So, there's something that's been bothering me, as of late. Now there isn't too much information out there yet, but I'm confused by how exactly Deathwing has been spending his time. If I remember correctly, he was wounded most severely after the events that transpired with the Demon Soul and his imprisonment of Alexastrasza. So I assume, first and foremost that he went into hiding at that time, and more than likely, ended up in Deepholme? What I don't understand is if he is just awakening from his slumber to cause the Cataclysm, how was he able to manipulate and carry out the creation of the Twilight Drakes? The timeline there seems to be a bit messy, and I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge of what kind of role he played in their creation.

My other concern is how he was aware of Nefarian's failed attempts and able to communicate with Sinestra to get her to retrieve the eggs from Netherwing Ledge. Wouldn't this mean that he has been awake and working for quite some time? Does Deepholme directly connect to Grim Batol?

Nefarian attempted his experiments of his own accord, Sinestra picked up his work as well as getting the Netherwing flight from Outland to push it further. After she died Deathwing himself apparently picked it up(Thanks for the detailed tie-in Obsidian Sanctum) based off the dialog of the Dragons there.

Ultimately the point was that Deathwing's dragonflight carries on his will whether they want to or not. This was a big theme/part of the novel Night of the Dragon. It's not so much that Deathwing carried it out, but he's still responsible in a round about way.

I need to reread the ending but didn't it imply Deathwing was actually inside Grim Batol?

That's where he was but Blizzard retconned the end of the novel and instead put him in Deepholme according to Knaack. I'd guess originally they were just going to go off of the novel but decided that him coming out of Deepholme and then going to Grim Batol was better.

I think this was discussed a few weeks back, but you can't just throw Thrall into every situation as Varian's mirror as he is vastly more powerful than almost every mortal alive. Matching a pure warrior type (Saurfang/Hellscream) to Varian is a fairer match as he can't just wreck the opposition ship with a quick request of the air or fire spirits. It also plays into the Saurfang the Younger idea.

That is perhaps one of the reasons we are seeing a transition of a warrior to equal Variann moving into the Warchief slot, to make it more even in that respect.

As for the Horde vs Alliance territory debate, I thought it might be an attempt to even out the number of levelling hubs each faction has when levelling. You can see from the loremaster achievements Alliance has a LOT more quests than Horde, I thought this might be to try even that out. It goes hand in hand with Orgrimarr being rebuilt which never really matched Stormwind in terms of designs and looks. Rebuilding Orgrimarr into something more resembling Warsong Hold would remedy this, a lot of people have requested an Org redesign over the years.

I love what they've done to streamline the levelling content too. It looks like you can level on either continent exclusively and in mostly adjacent zones.

As for SI:7 I'm still not seeing the how part. How do you disable one of the worlds most powerful spell casters? One that razes cities and necropolis with a mere wave of his hand. I'm thinking he let himself be captured to bring the Goblins onto the Horde side. Maybe he felt the impending cataclysm and travelled to Kezan or the area at least to discover what the problem was. Also the idea of the cataclysm playing with his control of the elements is a good one. Whilst an amazing warrior, enough guys would be able to down him without the aid of the elements at his call.

I'm curious why the Alliance seem to be openly attacking the Goblins before the Thrall incident though. Were the Alliance their slavemasters in the Kaja'mite mines?

I think this is the big underlying factor. No matter who wins, someone is going to either end up fighting their undead kid or their undead father/brother figure. They win the airship race only to see Arthas has corrupted a loved one.

Although no information was given in the trailer, the Official site says this:

I think that's about as much as we're gonna get until beta, considering they specifically locked out the level 1-5 bracket at Blizzcon. One month world event for Cataclysm sounds interesting. I wonder if we'll see a gradual development in some zones? ie.
Week 1: Alliance begins assaulting Camp Taurajo
Week 2: Alliance begins constructing fortifications
Week 3: Fully populated quest hub with Flight Path and NPC's.

It'd be nice to take advantage of this kind of technology for zones like Desolace which would otherwise go from Barren to lush overnight. I guess the real question is, who would see it? I can't imagine they'd actually go to that much effort when people will be busy killing Arthas and stuff.

Well, it's not like we'll all be spending 24/7 inside Icecrown.

As far as Alliance owning Camp Taurajo, I'm kind of caught by surprise. It seems like the most out-of-the-way spot in The Barrens for the Alliance to lay siege to and capture. The closest Alliance base is Bael Modan... a place that low level Horde get quests to thoroughly trash. Other than that, Alliance forces would have to pass by a number or other Horde outposts to get to Taurajo, and even if they were to advance from Bael Modan, I don't see how they would get reinforcements unless Theramore's neutrality was compromised.

I would imagine that Theramore ends up becoming a staging ground for Varian's forces regardless of Jaina's feelings (which for all we know change). It may seem like a strange place to attack but it is right next to the border of Mulgore giving a staging spot for attacks which also explains the huge tauren wall at the border now. I'd imagine we will see other Alliance camps near Durotar also.

I reckon it's part of the greater plan to create active conflict zones around the world. We've already sort of learnt the Horde will advance in Ashenvale and Hillsbrad. My guess would be that the Alliance advancing into the Barrens would be Blizzard's idea of creating "faction equality". The line of thought might have been along these lines: "Right, let's have the Warsong Clan trash Astranaar and have a lot of combat and action around there. Sounds great, works well with the new shortened leveling pathways, fits. Right, guess we have to trash a Horde town as well to keep the Alliance guys happy. Well Ashenvale is split now, and we kind of need fewer quest there, so why not have the Alliance capture that Tauren place there? And we get yet another combat zone!"
As for Theramore, am I missing something or is it not exactly neutral. I mean, Jaina sure is fine with Thrall, but Theramore forces appear to be in fairly active conflict with the Horde in the game as it is now. I know people had been speculating about Theramore becoming neutral, but I didn't spot anything pointing towards that in the confirmed stuff from Blizzcon. Anything I missed there?

