BlizzCon 2009: What’s Up, Worgen?

The newest addition to the Alliance is indeed the Worgen.

The kingdom of Gilneas assisted the Alliance during the Second War. However, going into the Third War, Gilneas realized that there was little the Alliance to provide to them, and they were just fine governing themselves behind the impenetrable Greymane Wall.

The curse of the Worgen began to spread, perhaps because of the Scythe of Elune. Regardless, Archmage Arugal of Dalaran became fascinated with these creatures and retreated into Shadowfang Keep to study them. They were great weapons for him in fighting back the Scourge during the Third War. The curse of the Worgen, however, is infectious, and it quickly spread and reached the nearby kingdom of Gilneas. The Gilneans, being confined to their kingdom, quickly fell to the curse. Civil war broke out, and their kingdom became ravaged.

The Gilneans have managed to control their curse somewhat and seem to able to transform between Worgen and Human forms. The Cataclysm has been disastrous to them, and the Greymane Wall has been destroyed. Gilneas shares a border only with Silverpine Forest, which controlled by the Forsaken. The Forsaken push southward into their kingdom, and the night elves came to their rescue, perhaps with a sense of responsibly regarding the Scythe of Elune. Now, the Worgen fight along side the Alliance. The exact story behind the Scythe and the Worgen’s origins remain unclear, but I’m sure the story behind the Worgen’s origins will slowly be uncovered.

The worgen racials include +1% damage, 70% run speed for 10 seconds, duration of curses and diseases reduced by 15%, and skinning skill increased by 15. They also don’t need a skinning knife!

Worgen can play as Death Knights (likely starting in Ebon Hold, and likely the coolest thing ever to grace WoW), Druids, Hunters, Mages, Priests, Rogues, Warlocks, and Warriors.