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

[Limayria]

I hope the alliance house is similar to the garrison, Lunarfall was so nice to hang out in

[Cheezits]

Well the talk about worrying about distancing players does make me think at least one neutral(?) hood will come with Midnight launch or at least be announced at the beginning, as they seem aware that this housing may keep people out of expansion content.

Quel'thalas/Eversong would fit and it will probably be neutral anyway due to Velf/Belf reunion. If they wanted to branch more into factions they can dip into Lordaeron, gilneas and maybe Azuremyst, and also more surprising options like K'aresh and the Amani Highlands.

[Hitei]

Well the talk about worrying about distancing players does make me think at least one neutral(?) hood will come with Midnight launch or at least be announced at the beginning, as they seem aware that this housing may keep people out of expansion content.

Quel'thalas/Eversong would fit and it will probably be neutral anyway due to Velf/Belf reunion. If they wanted to branch more into factions they can dip into Lordaeron, gilneas and maybe Azuremyst, and also more surprising options like K'aresh and the Amani Highlands.

The entire system comes with Midnight so I can't imagine them adding another one there. If anything I'd expect an additional Northrend/snowy themed layout with TLT.

[Cheezits]

The entire system comes with Midnight so I can't imagine them adding another one there. If anything I'd expect an additional Northrend/snowy themed layout with TLT.

Per the roadmap I'm expecting this feature to launch early-access, which would tie into how nothing related to QT has been shown so far.

[Throren]

I feel like the people that are all fir keeping housing to just Elwynn/Durotar aren't really housing types or don't understand the appeal of housing

It isn't just having a spot that's your own that you can decorate. That's just garrisons with extra steps.

It's having a place that feel personal to you and your character. A hardcore dwarf fan will want a stone dwarven house underground, a tauren fan might want a Wigwam or tent on a bluff overlooking vast plains. I can imagine a lot of night Elf players would kill for a home in an area evocative of Teldrassil or Ashenvale's environment.

It isn't just about having a spot to decorate, but the aesthetic of the house itself and the aesthetic of the world and biome around it.

For example me personally: No matter how much I decorate it, my Dwarf will never feel at home in the Elwynn zone, I'll always feel like an imposter, a dwarf squatting in a human lands. Especially for RPers who may be like "Well my character lives in their homeland, it feels weird to call a random house in another kingdom home"

[Worldshaper]

Oh and let's see, what could be a potential timeline for this feature? I'm guessing they'll go quiet for a little bit while 11.1, 11.1.5, and 11.1.7 keeps us busy. So about a quarter or so.

We've got 7 months to go before Gamescom and Midnight being detailed, though.

I'm guessing they'll drop at least 1-2 more blog posts on housing before then, perhaps explaining the social aspects of a neighbourhood as well as the basics of acquiring and building your house. Just to get those crucial issues and any potential feedback out of the way before they settle on everything and start going into the details of specific customisation and features.

When they re-announce Midnight, I'm guessing they'll give another look at housing and show some videos while devs talk about it. They'll probably announce Midnight pre-purchase with unique elven customisation for housing as a pre-purchase bonus.

Then we're in for another 4 months or so before the feature is released in late December or early January.

Midnight's alpha should probably go up around september if it releases in February of 2026, and I'm guessing housing will be part of it (unless they test housing separately since it's an evergreen system added to the base game).

[Joshuaj]

The entire system comes with Midnight so I can't imagine them adding another one there. If anything I'd expect an additional Northrend/snowy themed layout with TLT.

Yeah, Midnight is giving us Neighborhoods in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms respectively. Only make sense they'd add a Neighborhood in Northrend during TLT. Possibly somewhere around Howling Fjord, Grizzly Hills, and Dragonblight respectively?

[Sondrelk]

I would be fine with that, but I think some areas like Nelf and Belf need to be huge or their respective fans will riot. Also elf stuff has mass appeal.

I wouldn't mind smaller plots as well, like around or inside Undercity or Booty Bay.

If they really wanted to drive some metrics, have it so you unlock a hood of VIP suites in the Galaggio or Incontinental once you max out the raid renown. Or similarly in the City of Threads if they go back and add a renown to Nerubar.

Guess it depends. Some races like the mentioned Worgen and Forsaken have large empty areas that could easily fit housing plots, same with Nelves in Bel'ameth, and Draenei in Azuremyst.
What will be done with Nelves though? I suppose you could assume Quel'thalas will increase in size to a proper expansion size for Midnight, but that is a big maybe. Maybe in the ruined half of Silvermoon?

Hard to say for sure what they might have planned in the future. It sounds like they will be adding random assets from newer content to rewards tracks for you to unlock. But it's still an open question whether they will give us the older assets like Suramar or Vrykul assets at some point.

[Joshuaj]

I feel like the people that are all fir keeping housing to just Elwynn/Durotar aren't really housing types or don't understand the appeal of housing

It isn't just having a spot that's your own that you can decorate. That's just garrisons with extra steps.

It's having a place that feel personal to you and your character. A hardcore dwarf fan will want a stone dwarven house underground, a tauren fan might want a Wigwam or tent on a bluff overlooking vast plains. I can imagine a lot of night Elf players would kill for a home in an area evocative of Teldrassil or Ashenvale's environment.

It isn't just about having a spot to decorate, but the aesthetic of the house itself and the aesthetic of the world and biome around it.

Yeah, but this is also why I want Blizzard to focus on these two Neighborhoods for now. I'd rather Blizzard perfect the foundations of housing first, and then expand to please the fanbase.

[Sondrelk]

"-Having many housing zones conflicts with the second pillar of designing a feature that is “Deeply Social.” In a world where players can live in many different zones, they become increasingly spread out and even with aggressive sharding, the chance of seeing other players, much less interacting with them, drops quickly.

