I’ve been thinking on this one: Since Plunderstorm is technically part of WoW, shouldn’t we consider both the pirate invasion and the storm-wall canon? What about the Pieces of Hate? Shouldn’t that be happening ICly in our RP?
Shouldn’t there be rumors coming out of Arathi about the weird happenings there, that the zone is being hit by terrible storms at the same time that pirates seem to be invading in waves?
I’m not sure I agree that it’s part of WoW, or think that it’s part of retail if it is.
I would acknowledge it ICly if it were happening in a zone or through a queue that was available inside retail WoW. Since it isn’t, it doesn’t feel canonical to me.
As it is, I see it as more or less on par with Hearthstone – a reasonable source of inspiration if you want to adopt things from it as lore, but not an authoritative source from which people ought to.
I personally wouldn’t consider it canon. I think it’s just a fun mode and that’s the extent of it. The pirate group probably exists but there isn’t some free for all battle royale going on in Arathi in actuality.
I mean it already contradicts current lore. Shadows Rising has Horde citizens leaving Arathi, per the conditions of the Armistice, following the Fourth War. And yet, Plunderstorm shows them still having at least two fortified bases in the area.
I’ve wrestled with the question myself but I’m inclined to say it’s non canon. Purely because it creates more issues than it solves, and adds very little to the game. Not to mention the fact that it’s a different game mode and of course the weird lore features like the storm and the pieces of hate
It is a game mode that happens to use the WoW launcher. It isn’t part of WoW. That would be like saying Hearthstone is part of WoW. My guess they just put it inside the WoW launcher to help drive subscription and avoid the rules they had to follow regarding allowing their IP to be in other launchers as part of the buyout.
…and as the darkening skies and ominous clouds moved swiftly over the highlands enveloping them in one last, tragic embrace, a gnome dashed out from behind a large boulder with what appeared to be an overflowing treasure chest strapped to his back. Seconds later, he took off running headfirst into the distance, screaming obscenities and grabbing at plunder piles on the way. With one last, “HAIL THE STORM!” he threw himself into the deep blue stormwall, never to be seen again…
https://i.imgur.com/dhDbr86.jpeg
And now back to Dan for the evening sportsball report…
Plunderstorm isn’t canon until we see NPCs in the current version of wow.
Which we could, so be prepared for that. We have pirates. We have storms. We have pirates day. We have Stormwind. We have precedent, people.
But right now it isn’t canon. I mean how would you explain it. We don’t need it. It has no story value unless it is some pirate holiday where they celebrate being badass
To be fair, canonically speaking Hearthstone IS a part of WoW. It’s just a game people play in universe.
Pretty messed up game, when you think about it. Imagine the trauma people have been through because of people like Garrosh and the Lich King, and folks in taverns are just like “HEY check out my ARTHAS deck haha death to the living”
You only choose one expansion that gets to be canon. The others are all non-canon. So Plunderstorm is only canon if you believe Dragonflight happened and the Lich King didn’t.
Simple answer; if ye character is a pirate, then it’s cannon.
Complex answer; If ye arr or arrn’t a pirate, there be tales woven into the winds of a grand tempest containing power and plunder, said to be evearr lastin’, if’in your sleepin’ soul is taken by the tempest or ye seek it out, beware the Plunderstorm!
It’s a WoW patch and it has cannons so it’s canon.
Now we just need the parrot to sometimes say “SQAWK – THE JAILER WASN’T REAL!”
Parrots crapping on my enemies is canon.
I would probably say not.
My pirate character is treating it as canon, though not to the exact specifics of the gameplay, otherwise she’d be in the ground a dozen times over. But a vague pirate rush that’s swept over Arathi and brought forth the wrath of the elements that sleep there? Sounds like a great catalyst for rp to me!
Honestly, there’s zero point worrying about it. Blizzard doesn’t give a toss about canon and I’ve been bludgeoned by the story so severely I can’t even be bothered to do apologetic retcons to make their jigsaw lore fit together any more.
Easiest answer to give is if you are enjoying it, then it’s canon. If you aren’t enjoying it, then it’s not canon.
It’s not as though anything has any lasting impact anymore anyways.
It is a dark day indeed. May all the riches you plundered guide you safely… Hmmm… Ummm… back into the Shadowlands?
And we all know how much pirates like to tell tall tales. For all we know, Plunderstorm is just a bunch of drunk Booty Bay pirates pulling our legs while deep into their cups.
…Are there even any actual cannons in Plunderstorm?
You arrive via cannon, actually. 
Plunderstorm is canon, confirmed.
Thats good. Plunderstorm’s canon cannon can’t be canon if there was no canon cannon, now can it?
Yeah there’s a cannon barrage consumable so off-screen cannons are canon.