Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Enrif]

Not all Egyptian are Coptic people. Most Egyptians are Arabs nowadays, it's not even close.

When people talk about Egyptians, they mean the Egyptians that build the pyramids, not present day residents of Egypt.

[Nymrohd]

My Prediction: Xal'atath absorbs Dimensius'es power, then uses Sunwell's current Light properties to flip it into Void state to open portal into Azeroth and essentially starts doign what Dimensius did on K'aresh. Everything will be under Void infused darkness, hence the title "Midnight".

Why would she need the Sunwell then though? We thought she'd need it to turn it into a void portal to bring a Void Lord here. If she becomes a Void Lord, only one that can freely move around in the physical plane (which makes no sense, if she gets that much power then she should suddenly stop being able to move around the cosmos with such ease by virtue of inertia) she can just get around to eating Azeroth and should be running for the World Core. If she is going for the Sunwell imo it will be more about her relation with the Naaru and her wanting to turn them Void than about needing its power.

[Cheezits]

Clearly there's something about the Sunwell that makes it a better target to use to consume Azeroth than the roots of Elun'ahir that are already connected to the Worldcore. Or Metzen is just ignoring them (very possible)

[Nymrohd]

This is far out but maybe Xal will use the Sunwell to attack the Light itself. Winning Azeroth would be big but this is supposed to be the apex of the Light vs Void war. What if she uses the Sunwell to open a portal into Zereth Lumen so she can unleash the power of the All Devouring and the Dark Heart at the very heart of the Light? Make it less about Azeroth and more cosmic. Yes it is Jailer 2.0 but it would be far better foreshadowed.

[Cheezits]

This is far out but maybe Xal will use the Sunwell to attack the Light itself. Winning Azeroth would be big but this is supposed to be the apex of the Light vs Void war. What if she uses the Sunwell to open a portal into Zereth Lumen so she can unleash the power of the All Devouring and the Dark Heart at the very heart of the Light? Make it less about Azeroth and more cosmic.

For various reasons that rhyme with Bladowlands I am going to guess they are going to make it more about Azeroth and less cosmic. Hence Karesh is here and not Midnight.

[Nymrohd]

For various reasons that rhyme with Bladowlands I am going to guess they are going to make it more about Azeroth and less cosmic. Hence Karesh is here and not Midnight.

Meh. I think if it is decently tied to Azeroth and the storyline is properly built, it won't be an issue. Xal'atath has been talking about the Light since she was introduced. Her own plan had something to do with the Beledar, a giant Light crystal before we stopped her; she never went after the World Core. And we can keep everything on Azeroth until the very last patch again.

[Raetary]

Why would she need the Sunwell then though? We thought she'd need it to turn it into a void portal to bring a Void Lord here. If she becomes a Void Lord, only one that can freely move around in the physical plane (which makes no sense, if she gets that much power then she should suddenly stop being able to move around the cosmos with such ease by virtue of inertia) she can just get around to eating Azeroth and should be running for the World Core. If she is going for the Sunwell imo it will be more about her relation with the Naaru and her wanting to turn them Void than about needing its power.

This makes me think, especially with K'aresh now being content.

What if the expansion doesn't start with the Sunwell destroyed, but rather we use the Sunwell to protect Azeroth from Xals onslaught.
We could rebuild and empower Ban'dinoriel, and Xal then has the destruction of the Sunwell as a primary objective.

[Darkarath]

For various reasons that rhyme with Bladowlands I am going to guess they are going to make it more about Azeroth and less cosmic. Hence Karesh is here and not Midnight.

That's an interesting point.

The fact that we are going cosmic in 11.2 with K'aresh could make Midnight patch content more "terrenal". Especially since K'aresh has been a fan request forever and practically no one gives a shit about the Zereths.

What if the expansion doesn't start with the Sunwell destroyed, but rather we use the Sunwell to protect Azeroth from Xals onslaught.

Well if Xal'athat ends up being as powerful as Dimensius it would be contradictory with the new short story that Horde and Alliance wouldn't shield their cities in some way...

[Cheezits]

That's an interesting point.

The fact that we are going cosmic in 11.2 with K'aresh could make Midnight patch content more "terrenal". Especially since K'aresh has been a fan request forever and practically no one gives a shit about the Zereths.

Yeah, part of the reason that I love Karesh being here is not only because it sets up Ethereals as allies but also it leaves Midnight patches to be a complete mystery.

For all the complaints of TWWs disjointed (salvaged imo) storyline it does a great job of balancing things properly for future expansions so they aren't super predictable. Unexpected storylines are fun.

[Foolicious]

The current arbiter is a former mortal because we went out of our way to make it so. We saw the prototype Winter Queen in the Sepulcher in Zereth Mortis, she wasn't a mortal, she was created by the First Ones explicitly for the purpose of that role in the pantheon of Death.

But the first ones have souls in them. They aren't automa. It's unlikely that the first ones elevated some mortal into this position, but not impossible.

Why would she need the Sunwell then though? We thought she'd need it to turn it into a void portal to bring a Void Lord here. If she becomes a Void Lord, only one that can freely move around in the physical plane (which makes no sense, if she gets that much power then she should suddenly stop being able to move around the cosmos with such ease by virtue of inertia) she can just get around to eating Azeroth and should be running for the World Core. If she is going for the Sunwell imo it will be more about her relation with the Naaru and her wanting to turn them Void than about needing its power.

There is a lorebook that makes me think its not xalatath thats after the sunwell but someone else from the void that will start an invasion.

