Wrathion

For the NPC faction, see Black Prince. For tactics on the Ny'alotha, the Waking City encounter, see Wrathion, the Black Emperor.

Wrathion
Title	<The Black Prince>
Gender	Male
Race	Black drake (Dragonkin)
Reaction	Alliance Horde
Affiliation(s)	Himself, Ravenholdt, Black dragonflight
Occupation	Self-proclaimed leader of the black dragonflight
Location	Various
Status	Alive
Relative(s)	Nyxondra (mother), Unknown father, Deathwing (grandfather), Nefarian (uncle), Onyxia (aunt), Sabellian (half-uncle)
Companion(s)	Right, Left (bodyguards); Alex, Dah'da, Cindy (pets)

“I will NOT be held accountable for the sins of my father. My destiny will be my own.”

— Wrathion

Wrathion, the Black Prince, is one of the few black dragons on Azeroth known to be uncorrupted by the taint of the Old Gods and, following the death of Deathwing and the destruction of the corrupted black dragonflight, one of the last known black dragons alive on Azeroth. His disguise is that of a human with dark skin. Claiming to have seen a future where Azeroth falls, Wrathion helps heroes of the Horde and Alliance gain power, usually in the form of magical legendary-quality items. He is, however, ruthless in his goals and pursues what he perceives as the greater good for Azeroth with almost fanatical devotion. As the self-proclaimed last black dragon, Wrathion believes that the titans' mandate to protect Azeroth (once entrusted to his father) now falls to him, and he will do whatever it takes to fulfill this charge. While information on Wrathion's heritage is disputed (see the below section), he personally chooses to identify Deathwing as his father.

After being purified and hatched during the war against Deathwing, Wrathion saw to the death of every other black dragon he knew of, including Deathwing, by providing a rogue with the Fangs of the Father and hunting them down. As the Alliance-Horde war intensified on Pandaria, he sought to use an adventurer gifted with a powerful cloak of his own creation in a plot to have one side wipe out the other, making the world more secure against greater threats. While his plan ultimately failed when King Varian Wrynn decided to make peace with Warchief Vol'jin instead of dismantling the Horde, Wrathion's ambition to safeguard the world remained unchanged. He would appear years later near the end of the Fourth War with the rise of N'Zoth. As N'Zoth was the one primarily responsible for his father's corruption, Wrathion once again offered his assistance. This time, he created  [Ashjra'kamas, Shroud of Resolve] to help Azeroth's champions resist the old god's corruptive influence. Following N'Zoth's end, Wrathion vowed that the black dragonflight would forevermore stand in defense of Azeroth, alongside its champions.

Biography

Unhatched

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

The ambitious red dragon Rheastrasza, also known by her goblin guise Rhea, traveled to the Badlands to research the black dragonflight and to find a way to purify them. She captured the black dragon, Nyxondra, and forced her to lay eggs for the experiments. She and Dr. Hieronymus Blam eventually succeeded in creating a purified black dragon egg with an ancient titan device, a black whelp corpse, a wild black dragon egg and one of Nyxondra's eggs. She constantly moved around to avoid being found by agents of the black dragonflight, who wanted to destroy the egg. She was however killed by Deathwing in the end, who was after the egg. The egg he destroyed, however, was not the purified one, but Rheastrasza's own egg. Hieronymus Blam had already moved the real purified egg on to a safer location, away from the Badlands, so it could continue to grow, out of Deathwing's sight. The egg was hidden under the care of Corastrasza in Vermillion Redoubt, a Red dragonflight outpost in the Twilight Highlands.

The Black Prince

Fahrad and Wrathion planning their next move against the Black Dragonflight.

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

The egg was stolen six months later, and the red drake Mostrasz and a rogue adventurer track it to Ravenholdt Manor, where it is revealed Wrathion has hatched and is now in charge of the whole operation. Apparently free from the madness of the Old Gods, he sent the player out to kill the last black dragons plaguing Azeroth: Creed, Nalice and Fahrad. Apparently on the run from the Red dragonflight who see him as a threat, he disappears after Deathwing's demise during   [35] Patricide.

Mists of Pandaria

Wrathion at the Tavern in the Mists.

This section concerns content related to Mists of Pandaria.

Wrathion heard rumors of a new land "beyond the mists of the sea", Pandaria, and traveled there. Wrathion made his base in the Tavern in the Mists, which is found in the Veiled Stair, after experiencing a vision of Azeroth's destruction. To prevent his vision from becoming a reality, Wrathion sent invitations to adventurers from all walks of life to aid him in shaping the course of the coming conflict.

Wrathion foreshadows a terrible threat to Azeroth is coming—a threat that a divided Azeroth cannot hope to stand against; i.e., the Burning Legion. Thus he believes the only way to prepare Azeroth for the coming threat is to have one faction win and dominate the other. He advises adventurers to bring a swift end to the Alliance-Horde war and gives his unwavering support to whichever faction the adventurer belongs to.

