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

[Woggmer]

We know Azshara is meant to return to "rule the land, sea, and sky" once Xal'atath has completed her awakening. So probably in Midnight.

In taking that to consideration.. "The Land, The Sea, and the Sky" could all be pointing to the idea that Azshara is trying to transcend herself and her naga from their sea-bound forms into beings that can move freely on water, land, and the sky..

or
Possible hints that they might be featured across the entirety of the WorldSoul Saga as a constant yet growing secondary threat. If the Nerubians fail, then the Harbinger will rely on the Naga for aid on the sea.. then use them on land to stage another attack on the Sunwell (they did it before in Quel'danas).. with the final penultimate moment is them helping Iridikron take down the Titans so they can secure the Seat of the Pantheon for Azshara, where she can rule over cosmos with her own brand of Order.

[utahrangerone]

MMOC has a pirate hat on, has that been there all day or is there something imitate?

Someone has correctly pointed out that it is likely tied to Cap'n Crackers, which became available on Prime Loot Feb. 1st.

HOWEVER, the timing of that pet undoubtedly has SOMETHING to do with the timing of the patch.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Suddenly I'm all excited about 10.2.6 hehehe

[Sondrelk]

Suddenly I'm all excited about 10.2.6 hehehe

Same here. Rare we get something this secretive.

Personally, if we are going for more out there ideas, then I would say a mini-raid to go along with Season 4.
You could make it pirate themed and have all kinds of fun weapons and cosmetics to go alongside it now that the Trading Post has had several pirate themed armour Transmog already.

[Varodoc]

Instanced Pirate isle where you can build your own "pirate cove".

Aka, a proto-version of Housing, to try and redo Housing in WoW after the fiasco that was WoD Garrison (hardly can be called "housing"). A first step, a first attempt at trying housing. A smart move, making experimental/proto version in a filler patch instead of selling it as an expansion feature right away.

If it works, they can then continue to develop the system for Midnight, in Revamped Quel'Thalas.

[Worldshaper]

Something that may or may not be noteworthy:

In the email they sent us about Cap'n Crackers, it says: "Go swashbuckling with Cap'n Crackers. Sail the high seas of World of Warcraft with the Cap'n Crackers pet perched on your shoulder with the help of Amazon Prime Gaming until 27 February 2024."

Imagine if this is literally telling us what 10.2.6 entails. Like... the patch isn't a normal patch, because it's more of an evergreen systems patch. Like when they overhauled levelling at the end of Legion I believe it was. A systems patch that completely changes how we interact with the seas of Azeroth.

Sailing between continents on our own ships. Perhaps encountering random PG islands. Maybe it even features new tech for water, with improved waves and stuff.

The date is also interesting. The offer ends on a Tuesday in late February, which is exactly when I think the patch will launch based on the roadmap.

[Varodoc]

In hindsight, it's funny how the Island Expedition from BfA are literally the South Seas expansion concept that people had for years.

Just sailing the high seas on a ship, exploring uncharted, far-flung islands, and delving deep into the mysteries of the seas.

They shot themselves in the foot with Island Expeditions; what could have been an entire expansion on its own (albeit a Disney/adventure/Friends one like Dragonflight), turned into a simple endgame content, that was left to rot ever since.

We might possibly be looking at an attempt to revitalize the Island Expedition fantasy, after it was left rotting for years.

[Valysar]

Something that may or may not be noteworthy:

In the email they sent us about Cap'n Crackers, it says: "Go swashbuckling with Cap'n Crackers. Sail the high seas of World of Warcraft with the Cap'n Crackers pet perched on your shoulder with the help of Amazon Prime Gaming until 27 February 2024."

Imagine if this is literally telling us what 10.2.6 entails. Like... the patch isn't a normal patch, because it's more of an evergreen systems patch. Like when they overhauled levelling at the end of Legion I believe it was. A systems patch that completely changes how we interact with the seas of Azeroth.

Sailing between continents on our own ships. Perhaps encountering random PG islands. Maybe it even features new tech for water, with improved waves and stuff.

The date is also interesting. The offer ends on a Tuesday in late February, which is exactly when I think the patch will launch based on the roadmap.

So this means patch 10.2.6 will have no PTR testing ?

[Sondrelk]

In hindsight, it's funny how the Island Expedition from BfA are literally the South Seas expansion concept that people had for years.

Just sailing the high seas on a ship, exploring uncharted, far-flung islands, and delving deep into the mysteries of the seas.

They shot themselves in the foot with Island Expeditions; what could have been an entire expansion on its own (albeit a Disney/adventure/Friends one like Dragonflight), turned into a simple endgame content, that was left to rot ever since.

