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

[draugril]

I think the megadungeon will be the big tower in Azure span (Vakthros?). Not sure how one of them would fit there, but who knows.

My money is a trek through time via that otherwise overdesigned Bronze Dragonflight citadel.

[huth]

Could be chromatus in there, could also be a 5th incarnate. Who knows.

Remember, Decatriarch Wratheye simply runs off at 10% in Brackenhide. So that situation isn't actually dealt with yet.

[Houle]

What ive always found interesting about Y'Shaarj is how...fundamentally different he looks compared to the others.

No matter if what weve seen is actually the entirety of him, or just one of seven heads (the former would suck, considering the character is all about the seven heads theme), he has much more humanoid features than the tentacled blobs of flesh that the other old ogds are.

And then theres the fact that hes literally glowing fel green. Pretty weird for a void creature.

Would be interesting if Y'Shaarj somehow consumed fel energy, which is why he looks much more defined (and demonic) than his brethren, and why he was so much more powerful than the rest of them.

[GabrielKnight]

Doing the Chromie quests on an alt, and a rescued Timewalker said that. A possible hint of Light vs Void stuff?

Also, it's sad that the best part of the entire expansion for me was the Murloc future. It actually felt like playing Warcraft for a moment.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

What ive always found interesting about Y'Shaarj is how...fundamentally different he looks compared to the others.

No matter if what weve seen is actually the entirety of him, or just one of seven heads (the former would suck, considering the character is all about the seven heads theme), he has much more humanoid features than the tentacled blobs of flesh that the other old ogds are.

And then theres the fact that hes literally glowing fel green. Pretty weird for a void creature.

Would be interesting if Y'Shaarj somehow consumed fel energy, which is why he looks much more defined (and demonic) than his brethren, and why he was so much more powerful than the rest of them.

On a Watsonian level, I'd figure it's just on account of Y'Shaarj's relative power to the others that he looks so comparatively well-defined and less like a shapeless blob of flesh. Specifically, we can probably assume that the Old Gods developed in power the further they dug into Azeroth's World-Soul, so that could mean Y'Shaarj's appearance is so distinct because it was taking on humanoid elements from its proximity to the also-humanoid World-Soul. It could also be on account of his dominion over emotion leading to him striking a more anthropoform figure than those of his counterparts. I'd guess the Doylist reason for it is just that the developers wanted to give him a unique color scheme and evocative design, and that was found to look best. It especially makes sense on account of its relative cohesion with the color scheme and designs of the Mantid and the like.

[Varodoc]

Why are people here ignoring the fact that the Old Gods are immense, continent-sized beings? It doesn't mean anything if Y'Shaarj's main body only has one head, because he could still have other 6 heads spread throughout the land, along with the tentacles of his massive body.

Y'Shaarj was known as the "God of Seven Heads", "The Seven-headed One", "The Beast of Seven Heads", and this is a fact. It is also obvious that each head of Y'Shaarj spawned one of the prime Sha (7 heads of Y'Shaarj = 7 prime Sha). This is actually just a rehash of Diablo plot, where the 7 great evils were born from the remains of the seven-headed dragon Tathamet, the original evil.

So the fact that Y'Shaarj is depicted only with one head is irrelevant, that is likely just his main body. Each Old God has a main part of their body, but in reality they are continent-sized beings. Y'Shaarj was the most powerful Old God, so he would have been even bigger than the others, and so his other 6 heads could have been spread throughout the land.

What is an objective fact is that Y'Shaarj is remembered as a Seven-headed being, and his death spawned 7 Prime sha.

Furthermore, the idea that Hearthstone can be ignored is obviously laughable, when N'Zoth's main appearance and Canon form came from Hearthstone. I don't doubt that the Y'Shaarj's appearance in Hearthstone is Canonical, but it doesn't mean that he couldn't have other 6 heads spread across his CONTINENT-SIZED body.

[Jekyll]

Remember, Decatriarch Wratheye simply runs off at 10% in Brackenhide. So that situation isn't actually dealt with yet.

Maybe she will show up when we fight in the Emerald Dream in patch 10.2.0?

[Nathanyel]

Also some parts [of FFXIV], like the story and the way it is delivered certainly is better.

Is it, though? The way the WoL is all-important and loved by all protagonists is much more cringe than BfA's constant "Champion!", and the ingame-graphic cutscenes, despite getting heavy mileage, haven't evolved from "characters standing around, talking, sometimes awkwardly shuffling on the spot to turn a different direction, then a pair of running boots or other body part hint of a 'surprise' appearance of a fan-favorite character, followed by the talking people turning and gasping, one by one"

Tbh WoW's current cinematics, even those rendered in real-time, feel much more dynamic.

[Super Dickmann]

I viscerally dislike Y'shaarj's HS design. Always have, always will and Val's version depicts the best fanart to have come out from Mists. Whoever decided to turn a god of seven heads into a god of one head and take one of the most evocative and recognizable color schemes - the black and white of the sha so as to produce a mid-tier naga raid boss with a mustache and inexplicably fel colors should be sent to the unemployment office before he commits any more design crimes.

