Originally Posted by
Kaiseravatar
Okay; first time posting in here, but I feel like I've sifted through dozens of these threads, and over half of this one in particular; which admittedly has been the most organized and successful. I'm at AK9 and will be 10 approximately 5 hours after this post; so the things I've done today I will be doing again tomorrow (Where applicable) just to see if anything comes of that.
First off - What we know:
1. We know that only Frost Death Knights get to find the Memories of Arthas. There are four of them, one in each leveling zone of the expansion, and each one has a unique piece of text that may or may not be related to the HAA.
2. We know that there is a hidden objective (Achievement, Quest, not really pertinent anymore) for Kneeling in front of the throne in the ruins above UC.
3. There is a script to check if you have completed this objective; I believe it's on one of the earlier pages (15-30ish?) of this thread.
4. Blizzard has made some tongue-in-cheek commentary on social media about the ocean; absolutely no mention of whether it's pertinent to this search, but it's out there.
Secondly - What's been reported (But Unconfirmed to my best knowledge):
1. It's been reported that people who have done the kneeling, but have not spoken with all four memories; did NOT complete the objective.
Thirdly - Theories based on this Knowledge:
1. The Kneeling objective "requires" you to have spoken with all four Memories of Arthas. And while I've seen mention of people data-mining for counters for each of them, I've never seen any mention of anyone looking for "One Collective" counter for all four. Seems like it's possible we've overlooked that.
2. Based on the previous assumption; I believe we have fulfilled the "All initial Triggers for HAAs are in the Broken Isles" caveat, and can begin looking into older content for objectives to further the search.
3. Personally I lean more towards the Quotes from the Memories than the Vrykul Runeworker theory; though I wouldn't be surprised to find it as a combination of the two due to Arthas having used Vrykul extensively during WoTLK.
4. While a lot of the evidence leading to extensive searches of Shadowmoon Burial grounds (Both overworld and instance versions) is compelling; I find it hard to believe that Blizzard would take the time and trouble of sending us right back into content we just left behind. Therefore until new evidence arises I personally am disregarding that particular line of reasoning.
Lastly - What I have personally done and anything out of the ordinary I've found
1. ICC at AK9; absolutely nothing of note except noticing that it appears they've managed to switch Tirion's on-click dialogue with his new options from the Ashbringer Scenario.
2. Scholomance at AK9; Absolutely nothing of note.
3. I have toyed with searching the area near the "middle" of the Memories including; searching the moon guard ruins for caves that lead underground in the proper direction, scouring pretty much all of the peak and caves near Ironhoof Enclave. (Can't post links, but g y a z o c o m/f4a958e40bf689dc7970e21449ecbc11 for a basic paint picture. The player arrows are at each Memory location, and then I just drew some basic MSpaint lines to find the "Center".)
4. I've checked Auchindoun in Outland; including both Mana Tombs and Auchenai Crypts; as a reference to the quote from Azsuna about spirits and shades. Nothing of note in any of these places.
5. I've checked Oshu'gun for the same reasons as #4. Nothing of note.
6. I've checked Hrothgar's Landing in Northern Icecrown (bet a lot of you forgot about that didn't you?) due to Blizzard's Tongue-in-cheek comments about the Ocean, and the presence of Vrykul Npcs. And the fact that with the phasing there is a bit of argument that it could be slightly "lost to time" which is referenced on the Runes of Darkening. Nothing of Note.
7. I've checked the small hut on a nearby island that we were sent to in reference to finding out the identity of the Black Knight for the Argent Tournament; and stood in the rune circle at that location long enough to let the idle animation for the Twinblades to occur. Nothing of note.
8. I've scouted a huge chunk of the Ocean surrounding the Broken isles just on random chance based on Blizzard's social media stuff. Found nothing of note; couple toothless great whites, two of the three known salty krakens. I admit there is probably plenty that I haven't found in the ocean out there as I was not incredibly thorough at the time; if nothing pans out in the next couple days I will likely revisit and be more thorough one zone at a time.
9. Flew out to EPL Acherus and checked all around. Nothing of note.