next patch will be...

[Al Gorefiend]

A patch that leads us back to mainland Azeroth, maybe the Pandaren waving goodbye as our ships sail. Gameplay wise wouldn't make a difference, but lore wise it gives closure to the storyline that our factions' main heroes who were on Pandaria returned to mainland Azeroth. Maybe that was already accomplished in SoO, so maybe Garrosh trial and Anduin freeing him after a pity story of only trying to please his father.

[Kuja]

I want to believe

[Kylols]

Before a new expansion (well after the announcement of it), there has always been a patch that brings all the new game systems (talent overhauls etc) onto live and is basically the whole expansion except for the new continent / level cap. This patch is usually the first of the new number iteration, for mop it would be 6.0. They also usually have world events leading up to the expansion.

Basically, looking at the history of how they have always done it, 5.5 will be a major (non-raid) pandaria storyline patch. 5.5 and 6.0 will both be after the major reveal at blizzcon next month, so neither need to subtly foreshadow the expansion or give "hints".

[Deleted]

Simple intro patch to the next expansion. Might have a lot to do with Pandaria, might not. It's not important, since it'll focus at the new expansion.

[Sageofthe10paths]

5.5 patch will be the trial of Garrosh Hellscream. He is put on trial and sentenced to eternal imprisonment beneath Pandaria. How ever upon the restoration of the waters from the vale the whispers of Y'Shaarj traveled through to water to the bottom of the sea, awaking a great long forgotten evil, N'Zoth! N'Zoth who created the Naga and Faceless ones dispatches an Army to Pandaria's shores to break out Garrosh and grant him the same gifts he granted Queen Azshara!

3 new heroic scenarios, preview of lvl 100 talent tree, updated map, and the finale of Pandaria and the fate of Garrosh Hellscream!

[Deleted]

In general that's how blizz has done it in the past, save the long winded stuff that can't be explained without reading for questing, and keep transitional action for end bosses and epic raids. Keeps things more exciting. Hard to have an epic 19g 28s.

yea and abandon lot of stories untold and a lot of NPC as a relic of previous patches :P thats how blizz works

[Caerule]

The new developer interview calls it a patch 5.4.1. This likely means they are not planning to add real content. All they mention is adding a newly improved Refer-a-friend system that's ingame and more dynamic. They might not even add anything else. Maybe they will, but they make no mention of it. I guess we'll hear at Blizzcon...

[Airwaves]

Post-pandaria started in 5.3...

[Deleted]

As long as there are no mogu / mantids or undead i am happy. Rather fight snails in ToT

[Azgraal]

Kael'thas is coming back yet again, this time he knows karate!

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I agree with this. 5.5 is going to wrap up the end of the events of 5.4 and SoO- 6.0 is going to be the pre-expansion patch. It's possible that 5.5 will have some sort of lead-in or hints about the next expansion, but I would bet that the focus is going to be on concluding 5.4 and SoO.

I don't think there's anything to wrap up from MoP. 5.4 did a good job of ending the Sha storyline, the War storyline, and provided us 3 different epilogues to the expansion (the cinematic, the scene with Shao Hao, and Wrathion's epilogue).

If anything 5.5 will be wrapping up Varian's "unfinished business" AKA Operation: W.O.R.G.

[Auberdeen]

wow 5.5 "the return of the king" Magni will unfreeze warning of the dark terrors below which he has seen in his nightmares.

YES THIS, PLEASE!!! i'm horde and have been horde for 8 years, but would LOVE to see some heavy duty alliance lore tbh.

i wanna see the dwarves shine badly...

tbh it might be Garrosh's trial and some lead in old god stuff which would be SICK!!!

[Azgraal]

wow 5.5 "the return of the king" Magni will unfreeze warning of the dark terrors below which he has seen in his nightmares.

"Un-diamond the King!"

Oh how i'd giggle like a schoolgirl if dwarves became the Alliance's lore flagship for the new expansion. And this comes from a die hard human warlock.

[Teebone]

I would accept nothing less than at least one Phoenix Wright parody during Garrosh's trial.

[rcshaggy]

YES THIS, PLEASE!!! i'm horde and have been horde for 8 years, but would LOVE to see some heavy duty alliance lore tbh.

i wanna see the dwarves shine badly...

tbh it might be Garrosh's trial and some lead in old god stuff which would be SICK!!!

I really want Magni to return and its all like where have I been all my life , and he keeps the crystal shell as a power form he gets and becomes the New King under the Mountain.

For the patch itself;
They can do the Trail of the Hellscream, fix around the wall in after time to complete it and both Horde, Alliance, and the Pandaren and their allies rebuild the large wall. The Brewery will have a update and Chen and his family will take over the place and even have Yalia there and her family there to.
The Mogu go into hiding into their holdings and block them off and the Zanadarli go back to their home and try to rebuild what is left of their ruined home.
The corruption of the Vale starts to heal itself over time and the Sha influence all over Pandaria starts to fade away, and a elite group of the loyal and trusted races of Pandaria form a newly Golden Lotus full of Pandaren, Jinyu, Yaungol, Hozen, and Saurok (VERY RARE to see any good ones).
The Horde and Alliance forces will still have their holdings in the land for past players, but the Wilds will stay the same for people wanting to do all the quests and what not for it.

Regardless I was hoping to fix and complete some certain storylines to.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

YES THIS, PLEASE!!! i'm horde and have been horde for 8 years, but would LOVE to see some heavy duty alliance lore tbh.

i wanna see the dwarves shine badly...

tbh it might be Garrosh's trial and some lead in old god stuff which would be SICK!!!

Actually, that could be a great tie-in to an Azshara expansion. Since Magni was petrified to commune with the elements pre-Cata, he could sense something involving Neptulon's power.

[dexx]

The next patch will be 5.4.1

[TheWindWalker]

I don't think there's anything to wrap up from MoP. 5.4 did a good job of ending the Sha storyline, the War storyline, and provided us 3 different epilogues to the expansion (the cinematic, the scene with Shao Hao, and Wrathion's epilogue).

If anything 5.5 will be wrapping up Varian's "unfinished business" AKA Operation: W.O.R.G.

Did you forget Garrosh's trial? Literally the most important thing and most likely to happen within this expansion. The Gilneas stuff almost certainly won't happen before the next expansion unless it's cut down into simply being a scenario,a few quests and an updated BG.

[Kuja]

The next patch will be 5.4.1

Think the op means next bigger patch, a content patch.

[The Flavour Cat]

I want to believe

I hope not! For a patch name, that's ridiculous. And there's no space which makes it sound like an alliance ship. A bad one. One that was launched on a Friday.