Why does no one talk about Anduin? Anyone here care about Anduin's character arc?

[Ningjinq]

He has almost no dialogue lines in BFA worth talking about so far

[Jack Black]

Remember BFA cinematic? First moment we see him he wearing his lion shaped helm. This REALLY bothered me. Why give Anduin helm? Well i'm understand he charging into battle, its dangerous and all. But then my memory gave me this:

King Baldwin IV from Kingdom of Heaven.

I think Anduin will suffer serious injury in BFA. For example getting under Azerite Warmachine fire. Imagine he getting nuked and half of his face is blown up. I believe some facial trauma and how he reacts to this will improve his character. Make him more real. War should left some mark on him just like it did with Varian.

Something like this (imagine dark side of face is burned):

Also i'm wondering will Anduin be able to split Shalamayne? Varian had his double sides theme and I see it in Anduin. As priest he able to wield both Light and Shadow so it would be great to see Shalla'tor infused with shadow and Ellemayne with light.

[Powerogue]

I find it interesting leveling my allied races and doing the questlines the differences in approach for the horde and alliance.

Anduin's message is far more friendly and personal, as is the greeter, whereas Sylvanaas and the forsaken greeter are like "yeah yeah you're part of the horde now go off on adventures and junk, NEEEEXT!"

It reflects well on him adapting to the leadership role and being in his element as a diplomat, whereas Sylvanaas is a more reluctant leader still more interested in pursuing her own ambitions and those of the Forsaken.

Anduin is kind, empathetic, and tries to see the best in people. We will see that put to the test.

Also i'm wondering will Anduin be able to split Shalamayne?

As I understand it it's already split as he went dual wield and had one break in the cutscene, and Anduin picks up the other one. I'm not sure if that's reflected in the in-game model Anduin holds though.

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

Anduin was interesting when his flaws actually were flaws.

He still has flaws. Blizz is just giving him some strengths as he grows. Six months ago, all anyone in forums did was joke about how weak he was. Now he is showing he can grow into being an effective king. I agree he should continue to make mistakes as well, but they should continue to have him grow and mature.

I guess that begs the question of what his flaws should be, going forward. His strengths, imho, are that he has a genuinely good heart (he really wants the best for everyone), he's very brave, but also idealistic to the point of being naive. They kind of have to moderate the naivety to let him grow at all. I don't see him ever developing his father's temper. If anything, I see him more like his grandfather as portrayed in the movie - fooled by his old friend Medivh, but brave enough to inspire respect in Garona and insightful enough to see that she must be the one to kill him so she could help in the future. Will be a tough balance to strike for any writer, and I fully expect some in forums to complain about him whatever they do.

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Lol, just lol.

OT: Anduin is really the epitome of everything I hate about Warcraft. He's just a boring character in general, with few, if any, intentional flaws. If the Alliance are happy with him, that's fine I guess; however, as a Horde player, I want nothing to do with him. He's just boring, and he can't be salvaged at this point.

Can you give us an example of flaws you would write for Anduin, while staying true to his character so far? That is, he continues to be a good kid growing into a good king, but isn't perfect. How would you write that?

[Friendlyimmolation]

He still has flaws. Blizz is just giving him some strengths as he grows. Six months ago, all anyone in forums did was joke about how weak he was. Now he is showing he can grow into being an effective king. I agree he should continue to make mistakes as well, but they should continue to have him grow and mature.

I guess that begs the question of what his flaws should be, going forward. His strengths, imho, are that he has a genuinely good heart (he really wants the best for everyone), he's very brave, but also idealistic to the point of being naive. They kind of have to moderate the naivety to let him grow at all. I don't see him ever developing his father's temper. If anything, I see him more like his grandfather as portrayed in the movie - fooled by his old friend Medivh, but brave enough to inspire respect in Garona and insightful enough to see that she must be the one to kill him so she could help in the future. Will be a tough balance to strike for any writer, and I fully expect some in forums to complain about him whatever they do.

As I said before, his flaws are not flaws if they do not effect him in the story, until we see them actually negatively effect him, it comes off as borderline mary-sue ish in their "perfect" life and constant win streak of events.

[Rend Blackhand]

He's just another boring totally-not-a-paladin goody two shoes Alliance character. Boring!

[baskev]

All I see are Sylvanas threads, now Saurfang threads because he's interacting with Sylvanas.

When Genn is talked about, they only talk about him because of his interactions with Sylvanas, Vol'jins closing & upcoming arc are brought up on the the Forums with...you guessed it, Sylvanas.

Does anyone care about Anduin? Is anyone curious as to what he will do in this expansion at all, of how he'll interact with the other leaders? Or are Alliance players actually more interested in the Horde narrative and Sylvanas than thier own stories and central characters?

Is it a fault of his character not being interesting in the least or what exactly?

