So with Shadowlands, we can now have Dark Trolls and Sandfury Trolls customization… as a prominent advertisement for the Shadowlands expansion that featured the newly added customizations.
Except the Sandfury Trolls are hostile with the Horde and the Dark Trolls are nearly, if not all extinct.
But the Forest Trolls with their more muscular versions and more greenish skin colours have not been added, an actual Forest Troll tribe is allied with the Horde since early Vanilla; the Revantusk Tribe.
Truly makes me wonder which genious greenlit this? What’s next? Fel Orcs for the Orcs? Satyr for the Night Elves? Just added without zero explanation?
So first off, it’s perfectly lore viable to have Sandfury trolls as a playable faction provided they’re in service to the Zandalari Empire, which we’ve seen is entirely the case since the last General to sit on the Zanchuli council was a Farraki. The General of their forces AND seated on the Zanchuli council, that’s no small position to hold especially considering he is not even apart of the Zandalari tribe and the fact that the Zandalari tribe hold themselves as superior to every other troll. Looking at the Farraki tribes situation in the lore it seems to be that most of the tribe are situated in Zandalar and alligned with them.
The dark trolls are supposedly wiped out but bear in mind that was the Shadowthorn tribe so there might be more dark trolls out there but even then I think that skin colour is meant to represent the Shatterspear tribe who have that skin colour in game, they also seem to have NPCs with the yellowish tint of the sand trolls but I think that was probably just an oversight. It’s more likely that the devs just wanted to give us more options with out thinking too deeply on it.
I totally agree that they should add forest trolls to the game since they have always been apart of the Horde in some form or another since WC2, like you said the Revantusk tribe. I think though that all tribes (ice, sand, jungle and forest) really all should have been included when the Zandalari Empire became a playable faction to begin with, the Zandalari role is to be the keepers of troll kind, so the idea of Talanji not gathering up the tribes to unify them is ridiculous. Infact a unified, reforged troll power - like the original Empire of Zul - overcoming destruction wrought by the Prophet Zul’s new would-be Empire would have been my choice rather than throwing away such a cool concept.
Honestly if the devs are smart they’ll add the other tribes, they would be such a cool addition to the game and the trolls one of the most popular races in WoW.
That’s the situation prior to Jakra’zet and Zul’‘s betrayal though. We did fight the Farraki afterwards. Right now we have no clue how Talanji pledging the Zandalari to the Horde will impact the lesser tribes’ allegiances… It would make sense that they start having a more neutral, less murder-based relationship with the Horde. But they could also have the opposite reaction and decide to distance themselves from the Zandalari Empire as a consequence.
Oh yeah what about those guys ? Were they ever confirmed to be Fel Orcs ? It would be interesting to know that Fel Orcs are not totally beyond sanity and redemption, but I don’t think it was ever addressed.
Anyway. I think it’s safe to say the Sand and Dark Troll skintones were only added because they looked cool and devs thought they would be popular. I don’t believe anything can be drawn from their addition lorewise.
No. Looking at their lore most seem to still stay in Zul’Farrak. Their chieftain was never killed. That’s something we learn in the traveler books. I never understood this strange: “Most of that tribe has now to be in Zandalar”. It never made any sense.
Aside from that your points for the Farraki are of course valid.
Exactly. Blizzard goofed on this.
Firstly they named the Shadowthron a clan. Trolls never had any clans, they have tribes. That’s a big uff. Aside from that yes, it’s possible there could some other Dark Troll tribes still be out there.
The dark skin color is also a normal skin for any jungle troll. A dark violet skin color was used since classic for Darkspear art.
However, I also agree with the OP. It it’s rather strange Forest Trolls were not added alongside those new skins. Like you all mentioned, the Revantusk, a Forest Troll tribe is part of the Horde and we also saw some Horde Forest Trolls in Kalimdor.
They could even make some new quests in the Hinterlands and rework the old zone. Forest Trolls are a favorite for many since WC2. The Alliance has their Elves and the Wildhammer back. For all of these reason it’s a no brainer to give the Horde their iconic WC2 Trolls back too.
It’s not even a question from a story perspective, we should have a Forest Troll option for players.
I fully agree. I would love to see every Tribe (aside from Blood Trolls) join the Horde.
Frost Manes would be cool too.
I hope not, it would be such a waste to throw away the other troll tribes and it would be really nonsensical if the protectors (and spiritual leaders) of troll kind turned against their own people or didn’t in some way to try to ensure the survival of the tribes since to me that’s always been the key role of the Zandalari.
Oh we replied at pretty much the same time, hah! Is that so? I just assumed from what General Jakra’zet said that they didn’t have a presence, especially going off the old Rise of the Zandalari trailer. I’ll have to read up on that book.
Well we never know, we are talking about Blizzard after all.
Even the Drakkari were done really dirty.
At least there are still different Ice Trolls around…
The Troll enclaves in Zuldazar seem to me like a small rest of the enclaves the different tribes had in Zandalar in the RPG. I think it would make sense if the different tribes would be willing to work with the Zandlari and because of them also with the Horde (even if they perhaps don’t love the idea).
It’s an understandably impression from the Rise of the Zandalari trailer. They portrayed Zul’Farak as pretty much devastated. However the Traveler books are newer and are giving us a different look. I was really surprised Ukorz Sandscalp was still alive during this story.
I remember back when they originally added it a lot of roleplayers were quite upset there wasn’t a Tal’Drak. I used to RP as an ice troll myself in a guild based around the concept of united troll tribes. The saddest part of BFA was seeing the Drakkari get dismissed like that, hopefully Blizzard backtracks it to the Drakkari simply just not longer functioning as a state and the trolls themselves making up smaller clans dotted around Northrend.
Wow, he is? I’m going definitely going to have to read this book! Thanks too!