Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Reive]

Ha, good one.

Jokes aside, if all these storm-related additions are really pointing to the next WoW expansion, then I have to ask... Why storms specifically?

It seems like the next expansion would have a very strong storm theme to warrant this many cross-game references, but why? Does it have something to do with Odyn?

i don't think it's going to be a "storm" based expansion. the wow promo art for the blizzcon usually is a clue for what to expect in the next expansion. this time we have thrall so it's easy to think that 11.0 is a way related to the elements.

[Catastrophy349]

11.0 is an "elemental expansion." It's been known for a very long time, now.

[Sondrelk]

Horses give me flashbacks to BfA. It feels like they gave us enough horse mounts to last 30 expansions.

I don't think they need to make too many new horse models tbh. They can just repurpose the ones from BfA.

The horse mounts were one thing, the fact that all three main Alliance factions gave a horse was another. And that two of those horses were recolours of eachother was a third.

And there were such good concepts as well. Wicker beast from Drustvar, and Storm Elemental mount from Stormsong.

[Hitei]

Friendly reminder that the evidence suggests the Algarian Stormrider is a dragonriding capable mount.

[Sondrelk]

11.0 is an "elemental expansion." It's been known for a very long time, now.

And what does that mean when DF is then tacitly understood to not be one? Will we go the full Cataclysm and have zones set in the actual elemental planes?

[Reive]

11.0 is an "elemental expansion." It's been known for a very long time, now.

ofc. i wonder to what degree tho since dragonflight had already a lot of elemental stuff in it

[Cheezits]

Friendly reminder that the evidence suggests the Algarian Stormrider is a dragonriding capable mount.

Which is why Gryphon is still the most likely choice as it isn't a dragon, but is a new dragonriding rig.

[milkmustache]

11.0 is an "elemental expansion." It's been known for a very long time, now.

I still struggle to accept this. DF had a lot of elemental themes to it, and I think it may continue to be a theme inevitably due to the association with Iridikron, but I can't believe that we'd dive right into another expansion with a lot of the same themes, unless they're doing true sequels.

[ercarp]

Argus was awesome IMO. So the final result was not that bad.

I liked Argus too. I went back there yesterday to collect some battle pets and I had to stop and admire the sights a little. Eredath is one of Blizzard's finest zones and the view of Azeroth from aboard the Vindicaar is still just as breathtaking as it was back in 2017/2018.

[pacotaco]

Wait, the tinker fans and the bard fans are fighting? lol

Both classes are equally (un)likely. That is, I'd love to see both, and I do not expect either.

"But we have engineers." We also have blacksmiths, and no one in their right mind would claim we can't have warriors because we already have characters who can make weapons. Engineers make gadgets, tinkers make their whole playstyle around it. Mech suits, or mechanical arms, or turrets. You can easily build several classes around the theme of technology, without infringing on engineering territory at all. Besides the very reductive "uuh, tech?"

Bards are a common fantasy staple with very faint Warcraft precedent, much like monks before MoP. Yes, there were brewmasters, but until MoP popped up and made up the whole lore about chi and the fighting style that fit D&D monks more than the shamanic drunk brewmasters from prior lore, there were no monks. I'd have sooner expected runemasters, which were originally supposed to be the Warcraft monk.
And as for bards themselves - we already have characters who use music and magic (and magic music) to give you buffs and other effects. It really isn't hard to come up with something and make it fit into the lore without retconning anything. And with the current writing team's motto apparently being "there's no lore mistakes, we'll just pretend the mistake was always the lore"... it can definitely happen.

Tinkers are definitely the most fleshed out of the the unreleased classes, but if we go with current events to guess the future, it point Elune themed. So if they add a class, it would most likely be one related to it (Warden, PotM or a combo of both).
But again, this is pure speculation. They heavily hinted Dark Ranger in BFA, then we got SL and we didn't get it, so...

[Catastrophy349]

Here's an interesting conversation: Who are/should be the "villains" of 11.0? You may answer this question for the initial start of 11.0, or the entire expansion.

