Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Sondrelk]

a new pet model was found on the wrath classic servers



a very strange dragon, that looks quite like a crocodile, with golden ornaments that remind me of either zandalari or lightforged.

Not sure what to make of it. It doesn't fit anything of the past expansions. Might be fitting for Amani? Or perhaps Avaloren/Arathi empire dragons that are an offshoot of green dragons?

That is very intriguing indeed. I could see it both being a captured Avalorien dragon, or something native to Zul'Aman.
I want to say it being datamined on the Classic servers is a hint towards Season 8 of SoD. But it is definitely more likely something to do with Midnight. And assuming that, I would guess it's the pet you get from the Epic Edition of Midnight.

[Limayria]

It's 50/50 on Haranir getting dropped for Ethereals or they are just marketing Karesh and Midnight very early because it's more hype than Rootlands.

Haranir in 11.2 Etherals in 12.0 prepatch >:3

[Cheezits]

a new pet model was found on the wrath classic servers



a very strange dragon, that looks quite like a crocodile, with golden ornaments that remind me of either zandalari or lightforged.

Not sure what to make of it. It doesn't fit anything of the past expansions. Might be fitting for Amani? Or perhaps Avaloren/Arathi empire dragons that are an offshoot of green dragons?

I'm thinking it's some kind of Amani creature and part of the preorder bonus for Midnight. They usually only do classic pets if it's for an expansion bundle or chinese new year.

Next year is Year of the Horse so it's probably not that.

[milkmustache]

a new pet model was found on the wrath classic servers



a very strange dragon, that looks quite like a crocodile, with golden ornaments that remind me of either zandalari or lightforged.

Not sure what to make of it. It doesn't fit anything of the past expansions. Might be fitting for Amani? Or perhaps Avaloren/Arathi empire dragons that are an offshoot of green dragons?

Love that we have zero hints as to what this could be. My gut says probably something geared towards the Chinese playerbase, but if we want to speculate...

This is some sort of crocodile and dragon mix. The ornaments on it feel very Zandalari. The golden marks on it are just as interesting. I truly have no idea what to make of this.

It being a green dragon like creature with golden decorations definitely makes it feel like it could be one of Erinithria's Brood that had been taken by the Arathi? Though it doesn't look like it was Arathi features.

I have no idea what this could be. I love it.

[Cheezits]

It being a green dragon like creature with golden decorations definitely makes it feel like it could be one of Erinithria's Brood that had been taken by the Arathi? Though it doesn't look like it was Arathi features.

Amani Highlands would be one of the more westward locations on EK, towards Avaloren, so that could check out.

[Sondrelk]

Love that we have zero hints as to what this could be. My gut says probably something geared towards the Chinese playerbase, but if we want to speculate...

This is some sort of crocodile and dragon mix. The ornaments on it feel very Zandalari. The golden marks on it are just as interesting. I truly have no idea what to make of this.

It being a green dragon like creature with golden decorations definitely makes it feel like it could be one of Erinithria's Brood that had been taken by the Arathi? Though it doesn't look like it was Arathi features.

I have no idea what this could be. I love it.

I think it's close enough, and the model small enough, that you could easily say that it is the Arathi Style. You need the golden colour somewhere, and having the headpiece too detailed might make it unclear compared to just having it all be gold.

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Amani Highlands would be one of the more westward locations on EK, towards Avaloren, so that could check out.

It would make a lot of sense if the Arathi Empire proper made an appearance in Midnight. We are in their ancestral lands. They have a vested interest in stopping the Void. And they might try to ally with both Silvermoon through the ancient pact with King Thoradin. Or with the Scarlet Crusade, given they are intensely xenophobic, and the Scarlet Crusade are also light wielding xenophobes who would likely be interested in having the Arathi Empire take back control of EK for humankind.

[Marlamin]

Yeah, keep in mind that pet is exclusive to the Chinese Wrath Classic servers as they are the only ones that are still on Wrath Classic. Unless it shows up on other branches/regions too, that is.

[Nightshade711]

a new pet model was found on the wrath classic servers



a very strange dragon, that looks quite like a crocodile, with golden ornaments that remind me of either zandalari or lightforged.

Not sure what to make of it. It doesn't fit anything of the past expansions. Might be fitting for Amani? Or perhaps Avaloren/Arathi empire dragons that are an offshoot of green dragons?

The empire of dragons leak was real all along???

[Sondrelk]

The empire of dragons leak was real all along???

And what did that leak entail?

[Thomir]

The empire of dragons leak was real all along???

The greatest blessing of the Worldsoul Saga is that we won't be getting anymore of those kinds of leaks.

[Enrif]

Yeah, keep in mind that pet is exclusive to the Chinese Wrath Classic servers as they are the only ones that are still on Wrath Classic. Unless it shows up on other branches/regions too, that is.

while it is true that it is only on china for now, if it would be a dragon aimed at china, i think they would either go with a dragon that matches better with Cata or a serpentine dragon. and we have the heart of the aspects that fit that criteria far better than this little croco-dragon.

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Next year is Year of the Horse so it's probably not that.

Last year was the year of the dragon and we got the wood dragon for it. So its unlikely that it is tied to that.

