References to Games in World of Warcraft

By Wowhead Updated: 2018/03/05

Alone in the DarkAlone in the Darkness - Guild EditionAlone in the Dark Yogg-SaronBattletoadsBottletoadsBattletoads trolling memeRashPimpleZitzBioshockStonetalon MountainsRaptureMr. Bubble's Shockingly Delicious Ice CreamBig DaddiesClarissaAliceMr. P's Wild RideMr. D's Wild RideAnderov RyonClarissaAlice

Clarissa whispers: Get 'em, Mr D!
Clarissa whispers: Hooray, Mr. D! You're back! Do you remember how to shoot all your guns? Why don't you take a minute to learn how to fight again! Just in case.
Clarissa whispers: Hurt 'em some more! MORE!
Clarissa whispers: Make 'em sorry for hurting you, Mr. D!
Clarissa whispers: YAY!

Anderov RyonAndrew Ryan

Fools! Simpletons! Look at you milling about, oblivious to the coming of the end!
Allow me to ask a simple question: Is a man allowed - entitled even - the sweat of his brow?
"No," says the orc in Orgrimmar, "it belongs to the Horde!"
"No," says the human in Stormwind, "it belongs to Alliance!"
I knew a man once that rejected those answers! A man that chose the impossible!
That man was Genn Greymane and that impossible choice was Gilneas!
Oh Gilneas, I miss you so!

Mr. D's Wild RideMr. P's Wild RideClarissaAliceBioshock InfiniteElizabeth BirdsongElizabethCastlevaniaVampire Hunterpopular pastimeCastlevaniaVampiric BatlingMonster Slayer's KitMonster Slayer's KitMonster Slayer's SymbolMonster Slayer's Holy WaterMonster Slayer's AxeMonster Slayer's DaggerCity of HeroesPortal Jockey (10 player)Portal Jockey BadgeCity of HeroesCrossfireYou'll Get Caught Up In The... Frostfire!Crossfire commercialDance Dance RevolutionStamp Stamp RevolutionHans'gar and Franzok encounterDark Souls

Cracklefang: Resembles Sif from Dark Souls, a large wolf who wields a greatsword.

Praise the Sun!: Message indicating approval that players can put down in the game environment.

Soulare of Andorhal is a reference to Solaire of Astora. Soulare of Andorhal can be recruited from the Lunarfall Inn / Frostwall Tavern Level 2 by searching for five things Protection Paladins can counter--Wild Aggression, Massive Strike, Magic Debuff, Deadly Minions, Powerful Spell. He is dressed similar to Solaire with Abandoned Fealty Battleplate (Recolor) worn by many Argent Crusaders, Argent Crusader's Tabard, and the leafy green Cenarion Spaulders to match his trademark green shoulders. If you /praise him, he summons a sunbeam, and if you /tired him, he will give you the Wayfarer's Bonfire toy.

Wayfarer's Bonfire is a reference to the game save points, which are bonfires. This toy places a bonfire down.

Warning Sign, Warped Warning Sign, and Lilian's Warning Sign reference the messages players can leave for each other in Dark Souls.

So Grossly Incandescent and Gloriously Incandescent reference Solaire's initial dialogue: "Oh, hello there. I will stay behind, to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body, like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent..."

Dead SpaceDread Spacenone of the horrorDefense of the AncientsDefense of the Ancientsmultiplayer battle arena modDiabloWoW/Diablo References Guide

Tyrael's Charger was a reward for participating in WoW's Annual Pass, which also rewarded players who signed up for 12 months of WoW with free Diablo III and beta access. This item is no longer available.

Fetish Shaman's Spear looks like a Fetish Shaman from Diablo II. It is obtained by purchasing Diablo III: Collector's Edition. He's got some neat animations--constantly babbling, bouncing around, and occasionally breathing the Diablo III trademark.

Tyrael's Hilt, summoning mini-Tyrael, was a gift inside the Paris Worldwide Invitation 2008 goody bag. It was made in limited quantities and the code can still fetch quite a bit
of cash. The battle pet, Mini Tyrael, has the unique abilities Holy Sword, Holy Justice, Holy Charge, Omnislash, and Restoration.

Diablo Stone summons Mini Diablo, <Lord of Terror> as a reward from the Collector's Edition of WoW's launch. The pet will occasionally levitate and spit fire into the air.

