Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[JohnnyCasual]

Okay but then it just doesn't make sense that 11.2.7 & Housing are two different pennants on the roadmap. They didn't say the exact date, so I'm guessing Housing Early access was going to be some arbitrary date after 11.2.7 came out but then they changed it to be same day as launch & when (if) they give us the end of year Roadmap will reflect that.......

Though that would point to a feature of 11.2.7 being dropped or delayed.

I am not sure what you mean because the housing symbol is overlapping with the 11.2.7 flag on the roadmap.

[Albertillo]

I just checked the road map, but did they say something about the warband and brewfest updates?

[Ersula]

I am not sure what you mean because the housing symbol is overlapping with the 11.2.7 flag on the roadmap.

What does overlapping matter? The 10.2.6 pennant overlapped with 10.2.5 & 10.2.7 pennants but they were still separate patches.

[Jaggler]

It's the tail end of the roadmap, maybe they just weren't sure whether housing would be ready for 11.2.7 launch or start later and how much of housing would be available pre-midnight

[Hearthfinder]

People also forget that the secret gamemode is still on the way during the 11.x content cycle, even though Blizzard has (likely purposely) not talked about it since it has been teased. They did a similar thing for Plunderstorm and announced it right before the drop, so I would not be surprised if this will also end up being the case for this.

I have no idea where it would fit in timing wise though.

Plunderstorm was teased for a year on the roadmap though. Imagine if this new mode is just vapourware.

[Thomir]

Shadow Priest better get new visuals in Midnight. Can't have a Demon Hunter look better doing Void shit than them. And besides, they have some of the oldest spell visuals in the game. Shadowy Apparitions and PW Shield are ancient.

[Eldryth]

I think people are blowing up the assumption about Harandar being meant for TWW into something way bigger than it actually is.

Yes, very early maps of TWW did indicate that Rootlands were planned back then. Realistically, though, they would have had to have made the decision to move it extremely early in the design phase. Most likely long before TWW was even announced- as it likely would have come up in the reveal- and certainly by the time it entered alpha, when they were already building up Goblins and Ethereals. Once we saw evidence of those races getting focus, it was pretty clear that we'd only see the Rootlands in TWW if said races were doing something there (and that clearly isn't the route Blizzard was taking).

It seems far more like a storytelling decision than a workload issue to me. Instead of getting a brand-new race taking the spotlight for a while and getting forgotten after their self-contained story, they got built up as a mystery for a while, got more satisfying connections to the broader universe, and then will be getting the focus after said proper buildup. I think the same might be true for the Arathi, too- weren't there signs that Hallowfall was originally going to be the entirety of their empire, or am I misremembering? I could easily see them being rewritten as the early signs of a greater Empire.

This is exactly the kind of storytelling improvement I was hoping the Saga would bring. Instead of just a brand-new location filled with self-contained races that nobody cares about, they're taking the time to develop everything properly and make it matter.


I definitely don't think it's logical to look at Harandar being moved, long before it was ever announced, and take that to assume that other announced features like the Duskwood game mode will also be pushed back. They're in completely different phases of development; if something were so far off from completion that it could end up being pushed back into another expansion, they wouldn't announce it at all until it was closer.

With that said, looking at the writeups I can find of the actual reveal, it doesn't look like they ever actually said that it'd come during TWW. It seems like a safe assumption, as it'd help keep people interested while waiting for Midnight (and they can throw in some early housing rewards to pull people in), but it was always just said to be coming "in the future".


On another note, a Destructoid interview I hadn't seen mentioned before talked about the "uniting the Elven tribes" storyline. Apparently it'll be ongoing through the rest of the Saga, and unless that part about "why the Blood Elves were banished" was a mistake (maybe they could have meant Void Elves?), it sounds like the Night Elves will be included after all. They're the ones that exiled the Thalasians from Kalimdor, after all.

Also, the Black Blood story is confirmed to be over now. Midnight is about the Cosmic aspect of the Void specifically, no more Old God stuff.

[Nize]

Shadow Priest better get new visuals in Midnight. Can't have a Demon Hunter look better doing Void shit than them. And besides, they have some of the oldest spell visuals in the game. Shadowy Apparitions and PW Shield are ancient.

Wouldn't be the first time DHs stole another classes' thunder. Spriest, take a seat by the Demo Warlocks please.

