Spoilers: Angrathar the Wrath Gate cinematic
by Alex Ziebart 
Sep 24th 2008 at 4:30PM
If you don't know, this cinematic triggers when you turn in a quest, both for the Horde and for the Alliance. The quest line ultimately leads to an assault on the Undercity, the Horde and the Alliance each going after different targets within the city.
The questline also has some great insight into King Varian Wrynn and a smattering of other things, but I'm not here to ruin the entire line for you. Just watch the cinematic. Oh, you did already? Well watch it again.
Both sides of the fence, Horde and Alliance, have said their respective heroes at that battle went down like chumps. I don't think that's true at all. Highlord Bolvar lead the charge and called out the Lich King. That takes stones, even if he didn't go down fighting. Huge, massive stones. Saurfang the Younger got one-shot, sure, but he took a swing at Arthas. He got punked, sure, but that takes stones, too. They went down hard, but they weren't cowards by a longshot.
Final note? Grand Apothecary Putress has an awesome supervillain cackle.
[ Video via MMO-Champion ]
Filed under: Horde, Alliance, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Sanmiguel Sep 24th 2008 4:34PM
EPIC. That is all.
Tone Sep 24th 2008 4:36PM
Jimminy Crickets that was awesome!
Mattimus Sep 24th 2008 4:38PM
That was pretty awesome.
So what's in store for the Forsaken players? Certain NPCs that have been around for a while in Undercity are outed as traitors, and hunted by the Horde as part of this very quest chain. It'll be really interesting to see how they reform their government to justify still being ANYBODY'S friend.
xenos Sep 24th 2008 10:04PM
my best guess is that the whole quest chain will be instanced (at least the attack on undercity part) just like the DK quest chain.
Can any beta testers confirm/deny?
Aaron Sep 25th 2008 6:51PM
just got done doing it earlier (the whole thing is f'ing epic quest and cinematic), and you are semi correct, it of course uses the new phasing tech as soon as u get out of the cinematic and has u go back to saurfang to tell him his son got owned, you are promptly told to go back to Org to save UC. the moment you get back to Org a lot of stuff has changed. its truly some of the best stuff i have seen in WoW to date. sorry didn't want to spoil toooo much.
Scottyy Sep 24th 2008 4:39PM
DAMN IT ALL. Why did I let myself watch that??? >:(
annerjb Sep 24th 2008 9:55PM
agree QQQ i was expecting something less epic oh well. wow saurfang cleave looked pretty badass
Exziel Sep 24th 2008 4:39PM
Bolvar...l2 BoP Saurafang! and Bubblehearth you fool!
Heilig Sep 24th 2008 4:44PM
Holy crap you just made my day.
If only He were a paladin and not a warrior. Still, I laughed aloud.
+1
niko Sep 24th 2008 5:13PM
Bolvar was too busy doing his 33.33333% calculation for chance of victory, just for Saurfang to pull a Leeroy and wipe the raid.
Damn, Blizz totally made this a Leeroy tribute under the guise of lore.
lol :)
svenhoek Sep 24th 2008 4:39PM
So wait, does that mean that the Forsaken are enemies now? Like their there own faction? How will this work for the undead players?
Alex Ziebart Sep 24th 2008 4:47PM
I hate spoiling more than I have to, but since we're already here...
The Forsaken were betrayed, too.
jay Sep 24th 2008 4:48PM
I'm thinking that Forsaken dude has gone rogue from Sylvannas and decided to take matters into his own hands, but it has been said in lore that the forsaken have never really cared for the hordes objectives, their alliance I believe has been one of a means to an end.... but who knows, I probably got that bit wrong.
Thiosion Sep 24th 2008 5:08PM
Ok, STOP READING NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS.
Basically, Putress is a member of a Coup staged by Varimathras. You enter a phased version of Orgrimmar under "lockdown", where all the "good" Forsaken are staying as refugees. Then there's an even MORE epic quest where you team up with Sylvanas Windrunner, Thrall, and Varok Saurfang the Elder to take back Undercity and *gasp* kill Varimathras. Also, there is "far off laughter" when Varimathras dies, and he says: "Master... I have... failed... you." Or something along those lines. Anyway, everyone wins, except Varian Wrynn turns out to be a racist jerk and tries to kill Thrall. Jaina freezes the entire Alliance army, and mass teleports everyone back to their home capitals after apologizing to Thrall.