Murky's Little Soulstone is a WoW-Diablo hybrid--a murloc from a corrupt soulstone. He likes to breathe a lot of fire and smoke, as well as make typical murloc grunts with a demonic accent.

Treasure Goblin's Pack looks like the in-game Treasure Goblin who drops piles of gold and amazing items. It is obtained by purchasing Reaper of Souls. It has the unique abilities Greed Before Need, Magic Sword, Portal.

Murkalot's Flail is another WoW-Diablo hybrid--based on the new Crusader class coming in Reaper of Souls. This was a reward for BlizzCon 2013. It has the unique abilities Punish, Falling Murloc, Righteous Inspiration, Blessed Hammer, Reflective Shield, Shieldstorm.

Naglering pays tribute to Nagelring in Diablo II, a unique ring known for its large boost to magic find. They both share the bizarre feature of having the attacker take 3 damage.

Polished Jazeraint Armor is a reference to the Illuminated Jazeraint items players could craft in Diablo II.

Band of the Hierophant references a legendary ring, the Hierophant's Seal in Diablo II.

Triune Amulet references one of the cults in Sanctuary, which posed as a peaceful organization yet served the Prime Evils. It's fitting that this item drops from Scarlet Monastery, another example of religion gone bad.

Many base armor types from Diablo II are referenced in WoW BoE sets, such as Archon Chestpiece, Serpentskin Armor, Embossed Plate Armor, Field Plate Armor, Gothic Plate Armor.

Eaglehorn Long Bow: named after The Eaglehorn, a unique bow from both Diablo I and II.

Staff of Jordan, Sash of Jordan, Grand Staff of Jordan: References to the Stone of Jordan, one of the most important items in Diablo II, which was used to socket items when no quests were available. They were collected in stacks and used as a form of currency.

Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge, Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian: Best known to players now as the namesake for the heirloom Venerable Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge, it's a tribute to a weapon set in Diablo II: LoD, Bul-Katho's Children, which also consists of a Sacred Charge and Tribal Guardian.

Butcher's Cleaver from Shadowfang Keep's Razorclaw the Butcher has the exact same name and weapon type as the loot drop from Diablo I's Butcher.

Doombringer: it's lacking good stats, but it's named after Doombringer, a two-handed sword with great stats in all three Diablo games.

The Ziggler: this low-level BoE dagger references The Diggler from Diablo II: LoD, a dirk effective in early levels too.

The Needler could be a reference to the Halo weapon or The Needler from Diablo I.

Heaven's Light: named after Heaven's Light from Diablo II, one of two unique Mighty Scepters in the game.

Grim Reaper: named after Grim Reaper war scythe from Diablo II: LoD, which also was a weapon that was best at lower levels with a damage proc.

Gargoyle's Bite is a low-level BoE with additional armor, named after Gargoyle's Bite from Diablo II, a winged harpoon with life leech.

Glacial Spike is a removed item that used to be a reward from the Sunken Temple mage class quest. The Diablo II version had a cool proc that caused an AoE explosion and froze enemies in place--the WoW version had Frosty Zap, a chance to restore mana when casting
Frostbolt.

Cow King's Hide is a reference to the Secret Cow Level, the Moo Moo Farm, in Diablo II, which contained Hell Bovines and the Cow King.

One of the loading screens for WoW has "There is no cow level" as a tip.

Tristam Legguards is named after Tristram, one of the most important locations in all Diablo games.

Maiden's Anguish, formerly used by rogues to brew poison, references Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish. She was the first act boss in Diablo II and had a nasty Poison Spray ability.

Southsea Lamp is named after Wirt, an annoying vendor in Diablo I who would only sell you one expensive item--after you paid 50g to view it. His leg was amputated and replaced with a wooden leg after an attack on his village. In Diablo II, Wirt is dead and his corpse has a ton of gold (for taking all that money in Diablo I) as well as his leg, which is used to open the Secret Cow Level. In Diablo III, you'll need to buy Wirt's Bell as one of the steps to access the new secret level, Whimsyshire.

Kaganishu, a kobold in Borean Tundra, is a play on Rakanishu from Diablo II. Similar to the Diablo boss, the nearby NPCs will scream out his name in all caps in combat.

Razorclaw the Butcher in Shadowfang Keep references the iconic early boss of the same name in Diablo I, brought back as the Act I boss in Diablo III: The Butcher. The Butcher in Highmaul is another tribute to this boss.

Tyrael Flamekissed is an General Goods vendor at the Shattered Sun Offensive.

