Summary

  • Patch 10.2 in World of Warcraft includes hidden easter eggs that reference Vanilla WoW, with nods to parts of the game that are almost 20 years old.
  • The Emerald Dream in the new update brings players to a realm where they must stop Fyrakk from destroying the new World Tree, Amirdrassil.
  • Players have discovered that many NPCs in the Central Encampment were originally found in Darnassus, the former capital city of the Night Elves before it was destroyed.

Keen-eyed World of Warcraft fans have discovered some old school easter eggs hidden across the Emerald Dream in Patch 10.2 that date all the way back to Vanilla WoW. These classic throwbacks reference parts of World of Warcraft that are nearly 20 years old.

World of Warcraft recently launched Patch 10.2, Guardians of the Dream. This update brings players to the famous World of Warcraft realm known as the Emerald Dream, where they must stop Fyrakk and his allies from twisting Amirdrassil, the new World Tree, to his destructive design.

The Emerald Dream itself is built on some iconic World of Warcraft lore, but some players have discovered the references go deeper than most expected. While exploring the new zone, World of Warcraft streamer and lore master Ishura couldn’t help but notice many of the NPCs around the Central Encampment–the main base and questing hub in Patch 10.2–seemed familiar. She then realized most of the NPCs, as well as some Druid of the Flame enemies, were originally found in Darnassus, the former capital city of the Night Elves before the destruction of Teldrassil.

During Battle for Azeroth, Teldrassil was destroyed in the opening volley of the Fourth War. Alliance players from back then may remember the harrowing scenario in which they had to save as many people from the city in the limited time they had. Some of these NPCs were among those players could save, but their fates in canon WoW lore were unknown for nearly five years. Now, Night Elf fans can rest easy knowing they were able to save these characters, minor though they may be.

The easter eggs go even deeper in Guardians of the Dream, however. After clearing the raid, players get to witness the Night Elves of World of Warcraft claim Amirdrassil as their new home. Night Elf characters get a special quest where they can make a personal offering during the ceremony. According to a screenshot shared by World of Warcraft lore expert Portergauge, these options reference quest NPCs, class trainers, and places from the original Night Elf starting experience from Vanilla WoW. Though the choices don't change the quest’s outcome, they prove the World of Warcraft developers who wrote this quest did their homework.

This epilogue is available to players who complete the Amirdrassil raid, but before too long, this requirement will likely be lifted. Night Elf fans won’t want to miss the final chapter of Guardians of the Dream, especially since it unlocks a second tint for their Heritage Armor in World of Warcraft.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Tag Page Cover Art

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
Display card tags widget
MMORPG
Display card system widget
Systems
PC-1
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget
Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
Display card main info widget
Released
November 28, 2022
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
Blizzard, Activision
Publisher(s)
Blizzard, Activision
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
mac, windows
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the ninth expansion pack for the iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

Dragonflight features an overhauled user interface, raises the level cap to 70, and introduces a new race and class. 

Franchise
Warcraft
Platform(s)
PC
Genre(s)
MMORPG