“This hunger is consuming my very mind. It is taking every ounce of my energy to just… just… Can you hear me, my friend? I… I can not see you anymore. I think… perhaps it is time to say goodbye, then. Thank you, my friend, for letting my last few hours mean something.” 😢
The first quest that comes to mind that missed this list is the TBC quest: "All That Remains". In this quest you find a grieving father who had his whole family massacred by crazed Owlbeasts. The quest wants you to kill Owlbeasts and open their stomachs to find what remains of his wife and daughter, so they can get a proper burial. His dialogue is short and he seems really depressed. Sadest quest in the classic era by far in my opinion.
Yeah, but his daughter lived after all, so theres a little joy at the end, after u find her on the other side of the isle and escort her through all the owlbeasts to her father.
@@dfuher968 That is true! But the game doesn't lead you to the daughter's quest. It only shows up after completeing "All That Remains", so most players will completely miss it as there's no natural reason to go back there after finishing the quest.
@@Lamsan02 Wasn't there a nightelf spirit on Azuremyst Isle's near the port that also had a sad backstory? Unless..... that is what OP is talking about? XD
I cried so hard with Runas' quest...Him slowly slipping away, but whispering how he can't see you anymore, asking if you are there with him, and then thanking you for believing in him and giving him a chance before dying 😭 I cried SO much, I never did that quest again because it's just so sad. Runas wanted so much to get better but succumbed to his mana addiction and...it's not fair, life it's not fair, but for a moment there I wish it was :(
His goodbye speech has a lot of echoes of HAL-9000 - "My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm afraid."
While I have issues with Blizz, some of the writers for quests are amazing at respecting the hardships people face in their day to day, and make these characters feel real.
Let me tell you, e-stranger, as a victim of addiction that Runas quest just gutted me…but I cried tears of joy to see a “good” addict when I fought so hard to be (and stay) sober. Runas was a real one.
@@bryananderson3772 Sad, I know many people that play this do that. It's like watching a movie but skipping an only watching the 10 minutes of fighting and not the things that lead up to it or after it.
In Mulgore, Bloodhoof village, there is a quest where you go and find a dog, Kyle the frenzied. It was made by a boy who had a wish to make a quest, he later died of cancer. Saddest one in my opinion.
This was my first thought for this list. I played Alliance exclusively until I found out about this story and quest and started a horde toon just so I could do this questline.
This sadly is a story that has gotten forgotten over time as WoW has aged. It involved a boy named Ezra Chatterton, a WoW player who was diagnosed with brain cancer in the spring of 2007 and through Make-A-Wish visited Blizzard's offices. Blizzard created the character Ahab Wheathoof for him (the Tauren who owns the dog and gives you the quest) and he's the one who voiced it. Blizzard also gave him the mount Ashes of Al'ar making him the first to have it (it is a rare drop from Kael'thas Sunstrider in Tempest Keep for everyone else) as well as the Merciless Gladiator's Crossbow of the Phoenix which has the flavor text, "Finely crafted to Ephoenix's specification;" Ephoenix was his WoW main character name. He suffered a stroke in August 2008 and then died on October 20.
Fun fact: You could probably hear it in his voice and yes, Runas is voiced by Jim Cummings, probably most famous for his portrayal as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger but he's got a resume as long as you could possibly imagine so it's very likely he was also the voice of your favorite characters growing up.
Honestly I did this quest many times and I did not realized he voiced Tigger and Pooh but when watching this i was like Omg he does sound like Tigger that quest became much sadder for me now
I just hear the bad guy from dark wing duck. Also heard a similar voice somewhere in shadowlands but I think it was in maldarxxas somewhere. Guess that’s what happened to Runas. He died before everything broke far as I understand
@@BottledDelusion you’re probably thinking of Marileth, the crazy House of Plagues soulbind. He’s not voiced by Jim Cummings but instead by Cam Clarke, who you’ll probably recognize as Dr Mobius from Fallout New Vegas Old World Blues, since he uses the same tone and mannerisms of a senile mad scientist. Jim Cummings is Lorewalker Cho though, so that’s a major character you’re probably thinking of.
@@KiropLokiIncarnate I am not. There’s a minor character not a major one. Like extremely minor just an npc on the side saying things in one quest. Besides even if you told me he became Marileth I wouldn’t believe you as he has been dead far far too long to have the positive he does under a margrave
He actually has a really long history of voicing some great characters in WoW, and has since mists of Pandaria. Some notables he voiced are: Cinematic narrator in MoP Lorewalker Cho in MoP Both Runas AND Havi in Legion And Cudgelface in Shadow lands
8:42 I still love Runas for how he primes us for sympathizing with the other nightfallen in Suramar's quest chain. Especially since you basically become him as you're rep grinding. OOH, MANA CRYSTAL!
@@Cthulhunoms oh no no they didn't WANT shinies they only took them to offer them to the shrine so the undead onslaught stops. It's even sadder. They did it for a noble thing.
The bfa prepatch event was the first time in wow where a quest made me feel so helpless. There were no mass teleport to save all the citizen, there were no deus ex machina. A large amount of innocent citizens just got burned alived or sufficated without a way to save them. I remember just sitting there, looking at the screen speechless.
You would think that Jaina could do just that, after all she did something similar in the Hyjal raid......Mass Teleport the Alli troops out while you ran/rode to the next point.
@@TheKreve I only did it once on my Human mage, so I don't remember most of the dialog, but being mostly Horde, I wanted to pound Sylvanss into the ground with everyone else!....She showed everyone her true colors in that one.
@@Hecatate no one knew it....but if a high priest wouldn't ran away with her husband at leasts they would knew, Greyman was in the tree when it happened and was helping everyone till was too late and even there he wanted to save the priest of the moon....but they didnt wanted. He only could save us and his wife (and the child).
As someone who lost a very good friend in my lower 20s to alcohol addiction and poisoning, the runas questline still chokes me up a bit just when I think about it.
For me, the saddest quest will always be Kyle's Gone Missing! in Mulgore. The quest itself has a happy ending as Kyle is found and returned - but the origin of the quest is what gets me. It was created as the Make a Wish request of a young boy dying of cancer. They used his character and the boy voiced it himself. Knowing that background makes it unbearably tragic to me - in spite of which I play it every time to honor his memory.
Same thing with the rarest mount too! Peep’s whistle was the original ashes of alar, but devs gave it to a sick kid, who I think his character was named peep! Blizz used to do so much for their fan base it’s wild
Cerellean's story actually continued in the Cataclysm version of Darkshore. He's one of the 4 Night Elves you rescue after Auberdine is destroyed by the Cataclysm with every other resident dying, as is seemingly on brand with Cerellean of the 4 Night Elves you actually manage to rescue he is the only one to survive his injuries, the other 3 all die after being rescued. In a bitter-sweet conclusion to his story at least one of the Night Elves you rescued who died from his injuries, that guy's pet bear actually bonds with Cerellean and becomes his new friend. Thankfully it seems like their story ended in Cataclysm or else our sad boi Cerellean might have gotten even more tragedy in the War of Thorns event which both he and the bear have been absent ever since Catacylsm.
I remember one quest in WotLK's Dragonblight, where you had to kill a high ranking member of the Blue Dragonflight army. Only after the deed was done, you would find a letter on them, saying that they've been forced to join Malygos' army to protect their loved ones. Kind of a gut punch when you realize that *you* were the one who killed them, when the only thing they were guilty of was being forced to serve someone against their will to protect their loved ones.
@@LittlepipMLP nah men, like, Tirion's death was made to try causing fear and despair on players (also to give ret paladins the ashbringer) i think it would've been 10 times better if tirion died alongside varian.
