With Shadowlands, we have potentially the first Lich King that is (at least what we can tell so far, might be proven wrong) that isn’t totally evil. So what will that mean for uour Death Knight, new or old?
If you are a new DK, will you feel any loyalty towards Bolvar once the helm is destroyed? Will you want revenge on Sylvanas? Will you not really care? Are you glad to be brought back to life or angry?
If you’re an old DK, will you feel loyalty towards this new Lich King, or are you cautious? Will you try to be a guide for these new Death knights in Undeath? And what will you think of the helm being destroyed and the Scourge running loose?
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Well, according to some spoilers, newer DKs all made the choice to become on to ‘Save Azeroth’. So I guess the newer ones, at least most of them, will turn into the new Demon Hunters. “I have given everything, what have you given” etc etc. Many would be viewed as monsters by the world for having made that choice willingly. Again, supposedly, according to the Voice Overs.
As for my DK? I am planning on turning mine into a Kul’Tiran, with ties to Stormsong for the extra void/necromancer angle. If not, I might try making it a mecha-gnome for the lulz. A third choice would be Zandalari because that just sounds cool. Most of them will probably be played as noble souls who sacrificed themselves for the greater good, or whatever I decide when the time comes (depends on the zone really).
As for the helm, well, I have no idea. It depends on what powers they’ve recently given it to make it important again.
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Hm. Interesting question. My DK has been shuttered since Pandaria (Though I did take him through WoD), feeling with the stilling of the Scourge his purpose was fulfilled. He sought out a cave in the Storm Peaks and promptly went into stasis, the closest he could truly get to his “True Death”.
Not even the Legion was enough to stir him from his slumber (Though just spitballing off the top of my head - he’s a Draenei DK who lived with the Broken in the Swamp of Sorrows - so maybe that group of Broken was wiped out by the Iron Horde/Legion and thus nobody was left aware of his location to wake him up?).
If he did stir and catch up with what was happening, I think his reaction to Bolvar would be one of disgust. Same with whatever new Death Knights were created. Indeed, he’d ultimately be vehemently against Undead in general (Which is slightly ironic, since he was Unholy spec), and be out to put Sylvanas in the ground at the earliest opportunity.
…this thread actually has me considering blowing the dust off my DK for Shadowlands, actually.
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I’m currently deciding which character to use for it. Isalenna is the most likely, currently. As for how she’d react… mixed feelings. On one hand, she was perfectly capable of fighting for Azeroth before, but on the other… she knows she wouldn’t have. She never liked fighting - largely, she sticks to her own plans and stays out of it all.
With that in mind… she’s terrified of dying. She does not want to see what lays beyond. She died once already and that’s enough for her. So, she’d probably be appreciative enough of the second chance and, once she realizes the importance of what’s going on, dedicate herself to it.
As for my old Death Knights… ironically, one of them is Isalenna’s mother! She’ll be a guide almost certainly - while she was initially wary of the Lich King, she now believes that it was his intervention in the Ebon Blade that allowed him to be a force to be reckoned with. She believes he is more capable of safeguarding Azeroth than they are. Whether or not she’s right is another story.
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Current DK (this fellow): Probably more loyal than with the last. Feels Bolvar has the spine to make the hard/heartless calls to get results without forgetting the whole reason behind doing it. Probably will keep to himself, though. Probably isn’t at all sure how to feel about the Helm being destroyed, but inclined to think it was for a good reason.
New DK (Pandaren): If raised unwillingly, definitely not loyal, but will also take the chance to keep fighting. Will almost assuredly want to see Sylvanas fall, based on current motivations. Will probably despise being brought back at first, but that could change.
Old: Bolvar instant messaging her brain – and all the things she felt compelled to do, even if it wasn’t mind control but rather Bolvar’s games – has had her a bit uneasy about the toasty LK. The helm being shattered, and him being free from its influence, will likely be a big relief and she can develop more trust for him as a DK figure than the LK.
New: I think in terms of backstory for my Velf, she’s going to be fairly unhinged. Perhaps she found out they were raising war corpses as DKs and made a bargain with someone, got herself killed or had them kill her, got tossed on the proverbial (or literal) meatwagon and BAM! now undead.
Maybe a Warrior who thought they were fighting the whispers “you can be more… more… give in… you can be more than this… more than the sword, more than the shield, more than your rage…”
I can be more without your promises, whispers! *dies
the void: soft chuckle
Why’re we assuming that he’s using the helm of domination to control the new Death Knights, by the way? Genuine curiosity, I’ve seen nothing to suggest he would use it to control anything more than the mindless masses of Undead that are an actual threat, not Death Knights raised for the explicit purposes of protecting Azeroth.
I think the power of the Lich King comes from the Helmet, so to raise a Death Knight he needs the necromantic power within. But it’s always been vague on HOW he does it. I always thought Frostmourne could do it, but Frostmourne is now a pair of toothpicks and expended to stop the sword in Azeroth.
I mean, Kel’thuzad raised Darion shortly after he went light-kaboom. So in theory a strong enough Necromancer could raise a Death Knight.
We can only see what they provide in 8.3!
The Ebon Blade resurrected Death Knights in Legion without his power, as far as I know. Otherwise… there’s no reason to really suggest that resurrection automatically means they’re bound to his will. It’s entirely possible, even likely, that he’s going to resurrect them and be straight forward about the danger Azeroth is in.
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From the voice over videos, that does seem to be the case. Paraphrasing badly but he vague says:
“You walk a path no one had the courage to walk. Azeroth needs you.”
I am throwing my lot in with you that he’s going to be straight forward about it. Downright honest, even.
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The helm just gets REALLY good reception.
As a DK he doesn’t control you in Legion, he just suggests consequences to not doing what he says kinda like a mob boss. He’s the Lich Kingpin.
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I don’t really play on RP realms for a variety of reasons, but all of my characters have backstories and personalities that shape a lot about how I play them. That being said, I’m looking forward to making a night elf DK that fell at Teldrassil for Shadowlands. As much as undeath is against her morals and the tenants of her faith, she’s coming up swinging. Bolvar is providing her a way to get revenge, and is likely also pulling her soul directly from the torture of the Maw, so that will definitely score him some bonus points in her book.
I think there’s going to be a new DK starting area in 8.3 with Bolvar, but if that won’t come until 9.0, I’ll level her during the Shadowlands pre-patch because I really want to experience the expansion through her. Also I’m really hoping the model updates in 9.0 bring some Bolvar-esque charring for night elf DKs.
caida will be disappointed
he wanted the helm for himself, and cant believe bolvar just let sylvanas break it.
An excellent question to address, and I would even extend it to the Undead in general.
My own Death Knight, Moknaag of Durotar, will not be pleased. He fell in Naxxramas before the Burning Crusade and was under the Dead Prince’s control for years, until the tail-end of Wrath of the Lich King. He missed the chance to storm the Portal and help retake his ancestral world, he missed the opportunity to raise his daughter in Kalimdor, and he was remade into something that was the polar opposite of his beliefs.
He has sense come to terms with his undeath.
He has not come to terms with the continued proliferation of undeath. Especially not the twisted, potent sort that can produce the walking damned, Death Knights. I intend to play the opening events of Shadowlands as a shock to Moknaag, as he was not among those chosen few aware of the true nature of Arthas Menethil’s defeat at the apex of Icecrown, nor was he made privy to the nature of the Deathlord’s agreement with Bolvar as Moknaag never joined the Ebon Blade.
He views the remaining undead in the world – particularly Death Knights – as a necessary evil in honor of their prior life. To him, they exist with a solemn duty to safeguard the world of the living against all else, and to seek the honor of True Death in defense of that. His viewpoint is very Legion of the Dead-inspired, for those familiar with Dragon Age.
So this will all come as something of an upsetting shock, to say the least.
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I started thinking really hard about this topic as it genuinely appealed to me but then I went wait a minute, as I am wont to do, and realized that in Wrath of the Lich King II: The Afterlife’s a Lich they’re just re-releasing Death Knights instead of a new class or race.
And then I got annoyed again.
Now that the Helm is gone, any sentient Scourge have no excuse for behaving badly, so they’re Tyrulde’s main interest. Some will need a good chopping, but most can use their mayhem constructively with a little guidance. Who knows, maybe they can start a ring of undead jewel thieves or something. We can’t all be heroes, you know.
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Depends.
If the ‘New’ Generation of Death Knights don’t suffer the same flaws as the Third Generation, the need to inflict pain to avoid going insane being my primary concern, then I might actually revive Krenk as a Death Knight, having him be slain sometime between the end of the 4th War and the start of Sylvanas’s ascension through Icecrown Citadel and Krenk having to deal with being able to fight again without his failing, battered body betraying him, but he’s now damned and can’t ever be with the souls of his life-mate and all their friends and companions who passed on tearing him up something fierce.