9.0 General Discussion

[choom]

Is there any reason to not assume there will be a new raid in ~6 months? as that is the length of pretty much every non-final tier?

Both Legion did a tier 1.5 mini raid with Trial of Valor about 2 months after Legion release. BFA got Battle for Dazar'alor (full raid) 4 months after release and the Crucible of Storms mini-raid 7 months after release.

So if the last two expacs were any precedent, chances of at least a mini-raid, if not a whole raid, within 6 months are pretty solid.

[Xilurm]

Can someone explain something to me?

Renown is the only thing needed to proceed with the covenant campaign right? And you only get renown by doing the covenant dailies and quests, without needing to anything else?

I'm asking because I want to experience the story of the other campaigns with alts but I don't wanna run and grind stuff like Torghast on my alts.

I actually changed my mind at the end and went Kyrian with my Nelf priest because I really liked the whole atmosphere and the characters and especially the zone. But afaik the story that concerns Tyrande happens in the Night Fae campaign right? And since I already have a druid waiting at 50 it makes sense for my priest to go Kyrian instead. There's even Night Elf souls there which is cool.

Also, where does that Sylvanas and Anduin cinematic happen? Is that part of the covenant campaign aswell? I haven't seen it yet because I wanna see it ingame but it seems weird how it's already out when there's a cap on how much of the campaign you can do each week.

[BALLS BALLS BALLS BALLS]

What if the Runecarver is the original jailer of the Maw before Zovaal was imprisoned in it? Runecarver mentions being imprisoned for ages yet Zovaal was also in chains until just recently.

[Bwonsamdi the Dead]

What if the Runecarver is the original jailer of the Maw before Zovaal was imprisoned in it? Runecarver mentions being imprisoned for ages yet Zovaal was also in chains until just recently.

Nah, he seems like an ok guy, I think it was just the Jailer that was imprisoned. There's an artifact of some sort that you can give to Ve'nari that mentions 'before the Maw was called the Maw', so its safe to say that other things lived there at some point

[Nyel]

If 9.1 comes on the Legion/BFA timetable and doesnt have a raid, that's a HUGE red flag. Week 1, yeah sure Nathria could totally last us a year. By March? You'll be begging for the next raid.

I think it needs A raid, even if it isnt as big. I definitely don't think it will be more "important" than Nathria though, I am still a firm believer in the one raid per covenant theory, and Maldraxxus doesnt need a massive raid to wrap up their story, leaving the possibility for the rest of the patch being focused on extraneous stuff.

Not to mention that a smaller raid and more focus on non-raid content would fit with Blizzard's seeming trajectory of less focus on instanced content in favor of a more solid base game.

The Maw is definitely a sore spot right now, though I am still not sure what in the world they could possibly do to "fix" it. It is technically working as intended, and the only thing I think players want to see more out of there is Torghast.

We don’t know how much the whole Corona situation plagued Blizzard in the end. This could or couldn’t be a reason for no (huge) raid in 9.1. I think it all boils down to their development cycle and how much they’re behind or on track. It’s not impossible that they just skip something, if they’re behind (that doesn’t mean it must happen this way though). Maybe they even planned it this way. Who knows at this point? Q

With Castle Nathria they just have given us a very good (entry) tier which could totally last for +6 months. A smaller raid to bridge 9.0 and 9.2 is possible though, but players usually tend to dislike or just skip raids like ToV or CoS.

I‘m still not sure where they’re going with content patches as the Shadowlands as they are right now with their four zones and covenants just feel so genuine and... finished. If they’re not pulling a secret Covenant nobody dares to talk about from their hat it will be quite hard to tie that neatly into the Covenant / Shadowlands storyline imho. Especially with Oribos being designed around four Covenants and The Maw. It would feel weird if there’s now all of a sudden more to the Shadowlands.

I know people said it might be Thros or whatever, but it just doesn’t feel... right? For me the Shadowlands feel complete the way they are (due to the four Covenants being very intertwined with the whole plot), although there are multiple options for more zones. More Shadowlands zones without Covenants or in the style of the Maw just don’t sit right with me.

With the four Covenants having their own campaigns I don’t even know which plots are still unresolved (e.g. does the Thros / Drust plot maybe gets resolved in the Nightfae stoyline? I don’t know, I just started the campaign just yet. And it’s basically the same with the other campaigns, e.g. Kyrians with Uther, the Primus in Maldraxxus - like is he dead or just missing?). Plus, when you’re at the end of the questing storyline and reach 60, shortly before choosing a Covenant and you’re meeting at the Arbiter‘s place, there are these columns where the holograms of the Covenant leaders appear - there are five of them iirc. Is the empty one to the left side for Zovaal? Or who did take this spot?

