Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Nymrohd]

Has Shandris ever called Malf dad before?
I'm surprised Tyrande is not actually pregnant but I guess this is in a way inclusive in that it supports adopted family. For some reason I always felt Shandris was more ward than daughter to Tyrande and I prefer it if they hone in on her being her daughter; it will make up for never actually having kids
So I guess Tyrande and Malf are now a retired couple. Wish they'd focus more on Jarod than Shandris. Jarod actually always felt competent. Shandris never did

[Varodoc]

I think Blizzard will recycle the main plot point of Diablo III for TWW.

In Diablo III, the entire storyline is about the villain gathering the essences of all the slain demon lords.

I imagine TWW will be about Xal'atath gathering the essences of the slain Old Gods, to do some kind of nefarious ritual with the World-Soul. That is why the Nerubians are mining the Old God blood, the ancient blood that will be pivotal in next expansion (already confirmed by Blizzard).

Could it be that the dark heart/the artifact and the hunger are intertwined? Xal'atath will store the essences of her kin inside of that heart, sating its hunger for revenge and purpose.

An old whisper resurfaces to the spotlight:

Her heart is a crater, and we have filled it.

[Sondrelk]

The entire Oathstone plot was just stupid. It made the story worse by just adding another "Five items" unless they are meant to be the Five Torches. It was never explained, Tyr did not explain it once he came back. Imo we should have gotten to Valdrakken after the Centaur area, had proper questing storyline around Uldorus and then finished in Azure Span. That would have given them more quest time to expand on Tyr and better explain what happened at the Halls of Infusion so we did not have to find out why the entire war happened at a novel a full year after the expac was released. They also should have had some questing in Alg'ethar, that place had heavy design and it was so poorly used; it could have been a daily center easily.

The individual Oathstone made sense to me as pure plot devices. The Dragons have lost their way, and you get a nice bow to each flight as they reclaim whatever piece of themselves is missing. Red Dragonflight with all five types of dragon egg, black with being protectors, etc.
It was more sitte mother Oathstone and the way the individual ones where explicitly magical with some seeming purpose that was never divined.

If you had completely cut out the Mother Oathstone then I feel the plot would have flowed much better. Less questions on what precisely they expect it to do, and more so just treat it like what it is. A way to show the player that the zone questing is done.

And yes, I was also expecting way more in terms of Tyr and the Halls of Infusion. Seemed lien it was going for an obvious Titan Keepers are not benevolent plotline. Though with the decision to announce three expansions I suppose it might have felt redundant with the Last Titan likely going for the exact same plotline on a grander scale.

[Super Dickmann]

Pleasantly surprised with the grounds Vyranoth gives Iridikron shit for, i.e ditching their cause by going for the Not-Dragon Soul and leaving Fyrakk to go mad and die. For all that her turn was massively rushed, she's among the better takeaways of this expansion.

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And yes, I was also expecting way more in terms of Tyr and the Halls of Infusion. Seemed lien it was going for an obvious Titan Keepers are not benevolent plotline. Though with the decision to announce three expansions I suppose it might have felt redundant with the Last Titan likely going for the exact same plotline on a grander scale.

I expect that'll keep coming up as the bit plot of the subsequent expansions before going into full gear in Last Titan. It's why Tyr, Odyn et al are still in play and Iridikron's entire goal hinges on it, combined with Metzen stating it outright.

[Sondrelk]

I won't count the Pillars of Creation, because it was the first time and there they were actually repeatedly used over the course of the expansion and into the future and represented actual tangible items used in the story instead of disposable symbolic coupons.

I dunno. The Pillars of Creation, while certainly more than one off plot points, did also feel by far like the most transparent macguffins of them all.
On this random island, there just so happens to be five immensely powerful Titan artifacts who have never been mentioned before, and which are only on the island in order to not have to go somewhere else on Azeroth for them, which would have made more sense.

[Nymrohd]

Pleasantly surprised with the grounds Vyranoth gives Iridikron shit for, i.e ditching their cause by going for the Not-Dragon Soul and leaving Fyrakk to go mad and die. For all that her turn was massively rushed, she's among the better takeaways of this expansion.

She also fits TLT. Her lair is in Northrend. She will probably be our NPC guide for the content patch where we take Iridikron down (I assume he will either be the first raid boss of that expac or the second after he manages to kill a Titan). So they are doing a decent job setting their confrontation up in advance.

Though honestly, she probably could take him now. She has both her Incarnate powers (and she was one of the strongest Incarnates) AND Azeroth-imbued Aspect powers.

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The individual Oathstone made sense to me as pure plot devices.

The problem is, pure plot devices CHEAPEN the plot. It turns the story from organic to a checklist.

