[00:03] Trolls, what's going on with them? What's the deal with the next wow patch? to catch you up on all of that so you know what's up with the patch. And it all starts with the name of the patch, Curse of Ulatek. And of course the
[00:16] titular Ulatek, who isn't actually what we thought. We thought that she was a loa, essentially an animal god of the trolls hailing from the Emerald Dream. Turns out though, she is from somewhere else. And to understand where she's
[00:29] from, we need to go all the way back to the darkest moment of the Amani's ancient war against Zalathat's greatest general, Kathix. You see, the trolls because of that they sought the most powerful presence that they could find
[00:44] and they pulled it into reality. They pulled it from a place of madness and chaos, a place where no one should seek power. And that place is the Rift of Aln. The Rift being [music] a wound left by the titans' kidnapping of Azeroth,
[01:00] leaving a scar. A scar that endlessly spawns monstrosities powered by essentially the nightmares of our world soul. So, more than anything else, Ulatek is a weapon. A weapon that Zul'jan, who of course we met in the
[01:15] level up campaign, intends to claim for the Amani even if that means he may die that means for this patch is interesting. It's not just another troll patch, not just another set of tusks villains that we beat up and get some
[01:30] gear from. This is lore that stretches back as far as records exist. It's a main patch that drives the A plot of Midnight towards the world core and Azeroth and it's yet more proof that Zalathat has been working towards her
[01:44] ascension since the beginning. That she helped forge the troll empires and that her greatest champion was imprisoned by them. And now, well, that servant is them. And now, well, that servant is exactly where Zalathat needs him to be.
[01:58] So, between Zul'jan's seemingly doomed quest for power and Zalathat being on the verge of ultimate victory, we have a lot to unpack in Zul'aman. So, let's get >> So many people playing wow, it can be hard to stand out, hard to get the
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[03:33] Curse of Ulatak, well, we know Ulatak is involved, and we know there is a curse. We also found out something else, the name of the island that's off the coast of Zul'aman. It's called the Coiled Isle, and on the Coiled Isle, we find
[03:47] It's a temple dedicated to a power so terrible, the entire Amani troll race decided it was better to just forget that it ever existed and to never set So, the island is where the Amani trolls fought their final battle against
[04:03] Kith'ix and managed to slay him using a weapon formed out of the chaos and insanity of our world souls' nightmares. They won the fight and then they buried Kith'ix deep below the ground, trapping him so deep that to get there, you need
[04:18] to travel the Venomous Abysss. Essentially, places so deep they come close to where our world soul sleeps. Which is rather handy for Zalathyst, as she now has a powerful servant located [music] exactly where she needs them. In
[04:32] fact, there's a good chance it's all going down close to wherever Zalathyst disappeared to at the end of the March on Quel'Thalas raid. So, close to the world core. The forgotten servants of the old gods aren't the only thing down
[04:45] there. As much a guard watching over Kith'ix's cell, she is a prisoner. There is, of course, Ulatek, a weapon summoned in desperation, but clearly so dangerous the Amani feared [music] using it in building their empire. That means that
[04:59] for 16,000 years she lay undisturbed until one particularly demented yet evil troll named Malacrass became obsessed with the whispered legends of Ulatek.
[05:11] another troll is on the hunt for that power, and that troll is Zul'jan, a character we've all just became very worried about indeed. Here are the two characters you're
[05:24] experience of midnight. There's Zul'jara, asha of the loa, and then her brother, Zul'jan, who effectively hates the loa cuz the loa kind of abandoned his people. Though they do actually want the same thing. They want the Amani
[05:39] people to not just survive, but to actually thrive. Yet, they have different visions for how to achieve it, even if it means for one of them, making bargains with ancient super weapons who appear to be sentient. And it's the
[05:52] differences between these two characters that basically led them into the plot of the Midnight Expansion and what we actually saw in game. Zalazane [music] attacked and the void flooded through Eversong and its border regions. We then
[06:06] border [music] and we think that's where the Amani live. Of course, after so many Alliance, their civilization must have been destroyed. But then, of course, we travel over those mountains and we discover that Zul'Aman was way bigger
[06:20] than we thought and it had an even bigger mountain hiding behind it. Traveling further, we then find out the mountain was on an island, an island called the Coiled Isle. So, not only do the Amani exist, but we find out they're
[06:34] fighting a void incursion of their own and their loa refused to help. Now, the problem here for them is that Zul'jin and Zul'jara's grandfather, Zul'jin, was a bit of what we over here would call a rumbly boy. He led the Amani in what
[06:50] felt like the apocalyptic end times of their people. And between the troll bands of humanity and the Farstrider elves, they lost all but a little corner of their empire. And what's worse is that their loa refused to help them
[07:06] fight back. Loa abandoned the Amani when they needed them most. This was a big problem for the trolls. So, Zul'jin's pocket witch doctor, Malacrass, decided that they could no longer bargain with the loa or, in Zul'jin's words, beg the
[07:20] loa to help. He said that they should instead dominate the loa, which they actually did. And in doing that, they created the avatars of the loa that we fought back in the Burning Crusade's raid of Zul'Aman. So, without the loa or
[07:35] any power at all, the void was sure to win. But Zul'jin and Zul'jin and two different solutions to this problem. We, of course, helped Zul'jara forge her role as High Chieftain and bring the loa back to the Amani. But, her brother
[07:49] betrayal and that, in fact, they didn't need the loa whatsoever. That the Amani could thrive and even expand without them. Zul'jin's first experiment in finding power for their people was the invasive lightwood that was devouring
[08:04] the land. Light versus void, simple enough math, right? Get the lightwood, beat off the void. But, obviously, that led them into conflict with the elves and, as we're about to discover, the lightwood is but a fraction of the power
[08:17] that he'll be able to find on the Coiled Isle in this new patch. story of the Zul'aman zone, where basically Zul'jin doesn't end up getting his way. His sister becomes avatar of the loa, she successfully saves their
[08:31] people, they have a big celebration, but to him, it feels wrong. He's feeling depressed and he is left sulking on this broken bridge. And that's where we discover the full extent of his ideology. You see, he doesn't trust the
[08:47] loa, they abandoned them in the past. He also doesn't trust outsiders and he thinks the Amani should take their ancestral lands back. That, of course, includes places that elves and humans today call their home.
