[Theory] Retaking Gilneas will lead us into The Dark Below.

[Deleted]

I think you're the one who misunderstood him. His entire point is that he doesn't really have an answer, because one of the 'dirty secrets' they hold is that they put little 'hooks' around the zones which could lead in to future story lines if they need them... or they can be ignored entirely and never touched upon again, if they never get used. I think it's safe to say Tirisfal is one of the latter.

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the entire Gilneas thing will just be Blizzard pandering to the Alliance playerbase to try to give them a 'fist pump' moment and give the Gilneas story arc some sort of conclusion.

Honestly, Draenei and Worgen do deserve a bit of story, they've had next to none.

I would love to have Gilneas be our intro to the next expac.

[Voidgazer]

Don't know about you, but I get the impression, that Yogg's puzzle-box tells not of an ordinary forest, with trees and all, like we're all used to.
But instead "the black forest" is actually a forest of some sort of difigured fungi or poisonous polyps on the bottom of the sea.

And regarding OP's theory, it's reeeeally stretched and unlikely.

[CosmicGuitars]

How is it safe to say the Tirisfal hook will not be used? What argument do you have to say that?

Because there has been no indication it will be used thus far, and Dave Kosak's answer was surprisingly informative, rather than simply being dismissive or vague in an attempt to keep up the facade.

It may be utilized in the future, but at this point, I'm not holding out for it.

[Redpanda]

dark below was a hoax

[Deleted]

Don't know about you, but I get the impression, that Yogg's puzzle-box tells not of an ordinary forest, with trees and all, like we're all used to.
But instead "the black forest" is actually a forest of some sort of difigured fungi or poisonous polyps on the bottom of the sea.

And regarding OP's theory, it's reeeeally stretched and unlikely.

I don't see why it's more stretched than any other idea out there.

And I've, in my Azshara theory thread, said that The Black Forest might be one of dead coral etc. etc. near Ny'alotha.

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dark below was a hoax

It's all we have to go by for now.

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Because there has been no indication it will be used thus far, and Dave Kosak's answer was surprisingly informative, rather than simply being dismissive or vague in an attempt to keep up the facade.

It may be utilized in the future, but at this point, I'm not holding out for it.

We also have the Fae Dragon ritual happening in Tirisfall, which correlates to Druids.

Close together, these two zones.

[Gamevizier]

The stuff in the yogg-saron puzzle box doesn't have anything to do with Gilneas. Gilneas doesn't need to be retaken. It just needs to be made habitable, which requires neutralising Forsaken Blight. Because it's a BG, it's map location offering no gameplay value, it's safe to say Gilneas will only be "inhabited" once more in a novel or short story, unless they decide to overhaul the world again.

Gilneas is Alliance controled lore-wise. the BG happens in the northwestern coasts of Gilneas between Gilneas and Silverpine. during the horde questline you see an agreement between Sylvanas and Darius after which Darius retreats into Gilneas and leaves Silverpine .

[Deleted]

Because there has been no indication it will be used thus far, and Dave Kosak's answer was surprisingly informative, rather than simply being dismissive or vague in an attempt to keep up the facade.

It may be utilized in the future, but at this point, I'm not holding out for it.

You are making no argument here. How often do we have indications that something will be used in the future?

[Deleted]

Hey guys, me again with another theory on what the next expansion is but...

Come on, hear me out.

Retaking Gilneas
So, Varian said we will focus on keeping Sylvanas contained and retaking Gilneas, how does this link to The Dark Below?

Well...

Remember Yogg's Puzzle box? Remember how it said stuff about the bottom of the ocean? Yeah, my Azshara theory still holds to this, but now we can complete the picture with the following.

Remember it saying;
The silent, sleeping, staring houses in the backwoods always dream. It would be merciful to tear them down.
There is a little lamb lost in dark woods.
Look around. They will all betray you. Flee screaming into the black forest.
The giant rook watches from the dead trees. Nothing breathes beneath his shadow.

Just a bit south of Gilneas City and north of Stormglen Village lies The Blackwald.

"Blackwald" is a combination of the word "black" and the German word "wald", meaning forest - hence, "black forest". Thus, it is likely a reference to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald in German) in southern Germany.
The village of Stormglen might be referred to as the houses in the backwoods.

Now what else is important; The original worgen, the Druids of the Scythe, lived in the Blackwald.
In the center of the Blackwald is Tal'Doren, which is identical to where the Druids locked away the first worgen in The Emerald Dream.

So, the next expansion will feature The Blackwald, Maybe corrupted Worgen, Naga's, Emerald Dream and such.
The Blackwald holds strong connections to The Emerald Dream, and is a black forest with lots of dead trees.

EDIT: We also know Tirisfall Glades is around the corner, and we know there's something buried below it.

Blackwald and Tirisfall might be in connection to eachother underground or in the Emerald Dream or something.

Here's a picture of the Blackwald for anyone not convinced this is a very black forest with dead trees.

If you are right....hooooly shiiiiit

[Voidgazer]

Can old gods see into the future?

