[LEGION] Hypothetical Idea for Legion Ending

[Salrik]

I would like to start off by saying that I am not criticizing Blizzard's writing style. I disagree with some of it, but I'm not in their shoes and it really works for some people and I do enjoy playing the game when I can (although I can't devote nearly as much time to it anymore). I was talking with my friends though, talking about how awesome it would have been if Mists of Pandaria's ending hadn't been told so early.
But the talk did get me thinking about endings to expansions and I came up with an idea I wanted to share. Again, just hypothetical and some of it probably wouldn't work just because of game mechanics, it's just a fun little story I came up with.

END RAID/SCENARIO OF LEGION:

So we have marched through the risen isles and brought what's left of our armies to bear against Gul'dan and the Legion. We have fought our way through twisted horrors, demons so terrifying that they could drive you mad, but we have done it. We're here. The armies of the Burning Legion may have invaded the planet, but we can stop it all here. Gul'dan has begun the final summoning, opening a portal big enough for the greatest demons and their masters to spew forth. If that happens, we have no way of fighting them all back. It's do or die time, we have to stop that portal.
And we do, just a fraction of a second before it's irreversible we kill Gul'dan and throw down his neophytes. But here's the twist. He isn't the last boss. Not by a long shot. We closed the portal incorrectly or just too late - but a gargantuan fel machine has burst through the portal. It is the size of a city, so tall that it seems to scrape the skies. It bellows some unearthly grinding roar and sets off - we're so small and seemingly insignificant that its only goal is to start destroying the world without us. Scrambling in a panic to stop it, our heroes send out an alert as to what direction it's going and frantically fly off to catch up.
The Destroyer of Worlds, this machine, has already made plenty of progress forward. Its steps are so long that it's making easy time across the ocean. It's heading first towards Stormwind (the city is interchangeable, it doesn't have to be Stormwind but for the ease of time I'm going to say it's Stormwind for the rest of this post). Heroes, either Alliance or Horde, rush to stop it, because even if your character hates the Alliance it's not going to stop there, it's going to stomp over everyone you know and love everywhere if it isn't stopped. Thankfully, the ocean is a deep place and it dips just low enough for us to drop down onto this moving island of screeching metal - sort of like the Deathwing fight but bigger. We drop down onto this thing and have to fight its mechanics until we can finally reach a hatch and delve inside. Time is ticking. We fight our way through the bowels of this city-sized machine until we can find the thing making it go. We kill the pilot, we kill the guards, we kill every demon we can find in a frantic search to find what makes this thing go forward but even without a pilot it just keeps rumbling forward and we just can't find it. There's no easy option. No pulsing heart, no old god tethered inside, no council outside of a mastermind's lair. There's nothing left, how do we stop it?!
The true final fight ends up being a smash-fest of trying to absolutely wreck the machinery inside of the Destroyer. Out of options and unable to grasp the otherworldly demonic controls, we just start hitting everything in sight with the juiced up artifacts we've been empowering all through the expansion in a panic. The Destroyer fights back, because it seems to be living and it's not an easy fight, but every cog we unhinge seems to slow it down. About half-way through the fight it reaches Stormwind. Cut-scene to the streets, where people are evacuating and fleeing for their lives in any way can. Some try to skim by through the harbor but it's too big and they just end up beaching their ships. Others fly off but there's not enough Gryphons in the stable to take everyone at once, and many attempt to get on the tram or through the main gates of the city but the streets are a war-zone all on their own as people attempt to get away and the Guard tries to make it orderly. Anduin refuses to leave the city until everyone is evacuated, when Varian and Thrall (maybe other heroes with them) and start trying to fight their way through the demons pouring off the top of the Destroyer. We couldn't kill them all because we were rushing to get into the monstrous thing and stop it it's big enough to carry a small army of them - the heroes, led by Thrall and Varian, fend the demons off from the fleeing citizens.
More panic, we fight all the harder. Keep cutting through demonic wires, cogs and defense mechanisms. It starts to slow down, we're winning. We're going to stop it just as we always have. The heroes outside are even defeating the hordes. Then, at maybe 75% health down, that's when it happens. The machine was warming up its weapon and it fires. The front of it explodes in hellish demonic-energy and starts firing down into the city. People stand in awe, wiped away in seconds and their last image was a magical beam that literally evaporates them. We keep fighting, we have to stop it. Thrall and Varian die in the next blast, they faced it head on like true heroes with their companions. Keep. Fighting. Anduin dies in the next blast, not from a direct hit like his Dad, but as it cuts a tower out from over him. He's buried in masonry and a few surviving palace guards try desperately to dig him out as the world around them burns. Finally, finally we hack our way through the machine enough that it powers down. It's dead, and we've won.

