| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxresdefault_020.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:"COME FORTH, COWARD! AND '''''ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES!!!!''''']] |
| 3 | '''All "Moments" pages are Spoiler Free. UNMARKED SPOILERS below.''' |
| 4 | ---- |
| 5 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[folder:In General]] |
| 8 | * The bug with Hakkar the Soulflayer initial release in Zul'Gurub, where his Corrupted Blood debuff became a plague upon entire servers due to a programming error. This is an incredible simulation of what happens in a real epidemic, right down to the breakdown of travel, the desolation and devastation of major urban centers, the retreat of people into isolation, the collapse of large-scale trade, everything. The way it spread from a minor error with how the debuff's interaction with pets was handled is also an interesting parallel to the worries of influenza jumping species. It was how an epidemic plays out in real life, historically. For all intents and purposes, it was an epidemic. Such a small bug. Such a large body count. |
| 9 | ** There were shades of this with the plague zombie infestation before the release of ''Wrath of the Lich King''. Players could get infected (via roaches, rats, and 'conspicuous crates') and then become zombies, and then fight other players and [=NPCs=], thereby spreading the plague. This turned the capital cities into ZombieApocalypse battlegrounds. Whether this was Awesome or Fail depends on your viewpoint: while it was fun being a zombie or fighting to stop them, when things were at their worst it was very difficult to do anything in a capital city (where the auction houses and most banks and class trainers are located). |
| 10 | *** Most of the division is based around what some people did when infected. There were those that would play it out like an actual zombie apocalypse and try to infect as many areas of the world as possible. From lowly Crossroads and Goldshire all the way to the capital cities. They did it for fun and immersion. Then came the people who did it as a method to grief players, especially low levels. They would kill auctioneers, trainers and bankers making them unusable for stretches of time. Blizzard was pleased ultimately with how it went down regardless, and probably considered it acceptable as such. The purpose of the plague was to totally disrupt the tedium that nearly every player had fallen in since half way. Though it seemed to be those very people that objected most, seeing as they could not use the auction house to make gold or just hang around without worrying about paying repair money because someone infected them and they were killed by a guard. |
| 11 | ** What makes it awesome is that the incident has been studied by pathologists in an attempt to predict how a real epidemic would play out, and might end up saving thousands of lives. |
| 12 | * A player [[http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/guide-dog-player-and-guild-embrace-sightless-guildmate-steer/ literally plays blind]]. Both Heartwarming ''and'' Awesome. |
| 13 | * A guild takes on ''Heroic'' Shannox and Alysrazor [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XGYRph6Nf8 at the same time]]. |
| 14 | * [[https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/us/mannoroth/doubleagent Doubleagent]] reached level 90 as a Pandaren Shaman without leaving the Wandering Isle, therefore being the ''only'' neutral level 90 player in the game. [[{{Determinator}} It took him nearly two years, and he did this by grinding herbs and minerals (~20-30 xp per node) across the Wandering Isle and completing daily pet quests all the way to 90, without a mount, Auction House or heirlooms]]. |
| 15 | ** [[http://www.pcgamesn.com/world-of-warcraft/join-world-of-warcraft-player-doubleagent-as-he-dings-level-100-as-a-neutral-pandaren He's reached Level 100 now.]] |
| 16 | ** [[https://www.wowhead.com/news=288223/doubleagent-neutral-faction-pandaren-reaches-level-120 He's managed to reach 120.]] |
| 17 | * The first time using the flight paths, for example in Westfall, at least for first-time players. You have just spent several hours fighting through a two landscapes filled with enemies, and are sent to report to Stormwind. Upon talking to the flight master, you suddenly find yourself up in the air, soaring effortlessly over the countryside, with a great bird's-eye view of the country you were just walking through, often watching other players below going through the same things you did. |
| 18 | * Less than two days after the Dazar'alor raid went live, a group from the [[https://discordapp.com/invite/achievements Achievements Discord]] managed to complete [[https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=13315/glory-of-the-dazaralor-raider Glory of the Dazar'alor Raider]], the sort of feat many guilds don't even attempt until completing a raid several times. |
| 19 | * The launch of Classic Warcraft in August 2019 was a giant community celebration. The queues and demand nearly broke the game, over a million people watched Twitch streamers on launch night, and the game saw initial player numbers matched only during ''Burning Crusade'' and ''Wrath of the Lich King''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCn14KLCerY The launch trailer]] wasn't a big cinematic show like others, but a salute to the 15 Year Anniversary and a love letter to fans- average and big name. Cameos include: |
| 20 | ** Creator/MatthewMercer |
| 21 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aMHr5KEkfw Ronda Rousey]] |
| 22 | ** THE '''Leeeeeeeroy Jennnnnkins''' |
| 23 | ** Patty Mattson (The voice of Sylvanas) |
| 24 | ** Krisian Nairn ([[Series/GameOfThrones Hodor]]) |
| 25 | [[/folder]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:Classic Old World]] |
| 28 | * The original intro for humans ended on a high note, inspiring heroism for the latest generation of humans. |
| 29 | --> '''Narrator:''' With the armies gone, the defense of Stormwind now falls to its proud citizens. You must defend the kingdom against the foul mongrels that encroach upon it and hunt down the subversive traitors who seek to destroy it from within. [[DareToBeBadass Now is the time for heroes. Now humanity's greatest chapter can be told.]] |
| 30 | * [[http://www.wowhead.com/quest=7622 The Balance of Light and Shadow]] for Priests. After looting the Eye of Divinity in Molten Core, you would head out to Eastern Plaguelands and meet an NPC priestess who tells you her story of how she failed to save Stratholme peasants as they fled from Arthas and his Scourge and how the now-ghosts must relive the experience. She tells you that you must succeed where she failed by saving at least fifty out of sixty-five peasants as Scourge Archers attack them and lesser Scourge attack you. Other players may not interfere for a demon called The Cleaner will spawn, instantly kill them, and end the event. This event was actually pretty difficult in its time. The vast majority of Priests would fail in their first attempt. Most would find friends (or even a Priest of the opposite faction if he/she happened to be there) to exploit around The Cleaner ''and'' Priests would seek out full buffs from every other class and use consumables. Successful completion of the event yielded the Splinter of Nordrassil. When combined with the Eye of Divinity and the Eye of Shadow, the Priest receives [[http://www.wowhead.com/item=18608 Benediction]], a staff that Priests at 60 would wear past Blackwing Lair and level 80 Priests still farm for because it's one of the best-looking staves in the game. |
| 31 | * Of note is "Rewriting the Battle of Darrowshire." It required a small raid back in the day, plus the two commanders and their respective squads of militia. The enemies started off as weakly-made skeletons, but by the end you were facing squads of knife-wielding freaks known as [[DemonicSpider The Bloodletters]]. Then of course, there was Horgus the Ravager, the mid-boss, and Mardek the Black, who fights you by proxy, forcing you to fight [[TragicVillain Redpath the Corrupted]]. Killing that bastard Mardek later in the Scholomance is an incredibly satisfying revenge. |
| 32 | ** Even better, soloing it (it's been nerfed now, but it was incredibly intense with a feral druid pre-Cata) |
| 33 | * Both the Paladin and the Warlock classes had truly epic quest chains dedicated to unlocking access to their level 60 class mounts. Sadly, both were removed in ''Cataclysm'', and the mounts are simply acquired immediately upon reaching the required levels, which were reduced to 20 and 40 (down from 40 and 60). Part of the shame being that the only people who did it post "Burning Crusade" were people with a few bored friends, a lot of time, and a lot of gold on their hands. (Then again though, the gold wasn't hard to get) Around Burning Crusade, the game started handing more money per drops and quest rewards so it eventually became cheaper (and way more efficient!) to just purchase the same mount everyone else did. |
| 34 | ** The ''[[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Warlock_quests#Level_60:_Summon_Dreadsteed Dreadsteed of Xoroth]]'' quest chain for Warlocks. Over the course of the adventure you mass murder creatures created by the moon goddess and collect their blood, infiltrate the Shadow Council, rip out an orc's heart, wreak havoc across two dungeons, fight off an army of demons as you prepare a portal, and kill a Dreadlord so you can steal his horse. Your reward? Quite possibly the [[HellishHorse coolest looking mount in the game ever made]]. |
| 35 | ** The ''[[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Paladin_quests#Level_60_Summoning_the_Charger_.28Summon_Charger.29 Summoning the Charger]]'' quest chain for Paladins. It involves exorcising the town of Terrodale, getting holy water from Stratholme - the heart of the Scourge in the Eastern Kingdoms and a dungeon all in itself - and save an ancient equine spirit from Dire Maul to bless your barding. After all that, you have to combine the barding, the censer and two diamonds together. After that, you actually invade Scholomance, an entire school of necromancers, all just to get a death knight's attention, kill him and free his charger. That's right, you ''steal a death knight's warhorse by raiding an school of necromancers and killing him in there''. Your reward? A epic, glowly, heavily armored warhorse that literally came back from the dead. |
| 36 | * Taelen Fordring's rampage while escaping from Hearthglen in ''In Dreams''. The Hearthglen Scarlet Crusaders, formerly elite mobs, are killed en mass by the Scarlet Highlord as he attempts to reach his father Tirion, only to fall in battle against Grand Inquisitor Isillien and his Crimson Elite bodyguards. Tirion Fordring then appears, confronts [[EvilFormerFriend Isillien]], facing him and his elite bodyguards in combat and wins, bringing down the hammer of justice on his son's murderer. |
| 37 | ** A common tactic for solo players struggling to find a group is to stay out of aggro range and wait for Tirion to spawn. He takes on the Grand Inquisitor and all of the Crimson Elite that the players have not aggroed or killed, which is a minimum of five enemies, and [[OneManArmy kills them all with ease]]. |
| 38 | * The Alliance attunement quest for Onyxia, ''The Great Masquerade''. After a fairly tedious quest chain to convince Marshal Reginald Windsor to escape from Blackrock Depths, you soon meet him outside of Stormwind where he is ready to expose what he has discovered. At the gates, Lady Katrana Prestor attempts to have Windsor and the players arrested, and they are halted at the gates of Stormwind by General Marcus Jonathan. After a quick talk with Windsor along with an ArmorPiercingQuestion, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight Jonathan not only lets Windsor through the gates, but decrees that he and his allies are not to be harmed.]] You then walk alongside him through the streets of the city (and inevitably, several other players tag along), while the guard comment on his arrival. It all comes to a head in the throne room, where he exposes Lady Prestor as the black dragon Onyxia. It leads to a massive battle in the throne room with Bolvar Fordragon and what players arrived against a host of elite dragons disguised as the royal guard. Sadly, Windsor dies, but he may have also saved the Alliance. This is later retconned by the events of the comics, however. |
| 39 | ** The quest is supposed to be a raid quest, what with the throne room turning into a massive battle as the royal guards turn into dragonspawn. It is fully possible to stand to the side outside of aggro range and let Bolvar [[OneManArmy kill everything on his own]]. |
| 40 | * The Hunter quests starting with the Ancient Petrified Leaf: |
| 41 | ** First, after you obtain the leave from the deepest parts of the Molten Core, you have to track down its owner with no help from the game itself (The quest objective literally says little more than "Find the owner of the Ancient Petrified Leaf. Good luck; It's a big world!". While it is possible to [[EasyLevelTrick cheat this by way of the internet]], there is no help for what follows next. |
| 42 | ** The owner of the leaf promises you the power of the Ancients to stand against evil, to do this, you must: |
| 43 | ## Kill a mature black dragon for its sinew. |
| 44 | *** This means trekking into Onyxia's lair, with all that implies, to slay the Broodmother. And then win the Sinew afterwards in the loot rolls. |
| 45 | ## Find a mature blue dragon sinew. |
| 46 | *** This means either killing a world boss that is constantly dead for his loot, or practically committing genocide on Elite blue dragons (Who are no slouches) for the RandomDrop god to be on your side. |
| 47 | ## Find and kill four hidden demons spread across the world. |
| 48 | *** The first part is relatively easy, their zones are given to you, but the fights that ensue ''must be fought '''alone''''' like the Benediction quest for the priests - if more than one being ever enters onto the demon's threat meter, it teleports away, leaving you with a 30 minute respawn and nothing to show for it; ever since level 10 you've always had a pet by your side - for this, ''you are on your own''. Each demon has a weakness to a specific hunter ability, but [[GuideDangIt nowhere is it stated what this ability is, or even that they have it]][[labelnote:*]]and if you're playing 15 years later in classic, one of these demons won't have his weakness unlocked until a much later phase[[/labelnote]] - and even with it, these demons are difficult challenges. |
