Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Yossarian]

Fury of the Dragons:

Originally there were ideas for two expansions and it wasn't certain which we would do next near the end of Legion. The Dragon Isles and what we got now with the Shadowlands. The covenant system could have went to either expansion with one being based off the dragonflights. It made sense to go with Shadowlands first with the plot of Sylvanas in the end.

The character who introduces us to this expansion will be Wrathion. He will play a role similar to Khadgar/Magni/Bolvar. The Dragon Isles are split into five zones which each being based off a flight. The Black dragonflight zone is in the center of the isles and will be a max level zone similar to Suramar. The story is more adventure centric due to feedback as far as early Legion for a more down-to-earth feel. The initial expansion is based off exploration with many sub-plots hinting at other expansions and some leading to the main story of the expansion itself. There are flashback quests involved as well with Malygos, Neltharion and even the Titans.

There will be the typical features you can expect with new dungeons and raids. A new talent row being added with some of the good covenant abilities we have now being included and the bad ones left behind as well as some brand new abilities. The other major feature is Adventures which are 10 man instanced PvE content. They are designed a cross between dungeons and raids aimed at the desire the community has given for something that feels like a raid but still a tight-knit group.

One of the major features as most can guess is the old world revamp. This will only include the two original continents but will include zones that were untouched last time (blood elf & draenei starting zones). This has been a long work in progress as far back as BfA with Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin examples of what you can expect in terms of reusing art in old zones while being faithful. New class/combinations will be unlocked similar to the Cataclysm revamp.

Dragonsworn is the new class that is a hybrid of a new class and a new race. Mail armor wearer with a tanking/healing/caster dps spec. Tanking is based off the black flight. Healing are the reds and caster off the bronze. Blue/Green were considered but they didn't want to tread on existing classes too much however there are planned cosmetic glyphs for those who prefer them. They wanted to do something different with this class and so every race can become a Dragonsworn however like Worgen when they enter combat they will have their own dragonsworn form. This is customizable in the character creation screen when making the class and can be adjusted in the barbershop.

There will be a new borrowed power system. They still feel it has its purpose in order to not create too much bloat. It comes in the form of a new Dragon Soul. This artifact will not take up any slot and instead be apart of the UI where you can customize it. There is no artifact power grind coming with it. It will work like a mix between artifacts and essences with passive bonuses and a choice of one of five abilities themed after dragons. These are unlocked via major story quests during leveling and during the campaign at max-level.

Where from?

[TheFirstOnes]

If 9.2 fucks up and gets leaked early the same way 9.1 got leaked early, I’ll laugh my ass off.

[Nyel]

If 9.2 fucks up and gets leaked early the same way 9.1 got leaked early, I’ll laugh my ass off.

What was leaked? I remember the name and logo being leaked early, did the content get leaked as well?

________

Imagine trying to sell us adventures as something new when we had 10-man raids back in TBC (and even in Vanilla if we count UBRS). To be fair, I still very much dig the idea. 10 man raids were always my favorite.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Timelords going to the beginning and setting things up so that they rule is an OOOOOOOOLD trope. Unless you want to say Loki ripped off Homestuck and countless others.

No I'm saying that parts of the wow team have outed themselves and their bad taste on twitter (was about garbage neo treck though iirc) before and while I enjoyed the show somewhat, after getting 9.1 and alot of infinity parallels, I really hope they didn't just make such parallels again because they couldn't think of much more (hence the last minute part).

And before someone inadvertedly starts, it was A) a joke and B) I'm not a subscriber of the morron myth that Blizzard has all their stuff locked down decades in advance, as they have disproven themselves quite often recently (see Denathrius).

- - - Updated - - -

If 9.2 fucks up and gets leaked early the same way 9.1 got leaked early, I’ll laugh my ass off.

Leaked? The first thing (edit: of substance) we saw was at Blizzconline and even then we barely knew anything, because by the time practically nothing was done. It certainly wasn't negatively affected by any leaks to my knowledge.

[LordKharon]

Fury of the Dragons:

....

Sounds good to me, but it would be quite "traditional" and not "totally different" like that one streamer said...

[Lady Atia]

Alright place your bets. Wildest thing being added.

+ 40 more Renown which end with
+ Covenant Allied Races (maybe even neutral like the pandaren since with the upcoming cross faction play in 10.0 it won't matter anyways?)
+ More customization options for the older Allied Races
+ New Zone
+ New Raid
+ New Island Expedition/Torghast mode that shows the infinite realms of the Shadowlands invaded by the forces of the Jailer - maybe similiar to visions in tuning?
+ New Legendary Weapon drop from Anduin (Kingsmourne)
+ Return of Tier Sets
+ Sylvanas Redemption and unlock of Dark Ranger customization for Night and Blood Elves as they once again pledge their loyality to their true queen <3
+ Nathanos being a raid boss we save only for him to be grinded to dust by the Jailer

[Raetary]

Looks like we'll be getting 9.2 news next week.

