Name Five Prominent Female NPCs from Warlords of Draenor
If you’re anything like me, you’ll get past Yrel and then promptly draw a blank.
Liadrin counts since she appeared a few times, right? I think Draka showed up too, although that might’ve just been Horde-side. And what about the Iron Maidens? Oh, wait, they were just a raid boss. Wasn’t one of the orcish clan leaders female? What was her name again…? Zarya? Zayna? Z-something. Bah.
Ask me to rattle off five prominent male NPCs, on the other hand, and I’ll have no trouble. Khadgar, Gul’dan, Durotan, Blackhand, Maraad, Garrosh, Thrall, Velen, Kilrogg… The list could go on, but we’ll be here all day. My point is that all of these are male characters who featured prominently in either quest chains, raids, or a combination of the two.
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor was a lacklustre experience for many reasons, and the lack of notable female characters throughout the expansion was but a small droplet of saltwater in a vast ocean of mediocrity. But that’s not what I’m really here to talk about. What I’m here to talk about is Legion.
Talk about #squadgoals amirite?
This is a screenshot I took today, at the conclusion of the March on Suramar storyline. In the middle you can see my player character, Kalpana. If you’re especially observant, you might notice something about the lineup of NPCs surrounding my character: Every single one of them is female. Allow me to introduce them.
Starting on the far right, we have Vereesa Windrunner, the youngest sister of Alleria and Sylvanas Windrunner. Vereesa created and led the Silver Covenant, a militant group of high elves which was originally formed to oppose the Horde’s admission to Dalaran; however, as of Legion she has pledged her order to the Unseen Path, a union of hunters dedicated to fighting the Burning Legion.
On the far left is Lady Liadrin. Liadrin stands as the matriarch of the Blood Knights, an elite order of blood elven paladins. Following her character arc in The Burning Crusade, she was conspicuously absent from the game up until the Warlords expansion, though she has since played a much more pivotal role as the leader of Horde forces in Suramar.
She’s also been added as a playable hero in Hearthstone, so that’s pretty cool.
To the right of Kalpana is Tyrande Whisperwind, one of the most prominent characters in the game as leader of the night elves. Tyrande previously stood as general of the night elven sentinels and protected the continent of Kalimdor for over ten thousand years, as well as being the chosen high priestess of the moon goddess Elune. To face Tyrande Whisperwind is to face the wrath of a deity.
Finally, to the left of Kalpana stands First Arcanist Thalyssra, a new character introduced in Legion. We first meet Thalyssra at the beginning of the Suramar campaign, where we find her withering away from mana starvation. We hear her story as we help her recover, and over time grow to sympathise with her as a character, along with the rest of her faction of Nightborne outcasts, the Nightfallen.
I’d probably be equally upset if my home was overrun by demons.
All of these characters, each a leader in their own right, are shown working together to make a stand against the Burning Legion. And to see all these skilled, powerful, important female characters standing side by side in the run-up to such a pivotal conflict in Legion’s storyline is honestly astounding to me.
This is far from the only example; Sylvanas Windrunner, Helya, Mayla Highmountain, Grand Magistrix Elisande, Arcanist Valtrois – all female NPCs, both good and evil, who each play integral parts in the story of World of Warcraft: Legion.
I feel as though Blizzard are trying to bring some semblance of gender equality into a game that’s long been overpopulated by male characters. And while they’ve still got a ways to go in terms of representation, I want them to know their effort is being noticed and appreciated, and I can only hope that they’ll continue to make strides as time goes on.
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