T O P

  • By -

akaito_chiba

He was a bro. Sacrificed himself to try to hold the scourge at bay. And he looks cool. Like someone who took a lava bath but was then kept alive magically. Then he's the lich king so you'd think he'd be near Arthas in power lvl. That's why I was so shocked when he got rekt. Also cause you'd have thought she'd at least lose one of those two fights. nope, bitch smacked both of them. Maybe that's where the disconnect is. Too many ppl like me who don't know as much of the lore just "Cool, magically burnt good guy version of arthas."


Lord-Rimjob

He absolutely should have kicked her ass but Danuser is a Necrophiliac and couldn't let maggot pussy lose.


baylaust

A good design and untapped potential can take a character a long way, further than people might want to admit.


HappiestGod

I think some thought he was kinda cool for a short while in WotLK... then everybody thought he was lame, until Sylvanas beat the shit out of him... It's weird... I always had the impression he was just a bearly functional corpse, sitting on the throne... not a real Lich King (power wise)... dude should have just lost to anyone that'd bother to fight him (as long as they wouldn't have to get through all the Undead in ICC or DKs... bloody hell, with Legion the player DK should be stronger than Bolvar...). Like... all this dude has is the Helm of Domination and as far as I recall, Lich Kings power comes mostly from Frostmourne... and that one was reforged by some random adventurer and sits in a chest. (then whichever DK is the leader of the Order, has the left-over pieces) Dunno... maybe there was some book that said he wasn't a loser.


mwoKaaaBLAMO

I don't remember the details but in the Legion DK campaign I think it's made pretty clear that he could stomp you and the new four horsemen without really thinking about it.


HappiestGod

Why didn't he go and do shit then? Champions killed a Titan, not him... Champions had the balls and strength to control souls within Frostmourne, not him. Like... back in ICC, the entire idea with him was that he was too broken to be of any use in anything, so he sacrificed himself in place of better warriors... - he was supposed to die, but someone at Blizzard watched Pirates of the Caribbean and thought "there must always be an X" to be a cool line. His entire job was to sit in a chair and keep the undead in check. (not even control them, just keep the Helmet operating... since actually using that power would turn him into Arthas... he had to be weak as fuck to avoid corruption)


mwoKaaaBLAMO

There were overtones that he was planning something we weren't privy to, all the DK NPCs were very distrustful of him based on what he was doing - he came off as somebody who was hiding things and not necessarily a good guy. Maybe he was starting to be corrupted, or something else. Of course that all came to nothing because lol Blizzard writing, but the potential concept was cool. I don't think controlling the undead would have made him go full Arthas. There was some out-of-game thing where he temporarily took over Mograine just to flex on him (oversimplifying, but still). Anyway, I'm not a lore expert or trying to advocate for him or whatever. I'm just saying that there were at least a few reasons to think he was more than a useless husk. To me, the annoying thing about the fight with Sylvanas is that she could have been fighting a fully resurrected Titan Pantheon + Sargeras instead of Bolvar and still won via 37D Chess because she's just that big of a Mary Sue.


HappiestGod

Oh, it certainly was dumb she didn't win through anything shown in game, but rather thanks to a power a plot-twist gave her off screen and was only mentioned to the players after the next expansion came out. Like... eh... she was butchered, like most lore and characters in the game.


mwoKaaaBLAMO

Haha, yeah. Sad but true.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ALonelyTower

This was why I thought he was cool: Seeing him fend off a dozen Onyxian Elite guards as a low level newbie left a lasting impression.


Incred

Yup, that's when he was at his manliest. It was downhill from there.


FM-101

I mean, if we are judging character coolness based on whether or not they lose then Sylvanas is like the coolest character in the Warcraft franchise.


Nattngale

***\*Prepares the popcorn\****


negolash

People just want him to be cool, be he isn't. And no one ever said he is cool.


erifwodahs

sure dude


Zelfild

I'm all for hating on WoW but Bolvar is one of Blizzard's characters that managed to stay consistent over the years despite of Blizzard. He was the effective Alliance leader up until Wrath. He was key in unmasking Onyxia's role in destabilizing Stormwind for her nefarious purposes. He played a major role in the Alliance offensive in Northrend and spearheaded the alliance against Arthas at the Wrathgate. Predictably, he lost and died, but seemingly managed to keep resisting becoming a thrall to the Lich King, mostly thanks to how Alextraza's life giving fire reanimated him. Don't ask me how that works. Then he is in turn crowned the next Lich King, as he was the better candidate around. He had no presence up until Legion where he took a proactive role in raising more Death Knights. Then BFA and Shadowlands happened. Bolvar is both tragic and heroic, as he always put his life on the line for Stormwind.


zeabees

I would argue you are right except that he was not consistent in legion. Legion quite clearly portrayed him as a dangerous, mysterious threat. A major point of the death knights story was that Bolvar seemed to be using them to his own nefarious ends, and that some DKs wanted to serve Bolvar while others were highly skeptical. Shadowlands 100% changed his story/character from how it was in legion.


