There is no retcon anymore.

[luigisp]

We get a hint to the answer to this question in WoWHead's recent interview with the devs regarding Legendaries in Shadowlands:

We will craft our legendaries in the Forge of Domination - this is the same forge with which Frostmourne was made, and we'll learn exactly how, and by who, it was crafted.
Given the name of the forge, this most likely extends to the Helm of Domination as well.

They never did explain exactly how Kil'jaeden and the Nathrezim created the Lich King (especially given how powerful he ended up being). This is Blizzard finally explaining the mechanics behind how the Lich King came into being.

My educated guess: KJ and the Nathrezim of the Burning Legion struck a deal with one of the death entities in the Shadowlands (specifically the one who oversees the Forge of Domination) to craft the helm and sword.

[Mehrunes]

That would've been much better. I also forgot about that as it was quite a while since I've read RotLK.

Hey, you're not the only one. So did Blizzard. Even though the writer of that book is now on the lore team, now that I think of it. Which makes it even more sad.

Reading the comments on the cinematic video that they uploaded, it's bound to be the most disliked and heavily criticized expansion cinematic so far.

Until the next one!

And I'm not even joking. Because, let's face it, what's the next big bad after the Shadowlands? The Void. And since N'Zoth failed, to make the Void Lords a threat they'd need to create a new way for the Void Lords to affect the physical realm in any meaningful way. And since them being incapable to do so was what led them to go with the Old Gods plan in the first place, that new way will be an asspull.

[Sneaksies]

So we learn that Lich King is the guardian of the rifts between two worlds and without him, the sky is basically shattered and the barrier between worlds of life and death is shattered. So, before Kil'jaeden created the Lich King and threw him into Azeroth, there was no barrier between life and death,r ight? So The War of the Ancients looked completely different, with Val'kyr, etc. And why there are no mentions in ingame books about The Happening - like "A meteor just crashed in Northrend and now everything looks completely different! People that died just vanished! Sky looks strange, it's not shattered anymore!"
Or did they just retcon Lich King whatsoever and Ner'zhul never existed and Lich King was always a being of the Shadowlands?

i assume it will be explained. thats too much of a plot hole

[shadowmatrix]

I understand what you mean and it is by no means an easy task to come up with something that will please the majority. However, it doesn't take a genius to realize that you simply don't beat a character like the Lich King into a pulp in the intro cinematic of a new expansion. How on Earth did they think this was a good idea? It was bound to take a lot of flak. Never has a Blizzard cinematic been such a blast and a letdown at the same time, no more than 30 seconds appart.

Yeah it isn't like we have seen her use new and unexplained powers in a duel, BTW she hit him with a piece of the citadel and if I remember correctly it was made from saronite. Other then the arrows that did very little, how much damage did she directly do before the boulder smash?

[HailArthas]

We need a new book just to explain all this shit.

[Mehrunes]

Players stopped being mortal long ago, mortals don't die and run back to their body several dozen times an hour with no lasting penalties.

And yet the "first mortals ever" in the Shadowlands expansions is clearly referring to us.

[iamthedevil]

My understanding, can't remember the source, was that Bolvar no longer has access to the Light. I think I heard maybe Bellular say that in a video. So I don't think he has that. I also question what undeath power he really has, the only thing that really gave him any undeath power was have Tirion put the Helm on him, right? I mean up to that point I think Arthas had just been torturing him...IDK maybe Arthas had given him some power over undead too in addition to the torturing but that doesn't seem quite right. Seems like Bolvar, without the Helm, would at most be just a DK with red dragon fire inside him.

He may not have access to it, but it will always be in his mind, I would think. Especially with the helm being gone. It was his paladin powers that helped stopped him from being turned into a DK. I don't think it's a power he has any access too, but it is definitely a thought in his extremely fucked mind, ya know? The DK thing is most likely some distorted red dragonflight/undeath power.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah it isn't like we have seen her use new and unexplained powers in a duel, BTW she hit him with a piece of the citadel and if I remember correctly it was made from saronite. Other then the arrows that did very little, how much damage did she directly do before the boulder smash?

In the end, she controlled him with a few waves of her hands, which is crazy powerful I would think.

I think Bolvar is one of the most interesting characters that wow has ever created. I really hope they do him properly.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

So we learn that Lich King is the guardian of the rifts between two worlds and without him, the sky is basically shattered and the barrier between worlds of life and death is shattered. So, before Kil'jaeden created the Lich King and threw him into Azeroth, there was no barrier between life and death,r ight? So The War of the Ancients looked completely different, with Val'kyr, etc. And why there are no mentions in ingame books about The Happening - like "A meteor just crashed in Northrend and now everything looks completely different! People that died just vanished! Sky looks strange, it's not shattered anymore!"
Or did they just retcon Lich King whatsoever and Ner'zhul never existed and Lich King was always a being of the Shadowlands?

