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

[Joshuaj]

Welp, this week was almost entirely Pandaria. Hopefully next week we get housing exteriors, six-month mount, etc.

Or just freeze yourself throughout July.

Ong I hope I don't have to wait til August...

[milkmustache]

My theory:

12.2.5: Summ Arathi based

12.2.7: Summ Elven based

I'm kind of on the same track, although I think 12.2.5 is going to be K'areshi/Ethereal based still with some Arathi slightly involved.

12.2.7 will almost certainly have the encrypted Umbric & Void Elf Lorewalking quest.

[Cheezits]

I think the catch-up island, if there is any, will be on K'aresh and tied to the light at the end of the dungeon. Either the temple it's supposedly sitting on or a more verdant open-air environment.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

It's a good thing. Undermine and Ka'resh are far more interesting than an underground forest.

Yeah, I kind of agree. I really wanted Rootlands, but if it was meant to be another generic forest then I'm ultimately glad I didn't have it.

I can't wait to get to K'aresh!

[Dvalin]

yea, like when talking about TWW in the "saga introduction" they mentioned K'aresh, and Undermine...
hell until they got to TWW details they did not even mention Dorne and Hallowfall (or arathi)...


"we will go to quel thalas" means we will go to quel thalas, not that we will go ONLY to quel thalas and not even step outside...
i mean its unlikely we will get whole norh of EK revamped but to say it cant happen bcs of what was mentioned at blizzcon is silly at best and outright idiotic at worst...

This is a false equivalence.
- Metzen mentioned the following about the War Within specifically during the Worldsoul Saga introduction: 'In this chapter you'll be descending into the heart of Azeroth itself, exploring new subterranean kingdoms and engaging with ancient cultures. Like the Earthen and the terrifying Nerubians of Azj Kahet.' This is pretty accurate to Khaz Algar, no? The focus of the continent is indeed subterannean, with the Isle of Dorne also being an important part of it, as some kind of entrance. He explicitly mentions Quel'thalas for Midnight and Northrend for The Last Titan. Why would he suddenly deviate from that?
- Like every expansion (except for Cataclysm), we'll get a (sub)-continent to explore in the basegame. Patch zones have always been more of an outlier to this. I'm not talking about those. We could still get another Zereth, another island, you name it.
- Patch zones from major patches are generally heavily tied to the narrative, and thus will have something to do with the main themes of Midnight (Elves, Void, the build-up to The Last Titan). I don't see how other parts of Northern Lordaeron would fit this narrative.
- New expansion continents are placed on separate 'servers', this will most likely still be the case come Midnight and The Last Titan. Nothing points in the other direction thus far.
- We know we'll get 4 zones at launch, nothing points in another direction.
- We know they've upped the size, details, etc. of existing zones. A bit like the 'Warlords of Draenor treatment', but not in an alternate universe, and probably even more ambitious if they stick to Quel'thalas as the continent at launch. Which needs a huge size and quality update if it's to be the continent at launch.
- Even if we're talking patch zones, then it doesn't make sense to have some bits of Northern Lordaeron cut off and put on the same new server as the rest of the hypothetical Quel'thalas continent, as there wouldn't be a equivalent on the 'vanilla' map. Which is not much of a problem for the Quel'thalas subcontinent, as this place has always been on its own server, has always been in its own microcosm. For example: The Plaguelands as a patch zone on a server with Quel'thalas would be weird if there are invisible borders between that zone and the rest of Lordaeron. Invisible walls which we already have for TBC Quel'thalas, and isn't weird for that particular part of the map.
- Again, the burden of proof is on the 'Lordaeron-update people'. Thus far, nothing points towards anything like that. No mention of Lordaeron whatsoever. Especially not anything about old world revamps. Quel'thalas is the focus, has always been somewhat 'isolated', which makes it easier to keep it this way. On a separate server and all that. But will probably get expanded-upon; Bigger and more ambitious. And has more than enough potential for diversity (Scourge, Amani, Void, Elven cultures...). Some people desperately want the Old World rework and are cherrypicking for 'evidence' and speculating with nothing, instead of making actual educated guesses with the things we've heard and we've gotten.

[Cheezits]

"We will go into the heart of Azeroth" -> We end the expansion on K'aresh. And this is post plot pivot, mind you.

It's just marketing. That's all.

[Dvalin]

"We will go into the heart of Azeroth" -> We end the expansion on K'aresh. And this is post plot pivot, mind you.

