I’m feeling a bit confused about the lore behind Shadow Priests in World of Warcraft. When I first started playing in The Burning Crusade, Shadow Priests seemed to be casters who harnessed dark forces to control minds and attack their opponents’ spirits with the power of the Void. I understood the contrast between the Light and Shadow through the concept of Naaru transforming into Void versions when depleted of the Light. It symbolized the opposition between Light and Shadow Priests.
However, the concept of Shadow has changed significantly since then. Now, it seems to delve deeply into the realm of the Old Gods, and honestly, I’m not a big fan of that fantasy. Especially with the new talent tree, the Splitter, it feels like Blizzard could have allowed us to explore various shadow themes instead.
Rather than aligning with the Old Gods, I always believed Shadow Priests were more connected to either death or the Void, specifically the cosmic void that Sarkareth utilizes. But it appears that in order to reach a higher level of connection with shadow magic, we have to immerse ourselves in the madness of the Old Gods. Is this the underlying lore? Are we not strong enough to transcend the influence of the Old Gods, or are they actually the source of our power? The talent tree seems to suggest that each Idol represents a deity we worship, but it’s unclear wether if we are more than just cultist.
Did I miss anything in the game that explains it?