Blizzard Trademarks "The Dark Below" - WoW or D3 Expansion?

[Taeloria]

There's several possibilities here, and I'm not sure which one is accurate. One thing though, is that all we know about next week is the announcement is Diablo related. It could be as simple as revealing the PS4/potential Xbox 1 versions. They may be holding the expansion till Blizzcon, they may not. I don't have the info.

Also, I don't think it's entirely right to rule out a quick WoW teaser or even formal announcement of the expansion at Gamescon either. It's really possible they could announce both expansions in succession.

Blizzard has a lot of cleaning up to do after the Diablo 3 launch fiasco and a large, globally watched stage could be the perfect opportunity for them to try an win back a lot of the fans they lost during the past year. Announcing the D3 expansion with a lot of "we listened and fixed this stuff" would be key to that. Considering that many of the producers and devs have already stated that always-on and Ah/RMAH was a mistake, but it's not as simple a solution as flipping the switch immediately, an Expansion would be the perfect opportunity for them to correct the issues, including adding an offline mode and total removal of the RMAH. Considering most of the people quit/boycotted Blizzard after launch and would most likely not pay any attention whatsoever to Blizzcon then Gamescon is the perfect place to make the Diablo name appositive thing again. Thats why we could see the expansion, but then again it's Blizzard who hasn't exactly been smart recently so who knows.

I'm still certain we will also see something WoW related next week too. If Blizzard is serious and wants to keep to releasing expansions faster and since the common assumption is March/April 2014 for that to be a reality, I can realistically see a trailer and some small tidbits with a "please look forward to Blizzcon" wrapping it up then an announcement during a panel at Blizzcon ending with an "oh by the way we're opening up beta servers next week." considering the subscriber dive in the past year I think Blizzard may use the advantage of a bigger audience watching Gamescon while also teasing more info, if for no other reason than to sell more virtual ticket passes. This could be an attempt to bring back people who have lost faith in WoW and could motivate them to actually pay attention to November.

As for "The Dark Below" I'm leaning toward WoW as I would like to see something different and new in D3 over a repeat trip to hell, I'd actually like to see a crazed Imperius as the main villain over Adria or hopefully not a "look Diablo's returned....again!" storyline. I know the writing is about at the level of a Disney Channel cartoon, but I'm Hoping they make things a bit more interesting this go around.

[Alhoon]

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/reaper-of-souls/

Background image:

http://us.battle.net/d3/static/images/teaser-page/d3x_teaser-en-us.jpg

Well, there we have it. The Dark Below is WoW expansion.

[Woakerio]

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/reaper-of-souls/

Background image:

http://us.battle.net/d3/static/images/teaser-page/d3x_teaser-en-us.jpg

Well, there we have it. The Dark Below is WoW expansion.

'Reaper of Souls' the D3 title...sounds legit. A maelstrom-themed WoW xpack could be 1337

[EvilHakik]

'Reaper of Souls' the D3 title...sounds legit. A maelstrom-themed WoW xpack could be 1337

Diablo 2 xpac was "Lord of destruction" , "Reaper Of Souls" definatly sounds like a d3 xpac

[Divine Path]

I have a feeling it refers to WOW expansion 5, as in World of Warcraft: The Dark Below. If this is the case, then it seems they are moving in a good direction for the game, away from all this fluffy Panda stuff. I just hope they don't make the entire new zone Vashj'ir-esque - always hated questing in that area.

[ZenX]

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/reaper-of-souls/

Background image:

http://us.battle.net/d3/static/images/teaser-page/d3x_teaser-en-us.jpg

Well, there we have it. The Dark Below is WoW expansion.

Exactly this.

So basically what is coming our way is:
World of Warcraft: The Dark Below, Azshara-N'zoth-Aze'roth as the antagonists in order
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, Malthael - The wisdom who turned to death. (Guess it will be Malthael in D3X1 and Imperiues in D3X2 as the antagonist)

[thejuiceboxbandit]

Remember Throne of Tides, and the final boss was a giant octopus looking thing named Ozumat that you got to feel all high and mighty DPSing?
wowhead npc=44566
His title is <Fiend of the Dark Below>.
Mystery solved.

