Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Polybius]

@Foolicious
@ForeignExchangeStudent

So apparently a series of dragon themed books are slated for reprint this year with the ‘Blizzard Legends Audio’ sticker.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard_Legends

[Teriz]

@Foolicious
@ForeignExchangeStudent

So apparently a series of dragon themed books are slated for reprint this year with the ‘Blizzard Legends Audio’ sticker.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard_Legends

Dragon Expansion?

Dragon Expansion.

[Nightshade711]

I agree with no playable dragons, but a race like the dragonborn from D&D would be something nice, in my opinion.

Agreed. It's about time we got a non-mammalian race in wow.

[Raetary]

@Foolicious
@ForeignExchangeStudent

So apparently a series of dragon themed books are slated for reprint this year with the ‘Blizzard Legends Audio’ sticker.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard_Legends

If that doesn't scream dragon expansion then i don't know what does.

[Nightshade711]

@Foolicious
@ForeignExchangeStudent

So apparently a series of dragon themed books are slated for reprint this year with the ‘Blizzard Legends Audio’ sticker.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard_Legends

If I'm understanding that correctly then it would also show that:
Various books involving the Legion were re-released before Legion and the Arthas book re-released before SL

[Teriz]

If I'm understanding that correctly then it would also show that:
Various books involving the Legion were re-released before Legion and the Arthas book re-released before SL

Arthas: Rise of the Lich King released in October 2019 right before the announcement of Shadowlands.

That's about it.

[Ielenia]

Dragon Expansion?

Dragon Expansion.

Cat expansion, actually, since we got a bundle of cats mounts/pets for sale right now in the store.

[Santandame]

Looks like we might have our first real hint then with the Dragon audiobooks.

Lets just hope its Cataclysm 2.0 - Dragons + World Revamp. Throw in some extra new zones such as Undermine, Tel'Abim, Plunder Isle, Zul'Dare alongside the obvious Dragon Isles and we could be in for a pretty fun expansion setting.

[Teriz]

Cat expansion, actually, since we got a bundle of cats mounts/pets for sale right now in the store.

Do we have a set of cat-based books/novels coming out?

[Ielenia]

Do we have a set of cat-based books/novels coming out?

As soon as you tell me how that affects anything. We also have a Sylvanas book coming out. By that logic, the next expansion will also be about Sylvanas.

[Ersula]

Don't want Sylvanas in another main cinematic.

It would be hilariously trolly for them to feature her in the announcement trailer. Imagine if they did do a massive time skip for 10.0, and at this point it would only make sense for them to do it from Sylvanas' perspective: Like, it's her coming out of the Maw after freeing all the souls 100 years later to see how Azeroth has changed.

[Marlamin]

Do we have a set of cat-based books/novels coming out?

No, but I believe there was a movie about cats in 2020 starring Taylor Swift and James Corden that was very... known... which might be the basis of the story for the expansion!

As soon as you tell me how that affects anything. We also have a Sylvanas book coming out. By that logic, the next expansion will also be about Sylvanas.

These books are being rereleased, they aren't new unlike the Sylvanas book which ties in to current content.

[TriHard]

• Housing. Just because adding big elements that don't affect gameplay usually hurt the overall fun of a specific expansion & they need all the help they can get. A dungeon builder feature would serve the same purpose & have bigger gameplay innovation.
• Necromancers. I want a new class & I love necromancers. But contrary to the pro-necromancer faction on this site, I think all the necrolord cosmetics fulfil my necromantic need.
• Class Skins. Just add more glyphs & transmog options please. It's the same thing.

Give the housing idea a rest, it won't work in WoW.

[Nightshade711]

As soon as you tell me how that affects anything. We also have a Sylvanas book coming out. By that logic, the next expansion will also be about Sylvanas.

Only affects it in my mind because since Legion we’ve had these audiobooks be rereleased before the expansion (or before the announcement) and were somewhat relevant to the upcoming xpac.

Though idk if they meant to actually start it this early.

[Chilela]

Can I propose an alternative topic/conversation to discuss? We spend so much time talking about what the next expansion could be in terms of theme, setting, potential new race(s) or class(es), etc. Here's my question: What do you absolutely NOT want for 10.0? You can answer this question however you want (story, class, race, systems, etc.). I'm curious.

