Warlords of Draenor occupies a peculiar place among World of Warcraft’s expansions, remembered equally fondly as well as dismally. There were many reasons for this, but the consensus is that although the content was enjoyable, there was far too little of it. But all that could change in the next few years.
World of Warcraft Classic has been steadily munching through the earlier years of the franchise, striking a careful balance between keeping things as they were and ensuring a fresh, exciting experience. Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion on the menu, which will inevitably lead to Warlords of Draenor following on. Instead of merely rehashing this expansion in all its grave imperfections, however, Classic WoW is presented with a tantalizing opportunity.
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Areas That Never Got the Chance to Shine in World of Warcraft
In many ways, Warlords of Draenor was designed to be a reliving of the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade. Players were at last offered the opportunity to see Draenor in all its splendid glory, before the Legion and its consequences corrupted and broke the planet apart. One of these marvels to behold was Karabor, the very same temple that would be desecrated by demons and eventually inhabited by Illidan Stormrage himself.
The Pristine Cathedral of Draenic Beauty
Karabor exists in the Shadowmoom Valley zone, resplendent in its untouched beauty. But aside from a couple of quests only available to Alliance players, there’s never any reason to visit it at all. It cannot be entered, and there are no NPCs to be found. In Burning Crusade, Akama the Broken describes how he was forced to watch as his beloved temple was warped into a monstrous den for demonic whims, but players never get to experience its glorious past. Karabor was even intended to be the Alliance capital city on Draenor, which would have given it the love it deserved, but no such aspirations ever materialized.
The Zangar Sea, a Zone Unlike Anything Players Have Seen
The alien swamps of Zangarmarsh are a sight to behold on Outland, but witnessing this wetland in its prime, before it was heaved above the waves, would be breathtaking. The Zangar Sea isn’t much to look at in Warlords of Draenor, but it was intended to be so much more. Its history extends back eons, as when the enormous, virulent Sporemound called Zang was slain, its body became a fungal biome submerged beneath an ocean. Marine creatures that have adapted to this unique world would include spectacles never witnessed by players before, including a fungal whale world boss.
The Missing Ogre Continent
The extensive history of the ogre race has long been obscure, and Warlords of Draenor intended to flesh them out far more than it did. They are the chief rivals of the orcs, after all, but where the former employed the practices of shamans, ogres became masters of arcane magic. An unnamed ogre continent lies off the shores of Draenor, but nothing of it ever materialized. This could be the true seat of ogre power outside Highmaul, where there are no orcs to challenge their reckless might.
The Land That Became Outland's Netherstorm
Holding up a map of Draenor to one of Outland, the similarities are self-evident. But one zone sticks out like a sore thumb, present on Outland but completely missing from its WoD counterpart. Netherstorm is a fascinating zone, crackling with wild arcane energy. As it turns out, the land used to be known as Farahlon, and was a splendid island that players should have been able to visit. It’s simply missing from Draenor’s map, not because of a plot hole, but because of a content cut.
Even More Neglected Zone Content
- Shattrath City, a truly iconic location, was intended to be an entire raid, but was replaced by a dismal dungeon instead.
- Bladespire Citadel was going to be the Horde capital city, but was relegated to a single questline.
- Garrisons were supposed to be fully customizable and more akin to player housing.
- The Grimrail, a fast-travel option involving a functional railway between zones, was scrapped.
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Why Warlords of Draenor Had Such a Disjointed Story
Another realm in which WoD suffered so deeply was its lore. The story was a disheartening mix of grand anticipation and dismal resolutions. The characters that players were eager to see brought to life were a hollow shell of their true selves, forced into plot holes to cover up the missing storylines. The disappointment was palpable, as Warlords of Draenor's cinematic trailer promised a world of triumphant warmongers who compromised with no one. A summary of the various story pitfalls are as follows.
- Characters like Yrel and Maraad, as well as antagonists like Orgrim, Kargath and Grommash, were supposed to be fully fleshed out and motivated. Instead, they were killed off too early or made decisions antithetical to their values.
- Grommash Hellscream was promised to be the final boss of the expansion, but was replaced with Archimonde, leading to significant story inconsistencies.
- Because of this, Gorehowl as a legendary weapon was never implemented.
- A more in-depth explanation for exactly how Garrosh went back in time was planned, including where he arrived, but this was not shown or even explained in-game.
- Lorewise, players were supposed to use the magic of the Bronze Dragonflight to go back in time, but the dragons were absent from the story.
- Due to cuts in story development, there wasn’t much clarity as to how events in WoD led to the demons invading Azeroth in the present time for WoW: Legion.
The most critical failure, where Warlords of Draenor is concerned, was the wasted opportunity. It’s unclear whether this was due to time constraints, budget cuts, or artistic disputes, but up to a third of the conceived ideas for this expansion never made it into the game. From a missing raid to absent capital cities, gutted zones, and cut world bosses, so much work was clearly put into assets that never saw the light of day. Classic WoW could implement this content, showing off the real Warlords of Draenor as it was meant to be.
- Released
- August 26, 2024
- Base Game
- World of Warcraft
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