Isn't it more likely that the Nathrezim linked the Helm of the Damned to the veil so it could draw its power from the Shadowlands?

Maybe Icecrown is a place of great power, maybe the veil has always been thinner there; but it's very possible the Nathrezim used that fact to power the Helm (and Frostmourne, who we know was forged also in the Shadowlands)

[Eosia]

But what held back the Shadowlands rift or whatever it was before the helm that only came to azeroth 15 years ago? Wasn't it made from a titan, and sylvanas just ripped it apart with her bare hands lol. It's taking a dump on the lore.

It was made by the Nethrazim actually. They made it to contain the soul of Ner'zhul and create the Lich King. So yes, it is feasible that Sylvanas could rip it apart. Especially since she is a creation of it.

[Goldielocks]

In WC3, three Nathrezim come to Azeroth to take control of the Scourge after Ner’zhul betrays the Legion. This is how I know everything that’s going on with the Lich King right now is a retcon.

All the Lich King ever was, was a pawn created by the Nathrezim’s power to create disorder on Azeroth. Anything he could do, the Nathrezim also could do.

Now all the sudden he’s a dam between life and death. lol okay

[iamthedevil]

Isn't it more likely that the Nathrezim linked the Helm of the Damned to the veil so it could draw its power from the Shadowlands?

Maybe Icecrown is a place of great power, maybe the veil has always been thinner there; but it's very possible the Nathrezim used that fact to power the Helm (and Frostmourne, who we know was forged also in the Shadowlands)

Probably, it had to get it's power from somewhere. I think it's very much based off of energy on our universe whereas it cannot be created or destroyed, just transferred. These things always exist, it's all about harnessing them, like many of the classes in the game.

[Hablion]

The material the helm was made of was from deepest part of the twisting nether perhaps its creation from such materials had consequences and after Arthas Was killed and Frostmourne Shattered the caused the cogs of death to malfunction somehow and with the destruction of the helmet of Dominance the veil broke because icecrown was the closest point to the shadowlands

[iamthedevil]

Here's one thing we were never told... Why did the helm, armor and sword need to be encased in ice? What does ice have to do with any of it?

[Magnagarde]

Until the next one!

And I'm not even joking. Because, let's face it, what's the next big bad after the Shadowlands? The Void. And since N'Zoth failed, to make the Void Lords a threat they'd need to create a new way for the Void Lords to affect the physical realm in any meaningful way. And since them being incapable to do so was what led them to go with the Old Gods plan in the first place, that new way will be an asspull.

That is when Alleria will take Sylvanas' place. Replace Sylvanas with Alleria, Death with Void, Shadowlands with a realm of the Void and you're all set. Illidan opened a portal to Argus, Sylvanas opened a portal to the Shadowlands and Alleria will open one directly to the Void Lords. In a few years time Azeroth will have serious issues with its ozone layer due to all these portals being opened, which is when Anduin and Baine will unite Azeroth's factions in the final battle against climate change.

[shadowmatrix]

But nah, let's have Sylvanas pull a giant boulder from a solid rock formation with the chain she pulled out of thin air (literally) and smack the Lich King with that boulder! Right in the face! That's what they'd do on Dragon Ball and everyone knows Dragon Ball is the high bar of writing fights between super-powered characters!

You mean the chain we see come out of the arrow she set up earlier? That is like seeing someone reload then wondering why they have bullets in their gun.

[iamthedevil]

So many people keep talking retcon, but wtf do we really know about the helm? or frostmourne? or any of it? They left this open on purpose.

[Magnagarde]

You mean the chain we see come out of the arrow she set up earlier? That is like seeing someone reload then wondering why they have bullets in their gun.

What do you mean with "set up earlier"? Did she 3D print the chain right after shooting the arrow?

[iamthedevil]

What do you mean with "set up earlier"? Did she 3D print the chain right after shooting the arrow?

She definitely set that up to happen. Begs the question of how does she keep knowing this shit beforehand.

[Mehrunes]

You mean the chain we see come out of the arrow she set up earlier? That is like seeing someone reload then wondering why they have bullets in their gun.

You mean the arrow that didn't have a chain attached to it from the get go, meaning that it did appear out of thin air regardless of being attached to the arrow on one end or not? I am perfectly aware the chain came from that arrow. Your "counterargument" counters nothing.

[Magnagarde]

She definitely set that up to happen. Begs the question of how does she keep knowing this shit beforehand.

The issue isn't how she utilizes said chains; the issue is how she's made them materialize out of thin air.