[allegrian]

Doesn't it feel like Void Elves have stolen the Blood Elf vibes from back in TBC but using void instead of fel? Blood Elves were those cosmic elves in outland, a broken world that floats in space, that used arcane and fel magic and were outcasted by the alliance. Now Blood Elves feel just like human/arathi paladins whie the void elves are again those cosmic elves using dangerous magic and outcasted (by the horde/BE), and related to zones that are broken worlds that float in space.

So now in the cosmic void story and upcoming zone, void elves got the role that TBC Blood Elves would get.

[Enrif]

Totally different topic

Do we have any inklings or idea what the tier set designs could be? SL ended and DF started with tier sets themed after the raids, rest of DF just had general class themed sets. TWW went with the sets designed around the hero talents themes (ie. DK S1 Rider of the Apocalypse, S2 Deathbringer, S3 San'layn). What should we expect for MID? I don't think they will return to the designs that fit the raid theme again, so more general designs? Or do we go full elven/troll this time around? The elven design could cover the high fantasy aesthetic, while the trolls could give primal/tribal looks.

Going just Void/Light would be an option, but could look very samey, like the DF S1 designs

[Nize]

Doesn't it feel like Void Elves have stolen the Blood Elf vibes from back in TBC but using void instead of fel? Blood Elves were those cosmic elves in outland, a broken world that floats in space, that used arcane and fel magic and were outcasted by the alliance. Now Blood Elves feel just like human/arathi paladins whie the void elves are again those cosmic elves using dangerous magic and outcasted (by the horde/BE), and related to zones that are broken worlds that float in space.

So now in the cosmic void story and upcoming zone, void elves got the role that TBC Blood Elves would get.

Void Elves didn't steal that Blood Elf vibe from TBC. They WERE that Blood Elf vibe from TBC. They just got it double.

[Limayria]

Doesn't it feel like Void Elves have stolen the Blood Elf vibes from back in TBC but using void instead of fel? Blood Elves were those cosmic elves in outland, a broken world that floats in space, that used arcane and fel magic and were outcasted by the alliance. Now Blood Elves feel just like human/arathi paladins whie the void elves are again those cosmic elves using dangerous magic and outcasted (by the horde/BE), and related to zones that are broken worlds that float in space.

So now in the cosmic void story and upcoming zone, void elves got the role that TBC Blood Elves would get.

They're like TBC blood elves but with out the cool tech stuff (yet) or the cool vampire vibes

The ending of TBC really did damage to the blood elf vibes

[JohnnyCasual]

What does overlapping matter? The 10.2.6 pennant overlapped with 10.2.5 & 10.2.7 pennants but they were still separate patches.

I concede. I had to look up the 2024 map to remember what a hot mess it was. X.X

[The-Shan]

Good for you but it's not retail content.

What do you mean good for you? You're clearly missing the implication that it takes place on retail realms, which makes it retail content, and a retail game mode. It uses retail class balance, the retail race selection, retail class gameplay, with custom items befitting the game mode.

[Nymrohd]

People also forget that the secret gamemode is still on the way during the 11.x content cycle, even though Blizzard has (likely purposely) not talked about it since it has been teased. They did a similar thing for Plunderstorm and announced it right before the drop, so I would not be surprised if this will also end up being the case for this.

I have no idea where it would fit in timing wise though.

I am in no way trying to imply that Blizzard is not working on providing content. But I do separate content that is progression for my main account to alternate game modes. And there really would be no complaint to be made if K'aresh was not curiously sparse in content at least to the standard of their other patch zones.

And it really is too many things to have concurrently in a sense. Alpha and Legion Remix will be up concurrently and if we had a horror based mode, you would expect it to be in October so right along the other two which makes little sense in scheduling. They could desync it and have it later but that's is probably a worse choice by marketing standards than to delay it entirely for Midnight

[Alanar]

Void Elves didn't steal that Blood Elf vibe from TBC. They WERE that Blood Elf vibe from TBC. They just got it double.

If you want to see it that way, sure. It still will never really feel like the og vibe.

The whole bending the light and their way of doing things back then while maintaining what they are and their whole history at the time was cool and new. This will probably never really return. Trying to do it a second time or third time simply doesnt have the same effect or vibe.

