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A race of divine beings aligned with the cosmic power of Order and arcane magic, the Titans, collectively referred to as the Pantheon, are amongst the most powerful beings in the Warcraft universe. Inside the setting's cosmology, they functionally serve as creator deities: while they were not the ones who first made reality, they were the first sapient beings to emerge out of it, and, one way or another, have shaped the development of Azeroth, Draenor, and countless other worlds, ordering them and seeding them with life. The titans are also the in-universe authors of the World of Warcraft: Chronicle, meaning they are the source of most knowledge about the game's lore.
As a race, titans originate from arcane spirits hidden inside the cores of certain planets, known as world-souls. The planet serves as a kind of egg for the world-soul, protecting it from outside harm before it can grow to become a full-fledged titan and presumably leave it behind. Azeroth is an example of a planet possessing a world-soul, and the power of the nascent titan beneath it is manifested in such sources of arcane magic as the Well of Eternity or the mineral Azerite found in Battle for Azeroth. However, while powerful, the world-soul is also incredibly vulnerable, and many evil forces in the universe, such as the Old Gods or the Burning Legion, seek to claim their power for themselves. This, in part, is why Azeroth is always under some kind of threat.
Though the titans have long since left the worlds they once shaped, and are difficult to encounter in-game, their legacy is felt throughout the Warcraft universe. Most races encountered throughout the games, one way or another, owe their origins to the titans. Some, like orcs or humans, were once their servants, but later became mortal and gained free will because of outside influence — a few of these races, like dwarves, even worship the titans as gods. Others came to be as an indirect result of titan work, such as the elves, who were once trolls but were given their current forms by exposure to the titan-created Well of Eternity. But the mightiest creations of the titans are the Watchers: giant humanoids of metal and stone, created in their image to execute their will. The greatest of the Watchers, known as the Keepers, are revered as gods in their own right.
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The Titan Pantheon
The Pantheon as a whole
"They shaped the form of their worlds by raising mighty mountains and dredging out vast seas. They breathed skies and raging atmospheres into being - all part of their unfathomable, far-sighted plan to create order out of chaos."
Swirling within the Great Dark Beyond are uncountable planets. Most of them are merely rocks, some of them have the capacity to evolve inhabitants... but an incredibly rare few have something greater: a spark of life, a sleeping "world-soul", hidden within. These souls will consume the spiritual energy from their surface to grow, to develop, and to become powerful. After eons of gestation, a world-soul will awaken at last, becoming a humanoid being of planetary size and power. These living worlds are called the titans, and all the known titans belong to a group known as the Pantheon. The Pantheon possess a desire for life and order, and a longing to expand their ranks, prompting them to seek out others of their kind across the cosmos. At each world they find, they pacify, they create, and they seed life, in the hopes that the process will reveal a dormant world-soul. Despite their persistence, they have not found another titan for a long time — millions of worlds ordered, all seemingly inert. In fact, they have instead lost one of their comrades to madness: Sargeras, the champion of the Pantheon, had lost all hope and abandoned his kin, determined to dismantle everything they had built.
One of the worlds they ordered was Azeroth, where they wrested control of the planet from the Old Gods and left powerful creations to protect newly-emerging life. Shortly thereafter, however, the Pantheon's contact with their servants on Azeroth went silent. None have known the status of the titans since before mortal memory.
- Ambiguous Situation: How Sargeras managed to capture the spirits of the slain Pantheon, and how that fits in with Norgannon's gambit and the failed attempt to possess the Keepers, has not been fully explained. Speculation holds that the remnants may have been taken in the Legion's assault on Ulduar, or that said capture is the very reason the possession failed in the first place.
- Benevolent Precursors: They weren't the first to inhabit Azeroth, but their intervention in the ancient past allowed all its modern races to appear and evolve. Their benevolence has been called into question at times, mostly having to do with the idea of reorigination, but the fact remains that everything good on Azeroth and Draenor is the result of their interference.
- Body Surf: Attempted by Norgannon, who cast a spell to preserve all their spirits and send them to Azeroth to possess the Keepers, in the final moments of their battle with Sargeras. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped; instead of the Keepers being overridden by the Pantheon's wills, they merely experienced disjointed visions of memory that were mostly too incoherent to understand, followed by silence.
- Came Back Wrong: Sargeras's efforts to corrupt and revive the Pantheon don't result in fully-fledged titans — there's just too much spiritual strength and bodily material that were permanently lost with their deaths. As such the Pantheon return with a fraction of their previous size and power, still formidable but not cosmic in scale. Only bolstered with the remnant of Argus and channeled through the Seat of the Pantheon can their combined powers challenge Sargeras and imprison him.
- Celestial Body: Downplayed; some of their artwork depicts them as ethereal spectres formed from nebulae, but the narration describes them merely as being 'cloaked' in stardust. Their remnant avatars make their entrance first by appearing with constellation forms before their proper bodies materialize.
- Continuity Snarl: Whether or not they are actually gods or just powerful beings is flip-flopped throughout the lore. Most of them can be reconciled by treating claims of their divinity as figurative, to emphasize their incredible power, as the term god is elsewhere attached to other, weaker entities.
- Chrome Champion: Older lore described them as having bodies of bronze or platinum. We now know they are humanoid planets with geography on their skin, but their art and the appearances taken by their remnants still depict them with metal forms.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: If the titans had chosen to kill all the Old Gods, all the Old Gods would be dead. But the collateral damage from that act would defeat the purpose, forcing them to act through smaller servants and take less decisive action to avoid those consequences.
- Genesis Effect: Titan spirits actually invoke this as part of their life cycle — the ethereal souls settle into orbits around stars, and over eons the weight of their power attracts passing debris that eventually forms into planets.
- Genius Loci: The titans were once normal planets, but housing a "world-soul" deep within their cores. The details of a titan's birth are not known, but mature titans qualify as well, with their bodies covered in land and water. No word on inhabitants, though as world-souls they were all likely covered in angry elementals. Their original planet-sized forms were obliterated by Sargeras, and it's unknown if they could potentially regain them.
- The Ghost: We hear about them extensively in backstory, but they never actually appear — they only show up in some of the lore text earliest in the chronology, before any of the games or novels take place. Being dead tends to do that. They finally make their first game appearance in spirit form in the final act of Legion.
- Glowing Eyes: At one point their eyes are literally compared to stars.
- Human Aliens: Inverted and justified — humanity is descended from the vyrkul, who were created by the Titans in their own image to some degree.
- I Have Many Names: They are variously called the Makers, the Creators, the Shapers, the Forgers, the Great Ones, the Travellers, or the Worldbuilders. They are called the Usurpers by minions of the Old Gods, for stealing Azeroth from them.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: World-souls are a direct product of the cataclysmic creation event that birthed the Great Dark Beyond. As such, there are only a limited number of titans that can possibly exist, alternate timelines excepted.
- Knight Templar: Implied with their use of planetary reorigination, which Algalon claims to have come to pass many times on many other worlds, but it's shown that that option is only used when the situation on a planet is well and truly borked. Azeroth just seems to be a world where the normal metrics don't apply — a lot of the old guard is corrupted or dead, but we've grown enough to mostly deal with it ourselves, and fights against the servants of the titans usually entail convincing them that we're capable enough to at least be given the chance to try before they take drastic measures.
- Kryptonite Factor: As beings of arcane magic, they are especially vulnerable to attacks which disrupt that energy, most notably its opposite, fel magic. It doesn't usually matter, because they're so obscenely powerful that one titan can defeat armies of fel-crazed demons without breaking a sweat...but another titan corrupted by fel is a different story.
- Made of Magic: The titans are physical creatures, but their lifeblood is arcane energy — a planet's ley lines are often described as being like a magic circulatory system, and for titans that's close to being literally true. They are in fact the greatest known examples of arcane magic in the setting. And that's not even including the other breeds of magic which they know how to perform.