One that always stuck with me was in Wrath in the Coldarra. You help this red dragon to figure out what's going on and you really develop a bond with her as the quest chain goes on. It climaxes with her taking you and fleeing from Malygos. She sacrifices herself to help you run away when he catches up. So that's sad by itself but then you go into the Nexus and she's the last boss of the dungeon. So we have to kill our friend who was corrupted by Malygos and she even tells us to finish it before she kills us because she has no control over herself anymore.
Keristraza, yeah. That one always stuck with me, too. You build up this bond, and some of the lil blurbs make it seem like she plans to confess her feelings to you even (was something along the lines of, "when this is all done, I want to talk to you about us" ), only for the final confrontation and her sacrifice to happen. One of the items she drops is actually a torch looking crystaline mace called "Unrequited Love". Couldn't bring myself to delete it for a while, I felt so bad.
No matter how many times I've done the Runas quest it always gets me. For me it's the most emotional questline and I genuinely cared for Runas unlike most NPCs
I always assumed that in Until Death Do Us Part, she was losing her mind and memories as an undead. She was rotting away and forgot she had sent many adventures to trash his grave and may have done so herself. I've always checked back to see if they've given us more lore on it, but since there are rarely characters with no further mention, this was the best explanation I had.
One that always upset me for some reason was the one "what's happening at Cenarian Thicket" or something like that in Terrokar Forest. All the dead druids and the one poor insane druid who keeps shape shifting to all his forms, wandering around in shock trying to figure out what happened. I felt bad for him
Oh that quest in which Kael Thas' blood elves implemented a mana bomb at The Cenarion Thicket....we got revenge on them,rest assured.We detonated a Mana Bomb at their headquarters in Terokkar,Firewing Point,as well because of that. Edit: I sent the same message a second time maybe.I can t see the first one.
As a 12 year+ (still my main today) night elf main at the time, the Darnassus mission was just demoralizing. I remember seeing that objective and thinking, okay it's slow at first but I'll eventually get help or an item to save everyone. Nope. Not even remotely. Just gone.
I had this feeling for the Ysera Legion questline. "Surely, I will get an item, or a power, or someone will intervene. Any time now. Right?..." Right?! T_T
@@janstraka8674 I put this on denuser. We can all hate afrasabi or whatever his name was for him being an creep/asshole, but storywise he was 10 times better than denuser. The questchains in legion zones were better then whole patches in SL imho.
Yes it was very demoralizing, on the other hand I liked the concept of players not winning and just trying to reduce damage as much as possible. Players being unstoppable force that will always win in the end has been overplayed I think and is kind of boring, I had hopes about Legion DLC (or maybe some future big threat one) that players will be scaping about, fleeing, losing ground despite their best efforts and at the end of the DLC fact that we survived would be achievement enough.
The Runas quest line made me cry the first time I played through it as during the time my friends and I were taking care of another friend who was addicted to heroin and was bed-ridden with withdrawals. He became a totally different person and seeing Runas turn at the end messed me up.
Nothing comes close to Runas' ultimate end. If anything because of Jim Cummings' heart wrenching delivery of Runas' struggle and inevitable withering. His last words are by far the saddest I've ever read and heard in WoW's entire history.
The Runas quests where definitely a major highlight of legion. And legion had a TON of great lore and quests. I remember actually getting emotional when I first did that quest. And it still hurts to see to this day!
Ysera's death (prior to her rebirth in Shadowlands/probably Dragonflight) is probably the saddest quest I remember. Also the original Death Knight start zone, where you have to kill one of your living friends.
God, I still tear up at the Runas quest. I remember playing that in Legion on launch and just being gutted. Such a small part of the game but so well done.
I will never forget the quest where you have to kill Ysera, I cried A LOT and I mean. A LOT lol... as in... I was embarassed even. It was so overwhelmingly bittwersweet to see how her tragic death was transformed into new hope when Elune gave us the cleansed tear that corrupted Ysera. And also another one I will never forget is a quest you get in Darkshore where a guy asks you to please go find his bear, and the guy is dying. And you do in fact find the wounded bear, patch him up and send him on his way to his owner. By the time you go turn in the quest, you find out the owner passed away but that he was able to see his dear bear for a last moment before he died and was happy for it. Man... that hit me RIGHT IN THE FEELS.
For me personally, one of the saddest quests ever that should have been on this list was from the Townlong Steppes. You're working with the Shado-Pan to fight the yaungol and one of them asks you to find her husband. By the time you do he's been beaten to death. The voice actress did a phenomenal job because her grief brings a lump to my throat every time. And to make it all the worse, we eventually have to kill her as she becomes possessed by the sha of hatred. EDIT: wrong sha >.
The Night Elf version of "A Special Surprise" in the Death Knight Starting zone. It's hard to put into words, so I'll just quote the NPC: "You don't remember me? When you were a child your mother would leave you in my care while she served at the Temple of the Moon. I held you in my arms and fed you with honey and sheep's milk to calm you until she would return. You were my little angel." Sooo....yeah.
When I was levelling through Azsuna, at first I was like the dragons; distrustful of Runas. Then the end of his questline happened and I was just left feeling empty, expecting a betrayal but finding that I was the one who betrayed him in thinking this way. Playing through again on alts and knowing where it was going made it even more painful. I can never bare to leave him before he's finished his final dialogue. The burning of Teldrasil was such an impact. The small amount of time ticking down as it quickly dawns on you that there is no hope of saving anywhere close to anyone... Lakeshire's last stand just made me even angrier at Bastion. I hate how callous they are. I wish that Blizz wrote in an option to join the Forsworn and fight the Ascended cult rather than ending the Bastion story by slaughtering any who don't accept the "apology".
I think "To be Forsaken" during the Horde war campaign for BFA is a solid contender. Seeing the guy agree to being turned with the hope that it will allow him to keep caring for his family yet when they see his new form they call him a monster and he is forced to leave
I also got quite sad about Thomas Zelling's story as well. We could bond with him and see the progress of him getting helped by Lilian, only to get that taken away so suddenly. BFA had some good questlines, any of the Zandalar/Kul'tiras ones could have been mentioned.
For love eternal really stuck with me when I was questing in darkshore as a 19 year old noob back in 2005 - I'm probably more attached to it because of the music in the area along with being a night elf as well. It's one of the few quests that really stuck with me over the years.
I think that a few quest chains from MoP that could've made this easy, like a comment earlier said, "Life" was pretty heartbreaking. The thing that makes "Hunger Ends" is the VA who delivered the final lines. Whenever I do legion, I ALWAYS stay behind to listen to his final words. He deserved at least that much.
the teldrassil quest really hit hard for me. despite being horde for most my wow time my very first character was a night elf and it was rough seeing the place where my wow journey began being burned down. it may be just a game but it's been an important part of so many of our lives. I teared up so hard doing that quest
No, that's it exactly. It may just be a game, but it still has touched lives in a way that can not be understated. There are so many stories that have stuck with me, and even lessons.
"Fun" fact. Ben Howell (the Kyrian covenant questline guy) was actually planned to become a mission table follower obtainable from Torgahst, not immediately but in a later patch when they put in more followers, to expand on it, where we then are able to save him. They scrapped that because... No idea. So uh. Yeah.
The Little Pamela quest line still chokes me up. I have two daughters and one was going through some rough times the first time I did this quest chain and it really really hit me. I have done it a few times since and every time it brings up the memories on my little girl in the hospital so I simply do not do it anymore.
I should add, my daughter is doing great all of these years later thank to the hard work of a doctor, and I swear I am not making this up, his name is Dr. Cromie (no H or that would be way too crazy).
Note that Wrathion can be Deathwings son at the same time as being the nephew of Onyxia. But that would require Blizzard to go Alabama on Deathwing and Wrathion's mom...