Stay a While, and Listen and Stay Awhile and Listen reference Deckard Cain's famous line.

A Worthy Opponent, Could We Find More Like That?, and Glorious! are lines the Templar utters when facing combat with a rare spawn.

Donkey Kong

Empty Barrel: Donkey Kong throws empty barres at Mario as he's racing.

The Golden Banana: Name of the main objectives in each world. It's hidden in Krasarang Wilds, tied to Buried Hozen Treasure.

Duke NukemDook OokemHozen-SlayerDungeons and DragonsKruskiconic half-orc barbarianFinal Fantasy GamesAerith PrimroseAeris Gainsborough

The Gunblade: The Gunblade first makes its appearance in Final Fantasy VIII.

Lionheart Blade: The Lion Heart is a famous Gunblade used by Squall Leonhart. The WoW model bears similarities to this weapon, including a winged hilt and decorative bladed edge.

Grand Theft AutoGrand Theft, 1st DegreeGrand Theft, 2nd DegreeGrand Theft, 3rd DegreeHarvest MoonBlue FeatherHarvest MoonHearthstone

In Shrine of Seven Stars and Shrine of Two Moons, NPCs are playing Hearthstone with gameboards that represent their factions. Two NPCs play while other NPCs are gathered round to gesture and offer advice. Periodically there will be an Arcane Explosion animation, signaling the end of a game.

Senior Game Designer Benjamin Brode wanders around your Garrison sounding very excited and cheerful. He sells the Hearthstone-themed toys Hearthstone Board and Winning Hand. He wears a red checkered shirt similar to his Hearthstone Credits card and he tries to blend in with the Horde Garrison by wearing a cartoonish Orc mask—but he’s not fooling anyone.

Hearthstone Tournament is a special mission whose enemy threats are named after challenging types of decks. Successfully completing the mission rewards Hearthstone Strategy Guide which teaches a follower a great experience boost trait, and the toy Autographed Hearthstone Card which mimics opening a pack of cards.

Hearthsteed: This mount, sky blue like the color of a Hearthstone, is a reward for winning 3 Hearthstone games in Hearthstoned.

Humble BundleThe Crumble BundleHumble BundleJoustFlight in the FirelandsWave OneWave TwoEgg WaveJoustTwilight FirelanceBeware of the 'Unbeatable?' Pterodactylclassic arcade gameKatamari DamacyKata-Mary CrownGnomebliterationKatamari DamacyKiller Instinct

Glacius: Glacius in Killer Instinct is a frosty being made out of ice and water. In WoW, Glacius is a water elemental that serves Summoner Kanthin.

Fulgorge: Fulgore is a powerful cyborg and in WoW, Fulgorge is the most powerful worm in Hellfire Peninsula.

Kingdom HeartsChief Engineer LorthanderKeyblade

Kingdom's Heart: This is an obvious reference to Kingdom Hearts, an RPG featuring many Disney characters and Final Fantasy cameos.

Key to the Planes: This crafted weapon looks like a Keyblade, a mysterious weapon featured prominently in the games.

Lost VikingsOlafEric "The Swift"Baelog

Nordic Longshank and Baelog's Shortbow are Baelog's signature items--his bow has a limitless supply of arrows.

Olaf's All Purpose Shield: In Lost Vikings, Olaf could float down and check out lower areas with his shield, as well as block enemies with it.

Worn Running Boots and Horned Viking Helmet. Erik is know for running quickly and also bashing in walls with his helmet, which stuns him as well (Reckless Charge).

The Shaft of Tsol and Gni'kiv Medallion spell out Lost Vikings backwards. These items were used to complete the removed quest The Hidden Chamber.

Magic: The GatheringGruul the DragonkillerGruul ClansGruul RagebeastMario KartHardened ShellBlue Spiny ShellMine SweeperMine SweeperWindows gameMortal Kombat

Xuen's daily quest chain (such as Round 1: Brewmaster Chani) has fighters who exclaim "Test your might" before each round.

The dwarves doing target practice by Kharanos, led by Angus and Shorty shout "Mortar Combat!"

Finish Them!: Reference to the "Finish Him!" sound bite when a match is won.

Flawless Victory: A Flawless Victory is a term used to describe a match in which the victor takes 0 damage.

A Taste of Things to Come: Line uttered by Shang Tsung.

