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

[huth]

Interesting image but the overlay also includes quite a large part of Ghostlands (bottom where the text is and the part on the right next to the water. There is also a large body of water on the left and top right that is basically dead space. So the overlay makes Eversong seem way larger than it is.

Red is what the actual zone comprises of. It is much smaller than presented in the initial image.
[IMG]

I think there's even more dead space you can cut off, especially on the east side. Quite a bit of mountains that are used for absolutely nothing, not even random stray mobs.

[Joshuaj]

Yes, the Xel'naga.
Still, they're monsters. Gods even. Not your playable Terrans, Zerg or Protoss.



Where did i say that?

I misread it, but still, even if the Void guys were protagonists, why would that be a problem in cinematics compared to if they were monsters? Lack of facial features can totally work, if the emotion can still be felt VIA body language and whatnot. I mean, shit, have you seen Optimus Prime? In a lot of cases, his face is just the mask with eyes, yet he still conveys emotion perfectly.

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Forsaken? ... hmm, How about Meryl Felstorm, Alonsus Faol, Calia Menethil or Derek Proudmoore? Though, i feel these forsaken only work if it would include the northern eastern kingdoms, which i don't think will be part of midnight.

Hmm, how about a undead elf? a Dark Ranger like Velonara or Death Knight Koltira?

I initially did think they'd include all of Northern EK for Midnight (Which is what I'd love), but the idea of Blizzard expanding Quel'thalas into 4 unique zones is honestly really cool as well. Would LOVE to see lots of towering Blood Elf structures, as their architecture is VERY High Fantasy. Mix that with Light and Void stuff, and you have yourself a peak fantastical setting!

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Oh shit. If they can't, it still greatly reduces the chances of them being playable. The dracthyr treatment is a possibility, but it's extremely unpopular. The other possibility is, as you say, the nightborne/zandalari treatment, but that's also highly unlikely, and would mean you'd end up with an ugly DIY model.

By the way, does anyone know why dracthyrs and these NPC models can't wear conventional armor? I've heard it's due to a technology incompatibility. Is this true or false information?



Ethereals deserve a full patch, for sure.

Give me a broken K'aresh with an Arabic palace as part of the main setting of the final Midnight patch, Blizzard! PLEASE!!! Make the final raid Renilash and have us go from that that Ethereal palace to a realm where the Light and Void realms are clashing with one another! Have us team with the Light Pantheon against Dimensius, or against K'aresh (I like the idea that K'aresh went through a similar ordeal Argus went through, but instead of becoming a Death Titan, it became a Void Lord), even if just this once (Us meeting them in a similar manner we met the Titans would be fitting, ngl. Just have them appear for the final boss, and slowly go from there in future expansions).

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Give me all of this Blizzard, and my life is yours!

[micwini]

I think there's even more dead space you can cut off, especially on the east side. Quite a bit of mountains that are used for absolutely nothing, not even random stray mobs.

Correct, I chose not to, because almost every zone has tall mountains (or in this case wide pillars) of dead space. Thing is, I expect them either to upsize the zones or to include a bunch of other zones like EPL/WPL into it.

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So it will be stuck in an instance and there will be . . . a wall in the air that you cannot cross? Cause it IS physically connected to the rest of the continent so unless you shift the zone into the void or something, what you are saying does not work with flying.

They can just add it on top of the existing EK map, or still have a different map like the current version.
With option 1 I think its going to look weird tho. QT being much bigger than other zones similar in lore size.

[username993720]

I misread it, but still, even if the Void guys were protagonists, why would that be a problem in cinematics compared to if they were monsters? Lack of facial features can totally work, if the emotion can still be felt VIA body language and whatnot. I mean, shit, have you seen Optimus Prime? In a lot of cases, his face is just the mask with eyes, yet he still conveys emotion perfectly.

We're talking Warcraft here, sir, not Transformers.
Anyway, apart from robotic humanoids, the rest should be able to display emotions.

[Ersula]

We're talking Warcraft here, sir, not Transformers.
Anyway, apart from robotic humanoids, the rest should be able to display emotions.

