Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Izalla]

If the continents were only on one hemisphere they'd have established that already.
Instead they went out of their way to show Kal and EK stretching over the planet, very much the polar opposite approach.

If we really wanna dig for some realism to justify the climate, we could just speculate that its because of Azeroths tilt and orbit.
But best to just not think about it, realistic Physics never applied in this franchise and never will.

Oh I'm not trying to justify the climate or say this is proof they have a secret hidden hemisphere up their sleeve. They clearly did not intend there to be anything south of what we already know, and have always made their globes reflect this. I'm just saying that if they decided they want to retcon things, the climate they established ages ago would support the retcon.

[Ersula]

Most of this stuff needs to be encrypted anyways for spoiler purposes but datamining is so common these days. No offense to dataminers. I just think the reaction to story moments would hit differently if we were ignorant of it all.

I really hate this logic & that Blizzard seems to be subscribing to it. Datamining is the where most of the hype resides. Instead WoW content creators are shifting toward their own insufferable theorycrafting. And it's only the people who want to be spoiled who follow it. If that's what they're pushing against they might as well force worldfirst raiders to sign cinematic NDAs.

[TheFirstOnes]

Now I'm thinking about it, thinking Azeroth will come out of the Jailer encounter unharmed is kind of ridiculous considering the spells we've already seen datamined. Very curious to see what that entails. Jailer quite literally has his eyes on Northrend at the moment, with the rest of the globe being obscured. Northrend is the oldest non-updated continent outside of Outland at the moment, so maybe we'll see something primarily happen there. Would be interesting.



Fair enough. Should be interesting to see what happens, then!

This mf is 100% finna slam the world entire, so I doubt Northrend is the ONLY factor here. Sargeras also attacked Northrend first in the 7.3 Key Art, but we know he simply wants Azeroth’s soul, and he himself didn’t even attack Northrend in lore. Very much possible Zovaal’s stuff is based on how fast he can drain Azeroth so we can’t stop him n shit, and Northrend was where most of his reign began, and it’s where his influence toward Azeroth is at its most powerful atm.

[Ersula]

Plot twist - the Dragon Isles is just the remaining pieces of Northrend after the Jailer blew it up.

Good. Yes. I like this. It makes no sense to call it the Dragon Isles but I like they way you think.

Also WE DO see the whole of the globe: It's in the 3rd phase of the jailer fight. We're protecting it from getting pelted with meteors.

[TheFirstOnes]

Plot twist - the Dragon Isles is just the remaining pieces of Northrend after the Jailer blew it up.

Dragon Isles exist prior to this idea though. Implications in slightly older lore imply a land at the backside of the world, where Ships entire are fucked, and we know Pandaria and Northrend both house rather great magical dragon presence, and whatnot. So it’s very possible the Dragon Isles were hidden by the Titans or by the First Ones cause it’s got a secret in there that leads directly into Azeroth’s very core if you wanna apply new lore, reminder that Azeroth’s magical primal power is best showcased not in its center, but by the furthest points of North, South, East, and West. Maybe that’s just coincidence though? Idk, I do think it’s a BIT odd however, especially when you consider that “isles” may not even apply to simple islands anymore, but maybe more. The Broken Isles housed LOTS of shit once thought mythical tbh.

And we’ve not explored the Undermine or anything yet, so that can also be a cool patch mega dungeon for us to go through.

[Ersula]

Ulduar was never intended to be seen by mortals either.

Zandalari trolls were so familiar with the aesthetic of Titan facilities they based their entire culture around it. And that was before the Titans even left.

Dragon Isles exist prior to this idea though.

Not really. They're a remnant of early alpha wow. The only interesting feature the zone had was repurposed as Shrine of the Storms in BFA. And they'd have to come up with a pretty big contrivance to explain why none of the Dragonflight lived there: If there are Dragon Isles, why did every dragonflight choose to make their home somewhere else?

[TaliaKirana]

And yet, the Dragon Isles were name dropped in-game during BfA. And the new Kalimdor book also has a mention of a mythical homeland for dragons that's not yet been found. The original vanilla idea for the Dragon Isles was thrown out (which was being full of Old God stuff). But it seems like they're planting seeds for it to be a dragon-centric area. And dragon-related plots have been bubbling in the background since Legion.
(Yeah, I'm Team Dragon Isles.)

[Raetary]

Zandalari trolls were so familiar with the aesthetic of Titan facilities they based their entire culture around it. And that was before the Titans even left.

What?

The trolls started building their civilizations long after the titans left the planet.
By then Uldir was already under lockdown and abandoned, which is how they managed to settle around the 3 Seals in the first place - there was no one around to prohibit them from doing that.

[Nyel]

What if we get a revamped Northrend? We still have the ominous Northrend-necropolis-pic…

But… what would a Northrend revamp be about?