[ercarp]

Friendly reminder that the evidence suggests the Algarian Stormrider is a dragonriding capable mount.

Could it be a proto-dragon?

There's one called Wizened Stormrider in the Forbidden Reach.

[Darkarath]

11.0 is an "elemental expansion." It's been known for a very long time, now.

I for one would welcome it. Of course it would have more themes or it would be another BfA in which we all knew what the real theme was.

One of the biggest question of DF still is: what the hell are the Elemental Lords doing? All his minions acting like crazy while they do nothing.

Hope that we get some hint in 10.2 with Smolderon.

Also, an Elemental theme would fit with a world revamp IMO, so give it to me

Here's an interesting conversation: Who are/should be the "villains" of 11.0? You may answer this question for the initial start of 11.0, or the entire expansion.

Impossible to answer as of now. I do not completely discard a 10.3, and that would change everything.

We also do not know if Tyr would be friend or foe.

Iridikron seems a safe bet but if he gets to 11.0 alive, which seems almost guaranteed at this point, he might be with us for more time than we expect.

[vintage79]

Here's an interesting conversation: Who are/should be the "villains" of 11.0? You may answer this question for the initial start of 11.0, or the entire expansion.

World - as it use to be

[milkmustache]

Could it be a proto-dragon?

There's one called Wizened Stormrider in the Forbidden Reach.

Is Iridikron going to use something with the decay magic to bring Razsageth back...?

[Hitei]

Could it be a proto-dragon?

There's one called Wizened Stormrider in the Forbidden Reach.

Wasn't trying to suggest a conclusion about what it is one way or the other. Just that it's very probably isn't a horse.

[pacotaco]

Here's an interesting conversation: Who are/should be the "villains" of 11.0? You may answer this question for the initial start of 11.0, or the entire expansion.

If we don't take care of Iridikron on a 10.3 patch in Uldaz, I'm pretty sure that we'll deal with him right at the start, being the trigger of the new events like Raszageth did in DF.
If we go to Avaloren, I'm pretty sure one of the side antagonist will be Odyn.

[Cheezits]

I still struggle to accept this. DF had a lot of elemental themes to it, and I think it may continue to be a theme inevitably due to the association with Iridikron, but I can't believe that we'd dive right into another expansion with a lot of the same themes, unless they're doing true sequels.

Because the marketing/lore will be Elements but the expansion won't. Just like how Dragonflight has you working with random races to fight elements but it's marketed as a Dragon expansion, when they are mostly set dressing.

Elements are the bad guys of 10.0 and a group of them are 10.2, but they will probably shift the balance to primarily Void villains with elemental backup to offset this. Just like Cata.

Azshara has the sea, Iridikron has earth. Maybe Rag appearing for fire, storm is already confirmed to some extent. They have hinted we might see Raz again so I would buy into the zombie theory. Magatha would be fun there too.

[huth]

Yes, that is fair. Still, Thal'dranath just sound so good... Is like Azjol-Nerub. If you have a zone with such a cool name you have to give it to us !! I am almost certain that we will get Azjol-Nerub at some point. Thal'dranath, sadly, will stay dead forever

Argus was awesome IMO. So the final result was not that bad.

I think your problem here is that you had some super-awesome mental image of what Thal'dranath was going to be, without regard for how it would likely actually turn out. Chances are, it would have just been a rehash of Azsuna with some of the content that ended up on Broken Shores. Not really that interesting.

Cool names do not make good zones.

[Harbour]

Id take everything over Avaloren tbh.
'Visiting every old continet in a wilde ride' Expansion
K'aresh expansion
'All events take place on Revamped Azeroth' expansion
But not visit another island with close to zero weight in comparison to all other isles.

Everything but not Avaloren and Elemental Expansion. Fed up with elementals. They are in Onaharan, grinded to death for WQ and quest. They are in Wakin Shores, they are in Azure whatever. They are in every raid.

And they were BORING.