[09:00] Follow that path and you will end up in a place of war. But, Zul'jin won't be stopped. He knows the power is out there and, ultimately, the only thing he really cares about is getting his people power, land, and respect.
[09:19] Zul'jin's story continues in patch 12.0.7, effectively being the prelude to the story of patch 12.1. Now, this segment does contain spoilers for the currently time-gated Zul'jin storyline in patch 12.0.7, the point of which is,
[09:31] of [music] course, to set up Zul'jin's journey to the Coiled Isle. So, this is not going to be spoiling anything major about the big new patch. It's basically how we get there. Now, it all begins with Orwenna. She gathers
[09:44] representatives of all the trolls and elves around Azeroth, and then, well, she drops the bombshell that they're all related. That through the evolution of their earliest ancestors, they're all distant cousins. This really shouldn't
[09:58] hinted at in game, [music] and then it was made canon in Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1, which came out well over a decade ago. Now, no one's happy about the fact that the races they've spent thousands of years at war with are, in
[10:12] fact, in a way, kind of family. Most don't think it matters that much when put up against all of the bloodshed. But, Zul'jin is actually furious, and he refuses to believe it. Now, as proof, Orwenna shows him a vision of the
[10:26] Amani's fight against Kith'ix, explaining that the Hir'eek can only see explaining that the Hir'eek can only see visions from themselves and their kin, meaning that the Amani, well, are their kin. But, Zul'jin thinks [music] there
[10:38] is something weird about the vision. Something's not quite right. What's this huge snake monster that's fighting Kith'ix? Well, Orwenna explains that it's Ulotek, a power dragged from the Rift of Aln. Zul'jin still doesn't
[10:53] believe it, though, [music] and he can't believe that it was a loa who saved the because it was his view and the view of their people that they basically did it alone. That it was something they did, that they won. So, in light of all these
[11:08] weird revelations, Zul'jin decides to just go and find out what's going on for himself. He goes on a quest to find the most ancient sources of knowledge on this topic that he can. He finds tablets and scrolls, of course, all things
[11:20] created by the Amani themselves, and to no one's surprise, they all align with what he believes. That the Amani trolls slew Kith'ix. But, that's until he he something called a befuddled spirit [music] mask. It's a mask with the
[11:34] spirit of a dead troll bound to it, but it's in quite a bad condition and it has no memories. And it's also clear the troll spirit within is really quite shady indeed. And connecting the dots, it becomes clear the befuddled mask
[11:49] actually has the soul of Malacrass within it. [music] Malacrass, of course, being the witch doctor behind so many of the Amani's problems. So, it turns out the Amani's problems. So, it turns out that Malacrass is guiding Zul'jan toward
[12:02] Ulatek. So, hearing the mask, Zul'jan finally believes that it's Ulatek that saved the Amani all those years ago. But, he also realizes that Ulatek isn't strictly a loa, that she's actually a weapon that belongs to the Amani. He
[12:17] believes ultimately that to achieve his goals, they just need more power and, well, Ulatek is pretty much theirs to go and get. After restoring some of the mask's memories then, he teaches Zul'jan that
[12:29] his grandfather, Zul'jin, also wanted the power of Ulatek and that with it, he could reclaim their stolen lands, rebuild the empire, and realize all of their dreams. This is amazing for Zul'jan. It's finally someone speaking
[12:44] to him, speaking to his desires, speaking his language. He's totally on board and his heart is set on getting Ulatek. And with that, he's no longer a character desperately searching for a solution to an insurmountable problem.
[12:58] He's no longer navigating all of those vagaries. Now, he knows what he wants and he knows where it is. And that means that he and us very much could be coming into conflict. Okay, that's what's going through Zul'jan's mind pre-patch [music]
[13:13] 12.1. He knows Ulatek exists, he believes that it's a weapon he can use, and he knows where to find it. So, with all this new lore revealed, let's lock all this new lore revealed, let's lock it into place.
