Second Chances – Just Boring Recycling?
The next point I want to address is the recycling of characters. It was particularly noticeable with Kael’thas Sunstrider, who was seemingly killed in the Fortress of Storms, only to actively annex the Sunwell and open a new portal to Azeroth for the Legion months later. Even back then, voices were raised that Blizzard had no ideas for new adversaries and was just recycling.
Players simply have to let go of the notion that an empty HP bar and subsequent loot distribution equate to a story-related character death. Yes, this is inconsistent. Yes, it should have been communicated differently. But who wants to see an annoying “Haha! And now I escape again!” at the end of a boss fight and pull loot from a conjured chest instead of the corpse?
The truth for the lore is usually: We don’t know what happens. The actual “heroes” of the game decide what happens. And as players, we often only find out years later.
A Positive Example: Garrosh Hellscream
If I had to pull a good example of great character development with a worthy conclusion out of thin air, it would definitely be Garrosh Hellscream. There was also a huge outcry in the community that he was “used up” too quickly. But here too, one should critically question: Is that really true?
Few players know today that Garrosh was introduced almost 8 years ago. Back then, he was part of a very long quest line in Nagrand, which even ended with a visit from Thrall – heroes rarely appeared in quest lines at that time. Garrosh was broken, a weak Orc living with the shame of his father and completely devoid of the will to live.
During Wrath of the Lich King, the developers slowly built him up: He learned the strengths of the Horde, experienced initial conflicts with the Alliance at the Argent Tournament and in Dalaran. It was only with Cataclysm that he became Warchief – and truly spiced up the story! He brought back the “War” in the name of Warcraft, aggressively conquered Alliance territories, and ultimately even destroyed Theramore: the only city that lived in peace with the Horde.
Even the Machinima community loved him. He even got his own anthem:
In Mists of Pandaria, his power culminated in the resurrection of an old god – and he succumbed to greed. A greed that ultimately brought about his downfall. Broken and defeated, he flees to Draenor, only to find his death there – at exactly the same spot where we first encountered him almost a decade ago. Garrosh was not used up. He was built up, piece by piece. Like a proper good adversary with whom one could even sympathize for a long time.
Even in his farewell video, I thought to myself “He was right… we made him into what he is”. Garrosh was an enemy I loved. I hated him, and then I hated myself a little for hating him. Because he was cool. A real Orc, just like the Horde needed him. And he was a foe I will remember for a long time.
