Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Khaza-R]

Locus Walker seems independent of any ethereal faction tbh.

The Etherium seems to have likely fractured after we killed Nexus-King Salhadaar in TBC. Probably a dispute in succession which led to Shadowguard and those who claim to still be Etherium. As for why the Etherium are all void now? Maybe Ethereals who stay on K'aresh all become void-ethereals regardless, while the ones who venture off world retain a more arcane appearance.

[FossilFree]

1. The Beledar is how we access K'aresh.

2. K'aresh is a war for the legacy of the Ethereals. Might involve visions of the past.

3. After K'aresh, we get a Haranir playable race that begins in a small "Rootlands" starting area. These individuals follow Orweyna on a quest to find and purge Elun'ahir's roots of black blood, wherever they may find it, over the course of Midnight. The Beledar is also sort of "purged" and shines brightly from now on.

4. The Worldcore and Coreway stuff is saved for TLT.

What if the Beledar IS K'aresh? The crystallized worldsoul of K'aresh flung through the Twisting Nether when the planet was destroyed, and crash landing into Azeroth.

[Nibelheimy]

What if the Beledar IS K'aresh? The crystallized worldsoul of K'aresh flung through the Twisting Nether when the planet was destroyed, and crash landing into Azeroth.

For a little wild speculation, I played with the idea that maybe the Ethereals are coming to take the radiant song away from the world soul.

It could be possible that the radiant song is the lights attempt at planetary control, or at least defense akin to the worldcore.

Karesh also had a radiant song before it was conquered, it could be one and the same and it could also be a separate song.

Although it makes me think of Naaru again, the use of sound and the crystal turning from light to void makes complete sense.

When the crystal is dark, the song stops and void can corrupt the world soul.

It really does make too much sense for it not to be Naaru related in some sense, Gorribal damaged the Naaru inside the ship, they turn to void, the radiant song stops, lights protection of the world soul falters.

Maybe they are are only "singing" to try and get some form of help after being damaged or closer to corruption.

There is definate possibility here.

However, I d struggle to see the Narrative threads that use this information to cultimate into leading to Midnight.

Although everybody is expecting K'aresh and Rootlands, myself included. I'd love if it was something unexpected. With the final raid set inside the Beledar. The entire raid turning from light to void from boss to boss. Ethereals invading it with the Dark heart to absorb whatever the "radiant song" is, to take it back to K'aresh. The raid interior turning from light influence to void influence could make for some truly stunning raid interiors and interesting boss mechanics

Hell, the final zone could be Rootlands with us removing the last remnants of black blood, with a tease sky box of the worldsoul and Worldcore as a backdrop, with a Ethereal invading the Beledar raid.

Maybe if they give their own worldsoul a radiant song again, the light could begin to repel the void.

Could also make an interesting K'aresh patch later in Midnight, where we need the radiant song back, and we can see how terrible the void corrupted Karesh is, but can start to see the repair, and the hope of the recovering civilization we'll doom if we take it back. We get some Argus style Karesh zones, but also some zones where Karesh looks like how it did. Would we be willing to doom K'aresh and to save our own skins?

Yes, but it would be good story development nonetheless.

[Darkarath]

What if the Beledar IS K'aresh? The crystallized worldsoul of K'aresh flung through the Twisting Nether when the planet was destroyed, and crash landing into Azeroth.

I hope so, because the current explanation is boring and if they do not relate it to K'aresh I'm afraid that the Beledar will be forgotten for a while. Although I have to say that the Naaru symbols on the Beledar would imply a relation with the Ethereals that at this moment seems very unlikely.

Also, I'm guessing that the talents of the new belt would be active in all Delves? Or just in Overcharged Delves? If it works in all Delves, killing the Nemesis would be significantly easier, which seems a good move IMO.

[Dvalin]

I hope so, because the current explanation is boring and if they do not relate it to K'aresh I'm afraid that the Beledar will be forgotten for a while. Although I have to say that the Naaru symbols on the Beledar would imply a relation with the Ethereals that at this moment seems very unlikely.

