So with 9.2.5 still unreleased does that mean 9.3 is February or march 2022?

[Nyel]

If the Janitor survives and carries over to 10.0, he'll be second fiddle to someone else.

Which would be hilarious to be honest. Denathrius or Sylvanas playing 4D chess and giving him the reverse uno card!

[Mr Crix]

Both are basically two sides of the same coin: one for a good practice and one for the exact opposite. In Garrosh' case, it was horribly done. In Gul'dan's case, it was executed very well.

I really,really dont want more of the jailer. I still have zero idea what his deal or goals are beyond vague notions...

Hell I'm still not sold on why the covenants are GOOD.

Necrolords is eternal war were they are continuously ripped apart.

Bastion is mind death essentially erasing a person.

Nightfae is being fed to gods so they can be reborn or having your essence fed to power artifacts.

The vamps flat out feed on suffering to either turn into vamps to feed on people or to toss the souls into another realm.

I have no idea why I'm helping or even fighting anyone in shadowlands.

[Varodoc]

Which would be hilarious to be honest. Denathrius or Sylvanas playing 4D chess and giving him the reverse uno card!

That horse died long ago, stop beating it

Since the next expansion will be about the Light and/or the Void, I guess it could be revealed that the Naaru were just using the Janitor for their own purposes. Remember:

"The Light has made a bargain with the Enemy of all [Janitor]"

And the Janitor's magic, the Domination magic, is suspiciously similar to the powers used by the Lightbound to dominate their enemies and take control of them in the name of the Naaru.

So it wouldn't surprise me if it was revealed down the line that the Janitor himself was also a mere puppet, who was being manipulated and influenced by the Light Lords and/or the Naaru. Maybe it was the Naaru/Light Lords who taught Janitor the arts of Domination magic, in ancient times. Maybe that was part of their bargain.

[Nyel]

I have no idea why I'm helping or even fighting anyone in shadowlands.

BeCAusE tHE machInE oF dEAtH iS bRokEN

Isn't that good enough of an explanation?

[Soon-TM]

Blizzard is more than likley to cancel 9.3 (And they have cancelled content before so dont think they wont) because Shadowlands right now is generating 0 hype and interest, they need a new Expansion, 9.2 will be the final patch and its pretty likley they'll move on quickly afterward, your likley going to see 10.0 around november 2022.

Not that there is a lot more to explore in the SL anyway. Furthermore, if 9.2 was to be the last patch, it would still be neater than what they did in WoD, when the end didn't make any sense whatsoever.

[Combatbutler]

Not that there is a lot more to explore in the SL anyway. Furthermore, if 9.2 was to be the last patch, it would still be neater than what they did in WoD, when the end didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Just you wait for the Screecher going on about the freedom of the shadowlands.

[Nelle]

9.2 better have some Arthas redemption. I mean, the amount of eggs in Jainas ovaries diminish every single day.

We are getting very close to last call on that front, won't be long before the chance of having small princes and princesses running around in the halls of Lorderaon have vanished completely.

[Chilela]

Blizzard is more than likley to cancel 9.3 (And they have cancelled content before so dont think they wont) because Shadowlands right now is generating 0 hype and interest, they need a new Expansion, 9.2 will be the final patch and its pretty likley they'll move on quickly afterward, your likley going to see 10.0 around november 2022.

Hard to say for sure. The expansion cycle is already wonky due to delayed content, but I'd wager if there was a 9.3 in development, a lot of the content for it is already well on the way to being completed, so scrapping it would be a huge loss of work. On the flip side, if they want any hope of keeping a somewhat consistent expansion cycle, they'll have to axe swaths of content. New expansion hype is a big moneymaker, after all. If they do skip 9.3 and go right to 10.0, given how slow content has been this xpac, I could see November 2022 being a best-case scenario, with it more likely being a holiday or early 2023 release.

[Gangresnake]

9.2 better have some Arthas redemption. I mean, the amount of eggs in Jainas ovaries diminish every single day.

We are getting very close to last call on that front, won't be long before the chance of having small princes and princesses running around in the halls of Lorderaon have vanished completely.

I disagree. An eternity in the Maw is a fate preferable to getting attention from the current writing team.

