Heroes of the Storms Adds Varian and Ragnaros
By Jason Gallagher 13 November 2016
Blizzard’s cinematic team puts together an emotional trailer to reveal that Varian Wrynn and Ragnaros the Firelord from World of Warcraft will soon be coming to the Nexus.
One of the biggest selling points for Blizzard’s MOBA Heroes of the Storm is that it allows players to head into battle while directly controlling legendary characters from throughout the company’s 25-year history. But the new hero reveal for Heroes of the Storm at this year’s BlizzCon really took the sentiment to new heights when Blizzard announced two of World of Warcraft‘s most popular characters, Varian Wrynn and Ragnaros, will soon show up in the Nexus.
Watch the trailer below, but before continuing, know that the rest of this post contains major spoilers for recent events in World of Warcraft.
“A king has fallen,” the trailer’s narrator begins, over an image of Varian Wrynn looking defeated. It’s obvious as the voice continues that she is reading a eulogy for the former king of Stormwind. The words are clearly meant to remind WoW players of the fact that Varian Wrynn died this past summer while defending the Alliance during the World of Warcraft: Legion pre-launch event. So what’s he’s doing in this video, looking very much alive?
The trailer continues with Varian walking into an area filled with molten lava. Suddenly, there’s another voice. “Insect!” Seconds later, the King of Stormwind is standing toe to toe with Ragnaros the Firelord, one of the most loved raid bosses from WoW, dating back to the game’s release in 2004.
Ragnaros gets the upper hand on Varian and it looks like he is defeated. But then, the narrator returns with an addition to that eulogy. “Wherever he has gone, Varian Wrynn will remain a hero. Always.” Varian springs back to life as the same music featured in the battle where he died in World of Warcraft begins to play. Varian uses the same leaping move on Ragnaros that he used to take out a giant demon monstrosity in World of Warcraft, with the implication being that in this game at least, he’s going to survive the aftermath.
Varian’s surprise death in World of Warcraft this summer was a shock to many longtime fans and Blizzard’s ability to channel all of that emotion into Varian’s reveal trailer for Heroes is quite impressive. The fact that it’s a double reveal with Ragnaros just makes it even better. Blizzard doesn’t always do everything right, but the cinematic team deserves a pat on the back for this one.
Blizzard explained during the keynote that Varian will be Heroes of the Storm‘s first multi-class hero. Varian can be either a a tank-like warrior or a deadly assassin based off the talent choices players make as he levels up. A Varian player could choose to switch things up every game or even within the game as different needs arise. Players who pick up Ragnaros will be able to literally become a raid boss, taking the place of an in-game tower that the opposing team will have to try and defeat. Varian Wrynn will hit the Heroes public test server next week, with Ragnaros following in December.
Heroes of the Storm is out now on PC and Mac.