It's just marketing. That's all.

Read further. He gave a summary of the setting at launch. Which is correct.

[Limayria]

That is assuming Azeroth ain't the remnants of a power above the Progenitors ofc...

Afterall, there must be a reason the Worldsouls are so powerful, and why the Progenitors seem to be hiding Azeroth using the Beyond (other than the possibility of her + the Worldsouls being the Progenitors golden children ofc, which is another possibility).

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Also, I kinda already theorized about the Progenitors, and I think they're simply the swirls at the Heart of the Sepulcher AKA inactive in a direct sense.

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Also, why would she want Order's workshop? Btw, it's called Zereth Ordus, not Zereth Ordos lol.

The firster ones lmao

Did we get confirmed names of all the zereths or are just extrapolating

[Dvalin]

The firster ones lmao

Did we get confirmed names of all the zereths or are just extrapolating

We did indeed get all the names. Saezurah mentioned the following: 'Mortis. Lumen. Ordus. Rhythm and structure.
Vitae. Umbra. Tumult. Improvisation and possibility.' We later got confirmation about Zereth Ordus existing, from a book in Dragonflight. This was the place were Aman'thul first saw the universe.

[Limayria]

We did indeed get all the names. Saezurah mentioned the following: 'Mortis. Lumen. Ordus. Rhythm and structure.
Vitae. Umbra. Tumult. Improvisation and possibility.' We later got confirmation about Zereth Ordus existing, from a book in Dragonflight. This was the place were Aman'thul first saw the universe.

Do you remember the name of the dflight book? Id like to check it out

At the very least they put life with void and chaos where it belongs

It is interesting that the forced are divided into two groupings maybe we'll get a reveal somewhere that azeorth has a twin lol

[Dvalin]

Do you remember the name of the dflight book? Id like to check it out

At the very least they put life with void and chaos where it belongs

It is interesting that the forced are divided into two groupings maybe we'll get a reveal somewhere that azeorth has a twin lol

Here is is!
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Edicts...te,_Volume_742

[Wangming]

Actually, it makes a lot of sense that Xal and Elune are similar- both could have started as mortals that achieved godhood through unusual methods.

Elune's method is a mystery, but probably tied to the Naaru somehow. For Xal, it would be mortal, void-enhanced herald, then godhood if she is able to absorb dimensius's remains inside the dark heart

The Sunwell could be a part of her plan, or it's truly just Azshara, but I think Xal makes more sense though it would make the player look like an idiot.

I love it when stories depend on everyone being lobotomized /s

I know most game devs aren't diabolical Eldritch Horrors. That's just Hideo Kojima and Yoko Taro.
But it is kinda lame where they can't actually come up with a clever plan, so everyone acts stupid instead.

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"We will go into the heart of Azeroth" -> We end the expansion on K'aresh. And this is post plot pivot, mind you.

It's just marketing. That's all.

You are also cherry picking, yourself. How does that sentence continue again?

exploring new subterranean kingdoms and engaging with ancient cultures. Like the Earthen and the terrifying Nerubians of Azj Kahet.

Undermine is also a subterraneadn Kingdom. And Etherals do qualify as ancient cultures, that we engage with. Earthen and the Nerubians were just examples. We meet people "Like them" not "Just them".

Soooo, what did Metzen say about Midnight besides going to Quel'Thalas and uniting the Elven tribes?

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

Again, the burden of proof is on the 'Lordaeron-update people'.

Except that you're the one saying that there won't be more than Quel'thalas, we're only saying that Lordaeron is a possibility in the absence of more information, we're not saying that there will necessarily be Lordaeron.

The burden of proof is yours. But it's true, you can't... because all we have at the moment is a nebulous description that doesn't give much information.

Why bother, tell me? We'll know more in 2 months. Chill out dude.

[Enrif]

Don't you think it would have been simpler to send expeditions to their native continent than to search for a crystal lost in the middle of nowhere on an unknown island if the aim was to meet us?

Well, the fleet was sent over 15 years ago. Other things might have jeopardized the arathi if they would have gone directly to the EK. The cataclysm, faction wars, the legion invasion, the political field …

Also, prophecies of the light seem to know the end goal, but not the exact way to it. This was discussed between a void elf and light forged Draenei in dragonflight.

Also, why wasn’t another expedition send in all those years?

