Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Hitei]

Otherwise why would they even include that design element in early concepts?

Obviously somebody at some point asked an artists to come up with a massive crystal that looks vaguely naaru in origin, and will be entered by people.

If someone had asked for a "a massive crystal that looks vaguely naaru in origin, and will be entered by people." then what you'd have is multiple different thumbnail sketches of the crystal with stairs, or bridges to it, or connected to towers... not one picture out of a half a dozen quickly done thumbnail sketches that includes stairs and the others with zero intent for access to the crystal.

[Nymrohd]

(C) pretty much shows a staircase connecting the Beledar to the Cathedral

[Nymrohd]

A has an opening as well.

(E) does as well I think. Also (D) and the Light/Void mode ones look like Oshu'gun while (C) & (E) seems more First Ones-inspired (or at least have harsher geometric lines). Which makes it seem like Art Direction did not give them a specific theme to mimic when they were making concepts.

[Hitei]

I don't know, man. The door with stairs was a pretty specific design element.

In my opinion, it's more likely that the artist was given a list of 5-10 attributes of the Beledar and went with it, than the artist just making stuff up. It's a product being shipped after all, with deadlines and budgets to meet.

Imagine sitting down to do concept art for Oribos, and the lead devs go "Okay, so it's a floating city. It's in a void, and it's circular." Are you then going to draw six versions of square Oribos and one where it's a circle? Of course not. You're going to draw six versions where it's circular, because that's what the plan is and then maybe one where it isn't just for "what if?". If you have a list of basic attributes, you do the thumbnails manifesting those attributes, that is the entire function of that sort of concept art. You need a thing to have X so you try different versions of it having X. If "people go inside it" is in your shortlist of features, then you're going to try a bunch of different approaches for that. What if there are stairs? What if there's platforms leading to it? What if there's an airship docked at it?

It's a product with deadlines and budgets, so you focus the majority of your art pieces on the parameters you're given.

In this case, it was "It's a zone with a massive glowing crystal embedded in the ceiling that the Arathi are using for light and stuff", so you have a bunch of explorations of what that massive crystal might look like, including one where they've built stairs up to it.

[Cheezits]

I'm so tired of Beledar discussions boss...

Please just open the thing up next patch, blow it up, whatever.

[Hitei]

We don't know what the description looked like. For all we know it could have been: We need a giant, holy crystal in the ceiling of a cave, emitting Light across the chamber. It is worshiped by the Arathi, who are able to enter it. Maybe draw inspiration from naaru ships and stuff?"

So the artist goes on to paint a bunch of crystals with each version highlighting different attributes from the description in different ways.

What...? That makes no sense. If I tell you to concept a horse mount and it's a black horse with demon wings and the hooves burn with blue fire, you don't then go draw a picture of a white horse with bird wings and blue fire hooves to highlight the blue fire hooves, and a picture of a regular black horse with no wings and no fire to highlight the "black horse" attribute, and a picture of a grey horse with demon wings and green fire to highlight that it has demon wings.

[Nibelheimy]

We don't know what the description looked like. For all we know it could have been: We need a giant, holy crystal in the ceiling of a cave, emitting Light across the chamber. It is worshiped by the Arathi, who are able to enter it. Maybe draw inspiration from naaru ships and stuff?"

So the artist goes on to paint a bunch of crystals with each version highlighting different attributes from the description in different ways.

Now let's also put a load of Naaru runes on it too.

Weird thing to do when oshu'gun exists too and you want them to be different things.

Kinda wish I could put temporary fromsoft style messages down on the floor. ' could this be a Naaru?' pointing up at the crystal would be a laugh.

Whenever gallywix is around 'behold, fat coin purse!'

[Limayria]

(C) pretty much shows a staircase connecting the Beledar to the Cathedral

There's also a door in the (a) concept

[Eldryth]

It's possible that we might end up going inside Beledar, but I wouldn't take it for granted. It comes from concepts that they didn't end up using, after all- until we get signs of it in-game, it'll be as real as Thal'Dranath in Legion, or the Shattrath raid, or Farahlon, the Shattrath raid, Garrisons in all zones, the WoD capitols... etc.

I'm sure that Beledar will be important, and I'm looking forward to seeing where that story goes (though I hope it really is Worldsoul power, because the question of why a part of Azeroth's power is cycling between Light and Void is a lot more interesting than yet another Light entity when we're already getting a Light army next expansion). I just think it's an enormous reach for anyone to think that it'll be the focus of 11.2, when it's all but confirmed already that we'll be getting Hallowfall story in 11.1.5.

If we didn't already have "Nightfall" on the roadmap, there may have been some slim chance of us getting a minor patch about the Haranir and 11.2 about Beledar. But at this point, a Beledar-focused 11.2 would mean them focusing on that one plotline for 6+ months- with three patches- and dropping the plot points they've been heavily teasing since launch. It'd be like if Dragonflight shifted to focus entirely on the Infinites after Dawn of the Infinite, and left the Incarnates and Dream teases unresolved. They would not have spent so much time teasing the Haranir if they weren't planning to give them focus later on, and they've had plenty of time to scrap all of that before launch (or even before Orwenya's questline) if those plans had changed.

