Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[TheFirstOnes]

If we do return to Icecrown, it's not gonna be the main plot point. Zereth Mortis is.

This is my assumption: Zereth Mortis is the big part of 9.2, and the Sepulcher of the First Ones is the raid. The finale of each Covenant storyline happens here, as well.

Maldraxxus: The Primus sets up defenses on Azeroth, and we also learn about Helya in Northrend. Something occurs where she assaults Ulduar, and we aid the Titan Keepers + Odyn in stopping her once and for all.

Ardenweald: We go to the Plane of Life (1 zone. Prolly the size of one of those Legion invasion points on Argus) to meet up with the Winter Queen's Sister. The Dreadlord infiltrating there + The Mawsworn attack, and it ends with Elune, the WQ, and "An'she" teaming up at Zereth Mortis. "An'she" meets Baine Bloodhood, and Life/Death are together in this conflict. Bwonsamdi has a lil arc involving Vol'jin becoming a fully grown loa, and we may find a Varian cameo here. The Bwonsamdi stuff could be a Dungeon, but idk.

Bastion: Uther explores the Maw to find Arthas and other things to aid in the cause against Zovaal. Uther and Jaina meet the soul of Arthas, Arthas says what's up, and dips. Uther and Jaina find clarity and completion in their arcs finally.

Revendreth: Renathal and the Harvesters continue their search for Denathrius. All of this leads into 1 final confrontation against the fallen Sire at the Ruins of Nathreza, where Denathrius either falls 1 last time, or decides to return to his fellow Eternal Ones.

Main Plot: Mainly focused on reaching Zereth Mortis, establishing a foothold there, going to the Sepulcher's Location, going to Sargeras' blade and figuring out what caused the drought to begin with, and going to the Halls of Reflection or so to figure out how to save Anduin's soul, and for Sylvanas to truly realize her destiny.

World Boss: Mawsworn Galakrond. Freed by Zovaal at the hidden Depths of Torghast, the soul of the monstrous Galakrond has risen again into a being of pure dread and horror. Fueled by the countless stream of souls within the Shadowlands, this former Proto-Dragon shall not rest until all of Reality's consumed by its constant hunger.

Raid: Sepulcher of the First Ones. This raid consists of First Ones technology and architecture, while also consisting of massive facilities representing the 6 Cosmic Powers. One facility looks akin to Ulduar, one facility looks akin to Antorus, one facility is of Light, one is of Death, one is of Shadow, and one is of Life. Each Facility consists of 2 bosses each, with Zovaal being the final boss. 13 bosses.

Or at least, this is what I want to see from the Sepulcher. Would be like Ulduar, but of each Cosmic Force.

- - - Updated - - -

So, you basically got a 13 Boss Raid. Potentially 7-9 Chapters of story, MAYBE a Dungeon if they want to do that, 1-2 Zones (I kinda hope Zereth Mortis is like Argus in a way), maybe some Azeroth invasions, and a new World Boss.

Stuff I hope to see but likely won't be shown: Sargeras' reaction to all of this and Zovaal going to the Seat of the Pantheon to fuck with them and to take their essences or some shit like that. That likely won't occur whatsoever. And for the other thing, I wanna see Baine become a "Sun Warrior", the same way Tyrande's the "Night Warrior". But I doubt we'll see that, and if we do see it, it'll be for a small questline or for a dungeon.

Seems good enough. But judging by 9.1's size...

9.2 could be really big, but idk.

- - - Updated - - -

What do y'all think?

- - - Updated - - -

The reason why I think 9.2 could heavily feature Elune: "The Primus says: The Winter Queen is bound to her counterpart in the realms of Life. Together, they embody the balance of the great cycle.
The Primus says: Through sorrow and understanding, the night fae sigil has been reborn. And perhaps their kinship as well."

There's more story to be told here.

[Three Faced Goddess]

If we do return to Icecrown, it's not gonna be the main plot point. Zereth Mortis is.

