Thrall has a long and storied history in Warcraft, starting as a lowly slave and gladiator, rising to Warchief of the Horde, and eventually using his shaman power to defeat Deathwing alongside the Dragon Aspects. He is one of the main characters of the franchise, as well as one of the most popular, and he is voiced by Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen. Of The war within expansion entering beta, Thrall is one of the key players working to save Azeroth – but fans are concerned that he’s just spinning the same old story.
As a character, Thrall united the modern Horde under one banner, founded the city of Orgrimmar, managed diplomacy with factions like the Forsaken and the Blood Elves, and helped lead the war against the Lich King. It was during the Cataclysm expansion that things got weird; Deathwing’s arrival threw the world into chaos, and as a shaman, Thrall felt obligated to help. It’s hard to be the head of a large political coalition and save the world from a dragon, so Thrall withdrew and put Garrosh Hellscream in his place.
Garrosh was a bad choice and he ended up being the final boss of the Nebulae of Pandaria expansion. Both factions had to storm Orgrimmar and stop Garrosh, putting him on trial for all kinds of war crimes. Unfortunately, Garrosh escaped to an alternate universe to cause more chaos Warlords of Draenor expansion came. Thrall put Vol’jin in charge of the Horde, went to Draenor, pursued Garrosh and killed him. But that wasn’t as cathartic as he might have hoped, as Garrosh brought up Thrall’s negligence in appointing him to such a high position and promptly leaving him alone to fail. Thrall was so upset about the whole thing that he lost his connection with the elements and eventually retreated to a farm in Outland.
But Thrall may be too popular to shelve forever, which is why he came back Battle for Azeroth and adventuring through the realms of death Shadowlands. He is now prominently featured in major art for The war within, and in early promos about the upcoming expansion, we learned… that he’s still struggling with his connection to the elements. This plot thread is reinforced with some dialogue from Jaina The war within contents; she worries about Thrall and his ability to cope without his elemental powers.
Warlords of Draenor is 10 years old, and while Thrall’s basic dysfunction is somewhat understandable – and it makes sense to focus on inner conflict during a “war within” story – I’m so sick of Thrall having this particular problem. As one fan put it on X, “Thrall started struggling with his connection to the elements when I was in high school. I am now pursuing a master’s degree and Thrall is struggling with his connection to the elements.”
Thrall started struggling with his connection to the elements when I was in high school. I’m currently pursuing a master’s degree and Thrall is struggling with his connection to the elements.
How are we *still* doing this storyline, lmao https://t.co/BN0bTUPaEe
— Portergauge ️ (@Portergauge) May 30, 2024
It’s possible we’ll see more variety in Thrall’s story in the future The war within updates; after all, the beta is for testing. At this point, it seems like fans are at best worried about Thrall and wondering how to help him get out of this rut, and at worst completely bored with the idea of dealing with another trust issue from our big green friend to go. Thrall is currently one of the few main characters with strong ties to the Horde, so it would be nice to see more Thrall the diplomat or Thrall the leader. As we embark on the first expansion in the World Soul Saga, fans are worried that we may be more likely to get Thrall the Mope. Again, this is just a beta version and the content of test areas is always subject to change. Blizzard has done a much better job at writing villains over time Dragonflight; it remains to be seen whether it can find interesting paths for its heroes as well.