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

[huth]

After Blizzcon I think there will be WoW2 around 2030 and one thing I'm sure about is that I'm not doomer.

First, it will be time to switch 25+ year old engine. You think they are gonna remake 1500 mounts, 3000 pets and bazylion transmog pieces?

WoW has a 25 year old engine in the same way you're still using your great-great-great-grandfather's axe. And if they don't, then they might as well not bother.

The whole "WoW2" thing is bullshit. There's no real point to making a sequel to an MMO except pulling money out of pockets.

[MCMLXXXII]

If you think WoW is still using the exact same engine as 20nyears ago, you're probably viewing this website on your Nokia.

[Makorus]

WoW has a 25 year old engine in the same way you're still using your great-great-great-grandfather's axe. And if they don't, then they might as well not bother.

The whole "WoW2" thing is bullshit. There's no real point to making a sequel to an MMO except pulling money out of pockets.

Or alienating the vast majority of the playerbase by drastically changing up the core gameplay.

[huth]

If you think WoW is still using the exact same engine as 20nyears ago, you're probably viewing this website on your Nokia.

Hey, at least it's reasonably possible that it would still work. Might have to recharge sometime this decade, though.

[Sondrelk]

My guess/hope for what they'll do:

In Midnight they recreate Quel'Thalas at a 1.5x or 2x scale, while adding in an extra zone or two.

Zone 1: Silvermoon+Sunstrider isle+Quel'danas+new area Northeast of Silvermoon
Zone 2: Eversong Woods+Ghostlands
Zone 3: Amani zone
Zone 4: Something

It's gonna in its own instance, and the south will be inaccessible, blocked by fog or an invisible wall. It's gonna be lvl 80-90 content, but you'll still be able to visit the old OG zones by teleporting there (the same way you can visit both old and new Dalaran)


Then, in 14.0, they do a revamped Lordaeron, remaking the zones at a larger scale to match. Alterac Valley is added into the main world at its current size and the world around is rebuilt to match its scale. This new revamped Lordaeron will be connected to the revamped Quel'Thalas and you'll be able to fly between them at will.


Continue until you have the entire old world remade at a bigger scale that better matches the lore size,

My guess would be they revamp everything north of the Thandol Span. Arathi Highlands is already revamped, so that doesnt need much work beyond making a new instance that doesnt cycle between Horde and Alliance. Gilneas could be retaken and maybe be reused for player housing if necessary.
Hinterlands has all the Wildhammer dwarves which could have a small storyline after Dagran becomes king of the Dwarves.
Lordaeron obviously, maybe with the Scarlet Crusade bolstered by the Arathi of Hallowfall.
The Plaguelands to bring in the paladins there, and tie everything related to Quel'danas and the Scourge up in a neat bow.
Then The Ghostlands revamped to not look scourge infested, alongside revamped Eversong Woods to create a cohesive Elvish zone. The isle of Quel'danas being part of the zone, but maybe just as an Elite area to have the entrance to whatever Sunwell raid.

That way you could have four zones. Lordaeron, Eastweald (plaguelands), Arathi, and Quel'Danas. Two strongly themed zones, and two with a bit less thematic heft for variety.
If you need more elven stuff then you could have Azshara show up and take something or other. Probably Arathi. Or even a new zone between EK and the Dragon Isles if you want to leave Arathi Highlands behind in BfA, and maybe use the Hinterlands as an extended Troll zone to not have the Elvish storyline have to share space with Zul'aman.

[Izalla]

Allied race is how the call the races you unlock through playing and not just by buying the expansion.

Ah good point.

[Worldshaper]

I've re-watched a lot of the BlizzCon footage today, and I have to say I am becoming very excited about The War Within. Basically, this is the premise from what I've been able to gather:

• Azeroth's worldsoul is healing, but its fate is uncertain. Heroes like Thrall and Anduin Wrynn have heard the Radiant Song from within Azeroth, causing them to travel to Silithus in search of answers. We'll recieve a similar message and make our way to the Isle of Dorn.
• Xal'atath (the Harbinger of the Void) wants to tilt the scales in favour of the Void by infusing the worldsoul with Shadow. She has conscripted the Nerubians of Azj-Kahet and is now evolving them to become even more powerful. These Nerubians are the children of the first flesh, as described in 'A Song of the Depths', toiling below to recover something which was lost. They've been waging war on the Arathi humans of Hallowfall for hundreds of years, but now the tide is about to turn in their favour. However, there are those who resist this dark allegiance with Xal'atath, and want to restore their kingdom.
• Alleria Windrunner, now a described Void Hunter, continues her inner struggle with the Void. Unlike Thrall and Anduin, she has not heard the Radiant Song. Instead, there are whispers from deep within Azeroth, taunting her. She will be an adversary to Xal'atath, but it remains to be seen what her fate ends up being.
• Khaz Algar has a surface level (the Isle of Dorn) where the Oathsworn and the Undbound live. This island is rich with animal and plant life. They make mead from honey, and some of them become Storm Riders. The Oathsworn protect the titan passageway known as the Coreway, which leads directly to the heart of Azeroth. Below the Isle of Dorn are The Ringing Deeps, where the Machine Speakers maintain massive Titan machines, and are fighting against Kobolds. The Isle of Dorn also has a capital city which becomes our hub, Darnogal.
• Further down is a massive 'hollow Earth' like cave where descendants of the Arathi empire live, and have defended themselves against the Nerubians of Azj'Kahet for hundreds of years. They wield the Light, and are tough warriors but few in numbers. There's a huge crystal in the roof of the cave which glows in light, and is sometimes darkened. There's also a massive underground sea, from whence monsters sometimes come. Below that is Azj-Kahet, where the Nerubians live.

