Heritage Quest Wishlist: Possible Spoilers

[Skytotem]

I think we can all agree the Orc Heritage quest has raised the bar.

There are essentially 4-6 heritage armor quests left. (Depending on whether Dracthyr and Pandaren Get Any)

For now, let's focus on Draenei, Darkspear Trolls, Night Elves, and Forsaken.

What do you want to see in these? Lesser known characters elevated to prominence? New plot hooks seeded? Etc...

Here's MY Wishlist to serve as an example...

Draenei: They need to rescue the Broken/Krokul that have been left on Argus's pieces. A trip from Azuremyst to Swamp of Sorrows on Azeroth, to Shattrath and Draenei towns in Outland, to Argus, getting the items needed to create a portal to let them travel back and forth more easily/safely now that the legion is defeated, visiting important places like Auchinodon and such in MU Draenor along the way. Maybe touch on the Ata'mal crystals or the Army of the Light distantly but not enough to leave everyone else confused when that plot picks up again outside the Heritage quest. Velen, Nobundo, Akama (Maybe serving as the Lost One rep?), and the Triumvirate of the Hand could all feature.

Darkspear: There's a LOT of potential here. Rokhan, Zekhan (who needs a bit of flavor repair), Vanira, Bwemba, Zen'tabra and Master Gadrin give a good core cast. I'd focus on exploring the Darkspear's history and the role the various gods they worship gave them in surviving it, as well as them setting them up to remain relevant and not just end up the Zandalari's sidekicks. Adding some altars to the Echo Isles for particular gods would be a nice first step as would, playing politics with the Shatterspear, Revantusk or other troll tribes, and definitely visiting Bwom's temple in Nazmir, perhaps doing something with the Zul'gurub gods that didn't feature in recent expansions.

Night Elves: Whew this one is a minefield after the mess BFA and Sl left them in. The Night elves have already had a lot of sad things said about Teldrassil, WotA, and their past in General. The nelfs definitely don't need more Sad/Pitiable quests lamenting WotA or the loss of their immortality. I'd suggest framing it as a reunification of the Nelfs three pillars of society. Elune Worship getting more detail, along with an exploration of what makes nelf arcane magic from the Highborne unique in a world where everyone's been innovating on Highborne teachings for centuries, and of course what makes nelf Druidism unique now that other races are picking it up. Shandris, Mordant Evenshade, and some new or lesser known Druidic characters would be the best bet. Exploring how the night elves are recovering and Thriving in the face of adversity even while spread out all across the world would be a good angle as well. With Malf gone and Tyrande managing the new World Tree seed their race is less centralized command-wise so that lets other characters in all their scattered settlements across the world full of refugees from Teldrassil step up to do something new, adapting faster after 10k years of stagnation, and could also explore closer ties with natural allies reconnecting with them (Furbolgs especially if we're lucky).

Forsaken: Almost as big a minefield as the Night Elves, the Forsaken are in a weird place with the way Sylvanas leading the Forsaken and the rest of the Horde in a genocide of the nelves and working for the Jailor have made her a base-breaking character both in-game and out. The bad writing from SL and years of making her the ONLY prominent forsaken character and the literal face of the faction had left them with a gaping hole to fill. A lot of folks are not happy about Calia (Me, I am not happy about Calia) or Derek Proudmoore feeling they're too soft for the Forsaken or don't make sense for the faction... or enjoy a new angle on the Forsaken... and others are unhappy with Faranel and Belmont or Velonara and feel they've done things too Stupid-Evil for it to make sense with the Horde or to be enjoyable in general, while others love that they still have some 'evil characters' or at least characters with an edge.

It's also painful that the Forsaken have a light caster on the council but don't have a Cult of Forgotten Shadow member (and that Blizz made the Cult of Forgotten shadow rep a live human)

Simply put, the Forsaken quest is going have to be about finding a way to balance what the playerbase wants, compromising between folks who want cackling evil and folks who want DARK but not so evil it alienates the rest of the Horde... and folks who want whatever is going on with... Calia.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

For Draenei I would have liked to have seen how AU Shadowmoon Valley was recovering, the inside of Karabor, and see Yrel again, but then that stupid Mag'har orc quest happened so RIP. I guess they could do Outland stuff, but honestly it'd be weird going out to MU Outland given. That world was dying and everyone should have evacuated to Azeroth many, many years ago. Going back there and finding out "oh yeah we're all not dead after all" would be weird.

