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

[Gurahk]

Not to be a contrarian but every cinematic from Cataclysm to Shadowlands had some sort of action sequence. I don't think they can rest on their dramatic dialog when they still can't do a full expansion with a satisfying beginning, middle and end.

Every single expansion trailer even, WotLK had Sindragosa, vanilla and TBC had those short segments.

[Worldshaper]

Nope, they calmed down with the teasing because people were complaining about the teasing (and now people are complaining about the opposite). Schedule has not changed AFAIK.

Shit, were we really complaining that much? I recall being pretty excited over all the eyes emoji and stuff, but maybe I'm misremembering. I think I only got upset when it all of a sudden fell silent, after the teasing made it feel like content was imminent.

[Cheezits]

Indulge my conspiracy theory for a second, but what if the patch actually DOES have some new starting zone stuff? Think about it...

• For the "event", you don't need DF (so it could involve new characters)
• Decatriarch teased to attack Amirdrassil, and 10.2.5 PTR Bel'ameth had some NPCs like the Nelf Paladin who were encrypted and didn't appear on live
• Human, Orc and Worgen got some pretty solid starting zone storylines set up in Dragonflight heritage/sidestory quests
• Lots of new racial tabards and shoulders got added to files, but not included outside of Nelf (which are themed after Darnassus and not Belameth)
• Some kind of Evoker armor labeled "Dracthyr", so could be a heritage armor of sorts
• New Dracthyr classes set up in story, mentioned by devs
• TWW Earthen Death Knight makes no sense now, but could have a lore reason for them to make sense added before they are playable (so before TWW launch)
• New lore opportunities for Shaman (Primalists), Druids and Paladins (Tyr)
  

Maybe the event is a "level-thon" kind of thing that includes new reasons to level characters, which could include new questlines and leveling rewards?

[Marlamin]

Shit, were we really complaining that much? I recall being pretty excited over all the eyes emoji and stuff, but maybe I'm misremembering. I think I only got upset when it all of a sudden fell silent, after the teasing made it feel like content was imminent.

This thread was pretty light on the complaining compared to the shitstain of a social network that is Twitter.

[Raetary]

Not to be a contrarian but every cinematic from Cataclysm to Dragonflight had some sort of action sequence. I don't think they can rest on their dramatic dialog when they still can't do a full expansion with a satisfying beginning, middle and end.

You people are conflating narrative dissatisfaction with production quality.
The cinematic was, again, fantastic and to decry it merely for the lack of an action sequence is moronic.

I understand that Blizzards heavy, melodramatic character focus isn't working and that people want a return to more grand showcases of visual worldbuilding, but that isn't some justification for dishonest trashtalk.

[Cheezits]

You people are conflating narrative dissatisfaction with production quality.
The cinematic was, again, fantastic and to decry it merely for the lack of an action sequence is moronic.

I understand that Blizzards heavy, melodramatic character focus isn't working and that people want a return to more grand showcases of visual worldbuilding, but that isn't some justification for dishonest trashtalk.

There will also probably be a second cinematic like Dragonflight/Shadowlands that actually shows the new cultures and races.

[Worldshaper]

Indulge my conspiracy theory for a second, but what if the patch actually DOES have some new starting zone stuff? Think about it...

• For the "event", you don't need DF (so it could involve new characters)
• Decatriarch teased to attack Amirdrassil, and 10.2.5 PTR Bel'ameth had some NPCs like the Nelf Paladin who were encrypted and didn't appear on live
• Human, Orc and Worgen got some pretty solid starting zone storylines set up in Dragonflight heritage/sidestory quests
• Lots of new racial tabards and shoulders got added to files, but not included outside of Nelf (which are themed after Darnassus and not Belameth)
• Some kind of Evoker armor labeled "Dracthyr", so could be a heritage armor of sorts
• New Dracthyr classes set up in story, mentioned by devs
• TWW Earthen Death Knight makes no sense now, but could have a lore reason for them to make sense added before they are playable (so before TWW launch)
• New lore opportunities for Shaman (Primalists), Druids and Paladins (Tyr)
  

Maybe the event is a "level-thon" kind of thing that includes new reasons to level characters, which could include new questlines and leveling rewards?

I love it. It's ambitious and probably not true, but certainly exciting.

Now that we know there doesn't seem to be an old world revamp around the corner (unless they surprise us on the 20th anniversary or something), there have to be other reasons for all those assets. Ironforge guards and stuff.

That said, they have said this event (note: event) is a bit in the spirit of SoD. That doesn't seem to match up too well with new starter zones and stuff.

We'll have to see when they add new race/class combos. It felt obvious they'd do it in 10.2 or 10.2.5 but nothing so far. Maybe they'll use it as an expansion pre-patch feature. Paladins, Druids, and Shamans are all relevant in War Within so it'd make sense to keep players subscribed during the summer as they level these new alts.

- - - Updated - - -

This thread was pretty light on the complaining compared to the shitstain of a social network that is Twitter.

Tee-hee.

I usually react negatively at first to a lot of news, tbh. Definitely guilty of always hyping myself up and setting too specific expectations for new content. But I usually come around after a few hours!

- - - Updated - - -

You people are conflating narrative dissatisfaction with production quality.
The cinematic was, again, fantastic and to decry it merely for the lack of an action sequence is moronic.

I understand that Blizzards heavy, melodramatic character focus isn't working and that people want a return to more grand showcases of visual worldbuilding, but that isn't some justification for dishonest trashtalk.

I've loved the announcement cinematics of both DF and WW.

That said, WoW really needs:

- More cinematics. Maybe not BfA levels, but at least one more to close the expansion.

- More action like the old days (it's simply more fun). Especially if they insist on 1-2 cinematics per expansion.

[Cheezits]

That said, they have said this event (note: event) is a bit in the spirit of SoD. That doesn't seem to match up too well with new starter zones and stuff.

I think the SOD thing had more to do with the complete mystery aspect and not exactly tied to what it is. Then again, SOD is all about leveling, so maybe it's tied to it in some other way?

I'll take anything but literal Secrets of Azeroth 2.

[Worldshaper]

I think the SOD thing had more to do with the complete mystery aspect and not exactly tied to what it is. Then again, SOD is all about leveling, so maybe it's tied to it in some other way?

I'll take anything but literal Secrets of Azeroth 2.

Yeah, I really hope this isn't just one of Muffinus' passion projects with secret finding and stuff. Nothing against it or him, but not my cup of tea really.

What would be cool is dynamic gameplay that shakes things up during S4. Tweaked abilities and gear that might give you cool perks for example.

Maybe you could unlock a power to run faster outside, regain HP quicker, or something.

We know that they like using the final patches for experimentation before the next expansion, so maybe they'll try some ideas out.

Could also just be adventure in the literal sense. Travel, explore, do stuff. Swashbuckle?

[Cheezits]

Yeah, I really hope this isn't just one of Muffinus' passion projects with secret finding and stuff. Nothing against it or him, but not my cup of tea really.

Here's the thing... if it's a treasure hunt, why make a video?

[Reive]

probably a treasure hunt with a bunch of streamers

[Ersula]

You people are conflating narrative dissatisfaction with production quality.
The cinematic was, again, fantastic and to decry it merely for the lack of an action sequence is moronic.

I understand that Blizzards heavy, melodramatic character focus isn't working and that people want a return to more grand showcases of visual worldbuilding, but that isn't some justification for dishonest trashtalk.

And you're conflating the aesthetics of thoughtful storytelling with actual depth. The voice & the sword is a mystery box that isn't going to reach a conclusion until 13.2 apparently based on their track record I'd bet it'll be disappointing. And secondly, Anduin's angst period is forced because they didn't bother having him do anything worth being angsty over when he was dominated by the jailer: He's literally whining over nothing in this cinematic. Meanwhile its a lot harder to screw up an action sequence.

[Scyth]

There will also probably be a second cinematic like Dragonflight/Shadowlands that actually shows the new cultures and races.

There will definitely be a second one yeah, hopefully it's a bit more interesting than the first one as I also thought it was a tad boring. It looked phenomenal as always though but that's about it.
I want to see some new characters in cinematics, so tired of the same old ones.

[ImTheMizAwesome]

Doomers from reddit got to me and tempered my expectations - now i don't expect anything other than 30 min event or questline.

[Reive]

Doomers from reddit got to me and tempered my expectations - now i don't expect anything other than 30 min event or questline.

LOL. it's even worse with the new expansion. many are already considering doa

[ImTheMizAwesome]

LOL. it's even worse with the new expansion. many are already considering doa

Im still waiting for expansion, even tho being underground in any format for a longer time is not my cup of tea but i hope it will be fun..
But there is one thing that sucks and many forgot about already, 3 day early access only for most expensive version.
It just sucks to not be able to play at the same release day unless you pay much more.

Besides that, as of now im more interested in 10.2.7 pandamonium event because that just sounds cool plus heritage armor for trolls.

10.2.6 sounds even worse after i read here about content creators + secret treasure hunt. ^^

[allegrian]

They have already said that seamless transition will be used to go to Quel'Thalas.

It will remain in a separate instance from EK.

It makes sense to keep separate, the clash between modern zones with vanilla/cata zones would be jarring. I hope that we get a fully remade EK + Kalimdor some day, even if they go 4 zones at a time per expansion...

[Varodoc]

It makes sense to keep separate, the clash between modern zones with vanilla/cata zones would be jarring. I hope that we get a fully remade EK + Kalimdor some day, even if they go 4 zones at a time per expansion...

They have understood that no one cares about Random Aspulled Realm #22. That formula got tired in MoP.

They'll most likely spend the next 20 years revamping the Old World. A gradual process that begins in Quel'Thalas and Northrend.

[allegrian]

They have understood that no one cares about Random Aspulled Realm #22. That formula got tired in MoP.

They'll most likely spend the next 20 years revamping the Old World. A gradual process that begins in Quel'Thalas and Northrend.

That depends on the reception of Midnight and TLT, but from the hype, you can feel people much more hyped for those to than TWW. TWW was probably planned before they came up with the world soul saga trilogy and they just have rewritten it a bit to make it fit. That's why I fear we'll see mostly Danuser's wrtiting in it's release patch.

[Varodoc]

That depends on the reception of Midnight and TLT, but from the hype, you can feel people much more hyped for those to than TWW. TWW was probably planned before they came up with the world soul saga trilogy and they just have rewritten it a bit to make it fit. That's why I fear we'll see mostly Danuser's wrtiting in it's release patch.

My theory is that Danuser planned TWW as a standalone expansion and then he wanted the Void and Titan expansion to take place in zErEtH uMbRa and ZeReTh OrDuS respectively, but Metzen stepped in and told him to settle down and remember that it's the World of Warcraft, not the World of Dragon Ball.

It was probably Metzen's idea to make the Void and Titan showdowns take place in Quel'Thalas and Northrend.

There comes a certain point in a game's history where you have to stop just adding new shit for the sake of it and start updating the old stuff that has been rotting there for years.

Enough with the new asspulled islands that were conveniently hidden behind a """"magical mist""" until last year. There is a breaking point, and frankly it was already reached with MoP.

There's also the problem that they want to have their cake and eat it too, i.e. asspull a random new island and populate with old world races that, by all accounts, shouldn't be there. That breaks the lore, as evidenced by the Centaur retcon in the Dragon Isles.

This is a Win-Win situation for Blizzard. People love the Old World and want to see it updated, and Blizzard will spend less time designing the new continent because they already have all the concept art and basic geography ready for inspiration, instead of having to design everything from scratch.