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

[Super Dickmann]

It will get cut and Alex will continue to be a plotted plant who's only interaction with the most pivotal part of her on-screen history will be forgiving the people who did it apropo of nothing in a tie-in book.

[Lahis]

It will get cut and Alex will continue to be a plotted plant who's only interaction with the most pivotal part of her on-screen history will be forgiving the people who did it apropo of nothing in a tie-in book.

The Twitter outrage has reached so massive levels already that Blizz will never again go anywhere near that plot point.

Will probably cut Grim Batol from Cataclysm Classic at this point.

[Reive]

While we're on the Alexstrasza stuff...

This response sucks.

he's right. there is way worse shit in wow than what happened to alexstrasza. one should take the game for what it is: a fictional work

[Sondrelk]

Nah. Water in cinematics still looks different, this is a fairly old technique to make it look not flat that doesn't actually look like real water much. The engine used fits neither how Blizzard's cinematics look nor how ingame graphics look.

They probably wouldn't use only a single ship model, but that's not something specific enough to be a tell.

And i think your imagination of what an SW raid could be is probably far more grand than it actually would have been.

You probably wouldn't have gotten all the stuff I mentioned, but one of them at least seems likely. The raid has to be somewhere. And the part comprising the cathedral district is a good quarter of the effective area of the city.

Point being, it's a cooler concept than SoO, which was more interesting as a core narrative element, rather than the actual raid as we saw by it only having three or four bosses in Orgrimmar proper, and the remaining 9-10 in Pandaria, or the newly created Undercroft.

[micwini]

It was quite impressive; it looks to me like it was arranged by a model viewer on some parts, but that's only applicable to the ghosts and ships, not to the trees and only somewhat to the barriers. I don't know whether or not the longboat asset was already in the game or not, but it looks like it was custom-made, though possibly by slotting some things together. I think the longship was entirely custom-made, since the head is at a different angle and generally entirely different from the WotLK Kvaldir longships.



As we saw earlier, it would probably take a great deal of talent and patience to AI-generate. It's too readily-visible now. Maybe the 12.0 leaks will look convincing, but I'm doubtful due to how easy it was to detect the first set of images.

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That's definitely an awkward one. Hopefully we get something like the Empire of Dragons leak in terms of truly high-effort leaks. It has a number of details that tipped people off that it was fanart, like the mirrored design on the scratches on the upper rim, but it's very excellent work and I'm quite happy @bagina went through the effort with it. It is a really good example of what a fake leak ought to be insofar as I see it: concise, credible, and liable to produce interesting discussion and sincere interest. Ironically, the only thing that was particularly different from real leaks was the absence of detail; most expansion leaks I recall are dropped with a decent amount of detail, at least enough to be surmised from the trailer. More recent expansion leaks seem to have different people parceling out different details and leaking things at different times, so the best way to make a fake leak would probably be to collaborate with somebody and have them help.

Empire of Dragons logo was debunked quickly and I remember a specific ultra long post highlighting certain parts of the image and explain why it was fake/bad quality. Somehow people hold this one as "the true one" for quite a while. I will never understand why.

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Wokies mad because of Alexstrasza quest. Lmao. Popcorn content.

[Cheezits]

https://www.wowhead.com/news/world-o...e-order-333496

So the reason the Primalists have no lore in game is because... it was saved for a book? I thought they said they wouldn't be doing this anymore.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

More keep her imprisoned. Though that's not all that much better.

Do feel like they should change this one to something else, though, yeah. Also the thing is literally just laying in the grass behind a cart. This feels like it could be easily changed to something else.

edit: Follow-up tweet shows present-day Alexstrasza's response so I guess it isn't entirely glossed over. That's...something?

It’s not just keeping her locked up though it’s actively using her against her will in multiple ways. If it was just her locked a way for a bit that’s one thing but making us complicate in the things the dragonmaw did to her has to be some of the lowest things in wow.

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It will get cut and Alex will continue to be a plotted plant who's only interaction with the most pivotal part of her on-screen history will be forgiving the people who did it apropo of nothing in a tie-in book.

Honestly if they had any sense they would swap it and make it so the dragon maw weren’t going to lose the demon soul and we have to go in to make sure it’s destroyed so Alex can then break free and slay the orcs.

[Raetary]

he's right. there is way worse shit in wow than what happened to alexstrasza. one should take the game for what it is: a fictional work

Worse things having happened in warcraft lore doesn't somehow shield this from any sort of criticism.
Especially when a lot of the hyper terrible shit really didn't need to happen either.

This is a throwaway daily where we actively help her rape and enslavement, a character we personally and continually have to deal with.
This quest, despite its theme and implications, is literally put in the same category of quests where we do random whimsical shit like prevent kid-jaina from polymorphin half the Boralus guard.

It really doesn't take much brain power to recognize why people are upset by this.

[micwini]

https://www.wowhead.com/news/world-o...e-order-333496

So the reason the Primalists have no lore in game is because... it was saved for a book? I thought they said they wouldn't be doing this anymore.

Looks like Vyranoth will turn sides and become an ally at some point. She's mentioned in that article as "Alexstrasza's primal friend". It's mentioned that both of them tried to work out peace. It also fits the woke agenda so I guess it is all but confirmed.

[Hitei]

Looks like Vyranoth will turn sides at some point. She's mentioned in that article as "Alexstrasza's primal friend".

The book is about the war before the Icarnates were locked away. They were friends 20,000 years ago.

[Raetary]

https://www.wowhead.com/news/world-o...e-order-333496

So the reason the Primalists have no lore in game is because... it was saved for a book? I thought they said they wouldn't be doing this anymore.

Despite the efforts of the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and her primal friend, Vyranoth, to preserve peace, both sides slip closer to violence, as dragons are forced to choose a side or be swept up in the growing conflict. With battle lines and allegiances drawn, the war amongst dragonkind shakes the foundation of the world. Both sides realize they will have to make sacrifices to secure the future of their kind, sacrifices that will cascade through the ages.

Oh, they are definitely setting Vyranoth up to end up neutral or friendly.

[Aucald]

Looks like Vyranoth will turn sides and become an ally at some point. She's mentioned in that article as "Alexstrasza's primal friend". It's mentioned that both of them tried to work out peace. It also fits the woke agenda so I guess it is all but confirmed.

Based on the blurb, it seems more like Vyranoth and Alexstrasza used to be friends in the early days after the Aspects were promoted, so to speak, and both working to try to preserve peace and amiability between the new Dragonflights and the primal dissenters who opposed Titanic interference. Obviously, their friendship didn't last and Vyranoth chose her Primalist compatriots over Alexstrasza, based on her later imprisonment and continued opposition today.

[Nebron]

Empire of Dragons logo was debunked quickly and I remember a specific ultra long post highlighting certain parts of the image and explain why it was fake/bad quality. Somehow people hold this one as "the true one" for quite a while. I will never understand why.

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bolvar photo leak has also been "debunked" by literally digital artists, who scanned it any way possible to prove it's falsity.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

It will get cut and Alex will continue to be a plotted plant who's only interaction with the most pivotal part of her on-screen history will be forgiving the people who did it apropo of nothing in a tie-in book.

I honestly understand the outrage about this on account of the real-world context, but I do worry that Blizzard will misread "this is perturbing on account of all those people that you enabled being raped in real life" as "this is perturbing because you mention rape exists". I could absolutely imagine Blizzard being tone-deaf enough not to realize that people aren't upset because of the dark content, but because of their own history. I'm quite happy to see a course correction towards something a bit bleaker, but I worry Blizzard's tone-deafness may preempt it.

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Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bolvar photo leak has also been "debunked" by literally digital artists, who scanned it any way possible to prove it's falsity.

And I do confess I had a moment like that with the Dracthyr, as I was on a near-lethal dose of copium at the time. I'd hardly fault myself, though, given the incredible shift in design direction.

