Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[PenguinChan]

last I checked the numbers on Bellular's graph are pulled out of a hat, only the curve is of official sources. So maybe we ought to ignore these numbers for a while, don't we?

The curve is still worth talking about, because it still shows how the sub trends went. We may never know the exactly numbers but we do know how good or bad an expansion was doing - how it was holding subs or bleeding them, etc. etc.

You know TWW is an expansion you pay for, right? So having the same features doesn't make it an expansion. It should EXPAND the game, therefore ADD more/new features, which TWW has only like 2.

- Dynamic Flight is Dragonriding for everything. It isn't new, should be a patch.
- Warbonds aren't new content, it's just QoL features. Nothing you can really "play".
- Hero Talents will be just color skins for spells or smth.
- Earthen are reskin of Dwarves.

+ Delves is the only "new feature". And even that sounds like smaller Torghast or something.
+ New continent (only 4 new zones), new dungs etc.

Oh my god. Warcraft andys at it again. Defending undefendable.

Dynamic Flight is due to Dragonflight that people bought and subbed under (In shadowlands and the expansion itself). So yeah, it's not really a feature besides a permanent one because of the expansion. Warbands are a new feature, and while you may not 'consider it' a feature, that's a huge QoL change for some players and it's being introduced within the next expansion itself. It's a big deal if you play alts, it's not really a feature if you just main one and at best, two characters.

Hero talents leave much to be desired but at least it's a start, and if they develop it further as the expansions go we can at least attribute it as a collection of changes over time with certain expansions.

And yeah, Delves are really going to have to carry something fierce if they're a main attraction of the expansion. Don't count your chickens before they hatch yet. We may see more story-related and focused zones and dungeons that make any recent expansion look like shit in comparison. It's a big if though, and we'll soon see if that's the case. I hope so - I want some meaty lore that we can actually enjoy again.

I have a feeling though, (un)fortunately that we may see a moderate to major feature in the middle of the expansion like we did with Evoker. Now that the cat is out of the bag and they can add bigger things mid-expansion, I'm wondering if that's going to continue being a trend to allure players back into the game. Or keep people playing at least.

[Samin]

- Hero Talents will be just color skins for spells or smth.

Nobody will take you seriously if you so obviously show off that you have no idea what you're talking about. Probably also not if you post that same comment a third time.

Although there are people who would actually be happier if that was what Hero Talents were.

If you want to spin Hero Talents negatively, they're "just a couple of new talents" (talents obviously not being a new system!!1)

And yeah, Delves are really going to have to carry something fierce if they're a main attraction of the expansion.

Actually, imo Delves will fail if they try to "carry the expansion". Delves should stand parallel but distinct to Raids and Dungeon, not as the sole pillar carrying TWW. I kind of hope Blizzard can stick to not giving us a new shiny expansion-exclusive carrot on a stick each expansion for a while longer and see if it can work despite many WoW players being conditioned to expect a new shiny carrot on a stick each expansion.

[Al Gorefiend]

Better than release week? Or you now, when you get to use your vacation days?

LMAO NOT A BLOODY CHANCE

I remember doing this for WoD and never again. Which was funny considering Legion was so smooth so I pissed myself off twice in a row with incorrect guesses. I was so mad taking a week off for WoD.

[Nymrohd]

LMAO NOT A BLOODY CHANCE

I remember doing this for WoD and never again. Which was funny considering Legion was so smooth so I pissed myself off twice in a row with incorrect guesses. I was so mad taking a week off for WoD.

I have close to 30 days at this point given seniority so I can afford to take 3 days (Wed-Fri) for release Honestly only WoD was crap.

[Lady Atia]

LMAO NOT A BLOODY CHANCE

I remember doing this for WoD and never again. Which was funny considering Legion was so smooth so I pissed myself off twice in a row with incorrect guesses. I was so mad taking a week off for WoD.

Well, if you are smart you are using your free days for the start of a season, not an expansion, as stuff will be limited 'till the season starts anyways.

