Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

Blizz has walked back old ideologies before, but I think this one is going to stick. People to this day complain about Survival Hunter being changed even if they haven't played it- and hunter is one of the most popular classes. The idea of hopping back on your spec and it playing not only differently but with an entirely new weapon is a lot for people to chew on, even if it's perceived as a cool thing flavor/lorewise. And Blizz is trying to do everything they can not to piss people off these days.

Moving Dark Ranger to a new class/giving Hunter a new tree, or simply doing Dark Ranger again for a new class but calling it something different in a new spec, would not sting as much as it's just 2 or 3 spells- nothing as big as weapon changeups.

Yes, I know, it's more likely because they're too afraid these days of upsetting people by changing things.

If it were me, I'd drastically change most of the vanilla classes because I find them old-fashioned and outdated, despite Legion's changes, which were sometimes good, sometimes bad.

[Jolly Roger]

When are we thinking we'll get the "RWF related" news this week?

from blizz?? or the roster announcement that had ppl screeching because a toxic dude got into a guild after being outed by toxic ex for being terrible to eachother?

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Yes, I know, it's more likely because they're too afraid these days of upsetting people by changing things.

If it were me, I'd drastically change most of the vanilla classes because I find them old-fashioned and outdated, despite Legion's changes, which were sometimes good, sometimes bad.

i think most classes have that 1 ability that was really good and niche but blizz dumbed down
i know priests was surrender to madness
and monk was chi explosion

something that is just too fun and effective that a majority of the playerbase didnt know how to use gets axed for the blizz style version

gonna enjoy the void knight class if they ever drop it

[Cheezits]

Are Horrific Visions v2 an evergreen thing or time limited?

[Ereb]

Please no. Nothing worse than wasting a good character with potential in a dungeon (hello Devos)

Unrelated, but for some reason people keep reporting me for trolling. Very strange.

Why was this post infracted wth?

[shoc]

Next patch seems to be putting emphasis on Locus-Walker being the sole Ethereal to use the void and not be corrupted by it. Would be a weird heel-face turn to introduce them as a playable race and have them come with a void class. Any Ethereal learning from Locus-Walker at that point would be just as much a novice in the void as any other race except void elves.

Every playable character starts out in a kindergarten learning how to kill boars, I think the Ethereals will be ok.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

It would be great to have playable ethereals, but honestly... who here really believes that will be the case?

As I understand it, the new models are not compatible with the player armor system. The new female models mean nothing, it's already been done with roharts during DF and they're still not playable.

We've known for a long time that they just like to offer a bunch of variants for NPC models, the devs themselves said that this didn't mean that the races in question would be playable.

Which would mean they'd have to recreate playable ethereal models. It's not impossible, but I don't see why they wouldn't have started that way.

[Cheezits]

Which would mean they'd have to recreate playable ethereal models. It's not impossible, but I don't see why they wouldn't have started that way.

The new Ethereals were datamined incredibly early- the women don't appear in 11.1, 11.1.5, or 11.1.7. Azir is actually the ONLY new model that appears.

I don't think them not being playable at this stage means anything.

[shoc]

I think you'd be more likely to get an Alleria style void ranger spec than rogue 2.0

You'd get that just by adding a void themed skin on Dark Ranger MM Hunter skills.

Ethereal class has gotta have a Rogue spec, thief is like half their vibe.

Oh yeah on a related note energy-camels are canon



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It would be great to have playable ethereals, but honestly... who here really believes that will be the case?

As I understand it, the new models are not compatible with the player armor system. The new female models mean nothing, it's already been done with roharts during DF and they're still not playable.

We've known for a long time that they just like to offer a bunch of variants for NPC models, the devs themselves said that this didn't mean that the races in question would be playable.

Which would mean they'd have to recreate playable ethereal models. It's not impossible, but I don't see why they wouldn't have started that way.

We didn't see Nightborne playable models until the BFA pre-patch, I know models in-game don't confirm or deny much of anything when it comes to possible allied races.

It is more-so the fact that Ethereals have been on the community's wishlist as a playable race for like.. almost 20 years. And now they are coming into the focus of the story, we might visit their broken homeworld, the way I see it it's now, or never.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

We didn't see Nightborne playable models until the BFA pre-patch, I know models in-game don't confirm or deny much of anything when it comes to possible allied races.

Yeah, they had to completely remake them, based on the Night Elf model. That's why they're less loyal. I wouldn't wish it on them.

After all, they're just farts wrapped in bandages... it'd be hard to miss.

It is more-so the fact that Ethereals have been on the community's wishlist as a playable race for like.. almost 20 years. And now they are coming into the focus of the story, we might visit their broken homeworld, the way I see it it's now, or never.

As well as many other races that will never be playable.

I know, I want them too. But did we get the ogres in WoD? Did we get the sethraks in BfA? Did we get the tuskarr in DF? It was also now or never, and yet.

[Thomir]

Yeah, they had to completely remake them, based on the Night Elf model. That's why they're less loyal. I wouldn't wish it on them.

After all, they're just farts wrapped in bandages... it'd be hard to miss.



As well as many other races that will never be playable.

I know, I want them too. But did we get the ogres in WoD? Did we get the sethraks in BfA? Did we get the roharts in DF? It was also now or never, and yet.

... tf are roharts?

[Malorne the White Stag]

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We didn't see Nightborne playable models until the BFA pre-patch, I know models in-game don't confirm or deny much of anything when it comes to possible allied races.

It is more-so the fact that Ethereals have been on the community's wishlist as a playable race for like.. almost 20 years. And now they are coming into the focus of the story, we might visit their broken homeworld, the way I see it it's now, or never.

I mean, the 20 years argument doesn't mean much when ogres, high elves, naga, and even arrakkoa are in the same boat and have had numerous opportunities to be playable too. And well, they aren't playable.

Though I don't think we will get a "new race" any time soon. Just more allied races (which ethereals are not).

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

... tf are roharts?

Tuskarr* sorry. I forgot to translate it, it's corrected.

[shoc]

Yeah, they had to completely remake them, based on the Night Elf model. That's why they're less loyal. I wouldn't wish it on them.

After all, they're just farts wrapped in bandages... it'd be hard to miss.



As well as many other races that will never be playable.

I know, I want them too. But did we get the ogres in WoD? Did we get the sethraks in BfA? Did we get the roharts in DF? It was also now or never, and yet.

I mean, the 20 years argument doesn't mean much when ogres, high elves, naga, and even arrakkoa are in the same boat and have had numerous opportunities to be playable too. And well, they aren't playable.

Though I don't think we will get a "new race" any time soon. Just more allied races (which ethereals are not).

Ethereal are different. Unlike the one-offs like Jinyu, Sethrak and the Shadowlands races, the Ethereal have a story presence in almost every expansion. And unlike Ogres and Tuskarr and the other ugly races, people would actually play them, cause they have normal humanoid proportions. Also they are objectively cool, compared to them other allied race ideas are lame, I rest my case.

[Viridiel]

Oh yeah on a related note energy-camels are canon

Hearthstone is non-canonical, and I think I'd rather the energy-camels stay that way. If ethereals are to have mounts, I'd rather them be either animals from K'aresh saved in eco-domes, other established arcane creatures from the Twisting Nether (mana wyrms, warp stalkers, etc.), or something technological like an arcane motorbike.

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Next patch seems to be putting emphasis on Locus-Walker being the sole Ethereal to use the void and not be corrupted by it. Would be a weird heel-face turn to introduce them as a playable race and have them come with a void class. Any Ethereal learning from Locus-Walker at that point would be just as much a novice in the void as any other race except void elves.

I actually got the opposite impression. Azir is definitely a Void ethereal and appears to be working against Xal'atath, but we'll have to wait and see if that means he's working against the Void Lords altogether or just against Xal'atath/Dimensius.

I always felt like the Ethereum's arc was meant to be that they started using Void as part of their plan to take down the Void Lords, and the Protectorate thought that meant they had been totally lost to the Void. Plenty of them have been, but I'm sure there's still some grand plan to use Void powers against Dimensius. Locus-Walker has thrown a wrench in that, but that's only if Locus-Walker really is against the Void Lords after all.

[Cheezits]

Hearthstone is non-canonical, and I think I'd rather the energy-camels stay that way. If ethereals are to have mounts, I'd rather them be either animals from K'aresh saved in eco-domes, other established arcane creatures from the Twisting Nether (mana wyrms, warp stalkers, etc.), or something technological like an arcane motorbike.

For the sake of a delve mount I think they will have some kind of airship- maybe inspired by the broker ships with the paddles.

[milkmustache]

I always felt like the Ethereum's arc was meant to be that they started using Void as part of their plan to take down the Void Lords, and the Protectorate thought that meant they had been totally lost to the Void. Plenty of them have been, but I'm sure there's still some grand plan to use Void powers against Dimensius. Locus-Walker has thrown a wrench in that, but that's only if Locus-Walker really is against the Void Lords after all.

There's been a lot of assumption that the Ethereum has fully turned into the Shadowguard, but I believe that Azir and his crew is a sign that there are still holdouts, which I think is a really cool bit of storytelling.

[Nibelheimy]

For the sake of a delve mount I think they will have some kind of airship- maybe inspired by the broker ships with the paddles.

On that note its almost strange in hindsight (if 11.2 is to be K'aresh) that we got the Void dirigible first patch. I think an actual hot air balloon could be an interesting take on the Airship too.

On the topic of new races. For me, TLT should come with some of the long requested races. Tuskarr, Vry'kul, Ogre, Furlbog, Tuanka. Possibly even Jinyu and Hozen. Mainly the races that we know are in the factions, yet aren't playable. Midnight can throw in some High Elves, Amani, and Neutral Ethereals. Leading TLT to finally throw in the races that are canonically within our factions (and some extra's like Vry'kul and Tuskarr) to really round out the saga and in some ways the true end to the original WoW story with all the reveals we're supposedly getting.

With how things are moving forward there may not be a picture perfect time to add these old ones in for a while depending where we go next.

If i was Blizzard and I wanted a lot of players to turn up for the end of this saga, I'd chuck a good number of new playable races in. People eat that up.

[Limayria]

star wars hover bike mount using the new broom mount skeleton please

[Nightshade711]

There's been a lot of assumption that the Ethereum has fully turned into the Shadowguard, but I believe that Azir and his crew is a sign that there are still holdouts, which I think is a really cool bit of storytelling.

The Ethereum is definitely still around. Ky’veza was one of them as well.
The Shadowguard is still an interesting case. Xal’atath’s reaction to the fact that an Ethereal in general had gotten the Dark Heart without any specification on which group.

Wonder if they’re allied with the void after all or if it’s just part of a deception.

[Dvalin]

The Ethereum is definitely still around. Ky’veza was one of them as well.
The Shadowguard is still an interesting case. Xal’atath’s reaction to the fact that an Ethereal in general had gotten the Dark Heart without any specification on which group.

Wonder if they’re allied with the void after all or if it’s just part of a deception.

Yeah, this plot-point will be a culmination of years of easter egg-like mysteries regarding the Ethereals. From the coin in the Adventure Guide, to the myriad of mysterious background appearances made by a few named Ethereals (Brawler's Guild murder-mystery, the fashion contest, etc.).

Though I fear the coming 4-5 weeks will be uneventful regarding new lore/datamining, etc. With us maybe receiving 11.2 news somewhere around 20 June.