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

[Makabreska]

Personally I fully welcome a simple villain who is just a monster bent on causing destruction over the past 2 expansions of would-be 4D chess playing schemers.

Seems we might already had our fill with Raszageth. Now it's back to scheming with Iridikron (although it should not be anything even close to Jailers galactic brain plans).

BTW, Iridikron was supposed to suffer similar hunger as Galak, yet nothing was shown yet.

[Nymrohd]

In WoW, sure, but if I recall at the time Dragonsoul was already kinda meh at the time(Low resources supposedly or something around that time). Deathwing should of fought us in "mortal" form then do the Dragon thing later. Madness is better then Spine but it is...weird.

I think Spine was a decent concept (fight on Deathwing's back) just very bad gameplay (ugly mobs and 1min burst meta). Meanwhile Madness was . . . fight some random mobs with Deathwing somewhere in the background.

[Makabreska]

In WoW, sure, but if I recall at the time Dragonsoul was already kinda meh at the time(Low resources supposedly or something around that time). Deathwing should of fought us in "mortal" form then do the Dragon thing later. Madness is better then Spine but it is...weird.

At that time Blizz said they want to do quality-over-quantity raids. I could see that in Firelands, but suddenly Dragon Soul turned out to be a bunch of re-used zones and models. I personally didn't like Spine due it it's repetitiveness and barrer-roll mechanic, Madness was much more enjoyable.

[Super Dickmann]

I still have no idea in what format Galakrond will come back. I just don't see how Blizzard would make a massive raid boss work as an encounter and I don't want a repeat of Madness.

Spine and Madness were both abysmal, but I don't see this dissuading Blizzard. They would've been more tolerable if they weren't the end bosses of the end raid, but were instead either squeezed into one encounter or were preludes. N'zoth, which also wasn't a great encounter, was much better about this.

What I figure is likely that one fight, likely the very first one, will be a gimmick where we fight the proper one, and it'll likely be tuned low, akin to Tarragrue, and we then fight his growths or whatever on the ground or go stab up his heart or what have you, like @Makabreska said . A Galakrond visage'd be fanservice-y and unlikely, but I'd be up for it.

[Makabreska]

I think Spine was a decent concept (fight on Deathwing's back) just very bad gameplay (ugly mobs and 1min burst meta). Meanwhile Madness was . . . fight some random mobs with Deathwing somewhere in the background.

Well, it was simply a matter of "how would we even engage him"? Let's not forget that in first Cata tier we had gigantic Al'Akir swinging his massive sword at a tiny tank in front of him. Shit was laughable.

[Super Dickmann]

Well, it was simply a matter of "how would we even engage him"? Let's not forget that in first Cata tier we had gigantic Al'Akir swinging his massive sword at a tiny tank in front of him. Shit was laughable.

This is true, but consider that Al'akir was also shit and doing him more than once was unwise anyway. It's all in balance.

[ChairmanKaga]

I think Spine was a decent concept (fight on Deathwing's back) just very bad gameplay (ugly mobs and 1min burst meta). Meanwhile Madness was . . . fight some random mobs with Deathwing somewhere in the background.

I recall wondering during the early days of Cata, with giant Deathwing nuking zones, how we were possibly going to combat him in a raid. The end result about removing the plates harkening back to the cinematic wasn't a bad idea but it wasn't mechanically exciting either. I think current Blizzard can implement a giant monster better now.

[Nymrohd]

For me the reasonable way to fight something like Galakrond is on dragonback.

[Sondrelk]

I recall wondering during the early days of Cata, with giant Deathwing nuking zones, how we were possibly going to combat him in a raid. The end result about removing the plates harkening back to the cinematic wasn't a bad idea but it wasn't mechanically exciting either. I think current Blizzard can implement a giant monster better now.

The spine of Deathwing encounter i think suffers more from being monotonous rather than poorly thought out. Not that it is some kind of pillar of design, but the fact that each plate segment is the same is what kills the pacing in my mind.
A better version would take some lessons from Shadow of the Colossus by making each segment we remove mechanically and visually distinct.

If the developers made Spine of Deathwing now, then I would imagine the fight would have been much more interesting.

[Alanar]

This is literally it. A gigantic, all devouring force of nature. It has potential for an epic fight, unless Blizz will go safer route and wont make much use of his size.

Big doesnt perse interest me by default. Looking back at big boss fights, deathwing mainly. Isnt exactly the best experience for me.

But their tech and animations are obviously better now so maybe its able to be a grand experience. That, but mostly that its not a very interesting character so far for me, building it up should have helped. I mean actual build up in game ref etc. Especially if we are going to see him this expansion.

[Kiivar86]

For me the reasonable way to fight something like Galakrond is on dragonback.

Seems a neat idea but I know some people have difficulty with it for one reason or another (hence that ride along as a whelp function). Doing anything like that just makes me think of the Oculus or latter part of the Maylgos encounter.

Not impossible, but something to keep in mind.

As for Galakrond, I don't know of him as the ultimate boss of the expansion. A relatively mindless, giant being just doesn't seem that great a payoff. I could see him still popping up though, but maybe as like the penultimate or something in between as a sort of gatekeeper (unintentionally for him) sort of thing as the real mastermind/boss goes about their business. He just doesn't scream final boss to me. He's just...there. Unless they suddenly reveal he's got an intelligent side or maybe Iridikron manages to alter him in some way to have one.

[Nymrohd]

Seems a neat idea but I know some people have difficulty with it for one reason or another (hence that ride along as a whelp function). Doing anything like that just makes me think of the Oculus or latter part of the Maylgos encounter.

Not impossible, but something to keep in mind.

As for Galakrond, I don't know of him as the ultimate boss of the expansion. A relatively mindless, giant being just doesn't seem that great a payoff. I could see him still popping up though, but maybe as like the penultimate or something in between as a sort of gatekeeper (unintentionally for him) sort of thing as the real mastermind/boss goes about their business. He just doesn't scream final boss to me. He's just...there. Unless they suddenly reveal he's got an intelligent side or maybe Iridikron manages to alter him in some way to have one.

An extremely powerful creature can be a final boss not because he is the strongest but rather because he is the best distraction. If Iridikron could unleash Galakrond on us, he can get away with whatever he is planning and lead us to the next xpac.

[Alanar]

Personally I fully welcome a simple villain who is just a monster bent on causing destruction over the past 2 expansions of would-be 4D chess playing schemers.

That's a big contrast tho.

For a villain I just want a decent to good motivation for why he is doing x y z, which is what lacks every single time.

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An extremely powerful creature can be a final boss not because he is the strongest but rather because he is the best distraction. If Iridikron could unleash Galakrond on us, he can get away with whatever he is planning and lead us to the next xpac.

Yes, we have seen this with Gul'dan.

[Makabreska]

Seems a neat idea but I know some people have difficulty with it for one reason or another (hence that ride along as a whelp function). Doing anything like that just makes me think of the Oculus or latter part of the Maylgos encounter.

Not impossible, but something to keep in mind.

As for Galakrond, I don't know of him as the ultimate boss of the expansion. A relatively mindless, giant being just doesn't seem that great a payoff. I could see him still popping up though, but maybe as like the penultimate or something in between as a sort of gatekeeper (unintentionally for him) sort of thing as the real mastermind/boss goes about their business. He just doesn't scream final boss to me. He's just...there. Unless they suddenly reveal he's got an intelligent side or maybe Iridikron manages to alter him in some way to have one.

Oculus, and specifically Malygos dragon riding was problematic, because you were suddenly and in the middle of the fight thrown onto them and had to quickly learn new set of abilities. With current DRing people will have most of the expansion worth of experience.

And regarding Galak, he fits much better as a final boss, given his history with the dragons and the threat he posed to them. Meanwhile, Incarnates are all new faces that needed lore to be quickly crafted around them. Aberrus features probably the least significant villain as a main boss in a long, long time. I don't see an issue with Galak being the Final Boss.

[Skildar]

i would see a galakrond fight where members of the group actually play as the Aspects and you fight using dragon riding and some extra abilities

[Nymrohd]

i would see a galakrond fight where members of the group actually play as the Aspects and you fight using dragon riding and some extra abilities

That's what I'd want from the Madness fight tbh. A few members of the group could fight on top of the Aspects, force it to alternate with some type of debuff while the rest deal with adds

[Kiivar86]

An extremely powerful creature can be a final boss not because he is the strongest but rather because he is the best distraction. If Iridikron could unleash Galakrond on us, he can get away with whatever he is planning and lead us to the next xpac.

True. That would work, and I admit I do like the idea of having characters lasting more than an expansion.

[Skildar]

True. That would work, and I admit I do like the idea of having characters lasting more than an expansion.

I do too but the latest video presentation in which they teased what would come next they were pretty adamant about Iridrikon planning something nefarious. I don't remember the wording but it made it seem like it was something that wouldn't be redeemable.

Garrosh and Guldan both made it safe to their following expansion. So there is a chance for Iridrikon but I wouldn't count on it :/

[Sondrelk]

I do too but the latest video presentation in which they teased what would come next they were pretty adamant about Iridrikon planning something nefarious. I don't remember the wording but it made it seem like it was something that wouldn't be redeemable.

Garrosh and Guldan both made it safe to their following expansion. So there is a chance for Iridrikon but I wouldn't count on it :/

Depends on what the next expansion is I would say. If he is planning on releasing something, or otherwise opening a path somewhere, then I could easily see him take a similar narrative role as Gul'dan. Instigating a conflict, then being removed just in time to set up the final confrontation.

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An extremely powerful creature can be a final boss not because he is the strongest but rather because he is the best distraction. If Iridikron could unleash Galakrond on us, he can get away with whatever he is planning and lead us to the next xpac.

Legion had a final boss who in practice was just a one-dimensional antagonist.
Narratively the final boss there was Sargeras, but rather than fight him we fought Argus instead, and it made just as much sense.
WoD could also be said to have had Gul'dan as the final boss, since he is the main instigator of the final conflict. But when he summons Archimonde it makes just as much sense.

Galakrond could work the same. We have a different antagonist like Murozond or Iridikron as the overarching villain, but Galakrond as the final boss.

[Lahis]

This is literally it. A gigantic, all devouring force of nature. It has potential for an epic fight, unless Blizz will go safer route and wont make much use of his size.

Deathwing is an example what happens when they make fight against a giant corrupted being.

It is just tentacley add-fest. Boss needs to be reasonable size to matter in the encounter.