Summary
World of Warcraftis seemingly adding Lord Ibelin Redmoore, the player character ofThe Remarkable Life of Ibelinsubject Mats Steen, as an NPC in Patch 11.1. Though the details are currently unclear, fans will likely be able to find this heartfelt tribute to the moving documentary in the nextWorld of Warcraftupdate.
Patch 11.1 is the first major content update forWorld of Warcraft: The War Within, which promises new adventures in the Goblin capital city of Undermine. The patch does not yet have a release date, but theschedule forWorld of Warcraft’s ongoing Turbulent Timeways eventsuggests it may arrive on or around February 25.
However, at least one new NPC likely coming in the update has nothing to do with Undermine. Lord Ibelin Redmoore is a new NPCmodel fans discovered in the files forWorld of WarcraftPatch 11.1, a character who shares the name and appearance of the avatar used by Mats Steen, the lateWorld of Warcraftplayer who is the subject ofThe Remarkable Life of Ibelin. Though he passed from complications due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2014 before theWarlords of Draenorcharacter model update, his avatar shares the higher-fidelity appearance used in the documentary.
Lord Ibelin Redmoore NPC in World of Warcraft Patch 11.1
Steen, through Ibelin, was a well-known roleplayer and member of a guild called Starlight. The new NPC carries the title of Private Investigator, an homage to the character’s career as a detective who operated around Stormwind. Through this persona, Ibelin was known for striking up interactions with many of his fellow fans.
At present, it remains to be seen exactly what this in-game tribute will look like. Some players have theorized that Ibelin might wander about the taverns in Stormwind where he frequented, or that perhaps he will run around the route Steen was known to take daily: from Stormwind through Westfall, Duskwood, the Redridge Mountains, and then back through Elwynn Forest. Assuming he isadded inWorld of WarcraftPatch 11.1, and not in a later update, fans will not have to wait long to find out, as he may even appear in a build of the Public Test Realm months before then.
This will technically be the third tribute to Ibelin withinWorld of Warcraftright now. The first is a recreation of his real-life grave on an islet in Crystal Lake in Elwynn Forest, and the second is theReven fox pet and backpackWorld of Warcraftrecently sold in a charity bundleto support CureDuchenne. Given the number of hearts Steen’s story touched, it is no surprise to seeWorld of Warcraftmemorialize the beloved player in multiple ways.
World of Warcraft: The War Within
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In this opening chapter of The Worldsoul Saga, you’ll journey through never-before-seen subterranean worlds filled with hidden wonders and lurking perils, down to the dark depths of the Nerubian empire, where the inscrutable Harbinger of the Void has gathered her arachnid forces to bring Azeroth to its knees.
