Midnight 12.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Scyth]

They could easily have their own raid tier. I don’t know why people seem to think they’re insignificant as a threat.

Lots of people find the Incarnates insignificant as a threat because we've fought bigger threats. Now imagine what most of those people will say if we go to pirates next.
Obviously it depends on how it's done but no way we are getting a whole xpac around pirates.

[Well Done Steak]

Nah. I think there's a very small chance we'll ever see Yrel and the AU Orcs again.

I don't see why people say this...

The maghar scenario was a very clear set up... Hell maghar npcs still mention the light bound....

And yeah we will see the AU orcs again. In fact we see them everyday because they're a playable race...

[Santandame]

Lots of people find the Incarnates insignificant as a threat because we've fought bigger threats. Now imagine what most of those people will say if we go to pirates next.
Obviously it depends on how it's done but no way we are getting a whole xpac around pirates.

Which is what I don’t understand. It’s as if people want this Dragonball Z aspect to WoW where it’s just a continuous power creep and each enemy we fight has to be bigger and stronger than the last.

[Well Done Steak]

I don't see it quite working out that way, but I do think you and I are pretty close to seeing the expansion playing out in similar ways.

I view it as Turalyon pushes the alliance towards embracing Yrel's Lightbound army, significantly causing a rift in the alliance, and some members of the alliance (especially Alleria and the Void Elves) being considered a threat due to their void connections. On the horde front, I can see Thrall almost immediately opposing Yrel because of the Mag'har, but that can cause strife in the Horde as well because of the new Forsaken leadership and maybe even some Sunwalkers and Blood Knights defecting. On the flip side of that though, Yrel's presence could kickstart a new crusade for the Scarlet Crusade and cause them to attack the Forsaken in Tirisfal Glades and Gilneas with Turalyon (and potentially Greymayne) pretty much looking the other way.

In the end, I believe Yrel is potentially a very destabilizing force for Azeroth. Thrall's role would be the stabilizing force, and a wonderful way to reinsert him as Warcraft's main protagonist for the 20th anniversary of WoW.

I see Turalyon getting swepped up with Yrel's propaganda, AT FIRST. Then he'll realize how bonkers the LB are after witnessing what they're willing to do

I don't think Turalyon is as fanatical as Yrel after the events of legion.

I think Yrel is Turalyon if he never experienced legion and the interaction between illidan and xera. I mean the dude is married to a velf so there's also that which makes him automatically more open-minded.

But we'll see.

[Skildar]

Full quotes here: https://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/com...l-transcript/2

thanks pal, that rocks

[Makorus]

Which is what I don’t understand. It’s as if people want this Dragonball Z aspect to WoW where it’s just a continuous power creep and each enemy we fight has to be bigger and stronger than the last.

There's a different between "every enemy needs to be stronger" and "The next big bad is pirates".

[Santandame]

There's a different between "every enemy needs to be stronger" and "The next big bad is pirates".

I don’t know why you seem so contentious to the idea, but if you don’t have the imagination to look past your predisposed bias then that’s on you.

It’s fine anyway, because we’ve gone from a dragon that can break the world to Garrosh, Tauren ancestors and mantid before.

[Raetary]

Lots of people find the Incarnates insignificant as a threat because we've fought bigger threats.

Which is a mentality that needs to rot and die tbh.

[Woggmer]

It's not just "There are primalists".

•Entire pre-patch event was about the four elements
•Every single zone, including both patch zones, has large elementally infused areas and areas being occupied by elementals.
•Professions not only use elemental materials, the Dragonflight trees nearly all have sections based on elements, Frost and Air potions and phials for alchemy, molten armor and weapons for BS, element themed darkmoon decks, element themed gem sets, flame-infused LW sets, engineers make devices for capturing elemental souls
•Gathering nodes come in special element-infused varieties
•Leather and cloth come in element-infused varieties
•The primary antagonists* are four proto-dragons each representing one of the four elements
•Entire first tier is an elemental raid of nothing but elemental bosses
•First added zone invasion event is elemental storms hitting specific areas
•Second event is fire specific elementally infused enemies attacking specific areas
•Elemental-themed trinkets, effect rings, embellishments, etc. all over the place

