Did I miss something major these past few days? We've all seen the nerubian tunnels underneath the colosseum, but, did I miss something monumental here or did you just make a big assumption?
With the frozen crypt lord texture and the achievement 'The Traitor King' it was kind a given that he would be making a return.
It would have parallels with Arthas' race to the glacier in WC3, fitting with the whole theme of Arthas trying to make us go through the same experiences he did. Aside from all the morally questionable stuff we've done, the only action of his we HAVEN'T duped so far is going through Azjol-Nerub to reach Icecrown.
Several people have noted what a stupid idea it was to start a tournament on the doorstep of the Lich King's fortress. It strikes me as almost as stupid as going to Light's Hope Chapel to train a new squad of freshly reanimated undead knights. The Lich King meant it to be a stupid move when he sacrificed his champions to get a shot at Tirion. Is Tirion may be getting set up to "dupe" Arthas's experiences? Allying with the Ebon Blade means condoning a lot of very nasty behavior, and it's still not 100% clear who was playing whom when Tirion destroyed Arthas's heart (the Lich King himself seemed to think it out of character for Tirion). I know Tirion has a strong knight-in-shining-armor vibe, but that just makes him a more attractive target for a fall from grace. If the Coliseum above Azjol-Nerub turns out to be his Acherus above LHC, that would make us all his suicide squad. Of course the Lich King didn't just lose the pawns he threw away -- they ended up on the other side of the board.
Originally Posted by Kyth
The only true error is in not learning how to make your second kill better.
Rather significant news on World of Raids | World of Warcraft News Guides Raid Strategies Guilds Forums - apparently a "Maelstrom 3 Test" server appeared on the PTR realm list briefly earlier today. There's more detail and speculation on WoR, but it certainly supports the next expansion being the Maelstrom.
I've been thinking a small amount about the underground nerubian caverns that just happen to be under the Argent Colosseum. So far I've seen people either say "why in the world are we having a carnival next to the Lich King's base?" or "We're doing this so we can find champions to send against Arthas."
What if that's just what Blizzard wants us to think? With the addition of these caverns the story could easily be turned into "The fair was just a cover up (albeit a useful one, it's training warriors) for Arthas; the real purpose of the colosseum was to cover up the entrance to the nerubian caverns below that will lead us straight into Icecrown!"
It would make more sense to me, or at least give me some faith in the planning of the bigger forces helping us against Arthas.
I've been thinking a small amount about the underground nerubian caverns that just happen to be under the Argent Colosseum. So far I've seen people either say "why in the world are we having a carnival next to the Lich King's base?" or "We're doing this so we can find champions to send against Arthas."
What if that's just what Blizzard wants us to think? With the addition of these caverns the story could easily be turned into "The fair was just a cover up (albeit a useful one, it's training warriors) for Arthas; the real purpose of the colosseum was to cover up the entrance to the nerubian caverns below that will lead us straight into Icecrown!"
It would make more sense to me, or at least give me some faith in the planning of the bigger forces helping us against Arthas.
The floor caves in so it is pretty clear that the Argent Crusade wasn't expecting it and the Scourge are the ones who get the surprise attack in the end it seems. I do hope that the entrance into Icecrown starts with us fighting in Azjol-Nerub though.
I've been thinking a small amount about the underground nerubian caverns that just happen to be under the Argent Colosseum. So far I've seen people either say "why in the world are we having a carnival next to the Lich King's base?" or "We're doing this so we can find champions to send against Arthas."
What if that's just what Blizzard wants us to think? With the addition of these caverns the story could easily be turned into "The fair was just a cover up (albeit a useful one, it's training warriors) for Arthas; the real purpose of the colosseum was to cover up the entrance to the nerubian caverns below that will lead us straight into Icecrown!"
It would make more sense to me, or at least give me some faith in the planning of the bigger forces helping us against Arthas.
In World of Warcraft Legends Vol 3, it was shown that the Nerubians can burrow underneath entire towns in order to topple them, it's not unreasonable for us to assume at any level that these tunnels were freshly made, or were there to begin with.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CX81UJZ8
For the lurking Phoenix Wright faithful.
What is the most important thing to you? Won't you grant me the pleasure of taking it away.