This is my assumption: Zereth Mortis is the big part of 9.2, and the Sepulcher of the First Ones is the raid. The finale of each Covenant storyline happens here, as well.

Maldraxxus: The Primus sets up defenses on Azeroth, and we also learn about Helya in Northrend. Something occurs where she assaults Ulduar, and we aid the Titan Keepers + Odyn in stopping her once and for all.

Ardenweald: We go to the Plane of Life (1 zone. Prolly the size of one of those Legion invasion points on Argus) to meet up with the Winter Queen's Sister. The Dreadlord infiltrating there + The Mawsworn attack, and it ends with Elune, the WQ, and "An'she" teaming up at Zereth Mortis. "An'she" meets Baine Bloodhood, and Life/Death are together in this conflict. Bwonsamdi has a lil arc involving Vol'jin becoming a fully grown loa, and we may find a Varian cameo here.

Bastion: Uther explores the Maw to find Arthas and other things to aid in the cause against Zovaal. Uther and Jaina meet the soul of Arthas, Arthas says what's up, and dips. Uther and Jaina find clarity and completion in their arcs finally.

Revendreth: Renathal and the Harvesters continue their search for Denathrius. All of this leads into 1 final confrontation against the fallen Sire at the Ruins of Nathreza, where Denathrius either falls 1 last time, or decides to return to his fellow Eternal Ones.

Main Plot: Mainly focused on reaching Zereth Mortis, establishing a foothold there, going to the Sepulcher's Location, going to Sargeras' blade and figuring out what caused the drought to begin with, and going to the Halls of Reflection or so to figure out how to save Anduin's soul, and for Sylvanas to truly realize her destiny.

World Boss: Mawsworn Galakrond. Freed by Zovaal at the hidden Depths of Torghast, the soul of the monstrous Galakrond has risen again into a being of pure dread and horror. Fueled by the countless stream of souls within the Shadowlands, this former Proto-Dragon shall not rest until all of Reality's consumed by its constant hunger.

Raid: Sepulcher of the First Ones. This raid consists of First Ones technology and architecture, while also consisting of massive facilities representing the 6 Cosmic Powers. One facility looks akin to Ulduar, one facility looks akin to Antorus, one facility is of Light, one is of Death, one is of Shadow, and one is of Life. Each Facility consists of 2 bosses each, with Zovaal being the final boss. 13 bosses.

Or at least, this is what I want to see from the Sepulcher. Would be like Ulduar, but of each Cosmic Force.

- - - Updated - - -

So, you basically got a 13 Boss Raid. Potentially 7-9 Chapters of story, MAYBE a Dungeon if they want to do that, 1-2 Zones (I kinda hope Zereth Mortis is like Argus in a way), maybe some Azeroth invasions, and a new World Boss.

Seems good enough. But judging by 9.1's size...

9.2 could be really big, but idk.

I didn't really think Icecrown was going to be a big part of 9.2 anyway. A part near the end of it or during it maybe a small questline or a scenario, maybe even WQ zone but nothing as big as the Sepulcher or Zerith Mortis (such a cool name.)

Didn't the Primus banish Helya? Why would she appear in Northrend so quickly after her banishment to gods knows where unless Daddy Jailer bailed her out somehow?

Love your suggestion for World Boss Galakrond! What you described in that scenario would be so freaking wicked. I hope they do something even remotely as cool as that with Galakrond. I mean his skeleton is there ripe for the raising.

[TheFirstOnes]

Like I said to Nyel and co, I think Death should stay the MAIN topic of SL. But touching on Life and Death for this expac is fine enough. I don't want Blizzard to milk this cosmic war further by giving us an expac based on every Cosmic Realm. It's not worth it tbh.

- - - Updated - - -

I didn't really think Icecrown was going to be a big part of 9.2 anyway. A part near the end of it or during it maybe a small questline or a scenario, maybe even WQ zone but nothing as big as the Sepulcher or Zerith Mortis (such a cool name.)