[Redwyrm]

Did Aszhara's story get a good resolution or are we waiting for her to return after N'Zoth?

Or is this another case of a wasted lore character?

[Combatbutler]

We are getting very close to last call on that front, won't be long before the chance of having small princes and princesses running around in the halls of Lorderaon have vanished completely.

Calia had a kid, so there is still a chance for that. Once Arthas is back he and the screecher can spent a few thousand years in revendreth to atone for the shit they pulled.

- - - Updated - - -

Did Aszhara's story get a good resolution or are we waiting for her to return after N'Zoth?

Or is this another case of a wasted lore character?

She is basically free now, with her master dead and gone, while most of her kingdom is still intact.

[Hyrja]

Content patches need atleast 3 months of PTR testing and while its not coming anytime soon, think April/May 2023

[Chumahki]

To be honest I don't care about the lore...

That's how I feel. The story has been so ruined that I no longer care. It's not another game that's killing WoW, it's Blizzard.

[Moozart]

I guess you just confused the numbers?

We're waiting for 9.1.5 right now and yes, 9.2 (which you referred to as 9.3) might not be out until February 2022. Expect the next expansion by the end of next year, aka Q4/22. That's the most realistic take, I don't see a Q3 release as likely.

IF we see an xpack in 2022 its going to not be good AT ALL. With all of the issues they are having internally having a new xpack out and ready in 2022 would be rushed. August-Oct 2022 was probably what they were thinking for release BEFORE Covid stayed around and Legal stuff happened as that would had been 2 years from SL launch. We know they are behind and not on schedule by any means.

[Paperfox]

I don't think that they have an option to not release 10.0 in 2022. WoW has not had good press and it's loosing subs. They need to turn things around, and the best way would be to announce 10.0 in February to release Nov-Dec so that they can start the hype train.

There will always be people who will re-start their subs, I would expect that as time goes on the percentage of those who do will go down.

[Coldkil]

9.1 and 9.1.5 basically merged everything in the mid game to get us fast to the end of the story, which is 9.2. We didn't know shit about the sigils and now they're the keys to something super powerful we didn't have knowledge it existed and basically we're running through everything just to reach the final battle, in a slighltly better way than in wod.

Even if they keep the schedule, they're still behind and i cannot really see a new exoansion in 2022, and seems the new cycle is aiming for 1q of 2023. Just look at postponed blizzcon etc.

Anyway, they need something more to change the impression people have of the game right now.

[draugril]

There won't be a 9.3 , 9.2 will be the end. I imagine the company is anxious to rid themselves of the stench if shadowlands soon

You can’t run from your own stench.

[Vakna]

BeCAusE tHE machInE oF dEAtH iS bRokEN

Isn't that good enough of an explanation?

Because if you don't, the Jailer will remake all of reality. You are part of reality.

I'd say that's a decent reason as far as reasons go.

[draugril]

Because if you don't, the Jailer will remake all of reality. You are part of reality.

I'd say that's a decent reason as far as reasons go.

It's so impersonal, though. It's an academic reason, if also an admittedly accurate one. It's an undefinable apocalyptic event. It's utterly boring. There are no personal stakes - not for our characters, nor the characters that were arbitrarily chosen to come to the Shadowlands with us.

Let's say you're writing an origin story about a homeless vagabond. Do you write that he was declined for a mortgage and wound up in this situation? Or do you write that an arsonist burned his family home down? Or was be kicked out by a lover? The latter two have a little dramatic value, from a storytelling perspective. All these scenarios have the same consequence for your character, but who wants to read about someone's quest to secure a loan from a bank? The Jailer's nebulous "remake reality" is the fantasy equivalent to this.

Yes, the stakes are high, but they're dramatically impotent.

[Zyky]

For what its worth, Towellie said on one of his recent streams "10.0 will be different". Sounds like they are heading in some new direction here. He was very monotone about it. He wasn't excited. He wasn't disappointed. But he claims to know what's coming and its not going to be same as the Legion / BfA / SL stuff.

Ya sure They said that about 9.0 and 8.0 and 7.0 and 6.0 lol. It's always "going to be different". And then it's just the same shit in a different color to try and trick you.