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

[Imotbh]

You have to use general seafarers because pirates are not a broad enough thematic to base an expansion on. Heck, Blizzard couldn't even base an expansion on general seafarers like the kul'tirans, which is why they had to stuff Mechagon and Zandalar into the expansion as well.

I doubt their goal was to base BfA around pirates and that the reason they included Zandalar and/or Mechagon was because they couldn't make Kul Tiras pirate-y enough.

[Teriz]

Did not != could not. There's plenty of themes in that Blizzard didn't even touch on. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Blizzard could do anything they want. However, it's rather clear from BFA and Kul'tiras that an entire expansion based on pirates isn't going to work. Again, just look at how Kul'tiras was modeled. The seafarer thematic couldn't even support a three zone half-continent. They had to fill a third of it with undead and drust material.

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Unless Blizzard decides to: Which is the cravat that all this speculation is based on. If they think a ship combat system would be fun and decide to add it to the game, they would absolutely do a whole Pirate themed expansion. That well has not been mined for its full potential. The only thing they definitely wouldn't do is do a Dragon heavy expansion immediately after a Dragon expansion, or an Undead heavy expansion immediately after a Undead heavy expansion, etc.

Or they'd simply add it and not base an entire expansion theme around it. For example they added a pet combat system in MoP, but they didn't create an entire expansion based around adventurers transversing the world looking to capture pets to battle with ala Pokemon.

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I doubt their goal was to base BfA around pirates and that the reason they included Zandalar and/or Mechagon was because they couldn't make Kul Tiras pirate-y enough.

No, they could have made Kul Tiras more "piratey" than what it was and they could have had us go up against a pirate empire instead of discovering a lost Gnomish civilization in 8.2. Again the proof is in the expansion itself. The simple reality is that a pirate thematic only goes so far, and Blizzard more than likely realized in the development phase that too much pirate stuff in an expansion is a mistake. It simply doesn't make sense that Blizzard would heavily restrain the pirate theme in an expansion where it was expected and suddenly decide to dump a massive pirate expansion 4 years later.

[Cheezits]

It's not a pirate expansion if they are also teasing dwarves.

[Imotbh]

Again the proof is in the expansion itself. The simple reality is that a pirate thematic only goes so far, and Blizzard more than likely realized in the development phase that too much pirate stuff in an expansion is a mistake. It simply doesn't make sense that Blizzard would heavily restrain the pirate theme in an expansion where it was expected and suddenly decide to dump a massive pirate expansion 4 years later.

There's no proof to bring up, they did what they wanted with the continent and the expansion. Nowhere has it ever been said that "they wanted to do a big pirate expansion and couldn't achieve it so they had to find something else". This is your own assumption.

BfA's theme was faction war (despite how it was handled). I'm pretty sure that if they wanted to have pirates as the main theme, they could have done it. It was simply not the intent here.

[Nightshade711]

Looking at one of the time rift pets got me thinking.


This uses the Gnome rig. Since no work is needed on animations I could see Blizzard using this for a Mechagnome moonkin form when they eventually become druids.

[Teriz]

There's no proof to bring up, they did what they wanted with the continent and the expansion. Nowhere has it ever been said that "they wanted to do a big pirate expansion and couldn't achieve it so they had to find something else". This is your own assumption.

BfA's theme was faction war (despite how it was handled). I'm pretty sure that if they wanted to have pirates as the main theme, they could have done it. It was simply not the intent here.

Blizzard wanted to create an expansion involving Kul'tiras. The point is that they couldn't even expand and cover the seafarer/pirate concept to Kul'tiras, which was a half continent.

[Well Done Steak]

Either your comment was a joke, or you need to put whatever you’re smoking down.

Last I checked, Yrel was from WoD (4 expansions ago), or at-least end of Legion (Allied Race pre-order/Mag’har Orc quests).

My comment was about EVENTS HAPPENING NOW (in Dragonflight). We have Void themes all over the place, where is the Light? That is why I am saying, “while we have the VE and LFD in Valdrakken talking”, if that were a hint toward a “Void vs. Light” expansion, we should be seeing a Light presence soon?

It's not a joke....

You think they set up yrel as light antagonist for nothing?

Think it's a coincidence she's stuck in another timeline and just now we're dealing with bronze and infinite shenanigans?

[Cherry123]

We need Xal'atath! people need a new dark lady. I hope these reptilian Pokémon will end in 10.2.

[Teriz]

It's not a joke....

You think they set up yrel as light antagonist for nothing?

Think it's a coincidence she's stuck in another timeline and just now we're dealing with bronze and infinite shenanigans?

It's wild that people believe that Blizzard wouldn't take an opportunity to flip the script on players by introducing a Burning Legion-level threat that is light based instead of Shadow/Fel based.

[Cherry123]

I pray you don't see half of the WoW cast then...

Cause if you hate the scaley dudes, you'll hate the furries...

Oh, I love the Worgen! Genn Greymane is my favorite character. I just think that dragons should be in songs and legends, like in Skyrim. But when the focus is on dragons, they look like 30-50 year old humanoids.

[ImTheMizAwesome]

We need Xal'atath! people need a new dark lady. I hope these reptilian Pokémon will end in 10.2.

Ye, dracthyr so far are the worst part of the expansion so far to me.

Them having a dogshit looking character models doesn't help either.


