There’s no shortage of threads about how disappointing the Gilneas questline was. So I’m not doing anything unique with this thread other than collating my thoughts on the matter.
- The Scarlet Crusade should not have been the only antagonist.
I’m fine with including the Scarlet Crusade in this. They could’ve been a part of the problems facing Gilneas. However it should not have been the only threat. I can see the Scarlet Crusade seeking to reclaim Gilneas and bolstering its ranks with some disaffected Gilneans who want their home back no matter who’s banner does it.
However the blight should’ve still been hanging around, and this is where the Forsaken would come in. They could use their blightbeast to clean up the blight like what happened in Lordaeron.
There should also be feral Worgen prowling the countryside, still posing a threat to any travelers and settlements.
Forsaken holdouts would be interesting as well. A small group of Forsaken who are not intent to relinquish the territory they have. There could be quests to either talk down or defeat them to get them to leave.
And I think dragons should be involved as well. We saw a black dragon involved in this area in Cataclysm. I think that having a dragon enemy would tie it in to, well, Dragonflight. And it would also make the dragons more interesting since we would be able to see dragons who are not all wholesome beans and do have their own motivations. Any dragon could work. From a green dragon driven insane by the nightmare, a blue dragon jealously guarding some source of magic, a red dragon protecting the feral worgen population seeing their lives as valuable too even as they savage the land, a bronze dragon confused by the twisting timeways, or a black dragon just being a jerk. Any dragon would do and would provide a powerful capstone to the questline instead of a light elemental.
I know a lot of Alliance and Worgen fans have a problem with Forsaken being involved at all. I understand it. But the intent is clearly to fashion a new path forward for the Forsaken. They’re trying to mend broken bridges by being involved in restoration efforts of those they’ve wronged. I don’t have a problem with it. But the problem is the threat to Gilneas didn’t seem like it required the Forsaken’s help. If Gilneas was beset by all these problems, then the Forsaken’s inclusion would be more necessary.
- The Gilnean lineage should be Worgen
So a lot of people don’t agree with this. Here’s my thoughts: the purpose of adding Worgen to the game was to have playable werewolves. Not british people. People who play Worgen want to play Worgen. So, in my view, Tess should be a Worgen. I think the Gilnean population should undergo a cultural shift where they see the Worgen curse as the only way forward. This contradicts the Worgen heritage, but who cares about that anyway.
It wouldn’t have to be a monolithic view among Gilneans. There could still be plenty of humans who do not agree that the Worgen curse is for them given its associated dangers. But they should be in the minority. More Gilneans, thanks to their unique affliction, should view the curse as a gift, despite its drawbacks. They should seek to spread the “gift”, despite its drawbacks. This includes Tess, who should be a Worgen herself.
This dichotomy between Worgen and human at odds makes things interesting, that creates tension. Will there be another Gilnean civil war, this time between Worgen and human Gilneans? Who knows! But it provides that groundwork for the possibility. Characters need to be allowed to be wrong, opinionated, and have beliefs that contradict a utilitarian view. So what if the Worgen curse is a proper curse and has its downsides to its upsides? Allow it to be that.
The problem with WoW writing lately isn’t that it’s Disney, or whatever. Everyone is too utilitarian. In the blandest of ways.
The Gilnean questline was so botched, so badly handled, that I suspect it was only worked on by 2-5 people. All the other devs having been moved on to TWW or other expacs. I realize the WoW devs didn’t want to make this into a huge thing, but you really need to put more effort into the small things. Because if you put effort into the small things, people will notice and they will appreciate them more. The Gilneas questline was so poorly handled that I actually am unironically of the opinion that they should’ve just not done it. If you’re going to drag your feet and maliciously comply, just don’t do it.