Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[The Stormbringer]

Intergalactic narratives where beings of untold power are scheming agaisnt one another, using the heroes' world as the ring sounds distant, disconnected and unfamiliar. Not only that, but the heroes are guaranteed to always find an edge with which to undermine such beings. Beings, by the way, that are who knows how old and immensely powerful, but somehow managed to get upstaged by the equivalent of ants, because of.... special - borrowed - powers.

Well, except Zovaal. In his case, we just showed and beat him

Not to mention that the wider the expanse in which the story takes place, the more probable plotholes are. Here we have Zovaal, who was apparently a master manipulator, moving pieces here and there to his benefit, and in turn he gets squashed by the little guy. Also, the new Lich King, who we can only assume reigned over the entirety of Icecrown Citadel, apparently was unaware that he had a soul sucking mechanism underneath his throne.

But I guess Zovaal just planted a fail safe mechanism in the Crown to keep him blind *shrugh*

You know what we are? Or might eventually become? WoW's equivalent of Diablo's Nephalem.

You could argue the special, borrowed powers we had when fighting the Jailer was all the Covenant/Soulbind stuff, combined with the various Shadowlands gear and other stuff we got from that realm to help boost us up to another level.

[Dracullus]

Great question, let's see how the next couple of weeks will go!

There were already few encrypted builds for 9.2.5. No way PTR will start in 6 weeks and no way PTR would be shorter than 6 weeks.

[Marlamin]

An easy way to miss more than a few clues, however. Second hand reports are never as accurate as first hand observations.

- - - Updated - - -



Looks like right now it's just for typoing version numbers. Which is weirding me out, because i wouldn't expect those to be handwritten to begin with...

Actually don't think it's a typo. I remembered that they use 99.0 and 99.1 in some stuff so they might just be doing the same for that.

[DiscipleofCazicThule]

Ages ago, Magic: the Gathering had this event where an evil plane, Pyrexia, attacked other planes. This caused tons of other factions to fight for their lives, and eventually, ending up fighting together. At one point, an army was being overwhelmed by the evil machine monsters when the undead rose and fought alongside the living.

I'm told that in Warhammer: End Times, the undead, destruction, and order factions (or what remained) ended up fighting alongside each other to stop the forces of Chaos. Granted, in this case, the combined armies failed.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it's a fairly common fantasy trope and I can see that being the story down the line, where the six are united against the..."Yuuzhan Vong" or "Archaon" of Warcraft but I'm really hoping we come back down to Earth..er...Azeroth for a little bit before we do that.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

I think we still have some of it, just not in the greater overarching plots. Drustvar had a really solid and engaging (if campy) plot where it took us on an odyssey across the zone until we finally learned that one of the people we were trying to save was the mastermind behind the whole disaster, all ending in a solid dungeon.

Drustvar, Revendreth, most of Zuldazar and Mechagon were easily some of the most solid plots Blizzard has done in a while. They actually had an underlying scheme and evil plan which we could gradually unravel and a nice, consistent set of events that went into their quests and foreshadowing. The main plot as a whole has been a huge burden on Blizzard since BfA, when they started having to pivot more from their zone development to focus more on the overarching plot. Legion did this very excellently—several zones were initially totally divorced from the main plot and gave us an interesting storyline that could operate well enough without being bogged down by the Legion's presence. They eventually came together when it was necessary and proper to face the Legion, and since this was an interesting plot with a lot of room to operate with, there could be an interesting conclusion on Argus where we finally got to resolve a very long-running plot.

Shadowlands does roughly the same with the zones in terms of them having their own interesting plots, but Sylvanas' plot is generally so disinteresting and all-encompassing it drags them all down. Most of the individual zone plots are very good and interesting on their own, but the schemes are too predictable and the themes not varied enough in terms of the story. Despite how disparate the zones are, they are generally all connected to the most disinteresting story Blizzard has concocted in a good while. It's simply bland and superfluous.

