Highlights

  • The next World of Warcraft expansion, The War Within, will heavily feature the ancient civilization of nerubians, spider-like creatures with a dark and mysterious realm underground.
  • The nerubians are descended from the Old Gods and were once part of the Aqir insectoid soldiers. They built an empire called Azjol-Nerub but fell during the War of the Spider against the Scourge.
  • In the upcoming expansion, the nerubians are on the side of the Void and seek to reclaim their former glory. They have evolved into bipedal humanoids and will have their own raid, Nerub'ar Palace, in the new Azj-Kahet zone.

The nerubians are one of World of Warcraft’s oldest civilizations, and these spider-like creatures are going to feature heavily in the next expansion. The War Within will follow Dragonflight and take players on a journey beneath Azeroth’s surface and into the dark and mysterious realm of the nerubians. To battle such foes, one should be prepared and know what they’re up against.

Most nerubians are essentially anthropomorphic spiders, but not all of them look the same. The most infamous nerubian in World of Warcraft history was Anub’arak, and he looks more akin to a giant scarab. They’ve been around since the days of Warcraft III, where they helped Arthas Menethil as loyal soldiers of the Scourge, but there’s so much more to these arachnids than meets the eye.

World of Warcraft's Nerubians Are Descended From the Old Gods

Long ago, before the mortal races of Azeroth existed, the planet was at war. Dominated by the Old Gods, these chaotic entities each laid claim to certain corners of the globe. These four Old Gods, though their ultimate goal of corrupting Azeroth was shared, battled one another in an endless conflict. They each created armies of eldritch creatures to carry out their bidding, and the most notable of these was the Aqir.

The Aqir were insectoid soldiers designed to form endless hordes of unstoppable military might, but when the Black Empire fell and the Old Gods were imprisoned, the Aqir were left leaderless. That’s not to say they were helpless, however. The trolls, Azeroth’s first naturally evolved race, fought a war against the Aqir that lasted millennia. They eventually gained the upper hand, causing the Aqir to splinter and retreat to separate ends of Azeroth.

Those who went south and made their home in the deserts of Silithus became the Qiraji and continued to serve the Old God C’Thun, but those who ventured north became the nerubians. These highly intelligent beings built an enormous empire they named Azjol-Nerub, a vast colony of temples and ziggurats that webbed beneath the surface of Northrend. They thrived for many an age despite some major conflicts, but their greatest challenge was soon to arrive.

The War of the Spider and World of Warcraft's Scourge

With Ner’zhul stationed by the Burning Legion as the Lich King, he was to lead an endless army of undead to conquer Azeroth. But for that, he needed the nerubians. Their expertise and resources would allow the Scourge to take all of Northrend and thus began the War of the Spider. The nerubians were, by nature, immune to the plague and proved difficult to raise into undeath. So, to take Azjol-Nerub, the Lich King had to use brute force.

It was a grueling war of attrition, but eventually, Azjol-Nerub and its king, Anub’Arak, fell before the undead onslaught. The Lich King eventually managed to raise many of the arachnids into undeath and used them to bolster his ranks. But while their empire suffered, the remaining living nerubians rebelled. In Wrath of the Lich King, players actually help them overthrow Anub’arak, whom they have come to call the ‘Traitor King’. With their newfound freedom, the nerubians set about the daunting task of rebuilding their civilization.

World of Warcraft: The War Within's Nerubians

That was the last time players really heard from these shadowy insectoids, until World of Warcraft’s next expansion, the War Within, was announced. It seems that the nerubians are, this time, on the side of the Void, and a significant number of them seek to reclaim their former glory during the days of the Black Empire. What's more, they have evolved a new, bipedal form, making them proper humanoids. The first raid of that expansion will be the Nerub'ar Palace, located within the new Azj-Kahet zone. Little else is known at this point, but one thing's for sure: Nerubians are ancient and powerful, and they have survived eons of war for a reason.