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

[Catastrophy349]

I think the most exciting thing to think about right now is the fact that within the next two weeks, we will have both 10.1.7 story AND 10.2 on the PTR to drool over. Then, from there on out, it's pure excitement through to Blizzcon and beyond!

[Cheezits]

Just realized that if we get a new continent portal next expansion, they'll have to upgrade the Alliance Mage Tower.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

What?

Shadowlands had a beefy launch with renown activities and lots of recolor mounts, but I didn't see it as that much bigger than DF launch.

The world quest timer was different compared to Shadowlands. It was daily instead of every few days(I think its 3 days but that may not be the exact number).

[Ersula]

Shadowlands had a beefy launch with renown activities and lots of recolor mounts, but I didn't see it as that much bigger than DF launch.

We're currently rivaling Shadowlands in terms of content, but at launch? Absolutely. Just go back further in this very thread & you see that's the general consensus:

The zones are smaller. The 10.0 campaign questline is shorter (people were finishing it in 6 hours.) There's no equivalent to warfronts, island expeditions or torghast. We got Talents & Dragonriding & a Profession revamp: One being the job of the balancing team, not the devs who make content, a physics engine you can crib from unity & professions definitely don't count if its just an exact copy of FFXIV's crafting system.

If any raid could have been skipped this expansion, it would have 100% been Aberrus. Could have just killed the guy in a quest.

Why would Aberrus, which reveals the Void Window part of Irikikron's ultimate plan and contains most of the Black Dragonflight's storyline, be less necessary than the stuff about the Emerald Dream & the Tree, no joke, which are not even mentioned if you don't farm veldrakken rep. Like, half my guild don't even know Ysera or the Tree are even in this expansion. But they know who Neltharian is.

[micwini]

Just realized that if we get a new continent portal next expansion, they'll have to upgrade the Alliance Mage Tower.

There is already 2 gates in the middle that could lead to a new room they can make.

[Ateo]

Why does everyone think there's a patch 10.3?

I would bet the final patch is 10.2

Then there will be a "dated" 10.2.x patch where all raids are relevant again like Shadowlands did.

10.3 isn't happening.

Blizzcon will announce new expansion, it's going to probably have something to do with frozen/snow/northrend style setting based on both of the anniversary in game rewards which are hinting at frostwyrms and such.

[Ersula]

Blizzcon will announce new expansion, it's going to probably have something to do with frozen/snow/northrend style setting based on both of the anniversary in game rewards which are hinting at frostwyrms and such.

The anniversary pet isn't a frostwyrm, its just a blue recolor of the Cataclysm bonus pet. Also Dragonflight already did that when it was released: Waking Shores is Borean Tundra, Plains is Sholozar, Span is Grizzly Hills, Veldrakken is Dragonblight.

[Kiivar86]

Just realized that if we get a new continent portal next expansion, they'll have to upgrade the Alliance Mage Tower.

The way its designed, will be easy to expand it, really.

Blizzcon will announce new expansion, it's going to probably have something to do with frozen/snow/northrend style setting based on both of the anniversary in game rewards which are hinting at frostwyrms and such.

I dunno if we can really use that as a hint to anything. The Illidari dragonhawk didn't point to anything we're dealing with now.

[Cheezits]

The closest thing to a future expansion hint is the Fish and Cat mount models from the store, as they are unique rigs that have yet to appear ingame. I think there's a chance the Cat might be a mob in the Dream, but between the old Ankoan mention and their overall design the fish is probably for a more aquatic region or area.

The rabbit seems a little too detailed to appear as a regular mob reskinned down the line, but IDK.

[Dracullus]

Just realized that if we get a new continent portal next expansion, they'll have to upgrade the Alliance Mage Tower.

Horde would have to modified too, one portal have to go to basement to make room for new one.

[Santandame]

The closest thing to a future expansion hint is the Fish and Cat mount models from the store, as they are unique rigs that have yet to appear ingame. I think there's a chance the Cat might be a mob in the Dream, but between the old Ankoan mention and their overall design the fish is probably for a more aquatic region or area.

The rabbit seems a little too detailed to appear as a regular mob reskinned down the line, but IDK.

I’d say the diplomat transmog is up there with them.

[Jaggler]

The anniversary pet isn't a frostwyrm, its just a blue recolor of the Cataclysm bonus pet. Also Dragonflight already did that when it was released: Waking Shores is Borean Tundra, Plains is Sholozar, Span is Grizzly Hills, Veldrakken is Dragonblight.

TBH, other than (parts) of the Span being heavily inspired by the Grizzly Hills that is a huge reach to connect DF zones to WotLK ones.

[Murlocos]

We're currently rivaling Shadowlands in terms of content, but at launch? Absolutely. Just go back further in this very thread & you see that's the general consensus:

The zones are smaller. The 10.0 campaign questline is shorter (people were finishing it in 6 hours.) There's no equivalent to warfronts, island expeditions or torghast. We got Talents & Dragonriding & a Profession revamp: One being the job of the balancing team, not the devs who make content, a physics engine you can crib from unity & professions definitely don't count if its just an exact copy of FFXIV's crafting system.