-Putting it bluntly, zones are a lot of work. We’d much rather do a great job with a small number of zones than do a passable job on a large number (or come up with solutions that take the player out of the world into their own personal instance of a zone). We chose these as our starting points because of how iconic they are for their respective factions and how much they feel like home to so many players already."

This is actually the smartest thing for them to do, ngl. They definitely don't want to repeat the whole Garrison BS.

Depends on how many housing plots. One for each zone is definitely too much. But one for each major racial hub isnt that far fetched. And while some like a potential Draenei or Goblin themed housing plot might be more niche, it's still a clear possibility that will encourage socializing.

[Joshuaj]

Ya know damn well Blizzard doesn't want to copy the mistakes of the Garrison feature.

- - - Updated - - -

Depends on how many housing plots. One for each zone is definitely too much. But one for each major racial hub isnt that far fetched. And while some like a potential Draenei or Goblin themed housing plot might be more niche, it's still a clear possibility that will encourage socializing.

This is fair. Again, I'm sure Blizzard will look into this idea after launch.

[Sondrelk]

Yeah, which is why I'm surprised there's a lot of talk about additional zones/neighborhoods. I guess theoretically Quel'thalas and Northrend could come with their respective expansions, but I think they really want us to settle in Durotar and Elwynn for a bit. I think it's a great idea, going back to where it all began for a lot of people. I think it'll be incredible if these aren't fully instanced zones and we get revamps of Durotar & Elwynn (plus surroundings)

I imagine we will get a housing plot for each core race in Alliance and Horde. Meaning Stormwind, Ironforge, Bel'ameth, Gnomeregan (maybe), and Gilneas for Alliance. And Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, Lordaeron, Echo Isles (maybe), and Somewhere Goblin themed for Horde.
Just these plots would probably take until at least the end of TLT to be added if they consider them a priority. And I imagine they would tide over players nicely for a good long while.

[Cheezits]

Have they confirmed if the house exteriors are tied to the neighborhood? If they aren't locked in that way, then there isn't much reason to focus on "maintaining" a hood other than bug fixes.

[Sondrelk]

Yeah, but this is also why I want Blizzard to focus on these two Neighborhoods for now. I'd rather Blizzard perfect the foundations of housing first, and then expand to please the fanbase.

This is definitely the most important aspect of this. And I do feel that what we are seeing so far is promising.

[Wyrt]

I am extremely disappointed housing is restricted to human and orc zones. I don't play humans or orcs.

[Joshuaj]

Have they confirmed if the house exteriors are tied to the neighborhood? If they aren't locked in that way, then there isn't much reason to focus on "maintaining" a hood other than bug fixes.

"Boundless Self-Expression: Our highest priority is to allow players to build a house that shows off their own personal tastes or their Warband’s, acts as a desired backdrop for roleplaying, or just allows players to create something in a flight of fancy. The toolset should be easy enough for someone with no 3D experience to be comfortable with and use successfully, but it should also be powerful enough that players can surprise us with their creations or drill down to get the tiniest details just right. The gamut of decor options spans not just the cultures of Azeroth but the many expansions of World of Warcraft as well."

Seems it'll likely start off with Orc and Human exteriors and interiors based on the concept art, but as things go on, more and more options for different races and cultures will become available.

- - - Updated - - -

I am extremely disappointed housing is restricted to human and orc zones. I don't play humans or orcs.

Would you rather they make multiple Neighborhood regions and stress themselves out before Midnight's launch, thus potentially giving us a half-baked system like the Garrisons? Or would you rather they start off with 2 Neighborhoods first, and then expand once the foundations for housing are properly put in place?

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

I feel like the people that are all fir keeping housing to just Elwynn/Durotar aren't really housing types or don't understand the appeal of housing

It isn't just having a spot that's your own that you can decorate. That's just garrisons with extra steps.

It's having a place that feel personal to you and your character. A hardcore dwarf fan will want a stone dwarven house underground, a tauren fan might want a Wigwam or tent on a bluff overlooking vast plains. I can imagine a lot of night Elf players would kill for a home in an area evocative of Teldrassil or Ashenvale's environment.

It isn't just about having a spot to decorate, but the aesthetic of the house itself and the aesthetic of the world and biome around it.

For example me personally: No matter how much I decorate it, my Dwarf will never feel at home in the Elwynn zone, I'll always feel like an imposter, a dwarf squatting in a human lands. Especially for RPers who may be like "Well my character lives in their homeland, it feels weird to call a random house in another kingdom home"

I feel the same way, I think their desire to make housing a deeply social element is a big misconception. Personally, I want my characters to live in places that I love deeply, where I spent many hours in my early days. I want my dwarf to live in Thelsamar in Loch Modan, not in a human house or in some instance I don't know where. I've always been lonely and isolated, and I want to reflect that in the game by having a home in the open world somewhere that fits my character.

Honestly, I find it hard to understand how people can get excited about what's been announced. I just can't. I'm waiting to see, but right now I feel like they're just giving me the middle finger and I can go fuck myself.

[Wyrt]

I have no interest in human/orc houses in human/orc zones, so it's a dead feature to me. I'd rather they spent time on something else if they aren't going to do housing right.

[Joshuaj]

I have no interest in human/orc houses in human/orc zones, so it's a dead feature to me. I'd rather they spent time on something else if they aren't going to do housing right.

It's going to expand across multiple patches and expansions. Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, friend?

[Wyrt]

Yeah, I'm sure, just like garrisons were originally going to be allowed in different zones and have customization. Blizzard always does what they promise.