THE AFTERMATH
But oh, what a Pyrrhic victory it is: The King, The Prince, The World-Shaman and any companions they had are dead. The Stormwind guard has been butchered, crowds of people have turned to dust or are buried in rubble trying to claw their way out. The rest of the city population is trapped in the tram behind a wall of debris or crowding outside in the forests beyond the gate. We won, but we were just not fast enough twice and we paid for it. The biggest city in the world is in ruins. At least we got our epic loot though.
And the problems don't stop there. Without anyone of the Wrynn Dynasty left to take the throne, Stormwind is about to go through a succession crisis. Some people are turning to Defias left-overs and certain Gilneans who have a new idea - government led by the people instead of a king. Others are throwing their lot in with what's left of the Nobles... Who themselves are now getting ready to fight each other for a throne in a shattered palace. The humans are prepared for a revolution. The Council of Three Hammers and the Ironforge Senate have a dilemma too - they don't have the room to let every single refugee fleeing their way into the city. Not only that, but due to certain treaties made before this crisis they are obligated to send at least some paltry support to re-build the city. Which brings up a new problem, no one knows who's in power. Every noble with even a shred of claim to the Throne is shouting that they are the new king or queen, the leaders of the Revolution are claiming they're in charge and need weapons more than masons. Ironforge is left to choose who the hell to support and the ominous question of what happens when they decide: Was it the right choice?
The Night Elves and Draenei have a similar problem of being unable to send aid to each different sub-faction, but they have the benefit of being an ocean away and can send a few ships full of healers and start setting up refugee camps in Westfall and Redridge. Do they even want to stay with the Alliance now that the 'glue holding them to it' had been wiped away? The Night Elves specifically have always been isolationist and now with the Legion being less of a threat and the promise that the Horde will stay away, maybe it's time to split off officially? Maybe it's even time to start re-claiming some lost land in Kalimdor without pissing off the Horde, or re-settling ancestral lands now that the Broken Isles are back.
This scenario has even further reaching consequences though. Sylvanas and Lor'themar, two leaders who have sacrificed arguably the most through the past few campaigns, want to take advantage of the situation. Stormwind and the Alliance is weak, for them it's time to strike. It's time to conquer the humans and stop the fighting between the two mega-factions once and for all. It's a brutal avenue to peace, but Varian was just as close to trying the same thing and in their eyes it's time to strike while the iron is hot. Just one problem, Vol'jin and Baine want to help the Alliance rebuild and resettle. "Are you nuts" they essentially say "We can end future conflicts right now, we have a shot at world peace for our own peoples and you want to throw it away?!" only to be rebutted with the Tauren and troll talking about peace through peaceful means. The diplomatic talks end in a furious fight (and Gallywix sitting back, stuffing his fat face with popcorn and preparing to sell weapons to everyone). Sylvanas and Lor'themar leave to prepare for war against the Alliance, even under threat that the rest of the Horde will attack them if they dare to - and the orcs are split between the two sides. The Second Horde Civil War begins with a bang when a blood elf spy blows up a ship carrying medical supplies to the Stormwind refugees.
So Legion ends with everything in turmoil and we are left with two options. While everyone else is fighting each other we (the players and arguably the 'minority') sneak behind everyone's backs to try and find a way to get into the Nether and for once go on the offensive against the Burning Legion, or we stick around and try to fix the homefront.

Like I said, probably never possible for various reasons but I thought it was an interesting idea. Winning, and yet through victory ending up with the worst global disaster/war since Warcraft III and having to deal with that rather than a central villain. Hope you enjoyed reading it!

[Deleted]

Stormwind already lost a district of the city. Would be better if Orgrimmar would be destroyed a little bit.

[Salrik]

Eh, the city is honestly interchangable. Doesn't have to be Stormwind or even an Alliance city. Just struck me as the more dramatic choice ^_^ Could be any place!

[Deleted]

I think the Orcs should drink the demon blood and join the Legion again. Would be the most logical story.

[TheFirstOnes]

While that would be alright, there is 1 problem:

Varian is dead, anduin is king, and thrall has retired. And even if thrall did fight again, the elements wont respond to him at all. Infact, they were silent after he killed garrosh. So if he wielded the weapon again, he's have the powers of ogrim or so.

However, we're stronger than thrall already with the weapon, so....I don't really care about green jesus anymore.