Don't worry, for the last 10,000 years Deathwing has been too molten to do the horizonal polka without killing his partner, except Sinestra. So he literally can't be Wrathion's father unless there's time travel involved.
yea, that Runas quest was really sad. the ghost of Pamela still runs around me anytime I go to Light's Hope. the quests for the little draenei girl Uuna is similar.
When I did the quest to Evacuate darnasus my mind did not register that I could not save them all, I kept thinking some NPC would come in or the quest would change somehow and result in us saving everyone. When my character blacked out and I realized what had just happened, I suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.
Runas made me cry A LOT I really like him, in the end he redeemed himself and then teldrassil... that one made me feel helpless, you know there is no way to save all those people in 3 minutes and the fact that only the people "IN" darnassus can be save is more depressing, for all those who started with an elf, all those npcs from the start, dolannar... they are all gone... you cant even go outside the city to see it. quest like these CANT be forgotten 😢💔
Another quest that I remember being pretty rough - though not necessarily a tear-jerker - is "Eye for an Eye" in the Alliance prison fort thing in the Barrens after Cataclysm, where you help one of the Orc prisoners, named Oltarg, get revenge on the warden, and he makes notes about how abusive the warden was: _"Who goes there? Your footsteps are not the lazy stride of a guard. A [class], you say? Still brave and free? There's no hope for me, friend. I have lost my eyesight and am no longer fit for battle. I dared to speak up while Captain Peake savagely beat one of the prisoners. In return he kicked me in the head. And kept kicking. He kicked me blind..."_
A new adition from Dragonflight to this list would be Veritistrasz' questline in the Waking Shores. I've done it on every alt I have and it makes me tear up every time when he talks about not recognising the landscape anymore, his black dragon friend he lost and he comments on the things and the letter in the time capsule.
There's one quest chain that I don't remember the name, but it takes place in Highmountain. You have to help the leader of an Owlbear tribe so save them from a dragon. In the end, you do a dance to try appease the dragon. The dragon ends up killing all of them, and almost you in the process. It was really sad at the end. He was just trying to save his tribe.
Mor'Ladim aka Morgan Ladimore-questline in Duskwood was pretty sad, although it was a short and simple one. It wouldn't be nearly as heartbreaking if you didn't read a book titled "The Story of Morgan Ladimore" that was left in your inventory. I still have the book in my bank, it has such sentimental value. The quest starts at Morgan Ladimore's grave, located just outside the Raven Hill cemetery. You really have to wander far from the road to find it. You then inquire locals in Darkshire about his seemingly disturbed grave. They tell you that he's risen as an undead that calls himself Mor'Ladim. He's known to attack and kill anyone on his way. The storybook given to you tells that he was a young soldier with a wife and three kids, who went to war against the scourge in the north. After the war he returned home, which had become Duskwood like we know it; infested with undead. In disbelief, he searched the entire woods for his family to no avail, until he decided to ride towards another village, Lakeshire. On his way he suddenly decided to search the nearby cemetery, like a priest in Darkshire had earlier suggested, but he had refused. After hours of searching he finally found a grave of his wife Lys next to two other graves, and fell to the ground sobbing, thinking that his entire family was gone. After hours of wailing he went mad and started striking gravestones with his sword, also killing innocents that attended the cemetery and tried to stop him. Once his rage passed, he saw what he had done and plunged a knife into his heart. The last words of the book says: "He was quickly buried, without ceremony, in a hastily dug grave on the outskirts of the cemetary. Because Morgan committed murder against innocents, something that went completely against his beliefs and his nature, and because of the grief that he held in being unable to save his family, Morgan could not die a peaceful death, and lived on as one of the restless dead." In real world history, sinners were usually buried without a blessing outside the holy land, so their souls could never find peace in paradise. Once you kill Mor'Ladim, the questgiver in town tells you that he in fact has a living daughter, to who you have to break the news of her father's passing. Saddened by his fate and that she couldn't help him in time, the daughter asks you to bring her ring to his grave, to maybe let her father know she's okay and that she doesn't hold any resentment. At his grave, his voice warns you to let him be, but then says "This is...? Sarah? Could it be she's still alive? The weight is removed from my shoulders...", he then thanks and hands you his sword Archeus, before fading away saying "Lys, my love..."
Number 2 was the one that stuck out to me while leveling back in Cata seeing that little girl now knowing if her dad would ever come back.... And then of course burning of Teldrassil was scarring knowing that the betrayer of the wrath gate still lives. And number 1 i have honestly never seen or heard of, but seems really well done, have to check that quest out sometime.
I was doing the dungeon dailies and we had the one for Heroic Nexus and recovering Keristrasza's frozen heart. It was pretty heart-wrenching to know I had to go into a dungeon and free them from a frozen prison just to kill them and take their heart. And she wants you to. Fighting off Malygos' influence the whole time.
I can't believe they didn't mention "Every Rose Has Its Thorne," which was an Alliance only quest that has you get a special rose for your garrison architech, who had a crush on the Worgen commander, but he dies before he can give it to the Orc's invasion of the garrison.
Good list, I remember most of these very well. That Runas ending reminded me of a Deep Space Nine story involving a Cardassian who became a sort of father figure to Kira who later dies of illness with her at his side. There's a couple more which would make the list. Morgan Ladimore "Mor'Ladim" in Duskwood is a sad story. Another sad one is the classic chain from Tirion Fordring in Eastern Plaguelands where he eventually tasks you with reuniting him with his son Taelan, who in an unfortunate twist of events became the leader of Hearthglen believing Tirion was dead, upon showing him the truth he rebels and asks you to take him to Tirion and you both fight your way out of Hearthglen together, however Taelen is killed literally moments before Tirion arrives to help you both.
"The Day The Light Died" quest chain from Legion. Absolutely number one best saddest quest in my heart. Top tier tearjerker and the lore implications and character motives were on point.
There is a quest in Talador from a NPC named Nadur where he asks the players to gather different materials to save his sister from death. For those who know the quest, Nadur's sister dies and refers to her as his 'best friend' as he says his final goodbye.
The questline in dustwallow that ends with Peace at last where you talk to the dead wife and kid came out of nowhere when I was doing lore master and really hit me in the feels
I've only just realised that the voice actor for Runas the Shamed is Jim Cummings, he's voiced so many characters but Minsc in Baldurs Gate 1&2 will always be my favourite.
As soon as I saw this video, I knew what had to be the #1 spot, having just played through it again it WOTLK. Always brings tears to my eyes - even before I knew it was based on a real person. But the cherry on top was that you gave space for the very simple early quest in the #10 space. There isn't much to it, considering how much more storytelling room there was in later expansions for these things, but I was always impressed how Blizzard was able to imbed so much feeling into what was just a basic "Go to this new area" 2 part quest. I always cite it when I try to explain how deep some of these quests can be. Glad you appreciated it too.
There are one more sad story in the kyrian campaing, when we go to Ardenweald one takes us to all the zone doing different stuff, and in the end that was her las hours, she sacrified to the greater good of helping the kyrians ascend, that made me cry when in 9.1 Uther has something, and I saw Pelagos with that pet willowlower left, a really beautiful moment
Some emotional quests, absolutely, but the evacuation of Teldrassil hits home far too much. My first ever WoW character was a night elf priest. I played the game from Cataclysm pre-patch to Shadowlands pre-patch. I spent a lot of time & had loads of memories in Teldrassil, and when it came to be when it was time to evacuate the world tree as much as possible, and seeing it all burn down, I felt so helpless. It, and I, was so sad.
the runas quest always gets me. When he says "Are you still there, I can't see you anymore" it always reminds me of meruem and komugi from hxh. It always makes me tear up.
