever that evil presence under Tirisfal Glades is supposed to be (Blizzard says it's not an Old God.) And of course there can always be new sorts of threats, like the Mogu or the Sha, or internal threats like Garrosh (well... I did mention Sylvanas. Frankly I don't think Jaina's going to wind up going that crazy.)
With Blizzcon now about two months away, I'm very excited to see what is coming next.
And then there was a bunch of stuff that was just plain new: Jinyu, Hozen, Grummles, Saurok. While other expansions had introduced new races and cultures, none had fleshed them out to the degree that the denizens of Pandaria were. Plus, we got new "forces of good" out of the Celestials, whose relationship with the Ancients, the Loa, and the Titans is not spelled out.
So, in fact, Blizzard has proved that it can, ultimately, pull an expansion out of the aether, and is not totally beholden to the game's past.
That said, there are plenty of dangling threads big enough to support an expansion.
The Old Gods:
We've actually been dealing with the Old Gods for quite a long time, but ironically, we haven't actually fought one in an expansion that centered around them. Vanilla had no real central focus, and C'thun was not even the final boss before 2.0. In fact, C'thun's buddy Yogg-Saron was also upstaged by the Scourge, given that we fought him before moving on to defeat Arthas.
Cataclysm was probably the most Old God-themed expansion yet, but ultimately we were dealing not with them, but with their most powerful servant. Deathwing was a fairly powerful force on his own, with the Black Dragonflight and the Twilight Dragonflight serving him.
We know that there's a real danger in killing an Old God completely, assuming they could each pull of something like the Sha. The Titans seemed to think that the whole planet would be ruined if we did so. Now granted, Pandaria is not totally ruined, and in fact, one could argue that as long as things like the Shado-Pan can keep things under control and the Pandaren lifestyle can continue, the Sha might actually not be as bad as what a living Old God could accomplish. Still, in the short term, it sounds like it's better to just keep them locked away and hidden.
Still, the Old Gods seem like something we're going to have to deal with in a serious way eventually.
The Demons and the Burning Legion:
Sargeras and the Burning Legion are, of course, a huge threat to Azeroth, and Kil'jaeden's defeat at the Sunwell was clearly nothing more than... wait for it... a setback. The Burning Legion is still going strong, and we haven't significantly weakened it since the Third War.
But even though it's pretty clear what the Legion intends for Azeroth, there remain a few mysteries.
The Green Fire chain hinted that the demons currently in the Legion were actually servants of the Titans. Sure, Sargeras turned ages ago, but you have to wonder: what exactly were these demons before the Legion formed? The Nathrezim are supposed to have been the ones who originally corrupted Sargeras (a retcon that was required so that the Draenei would make sense. Originally the Eredar had served this role) but that makes you wonder what made the Nathrezim? After all, the Dreadlords look fairly humanoid. Were they perhaps once a mortal race?
The Titans:
And while we're wondering about the origins of the demons, it stands to reason we'd wonder about the nature of the Titans. Blizzard has been pretty emphatic that the Titans are not gods, exactly. Are they a super-advanced race of mortals? Are they demigods? How did they come about?
And then, of course, are they friendly?
Sargeras clearly isn't our buddy, but what we've seen of the Titans suggests that while they may have created/shaped Azeroth and its people, they appear cold and distant, perhaps unfeeling. We had to fight Algalon pretty damn hard to prevent him from atomizing the planet, and it sounds like it's something he's done plenty of times before. The other Titans may not hate us the way that Sargeras does, but they also might not give a second thought to erasing tens of thousands of years of history in the blink of an eye.
The Naga:
The real question I have about the Naga is to whom they are beholden. Is Azshara another puppet of the Old Gods? After all, she must have struck some kind of deal for her people to be transformed in such a way to survive the Sundering. But on the other hand, before then she was playing host to Sargeras, so she has a close tie with the Burning Legion.
She might, in fact, simply be a master of Machiavellian maneuvering. The Naga pose a huge threat to the world, that's sure, but what is the nature of that threat? Is this a source of monsters that want to see Azeroth annihilated? Or are they conquerers, who would make Garrosh's imperial ambitions look quaint?
