Dragonflight 10.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

So, deal with roughly three large scale enemy strongholds.

Eh I pass and I think a lot of people should too if this is the case going forward as a standard.

[Cheezits]

I think he's just using Classic audience to bait them into thinking something is coming and then go "HAH 'GOTTEM" after Blizzcon Opening Ceremony, honestly.

It just completely contradicts the Gamespot interview.

Or he's teasing about Cata Classic. But yeah, he's being weird.

I will give him full accolades if he's fully right, 11.0 is another Filler Island without factions and Classic+ is the true future of the game. And I will also probably finally quit WoW lol.

[Sondrelk]

It's this fairly fan quest (A Multitude of Tasks) where Chromie asks you to do some trivial collect task and you tell her to go do it herself so you take up her spot for the day giving quests to adventurers. One of the parts of the quest is Aeonormu coming to tell you about a time disturbance and I'll quote below


So, deal with roughly three large scale enemy strongholds. So the dev who made this considers an expansion to have roughly three raids.

Or alternatively he considered "three major strongholds" to mean the three major patches and their associated zones.

I wouldn't think too much about it honestly. Why would this quest be intentionally designed to hint at less content?

[Marlamin]

I will say the recent stuff we have (Cata Classic, revampy assets, interview statements) goes against Classic+, just confused why the guy who usually knows things is banking so hard on it unless it's to bait engagement from the people who actually want it/the people on here.

I think some version of Classic+ isn't out of the question based on 1.15 being in the works for most of the year now.
1.13 was Classic, 1.14 was SoM/hardcore so 1.15 should be something at least just as substantial, whether or not that fits inside whatever people define Classic+ to be remains to be seen at BlizzCon.

I think Cata Classic is currently just based on Blizz removing "only usable in Outland/Northrend" from some flying mounts which while suspicious is still pretty insignifcant especially with the mount journal additions they've been doing in 3.4.3, so not a ton to go off there. No other hints so far outside of maybe that mount that MrGM found being a possible candidate for a Cata Classic deluxe edition, but that could be for a plethora of other things too so that's a stretch too.

Revamp-y assets feel like they aren't for classic as they'd be in the entirely wrong content branch (mainline/retail vs. classic) which would be the first time classic assets bleed into mainline (although the other way around does happen a lot). I'd like to see these used in retail though as the assets they'd be replacing are definitely in need of an update.

[Cheezits]

I think some version of Classic+ isn't out of the question based on 1.15 being in the works for most of the year now.
1.13 was Classic, 1.14 was SoM/hardcore so 1.15 should be something at least just as substantial, whether or not that fits inside whatever people define Classic+ to be remains to be seen at BlizzCon.

I think Cata Classic is currently just based on Blizz removing "only usable in Outland/Northrend" from some flying mounts which while suspicious is still pretty insignifcant especially with the mount journal additions they've been doing in 3.4.3, so not a ton to go off there. No other hints so far outside of maybe that mount that MrGM found being a possible candidate for a Cata Classic deluxe edition, but that could be for a plethora of other things too so that's a stretch too.

Revamp-y assets feel like they aren't for classic as they'd be in the entirely wrong content branch (mainline/retail vs. classic) which would be the first time classic assets bleed into mainline (although the other way around does happen a lot). I'd like to see these used in retail though as the assets they'd be replacing are definitely in need of an update.

I don't think a Classic Funtime Edition (moreso than SOM tweaks) is out of the cards, but I do think it sets some really bad precedent for dueling content creation that could tank the series if the teams aren't big enough. Like I really don't want Retail to get WORSE because they are now making TBC 2.0 etc.

People want Classic+ to be WoW 2 and even if it isn't that at the start, it could evolve to be that.

I think HD assets in Classic is getting less and less likely yeah.

[ImTheMizAwesome]

Or he's teasing about Cata Classic. But yeah, he's being weird.

I will give him full accolades if he's fully right, 11.0 is another Filler Island without factions and Classic+ is the true future of the game. And I will also probably finally quit WoW lol.

To me it looks more like tryharding than just subtle hinting, but maybe it's all he wanted - to be in a discussion about it.

Well he got the attention no matter if he will end up being right or not, but to me he's being reeally weird about it this time, especially his last tweet where he almost speaks like dev from wowteam. ^^

[Ersula]

How can this be framed in any way beyond "new content for Classic" when Classic currently is simply rereleases? Why would Classic players be excited about someone working on Retail?

