The night elf was born before the War of the Ancients, a conflict that erupted over 10,000 years prior to the Third War, when the chaotic Burning Legion first invaded Azeroth, attracted by the magical Well of Eternity. Driven by his thirst for power and his desire to impress
Tyrande Whisperwind, Illidan made a pact with the Legion to secure the entrance of its leader, Sargeras, into Azeroth, largely by the energy of the Well of Eternity; this act earned Illidan the nickname of "Betrayer". The efforts of Malfurion Stormrage, Illidan's twin brother, disrupted the Legion's plot, with Illidan himself turning to his side and assisting in the demons' defeat. After recreating the destroyed Well of Eternity, Illidan was imprisoned for thousands of years. During the Third War, Tyrande released Illidan from millennia of imprisonment, hoping that the Betrayer would redeem himself by battling a returned Burning Legion. Though Illidan fought to defend his people, he soon slipped into darkness; after absorbing the energies of the demonic Skull of Gul'dan, Illidan became a demon, an act for which he was banished by Malfurion. Fleeing the wrath of the night elves, the twice-condemned Illidan allied himself once again with the only entity that would accept him—the Legion. Illidan's demonic masters sent him to destroy the Lich King, who had broken free of their influence, but Illidan failed to do so. To protect himself from the Legion's vengeance, Illidan hid on Outland, a destroyed world that he would seek to rule with the help of a few fellow Legion members-turned-outcasts. Illidan is a raid boss and the primary antagonist to the
World of Warcraft expansion
The Burning Crusade. He was slain by Maiev Shadowsong, his former jailer turned prisoner, in a coup d'état initiated by Akama and player adventurers. Illidan was featured in flashback quests in the two expansion packs immediately following
The Burning Crusade. In
Wrath of the Lich King, the player plays the role of Arthas in his duel with Illidan outside Icecrown Citadel (from the end of
The Frozen Throne); in
Cataclysm, the player takes the role of Illidan himself in the Felwood, claiming the Skull of Gul'dan and killing the demon Tichondrius (from
Reign of Chaos). He also appears in the Well of Eternity dungeon released later in
Cataclysm, where the players travel back in time 10,000 years to the end of the War of the Ancients. Illidan returns in
Legion, the sixth expansion to
World of Warcraft. A teaser cinematic shows Gul'dan from the
alternate Draenor (shown in
Warlords of Draenor) discovering Illidan's corpse encased in a crystal prison in the Vault of the Wardens. He appears briefly in cinematic cutscenes during the Demon Hunter introduction storyline (the first half of which begins shortly before Illidan's death in
The Burning Crusade), sending his acolytes to a world called Mardum to retrieve a demonic artifact, the Sargerite Keystone, that would allow his forces to attack any world held by the Burning Legion. The Demon Hunters succeed and return to Outland, only to find Illidan has been slain; the Hunters are consequently imprisoned with Illidan's corpse in the Vault of the Wardens. A questline playable by all classes involves the naaru, crystalline beings that embody the Holy Light, seeking to resurrect Illidan as the chosen champion against the Legion. The player takes the role of Illidan during certain climactic battles in his past, including his death at the Black Temple. After Gul'dan's defeat, Illidan is freed from a crystal that Gul'dan had attempted to manipulate; Illidan then kills Gul'dan and challenges the players to join him in defeating the Burning Legion. Illidan is also involved in the final battle against Kil'jaeden aboard his Legion command ship in orbit of Argus, the former homeworld of the Draenei race. When Kil'jaeden is defeated, Illidan uses the Sargerite Keystone (reclaimed by Demon Hunter players in the Vault of the Wardens dungeon) to open a rift back to Azeroth, but the rift remains open, causing Argus to appear in the skies above. After arriving on Argus aboard the Draenei vessel, the
Vindicaar, fighting off the Legion's initial attack and meeting up with Turalyon and Xe'ra's Army of the Light (to which Turalyon belongs), Illidan is brought before the Prime Naaru, Xe'ra. Xe'ra offers Illidan a chance to be reborn as a champion of the Light, the Naaru's Chosen One, but Illidan refuses, saying that his scars and his sacrifices make him who he is. Xe'ra restrains Illidan and attempts to force the Light upon him, but Illidan breaks free and destroys Xe'ra, angering Turalyon. He strikes at Illidan, but Illidan catches Turalyon's blade, stating there can be no chosen one for only they can save themselves. During the cinematic following the defeat of Argus the Unmaker, the last boss of Antorus: The Burning Throne, Illidan elects to remain behind with the resurrected titan Pantheon to act as Sargeras' jailer, saying that all he had done in his life had led up to that moment, to face Sargeras one last time. As Sargeras is pulled away from Azeroth, Illidan is last seen with blades in hand, standing before Sargeras' throne in the Seat of the Pantheon. He leaves behind a message crystal explaining his decision to Tyrande and Malfurion, as well as a final message to the player character, leaving Azeroth's future in their hands.
World of Warcraft: Illidan In the novel
World of Warcraft: Illidan, written by
William King and published by
Del Ray Books in April 2017, more details are revealed about Illidan's intentions than was revealed in
The Burning Crusade game. The book's main story covers the time from six months before Illidan is slain by the
WoW player characters until Illidan's demise. It covers the buildup of the Demon Hunter forces and Illidan's plans on how to defeat the Burning Legion.
Heroes of the Storm Illidan appears as a
playable character in the
crossover MOBA game
Heroes of the Storm. He is a melee assassin hero, which trait reduces
cooldowns of all his abilities by one second and heals him whenever he uses basic attacks. He also has the ability to move quickly to and jump over his foes, as well as to evade enemy basic attacks for short period of time. Illidan is a mobile, sustained damage assassin with very fast basic attacks and several "gap closers", who pairs well with heroes that can enable him. "Metamorphosis" is one of the two heroic abilities which transform Illidan into "demon form" at the target location. "The Hunt" is the second heroic ability which enables Illidan to charge to target unit, dealing damage on impact and stunning it. A talent upgrade, called "Demonic Form", allows Illidan to permanently remain in his "demon form", making him even more powerful by increasing his attack speed and reducing the duration of disabling effects.
Other appearances Like many other prominent
Warcraft characters, Illidan also appears as a collectible card in the game
Hearthstone. Additionally, he also appears as an opponent the player must defeat in the tutorial phase of the game. Illidan also became the first hero character of
Hearthstones tenth class, the Demon Hunter, introduced in the April 2020 expansion,
Ashes of Outland. == Reception ==