Warlords of Draenor: Lore Speculation and Discussion

[Xjev]

I'm not so good in WoW lore and badly thirsty to know what kind of lore this title can be related to and what sort of adventures we are gonna have in next expo (if its the right title). Any info, discussion and links here would be appreciated!

Draenor: http://wowpedia.org/Draenor

[Falrinn]

Here's my thoughts on the subject.


The expansion will primarily take place in a partially restored Draeneor. While it still might be floating in the Twisting Nether, additional zones will be featured beyond those in Burning Crusade. Perhaps there were frontier regions that had been cut off by the implosion of Draeneor but not completely destroyed, and the Draenei (or some other group) have managed to draw them back in since the events of BC.

The Legion will be the primary antagonist, but we won't deal with them directly for most of the expansion. Instead we'll be dealing with various warlords, some of which rose up after the Illidari collapsed and others of which originated from the new fragments of Draenor, some of which are serving the Legion.

Not all Warlords would be outright evil however. Some would see nothing to gain in the end of the universe and would work with us (perhaps unwittingly) against the Warlords allied with the Legion. On a racial level the Warlords will be a very diverse group, from Fel Orcs to Draenei to Orgres to completely new species. Sometimes their armies will be homogeneous, other times they will be even more diverse then the Horde and Alliance.

Time travel will most likely be featured in some capacity, but perhaps more in the context of discovering Draenor's ancient past (anything from the origin of the Orcs to the early days of Draenei society on the world could be explored) then the focus of the expansion. We might have another Lorewalker Cho type character to narrate this.

[ponth]

If we're going travelling through time, and with Nozdormu parked since the end of cataclysm, is this when we'll face the infinite?

[Falrinn]

If we're going travelling through time, and with Nozdormu parked since the end of cataclysm, is this when we'll face the infinite?

Very maybe.

I don't think Nozdormu will be the final boss or anything like that, but given the ending of the Timeless Isle I think we'll at least see the start of the Infinite Flight.

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More Turalyon, Alleria and Arator story pls. Thats what I would like to see.

I admit I forgot about them when I wrote my above post, but I don't think Blizzard did...

Hmmm... what if they are the Warlords of Draeneor, or at least two of them anyways. I do think there is a possibility for the Warlords to not be purely antagonistic...perhaps rather then going through a portal Alleria and Turalyon got themselves stranded on a separate fragment of Draenor. Then built their own army from a combination of native recruits and whatever troops they still had with them and by now have created their own little kingdom.

[Edlarel]

Alright, I'll take a stab at the lore of this.

Going off the "WoW - Want to know" thread, we're going to be reached out to by the Bronze Flight. With their waning ability to control the timestreams, they now have to rely on us to go back on a more permanent basis than we usually do within the Caverns of Time. They do this by having us actually go back on a more "permanent" basis while we're within Outland. We can periodically talk to members of the flight who have gone back with us to get back to "modern" outlands.

While we're in the past, we're told that somebody has tampered with the timestream so that Grommash Hellscream does/doesn't achieve things he's tried. Somebody unexpected was killed, so we have to fix things.

Because Grom and the Orcish horde are the villains, we'll work primarily with the Draenei, including a younger Velen. Velen's ability to see the past, present, and future plays a big part in our story. By the end of the expansion, we'll have to deal with the draenei's exile and help them get off the planet so they can crash on Azeroth.

Of course, because we're in the days of the second war, we'll be able to interact with Turalyon and the other windrunner sister.

[Deleted]

I wish to can be allied with illidian and help him to take over Black Temple
We fight with him already no need another fight just because timewarp

[Falrinn]

Alright, I'll take a stab at the lore of this.

Going off the "WoW - Want to know" thread, we're going to be reached out to by the Bronze Flight. With their waning ability to control the timestreams, they now have to rely on us to go back on a more permanent basis than we usually do within the Caverns of Time. They do this by having us actually go back on a more "permanent" basis while we're within Outland. We can periodically talk to members of the flight who have gone back with us to get back to "modern" outlands.

While we're in the past, we're told that somebody has tampered with the timestream so that Grommash Hellscream does/doesn't achieve things he's tried. Somebody unexpected was killed, so we have to fix things.

Because Grom and the Orcish horde are the villains, we'll work primarily with the Draenei, including a younger Velen. Velen's ability to see the past, present, and future plays a big part in our story. By the end of the expansion, we'll have to deal with the draenei's exile and help them get off the planet so they can crash on Azeroth.

Grom being the main villain is the main reason why I am extremely skeptical of that particular post. I really don't think Blizzard would have two overtly Horde-themed main villains, from the same family no less, for two expansions in a row.