Also, I'm guessing that the talents of the new belt would be active in all Delves? Or just in Overcharged Delves? If it works in all Delves, killing the Nemesis would be significantly easier, which seems a good move IMO.

As mentioned earlier, those aren't Naaru symbols, though.

The Radiant Song also seems to be more in line with what has been said about the music of creation by the First Ones, as well. I guess it's the echo of Azeroth; Her voice while she slumbers. Possibly not alligned with any cosmic force, as even Titan creations and the Old Gods may have been influenced by her song.

[Darkarath]

As mentioned earlier, those aren't Naaru symbols, though.

The Radiant Song also seems to be more in line with what has been said about the music of creation by the First Ones, as well. I guess it's the echo of Azeroth; Her voice while she slumbers. Possibly not alligned with any cosmic force, as even Titan creations and the Old Gods may have been influenced by her song.

The Beledar is Naaru related until proven otherwise, at least for me.

We know almost nothing about it. Just that it is a crystal from Azeroth. That does not explain the (clearly) Naaru symbols or the cycling between Light and Void. Also the Radiant Song relates perfectly with how the Naaru communicate.

[Khaza-R]

As mentioned earlier, those aren't Naaru symbols, though.

The Radiant Song also seems to be more in line with what has been said about the music of creation by the First Ones, as well. I guess it's the echo of Azeroth; Her voice while she slumbers. Possibly not alligned with any cosmic force, as even Titan creations and the Old Gods may have been influenced by her song.

How would that explain K'aresh having a radiant song though?

[Marlamin]

I mean, the housing preview made it quite clear how it would work - you have primary and secondary colours aswell as metallics for trims etc. Add VFX effects on top and you would have limitless options to be fair.

Just looking at the current priest tier, you would only have like 3-4 different parts of the item with different colours, I'm quite sure that would be doable.

The dye situation got a bit of a possible setback with an initial set of textures for player housing appearing in 11.1.7 and just being separate wood textures instead of a base texture with color filters applied to it, so just like Blizzard current handles different colors of things.

While these could just be for the wall models (and not the bed they demo'd dyeing with) that might not support dyeing or an early prototype just for the previews, it does not match the idea of things being properly dyeable as the preview video or "dye" name implied (not to mention the implication of storing so many textures).

So while not exactly definitive or even remotely a confirmation (especially at this stage), we might have to keep in mind the possibility of the dye system, and by extension its possible future applications, not being as dynamic as we (or atleast I) hoped.

[Sondrelk]

The Beledar is Naaru related until proven otherwise, at least for me.

We know almost nothing about it. Just that it is a crystal from Azeroth. That does not explain the (clearly) Naaru symbols or the cycling between Light and Void. Also the Radiant Song relates perfectly with how the Naaru communicate.

It has been proven otherwise though. We were told that it's calcified world soul essence. What you really mean is that you will disregard that piece of evidence until there is absolutely no room for doubt.

[Dvalin]

How would that explain K'aresh having a radiant song though?

K'aresh might have been a somewhat 'lesser' version of what Azeroth is (she is called the Prime Worldsoul, after all).
@Darkarath Some people made close-ups of those symbols and compared them. They are not alike. Thus far, nothing seems to indicate it being related to the Naaru.

Anyway, I just saw the developer spotlight from yesterday, and one thing I noticed: When they talked about Metzen's return, they didn't talk about the changing of course in terms of scrapping content. No, they mentioned them spreading it over a three-part trilogy (the Worldsoul Saga). Which means that areas/story-bits meant for the first iteration of the War Within might be postponed for the conclusion (The Last Titan). The Earthen are still busy with the recovery of the Coreway, and Orweyna has featured in recent cinematics and all that. We know that the Worldsoul itself and the vast conspiracy surrounding it is the focus of TLT. So, Azeroth's prison, the Cradle/Rootlands (basically the core of our world) may be easily kept for later instead of being scrapped. With recent dialogues between Ve'nari and Locuswalker, it seems that we'll indeed face some kind of Ethereal-plot in 11.2, with us maybe going to the remnants of K'aresh to recover the Dark Heart in a race against time with Xal'atath, with her presumably winning in the end of it. With the Ethereal agenda maybe being them wanting to restore their worldsoul with the power of ours.

