Oh absolutely. That’s why I love him. He acts like a real Amani. Honestly they all should be acting like him. They have been disturbingly hospitable.
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I get that. Amani were always one of the more aggressive and extremely territorial troll tribes. I get why people don’t like the sudden hospitability they been displaying. Especially towards the blood elves.
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For real. The Amani have never been a culture that values calm rational behavior. Hell most of Azeroth hasn’t until BfA decided Saurfang commiting suicide by banshee means every loves each other now. Zul’jarra should have been overthrown the moment she tried to parlay.
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Or have her come to her senses when she realizes people like Lor’themar absolutely will order the death of her people the moment presents itself because elves like him are old enough to remember the bitter conflicts with the Amani.
Jarra could still be the level headed one who reunited the Loa, Jan could still the militant one who reminds his sister on ocassion that the blood elves don’t have Amani interests in mind.
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Oh right that’s true. Like I’m pretty sure by this point every Thalassian has had some friend or family member killed and possibly eaten by the Amani.
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Oh, we saw it from the moment his model was revealed at Blizzcon. The blatant attempt to draw parallels to Zul’jin made it clear they were going to set him up as a villain.
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Well I like him because he is different.
Ever since Dragonflight it feels like every character is limited by a shallow pool of ideas that makes everyone feel “samey”.
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Oh, the villain writing was on the wall so to speak. I think most everyone saw it. Sure, some were blind to the pattern, but I think those are the minority.
However, until recently there was still the chance for him to turn around and have an 11th hour revelation. Based on previous story writing with characters we interact with it was not far fetched to think he was going to be redeemed. So, thinking he was going to go a different direction does make sense. I thought that was what they were going to do.
The problem is, a lot of people just struggle with the difference between just having a guess about where the story is going and thinking you know where the story is going. When people believed he was going to be redeemed to not have it happen feels like a rug pull.
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I feel like a lot of that feeling has to do with people who made up their own facts and ideas about Jan that didn’t coincide with how he’s actually depicted in game. Which what matters as blizz rarely uses outside material like their short stories and novels in game
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There has been a vociferous pro-Amani faction for a while. They have seen him as “their guy”
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Greetings!
I like Zul’jan, as was rightly noted above, because he feels more alive and real compared to the other characters. Yes, he made controversial decisions, he has his own opinion and clings to it fiercely no matter what, and he refuses to follow the standard troll path of “I love the Loa, etc.” — and he is understandable, because let’s face it, the Loa can be unpredictable. There are, of course, good Loa, but there are also those like Mueh’zala, Hakkar, and Dambala — whose followers vanished into oblivion despite being devoted to their Loa. I say this in defense of Zul’jan’s unwillingness to walk with the Loa, and honestly, among trolls I cannot recall anyone else like him (among the living — though in Zul’jan’s case, it seems, unfortunately, not for long).
He is a character with real problems and inner conflict, and that makes him feel genuinely alive. The same cannot be said for his sister, who was written to be so flawless — she walks the path of the Loa, the Loa love her, her people love her, she has no struggles whatsoever, there is nothing to even nitpick — that she feels more like a narrative tool than a person. And once everyone leaves Zul’Aman, she will most likely be safely forgotten. The impression I get is that the writers see Zul’jan as the last remaining obstacle or nuisance for Zul’jarra — something to be removed rather than someone she could grow closer to. After the quest chain with Zul’jan and Kinduru, I thought it would lead to some kind of reconciliation between brother and sister. But from what I understand now, they are not even making him a villain — just a pawn subjugated by Malacrass.