Wrathion challenged the adventurers he recruited to prove their strength to him by vanquishing the mogu minions who inhabit Shan'ze Dao, and the sha-corrupted mantid swarming the Dread Wastes. He also tasked adventurers to acquire sigils of power and wisdom from fallen heroes in the Mogu'shan Vaults, the Heart of Fear, or the Terrace of Endless Spring. After slaying enough of these enemies to earn an honored reputation with him, Wrathion had challenged the adventurer to hunt down the Sha of Fear and despoil it of its  [Chimera of Fear]. After taking down the sha at the Terrace of Endless Spring, and accomplishing all of his undertakings, Wrathion takes the adventurers to Mason's Folly where he used the combined powers of the sigils of power and wisdom; as well as the chimera of fear to create a Sha-touched gem. After Wrathion gifted the gem to his champion, Wrathion then asks the adventurers to let him know when their faction's naval fleet arrives during patch 5.1; and also proclaimed that no matter how unsavory his methods become, he will remain resolute in his protection of Azeroth.

Landfall

If you have  [90] Incoming..., signal your faction's fleet in order to continue the storyline. Wrathion wants to test the player's commitment to the Alliance-Horde war and thus tasks the player to kill Alliance/Horde soldiers at the shores in order to gain revered with him and prove to him that their faction deserves to win the war. Then, he will bring up King Varian Wrynn/Warchief Garrosh Hellscream to talk about their pasts and how they fare as leaders. Wrathion also wants to test the adventurer's valor by having them gather 3000 [Valor Points] and uses his blood to see through the player's eyes, thus monitoring his or her progress. Afterwards, Wrathion requests that you kill your opposing faction's Commander in Krasarang Wilds. In addition to slaughtering the enemy Commander, Wrathion requires you to achieve a victory in both Silvershard Mines and Temple of Kotmogu. After you have completed these tasks, he'll bring up your faction leader again and discusses their merits as leaders of their factions and what he's learned about each respective faction. He tells the player to continue to hone his or her skills in Pandaria and then arms them with the  [Eye of the Black Prince] to increase the player's prowess. At last, he brings up a new threat: The Thunder King. Talk to him when you are ready in patch 5.2.

Rise of the Thunder King

Wrathion seen at the Thunder Forges.

Wrathion and Anduin chatting.

If you have  [90] The Thunder King, get  [90] Meet Me Upstairs from Tong the Fixer who informs the player that Wrathion is upstairs. You see Sunwalker Dezco on the ground kneeling, Alliance guards, and Anduin Wrynn recovering from his wounds and playing jihui, a pandaren board game, with Wrathion. Both Anduin and Wrathion have been discussing current events and as they play, they discuss Lei Shen the Thunder King, and his leadership style; to which they disagree with each other if whether his tyrannical and brutal reign should be applauded or not. Anduin disapproves of Wrathion's hard cutthroat outlook and Wrathion likewise think Anduin too soft. At this point, Wrathion recruits the player to act as his champion and to show his might by terrorizing any mogu, Zandalari, or saurok that you find. The player can get to exalted by being his champion during your faction's assault on the Isle of Thunder.

Wrathion must know the origin and source of Mogu power, and Azeroth's adventurers aided the Black Prince in finding out what it is. The search for information took the adventurers into the depths of the Thunder King's Palace, the Throne of Thunder. Once on the Isle of Thunder, Wrathion's champions collected for him 20 Secrets of the Empire and 40 Trillium Bars. Wrathion and the adventurer then progressed to the Thunder Forges where he plans to use all the trillium they gathered to forge an instrument of power that he claims he will use for the purpose of "world peace". Once they get the Thunder Forge up and running, Wrathion tasked the adventurer to defend the Celestial Blacksmith from the sha until it finishes forging the  [Lightning Lance]. Once completed, Wrathion's champion uses the Lightning Lance to vanquish the Sha Amalgamation. Although the Lightning Lance proved itself a useful weapon, it needed to be charged by the power of the Thunder King in order to wake it from its dormancy. Wrathion then asks his champion to assault the Foot of Lei Shen and use the Lightning Lance on Storm Lord Nalak before slaying the beast. From the mogu artifacts the adventurer collected, Wrathion learned how to create the legendary metagem, Crown of the Heavens. After imbuing the Lightning Lance with Nalak's power, the adventurer and Wrathion returned to Mason's Folly — where they created the Sha-Touched gem. There Wrathion used the Lightning Lance to create the Crown of Heaven, which he gifts to his champion.

Anduin distrusts Wrathion and warns the player to think twice before putting that thing on your head. Wrathion needs more information to piece together how the mogu relates to the titans, and so he sends the adventurer back to the Throne of Thunder to collect 12 Titan Runestones, which an image of Wrathion uses to uncover mogu history as he translates the stones.

Once all of them have been translated, return to Wrathion for one final request. Wrathion wants the adventurer to kill Lei Shen himself, bring him the Heart of the Thunder King, and end the Thunder King's reign once and for all. Once the heart is given to Wrathion, he eats it and absorbs its titan magic. A glowing light appears, showing Wrathion cosmic visions and speaks through Wrathion of a fallen titan that some mysterious power sought to rebuild. As the light fades away, Wrathion seems to have forgotten all the information and thinks the predecessors of the titans' power have forgotten as well. Not even Anduin can comprehend the message. To that regard, it was the message that the Mogu didn't remember all this time, and Wrathion laughs at the irony of it. Anduin still doesn't trust Wrathion and Wrathion tells Anduin it is wise that he doesn't. He then tells the adventurer to give him time to "digest" what he learned, because soon it will take root in patch 5.3.