[Viridiel]

There is a lorebook that makes me think its not xalatath thats after the sunwell but someone else from the void that will start an invasion.

You mean Shadreen's note about the "elf wells"? I think it's far too relevant to be a coincidence, but Xal'atath could very well be Shadreen's master.

I think it's probably actually planting a seed for TLT and relates to the titan conspiracy, but it could always be both.

[Darkarath]

Now that I think about it, if we need to shield our cities against the overwhelming power of the Void as the K'areshi did while their world crumbled... Could this happen to Azeroth too? Perfect excuse for a revamp of the surviving zones? Blizzard could even link this event to Neighborhoods, built for the surviving citizens of Horde of Alliance in the main revamped capitals, Orgrimmar and Stormwind.

[Cheezits]

You mean Shadreen's note about the "elf wells"? I think it's far too relevant to be a coincidence, but Xal'atath could very well be Shadreen's master.

I think it's probably actually planting a seed for TLT and relates to the titan conspiracy, but it could always be both.

I think whoever the master is doesn't know a lot about Azeroth, considering what she's reporting on, so Xal wouldn't fit the bill. Denathrius makes the most sense to me outside of an unknown NPC (maybe someone related to playable Ethereals? as a meta way to have them acclimated to Azeroth)

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Now that I think about it, if we need to shield our cities against the overwhelming power of the Void as the K'areshi did while their world crumbled... Could this happen to Azeroth too? Perfect excuse for a revamp of the surviving zones? Blizzard could even link this event to Neighborhoods, built for the surviving citizens of Horde of Alliance in the main revamped capitals, Orgrimmar and Stormwind.

Yes, but I really do not want bubble skyboxes.

[Enrif]

Now that I think about it, if we need to shield our cities against the overwhelming power of the Void as the K'areshi did while their world crumbled... Could this happen to Azeroth too? Perfect excuse for a revamp of the surviving zones? Blizzard could even link this event to Neighborhoods, built for the surviving citizens of Horde of Alliance in the main revamped capitals, Orgrimmar and Stormwind.

this is an idea that the novella certainly kinda encourages. With Dalaran gone, and their mages mingling in other cities, they could be instrumental to a defense system similar to the dalaran dome back in classic, and potential help from the K'areshi and their Eco-Domes.

I don't think though they will go that route for the neighbourhood zones, as the skybox could be exhausting. Even for the Midnight Zones i can't see it fully. Perhaps more similar to Hallowfall, where the zone switches between a Strong protection, everything more bright, and a weak protection, that has a dark skybox.

[13last]

This makes me think, especially with K'aresh now being content.

What if the expansion doesn't start with the Sunwell destroyed, but rather we use the Sunwell to protect Azeroth from Xals onslaught.
We could rebuild and empower Ban'dinoriel, and Xal then has the destruction of the Sunwell as a primary objective.

I like this a lot, sounds cool honestly. My take is that I think the sunwell will be corrupted by Xal by end of Midnight which is us "losing' and Titans decide to purge Azeroth in The Last Titan, but I personally like your take better.

I'm curious what the main 3 stories of Midnight will be. I know we have 12.0 story, then 12.1 and 12.2. We know one of those will be elven unification, one patch (probably 12.2) dealing with Xal and ending the expansion, but I'm drawing blanks for the other patch story wise. Maybe it'd be Arathi storyline but I personally see us dealing with them and Light as a fanatical force post worldsoul saga.

[Joshuaj]

My Prediction: Xal'atath absorbs Dimensius'es power, then uses Sunwell's current Light properties to flip it into Void state to open portal into Azeroth and essentially starts doign what Dimensius did on K'aresh. Everything will be under Void infused darkness, hence the title "Midnight".

Even when defeated, the All-Devouring's influence continues

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That's an interesting point.

The fact that we are going cosmic in 11.2 with K'aresh could make Midnight patch content more "terrenal". Especially since K'aresh has been a fan request forever and practically no one gives a shit about the Zereths.



Well if Xal'athat ends up being as powerful as Dimensius it would be contradictory with the new short story that Horde and Alliance wouldn't shield their cities in some way...

We could easily go to one of Azeroth's moons, or have the Light and Void realms bleed into Azeroth for the final apocalyptic clash between the two forces.

No one said anything about us going to another Zereth, heck the whole point of 9.2 was to showcase that we went there far too early (or, at the very least, we weren't supposed to be there at all).

We literally had to break the rules in order to stop Zovaal.

[Cheezits]

12.0- Thalassian reunification + Amani Crypts raid
12.1- scourge themed raid OR draenei themed raid, somehow
12.2- Xal raid

Would be cool if Strath or Deathholme is turned into a megadungeon however.

[13last]

12.0- Thalassian reunification + Amani Crypts raid
12.1- scourge themed raid OR draenei themed raid, somehow
12.2- Xal raid

Would be cool if Strath or Deathholme is turned into a megadungeon however.

I like your 12.1, cool idea especially since we're returning to Northrend in Last Titan. Would be a nice setup for a Last Titan patch as well.

[Cheezits]

I like your 12.1, cool idea especially since we're returning to Northrend in Last Titan. Would be a nice setup for a Last Titan patch as well.

Stratholme and Deatholme are connected to QT and are super nostalgia based, plus the expansion after has a lot of scourge. I'll be shocked if they ignore them.

[Timester]

Expect the unexpected with Midnight. Look how TWW jumped from Khaz Algar to Undermine to K'aresh. Metzen loves to jump to his creations as long it fits his story plot.