Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Dvalin]

My main takeaway, besides preach and the dev being on-the-nose, was that a bunch of Ethereal assets will be coming at the very least.

Yeah, and it's only half the comment, as Preach started with mentioning the Ethereals as an example, to which the dev replied.

[Dracullus]

Well, we already knew that. It's never been a question of if K'aresh is a thing, it's when and how we'll see it.

Could be sneaky hint for next patch, just like Undermine was somewhere on screen during Siren Isle reveal.

[Cheezits]

HD Blood Elf rooms look really good. You can see them in the Dratnos video.

[Joshuaj]

From the looks of it, it seems like we'll get a base house that we can add stuff onto. So, it's less that we can actually change the exteriors of our homes, and more like "the baseline for the medium house remains the same, but you can add garland, a shed, etc to it".

Ngl, I fw that.

Seems we've see the Small and and Medium Exterior houses so far.

[Darkarath]

Housing looks good, but we already knew that.

Meh, no real news IMO.

Hope that we get some 11.2 info soon.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Looks like June 25th is back on the menu, boys!

(Or maybe next Wednesday because Horrific Visions will be out then?)

June 25th seems unlikely, we got again the June 8th showcase at Xbox and K'aresh into Midnight is just too good of a marketing opportunity to give up.

Hell, if nothing else it could also just fall on next two weeks too.

[Cheezits]

From the looks of it, it seems like we'll get a base house that we can add stuff onto. So, it's less that we can actually change the exteriors of our homes, and more like "the baseline for the medium house remains the same, but you can add garland, a shed, etc to it".

Ngl, I fw that.

Seems we've see the Small and and Medium Exterior houses so far.

That's a shame, but it does explain why none of the house exteriors look like Sims style monstrosities.

They have still yet to explain how people get to choose their lots as well.

[Black Rider]

@Marlamin
Any idea what's cooking over here?
https://x.com/algalon_ghost/status/1922420896662212987

[Marlamin]

@Marlamin
Any idea what's cooking over here?
https://x.com/algalon_ghost/status/1922420896662212987

China is still on WotLK Classic, so that'll be China-specific.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

I'm sure they could include a trailer in a sizzle reel or even bring a developer onstage to talk a bit about it at the Xbox event. But I think they will want to make the first announcement elsewhere. Every minute counts at these events and a WoW patch set on K'aresh doesn't exactly have mainstream appeal. (Midnight and the return of Quel'thalas does, though, so Gamescom makes sense for that one.)

For me personally, Undermine and K'aresh are both things that appeal to the old folk. But yeah, its mostly just appealing to people who really really loved the Ethereal content in TBC and always wondered about K'aresh in the aftermath of it.

[Cheezits]

Even with the old school TBC crowd I don't really feel like K'aresh is that special. It's kind of one of those places you heard about once, long ago, and realised it was out there somewhere. But it was always assumed destroyed AFAIK, so it wasn't exactly on everybody's wishlist. Not like Kul Tiras or Zandalar, anyway.

Quel'thalas itself though (and Northrend!) is something that'll give every 30-50 year old gamer tears in their eyes.

Haven't there been several fake expansion concepts set entirely on K'aresh?

Yes, it will be something entirely new (or mostly, inspired by Netherstorm and Tazavesh for sure) which is why it is a patch area and not a full expansion- because Shadowlands proved they are never going to do an expansion about something new ever again.

[Joshuaj]

That's a shame, but it does explain why none of the house exteriors look like Sims style monstrosities.

They have still yet to explain how people get to choose their lots as well.

I guess there will be plots you can buy VIA gold, with there likely being different types of housing models and sizes to choose from.

So, it might be "Human House (Small), Human House (Medium), and Human House (Large)", or "Night Elf House (Small), Night Elf House (Medium), and Night Elf House (Large)", etc. Ngl, this is honestly the best way to do it, though I'm SLIGHTLY upset by the fact I likely won't be able to make a proper Human and High Elf exterior mixture. However, the fact I can add onto the house VIA different stuff is nice to see.

Doubt we'll just get 2 sizes (As Blizzard confirmed mansions as exterior options). I think we'll get 3-4 housing sizes, with Mansions being the rarest and most expensive exterior housing type.

[shooketh]

China is still on WotLK Classic, so that'll be China-specific.

They probably meant this

https://x.com/algalon_ghost/status/1922405545887055911

11.2 builds but I would assume they're encrypted or something

[Kiivar86]

Haven't there been several fake expansion concepts set entirely on K'aresh?