Because he is written poorly and great. If you see the books etc he is epic ( or the comics). And he has great quests with deep narrative ingame. But blizzard does not seem to like to write about him.
They could make him grow wiser etc. But nope, they have given him mad dog genn, cold as ice lady proudmoore and most likely fire hot with rage tyrande .

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

As I said before, his flaws are not flaws if they do not effect him in the story, until we see them actually negatively effect him, it comes off as borderline mary-sue ish in their "perfect" life and constant win streak of events.

What flaws can they give him while staying true to his character? I am kind of tired of good people turning bad, tbh. We have so much moral greyness in real life, that I enjoy having at least ONE leader in our fantasy world who is clearly good and always trying to do the right thing. Best I can come up with is that he continues to make some youthful mistakes, but not so bad that he seems inept. Also it did not look to me in the cinematic like he's become a strong warrior; he looked very much like a geared healer fighting - he takes out weaker foes well enough, but had to blow a cooldown to finally get that troll at end. And of course Saurfang put him on his butt pretty easy, but I see no shame in that.

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He's just another boring totally-not-a-paladin goody two shoes Alliance character. Boring!

How would you make him more interesting? Without turning him into a dreadlord?

[pinelakias]

I'm sorry to all Anduin fans, but I find him the least interesting character from the entire MMO. I actually prefer to talk about Gallywix rather than Anduin...

[ls-]

There's no point in talking about Anduin because we already know that he has BiS plot armour and literally nothing bad can happen to him. We know that he's destined to be the messiah, the true saviour of the Azeroth, and will lead armies against the Void.

[Rend Blackhand]

How would you make him more interesting? Without turning him into a dreadlord?

I would make it clearer that he is struggling with the loss of his father and seeks out Genn as a role model leading him to be more reckless and aggressive in the war against the Horde because he wants to impress Genn but also doesn't want to disappoint Velen. Just have this kind of thing where he's a young man trying to figure out what is right or wrong and have him making some mistakes and learning from them, not being perfect all the time.

[ello]

Oddly enough, Anduin was more interesting to me when he was a weak, naive, peace-loving idealist.

Blizzard should've made a bigger deal about the divine bell incident. It should've left him permanently crippled and barely able to lift his arm let alone his sword. That would've given him an interesting challenge to overcome. He would've been forced to use his own skills instead of leading from the frontlines like his dad, he wouldn't have the option of being a plate-wearing pseudo Paladin. He would've been forced to work as a priest and as a diplomat, a real flaw, that would've been compelling.

[Ash123]

What flaws can they give him while staying true to his character? I am kind of tired of good people turning bad, tbh. We have so much moral greyness in real life, that I enjoy having at least ONE leader in our fantasy world who is clearly good and always trying to do the right thing. Best I can come up with is that he continues to make some youthful mistakes, but not so bad that he seems inept. Also it did not look to me in the cinematic like he's become a strong warrior; he looked very much like a geared healer fighting - he takes out weaker foes well enough, but had to blow a cooldown to finally get that troll at end. And of course Saurfang put him on his butt pretty easy, but I see no shame in that.

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How would you make him more interesting? Without turning him into a dreadlord?

There are many mistakes he could make without hurting his characters.

He could actually run away from a battle at least once out of fear.
His enemy could make use of his desire for peace and fool him at least once.
Gerymane might quarrel with Velen and Aduin may not stop the fight due to his lack of authority which could lead to the death of some important alliance figure.
He could massacre a horde village when the anger takes over him and he can repent for his action later.
....

There are many other things that can be used to show that he is able to outgrow his weakness, learn from his mistake and act as a better king.

But no. He is perfect from this beginning. Every Alliance leaders respect him and follow his order and he does not make any mistake that causes any misfortune.
You could say he is not very strong physically, but who cares when he can raise a giant light shield and mass-ress?

It is hard to love him when you are told that he is THAT AWESOME at the beginning.

[Zulkhan]

I don't give a crap about him, overall. The only one thing that I find interesting about Anduin is not really about Anduin but about what could potentially be tied to the character, hence the infamous three lies offerred by the "boy king".

[TickTickTick]

Bold prediction: the comic we've seen with old Anduinn will be fulfilled in BfA.

Khadgar and Medivh will find a way to heal Azeroth in Karazhan libaries. Medivh will make Anduinn older like he did with Khadgar. Velen saying they are ready to Anduinn isnt about the Legion or the Void. They are taking Vindicaar to Orgrimmar to finally kill Sylvanas (who will become second Garrosh cause why not, right Blizz?). When they kill Sylvanas (for good), her bargain with Helya will be revealed. Whole Shadowlands will pour into Azeroth, countless souls will instantly become the beacon for the Void, who will invade Azeroth, at the same time awakening N'zoth.

