Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[ImTheMizAwesome]

Well, they brought Chris Metzen back so it's probably for something big.

[Nymrohd]

I kind of agree, although I don't really believe a WoW 2 would happen (but I'd be happy to be wrong)- if 11.0 isn't a world revamp then the whole idea will be very unlikely in the future.

It's also that the next expansion is a big marketing opportunity. Blizzcon (where it should be revealed) reopens after a pandemic and one of the worst scandals in the gaming industry, the Warcraft franchise has its 30 year anniversary while WoW has its 20 year anniversary. It just all matches for them to go big or go home.

[Alanar]

And Denathrius

We need to make it happen, Denathrius and Azshara.

Ultimate powersmug couple.

[Fahrad Wagner]

It's also that the next expansion is a big marketing opportunity. Blizzcon (where it should be revealed) reopens after a pandemic and one of the worst scandals in the gaming industry, the Warcraft franchise has its 30 year anniversary while WoW has its 20 year anniversary. It just all matches for them to go big or go home.

I completely agree... but it wouldn't be Blizzard's first missed opportunity. But let's stay hopeful, they seem to have been heading in the right direction since DF!

[Nymrohd]

I think a large part of the community expects a lot from this BlizzCon and they are full of hope to see their expectations realized. We all want the license to rise...

And blizzard management should also want to impress their new MS overlords. Because the devs are probably all safe in the short or even the medium term. But management? Not at all if they don't have something to show.

[Shadowferal]

I know I originally posted it as a joke, but the idea of Scarlet Crusaders having landed on Avaloren by mistake and acted as Light-obsessed conquistradors definitely could work.

Add in Yrel to the mix and you'd have quite the party.

[Varodoc]

Okay, since we are giving our theories.
What I WANT is a full world revamp with Old Gods and playable Naga with Azshara and Xal'atath fighting to outbitch each other. And player housing. And bard.
What I THINK we will get is an Avaloren expansion most likely titled Nightsquall, because that is an appropriately badass title. Avaloren is probably one mean Lasagna of an Island with several layers of settlers from Old Gods to Titanforged and Scarlet Crusaders.

Azshara is just a little mortal, while Xal'atath is an Old God, what could Azshara possibly accomplish against Xal'atath? Xal'atath is more ancient than Azshara's entire species.

Azshara is arrogant and she will meet her end if she tries messing with an Old God again. She already came very close to death when she tried to double-cross N'Zoth.

It's pretty funny to rewatch her Warbringers cutscene. Azshara thought she was sooo clever, but N'Zoth put the little mortal back in her place in BfA and reminded her who's the God and who's the drowning mortal princess.

[Wangming]

And Denathrius

Ah yess, my mistake. Forgot about him. Vampire daddy needs to come back.

Azshara is just a little mortal, while Xal'atath is an Old God, what could Azshara possibly accomplish against Xal'atath? Xal'atath is more ancient than Azshara's entire species.

Azshara is arrogant and she will meet her end if she tries messing with an Old God again. She already came very close to death when she tried to double-cross N'Zoth.

It's pretty funny to rewatch her Warbringers cutscene. Azshara thought she was sooo clever, but N'Zoth put the little mortal back in her place in BfA and reminded her who's the God and who's the drowning mortal princess.

Note that I never said outgambit or defeat. I said outbitch. Say what you will about Azshara, but at least she is entertainingly evil. Which is more than can be said about most of WoW villains.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Ah yess, my mistake. Forgot about him. Vampire daddy needs to come back.



Note that I never said outgambit or defeat. I said outbitch. Say what you will about Azshara, but at least she is entertainingly evil. Which is more than can be said about most of WoW villains.

Azshara is a great villain. Regal, cunning, sassy but in a delightful and not obnoxious way... she shares a lot with Denathrius in that sense. I look forward to the expansion or patch in which she'll be relevant again.

[Varodoc]

Ah yess, my mistake. Forgot about him. Vampire daddy needs to come back.



Note that I never said outgambit or defeat. I said outbitch. Say what you will about Azshara, but at least she is entertainingly evil. Which is more than can be said about most of WoW villains.

She was bitchy and smug in BfA because she thought she could outsmart the Old Gods, she was full of copium.

The ending of the Eternal Palace raid was a huge reality check for her. She was reminded that she's just an insignificant mortal who stands no chance against even the weakest Old God.

She was imprisoned and tortured in Ny'alotha and was at the complete mercy of N'Zoth; so if she's smart, she'll be more humble from now on when dealing with actual Gods.

[Nymrohd]

Xal' is the essence of something Void related, probably an Old God though maybe not. She doesn't have her original body, she hasn't had aeons to suck on Azeroth's tit to grow stronger.
Azshara is the most powerful arcanist in the lore except from the Titans and maybe Archimonde, knowledgeable not just in the ways of Arcane and the Void but clearly possessed of great cosmic knowledge (the true throne of power) and the most likely person to possess the original Xal'atath dagger (and possibly the trapped essence of N'zoth).

