Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Blayze]

I agree with this, but I think the Dragon Isles won't be a continent but will be multiple islands off the coasts of both zones. Similar to the Cata zones (and I think 10.0 will have a Cataclysm theme).

Also add Light invading EK for the revamp quests and general expansion theme. Void invading Kalimdor is likely but less likely, there's a LOT of buildup to shit popping off in the EK next expansion. But they could do Azshara vs Night Elves and Horde vs Elementals (like Cata!)

I'd like to see the Void invade Pandaria.
After all, the whole continent is saturated in delicious sha juice.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Going back to a MoP 2.0 is probably the easy answer but thats well I'll believe it when I see it. The other is the very easy hanging fruit(See Turalyon on the throne) where the Light decide to do their invasion....faith crisis ensues. Dragon Isles is one thing but we might go to another planet cause well thats still on the table. 10.0 really hinges on whats waiting for us throughout SL.

[Halfaheart]

Unless we spend more than one expansion in the Shadowlands I'm hoping to see a new realm for each patch. Even smaller worlds where only a limited set of souls are located. We know the Arbiter can create new plains of (after)life on a whim and will do so under special circumstances so I think we'll get her all fixed up and turned back on in 9.1 and then go from there. Maybe explore these new Afterlives for keys to defeating the Jailer and get a history lesson on what's happened beyond the veil for the past millennia

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Ain't the first time I hear this. Why do people think we're getting a Dragon expansion?

Blizz dropped a huge amount of Dragon-related hints in BFA. Some were paid off (poorly) with 8.3, but here's a full list from BFA. https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wo...-likely/172368

I agree with this, but I think the Dragon Isles won't be a continent but will be multiple islands off the coasts of both zones. Similar to the Cata zones (and I think 10.0 will have a Cataclysm theme).

Also add Light invading EK for the revamp quests and general expansion theme. Void invading Kalimdor is likely but less likely, there's a LOT of buildup to shit popping off in the EK next expansion. But they could do Azshara vs Night Elves and Horde vs Elementals (like Cata!)

I feel like they'll keep it a unified "continent" because it lets them tie in stuff like Not-Covenants without it feeling weirdly disconnected.

[LemonDemonGirl]

I think we're going to see Mueh'zala again. Why do I think this? Because when all of the Alpha text dropped, h was originally supposed to be nuked by Bwonsamdi. Now he just locks him away. Might be because Bwonsamdi has a small degree of..... future planning I guess? He might be watching he to see if he tries to escape, but then again, Zazalane got away somehow lol. Oh, and probably also thinks the killing him will piss the Jailer off because he killed his 'friend'and he'll send his Mawsworn to screw up the Other Side or something

[Ticj]

Going back to a MoP 2.0 is probably the easy answer but thats well I'll believe it when I see it. The other is the very easy hanging fruit(See Turalyon on the throne) where the Light decide to do their invasion....faith crisis ensues. Dragon Isles is one thing but we might go to another planet cause well thats still on the table. 10.0 really hinges on whats waiting for us throughout SL.

We just need to pay close attention to what's happening in the base questing experience in shadowlands. They've hinted at the past two expansions through some almost blatantly obvious hints (Kul Tiran and Zandalari Sailors in legion, and Bwonsomdi and Jaina's realm of torment cinematic in BfA).

[Sondrelk]

I think we're going to see Mueh'zala again. Why do I think this? Because when all of the Alpha text dropped, h was originally supposed to be nuked by Bwonsamdi. Now he just locks him away. Might be because Bwonsamdi has a small degree of..... future planning I guess? He might be watching he to see if he tries to escape, but then again, Zazalane got away somehow lol. Oh, and probably also thinks the killing him will piss the Jailer off because he killed his 'friend'and he'll send his Mawsworn to screw up the Other Side or something

I imagine whatever payoff Blizzard is planning by not killing Mueh'zala right now will be payed off later in this expansion. Otherwise the only reason I can see for Bwonsamdii not immediately getting rid of him would be that Mueh'zala is somehow needed for Azerothian souls to go to the Shadowlands in the first place and Bwonsamdi cannot take that place no matter what.

