For now, the Alliance and Horde are trying to undercut and subvert each other on Zandalar and Kul Tiras. The current war is focused primarily on these lands, though we've of course seen some devastating battles in northern Kalimdor and Lordaeron.
It's clear that this is meant to be a global war, which is reinforced in the mission descriptions at the command table (though even as someone who is careful to read quest text, even I forget to read this stuff about two thirds of the time.)
There's certainly a possibility we'll see new locations added in patch content, but what of existing areas?
One of the benefits of phasing that they don't actually use all that often is the ability to have us do stuff in old areas - Gilneas is a great example, where Alliance players (namely Worgen) get one version of the zone while a big chunk of the Horde experience in Silverpine actually sends them into Gilneas as well - in fact, it feels rather similar to how the two sides are sent on incursions into the opposite continents in BFA (particularly for Horde, as Kul Tiras feels much more like a unified nation than Zandalar.)
We know we're getting Warfronts in some of the older areas - Arathi Highlands will see the Alliance and Horde clashing over Stromgarde and a new Horde base in the northwest of the zone. There's a lot of speculation that the Southern Barrens might expand into a true Warfront as well.
One sticking point that seems ripe for development is Gilneas - for a long time, the Gilneans have been forced out of their home due to proximity to the Forsaken, but now that the Undercity is lost, it seems the perfect time for the Worgen and Humans of Gilneas to return.
There is, of course, room for a guerrilla campaign against the Horde in northern Kalimdor, where the Kaldorei might wish to exact a great price for the fate of Teldrassil.
The Horde doesn't have a lot of territory to take back, as they didn't have much territory to begin with, but one area I'd really like to see in conflict is Quel'thalas. The Alliance now has both High Elves and Void Elves (only the latter being playable, of course,) and so it would seem that an effort to claim Silvermoon for the Alliance has some legitimacy. I'd actually find it interesting if we saw the Void Elves attack Quel'danas and try to claim the Sunwell, though the Draenei and High Elves might take issue with that. But it would put the Horde in a position of being both defending and having the moral high ground for a change.
Northrend is another area I think we could return to. It's one of the few areas in the game that truly feels like a full continent rather than glorified islands (yes, I realize that even EK and Kalimdor are only the size of Manhattan if translated into the real world.) Dragonblight seems the best location for such a thing, given the wide expanse of snow between two major fortresses. And given Sylvanas' experiments in necromancy, Northrend is a pretty relevant place.
There's obviously a limit to how much they can do here, and I doubt we'd see all of these battlefronts over the course of this expansion. Still, I tend to like when they reinforce the idea that the older continents remain relevant to the story even after we've finished the expansion there, and this Alliance/Horde war seems like a good opportunity to see them.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
On Zandalar, Kul Tiras, and Other Destinations for Battle for Azeroth
Having finally gotten my Shaman to 120, I'm now just beginning to scratch the surface of the endgame, including the War Campaign. I remain unconvinced that the Horde feels fully justified in its fight against the Alliance - naturally they're not getting the full perspective on things, and so the notion that, say, Sylvanas killed the Desolate Council and the other Forsaken who went to the peace summit has probably been covered up to blame the Alliance and reinforce the sense among the Forsaken that only the Dark Lady will ever accept them for who they are (this is, by the way, classic abusive behavior.)
Anyway, I realized that the two continents feel very different.
See, the Zandalari Empire more or less only has real control over Zuldazar. Going to Nazmir or Vol'dun means going to a dangerous frontier. Now, Nazmir was apparently not too different from Zuldazar before the Cataclysm, but at this point both those zones feel like dangerous wilderness and haunted ruins. Zandalar also has more local races - the Vulpera and Sethrik populate Vol'dun, and indeed Vol'dun seems more like it has always been Sethrik territory, even though there are troll ruins throughout.
By contrast, all of Kul Tiras feels very much like a unified nation. One gets the sense that, prior to all the problems that have arisen in the years since Daelin died, it would probably not be too strange for someone to travel from Corlain to Boralus to Brennandam without fear. The only place that truly feels dangerous and out of the way is Freehold, a city run by pirates, but it's clear that most of those pirates are also Kul Tirans who just figured they could do better as criminals than legitimate sailors and marines.
On my Alliance characters, going to Zandalar doesn't actually feel that different from going to other regions. It's only when I find myself sneaking through the streets of Dazar'alor that it feels truly like I'm in someone else's territory. But on Horde characters, going to Kul Tiras feels very much like being behind enemy lines at all times, even if I'm riding down the Old Drust Road near Bridgeport.
