Arthas (as a Paladin). Was he a good but flawed person who fell prey to corruption, or was he always a bad person? Was purging Stratholme a Shoot the Dog moment to prevent the spread of the plague, or did he reach the decision too easily? While it's generally agreed that he crosses the Moral Event Horizonover the course of his WC3 campaign, not everyone agrees whether it was by purging Stratholme, having mercenaries burn his ships before using them as scapegoats, leaving Muradin for dead, or killing his father.
Lesser example but flying mounts, not being allowed to use them in Pandaria until level 90 or even whether or not they should even exist.
Worse in Draenor, as the developers had tentative plans to allow their use at all (in spite of still offering new flying mounts as rewards), and only made it unlockable three raid tiers in after a significant grind post-level cap - the latter of which is a model that they announced plans to recycle in future expansions.
The model was far better accepted in Legion, due partly to the fact that Blizzard didn't go back and forth on whether there would even be flying, and partly because the unlock process was spelled out in advance, so players knew what they had to get done in advance to be ready for flying. It also allows the playerbase to get a really good, appreciative look at the new areas, and flight comes along just as they are done paying attention and just want to accomplish whatever it is they're there for.
Sky Admiral Rogers quickly became one in Mists. Either she's a badass Alliance leader who actually values the safety of her own soldiers over the enemy's, while to others, she comes off as a war criminal for killing (apparently) surrendering Horde soldiers (who may very well have been drafted by Garrosh).
Sunwalker Dezco: a cool tragic character, or a poorly written character that ruined the dynamic of Sunwalkers, and acts exactly like a human paladin?
Rhonin is either an overly powerful Creator's Pet of Richard Knaak who happened to hook up with one of the Windrunner sisters or he's awesome. That said, his Heroic Sacrifice in Tides of War, which saved many lives, did help endear him to some of his former haters.
Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream were the two most prominent cases, one for being an angry post-Literal Split Personality with one half being a slave to Orcs for quite some time, had his home destroyed by the orcs and his father betrayed by one even earlier and rather expectedly, was none too happy about them, and had been shilled to a ridiculous degreeby Blizzard. The other was a racist warmonger of questionable leadership skills who took over from the level-headed, peace-seeking, Thrall who somehow was a Emo Teen beating himself up barely a few years ago. Each were appointed the leader of their factionsnote It didn't help matters that in Varian's case, the Alliance hadn't had a formal leader in its "High King" in the same way that the Horde had a Warchief since the First War just so (as the developers have confessed) there would be a reason to justify an all-out war between the Horde and Alliance. In Varian's case, his sacrifice at the beginning of Legion did turn some of his detractors around. As for Garrosh, he did get a change in perception due to how Sylvanas and Nathanos Blightcaller turned out in Battle for Azeroth.
Jaina Proudmoore after Mists of Pandaria. Some thinks that her Character Development made sense as she saw everything she worked for peace destroyed in moments, because of the side she trusted as well. Others believe that it's a Character Development gone wrong that it was delivered in breakneck speed and is always shoved to the players' throats, in addition of really going against her characterization in WC3, being the woman who would be okay with her father being dead in order to ensure peace, now she's considered to be an insult to that. The anti-camp is more likely to be glad with the presence of Heroes of the Storm whereas Jaina there hasn't progressed to this base-breaking Jaina.
Sylvanas being made Warchief. Some feel that she was the next best candidate, while others think it should have been Saurfang or even Lor'themar, and others are mad that since as Warchief, Vol'jin just warmed the chair Sylvanas would sit on due to being Out of Focus in Warlords. As of Battle for Azeroth, the base is broken between those who think Sylvanas is doing what is necessary and those who think she is becoming Garrosh 2.0.
Xe'ra is either a wasted potential well-intentioned extremist ally with a deep pastwho was killed by the selfish magic addict she was trying to save (some fans have compared Xe'ra forcefully infusing Illidan with the Light to remove his fel magic to intervention and rehabilitation for a drug addict) or a manipulative, controlling Knight Templar who brought her fate on herself. In a case of Watsonian versus Doylist, some despise her for shilling and whitewashing Illidan, others blame Blizzard for poorly writing regarding her actions and Illidan's story note Evidence for poor writing includes the retcons and how she chastises player characters of races and classes who, lorewise, weren't around at the time and so couldn't have been involved in Illidan's death, such as Death Knights or Worgen. , and some blame both.
Taran Zhu was by far the most controversial and divisive of the new characters added in Mists of Pandaria. While his grievances against the Alliance and the Horde bringing their war to Pandaria are completely valid (especially in regards to the Sha), many players took umbrage with how caustic, condescending, and stubborn he was shown to be. Many Alliance players and fans also took issue with his repeated claims that the Alliance was just as responsible as the Horde for Pandaria's current crisis despite the Horde appearing to act far more aggressive and destructive throughout the expansion. The fact that, ultimately, he was the one who got to judge Garrosh instead of the people his crimes hurt the most (Jaina and Vol'jin in particular) was also a major sore spot for many.
For Horde players, Calia Menethil, due to hints she might become leader of the Forsaken. Some feel it makes sense as she is an undead who hasn't been involved in any morally shady business and is the last Menethil, particularly as in "Before the Storm", many Forsaken outright asked her to rule them. Others hate the idea, saying she's an Alliance character and abandoned her people during the Scourge's march on Lordaeron. They also accuse Calia of "not fitting the theme of the Forsaken" for having found peace in undeath and not being "dark" enough.
Alleria Windrunner, largely because of her behavior in Three Sisters. Some believe Alleria to be a massive hypocrite for viewing Sylvanas as a monster entirely because of her Undeath (note, this is BEFORE Sylvanas' Sanity Slippage in Battle for Azeroth) and doesn't even try to reconnect with her, instead taking the first opportunity possible to denounce her as an "obscene mockery of (her) sister." Still others don't see it as an issue, considering Sylvanas has already been responsible for many atrocities by this point, and it doesn't help that she left the Alliance to join the Horde. Perception of Alleria is often dependent on how much one sympathizes with Sylvanas.
