A history of WoW store mounts predicting the next Expansion

[username993720]

You think the theme is an arrow?

I think it is part of the theme they are trying to convey.

You're more than welcome to google Titan facilities and titan tech on your own.

You claimed it. You do it.

Yes, and the Shadowlands was a huge mistake. We shouldn't compound that mistake by making another mistake with an Emerald Dream expansion.

According to you.
The Shadowlands wasn't a mistake. The execution was. And lack of content.

The lore literally says that her four brothers attacked and consumed her. How is that vague?

"Theories abound as to the nature of its creation: the more outlandish claim that the blade is the remains of a forgotten Old God who was consumed by its kin, while other theories state it is the claw of Y'Shaarj itself. Whatever the truth of its origin, the blade is infused with the Old Gods' power."

I'm talking about an army of dragons because the title is "Empire of Dragons".

Great. What does it have to do with repeating the Hour of Twilight?

Cool, show me the CGI cinematic dealing with any of that. That's what we like to call a sub-plot, hence why there's still a sword sticking out of Azeroth.

CGI cinematics cost a lot of money, time and resources.
If you have entire patches and systems dedicated to it, then it's not so secondary anymore.

I think people wanna believe in what they want, instead of analyzing the whole picture, when I see the B plot of Shadowlands starring Elune, Tyrande, Ysera, and I see these items on the store:

I only can think about Emerald Dream/Gardens of Life... without any bias as my sig shows!

I'm trying to warn people for a while to temper their expectations, but everyone thinks that Dragon Isles is somewhat confirmed for some weird reason.

This remembers me of everyone (including me) expecting South Seas expansion for 7.0, and then we got Legion.

They would most likely appear together.
Based on my analysis of Shadowlands' cinematic and Zereth Mortis, there are hints towards Wrathion, Ragnaros, Bronze Dragonflight, Void and maybe Twilight's Hammer, and the Emerald Dream.

Like I said, if you streamline that standard logo enough, they will slightly resemble bows. That is clearly the case here.

It doesn't take a PHD to see that those are arrows and bows. You just overcomplicate things. Meanwhile, seeing titan tech is definitely on another level of interpretation. One that is barely grounded.

Yeah, I just don't see Blizzard taking us from Shadowlands to Lifelands. I see us ending up in a much more grounded expansion.

Doesn't have to be Lifelands right away, but themes icorporated into the Dragon expansion.

Of course it looks different, because the entire design of the border is different. I can definitely understand how someone would say it resembles an arrowhead.

We don't say it is an arrowhead. It is an arrowhead. Period.

to me this whole post has the strong feeling of something, the poster wants to see happen and interpreting all things in a way that they fit. i am not sure, if there is too much of interpretation into these things. and you can make anything looking like something by interpreting anything into everything.

That's usually his strategy. See my signature for example

[Teriz]

tbh your post drips of being constructed to fit something. not that i agree or disagree (i am personally not sure and dont know), but when i read this it seems i dont see the same obvious directions you see.

to me this whole post has the strong feeling of something, the poster wants to see happen and interpreting all things in a way that they fit. i am not sure, if there is too much of interpretation into these things. and you can make anything looking like something by interpreting anything into everything.

Well feel free to share your interpretations. Where do you feel I'm incorrect in my original post?

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I think it is part of the theme they are trying to convey.

The theme is Dragons and Old Gods. Arrows don't really fit in that.

You claimed it. You do it.

I've already done it multiple times.

According to you.
The Shadowlands wasn't a mistake. The execution was. And lack of content.

Based on reception and Blizzard's statements since, it was clearly a mistake. That said, it allowed us to get rid of Sylvanas, so it wasn't a total loss.

Great. What does it have to do with repeating the Hour of Twilight?

Who knows. I suppose we'll find out when the expansion is announced. That said, an empire of dragons was not the plot of Cataclysm or BFA.

CGI cinematics cost a lot of money, time and resources.

Yes, which is why you convey your story through them. None of the CGI cinematics (or even the Warbringer cinematics) were about healing Azeroth.

[Ielenia]

Based on reception and Blizzard's statements since, it was clearly a mistake. That said, it allowed us to get rid of Sylvanas, so it wasn't a total loss.

You keep saying this, and yet you haven't shown a single bit of evidence that Sylvanas is going away.

In case you didn't raid Sanctum of Domination nor have you seen any of the 9.2 story reveals and cinematic so far: Sylvanas isn't going away.

[wushootaki]

You keep saying this, and yet you haven't shown a single bit of evidence that Sylvanas is going away.

In case you didn't raid Sanctum of Domination nor have you seen any of the 9.2 story reveals and cinematic so far: Sylvanas isn't going away.

I agree, she's not going away --- but the current direction does seem to hint that she will have a reckoning for what she did...whether that is total forgiveness or something else. It's just that we have more pressing matters to deal with atm, and she has the information we need.

[Teriz]

From what I've read, she's going to be exiled to the Shadowlands, and pretty much be a maw-walker for eternity, rescuing the souls she put into the maw, and searching for Nathanos. She really has no place on Azeroth anymore, her story is complete.

[Palapop]

I thought this might be helpful for the current leak season. There is an interesting history of WoW store mounts leaking themes and concepts for the next expansion BEFORE the next expansion is announced.

Here are the examples (it seemingly started around MoP);

MoP hint for WoD: Enchanted Fey Dragon: This mount was a preview for the massive Enchanted Fey Dragons of Shadowmoon.
WoD hint for Legion : Mystic Runesaber: This mount was a preview for the mount used by the Nightbourne.
Legion hint for BFA: Stormwind Skychaser/Orgrimmar Interceptor. Indicating Horde and Alliance conflict. (special thanks to @ElitePeon)
BFA hint for Shadowlands : Vulpine Familiar and Sylverian Dreamer: Both of these mounts hinted the Shadowlands and particularly Ardenweald.

Recent mounts:
Steamscale Incinerator (Mechanical dragon, released at the tail end of BFA after Shadowlands was announced, also part of Dragon Pack promotion last month)
Sapphire Skyblazer (Blue Phoenix. Seems more like a homage to TBC classic)
Sunwarmed Feline (Giant cat, bears some resemblance to red dragons and Alexstraza)

Of those, the Steamscale Incinerator seems like the most likely to be a hint. Not only is it a dragon, but another mechanical dragon (the Timeless Mechanical Dragonling pet) was released this past year. Sunwarmed Furline is another very likely hint.

Here is the lore behind the Steamscale;



Sounds very fitting for a Dragon-based expansion. However, I'd be interested in hearing comments from other posters.

**Honorable Mention***
WotLK hint for MoP: Pandaren Monk Pet. Not a mount, but was also a store item. Released 2 expansions before MoP.

you forgot MOP hint back in Cata: Heart of the aspects (which is in game store mount today) was supposed to be reward for "Glory of Dragon Soul raider" achievement. But it was made a in game shop mount later.

[Ielenia]

I agree, she's not going away --- but the current direction does seem to hint that she will have a reckoning for what she did...whether that is total forgiveness or something else. It's just that we have more pressing matters to deal with atm, and she has the information we need.

Yes, but forgiveness or no forgiveness, that doesn't preclude her from being the linchpin for a dark ranger class.

From what I've read, she's going to be exiled to the Shadowlands, and pretty much be a maw-walker for eternity, rescuing the souls she put into the maw, and searching for Nathanos. She really has no place on Azeroth anymore, her story is complete.

"From what you've read". Riiiiiight. Where did you hear that? Rumor-mongering? One of those dozens upon dozens of fake leaks? Or are you going to claim you've got special insider information that got sent over to you?

[Teriz]

you forgot MOP hint back in Cata: Heart of the aspects (which is in game store mount today) was supposed to be reward for "Glory of Dragon Soul raider" achievement. But it was made a in game shop mount later.

Typically, I don't consider it a hint unless it was released or announced by Blizzard before the announcement of the next expansion. A mount foreshadowing MoP would have had to have been announced or released before Oct. 21, 2011. Do you have any proof that the Heart of the Aspects appeared before that date? If so, I'll definitely add it to the list.

[Palapop]

Typically, I don't consider it a hint unless it was released or announced by Blizzard before the announcement of the next expansion. A mount foreshadowing MoP would have had to have been announced or released before Oct. 21, 2011. Do you have any proof that the Heart of the Aspects appeared before that date? If so, I'll definitely add it to the list.

Yep it was.

[Teriz]

Based on this, the next expac will be:

World of Warcraft: Attack of the enchanted mystic Stormwind Vulpine Syverian mechanical blue giant cats

Looking forward.

Nah, just dragons, with some sort of mechanical bent.

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Yep it was.

Cool! I'll have to check into it. Thanks for the heads up.

[wushootaki]

Yes, but forgiveness or no forgiveness, that doesn't preclude her from being the linchpin for a dark ranger class.


"From what you've read". Riiiiiight. Where did you hear that? Rumor-mongering? One of those dozens upon dozens of fake leaks? Or are you going to claim you've got special insider information that got sent over to you?

Agreed. But I think the issue there is without making new abilities, dark ranger has had its abilities farmed out to other classes (similar to blademaster, etc.)