Shadowlands zones are demonstrably smaller than Dragonflight's. DF added a new class where SL did not. It's disingenuous to say that dragonriding or the profession revamp don't count, especially when we're talking about a Blizzard game where their best works aren't exactly renowned for being wholly original or innovative.

Besides, content doesn't just exist in a vacuum; how it's implemented and balanced is just as important. It doesn't matter how much effort was put into Warfronts when they were so poorly designed and balanced that they became repetitive and boring after a single playthrough. It doesn't matter if Zaralek is one of the biggest .1 zones we've gotten if the content within is stale and uninspired. BfA had a lot to "do" at launch, but that quantity didn't matter because the quality of the content was poor. Torghast wasn't bad in and of itself, but the way it was implemented made it resented. The low effort tuskarr feast is more fondly remembered than those high effort back of the box features of BfA and SL.

[Ersula]

All things considered, Blizzard doesn't have to deal with a pandemic: 10.3 should kick off the fourth & last season of Dragonflight, but then the fated raids are added as the minor patch between Dragonflight & the last expansion, rather than being the entire season in itself. Then the 2024 roadmap also mirrors the 2023 roadmap.

Winter 2024: 10.2.5, maybe a class or race revamp.
Spring 2024: 10.2.7, some new world event that ties in with Iridikron's plan
10.3 - The Harbinger arrives on Azeroth
Summer 2024: 10.3.5 Fated Dragonflight Raids, finally get to transmog the profession gear
Autumn 2024: 11.0 pre-patch event
11.0 The new expansion

The closest thing to a future expansion hint is the Fish and Cat mount models from the store, as they are unique rigs that have yet to appear ingame. I think there's a chance the Cat might be a mob in the Dream, but between the old Ankoan mention and their overall design the fish is probably for a more aquatic region or area.

People said that about the Cat for Dragonflight, so if its not the next expansion for all we know its some future expansion, or nothing at all. And the Fish/Rabbit/Rat/Pig are all just Chinese Zodiac mounts, not indicative of any in-game content. (Fish is used interchangeably with the Dragon zodiac)

Shadowlands zones are demonstrably smaller than Dragonflight's.

Besides the rest of everything you said being subjective: This one is in such bad faith: They are physically the same, but also much emptier than Shadowlands zones. Shadowlands zones used every bit of space to fill with activities & characters & quests: Dragonflight's wilderness is largely empty, filled only with generic npcs & wildlife, disconnected from any actual activities.

[Murlocos]

Besides the rest of everything you said being subjective: This one is in such bad faith: They are physically larger, but also much emptier than Shadowlands zones. Shadowlands zones used every bit of space to fill with activities & characters & quests: Dragonflight's wilderness is largely empty.

Which was widely requested by players because that immersion of feeling like you're in a living world was valued more than the "content" of being unable to take two steps off a road without hitting hostile mobs. Dragonflight would not be better if you shrunk the zones in half and filled it with twice as many repetitive world quests.

9.1 is another perfect example of a "meaty" .1 patch compared to the norm. It's also perhaps the most hated patch in the game's history because of how much players despised the content within a month.

[Raetary]

The fish isn't a lunar new years mount.

[locketto]

Why does everyone think there's a patch 10.3?

I would bet the final patch is 10.2

Then there will be a "dated" 10.2.x patch where all raids are relevant again like Shadowlands did.

10.3 isn't happening.

Blizzcon will announce new expansion, it's going to probably have something to do with frozen/snow/northrend style setting based on both of the anniversary in game rewards which are hinting at frostwyrms and such.

my bet is for season 4 with fater raids

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Besides the rest of everything you said being subjective: This one is in such bad faith: They are physically the same, but also much emptier than Shadowlands zones. Shadowlands zones used every bit of space to fill with activities & characters & quests: Dragonflight's wilderness is largely empty, filled only with generic npcs & wildlife, disconnected from any actual activities.

The waking shore has more quest then ardenweld, more NPC’s and more objects(,chest and stuff).

It is bigger in every way.
https://www.wowhead.com/zone=11510/ardenweald
https://www.wowhead.com/zone=13644/the-waking-shores

[Santandame]

The anniversary pet isn't a frostwyrm, its just a blue recolor of the Cataclysm bonus pet. Also Dragonflight already did that when it was released: Waking Shores is Borean Tundra, Plains is Sholozar, Span is Grizzly Hills, Veldrakken is Dragonblight.

This is a wild take.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Which was widely requested by players because that immersion of feeling like you're in a living world was valued more than the "content" of being unable to take two steps off a road without hitting hostile mobs. Dragonflight would not be better if you shrunk the zones in half and filled it with twice as many repetitive world quests.

9.1 is another perfect example of a "meaty" .1 patch compared to the norm. It's also perhaps the most hated patch in the game's history because of how much players despised the content within a month.

Ersula Has a tendency to just outright lie and this is one of those cases, the two zones in question already have more quest and things to do.