[Dracullus]

LMAO NOT A BLOODY CHANCE

I remember doing this for WoD and never again. Which was funny considering Legion was so smooth so I pissed myself off twice in a row with incorrect guesses. I was so mad taking a week off for WoD.

Kinda ironic considering WoD release was literally last broken one for retail. Since then at worst we had 2-3 hours downtime on couple most overcrowded servers.

This time, as much I hate early access, launch will happen over the weekend (on EU it's midnight Monday/Tuesday, so 3 days earlier = midnight Friday/Saturday).

Well, if you are smart you are using your free days for the start of a season, not an expansion, as stuff will be limited 'till the season starts anyways.

Launch with all people is simply more fun with exploring all new stuff or even waiting for midnight. On season start you will just spam M+ where half of dungeons are ones you already kn-- scratch that, you know all dungeons at this point.

[Al Gorefiend]

Kinda ironic considering WoD release was literally last broken one for retail. Since then at worst we had 2-3 hours downtime on couple most overcrowded servers.

This time, as much I hate early access, launch will happen over the weekend (on EU it's midnight Monday/Tuesday, so 3 days earlier = midnight Friday/Saturday).



Launch with all people is simply more fun with exploring all new stuff or even waiting for midnight. On season start you will just spam M+ where half of dungeons are ones you already kn-- scratch that, you know all dungeons at this point.

Wasnt around for SL and BfA pre-launches. My WoW break was correctly guessed for this period of WoW's time. It is why I am currently missing out on endgame dragonflight content to catch up on these expansions' mounts, toys and achievements.

[Cherry123]

Dunno, they already have a Thrall statue, and I am fairly sure the 10th anniversary thing was a Thrall statue/figure.

15th Anniversary was a Ragnaros statue. Meanwhile, there is no official Anduin statue yet, which is very strange.

why strange? This is marketing, they know that the character is not popular and will not bring them money. It will be Xalatan or another waifu of the male characters only Arthas and Illidan, for whom people would give their money

[PenguinChan]

Nobody will take you seriously if you so obviously show off that you have no idea what you're talking about. Probably also not if you post that same comment a third time.

Although there are people who would actually be happier if that was what Hero Talents were.

If you want to spin Hero Talents negatively, they're "just a couple of new talents" (talents obviously not being a new system!!1)




Actually, imo Delves will fail if they try to "carry the expansion". Delves should stand parallel but distinct to Raids and Dungeon, not as the sole pillar carrying TWW. I kind of hope Blizzard can stick to not giving us a new shiny expansion-exclusive carrot on a stick each expansion for a while longer and see if it can work despite many WoW players being conditioned to expect a new shiny carrot on a stick each expansion.

Well what I meant was that it’s a new major feature. People look forward to new things and want to experience them regardless if they’ll stick with it or not. But more importantly what kind of hole does it fill? I’m fine with it being in tandem as dungeons or raids are honestly. I’m just hoping that whatever they are, it’s engaging content. We’ll see soon enough

[Sondrelk]

Here's hoping. It's just so hard to tell with what they provided. All of the Ringing Deeps screenshots are of like two small specific questing areas so who knows how big that zone is, and Isle of Dorn could be anything from Forbidden Reach sized to Stormsong Valley and Tiragarde Sound combined.

At least with DF you could immediately from some of the outdoor shots that Azure Span was going to be absolutely massive and there were long distance outdoor shots to give a sense that the overall scale was big.

Maps are always one of the big highlights of initial builds, with the weapon/armor models and mount/creature stuff.

I want to say there was an interview that mentioned the Isle of Dorn was the size of a large DF zone like Azure Span.

[doledippers]

heres my prediction;

wednesday
-collectors edition release
-alongside press release , dev interviews , ton of TWW material
-alpha announced for thursday

lets goooooo!