What are you talking about? Player characters express two emotions: Annoyed & Angry.

[FossilFree]

No way they split the expansion's launch zones into two regions. I think Azuremyst and Bloodmyst could very well be 12.1, but 12.0 will be all Quel'thalas. Eversong/SMC, Ghostlands, Amani, and one more.

Why is there no way? They already did this in Cataclysm, BFA, and Shadowlands. Seems more likely than not to me.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

Give me a broken K'aresh with an Arabic palace as part of the main setting of the final Midnight patch, Blizzard! PLEASE!!! Make the final raid Renilash and have us go from that that Ethereal palace to a realm where the Light and Void realms are clashing with one another! Have us team with the Light Pantheon against Dimensius, or against K'aresh (I like the idea that K'aresh went through a similar ordeal Argus went through, but instead of becoming a Death Titan, it became a Void Lord), even if just this once (Us meeting them in a similar manner we met the Titans would be fitting, ngl. Just have them appear for the final boss, and slowly go from there in future expansions).

That would be crazy. By the way, speaking of the Arabic theme, I haven't really noticed it on the new ethereal models. They seem more inspired by a Japanese samurai theme with a space theme. It's interesting, I don't know if it's their new theme or if it's another culture, which would be cool. After all, it would be strange if all ethereals had the same culture. Look at this.

[Joshuaj]

We're talking Warcraft here, sir, not Transformers.
Anyway, apart from robotic humanoids, the rest should be able to display emotions.

Transformers was but an example. Ethereals are the topic lmaooo. Ethereal's can very much express emotion in multiple ways.

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That would be crazy. By the way, speaking of the Arabic theme, I haven't really noticed it on the new ethereal models. They seem more inspired by a Japanese samurai theme with a space theme. It's interesting, I don't know if it's their new theme or if it's another culture, which would be cool. After all, it would be strange if all ethereals had the same culture.

It's probably a mix. Wouldn't be shocked if the Ethereals had a unique mixture of Arabic architecture, and Japanese architecture. Imagine those factors in 11.2 mixed with cool Void buildings and whatnot (The likes of which we haven't seen before. So, basically, think Antorus or the Sanctum of Domination, but for Dimensius lol).

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

It's probably a mix. Wouldn't be shocked if the Ethereals had a unique mixture of Arabic architecture, and Japanese architecture. Imagine those factors in 11.2 mixed with cool Void buildings and whatnot (The likes of which we haven't seen before. So, basically, think Antorus or the Sanctum of Domination, but for Dimensius lol).

I don't think I've ever been so excited about ethereals. xD
I like the direction they seem to be taking.

[Joshuaj]

Someone made this on what I assume is Epsilon WoW, and it's basically what I'd love to see from a K'aresh raid (But obviously with more Void and Light stuff, with the final part of the raid taking place in an area where Light and Void's realms clash).

[Cheezits]

It would be funny if they walked back the arabian/persian vibe for Ethereals and replaced it with japanese. I can think of a few reasons for that (the energy camel from the TCG was a bit on the nose).

However, I also think it would be fucking awesome, so bring it on.

[Joshuaj]

I don't think I've ever been so excited about ethereals. xD
I like the direction they seem to be taking.

I've always been excited for this part of WoW, and I really hope the next saga of WoW is focused on Order and Disorder, since that way we can see more of the Titans beyond TLT, and we can return to Outland, potentially see worlds like Nathreza and Xoroth, and potentially explore even further into the Nether.

These places and concepts are things I've been excited about for a while now, and I hope Blizzard expands on this stuff in the coming years. Us going to the backside of Azeroth or so for the next saga would also work, but if you're gonna bring back the Titans, I at least want a saga where we see them actually battle it out with their counterparts. We've touched on Life and Death's counterpart nature in SL and DF, and we're getting Light and Shadow in Midnight. Seeing a proper Order Vs Disorder conflict (And I don't mean the Legion, since that was created by one of the Titans. I don't really count it as a result) would be peakl

Ethereals, Titans, etc, they're all cool, and hopefully we'll see more of this stuff in the future, even if on a more general cosmic scale. Though I also want to see that holy empire from across the storming seas!