Pandaren heritage quest could explore what happened to the Shado-Pan after the great threat they trained all their lives to combat, the Sha, are gone. Perhaps they disband and you get to see what individual members do after.

- - - Updated - - -

Honestly, there isn't really any satisfying way to do Draenei, Night Elf, and Forsaken quests. The Draenei's fantasy was the Exodus but in space, being the true believers in the Light who have been wandering the wilderness for 25,000 years. Now the darkness they stood against has been eliminate and usurped by the next bigger bads up on the infinite totem pole, the Void Lords. The Draenei's story is over.

The Forsaken fantasy was being an evil zombie. Now the Horde aren't allowed to be evil and everyone has to be working towards peace. The Forsaken's evil leader was removed and replaced by a good guy.

Any night elf content will be a constant reminder of the injustice done to them.

[Villager720]

I do agree Darkspear probably have the easiest options here - I could even see Vol’jin making a surprise appearance to remind us he’s … off Loa-ing … in a seed pod … somewhere.
Actually … let’s not do that.
But yeah lots of Darkspear backbenchers to use, most of whom have been present for a lot of events over the last decade. I’d be happy with anything that makes it clear they’re actually movers and shakers within the Horde while being highly distinct in their approach and culture from Zandalar. If the tauren are the diplomats, I’d love to see the Darkspear as the ‘politicians’ - shrewd, cunning, clever.
(I’d actually prefer to avoid Loa cause that feels like 80% of the “troll culture” we normally are shown.)

The draenei, as noted above, are a little trickier. Draenor isn’t really their home (they were there, what, 200 years?) and Argus is a a ruin (like Outland … and Bloodmyst…)
I think maybe the best bet is to see them doing something similar to the orcs - starting up old traditions here on Azeroth, their new permanent home. Maybe we even are shown some real temples/dwellings being built on their isles? This would let us get a closer look at their culture without needing it to be “ruins tourism” and sets the stage for their future. Give us some new “old” culture, and show us how they’re adapting to a permanent home - that’s what I want.

Mmm, the next two…
I’ll … tackle the Forsaken first.
Obviously I think it’ll revolve around taking the lower half of the Undercity. It was just too conspicuous when we just abruptly … didn’t get the rest of it back in 9.2.5.
Where it goes with those events, I don’t have a great idea here. I’d love to put Sylvanas to rest, which means it should focus on their identity and culture, but most of that revolved around her for over a decade. The council … isn’t exactly ideal for a few reasons, but I guess the best bet here is to use them as a lens into broader undead society and how they’re coping/looking to the future.
I’ve never agreed with the narrative that they were always only ‘evil zombies’ - the vast majority of Forsaken NPCs were honestly just sad or vengeful people that had a lot of things to be sad and mad about, not lunatics. I think you can leave that “evil cackling zombie” element alive with the apothecaries if you must, but I want them to show the rest of the Forsaken as people finally moving on. Their entire existence was about vengeance and that’s been long since over. Show us something other than just empty dialogue about “being a family” or some bland nonsense like that.
What do they want now that they have their city and their primary antagonists are gone? What does their culture look like?
Do they have ceremonies? Festivals? I mean shit, what do we actually know about them as a culture?
It gets dicey here because they’re so “young” and their “heritage” is literally the Third War and the Scourge - so maybe making it Lordaeron based could be cool? Dunno - anything that isn’t them still moping about Sylvanas or generic “we’re in this together!”.
… And good luck doing anything popular with Calia. *snickers* the Pallid Lady *snickers*

Woof. Ok. Night elves.
Obviously it’ll be about the damn tree, again. Why the writers decided getting them a new dog when their old one got killed was the right call is beyond me, but here we are.
And, of course, it’ll have to be about Tyrande, but she’s been such a focus for so long now, I hope she’s merely a “Thrall level presence” as seen in the orc heritage. Again, I think maybe bringing in rituals from the different groups of society to bless the tree properly or something might work? Maybe? You know … cause the old one was just Fandral & the druids and it didn’t get blessed, yada yada. But this could be a chance to showcase what the Sentinels bring, and the druids, etc etc.
Make it about their broader society, and dare I say heritage, first and foremost, and only loosely organized around the ‘Tree Trauma Story’. That’s the best I think we can hope for. Show us how everyone’s doing, what makes them unique and cool, and how they’re contributing.

