Next Expansion Possibilities

[Bruuin]

It has been questioned over and over and over just WHAT the next one will be. And if what MMO posted is any indication of just what is on the way...


# Aquatic Riding Ray - Summons and dismisses an Aquatic Riding Ray. This is an aquatic mount.

This is a new mount, strictly for the water. They have a wide array of new mounts, but one purely for aquatic travel? I hate to sound corny, but maybe they are testing the waters for the Maelstrom.

I guess it will be interesting to know more about this aquatic mount and we will find out as time goes on.

Now, I think Maelstrom is next. If they go that direction, but people have noted there is also the Emerald Nightmare. I guess it really depends on what happens after Arthas.

[Swerto]

Maelstrom and Nightmare could probably get one two hit, considering they'd probably both be linked to Old Gods.

[Keraph]

Testing the waters, heheh. Heheheh. That's a good one.

But yeah, I could see them doing Maelstrom/Emerald Dream either separate or as one big expansion, depending on where they want to go with them and how much content they want to put into each.

[Bruuin]

Well, considering the Emerald Dream is supposed to be an uncorrupted Azeroth, meaning one big ass continent [possibly, unless the Sundering screwed that up too], I would imagine the content to be huuuuuuuuuuuge. Just imagine, Heroic Uncorrupted Deadmines!

[Swerto]

Well from what I've read the dream is just a mirror world to ours... just perfection. They could probably make the focal point of the troubles be set in Hyjal and that's what could be done with that zone.

[Bruuin]

But that perfection is probably tainted what with the Nightmare and such. It would be like Azeroth, but all evil and demony.

[Agnarr]

Maybe the new MMO is the Emeral Dream.

[Lisbet]

It sounds to me like they're not going to make an expansion for either - but that they are going to finaly open BOTH of them in an attempt to push Icecrowne as far back as possible - even so far as to make it the Sunwell of BC - the LAST BIG thing you do in World of Warcraft is to destroy the Lich king.

we're going to see yogg-saron, or at least see all his handy work in uldar, then Grim Batol for Deathwing shenanigans, then Emerald dream AND The Maelstrom for extra super long daily filled mindless awesome.. (See - Hyjal AND Bt), and then Ice Crown and the end of Wow ..

Especially because they're trying to move away from WoW with their seekrit new non wow related MMO.

[Yehvon]

if icecrown means the end, then I think blizzard should take us to a new WoW and go to the beginning. Take what drew fans into war online with an mmo taking place in the middle of a war and take WoW2 into a war era.

This post-war era Azeroth we've known for 4yrs is a bit of a bore. All we got are doomsday events that soon disappear and I think Blizzard should go back to its roots from Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2(battle.net woo!!).


or maybe something completely new will be made that is neither starcraft nor diablo.

[Yatokth]

Blizz has said WotLK won't be the last expansion.

I predict Maelstrom/South Seas expansion, with the Undermine as the new big neutral city, and Azshara as the big villain in the Maelstrom.

They might do the Emerald Nightmare in the same breath as well.

Then they'll probably do something totally new for the 'last expansion' of WoW.

[Heidenreich]

The chances of another Expansion are already looking bleak with Blizzard swapping Developers over to their "Next Generation MMO" which promises to be something we haven't seen before (No Starcraft, Diablo, or remake of Warcraft).

What I do see is Blizzard going balls out with WotLK still though. Maelstrom or Emerald Dream (maybe even both) will likely somehow be added still (most likely in a 3.2 patch). They have already talked about Deathwing and Grim Batol. The Lich King will be dead at the end of this Expansion. The Burning Legion for the most part has been defeated (KJ currently can't be summoned back to Azeroth, Sarj is only living in a "spirit forum", Arch well the guy died from humping to many trees(be cautious Resto Druids if he ever return!) ).

So that leaves the Emerald "Nightmare" and Queen Azshara basically as possible bad guys left (Yeah yeah, sure more can be added, but these are the only two "main" bad guys left really). So if this is the last expansion, might as well squeeze them both in before Icecrown Citadel.

PS: If they do go onto make another expansion, with the better of the WoW Developers working on the New MMO, the next expansion doesn't sound promising. Hopefully they will prove people wrong and surpass the people before them though.

[Kelven]

I could see squeezing the Nightmare into this expansion, since we're already hanging around with the Aspects and Ysera is, you know, RIGHT THERE and everything. Azshara I don't see because she's kind of a big lore character and this expansion has been all about story and atmosphere, there'd be some foreshadowing. Dropping her in out of the blue wouldn't fit.

Still, a Malestrom expansion would have a lot of interesting instances to hit. Caverns of Time: War of the Ancients, for example. The Tomb of Sargeras. Since we're opening up the seas, seeing Kul Tiras, Gilneas and Zandalar could happen.

