The widely popular MMORPG, World of WarCraft and its predecessor, WarCraft, created a fun and whimsical fantasy world with plenty of silliness to attract most audiences. However, the world presented within isn't without its fair share of tragedies.
From the very beginning of space and time, there was evil. It corrupted even the purest beings into monstrous hellions. Some of Azeroth's greatest heroes experienced the saddest tragedies due to this evil and so too did its most innocent creatures.
10 Lady Sylvanas Windrunner
Now at the center of the story in current WarCraft lore, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner is one of the most heartbreaking characters in the franchise. While Blizzard writers may have built her up into a crazy lunatic in recent years, her original story in WarCraft 3 is quite a memorable one.
Determined to save Quel'thalas from Arthas' grasp, Ranger General Windrunner did everything she could to impede his advance toward the city. She became such a thorn in his side that he built up a very personal vendetta against her. Once finally in his grasp, Arthas decided not only to kill her, but to raise her as a powerful banshee. In that moment, she found herself doomed to serve the lich she fought so valiantly against.
9 Pamela Redpath
Both retail and Classic players alike who venture into Eastern Plaguelands know the gut-wrenching story of Pamela Redpath. Players meet the little girl's ghost in the ruins of Darrowshire.
Pamela resides alone in a war-torn building near the town. She explains that she hasn't seen her family for a long time, including her father who promised to come home. Pamela doesn't understand why she's been left alone, but players soon find out. Pamela's father, Joseph Redpath, fell to the scourge who then raised him to fight against the town. Scourge forces overwhelmed Darrowshire, and within the ruins of her home, the doomed spirit awaited her father's return.
8 Arthas Menethil
What is quite possibly the most famous story in WarCraft lore is Arthas' corruption and eventual transformation into the Lich King. A pivotal moment in this journey occurs during WarCraft 3. A desperate Arthas decided the only way to stop the spread of the scourge plague in Stratholme was to kill everyone in the city.
After a series of mood swings and other out-of-character behavior, it was a decision that officially turned his master, Uther the Lightbringer, and his friend, Jaina Proudmoore, against him. Without them at his side, Arthas marched into the city with a small platoon and slaughtered everyone he came across. Even still, he found it was not enough to stop the spread. At the end of his raid, he left for Northrend, where the corruption within him finally took hold.
7 Lady Jaina Proudmoore
Hellbent on living up to her family's legacy, Lady Proudmoore trained under Archmage Antonidas and became one of the only female sorceresses in service to Dalaran. She experienced much grief throughout her adult life, including losing her on again-off again lover, Arthas, to the scourge. However, her greatest tragedy came shortly after the culling of Stratholme.
After the founding of Theramore, a port city in Horde territory, the fabled hero, Rexxar, came to her, claiming an assault by assassins. She soon discovered her father, Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of Kul'Tiras, was behind the attacks. Although she loved her father and cared deeply for the nation of Kul'Tiras, she felt that peace with the Horde was the greater option. As the Lord Admiral began his attack on Horde forces, Jaina chose to side with the orcs. Rexxar ultimately killed the Lord Admiral, sparking Kul'Tiras' leave from the Alliance and branding Jaina as a traitor.
6 Mankrik
Horde players who enjoy the stories of the Barrens know Mankrik's tragedy all too well. Players first met this orc at Grol'dom Farm in Northern Barrens. After fending off quillboars and their increasing attacks, Mankrik and his wife Olga finally lost their battle. Mankrik awoke on the side of the road, tended to by a druid. The whereabouts of his wife were unknown.
From that day forward he stood at the crossroads, battling quillboars and awaiting his wife's return. He tasked players with finding out what happened to Olga. Those who took the quest eventually found her beaten and mangled corpse. In Cataclysm, Mankrik's story received an update. Further south from the crossroads, surrounded by numerous quilboar bodies, Mankrik continues the fight to avenge his slain wife.
5 High Inquisitor Fairbanks
The Scarlet Crusade is a religious cult that strives to end the scourge threat. Due to their fanaticism, they kill any who stand in their way, and as such, do not affiliate with either faction. The story of High Inquisitor Fairbanks, found in the Scarlet Monastery dungeon, shows just how cruel they can be even to those in their own ranks.
As his title suggests, Fairbanks was a high ranking member of the Scarlets. He and Highlord Mograine were tricked into going to Stratholme, leading to an undead ambush. Fairbanks survived the attack, hidden under a mound of bodies. He watched in horror as Renault, son of Mograine, killed his father. Fairbanks fled back to Scarlet Monastery to alert them of these events. The religious zealots claimed blasphemy, then tortured and killed him. His body later arose in a secret chamber, most likely due to his contact with the plague at Stratholme.
4 Sindragosa
Sindragosa was not always the undead dragon seen in the Icecrown Citadel raid. She was, in fact, Queen of the Blue Dragonflight and wife of Malygos. Contrary to what some assume, her demise was unrelated to the Lich King.
After the creation of the Dragon Soul, Neltharion betrayed the other dragonflights and went to war above the Well of Eternity. He decimated the Blue Dragonflight and severely wounded Sindragosa. Blinded and suffering, Sindragosa knew death was near. As all dragons do, she used her last ounce of energy to fly to Dragonblight, but unfortunately, she fell from the skies, passing away into a glacier. Years later, Arthas raised the majestic creature's corpse to fight for the scourge.
3 Kael'thas Sunstrider
So much more than a villain, Kael'thas Sunstrider was a determined leader desperate to save his people. Despite rampant racism within the early Alliance, Prince Sunstrider made friends with humans, especially the aspiring mage Jaina Proudmoore.
After his father lost Quel'Thalas to Arthas and the scourge, Sunstrider renamed his people blood elves, in honor of their fallen kin. He and a platoon of survivors joined the Alliance resistance to fight off the scourge forces in Lordaeron. Despite bigotry from the humans, the two races worked together for a short time before Sunstrider had enough. Seduced by Lady Vashj and her promise of power, he led the blood elves to ally with Illidan, setting the course for his downfall.
2 Sargeras
Before the events of the Shadowlands expansion revealed new lore of the greater cosmos, Sargeras was the ultimate enemy in WarCraft. Sargeras the Defender was one of the original titans of the Pantheon, a league of world souls, tasked with his namesake of defending Azeroth and other worlds.
Demons from the Twisting Nether spread into the cosmos, threatening all life. After much war, Sargeras discovered all the demons he killed merely resurrected in the Twisting Nether and returned. He also learned of beings known as the Void Lords and Old Gods. They sought to corrupt world souls and succeeded with one, leaving Sargeras no choice but to destroy it. The other titans condemned him for his actions, and he split from them. Overwhelmed, he concluded that the only way to save all of existence from the Void Lords was to purge all life from the cosmos.
1 Illidan Stormrage
Over the years, Illidan Stormrage, brother of Malfurion Stormrage, has had at least some significance in almost every major event in WarCraft history. It goes without saying that a soul that's been around that long and been so heavily involved with world-changing events has experienced significant tragedy.
Early in his life, Illidan fell in love with Tyrande Whisperwind, although her heart longed for his twin brother. As time passed, both his power and anger grew, shifting his moral compass. Illidan channeled that power and anger into defeating the Legion, leading to multiple atrocities against the elves. For his actions, he was banished to 10,000 years of imprisonment. Tyrande released him during the Third War to help fight off the new demon threat. Believing he was the only one willing to do what was necessary, he turned to fel energies, corrupting him into a powerful demon.