- Neglectful Precursors: They don't check up on Azeroth after leaving it. Though they were scheduled to long ago. Turns out to be subverted though; they didn't show up because they're all dead..
- Order Versus Chaos: The cosmology has them as the highest power of arcane, the universal force of order. This puts them in opposition to the chaotic force of fel, represented by demons.
- Our Titans Are Different: Warcraft's titans are unimaginably large and powerful, some of the oldest and greatest intelligent life in the cosmos, possibly pre-dated only by elementals and naaru. Most of Azeroth's deities and spirits that mortals worship owe their existence to the titans' actions.
- Physical Gods: Divine or not, the distinction is not important in classifying their might. The titans have power on a cosmic scale, the ability to affect entire planets with physical effort alone — nothing the peoples of Azeroth have context for can hope to compare with that. A battle between titans is enough to permanently scar the fabric of existence across multiple star systems.
- Posthumous Character: The reason they never appeared until Legion is because they are all dead, slain in a monumental battle with Sargeras and the demons when they confronted him after his creation of the Burning Legion. A spell by Norgannon preserved their spirits and implanted them within the Keepers on Azeroth, but of them only Ra was able to deduce what happened and nobody else knows except the Legion and Xe'ra.
- Retcon: World of Warcraft: Chronicle heavily changes the nature of the titans and the details of their actions from what had been established a decade previously, what little there was of it:
- The titans were much weaker in earlier lore. Incredibly powerful yes, but still on the same scale as other creatures. They were the ones that personally fought and defeated the Old Gods, who were implied to be individually stronger than titans. That role is now filled by the Keepers and their army, which may make those older bits of lore a case of mistaken identity.
- It was originally suggested that there was a wider collective of many titans that the Pantheon were the rulers of. Chronicle establishes that the Pantheon comprises all known mature titans and there are no 'working-class' titans below them.
- Some of the earliest detailed lore on the titans, the RPG sourcebooks, described two distinct subraces of titan, the platinum-skinned aesir and the bronze-skinned vanir. When the RPG was declared broadly non-canon there was still no other information that contradicted that lore, until years later Chronicle rendered them false and repurposed the names.
- Sealed Good in a Can: The Titans current fate, apart from Azeroth (dormant), Sargeras (the villain who's now Sealed Evil in a Can) and Argus (recently Mercy Killed). The surviving Titans and Illidan use the last of Argus' power to seal themselves at the Seat of the Pantheon to keep Sargeras trapped with them forever and defeat the Burning Legion.
- Story-Breaker Power: Only the above Drama-Preserving Handicap and their millennia-long absence plus being dead prevent them from just squishing every problem on Azeroth like a gnat. Again, they are planetary in scale — they could poke Azeroth and cause cataclysmic damage.
- Sufficiently Advanced Aliens: Even setting aside their own unfathomable power, half the Warcraft universe's Magitek comes from them and their servants. Few can understand the technology behind the great machines found in installations like Ulduar, and we can only use them ourselves because they were built to be user-friendly.
- Terraform: Their modus operandi. Azeroth for example was a barren wasteland before the titans arrived, and by the time they left, organic life was not only appearing but thriving. It's implied that they do this themselves for most planets, since they don't usually need to kill giant mountain-parasites.
- Time Abyss: The titans have wandered the cosmos for eons. They've brought order to a hundred million worlds, each taking years or decades or centuries. Against their age, everything on Azeroth is in its infancy, even other Time Abyss qualifiers like the elves or draenei.
Aman'Thul
Aman'Thul, the Highfather
Oldest, wisest, and most powerful of the Pantheon, Aman'Thul served as its leader. Blessed the bronze dragon Nozdormu with the power of time, to watch over it and protect it, and empowered the Keepers Odyn and Ra.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin is blue when he appears in the Antorus raid.
- Composite Character: With his big white beard, Shock and Awe powers, and status as the Pantheon's leader, serves as one partly of Zeus, and with his title (compare Highfather to Allfather), wisdom, connection with divination to Odin. Also one of the Titanic Watchers empowered and created specifically by Aman'Thul, was named Odyn. Him being the brother of the Morgoth analogue (Sargeras), powers connected to atmosphere and lightning, and even namenote , show he is also inspired by Tolkien's Manwë. Last but not least, Aman'Thul also has similarities to Izaya, the Highfather of the New Gods.
- Dead Man Writing: When Wrathion consumed Lei Shen's heart, he was possessed by an otherworldly force to deliver a cryptic message. Since Lei Shen had inherited Aman'Thul's powers from Ra, it is assumed this voice was that of Aman'Thul.Wrathion: WE HAVE FALLEN. WE MUST REBUILD THE FINAL TITAN. DO NOT FORGET.
- Magic Staff: Aman'Thul's weapon, a giant gold staff that crackles with electricity.
- Shock and Awe: Is often depicted as crackling with electricity and said to use it as a weapon. This power was later inherited first by Ra and then Lei Shen.
- Time Master: Implied, as it was he that granted Nozdormu the same gift. He gets to show off in Legion by using his mastery over time to help restrain Argus long enough for the heroes to get a few good hits on the corrupted titan at the Seat of the Pantheon.
- Top God: He's the leader of the Titans after all.
Eonar
Eonar, the Life-Binder
Protector of life, nature, and health. Blessed the red dragon Alexstrasza with the power to safeguard all living creatures and life, and the green dragon Ysera to safeguard nature and the Emerald Dream, and empowered the Keeper Freya.
- Dream Weaver: Eonar (through Freya) gave Ysera dominion over the Emerald Dream.
- Friend to All Living Things: Tasked Alextrasza with the protection of all life.
- Green Thumb: Often depicted in as a druid of sorts, with staff and hair wreathed in plant life and flowers blooming wherever she treads.
- Healing Hands: She uses her power to revive the dead raiders at the Seat of the Pantheon after Argus killed them.
- Magic Staff: Her weapon, the Seschenal.
- Noble Fugitive: Eonar is hiding, in essence form, from Sargeras, as she is the last awakened Titan besides Sargeras who is not captured by him or under his control.
- Stripperiffic: Like the Aspects she empowered, Alexstraza and Ysera (especially Alexstraza), Eonar's avatar looks like a scantily clad athletic woman, with branches in her hair instead of the female Aspects horns.
Norgannon
Norgannon, the Keeper
The master of all magic, knowledge, secrets, and mysteries. Blessed the blue dragon Malygos to be the guardian of magic and arcanum, and empowered the Keepers Loken and Mimiron.
- Ancient Keeper: Said to be the master of all knowledge, secrets, and mysteries. It is telling that he created and is the namesake of the Discs of Norgannon, artifacts that automatically document all of Azeroth's history.
- The Archmage: Said to be the master of all magic, and granted Malygos dominion over magic on Azeroth.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Just before his death at Sargeras' hands, he cast a spell to protect the souls of himself and the other Titans, which then moved to Azeroth to warn their servants of their demise and pass on some of their power.
Golganneth
Golganneth, the Thunderer
Creator of the skies and seas, and father of the Sea Giants. Empowered the Keepers Thorim and Hodir.
- Expy Seems to be based on Thor.
- Hufflepuff House: Is the least defined of the Pantheon. While the other Titans are attributed with granting the Dragon Aspects their power or leading the charge against the Legion, Golganneth has seemingly not done anything important by comparison. He designed Azeroth's sky and ocean, but didn't empower an Aspect to maintain them, just the giants.
- Loud of War: His weapon is the horn Shargahn, which can shatter mountains, summon storms of incredible fury and beckon the creatures of the deep, hence his title of "the Thunderer".
- Making a Splash: Some of his powers involve this, as seen in the fight against Argus.
Khaz'goroth
Khaz'goroth, the Shaper
The ultimate craftsman, creator of all mountains and canyons. Blessed the black dragon Neltharion, who later became Deathwing, with dominance over the earth and the deep places of the world, and empowered the Keeper Archaedas.
- Expy: He seems to be based on Hephaestus.
