[SPOILERS] Why do you hate Illidan?

[Zeek Daniels]

More like cillit banged him. It was nice to have character who didn't care about morals to get shit done and was hated for it, now all he ever did was never wrong on any level.

When was it ever stated that all he did was never wrong on any level? The night elves still imprisoned him, clearly he did something wrong, The night elves then banished him, Clearly he did somthing wrong, We killed him in Black Temple because he was doing somthing wrong. Why are you saying the story is being changed to make it so that he did nothing wrong. He did plenty wrong. He committed mass atrocities which is evil even tho he did it for a good reason.

Its like the US nuking japan killing civilians and spreading radiation. It was evil and wrong but we did it to stop more deaths.

[Irian]

I think the problem is how overly cliched and edgy he is. The whole "child of light and darkness" lore bit that was revealed sounds like something out of a shitty fanfic, let's be real.

Originally, pre-Legion, his story was supposed to parallel with Malfurion.
Illidan born with a great future (which we later find out, his golden eyes are actually a sign of great druidic potential) whereas Malfurion was the forgotten other twin.
Malfurion tries hard in the shadow of his naturally talented brother, whereas Illidan rests on his laurels and becomes frustrated when Cenarius won't teach him because he's not applying himself to druidism.
Malfurion finds his path in natural druidism, whereas Illidan is naturally good at the arcane and eventually gives himself (out of perceived necessity, but also in pursuit of power) to demon magic and loses his esteemed golden eyes. Malfurion eventually ends up being arguably the strongest mortal on Azeroth who reshapes the entire culture of his people. Illidan becomes a shunned outcast.

Illidan had a story that, while he got killed off pretty unceremoniously, fit together really well. Now, saying he actually does have a future of greatness just seems kinda hokey and completely breaks the narrative they were telling. Giving Illidan a "great purpose" kills what made his character really interesting; that, despite the fact that his methods were harsh, brutal and survivalist, he never swayed in his purpose and he always acted on behalf of Azeroth and his people. Throwing in the naaru bullshit just muddles his story really hard. It's not enough to make me dislike him but I can understand why others would.

[Wildmoon]

WC3, yes. Triology? No. Surely, he was arrogant and selfish, gaining power and proving himself better than Malfurion was one (well, two) of his goals and may or may not be more prioritized. However, defeating the Legion (and thus, saving Azeroth) was always there since the moment he decided to join the Highborn / Legion side. He did those for defeating the Legion, just that it's not the only goal (whether it is most important goal or not is also in question). Otherwise, he wouldn't need to worry about Sargeras detecting his thoughts.

Not really. The post I quoted said that everything bad he did he did for Azeroth. That was never for WC3 nor the trilogy. The event where he drained other mage almost to death was him being a total asshole. It was absolutely unneccessary. He led Varo'then to Also the one time he intended to crush Brox to death in the cage too. He and Varo'then also intercepted and took the dragon soul from Malfurion when it was obvious that the artifact would be better in the hand of the rebels.

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Nah. Its to show us that illidan has always been what he has always been. He is not misunderstood. People know what he is. He is a guy who will do what ever is necessary to achieve his goals. During War of the Ancients, During Warcraft 3, During The Frozen Throne, During the burning crusade.

We never misunderstood him. We just didnt know his greater goal in TBC. The person i quoted makes it seem as if all his past sins will be hidden in this expansion.

This questline shows they will not and expands them as we see just how far illidan is willing to go. The illidan novel i believe does a similar thing where illidan goes into Auchindoun and sacrifices his forces while he gains the knowlege he needs to find a demon world or the location of an artifact on a demon world, cant really remember but the point is he doesnt help his troops when this is happening and they are all killed.

So again. Illidan is what he is. He hasnt changed since day 1. Maybe he will later in the expansion but the filling in of the gaps in his history from birth to us killing him in the black temple suggest he has been the same guy most of us know and love.



your opinion whitewashed illidan, not the questline.

Do you even realize that the quest is a retcon? That's why I said it whitewashed Illidan.

[Darkguyver2020]

People probably hate him because he won't drop the Glaives.

[Wildmoon]

Illidan had a story that, while he got killed off pretty unceremoniously, fit together really well. Now, saying he actually does have a future of greatness just seems kinda hokey and completely breaks the narrative they were telling. Giving Illidan a "great purpose" kills what made his character really interesting; that, despite the fact that his methods were harsh, brutal and survivalist, he never swayed in his purpose and he always acted on behalf of Azeroth and his people. Throwing in the naaru bullshit just muddles his story really hard. It's not enough to make me dislike him but I can understand why others would.

This is another good point. The very point that was made in WotA was the fact that the whole great destiny thing was a bullshit and you are forged by your own actions. It's a contrast to highlight the fact that Illidan never truly understood why he was recognized as the great hero he always wanted to be.

This whole chld of the light and darkness thing just shit all over it.

[Qualia]

Not really. The post I quoted said that everything bad he did he did for Azeroth. That was never for WC3 nor the trilogy. The event where he drained other mage almost to death was him being a total asshole. It was absolutely unneccessary. He led Varo'then to Also the one time he intended to crush Brox to death in the cage too. He and Varo'then also intercepted and took the dragon soul from Malfurion when it was obvious that the artifact would be better in the hand of the rebels.

Well, I was thinking about more major events (i.e: among your examples, taking the DS and draining the other mages), not the minor one (i.e: bullying Brox). He drained other mages to fuel the matrix of his spells to strike at the Legion, and he took the DS from Malfurion because he already planned to use it to reverse-summon the Legion out of Azeroth. His decisions back then (and even now) might or might not be flawed, but defeating the Legion was one of the goals of them. He might have done it for power and to prove himself better than Mal, too, but defeating the Legion was always there as well.

[Wildmoon]

Well, I was thinking about more major events (i.e: among your example, taking the DS and draining the other mages), not the minor one (i.e: bullying Brox). He drained other mages to fuel the matrix of his spells to strike at the Legion, and he took the DS from Malfurion because he already planned to use it to reverse-summon the Legion out of Azeroth. His decisions back then (and even now) might or might not be flawed, but defeating the Legion was one of the goals of them. He might have done it for power and to prove himself better than Mal, too, but defeating the Legion is always there.

The draining of other mages was just for show. He didn't actually need to do that. He was just having fun with his power. Rhonin noticed it.

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All these overly cringy things don't even need to happen to make Illidan important. Blizzard could just write it so that we need Illidan because he has what we need to defeat the legion.

[Qualia]

The draining of other mages was just for show. He didn't actually need to do that. He was just having fun with his power. Rhonin noticed it.

Didn't he do that to defeat the coming demons? I'm sure he did, unless I forgot something. Clearly I don't remember him just throwing his power around for fun. He might be having fun and enjoying draining others' power to strengthen his spell, but that doesn't mean the spell wasn't meant to strike at the Legion.

[Wildmoon]

Didn't he do that to defeat the coming demons? I'm sure he did, unless I forgot something. Clearly I don't remember him just throwing his power around for fun. He might be having fun and enjoying draining others' power to strengthen his spell, but that doesn't mean the spell wasn't meant to strike at the Legion.

Just because there were target dummies for him didn't really mean the true purpose of the draining was really to kill the legion. If that was really the main purpose then he would save those mages for later use not trying to drain them to death.

[Amaterasu65]

Because he is no way near perfect he is a manipulating, opportunistic, backstabbing piece of shit that needs an ass whooping now and then and that is why I love this character just because he is the protagonist, the chosen one or whatever you want to call him does not mean that we will acknowledge him as the ultimate hero he is chaotic good, kills people to save more people, while a MC saves everyone with his/hers unstoppable superpowers

You must check out Code Geass. It's an anime with a main character called Lelouch, he can be characterized with many of those traits you mentioned. A main character doesn't have to be heroic or good. Main character is a character whose actions have shaped the plot, not just participated in it.

[Qualia]

Just because there were target dummies for him didn't really mean the true purpose of the draining was really to kill the legion. If that was really the main purpose then he would save those mages for later use not trying to drain them to death.

I never argued that it was the main purpose though? I argued that defeating the demons was one of the purposes. I never said it was the only goal, or even just the most important goal for that matter. Just that destroying demons were always there as a goal in the end.

[Heladys]

Because the smug bastard told me I wasn't prepared. Fuck that guy.

[Dreyen]

I love Illidan, i just don't like the whole destiny thing. It would've been better if the naaru reached for him simply because he is powerful and was succesful in destroying legion worlds, not because he's a destiny's child.

[alzoron]

They're kinda writing Illidan to be a less extreme version of Sargeras at this point. Both of them are taking a "By any means possible" approach to defeat what they see as the biggest evil.

[Goradan]

Pros:

The Demon Elf got charm and is badass for creating demon hunters.

Con:

He is a stuck up bitch that needs to let go of his Yandere love for Tyrande and learn he lost her to his bro and there are better ladies out there.

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Because the smug bastard told me I wasn't prepared. Fuck that guy.

Well he should have been prepared for our little visit at his pad in TBC.

[Enthralled]

The draining of other mages was just for show. He didn't actually need to do that. He was just having fun with his power. Rhonin noticed it.

That's not the least bit true -- the only doing it for fun part. He was doing it to enhance his power, straight up, because he needed to. When he started doing it, the night elves were cut off from the Well, and he and Rhonin were the only ones who could even get off a half-decent spell cast, and Illidan's weren't half as good as Rhonin's because he wasn't used to casting without a battery such as the Well to keep him going. So he commandeered a group of Moon Guard and began having them channel their power through him.

Later on, when they got their power back, why give up the massive power gain that this technique brought when it gave him such an advantage?

[Melsiren]

They're kinda writing Illidan to be a less extreme version of Sargeras at this point. Both of them are taking a "By any means possible" approach to defeat what they see as the biggest evil.

Pretty much this.




To answer the OP. Go ask a Broken why they hate Illidan, I'm sure they'll say their slavery and slaughter was justified.

It's one of those things, where I like Illidan as a character as far as his role, but I genuinely think he's a piece of shit.

[DemonHunter18]

That's not the least bit true -- the only doing it for fun part. He was doing it to enhance his power, straight up, because he needed to. When he started doing it, the night elves were cut off from the Well, and he and Rhonin were the only ones who could even get off a half-decent spell cast, and Illidan's weren't half as good as Rhonin's because he wasn't used to casting without a battery such as the Well to keep him going. So he commandeered a group of Moon Guard and began having them channel their power through him.

Later on, when they got their power back, why give up the massive power gain that this technique brought when it gave him such an advantage?

uh the more I hear about the WotA trilogy, the more I want to get amnesia.

[Enthralled]

uh the more I hear about the WotA trilogy, the more I want to get amnesia.

lol
It's kind of quaint to read it now. So much of it has actually been retconned over the years, and not just Illidan stuff. Things like all the Old God stuff in it is now completely invalid, which (truth be told) makes a lot of the sub-plot invalid as well.
On the other hand, there are other things I enjoyed about it. I can see me reading it when I was, say, 13 years old, and thinking it was the best thing ever.

[Deleted]

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You don't need to be perfect, or be able to save everyone his your power in order to be an MC, though. Even an antagonist can be a main character as long as you play an important part to the plot. A main character doesn't need to be a / the hero him/herself.

You must check out Code Geass. It's an anime with a main character called Lelouch, he can be characterized with many of those traits you mentioned. A main character doesn't have to be heroic or good. Main character is a character whose actions have shaped the plot, not just participated in it.

Guys ...I fuck up pretty badly
So apparently my computer had a virus that made the C look like an S
FUUUUUCK