I mean, the Zandalari weren’t really a threat to the Alliance any more after that. They didn’t really show up again for the rest of the expansion.
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Ultimately the Invasion Accomplished nothing as the bombs had already been set and could be detonated at any time to destroy the fleet.
If they had destroyed the fleet and then reached out to the Zandalar without an invasion promising more retaliation if they didn’t withdraw from the Horde they probably would have gotten a better response.
If they were invading they should have atleast crippled the Zandalari more before leaving as there was no chance of Zanadlar withdrawing from the War and would only cost them more lives in future if they were left a viable threat.
Alas Anduin and Jaina are now more concerned about Horde lives than Alliance. Anduins stupid plan only acheived pissing them off and getting the Alliance forces killed.
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This.
Blizzard wanted to weaken the Alliance’s military power without having them accomplish anything of significance in the long term. It was a pyrrhic victory example of acting before thinking.
Anduin ended up looking dumber than W. Bush on the aircraft carrier, and the Alliance weak and ineffectual as usual.
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Of all the stupid developments in BfA, I think this one takes the cake. You’re in a devastating world war, you just won a VERY costly battle, and when the opportunity presents itself to strike hard and win the war…you don’t. Because that would be mean. I wish I knew who came up with that dialogue.
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The Horde returned and gave chase down the Pyramid. That was why they retreated.
This was not meant to give the Alliance a victory, it was meant to inflict a loss on the Horde. These are two different things.
If you doubt this consider Rastakhan who got a good bit of screen time with the Horde during questing. They did this so the Horde would know him and preferably like him. Thus his defeat and death would mean something to them.
He got ZERO screen time with the Alliance until his raid encounter. He was just a raid boss to the Alliance, no different than any of the previous bosses in that raid or any previous raid. The only impact for the Alliance was he was Zul’s enabler during Cata and MoP Zandalari patches. His defeat and death wasn’t any different than the Jadefire Masters or Loa Council.
Having to deal with Grong being raised and sent back at the Alliance probably had more impact for Alliance players who never played the Horde questing.
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They had lured the main forces away. (Buy haven’t the Horde fall the very same trick they had just played. For the Horde!) Presumably they were coming back. You can’t kill Rastkan twice…
Their secondary (actually maybe primary) goal had been to destroy the Zandalari fleet. They had done that…
I agree with this part of your post. But, to be fair, history if full of situations where someone convinced the killing a leader would end a war (and something correctly so).
First of all, Azshara undid the advantage the Alliance had by destroying both fleets (evening the odds).
And did the Horde have a superior position? They were having trouble to find enough people to drive Sylvanas out of Orgrimmar. Not having enough people to take a fortified position is not the same as having less people.
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Doesn’t matter who takes the credit, the fact that the Alliance was stupid enough to send the majority of their fleet agaist a handful of Horde ships means they deserved to lose.
If Sylvanas had bitten her tongue instead of going against the apex of what her character is just to get Blizzards writers out of a literal corner she could’ve broken the Alliance and Horde rebels on Orgs walls.
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No, whats stupid is that they had Jaina forget that she can float ships with no effort, or freeze the Ocean.
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Contrary to Alleria’s opinion, Orgrimmar was not united under Sylvanas. Loyalists had to deal with dissidents and had to resort to recruiting civilians within the city to their cause. They also had to keep forces around the Zeppelin Towers/Flight master to prevent escape from city, as revealed if you choose to escape the city with Eitrigg, and abandon Sylvanas at the last minute.
Furthermore as Saurfang’s revolutionaries and the Alliance planned on striking against Orgrimmar’s 3 entrances, Sylvanas seemed focused on the front entrance to Orgrimmar.
Could Sylvanas have stilled secured victory? Yes. Could Saurfang and co emerge victorious? Yes.
It would have just been centered around how the battle progressed, from her loyalists seeing Horde heroes like Rexxar, Rokhan, Thrall, Lor’themar, etc… siding with Saurfang and the potential for defection, the dissidents taking the chance to seize arms against Sylvanas, the struggle to break open Orgrimmar’s front entrance, Sylvanas’s own powers turned against them, the fall out from Sylvanas’s forces killing any of the leaders of the revolution as it could have caused retreat or broken their enemies, the other entrances falling and the loyalists coming under attack from the sides, etc…
Multiple factors would be at play and whoever would have won, would have definitely earned it by blood.
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She isn’t a god.
Likely as surprised as the rest of the fleet.
Game play reasons necessitated that the Alliance not really hang around the Horde leveling zones.
cause blizz couldnt be bothered phasing it
they still keep nathanos, all the forsaken guards and baine even when he was captured
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Funniest part about this is when you do the war campaign alliance side now, and Anduin urges you to free Baine while he is standing right there next to the throne like the good cow he is.
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After reading Shadows Rising, I keep wondering if Sylvanas asked Talanji to fight for her against the rebels in Ogrimmar, and Talanji refused outright.
We don’t see it in game, but in the novel Nathanos says Talanji and the Zandalari will “pay for their treason” which would make absolutely no sense otherwise.
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I just took that as her remaining in the Horde and not defecting to Sylvanas, like Nathanos did.
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That’s possible, but Talanji did hardly belong to Sylvanas inner circle of loyalists. Why would she expect her to stay loyal to her after she left the horde? It’s just really dumb imo.
That was Nathanos’s feelings on the matter, we don’t actual know what Sylvanas felt about it or even that she cared.
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Fair. I suppose it’s nothing more than some flimsy excuse Nathanos made up for himself. It just struck me as very strange when reading it.