Taliesen bases his new prediction on two elements: the dungeon journal for the Azshara raid AND something he saw on a whiteboard.
There IS a cinematic but he claims not have yet seen it.
Therefore, we must assume that the final boss reveal is most likely directly related to the Azshara arc.
However, this is still the Battle For Azeroth and the war MUST be resolved.
My prediction from the beginning is that the Horde has to win to make any of the divisions within make sense. Unlike Garrosh, things in the Horde can never go back to normal if Sylvanas is removed. They remain the Undead faction that would only satisfy all if they simply let themselves die out and give up raising new undead: that constant source of strain.
If the Horde win, the Forsaken justify their existence by victory. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if they are proven to be especially useful against the Void (which we are constantly hinted that they are an effective enemy to the Void’s ambitions).
Therefore, the final boss should be a void-related entity for Sylvanas to prove her and the Forsaken’s worth. The Horde must also win the war.
My prediction: Alliance void-corrupted Boss. Perhaps even the Boy King…
So … Sylvanas wins the war, destroys SW, raises its citizens into undeath, and all the while ensures that the Forsaken are the only Race (or culture) of real value of the Horde (cementing the reality that the Horde’s story is now the Forsaken’s story)?
I think you’re grossly underestimating exactly what a Sylvanas victory implies for the Alliance (and the Horde for that matter, as that massive influx of corpses from the remains of the people of SW would ensure the “tool” of the Horde holds a whole lot less value for her). I can’t see a Sylvie victory ending well for either faction.
Perhaps. I don’t contend that Sylvanas cares much for the Horde (we pretty much know the Forsaken never did) but it is a fundamental reality that the Forsaken cannot be removed from the Horde faction and there’s no way to create a moral Forsaken faction without the same goals or means (even if you got rid of Sylvanas). The only resolution are twofold:
Forsaken embrace they are a scourge and die out
Calia makes them all Lightforged and that somehow fixes it.
Sure but that doesn’t solve the problem of Forsaken being a core Horde race unless they’re just reduced to a fringe minority that stayed loyal to the Horde for some reason.
On the contrary, the Undead would be core to a story like that, since a big part of the story would be explaining how the Horde loyal Undead come about. This wouldn’t be any more strange than Horde orc players fighting Garrosh. If anything, the other races would have room to complain that the Forsaken are STILL center stage.
Now, after the whole Sylvanas plot finally wraps up? Yeah, it’d be time for the Forsaken to take a break from significance. Which is good, because someone else needs a turn.
OK fair, I mean if you don’t see a problem with the Forsaken becoming an irrelevant party then shoot there’s no problem really to be solved because the Forsaken can accept they’re a Scourge and should just kill themselves.
I see a problem with a Race that has historically never represented the Horde well making every other Horde race irrelevant to the Horde story (which is exactly what they are doing right now). We’re all latched on to Sylvie’s WILD RIDE, and for those of us who are not fond of that story; we’re just waiting for the time of her “sudden, but inevitable betrayal”.
Honestly, with how they are functionally using him … I see Nathanos being Sylvie’s replacement as the Forsaken Racial Leader by the end of BfA (when she in turn reveals that her own “True Objectives” aren’t really all that beneficial for the Forsaken People’s either). I’m sure she’ll have some loyalists that will leave with her, but … I really don’t see her being part of the Horde by the end of this mess.
Well, I’m sure the nu Forsaken can imagine some meaning for their unlife beyond serving the Dark Lady. Just have them read some Nietzsche and Camus or something. Also, Blizzard can surely plot convenience a way for them to reproduce w/o Sylvie.
I’m being a bit flippant because I don’t take this whole idea very seriously—even though I think it’s super fun, it’s just not something Blizzard would do—but I really do imagine the Undead can find ways to thrive outside being enforcers in Sylvanas’s evil empire.
They could go back to freeing members of the Scourge depending on how the writers handle Bolvar going forward. Hell, its not even that unlikely that they couldn’t get away with keeping at least one Prime Alive once Sylvie is gone (assuming her last 1-up doesn’t require all 3 of her remaining ones … which I sort of doubt; because there at least needs to be one left for her to stay out of hell anyway).
Its not as though the Forsaken really need Sylvanas to continue as a race; she’s just sort of convinced them that they do. Yes, her assortment of Prime Val’kyr makes things easier, but with just how many different forces and entities have truly played around with the Shadowlands … it seems at least plausible that an alternative solution could be found for their continued existence (outside of Calia).
Idk about T and E’s view. They are the only Youtuber/Streamer I watch for WoW news - but only when I can. I have not gotten the chance to watch their newest vid.
But I agree with the OP that a total Horde victory can solve more problems than an Alliance victory.
If Sylvanas wins, and the Forsaken become Azeroth’s bulwark against the void and the infinite - that would make them the good guys without compromising their character.
If she is proven right, and the Alliance agrees to end their aggression, and bows to the Horde, Sylvanas, the Forsaken, and the Horde accepting peace would be the best way to turn them from dastardly villains to stoic heroes.
If somehow Sylvanas is being honest, and seeks to remove any threat to the Horde, having the Alliance threat removed would put her in a position to prove it. It would give her a chance to show that she really is looking past this war, and trying to unify a bastion under her command to face the next enemy.
Honestly, I really wouldn’t be shocked if we see some sort of “Undead of Lordaeron” faction; with just how much build up there has been for Alliance oriented Undead. If they do do that though, I would prefer the “Forsaken Split” happen down a line of identity (rather than one of magic).
There are those within the Forsaken that would prefer to still identify as who they were when they were Citizens of Lordaeron, and would act upon those impulses if allowed. In contrast, there are also those who have (to various degrees) moved on from their past selves; and now have a stronger connection with their current Forsaken identities. There is a rift within the Forsaken people’s on that topic.
However, even if that happens … under no circumstances should Calia become the racial leader of the FORSAKEN. Nathanos should finally move beyond his Sylvie obsession and become the leader they need (with Voss also fully committing to her people and supporting them).
![:smiley:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/smiley.png?v=6" ":smiley:")