[Ersula]

By then Uldir was already under lockdown and abandoned, which is how they managed to settle around the 3 Seals in the first place - there was no one around to prohibit them from doing that.

Mother directly explains they chose a creature the Trolls were worshiping to test on. Religious worship is a key indicator of civilization.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

What if we get a revamped Northrend? We still have the ominous Northrend-necropolis-pic…

But… what would a Northrend revamp be about?

Climate change came to Northrend and Blizzard is creating an expansion on environmental awareness campaigning. */sarcasm*

[Edlarel]

Unless I'm misremembering, Blizz devs have actually acknowledged that themselves during Q&A at one of the Blizzcons. Can't remember if it was Red Shirt Guy who asked them or not.

That would actually make a lot of sense. Northrend being the northernmost point of the world, with the known continents in the northern hemispheres. Unless the world's axis isn't on a tilt, which would explain why we don't experience seasons. I'm not sure there are any canon stories about summer/fall/winter/spring in different regions. The only thing we know about time passage is the growth and harvesting of grains in Lordaeron and various holidays. Yes, this is stretching a bit to make the in game world more accurate to its representation. Unless they do add seasons coming up.

But I'm getting distracted. They did also say they missed an opportunity to call Pandaria Southrend. Intentionally? Not sure yet.

[Dracullus]

Soo.. 1 hour until news drop?

[Ersula]

And yet, the Dragon Isles were name dropped in-game during BfA. And the new Kalimdor book also has a mention of a mythical homeland for dragons that's not yet been found. The original vanilla idea for the Dragon Isles was thrown out (which was being full of Old God stuff). But it seems like they're planting seeds for it to be a dragon-centric area. And dragon-related plots have been bubbling in the background since Legion.
(Yeah, I'm Team Dragon Isles.)

So you're telling me even if we get an undermine or world revamp so long as the expansion includes a dragon (which every expansion has) the dragon isles people are going to be patting themselves on the back for being right about the next expansion?

No wonder why this franchise is dying.

[Valysar]

Climate change came to Northrend and Blizzard is creating an expansion on environmental awareness campaigning. */sarcasm*

With a brand new reputation : Greta Thungerg !

[Nyel]

Climate change came to Northrend and Blizzard is creating an expansion on environmental awareness campaigning. */sarcasm*

Besides being funny, I think it wouldn't be too far off honestly. Northrend and Icecrown both were all about the Scourge and the Lich King. After Shadowlands this is supposedly gone.

So... something needs to be done to that continent. But: what?

[Varodoc]

What if we get a revamped Northrend? We still have the ominous Northrend-necropolis-pic…

But… what would a Northrend revamp be about?

Yogg-Saron coming back, of course.

He was still whispering to the living creatures in Legion.

Yogg-Saron the Old God of Death, his return is inevitable. Once the Janitor is out of the way, this creature Yogg-Saron will sense a window of opportunity and try to take over the remainders of Death, to become the one true God of Death.

[Nyel]

Yogg-Saron coming back, of course.

He was still whispering to the living creatures in Legion.

Yogg-Saron the Old God of Death, his return is inevitable.

So maybe with Galakrond, after all?

The more I think about it, the more a Northrend revamp makes sense. And as Marlamin has said, Northrend is the oldest kind of content on Azeroth right now.

[Izalla]

That would actually make a lot of sense. Northrend being the northernmost point of the world, with the known continents in the northern hemispheres. Unless the world's axis isn't on a tilt, which would explain why we don't experience seasons. I'm not sure there are any canon stories about summer/fall/winter/spring in different regions. The only thing we know about time passage is the growth and harvesting of grains in Lordaeron and various holidays. Yes, this is stretching a bit to make the in game world more accurate to its representation. Unless they do add seasons coming up.

But I'm getting distracted. They did also say they missed an opportunity to call Pandaria Southrend. Intentionally? Not sure yet.

Off the top of my head I can think of Quel'Thalas being enchanted to be "everlasting spring" which implies that there is such a thing as spring and it is normal for the seasons to change so that it is not always spring.

[Varodoc]

So maybe with Galakrond, after all?

The more I think about it, the more a Northrend revamp makes sense. And as Marlamin has said, Northrend is the oldest kind of content on Azeroth right now.

Just like N'Zoth resurrected and empowered Deathwing, turning him into the harbinger of his wrath, Yogg-Saron could do the same with Galakrond. Coincidentally, Cataclysm (with N'Zoth and Deathwing) also happened after an expansion about the Lich King (Janitor being the Licher King).

Old Gods have always messed with dragons. Remember how many dragons were enslaved and corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare, including the Dragon Aspect Ysera? Yogg-Saron was the one who originally created the Emerald Nightmare.

With Galakrond under his control, Yogg-Saron has the means to scour Azeroth of all life, usher in the Hour of Twilight, and become the one true God of a dead world.