The Hidden Sickness of the Wetlands | World of Warcraft

Happy Friday, everybody! Today, we visit the damp region known as the Wetlands to take a look at a hidden lore thread that nobody has been talking about... is it ever truly resolved in-game? Or are there unsolved mysteries ripe for the solving?!
Go check out ATN's channel here: / @allthingsnerdchannel
Video Footage:
Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft (2004-)
Some images retrieved from WoWhead
Hayven Games: Grim Batol
Background Music:
"Swamp of Sorrows," "Feralas," and "Burning Steppes" from the WoW OST
#worldofwarcraft #wowclassic #seasonofdiscovery
Outro Music:
"Watch Me (Live)" by Greta Van Fleet
Jediwarlock 2024

[@pavelzacek8098]

Fun fact. Deathwing himself should be hidding in GB during vanilla. Bacause Sinestra (or by her original name Sintharia) started experiments bellow halls of GB before TBC. And was later revealed, that deep below darkest halls, deeper then Sinestra And her Troggs ever dare to descend, Deathwing himself manipulated Sinestra and events leading to creation of Twilight dragons. We can even met Sinestra during TBC at Netherwing (it was in a middle of her experiments). So, during vanilla Sinestra And DW should be already there.

[@Jediwarlock]

Great point!! I forgot about the Sinestra cameo in TBC... I will pin your comment! :D

[@TeasLouise]

Wow! Thank you for filling that in. So cool that you are giving us so many insights!

[@kristiyangrigorov5232]

what is GB?

[@nicksalvatore5717]

@@kristiyangrigorov5232 Grim Batol

[@VelvetSkyye]

Wrong. Neither he, nor Sinestra, were in Grim Batol during wow. Deathwing went into deepholme, and from an area FAR below GB, he observed sinestra in what was to become the twilight highlands. The whole point of us finding her in the bastion of twilight is that's where she was the whole time

[@scyren2337]

Oh man, seeing the "Credit: Hayven Games" makes me a bit emotional. For a moment, through you, he was here again. Thanks for the great videos, man.

[@danielbruun6917]

May he rest in peace

[@Jediwarlock]

You are very welcome! Hayven's work was superb and I try to keep my content separate from his out of respect for his KZbin legacy, but I knew those shots of Grim Batol were unparalleled and wanted to show them off while still giving him credit.

[@gokibros4451]

i miss hayven.

[@saulgoodguy1840]

Hope there is enough hidden lore for way more of these videos. Each and every one is a banger

[@Jediwarlock]

Many more on the way! :D

[@christianweibrecht6555]

Jedi in my eyes is a classic wow version of Pyromancer

[@grafspe807]

Thank you so much for the credit to Hayven Games at the 7:52 mark its been a long time and he was much beloved by the wow community i am glad he is not forgotten

[@ThePandJ]

My heart sank a bit seeing his name

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes, he was one of the greats and I am deeply appreciative of all the work he did for the WoW community. I try to keep my content pretty separate from his out of respect for his legacy but those shots of Grim Batol are just superb and wanted to show them off while still giving him credit. :)

[@Bowko123]

The PTSD zone, when you wanted to get your low level nightelf to human territory in vanilla.

[@Jediwarlock]

YEP XD

[@blakehelveason7088]

The elekk in the room! Lmao

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad some people caught on to that XD

[@tylerbenjamin328]

Grim Batol as a location has captured my imagination for 20 years. The Wetlands is a beautiful zone and tons of fun quests! Thanks for bringing me back. 💖💖💖

[@Jediwarlock]

You are very welcome! Thanks for tuning in :)

[@Hypnotically_Caucasian]

Wetlands and Darkshore were such nostalgic areas back when I was a dumb seven year old during vanilla. Wetlands had a banger soundtrack as well, and Menethil harbor was cool. Not as cool as the architecture in Theramore, but unlike Theramore, there were things you can do like quests. And fewer deserters harassing everyone.

[@Jediwarlock]

True!! Theramore before Patch 2.3 (and all of Dustwallow) was VERY lacking in quests but Wetlands have always been great :)

[@TheRoflcraft9885]

Seeing Hayven Games feels like a hammer blow to the chest, but I'm glad he left such a mark.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah

[@kovatoro]

I've always loved the passive world building of the Wetlands! The unmarked, ruined path leading to Grim Batol shows the zone's history.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes! :D

[@thesnep4757]

The environmental storytelling in WoW is very good honestly. Like with the destroyed war machines you can find scattered in Elwynn Forest.

