Where Else Is There After Cataclysm?

[Ron Burgundy]

If Blizzard continues the 5 level can increase per expansion idea. I'm not sure if they could release 3 more expansions with enough content to get to level 100. If level 100 is they're goal of course.

[Chamass]

Therews still TONS and TONS of lore they can work out

[Oscassey]

You forget the villainest of the villains, Mal'Ganis.

[peaman]

You forget the villainest of the villains, Mal'Ganis.

I think quite a few people were disappointed to not see Mal'Ganis in this expansion (outside of CoT), so maybe Blizzard are indeed planning more for him

[Oscassey]

to not see Mal'Ganis in this expansion (outside of CoT

You have not done all the quests in Icecrown did you?

[Epiclurker]

Are we really sure that those little islands on the other side of the world are actually little? Cataclysm gives them plenty of room to expand all the land masses that are out of player's view. There is always the chance of them restoring outland and dealing with the Burning Legion again in an epic fight for it. Why fight for Dreanor so badly? The portals that tore the planet apart are still there. Perhaps one of them leads to the original Worgen home-world where the Lords of the Emerald Flame await us.

[Oscassey]

Are we really sure that those little islands on the other side of the world are actually little?

According to the globes in Halls of Lightning and Ulduar, there are three landmasses on Azeroth: Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdom and Northrend.

[DrNemesis]

Caverns of Time you say? Perhaps we can get some Time Gnomes going about in the game!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVk-QNhRk1U

Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind!

[Deleted]

It's Blizz' game world, they can do what they want with it, and have repeatedly proven so. They can retrofit stuff in, or they can let the world evolve like they do in Cata. The point is:

AS LONG AS THEY WILL MAKE A METRIC CRAPTON OF CASH FROM SELLING XPACS, NEW XPACS WILL COME

They can put a Pandaria continent on the "back" of the worl or pretty much anywahere. They can have us suddenly uncover depths and hidden zones (like they do with the Uldum zone in Cata, which was "magically hidden"). They can do ANYTHING, and they will, to keep the billions of dollars rolling.

As for "but we are running out of lore", this is also very naive. Blizz is clearly very proactively introducing new characters and villains for future xpacs. They can do so through the comics (Hello Med'an) or in-game (Garrosh anyone?). To say that these new villains and heroes don't mean anything to people is wrong for at least two reasons:

* Most people who play the game today (those 11,5 million) most likely never played WC3, hell most of them hadn't even left their diapers.

* Most people get fond of villains and heroes they meet in-game very quick. Garrosh already mentioned (introduced in TBC), but also they will talk nostalgically about any TBC/Vanilla heroes and villains (heck even Tier 7 is beginning to genereate nostalgia). These are already thought of as "old lore" by 99% of the game population. Not all of them are dead, especially not the heroes - and having a good guy go bad, so we can kill him as a boss is an old trick they will reuse over and over.

I am expecting to see at least 5 more expansions (that's 8-10 years of time - after that, who knows).

[peaman]

You have not done all the quests in Icecrown did you?

I just meant specifically in a raid environment really, rather than as a quest or dungeon that is easily missable

[Mem]

Levels 86-90 will be Maelstrom (giant whirlpool in between the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor). Will be responsible for the Naga siphoning enough magical energy from the core of Azeroth (yes beneath the oceans) to open a portal into the Emerald Dream (which will be the last expansion from 90-100).

Still got the time dragons and a possible eternal star dragon (spoiler) that helps to represent a fragile balance between realities and will help co-mingle the new StarCraft into WoW as far as lore and visitations and what not. This will all wrap up sometime in late 2020...(or whenever the current year in StarCraft is).

In the end, Blizzard will be filthy rich, and 20 million, caffeine-infused peoples of the world will only want more more more!

[Deleted]

If Blizzard continues the 5 level can increase per expansion idea. I'm not sure if they could release 3 more expansions with enough content to get to level 100. If level 100 is they're goal of course.

Why would they stop at level 100? I can't see anything magic about that number. Can you imagine a discussion at the Blizzard headquarters go:

"BOSS: So guys, it is time to start planning for the next xpac. Investors are getting restless, the stock is stagnant"
"DEVELOPER: Uhmmm... we aint gonna do another xpac"
"BOSS: ???"
"DEVELOPER: 100 levels is such a nice round number. We think it would be uncool to have people be level 105. Level 95 is cool, level 105 not so."
"BOSS: OK, if you say so, I'll just tell the shareholders that we've decided that making more money at the expense of level easthetics is out of the question"
"DEVELOPER: Awesome. See ya bro."

[Nzo]

World of Warcarft: New Vegas

Introducing: Hookers, blackjack, ion cannons, mutants.

on a more serious note: i know this will sound shocking, but they could you know MAKE A WHOLE NEW LORE SET

Edit: knowing blizzard they are probably already planing the next expansion or have begone to gather ideas from their devs/lore makers

[Tycho]

Definitely Emerald Dream, and they mentioned that even though we go to Vashj'ir in Cata, there's still a TON of naga stuff in the maelstrom we dont get to interact with so there's that.

..."naga stuff".

Naga are completely boring. SSC was way more than enough attention for them.

[Deleted]

Im to tired
to lazy
to uhm... tired?
to read all replies
So
Since they said they want more expansion before lvl 100 wow might end at lvl 100.
If we raise with 5 each exp it i'll say
80-85 - Cataclysm
85-90 - Most likely continue on the naga trail and the South Seas
90-95 - The emerald dream, fight whatever nightmare still infest it.
95-100 - Sargeras and/or the burning legion fortress in the twisting nether.
Yaaay, space rocket mounts

[Phaelix]

I think an expansion with the old gods/titans as the main focus would be a good idea. Granted, I'm not a lore junkie, but I don't know much about them just from the in-game perspective.

[Sleepless Dreams]

Levels 86-90 will be Maelstrom (giant whirlpool in between the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor).

How wrong you are, wait till the NDA lifts...

[GennGreymane]

the maelstrom
old god stuff
argus

[Boloney]

emerald dream should be the next xpack :O

[Epiclurker]

According to the globes in Halls of Lightning and Ulduar, there are three landmasses on Azeroth: Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdom and Northrend.

Don't go by those maps, they leave a lot out. We know for sure that the Pandarians are out there on a island somewhere. If you look at the names of the bodies of water shown on the player map, the two bodies on the sides of the map have different names. I see Brann remaking all maps after an epic journey around the world looking for Titan ruins.