The Future of Shadowlands Lore: Speculation. World of Warcraft’s new expansion, Shadowlands, brings us to the afterlife. Even if your soul ultimately forgets who it was in life and becomes a new person in the shadowlands you basically have a form of reincarnation minus the nirvana part, the most important part of reincarnation and the cycle of death and rebirth. If we take the speculation of Arthas and Sylvanas' death as a possible outcome for Forsaken, it suggests that they may be doomed to wander the Maw for eternity because of whatever irreconcilable damage has been done to their soul. Like you said earlier in the post, it's just a symptom of the universe expanding and growing. And that wasn't even the full 6 leaps … Death has no meaning anymore because when you die you just teleport to another world. Additionally, I don't like the whole spin of "there's endless amount of covenants" and we just happened to be in the most important ones, it's really lazy storytelling and sort of a cop - out to keep some mystery, like exploring the after life but not really. However, I do like getting into the minds of my characters and RPing their decisions a bit - which leads me to the question in the title. And then they were just like "Wow, that was a nice break from fighting bad guys.". Changed in little things yes, but still with the memories of past “life” and going on with this new one. We're kicking off a set of Shadowlands lore summaries with Nobbel87 with a look at the introductory Maw storyline. This expansions makes the world(of warcraft) a terrible chaotic and random universe. I posted this in the WoW forums and got some cool discussion, thought i'd post it here. I was the same with the Emerald Dream and now it's just a dungeon. Nothing on Azeroth matters. Thanks for your perspective, this makes me feel a bit better about it. Whether or not N'zoth is truly dead or would be pulled back into existence for the next WoW expac or whatever, it would still benefit him the most to NOT let Azshara die and go to the Shadowlands as either she empowers the Jailer's forces via endless anima-torture, or … I don't have the highest hopes that they're just not going to undermine everything else but we'll see. We ourselves, the maw walkers, can interact with these denizens but cannot in anyway bring them home. It feels a bit like not wanting to offend anyone that their favorite character died which is kinda eh. "All Myths Are True." Trolls who don't transcend to Loa go here, orcs (apparently?) Perhaps they'll release new information that explains all of this. We’ve known for a long time that there is an after-life in Warcraft, the very few appearances of Uther’s spirit, the Grey Filter when we run to our corpses, but we never knew Death like we are about to…, I’m just afraid that this expansion is going to do something to the Lore that the devs haven’t considered just for the sake of a few hours of cool playtime and there isn’t much to be done if that’s the case. But I do know that I would be heartbroken for those I am leaving behind. If you can't watch the video, here's a side-by-side comparison taken from the video with ray tracind disabled (on the left) and enabled (on the right). From what i can tell it looks like EVERYONE forgot about it :P. There's gotta be one for the spiritual/shaman races. Just as demons return to the twisting nether when they are destroyed in the material plane, Mort -als return to the Shadowlands because we are made of death-stuff. 1. So many questions are raised, terrible implications, dozens of details and events to ponder over, in a way i don't think blizzard necessarily intended, nor are going to explore. And a raid. go here, everyone whose spirit isn't somehow trapped elsewhere comes to this place. You get sent to Maldraxxus based on what you did in life. Species from different planets or titan souls? Steve’s favorite thing is a chapter at the end of the book where the writer delves into the secrets of the Eternal Ones and he gives a unique perspective on the universe. Could souls be endlessly wandering around trying to find each other? Some maybe, but don't think death loses all of it's impact just because an afterlife exists. Shadowlands from a meta perspective is just opening the door for more cosmic forces and storylines pertaining to the universe of Warcraft. There are 5 Houses. Walkthrough of Introductory Maw Story The Story Behind the Shadowlands Cinematic The Shadowlands story begins with the veil shattered between Icecrown and Shadowlands. And why do none of the resurrected dead speak of or remember their time in the shadowlands? Welcome to Maldraxxus, the scariest zone in World of Warcraft’s shadowlands. Keep in mind that many of these models may be unfinished or missing spell effects, as this is a very early look! I have a concern that Shadowlands is going to do something to the lore that will be, not only bad, but also irreversible.I think Shadowlands is going to ruin the concept of Death in Warcraft. Just as demons return to the twisting nether when they are destroyed in the material plane, Mort -als return to the Shadowlands because we are made of death-stuff. To give you an idea about how ray tracing could look in World of Warcraft, check out the video below. It's somber and kind of mind boggling in a very philosophy - esq way. No matter what happens, when you die you go to the shadowlands and find your place. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. Bolvar fell to Sylvanas at the start of World of Warcraft Shadowlands but what of Bolvar the Lich King. I think the no consequence part and just visit old friends is a really good point and I have thought about it. Join a Covenant and siege an eternal prison to save lost souls—and all of reality. Children who died in their mother hands, are they stuck as a child now, in a "Interview with the Vampire" sort of style? Now that we can come to the afterlife, what is the consequence of death? Blizzard. The poor hero who died fighting the scourge, was raised, and then sent back to be a zombie again in after life - for eternity. We will seal the tear in reality and move on. WoW is basically a DnD campaign that has been played for over 15 years now. At Blizzcon 2019 they gave us a little insight on what's to come. Sure, we as players will get a free pass to enter and leave as we see fit, but that's because it's game content for us and it would be a horrible decision to tell players they can't go back and see the content after the expansion is over. Anyway, what do you think? You know, that zone at the end of Legion...There’s nothing wrong with that, as I said, it is inevitable that certain aspects of the Story lose that mystery and interest as it goes on. The Shadowland zones in the game as of right now are probably more akin to Dante's rings of hell. The Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond, the new lore book, was written from the PoV of a Broker, he’s cataloguing the different races funerary rights and stuff and different worlds. As you'd expect the Warrior Leaper legendary power + the PvP Barbarian are the culprits here - well that and the Eye of the Storm layout, but a 10 second cap is still insane. Reddit user Lemonking discovered that Shadowlands supports ray tracing and variable rate shading. To answer some of your questions: we can and cannot consuel with the dead. Planeshifting isnt' new to epic-level fantasy. All of Azeroth (or whatever planet, since apparently Draenei and Orcs go to the same afterlife) was just a test, a starting zone for the "real" war within the cosmos. I think what you say is true. If they're not an eternal plane and closer to some sort of purgatory where your spirit goes until it eventually passes on to some OTHER afterlife, that's a bit more interesting because it means your spirit still has power for some time after death. Who cares about dying now, knowing that you'll become some odd being in the afterlife? I'd think that when you go there they'd go as they were before they became undead or Forsaken. Now when a character dies in the future, it’s going to be “What Covenant do you think he/she went to?”. Most probably the shadowlands we go to are just the ones that are "closer" to azeroth. This cinematic, datamined by Wowhead, shows Sylvanas and Anduin having a showdown over free will and fate. But wait... if mortals are made of Death energy, where does Life energy come in? Starting to see what i’m getting to here?! Press J to jump to the feed. So, is the rest of the Shadowlands not important enough to delve into, or is this really all of it? The leaders lost in the Maw band together, fight together, the old animosities lost or laid … It's bleak, but well it's afterlife. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I mean Bluther exists. Lore reasons for a Shadow Priest to join the Night Fae? 2. If anything, I also like so far how they have shown to handle it - in shadowlands everything ceases to exist as was as a mortal, and that makes sense to me. Hello all, I’ve played Venthyr Shadow so far since launch but now NF is slightly better, and I also just dislike door of shadows/Mind Games now that I’ve used them as much as I have. But when you have "lets go to the afterlife" as a narrative I cant quite comprehend it. WARNING: I’m going to get a little meta and philosophical on this, i’m also known to wander so I will try to stay on point! Shadowlands Lore Interview with The Lost Codex. But somethings are better left alone.Humans are the only animal on Earth that knows it’s going to die some day. Not only was there an afterlife, but the Dragonballs could be pretty easily used to bring someone back from it. And where are the aliens? The new market mega dungeon will give a lot of information on … I still feel like, narratively speaking, it's a little lame that 99.99% of the existence of all mortal beings is in the shadowlands, which seems to be its own universe separate from Warcraft (in terms of everything previously established). The COSMOS? Once we fix it, from a lore perspective, characters won't be able to return to the Shadowlands easily. The House of Eyes, home of Vashj and Draka, is destroyed in the cinematic prior to the expansion events. This doesn't change the weight of their death. Trolls who don't transcend to Loa go here, orcs (apparently?) I'm not following this too closely, but if the Shadow Lands are basically an eternal plane, it takes most of the punch out of death. About aliens: it's a mix of current use of shadowlands, how character are there, and the infinity of them. That's the huge reveal. Because inevitably we must leave this place in the lore. 2 Even if you are a religious person, you don’t really know nothing except