| 49 | ** Your reward for all of this? An amazing bow and staff that will serve you far - and a quiver that is, bar none, the best in the game. |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:The Burning Crusade]] |
| 54 | * Entering the Dark Portal for the first time. Taking your first steps into a new, uncharted land is one of the greatest experiences in World of Warcraft history. |
| 55 | * The Bash'ir Landing raid, which isn't an official quest, but forces you and your raid to defend a scientist while she examines some kind of device. It starts off with you fighting a wave of {{mooks}} and a Fleshbeast mid-boss, followed by another wave with three siege towers assaulting your position. In the end, your raid has a standoff with The Collector, an ethereal who can split himself into three and has some deadly lightning spells. |
| 56 | * Entering the Black Temple is an event that is built up across multiple quest chains from several of the high-end zones across Draenor. You participate in legitimizing a splinter faction of Kael'thas' personal army [[DefectorFromDecadence who have rejected his insane vision of mining the world for arcane energy in partnership with Illidan]] and assisting them in a series of covert operations to undermine the Blood Elf regiments in Illidan's forces, destabilize Illidan's Netherwing sky forces by visiting their secret training grounds under deep cover and robbing them blind of any and all dragon eggs you can collect, preventing any new flying units from forming and granting freedom to new hatchlings of the Netherwing Dragonflight, and join [[LaResistance a renegade group of Broken Draenei]] who have escaped from Karabor and are now plotting to return to free their chieftain before taking Illidan down. Your assault on the temple involves leading [[EnemyMine a combined force of Scryers and Aldor]] against the guardians protecting the temple from invasion, bypassing the front gates to break into the sewers, fighting your way up every single floor (breaking Illidan's army regiments into pieces on the way), and finally confronting Illidan at the very apex of the temple alongside Akama and Maiev Shadowsong. Yes, [[VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos THAT]] Maiev Shadowsong. And then partake in what is both one of the most awesome and one of the most tragic battles in all of Warcraft history. |
| 57 | * The end of the quest "Full Triangle". Moved by your selflessness in finding the Ata'mal crystal and bringing it back to him rather than keep its power for yourself, Nexus-Prince Haramad decides to definitely cut business ties with Kael'thas' Blood Elves and send the crystal to the Naaru instead. This infuriates the elven ambassador Solannas, who decides to attack you with his guards. Hamarad, who notoriously speaks through a hologram [[ProperlyParanoid due to the numerous people who want him dead]], tells his own guards to hold them off before [[BigDamnHeroes personally teleporting in to dispatch the ambassador and his guards]]. |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Wrath of the Lich King]] |
| 61 | * In spite of Cult of the Damned infiltrators trying to distract the player by sending them on an errand far away from Valiance Keep, the Alliance adventurer manages to put an important dent into the Cult's operations in the Borean Tundra by discovering stowaways aboard one of the ships, then continuing to investigate into their operations when the General assured that it was an isolated incident, in the process discovering three other Cult infiltrators in the town and kill them, and later discover that Thassarian was sent on a suicide mission to dispose of him. Along with Thassarian, the Alliance player attacks a Scourge city and necropolis, and discovers that the infiltration goes all the way up to Counselor Talbot, who in truth was the San'layn Prince Valanaar. You finally confront Prince Valanaar on the roof of the necropolis and end him there. And assuming 100% completion of the Borean Tundra quests, said distraction was barely enough to keep you away and you manage to complete both the errand ''and'' dismantle the infiltration of Valiance Keep. |
| 62 | ** As for Thassarian's suicide mission? Already completed by the time you reach him in spite of a Cult of the Damned spy within their ranks, albeit of the dozen men sent on the mission only Corporal Venn, Private Casey and Thassarian are left. Given the multiple dead and fleeing cultists around the ziggurat entrance and the survivors' secluded camp near their landing area, it's implied that Thassarian more or less [[OneManArmy single-handedly took the ziggurat, captured the High Deathspeaker and a lich]]. |
| 63 | * Tirion Fordring gets a couple of these in this expansion. |
| 64 | ** Confronting Arthas at the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel and ''purifying the cursed sword Ashbringer'' by sheer force of will, then ''stabbing'' the immortal Lich King with a single leaping blow and forcing him to flee. |
| 65 | *** Also, the Argent Dawn was losing the battle until Tirion showed up, and he was able to turn the tide even though the forces of the Light were outnumbered 300 to 10000. Oh, and by the way, doesn't "300 vs. 10000" seem [[Film/ThreeHundred a little bit like a]] ShoutOut? |
| 66 | ** Arguably his greatest crowning moment is where he confronts the Lich King up on the Frozen Throne. Admittedly, it is a little lame that he gets frozen at the beginning of the battle, leaving you and your raid group to fight, but when the Lich King decides to show his true power and deal 1,000,000 damage to every member of your party, wiping you all, Tirion clearly isn't going to take it. He epically prays to the Light and it sees fit to send down a bolt of utter pwnage, smiting the ice block. Tirion the ''leaps'' forward, and ''cuts straight through Frostmourne'', pretty much ending the Lich King's reign. Talk about awesome. |
| 67 | *** "[[LargeHam The Lich King!]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis MUST!]] ''[[PreAsskickingOneLiner FALL!]]''" |
| 68 | * The final battle with the Lich King at the Frozen Throne is just one long [=CMoA=], period. Between the epic danger of the val'kyrs snatching players up and ''tossing them off the edge of the Citadel'', the massive pools of blight, earthquake spells, getting ''sucked inside Frostmourne'', it's insanely fun, challenging, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even the scripted phase at the end is incredible. After the above mentioned shattering of Frostmourne, the thousands of souls trapped inside it break free and stun the Lich King, allowing you to open a can of whoop ass to finish him. That alone could qualify as a [=CMoA=] by itself, not to mention a TearJerker, when you consider it's the ghost of Arthas' dead father that resurrects you when everything looks hopeless, and it's the souls of all the people murdered/enslaved by the Lich King that help you bring him to justice. A suitably epic end for one of the most memorable villains in the Warcraftverse. |
| 69 | ** As Arthas is held aloft by the souls of those he had slaughtered with Frostmourne, battered anywhere from 25 to 40 people all at once, his final statement as The Lich King is one of ''[[VillainRespect concession]]''. |
| 70 | -->'''The Lich King''': Here I stand, a lion before the lambs, and they do not fear. They can not fear. |
| 71 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keaJm5rdAbg Wrath Gate]] event at the end of Dragonblight quest is this and a major WhamEpisode. If sending the current BigBad into an OhCrap (doubly since his face is perpetually hidden in his helmet) and making him reel and retreat with his figurative tail between his legs does not count as awesome, nothing will. |
| 72 | ** It's certainly one for Putress himself. Yes, he's an evil, traitorous bastard, but he managed to truly boil the entire Forsaken philosophy, the sheer zealotry of their all-encompassing ''hate'' of the Lich King and the Scourge, down into about a minute of screen time. |
| 73 | --->'''Grand Apothecary Putress:''' Did you think we had forgotten? Did you think we had ''forgiven''? Behold, now, the terrible vengeance of the Forsaken! Death to the Scourge! And death to the living! ''(the New Plague continues to do its thing in the armies below)'' Now, all can see this is the hour of the Forsaken. |
| 74 | ** Also Saurfang the Younger riding up triumphantly followed by the Horde and his call to his people. |
| 75 | ** Bolvar Fordragon's appearance and his charge into combat. |
| 76 | ** And his speech towards the Lich King, showing the power of the combined might of both factions. |
| 77 | ---> "ARTHAS!! The blood of your father, of your people, demands justice! Come forth, coward, and answer for your crimes!" |
| 78 | * The player characters receive their own Crowning Moment of Awesome when performing the Storm Peaks quest chain, as the Drakkensryd event has you battling mounted drake-riders while several hundred feet in the air... by ''harpooning their drakes, leaping onto it alongside them, and throwing them off''. Later on, you get a daily quest to tackle a flying dragon in midair, hang on and climb to its mouth, and then throw the Spear of Hodir down its throat, Odin-style. It's like [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]] dropped in for a visit. |
| 79 | * Thorim, an ancient viking type being who is a major character in this chain, gets one for ''jumping off his throne, falling just under two kilometers, and landing on his old mount''. |
| 80 | * [[http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=11983 This quest]]. Lok'tar ogar! |
| 81 | ** The Taunka Chieftain, [[http://www.wowhead.com/quest=12069 Roanauk Icemist]]. The guy is in chains when you find him, not sobbing in despair, but getting angrier and angrier at the Crypt Lord who chained him up. When you free him, he demands that the Crypt Lord face him. The beetle refuses, so Roanauk jumps up a waterfall, grabs the Crypt Lord (Who is a tank-sized armored beetle), and throws him off the cliff, just so that the Crypt Lord is forced to face him. He then proceeds to beat the beetle to hell and back. And to top it all off, ''you'' get to crown him High Chieftain of the Taunka. Best quest ever. |
| 82 | * High Overlord Saurfang became a [[MemeticMutation memetic]] MemeticBadass during the War of the Shifting Sands, but to most he just stood around in Orgrimmar actually doing nothing. With ''Wrath'', it seems that he's not just earning his reputation, [[http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=11705 but surpassing it.]] |
| 83 | -->"We will fight you with every fiber of our being- Until we are nothing more than dust and debris. We will fight until the end." |
| 84 | * Though you don't see it, one of the Frost Dwarves tells you how the Frost Dwarves met their current king, Yorg Stormheart aka Muradin Bronzebeard. A group of dwarves, returning from an undescribed trek across Dragonblight, stumbled across a mountain dwarf (a type they'd never heard of before), who [[LaserGuidedAmnesia couldn't even remember his name]], lost in the snow, so they decided to take him back home with them. On the way, they were attacked by a giant jormungar (Giant, acid-spitting worms), who swallowed one of the group before they could even react. They thought they were doomed, "...but behind him, a furious roar rumbled across the snow, and he turned to see the mountain dwarf growing in size, his skin taking on a stone-like texture, and his hands sizzling with lightning. The dwarf barreled forward with a sound like rolling thunder and hurled a shining metal hammer, lightning coursing over its surface, directly into the jormungar's throat. The jormungar collapsed instantly, its head barely still attached to its convulsing body." Do NOT mess with [=Yorg/Muradin=] |
| 85 | * The intro cinematic for ''Wrath of the Lich King''. Arthas waking from the Frozen Throne, stabbing Frostmourne into the ice which awakens Sindragosa, who then flies out over the armies of the Scourge, all of them roaring together. The [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic epic soundtrack just adds to it.]] |
| 86 | * The Death Knight's starting area has one where you mercilessly destroy armies of the Scarlet Crusade ''with a frost wyrm''. |
| 87 | * Upon the Death Knight's arrival in their faction's capital cities, they find themselves on the receiving end of jeers, threats and rotten fruit from the citizens of Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Thrall is intrigued by the turn of events, meanwhile Varian threatens to ''leave the player a stain on his floor'' until he reads Tirion's letter. |
| 88 | -->'''Varian Wrynn:''' [[BadassBoast You have mere moments to live.]] |
| 89 | * Zul'Drak has one quest chain where you free a storm giant named Gymer who's been captured and put in a cage by vargul. When you let him out you then ride on his shoulder and start trampling Scourge underfoot and taking out three of their commanders. |
| 90 | ** Similarly, in Sholazar Basin one of the quest chains the Avatar of Freya offers has you riding on the shoulder of an ancient golem known as The Etymidian and punching the shit out of Scourge on a mountain. |
| 91 | * In Ulduar, [[TheWarSequence the lead-up to the first boss]] has your raid group hop into tanks, demolishers, and a motorcycle or two and take the fight to a seemingly-endless army of Iron Dwarves and their constructs. While it was relevant, people were likely more focused on staying alive and getting to the Flame Leviathan, but it was still visually impressive with tracer fire and explosions going off everywhere you looked while your group made its way through this massive army. |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Cataclysm]] |
| 95 | [[AC:Reworked Old World]] |
| 96 | * Garrosh Hellscream of all people gets one in the Cataclysm quest ''To Be Horde''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4RTB5LxJ0Ut YOU! ARE! DISMISSED!]] |
| 97 | * The questline of "The Day That Deathwing Came". You punch Deathwing in the face, throw him across the sea and challenge him to a knife fight! |
| 98 | ** There really is a flying motorbike. Really and truly. At least for this one quest. |
| 99 | * One quest chain in Burning Steppes culminates in you riding a dragon, raining fire down on the armies of the Blackrock clan. |
| 100 | * The Battle for Gilneas quest for the Worgen starting area. The player must fight and drive the Forsaken out of his home, fighting alongside the leaders of the nation and a small army of Worgen and regular citizens. You ''felt'' the Gilnean pride when listening to Prince Liam's RousingSpeech before making the charge. |