Runas’ voice actor, Jim Cummings, provides the voice of Lorewalker Cho in MoP, and also several Brokers in Shadowlands, including one of the two auctioneers in the Menagerie fight in Tazavesh. He also voices Hondo Ohnaka, a fan favorite character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars
When i was doing "A flicker of hope" afterwards i was just sitting down crying... What good does it bring being the Champion of the azerothian forces, besting Demon lords and old gods, but then being confronted with the futility of not being able to save all people on Teldrassil... And i knew my Wife would exactly react the same way a few hours later when she was doing the quest chain...
The saddest quests that i think i've ever done was Ysera in ValSharah, Saving Darnassus and as alliance we had to kill the Marshal guy who was cursed by the drust in Drustvar and the Legion opening where we lost Varian...
On a lore basis, the Bfa prepatch hurt me. Losing something as good as Teldrassil and almost the entire night elf race was just devastating. Learning in shadowlands that for a long time all souls had been going to the maw, including those poor citizens hurt even more. It’s definitely one of the saddest stories in wow history next to Runas the shamed
Theres a subtle thing you did at the end of the video and I appreciate it. Not going to your normal outro for this one, really hit it home. Now then... The Darrowshire stuff is legit one of the best to really be sad.
2:15 I don't think there's any confirmation of this in game, but if I had to guess, _Did you ever see their children?_ The *family* fell to the scourge after all. "Let his children bear witness to the fact his dedication to the Light was unquestionable."
There's a pretty bad one in Shadowlands when you're doing the Maldraxxus questline (not covenant) where you're attacking the House of Constructs and saving whatever captured Kyrian and Stewards that you can. One of the Kyrian has had his eyes torn out and left to die in a pile of corpses, and one of the Stewards has had his tongue removed. Worst, though, is a chest you can find in the area on one of the Kyrian corpses, and when you open it you find a Reconstructed Family Locket and a letter that details an Ascended Kyrian confessing that they still remember their past. The letter reads: "To my love, I confess that I remember. By some miracle, this echo of our past found me. I saved it, and with it, saved all that we were. Perhaps it was my undoing. I scorned the Archon's trust and so fell prey to this nightmare. But the flicker of you comforts me in my final moments. Fate is blind to this horizon, but may we be as one anew."
The Tirion Fordring questline from vanilla was the one that got me right in the feels. This was back before Fordring was a prominent figure in the game. He is in a state of despair because his son has become part of the Scarlet Crusade in Hearthglen and asks you to help open Taelan's eyes to what they are. After a very long chain you do just this. And when you escape Hearthglen with Taelan who is trying to return to his father, he is attacked and killed by a powerful NPC. Tirion himself runs in after in an attempt to save his son, vanquishes the NPC, but was too late and Taelan dies. This is a turning point for Tirion who was once a highlord with the Argent Crusade, fighting for life against the undead. He had essentially abandoned his post in grief after the loss of his family, but this event pulls him out of his self-exile. The final twist of the knife for Tirion's story is his death in the Legion opening scenarios, ending in the Retribution paladin weapon quests.
I've been listening to a few videos while doing World Quests this morning and even while I had the video just playing the the background, Runas last words still made me tear up a little bit. Man that quest was harsh
Runas comes first to my mind. The second quest chain is that the two High Mountain you rescue from the rock grips in Riverbend of the three don't make it out of the storyline alive. I get sad each time I open the first and see Oro and know he's going to die in just a few minutes. :( Then later, while you're in the cave, you watch the second HM get killed. Third, "Have you seen my puppy?"
Taking the poem from Alicia in Stormwind Keep to Aldor Rise to give to Caylee Dak is perhaps the saddest quest I've ever done in WOW. Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, across Northrend's bright and shining snow. I am the gentle showers of rain, on Westfall's fields of golden grain. I am in the morning hush, of Stranglethorn's jungle, green and lush. I am in the drums loud and grand, the thunderous hooves across Nagrand. I am the stars warmly gleaming, over Darnassus softly dreaming. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I do not die.
The Runas quest was when it hit me to not be so cynical about Legion as an expansion, because clearly there were clearly still people who gave a crap on the team outside of the art department.
“This hunger is consuming my very mind. It is taking every ounce of my energy to just… just… Can you hear me, my friend? I… I can not see you anymore. I think… perhaps it is time to say goodbye, then. Thank you, my friend, for letting my last few hours mean something.”
😢
I always wanted to hug Runas when he was going threw the change...😭
This quest shatters my heart to pieces every time I do it. I cry and hug him every single time. 💔
@@MrNozes This is one quest that even made my husband cry.....you just want to hold him while he slips away...........
Addiction the one of the cruelest mental curses
Made me cry when I played through it and watching this video. The voice acting is too good.
The first quest that comes to mind that missed this list is the TBC quest: "All That Remains".
In this quest you find a grieving father who had his whole family massacred by crazed Owlbeasts.
The quest wants you to kill Owlbeasts and open their stomachs to find what remains of his wife and daughter, so they can get a proper burial. His dialogue is short and he seems really depressed. Sadest quest in the classic era by far in my opinion.
Yeah, but his daughter lived after all, so theres a little joy at the end, after u find her on the other side of the isle and escort her through all the owlbeasts to her father.
@@dfuher968 That is true! But the game doesn't lead you to the daughter's quest. It only shows up after completeing "All That Remains", so most players will completely miss it as there's no natural reason to go back there after finishing the quest.
I came here to mention this quest. Probably the first quest I ever did that made me tear up😭
Man, the nostalgia... I had forgotten about it, but now I remember how it struck me, the grim contrast with the peacefulness of Azuremyst.
@@Lamsan02 Wasn't there a nightelf spirit on Azuremyst Isle's near the port that also had a sad backstory? Unless..... that is what OP is talking about? XD
I cried so hard with Runas' quest...Him slowly slipping away, but whispering how he can't see you anymore, asking if you are there with him, and then thanking you for believing in him and giving him a chance before dying 😭
I cried SO much, I never did that quest again because it's just so sad. Runas wanted so much to get better but succumbed to his mana addiction and...it's not fair, life it's not fair, but for a moment there I wish it was :(
His goodbye speech has a lot of echoes of HAL-9000 - "My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm afraid."
While I have issues with Blizz, some of the writers for quests are amazing at respecting the hardships people face in their day to day, and make these characters feel real.
Let me tell you, e-stranger, as a victim of addiction that Runas quest just gutted me…but I cried tears of joy to see a “good” addict when I fought so hard to be (and stay) sober. Runas was a real one.
Here I am just plowing through quests not paying attention to any of this shit
@@bryananderson3772 Sad, I know many people that play this do that. It's like watching a movie but skipping an only watching the 10 minutes of fighting and not the things that lead up to it or after it.
In Mulgore, Bloodhoof village, there is a quest where you go and find a dog, Kyle the frenzied. It was made by a boy who had a wish to make a quest, he later died of cancer. Saddest one in my opinion.
This is one that came to mind for me too, and I thought of it as the second quest (the first being Runas--I make sure I stay to the end for Runas).
This was my first thought for this list. I played Alliance exclusively until I found out about this story and quest and started a horde toon just so I could do this questline.
LOL
I remember telling my friend in high school “come hear a retarded Tauren” and we clicked on the tauren hundreds of times laughing at the voice.
This sadly is a story that has gotten forgotten over time as WoW has aged. It involved a boy named Ezra Chatterton, a WoW player who was diagnosed with brain cancer in the spring of 2007 and through Make-A-Wish visited Blizzard's offices. Blizzard created the character Ahab Wheathoof for him (the Tauren who owns the dog and gives you the quest) and he's the one who voiced it. Blizzard also gave him the mount Ashes of Al'ar making him the first to have it (it is a rare drop from Kael'thas Sunstrider in Tempest Keep for everyone else) as well as the Merciless Gladiator's Crossbow of the Phoenix which has the flavor text, "Finely crafted to Ephoenix's specification;" Ephoenix was his WoW main character name. He suffered a stroke in August 2008 and then died on October 20.