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And yes, I was also expecting way more in terms of Tyr and the Halls of Infusion. Seemed lien it was going for an obvious Titan Keepers are not benevolent plotline. Though with the decision to announce three expansions I suppose it might have felt redundant with the Last Titan likely going for the exact same plotline on a grander scale.

I am assuming they changed the flow of the expac during design and it was for the worst. Imo there were clear opportunities to better utilize the assets they had.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Has Shandris ever called Malf dad before?
I'm surprised Tyrande is not actually pregnant but I guess this is in a way inclusive in that it supports adopted family. For some reason I always felt Shandris was more ward than daughter to Tyrande and I prefer it if they hone in on her being her daughter; it will make up for never actually having kids
So I guess Tyrande and Malf are now a retired couple. Wish they'd focus more on Jarod than Shandris. Jarod actually always felt competent. Shandris never did

I think she’s used the night elf word for mom a few times and atleast in novels I’m pretty sure she’s been called daughter, don’t know if dad ever came up.

[Ersula]

What was the point of encrypting the epilogue & gilneas questlines if they're this boring? No point in hiding a spoiler if there's no twist & everything goes exactly according to plan. It took 5 minutes to assassinate the new leader of the Scarlet Crusade. Iridirkon is annoyed with Vyranoth for switching sides?? Who could have guessed? /s

[Nymrohd]

I dunno. The Pillars of Creation, while certainly more than one off plot points, did also feel by far like the most transparent macguffins of them all.
On this random island, there just so happens to be five immensely powerful Titan artifacts who have never been mentioned before, and which are only on the island in order to not have to go somewhere else on Azeroth for them, which would have made more sense.

Also they were not really used by out side in a way that made sense. The Aegis was used twice in dungeons but the rest were just power batteries. Azshara showed us what the Tidestone could do in BfA; imagine if most of ToS was submerged underwater and we had to use the Tidestone to lower the water level to proceed further down. Meanwhile the Tears (Xavius uses it to corrupt Ysera), Eye (Everything Elisande does) and Hammer (Darguul destroys an entire village) were used by the villains against us but we actually never got to use their powers, we just used them as keys in the Tomb. Would have been cooler if we actually used their powers to do something.

[Super Dickmann]

I dunno. The Pillars of Creation, while certainly more than one off plot points, did also feel by far like the most transparent macguffins of them all.
On this random island, there just so happens to be five immensely powerful Titan artifacts who have never been mentioned before, and which are only on the island in order to not have to go somewhere else on Azeroth for them, which would have made more sense.

This is true, but they have actual meat and purpose to them and are woven into the world. The Eye of Aman'thul is the premise for the entirety of Suramar, its time magic, its closed-off nature, etc. Highmountain explores what happens if one of those cosmic items that shape the world end up in the hands of what would otherwise be a Hogger-tier quest mob, the Tear of Elune is tied in with Ysera, and both the Tidestone and Aegis are both the full focuses of questing, have a mechanical usage and appear in later dungeons/zones as plot points. Past their initial contrivance, they are actual points of worldbuilding.

The Oathstones and even more so the sigils are transparent, hollow MacGuffins, who serve only to represent the Saturday Morning Lesson/Mission Statement of the group they're associated with. They're a checklist who's activation, usage and logic is vague at best. The Oathstones, as you note, are at least better in so far as they're fine in as much as their mission statement nature gives them some utility to reintroduce the flights after a decade out of focus, but the sigils are the most blatant plot devices the narrative has ever disgorged. They are mentioned 0 times at the start of the Shadowlands, which ties the lock of the Maw exclusively with Ardenweald and premises the amnesia of the Primus on the same general memory mechanic his item crafting is based on + maw torture. The sigils are crudely inserted to rapidly wrap up all Covenant plots because the expansion needs to end pronto and only show up in the most vague sense in the very subsequent patch, where the Arbiter one just spawns out of nothing for the purposes of the plot advancing and the templates we fight in the final raid are sigil free, as is the production of the Arbiter we participate in.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

What was the point of encrypting the epilogue & gilneas questlines if they're this boring? No point in hiding a spoiler if there's no twist & everything goes exactly according to plan. It took 5 minutes to assassinate the new leader of the Scarlet Crusade. Iridirkon is annoyed with Vyranoth for switching sides?? Who could have guessed? /s

At this point I’d think it’s just so they can say “oh no it’s live we can’t change it now!” Instead of rightfully being pulled over the coals while it’s on PTR and putting in the extra work to change stuff to not suck.

[Pyrophax]

So Tyrande and Malfurion will AFK in Bel'Ameth to make place for new storyline with Shandris and regrown Teldrassil? Not bad, Shandris from WC3 was my favorite NE (and her ingame model back in a day :3), and new queen of NE is good one.
Retairment of demigods is also good move to me.
Also - Tess from Gilnean story is setting up to new queen too, as I see it.
We getting new generation of Warcraft heroes lads!
Thrall is clearly too old to handle all that shit, so his children will be central in new orc story, I think.

