One of the most exciting things about Cataclysm was the way that it allowed for the world to progress. Players have always been the heroes of Azeroth, trekking through lands both familiar and alien, fighting the bad guys or each other. However, before the advent of phasing in Wrath (something that admittedly was used in a very limited way before - such as the ghosts in Auchindoun and Nagrand showing up after you did a particular quest chain) you would never really see your impact on the world. You might blow up, say, a facility making a Mana-bomb in Terrokar Forest, but literally seconds after you accomplished that, the bomb would be back, and the evil Blood Elves would start to respawn.
But beyond phasing, which is mainly useful to show the results of a particular event, the revamp of the old world in Cataclysm showed the passage of years. This new version of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms truly felt as if all our past efforts had made a difference. Now, that difference was not necessarily a good one. For instance, when Alliance heroes (or Horde ones who took an interest in a fairly out-of-the-way problem) fought their way through the underground lair of the dangerous bandit-lord, Edwin VanCleef and killed him for his crimes against the realm, they unwittingly planted the seed that would lead to a resurgence of the Defias as a pseudo-Marxist revolutionary movement. On the other hand, some of our actions have been good. Andorhal and Caer Darrow notwithstanding, the Western Plaugelands are truly beginning to heal, and while the question of who actually gets to enjoy the newly fertile countryside is one Humans and Forsaken are happy to slaughter each other over, at the very least it looks like in a few years you'll be willing to eat produce farmed there (though probably still with some hesitation.)
This sort of plot progression is something that I really hope Blizzard commits to continue exploring. There is a problem, though, which is that after the intense effort spent on revamping the world, I doubt that Blizzard is going to go re-design things again any time soon (or even during the life of the game.)
So how can we continue these changes? Well, phasing is a big possibility. I think that the outdoor leveling zones have probably got to stay the same because that is just too much effort and time that could be spent on new areas and content. However, I would say that the places where the most plot-development happens should be the cities. After all, other than Stormwind and Orgrimmar, none of the cities were all that dramatically changed in Cataclysm. Also, we're definitely going to see Garrosh booted from Orgrimmar (dead or alive) after Mists' final patch, so clearly there's going to be some change there too.
Anyway, with that long introduction, I figured I'd start talking about possible developments in the plot I could imagine happening. Where I'm starting is a question of the real identity of the Forsaken - or, more specifically, the free undead of Lordaeron.
The Forsaken are not exactly doing a great job making friends with the rest of the world. While they can't really help their grotesque form, they have also been pursuing Scourge-like tactics in their efforts to secure their place in the world.
It's always been a little ambiguous whether the Forsaken simply want their own little corner of the world, or if they want absolutely everyone else dead.
I was playing a low-level Warlock on the Beta (to see how Affliction has changed, if at all. So far no) and it's interesting, because even Sylvanas talks the talk of someone who's just trying to live in safety. The events in Silverpine Forest (one of my favorite, if not my favorite post-Cataclysm zone (including the foray into Gilneas) begins with Sylvanas demonstrating her use of Val'kyr to Garrosh. Oddly, she almost seems surprised when Garrosh has the (totally reasonable) reaction he does, recoiling at the atrocity that she is committing. To Garrosh, and any sane person, inflicting undeath upon her adversaries to bolster her ranks is abhorrent.
It's also strange, because the very first thing you find out as a new Forsaken character (post Cataclysm - before then, there was a sense of uncertainty, as if most of the people around you had only just regained their free will) is that you are not a slave. You might be undead, but you're free to join the Forsaken or go your own way. Free Will is (or at least was) a key to the Forsaken identity, because that is what separated it from the Scourge.
The curse of Undeath was something that Sylvanas dedicated herself to avenging. The Scourge was adversary number one. Yet now, Sylvanas is doing to the humans of Hillsbrad and Gilneas exactly what Arthas did to the elves of Quel'thalas. She is conscripting her fallen adversaries to fight against their own friends and families. The legitimacy of the Forsaken is really starting to slip here, as the distinctions between them and the Scourge start to fall apart.
However, Sylvanas makes a decent point when you ride with her to the Sepulcher. The Forsaken are, in fact, the human inhabitants of Lordaeron. They didn't invade Brill or Andorhal or whatever Deathknell was called before the plague came. They were already there as living humans. This is their homeland, and it seems pretty damned unjust that a bunch of humans from another nation way down south would claim to have a more legitimate stake in the land. These were the subjects of the Menethils, not the Wrynns. Sylvanas argues that Lordaeron and its people are simply trying to defend their sovereign land.
And here's the big conundrum with the Scourge and the Forsaken: Does Lordaeron, as a country, still truly exist? Or has it gone the way of the Holy Roman Empire and the USSR? The land is still there, of course, and the people as well, but do the Forsaken consider themselves humans of Lordaeron, or Undead of the Forsaken? Lordaeron was a human nation. If the Forsaken no longer consider themselves human, can they claim to truly represent Lordaeron?
This is what I'd like to see developed: the Forsaken is an organization founded by former members of the Scourge who broke free of the Lich King's will (interesting thing to wonder: we assume pre-Cataclysm Forsaken players were simply alive as humans before Arthas returned from Northrend, but who are the new ones? Simply old corpses that had not been raised yet? Or various living humans killed by the Forsaken or the Scourge? Worth thinking about...) The Forsaken are not, however, really a "race." They are a political movement united over a shared affliction (undeath, and the free will to lament that fact.) They are not the only one, however. The Knights of the Ebon Blade, for instance, are also undead, and despite being more of an independent military institution than a political one, they are completely autonomous from any governmental body (though they enjoy friendly relations with the Argent Crusade.)
It stands to reason that there would be a different political movement in Lordaeron. Sylvanas is all about redefining her people - casting off "humanity" to embrace a wholly different identity, even as she invokes her people's right to the land based on their origins. Therefore, I think it would make sense that a new movement, a kind of "New Lordaeron" could emerge.
These would be members of the free undead who still consider themselves human, and would, as an endgame, like to normalize relations with the Alliance. They're still committed to owning all the land that was once called Lordaeron, and let's be clear here - they would still be at war with the Alliance. But New Lordaeron would be something very different. They would reach out to the Argent Crusade, rather than begrudgingly tolerating their presence. They would be opposed to the incursions into Hillsbrad and Gilneas, and most importantly, they'd be reluctant to cooperate with the Horde.
By making New Lordaeron a serious force, you have a group of undead that actually deserve Lordaeron. Furthermore, when the Alliance inevitably rejects their offers of peace and cooperation (whether because of post-Wrath Gate prudence or simply an inability to tolerate the undead) you finally get to see a situation where the Alliance are actually effective antagonists as well as being in a position of power.
There's actually already something vaguely similar going on with the few remaining High Elves, who remain loyal to the Alliance. It seems like a real missing piece to not have members of Lordaeron (the country around which the Alliance was first formed, after all) want to re-join, or at least reconcile with, Team Blue.
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