The Scourge:
We spent two years in Northrend fighting the Scourge. No previous force had exploded so swiftly into an existential threat for all life on Azeroth. The Scourge devastated Lordaeron and Quel'thalas, and the defeat of Arthas was literally thanks to a miracle.
And the worst part is that we didn't really put a dent into them.
The Scourge is still there, and still strong. For all the abominations and armies of the dead that we put down, we left plenty of fodder for the Scourge to raise. The only lasting thing we did was to remove Arthas as Lich King, but in doing so, we nearly unleashed an unstoppable zombie apocalypse upon the world. It was only through the coronation of Bolvar as Arthas' successor that we managed to stop them.
And if anything happens to Bolvar Fordragon, we're back to square one. Or perhaps worse.
And that's before we even get into Sylvanas. While Garrosh is currently the most visible offender in terms of ruthless conquest and brutal tactics, the Banshee Queen is slowly becoming more and more like the Lich King, raising her own followers and eradicating entire towns with Blight. The Kor'kron were just barely keeping her in check (though not really,) and with the weakening of the Horde in a post-Garrosh world, who's to know what she will accomplish? Might the Forsaken wind up being a greater threat to the world than even the Scourge under Arthas?
In Conclusion:
There are plenty more threats that we might encounter again in WoW, and tons of new plot threads that could emerge. I didn't even talk about the Infinite Dragonflight here (can you ever be sure you've totally dealt with a time-traveling enemy?) or whatever that evil presence under Tirisfal Glades is supposed to be (Blizzard says it's not an Old God.) And of course there can always be new sorts of threats, like the Mogu or the Sha, or internal threats like Garrosh (well... I did mention Sylvanas. Frankly I don't think Jaina's going to wind up going that crazy.)
With Blizzcon now about two months away, I'm very excited to see what is coming next.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
A Surprising Lack of Lore Reveals
We're now less than a week away from the release of 5.4 and the final raid of Mists of Pandaria. As I said in my previous post, we still know nothing about the next expansion except that it might or might not be named "The Dark Below," (which we technically always knew) and that it appears it will have us leveling to 100.
But there's actually some stuff we don't even know about the events of Mists. We don't actually know if Garrosh will be dead at the end of this: there's even a vision you get while working with the Timewalkers that seems to show Garrosh as a prisoner of the Shado-Pan (though as a vision, who the hell knows whether this will come to pass?)
Wrath of the Lich King introduced the first full-motion cutscenes to actual gameplay (using in-game graphics, but augmented somewhat and pre-rendered.) While the Wrathgate was the first true cutscene in the game, we also got a short epilogue that showed Arthas' death and the coronation of Bolvar Fordragon as the new Lich King (hopefully not evil this time!) Likewise, Dragon Soul had a number of cutscenes, leading us between various phases of the raid and giving us a similar epilogue that announced the Age of Mortals and also some fishy logic regarding the purpose of the Aspects.
So far we have not seen any such thing for Siege of Orgrimmar. Perhaps they're just saving it to prevent us from spoiling ourselves. Supposedly, each faction will get a slightly different ending, but it does seem we'll be seeing what happens to the Horde in the aftermath of all of this.
For the Alliance, this whole conflict is external. Everyone can go home to Stormwind feeling like they did some good (though the Horde is not inherently evil like the Scourge or Twilight's Hammer, so it won't just be a question of massacring the place and riding off into the sunset.) The Horde, however, is going to have a huge mess on their hands. As far as I know, it's not like Vol'jin has challenged Garrosh in a mak'gora (and our participation in the raid fight might harm his credibility in a duel.) So it's not like there's any kind of orderly transition of power here. Much of the raid will be dedicated to uprooting the entire security structure of Orgrimmar, and while Vol'jin is sure to be popular for his efforts to oust Garrosh, there's bound to be some people who object to his taking the mantle.
