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

[Nymrohd]

Part of it likely has to do with that the mole-men aren't hogging every cinematic in connection to an otherwise-enjoyable plot with the horrible visibility of an indescribable alien serpent swallowing the sun. As for Chromie herself, she's really only a microcosm of the general overabundance of outright cutesiness this expansion; the conspiracy theorist is inclined to suggest that Blizzard wanted to try to appeal to an eastern MMO audience, and—knowing that they already had microtransactions—could only think of aping the aesthetic. I'm all for a nice, upbeat adventure expansion, mind you, but this whole expansion has indulged the lightheartedness excessively.

I don't think they are trying to appeal to an eastern MMO audience. I think they are trying to appeal to the western audience that plays cute/wholesome games. Women.

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Maybe Enhancement could actually live up to its name for the first time in its existence?

But do people who play enhancement shaman want the spec to suddenly be near the bottom of the dps ranks and have fairly poor dps for solo activities?

[Cheezits]

Also the speculation before we started decoding the leak (which was a fairly curious leak) was more about an actual dragon class/race with a visage form, not a scaly. And while range spec and healer was a lock because we haven't had a ranged spec forever, pretty much everyone assumed that a dragon class/race would also be a tank.

Drekthar being a leak for Dracthyr is really really funny in retrospect.

I do wonder if the names of Dracthyr and Venthyr being so similar will ever be a plotpoint. They are both uh... created by creatures that Order-obsessed beings made? Maybe Thyr means Thrall (in the original sense) in Titan/First One language?

[Sondrelk]

Ah, the old BFA rodeo. A familiar, horrific experience.

I don't actually mind Chromie. Or rather, I didn't. But there's something about her voice actor in Dragonflight that makes me want to ram a plastic dragon into my cochlea just so she can shut the fuck up. She is so fucking twee that I've half a mind that the VA is taking the piss but no one has the heart to tell her to cut it out so she just keeps upping it with every delivery. The moles don't have this oddly enough.

Chromie has a bad case of Overexposure-itis. She isnt really a character that works when she is important I think. She is at her best when she is overseeing weird shenanigans, or other forms of sidequests.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

I wonder how bad Augmentation will suck at solo/world content. Sounds like it will suck a lot.

Eh, should be no worse than leveling as a healer. I figure it's a specialization you're meant to switch to after you reach max level, especially given how you have to unlock it.

Also the speculation before we started decoding the leak (which was a fairly curious leak) was more about an actual dragon class/race with a visage form, not a scaly. And while range spec and healer was a lock because we haven't had a ranged spec forever, pretty much everyone assumed that a dragon class/race would also be a tank.

I do recall that. In retrospect, I suppose the horizontal size of a Drake would have been very distracting, even if the vertical size would be easy enough to handle on account of their size as mounts. Still kind of a shame, though, because I've seen very few people take the Dracthyr as particularly appealing. They have an audience, of course, but they're rather iffy in their design overall.

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Chromie has a bad case of Overexposure-itis. She isnt really a character that works when she is important I think. She is at her best when she is overseeing weird shenanigans, or other forms of sidequests.

That's my feeling on the matter. She's find as a side character, but actually being thrust into the spotlight in a serious storyline isn't something that suits her.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

The Lightheartedness isn't excessive. Mole people and centering the patch around them....is well not as cool(The concept of the caverns is fine) as I thought I'd be ok with. Personally I would of been better with more Earthen or other underground races and such. Maybe I'm being too grumpy but I feel like I'm not. Course I'm the guy who wanted a real underground expansion so thats my bias.

[Sondrelk]

I don't think they are trying to appeal to an eastern MMO audience. I think they are trying to appeal to the western audience that plays cute/wholesome games. Women.

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But do people who play enhancement shaman want the spec to suddenly be near the bottom of the dps ranks and have fairly poor dps for solo activities?

Honestly, in thinking about it, the idea that an enhancement spec would be bottom tier DPS doesnt really make sense. Surely their DPS would be calculated as how effective they make their allies. An inexperienced player would only pull 30k+20k. A good one might pull 35k+100k with the right setup.
It's likely going to be a minmaxing nightmare, as well as a pool of toxicity in pugs, but I somehow doubt it will be worse than an optics issue.