Didn't the Primus banish Helya? Why would she appear in Northrend so quickly after her banishment to gods knows where unless Daddy Jailer bailed her out somehow?

Love your suggestion for World Boss Galakrond! What you described in that scenario would be so freaking wicked. I hope they do something even remotely as cool as that with Galakrond. I mean his skeleton is there ripe for the raising.

The Primus did mention that Helya could return, and I think her story ending with a failed invasion of Ulduar to the Players + The Titan Keepers would be cool asf to see. Imagine the Kyrian, the Val'kyr, the Keepers, and the Players in the defense of Ulduar Scenario! Would be wicked!

Also, yeah, considering Galakrond's massive link with Death (And Void in a way), and considering there's an Anima stream going below the Maw, beneath Torghast, AND considering I don't think we've been to the bottom of Torghast yet, I wouldn't be shocked if Zovaal was hiding Galakrond down there. Galakrond is known for his incredible hunger of course.

- - - Updated - - -

The fall of Galakrond on Northrend could also lead to Chromatus' prison getting all fucked, also.

[Three Faced Goddess]

Like I said to Nyel and co, I think Death should stay the MAIN topic of SL. But touching on Life and Death for this expac is fine enough. I don't want Blizzard to milk this cosmic war further by giving us an expac based on every Cosmic Realm. It's not worth it tbh.

- - - Updated - - -



The Primus did mention that Helya could return, and I think her story ending with a failed invasion of Ulduar to the Players + The Titan Keepers would be cool asf to see. Imagine the Kyrian, the Val'kyr, the Keepers, and the Players in the defense of Ulduar Scenario! Would be wicked!

Also, yeah, considering Galakrond's massive link with Death (And Void in a way), and considering there's an Anima stream going below the Maw, beneath Torghast, AND considering I don't think we've been to the bottom of Torghast yet, I wouldn't be shocked if Zovaal was hiding Galakrond down there. Galakrond is known for his incredible hunger of course.

- - - Updated - - -

The fall of Galakrond on Northrend could also lead to Chromatus' prison getting all fucked, also.

Zovaal's got a big fucking basement if he's hiding Galakrond down there. If I remember correctly, Galakrond was enormous even larger in size than Deathwing who was huge. Now I'm laughing as I imagine Zovaal trying to stuff him in one of the many rooms of Torghast.

PS: Thank you for not being rude to me about my opinion even though you disagree with how I feel. I appreciate that.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

@Nyel

Idk where you’re getting that the Northrend maps automatically mean endgame for 9.2. Could be part of the 9.2 story, sure, but nothing says the story “culminates” there.

One thing that I realized is a lot of people think we know how we stop Not-Zenos Zovaal, but nobody seems to have an idea for how we fix that gaping hole in the sky Sylvanas made.

Guessing for that we'd probably need to fix the Helm of Domination, maybe the key to that is in Icecrown and the updated Northrend maps are for the "Covenant Campaign" of 9.3 instead of the raid of 9.3?

[cocomen2]

One thing that I realized is a lot of people think we know how we stop Not-Zenos Zovaal, but nobody seems to have an idea for how we fix that gaping hole in the sky Sylvanas made.

Its easy shit, you can bet finger that Runecarver just gonna end up reforging Helmet in his design, and this mcguffin should separate realms.

[TheFirstOnes]

One thing that I realized is a lot of people think we know how we stop Not-Zenos Zovaal, but nobody seems to have an idea for how we fix that gaping hole in the sky Sylvanas made.

Guessing for that we'd probably need to fix the Helm of Domination, maybe the key to that is in Icecrown and the updated Northrend maps are for the "Covenant Campaign" of 9.3 instead of the raid of 9.3?