The Alliance sees a lot more of the Horde in Kul Tiras than the Horde sees the Alliance in Zandalar. The invasion of Brennandam is surprising and brutal (there are people seemingly strung up on the walls of their homes) and a good chunk of the quests in Stormsong Valley involves taking the fight to the invading Horde forces (collectively it's one of the story chapters required for the quest achievement in the zone.) Yet it would not be too difficult for Horde players to not even realize the Alliance was there except for a few shipwreck survivors after the cinematic that plays when you arrive on the continent.
Zandalar's story is very much focused on the Uldir raid and building up to it. All three zones play into the raid's story, and until we can actually go in there, the Zandalar plot is in this dark place that remains unresolved.
Kul Tiras, by contrast, seems to be all tied up quite well by the time players finish the Siege of Boralus dungeon.
I imagine that the end of Uldir will give the Zandalari a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, and arguably closes out that story as well.
So what is left is the Alliance/Horde conflict.
We don't have anything like Suramar right now - while there is endgame quest content, it seems that the War Campaign (at least that for 8.0) is rather short - I only have one chapter left for it on my main character. So are they simply not doing such a long and involved story at the level cap this time around, or are they building up to it, to come out later?
Furthermore, we know that the next raid - or at least a nearby, upcoming raid that is supposed to be the first major raid of the expansion - will have us fight Azshara. Her connection to the Old Gods has been made very explicit with her Warbringers short. So where might we fight her?
I'll point out that it would be rather strange to not have a single raid on Kul Tiras, and given Azshara's somewhat more explicit influence on Kul Tiras than Zandalar, it could be that her raid takes place there to follow up Uldir.
Still, given that we've heard so often about Nazjatar, it seems to me that it would be rather odd for us not to see that place before we fight her.
Personally, I'm holding out hope for a Drust raid as a distinctly Kul Tiran instance. I think it's very likely we'll get new zones opening up over the course of BFA.
Nazjatar is the most likely, if you ask me, and unlike Kul Tiras or Zandalar, this will be hostile territory to both factions.
Then, given the fact that we've now "met" N'zoth through Azshara's short, I really have to wonder if Ny'alotha is going to be where this expansion ends. The K'thir in Stormsong Valley make references to the mysterious "circle" and also speak of Ny'alotha, which seems a strong hint that we're on our way there.
Of course, Ny'alotha's location is totally unknown - we generally think it's probably beneath the ocean, but beyond that, it's unclear. Consider, for example, that Y'shaarj was exactly where the Maelstrom was - it was Aman'thul tearing Y'shaarj out of the planet that created the Well of Eternity, which is now the Maelstrom. If Nazjatar is built out of the ruins of Zin-Azshari, as seems to be suggested, that would mean that Ny'alotha ought not to be too close to it - unless N'zoth moved into his former rival's territory.
Is Ny'alotha a city of the Black Empire? Is it N'zoth's prison? And finally, is it even on this plane?
Yogg-Saron was able to infect the Emerald Dream with the Nightmare, which N'zoth somehow took over from Yogg-Saron. Given that he was able to plant his corruption into the dream, is it possible that he has also done so within the Shadowlands?
I've been arguing that we're probably doing a Shadowlands expansion of some sort next, and it would be really interesting to see if N'zoth is connected to it in some kind of clever ploy.
These locations seem like logical additions to the game. I don't really know how the faction conflict will tie into that, but we shall see.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Warbringers: Azshara
Azshara does not consider herself to be beneath anyone. Her actions in the War of the Ancients were born out of a sense that there was no mortal worthy of being her consort - she would settle for no less than Sargeras himself, and one can imagine that if her union with the Legion had been successful, she would have attempted to usurp his position as well (though Sargeras only had eyes of Azeroth.)
But in the end of the War of the Ancients, Azshara was in trouble. The massive, apocalyptic waves caused by the destruction of the Well of Eternity were closing in on her capital, and we see her attempt to stop them through sheer magical force.
Is she trying to rescue her people? Or her empire? I'd argue the latter - Azshara is maybe the most self-centered person in the Warcraft cosmos. But it frankly looks quite heroic at first, when you ignore her role in the events leading up to this catastrophe (though I also think it's worth noting that Malfurion either didn't know or didn't care that this would happen to a bunch of innocent civilians.)
The oddest of things, though, appears to her - a dying fish, flapping on the dry ground that is not in the breathable water because of Azshara's actions. She sees the fish drowning in air as she realizes she's about to drown in the water.
And then a voice speaks to her. This is the first of three voices she hears, but they are all presumably from the same entity. The first voice is soft, feminine, and almost seems familiar to her, like a mother or sister. It whispers to her that it's time for her empire to end, that she must let go.
And ultimately, she does, perhaps no longer having the strength to hold on.
She drifts through the waters, her drowned people dying around her. She envisions them rotting and swarming her as some kind of undead (not unlike the visions Jaina has in her Warbringers short,) and a voice begins to speak to her.