[Nymrohd]

Imo Blood Elves don't really exist. Horde High Elves exist. TBC Blood Elves were radically different to how they were presented after the SWP incident but the moment Velen showed up and fixed the Sunwell all that narrative was banished. They reverted to their High Elf identities with a new coat of paint on and an unstable political reality that was on the brink from Wrath to MoP until the Purge just crashed reality onto them. And since then they are just Horde High Elves, probably increasingly more comfortable now that the Horde includes as many ancient magical civilizations as it does martial and primal tribes.

Should have been a friendly Illidan showing up instead and using one of his vials to spark the Sunwell anew as an arcane power

We will see how they are handled as a society in Midnight; TBC actually made a serious effort with World Building and maybe in revisiting that the devs will let them get some of that edge back.

[Jaggler]

I don't really feel like that Void Elves have the vibe of TBC Blood Elves.

TBC Blood Elves, hav more moral ambiguity (Leper Gnome workshop, holding a Naaru captive, mind controlling populace), which is something i feel like is completely missing from Void Elves. Yeah they "dabble in forbidden magics" but truth be told, it's not really shown being any dangerous. We don't see Void Elves fighting and failing to completely fall to the Void. It's very surface level.

Void Elves feel like goody two-shoes but with asphyxiation

Imo Blood Elves don't really exist. Horde High Elves exist. TBC Blood Elves were radically different to how they were presented after the SWP incident but the moment Velen showed up and fixed the Sunwell all that narrative was banished. They reverted to their High Elf identities with a new coat of paint on and an unstable political reality that was on the brink from Wrath to MoP until the Purge just crashed reality onto them. And since then they are just Horde High Elves, probably increasingly more comfortable now that the Horde includes as many ancient magical civilizations as it does martial and primal tribes.

Should have been a friendly Illidan showing up instead and using one of his vials to spark the Sunwell anew as an arcane power

We will see how they are handled as a society in Midnight; TBC actually made a serious effort with World Building and maybe in revisiting that the devs will let them get some of that edge back.

I feel like Blizz could have done way better back then to integrate the Blood Elves better into the Horde, especially with the Tauren (for example through reverence towards the sun, appreciation of nature). Tt's not like their place in the Horde is in question, but their integration could have been handeled better.

[Nymrohd]

I don't really feel like that Void Elves have the vibe of TBC Blood Elves.

TBC Blood Elves, hav more moral ambiguity (Leper Gnome workshop, holding a Naaru captive, mind controlling populace), which is something i feel like is completely missing from Void Elves. Yeah they "dabble in forbidden magics" but truth be told, it's not really shown being any dangerous. We don't see Void Elves fighting and failing to completely fall to the Void. It's very surface level.

Void Elves feel like goody two-shoes but with asphyxiation

Pretty much. I mean the story is very straight forward. They were magical scientists who fucked up and got corrupted. They are not particularly happy about being Void Elves but they don't have much of a choice and if they don't focus on the Void they'll just go insane.

It's why having the option to cure them and thus give people what they want would absolutely work narratively. And some would stay Void out of a sense of duty

Btw this interview https://www.wowhead.com/news/midnigh...-tribes-378344
implies that "unite the elven tribes" was not about blood/high/void but about Kaldorei and Highborne.

I do hope we see more Darkfallen as well. Both the Forsaken/Dark Ranger variety and the San'layn. San'layn was such an artistically solid take on vampires especially with the Queen of the Damned look and we don't truly know much about them.

[Hearthfinder]

We talking High Elves? Yes!

Here's what's needed for World of Warcraft to completely implement High Elves:

• Quel'Thalas and Silvermoon are areas within the game. [Pass]
• There are playable Thalassian elves on both factions, to honour the legacy of the RTS games as well as WoW. [Pass]
• These elves can have blue eyes, pale skin, blonde hair, etc. [Pass]
• Both factions' playable Thalassian elves say "High Elf" somewhere in their name or description. [Fail]
• They can be Hunters (Rangers), Mages (Sorceresses), Priests, and Paladins on both factions. [Fail]
• The same elves can have cool ranger tattoos/war paints on their faces. [Fail]
• There are no major downsides to either race aesthetically (like turning blue in combat or being "tainted" somehow). [Fail]
• There are no significant differences that make one side feel worse (access to High Elf-specific content like Quel'Thalas, hairstyles, NPCs, etc.). [Fail]

Looks like we still have some ways to go.