Anduin, Tess, Taelia, Dagran II, Shandris, Durak (shame of that name, can we rename him, maybe some ritual of TRUE NAME or smth?), Baine (shame again, but that my dislike of that character), bunch of Goblin characters from BfA, that Blood Elf and Draenei orphans, Talanji, Zekhan. List can go on.
Also - we have that disappointment of character with us too - Wrathion. It make sence to put Ebissian in charge to make room for him in stories to be told. Same as Genn, Malf and Tyrande, even Turalion, Thrall and Rokhan too.

We getting all powerful characters, demigods and just old characters to retire and stand AFK in capitals. Good move to me - WoW desperatly need some powerscaling in NPCs adressed. And for next expansions we acompany not that powerful, but next wave of leaders as acting characters. Yep, good move to me.

[Valysar]

So that's it, we take Gilneas back, and nothing after ?

Meh ... no point of encrypting it

[Makabreska]

[Reive]

when the writing is this bad, they should stop making story content. just focus on gameplay. the reclaiming of gilneas is another ruined piece of lore

[Ersula]

At this point I’d think it’s just so they can say “oh no it’s live we can’t change it now!” Instead of rightfully being pulled over the coals while it’s on PTR and putting in the extra work to change stuff to not suck.

I'm dreading that this is the same reason for the jolly roger on the 2024 roadmap.

[Varodoc]

It looks like this is not the end of the Scarlet Crusade, as expected.

I anticipate that they will reappear in Hallowfall and again in Midnight for the Light vs. Void fight.

There is a place for the Crusade even in The Last Titan, since it takes place in Northrend, where the Scarlet Onslaught remains active (Exploring Northrend book).

They are clearly writing a Scarlet Crusade resurgence and setting them up as a recurring secondary/side villain in the Worldsoul saga.

[guro-tchai]

was it the bitching and moaning?

the second epilogue, at Bel'ameth, addresses all of the recent complaints from NE posters: it confirms the status of the original lands, brings back Malf, states that apparently the isle beneath Teldrassil can be recolonized - and noone gets killed in the process. astounding.
at the same time, it does nothing but address the recent specific concerns, almost as a direct quick response, albeit covered with sugar. the way they brought back Malf is almost comical though - he's still stuck gardening, but at Amirdrassil instead of Ardenweald. they've no idea what to do with him, but tired of all the wailing that he's been killed. it does mean that complaining works for NEs as well - but the cinematic still feels like a sendoff, and no future gibs for NEs should be expected. hopefully, i'm wrong and we get some druid of the flame stuff - the set, the fire bear and travel forms and some charred orcs.

the unfortunate part is that Tyrande's retiring with him, leaving us with Shandris as the main NE character. a shame, she sucks.

[Reive]

was it the bitching and moaning?

the second epilogue, at Bel'ameth, addresses all of the recent complaints from NE posters: it confirms the status of the original lands, brings back Malf, states that apparently the isle beneath Teldrassil can be recolonized - and noone gets killed in the process. astounding.
at the same time, it does nothing but address the recent specific concerns, almost as a direct quick response, albeit covered with sugar. the way they brought back Malf is almost comical though - he's still stuck gardening, but at Amirdrassil instead of Ardenweald. they've no idea what to do with him, but tired of all the wailing that he's been killed. it does mean that complaining works for NEs as well - but the cinematic still feels like a sendoff, and no future gibs for NEs should be expected. hopefully, i'm wrong and we get some druid of the flame stuff - the set, the fire bear and travel forms and some charred orcs.

the unfortunate part is that Tyrande's retiring with him, leaving us with Shandris as the main NE character. a shame, she sucks.

the bitching is for gilneas.

1) allied with the forsaken
2) scarlets again

lame lame lame

[Nymrohd]

was it the bitching and moaning?

the second epilogue, at Bel'ameth, addresses all of the recent complaints from NE posters: it confirms the status of the original lands, brings back Malf, states that apparently the isle beneath Teldrassil can be recolonized - and noone gets killed in the process. astounding.
at the same time, it does nothing but address the recent specific concerns, almost as a direct quick response, albeit covered with sugar. the way they brought back Malf is almost comical though - he's still stuck gardening, but at Amirdrassil instead of Ardenweald. they've no idea what to do with him, but tired of all the wailing that he's been killed. it does mean that complaining works for NEs as well - but the cinematic still feels like a sendoff, and no future gibs for NEs should be expected. hopefully, i'm wrong and we get some druid of the flame stuff - the set, the fire bear and travel forms and some charred orcs.

the unfortunate part is that Tyrande's retiring with him, leaving us with Shandris as the main NE character. a shame, she sucks.

The books always made me think that if Tyrande ever retired the natural pick to lead would be Jarod as an unwilling but very effective leader. But he is the wrong gender.