Yes, it will be something entirely new (or mostly, inspired by Netherstorm and Tazavesh for sure) which is why it is a patch area and not a full expansion- because Shadowlands proved they are never going to do an expansion about something new ever again.

Seems a bit silly to claim that, honestly.

You retread old zones for a few expansions and you'll get people wanting something brand new eventually.

Hell, we just had an expansion that was something new with Dragonflight. Besides the name and most basic concept, it was brand new.

[Cheezits]

Hell, we just had an expansion that was something new with Dragonflight. Besides the name and most basic concept, it was brand new.

Except most of the DF races and factions were based on existing Warcraft races and factions. Same for TWW, save for the Haranir. SL had every single race (almost) be something entirely new, even if they were inspired by old ideas (Valkyr, Nathrezim etc).

K'aresh has a grand total of two (2) races as inspiration, and they are two races that mostly look identical between their characters. So it will be very heavily "new" as opposed to a zone based on the Red Dragons, a zone based on Nerubians, etc.

[Hitei]

Even with the old school TBC crowd I don't really feel like K'aresh is that special. It's kind of one of those places you heard about once, long ago, and realised it was out there somewhere. But it was always assumed destroyed AFAIK, so it wasn't exactly on everybody's wishlist. Not like Kul Tiras or Zandalar, anyway.

Quel'thalas itself though (and Northrend!) is something that'll give every 30-50 year old gamer tears in their eyes.

Projecting a significant amount. People barely cared about Quel'thalas as a revamp location until it was flat out announced. It's not Lordaeron.

[Marlamin]

They probably meant this

https://x.com/algalon_ghost/status/1922405545887055911

11.2 builds but I would assume they're encrypted or something

Yeah, 11.2 has been on the encrypted endpoint for like 3 months now.

[Kiivar86]

Except most of the DF races and factions were based on existing Warcraft races and factions. Same for TWW, save for the Haranir. SL had every single race (almost) be something entirely new, even if they were inspired by old ideas (Valkyr, Nathrezim etc).

K'aresh has a grand total of two (2) races as inspiration, and they are two races that mostly look identical between their characters. So it will be very heavily "new" as opposed to a zone based on the Red Dragons, a zone based on Nerubians, etc.

And Shadowlands had several zones designed based on memories of older zones like the Plaguelands, Icecrown, the Scourge aesthetic, etc. So it wasn't as "new" as you'd like to think it is. Hell, one of my own complaints about Shadowlands was it being TOO familiar!

Sorry but I don't buy it. And the idea that Blizzard will "never" do something is as silly as trying to find patterns in previous content to try and foretell future stuff, for example. Something's a pattern until it isn't. Blizzard won't do something until they do.

A few expansions of chiefly the same zones retreaded will have players clamoring for something new before long. Its a pendulum. It swings back and forth.

[Eldryth]

As an old-school fan who's loved Ethereals since BC, I just want more Ethereal content in general and playable Ethereals. I'd be fine with that happening somewhere other than K'aresh, like wherever they settled after fleeing K'aresh, but the fact that the story is clearly building towards them and their original home is exciting.

It's hard to see it as anything more than a patch zone though, given that it always sounded even more ruined than Outland. Unless it is somehow restored, or we get another time travel expansion back to its prime (really can't see that one happening after WoD), this is probably the best we can hope for.


As for whether it fits better in TWW or Midnight... I had expected it to be like Midnight's Argus, but everything in the story lately has been suggesting we'd go there sooner. Still, that just leaves room for another epic climax for Midnight somewhere on Azeroth, and makes the whole Saga much less predictable.

[Dvalin]

And Shadowlands had several zones designed based on memories of older zones like the Plaguelands, Icecrown, the Scourge aesthetic, etc. So it wasn't as "new" as you'd like to think it is. Hell, one of my own complaints about Shadowlands was it being TOO familiar!

Sorry but I don't buy it. And the idea that Blizzard will "never" do something is as silly as trying to find patterns in previous content to try and foretell future stuff, for example. Something's a pattern until it isn't. Blizzard won't do something until they do.

A few expansions of chiefly the same zones retreaded will have players clamoring for something new before long. Its a pendulum. It swings back and forth.

You're correct; One of the reasons of WoW worldbuilding being quite good, is how it's always based off some bits of existing lore.

Be it like your Shadowlands example (all zones have some kind of connection to an earlier bit of Azeroth). Or things like a zone named after Huln Highmountain or the Ancient Oh'nara, you name it.

With Netherstorm, Taza'vesh and recent lore about an Ethereal/Broker connection, we could see Blizzard pulling from those a bit for K'aresh.