Can someone please explain why all the 10.0 speculation is about dragons.

[epigramx]

Marla is the guy that tends to do the leaking around this corner of the web

It wasn't a leak though, they just read PTR files. It was a guess on what they mean.

[deenman]

I mean, why were all speculations before SL about the Shadowlands? It is possible that the next expansion was leaked already in some form.

yes,100%,every expansion has been leaked to some degree ,with some almost completly

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I hope it's not about dragons. Or at least not overtly dragon themed. Blizzard seems to think it has to up the ante with each expansion but I would rather them make an expansion that returns to Azeroth.

its likely not gonna be the main focus,just an aspect of it,kinda like how wod wasnt all about orcs and had the legion,or how bfa wasnt all about the war and new races but was about nzoth,the dragon stuff could be about void stuff or heck even light,there have been many hints about the light thing coming

[Marlamin]

They haven't confirmed it will be released, so it's still conjecture. I haven't delved into the details of the datamined variable-names but I wouldn't be surprised if even that is unclear (but it doesn't have to be for the whole thing to not be confirmed).

It being a bundle of things is not conjecture, the part of it being the pre-order bundle for an expansion is conjecture. Even in the remote possibility it will never see the light of day (which hasn't happened before for encrypted things like this since they started doing it in 2015) it is still a bundle due to how all the things are encrypted together. That's how the few hundred other previously encrypted things have worked before. Encrypted together = released together. You're welcome to investigate it yourself, but as of right now there's no previous history or current signs of it not being some sort of a bundle.

EDIT: Also happy to explain how one could come to that conclusion in DMs if you want as to not shit up the thread.

It wasn't a leak though, they just read PTR files. It was a guess on what they mean.

Not actually PTR, but yep!

[epigramx]

It being a bundle of things is not conjecture

Even if it is or if it remains a bundle (assumption 1) and even if it is released in that way (assumption 2) and even if it is a dragon (assumption 3), they still have no clue if it will be an expansion about dragons.

What is ..confirmed is that if I were a developer and I kept hearing of that dragon meme for more than 2 years(?) now: I would TRY to not make an expansion about dragons to not be that obvious.

[Marlamin]

Even if it is or if it remains a bundle (assumption 1) and even if it is released in that way (assumption 2) and even if it is a dragon (assumption 3), they still have no clue if it will be an expansion about dragons.

What is ..confirmed is that if I were a developer and I kept hearing of that dragon meme for more than 2 years(?) now: I would TRY to not make an expansion about dragons to not be that obvious.

..that last part also sounds like an assumption to me.

[epigramx]

..that last part also sounds like an assumption to me.

It's confirmed and not an assumption, because I said how I would feel .

And many creative people in the company may feel the same way.

[Marlamin]

It's confirmed and not an assumption, because I said how I would feel .

And many creative people in the company may feel the same way.

I don't think it's a fair assumption to say that many could feel that way, but that's your opinion so that's fine. If people are excited about something enough to write dozens of fake fanfic leaks around it, it might be something one should look at taking seriously, especially if the game/company isn't doing so well.

[FuxieDK]

yes,100%,every expansion has been leaked to some degree ,with some almost completly

Ehm, no.. There haven't been a single "leak" that even came close to the real thing.

[epigramx]

I don't think it's a fair assumption to say that many could feel that way, but that's your opinion so that's fine. If people are excited about something enough to write dozens of fake fanfic leaks around it, it might be something one should look at taking seriously, especially if the game/company isn't doing so well.

I mean they also want to be original, if they hadn't completed the full concept yet and they kept hearing in 2020 "dragon expansion please!", I would find it very natural for at least some of the creative people to try to be more original than that (because by definition creativity: is not banal).

[bruxx]

Ehm, no.. There haven't been a single "leak" that even came close to the real thing.

WotLK and Cata were leaked on pretty much their entirety, I remember some short points of WoD getting leaked in broken english and seeming so ridiculous that we didn't believe them. Shadowlands logo, promotional art and a cinematic screenshot were all leaked

[Marlamin]

I mean they also want to be original, if they hadn't completed the full concept yet and they kept hearing in 2020 "dragon expansion please!", I would find it very natural for at least some of the creative people to try to be more original than that (because by definition creativity: is not banal).

They can manage to be original and still do the Dragon Isles, just like they did with Northrend, some Cataclysm zones, Kul Tiras/Zandalar, etc. The BfA zones (including some of the now disappointing islands except for Tel'Abim) were some of those mentioned things being thrown around every leak season up to and including BfA's leak season. While I'm secretly hoping it won't be the Dragon Isles after reading so much of it recently, I'm sure they can pull it off if it is, at least art/concept wise.

[deenman]

Ehm, no.. There haven't been a single "leak" that even came close to the real thing.

not sure if your joking but,you may wanna check the history of leaks,its crazy how accurate most have been,with wrath being a near complete leak

[FuxieDK]

not sure if your joking but,you may wanna check the history of leaks,its crazy how accurate most have been,with wrath being a near complete leak

No way..

There have been some data mining, that caused speculation, which resulted in some correct guesses.

But not a single so called "leak" have come anywhere near what was released.

[hulkgor]

Because the mount for next expansion collectors edition was datamined, and it's an emerald drake.

If it quacks like a duck, and moves like a duck, it's most likely a duck, or well, drake.

[Zendhal The Black]

I'm kinda digging the idea from one of the "leaks" of Dragon Isles being a flying landmass. That would be cool

[deenman]

No way..

There have been some data mining, that caused speculation, which resulted in some correct guesses.

But not a single so called "leak" have come anywhere near what was released.

your simply factualy wrong

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...K-Massive-leak

this isnt the only one,but i cant be bothered fishing for all of them,look em up yourself

[Teriz]

MoP got leaked early. Hilariously, Blizzard came out and tried to deny it after it was revealed.

[ChairmanKaga]

I hope it's not about dragons. Or at least not overtly dragon themed. Blizzard seems to think it has to up the ante with each expansion but I would rather them make an expansion that returns to Azeroth.

I would think a dragon story would be entirely Azeroth focused.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

1. There's bumfuck else to go on Azeroth anymore.

2. BFA dropped some breadcrumbs about Wrathion looking for the Dragon Isles.

3. There's high odds the CE mount is a Dragon. We have a datamined Green Dragon mount with pointers similar to what the Anima Worm had.

[Trumpcat]

It's the only known thread the game can take. But the speculations also failed to predict Shadowlands. So just because it's the only predictable theme left, doesn't mean the expansion will go in that direction. In the past we could predict Old Gods/Void/Light, Burning Legion, Scourge, Faction War, Azshara, all of these themes were covered in the last few expansions (and the potential of just about each of them was wasted). We are running out of things, basically the room for guessing is very narrow. Blizzard might do dragons, but they might have also been preparing something new.