[Seasz]

Looks like we'll be getting 9.2 news next week.

Do you know anything aside from the vendor build?

[Raetary]

Do you know anything aside from the vendor build?

No, just my prophetic(tm) predictions from the days of ol'.

[Yossarian]

Fury of the Dragons:

Originally there were ideas for two expansions and it wasn't certain which we would do next near the end of Legion. The Dragon Isles and what we got now with the Shadowlands. The covenant system could have went to either expansion with one being based off the dragonflights. It made sense to go with Shadowlands first with the plot of Sylvanas in the end.

The character who introduces us to this expansion will be Wrathion. He will play a role similar to Khadgar/Magni/Bolvar. The Dragon Isles are split into five zones which each being based off a flight. The Black dragonflight zone is in the center of the isles and will be a max level zone similar to Suramar. The story is more adventure centric due to feedback as far as early Legion for a more down-to-earth feel. The initial expansion is based off exploration with many sub-plots hinting at other expansions and some leading to the main story of the expansion itself. There are flashback quests involved as well with Malygos, Neltharion and even the Titans.

There will be the typical features you can expect with new dungeons and raids. A new talent row being added with some of the good covenant abilities we have now being included and the bad ones left behind as well as some brand new abilities. The other major feature is Adventures which are 10 man instanced PvE content. They are designed a cross between dungeons and raids aimed at the desire the community has given for something that feels like a raid but still a tight-knit group.

One of the major features as most can guess is the old world revamp. This will only include the two original continents but will include zones that were untouched last time (blood elf & draenei starting zones). This has been a long work in progress as far back as BfA with Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin examples of what you can expect in terms of reusing art in old zones while being faithful. New class/combinations will be unlocked similar to the Cataclysm revamp.

Dragonsworn is the new class that is a hybrid of a new class and a new race. Mail armor wearer with a tanking/healing/caster dps spec. Tanking is based off the black flight. Healing are the reds and caster off the bronze. Blue/Green were considered but they didn't want to tread on existing classes too much however there are planned cosmetic glyphs for those who prefer them. They wanted to do something different with this class and so every race can become a Dragonsworn however like Worgen when they enter combat they will have their own dragonsworn form. This is customizable in the character creation screen when making the class and can be adjusted in the barbershop.

There will be a new borrowed power system. They still feel it has its purpose in order to not create too much bloat. It comes in the form of a new Dragon Soul. This artifact will not take up any slot and instead be apart of the UI where you can customize it. There is no artifact power grind coming with it. It will work like a mix between artifacts and essences with passive bonuses and a choice of one of five abilities themed after dragons. These are unlocked via major story quests during leveling and during the campaign at max-level.

nobody is talking about this? looks the most legit leak this far
was it already discussed and debunked?
tried to google the source but it's nowhere to be found, just a brand new account to troll with fake leaks?

[Nyel]

nobody is talking about this? looks the most legit leak this far
was it already discussed and debunked?
tried to google the source but it's nowhere to be found, just a brand new account to troll with fake leaks?

I think nobody is talking about it because it screams 100% fan made (aka fake).

- Dragon Isles theme? Check.
- Dragonsworn class? Check.
- Wrathion being the protagonist? Check.
- Zones based around the dragonflights? Check.
- Old world revamp? Check.

Plus the expansion name is hilarious.

FFXIV: Shadowbringers vs. WoW: Shadowlands
GW2: End of Dragons vs. WoW: Fury of the Dragons

[Dracullus]

nobody is talking about this? looks the most legit leak this far
was it already discussed and debunked?
tried to google the source but it's nowhere to be found, just a brand new account to troll with fake leaks?

There is no such thing as "legit leak" months before expansion reveal. Treat it just as fun and games imagining next expansion, cause for some reason people avoid word "prediction". Real leak can happen only less than week before convention, at least in modern times.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Fury of the Dragons:

Originally there were ideas for two expansions and it wasn't certain which we would do next near the end of Legion. The Dragon Isles and what we got now with the Shadowlands. The covenant system could have went to either expansion with one being based off the dragonflights. It made sense to go with Shadowlands first with the plot of Sylvanas in the end.

The character who introduces us to this expansion will be Wrathion. He will play a role similar to Khadgar/Magni/Bolvar. The Dragon Isles are split into five zones which each being based off a flight. The Black dragonflight zone is in the center of the isles and will be a max level zone similar to Suramar. The story is more adventure centric due to feedback as far as early Legion for a more down-to-earth feel. The initial expansion is based off exploration with many sub-plots hinting at other expansions and some leading to the main story of the expansion itself. There are flashback quests involved as well with Malygos, Neltharion and even the Titans.