Fun fact: You could probably hear it in his voice and yes, Runas is voiced by Jim Cummings, probably most famous for his portrayal as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger but he's got a resume as long as you could possibly imagine so it's very likely he was also the voice of your favorite characters growing up.
Honestly I did this quest many times and I did not realized he voiced Tigger and Pooh but when watching this i was like Omg he does sound like Tigger that quest became much sadder for me now
I just hear the bad guy from dark wing duck. Also heard a similar voice somewhere in shadowlands but I think it was in maldarxxas somewhere. Guess that’s what happened to Runas. He died before everything broke far as I understand
@@BottledDelusion you’re probably thinking of Marileth, the crazy House of Plagues soulbind. He’s not voiced by Jim Cummings but instead by Cam Clarke, who you’ll probably recognize as Dr Mobius from Fallout New Vegas Old World Blues, since he uses the same tone and mannerisms of a senile mad scientist.
Jim Cummings is Lorewalker Cho though, so that’s a major character you’re probably thinking of.
@@KiropLokiIncarnate I am not. There’s a minor character not a major one. Like extremely minor just an npc on the side saying things in one quest. Besides even if you told me he became Marileth I wouldn’t believe you as he has been dead far far too long to have the positive he does under a margrave
He actually has a really long history of voicing some great characters in WoW, and has since mists of Pandaria.
Some notables he voiced are:
Cinematic narrator in MoP
Lorewalker Cho in MoP
Both Runas AND Havi in Legion
And Cudgelface in Shadow lands
Glad you included Pamela's Doll. That one still haunts me to this day seeing the girl gleefully playing as if to not realise that she's a spirit.
Oh Runas... I still hope we get to see him again one day. Until then, my friend.
He shows up in Dragonflight, albeit briefly. But it's a lovely little cameo.
8:42 I still love Runas for how he primes us for sympathizing with the other nightfallen in Suramar's quest chain. Especially since you basically become him as you're rep grinding. OOH, MANA CRYSTAL!
The quest with the Gorlocs made me cry. They are so pure, so innocent 😢
"I do something bad? I sorry..." bro that's too cruel they're just little fishbois they don't even know what's going on
They just wanted shinies, like any sane living being does.
@@Cthulhunoms oh no no they didn't WANT shinies they only took them to offer them to the shrine so the undead onslaught stops. It's even sadder. They did it for a noble thing.
@@Tuskor130 "We did nothing to them, why this happen?"
Yeah-that got me, too. I’m a sucker for cute things.
The bfa prepatch event was the first time in wow where a quest made me feel so helpless. There were no mass teleport to save all the citizen, there were no deus ex machina. A large amount of innocent citizens just got burned alived or sufficated without a way to save them.
I remember just sitting there, looking at the screen speechless.
You would think that Jaina could do just that, after all she did something similar in the Hyjal raid......Mass Teleport the Alli troops out while you ran/rode to the next point.
@@Hecatate in the lorderon cinematic she is confused when anduin talks about it. She did not know it happend before it was too late.
@@TheKreve I only did it once on my Human mage, so I don't remember most of the dialog, but being mostly Horde, I wanted to pound Sylvanss into the ground with everyone else!....She showed everyone her true colors in that one.
@@Hecatate no one knew it....but if a high priest wouldn't ran away with her husband at leasts they would knew, Greyman was in the tree when it happened and was helping everyone till was too late and even there he wanted to save the priest of the moon....but they didnt wanted. He only could save us and his wife (and the child).
with an added gut punch that was all the dead night elves were sent to the Maw, albeit unintentionally
As someone who lost a very good friend in my lower 20s to alcohol addiction and poisoning, the runas questline still chokes me up a bit just when I think about it.
"I do something bad? I sorry.."
Fuck, I cried.
Just finished the quest on my paladin.
That was so bad…
They had no idea what was coming
I ugly cried when I did that questline. I don't think anything in any other game hurt me as much as that questline.
Makes you wanna be able to tell them they didn't do anything wrong
I did too! Best tragic quest in the game!
For me, the saddest quest will always be Kyle's Gone Missing! in Mulgore. The quest itself has a happy ending as Kyle is found and returned - but the origin of the quest is what gets me. It was created as the Make a Wish request of a young boy dying of cancer. They used his character and the boy voiced it himself. Knowing that background makes it unbearably tragic to me - in spite of which I play it every time to honor his memory.
Same thing with the rarest mount too! Peep’s whistle was the original ashes of alar, but devs gave it to a sick kid, who I think his character was named peep! Blizz used to do so much for their fan base it’s wild
Cerellean's story actually continued in the Cataclysm version of Darkshore. He's one of the 4 Night Elves you rescue after Auberdine is destroyed by the Cataclysm with every other resident dying, as is seemingly on brand with Cerellean of the 4 Night Elves you actually manage to rescue he is the only one to survive his injuries, the other 3 all die after being rescued. In a bitter-sweet conclusion to his story at least one of the Night Elves you rescued who died from his injuries, that guy's pet bear actually bonds with Cerellean and becomes his new friend. Thankfully it seems like their story ended in Cataclysm or else our sad boi Cerellean might have gotten even more tragedy in the War of Thorns event which both he and the bear have been absent ever since Catacylsm.
❤️❤️❤️
I remember one quest in WotLK's Dragonblight, where you had to kill a high ranking member of the Blue Dragonflight army. Only after the deed was done, you would find a letter on them, saying that they've been forced to join Malygos' army to protect their loved ones.
Kind of a gut punch when you realize that *you* were the one who killed them, when the only thing they were guilty of was being forced to serve someone against their will to protect their loved ones.
Yeah, reading that letter was a lot shit!
"The Light does not abandon its Champions"
Tirion, being burned alive on the Broken Shore: So that was a lie
@Ragvarok Dude he was making a joke...
@Ragvarok Ur it flew over your head like an airplane
this dude somehow got negative social ability.
@@LittlepipMLP nah men, like, Tirion's death was made to try causing fear and despair on players (also to give ret paladins the ashbringer) i think it would've been 10 times better if tirion died alongside varian.
@Ragvarok yeesh man, you good?
Rhea was heartbreaking. The welp should have been a pet rather than a trinket. It feels way more meaningful for it to be able to accompany you.
Yeah ,I never sold that trinket. my first sad quest was Lady Sathrah.😢
@@forsakenjones4695 I never sell that trinket either. And I never delete the Faded Photograph from that quest in Un'Goro.
Pets weren't in game yet
@@jtowensbyiii6018 Ahuh. My Pet parrot from Classic would like to speak to you. Because they existed since Vanilla.
@@jtowensbyiii6018 they always been in the game.
One that always stuck with me was in Wrath in the Coldarra. You help this red dragon to figure out what's going on and you really develop a bond with her as the quest chain goes on. It climaxes with her taking you and fleeing from Malygos. She sacrifices herself to help you run away when he catches up. So that's sad by itself but then you go into the Nexus and she's the last boss of the dungeon. So we have to kill our friend who was corrupted by Malygos and she even tells us to finish it before she kills us because she has no control over herself anymore.
Keristraza, yeah. That one always stuck with me, too. You build up this bond, and some of the lil blurbs make it seem like she plans to confess her feelings to you even (was something along the lines of, "when this is all done, I want to talk to you about us" ), only for the final confrontation and her sacrifice to happen. One of the items she drops is actually a torch looking crystaline mace called "Unrequited Love". Couldn't bring myself to delete it for a while, I felt so bad.
The end of the Runas quest straight up made me cry.
I always want to hold him while that was happening...It even got to my husband...
No matter how many times I've done the Runas quest it always gets me. For me it's the most emotional questline and I genuinely cared for Runas unlike most NPCs
I always assumed that in Until Death Do Us Part, she was losing her mind and memories as an undead. She was rotting away and forgot she had sent many adventures to trash his grave and may have done so herself. I've always checked back to see if they've given us more lore on it, but since there are rarely characters with no further mention, this was the best explanation I had.
One that always upset me for some reason was the one "what's happening at Cenarian Thicket" or something like that in Terrokar Forest. All the dead druids and the one poor insane druid who keeps shape shifting to all his forms, wandering around in shock trying to figure out what happened. I felt bad for him
Oh that quest in which Kael Thas' blood elves implemented a mana bomb at The Cenarion Thicket....we got revenge on them,rest assured.We detonated a Mana Bomb at their headquarters in Terokkar,Firewing Point,as well because of that.
Edit: I sent the same message a second time maybe.I can t see the first one.
I remember that quest made me really sad as well esp as a druid main 😢
As a 12 year+ (still my main today) night elf main at the time, the Darnassus mission was just demoralizing. I remember seeing that objective and thinking, okay it's slow at first but I'll eventually get help or an item to save everyone. Nope. Not even remotely. Just gone.
I had this feeling for the Ysera Legion questline. "Surely, I will get an item, or a power, or someone will intervene. Any time now. Right?..." Right?! T_T
Somehow, Nelfs became the punching bag of Blizzard. Even Tyrande storyline fizzles into nothing.
@@janstraka8674 I put this on denuser. We can all hate afrasabi or whatever his name was for him being an creep/asshole, but storywise he was 10 times better than denuser.
The questchains in legion zones were better then whole patches in SL imho.
Yes it was very demoralizing, on the other hand I liked the concept of players not winning and just trying to reduce damage as much as possible.
Players being unstoppable force that will always win in the end has been overplayed I think and is kind of boring, I had hopes about Legion DLC (or maybe some future big threat one) that players will be scaping about, fleeing, losing ground despite their best efforts and at the end of the DLC fact that we survived would be achievement enough.
@@belisarian6429 I agree. But it still sucked in the moment 😭 it was humbling for sure. All this power and for what?!
"I do something bad? I sorry..." is the one that got to me out of everything
"We gave shinies to shrine, we not greedy.. why this happen?" TT_TT
The Runas quest line made me cry the first time I played through it as during the time my friends and I were taking care of another friend who was addicted to heroin and was bed-ridden with withdrawals. He became a totally different person and seeing Runas turn at the end messed me up.
The fate of Runas is even sadder when you realize he didn't go hostile even after withering. His loyalty was that strong.
Nothing comes close to Runas' ultimate end. If anything because of Jim Cummings' heart wrenching delivery of Runas' struggle and inevitable withering.
His last words are by far the saddest I've ever read and heard in WoW's entire history.
The Runas quests where definitely a major highlight of legion. And legion had a TON of great lore and quests. I remember actually getting emotional when I first did that quest. And it still hurts to see to this day!
I remember playing the Runas quest- I shed a few tears. I loved him as an NPC and quest line.
Ysera's death (prior to her rebirth in Shadowlands/probably Dragonflight) is probably the saddest quest I remember.
Also the original Death Knight start zone, where you have to kill one of your living friends.
God, I still tear up at the Runas quest. I remember playing that in Legion on launch and just being gutted. Such a small part of the game but so well done.
Lakeshire's Last Stand hit me in the feels when I went through it. It reminded me of the end of Halo Reach and the last stand of Nobel 6.
I will never forget the quest where you have to kill Ysera, I cried A LOT and I mean. A LOT lol... as in... I was embarassed even. It was so overwhelmingly bittwersweet to see how her tragic death was transformed into new hope when Elune gave us the cleansed tear that corrupted Ysera. And also another one I will never forget is a quest you get in Darkshore where a guy asks you to please go find his bear, and the guy is dying. And you do in fact find the wounded bear, patch him up and send him on his way to his owner. By the time you go turn in the quest, you find out the owner passed away but that he was able to see his dear bear for a last moment before he died and was happy for it. Man... that hit me RIGHT IN THE FEELS.
I'm sorry but trying to save people during the burning of Teldrassil was just brutal. In my opinion, that should have been number 1 on the list.
The night elves Deserved it
Saving burning rats? Eh….
@@Holyshirtpro but not from Sylvanas, girl literally did it because it sounded funny lol
@@PrimarchRoboleonFrenchyman sylvanas and any WoW character > than the whole night elf race
God, the replies in this comment speak of pretty sad lives.
For me personally, one of the saddest quests ever that should have been on this list was from the Townlong Steppes.
You're working with the Shado-Pan to fight the yaungol and one of them asks you to find her husband. By the time you do he's been beaten to death.
The voice actress did a phenomenal job because her grief brings a lump to my throat every time.
And to make it all the worse, we eventually have to kill her as she becomes possessed by the sha of hatred.
EDIT: wrong sha >.
I completely forgot about that Questline... Now I'm sad again, thanks
It's the Sha of Hatred she's possessed by not Anger. Though, yeah, that is a gut-punch of a quest.
Also, sorry for pulling an "ackshualliey" on you.
@@Gruntman1234 It's okay, it's been a long time since I did the quest myself.
Know what this quest is called?
@@CraZeKllutchy Ranger Rescue
The Night Elf version of "A Special Surprise" in the Death Knight Starting zone. It's hard to put into words, so I'll just quote the NPC:
"You don't remember me? When you were a child your mother would leave you in my care while she served at the Temple of the Moon. I held you in my arms and fed you with honey and sheep's milk to calm you until she would return. You were my little angel."
Sooo....yeah.
I absolutely adored the voiceover for Margaux in Suramar. Hilarious NPC, I got way too attached to her. I think that's my saddest one.
When I was levelling through Azsuna, at first I was like the dragons; distrustful of Runas. Then the end of his questline happened and I was just left feeling empty, expecting a betrayal but finding that I was the one who betrayed him in thinking this way. Playing through again on alts and knowing where it was going made it even more painful. I can never bare to leave him before he's finished his final dialogue.
The burning of Teldrasil was such an impact. The small amount of time ticking down as it quickly dawns on you that there is no hope of saving anywhere close to anyone...
Lakeshire's last stand just made me even angrier at Bastion. I hate how callous they are. I wish that Blizz wrote in an option to join the Forsworn and fight the Ascended cult rather than ending the Bastion story by slaughtering any who don't accept the "apology".
I think "To be Forsaken" during the Horde war campaign for BFA is a solid contender. Seeing the guy agree to being turned with the hope that it will allow him to keep caring for his family yet when they see his new form they call him a monster and he is forced to leave
I also got quite sad about Thomas Zelling's story as well. We could bond with him and see the progress of him getting helped by Lilian, only to get that taken away so suddenly.
BFA had some good questlines, any of the Zandalar/Kul'tiras ones could have been mentioned.
For love eternal really stuck with me when I was questing in darkshore as a 19 year old noob back in 2005 - I'm probably more attached to it because of the music in the area along with being a night elf as well. It's one of the few quests that really stuck with me over the years.
I think that a few quest chains from MoP that could've made this easy, like a comment earlier said, "Life" was pretty heartbreaking.
The thing that makes "Hunger Ends" is the VA who delivered the final lines. Whenever I do legion, I ALWAYS stay behind to listen to his final words. He deserved at least that much.
Can expect no less from the legendary Jim Cummings.
the teldrassil quest really hit hard for me. despite being horde for most my wow time my very first character was a night elf and it was rough seeing the place where my wow journey began being burned down.
it may be just a game but it's been an important part of so many of our lives. I teared up so hard doing that quest
No, that's it exactly. It may just be a game, but it still has touched lives in a way that can not be understated. There are so many stories that have stuck with me, and even lessons.
