I mean... I do, you're very sophisticated and creative. Something Blizzard's writer are not, unfortunately.
For me, the logical step is to end Shadowlands with 9.2. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's important for my later points, that's why I bring it up again and try to make it as clear as possible. We don't have to discuss this again, I just wanted to set the basis for my opinion.
1. The time is against Blizzard.
From the interview yesterday we know they're trying to catch up, but this seems pretty much impossible at this point. Ion said that 9.1 needs to cook way longer than a few more weeks. 9.1 release early July seems the most likely imho. Even if we take June, we face the same problems: usual tiers last 6 months. 6 months from end of June is end of December --> we will not have a huge content patch mid / end of December. So they either can reduce the duration of tier 9.1, but this would not mean catching up, this would mean accelerating the development process. Is that likely? I absolutely do not think so.
So, 9.2 in January then, akin to 8.3. What does this mean for the further schedule? 9.3 would then be around June / July. What does that mean for an expansion release? How likely is it to have two big content patches and an expansion launch within one single year? This never happened. Remember, pre-patch usually comes 4-6 weeks ahead of an expansion, which would further reduce the length of a tier 9.3. And why would they push back an expansion to 2023 if they could have it 6 months earlier by scrapping 9.3 (if it ever existed, we don't know that)?
2. The financial aspect
Most has been said in 1., but the financial aspect is the main factor behind their timing problem. Delaying an expansion for one or even two quarters means way lower revenue in said quarters which wouldn't only be a problem for Activision-Blizzard, but for shareholders as well. Scrapping a content patch in favor of an expansion in time or even earlier (you know, catching up?) is the way to do it from a financial perspective.
3. The Shadowlands' story is pretty much told by the end of 9.1
9.1 is wrapping up the most important plots. Everything else that can be considered a major side story can be told in 9.1.5, 9.2 or 9.2.5. We know from the map left by the First Ones in Oribos that there are only four zones and therefore only four Covenants. To say there is a hidden zone and a hidden Covenant that the First Ones didn't mention seems like a major a**pull in my opinion. That's why I think we leave the Shadowlands behind after 9.1. The Covenant campaigns will come together by the end of 9.1 and then we will have one narrative going forward, not four as it was before (map added for reference).
4. Ion mentioning 9.2, but not 9.3 in his interview
With Ion saying they want to avoid another WoD and telling us there is a 9.2, the deal is pretty much sealed. WoD had one content patch, 6.2, and three raids overall: Highmaul, Blackrock Foundry and Hellfire Citadel. With 9.1 Shadowlands already has one content patch and two raids. With 9.2, Shadowlands would have had two content patches, three raids and at least one additional (mega) dungeon, which would already trump WoD's amount of content (which was the initial question and Ion's response). So chances for 9.3 in my opinion: zero.
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My predictions for the future of Shadowlands:
- 9.1 wraps up (most of) the open Shadowlands' plots
- 9.2 will be the final content patch of Shadowlands
- 9.2 will take place on Azeroth, where we fight the Jailer - I could see the Covenant leaders step into the Realms of Life and aid us in the fight against the Jailer as the Aspects did while we fought Deathwing. Climax will happen atop Icecrown Citadel. Arthas will make an appearance and we'll free Anduin - but will he be the same?
Back to your points: what you said is just waaaaaaaaaaay too convoluted. A normal WoW player would understand nothing and even as someone who's into lore, reading quests etc. I'm still confused by what you said. I like most of it, because it's creative, but man is it confusing and messy. Stuff like the Pantheon of Death, Pantheon of Life etc. sounds very neat for lore enthusiasts, but I think it's not something that would work in WoW for your average player. I dig it, as it gives us more insights into the lore, but this is something fitting for Chronicles or another novel, not the in game storytelling.
The problem I have with the storyline of the next expansion is
how we will bridge the gap between Shadowlands and 10.x thematically.
Do we kill the Jailer? If so, he was the lamest villain ever, especially when we consider he's a supervillain and most likely the second strongest enemy we had to deal with.
Does he survive Shadowlands? If so, do we have another expansion with him as a villain? This would be plain stupid and I don't think people are motivated to fight him for another two years. Or will he end like Garrosh in WoD? That would be incredibly... silly.
So my biggest problem is the transition from Shadowlands to the next expansion; the only plausible plot for me is what you said: the Jailer is going to Azeroth and resurrecting Galakrond. This leads to a
Dragon Isles expansion with (undead) Galakrond being the main enemy (or something Chromatus related, I don't know. Let's just say: dragons). This seems likely as we brought back Ysera, which feels unnecessary if we do not use her in the future. Wrathion is the de facto Aspect of the Black Dragonflight, we need to resolve the Bolvar + Red Dragonflight storyline (in 9.2?) - so more Dragon stuff sounds likely and plausible.
But here comes the problem: what happens to the Jailer? Does he die at the end, but succeeds with resurrecting Galakrond? This would be very anticlimactic in my opinion.
Another problem: why does he even want to resurrect Galakrond / why does he need him? Isn't he the Jailer? Second only to Sargeras in power?
I fear the writers have written themselves into a corner they can't get out anymore. There's no resolution for the Jailer storyline to be good and fitting to WoW in my opinion. Either his storyline ends and he eventually was just a joke or his storyline is dragging on for another expansion.
If we assume the next expansion is Light vs. Void: how do we get there after Shadowlands. Will the Shadowlands just be treated as a kind of "excursion" story-wise and when we return to Azeroth the Light or the Void are already going for it? Is time passing faster in the Shadowlands and when we return some years have passed? The problem with this theory is that the characters just hop between Azeroth and Shadowlands in game; this means time passing in the Shadowlands faster makes no sense as NPC would recognize that, but they don't. If we free Anduin from the Jailer's influence... does he maybe get overwhelmed by the Void? Or by the Light? And does he act as a catalyst for the events of 10.x? Is the the one bridging the gap to the next expansion as Sylvanas was for Shadowlands? Seems fitting, but very cliche.
The entire Shadowlands expansion was a major lore a**pull if you ask me. We started with a faction war and the Old Gold / Azshara theme and then we got Shadowlands. So the next expansion can be basically the same, something completely unexpected. Or it's just something from the above.
What would I like to get? If you would have asked me 6 months ago, I most likely would have said Light/Void/Space. Right now this doesn't excite me at all. I was very much against a dragon expansion, but now it's my favorite setting for the next expansion. Many pieces fall into place and I really want to get away from all of these super duper threats like Light / Void / Death / Life / whatever. Give me something like MoP, new and fresh lore, a new and fresh setting and something that allows me, the players, to catch my breath, because I'm not once again fighting the SUPERBAD from outerspace.
Some open questions:
- What's the Sepulcher and what are the powers of the First Ones? (maybe there's still a hidden zone in the Shadowlands the First Ones wanted to hide? This would invalidate my point 3. about "No 9.3")
- What's the real goal of the Jailer?
- Can the Eternal Ones even leave the Realms of Death?
- What's with the Nathrezim stuff and does it matter in the future?
- Progenitor(s): who's that? The First Ones?
This post became incredibly long and messy because I went back and forth, added and removed stuff and whatever... but I hope my main points are clear and not too confusing, lol. I could be wrong with everything I said, there is a 9.3, the next expansion comes next year with 9.2 and 9.3... we'll see, time will tell.
Have fun untangling my post.