This is the second voice - it's male, but calm and charming. It offers a deal, saying that it can rescue her and her people in exchange for service. But it's a formless darkness, and then manifests as that drowning fish - not drowned any longer. Is it a dead fish? What is this being beneath the waves? It's unclear how much Azshara knows of this entity, except she sort of understands it to be something that was trapped in the deep places, old and forgotten.
When she belittles it, it reveals itself: A third voice speaks, this one booming and powerful, and we see a glimpse:
It appears to be N'zoth, in its full glory, a massive empire stretching out with obelisks pointing up as his massive tentacles reach out through them. And Azshara looks upon this empire just as she has seen her own crumble and can only say "Magnificent."
But when he offers to change her, make her part of his future, she declines. She will not be a slave - she is a queen.
The vision ends, and then my favorite moment in the short happens: Azshara looks smug, ready for N'zoth to fold. Then bubbles escape her mouth. She's still drowning. Panic begins to gradually creep into her expression, and just as she seems about to scream in terror - her ego and boldness finally exacting its price, and hey, maybe she could have learned something from this if she weren't about to die - the transformation begins.
Her form is twisted, mutated, and she becomes the Naga queen before N'zoth's enormous eye. Imbued with his power, the other drowning Night Elves are transformed as well, and the Naga are born. Azshara has secured her position - she will be Queen of a reborn Black Empire.
She certainly feels like she's gotten a win here. What I wonder is: was this N'zoth's plan all along?
Also, is there any way we're not fighting N'zoth by the end of the expansion?
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Zandalar Forever
Oddly, what appears to be the equivalent to Kul Tiras' Pride of Kul Tiras chain doesn't actually require any dungeon runs, or even require you to be at the level cap (somehow my Shaman has finished all three zones and isn't even 119 yet - my Alliance DK just passed him to be my second 120 character.) It does unlock the King's Rest dungeon (something I just accomplished on my Alliance main, which requires getting to the second-to-last chapter in the War Campaign,) and maybe I've forgotten that there's more to that chain, but given the big cinematic moments within it, it seems to be complete.
SPOILERS AHOY
SPOILERS AHOY
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
What Will the Alliance/Horde Conflict Look Like During BFA?
We're just a week and a day into BFA (ok, more like two days,) and so what we're currently experiencing is the first chapter of the expansion. Given the story found in leveling content, that's a pretty big chunk of the game's story (though thankfully, in recent expansions that don't include Warlords, there's still a lot of story to come afterwards.)
Given that it's at the center of this expansion, what can we say about the war between the factions?
The expansion began explosively. The Horde launched a strike against the Alliance, ultimately destroying Teldrassil and killing a huge portion of the Night Elf population - most of whom were civilians. The Alliance responded by attacking Lordaeron, besieging the Undercity, which Sylvanas more or less scuttled with Blight in an attempt to trap the Alliance leadership and deny them a base of operations. Two major cities are gone, and both sides have lost a great deal of territory while making contested gains on their "home continents"
The first chapter of BFA is generally less concerned with that conflict than it is with the acquisition of new allies. The Horde has sought out the Zandalari after they discovered their crown princess was locked up in the Stockades of Stormwind. Facing the Zandalari's powerful navy, the Alliance decided it was time to bring Kul Tiras back into the fold to counter this new threat.
Thus the main plot of both leveling experiences is largely about resolving some of the issues that these two nations are dealing with and showing your faction's usefulness as allies. The Alliance story in that regard is, apparently a rather complete success. Coups are thwarted, cultists purged, and the Kul Tiran fleet returned (along with Jaina's brother Tandred.) The Zandalari are still in a bit of disarray, with their Loa of Kings slain and the threat of an Old God (or Old-God-like-entity) at the heart of their island.
The Horde barely sees the Alliance at all in Zandalar (at least from what quests I've done, though I've gotten the achievements for each zone.) The Alliance, on the other hand, repels an invasion of Brennandam, the largest town outside of Boralus in the country, by a sudden and intense incursion of the Horde. Indeed, the Horde has a rather large base of operations in Stormsong Valley, and while Alliance players torch the place, Horde players later arrive to salvage and rebuild the base.
I have not completed the war campaign quests (I've got two more chapters on my Alliance main and my Horde Shaman is nearing 118 and nearly done with his third zone, so I suppose he'll be doing a ton of side-quests when that's done,) so there might be some big reveals here, but I suspect that we're still in a place-setting phase. We're getting to know these new continents before we blast them apart with war.
Each side has one or more bases on the other continent, and one decision I think was quite wise on Blizzard's part was to make parts of each city open adventuring space for both factions - Alliance players can fight and quest through parts of Dazar'alor while Horde players stalk the streets of Boralus. It seems logical that it will be from these places that they strike against one another.
One thing I wonder is how these places will look by the end of the fight. It seems logical to me that the Horde will seize more territory in Kul Tiras over time while the Alliance makes gains in Zandalar. Each of these new countries will have to pay a price for siding with their faction.
