Why were Sylvanas' Val'kyr Powers Retconned?

Community General Discussion
1

So, for anyone who played Cataclysm and did the questing for both Horde and Alliance, you learn that Sylvanas’ Val’kyr have limitation on their resurrection powers.

They can only resurrect the descendants of Vrykul into sentient beings. *Learned during Horde questing in Silverpine and Alliance questing… somewhere I don’t recall.

And confirmation that this quest does indeed confirm that they can only resurrect humans:

*Note - he does say she might grow stronger later - but no evidence is ever stated in game that she has.

After she learns of this, Sylvanas targets the human settlements in the Eastern Kingdoms, because obviously, the humans become the only possible target to resurrect, being the only descendants of Vrykul.

During Siege of Orgrimmar, Sylvanas remarks to Lor’themar that she can resurrect his troops (despite no evidence showing her Val’kyr have gained this ability) so they can continue to fight, so chances are she meant as skeletons like at the Battle for Lordaeron.

(It’s also at this time that Lor’themar states that she is never to resurrect one of his people.)

So, what happened? Suddenly, Battle for Azeroth launches and Sylvanas’ Val’kyr magically have the ability to resurrect not only Night Elves as Dark Rangers, but also a Blood Elf? (Lorash Sunbeam, in the books. I’m still waiting for Lor’themar to find out)

Most people seem to theorize that the deal with Helya she made included the gift to her Val’kyr to resurrect other races, as Helya was once queen of the Val’kyr, but with no explanation, the random super charge of her Val’kyr makes zero sense.

So what’s going on here? Why are Sylvanas’ Val’kyr randomly capable of resurrecting more than just humans suddenly?

2

I guess Once you come up with unlimited range catapults the rest is just whatever.

15 Likes
3

don’t forget their impossible ability to burn down an entire super massive tree out in the middle of the ocean with little to no resistance!

BEST WRITING

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4

And then a giant sword stabs the planet and makes puddles of planet blood ooze out everywhere.

Azeroth has lava, volcanoes and tectonic plates, right? Any of that going to be affected in any way?

Also the force of being hit by a massive weapon in space would send the planet hurtling out of it’s orbit around the sun. I don’t think even the planet’s rotation was changed.

1 Like
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I don’t know what else to say, except…Blizzard “writing”. As well as letting others right canon for you in novels outside of the game.

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Hasn’t most of Sylvanas being rectonned anyways.

Watch, it will turn out she can be controlled by an old god all this time, and it’s what made her warchief and being controlling her, then we fight her in a raid, get her out of the control, and suddenly we are told we cannot kill Sylvanas.

If they recton that, I can see ts happening too. If it fits Blizzard’s current story, they will.

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That might be the only part of the story that makes sense. If it was an old god that picked Sylvanas to be warchief. It is Sylvanas, you don’t actually have to control her for it to be bad. Sylvanas is gonna Sylvanas.

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8

I always chalked this one up to semi friendly banter.

But Blizzard has always been flexible with the lore to suit the overall needs of the story. Personally, I think lore should be strictly followed or at least respected until a change comes about. But that would require too many people to be on exactly the same page with that the current lore actually is, what was just mentoned once or twice, or what is more of a guideline.

For example, night elves. Most males are druids and most females are rangers / warriors. Not so in the game at all. It goes against the lore but it makes for a smoother story flow and game experience. It is easy to follow that stuff in the RTS games because player choice isn’t as deep.

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This isn’t a problem in and of itself, the problem is Blizzard being too loosey goosey with what is canon outside of the game and not checking it thoroughly enough whenever those events become relevant.

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If this is what the big twist turns out to be, then yeah… Blizz needs new writers.

1 Like
11

In WC3 she had the ability to summon skeletons which i dont think ever made a moment in WoW until BFA. I am just gunna mark it under super power story writing of it is as the plot demands

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She’s been able to summon skeletons in WoW, too, as part of her encounter if players grouped up to kill her in Undercity.

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My guess? The pact between Sylvanas and the Val’kyr goes both ways.

So the Val’kyr can raise Humans because they are Vrykul-related (Val’kyr are Vrykul) and Elves because they are Elves (Sylvanas is an Elf).

14

Meh.

We’re talking about a team who once forgot the origins of their franchise’s own answer to SATAN. Before anyone anywhere along the chain of writing pointed this out, they had an entire novel and expansion written around this nuclear brain fart.

Their resolution? Just go with it.

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The lore is at best an afterthought.

15

I have had reports that there was a drunk dwarf smoking right before the tree caught on fire. Sylvanas is just an easy scapegoat for the Alliance.

2 Likes
16

We also are talking about how a huge part of the Horde story was resurrecting Derek Proudmoore even though he was incinerated by dragon’s fire and then underwater for 30 years. Later he instantly recognized Jania even though she was 8 when he died.

2 Likes
17

That goes into “not checking out of game sources” thoroughly enough. Having external story be canon isn’t a problem, which was my point.

18

That Warbringer clip is full of inaccuracies. People really think Sylvanas power-slid into Arthas and was turned into a banshee on the spot.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was really a Night Elf who lit the tree on fire.

19

Just to point out…

They did resurrect her twice… once after she committed suicide and after Godfrey killed her.

Anyways… asking Blizzard why they retconned is like asking them to remember their story… I mean… this is the company that retconned their retcons that were meant to ‘clean up the lore’ (aka the Chronicles) with regards to the Legion AS the chronicles were released.

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Blizzard’s writing everyone :heart: