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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 5h

It really upsets me that in the Amani storyline, the connection between them and Bwonsamdi is present only in a VERY indirect form. The direct one was never shown. I'd like an additional questline, not tied to the main plot, that would show this.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 5h

Personally, I'm more upset that his body was just left there instead of buried... I don't know why I'm expecting it in 12.1.5 — it would be symbolic, given the update is the "conclusion of Quel'Thalas and Zul'Aman". But I feel they'll just ignore the Amani, prioritizing Liadrin's (?) memory...

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 6h

I think many were upset by Zul’jan’s death due to its absolute meaninglessness. Just death for death’s sake. If he and Zul’jarra had another younger brother or sister who would learn from the elders and eventually become something “shared” in the future, maybe there would be some symbolism in that.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Of course, admitting the storyline and its characters are hopelessly dead is easier than trying to fix anything. But keep in mind: it will likely be remembered only negatively — if at all. And "We hear you" will become a byword for hypocrisy.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I've played WoW for many years, but never seen anything like this. I'm sure any previous team would have either not let it get this far or at least tried to fix it. Even with the expansion's pace, side quest chains not tied to the main plot are still an option.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

And if with "a certain streamer" I can understand what the developers are afraid of — those who don't block for an objective rule violation — here there's no objective reason that justifies refusing to fix this or at least partially live up to what was said.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Of course, if the Amani aren't planned to appear in future story at all, it's understandable. When certain words are said, responsibility is taken for them. Ignoring that is disrespect toward those who cared.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Finding "something else" for the survivor — beyond the generic "protecting my people and Azeroth" — is far harder than restoring the meaning that was originally there. And the generic won't bring back interest in the character.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

@worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com, don't be surprised if Amani storyline ends up as the most disappointing in recent memory. The issue isn't how the character died — it's that killing him was the dumbest possible decision — the most formulaic and meaningless one. And refusing to fix it is even worse.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The biggest disappointment? WoW deprives trolls of characters who have someone to help them live with their hatred while changing. Someone to walk beside them. Instead, they get killed, and the survivors get nothing. That's not a story. That's erasure.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Sometimes what's called "hatred" is just pain, fear, or memory. The character is defending themselves. But people judge on dry facts without digging deeper. No one asks why. Thinking is hard!

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

If any character who feels dislike is immediately condemned, why write them at all? Why show their path, their pain, if they're just thrown away in the end, like Zul'jan? Just make everyone a goody-goody from the start. Boring, but safe!

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Notice how this only applies to unloved characters. Favorites in WoW get forgiven for everything — hatred, mistakes, even the deaths of others. Because they're favorites.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Double standards: a flawless goody-goody gets praised for being static, while a flawed character who grows gets condemned. One is a template. The other is a story.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

A character's hatred is not a verdict. It's a wound. You can understand why it's there and still disagree with them. That's called thinking. Condemning is easier, but it's not analysis.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Maybe that's why WoW doesn't have complex characters? Because most players just aren't ready for them — given how quick they are to condemn anyone who feels hatred, makes mistakes, or isn't a goody-goody. They want templates, not characters.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Dry analysis isn't dry. It's lazy. It ignores everything that doesn't fit the conclusion you already wanted. Once the verdict is in, details stop mattering. Convenient, isn't it?

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It seems that some simply don't want to understand the nature of hatred / dislike. The examples above show that with a "dry analysis", apparently common to many players, anyone who feels dislike can be condemned without even trying to understand the cause of such an attitude.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I wonder if those same players think Talanji deserves death for her hatred of the Proudmoores, which continues to this day. Or Genn Greymane for his past hatred of the Forsaken. Or Lor'themar for his dislike of the Amani. And many other examples... I don't think so.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

All subsequent events and dynamics have no influence on their initial opinion of the character. Most such players either expect a goody-goody right away or decide the character deserves death.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Overall, it didn't surprise me that some people in 12.0 called Zul'jan a "mini-version of Garrosh". But when some still think of him that way after everything that happened, I have two theories: either they didn't play at all since 12.0, or they don't remember or don't know what Garrosh was like.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This disappoints me now even more than the fact of death itself. I don't know what the problem was with handling the funeral and spirits — between the siblings there could have been a short dialogue where Zul'jan would say something like: "One day we'll compete again", and something from Kinduru too

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'd handle it through Zul'jarra's hash’ey. Resurrect him with Jan’alai's help, even as a child, maybe even without memories of the past. At least something unusual and new, and "removed" from the plot, and kept their word. That’s is 🤷🏻‍♂️ A little imagination, and it could already be made unique.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

which they had ABSOLUTELY none of. As if they were added to this story only for drama.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