Thrall proved himself by assembling the Horde as it stands today. He won over the Orcs by besting Doomhammer in a duel (not to mention the fact that Orgrim brought him on as a protégé) and then brought in the Darkspear, Tauren, Forsaken, Blood Elves (though that was really more Sylvanas) and Goblins. Garrosh had credibility because he had Thrall's blessing, though he clearly squandered that good will pretty damn quickly (killing Cairne was not exactly a PR coup.) But Vol'jin will have to contend with Orcs who might want to maintain Garrosh's ways, only with a different leader, or he might have to deal with a Sylvanas who now has a huge opportunity to wrest more power away from Orgrimmar (I am betting we're going to see those Abominations back in Undercity before too long.) Hell, even his closer supporters might point out that the Darkspear don't really have the manpower to keep Orgrimmar secure.
And even though I kind of dismissed the Alliance two paragraphs ago, the fact is that they're not just going to leave. If I were Varian, I'd certainly want to help the Horde rebuild, the same way that the Allied forces tried to rebuild Germany after WWII. I would want to help reconstruct the Horde, but in a way that it would no longer pose a threat to me. That means putting a treaty together where the Horde had to allow Alliance forces to occupy Orgrimmar. Sure, we'd try to make sure that the city was getting back in order (lest another Garrosh type rise up under the perception that the Alliance was keeping them down) but I'd also disarm them, dismantling their military-industrial base and force a sympathetic government to form.
Frankly, whether through Alliance influence or Horde weariness, I think the very title of Warchief could be abolished.
But the point is: we don't really know yet, do we? The whole story for 5.4 is largely kept under wraps for now. I'm certain that the aftermath of the Siege of Orgrimmar will resonate for several expansions to come. But at this moment, the future is pretty damned murky. I expect it will be far less so on the 10th.
But there's actually some stuff we don't even know about the events of Mists. We don't actually know if Garrosh will be dead at the end of this: there's even a vision you get while working with the Timewalkers that seems to show Garrosh as a prisoner of the Shado-Pan (though as a vision, who the hell knows whether this will come to pass?)
Wrath of the Lich King introduced the first full-motion cutscenes to actual gameplay (using in-game graphics, but augmented somewhat and pre-rendered.) While the Wrathgate was the first true cutscene in the game, we also got a short epilogue that showed Arthas' death and the coronation of Bolvar Fordragon as the new Lich King (hopefully not evil this time!) Likewise, Dragon Soul had a number of cutscenes, leading us between various phases of the raid and giving us a similar epilogue that announced the Age of Mortals and also some fishy logic regarding the purpose of the Aspects.
So far we have not seen any such thing for Siege of Orgrimmar. Perhaps they're just saving it to prevent us from spoiling ourselves. Supposedly, each faction will get a slightly different ending, but it does seem we'll be seeing what happens to the Horde in the aftermath of all of this.
For the Alliance, this whole conflict is external. Everyone can go home to Stormwind feeling like they did some good (though the Horde is not inherently evil like the Scourge or Twilight's Hammer, so it won't just be a question of massacring the place and riding off into the sunset.) The Horde, however, is going to have a huge mess on their hands. As far as I know, it's not like Vol'jin has challenged Garrosh in a mak'gora (and our participation in the raid fight might harm his credibility in a duel.) So it's not like there's any kind of orderly transition of power here. Much of the raid will be dedicated to uprooting the entire security structure of Orgrimmar, and while Vol'jin is sure to be popular for his efforts to oust Garrosh, there's bound to be some people who object to his taking the mantle.
Thrall proved himself by assembling the Horde as it stands today. He won over the Orcs by besting Doomhammer in a duel (not to mention the fact that Orgrim brought him on as a protégé) and then brought in the Darkspear, Tauren, Forsaken, Blood Elves (though that was really more Sylvanas) and Goblins. Garrosh had credibility because he had Thrall's blessing, though he clearly squandered that good will pretty damn quickly (killing Cairne was not exactly a PR coup.) But Vol'jin will have to contend with Orcs who might want to maintain Garrosh's ways, only with a different leader, or he might have to deal with a Sylvanas who now has a huge opportunity to wrest more power away from Orgrimmar (I am betting we're going to see those Abominations back in Undercity before too long.) Hell, even his closer supporters might point out that the Darkspear don't really have the manpower to keep Orgrimmar secure.
