Planning to play The War Within? Here's everything you need to know about World of Warcraft's story at the start of The Worldsoul Saga

GamesMMOWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft: The War WithinSupportedPlanning to play The War Within? Here’s everything you need to know about World of Warcraft’s story at the start of The Worldsoul SagaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

World of Warcraft: The War Within isn’t just another chapter in the 20-year history of the venerable MMORPG.

This is Blizzard’s first attempt at a multi-expansion arc of stories, a trilogy called The Worldsoul Saga. In the War Within, the first expansion of the trilogy, we collect some of Azeroth’s biggest names and delve underground to fight against the evil Void creature Xal’atath, best known for being smoking hot and wielding an evil smirk (and unbridled power stolen from about everyone).

But this isn’t just a fight between the forces of light and darkness; appropriate to the title, it’s also a battle within most of the main characters.

Magni Bronzebeard

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Magni Bronzebeard

Former dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard was turned to diamond back in Cataclysm, a sacrifice he didn’t mind making when the world soul inside Azeroth was using him as its speaker. Now that she’s not nearly so chatty, he’s questioning why he did all this to begin with.

“So let’s be clear,” he says in one of the pre-patch questlines. “I’m doing this for all of you. Not for her.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, when he attempts to commune with her a few seconds later, he gets smacked down.

Thrall

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Thrall

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Thrall is mostly a secondary player so far in The World Within, but this short story about his children hints that perhaps, like Dagran and the Bronzebeards, we’re about to see a new generation of leaders step up from that family.

At the start of the expansion we see Thrall seek out former human king Anduin Wrynn in the deserts of Silithus, who then joins the former warchief in the delve underground.

Anduin Wrynn

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Anduin

As he begins The War Within, he’s left his kingdom in the hands of Regent Lord Turalyon, and it’s clear throughout the early questlines that he is wrestling with his doubts and questioning if he’s worthy to be king or even to be a wielder of the Light.

Alleria Windrunner

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Alleria

Guilt also plays a role in the story of Alleria, who is back in a very prominent role in The War Within. This elven sister of Sylvanas Windrunner sacrificed her position as Ranger General of Silvermoon and even her relationship with her son to fight the demon hordes of the Legion—a big deal when you and your kind live to be thousands of years old.

She embraced the po wers of the Void to hold off the demons, getting instruction from the ethereal Locus-Walker, and her abilities appear to be the only thing so far that can touch the World Soul Saga’s Big Bad Guy, Xal’atath.

Xal’atath

(Image credit: Blizzard)

The Big Bad

The only thing we do know for sure is that our heroes are taking the battle to Xal’atath over the next three expansions, starting in the underground zones of Khaz Algar in The War Within.

PC Gamer created this content as part of a paid partnership with Blizzard. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of PC Gamer.

TOPICSBlizzard Entertainment

TOPICS

More about world of warcraftDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to standLatestWatching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightSee more latest►

More about world of warcraft

Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand

World of Warcraft The War Within screenshots

Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run

World of Warcraft

WoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand

LatestWatching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightSee more latest►

Latest

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

null

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Magni Bronzebeard#

Thrall#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Anduin Wrynn#

Alleria Windrunner#

Xal’atath#

Magni Bronzebeard

Thrall

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Anduin Wrynn

Alleria Windrunner

Xal’atath