And if 9.1 isn’t that big, 9.2 could come sooner. Maybe a Spring release for 9.1 (March/April) and a Summer release for 9.2 (June). About 7 months for CN seems long, but with a smaller raid in between... possible. That we’ve had no clue about the next raid is a bit weird, too. Although they didn’t announce it early, we knew about BoD quite some time before.

About the Maw... no idea how to improve it really. Playing my Monk right now so I am very mobile and fast. I really can’t and won’t imagine playing my Shadow Priest next in the Maw with zero movement options. The same for Warlock or DK. The imagination alone makes me dread it already. But that’s really only one of the many issues the Maw has right now (for me). I know it may sound odd, but a megadungeon in Torghast in the style of Karazhan for 9.1 would be really neat in my opinion. Like Torghast, but normal loot / equipment drops and set bosses (or another megadungeon in any of the zones, musn't be The Maw).

All in all, Shadowlands is for me personally way more intricate and interesting than BfA ever was. Don't know if it's the completely fresh setting or the Covenants and how they're intertwined, the expansion just feels a lot more... exciting. But Zovaal as the main villain isn't working for me right now (althoug I love the concept behind the Eternal Ones). He just needs a ton more backstory and I hope it comes sooner than later.

[huth]

What if the Runecarver is the original jailer of the Maw before Zovaal was imprisoned in it? Runecarver mentions being imprisoned for ages yet Zovaal was also in chains until just recently.

Well, when talking about the maw the Eternal Ones variously mention the Banished One and the Jailer... but i get the feeling that they aren't talking about the same person. Wouldn't be surprised if we unknowingly release the former. Could also be the Primus, though, based on what we know about his abilities meshing rather well with the Runecarver's.

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We don’t know how much the whole Corona situation plagued Blizzard in the end.

From what we've been told, not terribly much. I doubt they're going to aim for a significantly different cadence than BfA, which they seemed rather happy with.

[Arafal]

Can someone explain something to me?

Renown is the only thing needed to proceed with the covenant campaign right? And you only get renown by doing the covenant dailies and quests, without needing to anything else?

You get renown by doing your campaign quests as well as your weekly quest like the 1500 anima one or returning lost souls from Torghast.

But afaik the story that concerns Tyrande happens in the Night Fae campaign right?

Yes, Tyrande only appears in the Night fae campaign.

Also, where does that Sylvanas and Anduin cinematic happen? Is that part of the covenant campaign aswell? I haven't seen it yet because I wanna see it ingame but it seems weird how it's already out when there's a cap on how much of the campaign you can do each week.

it appears sometime later in the campaign, when the upper reaches of Torghast are unlocked.

[Xilurm]

You get renown by doing your campaign quests as well as your weekly quest like the 1500 anima one or returning lost souls from Torghast.


Yes, Tyrande only appears in the Night fae campaign.



it appears sometime later in the campaign, when the upper reaches of Torghast are unlocked.

Thanks, that clears it up a bit.

[Dracullus]

Is there any reason to not assume there will be a new raid in ~6 months? as that is the length of pretty much every non-final tier?

Dude, it's Nyel. In BfA he spend like 6 months speculating how 8.3 and 4th season/raid won't be a thing.

[Tiradon]

Just finished weekly Torghast, it's fun but can see it become repetitive if it doesn't change things up every weeek

[Sondrelk]

Just finished weekly Torghast, it's fun but can see it become repetitive if it doesn't change things up every weeek

You do get more epic powers and more options as you upgrade your reputation with Ve'nari, but other than that I don't think there is much that will change.

[Nyel]

Dude, it's Nyel. In BfA he spend like 6 months speculating how 8.3 and 4th season/raid won't be a thing.

I asked what if it doesn't bring a raid because Castle Nathria is so massive compared to previous raids. And then I said it might just add a small(er) raid instead of another huge one like BoD or NH. But yeah, instead of talking about my points just make it again about me. You should stop obsessing about me as a person and talk more about the topic or arguments that are brought up.

[huth]

Just finished weekly Torghast, it's fun but can see it become repetitive if it doesn't change things up every weeek

You should be getting two different wings next week, out of 6 total. So probably different enemies at least.