Depending on the geographical changes, Taurajo would seem to be a very strategic position that would be worth the risk, especially to an aggressive type like Varian, to try to take and hold despite logistical difficulties in getting supplies there after the fact. It is in a spot where they could relatively lock the Taurens into Mulgore, which would make the zeppelin connection to Durotar all that more important. In addition it could act to inhibit the horde's easier land access to the southern zones of Kalimdor (lorewise, probably not so much playwise).

I agree that it would make the most sense if Theramore gets dragged into it. Northwatch Hold is also not very far from Taurajo and could see a revival itself, and Taurajo's location would also inhibit horde access to Dustwallow which could be a security reason they would want to take and hold it. It would also seem to fit with an overall theme of Expansionism, albeit for security rather than resources, that to this point we've seen more in what the horde have been doing in terms of taking over the other faction's bases. Certainly seeing what's going to happen in Ashenvale it would be a very real concern to the alliance to try and protect their current holdings on Kalimdor as best they can.

The status texts for The Guns of Northwatch would imply that it is cleared out, in so far as there is now the "grim task of retrieving bodies." This seems to be more a case of it now being vacant than destroyed, and as such could be the landing spot of the alliance expeditionary force.

However, it would provide an explanation for the Alliance Sentinels that roam the area: scouting the area, and learning the fortifications in preparation for laying siege. Otherwise, the only apparent explanation for these roaming Alliance are to terrorize young Hordelings.

I can't find early map of revamped Old world. With Thousand Needles flooded is there going to be direct ship access to Great Lift? That can explain huge alliance presence in The Barrens, while maintaining Theramore's neutrality.

One thing to remember, Wrynn isn't necessarily the one reclaiming Camp Taurajo. As far as I can remember, Dwarf and Night Elf soldiers are closest to Camp Taurajo. Don't blame Wrynn for everything the Alliance does.

Also, we don't really know what's happening politically with the Night Elves. I think it's a reasonable assumption we'll see some developments between the Staghelm/Tyrande rift going on. Especially with the re-emergence of the Highborne. (Also, on that train of thought, doesn't the Highborne quest/npc mention they're from Eldre'thalas? -- which is reasonably positioned near Camp Taurajo as well).

On that note, what will happen to the Quillboar? And for that matter, Amenaar the Coldbringer (I mean lore-wise...).

Thousand Needles being 'flooded' can just mean that Shimmering Flats is now a lake again and there is a river going from there to Feralas.

Howdy, first time posting, this thread being to blame for my registration.

On to things that matter: it might be a stretchy thought, but I was under the impression that the "burning" of camp Taurajo (myabe because of the term "burn") had been caused by the Cataclysm, either a lava surge or an attack by the Twilight's Hammer or some black dragon (not "Blackwing Greatfather" itself). The blue post said the camp had been burned and an Alliance base had been erected. It doesn't actually reference an attack.

Though an offensive by Varian & His Muchachos does seem reasonable, there is the Theramore factor to consider. A second failure to prevent an Alliance attack by Jaina (after what happened with her father) might definitely burry her status as the closest thing to a human friend the Horde has. And without Thrall on the wheel - worse, with him being replaced by Garrosh - it could very well mean there'll be no one to at least attemp some kind of meeting or parlay.

There are still no official sources stating that Garrosh would become Warchief, or even that Thrall hands over that title to someone else, he will also not become the new Guardian, if anyone, that will be Med'an. This was part of the SomethingAwful variant of an actual leak, "flavored" with lots of fan-made details.

Well, in any case, at the world changes presentation, when showing the new Zoram Strand outpost, the presenter (can't remember which one was it) said Garrosh was making some changes to the Horde's bases - these weren't his exact words, but the name Garrosh was surely there.

I too don't buy - thought I wish it true - the Thrall Guardin thing, but we've all seen this new redecoration going through some orc bases - and even Orgrimmar. It's clearly Garrosh's work. Either Thrall hands him Warchief status, or Garrosh seizes it after Thrall's abduction (could he have a hand in this, by the way?) or he's appointed Overlord for Azeroth operations as well and starts taking liberties.

Why does it have to be the result of Garrosh taking liberties, or becoming the Warchief? Can't it be something as simple as 'Let's reinforce the walls better against assault'?

Indeed it could, but we're putting known facts aside. Thrall is indeed rescued from an Alliance ship, Blizzard has stated Garrosh is responsible for the new fortifications on Azeroth, he's using his deco style and on top of that, Sylvannas - this comes from a blue and has been posted on this thread - has been ordered to conquer Gilneas so that the Horde can have a port. During this attack, the Gilnean coast is swallowed by the sea (part of it) which leads to believe the Cataclysm is still taking place at this time. Thus, one could say the Horde's necessity for a port wasn't motivated by Cataclysm-related operations. This would then be called expansionism and although Thrall is no peace-pipe hippie, an attack on an old Alliance ally such as Gilneas (knowing full well Varian wouldn't stand for it) isn't the kind of thing the blue-eyed castle-breaker would do.

Not to mention it's somewhat rocks for brains. Attacking a bunch of werewolves who were reknowned for their strength *before* turning into flesh-rending hulks sounds like a fantastic idea.

Although, with Sylvanas taking orders, I suppose we can rule her out of being the new Lich Queen.