That could definitely be part of the 9.2 Campaign. Or it can be apart of 9.2.5, similar to how the Sword Quest with the Artifacts was in Patch 7.3.5. But, don't we use the shards of the Helm for the Maw ritual? Chances are we already have them rn, or the Primus can just remake the Helm.

[Thestrawman]

One thing that I realized is a lot of people think we know how we stop Not-Zenos Zovaal, but nobody seems to have an idea for how we fix that gaping hole in the sky Sylvanas made.

Guessing for that we'd probably need to fix the Helm of Domination, maybe the key to that is in Icecrown and the updated Northrend maps are for the "Covenant Campaign" of 9.3 instead of the raid of 9.3?

Probably the same way we stopped the giant sword in the planet. Just ignore it and pretend everything is okay.

[Paperfox]

There are a bunch of well thought out scenarios in this thread.

The problem is that, IMHO, there is a gap in how much we care about the game vs how much Blizz cares about the game.

Selling an expansion, combined with all the sales of tokens (Blizz makes money from them) is a significant part of Blizz's income. Just like a retailer who makes most of their money at Christmas. Not having a new expansion in 2022 is like a retailer missing Christmas.

OT: I hoping that there will be a significant time skip (forward or backwards) when we finally get out of jail - I mean leave SL. But the question is: how will we access the auction house? And what happens if you use your garrison hearth stone?

[Fahrad Wagner]

There are a bunch of well thought out scenarios in this thread.

The problem is that, IMHO, there is a gap in how much we care about the game vs how much Blizz cares about the game.

Selling an expansion, combined with all the sales of tokens (Blizz makes money from them) is a significant part of Blizz's income. Just like a retailer who makes most of their money at Christmas. Not having a new expansion in 2022 is like a retailer missing Christmas.

OT: I hoping that there will be a significant time skip (forward or backwards) when we finally get out of jail - I mean leave SL. But the question is: how will we access the auction house? And what happens if you use your garrison hearth stone?

I'm hoping for a significant timeskip too or a reshaping of reality. I guess any past content can be justified by adding a bronze dragon NPC!

Or...maybe have the Cosmos get fucked enough as to allow the Void Lords a way into reality, hence causing 10.0.

I would be more than fine with that!

This. I'm so done with this continuity, it's been ruined for me (just my opinion.)

I completely agree. We need a fresh start, and to rediscover the universe that made Warcraft what it is: and that's Azeroth.

[NikolaiShade]

Its easy shit, you can bet finger that Runecarver just gonna end up reforging Helmet in his design, and this mcguffin should separate realms.

In the (apparently) newly updated Halls of Reflections none the less. The real question is: who will wear it? Sylvanas? The Primus? Anduin? or maybe... BOLVAR!

[Sondrelk]

In the (apparently) newly updated Halls of Reflections, the real question is: who will wear it? Sylvanas? The Primus? Anduin? or maybe... BOLVAR!

I almost wonder whether Arthas will be the one to take the Jailer's place along with the Helm of Domination actually. It would actually fit his character to sacrifice himself fully. Let us afterall not forget that the last thing he said before he picked up Frostmourne was how he was willing to shoulder and curse to save his people.

[NikolaiShade]

I almost wonder whether Arthas will be the one to take the Jailer's place along with the Helm of Domination actually. It would actually fit his character to sacrifice himself fully. Let us afterall not forget that the last thing he said before he picked up Frostmourne was how he was willing to shoulder and curse to save his people.

It would be extremely cool, although I'm secretly hoping for Arthas to escape the maw and become the new Lich King/mainstaying villain

[Sondrelk]

It would be extremely cool, although I'm secretly hoping for Arthas to escape the maw and become the new Lich King/mainstaying villain

That wouldnt really make a whole lot of sense though. Unless its something weird like the Jailer posessing Arthas directly to use him as a pawn like he is currently doing to Anduin.
All signs currently point to Arthas being controlled by the Jailer to be evil in a sense, no idea why he would suddenly become actually evil when that never was how it was portrayed, even in the original Warcraft 3 campaign.

