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

[zirr]

Only playable races get it. Observe:
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Khaz_A...nting_formulas

So if Etherals do get one, that indeed seems we will get a race.

Oh if we get a race AND a Class in an expansion with Housing...this will be big.

They did say midnight would blow our minds didnt they? hopium

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

Only playable races get it. Observe:
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Khaz_A...nting_formulas

So if Etherals do get one, that indeed seems we will get a race.

Oh if we get a race AND a Class in an expansion with Housing...this will be big.

Ok I see, thank you.

However I find it hard to believe that this is a hint that they will be playable. They could have just added it because they've seen the high demand and there are indeed no plans to add playable ethereals.

Dracthyrs aren't included in it either, for what it's worth.

[JDBlou]

Can use this instead

Nice edit, could definitely see them opening up DHs to nightborne to balance out the implication that void elves (based on the quest chain) are getting demon hunters at some point

[Cheezits]

Someone linked me a picture of a glowing figure in underwater ruins... possibility of a new Midnight zone?

[Teriz]

I'd normally agree with the new models not being ready for players, but the Gleeful Glamour is damning. There's no reason for them to add Ethereals, but not Brokers as the exception for an item that is only for playable races, especially when we've just been given 2 separate toys that give us the appearnce of an Ethereal.

We'll see. I'm simply not seeing a new class or race for Midnight. Housing is pretty huge, and a new Demon Hunter spec seems like a lock. The themes of Midnight (Elves + Void) really limit the possibilities here.

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Can use this instead

Someone used "Mayhem" as a potential name of the new DH spec. I could see Blizzard going that route over "Entropy".

[Enrif]

Trading Post Gryphons are now all wildhammer themed... And mention Northeron... Curioser and curioser

That last one is the most interesting to me. The Pilgrimage of the First "Wildsage".

That sounds like a setup for Wildhammer dwarf druids, thus also druids for playeable dwarves. We already had a set up for earthen dwarves with the frey-sworn earthen, which wasn't capitalized on... yet. The elf centric Midnight could give some way of focus on druidism being spread out, perhaps as a night elf part of the story, assuming they will feature. Amani use animal forms since TBC too.

Perhaps the black blood story of TWW will be pushed into Midnight (via K'thix?), and that is why it was abandoned. So the Hartanir can be part of the elven story and the druid sub focus?

[Alanar]

Maybe the playable ones have a different model, that the waste landers might get post epilogue or something and maybe they'll be a transformation based race even

I hope not and just be Ethereals. Lets stick to what people want.

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Someone linked me a picture of a glowing figure in underwater ruins... possibility of a new Midnight zone?

Vague.

[bruxx]

Ok I see, thank you.

However I find it hard to believe that this is a hint that they will be playable. They could have just added it because they've seen the high demand and there are indeed no plans to add playable ethereals.

Dracthyrs aren't included in it either, for what it's worth.

It's most certainly a big case of confirmation bias here, but I also want to note that this same patch is coming out with a toy to become a Broker. Why have that different approach for Ethereal if the intention is the same?

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Maybe the playable ones have a different model, that the waste landers might get post epilogue or something and maybe they'll be a transformation based race even

About as satisfying as legged naga or the implementation we got of mechagnomes. Either give people what they expect, or just don't.

[Mecheon]

Only playable races get it. Observe:
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Khaz_A...nting_formulas

So if Etherals do get one, that indeed seems we will get a race.

Oh if we get a race AND a Class in an expansion with Housing...this will be big.

The thing is though, we don't have one key part of this to suggest they're playable. Namely: Player compatible ethereal model that can equip armor.

The new model? That's as NPC-coded as the previous model. It can't equip player armor. Yeah, its got its built-in armor, but that's not player armor, nor can they wear the armor we wear. So at this stage? The key part of actually having a playable ethereal race just, doesn't exist. Haranir and Naga are closer on that front than ethereal at the moment

If we get a new Ethereal model that is player compatible, but don't forget from the Nightborne situation how "They need a new model to make it player compatible" can go. Because that's basically the level of re-creation they have to do at this stage.

[Enrif]

Someone linked me a picture of a glowing figure in underwater ruins... possibility of a new Midnight zone?

if it was linked, you can surely link it again.

But a underwater area makes sense, if we consider Naga will likely play a role in Midnight

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

It's most certainly a big case of confirmation bias here, but I also want to note that this same patch is coming out with a toy to become a Broker. Why have that different approach for Ethereal if the intention is the same?