And even though I kind of dismissed the Alliance two paragraphs ago, the fact is that they're not just going to leave. If I were Varian, I'd certainly want to help the Horde rebuild, the same way that the Allied forces tried to rebuild Germany after WWII. I would want to help reconstruct the Horde, but in a way that it would no longer pose a threat to me. That means putting a treaty together where the Horde had to allow Alliance forces to occupy Orgrimmar. Sure, we'd try to make sure that the city was getting back in order (lest another Garrosh type rise up under the perception that the Alliance was keeping them down) but I'd also disarm them, dismantling their military-industrial base and force a sympathetic government to form.
Frankly, whether through Alliance influence or Horde weariness, I think the very title of Warchief could be abolished.
But the point is: we don't really know yet, do we? The whole story for 5.4 is largely kept under wraps for now. I'm certain that the aftermath of the Siege of Orgrimmar will resonate for several expansions to come. But at this moment, the future is pretty damned murky. I expect it will be far less so on the 10th.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
The Calm after the Siege
I was not as much of a WoW-news junkie when Wrath of the Lich King was announced. I remember seeing the in-game graphic trailer and getting insanely excited about the Death Knight (and they were everything I hoped for... *satisfied sigh,*) but I wasn't following every bit of news about patches and such. It was in the fall of '08 that I started reading WoW Insider's "Ask a Beta Tester" which later became "The Queue," and I started following the cycle of WoW's expansions and patches fairly closely.
During both Wrath and Cataclysm, the final patches brought in the last big raid tier. In both cases, the patches were previewed during that year's Blizzcon, and in both cases, that preview was a sort of side-show next to the big news about the subsequent expansion.
In fact, the original trailer for Cataclysm, with its old Worgen models, began with a quick little sneak peak at Icecrown Citadel. So, in fact, we were already anticipating Deathwing before we had ever killed Lord Marrowgar. Similarly, before we did our first LFR runs and battled up to Wyrmrest Temple through a siege of elementals, we had already discovered that there would be Pandaren and Monks running around.
Not so this time around. Siege of Orgrimmar is coming out on September 10th, and while they have said there will be a pre-expansion patch (hopefully with an event like the first three expansions,) we will still not know what is coming next by the time we mount our charge against the Kor'kron forces.
We have heard nothing out of Blizzard of expansion five. Given the trademark leaks of Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, I am inclined to believe that the next expansion will be called "The Dark Below," but as I've explored in previous articles, that's still not a lot to go on, given that it could imply anything from Azshara and her Naga to the Burning Legion. But that's even assuming that we got the name right (again, I am leaning toward yes on TDB, which would surely be abbreviated that way.) Notice that Blizzard has never come out and denied it? Not proof, but that certainly maintains the possibility.
This raises some interesting questions regarding how long it will take for the expansion to drop. Now, Blizzard has obviously been working on expansion 5 for a long time now. In fact, they claim that they're always working on the next expansion and the one after that. Still, a lot of that initial work has to go through tons of iterations.
Given the response to Cataclysm, I think we can make the assumption that this will, once again, have a connected continent of zones. It appears that we're going up to level 100, which I've argued means we're going to see both a bigger continent (more on the order of Northrend, rather than Pandaria, which is a bit smaller) and potentially deal with a bigger enemy (which is my main reason for not believing it's about Azshara.)
But a big continent means more work for the world designers. If we have more quests to do, that also means more work (though I think it's more likely they'll just make each level require fewer XP. Wrath and BC had zones in which you spent more than one level - so did Cataclysm, actually)
Of course, the big rebuttal to all of this is that the preview of an expansion does not necessarily have to come at a particular point in its development cycle. It took more than a year for Cataclysm to come out after it was first announced, but that was largely due to the fact that they (and they have admitted to this) did not realize how much time the old-world revamp would take. Initially, they seemed to think it would involve just adding a few quests here and there, but when you look at zones like Hillsbrad or Stonetalon Mountains, you can see that this was an enormous project.
Thankfully, Mists has shown that without the burden of an old-world revamp they can focus more of their resources on the new stuff (Isle of Thunder feels more like a full zone than Quel'danas or the Molten Front ever did. Let's see how the Timeless Isle works out.)