On a more subjective note, I really don't think an expansion that takes place almost entirely in the past is even workable. The potential for new lore is severly limited and fleshing out the backstory is something best confined to novels, short stories, or brief one-off events. And even if it was workable I would think the expansion's name would be more...time themed.

[Edlarel]

Grom being the main villain is the main reason why I am extremely skeptical of that particular post. I really don't think Blizzard would have two overtly Horde-themed main villains, from the same family no less, for two expansions in a row.

On a more subjective note, I really don't think an expansion that takes place almost entirely in the past is even workable. And even if it was I would think the expansion's name would be more...time themed.

I fail to understand how Warlords of Draenor wouldn't be Time-themed in some way? Even the name evokes a feeling of the past (WC2). Maybe it's just me, but I can see it working out very well.

Also - this is a great way for them to bring in High elves, since it was before they were purged by Arthas. Same thing with ogres, who were likewise a big part of this.

[ponth]

Very maybe.

I don't think Nozdormu will be the final boss or anything like that, but given the ending of the Timeless Isle I think we'll at least see the start of the Infinite Flight.

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I admit I forgot about them when I wrote my above post, but I don't think Blizzard did...

Hmmm... what if they are the Warlords of Draeneor, or at least two of them anyways. I do think there is a possibility for the Warlords to not be purely antagonistic...perhaps rather then going through a portal Alleria and Turalyon got themselves stranded on a separate fragment of Draenor. Then built their own army from a combination of native recruits and whatever troops they still had with them and by now have created their own little kingdom.

I agree, bizarro nozdormu would perhaps sit as a "Lei Shen" type of boss, mid exp badguy.
What if All/Tur go badguys? The alliance players would go batshit. I don't think they'd dare do anything like that though. I agree though, that pair will most likely be pretty prevalent if indeed this is the expansion. There's been so much whining, and partially rightfully so, about how alliance gets such little attention in-game.
That messy "leak" that surfaced a few days ago had Grommash as a major figure though. I just hope that guy won't be a boss. I don't think I can handle 2x hellscream badguys in a row.

[Wyrt]

I hope it involves a new continent on Draenor that has been merged with the existing Outland by the efforts of the draenei to restore the planet.

I hope it does not involve time travel.

[Falrinn]

I agree, bizarro nozdormu would perhaps sit as a "Lei Shen" type of boss, mid exp badguy.
What if All/Tur go badguys? The alliance players would go batshit. I don't think they'd dare do anything like that though. I agree though, that pair will most likely be pretty prevalent if indeed this is the expansion. There's been so much whining, and partially rightfully so, about how alliance gets such little attention in-game.
That messy "leak" that surfaced a few days ago had Grommash as a major figure though. I just hope that guy won't be a boss. I don't think I can handle 2x hellscream badguys in a row.

I don't think Alleria and Turalyon will be badguys by any practical definition, just a little rougher then what we remember them as from WC2.

My line of thought is that will be many warlords who will range from being unrepentantly evil and in service of the Legion, to barbarian tribesmen doing whatever they feel is necessary to survive, all the way to chaotic good heroes. Alleria and Turalyon would be the latter rather then the former.

[Primaliron]

I hope it involves a new continent on Draenor that has been merged with the existing Outland by the efforts of the draenei to restore the planet.

I hope it does not involve time travel.

My suspicion since Cata has been that when we return to Draenor we will see Thrall and the Earthen Ring putting the planet back together. The Orcs have obvious purpose, as do the Darenei/Broken, but also don't forget how many Wildhammers are out there. The Cenarion Circle is also there and may get involved.

On the more specific topic of warlords...

Former Illidari Forces:
Dragonmaw Fel Orcs: Some likely exist in Outland possibly now leading the other Fel Orcs or as part of a new Fel Orc Horde.
Illidari Naga: They probably always had their own agenda and are continuing to move forward in the wake of Vashj's death.
Illidari Demons: May or may not have rejoined the Legion. Many probably cannot and are carving out their own fiefdoms. I suspect we may see some new demonic forces from these ashes.
Sunfury Elves: They joined the Legion with Kael'thas and most were wiped out at the Sunwell, but it is very possible some survive and are leading/assisting more Legion activity in Outland.

Other notable factions:
Arrakoa: They have several smaller factions but the Sethekk and Skettis are the most noteworthy. The Skettis are the ones who revere Terrok. Terokk was technically killed in TBC, but we also know that he served a god Rukhmar who was never seen or in any way represented. The Skettis may still serve that god and have a new leader. The Sethekk are the ones who broke away from the Skettis and worship an Old God that is not of Azeroth. We stopped the summoning in TBC but you know they'll try again, or if they have been wiped out that this Old God will find new minions.

