Summary
World of WarcraftChronicle Volume 4has revealed which factions canonically completed every dungeon and raid betweenMists of PandariaandShadowlands. When combined with information found from previous volumes, fans now know theWorld of Warcraftfactions responsible for clearing most of the in-game instances.
For the first time in six years,World of Warcrafthas made aChroniclelore book. Released on July 16,World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 4picks up where its predecessor left off, covering details from five expansions:Mists of Pandaria,Warlords of Draenor,Legion,Battle for Azeroth, andShadowlands.
While the new book introduces several tidbits of interesting lore, one detail in particular helps the story ofWoWcome together. Though most dungeons and raids inWorld of Warcraftare available to both factions, many are canonically cleared by just the Alliance or Horde in the lore.Chronicle Volume 4went through each instance introduced fromMists of Pandariaonward, categorizing whether one or both factions completed them.Wowhead shared these detailsthat, when combined with the similar information shared aboutClassic,Burning Crusade,Wrath of the Lich King, andCataclysminChronicle Volume 3, show which faction defeated the most difficult dungeon andraid bosses in the story ofWorld of Warcraft.
As of this new lore book, every expansion up untilDragonflighthas been covered. While this means there is no official record of who cleared the dungeons and raids inDragonflight, cross-faction play was introduced right before the expansion – and givenWoW: Dragonflightwas all about the factions coming together, it is safe to assume adventurers from both the Alliance and Horde worked together to beat all of its instances.
While players enjoyed seeing which factions were responsible for clearing these instances, as well as the fantastic new art in the book,World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 4was not without its criticisms. Much of the book summarizes the events of the game, adding little new information in the process. Other parts shuffle the timeline of events in baffling ways; for example,Battle for Azerothnow has the entire Alliance campaign taking place before the Horde one begins, despite Talanji’s jailbreak being the impetus for Jaina returning to Kul Tiras in the game. While not as problematic as theracist stereotypes found inWorld of Warcraftbooks likeThe Dragonflight CodexorExploring Azeroth: Kalimdor, many fans were not fully satisfied withChronicle Volume 4. Hopefully, the upcomingExploring Azeroth: Islands & Islesbook coming out on October 1 can avoid these pitfalls.
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
