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

[Merryck]

This next expansion might actually be a proper sequel to Dragonflight

[milkmustache]

Hmm odd. Didn't remember seeing any lore about that, didn't know.

IIRC there wasn't any. He just summoned the elements during the opening Shadowlands questchain without any real explaination.

[micwini]

Hmm odd. Didn't remember seeing any lore about that, didn't know.

Not sure if it was specifically SL, but he was summoning bridges of earth during the sylvanas fight, so he had powers at that point.

[Nize]

Hmm odd. Didn't remember seeing any lore about that, didn't know.

It wasn't entirely direct. It was more he reconciled a bit with himself thanks to his mother and, in Sanctum, he started blasting off with shaman spells and abilities.

[Teriz]

This next expansion might actually be a proper sequel to Dragonflight

It would make sense, because Legion was a direct sequel to WoD (completing the TBC storyline) and Shadowlands was a direct sequel to BFA (completing the WotLK storyline).

Supposedly, Dragonflight and its sequel will complete the Cataclysm storyline. Thus far, Dragonflight has redeemed/restored the black dragonflight and is restoring the powers of the aspects, so we're right on track.

[Ferlion]

This next expansion might actually be a proper sequel to Dragonflight

It very well might be. Especially since they said they wanted to do something different with the way they handled expansion stories way back on release

[Worldshaper]

I believe the heroic mount being called a Stormrider pretty much seals the deal. Whether it's a gryphon or an elemental, it falls within the elemental theme. There's also that story about the green dragon that ventured west of Kalimdor to a land surrounded by storms, and Blizzard moving Kalimdor further east to make space for something west of it on the DF map....

Oh, I 100% agree with that.

I'm just saying that we need to be honest with ourselves when it comes to which clues are solid, and which ones are maybes. They're all part of a whole, and an expansion is definitely starting to materialise in front of us.

But there's a chance, for example, that Thrall + Khaz Algar + Storm Rider could entail something wholly unexpected. Thrall might be on a quest to gain his powers back, and him going against Queen Azshara, vulnerable and humble, might be what pushes the elements to favour him. Meanwhile, Khaz Algar could end up being the endgame zone in 11.3, some small and stormy island next to Kalimdor or whatever.

I'm being silly, but you catch my drift.

This next expansion might actually be a proper sequel to Dragonflight

That's never been a question.

Dragonflight is the spiritual sequel to Cataclysm, and 11.0 is the direct sequel to Dragonflight. It's the story of how the Dragon Aspects and Thrall fight with/against the Elements to stop the major agents of the Void from ushering in the Hour of Twilight: Queen Azshara, Deathwing, Iridikron, Xal'atath, the Old Gods, etc.

[ro9ue]

It would make sense, because Legion was a direct sequel to WoD (completing the TBC storyline) and Shadowlands was a direct sequel to BFA (completing the WotLK storyline).

Supposedly, Dragonflight and its sequel will complete the Cataclysm storyline. Thus far, Dragonflight has redeemed/restored the black dragonflight and is restoring the powers of the aspects, so we're right on track.

TBC - WoD/Legion
Wrath - BFA/SL
Cata - DF/(Stormbreaker) or something

MoP - is this the void arc?

[matijwow]

I was looking at Scaleface's leaked picture set and thought it looked way too intensely purple to realistically be a zone in WoW. Like it had an insane amount of purple glare. I tried shifting the hue in GIMP and thought the result looked far more realistic for something in WoW. Even if it were real I'd have no idea where it's supposed to be.

[Worldshaper]

Dang, it looks like MrGM and perhaps some other content creators got access to some top people within the Warcraft franchise today.

I wonder if he's getting to be involved in some type of reel for BlizzCon about content creation and the passion for the game, or if it's something to do with interviewing them about the future of Warcraft as a whole?

Seems likely that they'd want to drop a few articles and videos about that when BlizzCon happens.

Could of course be something more specific as well, like 11.0 news or just more Rumble content.

[ro9ue]

I was looking at Scaleface's leaked picture set and thought it looked way too intensely purple to realistically be a zone in WoW. Like it had an insane amount of purple glare. I tried shifting the hue in GIMP and thought the result looked far more realistic for something in WoW. Even if it were real I'd have no idea where it's supposed to be.