[Hitei]

The dye situation got a bit of a possible setback with an initial set of textures for player housing appearing in 11.1.7 and just being separate wood textures instead of a base texture with color filters applied to it, so just like Blizzard current handles different colors of things.

While these could just be for the wall models (and not the bed they demo'd dyeing with) that might not support dyeing or an early prototype just for the previews, it does not match the idea of things being properly dyeable as the preview video or "dye" name implied (not to mention the implication of storing so many textures).

So while not exactly definitive or even remotely a confirmation (especially at this stage), we might have to keep in mind the possibility of the dye system, and by extension its possible future applications, not being as dynamic as we (or atleast I) hoped.

Those are walls and floors though right? The dye system seemed furniture specific and I wouldn't be surprised if the wall and floor are just "choose options for this room" in room settings.

[Darkarath]

It has been proven otherwise though. We were told that it's calcified world soul essence. What you really mean is that you will disregard that piece of evidence until there is absolutely no room for doubt.

I'm not disregarding anything.

It is a crystal from Azeroth. Again, that does not explain the Naaru symbols, the change between Light and Void, and the similar communication employed by the Naaru.

All of that could end up being just Azeroth's reactions through the crystal, but the fact is that we don't know yet.

Some people made close-ups of those symbols and compared them. They are not alike. Thus far, nothing seems to indicate it being related to the Naaru.

I'm just seeing the symbols in the game. They scream Naaru to me. Certainly more Naaru than First Ones. Although if the First Ones are real and they created the Naaru, it would make sense that there are similarities.

Hopefully we find something else about the Beledar before TWW ends. At least in K'aresh we will certainly get more information about the Radiant Song and the Void, so that could help us understand some stuff.

[Marlamin]

Those are walls and floors though right? The dye system seemed furniture specific and I wouldn't be surprised if the wall and floor are just "choose options for this room" in room settings.

Yeah, that's why I specifically mentioned them being for walls and that's the hope I'm holding on to.

[Black Rider]

Sound like really good changes.

I agree with you in that we might get something similar to Undermine Cars but for the old world, which is fairly plane. Even if they would revamp all of it, is not likely that several mountains and drastic terrain changes would appear to make Skyriding more fun.

The open world challenge mode is actually coming before Midnight and even before Legion REMIX, in 11.2 if the Roadmap is correct, so we'll see how that works out.

At any rate, Legion REMIX is going to be so fun, and Housing seem so promising. Good times ahead for WoW fans. I also expect 11.2 to be fairly big and interesting too. I mean, is K'aresh and Ethereals. Really difficult to fuck that up.

Do we need more confirmation for K'aresh in 11.2?

They need their own, cosmic themed class!

[bruxx]

They need their own, cosmic themed class!

Cosmic is the right word, I feel like we have only been exposed to void Ethereals since legion (/death ethereals as brokers, it seems), but they are the kind of people that would absolutely use the entire arsenal of cosmic powers if they can manage.

[Joshuaj]

The dye situation got a bit of a possible setback with an initial set of textures for player housing appearing in 11.1.7 and just being separate wood textures instead of a base texture with color filters applied to it, so just like Blizzard current handles different colors of things.

While these could just be for the wall models (and not the bed they demo'd dyeing with) that might not support dyeing or an early prototype just for the previews, it does not match the idea of things being properly dyeable as the preview video or "dye" name implied (not to mention the implication of storing so many textures).

So while not exactly definitive or even remotely a confirmation (especially at this stage), we might have to keep in mind the possibility of the dye system, and by extension its possible future applications, not being as dynamic as we (or atleast I) hoped.