"Fun" fact. Ben Howell (the Kyrian covenant questline guy) was actually planned to become a mission table follower obtainable from Torgahst, not immediately but in a later patch when they put in more followers, to expand on it, where we then are able to save him. They scrapped that because... No idea. So uh. Yeah.
The Little Pamela quest line still chokes me up. I have two daughters and one was going through some rough times the first time I did this quest chain and it really really hit me. I have done it a few times since and every time it brings up the memories on my little girl in the hospital so I simply do not do it anymore.
I should add, my daughter is doing great all of these years later thank to the hard work of a doctor, and I swear I am not making this up, his name is Dr. Cromie (no H or that would be way too crazy).
Runas' story broke me, so glad you have it in here.
Note that Wrathion can be Deathwings son at the same time as being the nephew of Onyxia.
But that would require Blizzard to go Alabama on Deathwing and Wrathion's mom...
I'm pretty sure they go Alabama on all the flights as they all had many consorts which probably were they children.
Don't worry, for the last 10,000 years Deathwing has been too molten to do the horizonal polka without killing his partner, except Sinestra. So he literally can't be Wrathion's father unless there's time travel involved.
We know he is not because Sinestra was detailed as Deathwings only surviving mate.
Which means deathwing did not mate with Wrathion's mother.
alabama? you mean israel
I always figured Ruines would sell me out for a bag of arcane dust, but instead he died a noble death and that broke my heart 💔
yea, that Runas quest was really sad. the ghost of Pamela still runs around me anytime I go to Light's Hope. the quests for the little draenei girl Uuna is similar.
Another sad one is "In Dreams" from classic where you find Taelen Fordring and he dies in front of Tirion
When I did the quest to Evacuate darnasus my mind did not register that I could not save them all, I kept thinking some NPC would come in or the quest would change somehow and result in us saving everyone. When my character blacked out and I realized what had just happened, I suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.
Runas made me cry A LOT I really like him, in the end he redeemed himself and then teldrassil... that one made me feel helpless, you know there is no way to save all those people in 3 minutes and the fact that only the people "IN" darnassus can be save is more depressing, for all those who started with an elf, all those npcs from the start, dolannar... they are all gone... you cant even go outside the city to see it.
quest like these CANT be forgotten 😢💔
The Ysera chain in Legion is at the top for me (bfa prepatch is just a hair below it). I cry every single time I level an alt through it.
I can't do it. I can't do the quest. I can't watch the cinematic anymore. I can't even THINK about this questline without losing it. T_T
I cried when Vol'jin died
Another quest that I remember being pretty rough - though not necessarily a tear-jerker - is "Eye for an Eye" in the Alliance prison fort thing in the Barrens after Cataclysm, where you help one of the Orc prisoners, named Oltarg, get revenge on the warden, and he makes notes about how abusive the warden was:
_"Who goes there? Your footsteps are not the lazy stride of a guard. A [class], you say? Still brave and free? There's no hope for me, friend. I have lost my eyesight and am no longer fit for battle. I dared to speak up while Captain Peake savagely beat one of the prisoners. In return he kicked me in the head. And kept kicking. He kicked me blind..."_
A new adition from Dragonflight to this list would be Veritistrasz' questline in the Waking Shores. I've done it on every alt I have and it makes me tear up every time when he talks about not recognising the landscape anymore, his black dragon friend he lost and he comments on the things and the letter in the time capsule.
There's one quest chain that I don't remember the name, but it takes place in Highmountain. You have to help the leader of an Owlbear tribe so save them from a dragon. In the end, you do a dance to try appease the dragon. The dragon ends up killing all of them, and almost you in the process. It was really sad at the end. He was just trying to save his tribe.
it was Dances with Ravenbears in Stormheim
Mor'Ladim aka Morgan Ladimore-questline in Duskwood was pretty sad, although it was a short and simple one. It wouldn't be nearly as heartbreaking if you didn't read a book titled "The Story of Morgan Ladimore" that was left in your inventory. I still have the book in my bank, it has such sentimental value.
The quest starts at Morgan Ladimore's grave, located just outside the Raven Hill cemetery. You really have to wander far from the road to find it. You then inquire locals in Darkshire about his seemingly disturbed grave. They tell you that he's risen as an undead that calls himself Mor'Ladim. He's known to attack and kill anyone on his way. The storybook given to you tells that he was a young soldier with a wife and three kids, who went to war against the scourge in the north. After the war he returned home, which had become Duskwood like we know it; infested with undead. In disbelief, he searched the entire woods for his family to no avail, until he decided to ride towards another village, Lakeshire. On his way he suddenly decided to search the nearby cemetery, like a priest in Darkshire had earlier suggested, but he had refused. After hours of searching he finally found a grave of his wife Lys next to two other graves, and fell to the ground sobbing, thinking that his entire family was gone. After hours of wailing he went mad and started striking gravestones with his sword, also killing innocents that attended the cemetery and tried to stop him. Once his rage passed, he saw what he had done and plunged a knife into his heart. The last words of the book says: "He was quickly buried, without ceremony, in a hastily dug grave on the outskirts of the cemetary. Because Morgan committed murder against innocents, something that went completely against his beliefs and his nature, and because of the grief that he held in being unable to save his family, Morgan could not die a peaceful death, and lived on as one of the restless dead." In real world history, sinners were usually buried without a blessing outside the holy land, so their souls could never find peace in paradise.
Once you kill Mor'Ladim, the questgiver in town tells you that he in fact has a living daughter, to who you have to break the news of her father's passing. Saddened by his fate and that she couldn't help him in time, the daughter asks you to bring her ring to his grave, to maybe let her father know she's okay and that she doesn't hold any resentment. At his grave, his voice warns you to let him be, but then says "This is...? Sarah? Could it be she's still alive? The weight is removed from my shoulders...", he then thanks and hands you his sword Archeus, before fading away saying "Lys, my love..."
Runas makes me cry everytime - I never neglect to do his questline when leveling there.
Most of these quests made me cry.... most of all the death of poor Ysera. I still tear up every time
Number 2 was the one that stuck out to me while leveling back in Cata seeing that little girl now knowing if her dad would ever come back.... And then of course burning of Teldrassil was scarring knowing that the betrayer of the wrath gate still lives. And number 1 i have honestly never seen or heard of, but seems really well done, have to check that quest out sometime.
I was doing the dungeon dailies and we had the one for Heroic Nexus and recovering Keristrasza's frozen heart. It was pretty heart-wrenching to know I had to go into a dungeon and free them from a frozen prison just to kill them and take their heart. And she wants you to. Fighting off Malygos' influence the whole time.
Mankrik’s Wife enters the room: “Am I a joke to you?”
Sadly you lose sad impact when you become the meme
I can't believe they didn't mention "Every Rose Has Its Thorne," which was an Alliance only quest that has you get a special rose for your garrison architech, who had a crush on the Worgen commander, but he dies before he can give it to the Orc's invasion of the garrison.
Good list, I remember most of these very well. That Runas ending reminded me of a Deep Space Nine story involving a Cardassian who became a sort of father figure to Kira who later dies of illness with her at his side. There's a couple more which would make the list. Morgan Ladimore "Mor'Ladim" in Duskwood is a sad story. Another sad one is the classic chain from Tirion Fordring in Eastern Plaguelands where he eventually tasks you with reuniting him with his son Taelan, who in an unfortunate twist of events became the leader of Hearthglen believing Tirion was dead, upon showing him the truth he rebels and asks you to take him to Tirion and you both fight your way out of Hearthglen together, however Taelen is killed literally moments before Tirion arrives to help you both.
"The Day The Light Died" quest chain from Legion. Absolutely number one best saddest quest in my heart. Top tier tearjerker and the lore implications and character motives were on point.
There is a quest in Talador from a NPC named Nadur where he asks the players to gather different materials to save his sister from death. For those who know the quest, Nadur's sister dies and refers to her as his 'best friend' as he says his final goodbye.
