Who else thinks World of Warcraft *needs* to bring back Arthas?

[Claymore]

Perhaps my experience has been too limited, but it seems to me that the majority of players I've encountered pretty much agree unanimously that, when Arthas died, the game felt like it was "over".

Obviously, Arthas was hardly the most important character in the Lore, and there is a great deal of compelling story just waiting to be told. Still, for some reason, people seemed to really connect with him, in a way that hasn't really been replicated since. And honestly, it's hard to disregard the timing on when WoW started to see a decline in its subscription-base. It would be foolish to pin all of it on Arthas's death, of course, but I think it's probably still at least somewhat relevant. After all; the Warcraft series had been building Arthas up for nearly ten years; killing him was bound to leave a void.

Plus, let's just be real; Arthas is undoubtedly the single most iconic Blizzard character around now -- hell, he's one of the most recognizable characters in Gaming, or possibly any other media by now! Show a picture of the Lich King to anybody, and I would bet money they know who he is, or at least recognize him to some degree. Even now, YEARS after his death, he's the poster-child for Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm. Frankly, his popularity stretches far beyond the Warcraft series itself.

In short; dude is pretty popular.

Honestly, I think the franchise took a major hit when he was killed, and personally, I think they should consider bringing him back in the future. Obviously, that's a pretty massive feat to undertake, as I think the idea of reviving him is something that, even for those who might agree with the core concept, would be a hard sell. Because Illidan is half-demon, his reappearance is pretty much guaranteed (demons never die, only get sent to the Nether), whereas Arthas' fate is far more vague. We know in Sylvanas' short-story (which admittedly was fan-written, and thus isn't hard canon) that Arthas was in some kind of dark voice being tortured. We also know that nobody is quite sure what happened to his body, or the shards of Frostmourne.

Even as someone who supports the idea, Arthas' return could easily turn into a cringe-worthy affair, if not handled with great care. I would probably stick Christie Golden on the case, as she seems to be the best writer that Blizzard has worked with yet, but she's clearly worked with the character before. Again, I'm not really sure how they could even revive him without it seeming forced, though.

Still, I can't help but feel like Warcraft has been suffering a major identity-crisis since Arthas died, and frankly, I just think they *need* to bring him back, in some capacity. Either that, or man the hell up and have us face-off with the heart of the Burning Legion, on Argus. Stop back-peddling and having us face weaker threats and villains.

[NotFunny008]

Ice crown citadel was just a set back!? Hell no!

[Boogums]

Thrall is more iconic than Arthas, I'd say; and it's funny, the players I've encounted unanimously that the game was just getting started when Arthas died. How many players have you encountered specifically?

[Kilpi]

No. Unless they bring back douchebag-paladin-Arthas or douchebag-DK-Arthas. But no no no no for the WotLK-style LK-Arthas. Oh my god how they raped that character in the expansion. "I would've succeeded if not for you medling kids!" So much for a badass villain..

Edit: Tbh bringing back killed characters is never a good thing. So no, don't bring him back, it won't do any good.

[Immitis]

no. arthas got a good ending.

not to mention, even if he came back, he wouldnt be able to do anything. communication, awareness, and general spreadout of the worlds forces are much better than when the lich king originally rose to power. arthas wouldnt have a chance in hell of standing against us

[isuridedes]

Players who came to World of Warcraft via the Warcraft RTS tend to cling to the old storyline. Since Burning Crusades they've been pushing for a means to bring Illidain back into the storyline; same with Arthas. The problem of course is that if you kill off characters only to bring them back, you reduce the impact not only of the character but of the storyline, and in some cases the expansion.

Blizzard needs to push the lore of Azeroth forward. They cannot do that effectively by kowtowing to nostalgia and forcing story lines that resurrect fallen heroes and villains. That's one of the reasons people cite with disappointment for Warlords; they want to see the story move forward and the reveal so far is pretty much a step backward (to old lore).

That being said, they set themselves up for a new Lich King storyline. I would not be surprised if a future expansion sent players back to Northrend to deal with the new leader of the Scourge. I don't know that I would particularly favor this sort of storyline as I think it would encourage writers to rely on previous arcs just replacing Arthas with Bolvar... but hey.

[McNeil]

They should've given Arthas the treatment that Garrosh had, imprison him and let him stand trial. Ofcourse he wouldn't be the Lich king anymore, but he would be back to his normal self before he picked up Frostmourne.