[Mehrunes]

As long as Calia dies, the Forsaken one can be one quest long and the reward can be a tattered loincloth.

[Soon-TM]

As long as Calia dies, the Forsaken one can be one quest long and the reward can be a tattered loincloth.

Can we get Derek as a bonus? Reward can be 1 copper for all I care.

[Jester Joe]

I'd almost be willing to bet any troll heritage set would revolve around Vol'jin and him becoming a loa.

Draenei I'd say you have a pretty safe bet there on it being about reconnecting fully with the broken and those theyve left behind.


I'd actually think though Night elf and forsaken have the most opportunity, to really show the broken cultures restoring and healing up to become stronger.

And sorry, but that probably means Forsaken would address Calia more, and not in a murder vibe.

[SirPaper]

What do they want now that they have their city and their primary antagonists are gone? What does their culture look like?
Do they have ceremonies? Festivals? I mean shit, what do we actually know about them as a culture?
It gets dicey here because they’re so “young” and their “heritage” is literally the Third War and the Scourge - so maybe making it Lordaeron based could be cool? Dunno - anything that isn’t them still moping about Sylvanas or generic “we’re in this together!”.
… And good luck doing anything popular with Calia. *snickers* the Pallid Lady *snickers*

Iirc Halloween in-game is them celebrating their escape from the Lich King. Can't remember the events name though, sorry.
But it's a celebration/festival of some kind, at least.

[Khaza-R]

Trolls - Vol'jin should become a Loa. There should be some political division among jungle trolls with Darkspear challenging the Gurubashi for being the leading tribe. Reward wise, we need transmog for throwing axes and spears as well as a Shadowhunter's blade.

Draenei - Would be nice to re-visit Outland. Perhaps formally have the Broken join the Draenei and also get an update on the Draenei on Azeroth re-settling in Azuremyst.

Forsaken - Need a new identity post-Sylvanas. Still embracing their dark side. Wouldn't mind Calia getting captured/killed by the Scarlets and fueling a new war between them and the undead.

Night Elves - Honestly so much damage done to this race its hard to know where to begin. Obviously it will likely center around the new world tree. Wouldn't mind Tyrande and Malfurion getting a happy ending and leadership passing to Maiev

Panderan - Given the faction changes it would be nice to see a re-unification of the Tushi and Huojin under a new banner.

[Mehrunes]

Can we get Derek as a bonus? Reward can be 1 copper for all I care.

We could beat Calia to death with Derek and him then succumbing to the bludgeoning damage he incurred in the process, yes.

I'd actually think though Night elf and forsaken have the most opportunity, to really show the broken cultures restoring and healing up to become stronger.

And sorry, but that probably means Forsaken would address Calia more, and not in a murder vibe.

Except anything related to Calia and her taint are the absolute antithesis of the Forsaken culture and history. So the idea of the questline addressing Calia more in order to restore the Forsaken culture is an oxymoron of the highest degree.

[Super Dickmann]

The Forsaken don't need a heritage questline, least of all about ditching their main premise as a race. We already tried that particular shambles in BFA and the early parts of SL. The Calia quest in 9.2.5 was the least bad turn their plot has taken in years. It has a Calia that while still affixed to the race like a barnacle is given an on paper role of fith prominence compared to the actual Forsaken cast, gives them back their upper city and has them largely resolve their own problem. That's a fine enough point to go on. We do not need a Scarlet questline where they hug it out with the Alliance after they inexplicably hate Calia, nor do we need to see Calia be more prominent.

We definitely do not need yet another insufferable conga line going on about how bad the Morally Grey Lady was and what we need even less is some kind of night elf apology tour. Just deport Sira and that other bint back to the Alliance or to a shallow grave and call it a day. Send Derek (and Calia) back while you're at it. We can pretend that the whole Calia showing them love and peace despite having zero points of reference to them never happened. God knows the game wisely ignored all other aspects of the 8.3 Forsaken autopsy, might as well ditch that one too.