But the question on everyone's mind is, of course, when the next expansion will drop. Wrath and Cataclysm both suffered from an extremely long period without a patch. Wrath added in the Ruby Sanctum as a kind of prologue to Cataclysm, but in both cases, it took roughly a year before any new raid tier came out. While this was great for Altoholics like me, giving us the time to gear up, it also meant that people got bored with what were supposed to be the most exciting raids.
We have yet to hear one detail about the new expansion. Do we get playable Naga? Demon Hunters? Who knows? Do we want to spend a year besieging Orgrimmar? While the raid looks amazing (with 14 bosses, it's tied for second largest raid ever - though it cheats because the Vale of Eternal Sorrows part of it probably makes sense as its own raid) I still have to imagine that, especially in the era of LFR, we're going to be pretty much done with it in less than a year.
Blizzcon is in November, so we will know at least the nature of the expansion by then, but if I were Blizzard, I would definitely want it to launch in the first half of 2014.
During both Wrath and Cataclysm, the final patches brought in the last big raid tier. In both cases, the patches were previewed during that year's Blizzcon, and in both cases, that preview was a sort of side-show next to the big news about the subsequent expansion.
In fact, the original trailer for Cataclysm, with its old Worgen models, began with a quick little sneak peak at Icecrown Citadel. So, in fact, we were already anticipating Deathwing before we had ever killed Lord Marrowgar. Similarly, before we did our first LFR runs and battled up to Wyrmrest Temple through a siege of elementals, we had already discovered that there would be Pandaren and Monks running around.
Not so this time around. Siege of Orgrimmar is coming out on September 10th, and while they have said there will be a pre-expansion patch (hopefully with an event like the first three expansions,) we will still not know what is coming next by the time we mount our charge against the Kor'kron forces.
We have heard nothing out of Blizzard of expansion five. Given the trademark leaks of Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, I am inclined to believe that the next expansion will be called "The Dark Below," but as I've explored in previous articles, that's still not a lot to go on, given that it could imply anything from Azshara and her Naga to the Burning Legion. But that's even assuming that we got the name right (again, I am leaning toward yes on TDB, which would surely be abbreviated that way.) Notice that Blizzard has never come out and denied it? Not proof, but that certainly maintains the possibility.
This raises some interesting questions regarding how long it will take for the expansion to drop. Now, Blizzard has obviously been working on expansion 5 for a long time now. In fact, they claim that they're always working on the next expansion and the one after that. Still, a lot of that initial work has to go through tons of iterations.
Given the response to Cataclysm, I think we can make the assumption that this will, once again, have a connected continent of zones. It appears that we're going up to level 100, which I've argued means we're going to see both a bigger continent (more on the order of Northrend, rather than Pandaria, which is a bit smaller) and potentially deal with a bigger enemy (which is my main reason for not believing it's about Azshara.)
But a big continent means more work for the world designers. If we have more quests to do, that also means more work (though I think it's more likely they'll just make each level require fewer XP. Wrath and BC had zones in which you spent more than one level - so did Cataclysm, actually)
Of course, the big rebuttal to all of this is that the preview of an expansion does not necessarily have to come at a particular point in its development cycle. It took more than a year for Cataclysm to come out after it was first announced, but that was largely due to the fact that they (and they have admitted to this) did not realize how much time the old-world revamp would take. Initially, they seemed to think it would involve just adding a few quests here and there, but when you look at zones like Hillsbrad or Stonetalon Mountains, you can see that this was an enormous project.
Thankfully, Mists has shown that without the burden of an old-world revamp they can focus more of their resources on the new stuff (Isle of Thunder feels more like a full zone than Quel'danas or the Molten Front ever did. Let's see how the Timeless Isle works out.)
But the question on everyone's mind is, of course, when the next expansion will drop. Wrath and Cataclysm both suffered from an extremely long period without a patch. Wrath added in the Ruby Sanctum as a kind of prologue to Cataclysm, but in both cases, it took roughly a year before any new raid tier came out. While this was great for Altoholics like me, giving us the time to gear up, it also meant that people got bored with what were supposed to be the most exciting raids.
We have yet to hear one detail about the new expansion. Do we get playable Naga? Demon Hunters? Who knows? Do we want to spend a year besieging Orgrimmar? While the raid looks amazing (with 14 bosses, it's tied for second largest raid ever - though it cheats because the Vale of Eternal Sorrows part of it probably makes sense as its own raid) I still have to imagine that, especially in the era of LFR, we're going to be pretty much done with it in less than a year.
