So this topic isn’t new in the least, but I personally would like to hear the rest of the Story Forum’s opinion on whether or not the passing of leadership and authority seem reasonable on Azeroth.
It should surprise no one that we’re having a lot of old leads step down and pass the torch, but is Blizzard giving it the gravitas it deserves? Are the new leaders able to fill the shoes of the old, or are they practically irrelevant as they missed their chance to become major players in the storylines to come?
I’ll pour the first cup of gasoline on this thread by sharing my own observations and opinion, because I’m a Forsaken player and stirring the pot is what we do around here.
FOR THE ALLIANCE (Shortened from “For some, but not others.”)
- Humans: Varian Wrynn → Anduin Wrynn
So this is the most clearly covered right of succession in the whole game, with the opening cinematic of Legion giving Varian enough death-flags that he literally almost drowned from the weight before making it to shore. Anduin’s slow growth from Cataclysm to Legion meant that he was the most prepared scion to assume his father’s role as king… and yet is portrayed as the least certain of his own ability to rule, with a never-ending bout of imposter syndrome. At the end of the War Within, he does seem to recognize that he’s still the King of Stormwind and will eventually return to his throne.
Final Score: The Best this medium can give you / 10.
- Kaldorei: Tyrande Whisperwind → Shandris Feathermoon
I’ll be honest, this seemed to be the most logical choice, but it’s still strange to me, because I thought the Kaldorei gave up on Queens when they revolted against Azshara. So why did Tyrande get to just choose her successor instead of the role falling to another elder priestess of Elune? Shandris was ulimately given an entire questline during Dragonflight to showcase her feelings and skills, and was pretty much given control of a nation through the only family hug I think I’ve ever seen in Warcraft.
Final Score: I was there when she used to solo Orgrimmar in vanilla / 10
- Worgen: Genn Greymane → Tess Greymane
Oh boy, here we go. The oldest statesman in Warcraft finally decided to hand off his crown, and it’s been a long time coming. Sadly for most, Tess has been hiding in the back of the story for so long, she nearly broke the fourth wall telling her father about how the Blizzard Writers have been making him ignore her since Cataclysm. Further, most players won’t even know her, due to the fact that her largest role was serving in the Uncrowned during Legion, and the reviled Gilnean Heritage Quest where she gets to sample her people’s curse, only to thank the Wolf God for keeping her bloodline unsoiled, unlike the rest of the filthy peasants she threw her father’s rejected wardrobe at as thanks. Now she’s got a kingdom to rebuild and diplomacy to engage in, with no time for adventuring.
Final Score: The Uncrowned-Crowned Queen shall be seen no more / 10
- Dwarves: Magni Bronzebeard → Moira Thaurissian → Dagran Thaurissian II ?
Magni was such a terrible father that the whole world happened to know about it, which is my personal explanation for Thrall discovering Moira’s whereabouts and sending me to kill her husband during Vanilla. In an effort to escape his daughter’s wrath, he quickly got hitched to Azeroth in a botched vegas wedding and managed to evade his daughter until the present expansion. Moira in the meantime got to go from nearly having her head chopped off by Varian Wrynn, to basking in the glow of his superior intellect during Mists of Pandara. Now in the War Within, we finally meet the future ruler of dwarven-kind: her son Dagran.
Final Score: Clean Shaven / 10
- Kul’Tirans: Daelin Proudmoore → Jaina Proudmoore
Okay, I’ll keep this short, because I never played through BFA Alliance side, because I hate pretty much everything about BFA. All I know is that Jaina was able to overcome apparently a decade’s worth of hate and scorn by her father’s loyalists for helping the Horde take him down in Warcraft III TFT. She was tossed into some dimension of suffering for her crimes, which is pretty metal to be honest. Mom pulled her out, and then handed her the keys to her father’s kingdom. Bob’s your Uncle, now she rules an island nation larger than Stormwind but still has time to bounce around because running a country isn’t that demanding for Mages, apparently.
Final Score: Daelin watching his daughter lay with a dragon and caress an Orc’s bicep from the afterlife / 10
FOR THE HORDE! (Blizzard would like to remind you this is now considered hate-speech.)
- Orcs: Thrall → Garrosh → Thrall → [TBA] → Saurfang → Thrall
Old Man Thrall is getting rather grey in the hair and long in the tooth, but he’s outlived every other Orc that sought a leadership position. Considering Orcish lifespans—averaged to about one expansion in length—he may even outlive his own son Durak if we’re going with history as any indication.
Final Score: Dies pointlessly the first chance they get / 10
- Darkspear Trolls: Voljin → [TBA] → Rokhan
Oof, this one still stings. Voljin died to a grey felguard so that Sylvanas could begin the worst storyline this fandom has ever seen. Later, after the trolls languished in irrelevance once again, Blizzard hastily pushed the only other notable Darkspear into the Chieftan seat in… was it a tweet? Or was that Saurfang? I can’t remember. Even later, Blizzard would assuage Horde fans that Voljin would return as one of the mystical loa following the death of most of them during BFA. Except he didn’t even show up when we traveled to the afterlife wondering why it was taking so long. Not to worry though, I’m sure he’ll show up any day now. Annnnny day now.
Final Score: Voljin’s indefinitely postponed resurrection / 10
- Tauren: Cairne Bloodhoof → Baine Bloodhoof
Final Score: I don’t have to say anything / 10
- Zandalari Trolls: Rastakhan → Talanji
Yeah, that tracks with how Trolls are treated. What else can be said? Bwonsamedi was a bigger addition to the Horde than this dynasty.
Final Score: Hasn’t been seen since the mid-point of Battle for Azeroth / 10
- Goblins: Gallywix → Player Character → Gallywix → Gazlowe
Out of all the Horde successions, this one makes the most sense, because Goblins organize themselves into corporate hierarchies, instead of anything resembling a dynasty. Gazlowe is an OG who helped build Orgrimmar—which was sieged and fell—and now somehow found himself in Dalaran just before it blew to smithereens. At least he’s getting some face time in the War Within.
Final Score: The Player Character Goblin being overlooked for promotions is the most realistic part of Warcraft / 10
- Forsaken: Sylvanas Windrunner → Desolate Council (But mainly Voss)
There are ongoing threads right now that explain this transition and how awful it’s been, so I don’t need to go into too much of a rant here. However, it’s especially egregious when the entire race was practically defined by a single character, and the best replacement they could come up with was an attempt to just make the opposite character—down to the color pallet even—and try to put her in charge. But let’s be honest, Blizzard would rather chew their own leg off with only their teeth than put an actual rotting undead on the poster art of any of their IPs when they can put a grey or blue skinned supermodel instead. Since Calia was rejected across the board and is abjectly loathed, we have Voss filling in for the time being.
Final Score: Golden’s Legacy / 10
So, has Blizzard been doing a good job passing the torch? Honestly, I’m curious what the rest of you think. Both Blue and Red.