| 101 | * A small one for a Forsaken NPC named [[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Grand_Executor_Mortuus Mortuus]]. He was but a [[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Foreman_Mortuus.jpg foreman]] in Warsong Hold in ''Wrath of the Lich King''. As of ''Cataclysm'', he's promoted into Grand Executor and relocated to Silverpine Forest to accompany Sylvanas, he also wears [[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Grand_Executor_Mortuus.jpg awesome Warlock-style gear]] to boot. |
| 102 | * One quest in Searing Gorge ''They Build A Better Bullet'' seems like typical kill and collect kind of quest. Kill the dwarves and pillage their supply crates for their bullets. But there is another way, to just stand in front of a dwarf and let him shoot you. Each time the character gets shot the bullet counter increases by one, it's like they remove the bullets from their wounds and add them to the collected pile. That's pretty hardcore. |
| 103 | [[AC:Cataclysm Content]] |
| 104 | * For an EvilVersusEvil example, the end of the Gilneas storyline for the Forsaken has Godfrey actually killing Sylvanas before leaving her.Sure, it was an almost literal backstabbing (although with a bullet to the head instead), but the only other person who ever killed Sylvanas was Arthas. |
| 105 | * The Darkspear leader Vol'jin gets one in Cataclysm, as he opposes the other trolls who want to rebuild their ancient empire. Mixed with SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}. |
| 106 | -->'''Troll''': You dare to stand against your people!?\ |
| 107 | '''Vol'jin''': The Horde is ''my'' people!! |
| 108 | ** Vol'jin gets another one during the Troll starting quests, where he shows you a vision him him telling off Garrosh. |
| 109 | ---> "I know exactly what I'll be doin' about it, Son of Hellscream. I'll watch and wait as ya people slowly become aware of ya ineptitude. I'll laugh as dey grow to despise ya, as I do. And when that times comes, when ya failure is complete and ya power is meaningless, I will be there ta end your rule. Swiftly, and silently. You will spend ya reign glancin' over ya shoulder, and fearin' da shadows. For when the time comes, and ya blood be slowly drainin' out, you will know'' exactly ''who fired da arrow that pierced ya black heart." |
| 110 | ** And as of the Siege of Orgrimmar, it's true. The dark heart of Y'Shaarj, that is. |
| 111 | * Captain Taylor during the "Defending the Rift" quest. He manages to one-shot one of the key leaders of the naga! |
| 112 | * The final battle against [[BigBad Deathwing]], anyone? First of all, it takes place in the Maelstrom, which is where [[WhereItAllBegan Deathwing first burst forth into Azeroth]], second of all, all four of the Dragon Aspects and Thrall with the Dragon Soul ([[HoistByHisOwnPetard which Deathwing coveted and betrayed the aspects for, no less]]) are backing you and your raid up. Tentacles bursting forth everywhere, and Deathwing attempting to finish off the world with another Cataclysm (instant wipe, no question), and it all ends with Deathwing being destroyed for good by the Dragon Soul. |
| 113 | ** That doesn't even take into account how you reach the Maelstrom. The raid parachutes onto Deathwing's back where they must ''tear his scales off'' while his own immune system comes to life to stop you. Once his scales are gone, Thrall shoots him the Dragon Soul which ''shoots straight through Deathwing's chest'' and causes him to plunge into the Maelstrom. |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Mists of Pandaria]] |
| 117 | * Alliance players start ''Mists'' by storming into Pandaria on the Skyfire, after which you jump onto a Gyrocopter and Unleash Hell, no, that's ''literally'' [[http://www.wowhead.com/quest=31732/unleash-hell the quest name]] rain down Gatling gun rounds and missiles onto the Horde. |
| 118 | * The Jinyu quest line where you give out weapons to a bunch of Pearlfin acolytes and train them by fighting in the wilderness. Afterwards you and the four you trained go out into battle against an army of the newly Horde-aligned hozen, who vastly outnumber the Jinyu. [[CurbStompBattle You slaughter all of them, and kill their leader.]] '''For the glory of the Alliance!''' |
| 119 | ** The Hozen quest line the Horde get is pretty freaking awesome itself. While the Alliance get to recruit the Jinyu, the Horde have to work with the more short lived and dim-witted Hozen. The Horde ends up turning a chaotic band of idiots into an organized army that can fight against the Alliance's new forces! '''For the Horde!''' |
| 120 | * The wall that keeps the Mantid out of Valley of the Four Winds is broken down by their Kunchong. The forces you gathered up questing there and in Krasarang Wilds come to save the day, but you save it most of all. You do this by letting yourself get eaten by the Colossus, and then utilizing [[TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential special training you received]] from a [[HermitGuru pandaren martial arts master]] to punch your way out it from inside like a chestburster! |
| 121 | ** Just how amazing this scene is cannot be understated. The local commander of the Shado-Pan orders a retreat when the wall falls, but then ''Chen Stormstout himself'' arrives and kicks some Mantid ass. Following Chen are a group of four students who you had helped throughout Krasarang Wilds and the Valley of the Four Winds, and then Chen starts talking about how Pandaria belongs to them, their ancestors, and their children. ''Nearly every single named NPC you have interacted with, from the Crane acolytes to the Tauren and Night Elf settlers to the militia from Zhu's Watch to the humble farmers from the beginning of the zone, start running down the hillside ready to fight the swarm.'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZmLhuvjG2U See it for yourself!]] |
| 122 | ** On a smaller scale is the NPC Shomi, a WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} {{Expy}} in Kun-Lai Summit's Zouchin Village area. A young girl whose protective father wants her to be a lady. She's only ''just'' beginning to wonder if she'd make a better adventurer than Lady when the Zandalari attack Zouchin. Unable to just stand by, she asks you to teach her on a fight, resulting in a quest where you kill trolls with her at your side. After the quest, she returns to Zouchin, trains yet more defenders herself, and is a major defender when the Zandalari attack the village en masse. |
| 123 | * The start of the Shieldwall/Dominance Offensive quests, where Varian Wrynn (for the Alliance)/Garrosh Hellscream (for the Horde) comes ashore, starts tossing orders around, and when he gets to the player, tells them that because they know the land so well they're to stick with him. Followed by one quest where you fight by the King's/Warchief's side. |
| 124 | ** And then [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pm63E71ZOI Th]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPOiIdqf8Eo is]] happens. |
| 125 | ** The remixed Shieldwall[=/=]Dominance zone in general, It's basically TheWarSequence, except ''permanent'', on multiple fronts, with players on ''both'' sides. The Alliance going Normandy beach on the Horde base from [[AirborneAircraftCarrier The Skyfire]]? A full-out frontal assault on Lion's Landing? Both happening ''at the same time''? Yeah, all that and various secondary conflicts going on in just about everywhere else in the battlefield. |
| 126 | * The climax of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms when you hit exalted is perhaps the coolest battle since the Death Knight starting zone, It starts with you checking on Zhi the Harmonious to find he's been killed, and the helm of the Thunder King has been taken from you, after fending off an ambush you return to Leven to find that the entirety of the Shao-tien army has arrived and is overwhelming the defenders. Leven sends you out expecting this to be the last stand, when a few kills in, the [[PhysicalGod August Celestials]] arrive and empower you, from there, you tread into the vale at full power and proceed to ''[[OneManArmy single-handedly destroy the entire Shao-tien army with almost zero effort]]''. After this, you and Leven take the battle to the Mogu leader, Zhin the Bloodletter, the SmugSnake who's been rubbing your "inferiority" in your face during every main event in the quest series, and finish him off after a (surprisingly difficult for this game) fight, you return to the Terrace where you get your dailies and are hailed as a hero by everyone in the vale. |
| 127 | * A ''daily quest'' from the Klaxxi is easily this. The player rides a massive Kuchong (a smaller version of the Ik'thik Colossus above) and carves their way through enemy mantid. The goal? Kill 200 enemies and it's ''[[CurbStompBattle a breeze]]''. |
| 128 | * Patch 5.1 and Patch 5.2 increases the awesome moments for the Blood Elves of the Horde in general. When Jaina imprisons the Sunreavers from Dalaran due to Garrosh using Sunreaver spies to steal the Divine Bell from Darnassus using the Sunreaver's portal network, it's up to Rommath and the Horde heroes to break Aethas and the other non-imprisoned Sunreavers out of Dalaran. This includes freeing dragonhawks, executing a High Elf who feeds Sunreavers to Segacedi the Dalaran Sewer Shark, breaking Aethas out, and finally escaping from Dalaran from the sewers by jumping off of Dalaran! Lor'themar telling his forces to ready up in preparations for a battle is almighty enough, especially taking Rommath's praise that "he would make a suitable Warchief" in place of Garrosh himself. |
| 129 | * Before that, you had the Purge of Dalaran itself, in which Jaina gets fed up with the Sunreavers and the horde in general betraying every agreement, just out and orders the sunreavers out of Dalaran, when Aethas refuses, she [[CurbStompBattle freezes him before he can even do anything]] and starts teleporting Blood Elves into the Purple Citadel while Vereesa orders you to stop the literal insurrection brewing in the sunreaver's quarter of Dalaran, which used to be a off-limits zone. You march in and singlehandedly slaughter the entire Sunreaver Garrison in there and then take down Sunreaver-aligned shopkeepers, who attack you on sight and a Sunreaver trying to loot the bank before running off. Following all of this, in 5.2 Jaina officially aligns the Kirin Tor back with the Alliance and takes the war to the Thunder King.. |
| 130 | * The climax of the main quest chain in 5.2 is a huge moment of awesome for Taran Zhu: After killing The Thunder King's second in command, a bleeding out and nearly dead Taran ''leaps'' into the middle of the Horde and Alliance forces and ''roars'' out the following quote, which makes both sides back down long enough to realize ''they're in agreement Garrosh has to go'', and that they may still be closer allies than either side realizes. Furthermore, the exchange gets Jaina to finally realize she might have been ''wrong'' about the Sunreavers being complicit in the theft of the Divine Bell. |
| 131 | --> '''Taran Zhu yells''': ENOUGH!! There will be no more bloodshed today. I see now why your Alliance and Horde cannot stop fighting. Every reprisal is itself an act of aggression, and every act of aggression triggers immediate reprisal. *Jaina and Lor'themar protest* SILENCE! YOU must break the cycle, It ends TODAY. Here. The cycle ends when you, Regent Lord, and you, Lady Proudmoore, turn from one another. And walk. Away. |
| 132 | * 5.3's Battle of Sen'jin Village features Chen Stormstout and Thrall helping the trolls fight off the invading Kor'kron. Standing at the gates to the village, Chen kicks approaching orcs into the air where Thrall proceeds to zap them with lightning until they ''explode.'' |
| 133 | * Moira Thaurissan taking the fight against the Frostmane trolls when her fellow dwarf leaders, Muradin and Falstad, are too worried about her stabbing them in the back for them to fight the trolls. The battle ends with Varian laughing that Falstad and Muradin will regret not being there to see Moira in action. |
| 134 | * The monologue of the spirit of Emperor Shaohao. "Path of the Last Emperor" sends the player to help a wizened Pandaren reach a shrine in the mountains. As he climbs, he speaks in parables praising the player for the triumph over the six Sha and the blessings of the celestials to overcome them. At the top, he reveals himself to be the spirit of the Emperor, and warns of the seventh and only undefeated Sha, representing Pride, which symbolically encapsulates both the the Pandaren history of isolation, and the current tensions between the Alliance and Horde and particularly the nationalistic threat posed by Garrosh Hellscream. |
| 135 | --> '''Seer Hao Pham Roo''': You surprised me. I expected a hero such as yourself to balk at the task of carrying an old man up a mountain. Most are too proud. |
| 136 | --> '''Seer Hao Pham Roo''': I was going to teach you a lesson but instead, it is you who have taught me. You see, when I was young... when I was young... when I was young... ''[his voice deepens and his form changes]'' I was EMPEROR. |
| 137 | --> '''Emperor Shaohao''': The realm you see all around you was mine to command. I conquered my doubts, my fears, my anger... I buried all of it within the land. But I held on to one vice. The one sha I never conquered. PRIDE. My pride cloaked this land in mists! I thought we were better than the rest of the world. I thought we could solve our own problems. But for ten thousand years, we stagnated, our doubts and fears buried in the land, rising up to fester whenever we allowed them. Pride. It is the most insidious of sha. It is good until it is bad. And then it is more dangerous than all the others combined. Beware of Pride! Be humble! The world is plunging into chaos. Old enemies must work together. Proud races must admit they need help. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Only by working together can we overcome the darkness. All that stands in our way... is pride. |
| 138 | * One for the [[BareFistedMonk Monk class]] in general. [[http://www.wowhead.com/spell=115080 Touch of Death]] instantly kills any non-player character that has equal or less health than the monk. Cue level 90 monks [[OneHitKill one-shotting]] vanilla raid bosses. |
| 139 | * ''Gelbin Mekkatorque'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgPVEWIaK8M showing up in the Siege of Orgrimmar.]] Sure he's only got a few seconds of dialogue, but he hasn't done anything at all since 4.0! |
