wow Patch 8.2.5 Build 31337 New Creature Models: Calia Menethil, Wrathion, Zekhan, Valeera

[Stan 5,020]

In this article, we're taking a closer look at new creature models for Calia, Zekhan, Valeera, and Wrathion, available in the initial Patch 8.2.5 build.

Calia Menethil

Calia's model has been updated, and she's now a Lightbound Undead. It gives us a rough idea about how the potential Alliance Allied race could look like in the future.

Valeera Sanguinar

Valeera's model has also been updated, and her armor looks great!

Wrathion

In Patch 8.2, we spotted multiple agents of the Black Prince scattered across the new zones, and in 8.2.5, it looks like Wrathion is going to be involved in some scenario taking place beneath Karazhan.

Zekhan

Our favorite Zappyboi is going to play a role in the upcoming 8.2.5 War Campaign, so Blizzard updated his model accordingly.

[Teufel 331]

Puberty hit Wrathion hard...

[Arcling 877]

On 8/3/2019 at 9:11 PM, Teufel said:

Puberty hit Wrathion hard...

What's funnier, he is only like 7-8 years old (already aware of his surrounding while he was in egg). Dragons can live for very long, but apparently they mature quickly. ?

I wonder if they will bother explaining the unique state of "light undeath" that Calia is in. For people who didn't read Before the Storm, this will appear out of nowhere (WoD had similar situation with not showing events leading to Garrosh's escape). Liking the update to Valeera's model, she looks similar to her HotS/HS appearance. Greymane could use one too, to look more like in art.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Arcling

[dartbodman 64]

The red of Valeera's armor looks too bright and flat... In art it has a lot of details carved into it that make it look darker

[Valhalen 1,484]

I really like the new Valeera model. Looks as polished as her HotS one.

I wonder if Zappyboi look as "JoJo Handsome-esque" in his model below the mask as in the cinematic.

[Yridaa 490]

18 hours ago, Stan said:

Lightbound Undead

This race development is a plague on the entire warcraft lore.

[Arcling 877]

31 minutes ago, Yridaa said:

This race development is a plague on the entire warcraft lore.

Well, we've already had a demon purified by light... Although it's better if this new type of undead won't become another allied race, 4 types of playable humans are enough.

[Badadada 184]

Was Valeera's hair always this weird or she fell victim for a hair sclulpting cult? Never the less - new models are always welcome, I can't remember if Ebonhorn officialy met Wrathion so far, maybe it's time for an introduction in the next patch. Though I'll miss his oriental-style turban and jewellry a bit, those were very cool features.

[Arcling 877]

1 hour ago, Badadada said:

Was Valeera's hair always this weird or she fell victim for a hair sclulpting cult? Never the less - new models are always welcome, I can't remember if Ebonhorn officialy met Wrathion so far, maybe it's time for an introduction in the next patch. Though I'll miss his oriental-style turban and jewellry a bit, those were very cool features.

Hair is standing up, because it's in model viewer, it will look like Lor'themar's in game. Funny thing, in Legion beta Wrathion was Ebonhorn and his goal there was to find intact black dragon eggs. Perhaps they should meet, there was also Sabellian, a black dragon hiding in Outland, but it seems like he has been forgotten.

[PatrickHenry 293]

On 8/3/2019 at 6:18 PM, Arcling said:

I wonder if they will bother explaining the unique state of "light undeath" that Calia is in. For people who didn't read War Crimes, this will appear out of nowhere (WoD had similar situation with not showing events leading to Garrosh's escape).

I consider myself pretty heavily vested and well versed in this game, and when WOD hit I had no idea who it was that removed his hood when Grom refused Gul'dan.  No idea that the book was a thing to explain what happened.  Game did a decent job but after the fact.

This thing with Calia has only been touched in AFAIK one dialogue snippet from anduin when he remarked about "arathi", and that could have just been the warfront for all that says.  

[Valhalen 1,484]

On 8/4/2019 at 9:32 AM, Yridaa said:

This race development is a plague on the entire warcraft lore.

Why? If that is the case Undead shouldn't be able to be Priests in-game, since they would be technically severed of all connections with The Light, yet they can.

[Migol 425]

On 8/4/2019 at 7:32 AM, Yridaa said:

This race development is a plague on the entire warcraft lore.

The lore for all the allied races is a bit sketchy.     The ones that make the most sense are the new trolls, draneii  and dwarves, and they "make sense" only insofar as being willing to drop years (decades) of hatred to ally with people they were fighting before; or in the noble and holy Lightforged Draneii's case, turn their weapons on their allies from last week.

Suddenly finding a hidden island of Mecha-gnomes that's apparently been a legend but was hidden by (magic?) mists for, reasons?    Whatever, can hand wave the whole race as a joke, I'll give them a pass.

But then you have the lore breaking nonsense.

1) The Mag'har storyline had to be twisted something fierce to make them happen.    Wibbly Wobbly timey-wimey stuff happens and now somewhere in the continuum is a nazi Yrel and genderswapped Thrall, with a Garrosh who worships the holy light.