[13:27] the legacy of Zul'jin, the myths of his people, and ancient whispers of a power waiting to be dominated. These are all stories that are driving him toward Ulatek. So, let me tell you the story that Zul'jin now believes about himself
[13:43] and his people. [music] Over 20,000 years ago, the Highmountain found Highmountain Dar before dragons existed, seemingly at the back end of the Titans ordering when there were Titan keepers active and building things all around
[13:56] trolls were [music] on the surface of Azeroth at least 20,000 years ago. Now, for 4,000 years they existed as scattered tribes hunting on the edges of the Titans [music] world. But, the keepers eventually retreated into
[14:11] madness and civil war, all that stuff with Loken and Tyr. And that left the surface a lot more free. And with it being free, the tribes grew. They expanded their territory and dominated Azeroth for the next 4,000 years. That
[14:26] Azeroth for the next 4,000 years. That is, until a witch doctor named Zando found a funny purple knife. The knife is, of course, Xal'atath, whose whispers is, of course, Xal'atath, whose whispers lead Zando to a black sphere under which
[14:39] was buried a C'Thraxxi general of the Black Empire. Basically, a big lieutenant of the Old Gods. But to be fair, there are plenty of them knocking around. But this wasn't just any [music] C'Thraxxi. This was one of the most
[14:52] powerful of them. This being was C'Thrax. Who actually played a role in the whole Titan keeper civil war and eventually forced Tyr to self-destruct. You see, what we learn is that after Tyr self-destructed, C'Thrax was basically
[15:06] left in a state of hibernation. This went on for at least 5,000 years. But went on for at least 5,000 years. But then, led by Xal'atath, Zando unleashed C'Thrax once again. C'Thrax then rose to the surface and summoned endless swarms
[15:20] of Aqir. The trolls were almost immediately in the back foot. They were utterly swarmed. And so, in desperation, they unified and forged the Empire of Zul. They fought back and broke the Aqir hordes, driving them to the four corners
[15:35] of the world. Exhausted by the exploitations of other tribes, especially the Zandalari tribes, the Amani then chased Kith'ix to the edge of ancient Kalimdor, [music] right to where Zul'aman is today. But, the problem for
[15:49] them is they just did not have what it took to finally end Kith'ix. So, they called out for power, but in doing so, they drew power from a place no one should, the Rift of Aln. And that's because only a thousand years before
[16:04] this happened, Azeroth, who was then known as Aln Hara, was a sleeping goddess in the cradle above Arandor. The Titans stole her sleeping form, and they began the process of turning Aln Hara into the Titan Azeroth. But, the cradle
[16:20] was still filled with the world soul's power, what we call Aln dust. Yet, it was now so scarred by the violence of the Titans' kidnapping that it turned from a realm of dreams into a realm of nightmares. And that's why the Rift now
[16:34] endlessly spawns monstrosities, monstrosities from those nightmares, one of which we just dealt with, Xavius, the undreamt god. If you were wondering what that guy's deal was, well, now you know. Xavius was basically a nightmare spawned
[16:51] weapon, just like Ulta and this is where it connects to a boss fight that many of us have done. So, you have to remember that the Rift of Aln is the place that the Old Gods infested to create the Emerald Nightmare. Now, the Emerald
[17:03] Nightmare was a raid back at the start of the Legion expansion. And this is to Xavius's boss chamber. Here's the cool thing. That boss chamber was us looking at the roots of Arandor from the
[17:16] other side of the rift. So, understanding that, you kind of get that Ula'tek is really not a power to be messed with. It can't be bargained with like the loa can, and it couldn't be made useful in the Amani's new empire.
[17:30] So, all those years ago, they buried it deep, locked the door, threw away the key, and removed all records of its existence. Clearly, they did all that existence. Clearly, they did all that for a reason, but Zul'jan can't see past
[17:44] that part of the story. All he can see is the promise of an ascendant Amani empire. Like say Arthas taking Frostmourne or Illeria consuming the void, they see the weapon for how they can use it, but not really the curse
[17:59] that weapon may come with. And now, Zul'jan cannot see the curse of Ula'tek, which is rather fitting because it is the name of the patch. So, we're dealing with an insane weapon that's been dormant for 16,000 years, and one that
[18:12] is locked down there with C'Thraxxi. And that means we now need to ask, if Zul'jan takes this power, will he awaken And if he does, will we have yet again helped Xal'atath toward her final goal?
[18:27] Well, the only person now asking those questions is Zul'jan, who of course will claim Ula'tek, consequences [snorts] be [music] damned. And if you're asking me, what'll likely happen is that Zul'jan will claim Ula'tek, and then in
[18:42] the ensuing chaos, something will go down maybe with C'Thraxxi, that ends up down maybe with C'Thraxxi, that ends up being very useful to Xal'atath's plan. And that's because, if you're asking me, patch 12.2, the final major raid of this
[18:55] expansion, is almost certainly going to be to do with the world core and Xal'atath. And in this video, you now see how 12.1 is linked into that story. its setting. There's a bunch of new features, but perhaps more
[19:11] interestingly, there are loads of really cool undocumented features that fix some fairly major pain points. And the good news is you can learn about all of those news is you can learn about all of those in the next video.