WoW Player Explains Different Generations of Death Knights
A WoW player has recently explained all four generations of Death Knight.
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Key Takeaways
- Redditor Zezin96 has created a detailed graphic about four generations of Death Knights. Each generation has unique characteristics and purposes:
- The first Death Knight generation: Created by Gul’dan. He infused fallen Stormwind knights with Shadow Council souls and necrolyte energies. They were either slain by the Alliance or turned into liches by Kil’jaeden. However, Teron Gorefiend was later resurrected.
- The second Death Knight generation: Created by Ner’zhul. Choosing Arthas Menethil as a champion, Ner’zhul turned him and slain Paladins of the Silver Hand into Death Knights that contain the original souls of the bodies.
- The third Death Knight generation: Created by Arthas and deceived to be The Lich King’s chosen champions, they were cursed with “The Eternal Hunger.” Once they learned the truth about their existence, these Death Knights rebelled, forming the “Knights of the Ebon Blade” to seek vengeance against Arthas for turning them into monsters.
- The fourth Death Knight generation: Created by Bolvar Fordragon as he sensed an imbalance in the Shadowlands. He instructed the Knights of the Ebon Blade to raise new Death Knights from fallen soldiers.
- There is a unique case of Death Knight: Abu’gar, a jungle troll Death Knight with a passion for fishing. He’s able to satiate the Eternal Hunger by inflicting pain and suffering upon the fish he catches.
“What are the different generations of Death Knights?” If this is your question, then Redditor Zezin96 has a comprehensive answer for you. Recognizing the recurring lore question from fellow players, they have crafted a detailed graphic to explain each Death Knight generation:
If you prefer not to read text from images, no need to worry. We’ve transcribed the information below for your convenience. However, all credit goes to to Zezin96 for their dedicated effort!
The First Death Knight Generation
“The first Death Knight generation was created by Gul’dan. In exchange for sparing his life, Gul’dan promised Orgrim Doomhammer powerful soldiers for the new warchief’s campaign in Lordaeron. Gul’dan infused the corpses of the fallen knights of Stormwind with the souls of the few remaining Shadow Council members and empowered them with the energies siphoned from the necrolytes slain by Orgrim.
Unlike later generations, these Death Knights were closer to spellcasters than actual knights.
All of these Death Knights were either slain by the Alliance or turned into liches by Kil’jaeden. However, the first and arguably most powerful one, Teron Gorefiend, would be resurrected by a particularly gullible adventurer in Shadowmoon Valley.”
The Second Death Knight Generation
“The second Death Knight generation was created by Ner’zhul. After the orcs failed in their purpose to weaken Azeroth’s defenders in preparation for the Burning Legion’s second invasion; Kil’jaeden turned the orc shaman Ner’zhul into The Lich King and tasked him with creating and undead army to succeed where the Horde failed.
To do this, Ner’zhul would need a champion to lead this new army and selected the human Paladin and prince of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil, to fill that role by turning him into a Death Knight similar to those created by Gul’dan. Arthas would prove to be a great success and Ner’zhul would repeat the process on slain Paladins of the Silver Hand.
Unlike the previous generation that were orc Warlocks in stolen bodies, these Death Knight contained the souls to which the body belonged and were intended to be the necrotic inverse of the holy Paladins they were in life and thus more melee-focused.”
The Third Death Knight Generation
“The third Death Knight generation was created by Arthas Menethil. In an attempt to crush both the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn in one fell swoop, Arthas (now the Lich King) created a new breed of Death Knight that evolved upon the second generation by combining them with the frost magic used by liches and the necrolyte magic wielded by the first generation Death Knights. They were also cursed with “The Eternal Hunger,” which causes them incredible pain if they do not regularly inflict agony upon others.
Arthas lied to these Death Knights and told them they were chosen, hand-picked to be his champions, when in truth these Death Knights were mass-produced and meant to be disposable fodder for The Lich King’s plan.
When these Death Knights learned the truth about their disposable nature, their anger allowed them to break free of his control, after which they renamed themselves “Knights of the Ebon Blade” and swore vengeance upon the man who turned them into monsters.”
The Fourth Death Knight Generation
“The fourth Death Knight generation was created by Bolvar Fordragon. When the third Lich King, Bolvar Fordragon senses and imbalance in the Shadowlands, he believed it to be an ill omen and that Azeroth would soon need more champions to combat an incoming threat.
For this reason, he instructed the Knights of the Ebon Blade, who had entered a pact of servitude to him during the third Legion invasion, to steal the corpses of the Alliance and Horde soldiers who were dying in the ongoing Fourth War to be raised as new Death Knights.
Unlike previous generations, these new Death Knights are functionally identical their predecessors and are usually impossible to distinguish from the third generation except for the ones whose bodies belong to races that were not present for the war against the Scourge.”
As for the fourth Death Knight generation, Zezin96 also noted that:
“As of writing, whether or not these Death Knights also suffer from the Eternal Hunger remains unknown.”
Additional Information about Death Knights
The WoW community appreciates Zezin96’s contributions and expresses gratitude for their work. In the comments, other players also contribute additional intriguing facts and lore about Death Knights:
A big shoutout to Zezin96 and fellow WoW players for sharing this exciting information! How about you? Do you have insights or additional details about WoW Death Knights? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
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