Cataclysm, despite having one of the most banal main storylines in memory, had an extremely good set of zones to back it up and a huge number of disparate plots. They did tie into the main theme of "Big Evil Dragon destroys things" fairly well, but they also had a huge number of independent and interesting plots which each carried their own weight. This is probably part of why Cataclysm is considered to have some of the best zone storylines, yet easily one of the worst main plots.

Meanwhile, Shadowlands is just a theme park where we continuously chase Sylvanas. We get a little bit of interesting philosophical questions in Bastion (even though the ultimate conclusion and the majority of the plot is mind-numbingly boring and just makes the Kyrian look extraordinarily unintelligent) and an excellent villain in Denathrius, most of the plots outside of Revendreth were just "hey, here's a bunch of morons getting tricked by the transparently-evil minions of the Jailer. Have fun cleaning up after these extraordinarily stupid people and their bad decisions". It's all to do with the Jailer and his mind-numbingly banal minions as we march through a sequence of set pieces and see the same general plot repeated a few times with a slightly different coat of paint.

- - - Updated - - -

I expect to be proven right about a great many things I predicted on April 19.

What are your predictions, anyway? You seem to bog them down with single-topic ramblings that don't really matter to the topic at hand.

[Atriel]

Pelagos' story is not over.

The Golden One claims a vacant throne. The crown of Light will bring only Darkness.

Pelagos is likely to become a villain and we'll go back to Shadowlands eventually to put him down like his predecessor.

The Golden One could also refer to Calia taking the throne of Lordaeron for the new leader of the Forsaken. The throne is vacant at the moment.

I really doubt that Pelagos' character likely was not even thought of when they made all of the whisper lines. Not saying they couldn't retcon that, sure. But Pelagos is definitely grasping at straws when there are other characters that fit the bill more.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

The Golden One could also refer to Calia taking the throne of Lordaeron for the new leader of the Forsaken. The throne is vacant at the moment.

I really doubt that Pelagos' character likely was not even thought of when they made all of the whisper lines. Not saying they couldn't retcon that, sure. But Pelagos is definitely grasping at straws when there are other characters that fit the bill more.

I'm just keeping Occam's Razor at hand and saying it's Turalyon. It could go another way, but I feel like it would be a "shocking swerve" to make it someone else. Then again, Blizzard isn't known for sticking with the predictable but interesting plot and will instead swerve us over to the most boring and banal plotlines possible solely to "surprise" us—but, usually, the plots will end up far more predictable than we think, and no one is surprised. A surprise is interesting and worthwhile, and tends to get a reaction. Pulling something unexpected out of your ass isn't a surprise or twist, it's just a thing. It's like a pivot in a conversation.

[Alanar]

*facepalm*

Xavius? Barely a pawn... you can't tell me he's the Big Bad of the Life cosmic force.
N'zoth, Azshara and the Black Empire have nothing to do with the Dream, so i don't know why you even bring them up.

The face palm is on you big man.

Anyway that applies to this as well.

The charm is kinda gone, just like the black empire for example.. we have been there and going there a second time is just not as exciting.

It's flying over your head, but this has been said like 3 times already.

Yes ofc they can create 6 new areas in the ED out of thin air and come up with another pantheon, but this time it's LIFE.. so with that in mind, I ask you again, do you really think that is such a good idea and not try to do some worldbuilding first?

[AOL Instant Messenger]

The face palm is on you big man.

I wonder what the guy who is responsible for the Emerald Nightmare or the ruler of a race highly interconnected with it might have to do with the Emerald Dream.

- - - Updated - - -

This has been said like 3 times already... you still question what the black empire or Nazjatar has to do with it? this is what happends when reading is hard.

What about the Drust? Thros apparently connects to the Emerald Nightmare somehow. Gorak Tul could become a new Nightmare Lord—that's actually part of a concept I had for an old pre-Shadowlands concept for a Shadowlands expansion.