[Woakerio]

Diablo 2 xpac was "Lord of destruction" , "Reaper Of Souls" definatly sounds like a d3 xpac

Agreed, incoming murlocs as a playable race!


New player models + 4th spec if anything imo

[Tierbook]

Exactly this.

So basically what is coming our way is:
World of Warcraft: The Dark Below, Azshara-N'zoth-Aze'roth as the antagonists in order
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, Malthael - The wisdom who turned to death. (Guess it will be Malthael in D3X1 and Imperiues in D3X2 as the antagonist)

who is Aze'roth?

[Wheezing]

'The Dark Below' could be the new name of Titan? I know Titan still has a long way to go but maybe they are trademarking it now.

[Tierbook]

'The Dark Below' could be the new name of Titan? I know Titan still has a long way to go but maybe they are trademarking it now.

odd name for a stand alone mmo..... also they basically restarted Titan from the ground up and are a few years from launching

[Sills]

Sometimes i am really glad when I am wrong. I thought for sure it would be a D3 expansion but it looks like D3 will be Reaper of Souls. That only leaves one game for The Dark Below: WoW!

I am quite thrilled. I look forward to punching Azshara in the face and staring down more Old Gods. Should be fun! All of those people who complained that Pandaria would be too light...well get ready for some dark.

[Ethas]

If they will announce everything on Gamescom, nothing will be left for Blizzcon, right?

[goltnum9]

Why Azhara ? The Dark Below is the place where demons and infernals live, and sorcerers take their power from....

[RaoBurning]

Why Azhara ? The Dark Below is the place where demons and infernals live, and sorcerers take their power from....

From WoWpedia:

RPG

The Dark Below is a place inhabited by demons, devils and infernal creatures, from where some sorcerers take their power directly and sometimes have a patron beast to foster their magic.

RPG materials are considered non-canon, so that point is settled. The only other significant mention of it is Ozumat's title - as has been pointed out a thousand times already, I'm sure. Ozumat being Azshara's lackey makes it a perfect thematic link.

I honestly don't know how any of you thought this would be a D3 title.

[ZenX]

who is Aze'roth?

It is rather a speculation drawn from Lovecraft's work that the old gods were based on. In Lovecraft mythos there is a being named the Azathoth an eldritch deity outside the universe whose the ancestor to other elder gods.

In this family tree, Azathoth is positioned as a primordial being, and the sole parent of Nyarlathotep, the Nameless Mist and Darkness. Through these beings, Azathoth is the direct ancestor of Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, Cthulhu, Tsathoggua and many other deities.

C'thun is based on Cthulhu,
Yogg-saron is based Shub-Niggurath,
Y'shaarj is based on Nyarlathotep,
N'zoth is based on Yog-Sothoth

So within the context of WoW, it is speculated that the planet Azeroth is a titan prison built around the entity Aze'roth whose manifestations are the Old Gods and over the years the Old Gods have seeped-deep into the crust of Azeroth almost fusing with it. Hence, their destruction would mean the destruction of the crust of the planet which would lead into the releasing of Aze'roth etc.

[goltnum9]

RPG materials are considered non-canon, so that point is settled.
I honestly don't know how any of you thought this would be a D3 title.

So in a MMO R P G game RPG materials are considered non-canon. Haha. ty that made my day.
I dont think anyone now thinks that its a D3 title. But this could mention also Demons and Dark Legion theme...Where is Tomb of Sargeras and Broken Isles? hmmmm

[Poutinecrazed]

There's still hope for Legion....just maybe, something like this

"We always thought the Legion would come from the stars, but they came from deep beneath the ocean"
(I may have been sarcastic)

[MontezEJ]

Alright, that leaves this question; What new class / race / both, will be apart of this new expansion?

[Turgontheawesome]

Its probably WoW expansion. In the throne of the tides the last boss is Ozumat <Fiend of the Dark Below>.