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

[elbleuet]

https://www.wowhead.com/ptr-2/npc=20...ina-proudmoore

She makes her return in 10.2 along with Broll Bearmantle, Malfurion and Tess Greymane.

[Raetary]

would it be possible to put a spoiler tag concerning patch 10.2? thanks for thinking of others

If you don't want to get spoiled, then this is the last place you should be hanging out in.

[Santandame]

would it be possible to put a spoiler tag concerning patch 10.2? thanks for thinking of others

You’re in the upcoming patch and expansion speculation thread. You’re going to get spoiled.

[Ersula]

Thrall works in a Underground/Undermine expansion as well.

Thrall is obviously going to work very well on any expansion set on Azeroth or Draenor. That goes without saying.

Undermine was originally planned for vanilla WoW so I could see Blizzard making a big hoopla about finally being able to do a continent they wanted to do back in 2004, right in time for WoW's 20th anniversary.

You keep saying this but its a bit reductive: Undermine was included in early maps of Azeroth, along with other locations that still aren't represented in the game. They weren't "planned to be included in vanilla" the way dragon isles were, with it reaching the point where they actually started modeling the landmass. The Dragon Isles were actually off the coast of northern lordaeron, but they were never planning to include non EK/Kalimdor adjacent locations in vanilla.

[huth]

Thrall is obviously going to work very well on any expansion set on Azeroth or Draenor. That goes without saying.You keep saying this but its a bit reductive: Undermine was included in early maps of Azeroth, along with other locations that still aren't represented in the game. They weren't "planned to be included in vanilla" the way dragon isles were, with it reaching the point where they actually started modeling the landmass. The Dragon Isles were actually off the coast of northern lordaeron, but they were never planning to include non EK/Kalimdor adjacent locations in vanilla.

Would be more accurate to say "they were brought up during Brainstorming sessions for Vanilla WoW".

And Thrall is a poster child for WoW in general. I wouldn't even try to draw any conclusions from his inclusion beyond "there's going to be something WoW related", which we already knew anyway.

[Nightshade711]

Thrall is obviously going to work very well on any expansion set on Azeroth or Draenor. That goes without saying.

This. He’d have relevance on anything that could hurt the world/horde, and the void would very well threaten both.

Not to mention Teriz keeps forgetting that Thrall was the other main boss in the Visions of N’zoth.
It’s likely blizzard has some plan for him in a void expansion and the visions were hinting at it.

[Palapop]

Ty mate

Whos the original poster on X?
Asking because I never ever had an argue with someone there.

[Grazrug]

Would be more accurate to say "they were brought up during Brainstorming sessions for Vanilla WoW".

And Thrall is a poster child for WoW in general. I wouldn't even try to draw any conclusions from his inclusion beyond "there's going to be something WoW related", which we already knew anyway.

Pretty sure Jaina has replaced Thrall in that role by now.

[huth]

Pretty sure Jaina has replaced Thrall in that role by now.

More likely they share that role. When Aggra isn't looking.

[Santandame]

Thrall is definitely the poster child for Warcraft, much like how Tracer is for Overwatch.

Jaina is definitely up there with him but there’s no way she takes precedent over Thrall.

[Ersula]

Towelliee we'll get something involving a revamp, but it's not retail.

Cata gave us our first World Revamp, and that I'd next on the Classic list.

So Towelliee was referring to Cataclysm classic, something we already have good datamined evidence for. So not insider information, just a very safe guess.

https://www.twitch.tv/directory/cate...ld-of-warcraft
everyone is streaming classic

Uh, it's about half & half. Lot of Hardcore streamers & mythic+ key streamers.

The dead old content, the removed collectibles and the established toxic community are incredibly off putting for a new player.

As someone who plays both, the toxicity is about the same.

Or your like and dislike is completely independent of the actual quality of the content.

Do you think the developers are going to say "Instead of making bad content for classic like we do for retail, let's try making good content." They were never trying to alienate fans of classic. Why would new content they make for it now be received differently?

All this would never be possible with retail. At this point, retail can only hope to retain as much of the current playerbase as possible. Maybe they could get back some of those who left in recent times, but nothing more

Your assertion Classic is able to gain new players but Retail isn't is 100% wrong. This might be the route they take if more people are playing classic than retail, but I don't think that's true. Wotlk classic's retention between patches have been pretty bad. Half the guilds on Grobbulus have stopped raiding entirely until ICC comes out if they haven't disbanded entirely.