| 140 | ** Pretty much any faction leader gets to do something during the raid for groups of their side, and the ending cinematic implies that they were all present either way, even if they didn't get a shining moment. |
| 141 | * Taran Zhu goes one on one with Garrosh in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slzQOyS5TqQ trailer for the Siege of Orgrimmar]]. He may be a BaseBreakingCharacter, but that was one hell of a fight. |
| 142 | ** Especially awesome is his ShutUpHannibal to Garrosh. |
| 143 | --->'''Garrosh''': Step aside, Pandaren! You confront a force beyond reckoning.\ |
| 144 | '''Taran Zhu''': Your ''father''[[note]]Grommash Hellscream, was the most noteworthy orc to accept Mannoroth's offer of power through demonic blood back in ''Warcraft III''[[/note]] dabbled in powers "beyond reckoning". Where is he... ''now''? |
| 145 | ** Garrosh himself gets one for fighting Taran Zhu and winning. Especially the part where he punches Taran off the bridge. |
| 146 | * It adds a layer of evil to him, but about as much badass. Garrosh isn't being controlled or corrupted by Y'Shaarj. He's doing this because he wants to. Even as the heart's power flows through him, it doesn't outright mutate or manipulate him, instead just forming over his upper half as a fleshy armor. He has ''successfully weaponized an Old God.'' |
| 147 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A00jJxhyRY ending cinematic]] for the expansion features Varian interrupting Thrall's killing blow, Taran Zhu taking Garrosh prisoner, and [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning a new Warchief]]. |
| 148 | -->'''Warchief Vol'jin:''' ''I'' speak for the Horde. |
| 149 | ** Not to mention the terms of peace. |
| 150 | --->'''King Varian Wrynn:''' But know this: if your Horde fails to uphold honor as Garrosh did, ''we will end you.'' |
| 151 | *** And to be clear. This isn't just anything, Varian marched up his guards with him, making it very clear that this was the Horde's ''final'' warning, and any more aggression will ''not'' be tolerated. |
| 152 | *** Equally impressive was Vol'jin's response. Rather than react with bravado, or deliver taunts or oneliners, his response is to ''stand''. To clarify, Vol'jin is such a tall and imposing figure he has to crouch constantly to even be at eye-level with Varian. And even then he's a few inches taller. After Varian more or less tells him "Behave, or we'll kill you" Vol'jin right there demonstrates how different he is from Garrosh. He delivers no verbal threats, no bravado, or taunts. He simply stands to his full imposing height and delivers one hell of a DeathGlare as to show this "High King" that the real Horde is not going to be so easily crushed as Garrosh's cronies were. |
| 153 | ** Another one is Thrall's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the defeated Garrosh, a very effective and concise one that more or less the twelve exact words that hurt the most for Garrosh to hear them. |
| 154 | -->'''Thrall''': You disappoint me, Garrosh[[note]]A call back to "Heart of War", in which Garrosh inwardly admits that Thrall saying that after their fight before the Scourge invasion got to him[[/note]]. You are not worthy of your father's legacy. |
| 155 | ** The short silent moment between Thrall and Varian is also great. When Vol'jin reveals himself, Varian was obviously expecting Thrall and looks over at him with a little bit of confusion. Thrall gives an absolutely ''perfect'' "deal with it" face in response. |
| 156 | * Speaking of [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason You Suck Speeches]], Wrathion gets an impressive one from [[https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Quest:Judgment_of_the_Black_Prince a very unlikely source]]. |
| 157 | --> You mistake your greatest strength for weakness. Do you not see this? |
| 158 | [[/folder]] |
| 159 | |
| 160 | [[folder:Warlords of Draenor]] |
| 161 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzhlsEFcVQ The intro cinematic]] for ''Warlords'' is pretty satisfying as an EvilVersusEvil fight between Grom and the Iron Horde and Mannoroth and Gul'dan. |
| 162 | ** To put it into context: Grom, when offered the Blood of Mannoroth, asks Gul'dan at Garrosh's prodding what price would the Orcs have to pay for the gift he was offering. When Gul'dan revealed his Fel Corruption and stated that the Orcs would have to give "everything", Grom deliberately spilled the Blood of Mannoroth on the ground, causing Mannoroth to personally show up to make an example of Grom; he is quickly interrupted by Garrosh unleashing the missiles of the Iron Horde upon Mannoroth, and calls in the Iron Star-chariot to chain Mannoroth down. Mannoroth escapes and launches a Fel infused WaveMotionGun only for Grom to aim Garrosh's Iron Star at Mannoroth and fire it at him, causing an explosion which served as a smokescreen for Grom to embed his ax into Mannoroth's head. This not only killed Mannoroth, but also caused a similar explosion to the one caused by his death in ''Warcraft III'' (though this time Garrosh pushes Grom out of the way, saving him). After the explosion subsided, Garrosh approached Gul'dan, who pleaded that the death of Mannoroth was not the Orcs' destiny, only for Garrosh to say that "Times change." Pulling Gorehowl out of Mannoroth's corpse, Garrosh tosses it to Grom who promptly declares that the Orcs will never be slaves. [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope He then declares that the Orcs will be conquerors.]] |
| 163 | * At the Dark Portal, Khadgar leads the Alliance and Horde forces to push the Iron Horde back, and Thrall and Maraad lead the charge bashing orcs all the way to the other side. |
| 164 | ** In the same cinematic, once the suicide squad breaks through, they're faced with an absolutely overwhelming army of Iron Horde orcs, enslaved gronn, and their artillery. The suicide squad's response as the Iron Horde charges them? The vanguard meets the charge with one of their own. |
| 165 | ** Khadgar has another one when he destroys the Dam after escaping the caves, By Combining an orb of Fire,Frost and Arcane to break it. |
| 166 | * Garrosh and Thrall [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHwiEbXqh3k duel in Nagrand]], [[BookEnds where it all began.]] Garrosh proceeds to shatter Thrall's beads, knock him to the ground, and deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown while screaming about how it's all Thrall's fault. Thrall responds by unleashing all the elements against Garrosh at once, killing him. |
| 167 | -->''"YOU made me Warchief! You LEFT ME to pick up YOUR! PIECES! YOU... FAILED... MEEEE!"'' |
| 168 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNxKyFWdQxM battle against Blackhand at Shattrath Harbor]], where Yrel and Durotan team up with each others' weapons to defeat Blackhand in revenge for Maraad and Orgrim Doomhammer's deaths. Then Khadgar and Thaelin Darkanvil fire a [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Iron Star cannon]] at the Iron Horde's ships, destroying it and teleporting Yrel and Durotan out just in time. |
| 169 | * Ga'nar and (Draenor) Velen's respective {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8kEAtkq_fc former's]] is a BolivianArmyEnding, holding off the Iron Horde in a pass before he's crushed to death in an avalanche, while the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkL9n861Emw latter's]] releases a ''massive'' [[LightEmUp wave of Light]] over Shadowmoon Valley that empowers the draenei armies who proceed to charge against the Iron Horde - and helpfully cleanses "The Dark Star", a Na'aru who'd been lost in space prior to the Draenei's crash. |
| 170 | * The way the outpost troops react when you're around. You WILL feel like you're accomplishing something great. |
| 171 | * The Genesaurs on Draenor lead other plant creatures and [[NightmareFuel infect living beings with zombie seeds that take over their body and / or turn them into mulch to feed more plant people]]. The final boss of the Everbloom dungeon is a Genesaur that has hijacked a portal to Stormwind, threatening to unleash that on Azeroth, and the battle is on the cliff overlooking the Mage District alongside a group of Kirin Tor while the Genesaur summons all manner of plant monsters. |
| 172 | * The fact that rather than treating the player as [[AnAdventurerIsYou just another grunt]], Horde/Alliance forces refer to the player as "Commander" and later "General". |
| 173 | * The fight against Decimatus in Nagrand isn't much on its own, but when put into context with previous battles in the series it's really something special. Decimatus is a Void God, an extremely powerful creature of the Void. The only other Void God in the game was Entropius at Sunwell Plateau, who is infamously ThatOneBoss and required a whole raid to bring down. Decimatus, on the other hand, is a creature just as strong as Entropius that is taken down with only you and either Nobundo or Drek'Thar. |
| 174 | * Most dungeons from this expansion are rather typical, but one of the stands out: Grimrail Depot. Here, the five players board an Iron Horde train and make an attempt to derail it before the massive railgun that it delivers will deal a crippling blow to your friendly forces. This is quite possibly the only "moving" dungeon; the path may be linear, but the feeling of fighting mobs and bosses on a speeding train is really thrilling. |
| 175 | * Yrel's {{character development}} throughout the questing is something special to behold, as she goes from being unsure of herself to becoming a confident young leader, and it leads up to the garrison campaign questline where [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning she becomes an Exarch]]. |
| 176 | * Gul'dan takes over the Iron Horde from Grommash like a boss]]. Despite loss after loss to the Iron Horde, the players, and his own lieutenants betraying him, Gul'dan still offers demon blood to Grom a second time, points out his massive losses and the death of Garrosh, pins him to the wall with one spell after he refuses a second time, and then makes Kilrogg into a fel Orc by having him accept the blood willingly. Khadgar had reason to fear him despite him being the ButtMonkey for a while. |
| 177 | * Remember the long drawn-out summoning ritual Kel'thuzad undertook to summon Archimonde? Gul'dan manages it in seconds! |
| 178 | * The battle against the Iron Horde forces at Karabor. The Iron Horde conquered Karabor just as the original Horde conquered it in the prime timeline. But this time, you get to fight back. The Draenei take back Karabor (with help from the Alliance) and exterminate the Iron Horde forces there while you shoot them from above on a giant dragon. The epic music just makes it even more awesome. For anyone who has seen the Black Temple (modern-day Karabor in Outland), this has a huge impact, as you're turning a HUGE Draenei defeat from the original timeline into a victory in this one. |
| 179 | ** And for the capstone of the battle, K'ara, who is still recovering from spending untold years as the Void-soaked Dark Star, musters all of her strength to destroy the Iron Horde's forces. The final moments play out like a reverse raid with you and Yrel as K'ara's EliteMooks while what amounts to the Naaru's enrage timer builds up, culminating in her wiping the army of orcs like a badly underperforming pickup group. |
| 180 | * Anyone who did the Battle for Mount Hyjal would remember Azgalor, Anethron, and Kaz'Rogal as bosses from the raid. In Hellfire Citadel? Your raid is now strong enough to fight all three of them ''at the same time.'' |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Legion]] |
| 184 | * The Legion Cinematic in its entirety: |
| 185 | ** It begins with a letter from the King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn, for his own son, while aboard an Alliance gunship. He talks about this mission, the return of the Burning Legion and the great risk that it will bring. He may not return. As he continues, the King speaks of pain, mistrust and loss, but his child's example showed the man the value of temperance, tolerance, and faith. |
| 186 | ** And so comes forth the value of it. Sylvanas, the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, rides from the clouds atop a Horde skyship. They nod. |
| 187 | ** A full out attack from flying demons strikes the Alliance gunship. An Infernal smashes through one of the turbines. Varian is almost struck dead by the thing after being thrown out of the ship, but the Sylvanas saves the King's life with her arrows. As the broken turbine closes into her, she jumps to the other ship while striking the enemy. Varian then attacks and kills the thing. |
| 188 | ** The ship falls into the sea, Varian sinking as his armor is breaking apart. But the King tells his son, that as much peace is important, as much of a virtue it is, you must still FIGHT. And so the King of Stormwind emerges, determination in his face. He charges the enemy, swords in each hand, killing demons left and right. |
| 189 | ** And as Sylvanas and he fight the demons upon the shores of the Broken Isles, his battle cry is one to rally not only the Alliance, but all champions: |
| 190 | -->'''Varian''': '''''FOR AZEROTH!''''' |
| 191 | * The entire Broken Shore scenario from the pre-expansion event: |
| 192 | ** The Horde and Alliance launch a joint offensive, working together to combat the Legion on the Broken Shore. An instanced event with players charging up the island through swarms of demons everywhere toward the Tomb of Sargeras with the help of some of both faction's greatest heroes. |
| 193 | ** After entire expansions of the Burning Legion being treated as something of a joke, we finally see them return as the greatest threat to Azeroth and its inhabitants, absolutely decimating the Horde and Alliance forces as well as the Argent Crusade at the Tomb of Sargeras. |
| 194 | *** Best of all, it's revealed that Lord Jaraxxus will be taking part in the invasion- no doubt because he was liked so much by the Hearthstone fanbase. |
| 195 | ** After fending off the giant demon Gul'dan has summoned, both factions charge toward the Tomb, but the Legion isn't done yet. They charge through a second portal to overwhelm the Horde forces, mortally wounding Vol'jin, and leaving Thrall crawling on the ground, barely able to stand up, forcing the Horde to retreat. |
| 196 | ** Vol'jin may have been stabbed and mortally wounded by a random demon, but he manages to avenge himself by first breaking the metal of the spear stuck in his chest with his bare hand, then killing the demon that stabbed him. |
