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

[Xilurm]

don't tell me what to do. I shall mention SA everytime someone glorifies old blizz XD pls get back to the topic we are talking about tempest or voidstorm some shit

So we ain't allowed to like the content they provided because some shitty people worked on it behind the scenes?

[Nebron]

I had a full expansion idea earlier in this thread that worked like this. Have a 4-5 zone area with the other half of the continent somehow sealed. Second expac you explore the other half but you still have the entire area available and perhaps you can even go back and forth during questing. You could even have two expansions share a capital and then expand and alter the capital with the second release (if the capital lies at the middle of whatever barrier is sealing the other half of the continent, it effectively will be in the middle of the continent for both expacs.

Very neat idea! Love it.
Altough I think Dragonflight is kinda boring for my taste, they still made some bold decisions on rehauling UI, talent trees, remaking flying mode. These are all small steps in adapting WoW for a new era I think. The missing part is making the world more immersive and replayable, making it more of an organic, living thing. That fits perfectly with your idea, really nice.
To a degree, I think that making the "Other Side of Azeroth" available to players and expanding the continents organically could serve as an intersection between WoW 2.0 and world revamp.

[Teriz]

What would be the idea for skyboxes in the underground zones? This seems to be tricky to pull-off I think. It needs to be implemented the way, you are barely able to recognize being underground. Otherwise, it's pretty claustrophobic, and as far as a single location, i.e. Deepholm or Zaralek, it might work, but as an overall theme, it's a risky thing from the environmental and artistic point of view.

Interesting, because I didn’t feel claustrophobic in Deepholme or Zaralek. There’s not much that can be done for people with phobias. We can’t avoid having huge spiders in the game because someone has arachnophobia. We can’t avoid aerial zones because someone has a fear of heights. We shouldn’t avoid an underground expansion because people have claustrophobia. In the end, diversity of themes should be paramount, or else the game becomes stale.

[LemonDemonGirl]

They could easily go the SW:TOR route and make a bg that's actually based on sports. Huttball was hugely fun back when it came out, and they could easily reskin the concept based on goblins vs gnomes in Gadgetzan. Basically warcrafts answer to Bloodbowl!

If the next expac IS water/ocean themed, then then need to add in WoW's version of Blitzball lol

[KyleEverett]

Bobby Kotick leaves ABK on January First!

https://x.com/jasonschreier/status/1...jgkgWvRvHdAuNA

[Raetary]

Bobby Kotick leaves ABK on January First!

https://x.com/jasonschreier/status/1...jgkgWvRvHdAuNA

Good riddance.

[micwini]

Bobby Kotick leaves ABK on January First!

https://x.com/jasonschreier/status/1...jgkgWvRvHdAuNA

Without its masters command, the restless shareholders will be an even greater thread to this world. Control must be maintained.
There must always be..... *lightning*.... a CEO.

[Nymrohd]

Very neat idea! Love it.
Altough I think Dragonflight is kinda boring for my taste, they still made some bold decisions on rehauling UI, talent trees, remaking flying mode. These are all small steps in adapting WoW for a new era I think. The missing part is making the world more immersive and replayable, making it more of an organic, living thing. That fits perfectly with your idea, really nice.
To a degree, I think that making the "Other Side of Azeroth" available to players and expanding the continents organically could serve as an intersection between WoW 2.0 and world revamp.

My idea was that the locals found a way to contain the Void in half the continent using Titan tech after expelling the titans so the first xpac would be exploring Avaloren and meeting the local cultures and helping resolve local issues as well as how the rest of the world would interact with them and the second xpac would be void focused, fully using the NPC roster the first one established with us having a chance to explore the past of those cultures as found in the ruins of their land. Odyn, Xal'atath and Azshara would be driving the story.

[Santandame]

I think Azshara is wasted as a typical villain. She could fill the role of a character that is clearly a villain but is willing to work with us as and when she needs to.

I’d love to have her present for several expansions where we begrudgingly work with each other before the inevitable betrayal. I don’t think that’s a villain that’s been explored yet in WoW?

[Nymrohd]

I think Azshara is wasted as a typical villain. She could feel the role of a character that is clearly a villain but is willing to work with us as and when she needs to.

I’d love to have her present for several expansions where we begrudgingly work with each other before the next inevitable betrayal. I don’t think that’s a villain that’s been explored yet in WoW?

Hard to find my post about that expac concept but I think I had Azshara help us find the xpac's McGuffin and guide us through the final raid so we'd save the world together . . . and then after the fight she steals the McGuffin and leads us to the next xpac. So we wouldn't be fighting her, we'd be working for her and she would ofc stab us in the back

[Nebron]

Interesting, because I didn’t feel claustrophobic in Deepholme or Zaralek. There’s not much that can be done for people with phobias. We can’t avoid having huge spiders in the game because someone has arachnophobia. We can’t avoid aerial zones because someone has a fear of heights. We shouldn’t avoid an underground expansion because people have claustrophobia. In the end, diversity of themes should be paramount, or else the game becomes stale.

Oh, didn't mean people with claustrophobia specifically, just the visual feeling of somewhat closed, limited space, at least that's my experience. It doesn't matter how far to the sky you can fly with dragonriding, I personally feel more "open" whenever I have an illusion of a unreachable sky above my head
It's just difficult for me to grasp how much diversity one can provide with the underground theme. It's pretty difficult to explain a lushy green forests without a sun. Skyboxes are a very important factor to sell the vibe of a particular zone - green skybox: Legion; morning, sunny sky - a chill, Nagrand-like area; stormy weather - dangerous and unpleasent, etc. Obviously it doesn't have to be stalactites in every zone possible, but it feels like there's only so much you can do.
Well, in the end, you can justify greenery with titan machines / close to Azeroth soul or stuff like that I guess?

[Randris]

Fam, we part of Xbox now. I love it! Imagine what Blizzard could do with the unlimited resources at their disposal.

Interesting they featured Starcraft several times in that trailer. I don't want to read too much into it but maybe there's a sliver of hope we could get something new in the Starcraft universe down the road....?

[Nymrohd]

Well, in the end, you can justify greenery with titan machines / close to Azeroth soul or stuff like that I guess?

Usually when the Hollow World concept is done in fantasy it has massive vibrant areas with extinct animals and things like that near the Inner Sun of the world.

[Santandame]

Hard to find my post about that expac concept but I think I had Azshara help us find the xpac's McGuffin and guide us through the final raid so we'd save the world together . . . and then after the fight she steals the McGuffin and leads us to the next xpac. So we wouldn't be fighting her, we'd be working for her and she would ofc stab us in the back

Yeah I’d love something like that. Her filling the Magni/Bolvar/Khadgar role for the expansion. Imagine her spearheading the expansions main campaign storyline. It would feel so refreshing to have a villain in that spot.

[Worldshaper]

Bethesda had the same thing and made Starfield lmao.

Starfield is considered by most to be a very, very good game. It sits in a genre of its own, and if Bethesda games aren't your style then it might not fit your tastes. But to imply that it's a bad game, or a commercial failure, is just silly.

Even if Starfield was a flop, then it would also have been worth remembering that the Bethesda acquisition happened some time into its development. The core structure was already set in place at that point.

What I'm talking about here is Xbox's ability to bring back dead franchises, because they've got money to spend and want to make Game Pass as appealing as it can be, to as many people as possible. There's room for Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft, and Warcraft strategy games. But they'll likely also want to pump money into whatever else Blizzard might be up to, if it builds their brand. For example films and TV shows.

[Gloriandus]

Maybe they could do something like the Genesis device in The Wrath of Khan; the Titans used a form of the reorginiation device to create a "perfect" world beneath the surface/inside Azeroth, aka a "Hollow Earth", as "practice" for the surface? Or maybe just for themselves, and that's what they've been hiding all along? AFAIK, reorigination doesn't destroy the terrain, just the lifeforms.

If Danuser is still fully in charge of the story, considering the esoteric subjects Dragonflight has hinted at which he clearly leans towards, a hollow earth would fit right in.

[Nymrohd]

Yeah I’d love something like that. Her filling the Magni/Bolvar/Khadgar role for the expansion. Imagine her spearheading the expansions main campaign storyline. It would feel so refreshing to have a villain in that spot.

She has an excellent Voice Actor so I'd love to have her do that. Honestly Bolvar was good and so underutilized.

Anything but Magni.

[lanerios]

I really hope we don't get underground zones. I really don't understand the obsession some people seem to have with them. "Oh you liked being inside caves and such? Here, you'll be stuck in them for a whole expansion!"

In Cata, and with Zaralek it's ok because there is enough of a difference between the zones. You can go to coastal areas, you can go to snow areas, you can go underground. With a whole Deepholme style expansion? "Here are caves, and look! some more caves. What's around the corner you ask? CAVES!"

[Harbour]

https://newsroom.activisionblizzard....next-adventure

Interesting how in this video devoted to merge with Microsoft they only show Warlord of Draenor footage and then Gromm mostly as well. May mean nothing but its interesting how they chose not WotlK (most popular overall), or Legion (acknowledged last years) or DF (current expansion), but WoD to use footage from.

[lanerios]

Starfield is considered by most to be a very, very good game. It sits in a genre of its own, and if Bethesda games aren't your style then it might not fit your tastes. But to imply that it's a bad game, or a commercial failure, is just silly.

Even if Starfield was a flop, then it would also have been worth remembering that the Bethesda acquisition happened some time into its development. The core structure was already set in place at that point.

What I'm talking about here is Xbox's ability to bring back dead franchises, because they've got money to spend and want to make Game Pass as appealing as it can be, to as many people as possible. There's room for Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft, and Warcraft strategy games. But they'll likely also want to pump money into whatever else Blizzard might be up to, if it builds their brand. For example films and TV shows.

It's considered good by Bethesda fans.. you know, the same people who:

Bash EA/Ubisoft/Blizzard for fixing broken games
Praise Bethesda for releasing broken games because the fans will fix it

And then keep praising Bethesda for keeping the game broken until fans fix it.

Sorry, I hope you don't mind I will not take these people seriously.