Illidan Gold WoW USA

High Warlord Naj'entus . He was born a night elf raid boss in Patch 2.1 of Magtheridon, the Pit Lord who had taken control of the world. But first, Illidan systematically shut down his dimensional gates to stem the flow of reinforcements. Eventually, they succeeded.

When they came to the Black Temple , Illidan was approached by Akama of the Broken, who pledged the allegiance of his race. Akama's broken felt indebted to Illidan and his army for aiding them in their fight against the fel orcs of Magtheridon, who had laid siege to their village with the intent of slaughtering them all. They laid siege to the Black Temple and destroyed Magtheridon's defenses, and then defeated the Pit Lord in battle himself. Magtheridon noted wryly that Illidan had great power, and asked if the Legion had sent him as a test. Illidan laughed, saying that he was not a test, but a replacement, and defeated Magtheridon. It has recently been revealed that Magtheridon is still alive, imprisoned by Illidan beneath Hellfire Citadel and kept sealed in place by the Fel Orc jailor Keli'dan the Breaker.

The March on Icecrown

As Illidan rallied the forces of Outland under a new banner, a storm of fire and smoke descended upon the Black Temple, and Kil'jaeden appeared in all his unholy glory. Chastising Illidan for his foolhardy attempts to flee his wrath, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan, equipped with his new servitors, to go to Icecrown and destroy the Frozen Throne in his last chance to appease the demons he had given himself over to.

Illidan, Vashj, and Kael laid siege to Northrend and battled Anub'arak's forces as they trudged through the snow towards the Icecrown glacier. But Ner'zhul, knowing he would be overrun if he didn't do something, called Arthas to Northrend to complete the plan he had sent into motion so many months before. Finally, Illidan's forces arrived at Icecrown as Arthas and Anub'arak dug their way out of Azjol-Nerub, and the two factions squared off in a titanic battle as they tried to gain control of the four mystical obelisks surrounding the glacier. After hours of battle, and control going back and forth between the two enemies, Arthas activated all obelisks, and the doors to the Frozen Throne were opened.

But Illidan was not finished yet. Meeting the weakened Arthas at the glacier's base, the two warriors engaged in single combat. After a few minutes of exchanging blows, however, Arthas overcame Illidan's defenses and cut him down. Illidan Stormrage fell in the snow, dead, or so it seemed. He was badly wounded, but not killed. After it became clear for Vashj and Kael that they could not destroy the Frozen Throne, they retreated, eventually back to Outland, taking Illidan with them.

Note that the in-game animation between Illidan and Arthas was originally planned to be a video cinematic. Time constraints, however, forced the scene to be done inside the game. The developers have said that their greatest regret about this change is that many assumed Illidan died, when the video would have revealed that Illidan survived to watch Arthas's transformation.

In World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

According the manual included with the Burning Crusade expansion, Illidan knows that Kil'jaeden has not forgotten of his failure to destroy the Frozen Throne. It says that he anticipates an offensive from the Legion and is "preparing accordingly." In the game it is revealed that one of the ways Illidan is preparing is by creating new Fel Orcs to fight for him, using the blood of the imprisoned Magtheridon. It says that he and his allies fight to ensure that all portals to Outland remain tightly sealed while he strengthens his power base. It also implies that the Horde and Alliance will want to use those portals because of Outland's strategic importance.

For some reason (or perhaps no reason) Illidan has also waged war on Shattrath City, instead of allying with its inhabitants against their common enemy: the Burning Legion. Kael'thas Sunstrider led the first assault, either under direct orders from Illidan or with Illidan's authorization. If the goal was to strengthen Illidan's position in Outland it had the opposite effect, since the unprovoked attack caused a large number of blood elves to desert Kael'thas and join forces with the naaru in Shattrath as the Scryers. Following this, Shattrath launched a counterattack, and the two sides continue to battle into the present day.

Battle of the Crimson Watch

At the beginning of the group quest "Battle of the Crimson Watch", Illidan shouts out to the players:

Waves of demons and blood elves attack the party, and the players must defeat the waves, finally battling Torloth the Magnificent. After Torloth falls, Illidan shouts out to the player who landed the killing blow, challenging him to come to the Black Temple and take him on:

This suggests Illidan losing his mind over his defeat at Arthas' hand, not believing it himself; on the other hand Illidan did technically survive the encounter, and if "defeat" for Illidan is defined as death, then Arthas did not actually defeat him. Such nuances of logic are common with Illidan, often employed when defending his actions to others.

Involvement in the Netherwing Quests

The final quest of the long grind to reach Exalted with the Netherwing is called Lord Illidan Stormrage - it involves speaking with a projection of Illidan himself. Overlord Mor'ghor, leader of the Dragonmaw's nether drake project, presents the player as the new Highlord of the Dragonmaw, but Illidan sees through the illusion and orders the Overlord to kill the player. Yarzill the Merc, a nether dragon disguised as a goblin, helps the player escape to the Lower City of Shattrath, where they will receive one of six Netherwing Drakes as their new mount.

Master of the Black Temple

Agents of both the Alliance and Horde have been assigned to penetrate the Black Temple and eliminate Illidan. Akama and his "associate," Maiev Shadowsong raid encounter, Illidan is the final boss, and is fought by both Akama and Maiev along with the players. During the battle, Maiev taunts Illidan several times in reference to the pain that he has caused her, from forcing her to guard his prison for 10,000 years by committing his crimes to causing the death of Naisha. In the end, when Illidan is near death, Maiev remarks that he is beaten, but as he dies Illidan says that the huntress is nothing without the hunted, and by extension that Maiev's life cannot continue. With the drive for vengeance gone, Maiev states that she is indeed nothing, thus making her as much a casualty as Illidan.

Illidan: King or Pawn?

In the last battle of the War of the Ancients )

Warcraft III

Conversation with Overlord.