They look like AI images to me. Even at that size you can see the wonkiness.

[Paula Deen]

I was looking at Scaleface's leaked picture set and thought it looked way too intensely purple to realistically be a zone in WoW. Like it had an insane amount of purple glare. I tried shifting the hue in GIMP and thought the result looked far more realistic for something in WoW. Even if it were real I'd have no idea where it's supposed to be.

Just to confirm. Are you talking about the ones with the old god looking things and the subtitles?

That isn't Scaleface. If you are not talking about those please elaborate because I may have missed something.

[Dismayxz]

I was looking at Scaleface's leaked picture set and thought it looked way too intensely purple to realistically be a zone in WoW. Like it had an insane amount of purple glare. I tried shifting the hue in GIMP and thought the result looked far more realistic for something in WoW. Even if it were real I'd have no idea where it's supposed to be.

A couple of them look exactly like ingame stuff, especially when you focus on the Details. Still all very likely to just be AI, especially because most of the pictures lack these details. And on the ones that have them, it's probably just the generation getting things right in a limited fashion.

But the idea seemed to be Twisting Nether/Remnants of Nathreza/K'aresh maybe? Something Twisting Nether-ish. Since there a whole lot more than purple going on.

[huth]

To suggest that Thrall isn't there for a specific reason is simply incorrect.

Wrong. To assume that is the only possible reason he could be there is. Especially since Blizzard broke with many long-held precedents. Precedent is not a meaningful argument at this point.

[Teriz]

Oh, I 100% agree with that.

I'm just saying that we need to be honest with ourselves when it comes to which clues are solid, and which ones are maybes. They're all part of a whole, and an expansion is definitely starting to materialise in front of us.

But there's a chance, for example, that Thrall + Khaz Algar + Storm Rider could entail something wholly unexpected. Thrall might be on a quest to gain his powers back, and him going against Queen Azshara, vulnerable and humble, might be what pushes the elements to favour him. Meanwhile, Khaz Algar could end up being the endgame zone in 11.3, some small and stormy island next to Kalimdor or whatever.

I'm being silly, but you catch my drift.

I think one thing to consider is that our main antagonists are elemental dragons, and we already have one of them screwing around with an elemental plane (The Firelands). I wonder if Iridikron's goal is to destroy all of the elemental planes and unleash the elements on Azeroth. After all, the elemental planes are titan prisons.

[huth]

Just to confirm. Are you talking about the ones with the old god looking things and the subtitles?

That isn't Scaleface. If you are not talking about those please elaborate because I may have missed something.

Nah, it's about the 80s cyberpunk neon images from a week or so ago. They are rather weird.

[matijwow]

Just to confirm. Are you talking about the ones with the old god looking things and the subtitles?

That isn't Scaleface. If you are not talking about those please elaborate because I may have missed something.

The ant-sized art panel on the wowexdev twitter.

- - - Updated - - -

I think destroying the planes makes sense story wise. The way the post-Legion crew has interpreted the cosmology chart makes it seem like all the different elements/forces were separated into different dimensions and the walls between them can be broken (see the Shadowlands opening cinematic and final raid).

[Nerdslime]

It's probably the eternal copium filling the room with fumes but... As much as I have held out hope for a revamp every year since Legion ended, and as much as Id love the symbolic timing with the anniversaries and such, if 11.0 really is a direct sequel and wraps the Cataclysm trilogy as discussed then perhaps 12.0 is the right timing for an all-new take on the world. That would be a point in the franchise where we've cleaned up all the identifiable story branches (assuming we consider Pandaria sort of a one-off?).

[Teriz]

I think destroying the planes makes sense story wise. The way the post-Legion crew has interpreted the cosmology chart makes it seem like all the different elements/forces were separated into different dimensions and the walls between them can be broken (see the Shadowlands opening cinematic and final raid).

Yeah, it also goes along with the Primalists being element-centered, and wanting to unmake the titan's/keeper's work on Azeroth.

[Santandame]

Seriously? Scaleface leak last year was so detailed it spoiled whole fun of this thread. Now we have enough info to speculate, but still reveal can be surprise.

Agreed. The thread in the lead up to the review was just full of people coping and trying to tell themselves it wasn’t real.

Pre BfA leak season will always be my favourite.