It'll be nice to see the Naga move beyond Hapless Cannon Fodder levels of villainy (okay, yes, Vashj was a tough cookie, but seriously - her evil plan was Let's Dig A Pit And Fill It With Water, I'm not exactly quaking in my epic boots here).

[Alphaeus]

her evil plan was Let's Dig A Pit And Fill It With Water, I'm not exactly quaking in my epic boots here).

Well, I am! I don't know how to swim!!

[Bruuin]

Nightmare, maybe. But you gotta remember, there are only 3 big content patches. 3.1 is Ulduar, 3.3 is Icecrown/Lich King.

Sticking Deathwing, Aszhara AND the Nightmare into one patch? One content patch? Really? That is so much content, balancing, loot, zones, lore, characters, NPCs, and what have you for one content patch. Yes, Ulduar has 14 bosses. But it is one zone. Unless we have the crappy little Onyxia run in, kill, loot instances, I do not see it happening.

But just because one person left to help devlope another MMO doesn't mean they are going to drop it? It is two companies in one, they are working on Starcraft and Diablo while working on this. Now, does that mean the expansions would match up? Who knows, but I don't think their cash cow will die just for the sake of one new MMO they are working on that could end up being a complete and total flop.

[Lisbet]

Ah, but just because BC had three content patches, doesn't mean that they are using the same time line for Wrath, either. They already said they regretted putting Hyjal and BT out at the same time, and whished they had released Hyjal as 2.2 and BT as 2.3 - making sunwell isle and its end all be all for BC be 2.4

How do we know there isn't going to be a 3.3 - Maelstrom, or 3.3 THE EMERALD NIGHTMARE tossed in there, with 3.4 or even 3.5 being Ice crown?

Especially with the ease of content, adding more might just be the best way to prolong this expansion.

[Bruuin]

There was a blue post stating three content patches. XD I will dig it up.

[Maithanet]

The idea that Blizzard will end the most successful MMO on the market for 5years running in the hopes 11million people will migrate to their new game is absurd.

And South Sea's please. Zandalar as the Neutral faction and sun, sea and Naga as far as the eye can see.

[Qabian]

MMOs don't really "end", with like a stop sign. Unless they end before they start. Then they end.

Once they've got a subscription base, MMOs tend to actually just die slow, often painful deaths. I think AC2 was short lived, and they did actually give it a stop sign, but I think it was actually born wrong. Like a freak of nature, you just have to kill it to put it out of its misery. And meanwhile, the original AC still lives because most MMOs seem to slowly linger over decades until people just wish they would die. I played a game called Istaria for a while that most people I talk to have never even heard of. It still lives, despite changing ownership several times. I can't even imagine WoW ever getting that small. If nothing else, its notoriety in its heyday will keep it more alive than Istaria could ever hope to be.

I figure as long as the subscription costs > maintenance/even update costs, WoW will only die if it gets hit with something really serious. It fully expect it to linger into a decrepit point-and-laugh old age, but to actually die? Considering what else still lives? That's hard to imagine.

Want Maelstrom. Want it. Waaaaant.

[Sabachthan]

Expansions are like heroin and I just started regaining weight.

[Evanthe]

Expansions are like heroin and I just started regaining weight.

Come back to us. We here in the opium den miss you.

[Karkarov]

No matter what the emerald dream will be a part of the next expac, period. They might try to tag it on this one honestly with yog sarong or whatever his name is. It has been in development since the same time they started bc, it is only logical it will be tagged in soon.

[Selash]

I have to echo the 'not last expansion' tidbits, having played a number of MMOs that are still to this day alive and kicking and have more expansions available to them than WoW does at the minute. And, as Aerdir said, losing 11 million paying customers is a risk that Blizzard-Activision is not willing to take. If anything, this new IP will probably be an attempt to hook new customers in and milk us faithful for even more money. :P

As for the number of expansions out there, Final Fantasy XI is on it's fourth expansion and three more are currently in development while Everquest is onto it's fifteenth expansion. World of Warcraft? Second expansion.

[Qabian]

No matter what the emerald dream will be a part of the next expac, period. They might try to tag it on this one honestly with yog sarong or whatever his name is. It has been in development since the same time they started bc, it is only logical it will be tagged in soon.

Half the stuff in Maraudon was flagged for Emerald Dream use in item names. They've been working with the Dream idea since long before they started BC.

[Grayslin]

Yes, Ulduar has 14 bosses.
Slightly offtopic, but I've noticed people keep bringing this up. It's not really that special... I mean, Naxx has 15... kara had 12 (13 if you count chess) though you could only do 9 (10) in any one run.