[Dvalin]

I love it when stories depend on everyone being lobotomized /s

I know most game devs aren't diabolical Eldritch Horrors. That's just Hideo Kojima and Yoko Taro.
But it is kinda lame where they can't actually come up with a clever plan, so everyone acts stupid instead.

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You are also cherry picking, yourself. How does that sentence continue again?




Undermine is also a subterraneadn Kingdom. And Etherals do qualify as ancient cultures, that we engage with. Earthen and the Nerubians were just examples. We meet people "Like them" not "Just them".

Soooo, what did Metzen say about Midnight besides going to Quel'Thalas and uniting the Elven tribes?

'The second part of the Worldsoul Saga is called... World of Warcraft: Midnight. In this chapter, you'll be returning to... Ready? To the old world. To the fabled lands of Quel'thalas. There, the forces of the Void have invaded Azeroth. Intent on snuffing out the light of the Sunwell and plunging the world into darkness and fear. You will not only help reunify the scattered Elven tribes of Azeroth, but you'll make your stand with the forces of the Light and banish the Shadow forever...'

Which clearly indicates the setting at launch. I can see patch content going to other islands, Zereths, or other zones, but with heavy Light or Void themes accompanying those. But the continent at launch, central to the expansion? Definitely Quel'thalas. Which could easily harbour enough variety for 4 zones.

[Wangming]

Why bother, tell me? We'll know more in 2 months. Chill out dude.

That's the thrill of these speculation threads, my dude. We analyze the bottom right corner of a blurry fake logo, for like two hundred pages.

[Limayria]

I hope that they use the shattered timelines tech they mentioned for legion remix to allow us into a phase of silvermoon that's primarily neutral/friendly NPCs so we can chill and walk around and rp and stuff there

[Wangming]

'The second part of the Worldsoul Saga is called... World of Warcraft: Midnight. In this chapter, you'll be returning to... Ready? To the old world. To the fabled lands of Quel'thalas. There, the forces of the Void have invaded Azeroth. Intent on snuffing out the light of the Sunwell and plunging the world into darkness and fear. You will not only help reunify the scattered Elven tribes of Azeroth, but you'll make your stand with the forces of the Light and banish the Shadow forever...'

Which clearly indicates the setting at launch. I can see patch content going to other islands, Zereths, or other zones, but with heavy Light or Void themes accompanying those. But the continent at launch, central to the expansion? Definitely Quel'thalas. Which could easily harbour enough variety for 4 zones.

Yeah. Key words being Old World, Quel Thalas. Sunwell, Elven tribes of Azeroth.
Metzen does mention that the threat poised by the shadow is intended to threaten all of Azeroth, which gives some wiggle room.
But 'It's goinf to be about Elves" And "The enemy plan is centered around the Sunwell" Is kinda hard to misinterpret.

[Eldryth]

The DH council boss was tested today, and footage is out there from anyone streaming raid tests. And he's even more distinct from the existing DHs than I thought- he fights like a full caster, standing back and spamming spells while his companions attack in melee like classic/player DHs.

Most of the time, he spams Consume, draining the people who soaked his Ire at the start of the fight. Occasionally he teleports, hurting people in a line (the only part that remotely resembles anything DHs can currently do) and spawning echoes all over the arena (not just in his path) that attack. And his Meta is him channeling a Collapsing Star, pulling enemies in along with projectiles we have to block.

I'd expected him to at least autoattack with his glaives- seemed like something the Encounter Journal would leave out- but he doesn't even do that. A caster DH definitely seems like a weird fit for the class, but it's definitely completely distinct.

[Joshuaj]

The firster ones lmao

Did we get confirmed names of all the zereths or are just extrapolating

The First Ones are named: Light, Shadow, Order, Disorder, Life, and Death.

They're the original 6, and through their design they found balance. This is literally what Shadowlands lore displayed.

The Zereths were the Progenitors way of properly displaying their influences within their design.

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If there is anything predating them, it's likely Azeroth, but that's it.

The chart literally caps off with the 6 powers, or at least the influences of the Progenitors in their truest form.

The Chronicle writer in-universe didn't know of the powers as entities tho, so they just straight up talk the powers as non-sentient things that just naturally did stuff and whatnot, with the forces of Light and Shadow causing a big bang event AKA the birth of the Beyond, and the other 4 forces being made from said clash.

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I think both are true, with the influences being both sentient and non-sentient, and the powers themselves being the First Ones.