There will be the typical features you can expect with new dungeons and raids. A new talent row being added with some of the good covenant abilities we have now being included and the bad ones left behind as well as some brand new abilities. The other major feature is Adventures which are 10 man instanced PvE content. They are designed a cross between dungeons and raids aimed at the desire the community has given for something that feels like a raid but still a tight-knit group.

One of the major features as most can guess is the old world revamp. This will only include the two original continents but will include zones that were untouched last time (blood elf & draenei starting zones). This has been a long work in progress as far back as BfA with Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin examples of what you can expect in terms of reusing art in old zones while being faithful. New class/combinations will be unlocked similar to the Cataclysm revamp.

Dragonsworn is the new class that is a hybrid of a new class and a new race. Mail armor wearer with a tanking/healing/caster dps spec. Tanking is based off the black flight. Healing are the reds and caster off the bronze. Blue/Green were considered but they didn't want to tread on existing classes too much however there are planned cosmetic glyphs for those who prefer them. They wanted to do something different with this class and so every race can become a Dragonsworn however like Worgen when they enter combat they will have their own dragonsworn form. This is customizable in the character creation screen when making the class and can be adjusted in the barbershop.

There will be a new borrowed power system. They still feel it has its purpose in order to not create too much bloat. It comes in the form of a new Dragon Soul. This artifact will not take up any slot and instead be apart of the UI where you can customize it. There is no artifact power grind coming with it. It will work like a mix between artifacts and essences with passive bonuses and a choice of one of five abilities themed after dragons. These are unlocked via major story quests during leveling and during the campaign at max-level.

Fanmade, it lacks the unexpected twist factor. That being said I would not be half mad with that.

[Sondrelk]

I find it interesting how it attempts to go for the same development choice that made Legion do ambitious when WoD wasn't. That both were designed in tandem.

I will never stop saying it. Shadowlands isn't bad because it lacks content like WoD. It's bad because the delays cause droughts that amplify to a massive degree even the smallest issues.
Badly paced story becomes a slog.
Annoying mechanics become insufferable.
Boring gameplay becomes droning monotony.
Good raids gets all goodwill sucked out until only a husk remains.

The only things Shadowlands does poorly is the boring theme, poor execution of the Maw, and the separated zones making the world feel smaller.

[huth]

Fanmade, it lacks the unexpected twist factor. That being said I would not be half mad with that.

It's also to detailed on things that would still be in flux at this point.

[Yossarian]

There is no such thing as "legit leak" months before expansion reveal. Treat it just as fun and games imagining next expansion, cause for some reason people avoid word "prediction". Real leak can happen only less than week before convention, at least in modern times.

thing is that there will be no convention this time around, and since always announcement of new expansions are in november of uneven year, and we are at it
I'm not saying that we are going to get the announcement soon, they are certainly later than usual, but maybe they already had many things ready for an announcement this time of the year, even though now postponed for sure

[huth]

thing is that there will be no convention this time around, and since always announcement of new expansions are in november of uneven year, and we are at it
I'm not saying that we are going to get the announcement soon, they are certainly later than usual, but maybe they already had many things ready for an announcement this time of the year, even though now postponed for sure

Which only makes leaks less likely. We don't typically get these from internal sources, either they f up updating the website, or some external working at the convention leaks it.

[Makabreska]

nobody is talking about this? looks the most legit leak this far
was it already discussed and debunked?
tried to google the source but it's nowhere to be found, just a brand new account to troll with fake leaks?

Honestly, you expect any of leaks made by burner accounts that always pop up at times like this to be treated seriously?

[Dracullus]

I find it interesting how it attempts to go for the same development choice that made Legion do ambitious when WoD wasn't. That both were designed in tandem.

I will never stop saying it. Shadowlands isn't bad because it lacks content like WoD. It's bad because the delays cause droughts that amplify to a massive degree even the smallest issues.
Badly paced story becomes a slog.
Annoying mechanics become insufferable.
Boring gameplay becomes droning monotony.
Good raids gets all goodwill sucked out until only a husk remains.

The only things Shadowlands does poorly is the boring theme, poor execution of the Maw, and the separated zones making the world feel smaller.

Of course, SL has only 1 issue, but it affects everything. Fast patches, at least first 1-2 are most important for expansion. They keep interest and iron out launch issues (and no, it's "obvious" during Beta - before SL everyone screamed we need "meaningful loot" again, turn out it was "you think you do, but you don't" situation). Spacing out should be imporant as well, but still more focus should be put on first 6 months.

In hindsight only right choice WoW devs could do was same as FF - delay whole expac 6 months. They would lose some money in Christmas season, but it would be more healthy in long run (...until scandal would break in July anyway).

That's why I'm glad we finally get Legion style PTR, right after last patch dropped. It's not like Ion doesn't know how to do it, he was explaining how patch cycle should be done back in Blizzcon '16.

[Kereberus]

I broke into Ion's house last night to check out 9.2. A major feature is we get to date NPCs