[Qualia]

How did we go from defeating Archimonde, the one stronger than anyone or anything else in Legion, except Sargeras and Kil'Jaeden, to having trouble with a mere construct?

[Deleted]

But oh, what a Pyrrhic victory it is: The King, The Prince, The World-Shaman and any companions they had are dead.

You had me at killing Thrall.

[Seifross]

How did we go from defeating Archimonde, the one stronger than anyone or anything else in Legion, except Sargeras and Kil'Jaeden, to having trouble with a mere construct?

Because we don't have a linear power increase like WoW is Dragonball Z or something. We can't now deflect swords by flexing because we're level 110 - levels are a purely gameplay mechanic, and while our characters are getting stronger lore-wise it isn't nearly as clear cut as you make it seem. Plus, we don't have the elements of Draenor and other kinds of backup we had in the Archimonde fight.

On topic, eh. "A big machine" seems like a really lame way to end the expansion to me, especially when it ends with what is essentially SoO again, but with demons. I could see a raid where you teleport between major cities as they're sacked by the Legion, or a separate machine-city raid (ala Alexandria from FFXIV), but this idea has too much going on and none of it seems related to the story in any significant way, except that major characters are dying in ways that don't fit their character arc at all.

[Friendlyimmolation]

I think the Orcs should drink the demon blood and join the Legion again. Would be the most logical story.

Your boating aside, no that would not be.

[Leodok]

It's like Game of Thrones, but with a spaceship instead of a boar.

I love it.

[Qualia]

Because we don't have a linear power increase like WoW is Dragonball Z or something. We can't now deflect swords by flexing because we're level 110 - levels are a purely gameplay mechanic, and while our characters are getting stronger lore-wise it isn't nearly as clear cut as you make it seem. Plus, we don't have the elements of Draenor and other kinds of backup we had in the Archimonde fight.

I didn't say anything about level, though. Leveling process is just game-mechanic with the exception of lore-related quest chains / dungeons and raids. Lore-wise, as you said, we are stronger. The adventurer / hero (us) who will be facing off the final boss in Legion is the same adventurer who fought and defeated C'Thun, Yogg, Arthas, Deathwing, Archimonde, etc. We'd still keep our lore-related legendary (Wrathion's cloak and Naaru/Elementals-blessed rings, for example), we are more experienced - not to mention our newly gained artifact. All in all, we'd be stronger than we was when we face off against Archimonde in the Nether. It wouldn't make sense for us to be stronger than back then, still keep our stuffs, and yet having problem with a random unnamed machine.

The "random unnamed machine" will be an issue, too. Going by the QQ in Vanilla, people don't seem to like bosses coming out of nowhere that we have no clue lore-wise about them. One expansion isn't enough to make it final boss status worthy.

[Arkura]

I didn't say anything about level, though. Leveling process is just game-mechanic with the exception of lore-related quest chains / dungeons and raids. Lore-wise, as you said, we are stronger. The adventurer / hero (us) who will be facing off the final boss in Legion is the same adventurer who fought and defeated C'Thun, Yogg, Arthas, Deathwing, Archimonde, etc. We'd still keep our lore-related legendary (Wrathion's cloak and Naaru/Elementals-blessed rings, for example), we are more experienced - not to mention our newly gained artifact. All in all, we'd be stronger than we was when we face off against Archimonde in the Nether. It wouldn't make sense for us to be stronger than back then, still keep our stuffs, and yet having problem with a random unnamed machine.

The "random unnamed machine" will be an issue, too. Going by the QQ in Vanilla, people don't seem to like bosses coming out of nowhere that we have no clue lore-wise about them. One expansion isn't enough to make it final boss status worthy.

I agree to some extent, but you need to keep in mind that while we grow in power so does our enemies, if our enemies didnt become more powerful we would just end up looking at raid bosses hard and they would instantly die.

[Deleted]

Your boating aside, no that would not be.

They did it three out of four times when Demon Blood was offered to them. So there is a 75% chance that they would.

[Friendlyimmolation]

They did it three out of four times when Demon Blood was offered to them. So there is a 75% chance that they would.

First time, only Ner'zhul, the shadowcouncil, Durotan/draka/ Ogrim knew that it was demon Blood. The second time with grom was under the stress of being attacked by a demi god, and the nelves and the fact that he was fighting addiction. And the third time, Killrogg knew that he would do it along time ago and was following the path of history Garrosh changed. So please, stop talking out of your ass and look at the context before you spew more biased bullshit.