Escalation

Lei Shen is dead and his artifacts are in the hands of the Horde and Alliance. Wrathion also wants to empower his champion with the full array of his draconic power, but their mortal body isn't capable of holding such power. Instead, Wrathion plans to create a cloak of virtue that they can imbue with the power of the August Celestials and some of his own as well. To create such a vessel, Wrathion requires the blessings of all the August Celestials, which is only granted to those who complete their challenges. Thus Wrathion and his champion set off for the celestials' temples to fulfill their quest.

At Niuzao Temple, Niuzao tests the adventurer's fortitude; at the Temple of the Red Crane, Chi-Ji tests their hope; at the Temple of the White Tiger, Xuen tests their strength; and at the Temple of the Jade Serpent, Yu'lon tests their wisdom. With the blessing of each of the celestials, Wrathion is able to create the  [90] Cloak of Virtue at Mason's Folly, which he gifts to his champion. Although the cloak of virtue grants the champion the power of the celestials, Wrathion is still searching for a way to imbue his own draconic power onto the cloak.

Siege of Orgrimmar

Wrathion was eager to explore the secrets of the Timeless Isle, and with good reason: the island holds the secret of imbuing celestial cloaks with his own formidable draconic power. Wrathion tasked his champion to collect 5000 Timeless Coins so that he could deconstruct their mysterious power in order to enhance his champion's cloak. He also challenges his champion to showcase their capabilities to the public of the Celestial Court by defeating the August Celestials in combat. Bearers of this new legendary-quality cloak are able to do battle with the deadly Ordos atop the Timeless Isle, but that isn't Wrathion's ultimate goal. Instead, the black prince hoped to send his empowered cloak-bearers into the bowels of Orgrimmar to overthrow Warchief Garrosh Hellscream himself. Wrathion also participated in the Celestial Tournament with his companions - Alex, Dah'da and Cindy. After the Celestials are defeated, Wrathion, Lorewalker Cho and the adventurer return to the Seat of Knowledge where they narrate the legend of the adventurer. Cho wished for the legend to portray the adventurer as a hero, liberator, and protector, while Wrathion wished to see them as a conqueror with none able to stand in their way. After the legend was done, Wrathion sent the adventurer to the Siege of Orgrimmar to fulfill his hopes.

When the adventurer arrives back in the Tavern, Wrathion is pacing around the room; awaiting information about what happened during the Siege of Orgrimmar. The adventurer told him about what happened in Orgrimmar and he was not happy with the outcome: calling Varian Wrynn a fool for allowing the Horde to continue existing. Tong the Fixer was infuriated with his constant speaking and his lack of understanding of the lessons of Pandaria. Tong said that the Alliance and the Horde are not strong despite each other, they are strong because of one another. Wrathion thinks he's just a fool waiter, and starts walking out the Tavern and proclaimed for the battle to come, he will leave nothing to chance.

War Crimes

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Wrathion, alongside his bodyguards, Right and Left, attended the trial of Garrosh Hellscream, frequently corresponding with Anduin Wrynn during intermissions. He came to acknowledge the prince of Stormwind as a personal friend, though he told him that his kind heart and desire to see good in the world would be his undoing. He sat as far from Alexstrasza as he could.

Eventually, Wrathion revealed himself to be working with Kairozdormu and the Infinite dragonflight to free Garrosh and send him back in time to the Draenor of thirty-five years ago. After incapacitating the Chu brothers so he could lock up Chromie for investigating Kairoz, Wrathion was confronted by Anduin, who attempted to deter his friend from freeing the captured warchief. Proclaiming that as the last of the Black Dragonflight, the protection of Azeroth now falls to him, Wrathion knocked Anduin out and took his leave. Despite his actions, Wrathion believed this would be best for Azeroth in the coming conflict with the Legion, and maintained hope that Anduin would eventually understand his motives and even stand with him as a brother when the time comes.

Warlords of Draenor

This section concerns content related to Warlords of Draenor.

Wrathion outside Khadgar's Tower.

Wrathion, having traveled to the alternate Draenor after the Dark Portal became connected to it, traveled to Admiral Taylor's Garrison in the Spires of Arak, brought there by Sir Edward. Wrathion sought asylum in the Garrison, claiming he had somehow angered the local ogres. As Wrathion was a wanted fugitive of the Alliance following the events of Garrosh's trial, the troops led by Lady Claudia took aim. Admiral Taylor claimed that Wrathion would be a "guest" in the Garrison provided he stay under house arrest and full-time guard.

Wrathion provided Taylor's Garrison the resources to build an inn, and when Taylor confronted him about it Wrathion told him not to trust Ephial. Taylor offered a group of guards money to keep a close eye on Wrathion, but Wrathion had already paid those very same guards to watch Taylor. When Taylor left to participate in the Ring of Blood, Wrathion left the Garrison and took several of Taylor's best followers with him.

