Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[SunspotAnims]

Why Teldrassil?

If anything, they probably burned it because they want our attention to pivot to the actual World Tree - Nordrassil.

Teldrassil has long had an iconic depiction as a civilization on top of a giant tree but it's never been properly reflected in-game. Basically, I'm saying if the next expansion brings an "anti-Cataclysm" of sorts as a world revamp, the restoration of Teldrassil would be the defining icon of that change similar to how the burning gates of Stormwind were the defining icon of the cataclysm. A major plotline focused on restoring the destroyed tree would be pretty directly symbolic of restoring a neglected world, and the capstone of it all would be the zone returning in a new form, with a new appearance to more closely resemble how it was originally intended to look.

It's all speculation, obviously dependent on a bunch of "ifs", but I think it'd be the best way to approach the concept of a world revamp, if the next expansion were to go that route.

Basically, I want this. And it'd be a huge win if it were ever pulled off:

[Raetary]

Whatever they do, i dont want the Pantheon of Life (if we get them) to be the primary theme.

Have the expansion lead us to them, but i don't want another Shadowlands.

[Pheraz]

Whatever they do, i dont want the Pantheon of Life (if we get them) to be the primary theme.

Have the expansion lead us to them, but i don't want another Shadowlands.

Yes. Please not. I would move away from letting the gameplay be driven sooo much by the main story line. Less DBZ, more local stuff. And yes, please please please, no more new planets as the main env
Back to azeroth would be so cool

[Syegfryed]

I cannot imagine we will have two expansions in a row on a vaguely explained otherworldly realm, in that case I would rather imagine the Elune stuff hints at a patch in this one.
I am almost completely confident the next expansion will take place back on Azeroth.

i totally imagine that, blizzard are those guy who still think this expansion and lore is amazing, and, they totally think they could make it

But yeah its prob azeroth again with all the remaking starting gear, prob so we can create alts in the new world maybe.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I cannot imagine we will have two expansions in a row on a vaguely explained otherworldly realm, in that case I would rather imagine the Elune stuff hints at a patch in this one.
I am almost completely confident the next expansion will take place back on Azeroth.

I'm not so sure about that. The original plan was clearly to lean way more into cosmic stuff from now on. SL lore still in large parts sets up random things about the cosmos to be expaneded upon at the drop of a hat. The question is more how far ahead have they actually planned (something that imho is laughably exaggerated by the fans anyway) and how much room did they leave themselves to change course if SL wasn't well received.

[Nyel]

I really cannot imagine them going from Shadowlands - Pantheon of Death to Lifelands (aka Realms of Life) - Pantheon of Life in the next expansion. This would be hilariously bad planning in every aspect, especially when we considered how poor the reception to Shadowlands is. I don't expect Blizzard to be this ignorant and tone deaf, so at best we might get a patch or two out of it, where the main setting is entirely different.

The problem with setting is, what do we have left on Azeroth? Right now when we're talking about that it's a) Revamp or b) Dragon Isles, both options are rather limited (the one clearly being a 1% chance and the other just being so... basic?). Floating Dragon Isles where flying is mandatory from the start sounds awesome, but if it's neither a) nor b), what could Azeroth offer besides that? Undermine sounds so irrelevant that I don't expect anything from it, so... another secret continent like Pandaria? How likely is that after all these years and after all that's happened?

[Hugnomo]

Though I love Shadowlands (lore, art, concept, etc) and completely disagree that it should have been relegated to a mere patch, I do also believe that next expansion will be back on Azeroth and that they won't do 2 cosmic, otherworldly expansions in a row. And I've been rooting for a world revamp for years so, still hoping for that!

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Also, remember when everyone was upset that the alien, otherworldly, cosmic setting of Argus was a mere patch instead of an entire expansion? How the turntables...

[Raetary]

I also worry that it might give off a bit of that feeling of having disconnected zones without a horizon like in Shadowlands. It's one of the worst parts of the expansion for me.

This wouldn't happen if they float near each other.

[Kokolums]

Everyone wanted a deep dive into Nyalotha for an entire xpac and instead we got merely a glimpse in a patch.

No-one wants a deep dive into cosmic lore and that's exactly what they offer.

[Kiivar86]

Also, remember when everyone was upset that the alien, otherworldly, cosmic setting of Argus was a mere patch instead of an entire expansion? How the turntables...

Personally, still upset about that. What a waste.

Nazjatar too.

[Sondrelk]

I'm not so sure about that. The original plan was clearly to lean way more into cosmic stuff from now on. SL lore still in large parts sets up random things about the cosmos to be expaneded upon at the drop of a hat. The question is more how far ahead have they actually planned (something that imho is laughably exaggerated by the fans anyway) and how much room did they leave themselves to change course if SL wasn't well received.

Leaning on cosmic stuff is not something that will definitely have to mean going to different planes of existence though.
Legion was heavily leaning in the burning Legion, arguably even more than TBC, but we still had the expansion set primarily on Azeroth, allowing non-legion content to ground the expansion.

SL for instance could have been just as heavily Shadowlands themed if it was set in Northrend for instance. We just wouldn't have seen the afterlives as clearly, but all the characters and plotlines could have worked just the same regardless.

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Personally, still upset about that. What a waste.

Nazjatar too.

If it makes you feel better then SL is a perfect case study of why an entire expansion set on Argue would get tedious after a while. Sure you would learn more about it, but you would also be stuck there narratively for 2 years of wow.