Also, this is not so much about sympathy for Zul’jan specifically, but for the Amani as a whole: an empire (tribe) led by a sister who serves as a spiritual leader, with a brother-advisor by her side acting as a militarist — that is a genuine novelty for troll society. But apparently, Blizzard thinks it’s better to have Liadrin next to the sister instead. With all my fondness for blood elves, this is funny and sad at the same time…
Yes, as soon as I saw that very screenshot of Zul’jan and Zul’jarra, I also immediately thought he was going to be discarded. But seeing everything that’s happening on social media and the forums right now, I keep believing that he won’t be forgotten after the raid — there are simply too many ways to continue his story in an interesting way. And honestly, the fact that so many people predicted his fate right off the bat would be, if I were the writers, the best reason to continue his story further. Not to please the crowd, but to avoid embarrassing themselves with such unbelievable predictability.
Speaking of all the negativity and outcry around his fate — Blizzard could simply just put out a short post saying that, for example, Zul’jan’s story won’t end after the raid. That alone would be enough for, if not everyone, then at least half the people to calm down about it. I don’t know, maybe they’re holding onto some kind of intrigue, but a single hint would have prevented this entire storm. Or perhaps the reality is that his story really does end with the raid — I truly hope that’s not the case — and they don’t want to provoke even more aggression by promising something that won’t happen.
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This is a perfect analogy for what I was hoping for - a grumpy character always questioning their faction leader, sometimes striking out on their own when they’re sure they ‘know better’, but still loyal enough to stick around. Someone to serve as a foil to their leader and show what societal disagreements that faction has.
(And Maiev’s disagreements became severe enough that she murdered a bunch of her countrymen over it, but the story decided to forget that chapter rather than kill her for it. Not that I think that’s a good way to treat characters/events - I’d rather they retcon that story entirely if they’re not going to bother exploring the fallout - but it is proof that Blizzard can forgive and forget anything if they want to.)
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This analogy made alot of sence to me because. I am a huge maiev fan!
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I think the “Community love” for Zul’jan is overstated. He really isn’t that cool. His design is just Temu Zul’jin. His voice is squeaky and annoying. He is “edgy” but doesn’t have the aura to pull it off, which to me, reminds me of one too many broody teens I knew, and hated, in High School.
It is not like Maiev, who is broody and edgy but she has that Batman aura. Her fanaticism manifests as focus which makes her terrifying. She is an endurance hunter, if she can’t capture you, she will chase you to the point of exhaustion.
She has the background to back it up. High up enough in the Sisterhood hierarchy that she was once High Priestess in absentia of Tyrande. Not only that, but she is also just right. Illidan and his Naga burned Nelf villages to the ground. The sacrificed entire populations to open up portals to distant worlds.
Zul’jan has none of those qualities. He is a broody little boy with zero aura.
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You know…you put it that way, and I hadn’t thought about it like that. I actually 100% agree with that you just said. Nothing you said was wrong and put to words what I find so annoying about Zul’jan
The bits about strengthening his people’s position and reclaiming land should just be copypasted over to Rokhan or some new Darkspear (NOT THE ANNOYING KID FROM THE BFA TRAILER) regarding taking back Stranglethorn so an actual playable race can have a goal as opposed to a WC2 wash out. Bonus points if SW is painted as villainous and encroaching on STV.
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I like to call that “the Odyn effect”.
It happens to a lot of new characters that become popular for no reason what so ever. Nothing much can be done about it
Greetings!
This is hardly a ‘minus’ for the character. It’s more of a criticism of the voice actor hired by the company.
I’ve liked Maiev ever since the strategy game, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare them. Maiev has been alive for thousands of years. The events she has witnessed and personally taken part in have tempered her as a warrior and made her who she is.
Zul’jan, on the other hand, is young — apparently around 20 to 25, maybe even younger. Next to Maiev, he really does seem like a ‘little boy,’ as you rightly pointed out. Based on age, Zul’jan can really only be compared to someone like Zekhan.
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Well for Odyn it’s the inverse he has become probably the single most maligned character in the lore because people decided to just start making up new faults and personality traits beyond his canon characterization and repeating them into echo chamber until everyone believed them true.
Zul’jan gets the opposite sentiment but in the same way of people making up headcanons and repeating it until echo chamber accepts it.
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