Blizzcon is in November, so we will know at least the nature of the expansion by then, but if I were Blizzard, I would definitely want it to launch in the first half of 2014.
The Timeless Isle and the Infinites
In the midst of all the escalation that will ultimately lead to a battle in the Horde's central capital, we will also be granted access to a strange place: the Timeless Isle.
The Timeless Isle seems to appear from time to time, always locked in time, such that it is always sunset there. This could be a window into the past, or a vision of the future. Why has it appeared? What is its significance?
Let's rewind (or time-travel, if you will) back to the end of Cataclysm. Deathwing's rampage across Azeroth required the other four Aspects to unite, along with Thrall, to defeat the Worldbreaker. In order to do so, we used the Caverns of Time in order to travel back to the War of the Ancients, to retrieve the Dragon Soul before it became corrupted, so that we could use it against Deathwing. Yet in order to do that, we first had to defeat Murozond, the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight. Finally, we had confirmation: Murozond was none other than a future version of Nozdormu. The Aspect of Time had been granted a vision of his own demise by Aman'thul, and knowing what he would become, orchestrated the whole thing, even watching his own future death as he he aided us with the Hourglass of Eternity.
And yet, time is pretty slippery. After all, we defeated Deathwing before he could bring about the Hour of Twilight. So the future in which Murozond died never occurred. Is Nozdormu off the hook? Or has his loss of power led instead to the very madness that will ultimately corrupt him?
While the Timeless Isle is not quest-heavy, it does appear that there is a plot that will slowly be revealed. With the de-powering of the Aspects, reducing the dragons to mere mortals, the Keepers of Time can no longer patrol the timeways to keep them safe. Instead, the mortal Timewalkers have arisen to fill that role.
Yet there appears to be a traitor in their midst. What might this traitor's goal be? And is Nozdormu involved in the Timewalkers' activities? Have we averted the creation of the Infinites? Or guaranteed their eventuality?
Why are we dealing with a time-travel themed area now? This is, after all, the first expansion where we have not once encountered the Infinite Dragonflight or spent any time in the Caverns of Time. Is the Timeless Isle connected to them? In some ways, it seems to be the opposite.
Going into pure speculation mode: While I loved the fight, I was always a little disappointed that we beat Murozond in a simple 5-man dungeon. Here was a corrupted Aspect, just as if not more dangerous than Deathwing. Sure, Malygos went down relatively easy (if your raid could handle the drakes) but having mastery over time seems like a real gamebreaker ability. Yet perhaps the defeat of Murozond was just a demonstration of how dangerous he really is. We defeated him in one reality, but given that he knows exactly how he will die, he could easily have created multiple timelines. When Deathwing was killed, Nozdormu used his powers to ensure that Deathwing would be killed at a kind of time-nexus, utterly ensuring his destruction (no backsies.) Not so with Murozond. Perhaps that first encounter was only the first time we would meet him. Hell, he could even still die in that cancelled timeline (somehow,) but he's a time-traveler! He could have been thousands of years older than he is now when we killed him, with plenty of time to crush, kill, and destroy. In fact, by ensuring that he would die at that exact time, he's given himself a sort of causality-enforced invincibility for the time being.
We've been dealing with the Infinites since the Burning Crusade. But for all we know, they haven't even been created yet.
Sure, we're probably meant to believe that the Timeless Isle is our last little trip to enjoy Pandaria before we head off to new lands, but it might be far more important.
A time-traveling foe has the potential to be more dangerous than the Burning Legion and the Old Gods combined. When you can mess with the nature of causality, you can do practically anything.
I know we're all pretty sure that the next expansion will be "The Dark Below," and it may indeed be so. On the other hand, consider this: Sinestra was experimenting with the Netherdrakes in Shadowmoon Valley two whole expansions before we had to deal with the Twilight Dragonflight. Sure, you might figure that after Endtime, the whole Infinite Dragonflight plotline is finished, but what if it's all been setup?
What if the timeline will soon (as if that term has any meaning regarding time travel) be manipulated beyond recognition?
