Blizzard has a torrid history with the Legendary items in World of Warcraft. The first such item to raise a stink was probably Ashbringer, the sword of Highlord Mograine of the Scarlet Crusade. Though stats have been found in the game (and a Corrupted version is available), the item itself isn't obtainable by players at all (though it still may be in the future). And reader Scott recently brought another one of these not-quite-Legendary items to my attention: the Skull of Gul'dan. This is probably one of the most powerful items in all of Azeroth-- it's been used to close and open the Dark Portal, it's responsible for tearing apart Felwood, and it turned Illidan from just an emo elf into a superpowerful demonic badass. And yet, it's no more than a rare trinket in the game.Shouldn't an item with that much legend behind it be called Legendary? Illidan's twin blades are labeled legendary, but they're hardly the stuff of modern legend-- Illidan took them from a doom guard commander 10,000 years ago, and they've done nothing but sit in his whirling hands since then (heck, they couldn't even take down Arthas). I agree with Scott-- there's no reason those blades should be Legendary when the skull isn't. Sure, the skull might not be as powerful as it used to be, but it's still got a load of legend behind it.
And the Legendary debate isn't over yet, because there is one more big item looming on the horizon: when we head to Northrend, we'll all, Horde and Alliance alike, be looking to find the item that kicked off this Arthas trouble in the first place: Frostmourne. Will that be wieldable by players, or labeled Legendary? If Blizzard's previous experience with Legendary items is any indication, the answer may not be what you expect.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-12-2008 @ 1:35PM
Olee said...
I think the reason the skull isn't legendary persay is because Illy already consumed most of its power (turning him from an emo elf to a demonic badass, as you say)
That's probably why it's just an epic trinket now.
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1-12-2008 @ 1:53PM
hpavc said...
No mention of Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal?
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21176
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1-12-2008 @ 3:47PM
Eternalpayn said...
XD... that's not very legendary at all...
The skull might not have legendary powers anymore, but it's still legendary.
1-12-2008 @ 1:53PM
Aigarius said...
I bet the Frostmourne will be legendary, BUT only usable by a death knight. Up yours, rouges! :)
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1-12-2008 @ 2:07PM
Kanuris said...
The chance of being able to wield Frostmourne is pretty low. It's a demonic runeblade that drains you of your braaaaaains, i mean soul.
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1-12-2008 @ 2:09PM
Odok said...
Illidan -consumed- the energy contained within the Skull of Gul'dan. So whatever legendary powers it once had are gone, now a part of Illidan. The only thing left is some scrap amounts of magic, but even those are enough to make a rare trinket.
The glaives are legendary just because they're so iconic. Blizz doesn't want everyone running around looking like Illidan.
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1-12-2008 @ 3:44PM
Lunati said...
Frostmourne probably wont be legendary, if anything, it will be an artifact bound to the instance similar to the legendary weapons used to take down Kael. There arn't any artifacts in the game yet, but Frostmourne would definantly fit the bill for one. The other being the Skull of Gul'dan, but... the power was drained for it so it's a pale shadow of what it once was.
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1-12-2008 @ 3:51PM
Rasnarok said...
Yay, more proof wowinsider writers know nothing. Most of the skull's power was consumed by Illidan. And really, three legendary drops off one boss? Devalue the worth of legendary items much?
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1-12-2008 @ 9:31PM
theRaptor said...
Why not? "Epic" now means "crap gear you get from everywhere at 70".
1-12-2008 @ 4:10PM
SaintStryfe said...
The Skull of Gul'Adan was much more powerful when it was, ya know, in the head of Gul'Adan.
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1-12-2008 @ 5:12PM
Camaris said...
I think Gul'dan agrees with you.
1-12-2008 @ 10:54PM
TonyMotorola said...
They should have buffed this a little more, lowered the drop rate and made it legendary. Casters probably should have gotten some legendary love in the xpac.
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1-13-2008 @ 4:51AM
Finnicks said...
My vote is that Frostmourne will be obtainable as a server-unique "Artifact" item with fancy red name text.
Drop rate for the quest item required to initiate the quest chain that will let your character successfully master control over such a dangerous weapon: 0.01%. Oh yeah.
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1-13-2008 @ 6:40AM
Sl0th said...
There are a number of items that when you get down to it should be considered legendary, stats not withstanding. Take Gorehowl for example. Something wielded by such a major orc figure ought to be considered the stuff of legends, the odd place its dropped not withstanding.
And as for Frostmourne... No. No, I don't want to see ANY player wielding that. Ever. It isn't just another piece of "phat loot" to get off the uber endgame raid. Its like a piece of living lore. The wielder looses his soul. The only owner became the Lich King. It has literally reshaped the game world. I do not want it to drop just because Arthas is the end boss of WotLK. I don't want it to drop at all. I want it to remain one of those iconic things that continues to shape the world, for better or worse.
Now Illidan's glaives... Yeah, I can see those as legendary. Sure, he picked them up as loot off a demon he killed thousands of years ago. But he made them his. The demon slayers wield what they wield because of him. And no matter where he's depicted, he always has the things. They might be named after a long dead demon, but they are Illidan's trademark.
Now, before you say, "Hey, Frostmourne is Arthas's trademark weapon. He won't shut up about it hungering in WC3 for God's sake." You're right. The difference is that Illidan made the weapon his. Forstmourne turned Arthas into what he is now, and concievibily, could do so to a successor after his sorry ass is beaten up and down Icecrown. Forstmourne transcends being the thing Arthas slices people up with.
Illidan's glaives are just that, weapons.
And as for Ashbringer... Sure, add that in finally. The guy wielding that won't become the second coming of the Scarlet Crusade's Ashbringer. It's simply a special sword designed to destroy shadow beings and the undead because it has, essentially, a Naruu embedded in it. Again, that's a far cry from a soul sucking weapon which turns you into the Lich King's champion, and eventually, in Arthas's case, the vessel for the Lich King himself.
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1-14-2008 @ 2:15AM
Shaklagh said...
You clearly forgot the "Gorehowl"-axe, which was Grom Hellscream's axe...it should definitely be legendary though it shouldn't drop off Prince Malchezaar.
(sorry for my bad english...it's not my first language)
1-14-2008 @ 1:10PM
Nagilum said...
Talisman of Binding Shard
http://thottbot.com/i17782
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