[GameSpot] - WoW Shadowlands Datamine Reveals What's Next For Sylvanas

[343iBot]

Ever since players defeated Sylvanas in the penultimate raid of World of Warcraft Shadowlands, they've wondered what would ultimately become of the character. She essentially betrayed all of Azeroth, and even her own faction, in service of the Jailer. Now, thanks to the datamining of an upcoming story epilogue, fans have an idea of Sylvanas' fate.

Wowhead datamined a number of voice lines from the epilogue for the Zereth Mortis campaign, which is slated to arrive in the live version of the game next week. The voice lines are not the whole story by any stretch of the imagination, but they do paint a pretty clear picture of what's going to happen to Sylvanas and who is responsible for her punishment. Spoilers below.

As revealed in the voice lines, it seems the leaders of Azeroth are content with leaving the fate of Sylvanas up to Tyrande, the leader of the Night Elves. Sylvanas, after all, committed genocide against the Night Elves by burning down their home, Teldrassil, and started a full-blown war with the Alliance that was the driving force of the game's Battle for Azeroth expansion. The death done at Sylvanas' command was all in order to send more souls to the Jailer and help fulfill his plans. Given all of the above, Tyrande is perhaps the most appropriate person to mete out justice for what Sylvanas has done.

Tyrande notes that while Sylvanas now appears to show remorse for her actions (thanks to a somewhat complicated story involving her getting part of her soul back), there will be no peace for the Banshee Queen given all the crimes she has committed. Rather than a merciful death or a prolonged execution, Tyrande seems to have another idea in mind for Sylvanas.

"Below lies the Maw," Tyrande tells Sylvanas. "Every soul lost in its depths, betrayed or condemned, you should find and send forth to the Arbiter. You will toil there under Dori'thur's watchful eye. This is how you shall bring renewal to your victims."

Sylvanas seems accepting of her fate, saying, "My actions were mine alone and I accept their consequences" and that she does not expect mercy. After multiple expansions of being one of the game's primary antagonists and committing unspeakable crimes that nearly contributed to the destruction of all of Azeroth, Sylvanas will be condemned to wander the darkness of the Maw in search of all the lost souls she sent there.

Many fans, particularly Alliance players, have long been concerned that Blizzard would seek to redeem Sylvanas and that she would escape a fitting punishment for everything she did. While she's not being locked up or getting the headsman's ax, having to roam purgatory for what will likely be hundreds or thousands of years in search of the souls of those she wrongfully killed does seem to be a somewhat fitting punishment, even if it might not be the conclusion some Alliance players would have liked to have seen.

While World of Warcraft Shadowlands has received its final content patch with Eternity's End, there is still more story to come in both the patch 9.2 epilogue and eventually in patch 9.2.5, which will introduce cross-faction play to the MMORPG for the first time. Shadowlands will also receive a Season 4, featuring dungeons from old expansions. Blizzard is set to reveal the game's next expansion on April 19.

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