Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Lady Atia]

I think Venthyr and Revendreth was handled well and received well exactly because it's as that poster said: new stuff, then it's linked to old Warcraft stuff, the Nathrezim. They did the same thing for Mists where the new is linked to the old over time.

However, the other three zones in SL aren't as integrally tied to Warcraft, and in the case of Maldraxxus and Ardenweald people thought the devs were saying that old Warcraft stuff (Scourge, Dream) was LAME compared to these new versions. I think this was projecting and persecution complex but that aside, they did not do a good job of tying Bastion, Maldraxxus and Ardenweald to Azeroth's story IMO.

Yes, Maldraxxus and the Five Houses were the blueprint for the Cult of the Damned that Kel created. But it kind of ends there. The biggest connection to Azeroth is that the reformed Houses help solve Lordaeron's plague and that's at the very end.

To be fair, the new stuff is kinda cooler than the old stuff. Pretending to be furious because the "new devs aren't respecting the old guard" is ridiculous though, especially as many of the old guard are better off forgotten anyways. Also, without that we wouldn't have had changes like cross-faction play or legendary transmog etc. Old doesn't always mean better ...

But yeah, I think a chronicle style book that actually tells us about the connections between the Shadowlands and Azeroth instead of just hinting at that stuff would have helped a lot. Just look how much better the Thunderking became once we got his full backstory.

[Cheezits]

Wtf is the utility of all the flora and fauna of those places??? Why are there largely mortal creatures living there?

Because an expansion that looked only like Maldraxxus and the Maw, which I'm sure was in the cards, would've driven people insane. Which again puts the expansion concept as a whole in question, but it's a beaten horse.

I'm glad they did not seal off the SL so that they can use the concept in small, smart ways moving forward. The concept of an entire realm of magic being indebted to a single planet could have interesting ramifications (and Lordaeron demonstrated this well, imo).

[rhorle]

Heck Molten Core should actually have been ANCIENT and include Firelands architecture; if you look at the maps, that area was the seat of power of Ragnaros since before the Black Empire and likely the point where he was banished.

The Molten Core was created during the War of the Three Hammers more than 300 years ago. It is not as old as you think it is.

[Nymrohd]

The Molten Core was created during the War of the Three Hammers more than 300 years ago. It is not as old as you think it is.

Look at the Black Empire map. Ragnaros' seat of power was where Blackrock is. I am not saying it IS the Molten Core but it's somewhere nearby

[rhorle]

A world revamp is inevitable at some point unless WoW either ends soon, or we are expecting increasingly absurd and out there zones in the future.

Chromie Time ensure that a world revamp is not inevitable. There is no reason to revamp the world when you can pick and choose a zone here and there to fit the story. Like they did with Darkshore and Arathi. A zone revamp? Sure that is likely inevitable. But a world one? Hardly. There are still plenty of places WoW could visit and plenty of places they could create. For example another alien race could fly their ship to Azeroth and we have a floating sky city expansion mixed with what was chasing them. If Dragonriding is a success it opens up a lot more because the sky is literally the limit. It could also put underwater back on the menu.

There are still plenty of things relating to the cosmic forces that can happen or manifest on Azeroth.

[Khaza-R]

I mean, Revendreth could easily have been the remnants of Nathreza instead. Ardenweald could have been an Emerald Dream zone. Bastion is just silver version of Halls which we spend more than enough time in Legion; could have been expanded in a Dragons vs Odyn plot. Maldraxxus . . . would so much rather have a Northrend Revamp. None of those thematics helped much. And I still think having the Shadowlands be a transitive plane leading to Death instead of being Death itself would have given us a much more subdued "cosmic order" xpac without necessarily setting up future xpacs for each of the other five forces. Plus it would have made so much more sense thematically since Shadowlands just do not make much sense as DEATH itself. Wtf is the utility of all the flora and fauna of those places??? Why are there largely mortal creatures living there?

Have to agree with all of this. Individually, the Shadowlands zones are great but the connection between them feels like an afterthought on the part of the developers. Rather than being some magical plane created by some kind of Titan+ beings, it would of been better if the Shadowlands zones were merely something that naturally manifested through interactions of the cosmic force of Death and the physical universe. A sort of purgatory fly trap of its own.

[Nymrohd]

Have to agree with all of this. Individually, the Shadowlands zones are great but the connection between them feels like an afterthought on the part of the developers. Rather than being some magical plane created by some kind of Titan+ beings, it would of been better if the Shadowlands zones were merely something that naturally manifested through interactions of the cosmic force of Death and the physical universe. A sort of purgatory fly trap of its own.

