The goals of the final boss in World of Warcraft have been revealed. However, the motivation of the Jailer disappoints many players.
In World of Warcraft, everything has revolved around the Shadowlands and the Jailer, also known as “Zovaal”, for over a year now. He is the great villain with the master plan and secret ambitions that no player has truly understood so far. Now the PTR for Patch 9.2 Eternity’s End is available, giving the first insights into the true motivations of the main villain.
However, anyone expecting a complex, deep character here is likely to be disappointed. For the Dungeon Journal reveals what the Jailer actually wants.
What does the Jailer want? This has been speculated about for many months. It has often been said that he wants to “rewrite reality”. This was quite vaguely phrased but at least holds the hope that the Jailer actually wants to bring about positive changes. This hope has now been dispelled by an initial summary in the “Dungeon Journal”, as it states about the fights:
- Dausegne, the Fallen Oracle: “Under Zovaal’s control, Dausegne leads the Mawbound into battle to conquer the forges of the afterlives. With their power, the Jailer will be able to create an eternity of torment.”
- The Jailer: “For millennia, Zovaal has manipulated forces throughout the universe to ultimately lead him to this position of power. In his final step, the heroes of Azeroth unite to combat a cosmic entity that has never known defeat.”
This is how the community reacts: In the subreddit for World of Warcraft, these boss descriptions are being wildly discussed, and the overall tenor seems to be negative. For many, it is incomprehensible why the Jailer is such a dull character without meaningful motivation. He seems to be an evil character who simply does evil for evil’s sake.
The Jailer is the dullest attempt at the traditional “I want to rule the world” villain. He has no personality, no backstory, there is nothing to him at all. Once his storyline (if you can even call it that) is over, he will be completely forgotten and will never appear again.
MagnaZore in the WoW Reddit
But why? What is his motivation, aside from the fact that he was thrown into the Maw? WHY was he thrown into the Maw? Is he literally just a jerk? Deathwing had a better reason for blowing up the planet and that didn’t make sense back then either.
Asthaloth in the WoW Reddit
It feels like the story writers just gave up. They just need to get from point A to point B in the dumbest way possible while ignoring all the relationships the characters have with each other and then write the dumbest, biggest cliché they can think of.
drflanigan in the WoW Reddit
At the same time, many players are disturbed that the Jailer is supposed to be the being that has been directing the fates in the Warcraft universe since “forever”. He is the alleged mastermind behind the countless events of the recent expansions, dating back to the attacks of the Legion and events from the Warcraft strategy games.
So writes xiadz_:
Honestly, I hate more than anything that Zovaal is supposed to have been the great evil that has now ruined 20 years of lore – for what? I would rather watch Game of Thrones 10 times in a row, even knowing how it ends, than allow them to continue altering the meanings of some of the most important Warcraft characters.
The worst part is that they COULD work him out and make him at least somewhat interesting, but they failed to create a convincing character or even a damn Saturday morning WWE cartoon villain. But instead, he [the Jailer] stands on the shoulders of existing characters and the story, shitting directly on their heads and saying, “SEE, I WAS IT ALL ALONG.”
Warcraft, the story, ended with Legion and everything that came after it is just fanfiction from people who don’t even like Warcraft. I would prefer they completely reset the game with a journey 30,000 years into the future so they can’t touch current characters anymore.
Also criticized is the description of the boss fight against the Jailer. Especially the fact that he has “never known defeat” is met with ridicule. Thus, a Reddit post with nearly 2,000 upvotes asks:
Isn’t Zovaal’s entire identity based on the fact that he was defeated and banished to the Maw? Come on, guys, do you even try?
Is there perhaps more to come? Despite all the negative sentiment, it is certainly possible that the Jailer will clarify his motivations a bit more – perhaps in the final battle. The cinematic that is sure to follow may provide one or two insights.
Lastly, some players still hope that Blizzard is still “hiding” parts of the story on the PTR and that they will change the relevant passages together with the release of the patch. This has happened in the past with some details and led to some major revelations.
Nevertheless, it can be stated regarding the whole Jailer issue that Blizzard has not succeeded in building a convincing antagonist like they have with other villains.
What do you think? Do you “like” the Jailer as an opponent? Or is he much too monotonous and dull?