[Makorus]

why strange? This is marketing, they know that the character is not popular and will not bring them money. It will be Xalatan or another waifu of the male characters only Arthas and Illidan, for whom people would give their money

??? in what world is Anduin not popular? That's why he has been in near enough every single expansion since Cataclysm, has a huge focus in Hearthstone, was in Heroes of the Storm and is gonna appear in TWW.
No, sorry, the only people who dislike Anduins are chuds who don't even play the game anymore. It's the same mental gymnastics that people use to claim that "No, people *totally* hate Sylvanas! The only reason she is in the game is because of Danuser!!!"

- - - Updated - - -

I want to say there was an interview that mentioned the Isle of Dorn was the size of a large DF zone like Azure Span.

Thank god, I am looking forward to Isle of Dorn the most. Loch Modan and Dwarven zones are a vibe.

- - - Updated - - -

heres my prediction;

wednesday
-collectors edition release
-alongside press release , dev interviews , ton of TWW material
-alpha announced for thursday

lets goooooo!

Tuesday: Remaining Hero Talents

Wednesday: CE Reveal and release date.

Thursday: Interviews/Press stuff and Alpha.

[Nymrohd]

Kinda ironic considering WoD release was literally last broken one for retail. Since then at worst we had 2-3 hours downtime on couple most overcrowded servers.

And Legion release was not just smooth but also one of the best events ever in WoW. Dalaran floating over Kara, the demons constantly attacking us, the teleportation

[doledippers]

Tuesday: Remaining Hero Talents

Wednesday: CE Reveal and release date.

Thursday: Interviews/Press stuff and Alpha.

yeah this could be likely. I wonder if they'll bother revealing the rest of the hero talents when they'll be testable live on the alpha only a few days after. My main line of thinking for the interviews and shit being on wednesday is to hype up the collector's edition. Either way, i think its a safe bet to see alpha this week with a ton of news. hype!

[Makorus]

yeah this could be likely. I wonder if they'll bother revealing the rest of the hero talents when they'll be testable live on the alpha only a few days after. My main line of thinking for the interviews and shit being on wednesday is to hype up the collector's edition. Either way, i think its a safe bet to see alpha this week with a ton of news. hype!

It depends. They will definitely want something for tomorrow to keep the hype flowing. Maybe they will make another post about Timerunning or preview the Harbinger quests, but I feel like Hero Talents is a safe, easy bet.

Release Date is very much wishful thinking, but I don't even think it's too early for that. We knew (although it was through leaks) that DF was gonna be released in November before it was even revealed, and I feel like Blizzard has improved significantly in terms of production pipelines

- - - Updated - - -

Kinda ironic considering WoD release was literally last broken one for retail. Since then at worst we had 2-3 hours downtime on couple most overcrowded servers.

Shadowlands was a nightmare if you were on a big realm (dunno if it was EU only) but Draenor had queues for weeks and was borderline unplayable.

[Mahcake]

Dynamic Flight is due to Dragonflight that people bought and subbed under (In shadowlands and the expansion itself). So yeah, it's not really a feature besides a permanent one because of the expansion. Warbands are a new feature, and while you may not 'consider it' a feature, that's a huge QoL change for some players and it's being introduced within the next expansion itself. It's a big deal if you play alts, it's not really a feature if you just main one and at best, two characters.

Hero talents leave much to be desired but at least it's a start, and if they develop it further as the expansions go we can at least attribute it as a collection of changes over time with certain expansions.

And yeah, Delves are really going to have to carry something fierce if they're a main attraction of the expansion. Don't count your chickens before they hatch yet. We may see more story-related and focused zones and dungeons that make any recent expansion look like shit in comparison. It's a big if though, and we'll soon see if that's the case. I hope so - I want some meaty lore that we can actually enjoy again.

I have a feeling though, (un)fortunately that we may see a moderate to major feature in the middle of the expansion like we did with Evoker. Now that the cat is out of the bag and they can add bigger things mid-expansion, I'm wondering if that's going to continue being a trend to allure players back into the game. Or keep people playing at least.

