I'm interested to see how the Shadowlands are connected to other worlds and other realms, as hinted at when you first arrive and are asked where you came from. The existence of Night Warriors from other worlds is yet another aspect of this idea, and I wonder how things like alternate universes and altered timelines affect the Shadowlands, if at all. If Ysera is there, is Deathwing? Is Chromie? Other Dragons and different powerful beings? Dragons are supposedly unique to Azeroth, but what else exists on other worlds, and will now apparently be down there with the others?
To be honest, I haven't been keeping up with Shadowlands. Seeing the Afterlives: Bastion animated short caught my attention. I remember Uther from Warcraft 3 and I'm really interested to see what he's been doing since he threw--or rather dropped--Arthas into the Maw. Also, I have to wonder what Devos is up to. There seems to be something going on with her, too, and I'd like to see her story continue in Shadowlands. Tidbit: I loved that Thenios was voiced by Tuvok (Tim Russ) from Star Trek: Voyager.
One of my favorite things to see with these cinematics is that we get to see even more amazing art done to show off characters and a bit more insight into them. Makes me wish we had a sort of series like this for how the different peoples of Azeroth function, like specific things about each race or city.
Every story about Arthas has always been exciting but this time it's very mysterious in lots of ways which makes some questions cross my mind.First of all who is the jailer and how did he become this darkness sealed away in the maw as Devos said.How did Sylvanas managed to somehow get power from the jailer or even how did they even meet, and what excites me most is that Arthas is now in the Maw, is he going to be an enemy controlled by the jailer or are we going to somehow need him and save him from the maw ?and for the last question what's gonna happen to Uther and Devos now that they have kinda disobeyed Archon, or at least Devos did.
What I am most excited about is that we finally get to see and learn more of the Shadowlands. Ever since WOTLK has it been teased at us, in one way or another. First it was Salanar and the Deathcharger quest. Later on in lore, we even see Azuregos of all people, remaining as a spirit and (apparently) in love with a Spirit Healer. The fact that it has been continuously mentioned, teased and hinted at having more than we see is what does wonders for me.Even the fact that Val'kyr are based on the Kyrians, and how Odyn even peered into the realm beyond in search of said power, him turning Helya into a Val'kyr and retrieving souls from the Shadowlands just to make Valarjar.And especially I am excited about the zones. Maldraxxus feels as if we're stepping in very familiar territory (appearance-wise), and it even gives us insight on other lore characters. Ones we thought were defeated, but ones we knew would inevitably return. Revendreth, too. I like not just the idea of it, but I also like the lore implications behind it, and the idea in general. Also the vampire boys.And most of all, I just like the bone boys in Maldraxxus, because they're pretty nice.
I am always the most interested in potential continuity problems. For example, they suggest here that power of Frostmourne comes from the Maw, which is against original story about Burning Legion creating the Lich King and his weapon. I believe they can avoid retcon if they write a convincing story about nathrezim and Kil'jaeden entering Shadowlands for purpose of finding items necessary for their plans. Then, there are multiple ways it can happen. For sure, they would not be welcome, as demons are known for stealing souls for their purpose so I believe armies of Maldraxxus would try to prevent their arrival. I think they would try to sneak into the Maw using some subtle methods. It is also possible that they were in Revendreth for a moment because there are speculations about nathrezim being related to Denathrius. However, the most interesting part is the interaction with Jailer. They could have stolen Frostmourne from him, for sure, but what if they made a deal? Then, there is a question whether Sargeras knew about it. Sargeras' plan is pretty simple; he wants to see everyone dead. His demons want souls for themselves but I don't think they could oppose the dark titan if he decided to sell souls to Jailer instead. For Jailer, it would mean a huge stream of souls, as long as they don't pass through Arbiter first. This, however, opens more questions. Why didn't the machine of death break earlier? Why did Sylvanas command the Horde against Legion? Personally, I believe it could have been because Legion chose not to give souls for him, as they had already got what they wanted. As a counterattack, Jailer could have helped Ner'zhul in freeing the Frostmourne in order to make Lich King independent from Legion.
What excites me is the potential and possibilities when once again interacting with major deceased characters in the Shadowlands, whether it's Arthas in the Maw or Garrosh being tortured by the Venthyr. Just sitting in contemplation and letting that marinate really has me freaking out. There's something ominous about Arthas in general, so many of us viewed his chapter as being closed, but now the possibilities as we explore the recesses of the Maw, possibly interacting with, saving or viewing a redemption arc for some of the characters we viewed as unforgivable or too far gone, is... huge. At the very least, even if the gameplay is lacking I know deep down this one will deliver on some intense lore that either finally closes the chapter on certain characters or creates a bridge to an even more uncertain future in Azeroth. The past few expansions have been fairly certain and not overly hard to figure out the direction things could go, but this time around I have no clue and I feel like they're working with a canvas of lore that has greater implications and emotion than ever before.