The Old Gods operate on a different scale than mortal (or immortal) races. They lived for eons, they long for freedom and they're patient. Old Gods' plans take thousands of years to come to fruition. And when they do, it might seem like if it was an ancient prophecy becoming real, a supernatural insight into the future or maybe even luck. But in reality it was just the result of cold calculation of their alien minds.

[Deleted]

You are making no argument here. How often do we have indications that something will be used in the future?

There are a ton of "hooks" some will be used, some will not.

Although the Tirisfall hook, the Fae dragon ritual hook in Tirisfall and Blackwald correlation all kind of link together, I think Emerald Dream Expansion is upon us.

3 hooks which possibly link together.

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The Old Gods operate on a different scale than mortal (or immortal) races. They lived for eons, they long for freedom and they're patient. Old Gods' plans take thousands of years to come to fruition. And when they do, it might seem like if it was an ancient prophecy becoming real, a supernatural insight into the future or maybe even luck. But in reality it was just the result of cold calculation of their alien minds.

Don't forget they're a bit pompuous aswell.

"I am Death" yada yada, we stopped you, stop mumbling Yoggy.

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If you are right....hooooly shiiiiit

I know, right!?

[Lynneiah]

Because there has been no indication it will be used thus far, and Dave Kosak's answer was surprisingly informative, rather than simply being dismissive or vague in an attempt to keep up the facade.

It may be utilized in the future, but at this point, I'm not holding out for it.

That doesn't mean there's 'nothing' down there. In fact, there very much is something. What that means is that we might never know what that something is.

[anisadora]

I know I am missing something. When did Varian say we're retaking Gilneas?

[Lynneiah]

I know I am missing something. When did Varian say we're retaking Gilneas?

After you defeat Garrosh and get the cinematic, you can talk to him. That's when he says he wants to get rid of the plague in Gilneas and contain Sylvanas.

[anisadora]

After you defeat Garrosh and get the cinematic, you can talk to him. That's when he says he wants to get rid of the plague in Gilneas and contain Sylvanas.

ooo, awesome. I kept hearing that he was saying that, but I didnt see it in the cinematic. So I wondered.

I saw a thread somehwere about the Dark Below getting a finishing trademark. Was that one a hoax as well, or just the fiurst time? when i had heard it, it sounded like a double fake it. they acted like theywere doing it as a hoax and after that blew over ,did it for real?

[Deleted]

ooo, awesome. I kept hearing that he was saying that, but I didnt see it in the cinematic. So I wondered.

I saw a thread somehwere about the Dark Below getting a finishing trademark. Was that one a hoax as well, or just the fiurst time? when i had heard it, it sounded like a double fake it. they acted like theywere doing it as a hoax and after that blew over ,did it for real?

No clue, I stopped following that thread, but it's pretty much the only name we've gotten for the next expansion so I used it so people can recognize.

[CosmicGuitars]

ooo, awesome. I kept hearing that he was saying that, but I didnt see it in the cinematic. So I wondered.

I saw a thread somehwere about the Dark Below getting a finishing trademark. Was that one a hoax as well, or just the fiurst time? when i had heard it, it sounded like a double fake it. they acted like theywere doing it as a hoax and after that blew over ,did it for real?

That second trademark was removed from the european trademark database, and has not re-emerged since.

There's a reason that the "The Dark Below" thread died.

[Lynneiah]

ooo, awesome. I kept hearing that he was saying that, but I didnt see it in the cinematic. So I wondered.

I saw a thread somehwere about the Dark Below getting a finishing trademark. Was that one a hoax as well, or just the fiurst time? when i had heard it, it sounded like a double fake it. they acted like theywere doing it as a hoax and after that blew over ,did it for real?

To be fair, I don't think it's wise to assume it's a hoax OR it is real until Blizz anounces their next xpac. It could be a hoax, it could also be Blizzard trying to cover up and make us think it's a hoax.
Wouldn't be the first time rumours of an xpac started circulating, and getting called a hoax, only to end up being true after all. It would in fact, I believe, be the fifth time.

[Deleted]

To be fair, I don't think it's wise to assume it's a hoax OR it is real until Blizz anounces their next xpac. It could be a hoax, it could also be Blizzard trying to cover up and make us think it's a hoax.
Wouldn't be the first time rumours of an xpac started circulating, and getting called a hoax, only to end up being true after all. It would in fact, I believe, be the fifth time.

Do you have a hammer on you?

[Deleted]

OP might be kinda right. I remember that Gilneas was supposed to have an island zone where would your character investigate increased naga activity, where they were supposed to look for something.

[Voidgazer]

"I am Death" yada yada, we stopped you, stop mumbling Yoggy.

Actually I really didn't like how they implemented Yogg-Saron in this regard.
Old Gods should speak or "yell" in the game chat. Such eldritch abominations shouldn't really speak, but project their thoughts into players' minds. In other words EXACTLY WHAT C'THUN DID.
I'm glad they returned to whisper emotes with the Heart of Y'shaarj. Although't it's not like it has a mounth, unlike Yogg, like someone noted before.