In as much as there is a Forsaken heritage questline though, there's two main good routes I can see. Either the Forsaken hearkening back to their liberation from the Lich King by Sylvanas transposed onto the present by having them pick up more parts of the Scourge post the-Helm breaking, incidentally also associated with Sylvanas. You can have it be San'layn or sentient Frostwyrms or what have you, but the premise is the same - as they were once directed by Sylvanas they now carry this example forward to other directionless undead.

The other option if Blizzard have balls is to lean into the Cataclysm transhumanist angle. Play off of Shadowlands revealing parts of the afterlife and of Calia being basically a perfect post-human with none of the downsides of undeath but all of the positives to have the Forsaken co-opt the Cult of the Damned, offering people who aren't ready to die or who wish to try and reach a state like Calia's a place in their ranks. Focus on the Forgotten Shadow element of taking the reins of destiny and transcending your limitations in this case by not going to the designated afterlife machine but moving on until you're able to persist as a spirit or until you think it's your time to go. Focus on the proactive existence of the Forsaken as a race and on the undeath of the faction.

The core of the Forsaken is to be part of a society of extremely morally dubious zombies, all affected by the trauma of death and changed from the mentality of regular people by the very real curse of undeath but opting to leave their mark on the world not just in spite of that, but played out through that tragedy and the effects of that curse in ways other races can't. Do not go the worgen route of having the heritage questline argue against the race's existence or turn it into a sob story, but instead merge the first and much better forward-looking approach of Cataclysm with the current status quo for the purpose of reinforcing the race's core stances while expanding what they apply to.

[Julian Rayne]

The Night elves are almost certainly going to be about growing a new World Tree.

The Pandaren may be about re-uniting the Tushui and Huojin. Would be fun if it unlocked an extra color or something if you did the questline on both sides but I don't think Blizzard will go for that.

For the others - I can't think of anything. I don't even know how Dracthyr Heritage armor would work. It's fine in Visage form but some people like being in dragon form. Maybe it'll unlock new armor options in the Dracthyr form. The ones that are changeable in the Barber shop I mean.

[Super Dickmann]

For the Night Elves, for the love of God, do not bother with yet another Tree and definitely, certainly, don't focus on Teldrassil. The Night Elves were introduced to the franchise as predators in the dark who are all but one with the forest and its creatures mercilessly chasing out invaders. The heritage questline should focus on that aspect of them. Have them bring back the mountain giants, faerie dragons and so forth and if you don't have the balls to have them fight orcs, have them fight satyr and really go to town on them and seize back territory. A local W based on their most popular portrayal combined with a longer running W in the form of new (classic) allies.

On the other races listed I've no strong opinion on them, so I've no major thoughts. As @Val the Moofia Boss said, the Draenei are basically done storywise, while the Darkspear heritage story was their Cataclysm intro and things like reuniting the tribes fit the Zandalari much better.

[Jester Joe]

Except anything related to Calia and her taint are the absolute antithesis of the Forsaken culture and history. So the idea of the questline addressing Calia more in order to restore the Forsaken culture is an oxymoron of the highest degree.

So you do see why Blizzard would make that the focus then.

I said there's the most potential, not that it would be accepted after all.

[guro-tchai]

both trolls and draenei should be added after the light expac, as that would bring Amani back to the spotlight for the former (if Quel'thalas is revamped), and create internal conflict for the latter.

i noticed that the OP used the word "Darkspear" to mean trolls - but are they just Darkspear after accepting sand trolls and dark trolls among them? no, and this is the legacy of those who were exiled from the Stranglethorn and barely escaped Zar'jira - to lead all of the tribes forward. they were shunned for standing with the Horde instead of embracing troll supremacy back in Cata, and now they are proven right after even the haughty Zandalari joined their ranks.
trolls, particularly the jungle variety, have some issues with losing land - literally. once, they were punished by Neptulon and drowned west of Zul'gurub. another time, an irate sea witch somehow sunk an entire archipelago where the Darkspear moved to after being exiled. in their heritage questline, they should gain ground instead of losing it. as other tribes join the Darkspear, they might need more space - why not raise more land from the sea, essentially creating a new zone, merging Sen'jin and Echo isles? conduct a reverse-submerging ritual, using the same force they were victims of before and earn respect of every other tribe. invite them and build a Venice-like city for all trolls who want to join. it also means that buff Amani and Drakkari will be available for character customization - not sure if as an AR or just expanded visual choices.