Like what are you expecting to happen here? That there's going to be a whole SECOND expansion where every aspect is element themed? This is the element expansion. They didn't go through and make literally everything element themed so that they could do an element expansion later. If they were planning to make an elemental expansion next, they would have just leaned very very hard into the flights aspect. You'd have gathering nodes with Green, Blue, Bronze, Black and Red infused special forms and proto-drake/drakonid standard invasions, and the Primalists would be a minor secondary enemy that shows up in 10.3, not the primary from pre-patch through every zone and into each patch location.

There's a difference between an expansion theme'd AROUND the elements and an expansion ABOUT the elements. I'm not gonna deny that the expansion is theme'd around the elements, but it isn't ABOUT the elements. It is primarily focused on the Dragons and the Incarnates, we don't know anything else outside of that. We don't know how someone becomes a primalist, we don't know how they get their powers, or if their goals align with the Incarnates or specifically Iridikron who seems to have ulterior motives. The elemental lords aren't even involved (so far) all we have is seeing them in the past during the Black Empire and that's it.

If there is a 10.3 planned, then they can explain the primalists and whats going on with the elements there... If not there is no 10.3.. then it'll get moved to 11.0. All of it just hinges on what Blizzad plans to announce at Blizzcon.

[Makorus]

I don’t know why you seem so contentious to the idea, but if you don’t have the imagination to look past your predisposed bias then that’s on you.

It’s fine anyway, because we’ve gone from a dragon that can break the world to Garrosh, Tauren ancestors and mantid before.

I literally said that Pirates can be the Yaungol or Mantid of an expansion.

But you'd have to be absolutely deluded to think that some random pirates can carry an expansion.

Garrosh worked because he was built up for three expansions. And even then, they had to hit him with the Corruption hammer.

[Santandame]

I literally said that Pirates can be the Yaungol or Mantid of an expansion.

But you'd have to be absolutely deluded to think that some random pirates can carry an expansion.

Garrosh worked because he was built up for three expansions. And even then, they had to hit him with the Corruption hammer.

Well then I guess I’m deluded because with a decent bit of writing then I don’t see why pirates couldn’t work as an expansion level threat. If you can’t then that’s on you.

Right so if Nightsquall and his fleet were built up in the background for three expansions but just remained as your bog standard pirates which you seem to be against, then you’d accept them as an expansion worthy threat?

Or would they need to be hit with the corruption hammer like Garrosh was - which in your opinion would turn it into a void expansion ? Just like MoP was an Old God expansion… right?

[Teriz]

There have been lots of set ups over the years, many of which never came to pass. Yrel is interesting in the same way the alternate timeline shenanigans in 10.1.5 is interesting. Giving us glimpses into what could be. Offering different pespectives. But I don't think an army of Light-crazed Orcs or whatever would be interesting. It's a theme that doesn't click for me.

I think the difference here is that we "caused" Yrel, the Lightbound, and the eventual collapse of AU Draenor to happen, and the repercussions of that action were both the Legion invasion, and the Mag'har Orcs. I believe the final harvest of the bitter seed we sowed is going to be the Lightbound invasion, which is going to do significant damage to MU Azeroth and both the Horde and the Alliance.

As it should.

[Well Done Steak]

.



There have been lots of set ups over the years, many of which never came to pass. Yrel is interesting in the same way the alternate timeline shenanigans in 10.1.5 is interesting. Giving us glimpses into what could be. Offering different pespectives. But I don't think an army of Light-crazed Orcs or whatever would be interesting. It's a theme that doesn't click for me.

Except Yrel isn't some random daily quest or scenario the bronze dragonflight tasked us to clean up.

We left our mark in AU draenor and they left one in us.

The maghar are the permanent link to it.

All we needed was bronze dragons and or infinite to make the next step.

[Makorus]

Well then I guess I’m deluded because with a decent bit of writing then I don’t see why pirates couldn’t work as an expansion level threat. If you can’t then that’s on you.