Rather significant news on World of Raids | World of Warcraft News Guides Raid Strategies Guilds Forums - apparently a "Maelstrom 3 Test" server appeared on the PTR realm list briefly earlier today. There's more detail and speculation on WoR, but it certainly supports the next expansion being the Maelstrom.
That seems a similar kind of leak or "error" that was, as far as I recall, the first significant hint that the second xpac was Northrend. Back then, there was 1 single flower that popped up under expansion02 in the datamining, with Northrend in the name. Of course, we've also had the first aquatic mount released last patch. To me it seems pretty clear now that a Maelstrom/South seas xpac is on the way.
The real question, of course, is what is the scope of the xpac. The maelstrom isn't a conveniently shaped continent like Northrend was, and there's all sorts of zones that could be involved. Several underwater zones and the various islands are probably a given, but there's Gilneas, Grim Batol, the Echo Islands, etc. to wonder about.
As well as Kul Tiras, which had damn well better play a significant role in any water-based expedition.
'War' is too small a word for what I'm fighting. Like a candle in front of the whole burning Sun. Now, I am not going to die today. I have other projects, and other options.
Regarding the Maelstrom realm, in the list of internal Blizzard servers leaked by using the transfer mechanism creativly (I wonder if that still works ?) last year, there were already several realms (3) named with Maelstrom, as you can read back here: World of Warcraft Server List
So it still could only be a hitch there, but considering Blizzard will have to restrict free traveling with the release of the next expansion again due to the same reasons as given for Wotlk, it would be exceedingly lame as if you just couldn't fly again, this time. But if the next expansion is more water-centered there are a lot of options that do the same but don't sound outright like cold-weather flying MK2. So I personally consider Maelstrom a quite likely theme for the next expansion. Still guesswork though perhaps until Blizzcon. Just wanted to throw in that the Maelstrom showed up long ago in the internal realm list.
Also of note, there were already many "Coliseum realms".
From the 'master plan' that's been knocking around a while and has so far been mostly accurate:
- Maelstrom Set
Gilneas - 77 to 80
Grim Batol - 78 to 81
Kul Tiras - 79 to 82
Kezan - 81 to 86
Tel Abim - 83 to 85
Zandalar - 84 to 87
Plunder Isle - 86 to 88
The Broken Isles - 87 to 90
The Maelstrom - 89 to 90
I see two routes they can take with this. Either they can put all the islands close together, and have us fly/take a boat between them, or separate them by long distances and effectively put each in its own 'instance' (i.e., you get a loading screen between islands), surrounded by fatigue waters.
The floor caves in so it is pretty clear that the Argent Crusade wasn't expecting it and the Scourge are the ones who get the surprise attack in the end it seems. I do hope that the entrance into Icecrown starts with us fighting in Azjol-Nerub though.
Pity, I was really hoping the Argent Crusade would be just that more clever than it seems with some 'covert operation' if you will. So far it feels like we've won most of the fights because good guys > bad guys, not because of amazingly clever planning that would be needed against the biggest threat in the world.
Pity, I was really hoping the Argent Crusade would be just that more clever than it seems with some 'covert operation' if you will. So far it feels like we've won most of the fights because good guys > bad guys, not because of amazingly clever planning that would be needed against the biggest threat in the world.
Well, we actually win most of the fights in Icecrown because we work with the Ebon Blade, not the Argent Crusade. Argent Crusade just gets us onto the glacier. Most of the rest of the progression quests come from either the death knight attaches or from the Shadow Vault. And these guys *do* have clever ideas. That's even a difference in the writing. Argent Crusade quests tend to be more tactical military in nature. Ebon Blade quests are almost always some sort of strategic headshot.
The Ebon Blade isn't really so much a case of "good guys > bad guys." They're written as extremely powerful bad guys that know how the Scourge work inside and out. There's at least some reason why they win as much as they do. Pretty much alone among the factions you do work for in WoW, it actually seems like these guys can pull their own weight.
If anything, they're due for a loss because they haven't had one as good guys or bad guys since Light's Hope.
I'm getting a "Kerrigan helps Raynor and Fenix in Broodwar" vibe from the Knights of the Ebon Blade and Darion, seeing as how blizzard has dropped hints that Arthas may die, but the Lich King will live-on. Hail to the King, anyone?
