WoW keeps replacing its leaders with generic figureheads - here's why it's a problem

Lore Story Forum
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Now that I’ve noticed this trend for the first time, it’s hard to unsee. Has anyone else found that WoW’s opinionated, lore rich, larger than life characters are being replaced with cardboard cutouts who effectively have the personality of a spoon?

I honestly WANT to like the “passing of the torch” narrative and in theory it should be nice to see different characters getting the spotlight, but it truly feels like they’ve chosen the most milquetoast characters imaginable.

Vol’jin to Rokhan – This is one that bothers me quite a bit because it SHOULD be a great choice. Rokhan has been around since Wc3, he fought with Rexxar and Chen, yet as a WoW character he feels … aimless? Since Wrath, I have never once seen him express an actual opinion. I’m serious. In contrast, Vol’jin was so outspoken and unafraid to speak his mind that Garrosh literally had him assassinated.

Plus he STILL doesn’t have a unique model. He just wears a player transmog. What’s up with that? Why did Zappy Boi, a character who hasn’t been seen since BfA, get a unique model but not Rokhan? And where’s his beard?

He feels right on the cusp of being a great character yet he’s consistently written to be “generic Darkspear dude” who is mildly sassy and that’s about it. Not to mention the disappointing heritage armor questline where we learn practically nothing about him (other than that he can teleport like a Protoss Dark Templar now?)

If I’m wrong, please correct me. Show me a quote where Rokhan actually expresses an opinion on something.

Genn to Tess Greymane – Speaking of disappointing heritage armor questlines! Why did the future leader of the worgen decide to NOT become a worgen? The whole narrative was that being a worgen is actually pretty hard, which is exactly why she SHOULD’VE chosen to take that burden. Being a worgen sucks. It SHOULD suck. How is Tess going to lead her people if she can’t empathize with their daily struggle?

We’re also seeing the same contrast with Vol’jin and Rokhan. Genn is an angry, spiteful, flawed character. Tess feels toothless in comparison. Much like Rokhan, what does she actually care about? What are her flaws?

Tyrande to Shandris Feathermoon – AGAIN. Another strong, personality-driven, flawed character replaced with an inoffensive cardboard cutout. I understand Shandris was far more interesting in Wolfheart. I understand why the leader of the kaldorei shouldn’t be someone like Maiev (even though it’d be really neat). But much like the other entries, it truly just feels like a downgrade. There isn’t that feeling of ancient power and barely contained rage. She’s your run-of-the-mill sentinel. Like Rokhan, she doesn’t seem to have any personality or opinions beyond “being the leader”.

Gallywix and Sylvanas to Gazlowe & Lillian Voss – I’ll admit these two are the exceptions. I think they have every possibility to be more interesting than the people they replaced.

But- why don’t they have unique models? This feels like another disappointing lack of commitment. Why does Calia get special treatment while Lillian just looks like a random warfront NPC?

Rastakhan to Talanji – Another exception. I think it’s a shame we lost Rastakhan as a larger than life character, his acting was amazing, but at least Talanji is an opinionated, proactive, and powerful leader with an unique model and a lot to contribute.

I mean. She hasn’t appeared in the story once in the past 6 years. But if she did, she’d be great.

Cairne to Baine Bloodhoof – (sorry, I forgot to write anything down for Baine)

Why is this a problem?

Because none of these characters inspire anything within me. I WANT to like them. But I wouldn’t follow them into battle.

They all fit the same generic archetype of “leader who cares about their people and is unsure of themselves”, which is the bare minimum. They’re the political equivalent of a nice guy.

And there’s a reason these characters never receive unique artworks, they don’t get unique models, and they don’t get put on merch. There’s nothing iconic about them. They’re an archetype. Ideally they represent their people, but in cases like Tess we don’t even get that (seriously WHY is the worgen leader not a worgen).

Gazlowe and Lillian at least give me a little hope from their dialogue in TWW and the short stories. The writers are capable of writing characters with thoughts and opinions.

I just don’t know what the solution is.

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Calia Menethil is mommy, and she will tuck me into bed and feed me chicken tendies and choccy milk.

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One solution would be to have a fully developed roster / bench of B Team Characters ready to step into the spotlight.

But the problem is that they put Anduin and Jaina every where. It’s the Anduin and Jaina show all day every day.

Hopefully since Golden has been removed, maybe we will get less focus on Anduin, and other characters might step into the front.

I think a positive example of how Blizzard is handling succession so far is the Dwarves. Moira and Dagran are getting a lot of character development. I don’t just mean having the spotlight - I mean they have a lot of side quests and stories in this expansion in particular that describe what these people want, what drives them, who they care about, and how they express it.

If Magni dies or officially gives up the throne to Moira, or if Dagran tells the Council of Three Hammers that his mother should rule while he becomes an explorer…. Moira would be the rare exception as a substitution that is filled with character and not just a one note cardboard cut out.