(deep sigh)

The kicker is, we have access to much easier, more lore friendly Mag'har from Outlands.    The same ones who are blood relations to the current horde and not some kind of alternate universe clones.    They just showed Thrall even living next to them in their latest cinematic!     Why in Metzen's name are they working in all this nonsense about alternate universes and time travel and not simply recruiting the existing, far more stake in the current horde ones?

2) Volduni-Love or hate the foxes, their lore is ridiculous and stupid.    The Volduni it should be noted have no central authority (they're in clans or tribes led by elders from the look of it).    They control no cities, no valuable land, and they're basically desert nomads and not warlike at all unless pushed to the brink.

Recently, a few horde and zandalari trolls get lost in the desert.    Like, maybe 15 Volduni take pity on these stragglers and help them out.   

This act of charity enraged Anduin Wrynn, who obviously has connections to whatever Alt-Light group Yrel is part of, and he decided it was worth diverting troops during wartime to a desert as literal Purge Squads.    Thus forcing a decidedly neutral group into the arms of the horde.   

3) Void Elves-Are we going to pretend there's any real lore there?   They basically invented it at the end of Legion with Alleria, something something Dark Side.    Suddenly there's apparently a group of void elves in Silvermoon.

Now note that the entire Blood Elf race just got over their whole "Fel Problem".    Where they were addicted to magic, and had evil magic coursing through their veins.   There's still plenty of them with fel going on too.     There's also plenty of shadow priests and warlocks who dabble (hard) in void energies to the point that Insanity is a resource and they summon void minions.

For whatever reason, these specific elves following the example of one of their greatest heroes  are not being tolerated by the (mostly former) fel corrupted types, though the priests and warlocks are just dandy.     But the Alliance, IE those with a LOT of history of racism and "She's a Witch!", is fine taking them in...????

4) Nightborne "Well we just finished a brutal civil war that saw most of us half dead with starvation and mana addiction, then we helped fight off the nearby Legion armies.     So we're so ready to jump right into a war between the Horde and the Alliance!   

(watches Sylvannas burn down a World Tree with the children and noncombatants of their direct relatives screaming in anguish)

"This is Fine."

5) Light-Undead.     I mean, Blizzard's own lore was that using Holy Light to heal undead was -agonizing- to the undead.    They decidedly don't mesh.    Also, while they hint that there's some big reason and plan behind the creation of this race...I suspect this will turn out similar to the "Eranikus club" of Night Elves who get raised from the dead and join Sylvannas "Because reasons!" or what the hell happened to the Vindicar.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Migol

[Valhalen 1,484]

34 minutes ago, Migol said:

3) Void Elves-Are we going to pretend there's any real lore there?

 

34 minutes ago, Migol said:

4) Nightborne "Well we just finished a brutal civil war that saw most of us half dead with starvation and mana addiction, then we helped fight off the nearby Legion armies. So we're so ready to jump right into a war between the Horde and the Alliance!

Void Elves and Nightborne were added just as a way to have Alliance play with Blood Elves and Horde play with Night Elves, in their own manner.

[Migol 425]

45 minutes ago, Valhalen said:

 

Void Elves and Nightborne were added just as a way to have Alliance play with Blood Elves and Horde play with Night Elves, in their own manner.

Sure but would it have killed them to try a -little- bit to make sensible lore?   It wouldn't take too much effort. 

[Arcling 877]

6 hours ago, Migol said:

Suddenly finding a hidden island of Mecha-gnomes that's apparently been a legend but was hidden by (magic?) mists for, reasons?    Whatever, can hand wave the whole race as a joke, I'll give them a pass.

It feels like they did this too many times. Mechagon is in the same bag as Uldum and Pandaria. I would rather visit another planet, than suddenly discover more isles or continent hidden by magic.

1) I agree, they still had unused Mag'har in Outland. Their leader is son of Kilrogg and he has been forgotten for so long now. Could have been similar deal as with Dark Irons. Mag'har would now "officially" join the Horde, since there were still some remaining in Outland, Garrosh likely didn't recruit all (and some like Dragonmaw and Blackrock were already on Azeroth). Having a whole playable race from alternate universe running around feels kinda wrong.

2) Yeah, Vulpera don't really fit anywhere. They don't even match the concept of allied races.

3) I think story for Void Elves isn't that bad, as it is something we already had before. Take a race and have it transformed by some magic, not that unusual for Elves (Naga, Satyr, Nightborne and so on).

4) Their story mirrors that of other Elves, betrayal, addiction to magic, isolation etc. At least their questline was pretty good in Legion.

5) Some undead can use holy magic (and even being healed by it to some extent), but it causes them severe pain. Anyway, they shouldn't add too many humans.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Arcling

[Yridaa 490]

19 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Why? If that is the case Undead shouldn't be able to be Priests in-game, since they would be technically severed of all connections with The Light, yet they can.

There are plenty of priests that have broken their pact with the Light, Undead included of course. One of the most notable examples is Archbishop Benedictus. It's even in his in-game speeches. I don't consider it a great way to develop his character (it came literally out of the blue) but there's evidence everywhere of priests/practitioners of the light (paladins incl.) to cut off all ties.

[Ragingwolf 286]

The character models are nice.  I see we will have a small snippet of story about Arthas's Sister sometime in the near future.  Right now the story for BFA feels like a D&D game gone horribly wrong with horrid rolls.