The Timeless Isle seems to appear from time to time, always locked in time, such that it is always sunset there. This could be a window into the past, or a vision of the future. Why has it appeared? What is its significance?
Let's rewind (or time-travel, if you will) back to the end of Cataclysm. Deathwing's rampage across Azeroth required the other four Aspects to unite, along with Thrall, to defeat the Worldbreaker. In order to do so, we used the Caverns of Time in order to travel back to the War of the Ancients, to retrieve the Dragon Soul before it became corrupted, so that we could use it against Deathwing. Yet in order to do that, we first had to defeat Murozond, the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight. Finally, we had confirmation: Murozond was none other than a future version of Nozdormu. The Aspect of Time had been granted a vision of his own demise by Aman'thul, and knowing what he would become, orchestrated the whole thing, even watching his own future death as he he aided us with the Hourglass of Eternity.
And yet, time is pretty slippery. After all, we defeated Deathwing before he could bring about the Hour of Twilight. So the future in which Murozond died never occurred. Is Nozdormu off the hook? Or has his loss of power led instead to the very madness that will ultimately corrupt him?
While the Timeless Isle is not quest-heavy, it does appear that there is a plot that will slowly be revealed. With the de-powering of the Aspects, reducing the dragons to mere mortals, the Keepers of Time can no longer patrol the timeways to keep them safe. Instead, the mortal Timewalkers have arisen to fill that role.
Yet there appears to be a traitor in their midst. What might this traitor's goal be? And is Nozdormu involved in the Timewalkers' activities? Have we averted the creation of the Infinites? Or guaranteed their eventuality?
Why are we dealing with a time-travel themed area now? This is, after all, the first expansion where we have not once encountered the Infinite Dragonflight or spent any time in the Caverns of Time. Is the Timeless Isle connected to them? In some ways, it seems to be the opposite.
Going into pure speculation mode: While I loved the fight, I was always a little disappointed that we beat Murozond in a simple 5-man dungeon. Here was a corrupted Aspect, just as if not more dangerous than Deathwing. Sure, Malygos went down relatively easy (if your raid could handle the drakes) but having mastery over time seems like a real gamebreaker ability. Yet perhaps the defeat of Murozond was just a demonstration of how dangerous he really is. We defeated him in one reality, but given that he knows exactly how he will die, he could easily have created multiple timelines. When Deathwing was killed, Nozdormu used his powers to ensure that Deathwing would be killed at a kind of time-nexus, utterly ensuring his destruction (no backsies.) Not so with Murozond. Perhaps that first encounter was only the first time we would meet him. Hell, he could even still die in that cancelled timeline (somehow,) but he's a time-traveler! He could have been thousands of years older than he is now when we killed him, with plenty of time to crush, kill, and destroy. In fact, by ensuring that he would die at that exact time, he's given himself a sort of causality-enforced invincibility for the time being.
We've been dealing with the Infinites since the Burning Crusade. But for all we know, they haven't even been created yet.
Sure, we're probably meant to believe that the Timeless Isle is our last little trip to enjoy Pandaria before we head off to new lands, but it might be far more important.
A time-traveling foe has the potential to be more dangerous than the Burning Legion and the Old Gods combined. When you can mess with the nature of causality, you can do practically anything.
I know we're all pretty sure that the next expansion will be "The Dark Below," and it may indeed be so. On the other hand, consider this: Sinestra was experimenting with the Netherdrakes in Shadowmoon Valley two whole expansions before we had to deal with the Twilight Dragonflight. Sure, you might figure that after Endtime, the whole Infinite Dragonflight plotline is finished, but what if it's all been setup?
What if the timeline will soon (as if that term has any meaning regarding time travel) be manipulated beyond recognition?
Whoops, Naxxramas is still the biggest...
For some reason I was convinced that Siege of Orgrimmar had sixteen bosses. In fact it has fourteen. Admittedly, that still makes it a huge raid, but it does leave Naxxramas as the king with fifteen bosses.
To recap:
Siege of Orgrimmar begins in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, though it is now called the Vale of Eternal Sorrows, thanks to Garrosh's dumping of the heart of Y'shaarj into the waters of the vale (somehow I knew that well-like structure would be important.)