[micwini]

Oh, they are definitely setting Vyranoth up to end up neutral or friendly.

Yep the description makes it quite obvious. I hate how teasers/trailers/blurbs always reveal/spoil so much.

Based on the blurb, it seems more like Vyranoth and Alexstrasza used to be friends in the early days after the Aspects were promoted, so to speak, and both working to try to preserve peace and amiability between the new Dragonflights and the primal dissenters who opposed Titanic interference. Obviously, their friendship didn't last and Vyranoth chose her Primalist compatriots over Alexstrasza, based on her later imprisonment and continued opposition today.

While that is true, we have to remember that Blizzard writing often does not make sense. They easily gloss over large timegaps like this because they are incomprehensible to simple people. Also she could be easily swayed/turn after they lose badly (killing Fyrakk/Iridikron). Or after she sees the deep ends Iridikron is willing to go, she's going to be like "fuck that is too far, I'm out". It's lame story telling, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bolvar photo leak has also been "debunked" by literally digital artists, who scanned it any way possible to prove it's falsity.

I can't remember this. It came out way closer to the reveal and it was quite obvious that "this is it".

[Santandame]

This may have already been discussed, however - going off the War of the Scaleborn synopsis, it seems Vyranoth is the more peaceful leaning Incarnate.

Perhaps its likely she will defect this expansion? Whether that means she joins the reoccurring cast of characters going forward, or killed by Iridikron this expansion is another discussion.

[Reive]

Worse things having happened in warcraft lore doesn't somehow shield this from any sort of criticism.
Especially when a lot of the hyper terrible shit really didn't need to happen either.

those "terrible things that didn't need to happen" are part of what made wow interesting. Dragonflight doesn't have any of those moments and it's the most boring expansion ever made.

This is a throwaway daily where we actively help her rape and enslavement, a character we personally and continually have to deal with.
This quest, despite its theme and implications, is literally put in the same category of quests where we do random whimsical shit like prevent kid-jaina from polymorphin half the Boralus guard.

Are you helping the orcs chain her? are you helping he consort with the mating process? No. then you're not "actively" helping her rape and enslavement. the focus of the quest is moving the demon soul to it's right place. what happens to alexstrasza is just one of many consequences

It really doesn't take much brain power to recognize why people are upset by this.

It does tho. i can't understand how people can feel so viscerally upset by a fictional dragon getting raped in a fictional work. it's not the first nor the last work where something brutal happens. people just need to touch grass.

[Hitei]

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bolvar photo leak has also been "debunked" by literally digital artists, who scanned it any way possible to prove it's falsity.

It wasn't really debunked, just had things that seemed off about it pointed out. (like that his body was orange but eyes blue, because it was in the middle of him switching colors, or that there were layering errors; the bolvar image was placed behind the diagonal background bars for the image)

In fact one of the things that kept it around was that it couldn't be actually debunked. No source could be found for its backgrounds, or the hammer, or the model, much like the Bastion image.

[Santandame]

https://www.wowhead.com/news/three-n...nd-more-333487

It's very intriguing. The "titan utopia" are supposed to represent titans... in triceratops?
And these "future robot pets"? tinker teaser?
Where do you think they come from? From the megadungeon? Or is it hints about the next storylines or maybe Avaloren?

Could be South Seas? Undermine/Kezan, Tel'Abim, Plunder Isle etc. Would explain the robots and the triceratops could be from a South Seas island. The titan facility Uldaz could be located somewhere in the South Seas too.

[Nebron]

It wasn't really debunked, just had things that seemed off about it pointed out. (like that his body was orange but eyes blue, because it was in the middle of him switching colors, or that there were layering errors; the bolvar image was placed behind the diagonal background bars for the image)

In fact one of the things that kept it around was that it couldn't be actually debunked. No source could be found for its backgrounds, or the hammer, or the model, much like the Bastion image.

Yeah, yeah I didn't mean it was debunked, since it actually was legit I meant, there were people who made pretty huge effort to point the image wasn't legit, apart from the obvious things that seemed off, like the colors indeed.