From 23. September 2020 you can travel to Northrend again on the Classic servers. A special nostalgia trip awaits some of you, similar to WoW and TBC Classic. Others can catch up on what they missed and find out for themselves whether WotLK is actually, as many say, the best expansion in WoW history.
The villain was a big highlight for many players. The Lich King left his mark on the Northrend expansion with his presence and gave us one of the best boss fights in WoW history in the finale in Icecrown Citadel. The Lich King was also memorable for another reason: Warcraft fans have been following the career of Arthas Menethil since Warcraft 3 and the addon The Frozen Throne. First we saw him become the Lich King. Then it was up to us to stop him in WotLK. In this special, we look back at the events that form the foundation of the WotLK story.
04: 21 WoW Wrath of the Lich King Intro
It started with a plague
Prince Arthas Menethil was born four years before the outbreak of the First War. King Terenas II and Queen Liana were overjoyed, and all of Lordaeron celebrated the birth of Arthas. At the tender age of 21 years Arthas fulfilled his father’s hopes and was born in inducted into the Order of the Silver Hand. The paladin Uther Lightbringer became the young knight’s mentor.
Five years later, Arthas and the mage Jaina Proudmoore were investigating a deadly plague. Their victims turned into fighters in an undead army that would soon become known as the Scourge. Arthas and Jaina found Kel’Thuzad, the necromancer who spread the plague, and defeated him.
Prince Arthas and the mage Jaina Proudmoore investigate the mysterious plague together , which has affected various settlements. Source: Blizzard Tragically, the city of Stratholme was already infected, and Arthas ordered it purged. Eventually, Arthas encountered the dreadlord Mal’Ganis, who claimed to have been the driving force behind the plague. After evading capture, Mal’Ganis challenged the prince to a decisive battle on the continent of Northrend. History lesson for WoW fans! In the WotLK version of the 5-player Stratholme dungeon, we relive the meeting between Arthas Menethil and the dreadlord Mal’Ganis. Source: Blizzard
The Frozen Shore of Northrend
After landing on Northrend’s frozen shores, Arthas encountered dwarves being attacked by the Scourge. The leader of the dwarves, Muradin Bronzebeard, was in search of the legendary runeblade Frostmourne. At Uther’s urging, King Terenas sent orders to Northrend to return the rest of the fleet to Lordaeron immediately. The troops of Arthas were only too eager to comply with this order.
Increasingly filled with revenge, Arthas would not give up the hunt for Mal’Ganis. So he secretly hired mercenaries to sink his own ships. When the ships burned, Arthas publicly blamed the mercenaries, who were promptly killed by the prince’s soldiers. Stranded in Northrend, the forces of Arthas and Muradin had to fend off the undead attacks.
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WoW | Wrath of the Lich King Classic is coming – that’s changing!
A sword to rule him
In the meantime, however, they found the Frostmourne blade locked in the ice. Though a curse rested on the blade, Arthas swore he would pay any price for victory. The ice surrounding Frostmourne broke and a splinter shot out, killing Muradin. Runeblade in hand, Arthas led his troops to victory, but Mal’Ganis remained confident. He explains that the Lich King, lord of the Scourge, manipulated Arthas into taking Frostmourne. Mal’Ganis also claimed to be in league with the Lich King.
However, the Lich King dissented when speaking to Arthas through the sword. With grim glee, Arthas slew the astonished dreadlord. After that, Arthas wandered the frozen wastes of Northrend. Haunted by the tormenting voice of Frostmourne, he fell under the Lich King’s spell for good.
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WoW: Wrath of the Lich King Cinematic Trailer
From Prince to Kingslayer
Driven by the blade’s dark will, Arthas returned home, where he was welcomed as a hero. Regardless of the questionable decisions he had been making lately, the king welcomed his son with open arms and full of confidence. Arthas took advantage of this and murdered his father. He then led the Scourge to reduce Lordaeron to rubble. He then took the remains of Kel’Thuzad and brought them to Quel’Thalas, the kingdom of the High Elves.
The elves put up a bitter fight, but to no avail. Arthas defeated the ranger general Sylvanas Windrunner and transformed her into a banshee as punishment for her defiance. As one of the undead, Sylvanas was bound by the Lich King’s iron will. With their forced support, the Scourge possessed the Sunwell, the source of the elves’ arcane power. Using the Sunwell’s magic, Arthas transformed Kel’Thuzad into an undead lich. The demon lord Archimonde commanded Arthas and his new allies to find a magic book: the Book of Medivh.
73893 Icecrown reminds us with the gloomy atmosphere, the thick fortress walls and somehow reminiscent of Mordor with the all-encompassing presence of the Lich King. Source: Blizzard
The Battle for Dalaran
The Scourge invaded the city-state of Dalaran, whose magi guarded the spellbook. Eventually Dalaran was overrun and Kel’Thuzad used the book to summon Archimonde to Azeroth. As Archimonde’s troops began invading Azeroth, Arthas convinced the demon hunter Illidan Stormrage to thwart Archimonde’s plans by stealing a powerful magical artifact: the Skull of Gul’dan. The theft of Illidan ultimately sealed Archimonde’s defeat in Azeroth.
The Road to the Frozen Throne
However, the victory was short-lived, as the Lich King ordered Arthas to return to Northrend. Barely arrived on the frozen continent, Arthas was attacked by surviving elves from the Scourge attack on Quel’Thalas. Now they were allies of Illidan and plotted an attack on the Lich King.
Undead nerubians under the command of the tomb lord Anub’arak helped Arthas defeat the elves, but the bulk of Illidan’s army was already marching towards Icecrown , the base of the Lich King. Arthas feared he would not reach the Lich King in time. So he and Anub’arak took a shortcut through the ancient, subterranean kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. The shortcut worked, and Arthas intercepted Illidan at the top of Icecrown Glacier. 85440 The subterranean kingdom of Azjol-Nerub is ruled by the Nerubians, an ancient, spidery race. Two dungeons of WotLK lead us underground. Source: Blizzard
After defeating him in a duel defeated, Arthas warned him to leave Azeroth and never return. Arthas then entered Icecrown Citadel and merged with the Lich King, both combining their spirits and powers. A new Lich King had claimed the Frozen Throne.
The Lich King’s Wrath
For five years the new Lich King dreamed and waited. on what? At the right moment to sweep the living from the face of Azeroth. And that very moment came right before the events of Wrath of the Lich King. At first it’s just a mysterious disease that’s rampant in the capital cities, even turning the denizens of Azeroth into zombies. Only a few days later, countless necropolises darken the skies of Azeroth. The Scourge invasion begins! An invasion that brings Horde and Alliance together to defeat a common enemy in Northrend.
