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HordeNathanos Marris
Image of Nathanos Marris
Title The Blightcaller, Champion of the Forsaken, Champion of the Banshee Queen, Hunter Trainer
Gender Male
Race Forsaken
Level 62 Elite
Class Dark ranger, Ranger, Hunter
Affiliation(s) The Horde, the Forsaken, formerly the Alliance of Lordaeron
Occupation Champion of the Banshee Queen, former Ranger Lord of the Alliance
Location War Quarter, Undercity
Status Alive
Mentor(s) Sylvanas Windrunner
Amidst our ranks, there are few with more dedication or vigor. - Lady Sylvanas Windrunner[1]

Nathanos Blightcaller is a level 62 elite located in the War Quarter in the Undercity. He is the champion of the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken. Despite being marked as a hunter trainer, he does not actually provide training, but will help hunters unlearn their talents.

Biography

Early history

In life, Nathanos Marris was the first and last of the human ranger lords, trained by the high elves in the ways of war. He was a disciple of Sylvanas Windrunner, formerly Ranger-General of Quel'Thalas and now the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken.[2] Nathanos's accomplishments were unprecedented. He was a tactical genius, responsible for Alliance victories spanning a decade of conflict.[3]

When the Scourge came, he defended himself at his house, but the mighty abomination Ramstein the Gorger slew him. Nathanos became a mindless servant of the Lich King until he was freed by the Banshee Queen. He took the name Blightcaller and was given the title Champion of the Forsaken.[4]

Eastern Plaguelands

Nathanos later resided at the Marris Stead in the Eastern Plaguelands with his pet blighthounds. There he recruited Horde soldiers to fight against corrupted animals (such as plaguebats), the Scourge, and the Scarlet Crusaders of Tyr's Hand.

His presence was discovered by the Alliance after five of the best SI:7 agents are sent to investigate the Marris farmstead. Four never returned, and the fifth made it back to Stormwind only to end up dead in his sleep three days later.[5]

Once it was determined that Nathanos is the Blightcaller, King Varian Wrynn enlists Alliance adventurers to gather an army and destroy him. Nathanos, however, managed to survive this.

Cataclysm

Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Nathanos will be absent from the Eastern Plaguelands in Cataclysm. The quest Heroes of Darrowshire refers to him as the "former occupant" of the Marris Stead, and many of his quests are now given by other NPCs in the zone. He has been relocated to the Undercity where he will let hunters train and unlearn their talents.

Former Purpose

Horde

Nathanos was involved in the following quests:

Alliance

His death was the objective of the quest A [62 Raid] Order Must Be Restored.

One strategy was to take Nathanos down as fast as possible, whilst reducing the aggro on weaker party members. This enabled the group to at least complete the quest, or gain honor under the Honor system for the kill, while all the party were (still) alive.

You needed at least 8 people in a raid group at lower levels, with a main and off-tank.

Focus on Nathanos himself and take him down as fast as possible. He can be taken down in a minute or so, at which point no more skeletons will be added. The Blighthounds will not do any serious damage until he is down. Deal with them second, and the skeletons third.

Avoid healing as 2-4 skeletons are attracted to the healer. This includes direct heals, heal over time spells, Warlock's drain spells, bandages, potions, pet heals, and life stealing enchants. Rather than heal, run; stop fighting to reduce threat (trinkets etc with Spirit bonuses are useful here) and heal normally; or let your tanks do the healing to attract aggro back.

It was easy to solo him at level 80, especially if you are a tank.

Trivia

  • Despite his extremely poor treatment of the player, often referring to him or her as "imbecile" and numerous variations thereof, Nathanos has become a popular character in the franchise and his return to the Undercity has been largely met with affection. This is perhaps due to fond memories of vanilla Warcraft, where Nathanos was a force to be reckoned with and Horde players would often defend the powerful Blightcaller from the Alliance.
  • When talked to in-game, Nathanos says he survived the attempts on his life by playing possum.

Speculation

  • Nathanos seems to hold something of a close kinship with Lady Sylvanas. While ferocious loyalty to their Queen is not uncommon within the Forsaken, the bond between Nathanos and Sylvanas predates their undeath. During Nathanos' time as one of her disciples, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider grew frustrated with the notion of a human gaining the knowledge of the elven rangers, and had on at least one occasion demanded Sylvanas banish him from the order. She flatly denied her Prince's request.
    • Nathanos appears to be rather protective of this aspect of his past, and gladly had his one time allies killed to keep it hidden. Prior to gaining his freedom from the Scourge, Nathanos admits to having "somehow known" that "she" would come for him. To this day, the Banshee Queen and her champion speak highly (and arguably, affectionately) of one another, though whether this is respect in both life and death for close allies, or perhaps something more like her two sisters pursued, will likely never be known. Regardless, the relationship between Sylvanas and Nathanos has become a fan-favourite, due in part to their tragic circumstances.
  • Halduron Brightwing also mentions that Sylvanas and Nathanos had a certain connection, and that she was always "championing" him.[6]

Images

References

External links

Template:Undead

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