[19:36:45.096] Spleen gains 15 energy from Spleen's Tricks of the Trade
[19:36:45.408] Osseric gains Tricks of the Trade from Spleen
The floor caves in so it is pretty clear that the Argent Crusade wasn't expecting it and the Scourge are the ones who get the surprise attack in the end it seems. I do hope that the entrance into Icecrown starts with us fighting in Azjol-Nerub though.
Actually, getting the Scourge to dig us a route into Icecrown Citadel could have been the Tournament's main purpose rather than an unexpected surprise. Perhaps they built on top of something important to the Nerubians or just hoped that given the terrain the Scourge would have no choice but to perform a tunnel attack to get at them.
And on a side note, I'm thinking the Maelstrom Test server (given that it was RPPVP just like its US-Maelstrom counterpart) isn't actually a hint of any kind. If anything the Druid questline mentioned earlier points towards an Emerald Dream related expansion. Or maybe they're both clues and we're getting the Emerald Dream under the sea.
That seems a similar kind of leak or "error" that was, as far as I recall, the first significant hint that the second xpac was Northrend. Back then, there was 1 single flower that popped up under expansion02 in the datamining, with Northrend in the name. Of course, we've also had the first aquatic mount released last patch. To me it seems pretty clear now that a Maelstrom/South seas xpac is on the way.
The real question, of course, is what is the scope of the xpac. The maelstrom isn't a conveniently shaped continent like Northrend was, and there's all sorts of zones that could be involved. Several underwater zones and the various islands are probably a given, but there's Gilneas, Grim Batol, the Echo Islands, etc. to wonder about.
I'd imagine we would see Kul Tiras and all the surrounding islands added in along with the known islands around the Maelstrom.
Originally Posted by Cranberry
From the 'master plan' that's been knocking around a while and has so far been mostly accurate:
I see two routes they can take with this. Either they can put all the islands close together, and have us fly/take a boat between them, or separate them by long distances and effectively put each in its own 'instance' (i.e., you get a loading screen between islands), surrounded by fatigue waters.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that 'list' has NO source except for a post that was made on Allakhazam a month after WotLK was announced. Now the Maelstrom is likely next but anyone who has been paying attention to what Blizzard has said since 05 (that they were dedicated to making expansions of Northrend and the Maelstrom) could make a reasonable guess that the Maelstrom was next when they announced Northrend. Also for a 'original' list it is missing Azjol-Nerub which was actually marked as a leveling zone until October of that year.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that 'list' has NO source except for a post that was made on Allakhazam a month after WotLK was announced. Now the Maelstrom is likely next but anyone who has been paying attention to what Blizzard has said since 05 (that they were dedicated to making expansions of Northrend and the Maelstrom) could make a reasonable guess that the Maelstrom was next when they announced Northrend. Also for a 'original' list it is missing Azjol-Nerub which was actually marked as a leveling zone until October of that year.
While that particular list was copied from a recent forum post, I personally saw a similar list also extending up to lvl100 during Burning Crusade's beta, and at least some of that list is unchanged. It is certainly older than last year. At the least, Blizzard stated at Blizzcon last year that Outland and Northrend were originally planned to be in at release, so it would make sense for them to have a general plan mapped out.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that 'list' has NO source except for a post that was made on Allakhazam a month after WotLK was announced. Now the Maelstrom is likely next but anyone who has been paying attention to what Blizzard has said since 05 (that they were dedicated to making expansions of Northrend and the Maelstrom) could make a reasonable guess that the Maelstrom was next when they announced Northrend. Also for a 'original' list it is missing Azjol-Nerub which was actually marked as a leveling zone until October of that year.
While that list has been making its rounds for sometime, just don't put if off yet. (It still remains semi useful)
There was another post back in September 2008 that detailed alot of Maelstrom, but as of right now there is no proof for its accuracy.
But here is the link if you wish to read it: The Next Expansion's Details.. The Depths of the Dark Tide - Unofficial World of Warcraft Forums
I'm getting a "Kerrigan helps Raynor and Fenix in Broodwar" vibe from the Knights of the Ebon Blade and Darion, seeing as how blizzard has dropped hints that Arthas may die, but the Lich King will live-on. Hail to the King, anyone?
