So with the pirate thing being in Arathi… I note there’s still two major Horde bases in the territory. Post BFA-lore and the pre-Shadowlands novel indicated that the Horde had to withdraw from the territory. Alleria and Turalyon even interrogate some Horde refugees who were fleeing the territory, in the aforementioned novel.
Do you think we should take the pirate thing as updated lore? I.e., the Horde has re-established itself in Arathi Highlands? Or do you think the pirate thing is just a silly game with no actual real bearing on current lore?
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Plunderstorm is its own thing in a vacuum, with no lore associations at all. It might as well be considered its own game.
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It should be taken for what it is… a least effort minigame like the BeJeweled game you get from the Jewelcrafting toy.
How dare you compare those two.
At least the Bejeweled game is fun.
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I don’t think it was like that. I don’t think the Horde ever withdrew from Arathi entirely, just the Warfront and Stromgarde proper.
Even in that scene you are describing, the Horde refugees are actually in the east of the map of the zone moving north - as if they are headed from central Arathi towards Hammerfall.
I didn’t get the impression that the Horde was totally removed from Arathi.
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There’s also some strange additions such as the trolls replacing forest trolls. Might not be canonical effects on the environment. 
Imagine thinking that pirates canon launching bird crashing all over Arathi and murdering everything while a giga storm obliterates everything is canon
Yeah, no shot.
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This is outside the main game, now I wouldnt call it entirely non-canonical, but maybe it just is set a bit in the past?
Maybe there were some pirate incursions during BfA while the warfront was happening?
I dunno if it’s meant to be canon or not, but I have to say I absolutely love this version of Arathi and I hope we get a phase like it in the main game. There’s so much life and activity in the area and both factions get some good territory and representation.
Stormgarde has never looked better.
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Unless it’s been stated otherwise by Blizzard, I don’t think Plunderstorm is canon to the story. It seems to just be an entirely separate thing purely for gameplay to get people grinding another Renown bar.
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It’s a least effort kit-bash of silly which doesn’t deserve any real effort of thought about it.
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We had an extensive discussion about Hammerfall last year (starting here if you want to read it). No one was able to find confirmation that Hammerfall was ever abandoned, and it wasn’t part of the territory included in the warfront. So it looks to me like Blizzard is saying Hammerfall is still there and still in Horde hands.
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While the event is up to debate, there is a quest in Valdrakken once you hit a certain renown that has the quartermaster, parrot and goblin lady show up. Which would make the Keg Legs as a group at least canon.
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Don’t you mean… CANNON?!
…Cause pirates… you know…
…ok, I will see myself out.
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If you open up the map the area where you first start, “Brew Bay,” is a bay on the coast of Arathi. I could see it becoming a pirate haven.
jaina summoned the storm to kill horde, her villainy knows no bounds
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a former dev stated on twitter that the reason the event takes place in Arathi was that it was a different event there in the past and was just re-skinned and retro-fitted to be pirates. There’s also mention of “Voidstorm zone” in the game files so most folks think that was the original theme.
The two reasons for the horde being in Arathi in the event, there is either
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The Horde forces in Plunderstorm gives more varied enemies for players to fight in the event and it would be boring if Ar’gorok was in ruins as it gives more interiors for players to hide inside. The event itself is non-canon or at least aspects of it are (I highly doubt generic pirate grunts could paradrop into a fully garrisoned alliance city that repelled the entire horde during a world war, and completely wipe out all the people in it) This is the most likely answer
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The original ‘voidstorm’ version of the event was supposed to take place during the end BFA hence why Ar’gorok is still there, but this doesnt really make much sense since there was already the Warfront there and the world quests.
Man you really really do not like Plunderstorm huh?
I dunno…the dark portal opened to an alternate timeline with orcs with trains and guns
You never know