The War Within 11.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[NikolaiShade]

So, people actually believe that the "Awakening" (Classic+) "leak" is real because the person who wrote it said, "Chris Metzen is the main head behind the project?"

Please remember, there have been videos from content creators promoting the "idea" of Chris having a MUCH larger role on the WoW team than people initially thought for WEEKS now! Additionally, we've known since December that he was working on the Warcraft team (just now he has an "official" title). So, again, are people that gullible? Just...

I would add a "what if..." idea could be used for retail, it wouldn't require creating a third branch of WoW. And tbh i can just imagine the retail players' reactions should they add ogres to this classic+ thing

[Sondrelk]

I think you misunderstand what the post is proposing there. Not adding High Elves to retail but a third rail of WoW Retail, Classic (Cataclysm) and Classic+. The idea here being the Dark Portal did not open and this Classic+ goes in a different direction.

Why though? This is somehow an even worse idea than Classic+ catered to Retail players that want a world revamp.
Any kind of Classic+ would come with the massive elephant in the room of why this content isnt in Retail. The only reason to do so would be to preserve the spirit of Classic gameplay. Trying to argue that the plot would be better is the most ostentatious lie ever uttered.

[Hitei]

Do you seriously think having Azshara, a character with a history of like 20 years, having her own expansion would be a bad thing?

No, but I seriously think it's hilarious you'd complain about BfA making Sylvanas, a character who in Vanilla okay'd human experimentation for the development of bioweapons and the slaughter of multiple cities of civilians just minding their own business, a villain "for no reason" in the same post where you claim Vanilla-Mop was better. Y'know, the expansion period where Illidan, Kael and Vashj were all hit with the generic villain bat, and Malygos went insane just because "magic shouldn't be used".

Or complain about the 4th war being over quickly when Wrath and MoP both had Varian just decide to not care about the Horde openly attacking Alliance forces.

[Harbour]

Yeah, not bying this Awakening 'leak' at all. First of all, the title is really too generic. And that 'leaked' logo looks fake af.
Also i dont believe they made all that fuss abut Metzen just for him overseeing simple Classic+.
Literally no fucking way they didnt bring him to make 11.0 and story going forward.

[NikolaiShade]

Why though? This is somehow an even worse idea than Classic+ catered to Retail players that want a world revamp.
Any kind of Classic+ would come with the massive elephant in the room of why this content isnt in Retail. The only reason to do so would be to preserve the spirit of Classic gameplay. Trying to argue that the plot would be better is the most ostentatious lie ever uttered.

A Classic+ could be plausible if they decided to add cata and following expac's stories with classic/bc/warth/cata gameplay

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Flying Mounts have no prevalence in Classic+, so it most likely is a 6 month sub mount for the first period of Cataclysm Classic.

[Santandame]

Why though? This is somehow an even worse idea than Classic+ catered to Retail players that want a world revamp.
Any kind of Classic+ would come with the massive elephant in the room of why this content isnt in Retail. The only reason to do so would be to preserve the spirit of Classic gameplay. Trying to argue that the plot would be better is the most ostentatious lie ever uttered.

Hasn’t that been the entire concept behind Classic+ though? A story of what ifs. It’s what I’ve been saying for years.

It doesn’t matter if we get a Classic+ interpretation of Emerald Dream etc because we already have the Emerald Dream content in retail.

[pacotaco]

The worlds you listed are unlikely to be visited except as patch content, and that's me being generous. Draenor and arguably Argus are the only two non-Azeroth worlds that have any relevance in the lore. The rest are just background fodder.

Argus was just invented in TBC. Before that, the Draenei were an indigenous race from Draenor and had the appearance of the Broken. Then in TBC they retconned them so they were uncorrupted Eredar, and the Broken were a corrupted version. At the same time, they changed their origin to Argus.

What I mean is that they can create some reason to go to those planets, like they made us go to Outland, then Draenor, then Argus.

The Emerald Dream is being explored, as decided by Blizzard, in 10.2.

Only a small fraction, as said by them in the interviews.

The South Seas and Undermine are arguably one and the same, unless they do the hollow earth expansion we've been discussing. I'm not sure they'd want to do that at this point. Do I want it? Yes. Does Blizzard want to create an expansion out of scraps? Maybe.

Very unlikely to do an entire underground expansion. Blizzard always tries to make the expansion zones diverse.

The other side of Azeroth and/or Avaloren (whether they're the same or not) is pretty much it for upcoming potential. I do think it's possible they let us explore the entire backside of Azeroth for multiple expansions. But does that hold the necessary appeal for lapsed old school players?

This is the most likely next expansion to me. The pre-patch Titan notes, the pirates telling about another continent, the Deathwing annotated book implying there's more land than just Kalimdor...


Other things that they've planted the last expansions:
- Something happening with the Ethereals in the background (the brawl club assassination, the costume contest spying, the mystery coins in the journal...)
- The demons are still out there and active. There's also the hint about some unknown demons that the Legion never met.
- Yrel and her Army of the Light
- Xalathath and the Void Lords
- The Coming Threat

[ChairmanKaga]

Flying Mounts have no prevalence in Classic+, so it most likely is a 6 month sub mount for the first period of Cataclysm Classic.

