Even in Wrath it was a bit forced, considering the Horde had been systematically attacking Kirin Tor and sabotaging their efforts since Vanilla. All of that was completely forgotten or brushed under the rug.
It would have been infinitely more immersive if the Horde’s capital in Wrath had been a repurposed Flying Necropolis taken by the Forsaken. The Forsaken were NOT front-and-center enough for Wrath, considering it was the culmination of their racial storyline as it began back in Warcraft 3. The Forsaken really took a backseat to the Orcs.
The second time was an absolute mistake of monumental levels. I’d rather they’d teleported Karazhan to the Broken Islands and used that as a neutral hub.
Legion did not make us friends… it made us allies. Allies for one specific battle. The Sword of Sargeras skewered those temporary bonds when it brought a game changer to the surface.
Also, I believe that the Ambermill quests are considered non-canon. As I recall, Metzen at one point indicated that there was screw-up and the quest designer for Ambermill didn’t know or forgot that the Kirin Tor were still neutral at that point.
I doubt Helya is gonna give her Kavaldir forces especially considering she failed to capture Eyir. And even if she did any deal she has will probably end up cause her greatly in the end. A second Precilla if you will.
I actually don’ have an issue with Dalaran being neutral in Legion, as it was Khadgar leading it, who is one of the characters i consider truly neutral. If it was Jaina’s Dalaran then no, i wouldn’t won’t to follow that, but khadgar’s? Yeah i’m fine. The Purge was very clearly not a council decision, and just Jaina assuming control and making a massive political decision without the use of the council (Probably a big reason why she got the silver covenant to do most of the heavy lifting) It helps that i actually like the idea of neutral factions, especially when they do something important (I have no issues with the Cenarion Circle, Earthen Ring, and Kirin Tor not getting involved in BfA in favor of trying to heal the world from the giant sword wound)
yep, they had Jaina control Dalaran for mist, then never again.
I also am more willing to forgive Dalaran because it was very obviously not a council decision, and from what Khadgar later says about him requiring the councils permission when he’s leading it, the head doesn’t get unlimited authority (AKA the purge was UNCONSTITUTIONAL!). So it actually is very easy for me to forgive the government, but i do understand why people wouldn’t want to go back.
It was a good idea at the time, in both cases. In Wrath it made sense, you had the Blue Dragonflight attacking all magic users, taking the fight to them via a floating city was not only a cool idea, but it allowed for a more unified direction for the Horde and Alliance at the time. Remember, this was the last expansion of the Alliance and Horde cold war theme, it had all just been skirmishes and such at this point. It’s hard to put that into perspective for a lot of people, honestly, because we’ve had a faction war for longer than we haven’t, at this point. People who came to the game in Cata are now veterans of the game, even those who came to the game in WoD have been playing for what, five years?
So it’s hard to get across what the mindset was at the time, but basically the idea of a big faction war breaking out, of the Horde as total mortal enemies with both factions bent on wiping each other out, wasn’t present. Dalaran in Wrath served as a great hub, and there was just enough faction tension to keep the mindset that the Horde and the Alliance weren’t buddies, just fighting the same thing at the same time.
In Legion it served as part of the very, very good pre-patch event arc’s center-point. Compared to the somewhat lackluster pre-patch chain from WoD, it blew everything out of the water. And from a practical sense as well as a story sense, it worked. The Broken Isles weren’t aligned with either faction at the time, a different hub for each wouldn’t have worked, and the whole point was that we were the vanguard hitting the core of the Legion’s attack while the rest of the world dealt with the invasions.
I will say that Legion Dalaran doesn’t evoke the same feelings as Wrath Dalaran, though, for whatever reason.