But it seems like we're heading into much more interesting stuff with next patches.

[Well Done Steak]

It's wild that people believe that Blizzard wouldn't take an opportunity to flip the script on players by introducing a Burning Legion-level threat that is light based instead of Shadow/Fel based.

God I'm so excited for that. I'm. Hoping the Scarlets join forces with yrel.

Also looking forward to meeting exarch hellscream with gilded tusks of mannoroth

[Ersula]

Or they'd simply add it and not base an entire expansion theme around it. For example they added a pet combat system in MoP, but they didn't create an entire expansion based around adventurers transversing the world looking to capture pets to battle with ala Pokemon.

But that's really not the same situation. Pet Battles are this unique, totally-separate-from-the-rest-of-the-game feature whos rewards are purely cosmetic. In this hypothetical, if they added Ship-to-ship combat into the game what the heck would we be fighting with it? Azeroth's sea is full of pirates. There's canonically an entire independent pirate nation southwest of Stranglethorn. It would be at-least as pirate-centric as BFA was at launch, which people are still on the fence of if that can be considered a pirate expansion. And don't get semantic on what the definition of pirate means, as a theme, pirate both includes the people doing the pirating & the naval apparatus that hunts them.

It's not a joke....

You think they set up yrel as light antagonist for nothing?

It works as a set up but from what we know about blizzard's workflow, implying a villainous yrel in the Maghar acquisition questline would have been the work of one or two people: Same goes for evil Alleria wanting to capture the Sunwell. It's not indicative of where the actual director of the game wants to go storywise.

[Makabreska]

Oh, I love the Worgen! Genn Greymane is my favorite character. I just think that dragons should be in songs and legends, like in Skyrim. But when the focus is on dragons, they look like 30-50 year old humanoids.

Ummm, these Skyrim songs and legends actively flew around and attacked you, one of them was the main antagonist. The focus was fully on them.

[Raetary]

It's not a joke....

You think they set up yrel as light antagonist for nothing?

Think it's a coincidence she's stuck in another timeline and just now we're dealing with bronze and infinite shenanigans?

They also set up the Nightsqual as a big dreadful pirate captain that sailed the the forbidding sea, as well as a new Dwarven nation and dropped the name of a land full of anti-titan heretics and set up a new management for the burning legion.

Them setting up a plotline doesn't mean it is guaranteed to become an expansion, or confirm that it is next in line for development.
Or that it gets developed at all.

[Makabreska]

They also set up the Nightsqual as a big dreadful pirate captain that sailed the the forbidding sea, as well as a new Dwarven nation and dropped the name of a land full of anti-titan heretics and set up a new management for the burning legion.

Them setting up a plotline doesn't mean it is guaranteed to become an expansion, or confirm that it is next in line for development.
Or that it gets developed at all.

There is a vast difference in scope and presentation here. Naaru and their Lightbound are fully ready and ESTABLISHED faction, willing to become our major threat. They got the reason, they got the means. Sure, Blizz can just not use them, but then why all this setup? Why sit there and waste time and effort to cook up something else/new? As it is now, Naaru and Void Dudes are the most probable enemies in near future. A not used but established cosmic force that wants to enslave us and sits in a waiting room will DEFO be used. Denying that is weird.

[Revamp Man]

I get that the light and void are opposite
The naaru hate the void

But can we really say light vs void is a big thing?

[Raetary]

There is a vast difference in scope and presentation here. Naaru and their Lightbound are fully ready and ESTABLISHED faction, willing to become our major threat. There got the reason, they got the means. Sure, Blizz can just not use them, but then why all this setup? Why sit there and waste time and effort to cook up something else/new? As it is now, Naaru and Void Dudes are the most probable enemies in near future. An established cosmic force that wants to enslave us and sits in a waiting room will DEFO be used. Denying that is weird.

I'm not denying it, my point about the plot hook being used was meant in the general sense.
Not on this plot hook specifically.

Hell, i was one of the first to point out a light crusade when the Yrel gained traction back when the Mag'har were made playable.

That doesn't change that the plot having been set up automatically means it's next in line.
Yrel could become relevant next expansion, or in any expansion after it.

[Nightshade711]

It's wild that people believe that Blizzard wouldn't take an opportunity to flip the script on players by introducing a Burning Legion-level threat that is light based instead of Shadow/Fel based.

It would be incredibly lame and terrible writing.

“Hey I know we’ve been setting up THIS bad guy throughout all of Dragonflight and earlier… but let’s ‘FlIp ThE ScRiPt and SuBvErT ExPeCtAtIoNs’ by throwing all of that away to bring in someone who had 30 seconds of screen time in one very short scenario as a villain.”

[jeezusisacasual]

Ye, dracthyr so far are the worst part of the expansion so far to me.

Them having a dogshit looking character models doesn't help either.


But it seems like we're heading into much more interesting stuff with next patches.

I wonder if its due to their look very androgynous? Is it due to the lack of armor options when they are in combat? They look like shit to me and not a raw visceral dragon i expected but i can get past that if they had some real ruthless animations which again they do not. Where are the villains we can cheer for? Where is the enemy we sympathize with?

I really enjoyed the zones themes this expansion mostly the azure span ( it also has my favorite music track ) and has one of my favorite questlines of all time with Veritistrasz. The gameplay loop is fine except it has no weight to it but perhaps what they wanted?