In the latest beta build, some new descriptions for Horde Races were found for character creation. The new Forsaken one is as follows:
As one of the undead Forsaken, you have been reanimated by dark magic. Though shunned by the living, you tirelessly strive to protect them.
Note that beta is beta, so this could be subject to change, but I think it perfectly encapsulates the moral realignment Blizzard will have the Forsaken go through in the Post-Sylvanas era.
I do believe the Forsaken did need to be toned down after certain historical allegories we’ve seen recently in Darkshore. That being said, I think the description implies the Forsaken will be shifted to the opposite extreme, where we will be portrayed as objectively morally good people on the lawful good side of alignment. In the long run there’s no doubt in my mind that Blizzard will gradually build up towards Calia leading the faction with this coming realignment. Surely there is a happy middle ground to be found between these two extremes.
This is a massive mistake in my view, as a stark moral realignment like this coupled with likely aesthetic changes is only going to alienate the majority of Forsaken players in the attempt of trying to make the faction more likable to people who probably didn’t like them in the first place.
I am all for a Pro-Horde direction for the Forsaken, which is what I wanted to see from BFA’s so called faction war story in the aftermath of the Battle of Lordaeron, bringing the Horde Races closer together during turmoil.
If bringing the Horde Races closer together means that they all need to be toned down and portrayed as pure good alike, then the faction as a whole will become less diverse and less interesting because of it.
Thoughts on the story direction for the Forsaken going forward?
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Well, the new text just calls out for retcons, but I hope they’ll change it, since it have no connection for the majority of the forsaken at all. I guess they’re really want to do it. Give the forsaken a completely new identity. Like we can hope that Calia Menethil was build up to portray the light as evil in the end, but how high are the chances that it will happen after BtS?
The Forsaken will protect the living like a crazy boyfriend protects his partner by burning their graduation certificate.
I wouldn’t be worried about them becoming overly good any time soon. Those classic zombie tropes are too good for the writers to pass up on them.
Unfortunately, that’s true.
It seems the current writing team is less inclined to work on alternative takes on the archetypal hero, and would rather take the easy way to make everyone into different shades of blue.
The Forsaken, the goblins, the BEs, the orcs,…all had a very specific approach regarding how the story could show them as heroes. But after the second round of civil wars, when once again writers felt like exacerbating the worst traits races like these had, the obvious next step would be to have them go overboard with the stupid good bits.
I personally never felt the Forsaken had much to atone for.
Yes, they certainly did some nasty stuff to their enemies, and were shown in a rather aggressive fashion.
Still, that seemed to me much more realistic as background for the races story, than blindly leaning on some kind of karmic justice that will magically fix everything for you for as long as you keep your actions morally impeccable.
There should be conflict and division that creates clashes between factions.
Having the race being neutered this way reeks of the kind of laziness that has certain writers simplifying their work and taking the easy route where they can use the simple hero template for any race from either faction.
Yeah…
After they kill both Nathanos and Sylvanas, the only way I can see them bringing those traits back would be if they needed some quick villain material.
Much like it happened with orcs.
Doubt that makes up for good playable experience.
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I mean the only relatively “pure” good races in the Horde are the Tauren and Houjin pandaren,potentially also the Vulpera.
The rest of the Horde are on a scale of general evil from the Forsaken currently the worst offenders to the Goblins doing small scale destruction in every zone they end up in.
Before the Forsaken took center stage as the Horde bad guys it was the Orcs for 2 expansions and before that it was the Blood Elves with the mana and fel siphoning.
I very much doubt that Blizz are going to tone down every Horde race into cookie cutter good guys, theres always been a range within the faction.
Even in the Alliance there was supposed to be that moraly grey/aggressive stance but Blizz never pullwed it off well.
We had the Ironforge dwarfs V the Tauren and Frost Trolls, the Gnomes and their obbsesion with technology no matter what to reclaim Gnomergan, Stormwind V the Defias/Gnolls/Trolls of Stranglethorn, the NE’s and their xenophobia and strict anti magic stance plus kill anything that enters their forest outlook.
Even in Cata the Worgen were supposed to be that ruthless monster race that was going to bring aggresiveness to the Alliance but it never really happened and the Dark Iron and Lightforged once again could have added that militaristic, borderline questionable actions race into the faction but 
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Respectfully I do think the Horde will be portrayed as cookie cutter good guys in the immediate story ahead. Thrall’s return and Gazelowe being emphasized as a Pro-Labor Goblin replacing Gallywix are good example of such I feel.
