With patch 10.1.5, World of Warcraft gets some time travel quests that are seen as quite controversial. In one quest you must ensure the assassination of Amber Kearnen, one of the best characters in the game.
What is this quest? The quest is part of the Rifts in Time patch, which is due out this summer. This brings various daily tasks that we do with the bronze dragon Chromie and that trigger great discussions among players.
One quest was originally about torturing and imprisoning Alexstrasza, but that was removed prior to release. But the quest for Amber Kearnen also gets criticism.
She was an agent of SI:7, Stormwind’s intelligence agency. Alliance players and especially villains have experienced some adventures with her. She has appeared in Classic, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion and Shadowlands and is one of the most legendary women in WoW for our editor Benedict Grothaus.
Now she returns again, but on a mission that is rather sad for many.
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Amber Kearnen must die and we are the killer
What is the quest about exactly? In the Legion expansion, Amber Kearnen was found dead with a knife in her back. As part of the villain quest, you must investigate how the murder happened. The players discovered that the SI:7 had been infiltrated by the Nathrezim.
You can find out more here: An NPC in Shadowlands reminds me of my saddest moment in WoW.
Along with Chromie, we must ensure that Amber Kearnen’s death actually happens, as it is said to have been crucial in players discovering the fake Mathias Shaw and in letting the story unfold.
However, it is a little hard that we as players have to carry out the assassination ourselves at the end. The quest says:
Amber: I’ve got assassins hunting me, so I’d be grateful for an escort.
So we are the villain who stabs Amber and whose knife is found in her back.
How are the players reacting? Some users criticize the quest for becoming a killer instead of rescuing Amber. There is a whole article at WoWHead on what the real problem with this task is.
There the author explains that although the players have helped make terrible things happen before in order to keep the correct timeline. But in this case there would probably be another solution.
Because the decisive event was not the assassination, but the uncovering of the deeds of the Nathrezim. Amber tells us in the quest that the embassy is for Lord Jorach Ravenholdt, leader of the Uncrowned. If the players help Amber break the news, the discovery that Matthias Shaw was replaced by a Dreadlord would still happen – it would even be uncovered by the same people and organization.
At the same time, one could have saved an innocent soul from death.
The books War of the Ancients and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects have already shown that the events can remain somewhat flexible, says the author. And he also criticizes the Bronze Swarm itself, because Chromie is still doing everything to ensure that Nozdormu does not become Murozond, which is a necessary event in the overall story.
How do you see the new time travel quests? Do you like the topics or would you prefer to find more flexible solutions instead of becoming the perpetrator yourself?
You can find out more about the upcoming patch and the content here: WoW: Patch 10.1.5 is huge, brings mega dungeon, new caller specialization and magician rework.