I really like the idea of getting to see, what all the gray shaded Charakters like for example Arthas are up to after their deaths. How will Arthas deal with the burden of knowing what he has done under frostmourne and nerzuls influence. I'm really excited for shadowlands in general, because of how the shadowlands are designed. The possibilities for the patches are endless. Just make a Portal and we can the Starcraft afterlive, or we could get a glimpse of how some of the demons we killed are up to. The whole concept of the shadowlands ist full of endless possibilities.
Until the afterlife video I found Bastion a bit dull and uninteresting, but the video changed my mind. I want to see more of the brainwashing methods and the rebellion against it.
I'm excited to see how Uther's storyline will develop!
I almost feel like Uther and Devos may be a future boss, because they broke the rules so to speak. Players who are in Beta might already know the answer so no idea. But I imagine they would be banished from Bastion since Devos allowed Uther to ascend before he earned the right to.
For me personally as a Lightforged Draenei Holy Priest, I was dead set on the Kyrian from their aesthetics. After reading up on some of the Wowhead articles regarding the lore of the various covenants I started to doubt my headstrong decision even though I never even played Shadowlands. What interested me the most was the story line with Alexandros Mograine. After learning why he was put with the Necrolords I needed a reason to see why my Priest should be joining the Kyrian or Night Fae (the second lore friendly option for my RPish character as I was not personally invested in the memories the character had since they spent most of their life fighting the Burning Legion.) After watching the Bastion video by Blizzard the quote that stuck out to me and made my love for the Kyrian Flourish was Devos telling Uther. "You have led a truly selfless life, and for that you have been chosen... To shed your mortal burdens and joining the ranks of the ascended." What really excites me about this is that as a Lightforged Draenei Holy Priest who obviously devoted their entire being to the Light and as a Priest, focused on assisting others using the Light for healing. I love that there is a weight being lifted off of my shoulders when I hear "shed your mortal burdens" I really wish I could put it into words that explained how much that means to me. Now that is why I am going Kyrian, they resonate with me. I was never personally fond of Uther because in Warcraft 3 he never felt like the selfless hero, to me personally he felt very two dimensional of a character. This Bastion video and the lore seen during the Kyrian campaign makes me quite excited to see him develop as a character. His soul being split was not something I anticipated but am looking forward to as well as the healing process if that will be touched upon in SL. While I do not agree with Devos' motives I do understand why she does it. The Archon did not say she would ignore what Devos said "You will abandon this course." This opens up the possibility that the Archon could possibly have addressed this but through Devos' actions was busy trying to maintain order among her own people. I know 8.0 has a lot of story currently in place for the Kyrian but I am already excited to learn and experience for myself what happens now and in future updates.An additional plus of something I hope to learn more about is Draenei death. We learned quite a substantial bit during WoD in mostly Auchindoun, what all with the Sentinels and if my memory serves me right encased in crystals to use as power (might be mixing that up been a long time.) So many questions regarding the dead and I hope Shadowlands answers them all even though it is likely only some will be answered.Sorry for the long post I get excited about these things! Also, I was inspired by the animated Wallpaper of Uther that was shared in an article so I made my own Bastion wallpaper using the zoomed out image of Elysian Hold having particles, sun rays and the clouds move around a little. Super proud of my work even if there are a few issues that I am certain only I notice.
There's 2 major things I'm interested to see in Shadowlands, both of which were actually involved in this short.The first, is how this afterlife affects those who live within it. Even though Bastion is a realm dedicated to guiding souls, the individuals within still retain their own opinions, personality, and flaws. It seems those of tremendous emotion or those of incredible dedication can remember their death, and even their life before death. If this is true, then that's a major issue for covenant like Bastion, which relies on dedication and homogeneity in it's servants. If the arbiters and executioners of judgement are flawed, what stops them from corrupting others? There's hints of this with the whole "Arbiter isn't guiding souls anymore" plot, and I have a feeling that Uther and Devos are going to rebel and form a connection with the Alliance, a group they believe to be morally sound. And that could easily put the Alliance and Bastion into conflict.The second, is what connections we'll see between Shadowlands, and BC/WotLK. Major lore characters from WotLK and BC have already been shown to be involved in the plot. From KT to Arthas, Blizzard is bringing a lot of old characters back. And while they'll have an obvious impact on the story going forward, I'm wondering just how much Blizzard will use Shadowland's influence to add more to the stories that have already happened. Will we learn more about KT, Kael'thas, or Arthas? The Jailer influenced Sylvanas, what if he or the other covenants have been manipulating events in Azeroth this whole time? If so I think this could have major lore repercussions all over the place, and it might be a great way to quietly retcon some story pieces for use in the expac/future expacs.
