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One thing I don't agree with: the similar backgrounds of Thrall and Varian. This was purposeful, and smart at that. It shows of two people from almost identical backgrounds can be completely different; for better or for worse. Thrall, although enslaved by humans, choose the path of peace over personal vendetta. Varian chooses vendetta over peace.Also, from what we know, the Alliance is altogether more violent than the Horde, like it or not. Varian is violent, Tyrande hates Orcs, Magni doesn't like them either, and Velen doesn't care for them but hates resorting to violence. We don't know about Mekkatorque.
The whole reason of the Orc vs Alliance thing is the extinguishon of Draenei at Draenor which only occured because of the corruption The Burning Legion caused the orcs. Then, as far as I´ve understood Varian was kidnapped by orcs while they still was corrupted, and when he was released the orcs was free from corupption and didn´t wanted war against humans. But Varian didn´t care what so ever and attacked the orcs which led to the orcs joining the horde.I´d said that Varian Wrynn is the cause to a lot of both horde and alliance casualities.____________________________Lvl77 Blood elf dk at Talnivarr
I agree that they could have implemented Varian in better. However I disagree with the notion I've seen brought up that he 'started' a war with the Horde. The Alliance and Horde had by the beginning of the Burning Crusade major, constant conflicts in Ashenvale, Alterac, and Arathi, with lesser fighting in general in the Eastern Plaguelands and Silithius. After Burning Crusade we had battles for control of the towers in Hellfire Peninsulla, strategically important ruins in Zangarmarsh, Terokkar and Nagrand, and then the constant battles in the Eye of the Storm. Not to mention the raiding of towns and cities by opposing forces. If ALL those conflicts tied together don't constitute a war, occasionally put on hold for such small things like pushing back the Leigon at the gate, removing the threat of Kael'thas and Kil'Jaeden's forces with the Shattered Sun, and the Silithid, then I don't know what does. Varian didn't declare war. He stated the obvious, and did it loudly, thereby destroying the illusion.Honestly though, I stopped caring about how poorly done the lore was after Burning Crusade. I respect and enjoy Blizzard's work, but lore continuity isn't their strong point. Perhaps they'll get better with their other two franchises. It's my opinion that they've 'broken' the lore of Warcraft beyond repair, so they may as well carry on with what they can with it, while throwing in as many references as possible.
I haven't read the comics yet, so I can't say much as to Varian's character outside of WoW. So whether he's capable of being diplomatic and...well, act like a king should, I can't say.I'm also uncertain on whether or not he was 'shoehorned' in per se. After all, we have no idea how long this was planned by Blizzard's writing team (as King Varian was an imprisoned NPC off the coast of Theramore long before he ever returned).Thinking from a dramatic perspective, however, Varian's character is a potent additive to the overall story. As has been said, none of the other leaders (nor Fordragon) are very headstrong and are eager to avoid all-out war, probably because most of them were major players in the last one only a few years ago. With the threat of the Lich King on top of that, the odds of another Alliance/Horde war breaking out are very slim.Obviously, from a tactical standpoint, Wrynn's hotheadedness is utterly frustrating. However, the new war-within-a-war that he has created has certainly added some dramatic tension; now we're faced not only with a war against the innumerable Scourge, but our forces are divided between them and the Alliance or Horde (depending on which one you play).From a character's perspective, the threat of the Scourge is terrifying enough. Now, faced with a second notable opponent, you know some (more) heavy losses are bound to occur. Plus, this negates the possibility of a proper A/H alliance against the Lich King occuring (allowing one of WoW's basic gameplay premises to continue on in a logical fashion) while still allowing players the chance to take a neutral position in that conflict by supporting either the Kirin Tor, the Argent Crusade, or even the Ebon Blade.In short, Varian's unique attitude and his influential position has helped add tension to a story that was otherwise predictable (we all know the Lich King's going to die in the end, one way or another), much like Kael'thas' double-cross near the end of BC, which was hinted at upon clearing Tempest Keep. The question is, will cooler heads prevail (or more accurately, will Varian pull his out of his own arse), or will his temper make him an obstacle in the defeat of the Scourge?Already, I can't wait for the next big update to see where things go from here... :)
Varian used to be friends with Arthas, bad education...If he goes on like this, maybe he will one day be a powerful minion of his old friend.
Varian is a %^&* because Orcs were @#$%s.This doesn't explain the relative inaction of every other leader in both the Alliance and Horde. I'm looking at you, Cairne Bloodhoof and your "I've never really done anything in WoW and I ain't gonna start now."