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

[Sondrelk]

Well, it included Spaceships right from the beginning. Wheras WoD was mostly building settlements, which is a very classical Warcraft vibe. Despite it taking place on a literal alien planet.

Draenor is however a very important location to core playable races. Both Draenei and Orcs have character they can meet there that would fit perfectly.
Going to K'aresh would maybe be somewhat linked to Velves?

[Cheezits]

I actually think Shadowlands as a setting is really cool, they just absolutely shat up the story and having Sylvanas and Malganis be the only (still living) characters from Warcraft that really made a difference there was a massive mistake. Hiding the Nathrezim reveal was the dumbest thing they ever did and I'm baffled why they did it, they should've been front and center.

Imagine if it was more like TBC, with a big Azeroth story going on and us going back to Northrend at the end to fuck up Zovaal. Or hell, Denny would've been a better final boss, considering the influence the Nathrezim have had over so much of Warcraft. (I wonder if that's where they are going with him, he and Azshara have Final Final Boss material written all over them)

[Alanar]

It would be cool if the starting zone for Ethereals was similar to Goblins where they need to get the hell out of the planet, but they use cool ecodomes as the zones before they head out.

Yea exactly like that!

Maybe they can create another dome on Azeroth just because it looks cool. I like their whole kit and architecture.

[Izalla]

There you go again, "That ship has sailed."

You don't know that. A few pieces of datamining don't indicate everything we know.

I think all of this would be so much easier for you if you stopped believing in absolutes for everything. You are always certain you have the correct idea for what the expansion is without ever even considering the nuance and layers that the stories will be told in. If you just remove the tunnel vision you can have productive discussions here.

I'm not sitting here screaming at you that we're going to k'aresh and having this grand void crusade, but to immediately write it off because you don't want it is reductive and obnoxious to discussion.

It's not worth replying to him anymore. We all know he is wrong to insist things like "we've already datamined 2 things and so we know what the entire expansion will be about", but he will never admit it, so it's really just not worth it to engage.

[Nightshade711]

I am tired of the discourse over the word Cosmic. TBC was literally about demon aliens from green mars, and it gets a pass. Legion gave them spaceships and it is beloved. Shadowlands was hated.

Why? Because Shadowlands was about the SHADOWLANDS/FIRST ONES and not about Azeroth (the World of Warcraft) or people from it. TBC used the space setting as a cool setting for stories about Warcraft characters and races, so it worked better. Meanwhile Shadowlands is mostly about OC characters (Jailer, Denathrius, Primus, First ONes) and settings even if they tried to tie it to Azeroth through ambiguous ties and aesthetics.

But Shadowlands was too disconnected and huffing its own farts. That's why it flopped with players. They forgot about Azeroth.

Please stop with the Cosmic Bad shit, you can do a good expansion in space/with magic, it just can't be done like Shadowlands. Hell, a good chunk of TBC was about Elves in a magic forest, and it was needed to balance the space stuff.

This actually summarizes my thoughts pretty well.
Cosmic stuff is inevitable, but it can definitely be done significantly better than SL because they have done it better in Legion for example.

[Xilurm]

Not really. Vanessa could have been that, but she decided to be a good girl instead. Sylvanas could have been many things, but instead ended up being stupid. Magatha is a diabolical woman, but definitely not seductive.
Xal'atath could be the closest to what you want.

Sylvanas wouldn't fit imo. She was a righteous character in WC3 and then became angry in TFT. Vanessa could've been that but it would also be kinda weird because she was only 16 in Cata iirc? I should really make a human and do the heritage quests btw, since I've heard she's a part of them. Pretty nice.

Xal'atath is very interesting, but she could just be an avatar of an Old God.

[Thegenesis]

11.0

Earthbreakers

Explore cavern zones under new old-world zones.

Expansion starts in Silithus and you enter first zone near existing damaged earth.

Strongholds (not d4). Endgame shared pve area. 3 available on launch. Alternative to m+ but no time. 5 players attack stronghold mobs and get loot and currency the stronghold commander. Take place in castles in old world (think a bigger Stonewatch) and phasing system for up to 3 parties together. Puzzles and a trapdoor in one.

No new race but class modifications are coming that involve a rebuilt glyph system.

Jump function on ground mounts different

Enjoy

[Izalla]

Yea exactly like that!

Maybe they can create another dome on Azeroth just because it looks cool. I like their whole kit and architecture.

I bet if the draenei were added later in the game their starting experience would have played out like this too and would have started earlier. Like on the Exodar before it crashes, or on Outland just before boarding the Exodar.

[Nightshade711]

Except going to Argus is directly related to the Burning Legion invasion. Ka’resh has nothing to do with a lost continent west of Kalimdor.

“Going to Argus has nothing to do with an Azshara expansion” -Teriz after the “eye of azshara” trademark is registered.

We don’t know WHY we’re going to a lost continent west of Kalimdor.
It must be pretty bad for us to want to sail/fly through storms that nobody except Nightsquall was able to do and return.

A void invasion COULD be that driving force along with whatever macguffin blizzard has planned for that area.
And by your logic, going to K’aresh would make as much sense in a void invasion expansion as going to Argus in a legion expansion.

[Ersula]

"Imagine if it was more like TBC, with a big Azeroth story going on and us going back to Northrend at the end to fuck up Zovaal."

