The eye colour of the Lich King (spoilers)

[Ryonas]

Bolvar is the next Garrosh. Good next expansion bad after it.

In what universe was Garrosh Hellscream ever "good?"

[Shinrael]

@Shinrael

I can agree to only one of your statements: that one of the reasons WotLK was so interesting to people was the re-introduction of Arthas. Other than that, I do believe you're talking nonsense, and here is why I think so:

1. Luxury of riding the hype wave. This is just not true. You could use this as an argument to say "WotLK was unsuccessful" if WotLK was just ending, but we're several expansions past it already, and what have we seen for all this time - that gameplay design and storytelling just keep becoming more and more horrible.

2. Vanilla and TBC were not as successful as WotLK. They were the "awakening" of Blizzard, during which they realized on what goldmine they are sitting. Then they made WotLK which was the embodyment of the true potential.

3. True fans don’t want their favorite characters to be killed. They want to see more and more of them. With that said, YES, Arthas has a huge fanbase ever since WC3 and TFT (myself included), but NO, his fans don’t want him gone – they want to see more of him.

4. Bolvar will not generate as much interest as Arthas, but that’s because there was not as much focus on him. And the only thing interesting about him is the potential of him losing control and becoming the true Lich King. To be frank, I personally dislike him only because of his name - Bolvar is quite a stupid name, doesn’t bring the same chill as hearing “ARTHASsss” . Then again, that’s probably because of the lack of focus on him, which I mentioned sooner.

@Everybody-else who says "it's just a picture" and "it's fake" :

First of all the image is not fake! And its addition to the merch store proves that.

Secondly, it's not just a picture! As datamines have already shown us some races who previously did not have access to DK class (pandaren) will now be granted such. This must mean AT THE VERY LEAST, that we will get some event involving the Lich King, which will serve as a bridge/tool to provide more races with DK class. And at most, it will be WotLK 2.0, which is my personal preference, as I could really get used to seeing some ice and snow in this game again.

I will have to disagree with your statements as well:

1) By luxury of riding the hype wave I meant that WoW was already spreading rapidly at that point. If WotLK had been launched instead of TBC back in 2007, how do you think things would have panned out? Surely, WotLK would have probably gotten more subscribers than TBC, but would it have reached 12 mil? I believe it would be just a bit above what TBC had (7-8 mil? don't remember the exact numbers) because this growth happens gradually and once again - theme is not the only factor. WotLK had all the good factors - it had a strong theme, strong gameplay, new steps in storytelling (cinematics) AND TIMING (it launched at a time when WoW had already gained some popularity and still had few competitors). Also gameplay design is subjective. I much prefer the gameplay design of Legion and BFA. As to storytelling - that is objectively better than ever and it can only get better. We have proper storylines for each zone, tons of cinematics, extra comics, videos, novels, short stories, audiodramas, voice acting, expansion-long campaigns, class quests, racial quests and so on. All of these make for a much more immersive storytelling. You might dislike the direction of the story but the way it is handled is so much better than before (that is not to say there are no plotholes but there have always been)

2) What do you use to measure their success? If WotLK had launched first then TBC then Vanilla, do you think that WotLK would still have 12 mil subscribers from the get go and that they would fall down to 5 mil during Vanilla? I doubt it. Just because WotLK had more subscribers than Vanilla and TBC doesn't mean it is more "successful". Vanilla gained WoW 6 mil subscribers. TBC got an extra 2-3 mil. WotLK added an extra 3-4 mil. Vanilla seems to be more successful. If we use subscribers as a measure that is. So we should rethink and establish how we measure success before arguing about success, what do you think?

3) As a true fan of a more than one series I can share you this true fan secret: while I often dread the end of my favourite series or the death of my favourite character, a good series must always have its end - that doesn't necessarily mean the character should die. But your favourite character dying can have positive sides too. The amount of emotional value it can bring depends on how attached people are to that character and what his death can bring them (my favourite character sacrifices to save my favourite fantasy world. I'd cry but I'd be glad he did that, because I not only get the luxury to lament that character but also the world that he saved is still there for me and I can enjoy it).

4) Well, there are many other things I find interesting about Bolvar but even if I shared them here it wouldn't make for much of an argument because it is extremely subjective. So let us leave this topic aside.

[Firedemon]

I like how based on that picture, Bolvar got bored and got himself some skeleton armor crafted, like Arthas used to have, and a weapon. I mean, what kind of Lich King are you if you don't have some style.

As for his involvement, well I think it was expected that at some point Sylvanas will make an attempt at that power and hopefully it stays just that. I'm sick of having the same characters over and over and over and over and over, getting worse and worse with each iteration.

[Super Dickmann]

I like his armor and weapon, but the blue eyes are a real downside. Even if they have a lore explanation, presumably him dipping more obviously into his LK powers, the orange glow and fire zombie aesthetic is really underplayed outside of Dark Souls and I'd have loved to see WoW's spin on it. It'd be a shame if The Bolvar doesn't have some minions with that look.

[Darknessvamp]

Are we sure it's not just a fine art piece much in the same vein as the Onyxia one that was used to find the image just with an error on his eye colouring similar to Varian's sword on the loading screen that got fixed? Just saying as current Bolvar doesn't have those shoulder pads, belt and hammer though he could get a model update. Now I'm not ruling it out referencing the next expansion but how do we know he won't have a "Warbringer" or Wrathion type role instead next expansion?

[Madkat124]

Are we sure it's not just a fine art piece much in the same vein as the Onyxia one that was used to find the image just with an error on his eye colouring similar to Varian's sword on the loading screen that got fixed? Just saying as current Bolvar doesn't have those shoulder pads, belt and hammer though he could get a model update. Now I'm not ruling it out referencing the next expansion but how do we know he won't have a "Warbringer" or Wrathion type role instead next expansion?