Yeah.
Aldheim Sep 24th 2008 5:18PM
You can't just call Varian a racist jerk like he doesn't have a point. A, he had just freed himself from a system of institutionalized slavery that the Horde apparently condoned (or at least didn't put the boot to)- odd, considering Thrall's own background.* B, a major faction of the Horde managed to betray and murder a great hero of the Alliance along with a ton of Alliance AND Horde soldiers.
It's not like Sylvanas is innocent here. She let Varimathras in. She KNEW he was a freaking scheming conniving dreadlord. And the Royal Apothecary Society was working in her name all along to develop "a new plague." So Sylvanas may not have been directly responsible for the deed, but she IS responsible for letting an untrustworthy, duplicitous creep like Vari become her second in command. And Thrall is guilty of letting the Forsaken into the Horde and giving them the full resources of his organization knowing that they are, generally speaking, also duplicitous and untrustworthy...
Yeah, Varian's comments are kind of racist, no doubt. (Though given that Varian remembers how the orcs rampaged through his kingdom, burned his land and killed his father, and then later made him a pit-slave, maybe he's a little justified there, huh?) But he's also right about a lot of things: the Horde screwed the pooch on this one. The deaths of all those soldiers is on the head of the Horde for not bothering to make sure their own leaders deserved the trust invested in them. I'd be pissed too.
Lur Sep 24th 2008 6:20PM
So what I am reading is that Sylvanas let someone in that betrayed her and that this is all her fault... blah blah blah...
But Wait...
Didn't a bunch of people in Stormwind just hand the keys of the kingdom to a traitor not too long ago?
I mean, I don't know that story inside and out because I prefer the Horde. But, seems to me that someone there MUST be 100% responsible for that failure as well.
Kil'jaeden wants Arthas dead, and has for some time. Sylvanas would be pretty safe in assuming that Varimathras' betrayal would have come after that common goal. He being a Dreadlord, it's a matter of WHEN and not if.
So she made an oops, won't be the first or last time a leader does in this story.
slimj091 Sep 24th 2008 6:47PM
"except Varian Wrynn turns out to be a racist jerk and tries to kill Thrall"
if you were at war with an alien species for the most part of your life you would be a "racist jerk" against them also. I mean thrall wasn't (and still isn't) a total sweetheart. he has taken part in and ordered the slaughter of thousands of alliance in the past.. tho that might have been for reasons different than for some other members of the horde. you have to look at it from Wrynn's point of view. Thrall represents an army that has nearly wiped humanity from the face of azeroth on more than one occasion.. in that sense he is a very great threat to Wrynn, and his people in his eyes. the sad part about it is is more than likely without thrall the horde would revert back to it's barbaric days of slaughtering anyone they come across. I chalk it up to Wrynn being held prisoner/slave for the past 4/5 years. you don't really tend to get much news about how your old enemy has become your on again off again BFF over the years when your locked in a cage.
Thiosion Sep 24th 2008 8:33PM
"thousands of Alliance soldiers"
Thrall? Really?
*checks WoWwiki*
I don't THINK so. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you're talking about Grom. Grom is the Lothar of the Horde. A war hero that the particular side reveres, but in reality a ghost of past age, and a representation of past ideals.
Thrall ordered Grom NOT to kill any humans. The only two times Thrall has willingly killed humans in mass numbers was when he was acting in self defense in Alterac, and when Jaina gave him permission to order his armies against those of Kul Tiras.
kabshiel Sep 24th 2008 11:16PM
It seemed to me that the New Plague worked pretty well against Arthas, so maybe people shouldn't complain just because a few grunts got caught in the crossfire.
Algathar Sep 24th 2008 4:41PM
Oh. My. God. THAT WAS FUCKING EPIC! Gief WotLK please! >_