[@POTATOEMPN]

The Warden of The Green is a direct refference to Swamp Thing, from DC Comics. He is actually like, top three most powerful beings on Earth. In his domain, he is virtually unstopable. Just fun fact.

[@Jediwarlock]

That's awesome! I had no idea :D

[@Loxifae]

Love the attention to detail, "the Elekk in the room" made me smile.

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad a couple of people picked up on that! XD

[@deathi]

i would love a grim batol raid in sod, since that area looks like it was supposed to be something big, plus with xal'atath(shadowy figure when you get the void shard in hillsbarad foothills) having big influence with players since phase 1 we might be sent there

[@Jediwarlock]

I agree! That would be an awesome raid :)

[@bombkangaroo]

Whatever is beneath the Eastern Kingdoms must be huge. Its whispers have been heard in Tirisfal, it seems to have corrupted that one Watcher imprisoned beneath Arathi, and at the much lower elevation of the Wetlands its presence is actually able to influence the world above albeit indirectly.

[@Jediwarlock]

Love your thoughts on this! It's definitely a large presence :0

[@emetanti]

Judging by much later lore additions you got that Old God General in Tirisfal that took Tyr out with himself and the Twilight Hammer festering inside Grim Batol, Deathwing dug in even deeper there eventually breaching into Deepholme and 1-2 of those gigantic old god servants you in Cataclysm can actively enter. Surprisingly no Old Gods themself as the closest would be Nzoth reaching to roughly the western coasts of the continent.

[@thesnep4757]

​@@emetanti I could be misrembering, but isn't Wetlands one of the zones being updated in The War Within? Or was that one of the nearby neighbouring zones? Off of a video I remember seeing the numbnail for showing which zones were being updated and the like, but tbf I don't remember what was in that video.

[@emetanti]

@@thesnep4757 I admittedly wouldnt know, i have not paid attention to what theyre doing this expansion.

[@cajintexas7751]

In Vanilla, I used my rogue to stealth into the Grim Batol area. I hoped to find some secret quest or maybe some chests with loot. But all I found were elite dragons.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's always fun to explore spots that might have some secrets, even if you don't find anything! :D

[@björkmou5e]

Great vid and thank you for crediting Fred for his footage. He's terribly missed.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! I love his work and I will make sure to always credit him if I need to show off some locations in the future. His videos are unparalleled and I miss him lots too.

[@Cadmus_of_the_Knight_Seekers]

I always liked the Wetlands. Good video.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks! :)

[@gertjedeballenman5174]

Seriously man. Every video I see from you is superb. Thanks and keep it up!

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks so much! :)

[@dbabaganoosh]

With the War Within coming out, they have said in interviews the Scardin will be appearing in the expansion. So makes you wonder what other things will come to pass in that expansion! I'm excited

[@Jediwarlock]

YES! I saw the dev interview the other day and they mentioned Skardyn and I was like YOOOO NO WAY XD

[@dbabaganoosh]

@@Jediwarlock when you mentioned the skardyn, i wanted to comment because of said same interview. Your videos are really good, thank you for the adventures you go on, to entertain

[@H25Invicta]

The darkness Modgud released in Grim Batol was that of Xal'atath, so the Old God connection is a given. Since Xal'atath has made appearances in Season of Discovery, it would be interesting to see some more old Wetlands stuff.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes!! Would be a great connection :)

[@jamesgames4142]

Thank you for making these videos. I sometimes get really anxious at nighttime before bed and your videos are a great help. Please keep them going :)

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad to hear these videos help :) More on the way!

[@darkempire7552]

It's honestly a shame that things like these are forgotten by Blizzard, i would have loved to see more stories such as this one be expanded on!

[@Jediwarlock]

Agreed! :D

[@IRLlosersQ]

I love the way you narrate character speech.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! :D

[@DudeWheresMyJo-Car]

Fun video! I always like to see how you bring the out the silent stories told by the quests in the region. I think the corruption that's making sickness in the Wetlands stems from its close proximity to the Twilight Highlands which will soon become a hotspot for old god activity brought close to the surface. For now, the corruption is still slowly oozing its way west through rock and earth manifesting itself in the odd occurrences on exhibit.

