The elements in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight have taken the spotlight once more, albeit as the primary antagonists of the story. It’s dragons versus elementals this time, but not all elemental forces are out to cause havoc. Way back in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, players were introduced to two characters whose aid became invaluable in those dark times.
The Elemental Lords in WoW are often final boss material, especially Ragnaros the Firelord, who featured as the last boss in two separate raids. His infamous escapades have landed him an iconic reputation in video game history, but he’s not the only Elemental Lord. While the Lord of Wind, Al’Akir, also chose to side with Deathwing, the remaining two decided that they’d had enough of the chaos and instead helped save Azeroth. Given the stakes of the current situation, they could easily lend a hand.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm's Remaining Elemental Lords Could Be a Huge Help
These two Elemental Lords are Neptulon, the Tidehunter, and Therazane, the Stonemother. They are each immensely powerful in their own right, but throughout most of Azeroth’s history, they have remained detached from mortal affairs. When the Titans arrived to imprison the Old Gods that had conquered Azeroth, they also banished the Elemental Lords to separate domains known as the Elemental Planes. Since then, only a few elementals have lingered on the planet, giving mortals a chance to flourish.
Therazane herself has little love for mortals. Players who are familiar with the dungeons of Classic World of Warcraft will remember when they delved deep into Maraudon and slew Theradras, a Princess of Earth. Therazane did not forgive Azeroth’s mortals for killing her daughter, and it took much convincing for the Stonemother to finally lend her aid. Once players helped her to stabilize the World Pillar, a structure that held her Earthen plane of Deepholm in place, she helped squash the Old God forces threatening Azeroth.
Thus, despite her initial reluctance, Therazane’s power has been used for good, as her dislike of mortals is outmatched by her hatred of the Old Gods and their influence. It is entirely possible that, given the Primal Incarnates’ careless use of void magic, Therazane might step in to show the world who the true and rightful ruler of stone and earth really is. If World of Warcraft’s heroes could convince the Stonemother that Azeroth was in real peril, she would, at the very least, send armies of elementals to help the dragons win the day.
Farther afield, Neptulon has himself remained secluded in his own realm, the Abyssal Maw, since Cataclysm. That does not mean he has not helped mortals, however. Multiple times both before and since Deathwing’s defeat, the Tidehunter has sent his minions to help Azeroth’s mortals. Neptulon has arguably had the greatest positive influence of all the Elemental Lords despite so rarely actually showing up, since he freely gives his blessing and the loyalty of his elementals to any who would protect Azeroth.
During Classic World of Warcraft, Neptulon’s minions helped mortals in their fight against both Ragnaros and C’Thun. In both Cataclysm and Battle for Azeroth, he fought against the Naga armies who sought to wipe out Azeroth’s heroes. In World of Warcraft: Legion, Neptulon even helped the Earthen Ring shamans defeat the Legion once and for all. With all this in mind, it’s a wonder the Elemental Lord of water hasn’t yet sent his soldiers to help battle the Primal Incarnates.
Therazane and Neptulon are both Elemental Lords, making them far more ancient and powerful than even the Primal Incarnates. Although Ragnaros and Al’Akir are long gone, the Stonemother and Tidehunter value Azeroth’s prosperity and stability above all else. If push came to shove, it would make narrative sense for these two entities to step in. At the very least, there should be a cameo interaction or World Quest, since World of Warcraft would miss a huge opportunity if it left these two mystical characters to gather dust.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available now for PC.