I don't know. Sometimes, you know, they just do stuff. I'm not sure if there's a clue here, but I'd be delighted to be wrong.

But if that's the case, it would mean no broker... and I have to admit that since I've become really interested in them since Cho's chronicles and their link with K'aresh, I really want to play one too, but unfortunately we can't have everything... having the ethereals would be crazy enough.

The new model? That's as NPC-coded as the previous model. It can't equip player armor.

They could do like the dracthyr. But frankly, who wants that???

[Ersula]

The new model? That's as NPC-coded as the previous model. It can't equip player armor. Yeah, its got its built-in armor, but that's not player armor, nor can they wear the armor we wear. So at this stage? The key part of actually having a playable ethereal race just, doesn't exist. Haranir and Naga are closer on that front than ethereal at the moment

It is conspicuously more-player-ready than Nightborne were. NPC Nightborne didn't have "nude" models until they were remade as player races. These ethereals do. Nightborne had to be completely re-made before they started preparing them for player armor, but these ethereals are ready to go: The devs just have to manually place textures, helmets & shoulders for them to have armor. But then on the otherhand, this situation describes Dragonflight Gnolls & we didn't get them either.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

It is conspicuously more-player-ready than Nightborne were. NPC Nightborne didn't have "nude" models until they were remade as player races. These ethereals do. Nightborne had to be completely re-made before they started preparing them for player armor, but these ethereals are ready to go: The devs just have to manually place textures, helmets & shoulders for them to have armor. But then on the otherhand, this situation describes Dragonflight Gnolls & we didn't get them either.

I'm pretty sure it's not as simple as that.

[Ersula]

I'm pretty sure it's not as simple as that.

That's obviously a big undertaking, (even if Blizzard has already bragged they have algorithms that help them do that) but the point is we're closer to Playable Ethereals rn than we were to playable Nightborne in 7.3 - The only allied race* who actually had wearable player armor before they were made playable were Highmountain Tauren. And Maghar but they were so different from in-game maghar I don't think they count.

*Ethereals technically aren't an allied race because their skins & animations are completely new. That's why I personally think they'll be tied to Midnight as a major feature, but that they're in the game now makes me hope that Playable Ethereals will be the Midnight Pre-order bonus.

[bruxx]

It's very much a big case of hopium on my end, but I can't find another explanation for why the new Ethereal models are so... cleanly bandaged compared to the old ones. It looks a lot lamer, but makes it a lot easier to wrap armor textures around.

[Joshuaj]

Someone linked me a picture of a glowing figure in underwater ruins... possibility of a new Midnight zone?

Show me...

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Unless you mean to use that crappy Azshara expac login meme...

[Ersula]

It's very much a big case of hopium on my end, but I can't find another explanation for why the new Ethereal models are so... cleanly bandaged compared to the old ones. It looks a lot lamer, but makes it a lot easier to wrap armor textures around.

Blizzard has always seemed a bit disconnected with what players actually want. The Night Elf paladin has been something they've been teasing for 10+ years now. And every time they seem surprised that people actually want to play that.

I am super curious how the devs react to the professional community making videos with titles "new DH spec definitely coming" if they're not actually coming. Aug & Darkfallen elves turned out to be true but they were also making "Paladin for all races? Druid for all?" videos in dragonflight.

[CopyX1982]

If they do add a new class, I want them to so, can we start low level? I really wanna level through Northrend on a new class (& race would be nice too) before it gets revamped.

No guarantees on anything but apart from monk, why does every class have to start high level?!

[Nightshade711]

If they do add a new class, I want them to so, can we start low level? I really wanna level through Northrend on a new class (& race would be nice too) before it gets revamped.

No guarantees on anything but apart from monk, why does every class have to start high level?!

I would like a class to start at level 1 - but with character boosts & chromie time now I just don’t see it happening anymore.

[CopyX1982]

Only playable races get it. Observe:
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Khaz_A...nting_formulas

So if Etherals do get one, that indeed seems we will get a race.

Oh if we get a race AND a Class in an expansion with Housing...this will be big.

I'd also like to add the Halloween masks for Goblin & Worgen before they were announced as playable, not exactly the same thing but I have a very vague memory of the forums going nuts when they were found in the game files or some such....

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I would like a class to start at level 1 - but with character boosts & chromie time now I just don’t see it happening anymore.

Yeah, i know. It irritated me when dracthyr were lowered after DF, like, why not early access in pre-patch phase 1 so we could level them for the event in phase 2? I'd have loved it, personally.