We might possibly be looking at an attempt to revitalize the Island Expedition fantasy, after it was left rotting for years.

Reusing the islands as housing is definitely an idea that would work pretty well all things considered.
They are instanced, so you don't need to worry about the Garrison problem of everyone occupying the same space.
They are varied, so each players version is more likely to fit them and look different from others houses.
It's an island, so you could connect it to basically any future WoW expansion that has a dock of its own in the future, which gives it more longevity.

Seems unlikely, but I would be down for it. Player boats would also be a nice alternative, and possibly even a nice stepping stone to actual housing in the future.

[Worldshaper]

So this means patch 10.2.6 will have no PTR testing ?

It could have limited testing for about two weeks. But the omission of details on the roadmap leads me to believe there won't be much to test, as in features that can be broken and abused. If it's "just" a ship and mostly visual features, and content that doesn't lean into the competitive side of things too much, then maybe that's enough testing.

Either that, or it is heavily story-based and they don't want too many spoilers. Like with Gilneas.

[Valysar]

It could have limited testing for about two weeks. But the omission of details on the roadmap leads me to believe there won't be much to test, as in features that can be broken and abused. If it's "just" a ship and mostly visual features, and content that doesn't lean into the competitive side of things too much, then maybe that's enough testing.

Either that, or it is heavily story-based and they don't want too many spoilers. Like with Gilneas.

As long as it doesn't end up like Gilneas, flat, boring, 10min, with an unfinished result.

[Worldshaper]

As long as it doesn't end up like Gilneas, flat, boring, 10min, with an unfinished result.

Yeah, my guess is that they wouldn't be able to change direction for 10.2.6 based on Gilneas feedback, but it's probably not the same people behind the two at least. I think different designers are assigned these little projects for patch content.

That said, again I think 10.2.6 could be more systems based.

[milkmustache]

Yeah, my guess is that they wouldn't be able to change direction for 10.2.6 based on Gilneas feedback, but it's probably not the same people behind the two at least. I think different designers are assigned these little projects for patch content.

That said, again I think 10.2.6 could be more systems based.

Theres also been completely different approaches to the Gilneas Reclaimation questline and the 10.2.6 mystery. I have to think that Blizz would recognize the community's issues with the Gilneas quest and in turn scale back their pirate emoji-ing if 10.2.6 was just going to be more of the same.

I think you're totally right, 10.2.6 seems to be some sort of system or at least an event a bit larger than Time Rifts & Archives.

I'd also like to note, the Azerothian Archives are actually a really cool idea that can be built on. I wouldn't mind if Archaeology took this direction in the future. The story updating week by week is a really nice touch to keep a pulse on the event, and the world quests feel new. Beef it up with a bit more detail and I think it'd be fun to bring outside of 10.2.5 and into the future of the game.

[doledippers]

I think you're totally right, 10.2.6 seems to be some sort of system or at least an event a bit larger than Time Rifts & Archives.

its gotta be, theyre doing the similar shit they did for follower dungeons, which development wise is a massive undertaking. Orlando is the one tweeting the most about it, and he's a senior SWE.

[Woggmer]

Possible Plot Twist:

This pirate stuff is part of some collaboration between WoW and Sea of Thieves.

[Cheezits]

I'd also like to note, the Azerothian Archives are actually a really cool idea that can be built on. I wouldn't mind if Archaeology took this direction in the future. The story updating week by week is a really nice touch to keep a pulse on the event, and the world quests feel new. Beef it up with a bit more detail and I think it'd be fun to bring outside of 10.2.5 and into the future of the game.

I think they did a really bad job of explaining the patch. I had no idea there were WQs and new lore books associated with archaeology sites until yesterday. I thought it was just the world event.

[Murlocos]

Standing by my earlier thoughts that this will be some kind of new feature that'll persist past DF and not just be a surprise content island or remixed world quests or whatever.

Whatever it ends up being, I think it'd be cool if we saw AI NPCs implemented into open world content. They've only been in instanced content thus far, and I feel like there's a lot they could with them to make a zone feel more dynamic and lively.

[Nokster10]

Standing by my earlier thoughts that this will be some kind of new feature that'll persist past DF and not just be a surprise content island or remixed world quests or whatever.

Whatever it ends up being, I think it'd be cool if we saw AI NPCs implemented into open world content. They've only been in instanced content thus far, and I feel like there's a lot they could with them to make a zone feel more dynamic and lively.

I hope it's some new evergreen feature too but it will probably end up being some random minigame that will be fun for like a month at most

[Valysar]

inb4 one quest, kill 25 pirates and get THE mount.

[Reive]

tbh i don't think it's going be something big. we're pretty close to the new expansion, they would probably save something important for that