Oh yeah there wouldn't be flying. But why Emerald Dream related for Cata?

[Skildar]

I think MrGM was having fun with you, you don't have toy box and heirloom collection on Wotlk classic

[Marlamin]

I think MrGM was having fun with you, you don't have toy box and heirloom collection on Wotlk classic

Someone hasn't logged onto the PTR yet

[Sondrelk]

A Classic+ could be plausible if they decided to add cata and following expac's stories with classic/bc/warth/cata gameplay

I could see it if it was a toggle on Retail where the Classic zones have been readded.
Classic+ to this extent is a whole can of worms that is basically impossible to get a good read on. It's one thing for Wrath to not have a group finder, it's another to add transmog to effectively TBC.

I am way more open to the Awakenings concept of Retail doing what is effectively a Classic+ expansion. You could use all the revamped HD assets. Redo famous dungeons and raids in a more modern style.
For that matter you could go the exact opposite direction as well. Add a hard mode like so many have pitched throughout the years that could give a more Classic experience.

[Skildar]

Someone hasn't logged onto the PTR yet

I don't play any classic wow, but I remember that these features came later expansions, did they add them to wotlk classic?

[Marlamin]

I don't play any classic wow, but I remember that these features came later expansions, did they add them to wotlk classic?

Yes, but still on PTR for now.

[Sondrelk]

Hasn’t that been the entire concept behind Classic+ though? A story of what ifs. It’s what I’ve been saying for years.

It doesn’t matter if we get a Classic+ interpretation of Emerald Dream etc because we already have the Emerald Dream content in retail.

The issue I have with Classic+ conceptually is that we have gotten to see what was behind the door to Uldum in Tanaris, or actually go to Hyjal. We have done all of that in Retail, so redoing it in Classic+ just sounds reductive to me.
Not to mention that unless you redo ALL of Classic to go alongside the new content then it would just effectively be TBC. The levelling and world aspect of Classic isnt really conducive to more patches. You would have more raids or dungeons or whatever, but that would pretty much just be more stuff to do once you have progressed Ahn'Qiraj or whatever, not a new way to experience Classic.

The Awakening concept is better in this regard. It's in Retail, which is much more endgame focused. And you have much more room for systems and whatnot that enhance the world. Can't imagine Classic+ Mythic+ dungeons would work, or player housing.

[Skildar]

that's a pretty neat find then

I do wonder what release would bring a promtional event with such mount to the game. If it was a what if classic expansion I would have expected an infinite dragon instead of a nightmarish one

[Sondrelk]

that's a pretty neat find then

I do wonder what release would bring such mount to the game. If it was a what if classic expansion I would have expected a infinite dragon instead of nightmarish one

It looks like a pre-Cata mount, is the justification I imagine they had. The warpstalker mount in TBC I faintly remember was chosen for being a mount that could be easily ported into TBC, not really because it made sense for the story.

[Reive]

someone said the new nightmare mount is a reference to "war against the nightmare", an event happened after wotlk and before cata. so yeah, cata classic

[Xilurm]

No, but I seriously think it's hilarious you'd complain about BfA making Sylvanas, a character who in Vanilla okay'd human experimentation for the development of bioweapons and the slaughter of multiple cities of civilians just minding their own business, a villain "for no reason" in the same post where you claim Vanilla-Mop was better. Y'know, the expansion period where Illidan, Kael and Vashj were all hit with the generic villain bat, and Malygos went insane just because "magic shouldn't be used".

Or complain about the 4th war being over quickly when Wrath and MoP both had Varian just decide to not care about the Horde openly attacking Alliance forces.

Wait till you find out I thought it was stupid that Sargeras appeared out of nowhere and impaled Azeroth with his sword. "But he's the main baddie!" Yeah, no shit, but somethings just don't work. Like Sylvanas starting a world war and destroying one of the starting zones.

Yeah, it is for no reason. That shit didn't need to happen. But it did because as we know the main writer had a fucking vendetta. TBC wasn't trying to be deep, like BFA or SL. The writing back then didn't try to be hollywood level writing. And what's wrong with Malygos being like that? He falls more inline with how the dragons used to act towards mortals back then.

ICC had a Horde vs Alliance encounter and MoP ended with the Siege of Orgrimmar, so I don't know why you're mentioning Varian not caring about the Horde.

[Skildar]

It looks like a pre-Cata mount, is the justification I imagine they had. The warpstalker mount in TBC I faintly remember was chosen for being a mount that could be easily ported into TBC, not really because it made sense for the story.

wasn't the warpstalker tied to the releas of BC classic? It makes sense as it is an unique creature found in outland that was never made into a mount and could be a nifty reward in retail and BC clasic

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someone said the new nightmare mount is a reference to "war against the nightmare", an event happened after wotlk and before cata. so yeah, cata classic

I've never read the Stormrage book and completrly forgot it was happening before cata release. I hope they make it explicit if that was their way of thought because very few would associate the emerald nightmare with cataclysm