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dar...(Warcraft_III)

Silence is on priests, though I can see a version being made that is a targeted arrow shot like Sylvannas's HotS ultimate/raid fight ability.

Black Arrow went to Hunters, though I am not sure if its still there.

Life Drain went to Warlocks.

Charm went to warlock pet Succubus.

Again, its not to say they couldn't do something that combines Dark Ranger, Priestess of the Moon, and Shadow Hunter into a single class (since they all seem to be variations on the same theme largely determined by race --- an archer assisted by magic) -- I just personally don't see it happening.


If you were to look at both Tinker and Alchemist, their abilities include:

Tinkerer

Pocket Factory
Cluster Rockets
Robo-Goblin

Alchemist

Healing Spray
Chemical Rage
Acid Bomb
Transmute

If you go into the tinkerer teams in BFA (Gazlowe's Greasemonkeys for this example) you've got abilities like:

Heal Bot
Arachnobomb 2.0
Rock-It! Turret
Shadowy Decoy
POW-R Amp Platform


This to me seems like a combination of the Tinkerer and Alchemist --- there are 3 specs on the team, a mech Tank, a healer, and a ranged dps

with the exception of the decoy, none of these things really step on modern in-game engineering

As for the other abilities and how they might work:

Robo-Goblin - a cooldown buff increasing your power
Chemical Rage - Another Bloodlust
Transmute - a polymorph/hex effect that turns them to gold rather than a sheep/toad

Heal Bot covers healing spray
Arachnobomb 2.0 and Rock-It! Turret cover pocket factory and Cluster Rockets

The decoy has in-game predecessors: Stoneclaw, Statue of Black Ox, etc. etc.

just my 2 cents

[Ielenia]

Agreed. But I think the issue there is without making new abilities, dark ranger has had its abilities farmed out to other classes (similar to blademaster, etc.)

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dar...(Warcraft_III)

Silence is on priests, though I can see a version being made that is a targeted arrow shot like Sylvannas's HotS ultimate/raid fight ability.

Black Arrow went to Hunters, though I am not sure if its still there.

Life Drain went to Warlocks.

Charm went to warlock pet Succubus.

And? Demon hunters got their abilities given to other classes. Evasion went to rogues, immolation went to warlocks, mana burn went to the priest. And then their most unique and arguably defining ability, metamorphosis, later went to the warlocks.

But as for dark rangers: black arrow is gone from the hunter class. Removed. Life drain is just a generic ability, in and of itself. Nothing precludes another class from having a life drain ability. The one snag is the Charm ability-- which resembles more the priest's Mind Control ability rather than the Succubus' Charm-- but IMO the class does not need that particular skill to be a dark ranger in concept, to be honest.

[Amnaught]

So the Mystic Runesaber showing up as a store mount in WoD (with lore describing ley lines and chaotic arcane energy), and then showing up in droves in Legion (surrounded by Nightborne who had lore about ley lines and chaotic arcane energy) is confirmation bias?

I wouldnt call it confirmation bias, but I would definitely say that the Mystic Runesaber didn't foreshadow the theme of the expansion. It was placed in Suramar during a Burning Legion expansion, but it could have been inserted into an Ethereal zone on their home planet, or an arcane afterlife in the Shadowlands expansion, or a Titan incursion inside Nyalotha. The dragon pack could easily be foreshadowing the Dragon Isles as a single zone within a Light vs Void expansion, or an Alternate Timelines expansion, or a Factions Fractured expansion.

[Teriz]

Agreed. But I think the issue there is without making new abilities, dark ranger has had its abilities farmed out to other classes (similar to blademaster, etc.)

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dar...(Warcraft_III)

Silence is on priests, though I can see a version being made that is a targeted arrow shot like Sylvannas's HotS ultimate/raid fight ability.

Black Arrow went to Hunters, though I am not sure if its still there.

Life Drain went to Warlocks.

Charm went to warlock pet Succubus.

Again, its not to say they couldn't do something that combines Dark Ranger, Priestess of the Moon, and Shadow Hunter into a single class (since they all seem to be variations on the same theme largely determined by race --- an archer assisted by magic) -- I just personally don't see it happening.