[@Jediwarlock]

I like that idea! That whole Grim Batol/Twilight Highlands area is sure to be a hub for Old God activity. :)

[@DrPluton]

I still think Blizzard has missed out by not having a Caverns of Time dungeons visiting old Grim Batol. Maybe we could help the Wildhammer dwarves fight Modgud.

[@Jediwarlock]

That would be awesome!!

[@AstraGaming-is1gd]

Incredible video! I'm so glad to be subscribed to the channel.

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you for the comment. :)

[@Shifsabre]

Damn, there's a lot more to the Wetlands than I thought. As a horde main, I've never really quested beyond Dun Morogh in that area

[@Jediwarlock]

It's a cool zone! Not my favorite, but a solid addition to the roster. :)

[@alexanderpulido3666]

Just found this channel, and video was awesome, got a new subscriber for sure, keep em comming :)

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks so much! :) Happy to have you here!

[@Bigbigvoodoo]

It's wild that we finally get Skardyn now in War Within, only as corrupted Earthen & not Dark Irons.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah! I can't believe they finally introduced them :D

[@MichaelBurnsGuitar]

"The Elekk in the room" - took me a sec. Made me chuckle :)

[@Jediwarlock]

XD

[@JATGPisGOD]

I tried to subscribe partway through the video but it turns out i'm already subscribed. Keep up the great videos!

[@Jediwarlock]

Haha, nice! Thanks for tuning in :)

[@Wallda_25]

Good video, thx. Grim Batol would even fit well for an intro or exploratory sidequest in retail wow. We had a dragonexpac. We are getting a dwarven/earthly down below expac. And the void is involved. Since there will be a nerubian focus i dont think Grim Batol will be an entrypoint for the new zones or something similar, but id love to see a sidequestchain uncovering something in grim batol which could help us in the fight up ahead. It just fits well imo.

[@Jediwarlock]

That makes a lot of sense! :)

[@Bramandin]

They will provide us with the new content in the shape of Grim Batol lore. SUUUUURELY, 100% I would look to Twow. They're more official than retail at this point.

[@Jediwarlock]

TWoW is doing good things! :D

[@drvurruct2274]

What the heck is TWoW? I tried to google the acronym, but I got nothing.

[@Bramandin]

@@drvurruct2274 Turtle wow

[@Jesse-nf9by]

YES ! I love these videos, man! Keep it up!

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad to hear it! Thank you! :)

[@jordanread5829]

Makes me wonder if Season of Discovery will uncover more of Xal'ataths influence over the Dark Irons attack on Grim Batol. As she was involved in the curse according to the artifacts lore book in Legion. We have already seen hints of Xal'atath being present in vanilla WoW through the Blackfathom Depths content in Season of Discovery. And with her being the main antagonist of the upcoming new expansion for retail, my guess Blizzard is using Season of discovery as a way of showing her influence retroactively.

[@Jediwarlock]

Agreed!!! Grim Batol could be another great way to integrate some of those Void-esque elements we've already been seeing in SoD. :)

[@gokibros4451]

the skardyn appear in the current retail expansion confirming they are indeed void afflicted dwarves. Through the progression of their void corruption the earthern dwarves becomes mutant monstrosities which we see the newly corrupted fighting alongside. There are skardyn that are not completely corrupted fighting the completely corrupted along with some of the machinery still trying to protect the vault, when we arrive. This is the dungeon known as Stonevault. The quest line through the ringing deeps has tons of world building lore about the corruption of the eathern into the skardyn, something far worse than the curse of flesh (though they do become fleshy over time as they turn into the shadowclaw monstrosities.) It's actually a really cool storyline and very cool that blizzard included grim batol in the same season as stonevault and the skardyn in general. One of the most desirable trinkets is called "skardyn's grace" and it is obtained from grim batol in TWW season 1's mythic+ dungeon pool.

[@Truehero0105]

Good video, As someone who knows alot of Lore, Some of these things are new to me!

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D

[@TheNicopy]

Impecable work as always

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks so much! :)

[@jarlfisk]

lovely as always!

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! :)

[@audiofun1]

10/10 video. Love the lore and further speculation Also I recently just discovered All Things Nerd thanks to the KZbin algorithm. It's a good channel

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! ATN is great and I'm glad more people are finding his channel! :D

[@juancho650]

Now that you covered the Wetlands im curious about this another Excavation site found in the Barrens, Bael Modan, its said thata there's some mysterious stuff happening there

[@Jediwarlock]

YES! That would be a great video :D

[@Featherogue]

I love these videos! Keep it up!

