We create our ideas of the 10.0 opening.

[Mentaldemise]

Since leak season is upon us, I thought it'd be fun for us to goof around with ideas for the story of 10.0, keep in mind i'm not talking about gameplay features but the basic premise going forward from shadowlands

We return to Azeroth through the shadowlands breach at Icecrown, once we arrive the portal closes behind us however Icecrown Citadel no longer looks how we left it, monuments and tombs are built on the citadel to Azeroth's heroes, Jaina, Thrall, Anduin, etc.

We meet a disheveled, older Genn holding a vigil with the Ebon Blade who can't believe we have returned, 10 years have passed since we entered the Shadowlands, Genn informs us that the scourge threat was completely underestimated when we left, when we left millions of scourge began to pour out of Azjol-Nerub, sealed there by Bolvar over the years he took command of the helm of Domination, with the helms destruction the scourge slowly began to realize that the wards no longer held them and began to filter out in massives waves.

Genn informs us that spread of the scourge couldn't be contained, Stormwind, Ironforge, and Lordaeron have been completely overrun and most of the alliance and horde survivors built Silvermoon and the surrounding areas into a fortress, on Kalimdor, the entire continent was overrun, the only city still standing is Dalaran which has been moved above Mount Hyjal, Icecrown Citadel is all that remains in Northrend with the Ebon Blade numbers dwindling without a Lich King to create more.

Genn tells us that roughly a year ago something strange occurred that shifted the invasion, the scourge invasion went inert for a short time, what followed however is where we find ourselves today, some scourge have regained their former identities of who they were, skirmishes within the scourge broke out everywhere with some battles resulting in a withdrawal from attacking the living whereas some battles led to increased attacks, however in Northrend, the oldest of the scourge forces seem to have completely withdrawn back into underground networks of Azjol-Nerub.

What awaits us when we return to Azeroth is the world Arthas envisioned made manifest, however, this time the greatest heroes of Azeroth weren't there to stop it and without a Lich King to control the scourge, we will have to retake Azeroth one step at a time.


I was gonna add Pandaria to the mix but I don't think lore-wise the scourge could reach that far down, unless the nerubians have been super busy tunneling down to Panda land.

[Melorandor]

Why would the left behind denizens of Azeroth build statues to the lost heroes on Icecrown Citadel when they can't even protect their own homes and cities from being overran?

[Mentaldemise]

Why would the left behind denizens of Azeroth build statues to the lost heroes on Icecrown Citadel when they can't even protect their own homes and cities from being overran?

I said that over time the scourge realized they could leave, didn't happen immediately, basically trying to sync up the events in shadowlands with the effects on azeroth (no idea what time scale there is)

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Having nearly the rest of the world wiped out and the last remnants of life being besieged in three fortresses would be really cool, but I don't want to fight the Scourge again. We had a game and three expansions about fighting undead themed enemies with Scourge aesthetics.

[Sughs]

Hope it's nothing like that.

[Mentaldemise]

Having nearly the rest of the world wiped out and the last remnants of life being besieged in three fortresses would be really cool, but I don't want to fight the Scourge again. We had a game and three expansions about fighting undead themed enemies with Scourge aesthetics.

I kinda thought that aswell, but I don't know what other enemy would fit thematically with that sort of plot

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I kinda thought that aswell, but I don't know what other enemy would fit thematically with that sort of plot

Maybe the Botani from WoD? Plant people who could turn regular, non-plant people into plant-zombies. That way you could have an exponentially multiplying force that could conceivably take over nearly the entire world within a short time. Could also diversify the Botani aesthetics to include Zangarmarsh-esque fungus so it's not a 2-3 year long expansion of harsh green.

[username993720]

Galakrond is fully reanimated by the Jailer's last act of defiance and we are seaching the Dragon Isles to restore the Dragonflights to full power to combat this threat.

[Mentaldemise]

Maybe the Botani from WoD? Plant people who could turn regular, non-plant people into plant-zombies. That way you could have an exponentially multiplying force that could conceivably take over nearly the entire world within a short time. Could also diversify the Botani aesthetics to include Zangarmarsh-esque fungus so it's not a 2-3 year long expansion of harsh green.

That would be actually pretty cool, the only problem I see with it is getting them to a point they're a threat, AU draenor would get snuffed by the crusade and afaik the outland versions are basically animals.

- - - Updated - - -

Galakrond is fully reanimated by the Jailer's last act of defiance and we are seaching the Dragon Isles to restore the Dragonflights to full power to combat this threat.

I'd honestly love another dragon themed expansion, especially with galakrond, the only problem is that we're only one bronze dragon away from recreating deathwings defeat.

[ek0zu]

We return home after a millennia, Anduin, Sylvanas & Bolvar are just tales for kids to eat their broccoli. There is no age of heroes anymore. There is peace everywhere across Azeroth, economy is thriving horde and alliance are no more there is one giant nation consisted of all our already established raced and some more. The era of magic is long gone as well, through the years we see that technology has taken over and without powerful magicians around to pass the torch, magic has been lost.

There is a huge shock among the citizens of the world that some fairy tales come to life, there is skepticism and fear. The leaders of the new world come in contact with the champions and the leaders of the past and direct them to live a normal life without conflicts, now everything is in the very very distant past and nowadays there is peace among all races, they have cooperated together for a millennia for a thriving nation that nowadays has no limits.

We as adventurers have our crisis because what is a warrior without a war? There are no boars to kill or dragons to terrorize, we are a remnant of the past. Some adventurers cannot cope well with peace everywhere and start being reckless but they are hunted down and the once champions and saviors of Azeroth are now criminals and terrorists. The once champions face the consequences of those among their ranks who were reckless and they are all exiled into another moon far away from our planet at the edges of the galaxy.

There, at the edge of the Galaxy, the Voidlords find the fallen champions and persuade them to help them re-emerge from the shadows that Technology and Science has banished them. They basically tell us and somehow convince us, because we are deep down animals that only want to wage war, that the age of magic should never cease to exist and this is the true nature of the universe and some other bullshit that we eventually believe not because it is the noble thing to do, but because in reality we are war machines and therefore we wage war against our own planet and kind together with the voidlords to dethrone Science and Technology and Peace.

We are the bad guys now.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

So we wage war to to overturn a life of mundanity and safety, and bring about the return an age of escapist fantasy, of the terrible and great days of old when people truly lived? Could be interesting.

[Mentaldemise]

Only probably with something that out there is the fact that everyone not in the shadowlands would be long dead and everything afterwards would have to be completely original content going forward