Maiev is one of my favorite conceptual characters, but it seems that her and her Wardens are being written into obscurity.
First of all:
Who are the Wardens and what do they do?
They are basically the Judge Dredd of WoW - An elite police force of the Night Elves with Maiev Shadowsong at the helm (Feature hero in the WC3 expansion, the Frozen Throne). An organized group of the most fierce combatants of their society whose sole purpose is to hunt down the most dangerous targets and imprison them. Illidan famously got chased around relentlessly by Maiev herself.
How Elite?
Well they are technically part of a group called The Watchers, but in this group many are simply Wardens in training. Further below still you have the foot(wo)men of the Kaldorei known as the Sentinels.
Where are they now?
Honestly I’m not sure, but the Wardens do spend an ungodly amount of time simply… Well, they’re not called Wardens for no reason, so they actually do just walk around their alcatraz, watching their prisoners.
Dead, irrelevant, gone.
My main concern is that they seem to have been cut in numbers and undermined by both Gul’dan, Demon Hunters as well as Sylvanas.
Cordana was a Warden and she was converted into some fel monster that effectively served as a right-hand of Gul’dan.
Sira was turned into an undead by Sylvanas’ valkyries or whatever they’re called and is now imprisoned in Stormwind stockades.
Maiev famously took a 180 on the imprisoned Demon hunters and did what Tyrande herself did to Illidan, releasing them.
As far as I can tell, this once glorious band of warrior-women have been reduced to the dumbest “elite” force on Azeroth. I cannot understand why they have no further purpose, especially considering new world ending threat rushing in every 2 years.
Now we will eventually get their armor for a transmog and I guess we’ll officially have brutally murdered any sense of identity the Wardens may have had left in the universe of WoW.
The Wanders are and always have been extremely nishe, which is the correct spot for them to be, in dealing primarily with stuff that is related to their vault and it’s contents outside of the general Darnassian hierarchy. Using them sparingly and only in specific situations preserves their aura as an elite special force, which then makes their every appearance special, in turn.
It’s not their job to face down existential threats proactively and neither is it to partake in territorial disputes between mortals. I understand that many Nelf fans chafe at their demotion from being the world police, in several aspects, however i believe that int he long term it’s for the best.
As for members turning away from the organisation… Cordana and Sira should have been bigger deals than they ended up being, but to be honest, in comparison to other mistakes and flaws it’s kind of splitting hairs, at this point, as it happened int eh era of throwing copious ammounts of , at the wall, in an attempt to see what sticks.
It is a bit of a typical problem that organisations like the wardens just come in and out of the story at random, though. While their main job is pretty limited, they are still highly capable combatants that should have a thing or two to say about any world-level threat. They shouldn’t be bystanders in things that might well kill them. Making them essentially vanish from the world, when the plot isn’t about internal Night Elf stuff right now, is a part of what makes them feel less like characters and more like gimmicks. Though wardens are hardly at the top of the list of affected organisations. Just look at how they dealt with the Legion class orders… Or rather, how they didn’t.
So what I’ll agree on is that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use existing organisations more, instead of creating new ones all the time. Or at least use the organisation’s characters.
If not world-ending threats, then what even are they good for and how does that paint them “elite” of the Kaldorei? They could’ve been trailing Tyrande when she went rogue, hunting Sylvanas - After all, it should also have been in their interest to hunt down Sylvanas for committing genocide to THEIR PEOPLE.
I don’t understand how you can consider it splitting hairs when those events are the ONLY Warden lore we’re getting There aren’t enough events to be splitting hair, we are literally just talking about the few things that have in fact involved them.
I’m not advocating for quantity either. Never did. I just care for quality and as far as quality goes, the writing that involves the Wardens as of recent years has been nothing short of shoehorning.
I think that’s a shame, but it’s not earthshattering. I’m just a fan who wants them to see some dignified limelight rather than the incompetent idiots that they’ve been made out to be as of late.
Wardens have a specific purpose and it’s not a particularly proactive one, which exclusively deals in keeping their supermax security prison secure and recapturing anyone that manages to escape it. Acting in full independence of Darnassus.
Also bombing the out of a city is not genocide, because that is extremely specific, however it would fall under the “Crimes against Humanity”, as that categorically encompasses targetting of or disregard for civilians.
In comparison to contemporary narrative problems this is a very minor one.
, at the wall, in an attempt to see what sticks.
There aren’t enough events to be splitting hair, we are literally just talking about the few things that have in fact involved them.