I’ve done the BfA campaign but I’m still a bit off on the Zandalari distinction between Druids/Shaman/Priests/Paladins lorewise. Are some dedicated to only particular loa? I got the sense that every loa has their own priesthood, but I’m not clear how druids factor in, and have no clue about shaman and paladins.
Kind of a newbie to the lore so any help appreciated 
The distinctions are a bit vague. Here’s my view of it, as I have come to understand.
Essentially, Loa are any being of higher power than the trolls themselves- in most cases, they are wild gods, similar to the Night Elven ancients, and have similar powers as such. However, this is not the case with all Loa, as many other beings have been referred to as the Loa or ‘Gods,’ such as the Old God G’huun.
Given this variation, it seems as though many of the trolls may indeed worship different beings to create these different classes. In some cases, it’s actually confirmed, though in others it’s a bit less obvious.
Firstly, for both Zandalari and Darkspear Druids, the primary Loa they follow the teachings of is Gonk, the master of shapes, who taught trolls Druidism. Officially, Gonk supposedly taught trolls how to serve “all nature spirits at the same time” rather than just a particular Loa. As such, this confirms that Troll Druids take a wider view in which Loa they honor, and that most trolls honor a single Loa above the others.
To follow this, it seems to imply that each Shaman or Priest serves only a single Loa, or at least have one that they serve above others, which they draw power from. Functionally, these two classes seem to be interchangeable in troll society- troll priests can often be seen, for example, using shaman-like totems. As such, the separation would be in powers a given Loa can grant to an indivdual troll (for example, priests of Rezan can utilize Light based powers, or at least powers that are functionally similar to Light powers seen in other races). However, which Loa a given player character communes with is left vague for these classes.
In terms of Paladins, they are confirmed to have worshipped Rezan (when he was alive), and gained light based powers by doing so (or, again, functionally similar to light powers of other races). The fact that some of them kept their powers after his death seems to imply that Rezan was not necessarily the source of their powers, but was able to connect them with the Light itself, using their faith as a catalyst for wielding that power, given how conviction and will are more important in wielding the Light than an actual specific code or target of worship.
That’s a bit of lore, thrown in with a couple of my own interpretations. Anyone feel free to critique if there is canon lore that I missed.
I think most druids would be tied to Gonk because he’s a master shapeshifter and lord of the hunt. But I could also see druids, especially feral druids, following Kimbul’s teachings.
I think Shamans may find inspiriation in Loa relating to different specs. for example, Resto shamans would probably worship Sethraliss or Krag’wa with aspects of water, Where as elemental shamans would seek guidance from Akunda.
It’s all the same, right, they are wild Gods not unlike how the Night Elves worship Ashmane for feral and Ursok for Guardian. They are all tied to Life just different aspects.
Technically the same yeah. But troll loa for some reason take a very active role in troll society whereas the kaldorei wild gods are often aloof and have to be begged to come help.
I think that may be relating to just history right, the Zanadalri have a long relationship with their Loa, but the Dark Trolls lived underground and worshipped Old Gods for a bit. They lost connection to the Loa. The Wild Gods seem to serve no other purpose other than being left over Life gods from the time of the Great Ordering. Left behind just to ensure Life is the main force on this planet.
It’s also important to note that Troll class archetypes don’t typically align fully with the playable classes we have available to us.
Similar to how Night Elf Priests could be Hunters, Wardens, Warriors, etc. Troll Priests could be that in name, but have powers of say, a Shaman or a Druid. In fact, many Trolls display non-Priest abilities but are labeled as ‘Priests of (Loa Name)’, like Zhinarti mentioned. While the general rule of thumb is that MOST Druids would be in service to Gonk, there are also examples of Troll Druids serving Loa like Shirvallah and even Elune for some Zandalari Balance Druids.
I think the main difference is that Loa typically earn their power through the strength and number of their following, so it’s more of a symbiotic relationship between Troll/Loa, whereas Wild Gods are more in favor of balance over bargain making them more aloof and less eager to help if their servitors are not in line with their idea of balance within nature.
That’s certainly a fair way of looking at it. One would think the wild gods would be MORE active though, to show their followers what their idea of balance looked like.
Yeah, I feel like they’re kind of portrayed in a wildly inconsistent way, particularly when it comes to the Night Elf pantheon. Even the August Celestials seem to have done more in recent times than the Kaldorei Wild Gods, I sometimes question what non-Druid Kaldorei really gain from their worship aside from the overarching goal of serving Elune. (I guess the balance of all things?)
