It's one of the most iconic scenes in video game history. When Arthas Menethil saw the crates on the docks or piled next to the markets and wagons, he already knew it was too late. The pattern will be the same for when the Scourge attempts to invade a second time in Classic: World of Warcraft. As part of the events leading to the new continent of Northrend, Azeroth will see a replay of the infamous Zombie Plague, and the events have some interesting in-game lore and real-world history.
One of the reasons Wrath of the Lich King was so popular was because it engaged players in the evolving history of Azeroth, making the world feel more like a living place. Some interesting bits of the real world are retold when the Scourge attempt yet another invasion.
The End of Warcraft 3
Once upon a time, in a whole other century, there was a series of real-time strategy games called Warcraft. They had evolved from the PC games of the early 1990s, and The Frozen Throne was one of its most popular campaigns. It ended with Arthas Menethil, the former prince of Lordaeron, traveling to Northrend and becoming the Lich King.
Instead of another entry in the series of RTS games, the World of Warcraft became an MMORPG and history continued in another direction for a while. With this expansion, however, players can follow the quests to Northrend for a second time and the story of Arthas continues.
The Corrupted Blood Incident
Speaking of new expansions, everyone was excited about one of the shiny new open-concept troll-themed raids years before the WotLK expansion was a frosty gleam in Blizzard's eye. Zul'Gurub was released as part of Patch 1.7.0 and the final boss, Hakkar, was a demigod with a bad attitude and a damage-over-time (DoT) spell called Corrupted Blood.
The boss could cast it on both players and their pets, which would then in turn spread it to others within range. In the closed raid, with high-level characters, the damage was high but normal, and it was customary for the healers to bring the raid through it. However, when the pets and players that were inflected with the plague inadvertently carried it back to Azeroth, the results were disastrous.
Lower-level players died in a matter of seconds when they contracted the plague, and just like in the raid, it spread to others. The results took days for the developers to fix and in the meantime, Azeroth became an interesting experiment in how a real-life pandemic might work. This, combined with the tragic tale of Arthas destroying Stratholme, was the inspiration for the Zombie Plague Event.
The Argent Dawn Connection
The creation of the Argent dawn is deeply connected to the history of the kingdom of Lordaeron and the fall of the Knights of the Silver Hand. Once a force for good, the Silver Hand was corrupted and became Scarlet Crusade, the enemies of both the Alliance and Horde. Even though the Scarlet Crusade is an enemy of the Scourge, this faction remains hostile throughout the event. A splinter group, the Argent Dawn, rose from the destruction of the shattered company, and when players hunt the undead in the Plaguelands, they do so in their name.
This is why the guards and healers that appear in cities during the Zombie Plague Event represent the Argent Dawn as opposed to other organizations that are also fighting the Scourge. Players would spend hours grinding rep with this faction just to get attunement for Naxxramus and obtain special gear.
Kel’Thuzad And Naxxramus
Kel'Thuzad was the face of the Scourge before the return of the Lich King, and even after the ascension of Arthas, he remains one of the man bosses of the storyline and one of the most important commanders of the Scourge forces. The story here is that this character survived the original raid on Naxxramus, even if the player and their friends remember killing him there, and moves on to become the main commander of the Lich King's forces in Northrend.
When Kel'Thuzad moves, he does so within the comfort of his floating Necropolis, which is why this familiar landmark moves from its original location in the Eastern Plaguelands. By the time the Zombie Plague is underway, Kel'Thuzad has returned to the frozen north, but he won't be safe for long.
The Arcanite Ripper
It's a reference to the Arcanite Reaper, a crafted sword in vanilla WoW that was famous for an ability that made it much faster and certifiably overpowered. The Ripper is also a double-headed ax, but it's of Epic quality and only drops from a special, temporary boss who only appears during this event.
The Arcanite Ripper loot table for Tenris Mirkblood in Karazhan, a character that has no connection to the lore other than this special weapon. Aside from just looking badass, the ax also has the ability to turn the wielder into Bergisst, the guitarist for the in-game band known as the Taurn Chieftains, and his riff on his ax like it's an electric guitar.
World of Warcraft Classic can be played on PC, and Wrath of the Lich King is set to launch on September 26, 2022. However, the Zombie Plague Event will run between September 6 and 13.