Parasite EveParasite Eveningaction RPG survival horrorPikminblue Pikmin spritesGreat Vessel of SalvationPlants vs ZombiesBasic BotanyFlower PowerGhouls Hate My GrainsSomeone Setup the Pumpkin BombLawn of the DeadWarden StillwaterDr. Zomboss

Brazie's Sunflower Seeds (Singing Sunflower): To get this battle pet, you must win a Plants vs Zombies minigame in Hillsbrad Foothills. It also hums the Zombie on your Lawn song when following you around.

Shigi's Chain of Cheerful Summons: Named for Laura Shigihara, the composer of Plants vs Zombies.

Two achievements that never made it onto live servers referenced the Bloom and Doom Seed Co that makes the plant packets the players use, as well as the catchy Plants vs Zombies song.

PokemonPokemonI Choose YouI Choose You, Steelbreaker (25 player)PortalThinking with Portals - A Memorandum on Proper Portal UsageHigher Learninggame's catchphraseThe Cake Is Not A LieThe Cake Is A LieSewer SharkSegacediSewer SharkSinistarEssence of AngerSinistarSkyrimKoro MistwalkerUnsafe PassageLike an Arrow to the Facepopular memeStarCraftLord Marshal RaynorMarshal Jim Raynor

I'm In Your Base, Killing Your Dudes: From the famous message "Im in ur base, killing ur d00dz" posted during a StarCraft game.

Heart of the Mantid Swarm: Reference to the expansion pack Heart of the Swarm.

Power Overwhelming: Name of the cheat code to unlock God Mode.

For the Swarm: Reference to the Zerg race, which attacks by swarming the enemy. The icon is also the same one used for the Zergling Leash pet.

Heavy Murloc Egg: Grunty, the 2009 BlizzCon Murloc, looks like the Marine unit from StarCraft. The Zergling Leash pet will kill Grunty. The battle pet has the themed abilities Gauss Rifle, Stimpack, and U-238 Rounds.

Zergling Leash: Zergling, from the original Collector's Edition, is based off the Zergling unit. The Zergling is weak, but can easily swarm the enemy in larger numbers for a quick victory. The battle pet has the themed abilities Metabolic Boost and Zergling Rush.

Baneling: Baneling, the Heart of the Swarm Collector's Edition reward, is based off the Baneling unit, known for dealing heavy damage when exploding. The battle pet has the themed abilities Centrifugal Hooks and Baneling Burst.

Mini Thor: Mini Thor, the Wings of Liberty Collector's Edition reward, is based off the Terran unit.

Sky Golem: The cockpit from a top-down view displays Kerrigan's face.

Star Fox 64Do a Barrel Roll!Do a Barrel Roll!Popular memeStreet Fighter

Lun-Chi: Name and attire (blue dress, white boots, white hair decorations, buns) resemble Chun Li.

Commander Jarrodenus: Exclaims "Haaadoouuuu…." and "Ken!" when casting Hadouken, which parallels the powerful Street Fighter ability.

Hadoken Swiftstrider: This elite warrior gives the quest Alpha Strike, which takes its name from the series Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter 3rd Strike.

Super Mario

After Cataclysm, Muigin and Larion now sit atop watch towers in Marshal's Stand. By switching the L and M of their names, you get Mario and Luigi.

They are dressed similarly--Muigin wears brown overalls with a green shirt (Luigi has blue overalls with a green shirt) and Larion wears red overalls with a blue shirt (Mario has blue overalls with a red shirt).

Before Cataclysm, these NPCs were also questgivers. In Larion and Muigin, you must kill various bloodpetal plants that resemble the Piranha Plants from Super Mario. In Zapper Fuel, the Unloaded Zapper is a reference to the NES Zapper.

Their dialogue options reference Super Mario gameplay like "I wish I could just jump down a pipe and escape them."

One-UpTortosSuper Mario WorldEssence-Infused MushroomPower-Infused MushroomStalk the StalkerSuper Monkey BallSuper Simian SphereSuper Monkey BallSuper Smash BrosShow Me Your Moves!Captain Falcon's tauntTeam Fortress 2Segmentation Fault: Core DumpedHulking LabgoblinHeavy periodically saysAssistant GreelyTouhou"Commander" NazrimNazrinA Tiny, Clever Commander"Commander" NazrimUltimaSaygeUltima roleplaying gamesSaygeSayge's Dark Fortune of DamageUltima OnlineStudies in Spirit SpeakingWorld of Warcraft Community

To the Ground!: Back in 2008, Ghostcrawler mentioned that ret paladins could be nerfed to the ground.

