Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[PhillyCheese]

Nope, looks pretty old to me.

I really hope that Brill being all reused assets isn't a bad sign on how important they are treating revitalizing the world. HOWEVER, if they really are making an entirely new phase of EK/Kalimdor, it would make sense to not bother updating the buildings and textures (beyond changing the ground) until that new map drops like Cataclysm's pre-event. Would also explain them using an old Hawkstrider model mount as a reward.

Wasn't there some dev experimenting with an entire map of Kalimdor during Shadowlands?

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Additional question: why didn't Blizzard acknowledge the Dark Iron and Belf quests in the PTR forums if they are open for testing? Were they not supposed to be in, or are we getting a 9.2.5 official news drop soon?

[Sondrelk]

I really hope that Brill being all reused assets isn't a bad sign on how important they are treating revitalizing the world. HOWEVER, if they really are making an entirely new phase of EK/Kalimdor, it would make sense to not bother updating the buildings and textures (beyond changing the ground) until that new map drops like Cataclysm's pre-event. Would also explain them using an old Hawkstrider model mount as a reward.

Wasn't there some dev experimenting with an entire map of Kalimdor during Shadowlands?

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Additional question: why didn't Blizzard acknowledge the Dark Iron and Belf quests in the PTR forums if they are open for testing? Were they not supposed to be in, or are we getting a 9.2.5 official news drop soon?

I imagine they are just letting player discover the stuff on the PTR for themselves, and then in 2 weeks or whatever it was we will get a proper announcement of what will be in it.

[PhillyCheese]

I imagine they are just letting player discover the stuff on the PTR for themselves, and then in 2 weeks or whatever it was we will get a proper announcement of what will be in it.

Only the expansion announcement is on the 19th so we may get a small video or big blog post on 9.2.5 beforehand. Barring any big spoilers like WHY there is an Operation Lordaeron

[Teriz]

One point I have against this is that this isn't a real last patch. It's similar to Legion where 7.3.5 absoLUTELY had to do with BFA and that is because it came out after BFA reveal I believe. The same way that this patch will come out after 10.0 reveal. The last major patch always is focused on the current expansion but these .5's set up the next one. Wasn't Ruby Sanctum the same way?

Like we don't even know what the prepatch event will be for 10.0. If this is supposed to be like Legion's last .5 patch then this will absolutely set up the next expansion instead of just wrapping up the Forsaken and maybe Nelves.

Much of this is true, but 7.3.5 wasn’t on the PTR until after the BFA announcement. 7.3.2 was released about a week before BlizzCon 2017, and it definitely didn’t give us a ton of information. We did have some Kul’Tiran cultist models, and a few other hints, but no one was talking about a faction war, Sylvanas burning down Teldrassil, Undercity getting sacked, Nzoth, Mechagon, or allied races. I think the stuff that has been datamined so far is stuff completely unrelated to next expansion. Anything directly related to 10.0 is encrypted, or simply not on the PTR build.

[Marlamin]

Much of this is true, but 7.3.5 wasn’t on the PTR until after the BFA announcement. 7.3.2 was released about a week before BlizzCon 2017, and it definitely didn’t give us a ton of information. We did have some Kul’Tiran cultist models, and a few other hints, but no one was talking about a faction war, Sylvanas burning down Teldrassil, Undercity getting sacked, Nzoth, Mechagon, or allied races. I think the stuff that has been datamined so far is stuff completely unrelated to next expansion. Anything directly related to 10.0 is encrypted, or simply not on the PTR build.

We definitely knew a bit more than that around 7.3.2, there were hints of it being a faction-war based expansion due to the faction-specific deluxe mounts that we datamined, we had pretty much confirmed the big continents were KT and Zandalar and subraces were a big topic as well due to the datamining race references/model tech changes.

As for current PTR, keep in mind some of the stuff that's been datamined is encrypted, just badly, so we definitely might have already seen the first of what'll be a tie-in to 10.0, just without context.

[PhillyCheese]

Much of this is true, but 7.3.5 wasn’t on the PTR until after the BFA announcement. 7.3.2 was released about a week before BlizzCon 2017, and it definitely didn’t give us a ton of information. We did have some Kul’Tiran cultist models, and a few other hints, but no one was talking about a faction war, Sylvanas burning down Teldrassil, Undercity getting sacked, Nzoth, Mechagon, or allied races. I think the stuff that has been datamined so far is stuff completely unrelated to next expansion. Anything directly related to 10.0 is encrypted, or simply not on the PTR build.