[Cheezits]

The Lightheartedness isn't excessive. Mole people and centering the patch around them....is well not as cool(The concept of the caverns is fine) as I thought I'd be ok with. Personally I would of been better with more Earthen or other underground races and such. Maybe I'm being too grumpy but I feel like I'm not. Course I'm the guy who wanted a real underground expansion so thats my bias.

If its any consolation, no Earthen now makes it way more likely that they will appear later (on top of the Khaz Algar namedrop).

[Nymrohd]

I do recall that. In retrospect, I suppose the horizontal size of a Drake would have been very distracting, even if the vertical size would be easy enough to handle on account of their size as mounts. Still kind of a shame, though, because I've seen very few people take the Dracthyr as particularly appealing. They have an audience, of course, but they're rather iffy in their design overall.

Honestly if a drake race/class had been done well, it would be dangerously cool and would probably fuck up the class population.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

After the SL subrace skins (Wildhammer and various trolls) and Dark Ranger skin I think we're never getting a "race + new skin" AR ever again.

All the better. I'd much rather Allied Races be saved for races that have substantial physical differences from the main races.

[Super Dickmann]

Part of it likely has to do with that the mole-men aren't hogging every cinematic in connection to an otherwise-enjoyable plot with the horrible visibility of an indescribable alien serpent swallowing the sun. As for Chromie herself, she's really only a microcosm of the general overabundance of outright cutesiness this expansion; the conspiracy theorist is inclined to suggest that Blizzard wanted to try to appeal to an eastern MMO audience, and—knowing that they already had microtransactions—could only think of aping the aesthetic. I'm all for a nice, upbeat adventure expansion, mind you, but this whole expansion has indulged the lightheartedness excessively.

I think it's just an overdone course correction, partly because the last two expansions were criticized for being massively bleak, which they weren't, they just had subject matter that was so absurdly, comically dark when compared to the Saturday Morning Cartoon-style morals and conveyance of them. This plus Hearthstone being praised for how it handled Warcraft material, which has a much lighter tone had them import a bit of that into the game proper. It's generally fine in as much as the tone and the material match, one of the reasons Chromie is so terrible at it is because the subject matter, while not exactly grim, is more serious than most of DF while she's more obnoxiusly cute than even made for mascot characters like the niffen.

[Cheezits]

Honestly if a drake race/class had been done well, it would be dangerously cool and would probably fuck up the class population.

I don't think "regular race that turns into a dragon" would've been THAT popular, especially if it was still Evoker. If it was solely a race it may be popular, but I think both Drakonids and "Drake with visage form" wouldn't be AS popular as people think, as one doesn't fly and the other is "more of the same". Also after the years of AR whining and screaming I can see why Blizz is hesitant to do tattoo races again.

That being said we'll probably still get Drakonid in some form down the line.

[Super Dickmann]

Chromie has a bad case of Overexposure-itis. She isnt really a character that works when she is important I think. She is at her best when she is overseeing weird shenanigans, or other forms of sidequests.

Blizzard have managed to realize that nobody knows any other Bronze character except her and Nozdormu since they, like the Aspects themselves, are generally just stoic boredom simulators. Rather than correct this though, using the fact that a time traveler allows pretty much any character concept to be viable, they went with Chromie since she's popular.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

If they really wanted to keep the flying racial then they could have slapped wings on a Drakonid.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Also, re: Lightforged Warlocks, I do still have one idea as to how those could be made to work: they could be former researchers of some kind that captured and studied Demons for the war effort. After the Legion was defeated, they enslaved their former test subjects and started fielding them as weapons.

[Cheezits]

Blizzard have managed to realize that nobody knows any other Bronze character except her and Nozdormu since they, like the Aspects themselves, are generally just stoic boredom simulators. Rather than correct this though, using the fact that a time traveler allows pretty much any character concept to be viable, they went with Chromie since she's popular.

The Bronze (and dragons in general after their respective patches) will very likely never, ever be important again in Warcraft after 10.1.5 so I doubt they bothered to make an (insert other MMO here)-style cast and crew of loveable new dragons.

The only one that will ever appear out of this expansion is Wrathion and you know why. Maybe Chromie too.

