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

[Noirebene]

Also the last time we had an Orc-centric expansion was WoD which was coincidentally announced 10 years ago and the next expansion's release frame is 10 years after WoD's release. A Lightbound invasion would be a very appropriate sequel to WoD. I could also imagine Blizzard doing it as a way to clean up some of the shortcomings the original expansion went through, and give us some of the lost content that we missed out on. Maybe some dungeons and raids that were meant to be released in WoD are re-released via some time-traveling shenegains.

I don't think doing any sort of promotion linked to WoD is a good idea. Even though Shadowlands was badly received, WoD is also seen as one of the worst expansion.
Why would they shoot themselves in the foot with Yrel and the Lightbound ?

[Ersula]

TBF, we have a history of key art hinting at future expansion themes.

Also the last time we had an Orc-centric expansion was WoD which was coincidentally announced 10 years ago and the next expansion's release frame is 10 years after WoD's release. A Lightbound invasion would be a very appropriate sequel to WoD. I could also imagine Blizzard doing it as a way to clean up some of the shortcomings the original expansion went through, and give us some of the lost content that we missed out on. Maybe some dungeons and raids that were meant to be released in WoD are re-released via some time-traveling shenegains.

Multiverses are very popular right now. Maybe the Time Rift scenarios are the timelines they won't be focusing on in 11.0... Which leaves the AU Draenor, the Draenei claim it was destroyed by the orcs & the orcs claim it was destroyed by the Draenei's disregard for nature. (considering the Naaru have attributed nature worship to a corruption pipeline my guess is they did it on purpose.)

Also the only timeline (IE Caverns of time) we don't see in Dragonflight is what the timeline would be like if the Dark Portal was never opened. No Orcs, no Draenei. No Legion? No Lich King?

[Berkilak]

WoW things are going to happen in the WoW franchise. As a WoW character, Thrall might be involved. That doesn’t mean his inclusion in art is a “hint.” He’s simply iconic to the franchise, which independently means that he is utilized in forthcoming narratives and may be used in general Blizzard art, those things being completely unrelated.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Wouldn’t be surprised if thrall is there just because Metzen is back at blizzard and he’ll be opening for blizzcon like he used to.

[Teriz]

I don't think doing any sort of promotion linked to WoD is a good idea. Even though Shadowlands was badly received, WoD is also seen as one of the worst expansion.
Why would they shoot themselves in the foot with Yrel and the Lightbound ?

Yrel, Thrall, Garrosh, and Grom are all popular characters.

Also people have desired playable Arakkoa and Ogres for a very long time.

People don't view WoD as bad in of itself like Shadowlands. They view it as bad because it was cut short, and a lot of its promises weren't kept.

That said, we wouldn't be going back to Draenor, Draenor would be coming to us on Azeroth.

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Wouldn’t be surprised if thrall is there just because Metzen is back at blizzard and he’ll be opening for blizzcon like he used to.

That's very possible as well.

[Nymrohd]

WoD mostly featured Orcs, only in the last patch did Legion themes really ramp up. BFA hardly dealt with Death related themes that the Shadowlands did. It isn't comparable.

Yes the last of three raids. That's a third of the playtime.

[huth]

Wouldn’t be surprised if thrall is there just because Metzen is back at blizzard and he’ll be opening for blizzcon like he used to.

He definitely was a better showmaster than his successors.

[Kiivar86]

I don't know why people give any credence to those supposed expansion theme "leaks", as if Blizzard is really sitting there thinking "Yo we gotta make sure the expansion 5 expansions from now derives from Elementals."

All it is is people seeing a pattern where chance happens, and as someone who works with something that entails randomness, it can make some fucking weird patterns.

[huth]

I don't know why people give any credence to those supposed expansion theme "leaks", as if Blizzard is really sitting there thinking "Yo we gotta make sure the expansion 5 expansions from now derives from Elementals."

All it is is people seeing a pattern where chance happens, and as someone who works with something that entails randomness, it can make some fucking weird patterns.

Classic human pattern recognition overdrive.

[TheramoreIsTheBomb]

give it to us

karabor alliance city or better yet make it a sanctuary city... hell how about this.. bladespire AND karabor as both sanctuary cities.

[micwini]

Ah, smell of expac speculation and actual Blizzcon on the horizon. I missed that.

Yeah Blizzcon does make a difference. DF is OK so far, but the announcement was very much unhype and scuffed. First time we didnt get one of those feature trailers (although the SL one was also very barebones).

[ImTheMizAwesome]

Yeah Blizzcon does make a difference. DF is OK so far, but the announcement was very much unhype and scuffed. First time we didnt get one of those feature trailers (although the SL one was also very barebones).

Ah this DF announcement features with fake roundtable discussion between devs acting like they don't know anything.

[Teriz]

Yeah Blizzcon does make a difference. DF is OK so far, but the announcement was very much unhype and scuffed. First time we didnt get one of those feature trailers (although the SL one was also very barebones).

DF getting truncated on the front end and the back end is a real shame. It's probably my favorite expansion since MoP.

[micwini]

Yrel, Thrall, Garrosh, and Grom are all popular characters.

Also people have desired playable Arakkoa and Ogres for a very long time.

People don't view WoD as bad in of itself like Shadowlands. They view it as bad because it was cut short, and a lot of its promises weren't kept.

That said, we wouldn't be going back to Draenor, Draenor would be coming to us on Azeroth.

