Can Panderan Death Knights Save Blizzard?
It’s been an interesting couple of days at Blizzard. After Hearthstone player Ng Wai “blitzchung” Chung spoke in favour of the Hong Kong protests, Blizzard stripped him of his winnings and banned him from the game. This provoked outrage within the community, to the point where #BoycottBlizzard has been trending for two days. Now, in a recent update to WoW’s PTR, some hints at a Lich King expansion have been found.
According to Wowhead datamining, new assets point towards Allied Race Death Knights. In addition to the Allied Races, there’s also been texture updates for Panderan Death Knights as well. While these textures are specific to the BakedNPCTextures which are, as the name suggests, for NPCs, this inclusion hints that Death Knights will be coming to the Allied Races.This is one of the most requested additions by fans and amid major controversy, it wouldn’t be inconceivable to drop this kind of news.
Speculation by Wowhead also suggests that a return to Northrend and the Lich King could tie up some potential plot threads. It could also mean an entirely new introduction quest for Death Knights. Because Allied Races came after the Lich King arc, many are curious how races that didn’t appear during that time period could be present in the current Death Knight introduction quest. Because there would need to be a change to fix timelines, there’s speculation that this could mean new arcs involving the Lich King
Some other loose plot threads introduced during Battle For Azeroth also point towards Northrend. Taelia being the daughter of the Jailor of the Damned Bolvar Fordragon as well as Bwonsamdi’s strange dealings. All of these have pointed towards Shadowlands, and the Frozen Throne is a well-known gateway between Azeroth and the Shadowlands.
Whatever may be on the horizon, this xpac may be receiving an icy reception if Blizzard stays silent.