I also get major Helya vibes from Mueh'zala, so I could imagine we get to fight him properly in a raid sometime later in the expansion.

[Dracullus]

I don't get why you put 10.0 speculations here, it makes thread very chaotic.

[Lady Atia]

I agree with this, but I think the Dragon Isles won't be a continent but will be multiple islands off the coasts of both zones. Similar to the Cata zones (and I think 10.0 will have a Cataclysm theme).

Also add Light invading EK for the revamp quests and general expansion theme. Void invading Kalimdor is likely but less likely, there's a LOT of buildup to shit popping off in the EK next expansion. But they could do Azshara vs Night Elves and Horde vs Elementals (like Cata!)

They said they didn't want to repeat the disconnect feel of the Cataclysm Zones, although BfA was also kinda disconnected with both continents and Nazjatar/Uldum/Vale.

Regarding Shadowlands - my bet is on Naxxramas 3.0 with KT, updated T3 aswell as a Thros Zone with a Drust Raid and the Maw 2.0.

[Revamp Man]

Going back to a MoP 2.0 is probably the easy answer but thats well I'll believe it when I see it. The other is the very easy hanging fruit(See Turalyon on the throne) where the Light decide to do their invasion....faith crisis ensues. Dragon Isles is one thing but we might go to another planet cause well thats still on the table. 10.0 really hinges on whats waiting for us throughout SL.

currently my hope and speculation is that by the end of shadowlands we will find the true nature of the titans and we will experience something that causes a time skip

we return
the scarlet crusade has taken over stormwind
human supremacy
the naga are gearing up
the elves have chosen to be neutral and withdrawn
our leaders are imprisoned/rebeling

we must overthrow the crusade and defeat enemies who are rising once again including some who acted like allies...neptulon

that could easily be made patch content but the scarlet crusade is returning



nooooowwww dragon isles is very likely because we have gotten dragon lore in BfA
we got the new leader of the green flight
we got the void wings
we got more chromatic dragons going screwy
we got the black dragon prince back

we go to the dragon isles where wrathion has discovered a hidden azeroth secret. The infinite is attacking the isle and we witness the creation of moruzond because nozdormu in 9.3 stopped the destruction of azeroth and by extension his death. We must gather stuff from each zone in the dragon isles and essentially unite the flights either through restoring their aspect powers but this time only through the soul of azeroth instead of multiple titans or empowering one dragon with all of the powers (really cool idea is you choose one and it grants unique powers while leveling and at cap it becomes cosmetic) and the patches are the off color flights and even a timewalking dungeon where we face bosses from the past.

could introduce the new dragonsworn class
4 specs
tank
healer
ranged
melee
mail armor to match the "dragon rider" gear from islands
intro scenario has you as one of Wrathion's guard that becomes infused with dragon essence


first big baddy is the resurrected GALAKROND!!!!!

- - - Updated - - -

actually everything else not taken into account it is very likely that nozdormu becomes moruzond in a similar way to what i described

[gcsmith]

My thoughts are we will get a Maldraxxus/Naxxramas 2.0 for 9.1 as typically they don't release a new zone in the first patch and all signs seem to point to big K as being the big villain next patch

I also think 9.2 will revolve in some way around the Drust, They have an interesting story and aesthetic that I think would be cool to see explored further.

9.3 I don't really have any thoughts on other than I think the final raid will be in the maw


For my hopes for patches really hope we see more heritage armor in patches as Ion talked about. Would love to see Troll/Draenei and Pandaren heritage sets

I think the drust are finished with in 9.0 though. And 9.2 would likely be a new zone.

[Sondrelk]

I think the drust are finished with in 9.0 though. And 9.2 would likely be a new zone.

Last I chekced it seemed more like there was more to milk out of the Drust storyline, not to mention it could be combined with teh return of Helya to create a more general "Vrykul" patch for 9.2 that could warrant a new zone.