I think the leaked set textures should be treated as such: leaked set textures. Dunno if we can properly assume anything based off this alone.

- - - Updated - - -

Sound like really good changes.

I agree with you in that we might get something similar to Undermine Cars but for the old world, which is fairly plane. Even if they would revamp all of it, is not likely that several mountains and drastic terrain changes would appear to make Skyriding more fun.

The open world challenge mode is actually coming before Midnight and even before Legion REMIX, in 11.2 if the Roadmap is correct, so we'll see how that works out.

At any rate, Legion REMIX is going to be so fun, and Housing seem so promising. Good times ahead for WoW fans. I also expect 11.2 to be fairly big and interesting too. I mean, is K'aresh and Ethereals. Really difficult to fuck that up.

Do we need more confirmation for K'aresh in 11.2?

Ya know what? If K'aresh is 11.2, and the Worldcore stuff got moved to TLT (Kinda makes sense, as clearing out the coreway was said to take a while, and the Harranir stuff could either A. Be a smaller zone. Or B. Be tied to Eonar in TLTl), I'll be okay with it. Besides, I've been wanting to see K'aresh for a while now.

[Darkarath]

Ya know what? If K'aresh is 11.2, and the Worldcore stuff got moved to TLT (Kinda makes sense, as clearing out the coreway was said to take a while, and the Harranir stuff could either A. Be a smaller zone. Or B. Be tied to Eonar in TLTl), I'll be okay with it. Besides, I've been wanting to see K'aresh for a while now.

This is what I have been saying since we got the 11.1 cinematic. Glad that we are finally on the same page.

Still hope to see the Rootlands in TLT though, but there is absolutely nothing that points to it in 11.2.

[Eldryth]

It has been proven otherwise though. We were told that it's calcified world soul essence. What you really mean is that you will disregard that piece of evidence until there is absolutely no room for doubt.

We also know even more conclusively that the Radiant Song is the Worldsoul, but that doesn't stop these "theories" from hinging on it actually being some external Light influence. It was never really a mystery (at least, not once we were able to see the story), and there's been no ambiguity there since launch.

The entire expansion started with us confirming it by getting Magni to commune with Azeroth. When he heard the Song himself, giving him the same message that everyone else is hearing, and recognized it as the same Azeroth he heard in Legion and BFA, that left pretty much no room for doubt (short of assuming that everything we knew about his power was a lie from the start, and he was communing with something else all along- but that falls apart quickly when you consider that he also used it to hear Argus).


Anyway, maybe there was a bigger different plan for Beledar initially. Given how much things seem to have changed when they shifted to the Saga, it wouldn't surprise me if the original plans for a self-contained TWW ended with a Light/Void conflict set entirely within Khaz Algar, with Beledar and the Arathi as the main sources of Light. But now that that conflict is getting a full expansion, and has moved to Quel'thalas... a role like that would be pretty redundant and unnecessary at this point. When we're having a full-blown Light/Void war on the surface, where the more established Light forces can take the stage and it's easy for the Naaru to just send more help, what would one more Naaru ship deep underground, far from the conflict, really add? It'd make sense if we assumed that 11.x would have initially been Renilash in Khaz Algar, not so much for a war on the opposite corner of the known world.

So maybe the Worldsoul crystals answer was something they came up with to tie up that mystery when they moved away from their original plans.

[Khaza-R]

This is what I have been saying since we got the 11.1 cinematic. Glad that we are finally on the same page.

Still hope to see the Rootlands in TLT though, but there is absolutely nothing that points to it in 11.2.

I am hoping rootlands isn't just some sloppy 11.2.7 epilogue mini-zone where they handwave the black blood away and we recruit the Harronir despite really knowing nothing about them and probably never revisiting anything about them again.

[Jolly Roger]

ok so if metzen did make tww into three expansions that means the new class would be essentially what we got now with the "tank shaman" in follower dungeons