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Also, re: Lightforged Warlocks, I do still have one idea as to how those could be made to work: they could be former researchers of some kind that captured and studied Demons for the war effort. After the Legion was defeated, they enslaved their former test subjects and started fielding them as weapons.

Or they are just former warlocks who now do warlock stuff to serve the light and the army of the light. Warlocks are not hard-coded to be evil.

[Super Dickmann]

The Bronze (and dragons in general after their respective patch) will very likely never, ever be important again in Warcraft after 10.1.5 so I doubt they bothered to make an (insert other MMO here) cast and crew of loveable new dragons.

The only one that will ever appear out of this expansion is Wrathion and you know why.

Don't count on it. Ysera's been a point of drama for four expansions straight while never once manifesting a personality, and it got people to argue about her even bigger cipher of a daughter. While Wrathion is guaranteed to show up going forward, the dragons at large are still likely to show up here and there. Sterility and the loss of most of their aspects couldn't keep those fuckers down.

Also re: Lightforged warlocks. The issue with them isn't about morality. It's that barring class skins which Blizzard won't do where the demons are purified/bound or what have you, they further water down the already shallow and meaningless process of being Light-infused, as not only does it not keep you from being a generic DK, but it also doesn't keeo you from using an ontologically different power.

[Cheezits]

Don't count on it. Ysera's been a point of drama for four expansions straight while never once manifesting a personality, and it got people to argue about her even bigger cipher of a daughter. While Wrathion is guaranteed to show up going forward, the dragons at large are still likely to show up here and there. Sterility and the loss of most of their aspects couldn't keep those fuckers down.

Oh Ysera's big, hence why we're getting a POTENTIALLY new Argus-sized Lifelands/Dream patch where she and Tyrande can kiss Elune's feet (who I would bet money on physically appearing in the patch). But after that? I doubt she's going to Tel'abim or Stormwind or wherever.

Wrathion will be he's the fanbase's precious woobie and this expansion is about him being set free of the responsibilities of Aspect so he can marry Anduin. Chromie will because Chromie.

[Nymrohd]

Honestly, in thinking about it, the idea that an enhancement spec would be bottom tier DPS doesnt really make sense. Surely their DPS would be calculated as how effective they make their allies. An inexperienced player would only pull 30k+20k. A good one might pull 35k+100k with the right setup.
It's likely going to be a minmaxing nightmare, as well as a pool of toxicity in pugs, but I somehow doubt it will be worse than an optics issue.

Given that the spells they previewed buff other players instead of giving them a proc that does flat (well scaling to the Evoker's stats) damage which can then be attributed to the Evoker, the damage won't really transfer in any sensible way for logs. I expect them to deal significantly less damage, to completely fuck up the idea of damage ranking which is one of the only minigames making things fun for people playing raids on farm, to be a horror for raid leaders who keep getting spammed about where the Augmenter will be placed and who gets the buffs. And yeah, they will probably deal slightly better than healer damage so very much not something to play outside instances; Devastation isn't that great for solo either. Imo every class needs some spec that is good for outdoor stuff that you don't grossly outgear else it is pretty much dead for a segment of the population.

[Super Dickmann]

Oh Ysera's big, hence why we're getting a POTENTIALLY new Argus-sized Lifelands/Dream patch where she and Tyrande can kiss Elune's feet (who I would bet money on physically appearing in the patch). But after that? I doubt she's going to Tel'abim or Stormwind or wherever.

Golden would sooner leap off a cliff than allow Anduin to manifest an interest in some dick.

[Nymrohd]

I don't think "regular race that turns into a dragon" would've been THAT popular, especially if it was still Evoker. If it was solely a race it may be popular, but I think both Drakonids and "Drake with visage form" wouldn't be AS popular as people think, as one doesn't fly and the other is "more of the same". Also after the years of AR whining and screaming I can see why Blizz is hesitant to do tattoo races again.

That being said we'll probably still get Drakonid in some form down the line.

Well the concept that was floating here (Teriz had a concept, I think I had another as well) was Drake with a Visage form and possibly a Hybrid form inspired by Wrathions' HS Mercenaries art. And it would be a Tank/Ranged/Healer or possibly a 4 spec class like Druid that can do every role.