Murlocs stole my Xal'atath?

[Assorted Whip]

Can someone explain to me how Xal'atath ended up in the hands of Naga in BFA because I'm not aware of any official explanation of this? After draining sword of Sargeras I doubt our character hero would easily relinquish such powerful weapon...

[Aucald]

Xal'atath is well known for disappearing or failing to function for reasons of its own - it is, after all, controlled by an independent sentience. It's more likely that after being powered down from using it to draw the power forth from Gorribal in Silithus that it managed to lose itself in some manner - winding up in the hands of the Naga so it could be found later on.

[Alanar]

Xal'atath is well known for disappearing or failing to function for reasons of its own - it is, after all, controlled by an independent sentience. It's more likely that after being powered down from using it to draw the power forth from Gorribal in Silithus that it managed to lose itself in some manner - winding up in the hands of the Naga so it could be found later on.

So vague.. I mean you just pick it up again at the tortollan guy was the weirdest shit ever when it was just in my bag.

They could have explain that part a bit better then oo naga got it. Tidestone was the same thing.

[Villager720]

Tidestone was the same thing.

Didn't they mention that they stole the Tidestone from the Tomb of Sargeras? Makes sense to me as we had to use it to seal the Tomb/portal against the Legion, and there were always Naga there to begin with.

[Alanar]

Didn't they mention that they stole the Tidestone from the Tomb of Sargeras? Makes sense to me as we had to use it to seal the Tomb/portal against the Legion, and there were always Naga there to begin with.

We just left in there... ofc some one is gonna steal it.
Just weird for such a powerfull item to just leave it there.. I though it was kinda dumb and I wondered about the tidestone in legion why we left it there anyway..wr got an anwser.. just not the best.

[Aucald]

So vague.. I mean you just pick it up again at the tortollan guy was the weirdest shit ever when it was just in my bag.

They could have explain that part a bit better then oo naga got it. Tidestone was the same thing.

I assume Xal'atath wanted to be found when it was found, all part of its longer-term plans to secure itself a true body and engineer the barter with N'Zoth. After the failed attempt to recover it at the Tomb of Sargeras with Mistress Sassz'ine, Azshara apparently sent another sortie into the now poorly-guarded Tomb and recovered it. This scans as at this point both the Horde and Alliance would've been fully committed to the Blood War - leaving the Broken Shore and the Tomb without much in the way of defenders.

[Alanar]

I assume Xal'atath wanted to be found when it was found, all part of its longer-term plans to secure itself a true body and engineer the barter with N'Zoth. After the failed attempt to recover it at the Tomb of Sargeras with Mistress Sassz'ine, Azshara apparently sent another sortie into the now poorly-guarded Tomb and recovered it. This scans as at this point both the Horde and Alliance would've been fully committed to the Blood War - leaving the Broken Shore and the Tomb without much in the way of defenders.

Still doesnt realy explain why it was just laying there.. when I am a shadow priest with the dagger is still in my bag. I see you are trying to justify it, but it was just bad storytelling.. imo, Its like oo yea you can just pick it up there and there and talk to her.

I facepalmed the whole questline through..

[Aucald]

Still doesnt realy explain why it was just laying there.. when I am a shadow priest with the dagger is still in my bag.
I see you are trying to justify it, but it was just bad storytelling.. imo.
Its like oo yea you can just pick it up there and there and talk to her.

I facepalmed the whole questline through..

I don't think you having any of the former Artifacts in your bag are actually their canon outcomes. Xal'atath actually alludes to you as her former owner if you happen to be a Shadow Priest during the quests in BfA - so it's definitely not a matter of it jumping out of your bags and/or bank, as it were. Although it's not been stated I would imagine the canon outcome of the Artifacts after their use in Silithus is that were collected and stored in the Order Halls later on - and disappeared from there later on, after the Blood War had commenced.

Is it a justification? Sure, kind of, but I think it works a lot better than the stated alternative. It's pretty easy to reconcile the questlines with a minimum suspension of disbelief, IMO.

[tocoman]

Can someone explain to me how Xal'atath ended up in the hands of Naga in BFA because I'm not aware of any official explanation of this? After draining sword of Sargeras I doubt our character hero would easily relinquish such powerful weapon...

After Xal was drained of its power, you had no use for it as a shadow priest. Your character in canon lore would discard a useless weapon after theyre done with it, you have very limited room and cant hold on to burdensome things.

[Skytotem]

Lazy writing, despite Aucald trying to fig-leaf Blizzard, that's all it is.

[BananaHandsB]

I assume Xal'atath wanted to be found when it was found, all part of its longer-term plans to secure itself a true body and engineer the barter with N'Zoth. After the failed attempt to recover it at the Tomb of Sargeras with Mistress Sassz'ine, Azshara apparently sent another sortie into the now poorly-guarded Tomb and recovered it. This scans as at this point both the Horde and Alliance would've been fully committed to the Blood War - leaving the Broken Shore and the Tomb without much in the way of defenders.

And it doesn't make sense that we can kill the same bosses, every single week after killing them the previous week, or how I can kill a boss that another guild on my server already killed that week. Remember, it is a game and sometimes gameplay trumps tiny lore details. Deleting the item from your bags would have meant not having artifacts to use for the remainder of the final legion patch, which wasn't an option.

[Aucald]

And it doesn't make sense that we can kill the same bosses, every single week after killing them the previous week, or how I can kill a boss that another guild on my server already killed that week. Remember, it is a game and sometimes gameplay trumps tiny lore details. Deleting the item from your bags would have meant not having artifacts to use for the remainder of the final legion patch, which wasn't an option.

