Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Makorus]

People have to remember that the text leak is directly related to this leak (All four zones mentioned in the text leak are the zones from the images), and that leak has stuff that is definitely not gonna happen, like Shamans getting one of their specs turned into Support.

[ercarp]

Can we discuss this more in-depth? All of the photos are turning up a load of re-used assets. All assets from either Dragonflight or older, can't really seem to find anything in any of these photos that screams "new asset" at all.

--snip--

However the:
- Stairs are reused (they are located in Valdraken & near tyrhold)
- Titan watcher is reused
- Butterflies are reused
- The baby is reused
- Pillars are reused

Then the other photos have:
- Reused gryphon mountain asset
- Reused druid form
- Reused Light lamp (in desert photo next to tree)
- Reused Skybox
- Reused tree assets from Dragonflight
- Reused harpie assets (granted this would be okay)
- Reused birds (granted this would be okay)

--snip--

I'm labeling this:
- Generic, and heavily reused Dragonflight assets. So therefor in my opinion must be a patch 10.3

The more I think about it, the more I seem unable to make up my mind on this leak. The asset reuse is a bit alarming if these are real screenshots of 11.0.

It would be acceptable if we were looking at a surprise 10.3 as you said. It doesn't feel right that 11.0 would look this generic (even if I personally don't necessarily hate what I'm looking at here—I kind of love the Durotar-esque zone).

[Super Dickmann]

Patch 10.3 or bust, def not a new expansion imo.

I want to be wrong, as I made a dire bet on there being a 10.3, but I also doubted Dracthyr and look where that ended up. True until proven fake.

[Jastall]

This is why I think the images are fake. It would be extremely unlucky for someone getting hold of four high quality images to only get boring ones not showing off any unique stuff besides the Earthen, Harpy, and Direhorn.

As stated before, why doesn't any of these pictures have any Dwarf architecture? Or show off the rift the Earthen were sent to investigate? Where are the Titan facilities, or the Agg'oran capital?

The fact that all of them look like they were made from preexisting assets is one thing, the fact that they don't show anything especially new is another.

Yeah, not showing the actual name of the expansion at this point is also a bit sus for me as well. They just happen to showcase the name of a continent which was well known for a while, and a whole ton of assets that are reuses once you dig a bit so an enterprising leaker could in theory kitbash them to get those pics even if it's definitely high effort.

It could be real and the art team just got lazy this time around, it could be a well made fake but a fake nevertheless. I'm on the fence so far.

[Ferlion]

Really, that's the thing I don't get. I just don't think the leaks are real. It doesn't really mean I'm on Copium, because I honestly don't care if Avaloren is next. I just want more WoW.

Not thinking this is real isn't the same as trying to say "but it could be something else"

[Marlamin]

The more I think about it, the more I seem unable to make up my mind on this leak.

Hot take for a hype thread, I know, but you don't actually have to make up your mind, enjoying the ride is most of the fun for me, I couldn't care less to join a "its real" or "its fake" camp.

[Demonly]

I want to be wrong, as I made a dire bet on there being a 10.3, but I also doubted Dracthyr and look where that ended up. True until proven fake.

It wouldn't be the first time we had a patch with 3 new zones added. (Argus Patch 7.3)

[Makorus]

Just wait until MMOChampion posts it on the front page. If they do, it's real.

[Demonly]

The more I think about it, the more I seem unable to make up my mind on this leak. The asset reuse is a bit alarming if these are real screenshots of 11.0.

It would be acceptable if we were looking at a surprise 10.3 as you said. It doesn't feel right that 11.0 would look this generic (even if I personally don't necessarily hate what I'm looking at here—I kind of love the Durotar-esque zone).

I agree! The zones look great! This is content I would surely enjoy aesthetically, and I would never deny that.

[Ferlion]

https://twitter.com/ObviouslyZelryn/...41607053226173

[Cheezits]

I think it's a pretty decent point that the battle pet is literally made of rocks while the trike in the image just has a rocklike skin.

