World of Warcraft has enough lore to fill a library, and with the retail game constantly moving forward, it’s not unusual for old lore to get swept under the rug in favor of new developments. With World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic announced last week at BlizzConline 2021, WoW Classic fans are about to see Warcraft's history rewritten once again.
The Burning Crusade expansion brought with it several key retcons to World of Warcraft’s lore to justify its new playable races and the events in Outland. Here’s a breakdown of every retcon which is about to take place as World of Warcraft Classic sends players beyond the Dark Portal into World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic.
The Draenei
The Draenei retcon is the most famous change made to the Warcraft lore between WoW’s original release and the start of The Burning Crusade. The Draenei were originally introduced in Warcraft 3, though not as they appear in The Burning Crusade. These Draenei were led by Akama, and joined Illidan Stormrage in Outland after he helped them fight off the attacks of their Fel Orc neighbors, led by the Pit Lord Magtheridon.
These Draenei had three digits per hand like a Tauren and no noses. When the Draenei were revealed for The Burning Crusade they looked far more like Warcraft 3's Archimonde, an Eredar, than Akama. It was revealed that the Draenei who appeared in Warcraft 3 were in fact “the Broken,” a type of Draenei that had been mutated over time by exposure to the Red Mist.
The Red Mist was a version of a disease called the “red pox,” that was mutated by the Fel magic of the Burning Legion’s Orc Warlocks. This plague was put into bomb shells that were fired at Shattrath during a siege. Those Draenei that survived were severed from their connection to the Light, and became the Broken. Those who survived even higher levels of exposure became the Lost Ones, completely feral Draenei.
This wasn’t the only major change to the Draenei lore established in Warcraft 3, however. The Burning Legion was founded by Sargeras, the Dark Titan. As the Titans seeded life throughout the cosmos, Sargeras was originally the protector of the worlds they visited. In the Warcraft 3 manual, however, it was stated that he eventually gave into despair while fighting two demonic races, the Eredar and the Dread Lords. Going mad, he recruited two Eredar, Kil’jaeden and Archimonde, to be his lieutenants.
In The Burning Crusade, however, Sargeras’ relationship with the Eredar was changed significantly. In the new version, Sargeras still battled the Dread Lords, which was at least part of what drove him to despair and betrayal. Once this had happened, however, he began seeking out races to bring into his new demonic legion.
Around 13,000 years before the events of World of Warcraft, Sargeras found the Eredar, a prosperous race led by Kil’jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen. Sargeras offered them untold knowledge and power, an offer which only Velen refused. Archimonde, Kil’jaeden, and their followers were bathed in Fel magic, becoming some of the Burning Legion’s most powerful new additions.
Velen and his followers fled, calling themselves the Draenei, meaning the “Exiled Ones.” From there these Draenei, who still looked almost identical to the Eredar, eventually landed on and populated the Orc home world of Draenor, which eventually became Outland. To save his people from the Burning Legion, Velen would hijack a part of the Naaru dimensional fortress of Tempest Keep from the Blood Elf forces of Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider. The Blood Elves, however, managed to sabotage the Draenei’s escape route, causing their ship “the Exodar” to crash land on Azeroth, leading the Draenei to join the Alliance.
The Blood Elves
The Burning Crusade’s other new playable race, the Blood Elves, also required some retconning to take them from the faction seen in Warcraft 3 to the Horde members who appear in World of Warcraft. In the original lore, the Elves of the Eastern Kingdoms were a race descended from Highborne Night Elves who left Kalimdor to practice their magic. These exiles became known as the High Elves.
The High Elves built their society around a powerful magical font called the Sun Well, which was eventually corrupted by former Prince of Lordaeron and future Lich King Arthas Menethil to bring the Lich Kel’Thuzad back to life. Arthas and the Scourge devastated the land of the High Elves, leaving few survivors.
To protect the survivors from Arthas and the Lich King's forces, Prince Kael’thas was forced to accept the help of Lady Vashj and the Naga, who were allied with Illidan Stormrage. When Lord Garithos, human leader of the remaining Lordaeron forces, caught wind of this alliance, he attempted to have Kael’thas and his men sentenced to death. However, Vashj helped the High Elves escape to Outland to reconvene with Illidan’s forces. The High Elves who joined Illidan renamed themselves the Blood Elves.
In The Burning Crusade, however, not only are there survivors who still live in the Elven kingdom of Quel’Thalas, but these Elves also renamed themselves “Sin’dorei” or Blood Elves after those who died during the Scourge invasion. These Elves are led by Regent Lord Lor’themar Theron, who despite initially staying loyal to his prince later discovers that Kael’thas is serving the Burning Legion itself and has betrayed his people.
Resurrected Raid Bosses
The Burning Crusade also came with a few retcons for major villains. Magtheridon had once been the leader of the Fel Orcs until he was defeated and presumed dead. After defeating the Pit Lord, Illidan took his title, the “Lord of Outland.”
In The Burning Crusade, however, it’s revealed that Magtheridon was imprisoned, not killed. He can be found in-game in Magtheridon’s Lair, beneath Hellfire Citadel in a one-room raid similar to Onyxia's Lair in Vanilla and Classic. Onyxia herself it also technically retconned by The Burning Crusade - she was never killed in Vanilla or Classic, and lives through the main events of The Burning Crusade only to be defeated by King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind in one of The Burning Crusade's last patches before Wrath of the Lich King.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic releases 2021.