Of Blood and Anguish: Similar name to the novel Of Blood and Honor by Metzen.

Blue Response: Joke about WoW forum behavior--blue posters responding is quite rare, and after threads receive a blue response, many players complain and argue, which scares them off just like the achievement criteria.

For the Ward!: Sounds like the cry "For the Horde!"

Zarhym Altogether: Tribute to Community Manager Zarhym.

I've Gone and Made a Mess (10 player): Reference to the iconic boss Moroes, who exclaims 'Oh, I've gone and made a mess!' whenever he Garroted a raid member, which generally ended badly during The Burning Crusade.

Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!: Reference to the infamous Leeroy who aggroed all the whelps in UBRS.

I Pitied The Fool: Reference to Mr. T's catchphrase. Mr. T later appeared in a WoW commercial and in-game promotions where players could get Mohawk Grenade which turned others into his likeness.

More Dots! (10 player) and Many Whelps! Handle It! (10 player) are references from the popular doomed strategy of trying to kill Onyxia during early WoW.

Qiana Moonshadow / Olin Umberhide and Qiana Moonshadow / Olin Umberhide look like the original Night Elf and Tauren from the original cinematic.

By Fire Be... Merged?: Tribute to Ragnaros' famous line "By fire be purged."
Strength and Honor: Tribute to the popular Horde phrase.

WC3

Breaking the Sound Barrier: Reference to Alliance dialogue.

Into the Wild Blue Yonder: Reference to the gyrocopter dialogue, which in turn is taken from the U.S. Airforce Song.

Creepjackers: Reference to the act of killing players who least expect it as they are fighting Creeps.

XenogearsFleet Master SeahornThe Protectors of HyjalFleet Master SeahornCaptain of the ThamesZeldaLinkenThe Protectors of HyjalBrown HorseLegend of Zelda

It's a Secret to Everybody: The destroyed raft and Linken's lack of memory is reminiscent of the start of Link's Awakening. The name of the quest is what the Secret Moblin says to Link, who hides in various caves in Hyrule and keeps his friendly nature secret from the other Moblins.

It's a Secret to Everybody: You must retrieve items inside a satchel that resembles a bomb bag. This contains key items important to every Zelda dungeon--a compass, map, and key. The compass always points to the center of Un'Goro, which is reminiscent of how the compass helps you find bosses in Zelda dungeons. The Lion-Headed Key key is a specific reference to the Magical Key in the Legend of Zelda, which can open any door in the game and has a lion's head as a decoration. Also included is Faded Photograph, which shows Link and Zelda as gnomes outside of Stormwind/Hyrule.

It's a Secret to Everybody: After finding Link, he needs to upgrade his sword--a key component of any Zelda game. Donova strengthens his sword by throwing it in a magical hotspring, which is similar to how weapons are upgraded in A Link to the Past (magical fountain).

The Videre Elixir: In making the Videre Elixir, you need to buy Bait and drop it to distract Miblon Snarltooth to obtain the Evoroot. Miblon Snarltooth is an anagram for Moblin. In Legend of Zelda, a purchasable item called "meat" would serve as a lure for monsters. The icon for Bait even looks like ham and the vendor says "Buy somethin', will ya?" which is what the Legend of Zelda shopkeepers say as well.

Meet at the Grave: MEET THE OLD MAN AT THE GRAVE is a famous quote from Legend of Zelda.

A Grave Situation: In this questline, you have to push a tomestone--similar to moving tombstones for little rewards like hearts and rupees. To complete the quest, you must take your sword and place it in the stone, similar to putting the Master Sword in its pedestal in Ocarina of Time. You then return the upgraded sword to Linken in Linken's Sword.

A Gnome's Assistance and Linken's Memory: The glowing crystal cave is similar to being surrounded by lots of shiny rupees.

Silver Heart: This quest sends you to collect Silvery Claws and Irontree Heart in order to craft an item that destroys Blazerunner's immunity. To defeat Ganon in Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past, you need to use a special silver arrow.

Aquementas: When looking for the location of Aquementas, you are guided by the clue "The eastmost peninsula is the secret…" which is similar to the clue given in the first temple of Legend of Zelda. The distinctive placement of the circle of stones also parallels the Zelda games using unusual grass/rock placements to signify a secret area. The name of the boss is also quite similar to Aquamentus, the first boss in Legend of Zelda, although the similarities end there.

Linken's Adventure: Named after the second Zelda game, The Adventure of Link.

