Blizzcon predictions
I like to write down my Blizzcon predictions before the big reveals so I can see how accurate my hunches are. I was wrong about pretty much all my guesses last time. I was convinced we were going after Azshara and N'zoth, maybe with the return of the kvaldir, and thought there would never be a race that could be either faction. Bzzzt. Wrong.
So, assuming the domain name and trademark leaks are correct and "Warlords of Draenor" is the next expansion, what do I think we'll be seeing?
Well, first and foremost, if we go back to Draenor and the situation with Sabellian and the rest of the black dragonflight hanging out there is not addressed, I will be infuriated and disappointed beyond belief, so we'll assume that the "Baron" and his brood will be appearing.
It will be hard to remind myself that "The Wrath of Sabellian" fanfic isn't canon, but I'll make do. ;) I just hope we don't have to choose sides between him and Wrathion (or worse, not be given a choice at all, and given quests to go kill Sabellian and company, because that would suck so much it would hurt.
Do Sabellian and the others there know about Deathwing's fall? I assume they do. The fact that none of them (that we know of) showed up to help or hinder him indicates that they want nothing to do with the old world. I love the idea that they're scared to death to go back through the Dark Portal for fear of hearing the Old Gods' whispers again.
Also, just because she's a giant blank slate, what the hell is up with Seldarria? She's still just chillin' in the Charred Vale with her whelps, minding her own business. I don't know that she has any ties to Draenor or Sabellian or whatever the upcoming plot is, but it's weird that she never gets mentioned. There's no quest to kill her, so she must be considered alive in the current time frame. Wrathion missed her in his purge of the black dragonflight. She doesn't seem to be bothering anyone, really. But there's a fertile broodmother in Kalimdor! That should be hugely significant! And who's her babywhelplingdaddy?
Speaking of dragons (and getting back to expansion speculation), what have the Netherwing been up to since we freed them from the Dragonmaw in return for snazzy mounts? Are they allies of Sabellian? Have they expanded their territory?
I imagine we'll see Turalyon and Alleria again, just because there's been so much teasing about their whereabouts, and it's a fan favorite thing to happen. Pretty much all I know about them comes from the novels, since I never played WC2, so I don't really have strong feelings about them, one way or another. It would be nice to have a strong Alliance character in the foreground, assuming they don't pull a Malfurion on Turalyon and make him *gag* neutral. *shudder*
As things with Sylvanas seem to be headed for further conflict now that Hellscream's out of the picture, it would be an interesting time indeed to bring Alleria back. Windrunner family reunion time!
Further shenanigans with Akama and the Ashtongue would be interesting.
Hell, Draenei lore in general would be welcome. (Time to finish leveling my pally! Heh. Or my shaman. Or the priest I have on another server.)
If they're ever going to bring Illidan back, this would be the time. I'm a fangirl of his, so I wouldn't complain about that at all. Unless they mess up his character horribly, but there's an argument to be made that they already did, the first time he appeared in WoW, so if they want to salvage him...be my guest. As long as Maiev tags along because I totally ship them okay.
I imagine it would be too much to ask to get poor Kael'thas back for a similar character rescue, as he was too far gone to dredge up another time, and the setback jokes would be way too obnoxious.
If this expansion is set in Outland, I hope it's on new land masses that we haven't seen before. A revamp of the Burning Crusade-era content has been a persistent request from the fan base, but personally I don't mind it at all. Sure, Hellfire Peninsula gets old the 900th time, but there is tons of content across Outland and after the way the Cataclysm renovations messed up the feel of so many classic zones I'd hate to see Outland go the same way. (A moment of silence for vanilla Redridge, and poor Auberdine.)
This is all assuming, of course, that what we're getting is a straightforward, "Let's go back to Outland and see what's happened there in the last few years, maybe try to stop the Legion before they come to Azeroth again" expansion. There's been speculation about time travel craziness, which I'm leery about. Would it be cool to see Outland when it was still Draenor? Of course. But having an entire expansion set in the past just seems too extreme, and problematic from a lore consistency prospective. I suppose they could make it work, but it seems like opening a can of worms unnecessarily.
What else could the title mean? Well, I suppose somehow these "warlords" could come to Azeroth, but where and why? Meh. I just don't see a plausible way we'd deal with "Warlords of Draenor" without leaving the planet. Whether we go to previously-unseen chunks of Draenor that are floating around in the Nether, or revisit the areas we've already seen, I don't know. I'd certainly prefer Option A, and given the tepid reception Cataclysm got, I doubt Blizzard would risk Option B--at least, not as the entire expansion. We could use some existing areas as a jumping-off point, or a daily hub, but they pretty much have to include new lands to explore and develop.
Wrathion's vision showed the Legion attacking Azeroth specifically. Maybe that will still happen, in the expansion after this. He could get mad at us for dallying around in Outland instead of setting up homeworld defenses. Or the lead-up to the invasion happens in Outland, and the actual event takes place in an instanced raid version of Azeroth.