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! More in the future for sure ;)

[@stevehitman]

Good job as always 😊

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks! :)

[@AllThingsNerdChannel]

Let’s go! Hype! ❤️

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks!

[@Wayclarke]

"Modgud's curse is based." - Jediwarlock, 2024.

[@Jediwarlock]

True and real

[@tsulong]

I know you mostly cover classic era wow stuff, but Modgud is one of the ones who had the blade Xal'atath which was introduced in legion... and may be making an appearance in SoD, but that's unconfirmed atm

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes! Could definitely tie back to the Void presence and hints we've been getting at in SoD. I held off on mentioning Xal directly but that's definitely a piece of the story that could come back someday. :)

[@viktorsobot3106]

I seem to remember that Dark Iron dwarf leader that died there used Xal'atath the shadow priest weapon from legion, but the weapon left her side when she was about to die, that could be the link for the corruption in Wetlands.

[@Jediwarlock]

I agree! :D That would be a great link.

[@Sange4499]

The Demon soul was hidden in the wetlands and presumably within grimbatol, and Deathwing manipulates the orcs from the dragonmaw clan to find it and they used it to imprison Alextrasza within grim batol, who is eventually freed by Rhonin and Krasus the red dragon. The demon soul more than likely corrupted the land around it

[@Jediwarlock]

Ooh, that is a definite possibility! :o

[@KikiAelita]

Where is the shot at 9:15 taken from? I want to go check out the spooky help request camp.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's all the way on top of Grim Batol mountain. :) Not sure if you can access it in Classic but maybe it's still there in Cataclysm?

[@roundninja]

That's really interesting, it would be neat if the old gods turned out to be involved with Wetlands and it would answer a few old questions. Personally I doubt the murlocs are involved with that, since murlocs were a recurring unimportant low level mob especially in the human starting areas, so it's hard to tell what's real lore and what's a more recent retcon. I mean I guess murlocs and naga were working together since way back in Warcraft III when some murlocs were serving Zar'jira, and I do remember fighting some old gods and their minions in the Frozen Throne undead campaign, so it's within the realm of possibility, but I'm not sure if there was ever much evidence of murlocs and old gods being directly connected. So I don't wanna jump to conclusions, but it certainly is interesting to think about.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes, I think the Azeroth (Elwynn, Redridge) murlocs are their own separate thing, but I think most of the coastal ones are being controlled by the naga/potentially Old Gods as well. Maybe I'll make a video focusing on that. :)

[@roundninja]

@@Jediwarlock I never noticed that much difference between coastal and inland murlocs, but then again, by the time I got to Wetlands I'd got bored of murlocs and started skimming the quest descriptions, so you may have found information I missed. Sounds like an interesting video!

[@brainstrom8320]

1:23 middle of top half of the right gnoll tent

[@Jediwarlock]

*unsettled Mr. Incredible face*

[@grigi3]

"Number 15: Burger king foot lettuce" ahh intonation

[@Jediwarlock]

It's just the way it is lol

[@grigi3]

@@Jediwarlock still better content than 90% of yt

[@heathmcrigsby]

Modgud wielded Xalateth which helped curse Grim Batol. Good chance for new lore concerning GB and wetlands in War Within.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's a possibility! :D

[@Filip_Agrippa]

I like you thought that Season of Discovery would bring completely new content. xD

[@Jediwarlock]

I thought :')

[@iansilvadecastro6572]

There's a Grim Batol content incoming at Turtle Wow!

[@Jediwarlock]

No way! That's awesome :D

[@VelvetSkyye]

I mean we know what lies below. A C'thraxxi and a twilight dragon. I'm sure had Grim batol and twilight highlands actually been put into vanilla like they were supposed to we would have gotten something like what we got in cataclysm.

[@Jediwarlock]

That is likely... I would have loved to see that in Classic! :D

[@JustaSmilingHedgehog]

The Wetlands always felt of to me during classic, something just didn't feel right about the zone.