ARs were absolutely datamined early on (I remember a huge debacle of what the fuck a "Void Elf" was and why it would only be Alliance), the things that were missing were the beginning invasions and Mechagon/N'zoth (though the South Seas stuff made people suspect Azshara and N'zoth would be involved as they have always been nautical themed).

Its a bit short sighted to think that none of this is related to 10.0. Even if it's not a Lordaeron expansion, Lordaeron being retaken could relate to the overall "world update" theme of a Reverse Cataclysm. Note that that's the one encrypted thing and not the Ghostlands thing... which is odd as it also should've been encrypted, considering it paints some pretty big hints as to the state of Azeroth (Forsaken out of Ghostlands + Scourge back to Vanilla levels of threat)

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Who wants to bet we get the 9.2.5 overview this week on Wednesday or Thursday? Tuesday is the definitive "end" of Shadowlands after all.

[Teriz]

ARs were absolutely datamined early on, the things that were missing were the beginning invasions and Mechagon/N'zoth (though the South Seas stuff made people suspect Azshara and N'zoth would be involved as they have always been nautical themed).

I don’t remember the allied races being datamined before the BFA announcement. Got a link to that? I remember allied races being datamined after the announcement and during BFA.

Its a bit short sighted to think that none of this is related to 10.0. Even if it's not a Lordaeron expansion, Lordaeron being retaken could relate to the overall "world update" theme of a Reverse Cataclysm.

I can agree with a world revamp. I simply don’t buy an expansion focused on EK, and it being datamined to this extent before expansion announcement.

[Revamp Man]

World of Warcraft: Soul of the Gods

not dragon isles, instead a series of islands on the other side of azeroth
these new islands are supposed to rival kalimdor + ek in size, biggest "continent" since launch
new player levelling will start here too (idk how this part works)
story is a soft reboot or something
player housing introduced in rebuilt stratholme (horde) and dire maul (ally)
>evel cap staying at 60, players squished to 50 again
small overhaul of talent tree, now there's small incremental talents in between the abilities at 15, 30, 45 etc

If you’re gonna Larp don’t make the level squish especially after they mentioned it not feeling good going into an expansion feeling weaker

[PhillyCheese]

I don’t remember the allied races being datamined before the BFA announcement. Got a link to that? I remember allied races being datamined after the announcement and during BFA.

It's so far back I don't remember where to start, but I think Marlamin can back me up. A race table was datamined in 7.3(?) that showed that Velf and LFD were listed as Alliance races and Nightborne and HMT were Horde races. It caused controversy because people couldn't believe any of those races wouldn't be neutral/didn't know what a Void Elf was. (I think some people pieced together Nightborne picking a side because Tyrande and the Velfs being based off Alleria)

[Sondrelk]

It's so far back I don't remember where to start, but I think Marlamin can back me up. A race table was datamined in 7.3(?) that showed that Velf and LFD were listed as Alliance races and Nightborne and HMT were Horde races. It caused controversy because people couldn't believe any of those races wouldn't be neutral/didn't know what a Void Elf was. (I think some people pieced together Nightborne picking a side because Tyrande and the Velfs being based off Alleria)

I remember that being a thing as well. I know it was datamined before the actual BfA announcement for sure since it was one of those where things fell into place once the trailer came out.

[Marlamin]

It's so far back I don't remember where to start, but I think Marlamin can back me up. A race table was datamined in 7.3(?) that showed that Velf and LFD were listed as Alliance races and Nightborne and HMT were Horde races. It caused controversy because people couldn't believe any of those races wouldn't be neutral/didn't know what a Void Elf was. (I think some people pieced together Nightborne picking a side because Tyrande and the Velfs being based off Alleria)

Yup! 7.3.0 had DB2 references for all 4 the allied races (which we called subraces at that point, since it was pre-announcement).

[PhillyCheese]

Speaking of Cataclysm2, this Cataclysm-themed chamber in Bastion has been here since launch.



Chamber of Unspeaken Pacts. Hidden Kyrian lore or Cata tease?

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I remember that being a thing as well. I know it was datamined before the actual BfA announcement for sure since it was one of those where things fell into place once the trailer came out.

Yup! The first 7.3.2 PTR build had DB2 references for all 4 the allied races (which we called subraces at that point, since it was pre-announcement).

Glad I am not crazy.

[Marlamin]

Yup! The first 7.3.2 PTR build had DB2 references for all 4 the allied races (which we called subraces at that point, since it was pre-announcement).