Or something. I don't know. Is it time for the opening ceremonies yet? What's that, they don't start for 11 hours yet? Damn. I feel like a kid waiting up for Santa.
So, assuming the domain name and trademark leaks are correct and "Warlords of Draenor" is the next expansion, what do I think we'll be seeing?
Well, first and foremost, if we go back to Draenor and the situation with Sabellian and the rest of the black dragonflight hanging out there is not addressed, I will be infuriated and disappointed beyond belief, so we'll assume that the "Baron" and his brood will be appearing.
It will be hard to remind myself that "The Wrath of Sabellian" fanfic isn't canon, but I'll make do. ;) I just hope we don't have to choose sides between him and Wrathion (or worse, not be given a choice at all, and given quests to go kill Sabellian and company, because that would suck so much it would hurt.
Do Sabellian and the others there know about Deathwing's fall? I assume they do. The fact that none of them (that we know of) showed up to help or hinder him indicates that they want nothing to do with the old world. I love the idea that they're scared to death to go back through the Dark Portal for fear of hearing the Old Gods' whispers again.
Also, just because she's a giant blank slate, what the hell is up with Seldarria? She's still just chillin' in the Charred Vale with her whelps, minding her own business. I don't know that she has any ties to Draenor or Sabellian or whatever the upcoming plot is, but it's weird that she never gets mentioned. There's no quest to kill her, so she must be considered alive in the current time frame. Wrathion missed her in his purge of the black dragonflight. She doesn't seem to be bothering anyone, really. But there's a fertile broodmother in Kalimdor! That should be hugely significant! And who's her babywhelplingdaddy?
Speaking of dragons (and getting back to expansion speculation), what have the Netherwing been up to since we freed them from the Dragonmaw in return for snazzy mounts? Are they allies of Sabellian? Have they expanded their territory?
I imagine we'll see Turalyon and Alleria again, just because there's been so much teasing about their whereabouts, and it's a fan favorite thing to happen. Pretty much all I know about them comes from the novels, since I never played WC2, so I don't really have strong feelings about them, one way or another. It would be nice to have a strong Alliance character in the foreground, assuming they don't pull a Malfurion on Turalyon and make him *gag* neutral. *shudder*
As things with Sylvanas seem to be headed for further conflict now that Hellscream's out of the picture, it would be an interesting time indeed to bring Alleria back. Windrunner family reunion time!
Further shenanigans with Akama and the Ashtongue would be interesting.
Hell, Draenei lore in general would be welcome. (Time to finish leveling my pally! Heh. Or my shaman. Or the priest I have on another server.)
If they're ever going to bring Illidan back, this would be the time. I'm a fangirl of his, so I wouldn't complain about that at all. Unless they mess up his character horribly, but there's an argument to be made that they already did, the first time he appeared in WoW, so if they want to salvage him...be my guest. As long as Maiev tags along because I totally ship them okay.
I imagine it would be too much to ask to get poor Kael'thas back for a similar character rescue, as he was too far gone to dredge up another time, and the setback jokes would be way too obnoxious.
If this expansion is set in Outland, I hope it's on new land masses that we haven't seen before. A revamp of the Burning Crusade-era content has been a persistent request from the fan base, but personally I don't mind it at all. Sure, Hellfire Peninsula gets old the 900th time, but there is tons of content across Outland and after the way the Cataclysm renovations messed up the feel of so many classic zones I'd hate to see Outland go the same way. (A moment of silence for vanilla Redridge, and poor Auberdine.)
This is all assuming, of course, that what we're getting is a straightforward, "Let's go back to Outland and see what's happened there in the last few years, maybe try to stop the Legion before they come to Azeroth again" expansion. There's been speculation about time travel craziness, which I'm leery about. Would it be cool to see Outland when it was still Draenor? Of course. But having an entire expansion set in the past just seems too extreme, and problematic from a lore consistency prospective. I suppose they could make it work, but it seems like opening a can of worms unnecessarily.
What else could the title mean? Well, I suppose somehow these "warlords" could come to Azeroth, but where and why? Meh. I just don't see a plausible way we'd deal with "Warlords of Draenor" without leaving the planet. Whether we go to previously-unseen chunks of Draenor that are floating around in the Nether, or revisit the areas we've already seen, I don't know. I'd certainly prefer Option A, and given the tepid reception Cataclysm got, I doubt Blizzard would risk Option B--at least, not as the entire expansion. We could use some existing areas as a jumping-off point, or a daily hub, but they pretty much have to include new lands to explore and develop.
Wrathion's vision showed the Legion attacking Azeroth specifically. Maybe that will still happen, in the expansion after this. He could get mad at us for dallying around in Outland instead of setting up homeworld defenses. Or the lead-up to the invasion happens in Outland, and the actual event takes place in an instanced raid version of Azeroth.
Or something. I don't know. Is it time for the opening ceremonies yet? What's that, they don't start for 11 hours yet? Damn. I feel like a kid waiting up for Santa.