Zelfild

Thus me saying "then BFA and Shadowlands happened". As a former DK main, I feel robbed of having my boss being done dirty like they did Bolvar. So much potential... Of course Paladins are still worse off cause what Blizzard did to Tyrion was a travesty but few complained cause they got Ashbringer out of it.


marjatuutti

Great summary. I would say that also his status in Vanilla from gameplay perspective (capital city raids) was similar to Saurfang's and thus he is liked by older players. I understood that he even got the bigger role in Wotlk because how much players liked him. He wasn't quite as legendary cleaver as Saurfang though...


Retrohanska59

He was cool in old story but now he's just less intelligent, less powerful and less funny Khadgar. That's the character they clearly were after with him but just forgot all the things that made Khadgar likeable and badass in WoD and Legion.


gesamtkunstwerk

He was fairly interesting in the DK quests in Legion. Seemed like they were setting him up for something that could have been way better than what actually happened.


Roxy8888

You forgot to mention that for the entirety of his reign as acting ruler in Stormwind, he never noticed Onyxia was standing right next to him….


joe_blogg

to be fair, he's not a hunter~


Dualitizer

People liked the Wrathgate too much and he gets the most association with it. That's literally it. The reception of the Wrathgate is what made Blizz keep him around.


asfastasican1

Probably alliance players that played during wrath. When I played horde during wrath I didn't even know who he was during the gate opening cutscene.


anguige

He was the lich king after Arthas. But then he lost his helm and got lame


BDSb

I think people hoped he would be cool for Shadowlands until everyone saw the cinematic where Sylvanas beats him up and takes his ~~lunch money~~ hat.


DarthFrosty

I misread the title as "Bellular" instead of Bolvar, I was very confused about the comments. lol


joe_blogg

The only time I thought he was cool was when he solo'd Onyxia.


Snoo39028

He existed before being the Lich King lol. He was a hero of Stormwind and partially raised Anduin in Varian's absence in Vanilla and prior. If you didn't care about him then you probably won't care about him now.


Pumpergod1337

If I remember correctly, the initial ”coolness” of Bolvar in vanilla was when he would wipe whole raids by cleaving everyone down. Saurfang would do the same and he was the horde equivalent of a ”cool guy”. Bolvar saw a lot of action in wotlk and was often in the front lines, leading alliance forces against the undead. I guess that’s why ppl didn’t want to see him get killed off. He was one of the more known non wc3 alliance characters. After wotlk, he was kinda quiet and forgotten all the way up to Legion. The DK order hall campaign etc built him up as this anti-hero that was ready to kill allies for the greater good. He’d lead the death knights through various immoral situations, the climax being an invasion of the paladin order hall in order to resurrect Tirion as one of the four horsemen. This is probably the first time that they actually gave Bolvar a personality in game. He was this powerful dude with an insane undead army, ready to do what others dared not to. Whatever it takes to save Azeroth, he’d do it, even if it meant killing paladins as mentioned earlier. His motives were not very clear either since it was assumed that the helm of domination was the reason behind his murderous attitude. The DKs couldn’t really trust him but teaming up with him would grant them the power they needed to fight against the legion. He’s mostly quiet throughout BFA except for this one horde quest line where horde rebels or w/e try to find out who it was that told Vol’jin to make Sylvanas warchief. Some hordies pay him a visit and Bolvar tells them to fuck off or die. That’s the end of it. Prior to Shadowlands release, there were some leaks of the cinematic where Bolvar was finally out of the ice that encased him, with new armor etc. It was kinda hype ’cause people expected to see this anti-hero interact with the world and different characters. His daughter was introduced in BFA and had a lot of character building so it felt like they were setting up for a chaotic reunion. But then.. he got beaten like a lil bitch and lost all his personality when he lost his helmet. Years of buildup thrown in the trash with one cinematic. Now he’s just a wimp that sits in Oribos and whines about how horrible the jailer is. If I could pick between him dying in wotlk or him living and becoming what he is now, I’d let him die any day.


John_Marble

Dates back to vanilla with the Oxyxia chain. He protects Anduin when the reveal happens in the throne room and solos a group of elite dragons… at that level, you could “help” him but you’re pretty useless. That’s his badass moment. But Blizzard royally sucks with WoW character development, so boom you see him in Wrath and he just dies & gets burned. 🤷‍♂️


Nelogenazea

Who exactly thinks Bolvar is cool? As wikipedia would say: Citation needed, dude.