Why would Zovaal want to go back to Northrend?

That sounds like the actual Shadowlands pitch. Shadowlands was these big floating continents like Outland. And we did go back to Northrend to fuck up Zovaal, kind of: We see Zovaal needed the Forge of Souls for his big plan to work in the final raid.

[Gloriandus]

Part of me thinks before 11.0 happens, Iridikron might succeed in his plan to kill the Titans. And that's what the expansion will be based on: A world without the titan's influence. And Avaloren is a place where they ditched the Titans & their ideas early on. Creating anti-titan-dwarves seems like their plan to ease us into the premise. That's pretty "radical" & "unfamiliar" when it comes to the motifs of Warcraft.

I like this; it's the "dark"/"shocking" type of story event we need in the game, which makes me think they wouldn't go all the way with it if they did go in that direction. They'd throw in some "titans are defeated but they come to their senses finally" stuff we've always gotten in WoW.

[huth]

Part of me thinks before 11.0 happens, Iridikron might succeed in his plan to kill the Titans. And that's what the expansion will be based on: A world without the titan's influence. And Avaloren is a place where they ditched the Titans & their ideas early on. Creating anti-titan-dwarves seems like their plan to ease us into the premise. That's pretty "radical" & "unfamiliar" when it comes to the motifs of Warcraft.

Except they haven't done that. There's no indication that the Algar dwarves are anti-titan except in the headcanon of people who can't read.

[Alanar]

Malorne doesn’t really matter it’s Cenarius and all the dryads who do and there Elune/wild gods lineage.

And then the question would be, where did cenarius got hes form from. I guess thats were it was going.

[ImTheMizAwesome]

I want strong faction presence in next expansion on "simple" looking lands(hopefully with open spaces), not just very few big lore figures but all races under these factions being there in some capacity and showing their factions colors.

I also hope that we won't be going just as "explorers" party again, like we did go to dragon isles, usually with some annoying npcs screaming to our ears.

[Xilurm]

And then the question would be, where did cenarius got hes form from. I guess thats were it was going.

From whatever union Malorne and Elune had, whether physical or metaphorical or whatever.

[Alanar]

11.0

Earthbreakers

Explore cavern zones under new old-world zones.

Expansion starts in Silithus and you enter first zone near existing damaged earth.

Strongholds (not d4). Endgame shared pve area. 3 available on launch. Alternative to m+ but no time. 5 players attack stronghold mobs and get loot and currency the stronghold commander. Take place in castles in old world (think a bigger Stonewatch) and phasing system for up to 3 parties together. Puzzles and a trapdoor in one.

No new race but class modifications are coming that involve a rebuilt glyph system.

Jump function on ground mounts different

Enjoy

Okey thanks for sharing! Sounds shit enough to be real.

[Cheezits]

11.0

Earthbreakers

Explore cavern zones under new old-world zones.

Expansion starts in Silithus and you enter first zone near existing damaged earth.

Strongholds (not d4). Endgame shared pve area. 3 available on launch. Alternative to m+ but no time. 5 players attack stronghold mobs and get loot and currency the stronghold commander. Take place in castles in old world (think a bigger Stonewatch) and phasing system for up to 3 parties together. Puzzles and a trapdoor in one.

No new race but class modifications are coming that involve a rebuilt glyph system.

Jump function on ground mounts different

Enjoy

I like this, sounds cool. Also sounds like we're getting a revamp so nice.

[Wangming]

Sounds like a very bleak setting. And has the exact issue I point to for setting like these.
If you have to start the explanation of the setting with "But don't worry, [core defining feature of setting] isnt an issue, because that's only some areas". I immediately check out.
Don't go into full underground if you have to justfy it by saying it won't look like a cave at all. Don't go to Argus if you have to justify how some areas are not actually destroyed by the Legion. Don't go to the Shadowlands if you have to explain how it looks nothing like what we have been led to believe, and indeed has several perfectly nice zones as well as the awful and miserable ones.

For ideas like those you go there in a patch or two. You take all the best ideas and use them so that in the end you have a cohesive area that fully feels like what you would expect. Argus to me feels far more like what I would have expected it to be, simply because they could really go all in on showing it as a fel-blasted hellscape with life barely clinging on. Eredath floating in orbit was definitely a bit different, but also wouldnt have been enough to justify a full expansion. Just like how Bastion didnt justify spending all expansion in the Shadowlands.

No, I actually want all of it to be bleak and scary. Maybe it's Diablo's Influence creeping im, but dark zones like Duskwood, Drustvar or Revendredt are always amazing. I want more dark shit. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it will please those who actually want that. Which is miles better than little bit of everything all of the time, that pleases absolutely bugger all.

[Ersula]

Except they haven't done that. There's no indication that the Algar dwarves are anti-titan except in the headcanon of people who can't read.

Considering how they're seeding ideas for 11.0 into these random logs. Sure, there's no connection between Avaloren & Khaz Algar in universe, but there is a connection to in how they're being introduced to the audience. There's a decent chance we get Khaz Algar & its part of entirely new contenent & they throw in some detail like "Before they scoured the influence of the Titans from their land, it was called Avaloren"

[Alanar]

From whatever union Malorne and Elune had, whether physical or metaphorical or whatever.

Its a fantasy game, but that relationship is kinda weird still.