Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Hitei]

Fully expect the Biodome concept (confirmed to be an Ethereal thing) to be revisited in order to force zone diversity. Could even be a Macaree situation with one lush ruins zone and one goopy zone (cinematic being the skybox of an Antoran Wastes equivalent)

Sure, but did Mac'aree stop Argus from just being a Legion zone? Or stop players from feeling like they were overloaded with the bleak black rock and felfire aesthetic? When you think of Netherstorm, as striking as the Ecodomes are, do you think "Jungle", or do you think Purple arcane-y messed up rock zone?

Ecodomes will (because I fully expect them to be involved with K'aresh) break up the visual monotony of an individual zone, but they're not going to reskin the overarching aesthetic or lingering impression. K'aresh = Void as much as Argus = Fel.

[Khaza-R]

Holy fuck Blizzard please drop the reveal now I can't handle another week of the same 3 arguments in this thread.

Kind of agree. But to be fair the discussion is going to just shift from K'aresh vs Rootlands to if the first raid of MN is Sunwell 2.0 or a troll raid.

[Dvalin]

Holy fuck Blizzard please drop the reveal now I can't handle another week of the same 3 arguments in this thread.

Hopefully not more than +-2 weeks. Hopefully... The 25th would be a good day.

[Cheezits]

Hopefully not more than +-2 weeks. Hopefully... The 25th would be a good day.

There is no timegated content in 11.1.7 AFAIK so reveal should be next Thursday.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Kind of agree. But to be fair the discussion is going to just shift from K'aresh vs Rootlands to if the first raid of MN is Sunwell 2.0 or a troll raid.

To be fair, the precedent the epilogue sets if it is correct will at least settle the endless nature of the K'aresh vs Rootlands debate.

[Thomir]

Faerin gets done dirty by the artists who do the artwork / CGI cinematics. You'd think she was a hard ass, but in-game she's a sweetheart.

[Catastrophy349]

Oh God, that takes me back. I was on Team Dark Below, arguing a South Seas had to come next since Tanaan was so full of demons already. An expansion focused on the Burning Legion right after just couldn't make sense to me.

I think K'aresh being all voidy probably helps its case because I doubt they will want to start out in Midnight with Quel'thalas as a purple hell hole.

Intensely focusing on the True Void TM for 11.2 would give them a chance to take a step back for 12.0 before escalating things again in 12.1.

That said, as I've mentioned before they tend to theme expansion announcements, names, and pre-purchase offers based on the initial theme of the expansion (War, Kul Tiras and Zandalar in BfA, Oribos in Shadowlands, the flights in Dragonflight, Earthen in TWW, etc.).

So given that the name is Midnight, it's probably safe to assume the launch experience will focus on that theme.

We also know from A Song of the Depth that Xal'atath's next move will be "the awakening," and whether that refers to Azeroth, N'Zoth, Dimensius or somebody else, it kinda sounds like it'll be the inciting event for Midnight doesn't it?

After which Queen Azshara returns.

So we could be looking at a situation where Azeroth is under siege right from the start.

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Thursdays aren't a thing. Nor is announcing patches the same week as a patch release. Not so far, anyway.

25th is our best bet.

Patch 10.1.7 launched on a TUESDAY (September 5th) and 10.2 was revealed during a WoWCast on THURSDAY (September 7th)...

https://www.wowhead.com/news/dragonf...wowcast-334867

[Catastrophy349]

Yep, 11.0.7 was released on a Tuesday like all patches.

11.1 was announced at Warcraft Direct (which happened to be on a Wednesday but that's beside the point), and later followed up with a Wowcast on Thursday, the 19th of December.

But do you know why? Because the Wednesday on the week after 11.0.7's release was December 25th, Christmas Day.

Edit:

I just realised you were talking about Dragonflight patches. Oh well. That makes your argument even worse, because while Dragonflight did indeed announce its patches on Thursdays, The War Within does it on Wednesdays.

I don't think that it makes my argument "worse." I just can't comprehend why people are obsessed over these dates. Moreover, I can't understand YOUR obsession with telling people that you're right and they can all kick sand. At the end of the day, who cares what day 11.2 gets revealed (this week, next week after patch, or the week after)? It's a video game!

TLDR; We are all anxiously waiting for the 11.2 news because we are excited. It would be nice to focus back on the LORE/Speculation rather than arbitrary dates which are just nitpicking and an extension of stroking one's own ego.