The alternative, however, is that we might see these more as jumping off points. To my mind, this is the closest we're ever getting to a "South Seas" expansion, what with its nautical theme and the island expeditions. There are, of course, other places that have been mentioned that we could visit. We do actually wind up returning to Kezan for the MOTHERLODE!! dungeon (their spelling) but we have yet to see Tel'abim or Zul'dare or, of course, Nazjatar, which seems the logical place for us to go fight Queen Azshara.
One thing Legion did quite well was have its major raids push the story forward. Nighthold ended with us fighting Gul'dan, but it also brought Illidan back, pushing us toward the Tomb of Sargeras. Tomb, of course, opened the way to Argus, which defined the last chapter of the expansion with the addition of three zones.
I don't know if G'huun's demise will herald anything other than the relief that the thing is dead (though if it's a true Old God, how dead will it really be...?) but I could certainly imagine that if we kill Azshara, it's going to cause some really catastrophic consequence she will have set up in advance.
On one hand, she could have rigged a dead-man's switch of sorts, but it might be more in character for her to have some kind of system designed to keep running as long as she's alive, with her assumption being that she will always be alive.
Anyway, we're very much in the dark about what comes after Azshara. I hesitate to speculate about the number of raid "tiers" (especially since tiers don't really apply now that there aren't any tier sets) after I got burned in Warlords (I was so convinced we'd have an Infinite dragonflight-themed mid-tier.) Still, I really have to wonder what to expect from the rest of the expansion, and what order it will come in.
I've said before that I think it likely we'll get some kind of PvE representation of the faction conflict at the raid level. The question is how that will work: will we have bosses with different looks but identical mechanics? Also, who will we be fighting?
There's also the question of Sylvanas. With players and Saurfang alike feeling seriously disillusioned with the Horde thanks to her actions, one wonders how she can remain Warchief through subsequent expansions. We have yet (I think - again, haven't done max-level Horde content) to understand why Vol'jin named her as his successor.
It would seem very obvious and repetitive to simply have her go the way of Garrosh, with a rebellion of honorable Horde members striking down another Warchief. But how do they deal with what she has done?
Furthermore, I really want to see more internal conflict among the Alliance. Burning Teldrassil achieved the opposite of the goal capturing it was meant to accomplish - it was meant to divide the Alliance between Night Elves wishing for its liberation and Worgen eager to start by taking back Gilneas. The infighting, Saurfang had hoped, would leave the Alliance less unified in defending their core territories. But instead, the surviving Night Elves are now bolstering Stormwind's defenses and the Alliance is about as unified in cause against the Horde as they've ever been - Anduin, always a champion for peace, marched on Undercity and left the Forsaken homeland in ruins.
Now, part of me loves the idea of Sylvanas' clever plan blowing up in her face (I would have absolutely loved it if Sylvanas had begun her villain speech in the Lordaeron throne room only for Anduin to cut her off and say "kill her," and for Sylvanas to have to flee with several arrows in her back. It would have been a great moment to see her underestimating him. But oh well, I'm not the writer here.) Still, I think the Alliance needs internal conflict to help them stop simply reacting to the Horde, and I also think there needs to be some brutality and cruelty on their side to help motivate the Horde, whose main motivation to fight the Alliance so far has felt mostly "we just don't really like them for some reason, despite all their offers of peace."
So if we were to have a big AvH raid, where would it be? And would it even be in the same place?
We have a dungeon in Boralus, so it might be cool to have a fight through Zuldazar - maybe making our way from the harbor up to the top of the pyramid. Another option would be a fight through one of the remaining capital cities. We've done Orgrimmar, though, and I feel like the Alliance needs a turn to be on the attack (yes, I know they just attacked Undercity, but I think narratively the Horde needs an opportunity to be against the ropes in a way that isn't "this is actually going according to my plan anyway.") That actually only leaves Thunder Bluff and Silvermoon as Horde capitals that would make sense. Frankly, with the Void Elves joining the Alliance, a battle over Silvermoon would make a lot of sense, with Alleria and Vereesa leading their contingents against Lor'themar. At this point, I'd imagine the Blood Elves are still a majority of Quel'thalas' inhabitants, but it's very interesting to now have a full-fledged playable Alliance race that has a legitimate claim to the city.
I think the last question I want to deal with is the order of things.
Generally, my take on the plot of BFA is that it starts with us fighting one another more bitterly than ever before, but we eventually realize that there is a much larger threat that requires, if not unity, then a sort of armistice to deal with it.
But I could be wrong. Ironically, Old Gods have never been the final bosses of expansions - yes, C'thun is now sort of the ultimate vanilla raid boss, but at the time it was the original Naxxramas that was the last to come out before Burning Crusade. Yogg-Saron was also the middle tier (there was also Trial of the Crusader, which in retrospect probably should have counted as a sort of half-tier like Trial of Valor or the original Zul'Aman raid) before going to Icecrown Citadel (hm, Old God raids have always been followed by Scourge raids... interesting.) So it's possible that after Azshara, we'll go fight N'zoth, but that the final raid of BFA will actually have us turn back to the faction conflict.
The real question, though, is if there's a major Alliance/Horde raid, what are the implications? The last time we had something even like that, the Horde's Warchief was unseated and replaced. Any Alliance/Horde raid is going to involve major characters at least being beaten and possibly dying. Who could it be?
Personally, I don't want it to be Jaina. Her overreaction in Dalaran during the whole Divine Bell fiasco was bad... for an Alliance character. But her supposed villainy was nowhere near as horrific as things many Horde characters have already done - and she was taking prisoners, not just killing indiscriminately. What she is now, however, is someone who can instill fear in the Horde, and that's something the Alliance needs - and something the Horde needs.
Frankly, if there were one Alliance leader I could imagine dying soon it would be Velen. The only problem with this is that we already saw a different Velen die in Warlords of Draenor (and if you were only half-paying attention and played both Warlords and Legion, you must have been really confused.) Still, as a 25,000+ year old guy who has truly finished his life's mission, he's definitely more expendable these days.
On the Horde side, Saurfang frankly is looking forward to an honorable warrior's death - but he doesn't actually deserve it. The thing is, he talks a lot about honor, and tries to instill it in his followers, but the reason he's so conscious about it is that he keeps failing to live up to his own ideals. Throwing his axe at Malfurion was one that gave him pause and stayed his hand when he could have killed the Archdruid, but the truth is that his whole preemptive strike against the Night Elves was dishonorable. Sure, Sylvanas talked him into it, but the whole thing (minus burning the tree, of course) was his plan. This is a guy who drank demon blood when the Horde found itself unable to break through the defenses of Shattrath and Karabor.
Dying to a swarm of Alliance soldiers would be an ideal way for him to die - but I think that's why he shouldn't get that. It also doesn't seem likely he's going to be fighting the Alliance anymore through this current war - not while Sylvanas is Warchief.
There is an upcoming Q&A for BFA, which might shed a little more light on what we'll be getting as the expansion goes on. But at the moment, I think it's very up in the air. I'm fairly certain that the whole Death/Necromancy/Shadowlands-themed stuff feels more like a future expansion, given that it's coming at us from so many different angles - it would be hard to incorporate the Drust, Bwonsamdi, and Sylvanas all into the same single raid - but I could be wrong. Maybe the final boss is Bolvar. Maybe it's Azeroth the Titan. Maybe it's Lady Ashvane. Who knows?
Given that it's at the center of this expansion, what can we say about the war between the factions?
The expansion began explosively. The Horde launched a strike against the Alliance, ultimately destroying Teldrassil and killing a huge portion of the Night Elf population - most of whom were civilians. The Alliance responded by attacking Lordaeron, besieging the Undercity, which Sylvanas more or less scuttled with Blight in an attempt to trap the Alliance leadership and deny them a base of operations. Two major cities are gone, and both sides have lost a great deal of territory while making contested gains on their "home continents"
The first chapter of BFA is generally less concerned with that conflict than it is with the acquisition of new allies. The Horde has sought out the Zandalari after they discovered their crown princess was locked up in the Stockades of Stormwind. Facing the Zandalari's powerful navy, the Alliance decided it was time to bring Kul Tiras back into the fold to counter this new threat.
Thus the main plot of both leveling experiences is largely about resolving some of the issues that these two nations are dealing with and showing your faction's usefulness as allies. The Alliance story in that regard is, apparently a rather complete success. Coups are thwarted, cultists purged, and the Kul Tiran fleet returned (along with Jaina's brother Tandred.) The Zandalari are still in a bit of disarray, with their Loa of Kings slain and the threat of an Old God (or Old-God-like-entity) at the heart of their island.
The Horde barely sees the Alliance at all in Zandalar (at least from what quests I've done, though I've gotten the achievements for each zone.) The Alliance, on the other hand, repels an invasion of Brennandam, the largest town outside of Boralus in the country, by a sudden and intense incursion of the Horde. Indeed, the Horde has a rather large base of operations in Stormsong Valley, and while Alliance players torch the place, Horde players later arrive to salvage and rebuild the base.
I have not completed the war campaign quests (I've got two more chapters on my Alliance main and my Horde Shaman is nearing 118 and nearly done with his third zone, so I suppose he'll be doing a ton of side-quests when that's done,) so there might be some big reveals here, but I suspect that we're still in a place-setting phase. We're getting to know these new continents before we blast them apart with war.
