Arthas Menethil, Crown Prince of Lordaeron, Palladin, Death Knight, Lich King was one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the Warcraft Universe, if not the most iconic.
People absolutely loved him from his introduction in Warcraft 3, where as a Palladin and Heir apparent of Lordaeron, he fought tooth and nail to defend his people from a terrifying and unbeatable enemy to his journey towards the dark side, his rise as the Lich King and his eventual fall in the end of WoW’s greatest expansion.
He was Warcraft s greatest vilain, and his popuularity can only rival that of Darth Vader’s.
Wrath of the Lich King was so iconic, so wonderfully designed that people continued to quest in Northrend and do the dungeons and raids years after the end of the expansion.
What can possibly compare to the Naxramas’s raid bosses, Yog’ saron, and the Argent Tournament? Every single one of the dungeons was a masterpiece in design, mechanics, and lore. Every raid was equally satisfying, if not more.
Can people remember the first time they quested in Northrend, and the Lich King would pop up and have a “heart to heart” with them in the end of some questlines?
Or when he appeared as the final boss in the Halls of Reflection? Or even better when he personally appeared to congratulate and reward Dracuru for his services, or later on to witness his demise at the hands of the players where he informed us that we amused him?
Icecrown Citadel was the best raid in the entire Warcraft Universe. People still venture there today to try and fail to get Invincible, to farm for transmorg, or achievements, or to complete the Shadowmorne Blade questline.
Lanathel, and Sindragosa were amazing raid bosses and Professor Putricide was the funniest one with the “good news everyone”, Futurama reference.
The Lich King was one of the hardest raid bosses and the entire fight was an absolute delight, from the mechanics to the design and dialogue. The cinematic was a masterpiece and gave us some insight into what was in Arthas’s mind. He appeared to be relieved that it was all over.
Which makes his ending in Shadowlands an absolute disgrace. Reduced to a mere whisp and wiped out of the face of existence? After Uther’s tear-stained remorse for throwing him into the Maw, instead of allowing the Arbitrer to determine his fate?
No redemption for him, no journey through the purgatory of Revendreth, no chance for him to show remorse for his actions, no reunion with Jaina and Uther, no apology to Sylvanas. Not even a new model, just a blue-white blob.
Arthas Menethil deserved better than that, he brought millions to Blizzard in merchandise, and thousands of memes and fanfiction stories for the fans, and as a thank you, they just threw him in the trash?
This is the worse decision in the history of bad decisions, and Blizzard has made tons of bad decisions over the years, like scrapping the middle story of Warlords of Draenor and so forth.
Shadowlands was lackluster and was a big letdown compared to the publicity it received before its release. And completely destroying Arthas’s spirit and character was the icing of the cake.
Blizzard will eventually come to regret their treatment of Arthas, they’ve been losing players by the thousands, and I’m afraid that they will lose even more now.
I, for one, will not be renewing my subscription, not that it will make any difference to a multi-million dollar company, but at the end of the day, why waste 13 euro s/ month for a service I haven’t been using for months since I lost interest in Shadowlands long ago.
I never found out what happened to most of the dead heroes and villains of Warcraft, except for Kael’thas, Garrosh, Uther, Ysera, Ursok, Draka, and Kel’ thuzad, and discovering what happened to Arthas felt like a kick in the stomach.
So, this is it for me. Goodbye Arthas Menethil, you will always be remembered despite what Blizzard said through Sylvanas’s mouth.