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

[Khaza-R]

Again though, it is revisiting a storyline Thrall already went through. At the same time when Anduin is going through an identical storyline. So its kind of stupid to do imo. And this is in a trilogy when they've gone on and on in interviews about how helpful parallel development is for continuity.

Totally agree. The War Within is a not-so-subtle dual reference to the actual war with Xal'atath within the planet and some of the character's own inner conflict. Issue with Thrall being added to this cast is that all his inner turmoil has pretty much been addressed so where does he go from here?

He does have his own short story with Durak so maybe they will introduce something there that's not so much of a rehash. Not really sure where it could go other than maybe have Durak falling under the sway of Geya'rah. But even that puts her pretty close to Garrosh 2.0 territory.

[Super Dickmann]

I wish they had the balls to do zero Horde presence and zero Horde AR at launch TWW, if only to see what the reaction would be.

It might as well be, the plot is about dwarves, Anduin and Alleria. Thrall only shows up at max level to repeat shit and the others are cameos. To go full ham on it at the very least serves to agitate forums and twitter and have people lobby even more strongly for factions, which is good in the long run. In the words of Comrade Bronstein, the worse, the better.

[Cheezits]

Totally agree. The War Within is a not-so-subtle dual reference to the actual war with Xal'atath within the planet and some of the character's own inner conflict. Issue with Thrall being added to this cast is that all his inner turmoil has pretty much been addressed so where does he go from here?

He does have his own short story with Durak so maybe they will introduce something there that's not so much of a rehash. Not really sure where it could go other than maybe have Durak falling under the sway of Geya'rah. But even that puts her pretty close to Garrosh 2.0 territory.

Geyarah will be fine because there is no other significant Mag'har and they aren't going to villain bat a racial leader again, as evidenced by the Emperor being introduced to take Evil Turalyon's place.

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It might as well be, the plot is about dwarves, Anduin and Alleria. Thrall only shows up at max level to repeat shit and the others are cameos. To go full ham on it at the very least serves to agitate forums and twitter and have people lobby even more strongly for factions, which is good in the long run. In the words of Comrade Bronstein, the worse, the better.

It's an alliance expansion through and through, but Thrall, Horde Earthen and Horde minor presence is "enough" for the lowest common denominator to think the Horde is a part of the expansion. I dream of a world where they were completely absent ala DF.

Would the majority stupid audience actually get mad if only the Alliance showed up? Would they care? We will never know.

[Super Dickmann]

It's an alliance expansion through and through, but Thrall, Horde Earthen and Horde minor presence is "enough" for the lowest common denominator to think the Horde is a part of the expansion. I dream of a world where they were completely absent ala DF.

It would've been much improved. Earthen should've been solely Alliance, and Thrall should be absent, as he effectively will be for plot purposes anyway. Zero Horde in this plot is the way forward.

[Nymrohd]

Friendly reminder that following TWW is Midnight. You know, the all blood elf expansion when the only reasonably additional plot is Amani.

[Cheezits]

Friendly reminder that following TWW is Midnight. You know, the all blood elf expansion when the only reasonably additional plot is Amani.

Considering Vereesa's complete absence (meaning she will be used soon, unless they are hiding that she dies) and the spamming of the Silver Covenant, the four zones (Belf, Forsaken, Troll, ????) could all be Horde-themed zones and it will still be a heavily Alliance/neutral plot. Also Anduin and Alleria (even if she goes crazy/evil/possessed)

[Super Dickmann]

Friendly reminder that following TWW is Midnight. You know, the all blood elf expansion when the only reasonably additional plot is Amani.

If you think Bob or god forbid, anyone actually representative of the only Horde-style blood elves in Rommath, will have more to do than Alleria, her family or Our Master Anduin, I've beachfront property in Arizona to sell you.

[Cheezits]

If you think Bob or god forbid, anyone actually representative of the only Horde-style blood elves in Rommath, will have more to do than Alleria, her family or Our Master Anduin, I've beachfront property in Arizona to sell you.

There's also the fact that a LOT of Warcraft fans have never and will never consider Belves as Horde, so take that as you will.

Amani area will for sure be a Troll funfest and Forsaken may get a zone (be it Ghostlands or Lordaeron) but yeah. Considering how much Silver Covenant is being thrown at us at TWW launch it will be a big neutral party with aesthetics that are not usually associated with Horde besides the Trolls.

[Makabreska]

Friendly reminder that following TWW is Midnight. You know, the all blood elf expansion when the only reasonably additional plot is Amani.

All elf expansion, rather.

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There's also the fact that a LOT of Warcraft fans have never and will never consider Belves as Horde, so take that as you will.

I don't think this tiny group is meaningful at all. Let's not forget that belves were the most played Horde race for many expansions. Yes, they had strong racials, but imagine a scenario when a guy says "Belves ain't Horde!" while playing one.

[Murlocos]

The silly part of the Thrall thing is that he's literally using magic in the alpha already.



I wrote him off at this point; he's a cameo at best that multiple developers can't even remember is important in interviews, so all you could hope for otherwise is a Danuserian wait for the big payoff in the .1 patch, okay actually the .2 patch, no REALLY the .3 patch, well obviously this was setup for the next expansion, etc. He's a prime exhibit of how the vast majority of the cast is just there to appear in the background at this point and not actually do anything.

And yeah, it's very important to note Midnight is an elf expansion, not a Horde expansion. I'd argue it's more likely the majority of the characters will be human and high/void elves and that the story will push the blood elves towards friendship with them rather than seeing any real Horde representation or identity.

[Super Dickmann]

Amani area will for sure be a Troll funfest and Forsaken may get a zone (be it Ghostlands or Lordaeron) but yeah. Considering how much Silver Covenant is being thrown at us at TWW launch it will be a big neutral party with aesthetics that are not usually associated with Horde besides the Trolls.

My personal wishlist is a Tranquilien 2.0 and finally restoring the Forsaken-Blood Elf connection that TBC set up and nixed, Sylvanas cameo is optional. The Amani storyline is likely to be a carfire no matter which they go.

The way the Silver Covenant is handled is also another reason I'm not holding out hope, considering they get featured alongside blood elves despite their entire grounds for existing being opposing said blood elves.

[Makabreska]

And yeah, it's very important to note Midnight is an elf expansion, not a Horde expansion. I'd argue it's more likely the majority of the characters will be human and high/void elves and that the story will push the blood elves towards friendship with them rather than seeing any real Horde representation or identity.

I rather expect sort of a global elf unification rather than anything else.

[Cheezits]

The way the Silver Covenant is handled is also another reason I'm not holding out hope, considering they get featured alongside blood elves despite their entire grounds for existing being opposing said blood elves.

What do you think about the idea of Thalassians being shifted to a Neutral race with SC vs Sin'dorei as the faction choices?

[Ersula]

Geyarah will be fine because there is no other significant Mag'har and they aren't going to villain bat a racial leader again, as evidenced by the Emperor being introduced to take Evil Turalyon's place.

Interesting that it's Alleria who's dialog denotes she has put the faction conflict behind her, but Turalyon still really hates the horde.

What do you think about the idea of Thalassians being shifted to a Neutral race with SC vs Sin'dorei as the faction choices?

People keep saying this as if we don't already have that. Just like there's a Pandaran & Drakthyr option for the horde & alliance, there's a high elf on each side as well. The Void Elves for alliance & Blood elves for horde. What would be different? Do you need to have the exact same hair options that badly?

[Cheezits]

I rather expect sort of a global elf unification rather than anything else.

The more I've sat on it the less I think this will have anything to do with Night Elves, and Metzen was pretty strictly referring to quashing the Quel'dorei vs Sin'dorei beef with a touch of Ren'dorei in there.

Shal'dorei will be there due to union with the Blood Elves. Void Elves hang out with Alleria and the Silver Covenant. Night Elves just don't fit.

[Super Dickmann]

What do you think about the idea of Thalassians being shifted to a Neutral race with SC vs Sin'dorei as the faction choices?

If current blood elf characterization persists it's well overdue. There's no actual grounds connecting the post-TBC blood elves to the Horde except for the Mists events, which have been dropped off with the blood elves paying reparations to Jaina for the temerity of doubting her judgment.

[Murlocos]

I rather expect a sort of a global elf unification rather than anything else.

I don't know how all-encompassing they intend it to be. The Thalassian splinter groups are the obvious picks, if they're trying to shove the night elves in there it's just going to feel diluted.

The implication that all conflicts, hatred and grudges on Azeroth have been forgiven at this point except for Silvermoon elf infighting is really funny. Kind of already feels undermined when the rest of the world became best friends offscreen.

[Cheezits]

Interesting that it's Alleria who's dialog denotes she has put the faction conflict behind her, but Turalyon still really hates the horde.
People keep saying this as if we don't already have that. Just like there's a Pandaran & Drakthyr option for the horde & alliance, there's a high elf on each side as well. The Void Elves for alliance & Blood elves for horde. What would be different? Do you need to have the exact same hair options that badly?

Considering we are very likely getting an expansion inspired by the Helf thread from the wow forums...

I'm not gonna quote the many many posts where hardcore helfies said no, the skin tones aren't enough, but even barring that the character lore of a Velf specifically forbids them from being a Quel'dorei. Let alone the racials. Barring spaghetti code problems, shifting "Belf" to be the Horde side of a neutral race is a cheap and easy solution to something a ton of hardcore fans want and opens a generic elf fantasy option for casual players just starting WoW. And opens up a ton of race changes.

Easy win.

[Ersula]

The more I've sat on it the less I think this will have anything to do with Night Elves, and Metzen was pretty strictly referring to quashing the Quel'dorei vs Sin'dorei beef with a touch of Ren'dorei in there.

Shal'dorei will be there due to union with the Blood Elves. Void Elves hang out with Alleria and the Silver Covenant. Night Elves just don't fit.

If the Night Elves are involved in Midnight at all, it will be relative to the new world tree. The "Quel'thalas" region now borders Silvermoon, Amirdrassil and Suramar, and a huge birth of sunken highborne ruins. Seems like we'll be seeing a lot of Naga if we pull the Night Elves into the plotline.

[Raetary]

Night Elves just don't fit.

You can tie them in by having them help restore Eversong.