Very interested to see how Demon Hunters fit in Shadowlands. They have "immortal demon soul", but they can still talk to Spirit Healer and resurrect that way. As far as I remember, the immortal demon soul is meant to go back to twisting nether, and not at all be able to see the spirit healer. I'm hoping to see some form of explanation about it.
"I see only darkness before me" was originally just a fairly poetic final quote that we all believed to simply be his dying words, like a villain who truly believed in what he did. Of course, he was not in control, and bore witness to the horrible deeds being done with his body. He knew, and he acted, but it wasn't just him. He was being controlled like a puppet by a devious and powerful spirit that clung to him like cancer. Uther of course would not know this, as he simply saw his student become a monster. By all accounts, Uther is not wrong; Arthas became a terrible monster that deserved every death that should have found its way to him. Upon Uther's death, evident in the Afterlives video, there is a split that occurs with his soul. The part that goes into the blade, and that subsequently escapes upon the destruction of Frostmourne, is a gentle and kind soul that wants to remember his student, not the monster that followed. The Uther we see in the Shadowlands however is riddled with anger, disbelief, and so many conflicting feelings. This blue Uther seeks "Justice", which is truly nothing more than vengeance in this context. Uther is a paladin. A core theme about paladins is how they use "Justice" in their attacks and spells. They are the gavel that brings judgement upon the guilty. Has the gavel ever done wrong? No; it has only served justice. It's served the justice that the paladin cast upon their target. The phrase "Justice is blind" rings true here for Uther on so many levels, as he is mistaking his vengeance as justice. It's not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of his soul having split into two sides of the same coin. Uther, as a paladin, would want Arthas to face justice for his crimes. This is a simple but true statement, as criminals should face justice. However, blue Uther is driven by his desire for justice, and seems to not realize what his justice is about to do to Arthas. It's not simply answering for his crimes; that's Revendreth's deal. Arthas was a stuck-up piece of trash, just as any pompous prince is in any story, but he was still just human. He had a chance at redemption, and he had every right to it after being subjected to torment for his sins. However, the fitting punishment was completely bypassed. Uther has just condemned Arthas to eternal torment, skipping part of the Shadowlands' path of deciding fates. Devos led Uther to a terrible path, one which will surely bite them in the rear later. What I look forward to is how Uther and Arthas' story will conclude. It's certainly not over, not with us preparing to take a jolly stroll through Super Alcatraz every week like it's a flower garden. Uther's story is also unfinished, as datamining has shown no end for our favorite blue (and later purple) paladin. They won't leave this as a loose end, and I want to see the end. I want to see complete closure for two important figures who have suffered far too much in their own ways.
I hope to see daddy Varian in the Shadowlands !
The thing that excites me the most about Shadowlands lore has to definitely be this "Scourge Reunion" that is happening. Uther in Bastion making Justice with Arthas, Kel'Thuzad also coming back, I'm just really excited to see how all of that plays out. That also makes me wonder if we'll see characters like the Drakkari trolls or the Nerubians in Ardenweald, since I think they fit well with the theme of the zone, or see characters like Mal'Ganis in Revendreth. Just to have the complete Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne and Wrath of the Lich King characters together once more, I think that would be an epic reunion.
I would absolutely love to learn more about the runes on Frostmourne being associated with The Maw. Even more when you consider how all the souls Frostmourne had consumed were released when the blade was broken. And what of Uther's damaged soul? Shouldn't it have been restored when Frostmourne was broken? Or would there be two Uthers?
Interested to learn more of the new characters being introduced as well as what old characters were up to and how they experienced the afterlife in all this time. Very refreshing take compared to all the Old God and Demon stuff we've been dealing with for the longest time
im interested on learning what truly broke the machine of death blizzard says its sylvanas but im thinking Ulther dropping Arthas into the maw might and helped out, and also how Helm of Domination and Frostmourn come to our realm since both are attached to the maw and as was said in the Afterlives: Bastion short the maw is inescapable so how did it leave the maw expectantly since how powerful they are?