TLDR; Loa are cooler IMO. But I guess anything of significant enough power can be considered a ‘Loa’ but not everything can be considered a Wild God? I don’t friggin’ know anymore.
that’s a good point which brings up the question if Loa are actually Wild Gods or were they elevated into godhood thorugh worship. Meuh’zala in his dungeon says that he elevated Bwonsamdi who was at one point a priest worshipper of Mueh’zala. The Wild God lore says they are actually denizens of Ardenweald who were brought to Azeroth by the Titans. But Loa lore seems like they got godhood by being the strongest, the biggest or were worshipped by followers, and the loa would consume the souls of thier worshipers to get more power, sometimes consuming each other. Yazma became more powerful than Shadra just by consuming her soul.
There’s a thread here in the blood troll lore about consuming Gods to gain thier power, the Jailer tries to consume Ashmane’s soul. It’s a Loa eat Loa world out there 
We even know your average troll is capable of taking on aspects of the loa they worship. Whereas kaldorei who worship the hyjal wild gods get…,well no response from them from what I can tell.
Ursok gave us his blessing but we did have to save him from Death First, and Goldrinn seems to give out his blessing to any dark haired warmonger king 
Did the worgen earn Goldrinn’s blessing?
I’d say all zandalari druids would follow Gonk, since followers of other loa even if they can shapeshift (see dinomancers or other followers that turn into their loa animal) are not specifically called druids.
Gonk also encourages his followers to worship other loa so all druids should follow him and then maybe some more. So a follower of Gonk and the matron (most likely Elune) would be the Lun’alai. And a cat form zandalari would follow Gonk and most likely Kimbul or Shirvallah.
I mean if you’re into getting bite, than sure
I wish they didn’t remove the lore that Luna’ai and Xibala were Ansh’e and Elune and they birthed Rezan, but that lore was seemingly scrapped. Why can’t the Horde have a strong connection to the Solar and Lunar dieties?
Why are only the Night Elves allowed to worship the moon? They are pushing this wierd division between the Alliance and the Horde with the Horde focus on An’she and the Alliance focus on Elune. I can only imagine it’s going to feature in some future Light vs Void expansion.
I could be completely wrong here and someone can correct me, but I think the main difference is that Wild Gods are manifestations of nature taking form of specific creatures, whereas Loa can either be elevated to that status by another Loa (as seen with Bwonsamdi) or the strength of their following (as seen with all other traditional Loa). Which may explain why there are Trolls who are Loa (Bwonsamdi, Zanza, Mueh’zala) and no Wild Gods or August Celestials that are Night Elves/Pandaren etc.
My assumption is that they are almost pseudo-Wild Gods, in that their strength comes from a collective power rather than being direct manifestations of Life itself. Also may explain why we see more of a variety in the power of the Loa like Akunda (Storms), Rezan (Light) whereas Wild Gods typically only have ‘Life/Nature’ themed abilities.
If we are going full technical then a Loa can be anything that troll deem worth worshipping.
This includes wild gods, old gods, wisps, the departed that gained some kind of power/done something so great they became worshipped etc.
The majority of loa are weak and don’t even have physical form in lore. There is cross tribe loa, tribe/nation-wide loa, city-wide loa, family-wide loa, and even household level loa according to lore.
If we are asking those questions then, it almost makes me wonder if Elune was elevated too, because xal’atath call her an “upstart goddess” a person who has risen suddenly in rank or importance, especially one who behaves arrogantly: Elune wasn’t always the Goddess she is now. Just like An’she, I wonder if she originated on Azeroth and just climbed the Loa ladder of success.
But alternatively, Khadgar says Elune was present during The Great Ordering, and Velen points out she may be a Prime Naaru so who knows 
She’s the Winter Queen’s sister but they haven’t explained if that’s true then why is she not a Death goddess. Elune is everything and nothing at this point.
I should add that trolls regularly give sacrifices, rituals and do deals with their loa, which is what empowers them additionally.
So it’s a two-way relationship, the loa help out the trolls, the trolls empower the loa in the way of their worship.
Ah yes, I forgot about this tidbit about Gonk so that definitely makes sense in the grand scheme that they’d ultimately serve him for the shapeshifting aspect while ‘specializing’ in another Loa’s power for the particular shape.
Definitely an interesting theory, I am particularly sus of anything Baeblade says, she does spew some pretty hot goss though. I took that line as mostly her being smug about Elune not being as old as the powers of the Void, but it’s possible she is an elevated entity for sure.
It’s anyone’s guess at this point as to what Elune is so any theory is a good one. (My personal thought is that she may be a dichotomous entity of both Light and Shadow.)
who is Baeblade?
OHHH I’m dumb, it’s Baeblade I know her Knifefu, Yeah she’s not a credible narrator for sure as she seems jealous of Elune. Which I hope they explore in a future confrontation. The Old Gods don’t like Elune and after the Night Warrior ritual and knowing that that ritual is entirely invoked to kill Old Gods, I’m sure the Night Warrior arc is far from over. Everyone is like, “omg what was the point of Tyrande becoming the Night Warrior?! so lame.” She was not meant to waste this power on Sylvanas Windrunner.