I’ve had some time to digest over the events in 8.2.5, and while I’m not too fond of the events, I’m feeling a bit better.
Generally speaking, I knew that eventually, Sylvanas was going to leave the Horde in some way. I think some of my disappointment was the method of it. What I expected was something…possibly a bit more grand, like the Horde coming together to battle and throw out Sylvanas, and instead…it ends more or less on a bit of a damp squib. I could go on, but I’m trying to speak generally and don’t want to ramble more than I should over recent events.
Instead, let’s talk about San’layn. Going forward, I can see two possible scenarios:
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San’layn don’t appear at all for the rest of the expansion in any way, shape, or form.
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San’layn are among the undead mooks that are following Sylvanas still for…reasons.
I’ve written at length multiple times about how I hope that San’layn don’t end up as jobbers and loot pinatas if we ever got Sylvanas as a raid target. Seeing some undead still loyal to Sylvanas after the events of 8.2.5, which so far appear to be some banshees and various generic Horde chained up and paraded in Orgimmar, has me a bit concerned. It has been clear that those in the Horde loyal to Sylvanas are to be forgiven, likely used as a reason to keep player characters who went the Sylvanas-loyal route to still be in the Horde.
It is currently unclear what makes up whatever forces Sylvanas has, such as if there are any other loyal Horde characters or any mooks other than banshees. So the worry that the San’layn would just be put in as mooks continues to rise.
At this point, and generally speaking, I would like to suggest that caution be utilized when we get to seeing data mining of 8.3 or whatever the next expansion is. Chances are, if we do see San’layn datamined in some fashion, it will cause some speculation, possibly some panic, and also a lot of worry depending on what we find.
Let’s assume that we do see San’layn mobs or NPC’s that appear to be part of Sylvanas’ forces. Two outcomes are likely:
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They act like loot pinatas and jobbers simply for the sake of having a variety of different types of undead that are loyal to Sylvanas to the end because it’s just convenient to implement them as such, and may disappear after current events pass. Obviously, this is not preferable in any way, shape, or form, and would be incredibly disappointing.
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If they possibly are planned to be an allied race, I’ve mentioned the idea that they could be pretending to be part of Sylvanas’ undead posse, only to be relaying information and plans to the Horde because in order to survive, it makes more sense to assist the Horde and also to help stop Sylvanas. This in particular seeing her stance towards the Horde in general and likely seeing her as a Lich Queen of sorts. Working under another form of lich royalty is likely very low on their list of fun, happy, and healthy activities. Not to mention the idea of reconnecting with the Blood Elves of Silvermoon would also make a good reason to stick with the Horde.
It’s hard for me to imagine any other scenario. Even if we look at rumors of Sylvanas being the hero we need but don’t deserve to save the world (of Warcraft!) again, that could lead to Horde-friendly San’layn…I personally don’t see those rumors coming into fruition at all.
If in the event they remain loyal to Sylvanas to the end, sure the Horde could still be open to letting the San’layn still join, but I do feel this direction would be another damp squib just put in for the sake of it. I’d prefer if they were undercover for the Horde instead, as that would make better writing and a bit more rewarding story-wise, in my opinion.
There is also the notion that we may be heading to either faction neutrality or the abolishing of factions altogether. While the latter is hard for me to imagine, mostly because it would take a lot of work to revamp all the areas to reflect this change, it’s still possible that San’layn would still work as a Horde race in a faction neutral setting.
Sure, we had Dreven perform an exploding Gnomesketball, but other Horde members have done worse and Anduin still wants peace between the factions. If anything, we can still see a more sympathetic side if San’layn are written as having been former slaves of the Lich King and just do what they can to survive. If Anduin can accept the Forsaken, undead humans, despite what they’ve done, then why can’t the same be done for the San’layn as former elves from Silvermoon?
It’s currently 31 days until Blizzcon at the time of this post, and I’d be surprised if we got any sort of info on what is to come before then. It’s going to be a painful wait as we get closer and closer, and this Blizzcon can make or break it for a lot of people.
I am unsure whether San’layn being a no-show in the near future or them working for Sylvanas still is better, though they could still be written in the latter to not be braindead slaves. Still, I can’t help but be worried about the direction the story is heading.
Regardless of what happens and what we find in future datamining, I’ll try to reserve judgement until I see the final product. No matter what happens, I still support San’layn as a Horde race and will continue to support them. We’ll tread through the muck together, whatever fate may be.
