Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness were the first two entries in the series and depicted the first two great wars of Azeroth. The reason Azeroth is the way it is can be found in these two titles, yet Blizzard barely acknowledges them. People who are interested in exploring these titles cannot purchase them through Battle.net, they have to go through GOG Galaxy instead. Blizzard released Warcraft 3: Reforged which remastered the Third War, but has done little for the first two wars in the series. They were both pivotal times in Warcraft lore that desperately need to be revisited.

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The First War

The First War was the war that started the entire Warcraft storyline, depicted in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the First War involves the first invasion of the orcs of Draenor into Azeroth. Having drunk the blood of a demon, the orcs became bloodthirsty and invaded Azeroth through a small portal. They began raiding human settlements and ransacking the continent while the humans desperately tried to stop them, but all was not well in the orc clans.

Orgrim Doomhammer, the second in command of the Horde, became suspicious of Warchief Blackhand. He did not trust the route that Blackhand was taking the orcs, so he killed him and took the mantle of Warchief for himself. The newly crowned Warchief Doomhammer set his sights on the human capital of Stormwind and ransacked it, killing King Llane.

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans had two different endings depending upon what campaign the player played, the human or orc campaign. At the end of the orc campaign, the Horde reigns supreme over the ruins of Stormwind after killing King Llane. The human campaign involves rescuing the human champion Anduin Lothar and killing the mage Medivh. King Llane gets assassinated by the half-orc Garona instead of Doomhammer. The player character then marches on Blackrock Spire, destroys the Horde, and gets crowned king of the humans.

After the release of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Blizzard added events to the First War and said the orc ending was the canon ending, while also canonizing some elements from the human campaign. Both the assassination of King Llane by Garona and the death of Medivh were canonized, with Medivh’s role vastly increased. Blizzard added that Medivh and the orc warlock Gul’dan were in cahoots and together opened the portal to Azeroth, Medivh wanted the destruction of Azeroth and Gul’dan wanted power.

The events of the First War were depicted in Legendary Picture’s 2016 Warcraft movie, with some events altered for the big screen. The war also received a follow-up in The Burning Crusade and Warlords of Draenor expansion packs.

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The Second War

After the human defeat in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, they fled to the kingdom of Lordaeron where they got aid from King Terenas Menethil II. The Horde destroyed everything around Stormwind and set its sights on the remaining human forces, thus beginning the Second War. The Horde advanced on the settlements of the dwarves, gnomes, elves, and remaining humans with new technologies like boats and zeppelins. They recruited the trolls to their cause, and together they ransacked the Alliance lands.

The Alliance would not take it lightly and began its counterattack on the Horde. It had success kicking the Horde out of the dwarf and gnome land of Khaz Modan and from the elven forests. In retaliation the Horde besieged the capital of Lordaeron, but at the same time Gul’dan took a band of orcs to raise a sunken temple of great power, the Tomb of Sargeras.

Gul’dan’s mission to raise the Tomb ended in failure as the demons inside killed him and the clans he recruited. This forced Doomhammer to pull troops away from the war and pursue Gul’dan. The Alliance seized this opportunity and began their advancement, taking back much of the land that was taken from them. It pushed the Horde all the way back to Blackrock Spire where Anduin Lothar lost his life to Doomhammer. Once Lothar perished, a paladin named Turalyon took command, beat Doomhammer, and made him his prisoner.

The rest of the Horde forces retreated to the Dark Portal where it made its final stand. The Alliance and Horde battled it out and the orcs were defeated, their leaders rounded up in chains. The Alliance, with the help of the wizard Khadgar, destroyed the Dark Portal and the Second War was over.

The aftermath of the war is depicted in Warcraft 2: Beyond the Dark Portal, the only expansion pack for Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness. The orcs find a new leader with the shaman Ner’Zhul, and they stage a new invasion of Azeroth. This new Horde is beaten back by the heroes of Azeroth and the remaining Alliance forces. It follows the Horde through the Dark Portal into Draenor where it finishes the conflict for good.

Khadgar and the Alliance forces destroy the Dark Portal on the Draenor side, cutting themselves off from Azeroth but saving it in the process. The Alliance is in shambles but saved from the Horde, for now. Fans of Warcraft know that peace does not last for long on Azeroth, and the first two wars were only the beginning.

The events of the Second War have largely been left to Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness. Plot elements were followed up on in The Burning Crusade, Warlords of Draenor, and Legion expansion packs, but it has not received the movie treatment like the First War.

Both of these wars were pivotal to the history of Azeroth, however, many fans cannot experience these events. Blizzard doesn’t make it easy as the games are only purchasable on GOG, are very dated, and the company’s focus is more on Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and World of Warcraft. Warcraft fans deserve to be able to experience the wars that made Azeroth whether it’s through a remaster, a new game, or Blizzard allowing fans to buy them on Battle.net.

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