[Xorzor]

10.0 concept: Invasion of Light
- Yrel makes her move on Azeroth.
- The Lightbound recruit the Scarlet Onslaught.
- Grommash is revealed to be alive after the events of the Mag'har recruitment quest line, and is being held prisoner back on Draenor.
- In a later patch we end up killing Exarch Hellscream, and the Lightbound fall back to Draenor, destroying the Dark Portal on their end.
- To get to them we go to Outland, take control of Tempest Keep, and use it teleport ourselves onto Draenor.
- Farahlon is FINALLY seen, and it will become a faction-neutral hub (though with faction-specific areas, similar to the Argent Tournament).
- Shattrath City will be the final raid of the expansion, and AU Xe'ra - aka the Lightmother, will be the final boss (Yrel will be the 2nd last).

11.0 concept: Awakening
- Azeroth is on the verge of waking up and becoming a full-born Titan; this will happen over the expansion.
- Murozond is revealed to be alive; what we killed in the End Time dungeon was a temporal echo (think Reverse Flash from the TV series).
- He goes back to an AU Azeroth where, thanks to his help, Lei Shen rules the world from atop his new palace atop the Well of Eternity.
- Although Lei Shen believes himself to be in charge, Murozond is secretly scheming. What he wants is much worse than AU Lei Shen's lust for conquest.
- AU Lei Shen has mastered the Fist of Ra-den, killed Azshara, and exterminated almost all races on the planet. Only a few scattered remnants remain.

[faithbane]

Ain't the first time I hear this. Why do people think we're getting a Dragon expansion?

- - - Updated - - -

.

Its mostly because of wrathion's involvement in the last patch and a couple of name drops here and there.

[Fahrad Wagner]

This is where the fun begins

Hell yeaaaah!

I don't get why you put 10.0 speculations here, it makes thread very chaotic.

"9.X & 10.0 Speculation Thread" which means: we speculate on both the next patches and the next expansion, as patches have dropped big hints about the next expansion, especially during BfA. That's why I did not want to separate it into two threads, that and I didn't want to ask for a thread name change every six months.

Its mostly because of wrathion's involvement in the last patch and a couple of name drops here and there.

I mean, it's breadcrumbs... but so where the hints at BfA in Legion, and the hint at SL in BfA! I think whichever direction Blizzard decides to takes on the other Shadowlands realms we are likely to see in patches 9.2 and 9.3, they will find a way to tie them to the next expansion, or give us at least one parallel questline building up the bridge between expansions.

Except of course, if 10.0 is a world revamp and SL ends up with a time skip. They you can do pretty much what you want without caring too much about loose ends.

[faithbane]

I mean, it's breadcrumbs... but so where the hints at BfA in Legion, and the hint at SL in BfA! I think whichever direction Blizzard decides to takes on the other Shadowlands realms we are likely to see in patches 9.2 and 9.3, they will find a way to tie them to the next expansion, or give us at least one parallel questline building up the bridge between expansions.

Except of course, if 10.0 is a world revamp and SL ends up with a time skip. They you can do pretty much what you want without caring too much about loose ends.

It feels a bit weird right now tho.. so far the "bread crumbs" have been more like a punch in the nose between WOD to BFA. You had to be blind to not see the direction they were going with on the next patch/expansion.. Right now there are too many hints leading in different directions. You can pull enough threads to make any of the below look like the direction next:

- Invasion of light
- Light vs void
- Time skip
- Dragon isles
- Nzoth fooled us all surprise when we return from SL

[Fahrad Wagner]

It feels a bit weird right now tho.. so far the "bread crumbs" have been more like a punch in the nose between WOD to BFA. You had to be blind to not see the direction they were going with on the next patch/expansion.. Right now there are too many hints leading in different directions. You can pull enough threads to make any of the below look like the direction next:

- Invasion of light
- Light vs void
- Time skip
- Dragon isles
- Nzoth fooled us all surprise when we return from SL

I have to disagree regarding the transition from Legion to BfA came out of nowhere, especially after Legion. The only clues in game were those NPCs in the cave, along with the datamined questing items about Kul Tiras, but other than that... it really wasn't obvious. Now, BfA that was another story, and for that expansion I agree: hints at afterlife and Death were everywhere.

That being said, I agree with you, it could be any of the crumbs dropped around during this expansion... that's why I hope we'll get a bit more clarity during the first patches of SL, but we may remain in the dark until the end.

I'd laugh my ass off if N'zoth comes back and this whole thing about us "defeating" him was part of his plan...