That's why I wrote about an afterlife with his uncle: it would have been dramatic but wouldn't have left such bitterness. Even an in-game dialogue could have smoothed over the situation with the 12.1 cinematic and given the Amani at least something resembling a "positive" moment,

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

That's true. I just think that even if plans are abandoned for one reason or another, at the very least you should leave some kind of catharsis — and the troll race more than allows for that.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

But apparently, worst of all, they considered Zul'jan some kind of "failed experiment", and it became easier for them to throw him away than to at least "smooth over" the situation. Alas, nothing but disappointment, though I would have been interested to be an observer of such a character's path.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Boromir from LOTR, Arthur Morgan from RDR2 — those are tragic characters. At one point, I would have been happy even with a decent afterlife shown for Zul'jan, as one of the tools that could help create catharsis, even if it's not catharsis itself.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I think they were trying to make Zul’jan a tragic character. I don’t know much about it, but I think a tragic character isn’t just someone who suffers and dies. What matters is that the suffering has meaning, and the death has consequences or some kind of catharsis. In his case, there’s neither.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'm really starting to think more and more that they were already lying back then when they said he was liked within the team. If he were liked, they would have at the very least shown a funeral and an afterlife with uncle, for example.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I don't understand how they could just show no respect at all to a kid like that, who ultimately did the right thing... In all my years of playing, I've never been so disappointed overall...

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I've said from the start: when a race has so few key characters, each finale should be handled with respect, using racial possibilities, like Kinduru. With Zul'jan, it's frankly insulting, like they were too lazy. Like the commenter above, I won't be returning to Retail either...

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I think they couldn't admit it directly, so they left a kind of "hint". For me, it's not the "change of plans" that's insulting, but the minimalism in how they handled the character's memory. Kinduru got a funeral and an afterlife.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Honestly, if that's the case, what we have now looks incredibly disappointing. What was so hard about showing, for example, a funeral, the spirits of the uncle and brother, other deceased Amani? We've seen spirits a bunch of times in the Amani storyline — here it just feels like laziness.

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Reposted by @Vilinren1

Khono Chronos @khonochronos.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Everyday I miss him.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I'd have been fine with not the version of Zul'jan we saw, but the one he could have become. After all, in WoW, character development and change are the norm. Few remained the same as they were at the initial "introduction". I want him back too.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Yeah, the local side quests were really good.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I adore BfA. It's almost the only expansion where I was delighted by the starting storylines, the locations (all in Zandalar and Kul Tiras) and the dungeons. They were fantastically atmospheric! At the start, it was magical!

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

To be fair, Bwonsamdi has been showing up in every troll storyline since BfA. The question is, where the hell is he, and why hasn't he shown up in this one yet??

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

But as it is, it turns out to be a "path to leadership" for someone who already had it, and which was never called into question in view of actions.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I think Nalorakk's words would have looked more logical if there had been an open enmity between Zul'jarra and Zul'jan for the "throne" of the Amani, where Jarra would have relied on the Loa, and Jan wouldn't have.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

By the way, I love your posts about Zul'jan! It's cool that you still remember him.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Zul'jan should be the troll version of Illidan. The troll community needs its own Illidan!

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I miss Zul'jan too. I just want to see him again — he deserved so much better than this.

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Reposted by @Vilinren1

Zabsanzi @zabsanzi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The problem with the key Amani characters (Zul'jarra and Zul'jan) — and with the overall state of Midnight Maybe someone at @worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com will read this and at least stop to think Enjoy reading #WoW #WorldofWarcraft #Warcraft #Midnight #Amani #Zuljan #Zul'jan #Zuljarra #Zul'jarra

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I have two "theories". 1. It matches yours — that it's easier for them to "turn a blind eye" to all of this, which sucks… 2. If I were in their place and knew that everything was part of some "plan", I'd keep quiet too. Why spoil the "surprise"?

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Although even that's not quite it. It's not exactly "I'll forget everything" — the overall impressions of the storyline will be better, but the team will still need to take note of the criticism received in that situation and draw at least some conclusions, so as not to "stumble" in the future.

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@Vilinren1 @alexandr214.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Even death and farewell, however bitter they may be, can be handled truly beautifully, especially if the racial possibilities allow it — which, in the case of trolls, is more relevant than for anyone else. A grain of imagination is enough and the desire to do it.

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