The questline in dustwallow that ends with Peace at last where you talk to the dead wife and kid came out of nowhere when I was doing lore master and really hit me in the feels
Shady Rest Inn questline?Yeah...but I feel better now that they are at peace...I hope that would bring James Hyal at peace too.
its really no surprise that the number 1 has to do with the scourge. honestly, most of their lore dealing with innocents is super depressing.
I remember most of these and while heart-breaking, nothing tore me up as much as losing Willowblossom in Ardenweald.
I Dreamed A Dream. Totally.
I've only just realised that the voice actor for Runas the Shamed is Jim Cummings, he's voiced so many characters but Minsc in Baldurs Gate 1&2 will always be my favourite.
there is a quest in Nazmir near Bwonsamdi's npc about a girl who is looking for her mother. Doing that quest was very depressing
The quest in Ardenweald where you enter Ysera's dreams and see her family mourning her was heart-rending.
#1 will always be "The Fate of Val'sharah" with Ysera's death; #2 is "Lost in Battle" (Mankrik's wife); and #3 is "Kyle's Gone Missing!", hands-down.
This remains my favorite quest line in history. His voice is part of my love of it.
As soon as I saw this video, I knew what had to be the #1 spot, having just played through it again it WOTLK. Always brings tears to my eyes - even before I knew it was based on a real person.
But the cherry on top was that you gave space for the very simple early quest in the #10 space. There isn't much to it, considering how much more storytelling room there was in later expansions for these things, but I was always impressed how Blizzard was able to imbed so much feeling into what was just a basic "Go to this new area" 2 part quest. I always cite it when I try to explain how deep some of these quests can be. Glad you appreciated it too.
There are one more sad story in the kyrian campaing, when we go to Ardenweald one takes us to all the zone doing different stuff, and in the end that was her las hours, she sacrified to the greater good of helping the kyrians ascend, that made me cry when in 9.1 Uther has something, and I saw Pelagos with that pet willowlower left, a really beautiful moment
Some emotional quests, absolutely, but the evacuation of Teldrassil hits home far too much. My first ever WoW character was a night elf priest. I played the game from Cataclysm pre-patch to Shadowlands pre-patch. I spent a lot of time & had loads of memories in Teldrassil, and when it came to be when it was time to evacuate the world tree as much as possible, and seeing it all burn down, I felt so helpless. It, and I, was so sad.
for me saving the dying nightelves in teldrassil was definitely number 1
the runas quest always gets me. When he says "Are you still there, I can't see you anymore" it always reminds me of meruem and komugi from hxh. It always makes me tear up.
Runas’ voice actor, Jim Cummings, provides the voice of Lorewalker Cho in MoP, and also several Brokers in Shadowlands, including one of the two auctioneers in the Menagerie fight in Tazavesh. He also voices Hondo Ohnaka, a fan favorite character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars
He is also most notably know as the voice of Winnie the Pooh!
I'm told he does Cudgelface too!
@@sandrine4422 Oh bother.
3:50 I loved this questline for so long but never noticed this, that's awesome.
When i was doing "A flicker of hope" afterwards i was just sitting down crying... What good does it bring being the Champion of the azerothian forces, besting Demon lords and old gods, but then being confronted with the futility of not being able to save all people on Teldrassil...
And i knew my Wife would exactly react the same way a few hours later when she was doing the quest chain...
You now know the tragic reality of Superman. That despite all that power and good will, he still can't save everyone.
The saddest quests that i think i've ever done was Ysera in ValSharah, Saving Darnassus and as alliance we had to kill the Marshal guy who was cursed by the drust in Drustvar and the Legion opening where we lost Varian...
On a lore basis, the Bfa prepatch hurt me. Losing something as good as Teldrassil and almost the entire night elf race was just devastating. Learning in shadowlands that for a long time all souls had been going to the maw, including those poor citizens hurt even more. It’s definitely one of the saddest stories in wow history next to Runas the shamed
I knew what would be #1 before clicking. The only quest that actually grabbed my attention.
Theres a subtle thing you did at the end of the video and I appreciate it. Not going to your normal outro for this one, really hit it home.
Now then... The Darrowshire stuff is legit one of the best to really be sad.
2:15 I don't think there's any confirmation of this in game, but if I had to guess,
_Did you ever see their children?_
The *family* fell to the scourge after all. "Let his children bear witness to the fact his dedication to the Light was unquestionable."
great video
altough i have to say the one with Death by Childbrith in Pandaria
And the one with the ghost pandaren child are also top for sad ones
yup, Sunwalker dezco's wife dying from drinking sha infused waters
I love that dragon trinket quest, it has a sad/happy ending.
There's a pretty bad one in Shadowlands when you're doing the Maldraxxus questline (not covenant) where you're attacking the House of Constructs and saving whatever captured Kyrian and Stewards that you can. One of the Kyrian has had his eyes torn out and left to die in a pile of corpses, and one of the Stewards has had his tongue removed. Worst, though, is a chest you can find in the area on one of the Kyrian corpses, and when you open it you find a Reconstructed Family Locket and a letter that details an Ascended Kyrian confessing that they still remember their past. The letter reads:
"To my love,
I confess that I remember. By some
miracle, this echo of our past found me.
I saved it, and with it, saved all that we
were.
Perhaps it was my undoing. I scorned
the Archon's trust and so fell prey to
this nightmare.
But the flicker of you comforts me in my
final moments. Fate is blind to this
horizon, but may we be as one anew."
“Thank you my friend for letting my last few hours mean something”
That one hit different
The Tirion Fordring questline from vanilla was the one that got me right in the feels. This was back before Fordring was a prominent figure in the game. He is in a state of despair because his son has become part of the Scarlet Crusade in Hearthglen and asks you to help open Taelan's eyes to what they are. After a very long chain you do just this. And when you escape Hearthglen with Taelan who is trying to return to his father, he is attacked and killed by a powerful NPC. Tirion himself runs in after in an attempt to save his son, vanquishes the NPC, but was too late and Taelan dies.
This is a turning point for Tirion who was once a highlord with the Argent Crusade, fighting for life against the undead. He had essentially abandoned his post in grief after the loss of his family, but this event pulls him out of his self-exile. The final twist of the knife for Tirion's story is his death in the Legion opening scenarios, ending in the Retribution paladin weapon quests.
I had no idea that happens to Runas. I never stuck around long enough to see the dialog. Thats heartbreaking indeed.
I've been listening to a few videos while doing World Quests this morning and even while I had the video just playing the the background, Runas last words still made me tear up a little bit. Man that quest was harsh
everysingle one of those quests deserved a single vid telling the story
Runas comes first to my mind. The second quest chain is that the two High Mountain you rescue from the rock grips in Riverbend of the three don't make it out of the storyline alive. I get sad each time I open the first and see Oro and know he's going to die in just a few minutes. :( Then later, while you're in the cave, you watch the second HM get killed. Third, "Have you seen my puppy?"
Man I love this game so much, the ability to make such heart wrenching quests is amazing
Taking the poem from Alicia in Stormwind Keep to Aldor Rise to give to Caylee Dak is perhaps the saddest quest I've ever done in WOW.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
across Northrend's bright and shining snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
on Westfall's fields of golden grain.
I am in the morning hush,
of Stranglethorn's jungle, green and lush.
I am in the drums loud and grand,
the thunderous hooves across Nagrand.
I am the stars warmly gleaming,
over Darnassus softly dreaming.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.
The Runas quest was when it hit me to not be so cynical about Legion as an expansion, because clearly there were clearly still people who gave a crap on the team outside of the art department.
Garrosh execution had me near tears for the first time on wow
man, the final Runas dialogue ALWAYS fucks me up super bad.