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God, that Arathi Empire stuff has me so pumped! We haven't seen a proper Human society in WoW outside of Stormwind, so us eventually seeing this holy empire, and us meeting Thoradin the 9th would be such a delight!

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Why is there no way? They already did this in Cataclysm, BFA, and Shadowlands. Seems more likely than not to me.

Tbf here, the Shadowlands had singular zones that were split (That part was fine, but it was how we got to each zone that sucked), BFA had 2 small regions with 3 zones each, and Cataclysm was a unique ordeal, with only a few zones taking place outside of EK and Kalimdor.

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It would be funny if they walked back the arabian/persian vibe for Ethereals and replaced it with japanese. I can think of a few reasons for that (the energy camel from the TCG was a bit on the nose).

However, I also think it would be fucking awesome, so bring it on.

I think it'll be a mix. They probably don't want things to feel too much like the Throne of the Four Winds or the Brokers (They both provide huge Arabic and/or Indian vibes), so them combining Japanese culture with Arabic culture would make the most sense.

[micwini]

New ethereal models look so shit. The wrappings are way too tight and orderly. It should be more 'uncontained' and loose like the original. Why is it so hard for them to just HD old models instead of completely changing them.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

God, that Arathi Empire stuff has me so pumped! We haven't seen a proper Human society in WoW outside of Stormwind, so us eventually seeing this holy empire, and us meeting Thoradin the 9th would be such a delight!

It's cool that people like arathis. Personally, I find them boring... more human fanatics of the Light. I personally would have preferred something else like lizards (Hi Lovecraft) or something else that doesn't look like humans and worships the Light. That would have been more interesting to me...

[Cheezits]

New ethereal models look so shit. The wrappings are way too tight and orderly. It should be more 'uncontained' and loose like the original. Why is it so hard for them to just HD old models instead of completely changing them.

So they are easier to animate and can wear more armor without it clipping (so probably playable).

I think if they were just meant to be cool NPCs they would look weirder and more alien like the Legion shadowguard.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

New ethereal models look so shit. The wrappings are way too tight and orderly. It should be more 'uncontained' and loose like the original. Why is it so hard for them to just HD old models instead of completely changing them.

That's just what I prefer, they look so much better now. Basically, they're evasive forms that have mummified to maintain a recognizable physical form. Having 2 bandages fighting to stay in place was a bit strange for an advanced civilization... at least they don't look ridiculous now. And from what I've seen, there are personalizations where they have almost no bandages, as you seem to like.

[username993720]

What are you talking about? Player characters express two emotions: Annoyed & Angry.

Blizz developer: " 'scuse me? "

Transformers was but an example. Ethereals are the topic lmaooo. Ethereal's can very much express emotion in multiple ways.

Voice and gestures. That's it.

[Ersula]

Blizz developer: " 'scuse me? "

Voice and gestures. That's it.

WoW isn't Baldur's gate. Player characters don't emote. Not in the face area, anyway.

[Sondrelk]

again this horde nonsense. Silvermoon was longer part of the alliance and friendly to the humans than it was part of the horde. Silvermoon becoming neutral is the most sensical direction forward, even more so for a elven unification with both factions having elves.





You seem to make the error that you think Quel'Thalas will have a seamless connection to the EK. Quel'thalas will more than likely stay in it's own play area and not be part of the EK play area.

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It doesn't connect to the rest of the EK. Like it doesn't connect currently. They are on separate in game zones

Why though? Seamless Quel'thalas is basically one of the reasons people want a revamp of EK to begin with. It's a weak reasoning in the grand scheme, but it's repeated often enough its hard to ignore.

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New ethereal models look so shit. The wrappings are way too tight and orderly. It should be more 'uncontained' and loose like the original. Why is it so hard for them to just HD old models instead of completely changing them.

Presumably because making them look more like the old ones would make them completely unsuitable for player models.
You can't have see-through characters when the armour you wear doesn't have a texture on the side normally hidden.

[username993720]

WoW isn't Baldur's gate. Player characters don't emote. Not in the face area, anyway.

You do realize they've updated the models in WoD, right?