| 197 | ** Mekkatorque of all people gets a moment to himself, using his new MiniMecha to great effect at the Broken Shore. While he's busy transmitting their position to the Alliance gunship, a felguard charges at him from the side. Without even looking, he blasts the demon in the face with his mech, and then ''laughs'' about it. You read it: Gnomes are now awesome. |
| 198 | *** Varian calls out to Genn in this same moment. What is he up to at that moment? Rearranging a demon's face with his claws. |
| 199 | ** Because of the Horde's retreat, the Alliance gets flanked by the Legion on all sides and also attempt to retreat on a gunship, but Gul'dan calls down a ''massive'' Fel Reaver that holds the gunship in place and nearly destroys it. How do they escape? Varian Wrynn first hands Genn Greymane a letter to his son, then [[HeroicSacrifice leaps off the airship]] and PLUNGES his sword into the reaver's head, destroying it in two blows and freeing the gunship from its grasp. |
| 200 | ** Varian Wrynn, now stuck on the island and surrounded by demons everywhere, splits his sword in two and kills as many as he can before he is finally stabbed in the back. Gul'Dan attempts to taunt him about the futility of resisting the Legion and states that Varian is going to die for nothing. How does Varian correct him? Three words. '''[[DefiantToTheEnd For the Alliance]]'''. |
| 201 | ** Horde players get another cutscene after the event in which a dying Vol'jin names Sylvanas the next Warchief. On his funeral pyre, she turns to the crowd and asks who will help her avenge their fallen brother. They rally behind her in an instant. '''FOR THE HORDE!''' |
| 202 | * Harbingers Illidan begins with Illidan addressing his Demon Hunters. How they were initially nothing but broken survivors of Burning Legion attacks. Indeed, one of them, Kor'vas, is struggling as he talks. But Illidan's faith is well-placed. That very same struggler renounces the Burning Legion. |
| 203 | -->'''Illidan:''' The demons will stop at nothing to destroy our world. |
| 204 | -->'''Kor'vas:''' [[WellIntentionedExtremist And we will sacrifice everything to save it.]] |
| 205 | -->'''Illidan:''' The Legion will know of this victory, and they will fear you, my Illidari. Now, '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE4pbrHR37k YOU ARE PREPARED!]]''''' |
| 206 | * Picture this situation: you are riding on your mount through Azeroth, enjoying the beautiful sights, when suddenly, as you enter another area, the skies turn dark, the music turns ominous... and you've just stumbled into an area that's being invaded by the Burning Legion! And by invading, it means they bring out a huge aerial battleship, reminiscent of a ''Star Destroyer'' and open a huge green portal, through which demons begin to pour down on Azeroth. As you go to investigate, you run into tens, maybe hundreds of players from both the Alliance and the Horde, fending off the invading demons in four different stages: first by defending the besieged location, then beating the Demon Commander, then repelling the Legion forces scattered throughout the region and finally, defeating the Demon Lord in the main location. Every player who participates in these scenarios earns Legion Chests that contain rare "Fel" equipment pieces, which not only give considerate stat boosts, but can also be sold for a hefty price (about 20-25 gold) and, if you happen to get a duplicate, their stats will scale according to your level. |
| 207 | ** On the note of both Demon Commanders and Demon Lords: they are so insanely powerful that even when over a hundred players attack them, the battle still takes several minutes to be finished. And some players are guaranteed to be killed by their powerful attacks, especially the lower level ones who got caught in the invasion. Goes to show you that Legion ''really means business'' this time. |
| 208 | ** Just the sight of over a hundred players fighting together against the Burning Legion forces, regardless of their race, class or alignment is a Moment of Awesome for all participants in the scenarios. |
| 209 | * Besides the Order Halls, all adventurers will get the opportunity to hunt down legendary weapons to use as their own, weapons such as the ''Ashbringer'' [[note]]Retribution paladins[[/note]] and the ''Doomhammer'' [[note]]Enhancement shamans[[/note]]. |
| 210 | ** Even ''Frostmourne'' gets in on the act, with frost death knights collecting its shattered remains to be reforged into a new pair of swords - the twin Blades of the Fallen Prince. And as your order hall progresses, and you research more into it, the "Artifact History" states that it ''will not'' follow the same road as its predecessor. Not with the Ebon Blade watching over its wielder, and you using it. |
| 211 | ** The Vengeance Demon Hunter Artifact isn't one of the famous weapons of Warcraft, but a read of its lore reveals that the Aldrachi Warblades were originally used by the king of a race who defied the Legion. A king so mighty that it took ''Sargeras'' to kill him, and the Aldrachi killed ''millions'' of demons before they were wiped out. Said king, Toranaar, also managed to wound Sargeras in a final act of defiance. |
| 212 | --> ''"The Aldrachi were a proud race. Too proud to serve. Millions of demons died before the Aldrachi were wiped out, and it took Sargeras himself to kill their king."'' |
| 213 | * YOU, the player, are made leader of your class's order. This is especially awesome for Warlocks who completed the Black Harvest questline as you've already slain a member of the Council of the Black Harvest and the remaining members name you their leader. |
| 214 | ** Likewise, Druid players are told early on that their training wouldn't even truly ''begin'' until they hibernated and spent time in the Emerald Dream. Despite this, they've accomplished so much that they're named Archdruids anyway. |
| 215 | * The Demon Hunters (aka Illidari) are basically walking concentrated awesome. Their starting questline involves invading and conquering the Legion world Mardum then breaking out of the Vault of the Wardens as the Burning Legion is breaking in, killing every demon in your path. Then after gaining your [[InfinityPlusOneSword artifact]], you learn that the Illidari had held the demonic ship/fortress from Mardum for all those years. Your second in command gives a RousingSpeech as the Ashtongue Broken, Coilskar Naga, and Shivarra teleport in to once more pledge their allegiance to the Illidari. |
| 216 | * The finale of the Demon Hunter order hall campaign consists of the Illidari taking the Felhammer to a Legion world and killing every demon there with the express purpose of hunting down and killing a pair of traitors, the very ones players got their artifacts from in fact. |
| 217 | * The Death Knight campaign shows that the Ebon Blade is living up to their reputation as "do what must be done to save the world and screw everyone else". Leading a raid on Undercity (''after Sylvanas has been declared warchief'') to rescue Koltira from her brainwashing? Not an issue. And then they shatter any leftover sentiments they may have had with the Argent Crusade by leading a raid on Light's Hope Chapel (remember, the first time this happened they lost horribly) to acquire Tirion Fordring's corpse and raise him as the leader of the new Four Horseman. They ''almost'' win, forcing their way through ''the Paladin class hall'' into Tirion's tomb and besting Lady Liadrin, leaving the tomb defenseless. But then the moment turns completely around as the Holy Light [[DeusExMachina manifests of its own volition]], the power of Light's Hope flaring out once more and leaving the Ebon Blade scrambling back to Acherus with their tails between their legs. Darion is killed during the escape, and re-reanimated as the true fourth Horseman candidate at Bolvar's command. Just like with Tirion at Icecrown Citadel, when It needs to, the Light will (politely) let you know where you can shove it. |
| 218 | ** The end of the Death Knight Order Hall quests, where you finally get the last of the new Four Horsemen has a hell of a line. Darion lies dead at your feet after getting the rest of the assault force to safety; but as the Lich King says, "death is for the living"... The Ebon Blade will serve Azeroth eternally, or until they're destroyed, not killed, to the last soldier. |
| 219 | ** Speaking of Bolvar Fordragon, the new Lich King has apparently gained full control of the Scourge and intends to use both them and the Ebon Blade against the Burning Legion, and he promotes the player Death Knight to [[TheDragon Dragon]] status as you go through the class questline, effectively knighting you as "Deathlord" if your first artifact is the Blades of the Fallen Prince (which took you back to Icecrown and right to the Frozen Throne). He's now an active player in world events, but his actions indicate that [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan being the Scourge's can]] has made him [[WellIntentionedExtremist a little brutal]] in his methods. Even the Ebon Blade don't fully trust him. Fire mages will have to deal with him to get their artifact, and while he commends their courage and points them towards it, he warns that he will happily "recruit" them for the Scourge if they die while screwing around on his turf. |
| 220 | * After a Priest gets his/her first artifact weapon, they go to Netherlight Temple and ''purify a void god'', turning it back into a Naaru. |
| 221 | * The RousingSpeech given by Chen Stormstout following the conclusion of the Monk campaign. |
| 222 | -->'''Chen Stormstout:''' When the Burning Legion arrived, they took much from us. Many of us grieve for our fallen friends. We long for the yesteryears of peace. And like you, I fear the dark days yet to come. But today, is NOT that day. Today, we celebrate the dawn of a new order! Today, we toast to friendship and fellowship! And let us never give up the fight for another tomorrow! To the Grandmaster. |
| 223 | * The finale of the Druid order hall campaign, wherein you enter Malorne's (Cenarius's father's) nightmare of his darkest memory: his death against Archimonde in the War of the Ancients. Atop a copy of Mount Hyjal covered in Emerald Nightmare corruption, Wild Gods like Ursoc, Ursol, and Agamaggan are fighting endless scores of demons. And it all culminates in you fighting alongside Malorne against Archimonde himself to free him from the nightmare. |
| 224 | * The entirety of the Warlock campaign certainly counts. Initially you're tasked with helping the remaining council members summon a powerful demon. When one of them screws up the incantation, the entire council is captured and sent to a Legion world. You manage to escape, though you lose the others along the way, only to acquire your artifact and return to kill the Pitlord ruling the world and take over. The campaign then consists of PuttingTheBandBackTogether by attacking another Legion world to rescue the other council members and culminates in enslaving the Eredar Twins and being declared the leader of the Council of the Black Harvest. |
| 225 | * The Shaman order hall campaign is awesome on its own right. After repelling a Legion attack on the Maelstrom and claiming your artifact, you reach out to the elements, forging pacts with Neptulon and Therazane, resurrecting the original owner of Thunderfury and helping a new Fire Lord so that they can rise to the empty thrones of Al'akir and Ragnaros and finally unite the four Elemental Lords for the first time since the ordering of Azeroth. |
| 226 | * The Warrior order hall campaign involves (almost) single-handedly repelling a Legion invasion of Ulduar then when Hodir is captured and brought to a Legion world, you command an army of Valajar to storm said world and take Hodir back. Particularly noteworthy is slaying demons on felbats by ''jumping'' from bat to bat to kill them. |
| 227 | * The Rogue order hall campaign has a great spy-fantasy/thriller mood, in which the Uncrowned work to not only undermine the Legion's assassins, spies and agents, but also solve a major conspiracy involving [=SI:7=]. If you have also obtained all Artifacts, by the end you'll have: stalked and killed the Legion's greatest assassin and spy in her own stronghold ''after she has kidnapped you, gotten a blessing from Kil'jaeden, and is expecting you''; stormed an undead pirate stronghold alongside the Bloodsail Buccaneers and infiltrated Stormwind ''twice'', once to stop a cult from destroying it, and once to prevent an impostor Dreadlord from causing all-out war between the Horde and the Alliance. TheGreatestStoryNeverTold sums up the whole campaign pretty well, as only your fellow Uncrowned are witness to your actions. |
| 228 | * The Paladin and Priest order hall campaigns both end with the Legion launching an all out assault against the Priests' order hall, led by none other than Balnazzar. After over ''13 years'' of scheming, manipulating, and cheating death twice, you finally, ''finally'', put the Dreadlord down for good. |
| 229 | * Genn Greymane deals a ''major'' setback to Sylvanas in the Stormheim finale. Sylvanas planned to subjugate the Val'kyr Eyir in order to create more using a magical lantern. Suddenly, a loud roar is heard, and Sylvanas is looking around the vault as Genn tells her that her quest for immortality has left her vulnerable, leaping down from the ceiling crying out for vengeance for Varian, Gilneas and his son Liam and knocking Sylvanas down. Genn follows by charging at Sylvanas, though she dodges and shoots a poisoned arrow at his shoulder, and he changes back to his Human form. Sylvanas taunts him by claiming she overestimated him, when Genn [[ExactlyWhatIAimedAt reveals that he snatched her magical lantern in his final charge]] and smashed it on the ground, freeing Eyir. Sylvanas is left shocked and completely speechless as Genn walks out of the vault, snapping the shaft of the arrow and pretty much sleeping off the poison when you see him after the cutscene. |
| 230 | --->'''Genn:''' [[AndThisIsFor For Varian! For Gilneas!]] '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis FOR! MY! SON!!!]]''''' |
| 231 | ** And after successfully foiling her plans by shattering the lantern. |
| 232 | --->'''Genn''': You took my son's future. And now: [[EyeForAnEye I've taken yours]]. |
