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

[Izalla]

Wow Varodoc & Teriz worked together to derail the main thread see you in 100 pages

I straight up noped out of reading this thread most of today when I saw what was going on, again.

[Fahrad Wagner]

I straight up noped out of reading this thread most of today when I saw what was going on, again.

Same, and at this point I am just tired of constantly fighting to not have the thread turn into lore sub-thread...

[Teriz]

I mean he wouldn’t be an exact 1-1 copy of his Hearthstone self like most of the people ported over.
In Hearthstone his whole motivation is taking over the world like a James Bond villain, which is why he steals Dalaran and resurrects Galakrond (which likely won’t happen)

That motivation could be shifted around, who knows. Maybe he’d think using/temporarily helping the void could be mutually beneficial.

Yeah, I don’t buy the notion of Rafaam being a major villain for a void expansion. I could see him be a semi-major villain in a Titan expansion where a Titan artifact is posing a major threat to Azeroth, and the heroes and the Explorer’s league has to stop him.

However, that sounds more like a patch storyline.

- - - Updated - - -

Curious what puts you off the idea of the pirate fleet as a potential major antagonist?

Uh, we had BFA. Plenty of pirate stuff in that expansion.

[Nymrohd]

I do wonder what the theme of Avaloren would be. The name obviously comes from Avalon which suggests a very classic fantasy feeling.
At the same time the one Keeper who was originally there was Innaria and that name doesn't really fit such a theme. The keepers so far have kept to real world pantheon themes; The Ulduar keepers are Norse, Ra and the Uldum keepers are Egyptian (I'd say that original artwork for the Pantheon was likely Greek or Roman themed but while the Titans themselves do have the look, neither their names nor the other elements around them keep to it). Innaria could point to a set of keepers themed after Mesopotamia (Inanna) or even Japan (Inari).
Multiple themes could exist together; a classic fantasy world filled with Titan ruins themed after e.g. Mesopotamian (which is a very specific and very striking look that absolutely can work with Titan buildings and is also very close to the Black Empire style; perhaps it would be a mix of both being repurposed Black Empire buildings).

That said, I'd love another go at South Seas with Tel Abim and an Arabian Nights theme. It could link to the elemental theme of this expansion though Kezan would absolutely stick like a sore thumb if they went for that.

[Kiivar86]

I do wonder what the theme of Avaloren would be. The name obviously comes from Avalon which suggests a very classic fantasy feeling.
At the same time the one Keeper who was originally there was Innaria and that name doesn't really fit such a theme. The keepers so far have kept to real world pantheon themes; The Ulduar keepers are Norse, Ra and the Uldum keepers are Egyptian (I'd say that original artwork for the Pantheon was likely Greek or Roman themed but while the Titans themselves do have the look, neither their names nor the other elements around them keep to it). Innaria could point to a set of keepers themed after Mesopotamia (Inanna) or even Japan (Inari).
Multiple themes could exist together; a classic fantasy world filled with Titan ruins themed after e.g. Mesopotamian (which is a very specific and very striking look that absolutely can work with Titan buildings and is also very close to the Black Empire style; perhaps it would be a mix of both being repurposed Black Empire buildings).

That said, I'd love another go at South Seas with Tel Abim and an Arabian Nights theme. It could link to the elemental theme of this expansion though Kezan would absolutely stick like a sore thumb if they went for that.

Combined could be possible. The report talks about how the heretics took out Innaria (well, presumably anyway) which would imply, to me at least, that Innaria and any other keepers were not part of the group of heretics. So maybe portions of Mesopotamia and fae/Avalon? The only issue there really is though I wonder if we'd do any Fae-themed stuff after Ardenwealed just last expansion.

Still, I'm hopeful. Either would make me real excited.

[Nymrohd]

It's not a theory and it's even less ridiculous.

The Uldaman and Forbidden Reach books mention Avaloren and explain a lot of interesting stuff with pirates and western exploration.

At this stage, it is not a theory. Otherwise why would they fill the game with all these lore books?
I mean, it's not like we just came out of nowhere. There is factual evidence at stake.

