Warlords of Draenor promised an epic return to Draenor but fell short due to cut content and weak narrative. WoW Classic has the potential to resurrect its unrealized zones, raids, and stories to finally fulfill its original vision.
Warlords of Draenor (WoD) is still one of the most divisive expansions in the long history of World of Warcraft. It brought beautiful graphics, quality-of-life systems, and a solid initial narrative. But beneath that glimmering veil lie profound issues, ditched zones, stripped-down narratives, and years-long content droughts.
Now that WoW Classic is pushing relentlessly through the timeline, fans are already wondering: can a WoD Classic recapture the expansion’s early potential?
WoD was mechanically and visually ambitious, offering players a glimpse of uncorrupted Draenor. It had the classic Garrison system, rich PvP, and solidly designed raids. Yet for all its positives, WoD is mostly remembered for what it didn’t do: truncated zones, cut raids, and a narrative that went off the rails.
Here’s a snapshot of what failed, and how Classic might get it right:
| Element | Original Flaw | Classic Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Karabor | Beautiful zone with no real function; not explorable or inhabited. | Turn it into a functioning Alliance hub or instanced dungeon. |
| Zangar Sea | Largely ignored, despite the rich lore of Sporemound and underwater ecosystems. | Introduce the fungal biome and world boss content that was originally planned. |
| Farahlon (Netherstorm) | Fully removed from the game despite its presence in lore and early maps. | Restore as a max-level zone with arcane-themed quests and mobs. |
| Ogre Continent | Mentioned in lore but never realized in-game. | Build out the continent to expand the ogre lore and provide new raid content. |
| Shattrath Raid | Planned as a major raid, reduced to a single dungeon. | Reintroduce as a full raid instance with original bosses and narrative. |
| Garrisons | Limited interaction made players isolated from the game world. | Add customization, shared zones, or multiplayer functions. |
| Narrative | Major characters are underused, timelines are poorly explained, and plot gaps are unresolved. | Rewrite arcs to properly develop Yrel, Grommash, and the Bronze Dragonflight. |
WoD’s story could have been great, a war of high stakes against alternate-timeline orcs. The cinematic trailer set expectations sky-high. But many of the key plot points were rushed, overlooked, or retconned late in development:
Grommash Hellscream was hyped up as the final boss, but was bumped for Archimonde.
Yrel and Maraad, possible anchors of the Draenei narrative, were relegated to the background.
Orgrim Doomhammer and other legendary warlords were quickly dispatched with minimal setup.
Lore features such as Bronze Dragonflight time travel were noticeably missing.
Gorehowl, Grommash’s mythic sword, never materialized.
These storytelling missteps weren’t the result of a lack of ambition; they were victims of cut content. Rumors indicate that almost a third of the intended features were cut before launch.
For all its issues, WoD had some things players liked:
Alt-friendliness: Players were able to get geared up quickly in PvP without doing the PvE grind.
Raids: Highmaul and Blackrock Foundry were complimented for their design and balance.
Visual design: Areas such as Nagrand and Talador are still some of the best-visualized areas in WoW history.
Garrisons: Although imperfect, they were an advancement toward the much-requested player housing.
A WoD Classic would rectify what the original botched. With more time, fewer technical limitations, and feedback from the community, Blizzard might implement abandoned zones, recreate storylines, and at last provide the full vision.
Of course, not everyone wants to go back to Draenor. Some players associate WoD with its notorious content droughts and player isolation. Others claim that Classic WoW should be about the earlier expansions, such as Wrath or Cataclysm. But if Blizzard treats WoD Classic as something more than a rehash, if they remold it into an ultimate edition, it might flip the conversation on its head.
Warlords of Draenor could have been a revolutionary combination of vision and compromise. It was obvious that the game had potential as a work of art, but its fulfillment was lacking. But now, WoW Classic presents an opportunity for Blizzard to attempt a do-over, to revisit the zones, complete the storylines, and provide the Draenor players was initially guaranteed. Whether it becomes a redemption tale or yet another lost opportunity rests on how aggressively Blizzard decides to develop its game.