| 233 | * Illidan killing Gul'dan in the Nighthold. After two expansions worth of atrocities Gul'dan sees his plans crumble into ash before dying at the hands of the being he tried to exploit in the same way he murdered Varian. Karmic doesn't even come close to describing it, and never does Illidan's [[MemeticMutation memetic]] CatchPhrase '''"[[YouAreNotReady YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!!]]"''' look more fitting in context, you can imagine him saying that. |
| 234 | ** The sequence immediately after Gul'dan's death is a throwback to ''The Burning Crusade'' cinematic. Specifically the ending where Illidan is holding the skull of the original Gul'dan before turning to the camera to address the viewer. It goes so far as to bring back the music from the cinematic. Only this time he crushes the skull in his hands before addressing the adventurers. |
| 235 | --->'''Illidan:''' You have seen what I have seen. You know what we face. Now, mortals...follow me...''into the abyss.'' |
| 236 | * The Alliance and the Horde got their teeth kicked in when they assaulted the Broken Shore to stop the Legion - heroes died, the armies were destroyed, and everyone who lived forced to limp back home while the Legion took minor losses. What's happening in patch 7.2? ''Round two.'' |
| 237 | ** The 7.2 intro to the Broken Shore for level 110 characters shows just how much we've grown, individually and collectively, since the defeat at the Broken Shore. Dozens of troops from all the class orders and races, including some that aren't even technically part of the Alliance and Horde, join you and bum-rush the beachhead, pushing the Legion back a good 1/3 of the zone in a show of unity not seen since the Battle for Mt. Hyjal. All the while, demon commanders are shouting ThisCannotBe and Khadgar is celebrating our rousing success, proving once again that ''nothing'' stands in the way of a united Azeroth. |
| 238 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck8CTBkQ0lI The King Anduin Wrynn]] cinematic is awesome for multiple reasons but first and foremost for the animation team - the amount of emotion they pack into it is astounding. |
| 239 | ** One moment in particular: Anduin sees a vision of his father and as he holds Shalamayne, the orb of light within the blade, which was snuffed out when Varian died, reignites. But where it used to be fiery red, it now shines the pure golden glow of the Light itself. Anduin opens his eyes and it's clear that his doubt is gone, the prince has become a King ready to fight the Legion. |
| 240 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXwvkV481r4 Death Knight mount cinematic]], an almost shot-for-shot homage to the Lich King raising Sindragosa... |
| 241 | * The Paladin Legion Mount questline is a giant NostalgiaLevel CallBack to the [[CoolHorse Charger]]-acquiring questline of Vanilla. First, you make a barding, then you imbue the barding with holy light, and only then is it revealed that like in the original questline, you're going to redeem a Death Knight's mount. But this is not just any Death Knight's mount, oh no, you're the Highlord, and so -- instead of going into a long forgotten ruin in Dire Maul to slay an ancient -- you go ''charging through Stratholme itself'' with the Silver Hand at your back, foiling the plans of a necromancer who has taken fellow paladins hostage, and charge right into the tomb of '''''Baron Rivendare''''' himself, shackling the Baron's Deathcharger before bringing it back to Light's Hold Chapel to purify it. The resultant Golden Charger is so overflowing with holy power that its legs are burning with holy fire and it leaves scorching holy hoofmarks in the ground wherever you ride it. |
| 242 | ** We repeat: The same mount that many people have spent months running through Stratholme to get? You are riding the armoured and redeemed ''soul'' of that mount into battle. |
| 243 | * Although most of the event is a huge tearjerker, the Legion laying the Exodar to siege is equally awesome. When you take Light's Heart to the Exodar, you find it under a full-fledged invasion of the sort that took dozens if not hundreds of adventurers to handle in groups before finding their Artifact weapons. This time, it's just you and [[TheWarSequence you take the fight to them in a big way.]] As you crush your way through innumerable demon hordes and launch strikes at their commanders, you also rescue civilians, many of whom are children, and eventually overhear Nobundo calling for aid. From there, things only get more awesome as Nobundo's best shaman join your party and you hold off wave after wave of demons in a quest called [[LastStand Nobundo's Last Stand.]] Finally, you return to Velen, and he escorts you through fel corruption that would otherwise kill you in seconds. After all that, you throw down with one of Kil'jaeden's top lieutenants, with two of your Champions and Velen joining your party for the brawl. Although it ends in tragedy, getting to go on such a huge rampage against the Legion and doing what it took dozens to do only recently is a great way to show how powerful the Artifact weapons are and how much your character has similarly grown in power. |
| 244 | * The Warrior mount questline ends with you receiving your dragon then punching it out when it snarls at you before mounting it. |
| 245 | * For the Rogue mount questline, players infiltrate each enemy capital city and assassinate a high profile target that's secretly a dreadlord controlled zombie. Most impressively, in Orgimmar/Stormwind, players have to assassinate an auctioneer inside the main auction house aka the busiest place in the busiest capital city. |
| 246 | * In 7.3, taking the fight to the Legion. You and the rest of Azeroth join with the Army of Light to lay siege to the Legions homeworld. |
| 247 | ** Rejection of the Gift cinematic if you agree with Illidan or don't like Xe'ra. If you like Xe'ra, agree with Turalyon or disagree with Illidan it is well-animated. You can watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td0pUwrBWjc here]]. |
| 248 | ** The cutscene that plays after defeating Lord Nath'raxas deserves special mention. Aggrammar arrives crashing down from the sky, emblazoned in fire, right before your character. And while the hero initially cowers in his presence... when Aggrammar pulls out his massive sword, your character also brandishes their weapon and gives the corrupted titan an expression that pretty much screams BringIt. Though you are spared the confrontation by a quick teleport back to the Vindicaar. |
| 249 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhfvc2kxX1g The cinematic]] that ends [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Antorus]]. The Pantheon combine their power to drag Sargeras through space to the Seat of the Pantheon and trap him there, finally ending the Legion's threat once and for all. |
| 250 | --> '''Aman'Thul:''' Brother. Your crusade is '''over'''. |
| 251 | ** Sargeras's appearance. After hearing his voice in various cutscenes, finally seeing the dark titan in his full glory is an epic moment. Not only that, his size compared to Azeroth is awe-inspiring and horrific at the same time. |
| 252 | ** Not to be outdone, however, Sargeras is able to resist their pull for long enough to ''drive his sword into Azeroth's surface'', with the final scene showing it impaled into the ground and towering above the mountains and buildings around it. |
| 253 | ** Told to return home by Aman'Thul, Velen calls to Illidan that they have done all they can. Illidan disagrees, repeating his words to Maiev at the end of the Black Temple and choosing to remain behind to fight Sargeras. The last we see of him is Sargeras appearing before him and Illidan readying his blades with a satisfied ''"At last."''' |
| 254 | * A moment for the developers: the mage class mount, the prismatic disc, is a unique object. Only one exists. But thousands of players have earned it, so the devs have coded the wizard interface to only show one character using it: yours. |
| 255 | [[/folder]] |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[folder:Battle for Azeroth]] |
| 258 | * The opening Cinematic shows that the Alliance and Horde are once again at open war with one another. No more EnemyMine against a world-destroying threat. Just the same old Alliance vs. Horde that created the entire series! |
| 259 | * The Alliance seeks to reconquer the kingdom of Lordaeron, which was destroyed in ''Warcraft III'' and inhabited by the Forsaken since. |
| 260 | * Both Sylvanas' and Anduin's warcries of "For The [Faction]" |
| 261 | ** Seeing her forces pushed back, including High Overlord Saurfang collapsing from arrow wounds,and a siege tower approaching, Sylvanas leaps to the tower, destroys it with an explosive arrow, and as she falls from the tower, lets loose her full Banshee powers with a bloodcurdling scream before yelling "For the Horde". At which point Saurfang lets out his own warcry, picks up a Horde banner, and the Horde breaks through the Alliance Ranks. |
| 262 | ** Shortly thereafter Anduin, the peace-loving Priest, rallies his troops forward. After taking down a few orcs he is knocked back by Saurfang and takes a look around to see his men falling to the resulting onslaught. Stabbing Shalamayne into the ground, Anduin channels a massive dome of light that heals his troops. With a yell of "Stand as one!", he retrieves Shalamayne and declares "For the Alliance" before resuming the charge. |
| 263 | *** Shortly before this, Genn tries to rush in and help him stand, only for Zekhan to jump in and zap him with lightning. Anduin quickly gets to his feet and starts mashing on another troll's shield, finally unleashing a roar and turning the troll into a crater with a huge holy strike that caves in the earth and throws up dust around him. Our little Priest is apparently becoming a Paladin, folks. |
| 264 | * Blizzard seems to have heard the fan requests for a Warcraft IV and is incorporating the classic RTS gameplay into the expansion. Warfronts are essentially group raids against an intelligent AI where players build bases, recruit units, and fight alongside them against the opposing faction, as if they were the iconic Hero Units in ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III]]'' |
| 265 | * Uncharted Islands. Tired of running the same 5 Dungeons and Raids between patches? How about a few HUNDRED scenarios with procedurally generated enemies, treasures, stories and encounters. Oh, and you're racing against an AI party of the opposing faction that Blizzard claims will clean your clock if your group doesn't bring their A-Game. |
| 266 | * Sylvanas' speech to Saurfang at the end of the Horde's version of the Battle for Lordaeron scenario. It is awesome in itself in a very {{antihero}}ic way, but it also helps one see how Sylvanas' leadership is different from that of the previous warchiefs. |
| 267 | --> Honor means nothing to a corpse, Saurfang. You have the luxury of underestimating death, but it is something with which I am intimately familiar. Maybe you don't care if your people die so long as it is honorable. But to me, this Horde is worth saving. Anyone who disagrees does not deserve to stand among us. So die your warrior's death, High Overlord Saurfang. It means little to me. Perhaps I will raise your broken body to serve me once more. Or perhaps you will have a chance to say hello to your son. |
| 268 | * "Warbringers: Jaina" reminds us just how powerful the Lady of Theramore is, by her effortlessly raising her father's sunken galleon, completely intact, from the depths of the sea and sailing it by herself. |
| 269 | --> Beware, beware the Daughter of the Sea. Beware...beware...of me. |
| 270 | * "Warbringers: Sylvanas" shows us the truly terrifying power of weaponized azerite when the Banshee Queen turns Teldrassil into the biggest bonfire on the planet with just a handful of enhanced goblin demolishers. The destruction is so complete that even mages cannot teleport back into Darnassus (getting shunted to the beach of Darkshore), a newly arrived Bronze Dragon becoming the only way to access the zone. |
| 271 | * The Battle of Lordaeron: |
| 272 | ** Jaina makes her comeback in a ''huge'' way. After Sylvanas uses the Forsaken Blight to annihilate both the Alliance offensive and her own troops to convert everything into undead, Jaina swoops in on her father's galleon, now enchanted with [[CoolAirship the power of flight]], and blasts the cloud of plague gas away with a massive Ring of Frost spell (which also destroys all the reanimated skeletons the Blight had created). When Anduin points out the fortified city gate, Jaina almost casually gestures for her ship to bring its port side around, revealing cannons that unleash an arcane broadside, turning the gate to rubble. Beware the Daughter of the Sea, indeed. |
| 273 | ** Points to Sylvanas, however - the whole battle was just an insanely elaborate trap to exploit Anduin's honor and trap him, Genn, and everyone else with him in the throne room, where she goes full Banshee and blows up yet another chain of Blight canisters before flying off and retreating. A brilliant plan that would have basically cut the head off the Alliance... but she never accounted for [[SpannerInTheWorks Jaina]], who dropped a shield and then teleported Anduin's group out of the city as it became utterly consumed in Blight. |
| 274 | * The Kul Tiran Capital of Boralus, a major Alliance Port city so big there are actually intra-city flight points, and beautifully rendered to boot. |
| 275 | * Opposite of Boralus is the Zandalari capital of Zuldazar, a beautiful, multi-terraced [[CityOfGold temple city made of gold]] with Dazar'alor, the combined urban center and palace of God King Rastakhan, at its center. |
| 276 | * With her influence over the Lord Admiral, Lady Ashvane ordered the arrest of any Alliance-affiliated individuals who entered Boralus, and their immediate imprisonment in Tol Dagor. The player was broken out, but as they're brought to meet with the harbormaster of Boralus, a squad of Boralus Guards are in the process of detaining the 7th Legion detachment led by Genn Greymane. Cyrus proceeds to berate the guardsman preventing the Alliance from disembarking, then invites Genn into his office. [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Because as the harbormaster, he represents the direct authority of House Proudmoore, which supersedes any orders coming from any other House - including House Ashvane]]. And he then proceeds to give the player full, unrestricted access to the ferry system to aid them in their mission to unify Kul Tiras once more. |
| 277 | --> '''Cyrus Crestfall:''' Lady Ashvane? [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Do you serve Lady Ashvane? Is that Lady Ashvane's crest upon your shield?]] |
