When he logs into World of Warcraft, he loses a beloved companion. A warlock is no longer allowed to log in.
World of Warcraft has changed dramatically over the years. Abilities come and go, as do character companions. But there should always be a joyful reason to log in – except for this one warlock. Because he has a demon by his side that would probably quickly seek to escape when he logs in. The consequence: He is no longer allowed to log in.
What is going on? In the WoW subreddit, the player Familiar-Telephone74 shared a screenshot. It shows one of his characters, an Orc warlock. But instead of seeing a imp, a voidwalker, or perhaps a stylish succubus in the background, he has a companion that no other current warlock possesses: a Felhunter.
Because the last time the player played this character, the Felhunter was still his permanent companion. Something that was many years ago.
Felhunter does not exist anymore – unless one never logs in
Why is he not allowed to log in? The Felhunter as a permanent companion was removed from the game years ago. If someone logs into the game with a companion that should no longer exist or is no longer accessible, then WoW checks this every few seconds – but at the latest during phasing or a teleport. Then the warlock’s Felhunter would disappear (“despawn”) and probably never return.
However, the Orc warlock can enjoy a very exclusive character screen for now – because hardly any other warlock will be depicted with a Felhunter in the background.
Do Felhunters still exist today? Yes, they still exist as spells in WoW, but in a modified form. Today, the Felhunter is a major cooldown, but the summoned Felhunter is only temporarily active. It deals high damage for a few seconds and increases soul shard generation before it disappears. It cannot be directly controlled and simply follows the warlock’s attacks before it disappears again.
Community remembers: In the comments under the subreddit post, many remember the Felhunters they once owned. Because just like the ghouls of death knights, the Felhunters also received some silly names when they became permanent companions – like “Flameflame” from the player Anderaku:
Many also wish that warlocks had the same freedoms when choosing their demons as hunters do.
- “The ability “Demon Summon” should be the equivalent of the hunter’s “Tame Beast” for warlocks and allow unlocking pretty much any demon as a customization for your demons.” – Beltheshazzar98
- “I still remember being able to have a Felhunter as a permanent companion during Legion. That was just insane.” – dk_2605
- “Wow, I would never log into this character again.
I even play two warlocks, but I was never allowed to have this epic experience. Now I’m sad.” – Etelgrin
Another class just got the long-awaited wish a few weeks ago to have a beloved companion back as a permanent friend in the game: Mages have their Water Elemental back after long begging.