You could argue he was saying "Classic players should be excited about Retail now" but that's not what he seems to be saying.

• He doesn't have any actual insider information
• The idea that Metzen can recapture & bring to Retail what people like about Classic
• Season of Mastery isn't a classic expansion but its still new content

That second one is the most relevant.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I feel like if the 1.15 thing is still not resolved the week prior to Blizzcon (through a SoM 2 Announcement) then we can at least attest that something weird is going on involving Classic until that point it is essentially all just Towelliee and 4chan (Awakening leak, RIP BOZO Hyperdoomer leak).

I still don't understand 1.15 was Vendor'd and was expecting it to be deconfirmed to just be SoM 2 but yeah no dice.

[Villager720]

Revamp-y assets feel like they aren't for classic as they'd be in the entirely wrong content branch (mainline/retail vs. classic) which would be the first time classic assets bleed into mainline (although the other way around does happen a lot). I'd like to see these used in retail though as the assets they'd be replacing are definitely in need of an update.

Not to mention these assets were seeping into the game files well before Classic even launched. The notion that "no changes" Blizzard from 2019 somehow was already planning to scrap Cata Classic and do a revamp instead 4 years out for their little "experiment" is a wild take.

[Worldshaper]

I think some version of Classic+ isn't out of the question based on 1.15 being in the works for most of the year now.
1.13 was Classic, 1.14 was SoM/hardcore so 1.15 should be something at least just as substantial, whether or not that fits inside whatever people define Classic+ to be remains to be seen at BlizzCon.

I think Cata Classic is currently just based on Blizz removing "only usable in Outland/Northrend" from some flying mounts which while suspicious is still pretty insignifcant especially with the mount journal additions they've been doing in 3.4.3, so not a ton to go off there. No other hints so far outside of maybe that mount that MrGM found being a possible candidate for a Cata Classic deluxe edition, but that could be for a plethora of other things too so that's a stretch too.

Revamp-y assets feel like they aren't for classic as they'd be in the entirely wrong content branch (mainline/retail vs. classic) which would be the first time classic assets bleed into mainline (although the other way around does happen a lot). I'd like to see these used in retail though as the assets they'd be replacing are definitely in need of an update.

I think they sent out a survey last year as well, which is at least an indication of intent.

[Cheezits]

-11.0: New Content for Retail, whatever it may be
-Cataclysm Classic: Seemingly confirmed through datamining

-1.15: Classic+? Wrath but with funny shenanigans?

I don't know how they can juggle three of these with a smaller audience, UNLESS they are making WOW free to play (honestly possible) and/or on Gamepass.

[Marlamin]

-11.0: New Content for Retail, whatever it may be
-Cataclysm Classic: Seemingly confirmed through datamining

-1.15: Classic+? Wrath but with funny shenanigans?

I don't know how they can juggle three of these with a smaller audience, UNLESS they are making WOW free to play (honestly possible) and/or on Gamepass.

Something for Wrath would be on the 3.x branch and calling Cata Classic seemingly confirmed through datamining is quite the stretch as of right now.

[Cheezits]

Something for Wrath would be on the 3.x branch and calling Cata Classic seemingly confirmed through datamining is quite the stretch as of right now.

My mention of Wrath is because you said that the flying mount tag for Outland and Northrend was removed. If those mounts are around, and you can fly in Classic, then wouldn't Northrend be accessible?

Nevermind, misread.

[Houle]

The RTS games set up the foundation, sure, but it was mostly on Azeroth. The overall Cosmic setting, and much of its inner workings was the result of WoW however.

As for the role of the Titans compared to the First Ones...no? Even in the old lore, the Titans being called "the creators" was only ever utilized by beings related to them, not by the Old Gods or their minions (This is pre-chronicle, mind you). Sure, they may have always "seeded the world" and they may be the progenitors to most races on Azeroth (And the physical multiverse itself), but they were never fundamentally akin to the First Ones, whose roles range far above anything the Titans could ever provide to the universe.

"Before Chronicles and and "modern" lore it was the Titans, now its the First Ones. Only difference is that the First Ones are on a much larger scale, which brings me back to the point of them copying the old stuff but making it "bigger and better" (which its actually not)."