Instead we will see divisions build up in the Alliance in the immediate future, with leaders who disagree with Anduin framed as problematic.
“That’s all folks!”
Even Metzen didn’t really know what to to with them after WotLK. They just sat there, getting stuff done for the Horde in EK right up to Legion, where Sylvanas of all people became Warchief…
Afrasiabi and pals, will just tie everything together the best way they know.
I honestly don’t see a way of saving Forsaken lore anymore.
It started cracking in BtS, damaged beyound repair with Sylvanas handling in BfA and there was no easy way out besides rewriting the faction ideals to stay consistent within greater story.
It looks like the forsaken will get a redeem we are good undead people now and we only did nasty stuff because the living hated us.
That’s it however I do believe they will get lordaeron back it will go something like Caila will start some sort of renewal calling for undead to return along with Voss.
Then Blizz will pull the Scarlet Brotherhood card - they come in and we the players kill them once again and that will be that may even get some sort of cringe scene of all the alliance leaders accepting that the forsaken deserve lordaeron and end.
Mean while everyone will be pointing out the fact that scarlets are people from lordaeron and the forsaken have done just as bad if not worse then them but shhhh.
I may be coming off as a scarlet fan and I am but I to also am worried of the path they are taking the forsaken from the very start of wow they were this cool evil cold faction but also had this tragic appeal to them, for blizzard to suddenly give them a U-turn and just blame any evil stuff on Sylvanas is wrong but what can you do.
Its like in blizzards mind all factions and leaders need to act like jaina/anduin any other other faction or leader who doesn’t go this route gets to be the can kicked down the road.
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Someone plaster that string over a screenshot of the Blight wagons and tortured bodies of fallen Night Elves in Darkshore.
For contrast.
This seems like a shuddering 180 - but it makes me wonder how much of the Forsaken identity was driven by Sylvanas. In Warcraft 3 in their first missions she was ruthless, openly admitting to Varimathras that she was only using Garithos as a means to an end to defeat Balnazzar when the Forsaken were just starting out. (Nathanos likes to cry and whine that the nasty Alliance betrayed them, forgetting that the Forsaken DID ally with the remnants of the Alliance to retake Lordaeron and promptly stabbed them in the back when the city was retaken). But we only really saw Sylvanas driving everything.
In WoW we see the Forsaken as a people are just as ruthless, plague bombing Southshore into oblivion, attacking Gilneas, the horror show at Hillsbrad, making moves on Andorhal and Arathi etc etc etc - probably a lot more I’ve forgotten. The Forsaken certainly give more than enough excuses for the world to shun and rebuke them, the majority did not run around offering peace treaties and kittens.
But was that all simply driven by Sylvanas? Now she’s gone it’s a big change of heart? Everyone is pals and the Forsaken were just misunderstood all along? Seems jarring, and I would imagine a lot of Forsaken would struggle with this after so long under the Banshee and her way of doing things. But maybe seeing the Shadowlands will change them.
That is why old world must be renewed like in Cata.
New joiners will expect totally different from their race when read description of that race.
Times change… - Garrosh Hellscream
but it would be a strange twist for the forsaken to suddenly strive to be the good guy given their intro in the base game and later
BTW Blizzard have canceled Burning of Telldrassil and genocide for new players…
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/309015474811830274/702677632617283634/af5b99d2807dae24d6ac30ab1287cceb.png
They didn’t canceled anything. They just changed a short description no soul cares about. Now orcs just look like stupid hypocrites.
Nooooooooo!
The horde lordareon questlines are some of the best! And to think I was going to remake Necrosa for my boost…
blizz intern: “we could use this recent tragic events to create an interesting arc of redemption for the faction who committed the crime, forcing them to take a deep look at themselves and to create interesting personal conflict, and also build up on the nelf lore.”
Ion: “naaaah forget about it”
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They need the forsaken to be the tragic and misunderstood people in shadowlands so shhh about the countless genocides.
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So, kinda like the night elves and humans?
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If I wanted to be a protector of life i’d play a human Paladin.
If we can’t be outright evil (which I understand) we should at least be morally questionable.
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