[Sondrelk]

Just a thought that something that goes into the sky and ground would be a tree; branches up, roots down. Although I don’t think we have a world tree in the Eastern Kingdoms. I do remember seeing an old concept map pre-WoW that had one in Quel’thalas, but I don’t know where that could fit now.

The trees next to the druid portals are world trees, aren't they? Small ones, but still world trees. One in the Hinterlands, and one in Duskwood.

[genegerbread]

The trees next to the druid portals are world trees, aren't they? Small ones, but still world trees. One in the Hinterlands, and one in Duskwood.

They are World Tree saplings, not World Trees.

[Cheezits]

There was in fact a world tree in Ghostlands, I forget the name but it has been discussed here as a way to get Nelves involved in Midnight.

[Holdodlig]

I mean, the geographic proximity of Amirdrassi should be enough to involve Night elves.

[genegerbread]

I mean, the geographic proximity of Amirdrassi should be enough to involve Night elves.

True! Might be a good opportunity to make Bel'ameth an actual fleshed out settlement, rather than "here be a few houses and hidden transmogs."

[Sondrelk]

They are World Tree saplings, not World Trees.

So, world trees. Just not very big ones.

That is what saplings mean after all. Trees that have not fully grown.

[leothar]

No 11.2 news this week methinks. With the story post today it doesn't make sense. But maybe housing update? The cope is strong right now.

Yeah probably next week for 11.2 stuff. Sadge.

- - - Updated - - -

True! Might be a good opportunity to make Bel'ameth an actual fleshed out settlement, rather than "here be a few houses and hidden transmogs."

I think Bel'ameth is 100% going to be a player housing hub. Maybe we get Bel'ameth and Silvermoon in 12.1 and you get a house in each.

[Jolly Roger]

i see rootlands as the same as "zereth vitae"
mentioned but not happening
especially since its a case of
karesh= connected to main story
rootlands= mentioned in missable storyline

[Foolicious]

There was in fact a world tree in Ghostlands, I forget the name but it has been discussed here as a way to get Nelves involved in Midnight.

Not a confirmed world tree, or was it? As far as we know just an old tree that absorbed lots of sunwell juice with the eversong forest. I guess they could easily say it was a worldtree or a sapling, but I personally think we've had enough new worldtrees recently. Especially since we haven't learned anything new about them.

[Dvalin]

There was in fact a world tree in Ghostlands, I forget the name but it has been discussed here as a way to get Nelves involved in Midnight.

Tha'salah. Which according to the RPG was chopped down by the Scourge and turned into the fortress of Deatholme.

[Viridiel]

The curse in the short story is very interesting. It sounds like the Emerald Nightmare or the worgen curse, but it had to have happened a thousand years before either of those things make much sense for the area. The Emerald Nightmare is kind of the opposite of the Sacred Flame, being a combination of Fel and Void magic corrupting Life. Could it be Xavius' first attempt at spreading the Nightmare? Another mage accidentally releasing the worgen curse before Arugal? Some sort of activation of the Curse of Flesh? It could even be related to the Drust -- Kul Tiras was right next to the Arathi Highlands before the Cataclysm.

But the Scion is the most interesting thing. Her title and appearance reminds me of a constellar, but the shifting appearance thing is totally new. She also reminds me of Aegwynn's role in the Tomb of Sargeras, although she likely lived at least a thousand years after the story takes place. The temple must be vrykul or some other kind of titanforged to make sense for the time period, and we already know that there used to be a thriving vrykul civilisation on the continent, so I think a forgotten vrykul temple makes the most sense. As for the location, "where the heart of the world and the eye of heaven met" reminds me of the myth of Elune sleeping in the Well of Eternity, but also sounds like a fanciful description of the West -- where the Sun falls beneath the earth. I think it's probably in Tirisfal Glades, which should by all rights be covered in vrykul and human ruins and is where the Silver Hand comes from.

It really feels like this is setting up the continuation of Tyr's story and will be related to the "forces of Light" we fight alongside in Midnight. It's also definitely foreshadowing something for Faerin. Will she sacrifice herself to use the ember of the First Flame inside her to rekindle the snuffed Sunwell? Or maybe the Sunwell will be fixed some other way, and she'll bathe in it and undergo the same transformation as Craishae.

At any rate, I'm definitely feeling a lot more confident about the idea that Midnight will explore the rest of the continent of Lordaeron.

[Viridiel]

I guess we have an approximate timeline since Thoradin's wall was mentioned.

Yes, anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago.