Mists of Pandaria proved that you don't need to always go back to the old wells for fodder for a future expansion. BC, Wrath, and Cataclysm all dealt with characters and forces established in the RTS games (Cataclysm was the first to go back to WCII.) While Mists was certainly informed by concepts established from the very first game (Horde vs. Alliance, even if technically there was no Alliance in WCI) and other major concepts that have been present throughout WoW (Old Gods, Titans,) as well as everyone's favorite "they'll never do that" playable race, the Pandaren, the majority of Mists was new stuff. Pandaria's geography had never been established before. The Mogu were an unusual twist on the typical Titan stuff, while the Sha were simultaneously an illuminating reveal (see: that's why the Titans didn't just want to kill the Old Gods) and also a really different take on Old Gods and their type of corruption.
And then there was a bunch of stuff that was just plain new: Jinyu, Hozen, Grummles, Saurok. While other expansions had introduced new races and cultures, none had fleshed them out to the degree that the denizens of Pandaria were. Plus, we got new "forces of good" out of the Celestials, whose relationship with the Ancients, the Loa, and the Titans is not spelled out.
So, in fact, Blizzard has proved that it can, ultimately, pull an expansion out of the aether, and is not totally beholden to the game's past.
That said, there are plenty of dangling threads big enough to support an expansion.
The Old Gods:
We've actually been dealing with the Old Gods for quite a long time, but ironically, we haven't actually fought one in an expansion that centered around them. Vanilla had no real central focus, and C'thun was not even the final boss before 2.0. In fact, C'thun's buddy Yogg-Saron was also upstaged by the Scourge, given that we fought him before moving on to defeat Arthas.
Cataclysm was probably the most Old God-themed expansion yet, but ultimately we were dealing not with them, but with their most powerful servant. Deathwing was a fairly powerful force on his own, with the Black Dragonflight and the Twilight Dragonflight serving him.
We know that there's a real danger in killing an Old God completely, assuming they could each pull of something like the Sha. The Titans seemed to think that the whole planet would be ruined if we did so. Now granted, Pandaria is not totally ruined, and in fact, one could argue that as long as things like the Shado-Pan can keep things under control and the Pandaren lifestyle can continue, the Sha might actually not be as bad as what a living Old God could accomplish. Still, in the short term, it sounds like it's better to just keep them locked away and hidden.
Still, the Old Gods seem like something we're going to have to deal with in a serious way eventually.
The Demons and the Burning Legion:
Sargeras and the Burning Legion are, of course, a huge threat to Azeroth, and Kil'jaeden's defeat at the Sunwell was clearly nothing more than... wait for it... a setback. The Burning Legion is still going strong, and we haven't significantly weakened it since the Third War.
But even though it's pretty clear what the Legion intends for Azeroth, there remain a few mysteries.
The Green Fire chain hinted that the demons currently in the Legion were actually servants of the Titans. Sure, Sargeras turned ages ago, but you have to wonder: what exactly were these demons before the Legion formed? The Nathrezim are supposed to have been the ones who originally corrupted Sargeras (a retcon that was required so that the Draenei would make sense. Originally the Eredar had served this role) but that makes you wonder what made the Nathrezim? After all, the Dreadlords look fairly humanoid. Were they perhaps once a mortal race?
The Titans:
And while we're wondering about the origins of the demons, it stands to reason we'd wonder about the nature of the Titans. Blizzard has been pretty emphatic that the Titans are not gods, exactly. Are they a super-advanced race of mortals? Are they demigods? How did they come about?
And then, of course, are they friendly?
Sargeras clearly isn't our buddy, but what we've seen of the Titans suggests that while they may have created/shaped Azeroth and its people, they appear cold and distant, perhaps unfeeling. We had to fight Algalon pretty damn hard to prevent him from atomizing the planet, and it sounds like it's something he's done plenty of times before. The other Titans may not hate us the way that Sargeras does, but they also might not give a second thought to erasing tens of thousands of years of history in the blink of an eye.
The Naga:
The real question I have about the Naga is to whom they are beholden. Is Azshara another puppet of the Old Gods? After all, she must have struck some kind of deal for her people to be transformed in such a way to survive the Sundering. But on the other hand, before then she was playing host to Sargeras, so she has a close tie with the Burning Legion.
She might, in fact, simply be a master of Machiavellian maneuvering. The Naga pose a huge threat to the world, that's sure, but what is the nature of that threat? Is this a source of monsters that want to see Azeroth annihilated? Or are they conquerers, who would make Garrosh's imperial ambitions look quaint?
The Scourge:
We spent two years in Northrend fighting the Scourge. No previous force had exploded so swiftly into an existential threat for all life on Azeroth. The Scourge devastated Lordaeron and Quel'thalas, and the defeat of Arthas was literally thanks to a miracle.
And the worst part is that we didn't really put a dent into them.
The Scourge is still there, and still strong. For all the abominations and armies of the dead that we put down, we left plenty of fodder for the Scourge to raise. The only lasting thing we did was to remove Arthas as Lich King, but in doing so, we nearly unleashed an unstoppable zombie apocalypse upon the world. It was only through the coronation of Bolvar as Arthas' successor that we managed to stop them.
And if anything happens to Bolvar Fordragon, we're back to square one. Or perhaps worse.
And that's before we even get into Sylvanas. While Garrosh is currently the most visible offender in terms of ruthless conquest and brutal tactics, the Banshee Queen is slowly becoming more and more like the Lich King, raising her own followers and eradicating entire towns with Blight. The Kor'kron were just barely keeping her in check (though not really,) and with the weakening of the Horde in a post-Garrosh world, who's to know what she will accomplish? Might the Forsaken wind up being a greater threat to the world than even the Scourge under Arthas?
In Conclusion:
There are plenty more threats that we might encounter again in WoW, and tons of new plot threads that could emerge. I didn't even talk about the Infinite Dragonflight here (can you ever be sure you've totally dealt with a time-traveling enemy?) or whatever that evil presence under Tirisfal Glades is supposed to be (Blizzard says it's not an Old God.) And of course there can always be new sorts of threats, like the Mogu or the Sha, or internal threats like Garrosh (well... I did mention Sylvanas. Frankly I don't think Jaina's going to wind up going that crazy.)
With Blizzcon now about two months away, I'm very excited to see what is coming next.
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