The Expansion after Shadowlands may be a “Soft Reboot” of WoW.

[Dejavuproned]

So could the scientists...

Dude you picked a strange hill to die on. NASA Scientists have specifically said that while the chances of earth being hit by an asteroid are low, it could happen at ANY time.

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[Seranthor]

Dude you picked a strange hill to die on. NASA Scientists have specifically said that while the chances of earth being hit by an asteroid are low, it could happen at ANY time.

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And I'm supposed to believe that Blizzard is, in fact, going to do something based on them saying the opposite?

[Dejavuproned]

And I'm supposed to believe that Blizzard is, in fact, going to do something based on them saying the opposite?

Past history would show its just as likely to happen, as not. If it makes sense or the demand is there, they will do it. Wow classic is a perfect example.

Also wow Devs aren't always the most reliable source. There are many times they have walked back on things they said because they were just wrong, or things changed.

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[Dug]

And I'm supposed to believe that Blizzard is, in fact, going to do something based on them saying the opposite?

Who is talking about facts around here? This whole discussion is speculation and hypotheticals. Only person trying to bring "facts" into the discussion are you and the other guy saying because Blizzard claimed no new revamps that there will never be one. We're just saying they COULD walk that back any time they'd like not that they WILL.

Retarded discussion is retarded methinks you're just farming posts now

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Who is talking about facts around here? This whole discussion is speculation and hypotheticals. Only person trying to bring "facts" into the discussion are you and the other guy saying because Blizzard claimed no new revamps that there will never be one. We're just saying they COULD walk that back any time they'd like not that they WILL.

Retarded discussion is retarded methinks you're just farming posts now

They could but I won't lie I don't see it happening as long as Ion's in charge. This is his ideal WoW, I don't see him staying in the position of Director if the higher ups decide they need to walk back his changes.

[Dug]

They could but I won't lie I don't see it happening as long as Ion's in charge. This is his ideal WoW, I don't see him staying in the position of Director if the higher ups decide they need to walk back his changes.

Would only be right. A revamped or new WoW needs a fresh perspective and not just a shiny new coat of paint with the same stale boring game.

[Seranthor]

methinks you're just farming posts now

Is that why you started thrashing about?

[rrayy]

They could but I won't lie I don't see it happening as long as Ion's in charge. This is his ideal WoW, I don't see him staying in the position of Director if the higher ups decide they need to walk back his changes.

Ion is not an overlord of the game and does not have sole autoomy on the game. The developers work as a team. It has NEVER been "his way or the highway"

[CaptainV]

An expansion without conflict in an MMO based on an IP that exists for no reason than conflict... how would that work, exactly?

And for all the talk of a 'reboot' Shadowlands is, itself, a soft reboot of the game in some ways. The level squish, a new starting area that actually teaches people how to play their classes, and a redesigned leveling experience that allows us to opt out of the painfully-outdated stuff and quickly get to 50.

SL might not be a total reset of the game, but it changes WoW more than any expansion has by far.

Really its a case of doing what MoP did, take us away from the conflict, by all means introduce a new area or place with a tie to the horde/alliance but then cut us free from it, the Shadowlands is sort of doing this, but death as a theme is sort of niche, and too samey, we fought the lich king, and the legion wasnt too dissimilar in theme.

This expansions problem is it lacks anything new, its basically the same premise of wod, go to a foreign place to stop an unknown evil then make the consequences on Azeroth completley meaningless.

But its done with Legion's theme of said threat comming to us initally only for us to push it back.

This is exactly where the problem lays, its somewhat shallow, empty, lifeless, like its theme, and in a way that feels like it will under deliver its attempt at a message that leaves a meaningful impact on a game that direly needs some level of faith restored in its developers.

Id rather have had a south seas themed expansion where we can explore new cultures, learn about new lands and peoples, recruit them into our own people but without the same hastle of the over arching faction war, unless of course it was going to serve as a part 2 to BFA later down the line towards the end of the expansion.

However, no matter the argument, the faction war dynamic is a dead trope, it died back in MOP and its terminal as of Shadowlands, once SHL is done I honestly cant see a benefit to having yet ANOTHER faction war expansion, it WOULD feel too repetative at this point.

[Mirishka]

However, no matter the argument, the faction war dynamic is a dead trope, it died back in MOP and its terminal as of Shadowlands, once SHL is done I honestly cant see a benefit to having yet ANOTHER faction war expansion, it WOULD feel too repetative at this point.

Oh I completely agree on that, I'm sick to death of the faction crap.

[Edlarel]

Not sure if it's been said (didn't bother to look), but with the introduction of Chromie Time closing off the "Cataclysm" era in its own bubble, it does free Blizzard up to rebuild the continents as they see fit for a new expansion. Not saying they will or won't, but it would at least be a lot easier now.

