One of the areas of World of Warcraft: Midnight was supposed to be released much earlier. It was later added to the addon.
World of Warcraft Midnight is well-received. It has an interesting story with a dense atmosphere and a red thread that runs from beginning to end – well, at least almost. Because there’s one area where the community raises its eyebrows and asks: Does this really belong? Wouldn’t it have fit better somewhere else? And they are right. Many hints have been found that the zone “Harandar” should have been published long ago.
What was found? In one of his latest videos, YouTuber and analyst Bellular talks about the area Harandar in World of Warcraft. He is convinced that Blizzard originally planned this area for The War Within and only later moved it to Midnight.
This is evident not only from the flow of the story but also from many small details, both gameplay-wise and in terms of the story:
Harandar was supposed to be part of The War Within
How can this be noticed? In the first weeks after Midnight, there were quite a few bugs that only occurred in Harandar, indicating that this area was originally intended for “The War Within”. Some of the most notable hints:
- When disenchanting items from Harandar, one sometimes received materials from “The War Within”.
- Fishing in the depths of Harandar did not increase Midnight’s fishing skill but rather that of The War Within.
- In The War Within, there was an unpublished area in the game data called “Rootlands” – this is still how Harandar is referred to in some places in the game, such as in the tailoring talent tree.
Additionally, the Haranir were supposed to have a larger presence in The War Within. After all, the Haranir were a prominent part of the first trailer for The War Within – but then appeared only as a side phenomenon. Many of their quests went “nowhere” and were never properly completed. Back then, everyone thought: Something must have changed in the story.
Even small story inconsistencies seem strange. It is said that the light blossom in Harandar broke out because the light from the roots of Shaladrassil was shining through the Sunwell – but the world tree Shaladrassil is extremely far from the Sunwell, which makes little sense. More likely, it was the roots of Beledar – the crystal in Healing Falls – that were illuminated. After all, you can see roots in Healing Falls that reach all the way to Harandar.
Is this really a problem? No, it simply shows that the development of the World Soul saga has changed over time. Originally, Harandar was supposed to be part of The War Within but was later added to Midnight. The area is still of high quality, and the stories have been adjusted to fit the main story of Midnight.
However, Bellular is right when he says that the story of Midnight would have worked well even if Harandar were not part of the expansion. To him, it feels like a “big side quest” – certainly cohesive and atmospheric, but a bit detached from the primary threat that is supposed to be fought in Midnight.
Sometimes it might also be better if things were cut longer – because even after 3 years, many still do not understand how the newest class in WoW works.
