Wrathgate Revisited in Polygon Interview

Blizzard Posted 2019/01/11 at 8:38 PM by perculia

Click here to read the Polygon Interview

What is the Wrathgate?Battle for the UndercityThe HordeThe AllianceWhy is there Controversy?interview with Alex Afrasiabi

"I've heard these discussions on the internet about 'she's going off the rails', but is she? I've been writing Sylvanas personally since 2006, and this is pretty much - the Wrathgate and the Blight and the Forsaken - in character. Those were all under Sylvanas' orders. What we're seeing now is an escalation of the plans Sylvanas has, clearly, and we're in the middle of that."

this postPolygon InterviewPolygon flat-out asked Blizzard

“Sylvanas engineered the Blight in the first place, but she wasn’t the one who deployed it,” said Danuser.

“There are interesting story threads behind the question of who was at fault,” Danuser says, suggesting that the ultimate order might not have come from Putress at all. He notes that Varimathras, a long-time advisor of Sylvanas who betrayed her and was slain during Wrath of the Lich King, only to return during Legion, had some “interesting” things to say about Sylvanas.

“We’re not saying one way or another,” Danuser said. “We want you to see how the story plays out in the chapters to come. Sylvanas has certainly had an interesting history, and looking back at the choices she made is something we want the players to look back at and revisit.”

Alliance:
Varimathras: So, your Alliance still endures. Longer than I expected, though she has already planted the seeds of its downfall. She is patient, that one.
Varimathras: When your thrones run red with betrayal... when your holy places burn and the shattered mask hangs above your hearth... only then you will know. And it will be too late.
Varimathras: It matters not. You are blind to the true darkness closing in around you.

Horde:
Varimathras: So, she found me at last. Sent her underlings to finish the job.
Varimathras: Tell me, when she seized your throne of hides and bones, was your allegiance forced? No... I'd wager you surrendered it willingly... or were convinced you did.
Varimathras: It matters not. You are blind to the darkness in your midst.

why Vol'jin appointed Sylvanas Warchief

Vol'jin: A darkness in me mind be keeping me from remembering what happened da day I named Sylvanas warchief.
Dere be dark powers at play here. Powers dat be hidin' something from us.

Interpreting Alex Afrasiabi's Statement on Sylvanas and the Wrathgate

Comment by zazhuuSounds like either Alex Afrasiabi told too much, indicating more stuff about Sylvanas is going to come to light, or that he didn't tell anyone else on his team that she did in fact order the blight at the wrathgate.Comment by stymIt would make sense that she engineered the plague as a means to create more forsaken and that Varimathras and Putress betrayed her.
Her suicide attempt is kind of a heavy wrench in any kind of attempt at integrating that in some kind of extremely long con, though.

I wonder how they are going to wriggle out of that one, or if they are just going to use a cop out.Comment by CronoveyIt would make sense that she engineered the plague as a means to create more forsaken and that Varimathras and Putress betrayed her.
Her suicide attempt is kind of a heavy wrench in any kind of attempt at integrating that in some kind of extremely long con, though.

I wonder how they are going to wriggle out of that one, or if they are just going to use a cop out.Comment by SnakeslickI'm reayd ot find out Sylvanas is being controlled by Sargeras. Even though Illidan is keeping him chained up. I'm telling you, Sargeras is not done hereComment by TsoBaphometThis is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.Comment by JoshmaulThis is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.Comment by LontMy wish now is what it has always been; that people will remember that before Sylvanas was the Banshee Queen she was the Ranger-General. To a very great extent Arthas twisted her into what she is. Her destiny was to die her hero's death on those poisoned fields outside Silvermoon. The question as to how the woman (she elf?) she was became the villain she seems now to be, and how that might relate to the very unlikely betrayals of risen night elves on Darkshore, is a story line I would be very interested in hearing more about. What we're being put through now is frustrating and maddening, but it might end up being a really good story. As a lot of other people have said, we're only on chapter three of what might be a very long, satisfying book. Maybe.Comment by Luck4Sylvanas lore makes no sense, and to appease the playerbase, her actions will make even less sense than what Garrosh did.

This expac will end like WoD, where everyone tried to forgot as soon as possible what happened there.Comment by DiscordianKittyGotta admit, I'm getting a little tired of "oooh you just wait and see" like they have some amazing storytelling just around the corner that's going to make sense and be great... only for them to go with Garrosh 2.0 every time. Morally grey Sylvanas, who you could still respect and admire and even see value in an alliance with, was interesting. Evil undead Garrosh Sylvanas is not interesting.Comment by Luck4This is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.Comment by hotaru251it was never if she was the one who had blight made..

the entire problem was him stating she TOLD them to blight the gate...which seeign as at the saem tiem she was nearly killed in ehr own city by betrayal is HIGHLY unlikely.

EVERONE knows she created blight by havign her chemists design it. Nobody says she isnt. Its the her orderign ti to be used at the gate that never happened in Wrath :|

TBH BFA's lore for saurfang and sylv is some of the worst in the game.

Great warrior to traitor and Sylvanas went from a growing caring leader (in her own way) to a death worshiping wannabe :|

Sylvanas is especially bad considering her actions in BFA make NO sense when you look at ehr past actions and achievemtns (even back into her time as a living elf).

And idc what devs say...they DID do a garrosh 2.0 to her when they stated they werent -.-Comment by Rahel5Sylvanas and good stories ?

Oxymoron.

I hope the story will change for something more interesting soon enough than this Sylvanas spamComment by mysticalosThis is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.Comment by Vibriss

Yeah, people are already feeling like they dont know where to go anymore, just look at Uldir, that place is a mess where most bosses is just random pixels to kill without any good lore or backstory.Comment by GrumarIf she turns out to be behind the wrathgate, I'll officially stop caring even slightly about the lore. She wasn't concerned about raising more undead at that point, it was only kill Arthas, that was her only goal. In fact after he died she tried to kill herself, which only after that point did she become obsessed with staying alive and making more undead. She clearly didn't know the plague would be used at the wrathgate either or else she would have been there herself. One of her biggest regrets right before throwing herself off the top of ICC was not being able to be the one to kill Arthas, or at least be present at his death, if she was planning on killing Arthas at the wrathgate with the plague she WOULD have been there. They would have to basically just retcon her character motivations from WC3 ----> WOTLK to make it fit with her knowing the plague would be used there at which point that shows they don't care if they have to ruin their characters just to fit their new garbage lore and I'd be out.Comment by SilmafarionSounds like either Alex Afrasiabi told too much, indicating more stuff about Sylvanas is going to come to light, or that he didn't tell anyone else on his team that she did in fact order the blight at the wrathgate.Comment by SicklyKoboldWe are slowly getting conditioned into accepting the SYLVANAS DID IT! narrative. That's all there is to this 'teasing'.Comment by darosAs cool and future changing this event was ... im slowly sick of mentioning it.
It was first ingame cinamatic but after it there was so many better ones noone ever talk aboutComment by ColdleoThis is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.Comment by USNFC2This is a mess. They seem to just be making up the story on the spot.