Moira has been a background character since vanilla, with tidbits of interesting story over the years.

Rokhan, Baine, Shandris, Voss, Tess…. they are people we quest with, but they seem so interchangeable. They are standard good guys, with 0 personality. Not objectionable at all, but not interesting either. Dagran has been more interesting so far, because he has a personality.

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I agree. That’s also why I didn’t add Moira and Dagran to this list – they feel like more than just the writers’ mouthpiece, or the bland white bread upon which the story is delivered.

Thrall-Anduin-Jaina in Shadowlands were the worst offenders, honestly. During the initial Maw story they were literally finishing each others’ sentences. I truly couldn’t tell them apart by their dialogue.

TWW feels like a step in the right direction, but man, there’s a long way to go. How do you think they could make these characters more interesting?

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I agree with almost everything you wrote, except that I don’t think any of the leader replacements have been good. Just because some of these successors aren’t complete piles of garbage doesn’t mean they were a good idea. The originals have pretty much always been more interesting than their successors because, as you said, the successors feel so generic and lacking in major character flaws.

  • You’re spot on about Rokhan. The fact that a WC3 hero feels so dull compared to Vol’jin is amazing.
  • Tess is so much less interesting and less worgen than Genn that it’s insulting to the race.
  • Shandris is too cooperative. I hate Tyrande but at least she’s a good character.
  • Gazlowe might have been a good option in Cata but sticking him in right after they made Gallywix such a fun character and constantly hammering in how much he cares about worker’s rights and such is just so dull.
  • Lillian/Calia again just care about their people. That’s it. Boring. Lillian literally got her personality retconned into this too. Comparing them to pre-BfA Sylvanas is a joke.
  • Talanji, yes, is proactive and antagonistic toward the Alliance, but Rastakhan was so well written that she may never seem interesting by comparison.
  • Anduin, if we want to consider Varian the original, is actually a good character. I just don’t want him anywhere near a leadership position. He’s a boring king.
  • Dagran II may very well be the one good example they’re working with. I hope so. Time will tell.

The “passing the torch” stories just don’t feel good in WoW, a game which has historically been defined by its hero characters. Killing or replacing those heroes for the next generation just sucks.

Good gosh this was the perfect thing to write. I agree wholeheartedly.

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That’s fair. Gazlowe and Lillian definitely don’t hold a candle to their predecessors – but I think they’ve got real potential. Lillian’s conversation with Widow Arak’nai “anything but true death is workable” and having that actually impact the story gives me hope.

Speaking of Arak’nai, crazy that they managed to give the three nerubian conspirator more personality than half the actual faction/race leaders.

Anub’azal feels more like a Horde character than most of anyone in the actual Horde.

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I think we need to just give it time- which I know, is not the best thing to hear. Unfortunately in the past they did not do very well at setting up secondary characters to fill the leader’s shoes if they die, but they have seemingly been trying to do better. These new leaders are naturally, newer(for the most part) characters that have not had a lot of story yet, so they have room to be characterized and depth put in. There truly are not any other options that are not “milquetoast” because previously, the spotlight was always on the leader that they are now replacing.

I don’t think “Unique Model” is really a requirement for a good character, though it is always a bonus. It took years for most of the old leaders to get them, it’ll take time for the new ones.

I feel this is slightly unfair to Rokhan. He has been a staple in the franchise for years, and I would argue has a solid personality and outlook, you just may not enjoy it. We know he is a very staunch defender of his people, taking no qualms in fighting the Alliance. He supported Talanji’s movement to reignite the war and get vengeance for Rastakhan.

Even if we did not get anything of him personally in the heritage questline, we see what kind of leader he is and where he will take the Darkspear in the future. He reignites their love of their old Loa, embraces their past.

The reclamation and abdication were built up over several questlines- one of which dealt with exactly this. She is proudly Gilnean and will fight side by side with her people. I think that is something to realize- not all Gilneans are Worgen, but all worgen(as in the playable race) are Gilneans.

The one questline was specifically about Tess wanting to undergo the curse to better understand the plight of her people. A Kaldorei puts her in a dream state as a sort of “what if” she was worgen, and it helps her understand the worgen curse- but also realize she does not need to undergo it to lead her people, to lead all Gilneans.

Direct quote:
Princess Tess Greymane says: I feared that to truly know my countrymen, I would need to bear their curse. But I was mistaken.
Princess Tess Greymane says: Our people are not merely worgen. We are Gilnean, as we always have been, and always will be, cursed or not.

I was going to go into all of them, but I don’t have the time. In the end, yes- some of them may seem more barebones, but that is a consequence to our old heroes being in the constant spotlight. These characters need time to breath and get depth. And I think some are too harsh on some aspects of these new characters, such as Tess and not being worgen.

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Agreed on nearly everything, except for Lillian and Gazlowe. Both weak, bland characters that do a poor job at representing their respective groups.