Each side has one or more bases on the other continent, and one decision I think was quite wise on Blizzard's part was to make parts of each city open adventuring space for both factions - Alliance players can fight and quest through parts of Dazar'alor while Horde players stalk the streets of Boralus. It seems logical that it will be from these places that they strike against one another.
One thing I wonder is how these places will look by the end of the fight. It seems logical to me that the Horde will seize more territory in Kul Tiras over time while the Alliance makes gains in Zandalar. Each of these new countries will have to pay a price for siding with their faction.
The alternative, however, is that we might see these more as jumping off points. To my mind, this is the closest we're ever getting to a "South Seas" expansion, what with its nautical theme and the island expeditions. There are, of course, other places that have been mentioned that we could visit. We do actually wind up returning to Kezan for the MOTHERLODE!! dungeon (their spelling) but we have yet to see Tel'abim or Zul'dare or, of course, Nazjatar, which seems the logical place for us to go fight Queen Azshara.
One thing Legion did quite well was have its major raids push the story forward. Nighthold ended with us fighting Gul'dan, but it also brought Illidan back, pushing us toward the Tomb of Sargeras. Tomb, of course, opened the way to Argus, which defined the last chapter of the expansion with the addition of three zones.
I don't know if G'huun's demise will herald anything other than the relief that the thing is dead (though if it's a true Old God, how dead will it really be...?) but I could certainly imagine that if we kill Azshara, it's going to cause some really catastrophic consequence she will have set up in advance.
On one hand, she could have rigged a dead-man's switch of sorts, but it might be more in character for her to have some kind of system designed to keep running as long as she's alive, with her assumption being that she will always be alive.
Anyway, we're very much in the dark about what comes after Azshara. I hesitate to speculate about the number of raid "tiers" (especially since tiers don't really apply now that there aren't any tier sets) after I got burned in Warlords (I was so convinced we'd have an Infinite dragonflight-themed mid-tier.) Still, I really have to wonder what to expect from the rest of the expansion, and what order it will come in.
I've said before that I think it likely we'll get some kind of PvE representation of the faction conflict at the raid level. The question is how that will work: will we have bosses with different looks but identical mechanics? Also, who will we be fighting?
There's also the question of Sylvanas. With players and Saurfang alike feeling seriously disillusioned with the Horde thanks to her actions, one wonders how she can remain Warchief through subsequent expansions. We have yet (I think - again, haven't done max-level Horde content) to understand why Vol'jin named her as his successor.
It would seem very obvious and repetitive to simply have her go the way of Garrosh, with a rebellion of honorable Horde members striking down another Warchief. But how do they deal with what she has done?
Furthermore, I really want to see more internal conflict among the Alliance. Burning Teldrassil achieved the opposite of the goal capturing it was meant to accomplish - it was meant to divide the Alliance between Night Elves wishing for its liberation and Worgen eager to start by taking back Gilneas. The infighting, Saurfang had hoped, would leave the Alliance less unified in defending their core territories. But instead, the surviving Night Elves are now bolstering Stormwind's defenses and the Alliance is about as unified in cause against the Horde as they've ever been - Anduin, always a champion for peace, marched on Undercity and left the Forsaken homeland in ruins.
Now, part of me loves the idea of Sylvanas' clever plan blowing up in her face (I would have absolutely loved it if Sylvanas had begun her villain speech in the Lordaeron throne room only for Anduin to cut her off and say "kill her," and for Sylvanas to have to flee with several arrows in her back. It would have been a great moment to see her underestimating him. But oh well, I'm not the writer here.) Still, I think the Alliance needs internal conflict to help them stop simply reacting to the Horde, and I also think there needs to be some brutality and cruelty on their side to help motivate the Horde, whose main motivation to fight the Alliance so far has felt mostly "we just don't really like them for some reason, despite all their offers of peace."
So if we were to have a big AvH raid, where would it be? And would it even be in the same place?
We have a dungeon in Boralus, so it might be cool to have a fight through Zuldazar - maybe making our way from the harbor up to the top of the pyramid. Another option would be a fight through one of the remaining capital cities. We've done Orgrimmar, though, and I feel like the Alliance needs a turn to be on the attack (yes, I know they just attacked Undercity, but I think narratively the Horde needs an opportunity to be against the ropes in a way that isn't "this is actually going according to my plan anyway.") That actually only leaves Thunder Bluff and Silvermoon as Horde capitals that would make sense. Frankly, with the Void Elves joining the Alliance, a battle over Silvermoon would make a lot of sense, with Alleria and Vereesa leading their contingents against Lor'themar. At this point, I'd imagine the Blood Elves are still a majority of Quel'thalas' inhabitants, but it's very interesting to now have a full-fledged playable Alliance race that has a legitimate claim to the city.
I think the last question I want to deal with is the order of things.