[Auxis]

Ty mate

Whos the original poster on X?
Asking because I never ever had an argue with someone there.

If memory serves, that image was posted by an official Warcraft account.
Gimme a min, I'll try and wrangle it if I can.

Got it, it's from the official Warcraft account:
https://twitter.com/Warcraft/status/1705313777099448456

[huth]

Do you think the developers are going to say "Instead of making bad content for classic like we do for retail, let's try making good content." They were never trying to alienate fans of classic. Why would new content they make for it now be received differently?

That's the point. Anybody who treats it differently depending on which development branch it belongs likely isn't judging based on the actual quality, since it'd be made by the same people either way.

- - - Updated - - -

If memory serves, that image was posted by an official Warcraft account.
Gimme a min, I'll try and wrangle it if I can.

It's from @Warcraft.

[Mysticdoll]

On November 3rd, 2023, the tenth expansion will be announced.

World of Warcraft: Voidstorm

Adventurers will travel to the South Seas, seeking a way to stop Queen Azshara's Voidstorm. In the midst of the storm, Iridikron flies with the fury of Galakrond. Wherever he goes, darkness follows. The planet is being sundered, slowly ripped apart by the immense forces assaulting it.

Meanwhile, the world-soul of Azeroth stirs from a terrible nightmare. The Harbinger is on the cusp of waking her up in the form of a terrifying manifestation of Shadow, ending all life in the process.

The World Shaman, Thrall, will return to defend Azeroth from destruction. Fighting alongside the Earthen Ring, he will lead the champions of Azeroth into the elemental planes before finally, they will enter the core of the world to root out its corruption.

This is the last expansion before Azeroth is revamped, and before we explore the other side of the world.

Zones

The zones of Voidstorm form a large archipelago, southeast of Kalimdor. Due to large distances between the larger islands, you will have to travel seamlessly between zones by ship. There are no loading screens, and you will sometimes catch some interesting sights as you travel. The updated version of Dragonriding will work on the islands, but it will come with limitations that make flying more challenging and a lot riskier until you've explored all of it.

• The Undermine - a large subterranean zone accessed by sailing to Kezan. This is the northernmost island. The goblins who run this place have sought the aid of those who'd like to make a hefty sum, and risk their lives in the process.
• Tel'Abim - a tropical island filled with sandy beaches and lush jungles. You'll find it in the south. While it looks idyllic, this island hides dark secrets within. And bananas.
• Hiji - the stronghold of the Bloodsail Buccaneers, sometimes referred to as Plunder Isle, located in the eastern part of the archipelago. Lately, pirates from all over Azeroth have been gathering here at the request of one 'Nightsquall'. This was once a picturesque paradise, famous for its snow-capped mountains, tranquil Koi fish ponds, and beautifully arranged gardens. Now, it is the freebooter's paradise. But some say you can still catch a glimpse of a mermaid in the surf at dusk, if you watch closely.
• Unnamed underwater zone - the remnants of a group of islands destroyed by the Cataclysm. Formerly the home of the Darkspear tribe, now they appear more like sharp cliffs jutting out of the sea. The zone itself is mostly below water, descending from the surface all the way to the bottom. It is now home to the Naga. Partially submerged, you will find the lost Titan facility of Uldaz in this location.
• K'aresh - the broken remnants of a world once inhabited by those we call the Ethereals. This zone will become accessible in a later patch.
• Unnamed islands - there are lots of smaller islands to be found at sea. These are sometimes procedurally generated, and are part of an endgame gameplay system.

Main Gameplay Features

• Dragonriding returns, but your mounts will work both in the air and underwater. You'll have to unlock it gradually.
• Explore as many islands as you want with your own ship, and earn loot.
• Two new playable races: an underwater species at launch (I don't know its name) and Ethereals once we reach K'aresh. Both are neutral.
• Most content becomes account-wide.
• No new classes or specializations, but now that most classes have been made available to all playable races, there will be lots of new glyphs that allow you to alter the appearance of many of your spells. This looks great. One of them turns your Paladin abilities from gold to silver.
• The campaign with Thrall will keep you busy for the entire expansion, and takes you across the world. It's not just a collection of quests, but a really good story with impactful cutscenes and cinematics, unique rewards and superb voice acting from Chris Metzen. You will meet the Elemental Lords, dragons, Wild Gods, and some ancient creatures you've never even heard of. By the end of it, you will come to see Azeroth in a whole new light.