[George Lucas]

What flaws can they give him while staying true to his character? I am kind of tired of good people turning bad, tbh. We have so much moral greyness in real life, that I enjoy having at least ONE leader in our fantasy world who is clearly good and always trying to do the right thing. Best I can come up with is that he continues to make some youthful mistakes, but not so bad that he seems inept. Also it did not look to me in the cinematic like he's become a strong warrior; he looked very much like a geared healer fighting - he takes out weaker foes well enough, but had to blow a cooldown to finally get that troll at end. And of course Saurfang put him on his butt pretty easy, but I see no shame in that.

It would not be so difficult to make him a more interesting character.
He is a believer and faith can easily lead to fanaticism or doubt. Maybe he looses to many troops in Lordaeron, so he brings in some scarlet remnants. They would not seem to be bad people to Anduin, as they also want to heal the land, reclaim their homes and purge the undead, after all their bad deeds were orchestrated by dread lords, who are now gone. Of course they would go to far, but maybe with good reason and Anduin has to evaluate how his believes are applied by those who share them in the actual world. He doesn't need to be corrupt or grey, he just needs events were his morals and intentions are tested and sometimes his decisions turn out to be wrong in the long run, even if they led to a positive outcome for his people.

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

There are many mistakes he could make without hurting his characters.

He could actually run away from a battle at least once out of fear.
His enemy could make use of his desire for peace and fool him at least once.
Gerymane might quarrel with Velen and Aduin may not stop the fight due to his lack of authority which could lead to the death of some important alliance figure.
He could massacre a horde village when the anger takes over him and he can repent for his action later.
....

There are many other things that can be used to show that he is able to outgrow his weakness, learn from his mistake and act as a better king.

But no. He is perfect from this beginning. Every Alliance leaders respect him and follow his order and he does not make any mistake that causes any misfortune.
You could say he is not very strong physically, but who cares when he can raise a giant light shield and mass-ress?

It is hard to love him when you are told that he is THAT AWESOME at the beginning.

I don't think him running from a battle or slaughtering a village of innocents would make people love him more. I think the forums would have a field day about how terrible he was.

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Bold prediction: the comic we've seen with old Anduinn will be fulfilled in BfA.

Khadgar and Medivh will find a way to heal Azeroth in Karazhan libaries. Medivh will make Anduinn older like he did with Khadgar. Velen saying they are ready to Anduinn isnt about the Legion or the Void. They are taking Vindicaar to Orgrimmar to finally kill Sylvanas (who will become second Garrosh cause why not, right Blizz?). When they kill Sylvanas (for good), her bargain with Helya will be revealed. Whole Shadowlands will pour into Azeroth, countless souls will instantly become the beacon for the Void, who will invade Azeroth, at the same time awakening N'zoth.

"At the hour of her third death, she will usher in our coming."



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It would not be so difficult to make him a more interesting character.
He is a believer and faith can easily lead to fanaticism or doubt. Maybe he looses to many troops in Lordaeron, so he brings in some scarlet remnants. They would not seem to be bad people to Anduin, as they also want to heal the land, reclaim their homes and purge the undead, after all their bad deeds were orchestrated by dread lords, who are now gone. Of course they would go to far, but maybe with good reason and Anduin has to evaluate how his believes are applied by those who share them in the actual world. He doesn't need to be corrupt or grey, he just needs events were his morals and intentions are tested and sometimes his decisions turn out to be wrong in the long run, even if they led to a positive outcome for his people.

So you think he would be more likeable if he allied with the Scarlet Crusade???

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I'm sorry to all Anduin fans, but I find him the least interesting character from the entire MMO. I actually prefer to talk about Gallywix rather than Anduin...

That's fine. If we all liked the same things, this would be a boring world.

[Arrashi]

Its difficult to care about generic chosen one teenager character. Lets face it, its one of the most commonly used cliche in fantasy writing in general, and anduin himself is horrible extreme of said cliche.

[Friendlyimmolation]

Bold prediction: the comic we've seen with old Anduinn will be fulfilled in BfA.

Khadgar and Medivh will find a way to heal Azeroth in Karazhan libaries. Medivh will make Anduinn older like he did with Khadgar. Velen saying they are ready to Anduinn isnt about the Legion or the Void. They are taking Vindicaar to Orgrimmar to finally kill Sylvanas (who will become second Garrosh cause why not, right Blizz?). When they kill Sylvanas (for good), her bargain with Helya will be revealed. Whole Shadowlands will pour into Azeroth, countless souls will instantly become the beacon for the Void, who will invade Azeroth, at the same time awakening N'zoth.

Sylvanas already died three times, you're thinking of Alleria who says " I feel like I already have died twice"

[George Lucas]

So you think he would be more likeable if he allied with the Scarlet Crusade???

No.

I think he would be a more interesting character if his faith would be tested and if he would need to make difficult decisions. The scarlet crusade thing was just a quick example.