It's Dangerous to Go Alone: The quest title is from the classic line of the series. After getting the Silver Totem of Aquementas (similar to silver arrows), you must dispel Blazerunner's aura on Fire Plume Ridge (similar to Death mountain), and defeat Blazerunner (parallels to Ganon) to obtain the Golden Flame which looks like a piece of the Triforce. Quest rewards include Spirit of Aquementas which resembles the Magical Rod, Linken's Boomerang which is a tribute to the powerful boomerang in all games, and Linken's Sword of Mastery which references the Master Sword.

DadangaBloodpetal SproutDadanga is Hungry!DodongoLegend of ZeldaHere Lies DadangaFriend or Fowl?CuccosZero WingSetting Up the BombSet Up Us the Bomb (25 player)All Your Base Are Belong to Us

Comments

Comment by 579648

You missed a big one, regarding Super Mario Bros. The achievement from the Tortos encounter in Throne of Thunder is One-Up in which you have to kick a turtle shell through five other turtle shells.

Comment by siggboy

Last Deck of Nemelex Xobeh is a reference to hardcore roguelike "Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup", where there is a God (called "Nemelex Xobeh") who will provide the player with "card decks" that yield random effects -- much like the deck that is sold on Darkmoon Faire.

Comment by karasudark

Another game reference: When dismounting from the Grand Expedition Yak, Cousin Slowhands can say "I'm just a pathetic creature of meat and brew." This is a variation of a quote by SHODAN in System Shock 1 ("Look at you hacker, a pathetic creature of meat and bone...") Most players of the System Shock series remember the quote from the intro cutscene from System 2, where the voice clip was reused.

Comment by WJYoung

BFC9000 from the boss Brackenspore is a clear reference to the BFG9000 from the doom franchise

Comment by Jammerlee

Darkmoon Ring-Flinger Should be added as a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog. It resembles the animation Sonic does when he drops his rings

Comment by Winya

in the bioshock infinite game there aren't any little sisters or big daddies. those are both from the first and second games, not infinite. pls fix

Comment by 911208

Another reference that needs to be added here is Olly Nimkip in your Garrison. He's a reference to Pikmin, with "Nimkip" being "Pikmin" spelled backwards, and the main character of Pikmin being Captain Olimar (Olly).

Comment by joseph4th

Ordos <Fire-God of the Yaungol> on the Timeless Isle may be in reference to Westwood Studios' Dune II, the original real-time strategy game published in 1992 and which was the inspiration for Warcraft.

Ordos was the third playable house in Dune II (and later it's remake Dune 2000 in 1998), besides the two more familiar House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Westwood got the house name from the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia by Willis E. McNelly, but it has never been mentioned in any of the novels.

Comment by Lashiel

Might be splitting hairs (as it's a reference to another reference), but Blade of Tarasque is a reference to the infamous dnd tarrasque.

Comment by 1257491

There is a guy in tellari station on draenor in nagrand, by the entrance who says a really long story about how he used to be an adventuar but he tripped on a dwarf and took an arrow to the knee

Comment by Veladus

Trader Caerel in Stormshield makes a clear Mass Effect reference. He occasionally says "Commander! Would you endorse my shop?" This is a joke about Commander Shepard going around the Citadel endorsing every shop he can for a discount in the second game.

Comment by 1417515

You also forgot Grand Theft Palomino which is an obvious reference to Grand Theft Auto.

Comment by badletter

torgg flexington, the blueprints trade in warspear, is a reference to mr. torgue flexington from borderlands 2.

Comment by 1198285

You also forgot the Goren from Warlords of Draenor, a reference to Legend of Zelda's "Gorons," the rock-eating mountain people of the series.

Comment by Rotorua

Im quite liking all of these on the site its helpful

Comment by SashaNekosune

The reference to CoH almost made me cry... I regret not playing that game enough...

Comment by Groborg1

You need to put in the quest-line in Icecrown which was made in memory of one of the blizzard devs late relative.

Comment by 991986

There's a reference to Sunsetriders in this NPC: Darktide Pilferer#comments

Check my comment there =)

Comment by Thepenguinking2

Here's another community one: The achievement Did Someone Say...? is a reference to the Thunderfury spamming meme on trade chat, where mentioning Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker would result in the entire chat being flooded with the item.

