In The War Within, World of Warcraft makes no compromises. There are harsh losses – and one of the most beloved capitals is going down.
When World of Warcraft last destroyed a major capital, it sparked years of discussions between players and developers. Teldrassil and Darnassus were important to the Night Elf community, and for a long time, it felt terrible to have lost a piece of home.
With The War Within, Blizzard does not hesitate to repeat such an act. But this time, everyone is supposed to suffer.
Spoiler warning: If you don’t want to know anything about the course of The War Within and the initial quests, then you should not continue reading.
Which city will be destroyed? Dalaran. The flying city of mages has played a role since the early Warcraft titles and served both as a central hub in “Wrath of the Lich King” and later in an updated version in “Legion.” Here, the protectors of Azeroth gathered to plan their defense and make preparations to push back the Lich King or the Legion.
According to current knowledge, the city of mages is crashing down and will be completely destroyed. There are some survivors who are rescued from the rubble, but many seem to find death in the crash of the great mage metropolis.
Why Dalaran? The fact that Dalaran suffers such a fate is consciously chosen by the developers. After the relatively calm Dragonflight, “The War Within” is supposed to bring forth a real threat that leaves no room for failure. How serious the situation is is demonstrated by the early destruction of Dalaran. Maria Hamilton (Lead Game Designer) said in an interview with Taliesin & Evitel on YouTube:
We want to ensure that players understand the risk. They should immediately understand who the enemies are and why we are pursuing them. […]
We wanted to kick off the expansion with a real bang. […]
We talked a lot internally about the risks and ultimately feel it is worth it. It’s a place whose loss everyone can feel equally because we all lose when Dalaran crashes.
Even if the exact story reasons are still secret, it is only logical that Xal’atath sets her sights on Dalaran. After all, Dalaran was one of the reasons why the last two large-scale attacks on Azeroth – the Lich King and the Legion – failed. Taking Dalaran out early is therefore a logical step to weaken Azeroth.
Is this a big secret? Honestly, no. Because that Dalaran has fallen is made clear right from the first quests of the new expansion. You find yourself on the beach of the Isle of Thorn, surrounded by the ruins of the fallen mage city Dalaran. So this is not a “big secret” waiting for a reveal, but an obvious state with which the new addon will begin.
How exactly the city crashes will probably be revealed in the pre-event of The War Within. However, according to the first quests, it seems that the Nerubians have launched an attack on the city – and were very successful.
It’s also certain that Xal’atath likely has her tentacled fingers in the mix. After all, she is the antagonist of The War Within – and that is solely the fault of one class.