This just seems better and better the more I think about it.

Key to all of this is probably the giant crystal in Hallowfall. Like I've said before, it is probably some type of artifact key to Xal'atath's success, and the thing she wants the Nerubians to reclaim. Heart of a God? Elune? The first naaru? Who knows. But it looks like it crashed there somehow.

How the Arathi ended up in Hollowfall is going to be interesting to uncover. But possibly involving travel of time and/or space.

But I can definitely see how all this leads naturally into Midnight, with the crystal's power perhaps further infusing Xal'atath's Void artifact, which might then be used on the Sunwell to darken it or something?

[MCMLXXXII]

I have to say, tWW is growing on me. I'm especially intrigued by Hallowfall.

[Sondrelk]

I have to say, tWW is growing on me. I'm especially intrigued by Hallowfall.

It does look really cool. Like a less depressing looking Revendreth.
Also, for all the complaints that WoW is human centric with Anduin and what not, we have not really had many human themed instances. The most iconic one is probably the Scarlet Crusade and Deadmines, but not much beyond that.

[micwini]

10.1 came out early may and waiting for 10.2 has already felt like a long drag. Equivalent for 10.2 would be 15 may 2024 and that is still 4 months before TWW comes out at the earliest. Fated was fine for a month or 2, but it cannot carry 4-7 months. 10.3 could have easily fit in there.

[pacotaco]

Maybe already posted but

These guys are a splintered group from that kingdom that received a vision about a falling star, and it took them to Harrowfall.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/wowhead...na-wang-335929

So yeah, the crystal is something like the X'era core we retrieved in Legion.

[Raetary]

How the Arathi ended up in Hollowfall is going to be interesting to uncover. But possibly involving travel of time and/or space.

There is no time travel.

These guys are a splintered tribe of the original Arathi Empire from back in the day, before they split into the seven kingdoms that we know of. It was a massive - all of humanity came together in this Empire. And there was a group of them who left and they spawned their own kingdom across the sea. These guys are a splintered group from that kingdom that received a vision about a falling star, and it took them to Harrowfall. And when they found it - you guys saw the key art for it, it's huge, gigantic - these guys are super devoted to the Light. They're like uber Paladins, and it just made sense that if we were going to bring in a group devoted to the Light, to that degree, why not bring in those ancient tribes of humanity that maybe we haven't seen in a hot minute, or heard of in forever? The Arathi have a very interesting history because, like I said, they're kinda like the first Empire of humanity, and it splintered itself in different directions. This is a direction that we're not familiar with.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/wowhead...na-wang-335929

[Zazajin]

It seems like they already showed us the concept art for the arathi outworld sets during the presentation - so you will prolly be able to play them using your normal human chars with that transmog. No need to make them a seperate allied race lol.

Hopefully they'd add a few more customisation options, but if they're visually no different from Stormwind humans then it seems a bit pointless to make them an allied race.

[MCMLXXXII]

Well Arathor is ancient, especially when considering the human lifespan.

[Makabreska]

It does look really cool. Like a less depressing looking Revendreth.
Also, for all the complaints that WoW is human centric with Anduin and what not, we have not really had many human themed instances. The most iconic one is probably the Scarlet Crusade and Deadmines, but not much beyond that.

10/10 architecture. This is Scarlet Crusade on steroids:

[Sondrelk]

There is no time travel.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/wowhead...na-wang-335929

So from what I get here, is that Avaloren is somewhere across the sea, and that Hallowfall descended from those people?

Either that or the developers misspoke and meant the human settlers that went to colonize Kul Tiras.

[Teriz]

One thing I'm interested in are the Arathi. They seem markedly more advanced than the other human kingdoms, and I wonder if they're sort of going down the same path the draenei did under the influence of the naaru. I hope they wind up producing an allied race or something of the sort, since they're frankly the most interesting new addition to the lore for me alongside the implications of the new nerubian kingdom.

I am also inclined to wonder precisely why there are nerubians here: did they flee the Scourge? Were they a colony from before that time? Was the mutative influence of Yogg-Saron on a different Aqir colony projected from the same fissure that replicated the behavioral changes in the earthen, another product of Yogg-Saron?

It’s annoying to see yet another advanced race and no technology-based class to indulge in the fantasy of being a steampunk adventurer.

[Nymrohd]

I have to say, tWW is growing on me. I'm especially intrigued by Hallowfall.

Honestly three out of four zones look gorgeous and the expansion capital seems exactly the type of city I enjoy the most. Ringing Depths is the only one I am not sure about.

[Worldshaper]

There is no time travel.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/wowhead...na-wang-335929

I love it, sounds great!

So the big question remains, what fell to Azeroth? What is that thing?

Maybe a huge cosmic battle resulted in some godly creature of Light and Shadow dying.

[Nymrohd]

I love it, sounds great!

So the big question remains, what fell to Azeroth? What is that thing?

Maybe a huge cosmic battle resulted in some godly creature of Light and Shadow dying.

I don't see a reason to complicate things. It looks like Oshu'gun which was simply a dimensional ship so it probably is a dimensional ship. The naaru who approached the humans and created the CHurch of Light sent these Arathi to guard it. Question is, WHO is inside.