How many Old Gods are there in Azeroth?

[Aquamonkey]

I don't think the 5 old gods thing is canon. It's just outdated speculation (counted that giant faceless one in Darkshore as an OG).

It's old lore and may not be true anymore, but definitely wasn't merely speculation.

"The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the five evil gods far beneath the surface of the world."

This was before Y'Shaarj was written to be killed and N'Zoth was mentioned to not have been defeated by the Titans.

[Nanaboostme]

as many as blizzard wants

this, theres no set number. They make shit up as they go. even if they said theres a set number, they can always change it. its blizzard

[Flaks]

Does "N'zoth not being defeated by the Titans" mean he was never imprisoned and the Titans just chained the other 4 and left Azeroth? That sounds a bit...off.

[Calfredd]

I don't think the 5 old gods thing is canon. It's just outdated speculation (counted that giant faceless one in Darkshore as an OG).

I don't think the thing in Darkshore is an Old God because doesn't their mere presence cause undesirable effects? Think all that stuff happened only because Deathwing did a flyby of the zone.

[Aquamonkey]

Does "N'zoth not being defeated by the Titans" mean he was never imprisoned and the Titans just chained the other 4 and left Azeroth? That sounds a bit...off.

Or they chained 5, +1 for Y'Shaarj whom they killed, and another +1 for N'Zoth whom they didn't defeat (he probably went into hiding). +However many others of the "a lot" the Titans killed that might have been on Azeroth.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Or they chained 5, +1 for Y'Shaarj whom they killed, and another +1 for N'Zoth whom they didn't defeat.

I was gonna say, that would make my theory that N'zoth isn't exactly chained or kept in check. He's basically doing whatever the heck he wants. Scary shit.

[Goremonger]

[Immitis]

Does "N'zoth not being defeated by the Titans" mean he was never imprisoned and the Titans just chained the other 4 and left Azeroth? That sounds a bit...off.

hes hiding in the ocean. maybe titans cant swim.

[Zoaric]

hes hiding in the ocean. maybe titans cant swim.

Aquaman has finally found his true calling, the nemesis of the Titans.

[Mormolyce]

There were 5 old gods imprisoned beneath the surface of Azeroth by the titans. When the titans first came to Azeroth the old gods ruled the planet. Fighting with each other with their faceless and elemental minions. The old gods were connected with the planet on such a level that killing them would destroy the planet, so the titans improsoned them. C'Thun feigned death and was sealed in a titan research station near Uldum. Yogg-Saron was imprisoned in Ulduar. Y'Shaarj was killed by the Pantheon, although his heart was preserved and later resurrected, but destroyed during the Siege of Orgrimmar. The Titans defeated N'Zoth, whose exact location is unknown but believed to be beneath the maelstrom. He is the most dangerous, having influenced both Deathwing and the emerald nightmare. He's also rumored to be the one that changed Azshara and the highborn into the naga. The fifth old god is unknown and though there are rumors (like the evil beneath tirisfal glades) we don't know anything about him though.

The old gods are pure evil and care only about themselves and their plans. They delight in creating chaos and destruction which they have certainly been doing for a long time. I wouldn't say that they are meaner than Sargeras though. He wants to destroy all of creation, including the old gods. The old gods just want to 'mess around' really.

C'Thun was a Hunter!

There is nothing to imply N'Zoth is the most dangerous. Blizzard confirmed that whatever is under Tirisfal isn't an Old God.

Q: Is there truly an Old God underneath the Tirisfal Glade?

A: Nope! There’s something incredibly unsettling there, but it’s not an Old God. It isn’t recommended to go digging through the Glades, though.

http://www.wowwiki.com/Ask_Creative_...nt#Of_the_Gods

Also the "five Old Gods" is lore from the Warcraft III manual and may be out of date or retconned.

[Aquamonkey]

I was gonna say, that would make my theory that N'zoth isn't exactly chained or kept in check. He's basically doing whatever the heck he wants. Scary shit.

Which makes sense considering:

Nonetheless, an imprisoned, sleeping, or otherwise enfeebled god may still have an effect--conscious or not--on the god's surroundings. The development of the qiraji is said to be the result of just such an incidental influence. (WC Enc)

The influence of an imprisoned god is on its immediate surroundings. N'Zoth's influence doesn't seem to be limited at all.

[Mormolyce]

Does "N'zoth not being defeated by the Titans" mean he was never imprisoned and the Titans just chained the other 4 and left Azeroth? That sounds a bit...off.

Remember:

1) The first we ever heard of N'Zoth was around the time of DS, almost nothing is known about him.
2) This is the "could not defeat" quote in question:

Where is N'Zoth? He was mentioned at Blizzcon, then was talked about in Dragon Soul. What is going on with him?!
N'zoth is still lurking. The Titans couldn't defeat it... maybe someday we'll get our chance? Don't expect to hear anything about him in Pandaria, though!

http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comm...ria-transcript

This is pretty much a dev speaking offhandedly, I wouldn't put too much faith in it. The real answer to anything regarding N'Zoth is "we don't know yet". And won't until and unless Blizzard decides to do something with... it.