Much better to set the expansion on Azeroth with thr cosmic stuff as the spice on top, then go full blown on that theme for the last patch to cap it off.

[Nyel]

You know what would have been cool? Instead of getting into the Shadowlands as a completely new realm, it would have been very interesting if we just would have gotten a "Shadowlands version" of existing zones, as Sondrelk said with Northrend for example. On the one hand we would have gotten an updated or slightly revamped Northrend zone and on the other hand the Shadow version of said zone we enter through a crack in the veil with the Shadowlands characters etc.

[therumblings]

You know what would have been cool? Instead of getting into the Shadowlands as a completely new realm, it would have been very interesting if we just would have gotten a "Shadowlands version" of existing zones, as Sondrelk said with Northrend for example. On the one hand we would have gotten an updated or slightly revamped Northrend zone and on the other hand the Shadow version of said zone we enter through a crack in the veil with the Shadowlands characters etc.

Pretty sure that is what the original concept of the Shadowlands was, but it got changed into being a realm of it's own. I'm gonna guess they will do the same with the Emerald Dream and turn it into the veil of the Lifelands, kinda like how the veil of the Shadowlands was the Shadowlands prior to 9.0.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I really cannot imagine them going from Shadowlands - Pantheon of Death to Lifelands (aka Realms of Life) - Pantheon of Life in the next expansion. This would be hilariously bad planning in every aspect, especially when we considered how poor the reception to Shadowlands is. I don't expect Blizzard to be this ignorant and tone deaf, so at best we might get a patch or two out of it, where the main setting is entirely different.

Tbh, I don't think Lifelands were ever planned as the next thing. I mean besides the name being below 3rd grader levels of awful, the concept of a plane of life seems rather idiotic.. what the hell is the mortal plane then supposed to be? I guess they could have tried to inflate the dream stuff some more, but it feels like a really bad thought out concept you get by hammering square pegs in round holes with a power hammer.

Frankly I would have bet more on light and shadow stuff, mostly light first since BfA is still too fresh, with a gradual shift towards a mixture over the expansion. We'd have at least some proepr hooks set up for that with the stormwind leadership, some hints towards Light-extremism, and one of the currently topical Nathrezim working for the Light.

[Nyel]

Tbh, I don't think Lifelands were ever planned as the next thing. I mean besides the name being below 3rd grader levels of awful, the concept of a plane of life seems rather idiotic.. what the hell is the mortal plane then supposed to be? I guess they could have tried to inflate the dream stuff some more, but it feels like a really bad thought out concept you get by hammering square pegs in round holes with a power hammer.

I mean Realms of Life could basically be your "life" before you are born. Shadowlands is afterlife, Azeroth is life and Lifelands is... pre-life or whatever you want to call that. Just throwing some ideas around here what something like Realms of Life could be, nothing based on facts though. And you're totally right, if it's just a very soothing and peaceful realm for life it's basically Azeroth experienced on drugs, so that makes barely any sense.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Everyone wanted a deep dive into Nyalotha for an entire xpac and instead we got merely a glimpse in a patch.

No-one wants a deep dive into cosmic lore and that's exactly what they offer.

The thing is we didn't peer into Nyalotha in a patch, we got a raid in a patch. That was it.

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I mean Realms of Life could basically be your "life" before you are born. Shadowlands is afterlife, Azeroth is life and Lifelands is... pre-life or whatever you want to call that. Just throwing some ideas around here what something like Realms of Life could be, nothing based on facts though. And you're totally right, if it's just a very soothing and peaceful realm for life it's basically Azeroth experienced on drugs, so that makes barely any sense.

Eh, I guess. It's just weird, it feels like all of this stuff just degrades the mortal plane more and more, yet everyone wants a piece of it for some reason.

[draugril]

I mean Realms of Life could basically be your "life" before you are born. Shadowlands is afterlife, Azeroth is life and Lifelands is... pre-life or whatever you want to call that. Just throwing some ideas around here what something like Realms of Life could be, nothing based on facts though. And you're totally right, if it's just a very soothing and peaceful realm for life it's basically Azeroth experienced on drugs, so that makes barely any sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if they tied in the Botani to the "Lifelands," and Aggramar assisted in ensuring they could not "take root" in the mortal plane.

[Nyel]

I wouldn't be surprised if they tied in the Botani to the "Lifelands," and Aggramar assisted in ensuring they could not "take root" in the mortal plane.

I'm totally here for more Botani stuff, they're awesome and I would like to dive deeper into their lore. And they remind me of Sylvari from GW2, my favorite race of "plant people".

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Eh, I guess. It's just weird, it feels like all of this stuff just degrades the mortal plane more and more, yet everyone wants a piece of it for some reason.

I totally agree. Everything that's not Azeroth just... diminishes the importance and impact of Azeroth, which is a shame.

[therumblings]

I mean Realms of Life could basically be your "life" before you are born.

Ooh, now that's an interesting idea I didn't think of! Maybe it will show how souls are made.

[Hellspawn]

I'm totally here for more Botani stuff, they're awesome and I would like to dive deeper into their lore. And they remind me of Sylvari from GW2, my favorite race of "plant people".

And since we have now Botani (and Saberon) in Kalimdor... you can totally do it. I could see them even make one or both of them into an allied race.