After looking at it again, I really don't know. I think it certainly could be a piece of art, after brightening up the image there were some places it looked like brush strokes, but it could just be lighting/screen affects.

[Greengrim]

After looking at it again, I really don't know. I think it certainly could be a piece of art, after brightening up the image there were some places it looked like brush strokes, but it could just be lighting/screen affects.

The image was added to the official Blizzard merch store, so it must be legit. Besides (and as I mentioned in my previous post) we know that some races (pandaren) which previously did not have access to DK class are getting such.

So I believe 1 thing is certain: we will see the Lich King in future WoW content. In my opinion the question should be, what exactly will we see?

A small event just to give more races DK?
Bolvar turning bad and us fighting him as a tier 1 raid in 9.0?
WotLK 2.0?
Bolvar aiding us in our next fight?

[Syegfryed]

He is rasie from the throne, in the middle of the cinematic his eyes will turn from orange to blue, so the audience will go nuts screaming

its just the rule of cool and throwback to Arthas, they will say now The Bolvar control the "ice/death" Lich king powers.

[Sangris]

Wasn't it stated somewhere a long time ago that there'd be an even worse Lich King than Arthas? Could be referring to The Bolvar. It could also allow them to get rid of that stupid "There must always be a Lich King" garbage.

[Syegfryed]

In what universe was Garrosh Hellscream ever "good?"

all of then

[FarmerJim]

If Bolvar is corrupted by Ner'zhul then it will happen at the beginning of the next expansion. We can see that Bolvar in BfA is still "morally good". He laments Sylvanas' actions as they are breaking the balance he is trying to maintain. Indeed, the very reason why Bolvar became Lich King was to keep the Scourge at bay, whereas Ner'zhul would have just unleashed it to destroy Azeroth. That's why, in BfA, I strongly doubt Bolvar is already corrupted. If it happens, it will be in the next expansion.

Personally, I feel that he is taking action as he knows some of what Sylvanas is up to and who she is working for. I feels as he has embraced the Lich King powers in order to combat what is coming in order to save Azeroth. This is why we get the blue eyes and yet his chest and weapon are still orange/yellow as he is still in there, doing the driving.

We may see a progression of the character throughout the expansion as he is focused on saving Azeroth and this allows the pieces of Nerzul to corrupt him at the end leading to the next expansion after this.

[Destinas]

Blue is the dominant color for necromancy, with a teal/black also used (for things like the newer necromancers, Argus, and Bwonsamdi in recent expansions). Bolvar's fire is from Alexstrasza, when she burned the battlefield that he had fallen in, so they wouldn't become undead. However, as we know, Bolvar remained "alive" and the Lich king tortured him in ICC, trying to break him into a Death Knight, like he did Dranosh Saurfang.

Something to note is that there is some overlap between necromancy and the Red Dragonflight. Since they are the protectors of life, in older lore they also had some control over death. In the War of the Ancients trilogy, Krasus/Korialstrasz animated a dead Goblin's body in Highmountain in order to lead them to Deathwing's Lair. He explained that all Red Dragons have some power over life and death, since life and death and inherently connected.

This is somewhat mirrored with Alexstrasza's actions with Bolvar - many people died from the plague and their plagued bodies were charred by her fire, but Bolvar was the only one that was reanimated by her fire, with a grand purpose later on. A bug at the time allowed some players to understand her Draconic words after the Wrathgate event:

Alexstrasza: [Draconic] They must not discover the fate of the young paladin. Not yet.

Meaning that it was either an accident, or she chose for him to survive.

The last time we saw Bolvar as DKs and Mages, he was quite a different guy from the ending of ICC. He had Frost DKs put down a few souls to remake Frostmourne for odd, conflicting reasons:

The Lich King says: The soul of Halahk was tortured within Frostmourne till he cursed the Light. Now that he has forsaken it, slay him.

The Lich King says: Even when consumed by Frostmourne, the soul of Magroth refused to give up the Light. Show him the error of his ways.

This perhaps shows that he is fighting the Helm of Domination for control.

As a Fire Mage, we learn that the Scourge had Felo'melorn, and that he killed Lyandra Sunstrider - but he also says it's not his fault that she became Scourge herself:

The Lich King says: If you are as powerful as you believe, then perhaps you may prove more worthy of the sword than the last mage who came to claim it.
The Lich King says: But be warned! I will not be responsible for the fate which befalls you... any more than I was for what happened to the last seeker who hoped to take my relic.
The Lich King says: Should you succeed, the blade is yours. But if you should fail... then you will become a mindless minion of the Scourge. Do not expect my protection.

Meaning that, perhaps, he is once again losing a battle with the Helm of Domination.

Long after all that, we see him commanding the Ebon Blade/Deathlord to recreate the Four Horsemen, as well as make more Frost Wyrms for the Deathlord personally. Thing is, we invade the Red Dragonflight, and raise a long-dead Red Dragon. In BfA, as well, we see another DK trying to raise a long-dead skeletal Red Dragon as well. DK players choose to kill all the Red Dragons or not in the Ruby Sanctum, which affects how the Red Dragonflight sees us in Drustvar's small event - but they are encouraged by Bolvar to kill everything.

It's likely that Bolvar holds a grudge on Alexstrasza for his current state, but the Helm of Domination is poisoning his thoughts. The fire of Life that Alexstrasza breathed on him is still keeping him "alive" but it's entirely likely that the Demonic powers of the Helm are manipulating him, slowly taking over. Perhaps Alexstrasza's flames have less power now that she is not as powerful as she once was, after the events of Cataclysm, as well.

This would lead us to both a Dragon-centric expansion and a Bolvar-leaning expansion, as well as explain why the eyes/gem are blue now.