Wrathion remained in hiding somewhere on Draenor until he made a minor cameo at Khadgar's Tower once the adventurer had to return the Tomes of Chaos to Cordana Felsong. Wrathion was momentarily seen sitting on a Kirin Tor banner in whelp form until seeing his former ally, upon which he quickly flew off to parts unknown.

Legion

This section concerns content related to Legion.

During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, Wrathion wandered around Azeroth.

Deaths of Chromie

When Chronormu and an adventurer discovered that the former was going to die in the near future, they began searching for clues to who could be behind her assassination across the future Dragonshrines in Dragonblight. At the pathway leading into the Obsidian Dragonshrine, they found Wrathion, who was bemused by skeletons occupying the shrine even though the dragons had abandoned it for some years, musing that his father would never have approved. Chromie and the adventurer confronted Wrathion, thinking he may have known something, and Wrathion was ashamed that Chromie suspected him simply for being a black dragon. As Wrathion explained, he knew nothing about the attack and was simply visiting Northrend for "[his] own amusement", but was surprised to see a demonic infestation at the Obsidian Dragonshrine. He reminded Chromie and the adventurer that if they were looking for someone who might take umbrage at a dragon, they should start with the undead and whoever was controlling them. Chromie agreed that Wrathion made a fair point and the two of them left him to search inside the dragonshrine.

Battle for Azeroth

This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

After finding an  [Unscarred Black Scale] from a young black dragon while on an island expedition, the adventurer knew that Wrathion would want to hear about it and sought him out at Blackrock Mountain. Though Wrathion was not there himself, one of his Blacktalon Agents was. She revealed to the adventurer that Wrathion was searching for the Dragon Isles and that other dragons had not been forthcoming in information.

One of Wrathion's Blacktalon Watchers was in the former lair of Deathwing, observing as another uncorrupted black dragon, Ebyssian, took an essence of the black dragonflight's magic to help heal the world. More Blacktalon Watchers can be found in Nazjatar.

When Wrathion was next seen, he had physically matured significantly, his humanoid form now resembling a young man with jet black hair, a short beard, and red, burning eyes. He sought out the Shen'dralar library in Dire Maul, as well as the aid of the Lorewalkers and Shado-Pan, in order to find a way to counter the Old Gods' corruption. He also traveled to the Vault of Archavon in Wintergrasp, hoping that it would contain information on the Forge of Origination which, he felt, would be the key to defeating the Old Gods for good. Unfortunately, the giants that watched over the Vault were not trusting of him. Wrathion then journeyed to Karazhan, where he received information from the library that allowed him to craft a potion that could cleanse someone of Old God corruption. While within the tower, Wrathion also met with the shade of Medivh, who encouraged him that while Wrathion could not change the past, he could forge a new legacy to leave for the future. As all this was going on, the Old Gods reached out to another uncorrupted black dragon, Ebyssian, and began to corrupt him. At the behest of Kalecgos, the adventurer sought out Wrathion for aid, and it turned out that the Old Gods' servants were also in pursuit of the Black Prince. While neither of them found Wrathion himself, the adventurer was able to find Wrathion's potion in Karazhan and used it to save Ebyssian.

Visions of N'Zoth

As the Alliance and the Horde defeated Azshara, and in the process let N'Zoth free from its prison, the Horde and the Alliance had to consider how to deal with the new threat looming. Wrathion, who had not been seen since Garrosh was freed, appeared in Stormwind City with Magni. He came to advise Anduin on how to deal with N'Zoth. Wrathion told Anduin that the armies of Stormwind would be useless. N'Zoth will strike in the mind. Later he joined Magni back at the Chamber of Heart and guided the adventurers in dealing with the visions of N'Zoth. Revealing that the best way to protect one's mind against the Old Gods required an object pure corruption, Wrathion and adventurers ventured to Blackwing Descent atop the Blackrock Mountain in Burning Steppes. Upon arriving, the pair discovered that N'Zoth's agents had seized control of Nefarian's liar, and Dark Inquisitor Xanesh planned on making Nefarian's legacy their own. Amidst the fighting, Wrathion was captured with the Dark Inquisitor revealing her intentions to use his essence to resurrect both Nefarian and Onyxia as tools of war for N'Zoth. However, Xanesh failed when adventurers freed Wrathion, who declared that the black dragonflight would purge N'Zoth from Azeroth. Following Xanesh's retreat into Ny'alotha, Wrathion destroyed the remains of Nefarian and Onyxia and used the  [Corrupt Black Dragonscales] left behind to create Ashjra'kamas. Declaring that this cloak was all that remained of the once-proud black dragonflight, Wrathion revealed that it would defend them from sanity loss and the corruption of N'Zoth.

Sometime after Wrathion arrived to the Chamber of Heart, Ebyssian inquired as to how the Black Prince had known he had begun to hear N'Zoth's whispers. In response, Wrathion admitted that he had one of his agents watching over him due to knowing that Ebyssian would become vulnerable upon leaving Highmountain. In a surprise, Ebyssian remarked that he was unaware that Wrathion had such a personal concern for his well-being, causing the younger dragon to remark that they were brothers and the only one that Wrathion had left.

