WoW: In Patch 9.2, Dreadlords learn a really good trick

In Patch 9.2 of World of Warcraft, the Dread Lords are back in the game. But they have now learned something new – and are fooling everyone around.

In patch 9.2, the Dread Lords – the Nathrezim – are back again. After the heroes of Azeroth kicked their asses in the course of patch 9.1, they now know a new trick – it’s pretty nasty, but also funny at the same time.

Because it only works because we are all absolute super-heroes whom the Warcraft legends trust almost blindly.

Spoiler Warning: The article covers part of the history of Patch 9.2 in World of Warcraft. If you don’t want to know anything about it, you shouldn’t read any further.

What will happen in patch 9.2? As the Patch 9.2 campaign progresses, players will arrive in Zereth Mortis. This is the legendary country with the forge of the first. Here the whole worlds of afterlife were created. As the players try to understand the land and its idiosyncrasies in order to decipher the puzzles, the jailer is already putting his plans into action and has sent his servants everywhere.

As is now customary, the player is the chosen champion, even foreseen by a prophecy. So our character is a pretty important hero and is respected by the high people in the Shadowlands.

This is exactly what the Dread Lords take advantage of in Patch 9.2. Because while we stumble through Zereth Mortis a bit haphazardly and try to solve the problems in every nook and cranny, there are always dissatisfied leaders of our troops. They report that “we” played around with the protective mechanisms or lured the allies into critical areas.

After a short time it turns out: That was a dread lord who has simply taken the form of your character. No one less than Mal’Ganis has presented himself as the great hero and has deceived so many leaders. When he is finally found, he even comments:

Surprised?
It was so easy to create chaos. They follow you blindly.
They would die for ‘you’ without knowing who you really are.
You are just a face and a name. The rest is without consequence.
If I had truly replaced you, would anyone have noticed?

Mal’Ganis in Patch 9.2 (via wowhead)

For the first time, this means that the role of the “great champion” also brings real disadvantages within the story. The fact that the Dread Lords exploit the blind trust of all the characters shows for the first time that the players are not only quite heroes – but also represent one of the greatest dangers of all at the same time.

What are the Dread Lords? The Dread Lords were the driving force behind the conflict in Warcraft III. These demons belonged to the Burning Legion and tried to sow chaos in the universe – at least that’s what you thought.

In Shadowlands it became known that the Dread Lords actually descended from Count Denathrius, who sent his servants to all corners of the cosmos. You are part of the Legion, but also part of the Army of Light and the other cosmic forces, where they guide the mighty out of the shadows.

In addition, the Dread Lords are known to simply “replace” some people and fill their positions in order to slowly but surely achieve their goals. That was already the case with the Scarlet Crusade, but it also happened again and again in the Legion expansion – most recently even in the campaign for Patch 9.1.

What do you think of this quest line? Is it cool that being a champion turns out to be a disadvantage too?