Warlords of Draenor occupies a peculiar place among
World of Warcraft
’s expansions, remembered equally fondly as well as dismally. There were many reasons for this, but the consensus is that although the content was enjoyable, there was far too little of it. But all that could change in the next few years.
World of Warcraft
Classic
has been steadily munching through the earlier years of the franchise, striking a careful balance between keeping things as they were and ensuring a fresh, exciting experience. Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion on the menu, which will inevitably lead to Warlords of Draenor following on. Instead of merely rehashing this expansion in all its grave imperfections, however, Classic
WoW
is presented with a tantalizing opportunity.
Regions That Were Overlooked in World of Warcraft
In many ways, Warlords of Draenor was designed to be a reliving of the game’s
First expansion, The Burning Crusade
Players finally got their chance to witness Draenor in all its splendor before the Legion and its repercussions shattered and tainted the world. Among the wonders they could admire was Karabor, the temple that would later be defiled by demons and ultimately become home to Illidan Stormrage.
The Immaculate Cathedral of Draenic Splendor
Karabor is located within theShadowmoon Valley region, showcasing pristine unspoiled landscapes. However, apart from a few quests exclusive to Alliance characters, there isn’t really any incentive to go there. The area remains inaccessible with no entry points, and you won’t find any non-player characters there either.
Burning Crusade, Akama the Broken
explains how he had to witness as his cherished temple transformed into an abominable lair for malevolent desires, though gamers never get to explore its splendid history. Karabor was actually meant to serve as the Alliance’s main city on Draenor, a role that could have bestowed upon it the admiration it merited; however, those ambitions were never realized.
The Zangar Sea, a Region Unmatched by Any Player Has Encountered
The alien swamplands of Zangarmarsh are quite a spectacle in Outland, yet imagining this marsh when it thrived beneath the sea, before being lifted from the waters, would be absolutely stunning. The Zangar Sea doesn’t amount to much nowadays.
check out in Warlords of Draenor
, yet it was meant to be far grander. The region’s past stretches over millennia, dating back to when the colossal and malevolent Sporemound named Zang met its demise. Upon its death, Zang’s corpse transformed into a vast fungal ecosystem now enveloped under an ocean. This underwater realm hosts marine life uniquely acclimated to these conditions, featuring marvels unseen by players until now, such as a fungal whale—a formidable world boss.
The Missing Ogre Continent
The rich history of the ogre race has long remained mysterious, and
Warlords of Draenor intended
To develop them much further than it did. After all, they are the primary adversaries of the orcs, yet whereas the latter utilized shamanistic techniques, ogres excelled at arcane magic. There exists an unnamed ogre continent offshore from Draenor, though this concept never came into being. It might have been the genuine source of ogre strength beyond Highmaul, free from orc opposition and unrestrained prowess.
The Region That Turned Into Outland’s Netherstorm
Holding up a
a map of Draenor converted to one of Outland
The similarities are clear. However, one area stands out dramatically, appearing in “Outland” but entirely absent from its “WoD” equivalent. Netherstorm is an intriguing zone, brimming with volatile arcane energies. Interestingly, this territory was once called Farahlon and featured a beautiful island that players were meant to explore. Its absence from Draenor’s map isn’t due to a storyline gap; rather, it resulted from cuts made during content development.
Additional Overlooked Area Material
- Shattrath City, a highly recognizable spot, was originally planned as a full-scale raid, but ended up being transformed into a less impressive dungeon instead.
- The Bladespire Citadel was intended to serve as the capital of the Horde, but ended up being featured only in one specific quest line instead.
- The garrisons were intended to offer complete customization options and resemble player housing more closely.
- The Grimrail, which offered a speedy travel method through an operational railroad across different zones, was discontinued.
Why The Warlords of Draenor Had a Fragmented Narrative
In another aspect where World of Darkness faltered significantly was within its lore. The narrative presented a disappointing blend of high expectations and unsatisfactory conclusions. Characters that fans looked forward to seeing realized turned out to be mere shadows of themselves, pushed into contrived scenarios to compensate for omitted story arcs. This letdown was quite evident.
Warlords of Draenor’s cinematic trailer
offered a universe dominated by victorious conquerors who yielded to nobody. Here’s a summation of the different storytelling traps mentioned:
- Figures such as Yrel and Maraad, along with villains like Orgrim, Kargath, and Grommash, were intended to have deep backstories and clear motivations. However, they either met premature ends or took actions contradictory to what one would expect based on their established traits.
- Grommash Hellscream was initially slated to be the concluding antagonist of the expansion, yet he was substituted with Archimonde, which resulted in notable plot discrepancies.
- Because of this, Gorehowl as a legendary weapon was never implemented.
- An expanded description of precisely how Garrosh traveled back in time was intended, along with details about his destination. However, these elements were neither displayed nor clarified within the game itself.
- In lore terms, players were meant to utilize the power of the Bronze Dragonflight for time travel; however, these dragons did not appear within the narrative.
-
Because of reductions in story development, there was not enough clarity regarding how the events in Warlords of Draenor resulted in demons invading Azeroth at this point in time.
WoW: Legion
.
The most
critical failure, which occurs in Warlords of Draenor
The main concern revolves around the squandered potential. It remains uncertain if this was because of limited time, reduced funding, or creative disagreements; however, as much as one-third of the planned concepts for this expansion did not make it into the final product. Missing raids, non-existent capital cities, pared-down zones, and omitted world bosses all indicate significant effort went into elements that were ultimately left unused.
WoW
Could put into action this content, showcasing the genuine Warlords of Draenor as intended.