As adventurers entered Ny'alotha they had to face Wrathion, the Black Emperor, who was supposedly a Wrathion who had given in to the Old Gods' corruption, but after killing it they discovered that it was a faceless one in disguise rather than the Black Prince himself. Wrathion was present within the realm of N'Zoth, however. He was given the Blade of the Black Empire by Azshara who told him to stab N'Zoth in the heart with it. Wrathion instead stabbed the Carapace of N'Zoth which during the fight with the Fury of N'Zoth helped adventurers regain their sanity by teleporting back to him. Following the death of N'Zoth, when asked as to what lied next for him, Wrathion remarked that though the Old Gods had been vanquished, they were but one threat to Azeroth and that many more lurked on the horizon and in the shadows. He further declared that from this day forth the black dragonflight will honor its ancient charge and stand in defense of Azeroth, along with its champions.

The adventurers also brought forth young dragons of the twilight dragonflight, ones which had been raised inside N'Zoth's carapace and so been exposed more directly to his corruption. Wrathion clears the dragons' minds of the whispers, with the promise that they, as well as he himself, will find themselves again one day despite their pasts.

World of Warcraft Anniversary

Wrathion and Medivh in the Caverns of Time during the 15th Anniversary Event.

The subject of this article or section is part of WoW's Anniversary, a seasonal event that typically lasts two weeks. Once the event has run its course, this will no longer be available until next year, but there are no guarantees.

Medivh and Wrathion were found partaking in the festivities of Warcraft's Anniversary in the Caverns of Time.

Sells

	[Black Dragonscale Backpack] 5,000			[Gouged Eye of N'Zoth] 25,000
	[Vessel of Horrific Visions] 10,000			[Wicked Swarmer] 100,000

Locations

Notable appearances
Location	Level range	Health range
Hillsbrad Foothills	85	387,450
Pandaria	90	106,032
[90] The Thunder Forge	90	2,363,646
[90] Celestial Blessings	90	19,697,050
Celestial Tournament	90	393,941
Seat of Knowledge	90	2,363,646
Khadgar's Tower	100	587,100
The Deaths of Chromie	112	6,673,278

Quests

Ravenholdt Manor

•   [35] To Catch a Thief
•   [35] Our Man in Gilneas
•   [35] The Deed is Done
•   [35] Cluster Clutch
•   [35] Our Man in Karazhan
•   [35] Victory in the Depths
•   [35] Sharpening Your Fangs
•   [35] Patricide

Tavern in the Mists

The subject of this section was removed from World of Warcraft in patch 6.0.2.

Patch 5.0 - Mists of Pandaria

1. Optional breadcrumb:  [90] Stranger in a Strange Land
2.  [90] A Legend in the Making
3.  [90] The Strength of One's Foes &  [90] Trial of the Black Prince
4.  [90] Fear Itself
5.  [90] Breath of the Black Prince

Patch 5.1 - Landfall

1. Optional breadcrumb:  [90] Incoming... ( [90] Lion's Landing /  [90] Domination Point required to continue)
2.  [90] The Measure of a Leader
3.  [90] The Prince's Pursuit &  [90] A Test of Valor
4. Complete all of:
   •  [90] The Lion Roars /  [90] Glory to the Horde
   •  [90] A Change of Command
5.  [90] Call of the Packmaster /  [90] The Soul of the Horde

Patch 5.2 - The Thunder King

1. Optional breadcrumbs:  [90] The Thunder King /  [90] Meet Me Upstairs
2.  [90] Secrets of the First Empire &  [90] I Need a Champion
3.  [90] The Thunder Forge ( [90] To the Skies! required to continue)
4.  [90] Spirit of the Storm Lord ( [90] The Fall of Shan Bu required to continue)
5.  [90] The Crown of Heaven
6.  [90] Echoes of the Titans
7.  [90] Heart of the Thunder King

Patch 5.3 - Escalation

1.  [90] Celestial Blessings
2.  [90] Cloak of Virtue
3.  [90] Preparing to Strike /  [90] Meet Me Back at the Inn

Patch 5.4 - Siege of Orgrimmar

1.  [90] A Timeless Discovery
2.  [90] Secrets of the Timeless Isle &  [90] The Emperor's Way
3.  [90] A Pandaren Legend
4.  [90] Judgment of the Black Prince

5.1. PTR

The subject of this section did not make it out of the PTR stages of patch 5.1.0.

•   [90] The Eye of the Naaru
  •   [90] Awaiting the Black Harvest

Legion alpha

The subject of this section did not make it out of the beta stages of World of Warcraft: Legion.

•  [100 - 110] A Timely Opportunity
• The Backdoor#Beta
•  [100] Flight of the Black Prince

Ny'alotha, the Waking City

•  [50R] Ny'alotha: MOTHER's Guidance

Chamber of Heart

•  [120] Accessing the Archives
•  [120] Beginning the Descent
•  [120] Deeper Into the Darkness
•  [120] Descending Into Madness
•  [120] Dream Catcher
•  [120] Elements of Corruption
•  [120] Into the Darkest Depths
•  [120] Investigating the Halls
•  [50] Lost Flight
•  [120] Maintaining Focus
•  [120] Opening the Gateway
•  [120] Reconstructing "Fear and Flesh"
•  [120] Reconstructing "The Curse of Stone"
•  [120] Remnants of a Shattered World
•  [120] Something in Your Mind
•  [120] Stepping Through the Darkness

Abilities

Wrathion wields unusually powerful abilities for a black whelp. He has displayed power over fire, magma, and magic on par with a full-grown black dragon. During  [90] Celestial Blessings, he claims that he wields the power of the titans, and was probably referring to the powers of Keeper Ra that he stole from Lei Shen by devouring his heart. Wrathion also knows how to wield weapons such as the  [Lightning Lance] he used against the player.

•   Blindside — Standing behind Wrathion increases your damage dealt to him by 250%. Aura on Wrathion for the duration of the encounter.
•   Crumbling Arc — Wrathion jumps in front of you and does a semicircle AoE attack. It is an uninterruptable 3 second cast that you can dodge by moving out of the dust clouds. It hits for approximately 200k damage. Be advised that this ability is currently buggy, and you may get hit even if you are outside the dust clouds. 
•   Reign of Fire — Fireballs rain down from the ceiling, doing damage if they hit you. You can easily dodge this by avoiding the black shadows the fireballs cast when they appear. 
•   Blood of the Deathborn  — 2 second cast creates a void zone that deals about 50k damage/second. This spell can be interrupted. 
•   Neltharion's Tears  — About every minute or so, Wrathion summons or resurrects 5 adds. They have 500k health and melee for approximately 35k damage. 
•   Inferno   — About 2 minutes in, Wrathion will spawn many images of himself, all channeling Inferno. A single attack (including AoE) will kill any images it hits. Hitting the real Wrathion will stop the spell and despawn all the images. If Inferno goes off, it will deal damage depending on how many images remain. It will kill you if you killed too few images. This repeats 3 times in sequence. 

Quotes

• "They wanted to hold me, to keep watch over me – a prisoner in all but name. But I will NOT be held accountable for the sins of my father. My destiny will be my own."

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Wrathion in the TCG.

Greetings

• I do not share my father's madness.
• A new era is beginning.
• I must remain hidden, so that I remain free.
• I believe an individual can have an enormous impact on the world.

Pissed

You do not want to make it onto my list!

Dialogue

Main article: To Catch a Thief#Transcript

Main article: Our Man in Gilneas#Notes

Main article: The Deed is Done#Notes

Main article: Cluster Clutch#Transcript

Main article: Victory in the Depths#Notes

Main article: Sharpening Your Fangs#Transcript

Main article: Patricide#Notes

Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content related to Mists of Pandaria.

On-click

Greetings

• A new era has begun.
• Pandaria: a land of mystery, history, and opportunity.
• We stand at the crossroads of history.
• The battle for Pandaria rages on. (Patch 5.1)
• This war could tear Azeroth apart. (Patch 5.1)
• Is there such a thing as a righteous war? (Patch 5.1)
• These Pandaren question everything. It makes you think? (Patch 5.1)
• There is so much we can learn from the Mogu. (Patch 5.2)
• There is a hidden darkness to this land. Do you feel it? (Patch 5.2)

Pissed

• This is an awfully one-sided conversation.
• Did you hear what happened to the rest of the Black Dragonflight?
• I had them killed. All of them...
• ...And THEY were family.
• So, if I were you, I would carefully consider your decision to continue poking me.

Dialogue

Main article: A Legend in the Making#Notes

Main article: The Strength of One's Foes#Notes

Main article: Fear Itself#Notes

Main article: Breath of the Black Prince (quest)#Notes

Main article: Incoming...#Notes

Main article: The Measure of a Leader#Notes

Main article: The Prince's Pursuit#Notes

Main article: A Change of Command#Notes

Main article: Call of the Packmaster#Notes

Main article: The Soul of the Horde#Notes

Main article: Secrets of the First Empire#Notes

Main article: I Need a Champion#Notes

Main article: The Thunder Forge#Notes

Main article: Spirit of the Storm Lord#Notes

Main article: The Crown of Heaven#Notes

Main article: Echoes of the Titans#Notes

Main article: Heart of the Thunder King (quest)#Notes

Main article: Celestial Blessings#Notes

Main article: Cloak of Virtue#Notes

Main article: Preparing to Strike#Notes

Main article: A Timeless Discovery#Notes

Main article: A Pandaren Legend#Notes

Main article: Judgment of the Black Prince#Notes

Pre-90

<The Black Prince looks you up and down.>

It is very good to meet you, <class>. You are one of the vanguard, it would seem - an explorer in a strange new land. And how have you been finding the mysterious continent of Pandaria?

You have the look of someone who gets things done. I want you to return to me once you've gotten the lay of the land.

I will be right here.

Level 90

Welcome, <class>! My contacts throughout Pandaria tell me that you have been quite busy here. I admire mortals with your... 'initiative.'

History finds us at a turning point. If you are prepared to meet destiny with me head on, I will ensure that you are richly rewarded for your efforts.

 Who are you?

I have chosen the name "Wrathion." To my knowledge, I am the last of the black dragons.

My father was Deathwing, the Worldbreaker, the Aspect of Death, the Destroyer... But I hope you will not hold that against me.

I have no love for my father, whose corruption destroyed my race, or for the red dragonflight, who stole away and experimented on my egg to create me.

Let's just say, I am... unaffiliated. And I am always on the lookout for like-minded heroes.

Battle for Azeroth

This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

The Black Prince in the Chamber of Heart.

Gossip

Black Empire Campaign

Guard your mind. N'Zoth's influene is insidious in its subtlety.

 I would like to exchange my Coalescing Visions and Corrupted Mementos.

Later

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

 Wrathion I would like you to create a  [Vessel of Horrific Visions]. (200 [Coalescing Visions])

Not enough

You do not have enough Coalescing Visions for me to create a new vessel.

 Do you know anything about the Horrific Vision essences?

Yes I have the  [Luminous Azerite Geode], Resplendent Warden's Badge, and the Ward of Unimaginable Brilliance and am keeping them safe. Have you found all of the previous ranks of the essence? If you have and you can prove yourself capable of clearing all the threats in both the Horrific Visions of Stormwind and Orgrimmar with the strain of 5 Faceless Masks I feel I could then entrust the essences to you.

Conversation with Ebyssian

Spiritwalker Ebonhorn says: Wrathion. How did you know that I had begun to hear N'Zoth's whispers?

Wrathion says: One of my agents was watching over you. I knew that if you left the protection of Highmountain, you would become... vulnerable.

Spiritwalker Ebonhorn says: I did not realize you had such personal concern for my well-being.

Wrathion says: Of course. You are my brother. The only one I have.

Within Ny'alotha, the Waking City

Defeat this monstrosity

 Send me back.

After N'Zoth is slain

 <What lies next for you, Wrathion?>

Wrathion says: The Old Gods have been vanquished, yet they were only one threat to Azeroth. Many others loom on the horizon and lurk in the shadows.

Wrathion says: Know that from this day forth, the black dragonflight will honor its ancient charge and stand in defense of our world... along with its champions.

Heritage

While Wrathion refers to Deathwing as his father, this claim is dubious, since Sinestra was previously established as the only dragon to survive mating with him after he succumbed to corruption. When asked about Wrathion's lineage, Dave Kosak confirmed the theory that Deathwing isn't Wrathion's literal father, and tweeted the following:

"We don't know who Wrathion's literal father is. Certainly he's in Deathwing's lineage. He considers DW to be his father, FWIW."

"Wrathion likely took the "Prince" title himself, claiming to be the "true" heir of Deathwing."

While Wrathion's mother is clearly Nyxondra, the identity of his father is unclear. Neltharion/Deathwing is the leader of the black dragonflight and as such is likely seen as the father of the entire flight (which could be why he refers to Deathwing's actions and why the legendary daggers are named Fangs of the Father). As there is no real shortage of other named (and unnamed) male black dragons, Wrathion's actual father could have been any of them.

The Ultimate Visual Guide lists Wrathion as Deathwing's son and as Onyxia's and Nefarian's half-sibling.

Kosak later stated that Nyxondra was Onyxia's sister and tweeted out the following:

"It's kinda kooky, but Wrathion's mother Nyxondra was Onyxia's sister... so... Yeah black dragons are freaky."

"You guys are right, Deathwing isn't technically Wrathion's direct biological father."

This would mean that Deathwing is Wrathion's grandfather, not his father. This would also make Onyxia and Nefarian his aunt and uncle, respectively. This also corresponds with Wrathion's own words when he called Onyxia his auntie.

Oddly enough, an official page stated that Wrathion is a child of Deathwing, and War Crimes mentions Wrathion being sired by Deathwing. However, Wrathion was not technically sired by another black dragon, his egg was artificially created by the Eye of the Watchers which magically combined the purified matter of one of Nyxondra's eggs with another wild black dragon egg of unknown parentage and a black whelp corpse. Annual 2015 also lists Deathwing as Wrathion's father.

In Ultimate Visual Guide, Updated and Expanded, all mentions of Wrathion being related to Deathwing and his children are removed. In Wrathion's entry, Nyxondra is listed as his only known relative.

Due to these contradictions, Wrathion's heritage was subject to much debate, with different sources giving different ideas as to how Wrathion fits into Deathwing's family tree.

In Battle for Azeroth, there are still references of calling Deathwing his father.

Dave Kosak on Wrathion

During an interview with WoW Insider in 2012 Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak talked about Wrathion:

When we had written that questline in the Badlands there, we knew that this would be a cool story thread to pick up some day. But if you really think about how long it would take a dragon to mature and start developing his own thoughts, it'd be a long time. Like decades. And we didn't really have time for that! So I said well, OK -- if we ask people to buy into this one thing, that because of these experiments he can have some self-awareness early on, wow - what an interesting character that is!

All of a sudden he's so compelling. Because let's see, his father was crazy and tried to destroy the world, his mother was basically raped by the red dragonflight, then his egg was experimented on to sever his ties with his own family - so how do you view the world at that point? Well, you don't really view the world as a friendly place. You're probably eager to take control of your own destiny, which he does, even before he hatches. And then you kind of have this thing to atone for - your father tried to destroy the world. Your father went crazy. Are you crazy? How do you not be crazy, how do you make up for what your father did. Suddenly he's such a cool character! I really want to explore that character. We kind of went nuts with it. So we kind of asked people -- well if you can already buy in to the idea that he hatched from his egg and already started hatching schemes, then there's a whole cool story that can come from that. And we really rolled with it.