- Super-Empowering: During the battle against Argus, Khaz'goroth can "titanforge" the players, as long as they collect enough energy for him to do so.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: Stated to be the ultimate craftsman, with one of his titles being the Forger of Worlds.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Gave Neltharion dominion over the earth and all that implies. Unfortunately, this would put Neltharion into contact with the Old Gods imprisoned deep within it and lead to his transformation into Deathwing.
- Weapons of Their Trade: He's a blacksmith and his weapon is the blacksmithing hammer Vulraiis.
Sargeras
Sargeras, the Defender
The original Champion of the Pantheon, Sargeras has since then lost faith in the vision of the Pantheon and founded the Burning Legion to purge the universe entirely and rebuild it from scratch, rather than order and shape it. See the Burning Legion page for information on him.
Aggramar
Aggramar, the Avenger
Successor to Sargeras as the Champion of the Pantheon. Charged with combating the Burning Legion and purging its demonic taint from the universe. Empowered the Keeper Tyr.
- Benevolent Precursors: While all the Titans were this to many worlds, with the exception of Sargeras after his Face–Heel Turn and Argus, Aggramar had an essential role in the development of life on Draenor as upon seeing that the titanic sentient plant mass named the Evergrowth was about to devour all life on Draenor Aggramar created the giant named Grond in order to end its threat, and when Grond was killed Aggramar powered his spawns the Collossals so they would end Grond's work. Aggramar's actions saved Draenor from becoming a lifeless planet and allowed the birth of all the non-plant creatures that would populate Draenor such as the Breakers, the Arakkoa, the Ogres and the Orcs.
- BFS: His preferred weapon. Was originally stated to be Taeshalach, reforged from one half of Sargeras' blade Gorshalach, but Chronicle seems to omit this information and no mention is made of Sargeras' blade sundering. When he appears in Patch 7.3, his sword is a broken blade still called Taeshalach, and is several stories tall.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Forced to serve Sargeras in Patch 7.3. While the other Titans are being forced into it, Aggramar had already been turned.
- Demon Slaying: Served as Sargeras' apprentice in purging the universe of demons, and later took on the whole mantle when Sargeras went insane.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Largely unintentional, but Aggramars' involvement with intervening on Draenor allowed for life to flourish, and eventually led to the creation of the Orcs and the Horde; which in-turn served as one of the greatest instruments in not only the defeat of the Burning Legion, but the continued safety of Azeroth from forces of The Old Gods.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Was the first to fall to Sargeras' blade.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Tried to pull this on Sargeras. It didn't work.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: After defeating Nath'raxas and the Army of the Light returns to the Vindicaar, Aggramar himself lands in front of the player to personally stop the attack on Antorus. No gloating, no posturing, no words, he just attempts to crush the player with his sword note . The player only survives because they're teleported onto the Vindicaar at the last second, which promptly retreats.
- One-Handed Zweihänder: Aggramar carries his sword this way, though he can use it with two hands such as his attack at Nath'raxas.
- Playing with Fire: Aggramars offensive abilities revolve around this.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His creation of Grond to save Draenor from the Evergrowth would shape all the history of the planet and of all the races who came to live here such as the Arrakoa, the Ogres, the Draenei, and even the Orcs which would impact Azeroth's history much later. The very events of the game series would have never happened if not for his actions on Draenor.
Azeroth
Azeroth, the Final Titan
The last world-soul found by the Titans before their demise not counting Argus or the unnamed void-tainted Titan soul killed by Sargeras.
- Anxiety Dreams: Has a combination of these about the Void in Patch 7.3, along with nightmares about past Warcraft villains, and she tasks Magni and the player with resolving them.
- The Chosen One: Azeroth's world-soul was found to be immensely powerful, and the Pantheon speculated that she would be the strongest of their kind when awoken.
- Mother Nature: Azeroth's designated speaker, Magni Bronzebeard, refers to the planet as "she". Azeroth might actually be the Earth Mother of Tauren legend.
- The Destruction Warlock artifact lore further confirms Azeroth as female.
- Fetus Terrible: The Old Gods are trying to turn Azeroth into this instead of the Pantheon's Chosen One, their entire reason of existence being the corruption of a Titan to bring about the end of the universe in the name of the Void Lords.
- Genius Loci: While all Titans are this, Azeroth is notable as it is the primary setting on which the Warcraft series takes place.
- Living MacGuffin: Azeroth's estimated power makes the circumstances of her birth the closest thing that the Warcraft Franchise has to a win condition for any of the factions vying for her. Sargeras, the Void Lords and The Jailer all possess designs to make her birth be under their aspects (Fel, Void, Death) with any of them succeeding likely meaning an end-of-universe scenario. But on the other side of the coin, that means that her being born healthy and pure would likely lead to the final war against all of the metaphysical threats to the universe.
- Superior Successor: She's the last of the world-souls founded by the Titans, and can possibly become the most powerful of all upon awakening.
- The Only One: With the Pantheon's demise, Azeroth is the universe's only hope against the Burning Legion and the Void Lords.
- Walking Spoiler: Everything about Azeroth as a titan was a massive spoiler for the potential endgame of the entire Warcraft setting. However, come Battle for Azeroth,
it's no longer a mystery.
Argus
Argus, the Unmaker
Argus the Unmaker is the world-soul of the Eredar homeworld. He had been captured, tortured and forced to serve as the power source behind the Burning Legion's immortality. He is the final boss of Antorus, the Burning Throne.
- Face–Monster Turn: Implied. When Magni makes contact with the world-soul of Argus he describes Argus as "Sad. So bloody sad..."
- Fate Worse than Death: Before he was awakened, he was captured by Sargeras, tortured, subjugated and his power harnessed for the Burning Legion.
- Fighting from the Inside: Despite being under Sargeras' control, Argus was calling out for help which Xe'ra, Turalyon and Alleria heard. He forewarned Magni and the players of Sargeras' actions and played a role in sending Eonar's message.
- Final Boss: He's the last encounter of Antorus, the Burning Throne and Legion as a whole.
- Grim Reaper: He gives off this vibe, given he has a Skull for a Head, a hood-like mask, wields a scythe and has death-themed abilities.
- Mercy Kill: The Adventurers fight him not only to cripple the Legion, but also to save him from his tragic 25,000 year existence.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: Argus is the child in this scenario, see Resurrective Immortality below.
- Remember the New Guy?: There was no mention or hint of Argus in any of the previous lore, not even until later into Legion. Justified as his existence and role were a very closely guarded secret by Sargeras and the highest echelons of the Burning Legion.
- Resurrective Immortality: Argus, the Unmaker somehow affects the demons' capability of endless resurrection, but the details are vague. At the very least he seems to be the reason they can revive on the planet Argus, since a demon perishing there should normally experience a permanent death.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: When empowered by Sargeras in his fight's special Mythic phase.
- The Sacred Darkness: All titans have a particular aspect, and his appears to be Death (the natural variety).
- Shout-Out: He is a being with Planet Destroyer levels of power wearing a headpiece that looks similar to that of Galactus.
- Sinister Scythe: His weapon of choice, acquirable by players for transmogrification.
- Skull for a Head: Implied, on his character model a fleshless lower jaw is bared by his mask.
- Total Party Kill: One of his mechanics is this, and he also does this to the raid in his boss fight until Eonar revived them.
- Tragic Monster: Subjugated and tortured by Sargeras into being his ace in the hole for 25,000 years.
- Unwitting Pawn: He's under Sargeras's control, and the unwilling source of Resurrective Immortality for all demons. Unknown to both, Argus is this trope towards Zovaal, the Jailer. Argus being the source of Resurrective Immortality was suggested by the Nathrezim so that, when slain, Argus's soul would render the Arbiter dormant, cause an Anima drought in the Shadowlands, and allow the Maw to grow.
- Walking Spoiler
- Worf Had the Flu: While he is one of, if not the most powerful foe ever to be fought by players, Argus is still but a tiny fraction of the full cosmic potential he might eventually have had if Sargeras hadn't found him. He is an unborn spirit forced to manifest after being tapped like a keg for millennia, and he still gives the combined forces of the raid, the artifact weapons, and the Pantheon the fight of their lives.
Titanic Watchers
Demigods created by the Titans to guard and run their cities (like the Terrace of the Makers), prisons (like Ulduar and Uldaman), weapons (like Uldum), places where they experiment on the wildlife (Un'Goro Crater, Sholazar Basin and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms), and Old God research facilities (like Ahn'Qiraj, the Vault of Y'Shaarj and Uldir). Titan-Forged as a whole
- Chrome Champion: Like most Titan creations, they are made of various types of metal.
- Horny Vikings: The Northrend-based Watchers are almost directly lifted from Norse Mythology, and the vrykul are vikings in all but name. Similarly, the giants from Northrend are humanoid rather than elementals.
- Humanity Ensues: Thanks to the Curse of Flesh inflicted by Yogg-Saron, most of the Titan-Forged became the flesh and blood races we know today or their ancestors.
Odyn
Keeper Odyn, Prime Designate
The original Prime Designate of the titan-forged constructs, Odyn is a Titanic Watcher who currently rules over the Halls of Valor, where vrykul spirits go in death to seek admittance into Odyn's mighty army known as the Valajar. Trapped in his own realm by his spiteful daughter Helya, Odyn must take mortal form to walk among Azeroth, where he seeks out worthy warriors to join his Valajar.
Odyn is the one who inducts warriors into their Class Order Hall, and plays a prominent role in the main Stormheim quest chain to retrieve the Aegis of Aggramar.
- Archnemesis Dad: To Helya, who was turned into the first Val'kyr against her will and paid Odyn back by trapping him in the Halls of Valor forever.
- Berserk Button: We don't know what Loken last said to Odyn before his imprisonment, but whatever it is reminding him of it is enough to send him into a rage. Shadow Priests can be prodded by their talking artifact dagger Xal'atath into asking him if he's considered Loken's final words to him, causing him to instantly kill the player in rage for mocking his imprisonment.
- Big Good: The leader of the Keepers and titan-forged, though he answers to the Bigger Good of the Pantheon. However, see Good Is Not Nice below.
- Brought Down to Normal: In his form as Havi. He cannot leave the Halls of Valor in his true form.
- Cool Helmet: Wears a golden helm with massive silver wings and a yellow gem.
- Create Your Own Villain: Sigryn and Helya, once proud to fight in his name, both turned against him due to his own actions.
- Deal with the Devil: Odyn strikes up a deal with Mueh'Zala, The Farraki Trolls' Loa of Death. Exchanging his left eye for the ability to peer into the Shadowlands and retrieve the souls of fallen Vrykul to turn them into either Val'kyr or Valarjar to serve him.
- Expy: Unsurprisingly, like Thorim before him, he is one to Odin.
- Flaming Hair: Odyn's beard is burning lava which, according to vrykul legend, is actually a scar from his battle with Ragnaros the Firelord.
- God in Human Form: He can only leave the Halls of Valor in mortal form. In Stormheim he appears as the vrykul Havi and guides the player through the zone. Anybody who is familiar with Norse Mythology can guess his identity early by taking a look at the names of his two ravens Huginn and Muninn, which are also the names of the original Odin's ravens. Ironically, as Havi he is much nicer, possibly a side-effect of the guise.
- God's Hands Are Tied: Justified, as he is unable to leave his own realm (at least in his true form) due to the meddling of Helya, and therefore cannot aid the mortal races in the battle against the Legion. The same is true of his Valajar followers. This is why he summons warrior-class characters to aid him; he needs a representative to bear his will upon Azeroth.
- Good Is Not Nice: While he is honorable in combat and genuinely cares about the fate of Azeroth, his methods and attitude towards his peers, underlings and even superiors don't garner much sympathy from them. When the other Watchers appealed to the Titans to bless the Dragon Aspects, Odyn — their leader at the time — disobeyed, even when the Titans 'agreed'. To this end, he killed his daughter and turned her into the first Val'kyr, condemning her to an eternity of harvesting souls in the afterlife so he could form a mighty army of his own.
- Humiliation Conga: He suffers this in the "Dragon outcasts" storyline in Dragonflight a very furious Vyranoth, alongside the player and Wrathion, storms the Halls of Valor after she hears that Odyn has forbid the Thorognir from heeding the Call of the Dragon Isles. Not only do the latter two humiliate the Valarjar, including making a chump out of Heimdall and Vyranoth gets by Eyir without a fight just by calling out Odyn's character flaws, making her stand down. When the three approach him, Wrathion very loudly disrespects him, causing him to forgo the rest of his grandstanding in favor of immediately jumping in to put them down... except Wrathion and the player give him more of a fight than he bargained for. When he finally has enough and blows them away, Vyranoth casually and humiliatingly takes him out in a single attack by freezing him solid in a block of ice, nails him with a huge "The Reason You Suck" Speech, and convinces the Thorognir flight to break their oaths and bonds to Odyn, leaving back to the Isles with them in tow.
- Hypocrite: Refuses his fellow Watcher's request to make the Dragon Aspects Titan-blessed and huffs off when they overrule him. He later chooses and ascends the Thorognir Storm Dragons to be his servants and favored pets, making it come across like he was less upset about making creatures of flesh Titan-blessed and more upset about making them Titan-blessed and equal to him. Vyranoth, in particular has her blood boiling after Wrathion tells her about this, and ends up verbally tearing him to shreds in Dragonflight, calling out his hypocritical nature to the point that even Eyir, who he ascended to Queen of the Val'kyr because of her sheer loyalty to him, stands down without a fight.
- Internal Retcon: Dragonflight reveals he's not above it. He ordered to purge all historical records documenting the advancements of the Black Empire, to attribute all accomplishments and works of wonder to the titans alone, and to hide that the Titans had been created by the First Ones in Zereth Ordus.
- Jerkass Gods: All of the above should make it clear that while he is good and on our side, he's at best a heartless manipulator and at worst a short tempered control freak who can't tolerate being questioned.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While a lot of his actions are questionable, he actually was partly right about the Dragon Aspects, as Neltharion was corrupted by the old gods and became Deathwing, Malygos went crazy and tried to break all of magic, Nozdormu becomes Murozond and tries to destroy the timeline, and Ysera is corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare. Considering that four out of the five Dragon Aspects became huge threats, he may have had a point. Of course, considering Loken's corruption and brainwashing of most of the other Keepers, the Keepers haven't proved to be much better.
- Light 'em Up: Most of his spells consist of Light magic.
- Sealed Army in a Can: The good version: His Valarjar is an entire army of immortal vrykul warriors empowered to defend Azeroth, but like Odyn himself they cannot normally leave the Halls of Valor.
- Sealed Good in a Can: He is trapped in his own Halls of Valor thanks to Helya and cannot normally leave unless he takes a mortal form.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: He had Skovald's family assassinated to prevent them from giving into the fel and allying the Tideskorn with the Burning Legion. When Sigryn, Skovald's daughter, learns of this she gives into the fel and goes from uniting the Tideskorn against the Legion to wanting to ally with them.
- Shock and Awe: In addition to his holy magic, he also attacks his foes with lightning.
- Start My Own: Following the Titans and other Titan Keepers agreeing to Tyrs' decision to elevate the Dragon Aspects as protectors of Azeroth, Odyn would break away from the other Keepers, severing his section of Ulduar to become the Halls of Valor and go about creating his own group of protectors in the form of The Valarjar.
- Worthy Opponent: Why he fights the party at the end of the Halls of Valor dungeon: He is impressed by your prowess and wishes to test it himself. He is not disappointed.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: For millennia, he firmly believed that the only beings on Azeroth capable of fighting the important battles were his Valarjar; he's pleasantly surprised that the current mortal races are more than up to the challenge.