Comment by MetaDragon

The one Castlevania reference you missed is there is an NPC in the horse stables of Kharazan called Calliard, which is Alucard spelt slightly differently. Otherwise, great list. :)

Comment by Albtraum

You missed all references to Dwarf Fortress game.
• Dwarf Fortress quest in Southern Barrens. To get to Bael'Dun Fortress Schematics for this quest, you'll need to bypass Haggis Boatmurder: his name referencing Boatmurdered, a succession-style let's play, very well known in DF community. Also, description of schemes is a nod to ASCII-style of graphics in Dwarf Fortress.
• Strike the Earth! quest in Wetlands. «Strike the Earth!» is the phrase from introduction of every embark in Dwarf Fortress.
• Also in Wetlands, in Menethil Harbor you can witness small talk between Hargin Mundar and Junder Brokk:

Hargin Mundar says: Flood's not so bad. Not as bad as the ones we've had in Ironforge.
Junder Brokk says: Aye, you mean the one you caused?
Hargin Mundar says: You watch your tongue, ya blootered chuff! That was an honest mistake!
Junder Brokk says: You put a floodgate on a channel from the inside and trapped yerself!
Hargin Mundar says: An honest mistake!
Junder Brokk says: An' then you tunneled from the channel straight into a dining hall!
Junder Brokk says: We were findin' carp behind the furunite for weeks!
Hargin Mundar says: Well, at least the ale was safe.

Incorrect floodgate placing indeed can cause flood in fortress, and the carps were infamous among dwarves as being a vicious killer for a long time. Also, ale safety is really important thing, because sobering dwarf will work increasingly slowly.

Comment by dimestorecandy

"...References to Games in World of Warcraft
This is a guide to all the in-game tributes Blizzard has added to other games we enjoy..."

Well, I guess that would also have to include the game of Chess.

The Chess Event in Karazhan shares at least the aesthetics of a classic game of chess (though the game-play is very different).

Comment by Altaria

New reference in Legion: Jon Jafari (JonTron). Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) and Ross O Donovan all stand in a building in Val'sharah silently emoting.

Comment by Nepharius

Another D&D Reference from the Warlords era is the Alliance follower, Delvar Ironfist. He was originally a pre-gen (basically, a provided character so people didn't have to fight with the ruleset right out of the gate) dwarf fighter for the "Yellow Box" AD&D set, and the Introduction to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (which may be part of the yellow box, or a similar set).
A picture, linked on his comment section posted by megascorcher, off of megarandom's post shows the 'card' showing him in all his original glory.

Comment by WannyTiggah

There's another (visual) reference to Portal: In Vashj'ir (can't remember the exact coordinates) there's a crate that looks like a Companion Cube:
http://imgur.com/zLCDTRS

Comment by 879948

Not sure if you would consider this a reference to other games, but there is a reference to Dragon Ball Z in Talador at 35.8, 34.6, where you can find Goh'kuu (whose mana is literally 9001) next to a pod with an unconscious Napp'agosh.

Comment by Deielea

I have a couple here:

-Jack's Diary is a reference to Jack London; author of White Fang and Call of the Wild.

-Kaja'Cola is an obvious reference to the soft drink, Coca Cola.

-The flavor text of Crackling Shards is a reference to the real life, "Coke and Pop Rocks" challenge.

-If you drink Kaja'Cola one of the ideas you can get is, "Half man... half sharkalligator!" which is a reference to the song, "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman" by Dr. Octagon(Kool Keith).

Comment by WannyTiggah

In the Trueshot Lodge there's a reference to the Mega Man universe. Near the entrance to the lodge, there's Isaac Blastimov and Bamm Megabomb talking, with the following dialogue:

Bamm Megabomb: "Maybe our camouflage module was a bit too effective."
Isaac Blastimov: "You were in charge of the tracking units!"
Bamm Megabomb: "Well, it was your idea to give them free will!"
Isaac Blastimov: "If we are going to get Rush and Treble back, we're going to need some help..."

Rush and Treble are the loyal companions of Mega Man and Bass, respectively.

Comment by dimestorecandy

The daily "The Relics Emanation" ( The Relic's Emanation ) emulates the musical memory game "Simon."

Comment by 1489048

They also don't have the TMNT reference pet listed: Young Mutant Warturtle in new Dal's underbelly sewer :D

Comment by ulvhund

Off-topic: Regarding one of the best games aka Lost Vikings, there's an amazingly epic game based on the same concept called Trine. Trine, Trine 2 and Trine 3. Highly&heartily recommended. Closest you'll come to Lost Vikings w/o playing the game itself.