Then why advertise Dynamic Flight as one of the new features? It's just misleading and scammy.

QoL features were always added with patches.They were never announced as the new "next big thing" because it's not content. Account-wide bank, reps, anything is not new content. I said the same with UI redesign in DF when it was announced. It's pathetic that it was advertised as one of the main new features of expac. it just shows that Blizzard doesn't really have anything new and they needed something to justify the price. Which still didn't really happen.

And as you said, Warbonds aren't for everyone. It's just for people with alts, which I admit, there are a lot of those players but I'm not one of them and making a main feature of an expac, which not everyone will use, is again very stupid and not new content.

Nobody will take you seriously if you so obviously show off that you have no idea what you're talking about. Probably also not if you post that same comment a third time.

Although there are people who would actually be happier if that was what Hero Talents were.

Yes, there are some good trees with new abilities but a lot of the Hero Talents are just "color skins" and some of them not even that. I play as a monk and f.e. Shado-Pan talents are just 90% passives, which aren't gonna even change animations or how skills look.

[Makorus]

Then why advertise Dynamic Flight as one of the new features? It's just misleading and scammy.

QoL features were always added with patches.They were never announced as the new "next big thing" because it's not content.

What were you saying?

Just wanted to highlight this one as well because it was actually used in Wrath advertising as if there was a question whether there would be new items

[Treegdar]

QoL features were always added with patches.They were never announced as the new "next big thing" because it's not content. Account-wide bank, reps, anything is not new content. I said the same with UI redesign in DF when it was announced. It's pathetic that it was advertised as one of the main new features of expac. it just shows that Blizzard doesn't really have anything new and they needed something to justify the price. Which still didn't really happen.



Yes, there are some good trees with new abilities but a lot of the Hero Talents are just "color skins" and some of them not even that. I play as a monk and f.e. Shado-Pan talents are just 90% passives, which aren't gonna even change animations or how skills look.

I've literally never understood the whining from people who want shit loads of weird new kinds of systems or content from wow every xpac. You do realize that of the various kinds of content introduced to wow over the last 20 years the only ones that have stayed are heroic dungeons, daily quests, world quests, and M+. All the other shit was abandoned at the end of the xpac or even before the xpac was over because it was recieved poorly.

Cata: archeology (guess it continued for a while but has since been abandoned)
MoP: scenarios
WoD: garrisons
BFA: Islands & warfronts. Warfronts were basically abandonded before the xpac even finished
SL: Torghast

The only stuff that has actually had any staying power within the game is basically just existing content, but making it replayable and adding rewards for replaying it. And then in Legion they shook both of those up again. The base systems of wow are actually fucking incredible. The initial leveling and zone exploring is fun AF. Dungeons are awesome. Raiding is awesome. Please dear god stop asking them for the next version of Warfronts that everyone hates every single expansion and maybe we'll actually get a 5th zone or more dungeons in patch content. Morons who think expansions should fundamentally change the core of the game should just play something else. Its been 20 years, we've got a pretty good idea of what works and doesnt work in wow at this point.

[Enrif]

Just wanted to highlight this one as well because it was actually used in Wrath advertising as if there was a question whether there would be new items

https://i.imgur.com/UVUW3ub.png

this brings up a interesting point: Why even advertise: new zones, dungeons, raids. These things are a given. Like, they will never release an expansion that would have 0 new zone, dungeons or raids. Sure, they can showcase, but putting them up as a selling point after so many expansions is really pointless.

[Treegdar]

this brings up a interesting point: Why even advertise: new zones, dungeons, raids. These things are a given. Like, they will never release an expansion that would have 0 new zone, dungeons or raids. Sure, they can showcase, but putting them up as a selling point after so many expansions is really pointless.

Because people love new zones, dungeons, and raids. They are what make wow the game it is at the fundamental level. Obviously Blizz is gonna show off the new stuff that actually makes the game.