Patch 8.2.5 gives tantalizing hints of Wrathion with new model and questline datamined

Wrathion is a character who was invented in Cataclysm, and as such, is a complex legacy character with a lot of facets to his nature. We’ve seen the Black Prince go from a Titan-purified egg to a whelpling who engineered a Horde/Alliance conflict and now, with his new model having been datamined by Wowhead, we seemingly have a whole new Black Prince to consider: one who has finally realized he’s been in the game since December 7th, 2010. That’s right — he’ll be nine whole years old this year!

Look, he’s a dragon, they don’t do things the same. And hey, he and I have the same birthday!

So why the new model? What’s happening in patch 8.2.5 with our whelp Wrathion?

The Black Prince has grown up

One of the things Wrathion has been all about from the very beginning is being his own dragon. He wanted out from under the thumb of the Red Dragonflight, and he certainly didn’t want any of his ‘family’ to interfere with him, going so far as to have a Rogue assassinate as many Black Dragons as they could get their hands on. And thanks again to the folks at Wowhead we also get to see that Wrathion is still very much about retaining his autonomy.

Spoiler Warning for Patch 8.2.5 and quests pertaining to it

In the upcoming patch, Ebonhorn has been aiding Magni in his attempt to preserve Azeroth, but even in the Heart chamber the Black Dragon is vulnerable to the whispers of N’Zoth. And so, Kalecgos suggests that the Champion of Azeroth (that’s you) must go find the one Dragon who has been researching the Old Gods and their corruption, namely Wrathion.

His trail leads to his old bodyguards Left and Right in Pandaria, where it quickly becomes apparent that the Old Gods themselves are seeking Wrathion as well. After dispatching those minions, the Champion is given a page from Wrathion’s journal and told to seek out the Black Prince in Blackrock Mountain on a terrace once frequented by Nefarian. It’s a location Wrathion is known to be monitoring.

On arrival, the Champion discovers one of the minions of the Old Gods literally ripping the information of Wrathion’s location out of the mind of one of Wrathion’s agents, and a fight breaks out. Still, it’s too late — the Sleepless Interrogator has already relayed Wrathion’s location to its master, and more minions of N’Zoth are headed to Karazhan to find the Black Prince. The Champion is given another page from Wrathion’s journal and heads to the tower, which is already under assault by the Old God’s servants.

After defeating these servitors of N’Zoth, the Champion finds a last page of Wrathion’s journal as well as a note instructing them to use a potion Wrathion has created to cleanse his brother Ebyssian (Ebonhorn’s true name) of the corrupting whispers of the Old Gods. Wrathion details how he learned much from the library of Karazhan and discussions with Medivh, and how his views have evolved over the pursuit of his study of the Old Gods, but does not seem to actually interact with the Champion at this time. Returning to the Heart chamber, the potion Wrathion created seems to allow Ebonhorn to regain control of himself and the journal pages Wrathion left behind aid Mother in creating a reinforced defense for the Chamber.

She then destroys the journal as Wrathion himself insisted, claiming it was time his actions spoke for him.

Will Wrathion play a role in patch 8.3, or perhaps the next expansion?

What this means for patch 8.3 and the end of the expansion is up in the air. If patch 8.3 deals with N’Zoth and the Old Gods, then clearly Wrathion could play a very large role in what happens. But if it instead deals with the Horde/Alliance conflict (which Wrathion seems to have reconsidered — now, instead of wanting one side to crush the other he feels like the whole thing is a waste of time, if his journal pages are anything to go by) that could mean that we won’t really see much of Wrathion at all this expansion. Instead, he may well feature in the next expansion, if it deals with N’Zoth and the Old Gods. Wrathion is in an interesting position here — hunted by N’Zoth, studying means to use the Old Gods’ own void power against them, he could well ally with others who similarly choose to use the Shadow against them like Alleria Windrunner and the Void Elves.

Likewise, his actions here in foreseeing Ebonhorn’s difficulties and coming up with a cure for him instead of destroying him shows that Wrathion has changed his approach. He’s no longer the utterly ruthless being he once was — as short a time as he may have spent alive, the years have tempered him, and he’s far more cautious than he once was. Could we in time see a renewed Black Dragonflight with Wrathion and Ebyssian actually working together? Perhaps involving the mysterious Dragon Isles, and even working with the other former Dragon Aspects like Kalecgos, Alexstasza or Nozdormu? Perhaps Ysera’s daughter Merithra, last seen as part of the Essence questline, could be involved?

There have been tantalizing hints about the Dragon Isles and the state of the Dragonflights in the Essence quests, so perhaps Wrathion will be tied to that, as he seeks to make amends both for his former rash actions and the sins of his ‘father’ Deathwing. So perhaps we’ll see more of that before the end of Battle for Azeroth — or perhaps it will be a part of whatever the next expansion is.