The Lightforged Draenei

“Give me a hundred Lightforged. Barring that, a thousand regular troops”. That, in a sentence, explains the value of the Lightforged Draenei. Their story is not told in great detail in-game, but what is shown is daunting.

When the Naaru rescued the draenei from their world as the Legion assumed control, the great dimensional ship split into two vessels. One, carrying the civilians, children, and other non-combatants fled into space seeking new worlds to settle. These refugees would go on to become the draenei that joined the Alliance.

The other ship, housing the surviving army and magical users who had fled Argus, were taken and forged into a force used to strike at the very heart of the Burning Legion, the Army of the Light. These draenei were put through a ritual to make them confront their own internal darkness, and the few who survived this ordeal found themselves changed. Lightforged draenei who survive the trial have paler, alabaster skin, compared to their kin, and their eyes glow with a burning golden light. It’s as if the Light itself courses through them. They fight with an unwavering resolve to cut down the enemies of the Light.

This strike force, led by the Naaru, would spend millennia striking demon world after demon world. Time works differently in the Great Beyond between worlds. Less than 30 years have passed since the disappearance of Alleria and Turalyon. But for them, fighting as part of the Army of the Light, and moving from world to world, it’s been more than 1,000 years. If 30 years can feel that long for Alleria and Turalyon, imagine how long some of the oldest Lightforged have been fighting, having left their world more than 13,000 years ago. It’s been an eternity of war for the Lightforged.

As the events of Legion unfold, the Horde and Alliance fight alongside the Army of the Light to finally lay siege to the Legion’s capital world; the draenei homeworld of Argus. Finally, the draenei and Lightforged return home to confront and defeat the horror that befell them millennia ago. In the aftermath, Turalyon negotiated to have the Army of the Light be brought into the Alliance. Turalyon was loyal to the Alliance still after so long, and the Lightforged naturally sought to reunite with their draenei compatriots after so many thousands of years apart. 

During the Fourth War, the Lightforged would prove their value to the Alliance. They would deploy their forces into Drustvar, in Kul Tiras, to help defend against the Horde’s assault there. There they would utilize much of the technology they had used against the Legion, from portable shield generators, to Light-powered tanks and warframes.

When the Alliance planned it’s strike on the Zandalari troll capital, Zul’dazar, a suicide mission was required. The Alliance forces struck deep into the swamps of Naz’mir to draw the Horde and Zandalari armies away from the city. As the Allied forces withdrew through portals, a small expedition was left behind on what was essentially a suicide mission to fight to the last and keep the Horde busy while the Alliance and Kul Tiran fleets struck Zul’dazar by sea from the south.

The commander who volunteered to lead the suicide mission was a Lightforged blademaster named Telaamon. Without fear or hesitation he offered to die so that the attack could succeed. When asked if he was afraid by Jaina Proudmoore, he told her he had been fighting for longer than her entire family line had existed, as he was one of the draenei soldiers who initially fled Argus, and that so much war has left him without fear. He also noted that he saw what power hungry people can do to their world, referencing the eredar and Argus, and that he didn’t want to see Azeroth suffer the same fate at the hands of Sylvanas and her followers.

The Lightforged now stand as defenders not just of the Alliance and its peoples, but of Azeroth, their new home.

Lightforged draenei can play as warriors, paladins, death knights, hunters, mages, and priests.

Lightforged racial abilities are tied to their long history of waging war on the Legion and their dedication to the Light.

1. Light’s Judgment. Every 2.5 minutes, a Lightforged draenei can cll down an orbital strike from their ship, the Vindicaar, doing damage to their target and all hostels within 5 yards.

2. Forge of Light. Millennia of mobile warfare and battlefield improvisation allows the Lightforged to summon an anvil of pure light to use for blacksmithing, in addition, they start blacksmithing with 10 skill points rather than 1.

3. Demonbane. Lightforged draenei’s primary focus has been killing demons for thousands of years. They gain 20% extra experience from killing demons.

4. Light’s Reckoning. When a Lighforged draenei dies, they explode in a burst of light, dealing damage to all enemies within 8 yards as well as healing all allies.

5. Holy Resistance. The Light courses through Lightforged draenei, they are constantly exposed to holy energies, giving them 1% less damage taken from Holy sources.

Lightforged draenei are great if you want to play a holy crusader, a faith-infused “space marine” sort of character, or even the tragic hero who's seen only endless war. So if you choose to walk the path of the Lightforged, dioniss aca!