Loken
Loken, false Prime Designate
Voiced by: Joe J. Thomas
"My master has shown me the future, and you have no place in it."
Norgannon empowered the aesir Loken with a measure of himself, granting him incredible intellect and mastery of the arcane. Loken would use that power to battle against the Black Empire, defeating Neptulon the Tidehunter and helping fight and seal the Old Gods away. His abilities were instrumental in destroying the forces of the final Old God, Yogg-Saron, whose strongest minions threatened to overwhelm the titan-forged army. It's Loken's magic that confined their terrible influence within subterranean prisons. Loken lead as the titan-forged brought order to Azeroth under the Pantheon's watchful eye, creating the Disks of Norgannon along with Mimiron — devices which would record the history of Azeroth as it happened — to commemorate the titans' departure. He ignored the threat of Galakrond until the wyrm was already slain. Impressed with the five proto-dragons who stepped up to defend Azeroth when he himself would not, he implored Norgannon to grant his boon upon them as well, and through him the blue dragonflight was created.
Once the Pantheon went silent however, Loken was the most troubled of all the Keepers. He sought commiseration from Sif, wife of Thorim, and soon enough the two began an affair. Sensing a weakness to exploit, Yogg-Saron twisted his mind until he slew Sif in a jealous rage. Horrified, he desperately scrambled to cover up his actions, placing the blame on the ice giants' king. When Thorim and his followers lashed out against the supposed murderers, Loken hastily created an army from the Forge of Wills to quell the fighting — not realizing that the Forge had already been tainted with Yogg-Saron's Curse of Flesh, corrupting the lot of them.
Now having caused incredible damage to the titan-forged with his decisions, Loken feared for his life. To prevent the truth of his crimes from reaching the titans, he resolved to silence the other Keepers. First he bargained with Helya to trap Odyn within his Halls of Valor, taking the position of Prime Designate for himself. Then he preemptively struck out against the other Keepers of the north with his forces. Tapping into the dark essence of Yogg-Saron, he defeated and ensnared his former allies to keep them quiet. Only Tyr and Archaedas escaped this fate. The two free Keepers stole the Disks of Norgannon from Loken, which contained proof of his villainy and would seal his fate if revealed to the Pantheon. Desperate, Loken unearthed ancient servants of Yogg-Saron and sent them to wipe out his fleeing kin, but they failed. Realizing it would be their word against his, Loken wrote his own history to contradict the Disks, filling the new Tribunal of Ages with falsehoods. He also altered the Algalon failsafe to only activate with his death, stopping attempts to call the constellar to inspect Azeroth.
In Wrath of the Lich King, Yogg-Saron's power stirred, and his grasp forced Loken to take action again. He created new forces from the Forge of Wills to do the Old God's bidding and carried out a war of extermination against free titan-forged in Northrend. To finally deal with Thorim, he tricks the player into rousing the Keeper from his temple to seek revenge on Loken, only for Thorim to be defeated and ensnared as well. For this act, the players delve into the corrupted Keeper's Halls of Lightning, finally putting an end to him there.
- Accidental Murder: His killing of Sif was actually this, a furious act in the heat of the moment resulting from Yogg-Saron's twisting of his psyche.
- Anti-Magic: The magical seals that contain the Old Gods' evil influence were cast by him.
- An Ice Person: Loken countered Neptulon's watery forces by using his magic to freeze and shatter them.
- The Archmage: Norgannon's unmatched magical skill was imparted into Loken. Of the former's two Keepers, Loken filled the role of classic mage spellcaster while Mimiron focused on Magitek.
- Arc Villain: Of the main Storm Peaks questline, one of the longest in the game, along with several minor subzones earlier in questing.
- Batman Gambit: Loken only had to groom you as victor of the Hyldsmeet, and slip a single article onto you for shock value as you leave. Once that happened, his plan relied on Thorim rousing from his depression, acting like his usual gung-ho passionate warrior self, and coming after him for revenge. Naturally it goes swimmingly, and even if it failed to provoke Thorim he'd be no worse off.
- Big Good: Was originally thought to be this before his fall, as he was the Prime Designate — but we later learn this is false. One of the steps of Loken's betrayal was to exile the actual Prime Designate Odyn and seize that authority for himself, meaning when he was Good he wasn't Big and only became Big when he was no longer Good.
- The Chessmaster: As it turns out, he manipulated you for the entire Storm Peaks quest line, just by disguising himself as one of the first quest givers.
- Chrome Champion: Loken is a golden-skinned aesir, and demonstrates his mastery over the storm in his boss encounter.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Selfish though it was, Loken began lying to and manipulating his peers, and tapping into the power of Yogg-Saron, in order to stop the Keepers' unity from breaking and put everything back to normal. As he continued to make things worse he eventually stopped caring about anything except his own safety. By the modern day he's an enthusiastic servant of the Old God.
- Dead Man's Switch: Attaching the Algalon signal to his own life ensured that if the other Keepers had their revenge, then they would get to die shortly after.
- Disc-One Final Boss: By the time players hunt down and slay Loken, Yogg-Saron doesn't need him anymore to be a major threat, and we have to assault the Old God directly in a later patch to put that threat to an end.
- Expy: Of Loki, being an antagonistic manipulator who can shapeshift and is responsible for bringing down his peers. The jormungar worms are also described metaphorically as being his children. His conflict with Thorim mirrors his Marvel counterpart.
- Fallen Hero: He was once a powerful force of good, having helped imprison all the Old Gods including Yogg-Saron and channeled Norgannon's power into Malygos. Not so anymore.
- Gold and White Are Divine: His combination of gold skin and white outfit marks him as a respected servant of the nigh-divine titans, and for a long time was 'officially' considered to be the highest rank (thanks to his tampering with authorization).
- The Heavy: Yogg-Saron had almost none of his original forces and his ability to act was limited — Loken ended up doing most of the legwork towards unsealing the Old God, wittingly or no.
- He Knows Too Much: Loken's first aggression against another Keeper came when he found out Mimiron was investigating the Curse of Flesh, which might have eventually traced back to Loken.
- "Instant Death" Radius: His Lightning Nova spell deals horrific damage in an area around him, forcing players to move out of its range. The twist is that he otherwise has a pulsing aura, that deals more damage the further away you are, meaning you can't just stay at range. The combination made him one of the deadliest bosses in the game.
- Killed Off for Real: Slain by players in the Halls of Lightning, which calls Algalon to check on the status of Azeroth.
- Leave No Witnesses: Most of Loken's crimes were for this reason. A single error of his had escalated into war amongst the titan-forged and shattered the unity of the Keepers, and his attempt to stop it ended up causing other problems. He needed to subdue the other Keepers to keep them from ratting him out to the Pantheon or Algalon if they returned... for a long time, Thorim was a loose end.
- Light Is Not Good: Not Good anymore at least. Even as a servant of an Old God he retains his golden skin and white clothing.
- Locked Out of the Loop: He feared the titans' return and how they would punish him for his actions, and was paranoid that Ra would come back from the south to investigate the unrest in Ulduar, but neither ever happened... because the Pantheon are dead, and Ra knew but was too depressed to tell anyone or do anything.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: His murder of Mimiron was through sabotaging his lab equipment so it would explosively fail. The murder didn't take, thanks to Mimiron's servants.
- Master of Illusion: He first meets the player after having waited weeks in an illusory disguise anticipating their arrival. Soon after Loken gives them their own disguise, which persists long after it would serve his own ends. His skill with illusions saved the titan-forged against Yogg-Saron's faceless generals, turning the aberrations' own mind manipulation against them.
- Only Six Faces: Loken has the appearance of a generic watcher, though using a rare color scheme.
- Orcus on His Throne: For thousands of years after betraying his kin, Loken simply kept a low profile in Ulduar, having already done all he could to protect himself from retribution and not wanting to make things worse again. Then Cho'gall infiltrated Ulduar and weakened the prison's magic seals, and the Old God's psychic grip became strong enough to force Loken to serve.
- Orwellian Retcon: He devised the Tribunal of Ages to replace the stolen Disks of Norgannon, filling it with false but plausible information to corroborate his account of events should Algalon or the Pantheon return.
- Revision: Loken ends up more sympathetic than initial lore implied. His betrayal was all accidents and unintentionally making things worse thanks to the Old God's subtle manipulations, and selfish but understandable fear — Loken was almost as much a victim himself at first. It's only close to the modern day that Yogg-Saron's madness drove him to embrace his role as an evil betrayer.
- Shock and Awe: As one of the aesir he has power over lightning. All of his abilities in his boss encounter are electric.
- Slouch of Villainy: He doesn't sit any differently from his heroic peers, but whenever he does it he's always acting smug and unimpressed with his foes.
- Squishy Wizard: By the standards of the Keepers, Loken is far from a physical fighter. He outright admits that he couldn't hope to stand up to Thorim in a fair fight, hence why he doesn't fight fair.
- Tongue Trauma: As proof of his demise, the quest giver demands his "lying tongue".
- Unwitting Pawn: Long before he was truly brainwashed by Yogg-Saron, he was tricked into serving the Old God's plans multiple times. The death of Sif, the spread of the Curse of Flesh, and the splintering of the Keepers were all done with only minor manipulation on Yogg-Saron's part, and at first Loken's motivation was merely to avoid consequences for his earlier mistakes.
- Yandere: Invoked by Yogg-Saron. His and Sif's relationship was at first a confidence, before becoming a romantic affair. The Old God used subtle mind magic, encouraging Loken's love to become jealous and obsessive, which culminated in the above Accidental Murder when she tried to break it off.
Thorim
Thorim
"Ulduar is lost, my beloved slain; what is left for me here?"
A Titanic Watcher who fell into despair after the death of his wife, Sif, going to war with the frost giants and secluding himself.- Brainwashed and Crazy: In Ulduar, he becomes a boss alongside the illusion of his wife Sif. The control over him actually slips a moment near the start of the encounter.
- Carry a Big Stick: Wields an impressive club (though it's consistently called a hammer).
- Chrome Champion: His steel skin has some cracks here and there to make it more obvious.
- Dragon Rider: Recovering the help of his proto-drake, Veranus, is part of the quest chain. Veranus comes back as a boss, Razorscale, in Ulduar.
- Expy: Of Thor.
- Heartbroken Badass: After his wife was murdered, he secluded himself in Ulduar, wallowing in depression for thousands of years. Although Loken used his magic to ensure he would stay that way until the players show up.
- The Lost Lenore: His wife Sif.
- Person of Mass Destruction: You know the location in Storm Peaks called Thunderfall? It was caused by him throwing his hammer on the ground. According to legend, his full power has been invoked once, and it "turned an entire continent to dust".
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Went on one following the death of his wife.
- Shock and Awe: No surprise for a Thor expy, and he even commands a pair of lightning-infused worgs; Hati and Skol.
- Status Buff: During the Yogg-Saron battle, he'll grant players a buff that increases their overall health.
- Thunder Hammer: Would you expect anything else from a Thor Expy? Although strangely enough, his "hammer" (quoting the game) Krolmir actually looks more like a mace (incidentally, his art in Hearthstone such as his above image depicts him wielding an actual hammer).
- Time-Limit Boss: If you want to get his quest item to unlock Algalon, you have to engage him while the illusion of Sif is still present and then defeat him. If you don't complete the first phase quickly enough, he kills everyone.
Tyr
Tyr
"I cannot wash the blood from your hands. No one can. All I can offer you is a way forward."
Aggramar empowered the aesir Tyr with a measure of himself, granting him courage, strength and nobility. Great hammer in hand, Tyr fought bravely against the Black Empire, defeating Ragnaros the Firelord and helping fight and seal the Old Gods away. He continued to lead the titan-forged during the shaping of the world, even as his peers began to grow apathetic with the news that the titans were to depart from Azeroth. Tyr was the only one of the titan-forged to step up to deal with Galakrond, the massive proto-dragon that devoured his own kind and would soon threaten all life on the planet. To help him he found and befriended five other proto-dragons, who had reached the beginning of sentience, and launched an assault on the great wyrm. The two sides skirmished a handful of times, but Tyr himself was taken out of the fight when a bite from Galakrond severed his hand. The proto-dragons would finish off Galakrond on their own, and to reward their determination the Keepers transformed the five into the Dragon Aspects.
When the titan-forged had suddenly descended into infighting, Tyr was one who intervened to stop the violence. Discovering Loken's treachery that ignited the war, he and Archaedas gathered as many free titan-forged as they could and stole the Discs of Norgannon, hoping to uncover the extent of the Keeper's betrayal. Tyr helped shepherd the smaller titan-forged away from the north so they would not be caught in the middle of his rebellion, but died protecting them from Loken's minions.
Though his true nature and the details of his actions are long-lost to mortal memory, Tyr's influence is felt strongly on Azeroth. By protecting the titan-forged exiles he allowed them to settle in what would become the Eastern Kingdoms, eventually populating it with the nations of humans, dwarves and gnomes. Vague recollections of his heroism survive to this day in human legend, and were one source of inspiration that led to the creation of the paladins of the Silver Hand.
——
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Tyr is able to shrink his body down to about the size of a night elf while conversing with Malygos. When he reveals his true size, he's so big that Malygos mistakes Tyr's torso for a wall.
- An Arm and a Leg: He lost one of his hands in battle with Galakrond.
- Arc Welding: His history as revealed in Chronicle and Legion ties up a number of seemingly unrelated loose ends into a smooth narrative. The name Tirisfal, the evil presence buried there and the dark loa tapped into by Malacrass, what the deal was with Uldaman, who this big dude named Jotun was and why he was called the "Curse Bearer"... all given explanations.
- Artificial Limbs: Tyr could have potentially restored his severed hand back to normal, but instead opts to have an artificial one crafted for him by Jotun, intending it to be a symbol of sacrifice in the line of duty. Originally it's described as a closed fist, though he seems to be able to flex it just fine judging by his remains.
- Behemoth Battle: His true size rivaled Galakrond's when they first fought.
- Chrome Champion: Tyr is aesir, with a body made of iron. This helped him resist the flames of Ragnaros, and allows him to wear almost no armor in battle.
- Dead-Hand Shot: Up until Dragonflight, his only visual depiction to date was in Chronicle: an image of his artificial silver hand, which was taken from his corpse and used as his burial marker.
- Deliberate Injury Gambit: Assumed, but no; human legend makes Tyr's loss of his hand seem like an intentional sacrifice that helped him defeat a great evil. In reality, it was a normal injury that said evil inflicted on him while he was fighting it.
- The Determinator: Tyr never hesitated to place himself in danger to defend the innocent, never faltered in the face of an enemy, and never gave up on his Pantheon-given mission to safeguard Azeroth.
- Exposition Beam: He is known for using artifacts called Sparks of Tyr, which record events and play them back directly into a target's mind. He personally recorded the rise and fall of Galakrond, preserving that history so that the Dragon Aspects would always have a reminder of what they could accomplish with teamwork and spirit.
- Expy: Of Tyr, obviously, being associated with justice and protection, and having lost a hand dealing with a threat his peers were unwilling to face.
- Fights Like a Normal: Though he has holy power of the Light, and arcane and storm powers thanks to his origin and nature, he's never mentioned using them in combat except in his final attack. All he normally uses is that hammer, and that's all he needs.
- Go and Sin No More: Instead of punishing Yrgrim for his previous slaughter of the earthen, Tyr simply said the quote above and challenged him to do good, by his side as his champion.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: He was the de facto Big Good of the titan-forged once Odyn was deposed, but didn't survive much longer than that. His few actions are still felt across the planet and within human culture. About the only thing stopping him from being a Hero of Another Story is that we don't see him, only hear about him long after his death.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He is described as having (probably literal) golden hair, and is unwaveringly good.
