Warcraft: Orcs & Humans brought players to Azeroth for the very first time, and players would control the armies of either the Humans or the Orcs through two separate campaigns with different endings. The game proved to be a success, so Blizzard released Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness, expanding the story of Warcraft by introducing new units and the iconic characters of Gul’dan and Sargeras. Then, Blizzard released Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, which heavily expanded the story and caused waves in the gaming industry; the creation tool even led to the creation of DOTA and the modern MOBA genre. After receiving an expansion, the story of Warcraft left the RTS genre and entered the MMO genre with World of Warcraft, but fans have been clamoring for a return to the series’ roots for years, and with Microsoft now owning Activision Blizzard, it may be possibility.
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Warcraft 4 Could Be Set in Between Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft
When World of Warcraft first launched, it took place four years after the events of Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. In that time, Thrall’s horde had settled down in Durotar and invited the undead Forsaken to join its ranks, while Gnomes, Dwarves, and Night Elves all joined the Alliance. Four years does not offer a lot of story potential, but in Azeroth it seems a giant world ending crisis happens every single week, so maybe a lot actually did happen in that time.
Setting Warcraft 4 in-between Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft would allow Blizzard to vastly expand the events that led up to the beginning of WoW. It could introduce new characters, let players see what old characters were up to, and let them learn more about the intricacies of the Horde and Alliance. Maybe players could help Thrall find a suitable home for the Horde, or perhaps they could help the Alliance recruit more allies. They could even get a look into what Blood Elves, Draenei, and all the other post launch races were up to.
A New Take on The First and Second Wars
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness are very dated by today’s standards, Blizzard does not even sell them on Battle.net. Warcraft 3: Reforged let players experience the Third War again, even if the game was controversial, but many players have little to no idea what happened during the First and Second Wars. While Blizzard could choose to remaster the original two games, it could also create a brand-new game set in that time.
The first two Warcraft games were very bare-bones story wise compared to Warcraft 3. While story was present in those games, with the second one vastly improving on the storytelling, it was nothing compared to later titles. Crafting an RTS more in the style of Warcraft 3 but set during the First or Second Wars would let players experience this pivotal time in Azeroth. Blizzard could also use this as a way of redoing the lore to make it more in line with World of Warcraft, as Warcraft: Orcs & Humans had two different endings despite only one being considered canon.
Set During an Expansion Pack
One of the easiest settings that Warcraft 4 could take place in is during an expansion. Each of the original Warcraft games took place during the great wars of Azeroth, and World of Warcraft has had many great wars. Battle for Azeroth gave players The Fourth War, Legion and The Burning Crusade involved large scale invasions from the Burning Legion, Wrath of the Lich King and Shadowlands had Scourge invasions, and Cataclysm had the apocalypse. Players only get to experience a small subset of these various conflicts, so having Warcraft 4 take place during these times would help expand the threat and give players a full picture of the events.
It is unclear whether another Warcraft game will ever be a possibility, as World of Warcraft continues to receive content, but fans can dream. Blizzard has said it is planning substantial content for Warcraft, Microsoft has made some great RTS games, and fans have been clamoring for a fourth title for a while, so maybe it’s finally time for Blizzard to make one.
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