[Xilurm]

I just looked up all the Dragon Isle stuff. This feels like the old days where everyone was hyped about that "expansion list" that leaked in TBC or something.

Also if there is a time skip and a world revamp (which I doubt because I think Blizz regretted the cata revamp) they better give Night Elves a new capital city!

[Fahrad Wagner]

I just looked up all the Dragon Isle stuff. This feels like the old days where everyone was hyped about that "expansion list" that leaked in TBC or something.

Also if there is a time skip and a world revamp (which I doubt because I think Blizz regretted the cata revamp) they better give Night Elves a new capital city!

I think this precise absence of a new NE capital and the fact that nothing was done to Lordaeron are pointing towards a future revamp. It's like Blizzard deliberately fucked up the old world (which was already fucked up by Cataclysm) without caring too much / replacing what they took out. They went crazy on it, Teldrassil is gone, Lordaeron is gone, Gilneas was left abandoned, Silithus is a wasteland, etc... It's like the Marie Kondo technique, you know? You throw all your clothing on the bed, you take out what you don't like anymore, and you reorganise everything. I sincerely believe the Undercity and Teldrassil would have been a pain in the *ss to revamp, especially Teldrassil since it basically was an ugly baobab...

Also through the past expansions, many racial assets have been updated over patches, sometimes directly through core races, sometimes through allied races. To give a little overview, here is which core races received updated / fluffed out assets over the course of the past expansions:

Alliance
- Humans (WoD, BfA)
- Night Elves (Legion, BfA)
- Gnomes (BfA, but focused on Mechagnomes rather than regular Gnomes)
- Draenei (WoD)
- Worgens (BfA, island expeditions)
- Pandaren (BfA, island expeditions)

Horde
- Orcs (WoD, BfA)
- Trolls (BfA, but focused on Zandalari rather than Darkspear Trolls)
- Tauren (Legion, but focused on Highmountain Tauren rather than Mulgore Tauren)
- Forsaken (Legion, BfA)
- Goblins (BfA, the Motherlode)
- Pandaren (BfA, island expeditions)

Now what is interesting is that for the Gnomes, were regular assets would technically be missing... Their people have been united with the Mechagnomes. So technically, were a revamp to happen, the Gnomish people would stand as one and the Mechagnomes would probably help regular Gnomes rebuild Gnomeregan, so the use of their assets would make perfect sense.
As for the trolls, the Zandalari are an Empire and their inclusion to the Horde might heavily influence the Darkspear culture, so Zandalari assets could be repurposed to serve the Darkspear aesthetic.

With that in mind and if we are considering core races only, only Dwarves and Blood Elves are missing updated buildings and all that jazz. Of course some old buildings never received any updates (human abbeys and cathedrals for example), but most of the core buildings did (farms, taverns, forges, stables, garrisons, etc.).

[Sondrelk]

It feels a bit weird right now tho.. so far the "bread crumbs" have been more like a punch in the nose between WOD to BFA. You had to be blind to not see the direction they were going with on the next patch/expansion.. Right now there are too many hints leading in different directions. You can pull enough threads to make any of the below look like the direction next:

- Invasion of light
- Light vs void
- Time skip
- Dragon isles
- Nzoth fooled us all surprise when we return from SL

Pretty much all the signs in MoP pointed to a return of the Burning Legion, a time travel expansion was so out of left field I don't think anyone except people deliberately making a fake expansion could have predicted it.
The intro to Legion was the only one that was agreed upon, and that was mostly because most everyone agreed that we would return ot Azeroth, and in lieu of direct hints the return of the Burning Legion was the most likely. And even then there were many that expected Old Gods and Azshara.
Players might have expected Old Gods going into BfA, but I don't think many expected faction war as well.

Now for Shadowlands there were many that expected Shadowlands, sure. But there were many that expected an Icecrown revamp, or a world revamp with light Scourge themes, or even a Cata 2.0 dragon world revamp expansion.

Expansion are only obvious in hindsight, there are conflicting theories that are prevalent all the way until we have evidence for anything specific. It might be hard to remember, but before we had the Bolvar screenshot and Bastion one of the most widely accepted theories was a dragon themed expansion.