My bet is on Azshara any day. Plus she is hot.

[Varodoc]

Xal' is the essence of something Void related, probably an Old God though maybe not. She doesn't have her original body, she hasn't had aeons to suck on Azeroth's tit to grow stronger.
Azshara is the most powerful arcanist in the lore except from the Titans and maybe Archimonde, knowledgeable not just in the ways of Arcane and the Void but clearly possessed of great cosmic knowledge (the true throne of power) and the most likely person to possess the original Xal'atath dagger (and possibly the trapped essence of N'zoth).

My bet is on Azshara any day. Plus she is hot.

Based on all the whispers from the Priest artifact, Xal'atath has much more knowledge of the workings of the Cosmos than Azshara.

Beyond that, Azshara cannot have the Blade of the Black Empire, it is impossible. She teleported away from Ny'alotha right after giving it to Wrathion and wouldn't have had enough time to pick it up after Wrathion used it on N'Zoth. Since, a few moments later, N'Zoth and the whole of Ny'alotha were "disintegrated".

[Wangming]

My bet is on Azshara any day. Plus she is hot.

To be fair, we don't know what body will Xal'atath use if she comes back.

[Nymrohd]

To be fair, we don't know what body will Xal'atath use if she comes back.

Only basic bitches use a blood elf body. Just saying.

Now I have it stuck in my head, imagine if Xal'atath got a "sexy" version of K'thir that looks like Edna from Futurama.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Only basic bitches use a blood elf body. Just saying.

Now I have it stuck in my head, imagine if Xal'atath got a "sexy" version of K'thir that looks like Edna from Futurama.

Please, don't give them ideas...

[huth]

She was bitchy and smug in BfA because she thought she could outsmart the Old Gods, she was full of copium.

Except, you know, she succeeded. Not quite as her plan was originally intended, but still.

And Xal'atath was an old god, but got stripped of her power and imprisoned by the others. She's not exactly that powerful presence you make her out to be.

[Lahis]

Only basic bitches use a blood elf body. Just saying.

*summons the resident forum high elf enthusiasts to make a 1000 word rant essay on how Ren'dorei is COMPLETELY different thing from Sin'dorei*

[Nymrohd]

*summons the resident forum high elf enthusiasts to make a 1000 word rant essay on how Ren'dorei is COMPLETELY different thing from Sin'dorei*

I have a broom and I am not afraid to use it.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

It's exactly that. I can't say this loud enough: fantasy universes should remain as mysterious as they can. Once you lose the mystery, you lose most of your audience's interest, the only exception to that being if the story has compelling well-written characters (which let's be honest, has never been WoW's forte).

I remember back in Vanilla up to WotlK, the titans seemed so mysterious to me as a lore-driven player, now I'm like "oh yeah, another Titan facility" and the spark is gone. More often than not, not knowing is better than knowing when it comes to cosmic powers in fantasy setups.

Couldn't have said that better myself. The loss of mystery in WoW has been pervasive—doesn't help that we finally got a parcel of new mysteries from Chronicles, and immediately subsequently explored them. A handful of years pass, and not only are we exploring the nexus of the Shadowlands, but we're also fully aware of its functions and its innermost nature. The Void Lords have stayed enjoyably distant, but much of their mystique nevertheless became another casualty of Shadowlands' sanity-rending (far moreso than the Void itself could ever be!) additions to Warcraft lore when it came to be evident that they were probably 3d printed.

The Titans becoming a parliament of sensible, empathetic beings with familiar speech patterns, habits, and behavior was an especially disastrous choice—I usually praise Legion, and I consider it my favorite expansion behind WotLK, but it's just a terrible decision through-and-through to reduce a race that should remain fundamentally alien and sort of straddle the line between deities and significantly-advanced aliens to a fairly generic set of perfectly-benign and familiar space-dwellers. Even now, a general return to that portrayal is marred by the fact that Danuser cannot understand a cosmology more complex than Pokémon types.

[Shadowferal]

They realized that they had overexposed the Titans so they weren't mysterious anymore. Rather than accept that and find other story ideas to mine, they decided to attempt a do-over by introducing the next ackshually mysterious progenitors.

It's exactly that. I can't say this loud enough: fantasy universes should remain as mysterious as they can. Once you lose the mystery, you lose most of your audience's interest, the only exception to that being if the story has compelling well-written characters (which let's be honest, has never been WoW's forte).

Couldn't have said that better myself. The loss of mystery in WoW has been pervasive—doesn't help that we finally got a parcel of new mysteries from Chronicles, and immediately subsequently explored them.

You guys are hitting me in the feels here.
But for me, the word everyone wants to avoid using is "stagnation."