I could see Jaina free'ing Arthas and taking care of him, trying her best to make him a good guy. Then when Garrosh throws the bomb into Theramore, Arthas will be the one who tries to keep Jaina's sanity in place.

Sorry for writing better than Blizzard these days

[OzoAndIndi]

Perhaps my experience has been too limited, but it seems to me that the majority of players I've encountered pretty much agree unanimously that, when Arthas died, the game felt like it was "over".

So a villain needs to return in order to become the hero by bringing his evil back to Azeroth in order to save the real-life existence of a game?

Oh, my head...

[thatguy181]

Bring Arthas back? No. Just no.

The game did not "end" when Arthas died. I get it, Arthas was a big char for Warcraft the past 10 or so years, but his part in the history of Azeroth is but a drop of water in a very large bucket.

Anyone who truly believes that Warcraft or the game "ended" with Arthas either don't deserve to have their opinion respected or needs to read more about the very expansive history of Azeroth and everything connected to it. Arthas was ultimately a nobody. He was a huge threat for a very small space of time.

[KrazyK923]

His story is over.

Should remain over.

[Romeothecat]

But no no no no for the WotLK-style LK-Arthas. Oh my god how they raped that character in the expansion. "I would've succeeded if not for you medling kids!" So much for a badass villain..

Uh did we play the same fight? I played the one where Arthas killed every raid member instantly then revealed that he wanted you to have killed his most powerful creatures so he could raise you as his new generals.

No. I think Arthas's time in the spotlight was done very well.

[dejaa]

@Claymore

I don't think we need Arthas back necessarily, but we do need compelling new heroes, new villains, and most of all new stories. No one cared about Deathwing, and Garrosh was met with a great deal of ennui. The former was simply not made into a compelling story, and the latter was just meh. The next expansion is based on old stories, once again. It seems like the real storytellers left the building after Warcraft 3.

[Airlick]

IMO, you're right about Arthas being THE iconic character of Warcraft. Next to Medivh, I'd say. Thrall? Please, he was just a simple Gary Stu (or maybe still is? I haven't really followed lore since Firelands in Cata), while Arthas was a tragic and actually deep character.

I think WotLK should never have happened so early in WoW's lifetime.

But no, they should not bring him back. He's dead and let him stay dead.

[tjanson]

Uh did we play the same fight? I played the one where Arthas killed every raid member instantly then revealed that he wanted you to have killed his most powerful creatures so he could raise you as his new generals.

Right, the whole thing was just a huge proving ground so he could use you all as the next generation of Scourge champions. Pretty decent plot overall, though I would have preferred Tirion to have had some sort of actual ace up his sleeve rather than just "LIGHT SMAAASH" at the end.

[Traveler Voltin]

how about extremely hell no. arthas is dead and let him stay dead.

[Ausr]

His story is over.

Should remain over.

Pretty much this.

I'd like to see how they bring Lich King Bolvar into the mix, whether he resisted or not (I think he did considering the amount of shit he went through) and if he'd throw in his troops against a faction in a later expansion or if they're just saving him for after WoW ends and Warcraft4 begins.

[Cover25]

They should've given Arthas the treatment that Garrosh had, imprison him and let him stand trial. Ofcourse he wouldn't be the Lich king anymore, but he would be back to his normal self before he picked up Frostmourne.

I could see Jaina free'ing Arthas and taking care of him, trying her best to make him a good guy. Then when Garrosh throws the bomb into Theramore, Arthas will be the one who tries to keep Jaina's sanity in place.

Sorry for writing better than Blizzard these days

That would work except for, you know, Arthas being:

A. Insane

B. Fused with Ner'zhul.

nice try though.

[MrLordDariusCrowley]

Short answer: No!
Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo ooooooooOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo!!!
Don't bring Arthas back just to bring him back. He was a good villian and now he's dead. His story is over and if they bring back Bolvar as a carbon copy of Arthas just to bring back "Arthas", I'll be seriously pissed. Let the poor bastard RIP.

[DJKalteraphine]

Who else? Lemme check. No... nope. Literally no one. Literally. No one.

[Last Starfighter]

No. Unless they bring back douchebag-paladin-Arthas or douchebag-DK-Arthas. But no no no no for the WotLK-style LK-Arthas. Oh my god how they raped that character in the expansion. "I would've succeeded if not for you medling kids!" So much for a badass villain..

Edit: Tbh bringing back killed characters is never a good thing. So no, don't bring him back, it won't do any good.

Yeah, that's totally what happened in wrath. Don't just make things up.