| 278 | --> '''Harbor Guard:''' N-no, sir. |
| 279 | --> '''Cyrus Crestfall:''' No! You serve Kul Tiras! You wear the crest of Proudmoore! And you take your orders from ME. |
| 280 | * When Priscilla Ashvane returns to Boralus to destroy it with her pirate fleet, Jaina uses her father's pendant to free the ''entire'' Kul Tiran fleet from the magical storm that trapped them at sea. They emerge right behind Ashvane's fleet, with the now-canon and previously M.I.A. Tandred in command, [[OhCrap completely stunning]] Ashvane, and prompting the pirates' immediate surrender. Combined with the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic, namely the TriumphantReprise of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_LL8z2pEHg Jaina's Homeland]], it creates one badass ending cutscene for the Kul Tiras storyline. |
| 281 | --> Jaina Proudmoore: There you are. ''Jaina's eyes and the pendant begin to glow'' |
| 282 | ** Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, since Katherine, the same woman who [[IHaveNoSon renounced Jaina]] at the beginning of the questline, now trusts her daughter to save their city. |
| 283 | ** Additionally, Jaina is given the position of Lord Admiral by her mother. After so long in the shadows, Jaina is a faction leader once again. |
| 284 | * Representing the opposite faction is the Horde's arrival in Zuldazar. The Alliance has caught up with the escaping Zandalari ship, and with no wind, it seems like the Horde has nowhere to run... until Princess Talanji steps onto the bow. There, she summons a gigantic avatar of Rezan, which gives the ship a wind boost towards an oncoming fog bank. Talanji proceeds to part the fog, revealing the land of Zandalar with the Sun shining down upon [[CityOfGold the city of Dazar'Alor]] with ''a whole fleet'' of Zandalari ships waiting for them. The Alliance ships are fired upon by [[SiegeEngines flaming Ballista projectiles]] from the Zandalari ships that destroy the Alliances own ships in one shot, leaving only one surviving ship to retreat. The moment speaks so much for itself that the princess only has the following to say: |
| 285 | --> Princess Talanji: We are home. |
| 286 | * "Warbringers: Azshara" shows the events that led to Azshara and her followers becoming naga...which involved her ''[[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu refusing N'Zoth's initial deal]]'' and being perfectly willing to die a queen instead of living as a servant. [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu This succeeds in convincing N'Zoth to go along with]] ''[[DidYouJustScamCthulhu her]]'' [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu deal]] and make her the queen of his new empire. |
| 287 | -->'''N'Zoth''': Arise Aszhara! Arise my Queen! |
| 288 | ** N'Zoth also qualified as awesome here. [[TheChessmaster He made Azshara believe she has the upper hand, when in reality everything he does is part of his plan in order to manipulate Azshara to do everything he wanted.]] |
| 289 | ** Azshara [[ItsAllAboutMe may be an amoral narcissist]], yet [[SmugSuper she's certainly able to walk the walk]]. When her capital city is being swept off the map by tidal wave tall enough to [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom blot out the sun]], her immediate reaction is to try and stop a 300ft tall tsunami dead in its tracks. ''[[DeityOfHumanOrigin And she does]]''. Maybe not indefinitely, but bearing the weight of an entire goddamn ocean on your back for even a minute is astounding. |
| 290 | --> [[DefiantToTheEnd NO! I am QUEEN!]] [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething And this is the empire that I built!]] |
| 291 | ** Adding to that, with her magic and her ability, she could have easily teleported to a safe place any time she wanted to. [[PrideBeforeAFall Though it may have been chiefly motivated by pride]], Azshara has the raw willpower and resolve to match her ego pound for pound. |
| 292 | * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLKS0Jq9U_E Tell her... we are coming.]]" |
| 293 | ** Malfurion takes out a Horde caravan in seconds by himself, before telling the SoleSurvivor the above line. When the Orc listening to the survivor's tale dismisses the idea that a sole Night Elf could do such a thing, Nathanos responds that he knows of one who could. He and the Orc head outside and spot Malfurion and Tyrande (now as the Night Warrior) leading a squad of Night Elves. |
| 294 | *** The massacre is so traumatizing that the spared survivor is reduced to a MadnessMantra of asking Bwonsamdi, the Loa of Death, not to claim him yet. |
| 295 | ** On the flipside, despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them, Nathanos makes it clear that he will ''not'' give up Darkshore without a fight as he rallies the Horde. |
| 296 | -->'''Nathanos''': We will hold this ground...'''for the Horde'''. |
| 297 | * In the Alliance intro to the Battle of Dazar'alor, Gelbin is preparing to activate the bombs that had been placed on the Golden Fleet during the Alliance War Campaign, waiting to be in range before detonating them. The ship is hit, the floor collapses underneath him and he and his machine get knocked down below deck. He frees himself from the rubble and starts lifting the much larger machine, mashing the detonation button as soon as it's back in the upright position. And then we're treated to a scene of the entire fleet docked in the port of Zandalar getting blown to bits. |
| 298 | ** Jaina also blocks a ballista shot with an arcane shield mere ''inches'' before it was going to directly collide with her. |
| 299 | * Even if it ends up costing Zelling his life and Baine his freedom, the two of them finally having enough of Sylvanas' madness and smuggling Derek to the Alliance right out from under Sylvanas' nose was an incredibly ballsy move. Not only that, but Baine's act of defiance and its consequences have started to plant the seeds of doubt towards Sylvanas in most of the rest of the Horde's leadership. Baine's actions are a ''far'' cry from his absurd pacifism in ''Tides of War'', and can potentially be seen as an amendment of that. |
| 300 | * In the cinematic ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=umAgdVTBae0 Safe Haven]]'', Saurfang kills a pair of Forsaken assassins in one hit each, including catching one who's invisible and breaking their neck. |
| 301 | ** Before that Saurfang calls out Thrall on [[CallToAgriculture retiring to a farm on Outland]] and refusing to help save the Horde. |
| 302 | -->'''Saurfang:''' Do you know what she's been doing while you've been hiding?\ |
| 303 | '''Thrall:''' I left that life behind. I'm no one's savior. I will not lead the Horde!\ |
| 304 | '''Saurfang:''' I didn't ask. But I hoped you'd at least fight for it. |
| 305 | * This little gem following Anduin and Saurfang's talks: |
| 306 | --> '''Varok Saurfang''': "Zekhan. Where is our home?" |
| 307 | --> '''Zekhan''': "...Orgrimmar?" |
| 308 | --> '''Varok Saurfang''': "Not our city. Our ''home''." |
| 309 | --> '''Zekhan''': "Azeroth." |
| 310 | --> '''Anduin Wrynn''': "And ours?" |
| 311 | --> '''Jaina Proudmoore''': "''Azeroth''." |
| 312 | --> '''Anduin Wrynn''': "Right now, there are only two forces in this world that matter. One bent on harming our world-!" |
| 313 | --> '''Varok Saurfang''': "And one that will protect her!" |
| 314 | --> '''Zekhan''': "So... What are we doing?" |
| 315 | --> ''(Saurfang takes a deep breath...)'' |
| 316 | --> '''Varok Saurfang''': "'''''Breaking the cycle.'''''" |
| 317 | * During their Mak'Gora in the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NRLuUnpGYg Reckoning]]'' cinematic, Saurfang is about to be killed by Sylvanas when he gains a HeroicSecondWind and gives her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that drives Sylvanas to an AccidentalPublicConfession. |
| 318 | -->'''Saurfang:''' You cannot kill hope. You tried at Teldrassil. You failed. Hope remains. You set us to kill each other at Lordaeron. You failed. Here we stand. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You. Just. Keep. Failing!]] The Horde will endure! The Horde is strong!\ |
| 319 | '''Sylvanas:''' The Horde is nothing! ({{Beat}} as the OhCrap sinks in) [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You. Are. All. NOTHING!]] |
| 320 | ** During the Mak'Gora, Saurfang wields both his axe and Shalamayne, until he loses the axe to Sylvanas's vicious attack. As he gains the HeroicSecondWind, he strikes with Shalamayne over and over only to be parried at each turn. ''Then'' he splits the blade in two as Varian did, delivering a solid hit to Sylvanas that finally drives her into that confession. It may been a CurbStompBattle against him, but Saurfang went down fighting. |
| 321 | ** The simple fact that Saurfang not only earned his warrior's death, but he did so saving the very soul of the Horde. After he falls, even the Forsaken who would have stood by their queen to defend Orgrimmar begin to tap their banners in honor of a true hero of the Horde, while Thrall, Anduin and Zekhan bear his corpse through the city's gates to lay him to rest. |
| 322 | [[/folder]] |
| 323 | |
| 324 | [[folder:Shadowlands]] |
| 325 | [[AC:Pre-Release]] |
| 326 | * The cinematic trailer wherein Bolvar, having spent years trapped in ice, embraces the power of the Lich King to fight against Sylvanas. Despite his power, Sylvanas is able to defeat him by wielding the same unknown death magic that killed Saurfang and removes the Helm of Domination. As Bolvar warns her it will be a prison, rather than donning it Sylvanas ''tears the helm in half'' to shatter the veil between life and death. After more than a decade, Sylvanas has gained her revenge by truly killing the Lich King. |
| 327 | * Darkly awesome as it is, Uther was not only right when he '[[Videogame/{{Warcraft}} hoped there was a special place in hell]]' for Arthas - but he also gets to ''ensure'' Arthas gets there, dispensing justice for all the atrocities the former Lich King committed against the Kingdom of Lordaeron by being the one to ''personally'' drop him into The Maw. |
| 328 | * Draka, the mother of Thrall, ended up in Maldraxxus after her death, where she was trained as a spy. She was sent to deliver a message when her master's fortress was destroyed, and she was ambushed by her own guardians(''again''). She was not having that mess again, and utterly wrecks the traitors and fights her way to deliver the message... and the heads of her attackers. So what was the message? "I offer the key to saving Maldraxxus". Draka, who wasn't given anything else, wonders what the key could have been [[ExplainExplainOhCrap then realizes]] it's talking about ''her''. |
| 329 | * In a sense, Garrosh (as that's who it's implied to be) was, for all his faults as an AxCrazy, an exceptionally proud and determined soul. When Sire Denathrius mentions the 'old workhorses' used to sustain through the drought, it cuts to him. |
| 330 | * After over a decade of atrocities, Nathanos Blightcaller is finally, ''finally'' brought to justice. Horde and Alliance champions unite to track down Nathanos to where his story first began, Marris Stead, and a titanic battle ensues. Nathanos, even after being brought to the brink of death, remains DefiantToTheEnd, mocking both factions that they cannot stop what Sylvanas has begun. Fittingly, the final blow is delivered by Tyrande, the woman who the Blightcaller's crimes hurt the most. |
| 331 | ** Credit to Tyrande for her impressive entrance., Nathanos starts the cinematic having the time of his life shooting offscreen foes (probably [[PlayerCharacter us]]), and mockingly asks the assembled heroes if this is the best they can do against him. [[OhCrap Then the sky goes dark as the moon covers the sun.]] Nathanos only gets a moment to realize [[ThisIsGonnaSuck just who is about to step up]] before an arrow nails him in the shoulder with enough force to literally pin him to the wall of his former home. When his twin plaguehounds circle around behind Tyrande as she [[UnflinchingWalk stalks out of the gloom]], she doesn't even look back at the beasts, turning them both to ash with a single bolt of Moonfire each. His response? Chuckle, [[BringIt calmly joke that the fight has finally gotten interesting]], then snap the arrow in half and push himself off the wall to grab his axes. |
| 332 | *** And one single line from Nathanos almost completely steals Tyrande's moment - killing him here, on Azeroth, is only going to send him to the Maw, meaning she's basically giving him an express ticket to Torghast where he can regroup with Sylvanas and continue being a thorn in everyone's side. She decapitates him anyway, but even in death, Nathanos Blightcaller [[MagnificentBastard still manages to pull off a win]]. Or So he thinks... |
| 333 | |
| 334 | [[AC:Shadowlands questing]] |
| 335 | * In the Shadowlands intro storyline, Thrall gets an awesome moment when he chucks his axe into Helya's face to [[TalkToTheFist shut her up]]. |
| 336 | * In the finale of the intro storyline, the [[PlayerCharacter Adventurer]] gets one as well. As the endless army of the Jailer advances on them, with the Jailer himself binding Jaina Proudmoore, Thrall, Baine Bloodhoof and Anduin Wrynn with dark magic, the Adventurer activates an ancient portal stone with nothing but their presence and teleports away, becoming the first-ever being to escape the Maw. |
| 337 | ** Anduin himself gets one during the same scene. With a wall of darkness that has snared Jaina, Thrall, and Baine on touch advancing, Anduin declares "The Light is with me... even here", and casts that same shield of light he cast in the BFA cinematic trailer, halting the darkness and allowing the player to escape. |
| 338 | * The climax of Ardenweald's storyline. The later portions of it are dedicated to caring and soothing a wildseed plagued by nightmares. During the final battle with the factions threatening the forest, the wildseed is damaged and begins dying. What follows is a procession of every ally you've made up to that point and a small army of Night Fae marching to the Heart of the Forest to ask the Winter Queen directly to save the seed. She does so, reluctantly due to a mix of Ardenweald's general situation and because spirit in the seed is a "pet" of "her sister's", but is convinced that, while some must be sacrificed, others ''must'' be saved. She does so, and restores to life Ysera the Dreamer, in life the leader of the Green Dragonflight. |
| 339 | * It was revealed that the Lich King was meant to be a herald of the Jailer. Thus giving Ner'zhul, Arthas, and Bolvar each a moment of awesome by virtue of all three Lich Kings defying the chief threat of ''Shadowlands.'' |
| 340 | |
| 341 | [[AC: Covenant Campaigns]] |
| 342 | * Xandria, the Paragon of Courage's temple comes under attack by the forces of the Maldraxxian house of Constructs during the main shadowlands campaign. When Mograine decides to approach Bastion for aid in taking out the house, [[ItsPersonal Xandria shows up in Maldraxxus]] with [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge an army at her back]] - together, the two covenants do something which has so far never been done: They ''kill'' the Margrave of the House of Constructs in direct combat. No trickery or deceit necessary. |
| 343 | * One of the Houses you fight in the Necrolords campaign is the House of Rituals, where the warrior-mages (mostly liches) spend their afterlife. One such lich, and its Baron, is Kel’Thuzad. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, the Maw Walker is enlisted to infiltrate and eventually attack the House of Rituals and stop Kel’Thuzad from performing his... well, ritual. Turns out the ritual is meant to summon a Maw Behemoth, an extremely strong elite monster. By now, you would have seen its cousins in the Maw, and you certainly have learned to avoid them. You wonder how you’re gonna get through this when, suddenly, a figure whooshes by in a cutscene. It’s General Draven of Revendreth, suddenly coming in with the rescue. |
| 344 | * During the Night Fae Campaign, the Maw Walker ends up venturing into the maw once more, with Vol'jin at their side to track down and rescue a very special quarry. The Wild God Ashamane, who fell during the War of the Ancients, is found and rescued by them. Before leaving, however, Vol'jin feels there are Loa trapped in the Maw. Venturing into the Beastwarrens, the Maw Walker finds and rescues the spirits of Shadra, Loa of Spiders, and Hir'eek, Lord of the Midnight Sky. While their rescue of Rezan, Loa of Kings, is ultimately unsuccessful, the Devilsaur loa blesses Vol'jin with his power before expiring, ''turning the former leader of the Darkspear Tribe into the new Loa of Kings''. |
| 345 | |
| 346 | [[AC: Chains of Domination]] |
| 347 | * During the assault upon Ardenweald, Sylvanas leads the forces of the Maw against the realm - and they buy her time to open a giant portal to the Maw. Everyone can feel the foreboding presence coming from it, and that something horrible is on the other side. Sylvanas manages to summon through the giant construct, which gives its best RoarBeforeBeating... and is then ''[[KilledMidSentence killed mid-roar]]'', dropping dead to reveal ''Tyrande'' having {{One Hit Kill}}ed it. What follows is Tyrande channeling her Night Warrior powers to such great effect that it leaves Sylvanas on the run, and even then she is unable to escape, with Tyrande igniting like a rocket of moonlight, catching up to the banshee, and is only stopped from ripping off her head by the [[HeroicRROD Night Warrior power burning out]]. |
| 348 | ---> '''Tyrande:''' Elune gave me Her strength. ''The Wrath is '''mine alone!''''' |
| 349 | ** During the battle, Tyrande also [[ShutUpHannibal wipes the smug smirk off Sylvanas's face]] by informing the Banshee Queen she's already killed Nathanos. [[VillainousBSOD Sylvanas is stunned by this revelation]], and Tyrande twists the knife further, driving a wedge between Sylvanas and the Jailer by inferring the latter is keeping Sylvanas ignorant. |
| 350 | -->'''Sylvanas''': Night Warrior, [[IsThatTheBestYouCanDo I expected more]]. |
| 351 | -->'''Tyrande''': I will take your head, banshee! Just like I took his! |
| 352 | -->'''Sylvanas''': ''[shocked]'' [[ThisCannotBe Nathanos?]] |
| 353 | -->'''Tyrande''': ''[grinning]'' You didn't know...Your master is keeping secrets from you! |
| 354 | ** You'd think this would leave Tyrande at Sylvanas' mercy, but Sylvanas is forced off her by none other than ''Ysera'' coming to Tyrande's aid - and while she is seemingly capable of picking up where Tyrande left off, she instead decides to stay by Tyrande's side and induce a PowerStrainBlackout to save her life. |
| 355 | * The quest the "A Traitor's Due". The player along with Thrall, Draka, and the Primus deal with [[TheMole Vyraz]] and Helya. They take out Vyraz for betraying Krexus, and the Primus sends Helya back to Helheim. |
| 356 | -->'''Primus''': It is time to deprive the Jailer of his underling. |
| 357 | -->'''Helya''': Underling?! Helya is no one's underling! I will not be silenced! I will not be imprisoned! My wrath shall haunt your--(Zap) |
| 358 | |
| 359 | [[AC: Sanctum of Domination]] |
| 360 | * In the Sanctum of Domination raid, one of the fights is against Soulrender Dormazain who is torturing the soul of Garrosh Hellscream. Once Dormazain is defeated, he drops his sword and the trapped Hellscream shatters his bonds, frees himself, and takes the fallen Soulrender's sword. He proceeds to give his final unrepentant declaration before killing Soulrender Dormzain and destroying them both, leaving nothing but a pile of ash. |
| 361 | --> '''Garrosh Hellscream''': They said I must answer for my crimes...repent for my "sins"...But every choice I made, I would proudly make again. |
| 362 | --> '''Soulrender Dormzain''': You will...submit... |
| 363 | --> '''Garrosh Hellscream''': I submit to no one! Not ''you'', not the ''Jailer'', and not that coward Thrall! ''FOR THE HORDE!!!'' |
| 364 | * The second to last fight is against Kel'Thuzad, and this time, his luck has run out. As he fights, his SoulJar is smashed, and he puts out all the stops to prevent his death. Eventually, your raid succeeds, and the mighty lich finally is defeated once and for all. |
| 365 | |
| 366 | [[AC: Eternity's End]] |
| 367 | * The covenant forces discover the means to create a new Arbiter and deprive Zovaal of more souls entering the Maw and empowering him. However not to be deterred the Nathrezim disrupt the process and resurrect Argus, who adventures are able to finish off on their own and then Pelagos steps forward to become the Arbiter. The machine of Death that was broken has now been reforged. |
| 368 | * After spending most of the expansion under as either Zovaal's prisoner or pawn, Anduin is able to liberate himself from his control and joins the fight against the Jailer. |
| 369 | * Zovaal's trump card with Domination magic is rendered null and void by the creation from the Crown of Wills from the Helm of Domination. |
| 370 | * The champions of Azeroth march into the Sepulcher of the First Ones and are successfully able to kill Zovaal, thereby saving the Shadowlands. |
| 371 | |
| 372 | [[/folder]] |
| 373 | |
| 374 | [[folder: Dragonflight]] |
| 375 | [[AC:Dragonflight questing]] |
| 376 | * Wrathion is as headstrong as ever, ordering a full frontal assault on the Obsidian Citadel. It doesn't look good until ''[[TheBusCameBack Sabellian]]'' returns after 15 real-world years to turn the tide. To further add to it, Sabellian has apparently done what Wrathion thought no one else could; purged himself and his children of Deathwing's corruption while in Outland. |
| 377 | * Kalecgos has sent out a call for aid, but no one has shown up. By the time Razageth has him, Khadgar, and you dead to rights, an arcane shield springs up to protect you all. Who cast this shield? ''Senegos'' - the [[AlmostDeadGuy Almost Dead Dragon]] of ''Legion'' has made a recovery from having his magic drained, and his arrival at the head of his family convinces ''Razageth'' to turn [[WeWillMeetAgain tail and flee]] rather than face him. |
| 378 | * Vyranoth calling out Odyn for his multiple horrible actions and sheer [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrisy]] of splitting with the other Keepers over empowering the Aspects only to take the Storm Drakes as effectively pets, indicating the only reason he didn't agree with creating the Aspects was because he [[FantasticRacism didn't want to see any dragons as his equals]]. Not only is it satisfying to see someone finally bring Odyn to task for all his misdeeds, including his treatment of Helya, to the point even Eyir sides with them, but [[spoiler: Vyranoth also freezes Odyn solid to cap it off before convincing the storm drakes to join the rest of the Valdrakken Accord in the Dragon Isles.]] |
| 379 | * When Fyrakk assaults the temple of the wellspring, Alexstrasza manages to destroy the wards that keep most of the allied forces out of the Emerald Dream - Fyrakk nails her with an attack from behind, and goes in for the kill... when an ''axe'' flies in to parry the blow at range - ''Thrall's'' axe. And he's just the first of the reinforcements that have now made it to the Emerald Dream in defense of the blooming world tree. What follows is a scene straight out of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': [[GondorCallsForAid the Night Elves and Green Dragonflight had called for aid]], and now ''they get it''. |
| 380 | ** At the beginning of ''Dragonflight'', Alexstrasza was firm that no foreign armies be brought to the Dragon Isles - both factions decide to sends their ''[[LoopholeAbuse leaders]]'' instead, and these leaders get to show off that in a [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed world like Azeroth]], you [[RankScalesWithAsskicking don't become a leader without being able to back it up with martial prowess]]. |
| 381 | *** Genn, Tess, and Celestine show up because [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe The worgen owe the Night Elves big time for their aid during the Cataclysm]], and it just [[GoodFeelsGood feels nice to fight for a home instead of fleeing one]]. |
| 382 | *** Lillian Voss and Lor'themar Theron show up because they both feel complicit in Teldrassil's destruction, having stood with Sylvanas, and they both feel this [[TheAtoner is just the first step on the road to redemption]]. |
| 383 | *** Velen and Tyralion stand behind the front lines, the former healing the wounded while the latter fends off raids of enemies that would threaten him |
| 384 | *** Rexxar and his pets, Rokhan, and Chen Stormstout stand together with Baine Bloodhoof in a four-way BackToBackBadasses. They're practically surrounded, and yet they quip like four BashBrothers - This is not the first time three of them fight together, and the fourth is more than capable of filling his father's hoofprints: [[ConservationOfNinjitsu it's clear that the enemies don't stand a chance]]. |
| 385 | *** Meanwhile, Tyrande teams up with Jaina and Thrall - they stand, once more, in the defense of a world tree, and it's clear that none of them have lost their touch. |
| 386 | *** Khadgar keeps his promise to Kalecgos by ensuring the portal bringing in reinforcements remain open. The mortal races are, indeed, answering the call. |
| 387 | ** While no foreign armies arrive to defend the world tree, the ''natives'' are more than willing to step up to the plate - Tuskarr get into the fray, Niffen strike from below, the Centaur lay down volleys of archery fire - and their leaders get into the fray as well. |
| 388 | *** Depowered as the aspects are, absolutely ''none'' of them is backing down from this: Nozdormu, Merithra, Alexstrasza, and Ebonhorn - the latter of which is rocking a new aspect model - keep the skies clear while Kalecgos has entire sections of the battlefield occupied with mirror images. |
| 389 | *** Sabellian and Wrathion affirm that their relationship is that of BashBrothers - sure they may bicker, but they're ''family'', and fight together. |
| 390 | *** The Dracthyr, Neltharion's army, is back together - and their leaders affirm that though they are free to make their own path, they ''absolutely'' stand for Azeroth, regardless of faction allegiance. |
| 391 | *** Chromie, Eternus, Stellagosa, and Tyrygosa have all answered their respective aspects' call, fighting together for the sake of Azeroth. |
| 392 | ** The sheer force of the Defenders of the Dream is enough to cause Fyrakk to become desperate and do something he was loathe to do before: expend his ''own'' power to breach the wellspring temple. The barrier takes three ''mighty'' swings before it goes down, and the resulting raid makes it clear that Fyrakk is ''fleeing'' from the onslaught, as even empowered with shadowflame, he knows he is no match. |
| 393 | [[/folder]] |
| 394 | |
| 395 | [[folder: World Of Warcraft The Comic]] |
| 396 | * The hero discovers his identity: |
| 397 | -->'''Naga Siren''': "Just like before. All bluster, no fight! Not even worth ransoming. You're nothing..."\ |
| 398 | '''Varian Wrynn''': "I am the King of Stormwind, AND '''NO ONE''' -- NOT THE NAGA, NOR THE SCOURGE, NOR THE FIERY LORDS OF THE BURNING LEGION -- '''WILL KEEP ME FROM MY PEOPLE!'''"\ |
| 399 | ''Varian cuts the naga in half.'' |
| 400 | ** This one [[HarsherInHindsight stings a little in retrospect]], given that the lords of the Burning Legion are ''exactly'' who keep him from returning home to his people and his son. |
| 401 | * The climax of Anduin's ''Legion'' prologue comic are equal parts this and heartwarming. His own thoughts are interspersed with dialogue and Varian's final letter. He also handily subdues and restrains the dreadlord that attacked him with zero help. |
| 402 | -->''Dreadlord'': But there is another way. |
| 403 | -->''Letter'': Anduin, I now believe as you do... |
| 404 | -->''Dreadlord'': Peace. |
| 405 | -->''Letter'': ...is the noblest aspiration. |
| 406 | -->''Dreadlord'': You cannot fight and win. Join us. [etc...] |
| 407 | -->''Anduin'': You're right. I'm a man of peace. |
| 408 | -->''Letter'': But, to preserve it... |
| 409 | -->''Anduin'': And the Wolf is gone forever. I am the '''Light''' that remains. |
| 410 | -->''Letter'': ...you must be willing to fight. |
| 411 | -->''Anduin'': And I will finish this. ''Anduin proceeds to obliterate the dreadlord in one shot with a Smite'' |
| 412 | -->''Anduin's thoughts'': Yes, I changed my father. But he also changed me. Will that be enough [to save] the Alliance? For Azeroth? It will have to be. There '''will''' be peace, one day. |
| 413 | ** In the Madefire motion-comic version, this is made even better by a swell of the heroic version of Anduin's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ua3DAw36o new theme]]. |
| 414 | ** And TheStinger at the end: Anduin as an old man, leading an army of Draenei alongside Velen on what appears to be a repaired Exodar (sharp-eyed players will recognize they are in the Trader's Tier), and it's implied they are about to face the true final threat, the Void Lords, once and for all with a decisive, final battle. |
| 415 |
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