to mirror expanded character features for trolls, draenei should get the Krokul or even the red Eredar as their new allies. the whole questline should be the consequence of the Light's attack on Azeroth and how spacegoats deal with their crisis of faith. revamp their starting zones, bring in more customization, fulfill Velen's prophecy that the Eredar's new home will be there - for all of them.

night elves sure were taking an L after an L these last expansions, but a commonly missed problem is that the reason for their way of living, the Legion, is no more. why should they continue being treehuggers when there's no need to limit the arcane?
i hate SL with a passion, but it's here to stay and we'll have to deal with it. getting a new world tree from Ardenweald is the first clue, Malf going there for a work trip is the second. having a non-negligeable undead population in dark rangers and wardens also leads me to believe that their new shtick will be about the balance of Life and Death. not sure what exactly they will do with it - get another immortality? unlimited access to Ardenweald? reincarnation? anyway - the new tree will be called something like the Crown of Balance, or Rebirth; just as blood elves were called belore'dorei in their questline, night elves will get something like Lifeborne to highlight their new purpose - to guard not just the Dream, but the SL as well. no, i don't like it either - but it seems plausible, considering recent developments. slap on some Life-themed customization, like green eyes, antlers and other animal parts and we're good to go.
will probably happen around 10.2.5 or .3

this wishlist is probably too hard to meet, but this seems to be the direction where they're going. i just paint a picture of what is both possible and more or less desirable.

[Mehrunes]

So you do see why Blizzard would make that the focus then.

I said there's the most potential, not that it would be accepted after all.

I think you're mistaking "potential" and "shit".

On the other races listed I've no strong opinion on them, so I've no major thoughts. As @Val the Moofia Boss said, the Draenei are basically done storywise, while the Darkspear heritage story was their Cataclysm intro and things like reuniting the tribes fit the Zandalari much better.

Which begs the question why they didn't touch that angle during theirs. Also, I'd say the WotLK reconquest of the Echo Isles was even more of a heritage moment for the Darkspears than their Cata intro.

[Jester Joe]

I think you're mistaking "potential" and "shit"

Or, the potential to screw it up.

It's all about positivity.

[Grazrug]

Nobody cares about the Darkspear.

[Super Dickmann]

Which begs the question why they didn't touch that angle during theirs. Also, I'd say the WotLK reconquest of the Echo Isles was even more of a heritage moment for the Darkspears than their Cata intro.

The two sort of mesh together, but the Sea Witch is their absolute oldest foe and that's usually the kind of business Heritage questlines go into. While bringing together the tribes fits the top tribe better in the Zandalari, and it not being featuered up to now can be chalked up to Blizzard not addressing people unless they're current and that their story was fairly filled out anyway, it does leave the Darkspear in an odd spot. Even their relationship with Bwonsamdi is one they somewhat share with the Zandalari, which doesn't give them much to do.

What also doesn't help is that the Darkspear being non-troll trolls who don't practice blood magic, cannibalism or weirder voodoo which are the defining troll gimmicks means you can't really do much with them. Without Bwon and with no Garrosh to lend conflict, the main differentiating trait of the Darkspear from other trolls is that they're just really loyal to the Horde which isn't exactly scintillating material.

[tromage2]

Darkspear:

The rebirth of the loa’s into the world and Vol’jin in the centre.
Then i hope to see the darkspears actually do some important stuff for the Horde like gettingso e new troll tribes into the Horde.

[Graeham]

For the night elves, the ideal angle would be a look back and acknowledgement of all that has been lost and a successful effort to reclaim some of the territory that was taken over by the Horde. Realistically, there's enough bloodshed at the hands of the Horde and complicit survivors who will never be punished that the night elves really shouldn't ever want to play nice.

I'd like to see a new Teldrassil though that'd be something better as an actual zone rather than throwaway dialogue in a short quest chain.