[@Jediwarlock]

Now you know why! ;)

[@Silly_Illidan]

I think most players forget that the flesh and blood gnomes and dwarves awakened from their hibernation inside their Titan facilities. This means that the underground cities of gnomeregan, ironforge, grim batol etc where originally Titanic facilities. It's not unusual that wetlands would have some additional Titanic remnants, with the zone's proximity to these cities

[@Jediwarlock]

That's a good point! I know that at least Grim Batol was created more recently than antiquity so it probably has fewer links to Titans, but that is still a possibility :)

[@Epicdps]

Blizzard hire this man

[@Jediwarlock]

Haha, now THAT would be epic XD

[@Neonsilver13]

Regarding the connection of the troggs and the dwarfs, I think it was in uldaman in classic where it's mentioned how the dwarfs and troggs were formed originally from the irdenes. Might have been somewhere else, but it's been confirmed a long time ago that they are related.

[@Jediwarlock]

The troggs were a mutated, original draft of the titan-forged that would later become humans, dwarves, and gnomes :) There are examples where dwarves can devolve back into trogg-like beings, so it seems they are definitely related! Just depends on if magic mutates them I suppose :)

[@General12th]

Hi Jedi! Could you imagine if Grim Batol was a full-fledged zone with secret dark caverns in the lowest depths?

[@Jediwarlock]

I'd love that!! Maybe incorporate a bit of a Wetlands expansion like the Twilight Highlands but emphasize the underground portions a lot more... that would be cool :)

[@TheJschreib]

Seems like such a shame they didn't replace the troggs with the Skardyn models now that they are here and Grim Batol is M+ :S

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah! I heard about that... crazy I was just talking about it! XD

[@dwalin619]

Grim Batol was one of the first sights I visitied after becoming level 60 way back in the day. I thought there had to be something amazing, but other than repcosts I got nothing. It was a cool journey tho and seeing the dwarf fortress, imagining what is in it and what the future will bring for it was awesome. Sadly the cataclysm came, bringing a mediocre (at best) 5 man dungeon and a throw away storyline with it.

[@Jediwarlock]

So true! They could have done much more with it!

[@Bramandin]

Hey Jedi, remember that time when you had hopes for SoD to add something about Grim Batol? LMAO

[@Jediwarlock]

Lmao indeed I do

[@Bramandin]

@@Jediwarlock I never did!

[@saxiom4629]

awesome vid

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! :)

[@Raxxer1993Q8]

Another great video! Glad I voted for this one!

[@Jediwarlock]

Woohoo! Thanks for voting :D

[@Waggehful]

Skardyn have shown up in TWW!

[@Jediwarlock]

WOW! That's cool I didn't think they'd bring that idea back! :)

[@electricmayhem8147]

hehehe "elekk in the room"

[@Jediwarlock]

:D

[@ВолодимирМайко-п7р]

nice!

[@danielcross434]

wonder if it'll be in war within?

[@dontreplytome5665]

That have said they are going to do the un releases raids of vanilla in sod

[@Jediwarlock]

It could be! With the focus on underground zones and whatnot. :)

[@bigbossadidoss8678]

This is the kind of thing SoD needs to capitalize on

[@Jediwarlock]

That's what I'm hoping for!!

[@nicholaswoollhead6830]

Bro how do you keep finding these little threads to pull at???

[@Jediwarlock]

To be honest, I just play the game! XD ...and I make sure to read quest text and find little details in the world. When things start fitting together, I've found a "thread" and I start digging deeper :D

[@6enduro331]

gyat level 10

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes

[@RealJuiceWrld]

Your NPC voice sounds like WoWCrendor’s old machinimas

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! That means a lot :)

[@makarenkovadim-0143]

It all makes sence, thanks for the video, idk how could i know that playing the game modern way, with questie or dungeon grind, even AI voiceover addon would be not enough to explain what's going on in the zone. Always been curious what happend in grim batol, this dwarf towers emerging from the mountains is major part of classic wow charm

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad you enjoyed this one! :D

[@ivylim8612]

Socal lady killer ?

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah?

[@thalia4934]

"It becomes apparent" It: 👨‍👧‍👧

[@Jediwarlock]

XD

[@derFritzbube]

Is this ai voice?

[@Jediwarlock]

Nope, my real voice. :)

[@1OnlyOneOnlyOne1]

Beautiful. Goes nicely with season of discovery.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes! I think so too :)

[@TheGrudge28]

Omg...Hayven Games ❤️🥹🫶

[@Jediwarlock]