I can’t think in terms of story that was the saddest for me. But just how the game changed- the day blizzard said let’s just scale everything everywhere in the game.
That bummed me out as a player not gonna lie. To this day I still rank that as the top on my list of “most stupid decisions blizzard made for wow”.
I think when quests where harder when zones had level ranges… when players needed help on certain “elite” quests it made for a more exciting game.
For me was Ysera’s death, still gets me every time I see it.
When Gladiator Warrior was removed.
October 2023 I was doing some m+ with friends I met in WoW. Two of the people in our group were besties. But the one who passed away, she was a healer main, and I was a tank main, so we ran quite a lot together through Shadowlands and Dragonflight. One night we were doing some keys with the gang and hanging out in Discord having fun and laughing like usual. Then she suddenly passed away the next day, it shook us all because she never complained about her health or anything. The only way we knew was because her best friend was part of our group. I never had the heart to ask what happened, and it wouldn’t matter anyway. We lost a really kind person who was so caring and considerate, and always made us smile and laugh. I still have her on my btag friends, and it still makes me sad I’ll never see her name login again.
As for events in WoW, like story or NPCs, Sylvanas turning full blown villain still bothers me. In Legion, when Vol’jin made her Warchief, it gave me goosebumps because as someone who often feels misunderstood or left out, it resonated with me. BfA and Shadowlands turfed that though.
Definitely Broken Shore.
It was emotional gut punch after emotional gut punch. Seeing the Argent Crusaders so helpless and in cages. Seeing Tirion scream out in horror as he was burned alive. Watching characters like Thrall helplessly crawl on the ground, overwhelmed. Vol’jin defeated and stabbed. Then of course Varian’s death. It was surreal at the time, and the amount of inspiration I had to kill Gul’dan someday was unlike anything else I’ve had in WoW lol. Plus “Anduin’s Theme” omg…
Vol’jin dying on the throne and me watching helplessly.
The first time watching that “Here Without You” fan video from classic.
Probably the saddest moment was the Cataclysm, when pretty much all of my favorite zones from Vanilla were destroyed for very little reason. The worst part being, that over a decade later, none of that damage was ever “fixed”. I guess there is no equivalent to FEMA or whatever inside WoW, so areas can be destroyed, but nothing is ever repaired… ever.
LOL , wow FEMA , that’s hilarious! They surely let down that camp east of Thunderbluff in the barrens , as there are tauren carcasses burning in flame there.
I would die laughing if little formaldehyde trailers popped up at that camp.
Too many for me to pick honestly but I would say getting so close to my warlord’s legendary ring only for the entire quest line to be thrown out the window with Legion. I had to step away from WoW for a short bit during that expansion as real life stuff but to get back and be so darn close to that ring just for Blizz to yank it… was quite a sad time. I ended up taking a vacation from WoW for a good year because of that but I came back right before Argus patch in Legion
When I found out Nazgrim was going to die. I loved that guy. So much I race changed a goblin character to orc in solidarity. Then they desecrated his body by making him a death knight, which was insult to injury. True warriors are meant to have an honorable death and rest in piece. Not get press-ganged back into service.
lots of good choices and few i wouldn’t have thought of, and a couple i didn’t really consider sad. i love how there’s a few reoccurring ones over and over again on your guys lists
There are so many, and quite a few memorials to players who have passed or who have lost family as well. I will always be curious about the memorial, seemingly to a cat on the island behind the Lion’s Pride Inn. I don’t need to know, but it would be nice.
Seeing the quality of the story nose dive BFA-DF
TWW still new and I have no idea where it’s going to lead, tbh I been checked out hyper focused on the story since SL.
That one hit right in the feels.
Too many to choose from. 
Pamela Redpath (I keep her ghost with me whenever I go there.)
Kingslayer Orkus
Vol’jins death
Varian’s death
‘Stay Awhile’
Crusader Bridenbrad (remember him?)
I know there is probably a lot more if I think on it. But those are the ones that first come to my mind.
Saddest…… questing in original plaguelands. There were a few quest chains where the player would find remains of families or survivors and the whole area left me sad.
Also, Red ridge quest from shadowlands. Where we are sent to collect the soul of a dying man who fought off the scourge.
For me it’ll probably be knowing the treatment of undead themes in WoW will never be as it once was.
Let’s see here: Runas, Ben Howel in SL in Bastion, Pamela Redpath, Lucille Waycrest’s whole character arc, Ysera dying, etc.
Even though it was pretty obvious, it still hurt.
There’s also the loss of Admiral Taylor. Grew up along side him.
OH. The dead soldier during legion into where you can go report to the family in Elwyn.