I'm not so sure. The Ebon Blade seems earnest in their efforts to eliminate wrongdoers, merely ruthless in their methods. They're already considered monsters by the living, so they realize that they can get away with a lot of things that would otherwise besmirch an organization like the Argent Crusade.
Darion's revelation at Light's Hope holds a lot of meaning for the Ebon Blade as a force of... anti-heroes, I guess. It's not like they don't go around kicking puppies for fun, unless those puppies are Scourge blight hounds or Scarlet tracking hounds.
While that list has been making its rounds for sometime, just don't put if off yet. (It still remains semi useful)
There was another post back in September 2008 that detailed alot of Maelstrom, but as of right now there is no proof for its accuracy.
But here is the link if you wish to read it: The Next Expansion's Details.. The Depths of the Dark Tide - Unofficial World of Warcraft Forums
That could easily be a hoax, but it's also very possible. Especially with how Arch-druids may be much more viable of an idea given what we've recently learned. At the same time, it seems inconceivable that they would release another melee class, one which has had most of it's abilities eaten up by other classes, and balancing two new classes in one expansion sounds like a total nightmare. Some of the ideas for the zones and the overall plot of the expansion sounds very Blizzard, though, I could definitely see them making those sorts of things, so if it is a hoax this guy is at least a pretty good faker.
That could easily be a hoax, but it's also very possible. Especially with how Arch-druids may be much more viable of an idea given what we've recently learned. At the same time, it seems inconceivable that they would release another melee class, one which has had most of it's abilities eaten up by other classes, and balancing two new classes in one expansion sounds like a total nightmare. Some of the ideas for the zones and the overall plot of the expansion sounds very Blizzard, though, I could definitely see them making those sorts of things, so if it is a hoax this guy is at least a pretty good faker.
It was also laughable that a 'fluff' employee would know something in concept stages.
So where does this leave Crystalsong Forest? If we use the Nerubian Tunnels for a surprise attack, what do we do in Crystalsong for 3.3? The zone has no quests but two outposts for each faction. I had thought that Crystalsong will be fleshed out in 3.3 and we we have things to do there before the final attack into Icecrown.
The other thing with Crystalsong was hopes of advancing the Dragon Aspects storyline. Currently, we killed Malygos and it stands still, while Blue Dragons do occupy parts of Crystalsong.
Also, WoW Insiders post on the Druid conversation:
It does seem unlikely they will continue the Blue Dragonflight story in 3.3. I also strongly doubt we'll ever see more dragon sanctuaries in Wyrmrest Temple as raid instances. As far as dragons go in general, I can't see much story left for them that would be relevant to the final phase of WotLK. Of course, we could revisit dragonlore in the next xpac, in Grim Batol or wherever.
Crystalsong Forest may yet have a role to play, although the high elf and blood elf factions seem to have played out their stories in 3.2. Many people are already exalted with them, even if we still know almost nothing about who they are, and what they're doing in Crystalsong. I suppose that if any zone is left 'unfinished', Crystalsong is actually the best one for it, given its mysterious powers and unexplained features. Maybe we will one day revisit it, when they rebuild the emerald portal at the Great Tree?
They don't have to fill out the Dragon Portals instantly. Hell, we've no reason to go to many/any of them at the moment. Presumably the Bronze one just leads to the caverns of time anyway, and the Blue to either Coldara or possibly Winterspring.
Crystalsong will probably just be forgotten. I wish they had done it but I don't see a proper resolution to the Nexus War now in game, I'm sure it will be fleshed out in books/comics though.
Rereading that "spoiler" list about the Maelstrom was fun, and some of it seems accurate. Two hero classes though just seems a little too much, especially the Blademaster which is at best a Death Knight clone, at worst another just DPS class.
PS: On the earlier comment, Thrall would destroy Variann in a 1v1! More likely is Garosh fights Varian. It is win/win for Thrall. Varian wins, Garosh loses support. Garosh wins, Varian loses support. I just really wish they'd involve all faction leaders. Cairne should be one of Thralls most wise advisor's instead of being stuck in TB doing nothing. And I can't see the rest of the alliance faction being happy about Varian's recent behaviour either. There are 10 faction leaders, wish they'd stop focusing on 3-4.
06/26/09, 7:44 PM