Generally, my take on the plot of BFA is that it starts with us fighting one another more bitterly than ever before, but we eventually realize that there is a much larger threat that requires, if not unity, then a sort of armistice to deal with it.
But I could be wrong. Ironically, Old Gods have never been the final bosses of expansions - yes, C'thun is now sort of the ultimate vanilla raid boss, but at the time it was the original Naxxramas that was the last to come out before Burning Crusade. Yogg-Saron was also the middle tier (there was also Trial of the Crusader, which in retrospect probably should have counted as a sort of half-tier like Trial of Valor or the original Zul'Aman raid) before going to Icecrown Citadel (hm, Old God raids have always been followed by Scourge raids... interesting.) So it's possible that after Azshara, we'll go fight N'zoth, but that the final raid of BFA will actually have us turn back to the faction conflict.
The real question, though, is if there's a major Alliance/Horde raid, what are the implications? The last time we had something even like that, the Horde's Warchief was unseated and replaced. Any Alliance/Horde raid is going to involve major characters at least being beaten and possibly dying. Who could it be?
Personally, I don't want it to be Jaina. Her overreaction in Dalaran during the whole Divine Bell fiasco was bad... for an Alliance character. But her supposed villainy was nowhere near as horrific as things many Horde characters have already done - and she was taking prisoners, not just killing indiscriminately. What she is now, however, is someone who can instill fear in the Horde, and that's something the Alliance needs - and something the Horde needs.
Frankly, if there were one Alliance leader I could imagine dying soon it would be Velen. The only problem with this is that we already saw a different Velen die in Warlords of Draenor (and if you were only half-paying attention and played both Warlords and Legion, you must have been really confused.) Still, as a 25,000+ year old guy who has truly finished his life's mission, he's definitely more expendable these days.
On the Horde side, Saurfang frankly is looking forward to an honorable warrior's death - but he doesn't actually deserve it. The thing is, he talks a lot about honor, and tries to instill it in his followers, but the reason he's so conscious about it is that he keeps failing to live up to his own ideals. Throwing his axe at Malfurion was one that gave him pause and stayed his hand when he could have killed the Archdruid, but the truth is that his whole preemptive strike against the Night Elves was dishonorable. Sure, Sylvanas talked him into it, but the whole thing (minus burning the tree, of course) was his plan. This is a guy who drank demon blood when the Horde found itself unable to break through the defenses of Shattrath and Karabor.
Dying to a swarm of Alliance soldiers would be an ideal way for him to die - but I think that's why he shouldn't get that. It also doesn't seem likely he's going to be fighting the Alliance anymore through this current war - not while Sylvanas is Warchief.
There is an upcoming Q&A for BFA, which might shed a little more light on what we'll be getting as the expansion goes on. But at the moment, I think it's very up in the air. I'm fairly certain that the whole Death/Necromancy/Shadowlands-themed stuff feels more like a future expansion, given that it's coming at us from so many different angles - it would be hard to incorporate the Drust, Bwonsamdi, and Sylvanas all into the same single raid - but I could be wrong. Maybe the final boss is Bolvar. Maybe it's Azeroth the Titan. Maybe it's Lady Ashvane. Who knows?
Shadow and Death
I have yet to get a Horde character to 120 (my Shaman has done Nazmir and Vol'dun, but is at 116 - I'll probably start Zuldazar on him today.) Still, I've now done all six leveling zones (the Rogue did Zuldazar first - urban intrigue seems right for him,) and I know a little about what happens with the Zandalar plot later on.
SPOILERS AHOY
SPOILERS AHOY
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
The Tidemother
In Stormsong Valley, we're presented with the following story: (SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)
The Tidesages are an order of priests in Kul Tiras who worship a goddess known as the tidemother. They listen to voices within the ocean and use their powers to bless ships within the Kul Tiran navy and provide the appropriate amount of rain to allow Stormsong Valley to produce enough food for the nation.
When we arrive, there's a crisis - the Tidesages are holed up in their temple, the Shrine of the Storms, and are refusing to locate the missing Kul Tiran fleet. Indeed, they're even blocking trade with the rest of Kul Tiras.
We eventually discover that Lord Stormsong has been driven mad by eldritch whispers - the voice from the depths that Tidesages listen to has turned dark and convinced Lord Stormsong that they must transform themselves into monstrous K'thir (who look 100% like Mind Flayers, aka Ilithid, from Dungeons and Dragons) and go to live beneath the water. The K'thir are pretty clearly linked to the Old Gods, and are accompanied by Faceless Ones, and as we later find out, Azshara.
A rebel faction of Tidesages resist this Old God corruption, trying to keep the Tidesage tradition pure and fight against Stormsong's corruption. Sadly, it seems as if Stormsong is a victim in this, as he was once a rather benevolent figure.
But here's my question: Is this faith corrupted? Or is it actually just taking its true form?