[Sondrelk]

The greatest blessing of the Worldsoul Saga is that we won't be getting anymore of those kinds of leaks.

What it will mean however, is that we will be fully unprepared for the onslaught of AI that will have been made by the time it's time to announce what comes after TLT.
No more slight improvements over last leak season. Next time it will likely be almost impossible to differentiate AI from regular leaks. Especially now that the leakers have half a decade to prepare.

[Enrif]

I think it's close enough, and the model small enough, that you could easily say that it is the Arathi Style. You need the golden colour somewhere, and having the headpiece too detailed might make it unclear compared to just having it all be gold.


It would make a lot of sense if the Arathi Empire proper made an appearance in Midnight. We are in their ancestral lands. They have a vested interest in stopping the Void. And they might try to ally with both Silvermoon through the ancient pact with King Thoradin. Or with the Scarlet Crusade, given they are intensely xenophobic, and the Scarlet Crusade are also light wielding xenophobes who would likely be interested in having the Arathi Empire take back control of EK for humankind.

hmm. You know, i was of the opinion until now, that the Amani would become minions of the void. But what if they team up with the scarlets and we get fanatical light wielding forest trolls? Not bowing down to either the void or the elves. And perhaps they also benefited over the years from the light infused sunwell.

And that croco dragon pet looks kinda a bit light infused but the gold ornaments fit more the troll style.

[Enrif]

But we know what whelps look like. Did Erinethria's brood evolve into something more wyrm-like, with perhaps walking on all fours more than flying?

hmm, it resembles a bit those old ye folktale dragons. Like this:


And we already speculate that Avaloren and the Arathi Empire might be inspired by the arthurian legends. So some old medieval manuscript dragons might be a interesting twist.

[Enrif]

That's true. But how would the Arathi Empire play such a big role already in Midnight's launch, that it would warrant having themed items in the pre-purchase bundle?

Something radical would almost have to occur in the lead up to the expansion, I feel. For example, if 11.1.5 - 11.2.7 gives us a story where everything goes south and the Arathi arrive in great numbers to fight in Renilash.

hard to tell. There are multiple angles. Perhaps blizzard will include the arathi into the "reuniting the elven tribes" plot line, and for that take bigger stakes into the arathi already appearing in midnight (perhaps a fleet).

It could just as likely not have anything to do with the Arathi, and be something related to the Amani.

[Cheezits]

While the wings are suspicious it could really just be a winged crocodile or dinosaur versus a dragon. Though I don't know why that would be Amani as it feels more like Zandalar/Zul'dare.

The armor is definitely Zandalari/Uldir vibes.

[milkmustache]

While the wings are suspicious it could really just be a winged crocodile or dinosaur versus a dragon. Though I don't know why that would be Amani as it feels more like Zandalar/Zul'dare.

The armor is definitely Zandalari/Uldir vibes.

This is sort of my feeling too. I'm guessing that since it's on Wrath servers, it's a promotion for the Chinese playerbase and is just some sort of winged swamp creature from Zandalar.

[Sondrelk]

That's true. But how would the Arathi Empire play such a big role already in Midnight's launch, that it would warrant having themed items in the pre-purchase bundle?

Something radical would almost have to occur in the lead up to the expansion, I feel. For example, if 11.1.5 - 11.2.7 gives us a story where everything goes south and the Arathi arrive in great numbers to fight in Renilash.

We have had stuff in the bundles that don't necessarily tie all that well into the greater theme. Tortollan in BfA, despite them just being there to prop up world quests for instance. Dream Dragon in DF, despite us not visiting the Dream until the last patch, and the whole Dream angle being incredibly subdued to start with.

Wouldnt be out of the question if we get an Arathi themed pet for no better reason than the Arathi being important in a single zone.

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While the wings are suspicious it could really just be a winged crocodile or dinosaur versus a dragon. Though I don't know why that would be Amani as it feels more like Zandalar/Zul'dare.

The armor is definitely Zandalari/Uldir vibes.

There is of course also the possibility that it's tied in to Phase 8 in SoD for whatever reason. Maybe there are Troll tribes in Hyjal with these pets for reasons that otherwise eludes us.
Unlikely, but it is a possiblity.

[Hitei]

If we handwave assume it is relevant to retail (not just a weird one-off for Chinese servers, or SoD next phase, or next version of Season of <thing>), it doesn't look Arathi at all. The headpiece is firmly troll. I think Amani is a safe bet, especially since we know that Midnight is a Void vs Light expansion, it's not unlikely that the Amani will also end up divided along those lines.

[Viridiel]

It definitely looks like an early pig dragon to me, but I have no idea why it would be. The other thing it reminds me of is the makara, but that's Indian and still not sure why it would be appearing in WoW in this context.

If we're going totally off the rails then it could be a hint at the other side of Azeroth. I'd like it if they're makara and there's an Indian-inspired culture in Avaloren unrelated to the Arathi. I could even see some naga having made their way over there and becoming more like the naga from Indian mythology. The cintamani (wish-granting stone) is often associated with both naga and makara, so these very well could be both Erinethria's brood and the wish-granting dragons that the Arathi know of.