During game development, some ideas are inevitably cut before the finished product. This is certainly true forWorld of Warcraft- as a long-running MMORPG, it must constantly produce content for its audience. With nearly 20 years on the market,World of Warcraft’sexpansions have had many ideas abandoned, but none of its expansions were as full of cut content as Warlords of Draenor.
The fifth expansion inWorld of Warcraft’shistory, Warlords of Draenor promised a time-traveling adventure during the birthplace of the Horde. Instead, players ended up with a disjointed hodgepodge of an expansion. Warlords of Draenor is largely considered to be one of theworst expansions inWorld of Warcraft, and its cut content played a large role in the expansion’s flawed reception.
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The Vanishing Zones of Warlords of Draenor
Unlike most contemporaryWorld of Warcraftexpansion packs,Warlords of Draenor only had two major patches, rather than three - a trait it shared with the controversial Shadowlands expansion. This means it was short an entire chunk of content, depriving players of a new zone, raid, and more.
During its announcement,World of Warcraftspoke excitedly about future locations in Warlords of Draenor. Players were told about the mysterious “Ogre Continent” to the southwest of Draenor. Several islands were shown as locations to visit in future patches - least of all Farahlon, the island that would become theNetherstorm from Burning Crusade’s Outland.
None of these locations made it to Warlords of Draenor. The islands, including Farahlon, were removed from the in-game world map by launch, though they still appear on in-universe maps. While the Ogre Continent is still presenton theWorld of Warcraftworld map, it is rarely mentioned outside a few lines of dialogue.
Additionally, the Zangar Sea - the body of water located where Outland’s Zangarmarsh is - was going to be an underwater zone. Unused music files are named after the zone, and there is concept art of a fungal whale world boss for the area. Unfortunately, this zone also never made it to Warlords of Draenor. Though players can visit this underwater area, there is nothing of note there.
What Warlords of Draenor’s Story Could Have Been
The story ofWarlords of Draenor changed drasticallyby the time it reached players. Entire storylines were removed or rewritten during the production process. Now, this lore only exists in interview excerpts, concept art, and playtest data.
Originally, both factions were going to have capital cities in Warlords of Draenor. The Alliance would help liberate Karabor - known inBurning Crusade as the Black Temple- while the Horde was going to take the ogre stronghold of Bladespire Citadel as its hub. In the final launch of Warlords of Draenor, Karabor is only briefly used in the story of Shadowmoon Valley and some minor quests. The Horde does liberate Bladespire Citadel in the Frostfire Ridge story, but the area is only used as a quest hub after.
Some zones had their stories completely changed. Orgrim Doomhammer was supposed to star in the Gorgrond story, but was later removed only to be unceremoniously killed off by Blackhand in Talador. Likewise, the rewrites to the Talador zone changed Yrel and Maraad’s relationship. TheWorld of Warcraftdraenei characterswere originally written as lovers, with Maraad having lost his version of Yrel in the main timeline. This, as well as Yrel’s teased “dark secret,” were cut from the game.
In early interviews,World of Warcraftsaid Grommash Hellscream would be final boss of Warlords of Draenor, and a Shattrath City raid would be in the expansion. However, fear of inundating players with Iron Horde raids and orc bosses, and due to other rewrites,World of Warcraftmade Archimonde the last boss, and Grommash helped fight him. That said, the unused Gorehowl legendary weapon rumors, and Kargath’s original survival during the Highmaul dungeon, are relics of this particular change.
Other scrapped plot threads in Warlords of Draenor include:
The Missing Features of Warlords of Draenor
Plenty of features were changed during Warlords of Draenor, but none were so egregious as Garrisons. Garrisons were imagined to beWorld of Warcraft’splayer housing. Players could put their Garrison in any zone, and could freely move it later. Followers would be fully customizable, and could complete quests, dungeons, and even raids on behalf of the players. Buildings would be highly-modular, with versatile placement, decorations, and multiple powers to choose from.
Almost none of thesefeatures made it to Warlords of Draenor. Garrisons were stuck in the Frostfire Ridge for Horde players and Shadowmoon Valley for the Alliance. Buildings could not be customized, could be placed in only a couple spots in the Garrison, and had specific powers. Followers were not customizable, and the rock-paper-scissors-like Mission Table replaced their dispatch. Other early ideas, like battle pet breeding, never made it past the concept stage.
Warlords of Draenor also showed off class accessories - special cosmetics specific to each class. Though concept art for thieves’ tools for Rogues, a quiver for Hunters, and a grimoire for Paladins was revealed, the idea was unceremoniously dropped and never spoken of since.
With over eight years since the expansion, players can do little but reflect on what modernWorld of Warcraftwould be like had Warlords of Draenor been different. While no otherWorld of Warcraftexpansion has had as much cut content as Warlords of Draenor, Shadowlands came dangerously close. Hopefully, thelessonsWorld of Warcraftlearned from these less-loved expansionscan help it soar to new heights in Dragonflight and beyond.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflightis available now on PC.
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