[Houle]

Why are people here ignoring the fact that the Old Gods are immense, continent-sized beings? It doesn't mean anything if Y'Shaarj's main body only has one head, because he could still have other 6 heads spread throughout the land, along with the tentacles of his massive body.

Y'Shaarj was known as the "God of Seven Heads", "The Seven-headed One", "The Beast of Seven Heads", and this is a fact. It is also obvious that each head of Y'Shaarj spawned one of the prime Sha (7 heads of Y'Shaarj = 7 prime Sha). This is actually just a rehash of Diablo plot, where the 7 great evils were born from the remains of the seven-headed dragon Tathamet, the original evil.

So the fact that Y'Shaarj is depicted only with one head is irrelevant, that is likely just his main body. Each Old God has a main part of their body, but in reality they are continent-sized beings. Y'Shaarj was the most powerful Old God, so he would have been even bigger than the others, and so his other 6 heads could have been spread throughout the land.

What is an objective fact is that Y'Shaarj is remembered as a Seven-headed being, and his death spawned 7 Prime sha.

Furthermore, the idea that Hearthstone can be ignored is obviously laughable, when N'Zoth's main appearance and Canon form came from Hearthstone. I don't doubt that the Y'Shaarj's appearance in Hearthstone is Canonical, but it doesn't mean that he couldn't have other 6 heads spread across his CONTINENT-SIZED body.

Thats literally what everybody here was saying and theorizing about. Good job.

On a Watsonian level, I'd figure it's just on account of Y'Shaarj's relative power to the others that he looks so comparatively well-defined and less like a shapeless blob of flesh. Specifically, we can probably assume that the Old Gods developed in power the further they dug into Azeroth's World-Soul, so that could mean Y'Shaarj's appearance is so distinct because it was taking on humanoid elements from its proximity to the also-humanoid World-Soul. It could also be on account of his dominion over emotion leading to him striking a more anthropoform figure than those of his counterparts. I'd guess the Doylist reason for it is just that the developers wanted to give him a unique color scheme and evocative design, and that was found to look best. It especially makes sense on account of its relative cohesion with the color scheme and designs of the Mantid and the like.

Yeah thats probably it, but its still a very quesitonable design, when fan artists managed to put out designs that still invoked the same ideas, but at the same time much more coherent with his background and race.
Crickets art back from MoP for example, he looks like a member of the old god race and the ancestor of the Sha, but at the same time different enough to feel more special compared to the others.
And he also doesnt have the DEFINING color of an entirely different form of magic. The green is just a fuckup. The Sha were mostly black/white, with some exceptions going into blue/purple.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

How? He was made and imprisoned when Dragon Isles were inaccessible.

IMO it would be an interesting twist if Vaktros served as a bypass of Blue Dragonflight prisons, and we only learn what we're doing inside when it's too late.

[Luck4]

Could be chromatus in there, could also be a 5th incarnate. Who knows.

I think will be a massive letdown if neither Chromatus, Murozond, nor Galakrond shows up in Dragonflight.

I'm not against the Incarnates, I think they're way better than Jailer/Sylvanas lore back in Shadowlands, but still, I would like to see some unfinished threads re-appearing or Galakrong ingame.

I'm expecting at least one of those to show up at end of the expansion.

[Lady Atia]

I think will be a massive letdown if neither Chromatus, Murozond, nor Galakrond shows up in Dragonflight.

I'm not against the Incarnates, I think they're way better than Jailer/Sylvanas lore back in Shadowlands, but still, I would like to see some unfinished threads re-appearing or Galakrong ingame.

I'm expecting at least one of those to show up at end of the expansion.

People who haven't read that (quite bad) novel don't know what a Chromatus is, and it was never mentioned ingame. Chances to see him popping up in Dragonflight are basically zero. I could see Galakrond though, as he has (new, red tinted) artwork in the collectors edition artbook.

[Varodoc]

I viscerally dislike Y'shaarj's HS design. Always have, always will and Val's version depicts the best fanart to have come out from Mists. Whoever decided to turn a god of seven heads into a god of one head and take one of the most evocative and recognizable color schemes - the black and white of the sha so as to produce a mid-tier naga raid boss with a mustache and inexplicably fel colors should be sent to the unemployment office before he commits any more design crimes.

The HS design is inspired by an older artwork of Y'Shaarj:




What you and others here ignored is that Y'Shaarj was continental-sized, so even if he is depicted with only one head, he could still have 6 others spread across his continent-sized body.

Beyond that, this artwork shows a very unique design, because he resembles the Pandaria Cloud Serpents. This is a genius nod to Y'Shaarj's connection to Pandaria, the ancient God who cursed that land with his dying breath, and became a taint upon it. It might also indicate some kind of connection between Y'Shaarj and the Cloud Serpents themselves:




Regardless, it is clear that a lot of thought was put into designing Y'Shaarj, as with all other Old Gods.

