Some Serious Stuff Going Down in 5.3

Obviously, things have got to escalate, and the place they're going is not going to mean anything good for the Horde (at least in the sort term.)

As I suspected, there is some outdoor content that is coming with 5.3, but much of it is happening in Kalimdor, and not Pandaria.

The Darkspear Rebellion is officially beginning, and the schism within the Horde is going to be made official. Kor'kron forces have taken over the Valley of Spirits and Razor Hill, and players (not sure if it's just Horde players or Alliance as well) will be able to raid Kor'kron caravans and kill elites (similar to the Zandalari guys that came with this patch) in Durotar and Northern Barrens.

On Pandaria, the Horde has launched a massive excavation in the area with the big pool of water northwest of the Shrine of Seven Stars. For this, Taran Zhu has officially given the Horde an eviction notice - the only reason the Shado-Pan are not immediately purging the Shrine of Two Moons is because of the good that people like Sunwalker Dezco have managed to do for the Pandaren, like fighting the Sha and the Mogu. Regardless, though, the Horde is no longer welcome.

I'm not exactly clear on the details of how the Kor'kron-occupied areas will work, but the elites at least will be hostile to those who have joined the Darkspear Rebellion. I assume that all Horde players will join this simply by starting those quests.

Still not a lot on the Alliance side of things. I imagine there could be a faction or some such thing that is aiding the Rebellion, or at least leading raids on Horde territory.

We all knew that things were going to start getting pretty serious in the Old World, and it looks like 5.3 is bringing that in full.