[Vales]

I don't know if anyone remembers this or not, but WAY WAY BACK, druids didn't have teleport to the Moonglade, they had an "Enter Dreamstate" spell where they zoned into the Emerald Dream to do some early quests for Bear Form and the like. was really really cool. And then before the open Beta, they scrapped it, threw in the quests we now know and revamped Moonglade into the Druid Zone. It doesn't even make sense why the Cenarion Circle is -there- and not at the remnants of the World Tree in Hyjal.

Still, would love to see an ED/MS expansion. Can see it being next with Undermountain being the one beyond that (with Deathwing maybe?)

[Bruuin]

Slightly offtopic, but I've noticed people keep bringing this up. It's not really that special... I mean, Naxx has 15... kara had 12 (13 if you count chess) though you could only do 9 (10) in any one run.

Yeah, I realize that, but Naxx is technically "old" content and Kara is now a joke. And are you counting the lolanimal bosses in Kara? That I never seen? Because no one goes there? XD

Also, Chess is not a boss. XD


Still, would love to see an ED/MS expansion. Can see it being next with Undermountain being the one beyond that (with Deathwing maybe?)

I am still under the assumption Deathwing is going to be 3.2 because of the recent book. However, do you know what Undermountain could be? There WERE alot of goblins around...

[Vales]

However, do you know what Undermountain could be? There WERE alot of goblins around...

OMG, it's Gnomeregan 2.0, Tokyo Mega Bomb Mechas, oh my!

[Bruuin]

That. Would. Be. AWESOME!

[Grayslin]

Yeah, I realize that, but Naxx is technically "old" content and Kara is now a joke. And are you counting the lolanimal bosses in Kara? That I never seen? Because no one goes there? XD

Also, Chess is not a boss. XD
Well, the thought was that 14 bosses isn't surprisingly huge, that they've had that many bosses before. I keep seeing it posted in the context of "wow, that sure is a lot."

And no, I forgot all about the aminal bosses. >.< I was referring to the different incarnations of opera.


As far as the topic... I actually see them maybe not opening up a whole new continent, but going a different angle with a new actual expansion (i.e. not content patch). I see the next expansion as offering more in the way of variety. New classes, or maybe a new race or two, or maybe both. Then maybe opening up some of the zones in the 2 original continents that have never been opened... glineas, hyjal, kul tiras, etc...

[Islefr]

I'd think that before they started really opening up whole new worlds they'd start with those zones on your map that aren't anything yet. All of those little countries that are divided off but aren't actually used.

[Feorn]

New classes, or maybe a new race or two, or maybe both. Then maybe opening up some of the zones in the 2 original continents that have never been opened... glineas, hyjal, kul tiras, etc...

They can't even balance the classes they have now. Gilneas and Kul Tiras do not cover alot of land area.

I'm gonna hafta agree with Lisbet, their best bet would be to release more dungeon and raid content spread over the next 2-2.5 years and then nix development of new content in favor of their new MMO.

I mean, just look at the big bads we have left in the world.

Arthas
2-3 Old gods
Deathwing/Neltharion
Azshara

The emerald nightmare is being caused by an Old God (possibly by all of them). So, we're left with up to 6 big bads left in the world, unless other dragon aspects start to go crazy. If we kill Arthas/Lich King in Ice crown that only leaves five major enemies. Blizzard probably isn't going to focus an entire expansion around an old god, they're much too faceless of an enemy. Azshara isn't very well know, not nearly as well known as Kael'Thas, Illidan and Arthas were. That leaves Deathwing, who is the only bad guy I can see Blizzard focusing a future expansion around due to his role in previous warcraft games and books.

[Bruuin]

They can't even balance the classes they have now.

Sadly, I stopped right here [not really].

They admit they have balance issues with the game. But with 11 million people whining about everything, it is hard to see past the negativity of it all. Yes, some things are wrong, some things aren't. The game will never be balanced because the average customer will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS find something to complain about with a class.

[Taknar]

The latest Blizzcast goes into detail about how much lore isn't explored and how much room they have to expand on the IP. The chances of this expansion being the last are zero.

Planning the development of the game to phase into their next MMO is also a poor move. After Everquest 2, I don't think anyone will ever do that ever again.

[Yatokth]

Sadly, I stopped right here [not really].

They admit they have balance issues with the game. But with 11 million people whining about everything, it is hard to see past the negativity of it all. Yes, some things are wrong, some things aren't. The game will never be balanced because the average customer will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS find something to complain about with a class.

The game isn't very balanced at the moment (markedly so in PvP) but it's getting better.

Once 3.1's notes get aaaaaall sorted out and when the patch finally gets released I think it'll be quite a bit better.

[Tylorvias]

I'm just going to jot down some thoughts here.

