Tomorrow we begin to learn if we've overthought everything.

[Blayze]

The thing is, everyone looks at the datamining and thinks based on that, when Blizzard tell you things based on what they've officially announced.

The 'shocking swerve' or whatever is simply the fact that despite our best efforts, Azshara breaks the seal. That's it.

[Xar226]

Honestly, I personally am ok with the "obvious path," but I wonder what will happen with the speculation community when that happens HERE, when they've purposely been coy. Teldrassil (being "Just Sylvanas") was just a taste, really.

Nothing will happen, because the people who like to speculate will continue to like to speculate. For example, look at yourself speculating about how you might speculate in the future. It's obviously some part of who you are and it's not going to change just by virtue of not being happy with previous answers.

[Ophenia]

Waw, that cinematic was sure underwhelming.

[A Chozo]

Waw, that cinematic was sure underwhelming.

Yep.

But I'm glad with Azshara's fate. We need more antagonists, and she's a cool one.

[Harbour]

And we have already defeated her in 20 random people. Lame.

[Nerovar]

Lmao. Jebaited by Blizzard once again.

[socialmaker]

shittiest cinematic in wow lore, bleah

[Omedon]

Welp we've learned. Stop overthinking haha!

[Blayze]

Welp we've learned. Stop overthinking haha!

Blizzard would much rather people stopped thinking.

[Darknessvamp]

Yep.

But I'm glad with Azshara's fate. We need more antagonists, and she's a cool one.

An antagonist who constantly fails her plans, has her own people betray her/split off in separate groups all the time and literally the whole of patch 8.2 with her "I'm inviting you in" and "Oh lol you killed my generals, rad" is cool?

[A Chozo]

An antagonist who constantly fails her plans, has her own people betray her/split off in separate groups all the time and literally the whole of patch 8.2 with her "I'm inviting you in" and "Oh lol you killed my generals, rad" is cool?

Azshara and her Naga are like the Team Rocket of WoW.

They almost never truly win, but they are still cool antagonists.

[Omedon]

An antagonist who constantly fails her plans, has her own people betray her/split off in separate groups all the time and literally the whole of patch 8.2 with her "I'm inviting you in" and "Oh lol you killed my generals, rad" is cool?

The NPC villains exist to be defeated. That's like... a given.

[xStevooo]

To think i've played over 10 years and have never followed any of the story within the game, asides from some WOTLK cinematics xD literally have zero knowledge of any WoW lore.

[Darknessvamp]

Eh her plan was to set N'zoth free and be the queen of his empire. She succeeded and she is even alive for the followup.

Heck she'd have succeeded in the past as well if it wasn't for timetraveling redheads and their orc sidekicks!

Which is her most recent plan in a long line of unfulfilled plans and even that technically failed. The fact that N'Zoth is free now isn't because she succeeded but rather due to the writers just want him free even though it makes no sense as according to her own fight:
1) She doesn't get the Heart of Azeroth to finish the ritual to free him.
2) The wards on his prison don't end up being depleted.
3) Her ritual gets screwed up by the player.
Which is kinda my point, Azshara is meant to be this huge villainess and powerful sorceress but consistently gets beat/tricked/thwarted all the time. How exactly does that make her a cool antagonist?

Azshara and her Naga are like the Team Rocket of WoW.

They almost never truly win, but they are still cool antagonists.

They never win full stop. I mean the whole fact the Naga exist is because of Azshara failing super hard. I mean it's pretty apt to compare her to Team Rocket, she is as big a joke as they are.

The NPC villains exist to be defeated. That's like... a given.

Yeah no duh, but you can still have a competent and interesting villain that exists to be beaten. Azshara may have once been that right at her inception but now? After years of failure and the recent patch, she has been solidified as a big joke. Heck Deathwing is a more interesting villain at this point than Azshara and he literally flapped around Azeroth all his expansion till his Death.

[A Chozo]

They never win full stop.

The Naga... literally completed their main objective today. Their God is free.

Of course this is a game and we can't lose, but it was a gigantic victory for their Queen.

[Omedon]

The Naga... literally completed their main objective today. Their God is free.

Of course this is a game and we can't lose, but it was a gigantic victory for their Queen.

This is actually a really good point haha

[Darknessvamp]

The Naga... literally completed their main objective today. Their God is free.

Of course this is a game and we can't lose, but it was a gigantic victory for their Queen.

As I said to Nymrohd, Azshara's latest plan actually failed.
1) She doesn't get the Heart of Azeroth to finish the ritual to free him.
2) The wards on his prison don't end up being depleted.
3) Her ritual gets screwed up by the player.
The writers literally said "Fuck it, he's free because this thing went here." because they want him to be free to continue the story. Not because Azshara's plan succeeded. Does her face at any point during the cinematic look like someone who was victorious?

[Knaar]

There has been speculation on every single patch since wow exist, you really think it's going to somehow end here with this one patch? good luck.
See you soon in the next path speculaton thread.

[A Chozo]

As I said to Nymrohd, Azshara's latest plan actually failed.
1) She doesn't get the Heart of Azeroth to finish the ritual to free him.
2) The wards on his prison don't end up being depleted.
3) Her ritual gets screwed up by the player.
The writers literally said "Fuck it, he's free because this thing went here." because they want him to be free to continue the story. Not because Azshara's plan succeeded. Does her face at any point during the cinematic look like someone who was victorious?

Dude, please. The process to claim her victory got disturbed, but her victory is a fact. The Zoth is freed. The objective is complete.

You think she didn't want this? Why? Because she died in the proccess? Yeah, I would have made that face if somehow the Champion of Azeroth, an mutated Vrykul and a nonroyal-elf-made-regent managed to kill me with peasant spellcraft and weaponry. Then I would make an even worse face if N'Zoth painfully and quick ressurected me and pulled me by my waist.

We are yet to see what's the true meaning of this victory for her - I personally think that N'Zoth will strap her to a big-ass chair and give her a t-shirt that reads "I R Queen" while he reigns supreme in a reborn Black Empire. But it was a victory.

[Tumile]

I follow a LOT of crazy speculations on where the BFA story is going and, you know... on the eve of the big eternal palace cinematic, I think it's clear that we're about to enter a phase of the story that will tell us just... how much we're meant to overthink it all.

They are being really coy, letting our imaginations run wild, and... if they go with the low hanging obvious fruit (which, again is VERY possible)... I have to think that that will deflate a lot of future speculation.

Teldrassil was... just Sylvanas. If 8.3 is "just N'Zoth" and the denouement of this expansion is "just Sylvanas dethroned" followed by "just faction unity" (which I personally want)... will we ever speculate to this end again?

They can only do this once, this "OOOOH MAYBE IT'S A SWERVE" where it's not (to this degree anyway)... and if it's not... maybe it won't be. Ever. swerves are risky and this is a publicly traded company.

I've seen so many crazy theories over the last year or so. Helya is playing Sylvanas is playing Azshara is playing N'Zoth is playing all of them. Someone ends up in the dagger and we cut a way to the shadowlands where Ny'Alotha awaits as a subrealm, or the earlier ones that involved Arator dying making Alleria go nuts and become an old god. And let's not forget "Chekov's gun" regarding Derek's dagger.

And yet... there's the "Just Sylvanas" sort of path that leads through Ny"Alotha to faction unity. As much as I'd be SO down with that... I'd also quash a lot of future speculation. It's always the obvious answer. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but... well I'm sure that's debatable.

you should... apply for those... crimi shows... where they do a long... pause... and then inserts The Who...