- Hammer of the Holy: His hammer, the Silver Hand, named for the silver fist design he had added to it after replacing his own hand. It's imbued with radiance of the Light, and Holy Paladin players receive it as their Artifact Weapon in Legion.
- Healing Hands: His few Light-based abilities are healing ones. Fittingly, his legendary hammer is used by Holy Paladin players mostly for support.
- Humongous-Headed Hammer: His weapon, the Silver Hand, is one of the most ridiculous two-handed hammers in the whole game, with a head at least as large as the wielder's entire torso. Though some art makes it less ridiculous by showing it scaled down, so that compared to Tyr it's the size of a still-ludicrous one-handed mallet.
- The Paladin: It's his example that inspired the humans' Order of the Silver Hand. Unusually, it's not his power with the Light that gets a lot of focus and reverence, but rather his steadfastness and compassion. Tyr is chronologically the earliest example of a paladin we know of in the Warcraft setting, pre-dating the draenei's tutelage by the naaru.
- The Paragon: Tyr was more than a powerful hero — he was an exemplar that friends, allies, and like-minded individuals strive to live up to.
- Posthumous Character: Tyr has been dead since long before the Sundering, having fled Ulduar with his friends and subjects soon after Loken turned against the other Keepers. His place of death was named Tyr's Fall — or, in the vrykul tongue, Tirisfal.
- Red Is Heroic: Probably the single most heroic of the Keepers, and also the reddest, clad in a crimson tunic and cape.
- Silver Has Mystic Powers: His does at least. Truthguard was forged in part from a chunk of silver taken from Tyr's famous hand, granting it some of his blessed power. In Warcraft, the idea of silver as a pure and righteous metal that opposes evil can seemingly be traced specifically to Tyr.
- Taking You with Me: He died in a suicide attack unleashing all of his power in a massive explosion, killing one opponent and mortally wounding the other.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Dragonflight reveals there's a forge in Tyrhold that can revive Tyr, using the Silver Scale entrusted to the dragons to activate it, Titansteel ingots to create a new body, and a special disc stored in Uldaman to give the new Tyr the old one's memories.
- World's Best Warrior: Tyr was the mightiest warrior among the titan-forged. Indeed, in battle his Light abilities always take a back seat to his strength and skill with that hammer of his.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: According to Chronicle, Galakrond's bite infected Tyr's stump with deathly energy that would prevent it from ever truly healing. Human legends that talk about these events seemingly leave that part out.
- You Shall Not Pass!: He and his allies fled south from Loken, pursued by the corrupted Keeper's strongest servants. Tyr stayed behind to stall the pursuers while the others kept moving, and ultimately died there.
Ra
Highkeeper Ra, "Ra-den" ("Master Ra")
"For millennia I have waited in darkness, in silence pierced only by the shrieks of the tormented, my dreams a waking nightmare. I see the naive hope in your eyes... You think you are my saviors? Wring that mocking pity from your hearts and focus it inwards, for you shall soon know my agony. This twisted world is beyond redemption... beyond the reach of deluded heroes... The only answer to corruption... is destruction. And that begins now."
A Titanic Watcher found deep within the Thunder King's palace who appears to be the source of Mogu emperor Lei Shen's power. Thousands of years ago, Lei Shen met Ra within what would one day become the Mogu'shan Vaults and somehow overpowered him. The Dungeon Journal makes a point to say nobody knows what really went on in the vaults that day, just that Lei Shen emerged with his lightning powers. He is referred to by the mogu as Ra-Den, a title meaning "Master Ra".- Badass Boast: "Wring that mocking pity from your hearts and focus it inwards, for you shall soon know my agony."
- Chrome Champion: A bit weatherbeaten for sure yet he definitely has steel skin.
- Composite Character: His Optional Boss status, as well as his belief that the world is too far gone to be saved and his post-defeat change of heart are all reminiscent of Algalon. His name is partially derived from the Egyptian god Ra, and with his title (Ra-Den which means "Master Ra"), along with his lightning powers, are based of the Shinto deity Raijin/Raiden, and it's further cemented by Lei Shen taking his powers, as Lei Shen is named after the Chinese Mythology counterpart of Raijin. Ra though is also based of Odin, just like Odin having one eye, knowing a horrible, future shaping secret(Ragnarok for Odin, and core infestation of Azeroth by the Old Gods and the Titans being long dead for Ra). Ra also worked closely with Thorim and Hodir in the past, who are based of Odin's sons, Thor and Hodur. Curiously, Ra was created and empowered by Aman'Thul(another Odin Expy), along with Odyn(yet another Odin Expy). Also curiously, this also not the first Odin and Raiden were connected....
- Despair Event Horizon: Crossed this when he realized the Titans had all been killed by Sargeras and basically completely shut down. When he revealed this to Lei Shen he expected the young mogu to come to a similar conclusion, but instead Lei Shen decided he would continue their work and stole Ra and Aman'Thul's power for himself to do so.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He has suffered greatly at Lei Shen's hands, and it has caused him to believe the world is not worth saving.
- Elemental Powers: Switches between two sets throughout the fight: Vita and Anima.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He sacrifices himself to save the Chamber of Heart from being overtaken by N'Zoth's forces. He charged at the portal to Ny'alotha and used a lightning attack to destroy it, but was in the process pulled into the eldritch realm. According to Magni, the Chamber of Heart and all of Azeroth would've been N'Zoth's for the taking had it not been for his sacrifice.
- One-Hit Kill: "Fatal Strike" is this in most cases.
- Shock and Awe: His most used ability. His mastery over lightning is so great, that his use of it surpassed Al'akir's.
- Shrouded in Myth: The Dungeon Journal does not disclose his abilities, suggesting that none who faced him lived to tell about it.
- Superboss: Of the Throne of Thunder. Much like Sinestra, he's only available after the final boss is defeated on Heroic.
Hodir
Hodir
A Watcher based in Northrend alongside Thorim, Loken, Freya, Mimiron, and the other Ulduar Watchers.
- Badass in Distress: There's a quest to save him after he's captured by demons in Legion.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Twice. The first time, he's one of the many Ulduar Watchers enslaved by Yogg-Saron. The second time comes during Legion when he's captured and corrupted by the Burning Legion. The guy can't catch a break.
- Carry a Big Stick: Wields a huge mace that radiates frost.
- Composite Character: His name is derived from the Norse god, Höðr, while he has more in common physically with the giant, Ymir, being the largest ice based humanoid in the game. His ice powers are based on both.
- An Ice Person: Not surprising, given that he's an expy of the Norse god of winter.
- Status Buff: During the Yogg-Saron battle, he'll grant players a buff which reduces all forms of damage.
Freya
Freya
A Watcher based in Northrend alongside Thorim, Loken, Mimiron, Hodir, and the other Ulduar Watchers.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: She's one of the many Ulduar Watchers enslaved by Yogg-Saron.
- Dream Weaver: Freya created the Emerald Dream and gave Ysera dominion over it.
- Expy: Of Freyja.
- Friend to All Living Things: She gave origin to much of the life on Azeroth.
- Green Thumb: She was the one who created those pockets of vegetation in the middle of otherwise barren lands (namely the Un'Goro Crater, the Sholazar Basin and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms).
- Status Buff: During the Yogg-Saron battle, he'll grant players a buff that increases received healing.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Though she gains a lot of backstory, Freya is the only living Keeper of Ulduar who does not appear in Legion. With Ra reappearing in Battle for Azeroth, she's the only one of the nine Keepers whose fate has gone totally unaddressed since she first appeared.
Mimiron
Mimiron
A Watcher based in Northrend alongside Thorim, Loken, Freya, Hodir, and the other Ulduar Watchers.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: He's one of the many Ulduar Watchers enslaved by Yogg-Saron.
- Expy: Of Mímir.
- Flunky Boss: His boss fight in Ulduar has him summoning several robots.