for what is before your eyes, that’s why the ideia of an after-life is so appealing, it take away the sadness of Death, because, if there is something after Death…then it’s not Death. And WHY? You're still a real, conscious being with just as full of an existence as those who are dead. posted 2019/11/05 at 9:00 PM by Archimtiros. Also doesn't it make what ever happens in the normal universe completely unimportant. Beta. Personally I don't get it. Leaving behind the dead we love and have adventured with in this strange realm. I'm not sure. I guess it's kind of like when you enter the Caverns of Time dungeons as a race that isn't supposed to be there. The implications of all this cosmology they've been developing raise more questions than they answer IMO... Let's face it - in a fantasy world with magic, souls, deities and shit already established it makes no sense for death to be absolute for everyone. People who become something new in the after life - but kind of not really/completely. Will i just lay down and rest, waiting, forever..for nothing? The theme of Shadowlands is perseverance, there is a strong sense of optimism despite the dire nature of what's going on, and as opposed to the "all men for themselves" ending of the first Battle of the Broken Shore there's a sense of cohesion and camaraderie to the Shadowlands intro scenario. World of Warcraft’s new Shadowlands expansion will start with a new event described as the Scourge Invasion 2.0, a new storyline, and tons of new lore released The origins of the Shadowlands remain uncertain, but it's believed that they have predated the Titans themselves. In existing 4 covenants, but reshaped into kyrian/venthyr/etc. I agree, the mystery is gone. Shadowlands is the realm of the afterlife, and as such, life and death have different meanings in the Shadowlands, so not every character involved in the expansion may come out of it unchanged. Since then, the players shave been loving this new multiplayer role-playing game. posted 2019/11/04 at 5:49 PM by Neryssa. I don't know, is that how people who believe in an afterlife in reality act? This one isn't going to hold a big surprise as to how it's done, but it's still pretty ridiculous. It wouldn't be Death as much as being ported away somewhere. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Now we can possibly see that suffering disappear (doesn't seem like it). World of Warcraft fans are working their way through Shadowlands’ first raid, Castle Nathria. Plus, making infinite models of aliens it's hardly bearable Dev wise, so some creatures if I remember correctly state that they are "alien" to us but use the covenant specific model. It’s not “oh no, he’s gone” it’s “see you on the other side” but with the certainty that that other side existes and also knowing it very well.My fear is that by knowing so well that the after-life (by the definition of Life given above) is still Life but just in the Shadowlands, it’s going to trivialise the moments our characters die! Shadowlands just feels... wrong to me. Shadowlands just feels... wrong to me. The "afterlife" of this universe now is no longer ambiguous. Are mortals a mix of both? Speaking from a lore perspective and speculating, I assume it's going to be very much like WoD. There's countless little nit - picks like this one could explore, but as the OP points out, the "larger" implications and ideas, just the entire concept of death now, are also kind of hard to wrap your head around, in terms of how you should view sacrifice, heroism, villains and finality. With a setting that has gone on for so many years, it’s inevitable that certain things in the story get spoiled, take Argus as an example:I remember being a little kid and staying awake at night reading the Warcraft 3 manual and reading the name Argus in it. Where does the Lich King get his power? I think the metaphysical problem still remains. Not entirely. I think there is a lot about the Forsaken and general raising undead that we don't understand, and I think that potential unknown for them is both tragic and scary. Where … In the Shadowlands there are cities and towns, water, trees and animals, you can even fish. This subreddit is for discussions about the lore of Warcraft! Emerald dream is still so much more. I dunno. So I ask, if Uther still goes on, why should I be sad for his death in Warcraft 3? Throughout the "dead" cosmos may be? Look up at the sky when your character dies, that's what the Shadowlands should be, not another elven forest to collect bear asses in. If you see Life simply as a collection of experiences, then Death is the end of that adventure, for the one that passed away, and ours with he’s/she’s, that’s why it’s sad. While we may see old allies an enemies the important thing to note is that we can't change anything. The dungeon master has to keep finding threats large enough to challenge our level 25 characters. My other compliments explain more poignantly what I meant by 'break'. Even if we had the privilege to see the afterlife, would it change how we felt? Thanks for the post OP. Today's Shadowlands collaboration with Nobbel87 focuses on the zone of Bastion, the primary home of the Kyrian Covenant. The COSMOS? WoW has a ton of books set in the magical universe, but one of its most popular series is cookbooks full of recipes based on in-game food from Azeroth.