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That's very possible as well.

Thrall and Garrosh are indeed popular characters. Maybe Grom too amongst older fans, but URL is definitely not on the same level as the others you mentioned.

[Worldshaper]

WoD mostly featured Orcs, only in the last patch did Legion themes really ramp up. BFA hardly dealt with Death related themes that the Shadowlands did. It isn't comparable.

Well, yeah. WoD, BfA, and DF are the middle acts of their trilogies, and they all had to both pick up the thread where their predecessors left off, and ramp up the tension for the big finale. So neither of them go all-in with their different themes.

You'd have to be blind and deaf (no offense) if you don't see that WoD sets Legion in motion, BfA sets SL in motion, and that DF is setting something involving the elements etc in motion right now.

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"Then, because 11.0 is the final expansion in the "Void" trilogy, after Cataclysm and Dragonflight before it, we get a follow-up to MoP in 12.0 with a thrilling expansion that takes us across the world to the mystical continent of AVALOREN."

Idk what you're on about here, but if you think the Void stuff is gonna end in 11.0, you're out of your kind lol. Hell, I don't even see us seeing a Void Lord in any capacity til at least 13.0-14.0 or so.

I'm not saying the Void literally ends with 11.0.

Fel and Disorder didn't end with Legion, and Death didn't end with Shadowlands.

It's just the culmination of a story years in the making, that's all. Tying up a bunch of lose ends and old stories from the past.

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Ah this DF announcement features with fake roundtable discussion between devs acting like they don't know anything.

Man, I just miss the old panels so much. Just 3-4 nerds on stage (people you recognise) going through a PowerPoint presentation in ugly bowling shirts.

[Alanar]

Ah this DF announcement features with fake roundtable discussion between devs acting like they don't know anything.

That was so cringe..

I mean we all understand they need to sell their expansion, but literally everything was cool and awesome .

[Nymrohd]

That was so cringe..

I mean we all understand they need to sell their expansion, but literally everything was cool and awesome .

Tbh the Zereth Mortis announcement was much more cringe.

[Worldshaper]

I don't know why people give any credence to those supposed expansion theme "leaks", as if Blizzard is really sitting there thinking "Yo we gotta make sure the expansion 5 expansions from now derives from Elementals."

All it is is people seeing a pattern where chance happens, and as someone who works with something that entails randomness, it can make some fucking weird patterns.

Not sure I agree with you there.

While it's true people tend to find patterns in things, there's also no real reason to doubt the suggestion that Blizzard would plan things years in advance.

I believe Tom Chilton, former Game Director, even said as much around WoD, that they were going to be building expansions that tie more into each other from now on over multiple years (as opposed to the earlier expansions which were more standalone and just explored various cool themes planted in WC1-3 and Vanilla). This is later corroborated Danuser, who said 9.2 was kind of the end of "one book" in WoW. The end of the Lich King/Death trilogy, makes perfect sense.

Lo and behold, that's exactly what we're seeing.

WoD literally screams "TBC 2" in every way. Same location, same characters, same enemy, etc. Similarly, Legion clearly picks up where WoD left off, and carries out the invasion that Gul'dan set in motion.

The same thing happens with WotLK, BfA and Shadowlands. First WotLK introduced a bunch of stories, characters and locations (some from WC3 of course), them BfA reintroduced all of that (Sylvanas, Jaina, Arthas, Calia, etc) and ultimately set Shadowlands in motion. First with the Burning of Teldrassil, then the war and all the souls that claimed for the Maw (we know Sylvanas colluded with the Jailer at this time, and had mysteriously gotten his powers).

Now we're seeing the same thing happen to Cataclysm, Drahonflight and whatever comes next.

After that, it wouldn't surprise me if they pick up on MoP with a lighthearted expansion about pirates sailing to a quirky new land, without massive enemies on the horizon.

[Nymrohd]

Not sure I agree with you there.

While it's true people tend to find patterns in things, there's also no real reason to doubt the suggestion that Blizzard would plan things years in advance.

I believe Tom Chilton, former Game Director, even said as much around WoD, that they were going to be building expansions that tie more into each other from now on over multiple years (as opposed to the earlier expansions which were more standalone and just explored various cool themes planted in WC1-3 and Vanilla).

Lo and behold, that's exactly what we're seeing.

WoD literally screams "TBC 2" in every way. Same location, same characters, same enemy, etc. Similarly, Legion clearly picks up where WoD left off, and carries out the invasion that Gul'dan set in motion.

The same thing happens with WotLK, BfA and Shadowlands. First WotLK introduced a bunch of stories, characters and locations (some from WC3 of course), them BfA reintroduced all of that (Sylvanas, Jaina, Arthas, Calia, etc) and ultimately set Shadowlands in motion. First with the Burning of Teldrassil, then the war and all the souls that claimed for the Maw (we know Sylvanas colluded with the Jailer at this time, and had mysteriously gotten his powers).

Now we're seeing the same thing happen to Cataclysm, Drahonflight and whatever comes next.

After that, it wouldn't surprise me if they pick up on MoP with a lighthearted expansion about pirates sailing to a quirky new land, without massive enemies on the horizon.

The question is, why would they build their story by following a recursive pattern instead of . . .I don't know, following where the story goes

[Alanar]

Tbh the Zereth Mortis announcement was much more cringe.

I am not even sure I have seen it, might have skipped that one.