There are four bosses in this section: Immerseus (a water elemental that represents the waters of the vale and is corrupted by the Sha,) the Corrupted Protectors (members of the Golden Lotus who have similarly been corrupted,) Norushen (a Titan construct/proto-mogu who is actually just helping us while we fight the the Amalgam of Corruption) and the Sha of Pride.
From here, the attack on Orgrimmar truly begins.
Landing at Bladefist Bay, we launch our attack outside the walls of the city by fighting Galakras, Warlord Zaela's proto-drake (not sure where she is in all of this.) Then, at the gates of Orgirmmar, we face the Iron Juggernaut, a massive mechanical scorpion tank. Next, fighting our way into the Valley of Strength, we encounter the Dark Shaman. From there, we fight our way down the Drag and into the Cleft of Shadow, and finally make our way into Ragefire Chasm, which Garrosh has turned into a great big fortress.
It is here that we fight the honorable General Nazgrim (a tragic encounter, given that he's our friend and he doesn't want to fight us. Well, Horde-side at least.) That more or less ends the fight through the recognizable parts of Orgrimmar.
The next encounter is with Malkorok, Garrosh's number 2, who is apparently a total monster, and has allowed himself to be dosed with Y'shaarj's essence, mutating him and giving him great power. Next, we come across the Spoils of Pandaria, which is one of those unconventional boss fights where there isn't really a "boss" per se. Instead we open up cages and crates and have to fight what we find there.
Next, we fight Thok the Bloodthirsty, which is a giant armored Devilsaur who eats various prisoners and gains powers from them. Then comes Siegemaster Blackfuse, a goblin tinker who has a bunch of crazy gadgets. From there, we finally face the Paragons of the Klaxxi. As much as we enjoyed fighting alongside them, they did make their allegiance to the Old Gods clear.
And finally, we come to Garrosh himself, in his new throne room.
So, fourteen bosses. It may not be as many as Naxxramas, but it's still a huge raid, and I am very excited for it.
To recap:
Siege of Orgrimmar begins in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, though it is now called the Vale of Eternal Sorrows, thanks to Garrosh's dumping of the heart of Y'shaarj into the waters of the vale (somehow I knew that well-like structure would be important.)
There are four bosses in this section: Immerseus (a water elemental that represents the waters of the vale and is corrupted by the Sha,) the Corrupted Protectors (members of the Golden Lotus who have similarly been corrupted,) Norushen (a Titan construct/proto-mogu who is actually just helping us while we fight the the Amalgam of Corruption) and the Sha of Pride.
From here, the attack on Orgrimmar truly begins.
Landing at Bladefist Bay, we launch our attack outside the walls of the city by fighting Galakras, Warlord Zaela's proto-drake (not sure where she is in all of this.) Then, at the gates of Orgirmmar, we face the Iron Juggernaut, a massive mechanical scorpion tank. Next, fighting our way into the Valley of Strength, we encounter the Dark Shaman. From there, we fight our way down the Drag and into the Cleft of Shadow, and finally make our way into Ragefire Chasm, which Garrosh has turned into a great big fortress.
It is here that we fight the honorable General Nazgrim (a tragic encounter, given that he's our friend and he doesn't want to fight us. Well, Horde-side at least.) That more or less ends the fight through the recognizable parts of Orgrimmar.
The next encounter is with Malkorok, Garrosh's number 2, who is apparently a total monster, and has allowed himself to be dosed with Y'shaarj's essence, mutating him and giving him great power. Next, we come across the Spoils of Pandaria, which is one of those unconventional boss fights where there isn't really a "boss" per se. Instead we open up cages and crates and have to fight what we find there.
Next, we fight Thok the Bloodthirsty, which is a giant armored Devilsaur who eats various prisoners and gains powers from them. Then comes Siegemaster Blackfuse, a goblin tinker who has a bunch of crazy gadgets. From there, we finally face the Paragons of the Klaxxi. As much as we enjoyed fighting alongside them, they did make their allegiance to the Old Gods clear.
And finally, we come to Garrosh himself, in his new throne room.
So, fourteen bosses. It may not be as many as Naxxramas, but it's still a huge raid, and I am very excited for it.
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