[CaptainV]

Not sure if it's been said (didn't bother to look), but with the introduction of Chromie Time closing off the "Cataclysm" era in its own bubble, it does free Blizzard up to rebuild the continents as they see fit for a new expansion. Not saying they will or won't, but it would at least be a lot easier now.

Technically they already started in small ways with the Warfront versions of Arathi/Darkshore, which could simply be kept in with alliance having canonically won (according to lore).

[Edlarel]

Another thing they could do now (in addition to the "new expansion"), creating chromie time that replicates vanillla on the current system, with all the new upgrades we have today. Chromie tells you it's a time just after the fall of Archimonde, when the horde was still getting their feet beneath them and the alliance was still looking for their missing king. It could feature the old dungeons and raids before they were moved/changed. It would also give reason to create mythic + versions of said dungeons, and vanilla timewalking.

[dope_danny]

Remember when mid Legion they started pushing the "Void Lord" stuff as a new old god style power tier and a lot of people were saying it felt like disjointed fan fiction? did they just drop all that in favour of the whole death stuff after the positive reaction to things like bwonsomde and the death knight stuff in legion?

It feels a lot like when pandaria ended with wrathion saying "the legions coming for us" and then we had our alternative timeline outland vacation.

[Krakan]

They added a dozen plot threads with the island turn in quests. Even if almost every story is about old enemies regrouping.

[Tuor]

TLDR: I think the entire world map of Eastern and Western Kingdoms is going to see a massive revamp. I think A LOT of the dead from Shadowlands will come back with us post Shadowlands, including many prominent heroes and villains to tell new stories that will last years; and I suspect that each class will get a new spec. Shadowlands will essentially be the "Avengers End Game" of WoW.

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I have a hunch that the biggest changes WoW will ever see are coming post Shadowlands. I think the entire game is going to get a sort of “soft reboot”. I suspect many past heroes, villains, and unnamed race characters for the sake of bolstering populations, will return from Shadowlands with us to usher in a new saga of lore and story telling that will last at least another 10 years.

Blizzard has implied a time skip will occur. I suspect that not only will prominent lore characters both good and bad be reintroduced to WoW, I suspect the world will be updated on a scale even bigger than Cataclysm. The Draenei and Blood Elves have evolved so much since BC, their areas are in dire need of updating; I fully expect those zones will be updated. Gilneas and the ruins of Lordaeron are definitely in need of a possible lore update at the least. EPL and WPL have changed a lot as well. On Kalimdor, there is room for drastic changes with places such as the Theramore crater, the Night Elves and their land, and so on.

The point I am making is, with the time skip, anything can happen. Perhaps Theramore will be reclaimed as a new Forsaken zone and city. Perhaps we will see a new city entirely built in the Dalaran crater that is either Horde or Alliance. Who knows? I suspect that updating the world on this scale will be a large undertaking, but not as time-consuming as the undertaking that occurred during Cata, since the zones this time around are already built for flight. A lot of the WoD assets can be used when building/updating locations, so an undertaking this large may be more feasible than many would think – Blizzard might already be working on that part of the next expansion already having planned this since perhaps BFA.

Lastly, I think the massive change won’t end there. I suspect the classes will see the biggest changes since, ever. I suspect every single class is going to get a new spec. Possible new specs would be a Gladiator spec for warriors, a DPS spec for paladins that utilizes shields similar to the D2/D3 Paladin, a Tidesage spec for mages that gives mages a healing spec, a caster spec for Death Knights that turns them into the highly requested necromancer caster class. Those are just a few, so many options.

I could be wrong, but I strongly suspect something along the lines of my thought process will occur post Shadowlands. At the very least, the “what ifs” of this possibility make for some interesting discussion. The Shadowlands conclusion has the potential to be the "Avengers End Game" of WoW.

The real question here is, do they have the people to do all of that in a single expansion? Judging by the amount of people they have fired lately, i would say, no, they don't have. But there is yet another way to fulfill this, which is just taking more time to deliver expasion after SL... I still remember to good old days when they just answered, ''its done when its done'', but then they actually delivered quality, nowadays, they rush to finish stuff, and there is no quality at all.

So, would you like a huge revemp, with no quality, or a much smaller expansition with quality? I would pick quality over anything else.

[Florena]

We literally have 1-2 threats after this. The Void and the Light. That's it. No need for a WoW 2 when the story's almost done.

As if they won't and can't make new threats as the story goes along to build up for the future, the same way they've been planting seeds for the void and light for a while now?

[schwank05]

Diablo MMORPG. Wow has gotten too childish, too fantasy land and just all in all in a direction that moved too far away from it's grass roots.

This I would love.

[WowIsDead64]

...

***Looks at zero changes after BFA's "great" story and cries due to no hope for changes***

[prwraith]

They'd have to do something, though wow2 is likely the answer tbh. current wow is a stale mess.

Every expansion it gets harder and harder to find competent people because the game is just so godawful fewer and fewer people can bring themselves to slog through the content anymore.