At most, I could maybe see us returning there for 11.2's dungeon while the main story has its climax in the Rootlands and Worldcore. But more likely, it'll be resolved in 11.1.5 and maybe 11.1.7. If we go inside it at all, I think that, realistically, we could get some big reveals there from the Worldsoul and then use it as a hub for the new Horrific Visions, like the Chamber of Heart back in BFA.

[Sondrelk]

At most, I could maybe see us returning there for 11.2's dungeon while the main story has its climax in the Rootlands and Worldcore. But more likely, it'll be resolved in 11.1.5 and maybe 11.1.7. If we go inside it at all, I think that, realistically, we could get some big reveals there from the Worldsoul and then use it as a hub for the new Horrific Visions, like the Chamber of Heart back in BFA.

Honestly, I could see it going the opposite direction. Rootlands dungeon to finish up the questline there. And Beledar Raid to tie more into Midnight and the Void. The big possibility with Rootlands would likely have been going to the Worldsoul anyways, and given that could easily be shuffled all the way to TLT I don't think it's really necessary.

Also, ending the expansion with another nature themed raid after Amirdrassil might be a tad too repetetive.

[Joshuaj]

Tbf here, the Worldcore being shown at the end of the expac makes sense, and it could tie to both Beledar and Elun'ahir, depending on how 11.2 goes.

[Viridiel]

I could see the story easily being that we travel to the Rootlands to stop Xal'atath from using the Black Blood to corrupt the roots all the way down to the world soul, but after we stop her Alleria jumps through a portal after her and we follow to stop/rescue her, taking us to K'aresh or a location in the Void.

[Joshuaj]

I could see the story easily being that we travel to the Rootlands to stop Xal'atath from using the Black Blood to corrupt the roots all the way down to the world soul, but after we stop her Alleria jumps through a portal after her and we follow to stop/rescue her, taking us to K'aresh or a location in the Void.

K'aresh in TWW ain't happening, especially not with Midnight coming next.

[allegrian]

When could we expect the next major patch reveal? (11.2)

[Cheezits]

When could we expect the next major patch reveal? (11.2)

11.1.5 definitely this week. 11.2 being in the CDN makes me think it will be a bit sooner than the usual pace of around 3~ months for reveal.

[Viridiel]

K'aresh in TWW ain't happening, especially not with Midnight coming next.

Why? What is there about K'aresh that ties it uniquely to Midnight and not the rest of the World Soul Saga? Why wouldn't the ethereal raid take place in the only ethereal base of operations we know about?

[Joshuaj]

Why? What is there about K'aresh that ties it uniquely to Midnight and not the rest of the World Soul Saga? Why wouldn't the ethereal raid take place in the only ethereal base of operations we know about?

Simple: Dimensius, the All-Devouring!

[Viridiel]

Simple: Dimensius, the All-Devouring!

What ties Dimensius to Midnight?

[Joshuaj]

Considering the Ethereals and their connection to the Void Lord, I'd be shocked if Midnight didn't end with us going to the Ethereal's broken homeworld, with the raid leading us to a place where the Light and the Void's forces are clashing in full force.

Always liked the idea that Midnight was basically Legion but for the Void. So, us meeting the Light Pantheon during the Dimensius or K'aresh fight would be cool asf.

I say K'aresh, cause it is possible K'aresh could end up like Argus but for the Void, where Dimensius uses the Worldsoul as a weapon, and by the end of the raid, we basically push Dimensius back or summ like that. I can't say I see us fighting the All-Devouring just yet. However, if we do fight and kill Dimensius during Midnight, that'll be cool asf!

- - - Updated - - -

What ties Dimensius to Midnight?

The Void launching an all out attack on Azeroth, their desires to snuff the Sunwell's Light and plunge the world in darkness, the prepatch for TWW talking about Azeroth's song and how it's similar to K'aresh's (where it led to Dimensius' assault on the planet), Xal'atath being the HARBINGER of the Void and being deeply connected to Dimensius in some way, etc.

Everything leads to Dimensius in some way. He could be the Void counterpart to Sargeras and Zovaal ngl. There's seemingly always 1 bad egg in each Pantheon, and imo, that will likely connect to the stuff with the First Ones and the Seventh Power.

[Eldryth]

What ties Dimensius to Midnight?

He's been set up as Xal'atath's master and the greater-scope threat in the Void conflict that's building up. It's been extremely likely that the story is building to him ever since Locus Walker talked about how similar the current events are to when Dimensius destroyed K'aresh. But he's very much final boss material for the entire Void story arc. It would make no sense to kill him before the invasion even starts; it would kill any sense of danger in Midnight since everything left would feel extremely weak by comparison. The scope of it is similar Argus back in Legion.

He only really fits as the final boss of Midnight, or- if they decide to surprise us by not having the Titans as antagonists- as the final boss of the entire Worldsoul Saga.