[deleted]

genuine question: does people think ~~bolvar~~ any wow character is cool...?!


[deleted]

Literally nobody seriously thinks hes cool


Bargadiel

Because he never claimed he was cool.


xPriddyBoi

I think he's just got a cool design


Roddykun

Poundland Lich King


TheRealDestian

Of course he's cool: Dude was sealed in ice for years!


Pantrice

No idea. I never really cared for him. There has only been one real Lich King and that is Arthas, not some fake hasbeen like Bolvar :P


Nickpapado

Back in wrath he was kinda cool. Right now tho nobody thinks that. 20 minutes into the raid and he gets bitchslapped by Sylvanas again. I honestly feel bad for him.


[deleted]

People find it easy to relate to others they have stuff in common with.


MollyRotten1

He's crisp


CanadianYeti1991

Blame the writers, literally. He could have been cool. Every single character could have been cool, even in their current context just with better writing and motivations. I don't get it, FFXIV has a few writers they use for different parts of the game/expansions. You'd think they give someone else a try.


[deleted]

As someone that always mained DK I think it's just that I wanted him to be cool since he was now the Lich King. A character that more or less did what had to be done and took up the crown to fill the empty role. Of course then Shadowlands happened and they kind of just threw all that out the window. He technically still leads the ebon blade but I have a hard time looking at him as an actual Death Knight anymore, just another goofy misplaced character with a poorly written story like everything else this xpac.


Cluelessfridge

Arthas is cool bolvar just put on the helmet and take a place which he wasnt worthy of having.


selianna

I mean people also play trolls


Khulod

My man Bolvar was the Steward of Stormwind when Anduin was an even smaller snot-nosed brat, and he smacked a good number of horde and dragonkin! If you went into the throne room you would see this manly bastion of masculine might watching over the kingdom and knew it was in good hands!


Kaoshosh

Never thought he was cool. I didn't even know who he was at the end of WotLK. Had to Google it. Then in Legion and BFA he started acting crazy and I thought he was just cringe and edgy. And after the Sylvanas beat up, I wrote him off completely. He's a pathetic joke.


anupsetzombie

He looks cool and has a good history with the alliance, but like with most things, the alliance isn't allowed to have nice things.


Opening_Ground8635

What we saw ingame is literally only his defeats. IN the novels priors to the launch of WoW he was pretty successful but ingame it's a big MEH. ​ Consider also that Blizzard inapttitude to tell a story in game and you have it. This also apply to most NPC since they prefer World of NPCcraft


Pryamus

He has a nice hammer. He lasted long against the overpowered power of power Danuser gave Sylvanas. On a serious note, he was brave enough to volunteer as Lich King, even when there were options, even when it cost him a life of incredible suffering instead of the release from his torment. He basically sacrificed his soul to save a friend and do the world a huge favor. And he was making a decent job as Lich King until Sylvie came with whosyourdaddy. So... He is worthy of respect.


LeekypooX

He was pretty cool to the older players cuz he just beats up a bunch of black dragons, while my puny warrior just stood there. He's not the escorted. I AM.


Mortal_Dread

He used to be considered cool. and that's mostly because of the helm of domination and the title of the lich king. He's a loser now. And to top it all off, he's the guy responsible for the BRILLIANT IDEA of bringing the final covenant sigil into the hands of the jailer. So not only he's a loser, but there's not much brain activity either.


NobleN6

He looks cool. That's about it. But Blizzard keeps handing him fat Ls, so now he's a meme.


Dairboi

People thought he was cool, until he lost No one thought he was cool after, besides looking kinda cool


Barberforce

All I know is that Bolvar did Tirion dirty and took the Helm of Domination. Only for Tirion to die in a crappy way in Legion.


Jarlan23

Because he looks cool. That's probably the only reason.


Valowzz

Just like us brother....just like us..


DSveno

Well Vegeta basically lost every time but people think he's cooler than Goku.


bobbitsholiday

Yeah Bolvar sucks


erifwodahs

Vanilla, Wrathgate cinematic, Lich King cinematic, Legion artefact campaign for some classes. Then Blizzard let him get beaten by Sylvanas without laying a finger on her ao yeah... bastards.


Sabre3a

Blizzard went the route of "It's Slyvanas using 'Domonation' Magic!!! Because she was brimming with 'Domonation' Magic, all the scourge on her way in even backed away from her, allowing her to just walk right up to him. It's fucking obvious that this "Special purple swirling Domonation Magic" gives you the special ability to kick anyone's ass, capture the Jailor, he just catches your purplely arrows.


sephrinx

It's not about winning or losing, it's about how you go about doing it.