Ethereals: The Ethereum was effectively destroyed when we killed Nexus-King Salhadaar, but may be regrouped under a new leader by now. Even if they are not the Ethereum anymore there will be rogue ethereals most likely.

Black Dragonflight of Outland: They are all alive and kicking, expect Wrathion to be displeased about this. Sabellian worked with us to defeat Gruul, but he is still a Black Dragon. He may also be hearing the whispers of a new and different Old God.

Lost Ones: There are several Lost Ones throughout Draenor that have been hostile, some have developed druidic powers even. It will be interesting to see how they are handled.

Ogres: Though we killed a LOT of ogre warlords, there's probably more to come, possibly including an old... friend.... a man of the blade and half-orc descent.

Shadow Council: Though technically members of the Legion, they do tend to pursue petty ambitions. They could be leading Fel Orcs, demons, or just have their own thing going on. They could also still just be part of the Legion's influence of course.

Those are all the forces/factions I expect to see. There could always be new surprises and odd alliances. I suspect if we see Illidan brought back it would be in such an expansion. As others have mentioned Turalyon and Alleria should be out there somewhere. The Draenei have supposedly fixed the Exodar as well.... perhaps it will return to Outland and we may see the foundation laid for the Army of Light (though it will be sometime still before we actually see it happen I think)

Other oddities I expect may be Titan artifacts or influence on Draenor. There will be CoT instances I presume because it just seems too unlikely that there would not be. There also may be more Karazhan lore to be found or to explain all the weirdness we encountered there.

[DeicideUH]

Sunfury Elves: They joined the Legion with Kael'thas and most were wiped out at the Sunwell, but it is very possible some survive and are leading/assisting more Legion activity in Outland.

Small correction: once Kael'thas was dead, the Sunfury forces returned to Quel'thalas and pledged service to Lor'themar. (This information is in the Shadows of the Sun story). I guess their loyalty lies in their country now that the royal lineage is interrupted

-----------------------------------

I hope this expansion is about a war for supremacy in Outland, with several warlords rising, forging alliances and fighting for the lands. If I were to craft these factions, I'd make the Warlords:

Lanthrezor of the Blade - unites ogres and Mag'har and gets the Horde's support.
Akama - Unites the Broken and Skettis Exiles and gets the Alliance's support
Sabellian - Trying to create a new home for the remaining Black Dragonflight, since they seem to be free from the Old Gods in Outland. Gets the support of the Netherwing and Arakkoa.
Some Illidari orc warlock or a night elf Demon Hunter that is trying to resurrect Illidan and reunites the remaining Illidari forces.
And a demon lord from the Legion who is beginning a new invasion.

Lanthrezor leads the Horde faction, Akama leads the Alliance faction, Sabellian is a neutral faction you have to gain favor with, the Illidari and Legion are the enemies.

[Deleted]

I hope this expansion is about a war for supremacy in Outland, with several warlords rising, forging alliances and fighting for the lands. If I were to craft these factions, I'd make the Warlords:

Lanthrezor of the Blade - unites ogres and Mag'har and gets the Horde's support.
Akama - Unites the Broken and Skettis Exiles and gets the Alliance's support
Sabellian - Trying to create a new home for the remaining Black Dragonflight, since they seem to be free from the Old Gods in Outland. Gets the support of the Netherwing and Arakkoa.
Some Illidari orc warlock or a night elf Demon Hunter that is trying to resurrect Illidan and reunites the remaining Illidari forces.
And a demon lord from the Legion who is beginning a new invasion.

Lanthrezor leads the Horde faction, Akama leads the Alliance faction, Sabellian is a neutral faction you have to gain favor with, the Illidari and Legion are the enemies.

Mephistroth all the way.

[Florena]

My guess is that it will take place in a new landmass, likely dubbed Draenor and we'll keep calling what we know as Outland Outland to keep the names distinct for the continents. It's very much possible another landmass the size of Outland survived the destruction of Draenor. Afterall, while the Outland we know uses up all the real estate from the Warcraft 2 map, there was most certainly more to the planet that that one region and there's no reason blizz couldn't add more to Outland just as they've added more to Azeroth. Both WC 2 and 3 added to Azeroth's known geography, and MoP did it yet again, no reason they can't do the same for Draenor.

[Frontenac]

My guess is that it will take place in a new landmass, likely dubbed Draenor and we'll keep calling what we know as Outland Outland to keep the names distinct for the continents. It's very much possible another landmass the size of Outland survived the destruction of Draenor. Afterall, while the Outland we know uses up all the real estate from the Warcraft 2 map, there was most certainly more to the planet that that one region and there's no reason blizz couldn't add more to Outland just as they've added more to Azeroth. Both WC 2 and 3 added to Azeroth's known geography, and MoP did it yet again, no reason they can't do the same for Draenor.

I agree with you there. It is also a good way to keep the leveling experience flowing, more or less. Since WotLK, and even more with Cataclysm, there has been changes in the Old World (EK and Kalimdor) taht makes the leveling experience borked. Before WotLK, you began with Thrall as Warchief and Bolvar as lord protector. Then you go to Outland, and by the end of BC, Varian returns. In WotLK, you begin with Thrall as Warchief and Varian as King of Stormwind. Then you go to Outland where Varian is not King anymore, and go to Northrend where he is King and sends you to Northrend. In Cataclysm, they changed all the old continents. So you begin with Garrosh and Varian, then go back in Outland with Thrall and Bolvar, then to Outland with Thrall and Varian and then you go back to Azeroth with Garrosh and Varian. Then, after MoP, Garrosh is no longer Warchief. Now it would be illogical to have Vol'jin in the throne room while new characters quest through Kalimdor for Garrosh. They have two choices : either they redo all the quests and all the old continents again (but that would be costy), or they simply leave Garrosh in the throne room, phase it for level 90 characters and above, and put all the action in a new world where we could have Vol'jin as Warchief.

I would like to see Turalyon and Alleria leading the Alliance efforts there. Rexxar could be leading the Horde (although it may be a bit out of character for him). It would be a good way to introduce entirely new playable races to the Alliance and the Horde. Let's face it : the number of likely humanoid candidates from Azeroth is getting rather short. As for the story, it will most likely involve the Legion. Why would we need to go there in the first place? Unless the warlords are the leaders of a powerful race or faction of races who learned of Azeroth and want to invade it to flee their dying world? That does not not prevent them from working for the Legion, though.

[Florena]

I agree with you there. It is also a good way to keep the leveling experience flowing, more or less. Since WotLK, and even more with Cataclysm, there has been changes in the Old World (EK and Kalimdor) taht makes the leveling experience borked. Before WotLK, you began with Thrall as Warchief and Bolvar as lord protector. Then you go to Outland, and by the end of BC, Varian returns. In WotLK, you begin with Thrall as Warchief and Varian as King of Stormwind. Then you go to Outland where Varian is not King anymore, and go to Northrend where he is King and sends you to Northrend. In Cataclysm, they changed all the old continents. So you begin with Garrosh and Varian, then go back in Outland with Thrall and Bolvar, then to Outland with Thrall and Varian and then you go back to Azeroth with Garrosh and Varian. Then, after MoP, Garrosh is no longer Warchief. Now it would be illogical to have Vol'jin in the throne room while new characters quest through Kalimdor for Garrosh. They have two choices : either they redo all the quests and all the old continents again (but that would be costy), or they simply leave Garrosh in the throne room, phase it for level 90 characters and above, and put all the action in a new world where we could have Vol'jin as Warchief.

I would like to see Turalyon and Alleria leading the Alliance efforts there. Rexxar could be leading the Horde (although it may be a bit out of character for him). It would be a good way to introduce entirely new playable races to the Alliance and the Horde. Let's face it : the number of likely humanoid candidates from Azeroth is getting rather short. As for the story, it will most likely involve the Legion. Why would we need to go there in the first place? Unless the warlords are the leaders of a powerful race or faction of races who learned of Azeroth and want to invade it to flee their dying world? That does not not prevent them from working for the Legion, though.

I fear that Turalyon and Alleria, being such major lore characters, may end up going neutral just as Khadgar was in BC. Hard to say. Or perhaps Turalyon will be alliance and Alleria horde. (Hard to say which side of the blood/high elf divide she'd be with.)

[Falrinn]

I fear that Turalyon and Alleria, being such major lore characters, may end up going neutral just as Khadgar was in BC. Hard to say. Or perhaps Turalyon will be alliance and Alleria horde. (Hard to say which side of the blood/high elf divide she'd be with.)

With the Horde/Alliance conflict likely at an all time low, the difference between a pro-peace partisan character and a truly neutral one becomes really blurred. Alleria and Turalyon might interact with Horde players or even characters on a semi-regular bases while still officially being part of the Alliance.