- - - Updated - - -

I asked what if it doesn't bring a raid because Castle Nathria is so massive compared to previous raids.

The problem is that this is closer to asking "what if every water molecule tunnels through the bottom of the glass" than "what if we used blue instead of green". It's not a realistic scenario.

[Dracullus]

I asked what if it doesn't bring a raid because Castle Nathria is so massive compared to previous raids. And then I said it might just add a small(er) raid instead of another huge one like BoD or NH. But yeah, instead of talking about my points just make it again about me. You should stop obsessing about me as a person and talk more about the topic or arguments that are brought up.

Yes we are obsessing on you, it's not like you bring some stupid theories or doomsay about every.single.wow.patch every 5 minutes.

What you expect from me, serious response on your new prediction that Blizz could skip tier/make mini raid instead cause first M-A-S-S-I-V-E raid has 10 bosses? It's just 2 more than BfA's first ti.. ok I stop here, I started making serious response.

[Nyel]

Yes we are obsessing on you, it's not like you bring some stupid theories or doomsay about every.single.wow.patch every 5 minutes.

The "we" is basically you and one other guy I'm not even responding to anymore. It's just you two who bring this topic up again and again. Just stop turning this thread into a pointless talk about me and we'll be fine. Stay on topic and stop namecalling me, it's getting old very fast and it's just messing up this thread with nonsense.

[Makabreska]

The "we" is basically you and one other guy I'm not even responding to anymore. It's just you two who bring this topic up again and again. Just stop turning this thread into a pointless talk about me and we'll be fine. Stay on topic and stop namecalling me, it's getting old very fast and it's just messing up this thread with nonsense.

Only two? Because multiple users didn't call you on your constant negativity few weeks ago?

[HighlordJohnstone]

Eh... Elunaria was a planet.

Yeah. Speaking of which, that reminds me...

The Sanctuary's name is very much like Elune. And if the Eonar and Winter Queen theory makes sense...

Then could Elune be, well, the mom?

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Where is 9.1 discussion?

We'll have to see wtf 9.1 is first, I think lol.

[Nagawithlegs]

Between the Nathria/Nathrezim set up that hasn't been explicitly revealed (no Denathrius-with-wings reveal is surprising tbh) and the Naaru buddy in Sinfall, it seems they are seeding the start of the Light vs Void thing in Revendreth. Strangely that seems to be the only place (aside from the mention of the Void attack in Bastion but that is not as overt).

I am going to guess that Mal'ganis will appear at around the same time as Arthas and the expansion will shift towards connections to Azeroth at that time, likely revealing the connection between Zovaal and the Nathrezim (this is also hinted at with Denathrius being stuffed inside Remornia who says the Jailer can reform him).

I find it interesting that the opposite to Revendreth, which has heavy connections to Shadow magic, is supposedly Bastion. But Bastion does not really have anything to do with the Light aside from the imagery of angels and the brightness of the zone (the Kyrians use Arcane powers and are obssessed with Order in a way that ties them to the Titans more than anything).

[Nyel]

I am going to guess that Mal'ganis will appear at around the same time as Arthas and the expansion will shift towards connections to Azeroth at that time, likely revealing the connection between Zovaal and the Nathrezim (this is also hinted at with Denathrius being stuffed inside Remornia who says the Jailer can reform him).

Mal'Ganis, Arthas, Uther and Kel'Thuzad as raid bosses, friends or frenemies?

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Between the Nathria/Nathrezim set up that hasn't been explicitly revealed (no Denathrius-with-wings reveal is surprising tbh) and the Naaru buddy in Sinfall, it seems they are seeding the start of the Light vs Void thing in Revendreth. Strangely that seems to be the only place (aside from the mention of the Void attack in Bastion but that is not as overt).

I am going to guess that Mal'ganis will appear at around the same time as Arthas and the expansion will shift towards connections to Azeroth at that time, likely revealing the connection between Zovaal and the Nathrezim (this is also hinted at with Denathrius being stuffed inside Remornia who says the Jailer can reform him).

I find it interesting that the opposite to Revendreth, which has heavy connections to Shadow magic, is supposedly Bastion. But Bastion does not really have anything to do with the Light aside from the imagery of angels and the brightness of the zone (the Kyrians use Arcane powers and are obssessed with Order in a way that ties them to the Titans more than anything).

Yes, Shadowlands has a lot of "Order" themes going on. Its all calculated and structured that makes you think the Titans touched the place.