[Fahrad Wagner]

I expect to be proven right about a great many things I predicted on April 19.

How will you feel though dear, when the focus of the next expansion is confirmed to NOT be the Void?

[AOL Instant Messenger]

How will you feel though dear, when the focus of the next expansion is confirmed to NOT be the Void?

Should I set a reminder to ping either you or Varodoc depending on if it's Void or not? I already have two people who were each respectively claiming it must be and can't be Dragon Isles, and I'm going to ping them when it is one or the other.

[Vakir]

How will you feel though dear, when the focus of the next expansion is confirmed to NOT be the Void?

They'll complain about the expansion not out of the actual quality but solely based on how little it focuses on the enigmatic well-known and familiar Alleria and the Ren'dorei Void Elves.

If you wanna imagine what Steve Danuser might look like as a forum user before they had a job, this is a decent take, just with a different character.

...also idk why everyone is replying to nothing, y'all are just quoting a complete lack of text. It must be just the wind.

[Varodoc]

How will you feel though dear, when the focus of the next expansion is confirmed to NOT be the Void?

The same way I felt when Alleria and co. were nowhere to be seen in Patch 8.3

I would simply have further evidence that, for whatever reason, the Ren'dorei ended up being Blizzard's most hated race.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Should I set a reminder to ping either you or Varodoc depending on if it's Void or not? I already have two people who were each respectively claiming it must be and can't be Dragon Isles, and I'm going to ping them when it is one or the other.

You can ping me for sure. If it's a Void-focused expansion, I'll swallow my pride and admit I'm wrong hehe

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Ren'dorei ended up being Blizzard's most hated race.

If they hate them, why did they make them? Just to use instead of High Elves?

- - - Updated - - -

You can ping me for sure. If it's a Void-focused expansion, I'll swallow my pride and admit I'm wrong hehe

The roulette wheel spins.

[Vakir]

9.2.5 announcement in 30 min?

Based on...?

[Fahrad Wagner]

If they hate them, why did they make them? Just to use instead of High Elves?

- - - Updated - - -



The roulette wheel spins.

At this point I'll be surprised if it's not the Dragon Isles, as this would probably be the best scenario for Blizzard, and they really need a win after the whole SL-era and internal mayhem. If they go for something else... I'll be surprised.

9.2.5 announcement in 30 min?

Uhm, why exactly?

[Sondrelk]

9.2.5 announcement in 30 min?

Based on what?

[AOL Instant Messenger]

At this point I'll be surprised if it's not the Dragon Isles, as this would probably be the best scenario for Blizzard, and they really need a win after the whole SL-era and internal mayhem. If they go for something else... I'll be surprised.

I'm honestly thinking it may be both a Void and Dragon Isles expansion. It could have a heavy focus on the Twilights, for instance. Either way, I'm leaning more with you, though—we're not going to K'Aresh or anything, that's for sure.

[Varodoc]

At this point I'll be surprised if it's not the Dragon Isles, as this would probably be the best scenario for Blizzard, and they really need a win after the whole SL-era and internal mayhem. If they go for something else... I'll be surprised.



Uhm, why exactly?

Dragon Isles would literally be a Void expansion. The two main villains related to Dragons are:

- Vexiona and her Void Cult and

- Murozond and his Infinite Dragonflight, who were created by the Old Gods.

Xal'atath and Queen Azshara are also unaccounted for.

This is the problem, when people say "Void expansion", they don't mean "expansion where we travel on a spaceship to a Void planet". What we mean is "expansion where the villains are affiliated with the Void", it's that simple.

Which is why I am confident in being right. I win either way. Either it's an actual Void expansion where we go to some planet of the Void (like the Ethereal world) or it's an expansion about the Dragon Isles but featuring the Void as villain.

And if the Void are the villain, the protagonist side will need... how can I put it... experts in the ways of the Void to win.

The only wild card is Blizzard being stupid enough to make a meme expansion taking place in the Undermines or some nonsense like that.