[NikolaiShade]

That wouldnt really make a whole lot of sense though. Unless its something weird like the Jailer posessing Arthas directly to use him as a pawn like he is currently doing to Anduin.
All signs currently point to Arthas being controlled by the Jailer to be evil in a sense, no idea why he would suddenly become actually evil when that never was how it was portrayed, even in the original Warcraft 3 campaign.

True, about this, according to old lore Arthas was pretty much himself during WotLK, do we know for certain the extent of the Jailer's influence on Arthas?

[Sondrelk]

True, about this, according to old lore Arthas was pretty much himself during WotLK, do we know for certain the extent of the Jailer's influence on Arthas?

WotLK was hardly a bastion of good writing though, so I wouldnt consider it sacrosanct in that regard. The Frozen Throne was definitely more ambigous on whether Arthas was posessed, under subtle mind-control or whether he had actually just gone completely insane, so in that sense I think the lore of Shadowlands fits it much better.
Also, correct me if I am wrong, but wasnt the whole "Arthas was in complete control" angle something that only really existed in the tie-in novel?

[Dracullus]

WotLK was hardly a bastion of good writing though

TBC/Vanilla as well. Despite all stupid things in current lore I think Suramar, Zandalar and Jaina questline are best pieces of writing in this game. There are of course good or even great side plots, but in general WoW is like Dragon Ball - illogical , but epic story.

True, about this, according to old lore Arthas was pretty much himself during WotLK, do we know for certain the extent of the Jailer's influence on Arthas?

It's not rare when person controlled or manipulated by others "feel pretty much like himself".

[Tiradon]

9.1.5 is not really convincing me to coming back. We already did 5/10M but people feel burn out since they are only raid logging these days, so it seems I'm removing my sub after this month.

Anyhow with the book being delayed to March, it sounds like we won't be getting 9.2 until then.

[NikolaiShade]

WotLK was hardly a bastion of good writing though, so I wouldnt consider it sacrosanct in that regard. The Frozen Throne was definitely more ambigous on whether Arthas was posessed, under subtle mind-control or whether he had actually just gone completely insane, so in that sense I think the lore of Shadowlands fits it much better.
Also, correct me if I am wrong, but wasnt the whole "Arthas was in complete control" angle something that only really existed in the tie-in novel?

The novel strongly implied Arthas was acting of his own free will (iirc the five years sleep was justified as Arthas asserting his dominance on Ner'zhul and the part of himself that was still human), no idea on the canon status of the book right now.
Btw - Blizzard was hinting on Yogg-Saron influencing Arthas.. basically the most intruded mind of Azeroth

[Marlamin]

Keep in mind those Halls of Reflection map textures seem to quite literally be that, it is mildly suspicious that they're not actually properly hooked up, especially since 9.1.5 is in its RC stage now, but alas.

I'm more curious about those LivingWorld animation names that started showing up in 1.14.1/9.1.5 amongst all those FuturePatch animations that I posted about a few weeks ago:

LivingWorldProximityEnter
FlyLivingWorldProximityEnter
LivingWorldProximityLoop
FlyLivingWorldProximityLoop
LivingWorldProximityLeave
FlyLivingWorldProximityLeave

TBC classic does have flying now but I can't imagine why they would need any new animations in that not to mention this only being in 1.14.1 right now, which shares most of its code with 9.1.5. I can't explain them in regards to 9.1.5 content either, so I can't help but think these are actually for 9.2.

I still like my theory where it relates to going near the Shadowlands/Azeroth portal in Torghast/Icecrown in future content, but since I don't pay attention to lore I don't actually know if we're truly "separated" from Azeroth right now (considering we did make Stormwind/Orgrimmar portals via an early quest in Oribos) and if the hole in the world still has any meaning or not. Hopefully someone can expand on that.