Dear humans, we are back to discuss how stellar the 11.1 story content was. We’ve now been punching (evil) Goblins for a few weeks, and be warned, there WILL be spoilers in this post. Without further ado, the revolution! We’ll start with a quick refresher of the campaign steps, then examine my thoughts and review, then what we’re looking forward to next.

Be warned, my review will engage with real world politics and news. Yes, the 11.1 storyline was extremely political and had a fuck ton of allegory for our world in it. It’s literally in the text, if you don’t think so, go play the quest again and talk to me. Skip today’s post if you’re full on the news for now.

Who blew up that wall?

Contrary to what folks initially thought, that wall was blown up by Pamsy, looking to give her workers a beacon to look toward. The Darkfuse company didn’t blow up the wall as part of their Black Blood work for Gallywix. When we mozy on through the wall, we come across a giant mining operation extending far down in the Ringing Deeps, all the way into the Excavation Site 9 delve. Lots of blood, lots of madness, lots of overworked Goblins.

Working through this step of the campaign leads us to Undermine after a begrudging Gazlowe agrees to come along. It’s clear that Gallywix has to go-putting Black Blood around good honest Goblins is a line for a lot of workers and his reach has gone too far.

ETHEREALS? I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE GOBLIN PATCH!

Welcome to the Undermine, a long-awaited and famous site within Azeroth. The 2nd chapter of the campaign sees us getting situated in Undermine, introducing ourselves to cartel heads, Incontinental staff, and learning about the situation at hand. Gallywix has hired Darkfuse to crack down in basically ever way around town, especially involving dissent from his allegiances, labor practices, and methods of making allies. Gazlowe is particularly shocked to learn that Baron Revilgaz and Marin Noggenfogger are working for Gallywix and his Blood project. They remind us of a tough lesson, especially for our current moment in real life: people do what they have to do not only to survive, but to try and build a secure position for themselves.

The big twist in this chapter: why the heck is there an Ethereal in Undermine? We assume, of course, that these are Shadowguard Ethereals such as those from Seat of the Triumvirate in Legion or from the 10.2.7 Dark Heart questline, allied with Xal’atath and Void forces.

Papers please!

In one of the funniest scenes in this game ever, Alleria gets stuck at customs. We bring her down to investigate Ethereal involvement as our current expert in the Void. Where we’ve normally seen the Venture Co. as the “evil” cartel, we learn in this step and this patch that they’re just trying to get the job done. They’re still not the most morally upstanding business partners around, but they’re not as malicious as classic WoW would have you think. Most importantly, we get another gruesome glimpse of the working conditions, with Gallywix literally working people to the bone.

We connect the dots to Kaja’coast in Zuldazar. Gazlowe once again expresses his disapproval of Undermine as Renzik once again reminds him of his principles-his goal to actually improve Goblin conditions. The excursion to the coast shows us that Gallywix is testing particular solutions to repair the Dark Heart, finding a working solution of Kaja’mite and Black Blood. Yikes!

Phase-theft

As we get going again, an Etheral named Phase-Thief Azir finds us hot on his trail. The Ethereals are aware of the Dark Heart’s presence in Undermine and are intending to claim it-for Xal’atath we presume. We also learn that Marin Noggenfogger’s wife is being held hostage by it, demonstrating how our friends have been forced into Gallywix’s camp.

After freeing our hostages, we make it to the Dark Heart, in Gallywix’s hands. Right on cue, Phase-Thief Azir warps in and takes it after binding Gallywix. He says literally nothing, takes the Heart, and warps out (efficient!). Gallywix teleports out, we leave.

Vive la revolution!

In a real genuine sudden death cutscene, Renzik takes a bullet for Gazlowe, shocking him into action for real this time. We officially start a revolution in Undermine, capitalizing on a riot and driving the people into a really uplifting moment of collective action. This chapter culminates with our revolution making it to the Gallagio, tearing down a statue of Gallywix, and cornering him.

Xal’atath warps in for one of the best lines in the history of the game: “you gave it to the ETHEREALS?” Abandoning Gallywix to his fate, he holes himself up in the casino and calls in ever favor he has left.

The Liberation of Undermine

Upon entering the raid, while we’re rallying our forces, Gallywix’s favors come in and bring some heat to the Incontinental. We confront some Geargrinder members while the cartel leaders check on their people. After dealing with some of the allies Gallywix called in and securing our team, we head back in to the casino, beating the fuck out of a slot machine and an Ogre bodyguard.

Gallywix falls and dies by his own hubris: crushed by his own mech.

God’s epilogue chapter oh my goodness

Gazlowe, incredibly moved by Renzik’s actions during Undermined, put his ashes in an urn. Renzik’s boss, Mathias Shaw, joins us in laying Renzik to rest. We scatter his ashes across Undermine, the town he believed in so much, and lay preparations for the city’s future. Grimla becomes Venture boss, Darkfuse look for a different opportunity, and the cartels sit down to figure out what’s next.

And then we warp to space and see Phase Thief Azir standing in front of K’aresh with the Dark Heart in hand and I scream repeatedly.