To further what I said above, this statement makes no sense when you realize that even in the old lore, the Universe was never created by the Titans, and the arguments that the Titans "created Azeroth" were debatable at best (Especially with what Executus says, as well as that lore book which is ripped from the Warcraft 3 manual). So no, the Titans didn't create everything as knew it prior to the FIrst Ones addition, and although much of Azeroth was forged from the Titans influence, it ultimately existed far before even they came across it, and this also applies to the Cosmos itself by extension.

As for the First Ones, everything that was implied/explored about them straight up states they made it all. That they are the reason the Cosmos is what it is today, that they are the ones who put these forces into motion, that they are the ones who balanced their forces with their grand design, they made the Cosmic Pattern which determines how these forces interact, they made all of reality and encompass everything and nothing through thought alone.

They are clearly not the same, despite (admittedly) some similarities.


"Not to the point it is after SL. Not even close. And you know it."

Sure, you could definitely argue this, but considering the Afterlife is infinite, and many afterlives are still unknown to us...yeah...I think we'll be just fine.

I think you dont really get my point, bc you basically just proved it.

Yes, the titans back then were "merely" these uber-powerful aliens who ordered Azeroth and the rest of the universe to their liking, while the First Ones now created the entire universe to their liking - but their role in the mythology is the same. Their purpose in the mythology is to be the the unknowable, unreachable top-tier beings, who are far above everything else, and who vanished ages ago.
They have the same purpose in the overall narrative structure. Even if they arent the exact same thing on paper (altho they have similarities there as well), they fulfill the same function for the story, from the perspective of the storyteller.
Its really not that hard of a concept to grasp my dude.

[Marlamin]

My mention of Wrath is because you said that the flying mount tag for Outland and Northrend was removed. If those mounts are around, and you can fly in Classic, then wouldn't Northrend be accessible?

Those mount changes are from 3.4.3 Classic, not the 1.1x branch.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Would be really funny if 1.15 was just Cataclysm Classic but Blizzard made it 1.15 solely to fuck with every Classic player.

[Ersula]

Those mount changes are from 3.4.3 Classic, not the 1.1x branch.

I think you're talking about different things at this point. Cheezits is suggesting more content for Vanilla Classic AND the mount change on wotlk classic is a change that happened for Cataclysm originally, as in suggesting the existence of Cataclysm classic.

[Marlamin]

Would be really funny if 1.15 was just Cataclysm Classic but Blizzard made it 1.15 solely to fuck with every Classic player.

Them fucking around with version names on encrypted branches is rare but not out of the question so it could end up being a patch 4.4, but they could as well have just called it 96.0 as they do with one of the 'expansion-less' internal clients which would've caused much less speculation/rumors.

I think you're talking about different things at this point. Cheezits is suggesting more content for Vanilla Classic AND the mount change on wotlk classic is a change that happened for Cataclysm originally, as in suggesting the existence of Cataclysm classic.

Yep, I'm suggesting the same with 1.15 but I'd argue the 3.4.3 mount changes are less suspicious given the fact they've started merging Retail's mount system into 3.4.3 but it could be indicative of Cata Classic, sure, but wouldn't go as far as 'seemingly confirmed through datamining'.

[Makorus]

Stop right there.
What you're saying is they had one good month or two that you know of out of the whole year. And maybe that could be expanded upon with a patch or two to maybe 5 months..6 months even. Should that paint a rosy picture here?

What we know is that "early Dragonflight sales have not reached the level of the prior expansion". To note is the word "expansion" rather than expansions.

Shadowlands sold 3.8 Million on launch, and BFA sold 3.4 Million. So, I would be surprised if it was less than 3 Million for DF.

Subscriber retention is also higher than previous expansions.

Saying that Retail is a "dead end" is batshit insane. Any other MMO can wish to even get a third of those sales, and that's following the worst received expansions that made a majority of the player base switch to another MMO.

[Murlocos]

I think 1.15 will end up being SoM 2, a set of fresh servers that likely will have larger and more comprehensive changes than SoM did but ultimately still a refresh of vanilla. It'd be analogous to the gradual increase in changes they've been making with TBC and Wrath.

If I was a Classic+ believer/hoper, I think the number one thing I'd be checking for is if the Classic team was hiring more artists.