Comment by Soulflare3

Missed Now You're Thinking With Portals for Portal references.

Comment by Vikinng

Excellent guide lots of great information thanks a million thanks to all the people that posted also

Comment by 1910101

Lilien Voss -> Liliana Vess, Magic the gathering character

Comment by Greenhooves

And now BfA brings us The Darkest Dungeon with the quest, Ruin Has Come.

Enjoy your descent into madness!

Comment by Koukura

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

During the worgen starting quest story, the player enters a haunted forest inhabited by ghosts and incorporeal, glowing crimson butterflies. The player also has to make their way to find salvation in a large, ancient, hollow tree that is inhabited by the 'Remaining' worgen survivors who regained control of their faculties.

Comment by ExxorD

Bad Breath

This right here is a spell or attack that the Malboro uses in the Final Fantasy games, which is used by Mother Rosula in-game. It causes all sorts of negative ailments. This one causes polymorph, confusion, slowed movement speed, silence, and fear.

Comment by ExxorD

Comment by oozie

In Suramar is Ambassador D'vwinn - named from ambassador Dvinn who is in Crushbone zone in the game Everquest

(many of the original WoW devs played Everquest and there are small references to it in WoW)

Comment by charleryals

I like this

Comment by Maitreya

I have a suspicion that Lieutenant Grummus is a reference to https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/npc.html?id=10244, considering how many WoW devs are fans (or former devs) of EQ.

Comment by Hyoozy

Kind of shocked that EverQuest references hadn't made the list, I feel like I see them often. I can't think of the lot of them immediately, but i'll list a few for now:

*I put a space in the EQ links because they were hidden.*

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In Loch Modan there was a rare crocklist that drops a stamina leather chest piece.

Loch Croc Hide Vest

In EverQuest, a rare crocodile named Lockjaw located in Oasis of Marr dropped a similar item:

https:// wiki.project1999.com/Lockjaw_Hide_Vest

Both rare spawn crocodiles roaming along the water.

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Deeprun Tram there is an NPC vendor named A. Shady, defined as <Swashbuckler>

A. Shady

In EverQuest's East Commondlands tunnel, there was a vendor NPC named "A Shady Swashbuckler"

https:// wiki.project1999.co m/A_Shady_Swashbuckler

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In Frostfire Ridge, you can recieve a Spirit of Wolf run speed buff from the Shamanstone:

Shamanstone: Spirit of the Wolf

In EverQuest, Spirit of Wolf was a popular run speed buff, cast by shamans (and druids/rangers later)

https:// wiki.project1999.cm/Spirit_of_Wolf

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Ambassador D'vwinn in Suramar has a strikingly similar name and build to Ambassador Dvinn in EverQuest, both rare mobs

Ambassador D'vwinn

https:// wiki.project1999.com/Ambassador_DVinn

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As well as Professor Phizzlethorpe in Arathi Highlands

Professor Phizzlethorpe

Which likely pays homage to a certain diety in EverQuest

https:// wiki.project1999.com/Bristlebane

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Again, there are many more that don't immediately come to mind. I may add some later if I remember, or if anyone else remembers any please feel free to add on. I'd love to revisit some I forgot or just find new ones.

This isn't too shocking, considering a lot of the original WoW dev team surely played EverQuest, which brings me to another one I just remembered...

In Alterac Valley, the Dun Baldar South Marshal drops "Autographed Picture of Foror and Tigule" for an achievement. This is a reference to two WoW dev's who were also leaders of legendary EverQuest guilds. I ripped this snippet from a reddit comment section:

"They also recruited two of the guild leaders from the top EQ raid guilds to work on WoW. They initially invited them onsite to play an early beta, but they later ended up working on the game at Blizzard as designers. I remember it vividly because there was a big post on the FoH forums about how Furor and some of his guild buddies got flown out to Blizzard HQ to play this new MMO in development, and how they got to actually interact with the dev team and give them feedback. At the time people were quite fed up with Sony and their treatment of EQ, the player base felt ignored and that the game was going in the wrong direction, so it really had a big impact. Anyway, I believe they are both still there, and pretty high up the ladder. One was Furor (GM of Fires of Heaven, aka Alex Afrisabi, now Creative Director) and the other was Tigole (GM of Afterlife Legacy of Steel, aka Jeff Kaplan, now Lead Game Designer). There are numerous references to these two in WoW."

References to Games in World of Warcraft

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