That was kind of the genesis of that character. His value to the franchise is he really can kind of stand above Alliance and Horde, and really try and be a good guy, but without all the moral reservations that most good guys have. He really does have the best interests of Azeroth in mind, but his interests may not necessarily line up with our interests. His plan may not be the way that we would think of planning it. That kind of gray area between hero and villain is so cool for us, very cool to explore. And you're never sure whether you should trust him or not. It helps that we got a wonderful voice actor who really gets that across. He gets that kind of, that air of arrogance and also a little bit of smarminess. You know, like you like him, but don't trust him at the same time. Wonderful, wonderful characterization.

In Hearthstone

This section contains information exclusive to Hearthstone and is considered non-canon.

Wrathion in Hearthstone.

Wrathion appears as a legendary card in the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion for Hearthstone. Despite being a black dragon, his Hearthstone card lacks the Dragon minion type due to him using his human guise, a fact that is referenced by his flavor text:"Wrathion, son of Deathwing, is a dragon. Why isn't he tagged as a dragon, you ask? WHAT, ARE YOU TRYING TO BLOW HIS COVER??"

Notes and trivia

• Wrathion is one of the only dragons in the game the players have seen in all three forms of a dragon's life. Having been introduced as a whelp, Wrathion was a drake by the time of Ny'alotha. And while a phantasm, Wrathion, the Black Emperor, shows a potential version of Wrathion as a dragon.
  • He shares this distinction with Tarecgosa, though canonic depictions of her only appear through  [Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest]'s drake form, and her normal dragon form. Unlike Wrathion, where all three forms are encountered in a story perspective,  [Lil' Tarecgosa] is only a pet.
• Wrathion has had several unique models. His original incarnation was as a young adult human male and featured dragonscale attire topped by a turban. His second appearance expanded upon this, abandoning the turban for long flowing hair. As a dragon, Wrathion was not given a unique model (his whelp model was the standard one) until he was given his drake form. A depiction of him as a corrupted dragon was also given for the Ny'alotha raid.
  • Notably, his second human form depiction uses the blood elf male animations instead of the human male ones as his previous incarnation did.
• By the time of the trial of Garrosh Hellscream, Wrathion was about the size of a large dog in his dragon form.
• Wrathion and Deathwing briefly appear in  [90] Gods and Monsters, a story told by Lorewalker Cho.
• In some ways, the Burning Legion's massive third invasion was ultimately Wrathion's fault. The invasion only occurred thanks to the alternate Gul'dan discovering and being sent to Azeroth, neither of which would have happened had Wrathion left Garrosh in prison. While the Legion would have returned regardless, Wrathion's manipulations cost Azeroth numerous lives against the Iron Horde, Primals, Breakers, and other enemies; all lives who could've been better spent fighting the Legion. Anduin echoes this view in Battle for Azeroth.
• Wrathion is voiced by Aaron Phillips.
• A number of fans pair him with Anduin Wrynn. In response, Christie Golden tweeted "their relationship is only good friends."
• In the Legion alpha, Wrathion was in Highmountain disguised as Spiritwalker Ebonhorn, and at the end of his questline he gathered time-lost black dragon eggs to raise new, uncorrupted black dragons. In later builds he was replaced as Ebonhorn by Ebyssian and the questline was rewritten, mainly because it made little sense for Wrathion to have become a trusted sage of the Highmountain tauren in such a short amount of time. Wrathion was based at the Obsidian Overlook, along with several characters from the Tavern in the Mists.
• During the Battle for Azeroth demo at BlizzCon 2017, Wrathion could be found at the Stormwind Embassy. By the time the patch 7.3.5 PTR started, adding the embassy to the city, he had been removed.
• His bodyguards, Left and Right, might be inspired by the twin guardsmen of Olenna Tyrell from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, who refers to her protectors as "Left" and "Right" since she cannot tell them apart. In the Witcher universe, the dragon Villentretenmerth also had the habit of being protected by two female human bodyguards that he referred to as "his weapons".

Gallery

• 

  Wrathion promotional image set at Ravenholdt Manor.

• 

  Wrathion and Deathwing in Lorewalker Cho's story.

• 

  Medivh and Wrathion in the Caverns of Time.

• 

  Concept art of Wrathion's Battle for Azeroth model.

Fan art

• 

  By Lyanis Arts.

Videos

• Wrathion's story part 1
• Wrathion's story part 2
• Wrathion's story part 3
• Wrathion's story part 4
• The Story of Wrathion

Patch changes

• Patch 8.2.5 (2019-09-24): Model updated.
  
• Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Added in Pandaria in the Tavern in the Mists in the Veiled Stair.
  
• Patch 4.3.0 (2011-11-29): Added.
  

See also

• Fangs of the Father
• Wrathion's Recorded Journal
• Image of Wrathion
• Image of Wrathion (Throne of Thunder)
• I am Legendary
• TCG card

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB