Fans of World of Warcraft thought they had a choice – but there was never one. Many saw more in a quest than intended by the developers.
The story of World of Warcraft is an important aspect for many players and one of the reasons why some have remained loyal to Blizzard’s MMORPG for so long. Especially with Dragonflight, there were some interesting new developments in the story. Particularly the ‘aspect succession’ among the black dragons is a much-discussed topic. Some even believed Blizzard would give players a choice and there would be a secret ‘vote’ – but the story chief has now dismissed that.
What is going on with the black dragons? It has long been foreseeable that Furorion would follow in his father’s footsteps to become the aspect of the black dragonflight. However, the young dragon has repeatedly acted concerningly, being responsible for Garrosh’s escape to the alternate Draenor and thus also for the subsequent attack of the Legion and the death of Varian Wrynn – a reason why the young dragon has received a proper scolding.
However, Furorion has received competition in Dragonflight. The black dragon Sabellian has returned from the shattered world and brought the rest of the black brood with him. He also claims leadership and is already highly regarded by many black dragons. He has much more life experience and seems to be quite intelligent.
Players hoped they had a choice: At level 70, characters can decide which of the two dragons they want to help this week – Sabellian or Furorion. A widespread theory was that Blizzard was secretly allowing a vote on which character is more popular and would take leadership over the swarm. Thus, it was suspected that Blizzard was looking at whom players have sworn loyalty to first.
Steve Danuser, the story chief of Blizzard, has now clearly denied that and thus destroyed this hope.
What did Danuser say? In an interview with YouTuber Hiru, who is known for his lore videos on WoW, story chief Steve Danuser spoke
The situation with Furorion and Sabellian is more a matter of taste for the player. This is not meant to be a vote. That would also be a bit unfair to present it first as a matter of personal choice and then later say: ‘Hey, you all have been voting the whole time.’ That would surely make people [very dissatisfied]. (…) This was not intended as [a test for a vote]. (…)
Could something like this be done in the future? Under the right circumstances, certainly. The danger with such things is always that some will exploit the system or deliberately try to ruin the choice for others. With such matters, one always has to be careful.
The whole interview is worth it, as Danuser also answers other questions about N’Zoth and the story of Dragonflight.
Would you have found a player decision good? Or is it right that Blizzard decides how it goes on with the black dragons?
