Many fans on Reddit are sure about World of Warcraft. In the Alpha of Battle for Azeroth, many quests are “fake” to mislead players.
With Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard aims to place a strong focus on the narrative in World of Warcraft. The war between the factions is supposed to be more than just a battle between “Good” and “Evil”, instead containing many shades of gray and appearing logical from both sides. However, the Alpha of Battle for Azeroth presents a different picture – here, the villain is clearly to be found on the side of the Horde.
Many users on Reddit now agree: What we see in the Alpha of Battle for Azeroth is fake in some parts, intended to mislead data miners.
Below are some spoilers regarding the controversial storyline of Battle for Azeroth – you have been warned.
The main criticism from many players is that established characters act completely “out of character” in Battle for Azeroth – that is, not according to their roles or previous views. There are many examples of this.
We have already criticized that Sylvanas could become a cliché villain.
Lilian Voss – From Undead Hate to Necromancer
The first example is Lilian Voss. The Forsaken will know the undead since she appears in the starting area and is turned into an undead. Afterwards, she develops a fanatical hatred for all undead and slaughters through their ranks. This is seen repeatedly in Cataclysm, but also in Legion, where she accompanies Horde villains (the counterpart to Valeera Sanguinar for the Alliance) – here too, she kills undead constructs of the Legion.
In Battle for Azeroth, Lilian Voss appears and has clearly joined the Horde. She gives a fiery speech about how “the Kul Tirans should be shown what it means to make the Horde your enemy”. Furthermore, she uses necromancy herself to create the undead – something that the fanatical Lilian Voss of the past would have never done.
Sylvanas – From Banshee to All-Powerful Valkyr
One of the biggest points of criticism is Sylvanas. Blizzard has repeatedly emphasized that they do not want to establish Sylvanas as “purely evil” and that she is a complex character. However, the latest update of the Alpha paints a different picture of her. In the siege of Undercity, she sees her impending defeat. As a last desperate act, she unleashes the plague at the gates of the city, which swiftly takes down both Alliance supporters and Horde soldiers.
But her dark deeds do not end there. Subsequently, she resurrects all fallen soldiers as skeletons and lets them fight again – without the help of the Val’kyr. Sylvanas herself never had the power to simply create undead. This would be a strong break with her previous abilities.
Another problem: Only Varok (Orc) complains about this action by Sylvanas. Other leaders, such as Lor’themar (Blood Elves) and Baine (Tauren) do not speak up at all after their former soldiers were resurrected by Sylvanas.
This part of the story is particularly full of holes and contains many potential errors.
Many More Question Marks in the Story
Throughout the Alpha, there are more points that we want to briefly mention, which also clearly contradict the established lore.
- The Dark Iron Dwarves are tied to a Horde achievement (this could be a bug).
- The Undead “Overseer Stillwater” is back in the game. He was killed in Hillsbrad and players even had to submit his head.
- Saurfang states that he will never return to the Horde.
- Garona boasts that she killed King Llane.
- Tauren spread the undead plague.
All these breaks with the previously established lore, as well as the abilities and personalities of the characters, lead the community to conclude: Much in Battle for Azeroth is fake, so that data miners do not reveal the whole story.
Blizzard Already Warned: “Don’t Believe Everything”
This would also line up with what Blizzard and Christie Golden (one of the story writers) have hinted at – one should not believe everything in the Alpha.
Basically, there are only two possibilities: Blizzard is either putting a lot of effort into making some content “fake” or they are already ruining their relationship with the community.
It is possible that the book “Before the Storm” will also close the existing logical gaps and reveal new aspects of the characters that have not been shown before. However, this will not solve all problems.
On Reddit, the advice is: Trust no line of text in the Alpha that has not been voiced yet. The likelihood of “fake” content is high.
It is also suspected that many characters who currently appear to be “out of place”, such as Lilian Voss or Overseer Stillwater, will shortly before the release be replaced with their actual characters and provided with new text passages.
What do you think of the theory that many aspects of the story are temporary fakes, meant to confuse data miners and alpha players while keeping the details of the plot under wraps?
You can find all information about Battle for Azeroth in our comprehensive overview.