-Blizz has admitted that they originally wanted the level cap to be 100

-10 levels per xpac gives us at least 2 more

-There are private servers where you can actually go to the Emerald dream, and it has its own zones that are not just a reflection of the current continents

-Maelstorm has Azshara who is said to have the powers of an old god

-Sargarous has been MIA for quite awhile

-BC, the end all of bosses we all thought was illidan then hyjal is released and is just as hard, then KJ comes along which is harder.

-Would it be surprising if Azshara pulled an illidan and Sar a KJ?

-In arcatraz Herold whats his face at the end looks suspiciously like the first boss in AQ40 (If not exactly the same) he said not even the legion could match their might and that they were countless in number.

-Old gods. There are 5 of them, we know of 2. There is talk of C'thun in AQ40 not even really being C'thun, and we are just now finding out about the second of them.

-The old gods corrupted deathwing, there are some berserko dragons held up in the dream now that are corrupting it.

All this to me points to two more xpacs. The first of which will be Maelstorm, with Azshara and Sar, the second of which Emerald dream with the green flight and old gods and their servants.

[Rand_Shea]

Let's not forget the fact that there are things Blizzard implemented with WoW that were not in the previous games.

Infinite Dragonflight, anyone? No one knows who "The Master" is, how they are connected to Nozdormu, where Nozdormu is and what he's doing, or what their ultimate goals are other than that they want to change history on Azeroth by changing key events and killing of certain lore characters at certain points in time.

There is also things that NPC's have said that could be expanded upon, as well... such as the guy in front of Karazhan saying that someone from the Kirin Tor once had a theory that Karazhan existed on another plane, but both the towers shared the same space, only to go mad from the research. Other than Medivh finding the tower and living in it, along with the countless spirits, demons, and other paranormal things existing there, Karazhan's story was extremely limited. Currently no one knows who even built the place, who the original occupant was, or for what purpose the tower was put on the intersection of several of Azeroth's most powerful ley lines.

Also... just what does the PLANET of Azeroth look like? Is it just the two continents with some islands in the middle surrounded by a huge ocean, or is the possibility that there could be another or perhaps several other continents somewhere on the otherside of the 'globe'?

And finally... Emerald Dream was being worked on before Burning Crusade. It was either going to be an instance, set of instances, or a raid that people were going to be able to venture to and there was a questing area all ready put in for it that could be viewed in the game files with special programs. However, either the area was completely locked off or taken out of the game entirely, the planned project being scrapped as developers reconsidered just making it into a simple instance when there was so much potential that it had. Development on it was apparently ceased with plans to expand on it for future content. According to WoWWiki.

WoW would need to lose a large portion of its player base in order for Blizzard to stop development on it. Perhaps that will happen with this new MMO they have in the works, but I really don't think they would do something like try to completely replace a game that has earned them billions... That'd be like shooting yourself in the foot and then expecting it to not hurt. If anything, it's going to be a game that appeals to a different genre, such as Steampunk or (actual) Science Fiction.

[Swerto]

The game isn't very balanced at the moment (markedly so in PvP) but it's getting better.

Once 3.1's notes get aaaaaall sorted out and when the patch finally gets released I think it'll be quite a bit better.
I'm stil waiting for shamans to shoot lightning bolts out their ass... WHEN WILL IT HAPPEN?

And why isn't my warrior one shotting everything? I DEMAND MY CHARACTER BE GOD!

[Bruuin]

Once 3.1's notes get aaaaaall sorted out and when the patch finally gets released I think it'll be quite a bit better.

Until it is released and someone will find something to complain about. ;)

But really, there is alot of ground to cover left, I think. And I think that they will basically "clean" the world up as much as they can then release Warcraft 4 [Many (Read: Many many many many) years from now] and it will be a Horde vs Alliance action of epic scale.

[Ryoku]

Blizzard will not tack on the Emerald Dream to Wrath of the Lich King.

Why?

It's Wrath of the Lich King. Not Wrath of the Emerald Nightmare. Some people were excited about WotLK being Blizzard's next expac, I was dissapointed when I found out.

Besides, the Emerald Dream is basically Azeroth if none of the intelligent races had touched it. Meaning it would be as big as Kalimdor was before the Sundering.

[Karkarov]

Let me clarify. They have been developing the emerald dream since they started developing BC. As is they were working on them at the same time. Actually the same is true for northrend too. It was just a case of which they wanted to release first and in what order. Also again, not planning to design a mmo that makes WoW obsolete in the business sense is like planning to fail and go bankrupt. WoW can have all the time left it wants BUT IT WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. They absolutely MUST build a replacement or the players will be giving someone else their dime instead of blizzard. Considering games take 3-4 years to develop these days if they arent starting or planning for it by now they are just plain stupid.