The next WoW expansion takes us back to the Warcraft past. And that brings with it some well-known characters that appear for the first time in World of Warcraft. Some might ask: Who are these Warlords of Draenor? We’re introducing the leaders of the orc clans in a new series of articles.
The next WoW expansion Warlords of Draenor brings with it a whole chunk of Warcraft nostalgia. Our heroes travel to ancient Draenor. You travel back to a time when Draenor was not yet a shattered Outland, but the thriving home of the orcs. On Draenor we will encounter characters that have only been marginally or not at all featured in games in the Warcraft series. Some people may therefore wonder who the eponymous Warlords of Draenor actually are. We want to introduce them to you in this series of articles.
WoW: The Warlords of Draenor – Blackhand
Warchief Blackhand – not to be confused with his son Rend Blackhand – is one of the more tragic figures of the Warcraft world. In World of Warcraft, Blackhand is encountered during the Karazhan Chess Event. The king figure of the Horde is modeled on him. A very fitting symbolism. After all, Blackhand was the warchief of the Horde, its king, so to speak. But he was also little more than a chess piece controlled by someone else’s hand.
Blackhand came into play when Gul’dan sought to unite the Horde under his banner. Gul’dan, while a first-rate puller, was not a formidable warrior that any orc would immediately follow. Blackhand, on the other hand, was already known as a brilliant tactician and ruthless warrior. No matter how strong the lust for battle burned in Blackhand, only a faint little light flickered in the upper room. Blackhand wasn’t the smartest of orcs, but he had an ego that could have filled the Hellfire Citadel from which he later ruled.
It was accordingly child’s play for the scheming Gul’dan to smear Blackhand with honey and win him over. Gul’dan offered the warrior a seat on the Shadow Council, in addition to promising him leadership of the Horde. Blackhand didn’t realize that he was actually just a marionette. He accepted the post of warchief and was accepted by the orcs. Gul’dan’s plan worked.
Even the warlock was surprised at how unscrupulous Blackhand went about his work. He didn’t hesitate to lend his clan’s shamans to make them the first orcish warlocks. And he didn’t even shy away from allowing his children to undergo cruel experiments that would age them faster and make them battle-ready. But Blackhand was not only insane, he remained a brilliant war leader. Under his leadership, the Horde was victorious in the First War.
But none of this helped Blackhand when Gul’dan’s machinations and the Shadow Council were exposed. Orgrim Doomhammer, Blackhand’s right hand, had long doubted his leader and Gul’dan’s true plans. Orgrim didn’t hesitate and killed Blackhand, making himself the new Warchief.
Blackhand in Warlords of Draenor
Little is known about the role Blackhand will play in Warlords of Draenor. His ruthless nature seems to make him the perfect companion for Garrosh – although the two with their egos would hardly fit in the same room. Interesting storylines with Gul’dan may also emerge. If he doesn’t feel like the orc from the future and his Iron Horde, he might try to make Blackhand his puppet in this alternative story as well. One thing is certain: Blackfist rules over his Blackrock clan in Gorgrond – we know the area from Outland as Schergrat. Since one of the first raid instances from Warlords of Draenor is also housed here with the Blackrock Factory, Blackhand does not have a very long appearance.
What is WoW Classic?
World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.
Getting Started
All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
- Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
- Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
- Click the Play button when the installation is complete.
You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!
Heroes&WIKI, WoW Classic, World of Warcraft Classic, WoW ClassicSpecial, WoW ClassicSpecials
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