I would actually go as far as to speculate that the overwhelming majority of PvP content won't even be based on the Horde and Alliance conflict at all, but on players choosing to support one of 3-4 rival Warlords. When players are flagged in zones dominated by these warlords, they would be flagged as a supporter of their chosen warlord rather then as Horde or Alliance. It would be fairly easy to switch sides, and there would be mechanics put into place to ensure one warlord can never become too dominate.

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I fail to understand how Warlords of Draenor wouldn't be Time-themed in some way? Even the name evokes a feeling of the past (WC2). Maybe it's just me, but I can see it working out very well.

Also - this is a great way for them to bring in High elves, since it was before they were purged by Arthas. Same thing with ogres, who were likewise a big part of this.

I think there will be time travel. The presence of the Timeless Isle pretty much guarantees there will at least be a time travel B plot in expansion 5, but I'm very skeptical that an expansion set entirely in the past, especially such a well described place in the past, is in any way viable.

We'd either spend the whole expansion only marginally advancing the story, or we'd basically undo the entire Warcraft series from at least WC2 onwards. I'm not particularly fond of either option.

But perhaps more importantly, even if Blizzard could pull off an expansion set in the past, having 2 expansions in a row with such overtly Horde themed villains would be an even bigger problem. Blizzard is very well aware of the perception of Horde bias, and while they haven't really done as good of job as they could countering it, I have enough faith that 2 Orcish final bosses in a row would be a tad much.

[Simca]

With both pre-trademark leaks referencing time travel, I'm going to make the somewhat easy deduction that this involves time travel.

Then there are two main possibilities for the destination:

A) Pre-WC1 era. Both leaks seem to point towards "preventing the Burning Legion" via messing with Orcish history. In this instance, they could try to prevent Mannoroth's "gift" to the Orcs. We know only what has been mentioned in Christie Golden's earlier novels about pre-WC1 Draenor, which isn't a massive amount. There is a huge amount of room for content here.

B) WC2: Beyond the Dark Portal era. The obvious way to get an Alliance focus in an expansion based on the Orc's homeworld is to set the destination to the Alliance expedition to Draenor. This would allow Alliance players to interact with the lore characters that have been missing for a long time. I see much less gain for the time traveling party in altering this timeline... unless it was Garrosh's doing. Garrosh would see the destruction of the Alliance expedition as a critical way to maintain Horde control of Draenor and, if Ner'zhul was successful in completing his ritual without the expedition to interrupt him, allow the Horde to ravage other worlds.

The two most apparent points about the title:
A) "Draenor" implies a time before Ner'zhul shattered the planet.
B) "Warlords" implies the primary leaders of the planet at that time - the chieftains of the Orcish Horde and the members of the Shadow Council.

[MxLionheart]

I think Simca kinda hit the nail on the head if it is timey-wimey, but here is my take on it if not:

...how many Orcs and Humans do you think managed to get off of Draenor before Ner'Zhul destroyed it? Would it be feasible to say that enough of his lieutenants got through to whatever world they wound up on and carried on slaying stuff like Orcs do? (Lets assume KJ just grabbed Ner'Zhul at that point to turn him into the Lich King, and didnt give a damn about the rest of the Orc Host for a minute) Would those Orcs now be Warlords of Draenor? Would it also be much of a stretch to assume Alleria and Turalyon (and a group of other Sons of Lothar troops) managed to follow them too?

Thats my spin on things - pre xpack event is OLD OLD Orc troops attacking through portals (Gotta assume they are mad pissed about what the Humans have done since Warcraft 2) from whatever planet Blizzard decides to throw out there, Horde quests could be given from some kind of interrogator with a couple caged Old Orcs in Orgrimmar, Alliance from messengers from Alleria/Turalyon (Who knows, Arator could pop up) in Stormwind.

When it drops we manage to get a portal stabilised from Outland (you know, the half dozen inactive Dark Portals around - maybe the Nagrand one, that looks nice) and jump into leveling and smashing indigenous life and these Old Orcs. Only thing I can see wrong with this is its kinda another filler like MoP but eh. Could end up culminating in the Legion catching wind of it and boom, theres our end tier and next expack. Timewalking stuff could be waved away as something to catch players up with old lore - maybe have a handful of Caverns of Time Instances/Raids covering stuff from WC2 and beyond (stuff that we havent seen) - being able to run old world content at the advised level could be a byproduct of this too - explain it as some of their experiments in Timewalking?

I think this is more logical than having a full on Time Travel expansion, gives chance for some great new lore, the Alleria/Turalyon crowd get their boners sated and so do the legion crowd. Win win?