I also don't know why you and others here are making such a big deal out of Y'Shaarj having green colours in his design... since when did the Legion have a monopoly on the green colour lol? Yogg-Saron also had shades of green.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

And he also doesnt have the DEFINING color of an entirely different form of magic. The green is just a fuckup. The Sha were mostly black/white, with some exceptions going into blue/purple.

the black and white of the sha so as to produce a mid-tier naga raid boss with a mustache and inexplicably fel colors should be sent to the unemployment office before he commits any more design crimes.

Re: the color scheme, that's quite an excellent point. It does feel a tad strange how much his design deviates from the trademark color scheme of his most relevant association. There was some variety, though—I'm personally of the mind that each of the heads ought to have correlated to a certain Sha Prime—one would have been red and purple (i.e. corresponding to the Sha of Fear) and another blue and purple (i.e. corresponding to the Sha of Pride), etc. If Y'Shaarj must have a single color scheme, I would actually argue that blue-and-purple (or perhaps blue-and-gold) strikes the strongest color contrast with the other Old Gods, and also lines up generally with the color scheme of the Heart, with black-and-white being more associated with Y'Shaarj in a state of dormancy or acting in a diminished capacity, as opposed to him in a state of "awakening" (i.e. rejuvenated by Garrosh).

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I also don't know why you and others here are making such a big deal out of Y'Shaarj having green colours in his design... since when did the Legion have a monopoly on the green colour lol? Yogg-Saron also had shades of green.

This is a video game. A visual medium. If a setting element is in frame, it’s because the creators want it there. WoW's factions and schools of magic are given particular aesthetics and color codes to denote their magical nature and affiliation. In WoW, black and neon green means Fel magic. If the creators did not want to suggest a connection to fel magic, then they should not have coded him as such.

[Hitei]

In WoW, black and neon green means Fel magic. If the creators did not want to suggest a connection to fel magic, then they should not have coded him as such.

Not really. You're inventing rules where there aren't any.

[Houle]

The HS design is inspired by an older artwork of Y'Shaarj:

Regardless, it is clear that a lot of thought was put into designing Y'Shaarj, as with all other Old Gods.

I also don't know why you and others here are making such a big deal out of Y'Shaarj having green colours in his design... since when did the Legion have a monopoly on the green colour lol? Yogg-Saron also had shades of green.

That "older artwork" is literally also from HS.

And people are questioning it because it doesnt fit with anything weve ever seen of Y'Shaarjs power. As was already said, neither the Sha nor his heart even had the slightest hint of green. It was black/white/purple/blue. So the fact that they randomly chose to give him fel green is either a very poor design choice, or has a specific reason. Probably the former, altho the latter would be neat.

And Yogg isnt even comparable lol. Yogg has teal colours bc when Yogg was created, the old gods werent void creatures, bc the "Void" as a faction didnt exist at all. Back in TBC/WOTLK, the Void was merely used as another word for the Nether, for the most part. And the OGs were their own thing, with no overarching "cosmic force" behind them.

However, when this art for Y'Shaarj was made, Chronicles was already a thing, and with it cosmic forces with defining colour palettes.

Not really. You're inventing rules where there aren't any.

To be fair, the plague of undeath is green because it was created from fel in the original WC3 lore (as was necromancy as a whole), and because green is generally associated with disease in many games. And nature has a very different shade of green than fel.

[Revamp Man]

How? He was made and imprisoned when Dragon Isles were inaccessible.

The dragon's focus is elsewhere
Twilight cult is returning
He could fight on par with multiple aspects

Give me my tiamat

[Houle]

That may actually be possible, and is likely the case tbh.

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Black and Neon Green doesn't automatically mean Fel at all...

The Plague (Black and Green usages mostly), the Void (which uses Black colored magics), etc...

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The Sha have LOTS of different looks and colors to them, and Y'Shaarj's heart just means it's pumping with primal Shadow magics. His body is still purple and his powers can still be Green, cause that can also represent "Jade" esc stuff, etc. He himself has the body of a mutant Serpent.

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Why is this idea so hard for y'all to imagine?

Ffs, N'Zoth's first appearance was in Hearthstone, same with guys like the Tortillans and whatnot.

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Also, the Sha of Fear has Purple and Red...

Does that mean it's been touched by N'Zoth???

Don't answer that btw, that was rhetorical, cause of fucking course it wasn't touched by N'Zoth.

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Y'all are gonna be so fucking mad when y'all realize the Void Lords are gonna have a variety of different looks and ordeals to them...

Congrats on reiterating what most people here have already said, while completely missing the important points and arguments.

Also, why the fuck would Y'Shaarj represent jade in any way lol. You do know he himself had nothing to do with Pandaria before his heart was stashed there?

And again, same as with Yogg, the fckn Sha were designed BEFORE old gods were void creatures, and before the different cosmic forces had very much defined color palettes. Y'Shaarj was not.

And while individual Void lords will DEFINITELY look different from one another (as they should, bc imagine if all of them would just be purple clouds), there wont be one thats fel green. Feel free to save this comment for the moment we see them.