Of course it is a theory. There are indications pointing to it so it is not baseless speculation but that's all it is. The plots being seeded could be meant for future expansions well past the next one after all (indeed, they SHOULD be doing so, especially after Shadowlands were one of the most compelling arguments on why the narrative was poor was the low quality of foreshadowing the story).
It doesn't mean it is not likely but let's not misuse words. The Light and Void narratives have been hinted at in the story for far longer.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Of course it is a theory. There are indications pointing to it so it is not baseless speculation but that's all it is. The plots being seeded could be meant for future expansions well past the next one after all (indeed, they SHOULD be doing so, especially after Shadowlands were one of the most compelling arguments on why the narrative was poor was the low quality of foreshadowing the story).
It doesn't mean it is not likely but let's not misuse words. The Light and Void narratives have been hinted at in the story for far longer.

If it came down to it, I'd rather choose Light v Void then Pirates. Pirates just don't do anything for me.

[Nymrohd]

If it came down to it, I'd rather choose Light v Void then Pirates. Pirates just don't do anything for me.

Honestly Pirates are just low impact for WoW. I just cannot see them becoming a threat worth our time.

[micwini]

Pirates are great intro/first raid of expac material. Can you imagine a raid on a fleet of boats?

[Teriz]

That said, I'd love another go at South Seas with Tel Abim and an Arabian Nights theme. It could link to the elemental theme of this expansion though Kezan would absolutely stick like a sore thumb if they went for that.

If they’re doing Kezan, then you have to do Undermine. Given that the developers said that Zalarak Caverns could lead to more underground stuff in the future, it makes sense. I suppose the question is if they went that route, would they introduce the Tinker class in 11.0 right after Evokers? That would be something.

[micwini]

Honestly Pirates are just low impact for WoW. I just cannot see them becoming a threat worth our time.

BFA?
Dedicated zone and dungeon too.

[Nymrohd]

BFA?
Dedicated zone and dungeon too.

Sure. Leveling and in a dungeon. They are not the main theme of the expansion.

[Nathanyel]

He is here because Blizzard doesn't trust its players to read into the subtext

I mean... *waves at vocal part of the playerbase*

[Teriz]

Tinker is definitely the class I look forward to the most. I don't know if it would come out directly after the evokers, but given the new direction the game is taking, anything is possible. I just want my turret lol.

After Evoker 3rd spec getting released mid-expansion, anything is possible really. Ion did pretty much confirm that there will be more classes in the future, and there really isn't much left outside of the Tinker.

[Nightshade711]

If they’re doing Kezan, then you have to do Undermine. Given that the developers said that Zalarak Caverns could lead to more underground stuff in the future, it makes sense. I suppose the question is if they went that route, would they introduce the Tinker class in 11.0 right after Evokers? That would be something.

As much as I personally would like Tinker, I just don’t see two expansions in a row with new classes.

[Teriz]

As much as I personally would like Tinker, I just don’t see two expansions in a row with new classes.

A little over a week ago, you didn't believe they would add a 3rd spec to a class mid-expansion.

Yet here we are.

[Sondrelk]

Pirates are great intro/first raid of expac material. Can you imagine a raid on a fleet of boats?

I imagined it the entirety of BfA, but it never came...

I would absolutely love a proper naval themed raid for once. The pitiful amounts in Dazar'alor only put into sharper relief how little the Kul Tiran and Zandalari Navies actually mattered.

[Scyth]

A pirate themed expansion will not do well imo, just doesn't have the necessary pull and would get boring quite quickly.
Won't keep me playing for long.

[Nathanyel]

A little over a week ago, you didn't believe they would add a 3rd spec to a class mid-expansion.

Yet here we are.

To be fair, and I'm not meaning this in a negative way, Augmentation was likely planned for release, but it had to be cut/delayed for some reason.
Because I very much doubt that they saw the positive feedback for Evoker and only then decided "let's do a thrd spec!" and build an entire spec in just a few months.

[Nymrohd]

I just hope the DHs get a third one too. A ranged spec with arcs, as seen on Hearthstone. They could tame demonic beasts.
As a main hunter, I dream of that haha.

Plus Loramus is the first DH of WoW and he uses felhounds.