[Marlamin]

Just wait until MMOChampion posts it on the front page. If they do, it's real.

As someone who works here, this is the funniest hype thread take of the day.

[ercarp]

https: //img ur.com/ZaOdDLS

Time is a flat circle. So many Pepe Silvia's coping so very hard.

(Dracthyr model being picked apart - feel free to post the image for me if you want)

--snip--

Ha, yeah.

If I go look at the notes in my 10.0 leak spreadsheet, I was calling the Dracthyr model a "fan edit" until the bitter end. Just complete denial.

[Demonly]

Just wait until MMOChampion posts it on the front page. If they do, it's real.

Why assume they wouldn't if it was fake? Gotta generate those clicks.

[milkmustache]

The more I think about it, the more I seem unable to make up my mind on this leak. The asset reuse is a bit alarming if these are real screenshots of 11.0.

It would be acceptable if we were looking at a surprise 10.3 as you said. It doesn't feel right that 11.0 would look this generic (even if I personally don't necessarily hate what I'm looking at here—I kind of love the Durotar-esque zone).

I'm on the same page as you. I keep flipping between real and fake. My heart says fake, my gut says real. It just seems like the same old thing again, spinning the wheel to keep introducing "hidden lands" and "new allies". I really, really hope this is a 10.3 to conclude Dragonflight's story, but I just can't help but imagine we're looking at a seemingly generic 11.0

[Sentynel]

Again you're missing the point.

This is supposed to be a new expansion -- not show off all of your already existing assets and show nothing new.

New expansion

not

Entirely reused Expansion

Patch 10.3 or bust, def not a new expansion imo.

How are you so sure there won't be any new things shown in the trailer? All we have is 4 screenshots from a presumably 2 minutes+ feature trailer.

[Moth Preacher]

I simply don't see how this 4 screenshots (in any way) look like something the Titans would spurn and call a heresy. When something is:

1) Opposite of the Order
2) Viable as a society

I imagine something alien to the Azeroth. Say, Menzoberranzan, or other dystopia filled with void-twisted, yet free individuals.
Not a...desert or a jungle lol.

[Sondrelk]

On the topic of reuse, I feel like some people are assuming that these 4 screenshots were taken by some rando on the pre-alpha servers for leaking Luls, while the general assumption is that it is leaked promotional material. The reason people think this fake is because using your reused assets for promo material is not the brightest move, not because we assume that reusing assets is in any way uncommon.

The issue with them to me is that they are ironically too high quality compared to what the images actually show.

If it's promotional images then why don't they show something more exciting in that collection of four images? The only option is that Blizzard is either trolling by deliberately leaking the boring screenshots, or the leaker got really unlucky with what they found.

If it's images taken from the trailer then the question is the same. If the leaker managed to get images this good, then why didn't he have more, and for that matter ones with interesting stuff in them?

Excluding deliberate throwback zones there have not really been zones that look this similar to previous zones. And while it's certainly always possible to get angles that make zones look like different ones, that just brings us back to the first point about the leaker being shockingly unlucky with what images they found if it was real.


All of that, and the dwarf in the snowy area has really weird hands and proportions that look very much AI generated, and which I struggle to see as legitimate.

[Nightshade711]

Not sure what you're trying to say by posting those two images. We all know there's a battle pet version in-game.

The tweet is saying the direhorn is fake because it’s using assets from some decoration for the collar,
And a helm from Zandalar(?) for the feathers.

[Rathwell]

Hot take for a hype thread, I know, but you don't actually have to make up your mind, enjoying the ride is most of the fun for me, I couldn't care less to join a "its real" or "its fake" camp.

Marlamin, with all due respect: life is all about finding a social clique, joining it, and then fervently defending it from anything and anyone who could be perceived as a threat. It's not about being "right" or being "wrong", it's about zealotry, social belonging, and getting to draw little red circles on blurry leaks while questioning the sanity of anyone who dares oppose you.

Do I believe that these leaked screenshots are definitely the next expansion? Who knows. But I will mindlessly defend it to my dying breath.