That is actually kind of what I'm saying in the above? Just like my character isn't literally carrying Apocalypse, the Blades of the Fallen Prince, and the Maw of the Damned on his person at all times. After the time of those Artifacts passed at the end of Legion they also passed from relevance - the stat-sticks they were reduced to aren't their canon endings, that's just a gameplay contrivance so you didn't lose the only weapon you had at that point. Story-wise they likely all had different endings, only one of which we're so far privy to.

- - - Updated - - -

Lazy writing, despite Aucald trying to fig-leaf Blizzard, that's all it is.

Open-ended != lazy, IMO. It isn't addressed, but that doesn't mean it has to be nonsensical. If a canon source or Dev comes out and outright says "Oh, the PC lost it one day" then I would join you in saying that yes, that is profoundly lazy writing. We don't actually know what happened between A and B here, so you can either speculate something that makes some sense or you can you take a route that is indeed lazy.

In this case, the onus is actually on the ones discussing it - at least until an actual source of info is provided.

[Skytotem]

Open-ended != lazy, IMO. It isn't addressed, but that doesn't mean it has to be nonsensical. If a canon source or Dev comes out and outright says "Oh, the PC lost it one day" then I would join you in saying that yes, that is profoundly lazy writing. We don't actually know what happened between A and B here, so you can either speculate something that makes some sense or you can you take a route that is indeed lazy.

In this case, the onus is actually on the ones discussing it - at least until an actual source of info is provided.

Oh come on man, "let them imagine it so we don't have to make something good" is lazy, there's a vast gulf between being open ended and just -not doing their jobs- because it's hard.

Hell, let's give them a pass on the dagger and just look at the Tidestone.

We went through so much garbage to get those Pillars and we're to believe that the 'armies of legionfall' and everybody just... left them unattended or something? We just get 'the naga stole them'? That's it?

[Aucald]

Oh come on man, "let them imagine it so we don't have to make something good" is lazy, there's a vast gulf between being open ended and just -not doing their jobs- because it's hard.

Hell, let's give them a pass on the dagger and just look at the Tidestone.

We went through so much garbage to get those Pillars and we're to believe that the 'armies of legionfall' and everybody just... left them unattended or something? We just get 'the naga stole them'? That's it?

WoW has always had a bit of an open-ended element to its narrative - letting players tell their own stories within the confines of the world they created. I would argue that has lessened to a degree as the narrative itself has become more pronounced, but it isn't completely gone.

As for the Tidestone, it wouldn't be the first time a powerful relic or artifact has gone missing or unattended. But think of what's happened in the world since the close of Legion. Right on the heels of a major invasion and counterstrike on the Legion's homeworld of Argus, the Alliance and Horde almost immediately embroiled themselves in a literal world war, calling in all allied forces to aid them in their respective struggles. The Wardens were likely safeguarding the Tomb and were recalled to the front to fight at Darkshore, leaving the Tomb poorly defended. Neither the Alliance nor the Horde were banking on Azshara moving behind the scenes, and their collective eyes were off the prize(s) at the Tomb, given their focus on the Blood War at the moment. It's not a huge leap to see one of the Pillars get stolen under those circumstances.

I think you're digging for criticism without a strong basis here. It's a pretty easy narrative gap to cover without much in the way of stretching credulity.

[formerShandalay]

We also never were told how it got from Zan'do to the dwarf who brought it to Modgud and it vanished inexplicably from her side, while she was actually carrying it around. Later it showed up in Seline's hands and disappeared again after it had made her followers kill her.

At one point Xal'atath remarks even that she had some problems escaping the Naga after the Sundering, so we know that she escapes on her own, but not how or why.


The whole point of this blade is that it shows up and disappears inexplicably, causing havoc along the way, sometimes by the things she makes her wielders do and sometimes by her disappearance alone.

[derpkitteh]

i would say that the high priest had to fight her to absorb the power of the sword, and when it was apparent to her she couldn't escape, took measures to try to protect herself from being destroyed.

when the high priest thought she lost her power, he/she probably thought would be safe to store her away. then, she took the chance to escape with what little power she had left, which is why we find her near-dormant.

[Powerogue]

That's what you get for dumping it in your bank the second she was too low ilevel for you.

Naga: Yessss I'm here about a magical artifact that's been whisssspering to me begging for release from your prissssson of trinketsssss.
Banker: Okey doke, I see nothing suspicious here.

[Assorted Whip]

Xal'atath is well known for disappearing or failing to function for reasons of its own - it is, after all, controlled by an independent sentience. It's more likely that after being powered down from using it to draw the power forth from Gorribal in Silithus that it managed to lose itself in some manner - winding up in the hands of the Naga so it could be found later on.

If you bother to read the lore pages about Xal'atath you'll find that it can leave its user at will and has done so multiple times in the past. E.g. it abandoned Mogdud in the middle of the fight for Grim Batol. It makes sense that it would abandon the player after being used against Gorribal.

So Xal'atath can leave or disappear on it's own...how? It just teleports itself away?

[Ophenia]

After Xal was drained of its power, you had no use for it as a shadow priest. Your character in canon lore would discard a useless weapon after theyre done with it, you have very limited room and cant hold on to burdensome things.

So do you mean all Paladins threw Ashbringer into the Great Sea and Shamans threw Sharas'dal and Doomhammer into the Maelstrom ?

It's perfectly acceptable that Xal'atath left by it/her/himself. Could imagine she mindcontrolled you/anyone to move away, but that shouldn't be that long to write a two-line text about this anywhere.

[masterjc]

Didn't they mention that they stole the Tidestone from the Tomb of Sargeras? Makes sense to me as we had to use it to seal the Tomb/portal against the Legion, and there were always Naga there to begin with.

if I remember correctly, in 8.2 Azshara mentions that she did not left Tidestone without protection, as did we.