In no particular order, the following would probably completely deter me from playing at any point in the future:

-Real-money lootboxes: I shouldn't have to explain this one, but if they were going to do it, I'd imagine it would have been done already, so I'm not super worried about this.
-Yet another borrowed power mandatory system grind: This has been beaten to death, and the corpse has been beaten to dust. And the dust from that corpse has been beaten into nothingness, and that nothingness has somehow been beaten further.
-Blatant shoehorning of IRL politics: I'm relatively lax about this overall, if it's not obvious unless you go out of your way to search for it. But if the game starts having the subtlety of a bag of bricks about it, I'm not interested.
-Another Universe-threatening cosmic force expansion: Now that I think of it, there's been a correlation between this as a theme and the systems highlighted earlier. Either way, we really need a break from it. Give us something more grounded.
-Officially-integrated boosting: If Blizz puts something like an LFD system, but for boosters and boostees, I swear to God

I'm sure there's more, but that's off the top of my head.

[Nightshade711]

It would be hilariously trolly for them to feature her in the announcement trailer. Imagine if they did do a massive time skip for 10.0, and at this point it would only make sense for them to do it from Sylvanas' perspective: Like, it's her coming out of the Maw after freeing all the souls 100 years later to see how Azeroth has changed.

I mean she's already been in 1/3rd of wow's main expansion cinematic. Might as well try and shoot for 1/2

[Calfredd]

Give the housing idea a rest, it won't work in WoW.

You are agreeing with them, you realize?

[Santandame]

Honestly, if we really are getting Dragons/Catalclysm 2.0, then I would like something a little like this as far as zone progression goes:

Old World Revamp, every EK and Kalimdor zone. We are squished back to level 1, yes, you heard correct. That way, we all have to experience the new zones and the revamped, up to date story.

Upon say, level 60, we get our ''endgame zones. Let's say for argument sake they are Undermine, Tel'Abim, Zul'Dare and Ogrezonia. This can give us our South Sea's expansion feel that we were robbed from with BfA. Undermine could also serve as the big neutral capital city - if they don't go with new and revamped old capital cities; like Hyjal for Nelves, Stratholme for Undead, Gilneas rebuilt, new SW and Org etc.

We'd return to old zones for max level content in the form of max level campaign, world quests, evergreen world content, living word stuff?

Plunder Isle could be a Mechagon/Timeless Isle style zone.

Dragon Isles as our Suramar, but split into three zones like Argus was.

I think I'd be happy with this for launch content.

Then patch content can be a greater focus on certain aspects of the old world. Think 10.1 Gadgetztan and southern Kalimdor. 10.2 Northern Kalimdor. 10.3 Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas - which we can start to set up Turalyon and the Light as villains, bring in Yrel and set up 11.0 as a Light themed expansion.

[draugril]

Cliffhangers work because they keep people interested. It get them thinking what this cliffhanger might mean for the next expansion. It's no different than an "after credits scene" in movies, like when we saw glimpses of Thanos at the end of the Avengers movie, or when we saw Nick Fury show up and tell Tony Stark he was creating the Avengers initiative.

And the story of Shadowlands is pretty much self-contained. Its overarching story started at the beginning of the expansion, and ended at the last patch of the expansion. The cliffhangers, about the undead invasion of the blood elf lands and all that are the "after credits scenes" if we are comparing this to movies.

A good cliffhanger introduces a new narrative thread after tying up another one. Functionally, WoW’s story resolves its cliffhangers by slipping from the cliff, but managing to grab on to a lower ledge resulting in another cliffhanger. Repeat ad nauseum. That’s not truly resolution.

Long story short, I don’t mind multiple cliffhangers in a story. We just need multiple cliffs. That tension should be a snapshot of tension, not something milked for literally years.

[Nightshade711]

I am expecting something similar to Covenants next xpac if it is dragon focused though. One for each main dragonflight.

I’d prefer it to be only cosmetic and story based, but I don’t think they could resist throwing in a bit of borrowed power into it.
(New glyphs and/or green-fire like system for each class and their selected dragonflights would be neat)