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SiteEnemy at the Gates: The Scourge Invasion
Last night while furtively leveling in the Plaguelands1, Tallaa and I did what we normally do late evenings on Vent2 and discussed various aspects of the game. The topic of the evening seemed to be his rather heated insistance in getting to explore the entirety of Stratholme and Scholomance with our characters on the Scarlet Crusade US server. It appears that he reached 60 just barely in time for the expansion — which was a foreign concept to me as a long-time player who joined the World of Warcraft universe during the original open beta. He’s long claimed to have never done all of Stratholme3 and really felt that it would be awesome to do so with House Al’shar. In a rare moment of clarity, I concurred and went back to freezing the local limbless populace before watching them shatter in an explosion with well-placed Frostbolts.
Have I mentioned before that I love being a Frost mage?
Being in the Plaguelands always makes me feel nostalgic. I reached the height of my World of Warcraft experience during those carefree and innocent pre-expansion days — not seeing the innermost recesses of end-game raiding or even by making my presence known on the battlefieltrud, but roleplaying in the Plaguelands with a bunch of friends on my neophyte hunter. It was an amazing time, with The Burning Crusade looming overhead but our small group not caring about it at all as we travelled the known world, explored again those pre-raiding dungeons, and wove wonderful stories for our characters. It didn’t matter if we were kneedeep in severed limbs or sharing stories of our exploits in the comfort of a tavern, exploring the barren wastelands of the Western Plaguelands or aiding the Argent Dawn in halting the Sourge Invasion: we roleplayers were blissfully happy and our adventures remain some of the most memorable experiences that I have ever had in World of Warcraft.
I was explaining this to Tallaa in fervent detail when he cut me short, saying that he had never had the opportunity to participate in the Scourge Invasion — thereby missing out on what has been to date the world event of the entire history of World of Warcraft.
The Scourge Invasion was the world event Blizzard used to herald the release of Naxxramas in patch 1.11. It was, without a doubt, the best world event that has ever been implemented in the game4; it puts the paltry efforts made with the release of the Sunwell to shame, it eclipses the events surrounding the opening of the Dark Portal, and it even rivaled the opening of the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj during the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort. The Source Invasion truthfully was just that amazing.
In the months before the first expansion was released, the world of Azeroth came under attack by Scourge forces under the command of Kel’Thuzad. Giant necropoleis hovered overhead as waves of undead assaulted the lands5 below. Some of these creatures would manage to find their way into capital cities, harassing the local populace and implacably moving forward in an effort to take out the city’s leader in a single blow.
The Scourge Invasion was finally repelled by the combined forces of the Horde, Alliance, and Argent Dawn.
The world event was beautifully enacted in such a way that completely blows my mind away. First off, it was clearly a world event of epic proportions. While the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort attempted to allow everyone to get involved by turning in needed supplies, most of the action was far away in Silithus, not easily accessible by most inexperienced players. The Scourge Invasion, however, was everywhere you turned; whether outside of Stormwind, inside the Undercity, or leveling in the Plaguelands, the Scourge was certain to have a presence. Questing for the invasion began as low as level 6, though most of the content was limited to those near to the then-current level cap.
It was also much more engaging. For many roleplayers who had tied their characters’ histories to the events depicted in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, this was an event that hit home. The roleplay spawned by former citizens of the fallen kingdom of Lordaeron or Forsaken who had once been a mindless drone of the Scourge ran rampant everywhere and resulted in some of the best and most involving stories that I have every seen in World of Warcraft. And for those characters who didn’t have an emotional attachement to the lands or groups involved, the drive to defend one’s home from invasion was almost universal. Rivalries were put aside, old hatreds put to rest, and even unspoken, undeclared war between the forces of the Horde and the Alliance was momentarily forgotten in light of the overwhelming power of the Scourge forces.
In particular, Blizzard made a wonderful effort by throwing in a series of quests regarding missives found on the corpses of defeated undead. Occasionally you could find a letter that you would then pass onto a representative of the Argent Dawn. Most people disregarded the letters entirely, intent on obtaining the gold and experience that resulted from completing the quests, but those who did take the time to read them found some of the most poignent and emotional writings found to exist in the game. Take for example A Bloodstained Envelope that appears to be from someone who participated in the original journey to Northrend:
My Emily,
A few short days ago, we broke camp in this Light-forsaken place, operating under the King’s orders to return home. My heart was light despite my bleak surroundings, for I knew that after the frigid trek to the shore and long, grueling voyage, I would find solace in your arms.
We reached the shoreline today to find our ships, our means of return, nothing more than charred husks; we cannot leave, and have no choice but to press on into the heart of this abysmal wasteland.
I have gone to the very end of the world to keep you safe, Emily… and now… I wish with all my being that I had remained in Lordaeron with you.
Thoughts of you fill my every waking moment. You are my warmth in this frozen land, beloved, and no one can take that from me.
Maxwell
Or perhaps the writings found on A Careworn Note:
Dearest Amelia,
Tonight I have seen things that will haunt me to the end of time.
Stratholme is aflame… and we are responsible.
Our Prince led us into the streets of the city tonight; he ordered us to break into the homes of the townspeople and… kill them in their sleep. They were plagued, claimed Lord Arthas, and had to be killed before they killed us.
It was a slaughter. Hundreds died silently to the swords of those sworn to protect them. I could stand it no longer; I fled.
Deserter I may be, but I could not commit such atrocities. In every home I could not help but see your face, or those of our children, upon the victims as they died. If standing against that means being a traitor, then so be it.
I hope to find my way back to you in time, but the roads are unsafe. Give our children my love in my absence.
James
Where was this emotional angle in the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort? Where was this level of effort in the opening of the Dark Portal? Ask people what the in-game justification for fighting in Silithus or on the island of Quel’Danas isand they might mumbles something rather vague that probably isn’t too accurate. Ask people about the Scourge Invasion and those who were around in game at the time will tell you about defending the world or battling undead forces against overwhelming odds, or even the days that the skies turned blacked under the shadow of Kel’Thuzad’s floating necropoleis.
With the Wrath of the Lich King expansion looming overhead when we continue the fight against the undead in Northrend, the Scourge Invasion seems at the forefront of my mind. It would be the optimal time to bring back this — or a similar — event, since the Scourge Invasion world event has never been repeated. Perhaps it’s nostalgia kicking in, but I would very much love for something similar to occur prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion!
