Although we don’t know definitively know the source yet, it seems likely that Gorehowl, Might of the Warchief will be a drop from the Time-Lost Battlefield encounter in the Dawn of the Infinites mega-dungeon, which challenges Alliance players to face off against Grommash Hellscream and specifically mentions his using the weapon, while members of the Horde challenge Anduin Lothar instead. The encounter journal has yet to list any drops, so it’s unclear if both versions will drop the weapon, though cross-faction groups should still be able to experience both versions of the encounter regardless.
Grommash Hellscream commands the Forces of the Horde in an infinite battle against the Forces of the Alliance. With Gorehowl in hand, Grommash cleaves his foes, rallies his troops, and exercises skill at slaying enemies.
Gorehowl was first added to the game as a drop from Karazhan’s Prince Malchezaar in The Burning Crusade, though its history stretches back as far as Grommash himself. While the weapon was not specifically named during his appearances in Warcraft II or Warcraft III, its likeness could be seen in the Reign of Chaos Orc campaign cinematic, in which Grommash heroically used the weapon to defeat Mannoroth. The now non-canon Warcraft RPG sourcebook Shadows & Light published in 2004 described the weapon for the first time:
Shadows & Light
Grom Hellscream’s axe has a heavy blade that is notched and stained, with sharp, wicked curves. Small holes dot the blade near the handle; when the wielder swings the axe, air whistles through these holes. The sound keens over the battlefield, magically strengthened and imbued with otherworldly power. Gorehowl is one of Azeroth’s most feared and notorious weapons.
Reimagined as Xal’atoh, Desecrated Image of Gorehowl during Siege of Orgrimmar, the original axe was once again featured in Warlords of Draenor cinematic, where it was used to defeat Mannoroth for a second time. The weapon also became a major part of the expansion’s marketing campaign, with larger than life versions seen smashing a taxi in New York City’s Times Square and showcased in Shanghai, as well as a “realistic” version forged by Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton in the premier episode of Azeroth Armory.
This new version of the axe was created by created by former Senior Blizzard Artist Eric Braddock in the lead up to Warlords of Draenor, and a potential legendary weapon version was even datamined during beta testing, though despite being highly anticipated throughout the expansion, the weapon was never made available to players.
The many versions of Gorehowl.
Although it may have taken an extra nine years for this update to make it into the game, Gorehowl remains an incredibly popular weapon and piece of Warcraft history, and so it is incredibly exciting to finally get our hands on the HD version of the iconic Orcish weapon.