- Mad Scientist: He gives vibes of this, considering his trait was invention and his experiments ended up mutating the primitive goblins into the intelligent race we know today. World of Warcraft: Chronicle even mentions he's not been completely sane since Loken's assassination attempt.
- Status Buff: During the Yogg-Saron battle, he'll grant players a buff that increases their damage and movement speed.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Loken left him for dead, but Mimiron's mechagnomes servants managed to save him by giving him a new mechanical body.
Archaedas
Archaedas
A Watcher who accompanied Tyr when he escaped with the Discs of Norgannon after Loken's betrayal. He's fought by players in Uldaman, where he's still protecting the Discs.
- Ambiguous Situation: Initially assumed to have been completely killed during the original Uldaman dungeon, but Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, Mathias Shaw describes him as "disabled", which may suggest it's still possible to revive him.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Archaedas escaped Ulduar, retrieved the Discs of Norgannon and helped the cursed vrykul, earthen and mechagnomes to get to safety. In the present day, he's killed by players who wanted to get the treasure in Uldaman.
- Posthumous Character: To a certain extent. He was killed during vanilla, in the original Uldaman dungeon, and at the time he was just a construct guarding the treasure there. It wasn't until Legion and World of Warcraft: Chronicle that it was revealed he was one of the Keepers, just as important within the lore as characters such as Loken, Tyr or Odyn. Pretty much everything about his character (his origin, his shared background with Tyr, his involvement in the development of the dwarven and gnome races through Uldaman, his role in building the Truthguard and the Chamber of Heart) was revealed long after his in-game death.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: Archaedas built the Chamber of Heart to tend to Azeroth's world-soul, and helped to forge (along with Tyr) Truthguard: a powerful Shield designed to resist and reflect all damage inflicted on its surface that was used by Protection Paladins in Legion.
Norushen
Norushen
"Should you pass this door, at this time, you would fail! You, all of you, are corrupted with the insidious plague known as Pride. You stand tall and proud atop your accomplishments, and this will be your downfall."
A watcher beneath the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in Pandaria who watches over the remains of the deceased Old God, Y'Shaarj which like C'Thun has been held for research. When the Sha of Pride is released and the Vale is ruined, Norushen intercepts the raid group led by Lorewalker Cho and challenges them to purify themselves of pride. He is later killed by the Sha of Pride.- Early-Bird Cameo: Norushen showed up in the scenario Dark Heart of Pandaria, a full patch before Siege of Orgrimmar. He stood against the wall of the chamber activating the room's defense systems.
- Killed Off for Real: When the Sha of Pride drops to 30% health, it kills him, preventing him from giving players his buffs any longer, but he cleanses them of all Pride before he dies.
- Knight Templar: Refuses to allow anyone corrupted into the Heart of Y'Shaarj's chamber, going so far as to manifest their corruption as a Sha and have it attack the players. Justified as the chamber was occupied by the Sha of Pride at the time.
- Meaningful Background Event: His death is very easy to miss in the chaos of the Sha of Pride fight, but it's there.
- Status Buff: In the Sha of Pride battle, he grants players immunity to Pride, and if everyone with the buff stands together, their defense and healing output increase. As one might expect, he stops doing this once the Sha of Pride kills him.
- The Watcher: Stands guard in the Chamber of the Heart for millennia, keeping an eye on Y'shaarj's disembodied heart.
Helya
Helya
The (adopted) daughter of Odyn, the first Val'kyr, and creator of the kvaldir, Helya rules over the realm of Helheim, where unworthy vrykul souls are damned to spend and eternity fighting endless, unwinnable battles. She is a fickle and vengeful being who refuses to let any souls that enter her realm go. She has a vicious vendetta against her father, and seeks to drag not only the unworthy but the worthy down into her realm to spite him and prevent them from joining his Valajar army.
- Antagonistic Offspring: While only a surrogate daughter, she didn't take kindly to Odyn turning her into a Val'kyr and forcing her to harvest souls for his Valajar army. Even now when she's free of her duty, she sends her kvaldir to steal worthy souls before they can reach Odyn's realm and condemn them to her own.
- Deal with the Devil: Sylvanas makes a deal with Helya in her efforts to find more Val'kyr to ensure the future of the Forsaken. Shadowlands reveal the actual stake was far, far more than that, namely it could have even be the reason the very machine of death broke and the Arbiter got incapacitated in the first place. And the deal was actually beneficial not only to them both, but also their master. Control over the Val'kyr was just a side objective and nevertheless served its purpose to distract Genn from Sylvanas' primary motive to venture into Stormheim.
- Dimension Lord: Her specialty. She was the key architect of the artificial elemental planes used to contain Azeroth's warring elementals, trapped Odyn in his own Halls of Valor, and she now controls everything in Helheim. However, she is not immune to the planar rules that she creates (see Moving the Goalposts).
- Expy: Of Hel though she has some traits of Ran, the Norse Sea goddess.
- Fallen Angel: Was the first Val'kyr and originally tasked with sending worthy souls to the Halls of Valor. When she betrayed Odyn and was freed from his grasp, she made her realm a purgatory for the unworthy, toying with them for her own amusement. She even has broken wings.
- Fallen Hero: She was once a proud servant of the Titans and Odyn and genuinely wanted to protect Azeroth. Then she disagreed with her adoptive father about taking the souls of the fallen and turning them into vrykul to fight without rest, and Odyn killed her and turned her into the first Val'kyr who would carry out that goal regardless of her wishes. Understandably, she was a bit bitter about that.
- For the Evulz: She sends her kvaldir to kill worthy souls before they can seek judgment in the Halls of Valor for no other reason than to spite Odyn for forcing her into servitude as a Val'kyr.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Of the Kyrian Covenant campaign. Helya is the agent of the Maw aiding and guiding the Forsworn in their attempts to conquer Bastion. When Devos is slain, Lysonia takes her orders directly from Helya.
- Kraken and Leviathan: Her legs (which do not connect to her actual model) are absolutely huge tentacles that are bigger than the rest of her body.
- Moving the Goalposts: Is a vicious abuser of this. When you and Ashildir get trapped in Helheim, she makes a deal to let you go if you can beat her minions. When you do, she throws a tantrum and refuses to let you go for no other reason than she simply doesn't want to. This is also after she sundered parts of your soul to weaken you and prevent you from fighting as effectively as you could. You only escape because it turns out the deal was binding to another higher power than just her.
- Not Quite Dead: Battle For Azeroth reveals that even though the adventurers defeated her in her own realm, she's still alive; the Valarjar are aware of this, and laugh off the very idea that the player characters could've truly killed her. Shadowlands reveal that she was in league with the Jailer all along and she was ultimately revived in the Maw to command the Mawsworn.
- Smug Snake: She taunts you all throughout Helheim as she sabotages your efforts to escape, only to break down and rein in on her agreement to let you go when you succeed.
- Villainous Breakdown: Has one when she realizes the deal you made to earn your freedom is magically binding, and that she can't circumvent it even in her own realm.
- Win Your Freedom: What you must do when you get trapped in her realm of Helheim.
Koranos
Koronos
Koranos was one of the Watchers assigned to watch over the Dragon Isles 10,000 years ago when the Dragonflights left. In the present he was the only one to survive, and reactivated the Beacon so the Dragons could return.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Narrowly, he was prepared to do so, climbing up the beacon even as he was crumbling from the strain and forcing the Beacon back together despite falling after he did so. Fortunately, he is saved as the last minute by Alexstrasza.
- Last of His Kind: He is the last of the Dragon Isles Watchers, the cinematic trailer showing his sadness at the loss of his companions.
- Plot-Demanded Manual Mode: After 10,000 years the Beacon at Tyrhold is unable to reactivate - forcing Koranos to ascend the Beacons' tower to manually pull together the two halves of the Beacons' crystal to reactivate it.
- Ragnarök Proofing: Averted, after 10,000 years, his stone body is crumbling and covered in moss. Which is good, considering that the other Watchers including the Keeper had either broke or had weathered away.