It's old lore and may not be true anymore, but definitely wasn't merely speculation.

"The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the five evil gods far beneath the surface of the world."

This was before Y'Shaarj was written to be killed and N'Zoth was mentioned to not have been defeated by the Titans.

I believe we knew none of their names at the point that was written.

It does say "the five", implying there are no others. I think the real answer is that the "couldn't defeat" quote is not saying what people think it is.

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I was gonna say, that would make my theory that N'zoth isn't exactly chained or kept in check. He's basically doing whatever the heck he wants. Scary shit.

He has had literally zero impact in the live game or lore so far shown. Even his "involvement" in DS was indirect, for all we know the Faceless were acting on their own and just assuming their goals would serve their imprisoned master.

There is nothing to prove he was actually pulling Deathwing's strings, rather than Deathwing simply being mad and corrupt as a legacy of his prior involvement with the Old Gods.

[Aquamonkey]

He has had literally zero impact in the live game or lore so far shown. Even his "involvement" in DS was indirect, for all we know the Faceless were acting on their own and just assuming their goals would serve their imprisoned master.

There is nothing to prove he was actually pulling Deathwing's strings, rather than Deathwing simply being mad and corrupt as a legacy of his prior involvement with the Old Gods.

Afrasiabi and Metzen confirmed that N'Zoth was behind the Emerald Nightmare and Deathwing.

[Skeppio]

Does "N'zoth not being defeated by the Titans" mean he was never imprisoned and the Titans just chained the other 4 and left Azeroth? That sounds a bit...off.

He probably retreated deep beneath the sea when the other Old Gods fell. Screw getting ganged up on, escape to scheme another day. And from what we've seen of his schemes (Azshara and the naga, Deathwing, the Emerald Nightmare, the Hour of Twilight), it was easily worth running from one unbalanced fight (Even N'Zoth would struggle to defeat the entire pantheon solo) to remain unhindered in his plans.

[Tenjen]

There are also non-azerothian super villains..err I mean Old Gods. out there in the universe. Though whether we will encounter them or not is unknown.

or we can go crazy. "There are as many fully awake old gods as there are atoms in the bodies of each and every one of the demons of the Burning Legion"

The thing arthas faced wasn't an old god. More one of it's major servants, like that thing in darkshore. (that was also thought to be an old god until it was revealed in Cata that it's a major servant).

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Also faceless NEVER act on their own. Anything and everything they do is a direct command from they're related old god.

[Klokie]

There are also non-azerothian super villains..err I mean Old Gods.

Relevant :P ?

[arcaneshot]

I don't think the thing in Darkshore is an Old God because doesn't their mere presence cause undesirable effects? Think all that stuff happened only because Deathwing did a flyby of the zone.

If you do the quests in Darkshore, it's made clear that thing in the ground isn't an Old God. That's Soggoth the Slitherer, a champion of the Old Gods.

[FellishBeast]

Still doesn't bring in the Guardian of Tirisfal thing... why Tirisfal? It's a curious title. Who knows.

The Guardian was appointed by the Council of Tirisfal - literally named after where they met, not because of whatever lies beneath Tirisfal.

Something I found interesting when doing some research was that the murals we see in Pandaria (supposedly depicting Y'shaarj) look just like Soggoth in Darkshore.
http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/wowp...vess_mural.jpg
http://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc/...e_12694_46.jpg

[Mormolyce]

Afrasiabi and Metzen confirmed that N'Zoth was behind the Emerald Nightmare and Deathwing.

I recall an offhand comment implying he was "cashing Deathwing's checks" but that never bore fruit ingame. It sounded from that interview like he'd be involved in DS and yet he wasn't, apart from being mentioned in passing by Yor and Zon. Always wondered what that might mean and if they changed their mind about his role. That one interview, to my knowledge, is the only place we ever heard anything about N'Zoth. If it hadn't happened we wouldn't even know who he was. I'd say anything about him remains in the realm of speculation until he or lore concerning him appears ingame.

I don't remember them confirming the Nightmare though - do you have that link?

Still doesn't bring in the Guardian of Tirisfal thing... why Tirisfal? It's a curious title. Who knows.

Because novel lore.

Or was that the comics? Ehhhhh.

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Something I found interesting when doing some research was that the murals we see in Pandaria (supposedly depicting Y'shaarj) look just like Soggoth in Darkshore.
http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/wowp...vess_mural.jpg
http://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc/...e_12694_46.jpg

Yeah it's cool isn't it? Though I don't think there's anything indicating it's Y'shaarj specifically. The Mantid serve the Old Gods in general.

[fabone]

The old gods are pure evil and care only about themselves and their plans. They delight in creating chaos and destruction which they have certainly been doing for a long time. I wouldn't say that they are meaner than Sargeras though. He wants to destroy all of creation, including the old gods. The old gods just want to 'mess around' really.