Actually, slight correction on this, these were already present in 7.3.0 together with the Kul Tiras quest items. We just didn't find them until 7.3.2 came around (shows how much datamining has changed -- that wouldn't fly under the radar these days).

And to be more detailed, a lot of the speculative datamining around 8.x back then was done within the hype thread with it only getting traction after BlizzPlanet or Wowhead reposted it. The expansion was a bit more of a surprise for the general public compared to hype thread regulars.

[Sondrelk]

In my opinion, its either step back to decentralized storytelling of pre-BFA, or write complete stories that get released all at once.

Being told over the course of 2 years doesn't make it more epic, I'd rather complete stories that happen in single releases than fragmented, messy releases that are prone to being eviscerated by cuts, changes in priorities, etc.

it makes the story bad, I don't think it would be filler, telling a second and third story in the Shadowlands would be great, it'd let other topics breathe and have a proper focus.

It's a problem that started all the way back in TBC really. An expansion kinda implies a cohesive package with a beginning middle and end.
The better way of telling stories in an MMO is what they did in Vanilla, individual storylines that were pretty much exclusively contained to it's own patch.

[Teriz]

Yup! 7.3.0 had DB2 references for all 4 the allied races (which we called subraces at that point, since it was pre-announcement).

Yeah, I found the thread where this came up. Interesting read to be sure.

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...1#post47663642

Fun to look back on stuff like that when all the facts are known.

[Marlamin]

Yeah, I found the thread where this came up. Interesting read to be sure.

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...1#post47663642

Fun to look back on stuff like that when all the facts are known.

The situation for Shadowlands was similar (e.g. we knew about the Maw and a Tower that was in it using new tech) and it'll be the same when 10.0 is announced. A lot of datamining references/things that currently make no sense, going back multiple patches, will suddenly have context.

[Teriz]

It's so far back I don't remember where to start, but I think Marlamin can back me up. A race table was datamined in 7.3(?) that showed that Velf and LFD were listed as Alliance races and Nightborne and HMT were Horde races. It caused controversy because people couldn't believe any of those races wouldn't be neutral/didn't know what a Void Elf was. (I think some people pieced together Nightborne picking a side because Tyrande and the Velfs being based off Alleria)

Yeah I stand corrected on that. I suppose we’ll see what happens on the 19th.

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The situation for Shadowlands was similar (e.g. we knew about the Maw and a Tower that was in it using new tech) and it'll be the same when 10.0 is announced. A lot of datamining references/things that currently make no sense, going back multiple patches, will suddenly have context.

Cool. I’m looking forward to us actually discussing 10.0 instead of constantly speculating. It’ll be a refreshing change of pace.

[Revamp Man]

Agreed which is why (as my signature suggests) I believe we’re looking at an Undermine/Dragon Isles expansion.

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https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Ravnyr
https://www.wowhead.com/item=186556/...cal-dragonling
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=175546/timecapn-hooktail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6KnbbQK4h4
https://www.wowhead.com/news/the-dra...nd-pets-325358
https://latestgamestories.com/2022/0...-dragon-addon/

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Which is another reason I weigh Wrathion's presence so heavily. Blizzard uses him as a plot driver for whatever reason. If they're tying the Dragon Isles to him, you have to take it into heavy consideration for expansion inclusion.

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Exactly right.

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They could have also brought in Demon Hunters during TBC, but instead they decided to wait until Legion. Blizzard's mind works in mysterious ways.

Also as a developer, if you have a long plan in mind for your game, you're not going to dump all the goods at once. You save some content for future expansions, like what they did with Northrend, Mt. Hyjal, Outland, Undermine, and other locations in Vanilla.



I don't know what "pattern" you're suggesting here.

Collector’s edition rewards yes
Dungeon boss eh
Ysera getting revived eh
Dragon pack when we have a cat pack
Anniversary pet eh

I’m gonna try to keep this short
The mechanical dragonling can’t be seen as a hint just because it’s an anniversary reward because we had a corgi reward as well

The dragon pack has a cat pack brother

We can’t deny that the collector’s edition is giving a drake mount

Now I do want dragon isles but I’m not going to call everything a hint

[PhillyCheese]

Living World is the big thing for 10.0 and I'm not sure if there any changes mentioning that in 9.2.5.

If they tightened up on that we can assume it may be a large feature they don't want to spoil.

[Raetary]

You people are focusing too much on that damn shop bundle.