SO PURPLE!!! SO DESTROYED!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

Ily’s review: was it actually that good?

YUP!

I’ll offer my one sentence disclaimer of constructive feedback here: it definitely feels like a few beats of Goblin political shifts happened off-screen between BFA and now due to how immediately we all united against Gallywix. Do I really care that much though? Nope, it super worked for me.

This patch is all-killer-no-filler for basically the first time ever in a patch campaign. They let the writers go really deeply to town in this patch: I was very impressed with how little the content was sanitized, how straight-up on the nose it was, and how much I could feel the writers’ rage through my screen. It’s been widely speculated that this patch allowed some staff to share their personal experiences working under Bobby Kotick, and while I’m not weighing in about the accuracy, I’m down with that interpretation for sure. The dialogue box where Gallywix fires someone for even asking about vacation is an example that comes to mind.

The craziest part of this patch working as well as it does is certainly in their ironclad tie to the main Worldsoul Saga. A lot of folks were concerned that Undermine was the place to be in 11.1: why do Goblins have any relevance to what will eventually become a battle between Light and Void for the Worldsoul of Azeroth? Good news, they got us covered. Not only was it extremely logical that Xal’atath would seek Gallywix to repair the Dark Heart, they even introduced the independent Ethereal faction to add another piece to the board. I’ve found that the Worldsoul Saga gets more interesting the more content we get.

Xal’atath: our most interesting antagonist in a decade

A big part of that interest has to do with a few key decisions made involving Xal’atath this patch. First of all, I am being so serious right now, this is the only example I can think of where we broke the villain’s superweapon and they went: “ok, I’m just going to fix it guys.” THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!! WHY HAVEN’T OTHER PEOPLE JUST TRIED TO REPAIR THEIR DOOMSDAY DEVICE? Like the closest thing in my mind is Palpatine going “I’ll just build another Death Star,” but like, seriously my genuine praise to the writers. Yes, it makes total sense that the bad guy wants to fix her superweapon that she went through a lot of effort to get. Period. You genuinely surprised me.

Oh, we’re going to genuinely have our expectations subverted again? In a single patch? Yep, the Ethereals show up and aren’t working for Xal’atath, they’re a splinter faction with a TBD motive. Oh my god. The cutscene of Gallywix saying he gave it to her Ethereal pal and her instantly iconic expression are immediate hall of fame WoW writing. It is infinitely more interesting to have another Void-ish faction on the board. They are clearly not on team Xal and we’ve all been speculating as to their goals (you can hear some of my speculation with Gin and Ali on our 11.1 recap Live, Laugh, Lore episode here!).

Xal’atath is immediately one of the most interesting WoW villains ever because she has been allowed to fail. In the span of two patches, she has had both major victories and major defeats, as well as genuinely being outplayed. A few folks on twitter expressed discontent and said it makes her look incompetent. Quite the contrary, I think WoW villains who just say “all is proceeding as planned” are a fucking mess. The Jailer felt so insane because he said everything was going according to plan and then he…lost? It’s much more interesting to see the villain have to improvise, adjust, and overcome.

WoW players who also played FF14 have expressed their desire to see an Emet-Selch equivalent in WoW, and I want to push back on that goal. We’re absolutely not going to get a character like that. However, one of the things folks mentioned was that Emet seemed entirely in control the entire time. To briefly touch on FF14, Emet was actually famously not in control of the situation the entire time. Shadowbringers is literally him improvising after a bunch of unpredictable shit happens. That’s what makes it so good. I am having a much better time watching Xal’atath adjust her behavior based on how her attempts go: not only did she try a different approach in 11.1, her demeanor shifted entirely, and that was a treat to watch. In the base game, she was having a lot of fun fucking with us, Alleria in particular, and this patch she was all business no memery. It is very cool to see the villain respond to failure, adjust, and try something different. As for the Ethereals, sometimes you just get outplayed. And if you’re waiting for Xal’atath to have her moment, I absolutely promise you she isn’t going anywhere.

y’all remember those whistleblowers for boeing etc found dead in their apartments? allegory.

Allegory: it’s here. Deal with it.

Back to Goblins, a lot of 11.1’s writing works very hard and succeeds at examining the stereotypes Goblins have been written with, both in-game and in-universe, for years. No, Goblins don’t just want money: they’re mostly coming from a place built on having to work to survive, make money to live, and have profit as the bottom line (a lot like us in real life, don’t you think?). They aren’t shallow: they all have families, interests, apartments, golf teams, and cars, and are simply doing their best. Undermine is a bustling town with a totally unique vibe and a lot of chaos, trying to figure out what it wants to be.

Gazlowe gets a much-needed personal spotlight in deciding to stop running from his Boogeyman, in that he didn’t want to return to Undermine. Renzik telling him: “you’re Monte Gazlowe. Build something better” stuck with me: sometimes one of your really good friends has to tell you to wake the fuck up and snap into shape. As Gazlowe stops running from where he’s needed most, we address immediate needs of Undermine citizens throughout the city. I think one of the things that hit me the most in this patch was the depiction of ruthless capitalism, treatment of dissent by the state, the realities of a status quo shift, and how long a revolution takes. I want to remind everyone: we have been anti-Gallywix, to some extent, since Cataclysm. In the in-game timeline, that’s from 28 ADP to 42 ADP, meaning that the revolution against Gallywix has been brewing for over a decade. This is a really solid depiction of the fact that change takes commitment, time, and a genuine upheaval of the current system.

In chapter 5 of the campaign, we see some insane shit on the streets of Undermine. The writers took inspiration from 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, comments around those protests, and the past 20 months of pro-Palestine protests across the country (Ily’s note: while these protests weren’t just in the U.S., the dialogue around the protests was lifted directly from U.S. news outlets. Other countries have protests and different ways of addressing civil unrest-I want to just speak for the U.S. situation right now since I live there). Seeing Goblin protestors get tear gassed brought images back from the summer of 2020, where swaths of people were gassed for demanding that police not execute civilians.

I watched Goblin NPC’s walk by and say: “oh I love your cause but I just don’t agree with your methods. Can’t we try talking?” This interaction nails something essential about change: the people demanding change in the streets have tried literally everything else. If you think logically, would a person risk their survival as a first instinct? Nope, they’d probably try to do other solutions first. One of my favorite lines was from a contrarian Goblin demanding we debate him on the issue of Gallywix, then losing it when we walk away, saying “hey! You have to debate me!” Remind you of anyone?

Jastor Gallywix: always a villain, newly a raid boss

I was absolutely floored with chapter 5 of the campaign and its depiction of protest, dissent, systemic injustice, and the demands of the people. Goblins have actually been trying to find alternatives to Gallywix, oligarchy, and single-rule of Undermine for years-Gallywix crushed opposition. It turns out the rich and powerful will resist your attempts to end their exploitation. Shocking! Out of options, we agree that violence is gonna do it, and successfully oust Gallywix. I wanna make a note here: Gazlowe is merciful to a fault, repeatedly offering Gallywix an out. Jastor, in his endless hubris, declines. As I said in my pre-11.1 post, Gallywix has been a bad fucking guy since he joined the game. The Goblin starting zone ends with you and Thrall beating him up. He didn’t get much better over time. He’s super smart and used to concern himself more with the wellness of the Goblins, but as so often happens, his own glamorous life and standing became more important to him.

They definitely did the necessary work to make Gallywix super fucking awful in this patch. As if willingly taking a job from Xal’atath isn’t already bad, Black Blood environmental destruction, his worst labor practices ever, kidnapping the families of prominent Goblins to force them into his work, literally gunning down Renzik in broad cavelight, and killing a whole bunch of innocent people are certainly grounds for killing someone in this game. It was my pleasure to finally beat his ass in a raid encounter that I’ve waited for since I did Kezan/Lost Isles back in December of 2010. It’s one of those situations where he sucks so bad that when the revolution tears down a gold statue of him in chapter 5, you’re just pumping your fist in solidarity. What could’ve felt a bit too on-the-nose instead feels like you’re a part of deposing one of your oligarch overlords.

I could talk about how much allegory was in this patch for years, but I’ll end by highlighting a few final things. This patch, we really saw how the cartels functioned as unions in Undermine, doing their best to protect their people and get better conditions for them under an exploitative boss. We saw how the people of Undermine felt powerless but succeeded in collective action when they came together in full. We saw the real environmental impacts of the Black Blood on areas where it doesn’t exist, demonstrating yet another potential climate catastrophe in this game. There’s just so much good shit here but I’ll stop rambling for now.

So…..what now?

K’aresh baby. As I said, this patch was mostly a fucking awesome allegory patch, probably the most pro-labor content in game, and definitely our first major return to allegory since Mists of Pandaria (once again, if you think there is no allegory in Mists, you are wrong, sorry). I anticipate that 11.2 will move us back to a high stakes cosmic fantasy story like the 11.0 base game. I cannot express how excited I am to see K’aresh. That shot of Azir staring at the planet? Chills.

My major wishlist for 11.2 includes: a clear definition of this splinter Ethereal faction, the beginnings of digging into who Xal’atath truly is, our long-awaited Midnight setup incident, and some further teasing. I am extremely intrigued by what K’aresh will look like.

Most of all, I want to once again commend the team on an excellent narrative patch in 11.1. It’s certainly my favorite story patch since 5.1 Landfall in Mists of Pandaria, which I often consider the peak or near-peak of WoW story. For comparison, other patches I’d refer to as S-tier story patches are: 7.0, 5.2, 3.0, and 5.0. I thought every major component, even the next patch tease, was executed flawlessly, I thought pacing was great, instantly iconic lines abounded, and many explosions were had.

As we prepare for our next venture into the Great Dark Beyond, I can’t help but wonder if we are genuinely not prepared for what we’re chasing after.

The Undermine(d) Review

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The Undermine(d) Review

GOBSMACKED: The Goblins of Azeroth and the Undermine

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