See you in November!

this leak posted August 27th fits a lot of what we have been seeing the past few days/weeks

ka'resh -from the scale face leak

undermine from the toweliee cave stuff

underwater zone with naga- we got the naga backpack and hints of a Azshara return in-game

traveling by boat- we have all the new boat models

thrall having a campaign - he's the key art for Blizzcon

I didn't really think anything of this leak but it seems like it could be piecing together. I guess we will see if the trademark comes soon as said by the exdev Twitter account, it's also interesting that the exdev account posted all their stuff in late August as well.

[Fahrad Wagner]

this leak posted August 27th fits a lot of what we have been seeing the past few days/weeks

ka'resh -from the scale face leak

undermine from the toweliee cave stuff

underwater zone with naga- we got the naga backpack and hints of a Azshara return in-game

traveling by boat- we have all the new boat models

thrall having a campaign - he's the key art for Blizzcon

I didn't really think anything of this leak but it seems like it could be piecing together. I guess we will see if the trademark comes soon as said by the exdev Twitter account, it's also interesting that the exdev account posted all their stuff in late August as well.

This could actually work in many ways, I'm not ruling it out either

[Santandame]

It’s an awful name, though. I’d be very happy with that being the actual expansion. Just give it a better name.

In fact, the Void storm itself seems like it would make for the expansions pre patch content and lines up with pre patch content we’ve had before.

[Makorus]

Thrall being on the Blizzcon art means nothing. We don't have a singular characters who is ultra-relevant right now (NPC who acts a main character), like Sylvanas, or Illidan. They are not gonna spoil the next expansion (and they've only done that once), and all the other key art characters are just random characters from the respective franchise even if they are not relevant in the moment.

Thrall is the quintessential Warcraft character, plus Metzen is back.

[Fahrad Wagner]

It’s an awful name, though. I’d be very happy with that being the actual expansion. Just give it a better name.

In fact, the Void storm itself seems like it would make for the expansions pre patch content and lines up with pre patch content we’ve had before.

The name is awful yep, but it follows the whole "single word" thing we've had with Legion, Shadowlands and Dragonflight! I'm not saying this one is the one, it came out too early imo, but it could work I think

[Worldshaper]

Would be more accurate to say "they were brought up during Brainstorming sessions for Vanilla WoW".

And Thrall is a poster child for WoW in general. I wouldn't even try to draw any conclusions from his inclusion beyond "there's going to be something WoW related", which we already knew anyway.

Worth keeping in mind that expansions tend to have a poster child that is really thematically consistent with the expansion.

Jaina was specifically connected to Kul Tiras as daughter of the grand admiral, not just "a mage in the Alliance".

Sylvanas was specifically linked to death and the Shadowlands as banshee queen and servant of the Jailer, not just "a cool Elven ranger".

Alexstrasza was specifically linked to the Dragon Isles because she's she Queen of the Dragons, not just a cool dragon.

Thrall is likely on the cover specifically because he's the World Shaman, because I doubt we're getting a Horde centric expansion.

[Auxis]

Thrall being on the Blizzcon art means nothing. We don't have a singular characters who is ultra-relevant right now (NPC who acts a main character), like Sylvanas, or Illidan. They are not gonna spoil the next expansion (and they've only done that once), and all the other key art characters are just random characters from the respective franchise even if they are not relevant in the moment.

Thrall is the quintessential Warcraft character, plus Metzen is back.

I would say Alexstrasza would be considered ultra-relevant. She is literally the poster character for the main DF key art (https://wow.zamimg.com/uploads/scree...al/1059098.jpg)

Also, if they have used a main character for a future expansion as a representative in the Blizzcon art before, that absolutely does not rule out Thrall being the poster character for the next expansion. They can do it again, it's possible. Anything is possible; and if they've done it before it cannot be ruled out.