The “Red Shirt Guy” has nothing good to say about the burning of Teldrassil in WoW: Battle for Azeroth. He finds it completely illogical and full of lore errors from his perspective.
The introductory scenarios for World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth are now playable in beta. And while the scenarios are indeed convincing, there is a huge problem according to the “Red Shirt Guy”: consistency. Because what the Horde and Alliance experience is vastly different, to the point that characters in the Horde version die while surviving in the Alliance version. Even the actions of the factions are portrayed differently.
Who is the Red Shirt Guy? Ian Bates is a passionate WoW player who is especially well-versed in the game’s backstory. He got his name “Red Shirt Guy” when he caught former developer and story chief Chris Metzen off guard in a red shirt at a BlizzCon. Metzen believed the dwarf Falstad Wildhammer was dead – which he was not. Since then, there has been a “Fact Checker of the Wildhammers” in the game, a dwarf wearing a red shirt. Ian Bates has since uncovered numerous lore blunders.
What lore errors stand out? Bates points out primarily two major issues:
- In the attack on Teldrassil, players experience the story either from the Horde’s perspective or the Alliance’s – with completely different outcomes. Bates uses the example of the Furbolgs. As a Horde player, you challenge the Furbolg tribal leaders to an honorable duel and can move on unhindered – a conflict with the Furbolgs does not arise. On the Alliance side, the Horde has enslaved the Furbolgs and even forces them to attack the Alliance.
- In the night elf city of Astranaar, the Horde only attacks night elf soldiers and even incurs losses to avoid harming civilians. From the Alliance’s perspective, the Horde has rounded up the civilians and executes them en masse with the Forsaken.
That doesn’t add up.
Are the Old Gods manipulating the perception of what is happening there?
Last hope: Old Gods. However, fans still cling to a small straw to explain these different portrayals. A plausible explanation could be that the Old Gods deliberately distort the representation for each faction to further escalate the war. After all, an escalating war would be just what the Old Gods desire, who are happy to feed on death and suffering to gain more strength.
Whether there will be a resolution to these – at least currently still – gross lore blunders is sure to be revealed in the coming months. If Blizzard really overlooked these inconsistencies, that could be quite embarrassing. But that’s actually hard to imagine.
What is your opinion on the mentioned errors? Just a confusion tactic from Blizzard? Or clear lore mistakes?