Right so if Nightsquall and his fleet were built up in the background for three expansions but just remained as your bog standard pirates which you seem to be against, then you’d accept them as an expansion worthy threat?

Or would they need to be hit with the corruption hammer like Garrosh was - which in your opinion would turn it into a void expansion ? Just like MoP was an Old God expansion… right?

If the Nightsquall had a bit more to it than a random book that's not even that easy to find, absolutely.

Just throwing in pirates randomly and expecting people to be okay with them being the big bads when at the end of the day, we literally fought pirates for the last 20 years, then it's just deluded.

[Teriz]

I see Turalyon getting swepped up with Yrel's propaganda, AT FIRST. Then he'll realize how bonkers the LB are after witnessing what they're willing to do

I don't think Turalyon is as fanatical as Yrel after the events of legion.

I think Yrel is Turalyon if he never experienced legion and the interaction between illidan and xera. I mean the dude is married to a velf so there's also that which makes him automatically more open-minded.

But we'll see.

Yep, I can see that being the case as well.

As you said, we'll see! 59 days to go.

- - - Updated - - -

All we needed was bronze dragons and or infinite to make the next step.

And we got plenty....

[Santandame]

If the Nightsquall had a bit more to it than a random book that's not even that easy to find, absolutely.

Just throwing in pirates randomly and expecting people to be okay with them being the big bads when at the end of the day, we literally fought pirates for the last 20 years, then it's just deluded.

Just like we’ve fought dragons for the last 20 years, and demons, and undead, and elementals.

[Reive]

Headcanon: i think 10.2 will be announced next week when the secrets of azeroth event ends so they can announce an archaeology revamp coming with it

[Nibelheimy]

Iridikrons goal is to remove the titans grip on the world. The way I see it, their grip was turning up and imprisoning the old gods and imprisoning the elements.

Yes the old gods are a void influence, but before the old gods arrived the world was very much run by the elements in the planets natural state.

Let's say both old god prisons and elemental plains are broken. Thrall as the world shaman is our rep figure to the elemental lords, and the friendly ones don't want to have to be dominated by the old gods/void again and could be persuaded/begged/encoursged/forced to live alongside us.

This is one facet of a potential world/continent revamp. I don't feel that mining yogg sarons blood infused ore back in wotlk would mean we wouldn't get old god lore in cata.

I think too many people are stuck angry that people are suggesting elementals, but people seem to be suggesting elementals as a baseline story alongside a revamped world. Who knows. Maybe night squall has captured and enslaved neptulon, which is the reason he's been such a successful pirate and able to reach past treacherous waters no pirate has ever sailed, and there is 0 water theming in dragonflight so far.

Maybe Therazane returns to Azeroth after her bond to deepholm is no longer, and is angry at the factions for the murder of her daughter Theredras in dire maul. The Centaur of Kalimdor now allign with her and the earth elemetals and pose a true risk again to the Tauren. Luckily, Baine has learnt to trust some Centaur and is willing to risk diplomacy, would it work? Or is Therazane too hard headed and war will be the only answer.

There is a lot to do with elemental themeing at its core that would work really well with a return to Kalimdor. I'm just waiting to see if the true tree will be grown in the isles after the dream. If not, ima bet full Kalimdor remake for 11.0. A return of the elements to the natural world can tie in nicely with a revamp of said world.

Cataclysm had elemental themes and was about harming the world, 11.0 could certainly be about returning it to it's natural state pre titan influence with what we know our current baddie wants. (big shiny new continents for us)

[Nightshade711]

All this talk about Thrall, but everyone seems to forget him being center stage in N’zoth’s vision with Alleria.



He definitely has room to be relevant in a void/Xalatath/Azshara expansion.

[Teriz]

All this talk about Thrall, but everyone seems to forget him being center stage in N’zoth’s vision with Alleria.



He definitely has room to be relevant in a void/Xalatath/Azshara expansion.

So who would be the final boss in such an expansion? Azshara who we already stomped in BFA, or Xal’atath who isn’t as powerful as Nzoth?