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

[Kiivar86]

My main interest in The Last Titan stems from the logo having the same prison that Iridikron was in.

That raises so many questions.

[Ersula]

You are still following up on SL.

Maybe. But nothing in Shadowlands is referenced in Dragonflight. (Even the tree burning is a BFA reference.) Is the Harbinger & Iridikron going to be as cool in 4 or 5 years as they are right now, or are they going to be annoying?

You're talking like Iridikron is an entirely new story thread that appeared in Dragonflight & not the primary antagonist of Dragonflight. We were all talking about "Oh, Dragonflight finally has an antagonist" when he showed up at the end of the first raid.

"No, actually the primary antagonist of this expansion is his plucky younger brother" is not something an audience will ever want to hear.

Battle.net app updated to 10.2.5, PTR might still be in the cards this week?

Unfortunately I bet they originally planned the ptr to update immediately after today's (planned) presentation. 10.2's launcher first appeared a full week before its ptr went up.

[Reive]

Is there still somesort of Dev announcement for the next year today? Anyone know when that is?

they removed it from "this week in wow"

Battle.net app updated to 10.2.5, PTR might still be in the cards this week?

don't give me hope

[Marlamin]

Unfortunately I bet they originally planned the ptr to update immediately after today's (planned) presentation. 10.2's launcher first appeared a full week before its ptr went up.

Yeah, I feel like that was the plan too. Also for 10.2 I believe there was only 2 days between Battle.net update/PTR, so that's a bit shorter than a full week.

[Ersula]

Yeah, I feel like that was the plan too. Also for 10.2 I believe there was only 2 days between Battle.net update/PTR, so that's a bit shorter than a full week.

You're right. I'm thinking of the name change. The name (DF 10.2) appeared on the launcher a week before, but the game version was still 10.1.5

I'm either expecting Shaman, Druids & Paladins for all races or a big extended Legion-style extended pre-expansion event for post 10.2 content.

[Marlamin]

You're right. I'm thinking of the name change. The name (DF 10.2) appeared on the launcher a week before, but the game version was still 10.1.5

Based on the 2 day gap between said Battle.net catalog/name update and the build releasing for 10.2 and today being a Thursday, if it doesn't hit this week it'll most likely be early next week. Maybe they'll even wait till after reset and raid being cleared due to the implied spoilers, unless they're taking extra care to keep that key still encrypted on 10.2.5 PTR as well. Oh, the challenges of doing PTRs so close to previous content releasing.

[Murlocos]

Maybe. But nothing in Shadowlands is referenced in Dragonflight. (Even the tree burning is a BFA reference.) Is the Harbinger & Iridikron going to be as cool in 4 or 5 years as they are right now, or are they going to be annoying?

Shadowlands is referenced a bunch in the green questline in 10.0 and beyond. The whole Ysera/Malfurion swap nothingburger happens there, as well as constant reference to the tree's creation in Ardenweald. Regardless, I agree with your sentiment and have been echoing it for a while now. I'm beginning to truly despise the excuse of "well, they need to build up future stories!" because they've been constantly failing to tell a compelling story in the moment for years now.

I need to see TWW actually showcase they can keep me interested in the characters and plot on-screen in the then and now. I can't tolerate a 4th expansion in a row of limp anti-climaxes and wet fart endings to prior "buildup", only to be told "well, they need to build up Midnight!" I need to see confident direction in the plot, not aimless meandering and characters that are being used more as tools to defend said aimless meandering rather than trying to intrigue and excite the audience. Look, TWW cinematic is technically impressive, but I am beyond exhausted with another cinematic being billed as an IOU.

[Marlamin]

lol someone messed up big time.

As far as messing up goes, this isn't really a mess up considering said PTR is down anyways and we don't actually know when it is coming. The In Development post being removed from the schedule for this week is probably not a good sign, but at the same time not really confirmation of it not happening either. We could also still get a build this week with realms only going up next week, that's happened before as well.

[Hitei]

As far as messing up goes, this isn't really a mess up considering said PTR is down anyways and we don't actually know when it is coming. The In Development post being removed from the schedule for this week is probably not a good sign, but at the same time not really confirmation of it not happening either. We could also still get a build this week with realms only going up next week, that's happened before as well.

No, it's the worst sign ever and they are cancelling 10.2.5 and the Worldsoul Saga.

[Paula Deen]

Maybe. But nothing in Shadowlands is referenced in Dragonflight. (Even the tree burning is a BFA reference.)

The entire tree subplot is a Shadowlands Reference? The Emerald Dream itself has a freakin' enclave for the Wild Hunt. What do you mean man?

Is the Harbinger & Iridikron going to be as cool in 4 or 5 years as they are right now, or are they going to be annoying?

You and I do not know the answer to that. No one does. This is a season of firsts for Blizzard. Going in with low expectations is cool. But negative expectations? That is wild man. They have done nothing but show good faith decision making for the last year.

You're talking like Iridikron is an entirely new story thread that appeared in Dragonflight & not the primary antagonist of Dragonflight. We were all talking about "Oh, Dragonflight finally has an antagonist" when he showed up at the end of the first raid.

Dragonflight's primary antagonist is Order. The Titans and the Struggle to free ourselves of their will. I know its a bit more complex than bad dragon funny man and nipple boy but I promise its a story as old as time friend.

"No, actually the primary antagonist of this expansion is his plucky younger brother" is not something an audience will ever want to hear.

Fyrakk is to Iridikron as Ragnaros was to Deathwing. But Iridikron and the Incarnates (Outside of the two crazy ones we killed) are not meant to be Saturday Morning Cartoon Villains friend. They are meant to be a foil to the Ordered Dragons.

[Cheezits]

...I GUESS the tree would be considered a surprise to a lot of people as I haven't seen much discourse on it as an actual zone or people musing about the possibility of it porting over as early as raid-clear (like Silithus).

[Paula Deen]

...I GUESS the tree would be considered a surprise to a lot of people as I haven't seen much discourse on it as an actual zone or people musing about the possibility of it porting over as early as raid-clear (like Silithus).

The tree moving to the obvious space it already occupies in the Plains would be a surprise to the average LFR Raider and PvP Enjoyer...aka the average WoW Player.

[Cheezits]

The tree moving to the obvious space it already occupies in the Plains would be a surprise to the average LFR Raider and PvP Enjoyer...aka the average WoW Player.

Lol Paula... you're so funny... pffft!

[Paula Deen]

Lol Paula... you're so funny... pffft!

I say it while actively farming bloody tokens >_>

Edit: To keep this post kinda on topic.

The only time in the history of the game I was surprised by a lore developments were the end of Tomb of Sargeras and Argus. I about shit my pants when I saw that cinematic for the first time and the Sword too.

[Hitei]

The real wild part is gonna be when the tree materializes into the middle of the ruins of Lordaeron.

[Walrusking]

They delayed the patch announcement because they realized they needed just a little more time to polish up the Tuskarr allied race they are goin to add.

[Ersula]

The entire tree subplot is a Shadowlands Reference? The Emerald Dream itself has a freakin' enclave for the Wild Hunt. What do you mean man?

True but we'd all agree that's the continuation of BFA's plot, not Shadowland's plot. Shadowlands plot (the Jailer) got wrapped up nicely. (Like a turd in really nice wrapping paper).

This Iridikron thing, we really don't know if it's a turd or not, but how worse would it smell if it sat on a shelf for 4 years? (I'm really enjoying this gift metaphor.)

You and I do not know the answer to that. No one does. This is a season of firsts for Blizzard. Going in with low expectations is cool. But negative expectations? That is wild man. They have done nothing but show good faith decision making for the last year.

My goodwill was entirely based on Dragonflight not being over yet. But then Holly said Dragonflight was over at Blizzcon so that goodwill instantly evaporated. The cutscene where all the racial leaders run out in 10.2 was cool and somewhat goofy but it certainly wasn't a satisfying conclusion to the story we were all experiencing. The Tree wasn't even in danger at the beginning of this year because it didn't exist. Why did we even plant it?

Dragonflight's primary antagonist is Order. The Titans and the Struggle to free ourselves of their will. I know its a bit more complex than bad dragon funny man and nipple boy but I promise its a story as old as time friend.

Huh? Wouldn't that make the Incarnates the good guys? And even so we still don't have a solid conclusion to that. And even if the minor patches do that it will still feel anticlimactic for the climax of the story to be outside of a raid. Maybe if they're planning a dungeon, but I would still find them admitting Dungeons have become more popular than raids pretty jarring.

Fyrakk is to Iridikron as Ragnaros was to Deathwing. But Iridikron and the Incarnates (Outside of the two crazy ones we killed) are not meant to be Saturday Morning Cartoon Villains friend. They are meant to be a foil to the Ordered Dragons.

Which is exactly why Deathwing was the actual expansion antagonist: Not Ragnaros. (Honestly, can we all admit Fyrakk is the most one-dimensional villain we've ever had? That cutscene where he kills his follower for questioning him was the tropiest trope since tropes came to tropetown.)

They delayed the patch announcement because they realized they needed just a little more time to polish up the Tuskarr allied race they are goin to add.

Don't give me hope.

[Mysticdoll]

10.2.5 and tree talk is getting boring here's my prediction for midnight

Quel Danas is the final leveling zone, it is now a lot bigger and is now all void coloured and the Sunwell acts as the ice crown of this expansion the final raid where we face off against Xhal

Eversong looks the same but is graphically updated and is now under Naga control

Ghostlands are graphically updated and has void necromancers and nerubians

zulaman is a full-on zone with trolls allied with the void

the area behind Strathholme is now a hub until we reclaim Silvermoon

12.0 raid is troll-focused

12.1 we get a new underground Naga zone and a battle for Silvermoon raid that starts in the Naga caverns and we work our way up to Silvermoon black temple style

12.2 we travel to Karesh and enter the Queldanas raid through the portal created in the Sunwell that is connected to Karesh

[Sondrelk]

I say it while actively farming bloody tokens >_>

Edit: To keep this post kinda on topic.

The only time in the history of the game I was surprised by a lore developments were the end of Tomb of Sargeras and Argus. I about shit my pants when I saw that cinematic for the first time and the Sword too.

I was very shocked when Sylvanas vanished in a puff of smoke halfway through BfA. That the entire plot would very unsubtly bury what had been the main plot so far, and instead go all in on N'zoth with no connective tissue between.
MoP did the same switch, but in that case we were very clearly shown how Garrosh stealing the heart of Y'Sharrj made the two seemingly separate plots linked.

Might be forgetting some moments. Though I was very surprised by the lore development in WoD when Gul'dan defeated Grom. Another case of an expansion doing a gear shift that took players by surprise in a good way. Even discounting how WoD was at some point stated to end with Grom as the final boss.

[ChairmanKaga]

if it sat on a shelf for 4 years?

What makes it seem it's sitting on a shelf for 4 years? They've already shown Xal with the macguffin from Dawn of the Infinite in the TWW reveal. Why assume Iridikron isn't in TWW as well?