If you were to look at both Tinker and Alchemist, their abilities include:

Tinkerer

Pocket Factory
Cluster Rockets
Robo-Goblin

Alchemist

Healing Spray
Chemical Rage
Acid Bomb
Transmute

If you go into the tinkerer teams in BFA (Gazlowe's Greasemonkeys for this example) you've got abilities like:

Heal Bot
Arachnobomb 2.0
Rock-It! Turret
Shadowy Decoy
POW-R Amp Platform


This to me seems like a combination of the Tinkerer and Alchemist --- there are 3 specs on the team, a mech Tank, a healer, and a ranged dps

with the exception of the decoy, none of these things really step on modern in-game engineering

As for the other abilities and how they might work:

Robo-Goblin - a cooldown buff increasing your power
Chemical Rage - Another Bloodlust
Transmute - a polymorph/hex effect that turns them to gold rather than a sheep/toad

Heal Bot covers healing spray
Arachnobomb 2.0 and Rock-It! Turret cover pocket factory and Cluster Rockets

The decoy has in-game predecessors: Stoneclaw, Statue of Black Ox, etc. etc.
just my 2 cents

Yeah, the main issue with Dark Rangers is that there simply isn’t enough “meat on the bones” of the concept. The very term means undead Hunter, and we have that via Forsaken Hunters. You could really fulfill the concept by giving MM Hunters some Dark Ranger talents, like Black Arrow, make Withering Fire a talent as well, and go with the original plan to have Wailing Arrow replace Kill Shot via talents.

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I wouldnt call it confirmation bias, but I would definitely say that the Mystic Runesaber didn't foreshadow the theme of the expansion. It was placed in Suramar during a Burning Legion expansion, but it could have been inserted into an Ethereal zone on their home planet, or an arcane afterlife in the Shadowlands expansion, or a Titan incursion inside Nyalotha. The dragon pack could easily be foreshadowing the Dragon Isles as a single zone within a Light vs Void expansion, or an Alternate Timelines expansion, or a Factions Fractured expansion.

I would definitely say that the Runesaber foreshadowed Nightborne though. That said, I do agree that the dragon mounts might imply a portion of the expansion, maybe not the entire expansion. I also don’t think any cosmic forces are going to be a theme. I really think Blizzard will be keeping everything grounded next expansion.

[Archmage Xaxxas]

I wouldnt call it confirmation bias, but I would definitely say that the Mystic Runesaber didn't foreshadow the theme of the expansion. It was placed in Suramar during a Burning Legion expansion, but it could have been inserted into an Ethereal zone on their home planet, or an arcane afterlife in the Shadowlands expansion, or a Titan incursion inside Nyalotha.

Right, so by this logic: They created a new glowing cat independent of lore/story/context at all, and then hamfisted it into the Nightborne culture because.. why? and all over The Broken Isles in reskins?

It makes perfect sense that in reality, the model was being worked on for Legion, and then was released as a Store Mount.

Whether or not it was intentionally a HINT, is fair to discuss- but as others had said, in Hindsight it -most certainly, factually was- a sign of things to come.

The dragon pack could easily be foreshadowing the Dragon Isles as a single zone within a Light vs Void expansion, or an Alternate Timelines expansion, or a Factions Fractured expansion.

This is even more of a reach than the Mystic Runesaber being a 7.0 asset-turned Store Mount before Legion's release.

[Three Faced Goddess]

Yeah, the main issue with Dark Rangers is that there simply isn’t enough “meat on the bones” of the concept. The very term means undead Hunter, and we have that via Forsaken Hunters. You could really fulfill the concept by giving MM Hunters some Dark Ranger talents, like Black Arrow, make Withering Fire a talent as well, and go with the original plan to have Wailing Arrow replace Kill Shot via talents.

LOL You can't help yourself can you, my dear?

[Teriz]

LOL You can't help yourself can you, my dear?

I'm merely speaking the truth. Consider that Hunters had the Dark Ranger signature ability (Black Arrow) and it did not fundamentally alter the way the class played.

[Three Faced Goddess]

I'm merely speaking the truth. Consider that Hunters had the Dark Ranger signature ability (Black Arrow) and it did not fundamentally alter the way the class played.

Bear with me, I'm high on Nyquil, but have you ventured the thought that what was once true may not always be true? Black Arrow can be changed/improved. Spells can be moved. I know that you're going to say "NPC Dark Rangers don't have Banshee abilities" but they don't need to. Playable Dark Rangers would be a special case, being based on Sylvanas like playable Demon Hunters are based on Illidan, right down to having an immortal demon soul unlike the NPC Demon Hunters. It stands to reason the same could applied to playable DR whose spells would be heavily inspired by Sylvanas' raid and HotS abilities (minus the domination abilities). Demon Hunters didn't have much to distinguish themselves mechanically prior to Legion. I would advise you to never say never.

[Xi Jinping]

Maybe Blizzard is NEVER gonna add another class to the game?

[Three Faced Goddess]

Maybe Blizzard is NEVER gonna add another class to the game?

That could also be a possibility.