Obviously, anytime in Warcraft when you hear about people listening to whispers from deep places, you've got to be really skeptical (I'm not predicting some grand reveal, but I also feel like we should be taking everything Magni says with a grain of salt, just in case.) On one hand, the Tidepriests actually seem a lot like Shamans (though given their penchant for cloth armor, I don't think that's an indication of Kul Tiran Humans getting that as a class option,) and listening to the water in a "spiritual communion with the element of water" would be considered kosher in Warcraft lore. But let's look at a couple things:
If they were listening to the main god-like ruler of water, it'd probably be Neptulon, who is male.
As we march on the Shrine of the Storm toward the end of that quest chain, we encounter three objects: The Tidemother's Wrath, the Tidemother's Pride, and a third one I can't quite remember the name of (and I'm having trouble reaching WoWhead right now.) Now, remember the final boss of Eye of Azshara in Legion? Azshara's Wrath. In quests in the western part of the zone, we fight off the Naga and ultimately confront a similar construct called Azshara's Pride.
All this seems to be pointing in one direction: I think the Tidemother is Azshara.
Now, you may wonder why there would be so sudden a turn. Were the Tidesages not originally good and helpful to Kul Tiras?
The thing is, I think Azshara is someone who has very longterm plans. She has been around for over ten thousand years, and Kul Tiran culture, while ancient by human standards, got started well after Azshara had established herself beneath the waves.
Wouldn't it be just like Azshara to gradually, over many generations, shape Kul Tiran culture to suit her needs? Humans on Azeroth have proven themselves a resilient and adaptable race. Wouldn't Azshara want to have some measure of control over the most nautically-oriented human kingdom?
I suspect that the K'thir and corruption of the Tidesages was the plan all along. The question, then, is what she plans on doing with Kul Tiras.
The Tidesages are an order of priests in Kul Tiras who worship a goddess known as the tidemother. They listen to voices within the ocean and use their powers to bless ships within the Kul Tiran navy and provide the appropriate amount of rain to allow Stormsong Valley to produce enough food for the nation.
When we arrive, there's a crisis - the Tidesages are holed up in their temple, the Shrine of the Storms, and are refusing to locate the missing Kul Tiran fleet. Indeed, they're even blocking trade with the rest of Kul Tiras.
We eventually discover that Lord Stormsong has been driven mad by eldritch whispers - the voice from the depths that Tidesages listen to has turned dark and convinced Lord Stormsong that they must transform themselves into monstrous K'thir (who look 100% like Mind Flayers, aka Ilithid, from Dungeons and Dragons) and go to live beneath the water. The K'thir are pretty clearly linked to the Old Gods, and are accompanied by Faceless Ones, and as we later find out, Azshara.
A rebel faction of Tidesages resist this Old God corruption, trying to keep the Tidesage tradition pure and fight against Stormsong's corruption. Sadly, it seems as if Stormsong is a victim in this, as he was once a rather benevolent figure.
But here's my question: Is this faith corrupted? Or is it actually just taking its true form?
Obviously, anytime in Warcraft when you hear about people listening to whispers from deep places, you've got to be really skeptical (I'm not predicting some grand reveal, but I also feel like we should be taking everything Magni says with a grain of salt, just in case.) On one hand, the Tidepriests actually seem a lot like Shamans (though given their penchant for cloth armor, I don't think that's an indication of Kul Tiran Humans getting that as a class option,) and listening to the water in a "spiritual communion with the element of water" would be considered kosher in Warcraft lore. But let's look at a couple things:
If they were listening to the main god-like ruler of water, it'd probably be Neptulon, who is male.
As we march on the Shrine of the Storm toward the end of that quest chain, we encounter three objects: The Tidemother's Wrath, the Tidemother's Pride, and a third one I can't quite remember the name of (and I'm having trouble reaching WoWhead right now.) Now, remember the final boss of Eye of Azshara in Legion? Azshara's Wrath. In quests in the western part of the zone, we fight off the Naga and ultimately confront a similar construct called Azshara's Pride.
All this seems to be pointing in one direction: I think the Tidemother is Azshara.
Now, you may wonder why there would be so sudden a turn. Were the Tidesages not originally good and helpful to Kul Tiras?
The thing is, I think Azshara is someone who has very longterm plans. She has been around for over ten thousand years, and Kul Tiran culture, while ancient by human standards, got started well after Azshara had established herself beneath the waves.
Wouldn't it be just like Azshara to gradually, over many generations, shape Kul Tiran culture to suit her needs? Humans on Azeroth have proven themselves a resilient and adaptable race. Wouldn't Azshara want to have some measure of control over the most nautically-oriented human kingdom?
I suspect that the K'thir and corruption of the Tidesages was the plan all along. The question, then, is what she plans on doing with Kul Tiras.
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