Lillian wasn’t even a Forsaken proper up until BfA, and now for some reason we’re supposed to be comfortable with the fact that she’s their front figure, having basically been their sole rep ever since SL because they decided only she (and the PALLID LADY) were fitting in neutral contexts. Her newfound prominence is undeserved, unexciting, and disengaging. Don’t like her.

Gazlowe lacks any serious characterization beyond being the “good Goblin” that’s the polar opposite of Gallywix. Him not being a Bilgewater is also a problem. Why not build up someone like Sassy Hardwrench instead ? What does it mean to be a Bilgewater ? Cartel culture should exist. Goblin cartels are mini-nations. Tradeprinces shouldn’t be that interchangeable.

Man… Horde leadership is in such a bad spot

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Why?

A Cartel isn’t a nation or a tribe, it’s a business. People move between companies all the time.

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I consider Goblin cartels to be sui generis nations. They’re not just companies, they’re mini-societies with a military and political affiliations. The Bilgewater have a seat on the Horde Council ; that alone makes them a Horde nation.

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One thing I’ll say for Rokhan is that he’s been written as self-aware of his overlap with Vol’jin and has expressed a desire to carve out his own niche. I imagine he’ll completely incidentally achieve this when Loa’jin returns with an altered skillset, but we’ll see.

Another thing I’ll say for Rokhan is that his character model is amazing, one of my favorites among the game’s racial leaders, and that alone makes me want to see more of him.

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That’s my point. He’s John Darkspear. There’s nothing unique about his outlook. He defends his people and fights whoever the Horde is fighting. He likes the Loa because he is a good troll.

But look at his dialogue. It’s such an unrepentant nothingburger.

Compare it to Vol’jin and Rastakhan who talked like gods and spent their lives arguing with everyone. Compare it to Zekhan who at least feels like a person with a unique perspective. Compare it to Zul’jin who gives you chills when you hear him talk about his hatred. Compare it to Talanji who makes things HAPPEN. Hell, compare it to Bwonsamdi, one of the most charismatic characters in all of Warcraft.

They made an active choice to give the leader of the Darkspear tribe, the most iconic trolls in Warcraft, the most boilerplate, boring, bland personality imaginable.

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Realistically, in terms of like position in the tribe and such, I’ve always said the new leader of the Darkspear should have been Gadrin. He was their spiritual leader already, whereas while Rokhan was a recognizable name out of universe he was never shown to be an important figure in-universe before suddenly being given the job. It was solely an out of universe decision, which makes sense for branding/marketing, but doesn’t really make sense for the characters. Why would they choose this rando over anyone who was already in a position of power in the tribe?

Of course the real reason they didn’t choose Gadrin is because nobody knows who he is, but that’s a problem of their own making because they refused to develop any Darkspear characters besides Vol’jin. The Forsaken have that same problem, they were lacking anyone of any note besides Sylvanas and Nathanos that Blizzard had to completely rewrite Lilian’s entire personality in BfA to awkwardly shove her into the faction.

(For the record I’d have liked Faranell as the new Forsaken leader. He’s technically on the new council sure but Blizzard has never actually written councils, they always just choose one or two members who get all the focus)

I will say that I disagree with grouping Gallywix to Gazlowe in with these others because that’s just a straight improvement. Gallywix was a caricature with no redeeming qualities who never should have kept his position in the first place after the goblin starting zone.

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Talanji will probably remain dumpstered because Jaina is one of the main characters, sadly.

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It’s a writer issue.

Alright, you have this house here:

But you don’t like it. You think it sucks.
You want an empty canvas. A plain ground. A fresh start. Your ideas are better, after all. You could start somewhere completely new, but you like the place, so you get the wrecking ball.

You now have free space.
But unfortunately no talent or interest in building.
So it looks like this afterwards:

Now repeat that five times.

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Also likely a problem of being a legacy character, Rokhan wasn’t all that ‘unique’ in Warcraft 3 either.

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I didn’t really like voss pre bfa, still didn’t like her until war within, She’s a decent enough leader now that she is no longer suicidal and anti necromancy, although the fact that they retconned her into that instead of doing an onscreen arc for it does suck

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I want my Gallywix and Sylvanas Back. I hate the entire Horde council.

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It’s ultimately a problem of Blizzard just not bothering to develop multiple characters for each race except for humans. Orcs do get multiple characters, but they keep getting killed off so it’s a similar problem for them.

The same thing will happen with draenei, gnomes, blood elves, and most the allied races. Assuming of course the allied races aren’t already there like the lightforged or mechagnomes.

Every time Blizzard could have been developing new characters for these races Blizzard just uses humans instead. Last time gnomes or blood elves had any real story involvement was BfA, draenei in Legion.

Then races like night elves, worgen, and forsaken that did have story involvement more recently had all that development solely for their leadership, that then stepped down.

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hey, didn’t mekkatorque get immortality via his iron man makeover?