Honestly I still think the four zones should have been in ONE map. For me the greatest problem with Shadowlands as a world was how disjointed the experience was when you traveled between zones. Want to do some world quests on another zone? Take a flight path, switch to another tab and maybe remember you were playing warcraft so you can go back to the game.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

The amount of time people dedicate to poke holes in expansion concepts wouldn't allow many ideas for expansions to be made.

[Nymrohd]

The amount of time people dedicate to poke holes in expansion concepts wouldn't allow many ideas for expansions to be made.

Hey I think Shadowlands could work great as an expansion concept. Just don't agree with how it was executed, not with the concept itself. Heck even the zones are good picks.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Look at the Black Empire map. Ragnaros' seat of power was where Blackrock is. I am not saying it IS the Molten Core but it's somewhere nearby

Seems kinda unlikely rag would want to be underground when one of his enemy’s was known for swallowing people with fissures.

If any thing He’d likely have some above ground fort or even use black rock as a throne like that one elemental in ashenvale.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Hey I think Shadowlands could work great as an expansion concept. Just don't agree with how it was executed, not with the concept itself. Heck even the zones are good picks.

Hindsight is 2020 but the fact that we got Korthia(Lost city of forgotten knowledge isn't a bad idea, but Korthia is not that....unfortunately) among other Shadowlands realms that could of been explored(ORc ancestorland whatever that is. There's also a dumb idea I had for just a new afterlife realm thats psuedo paradise, like for the souls that go there(They are normies as in their lives are meh compared to us) but it reminds them of their home and where their loved ones and dead friends are at and can live in peace.

The desire to go on but I rather focus it to Dragonflight and well more content made for the world, not necessarily just instanced content that matters.

If any thing He’d likely have some above ground fort or even use black rock as a throne like that one elemental in ashenvale.

Just had an idea Ragnaros could have for a comeback but it would sacrifice Blackrock Spire and well the Blackrock zone in general, it might also affect Lakeshire as well. I know we're all tired of Ragnaros and such but a resurrection would be interesting if he decided to explode out of Blackrock Mountain destroying Blackrock Spire and he's there in the dinstance.

[Nymrohd]

Seems kinda unlikely rag would want to be underground when one of his enemy’s was known for swallowing people with fissures.

If any thing He’d likely have some above ground fort or even use black rock as a throne like that one elemental in ashenvale.

Could be that Blackrock was volcanic and his seat was in the caldera.

- - - Updated - - -

Hindsight is 2020 but the fact that we got Korthia(Lost city of forgotten knowledge isn't a bad idea, but Korthia is not that....unfortunately) among other Shadowlands realms that could of been explored(ORc ancestorland whatever that is. There's also a dumb idea I had for just a new afterlife realm thats psuedo paradise, like for the souls that go there(They are normies as in their lives are meh compared to us) but it reminds them of their home and where their loved ones and dead friends are at and can live in peace.

The desire to go on but I rather focus it to Dragonflight and well more content made for the world, not necessarily just instanced content that matters.

I wish we had some realm of sages and ancestors that would tie with tauren religion tbh.

[Marlamin]

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wo...g-soon/1271962

That's pretty quick.

[Cheezits]

I think in case of a world revamp, having the new Firelord (the current one is MIA) be the main antagonist of the Blackrock areas would be great.

Lets the Dark Iron be an ally in the world, refreshes the areas with more lava, and gives an actual threat to the civilizations nearby.

- - - Updated - - -

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wo...g-soon/1271962

That's pretty quick.

So we should see the raid affixes on the PTR, right? As well as the rewards like the Slimesaber.

[micwini]

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wo...g-soon/1271962

That's pretty quick.

Very interesting that the hardest tier of all time is also one of the shortest.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Well I guess Season 3 is ending soons

[Marlamin]

I think in case of a world revamp, having the new Firelord (the current one is MIA) be the main antagonist of the Blackrock areas would be great.

Lets the Dark Iron be an ally in the world, refreshes the areas with more lava, and gives an actual threat to the civilizations nearby.

- - - Updated - - -



So we should see the raid affixes on the PTR, right? As well as the rewards like the Slimesaber.

Most of it is already in, but am expecting a PTR patch now (when they come back up) with some final fixes (maybe 9.2.7).

[Cheezits]

Most of it is already in, but am expecting a PTR patch now with some final fixes (maybe 9.2.7).

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the affixes have been testable, even if they are in? I haven't seen any footage of them.

[micwini]

I feel like this is the news post from today. Then hopefully maybe alpha tomorrow or 2 more trees.

[Makorus]

That's further away than I expected to be honest.