the next WoW expansion

well, this thread is for predicting what new features the next WoW expansion will hold(and it can also be used for predictions for the expansions after that)

i think the next expansion will have the Broken isles as the new continent, i think it will also deal with this piece of lore, with the murloc god as the final boss:http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/misc/murloclore/murlocs.html

 

I for one think that it will consist of the Broken Isles AND Hyjal. The zone still hasn't opened up. I'm willing to bet that Hyjal will be the last instance for WoW 1. But it's really too late at night for speculation. I'll finish in da morning.

 

I've heard the next one will be the Emerald Dream. Not sure if it was anything official, but I'm fairly certain that that's going to be the next expansion after Wrath.

 

that sounds cool too, i think the emerald dream will be introduced together with mount hyjal

 

Possibly, but now that Mount Hyjal's been ravaged, it doesn't really share the same connection to the Emerald Dream. Obviously it previously had great significance lore-wise, but I can't really find a connection any more.

 

in 4 years, a lot can regrow(at least grass)
and maybe the entrance to the emerald dream wil be located in teh already existing dream portals

 

I don't care where this expansion takes place...
So long as that place has a serious murloc infestation.

 

Well as with all huge demon explosions i assume the top of Hyjal still has a significant evil pressence. Which could link it in with the dream and the whole corrupting nature theme. Since Stormrage is currently stuck in the emerald dream fighting great evil maybe an entrance into it is located at the top of hyjal where archimond popped. So it would make sense if the next expansion centres around the emerald dream and hyjal.

I doubt the broken isles will be the centre of any expansion since they really aren't epic enough to hold up a whole marketing campaign and the lore orgy that will sell enough copies

But on the other hand i guess if Blizzard wants to save something for the next warcraft installment which isn't WoW they could just try to build a whole new story centered around the broken isles and murlocs and turn it into an expansion . Oooor the other way around they could make the next warcraft game centre around the isles since they've killed all the main characters >>

 

erm, broken isles:
tomb of sargeras
former capital of the elves
contained teh well of eternity
underwater home city of teh naga

 

Posted that while i was editing =/
Another point is that the Emerald Dream plotline was born in WoW (yes it does have some kind of plot) so it would be easy enough to let it flow into an expansion without pissing off more people by sealing up any way the lore can escape from hitting a dead end.

While the broken isles could be made into Warcraft 4 (?). Because the jump in lore which would be required to milk the broken isles for all they're worth would not very effective in an MMORPG.

 

how are the broken isles not effective for an MMorpg? it is a completely untamed area, except for some night elf and orc camps, it is filled with magical creature, you can have a cool new battleground based on isles, and maybe even have ships that move around.
explain to me, how broken isles is not fit for an MMORPG?
i agree hyjal is better though

 

The thing is that Broken Isles has to be explained. Outland, being a whole other planet, Northrend, being a whole other continent, and the Emerald Dream, being a whole other realm of existence, have an impact of their own, but Broken Isles, it's just not enough on its own. Having a Broken Isles expansion would be like having had the Isle of Quel Danas as an expansion. It just isn't enough both from a salesman point of view and a gameplay point of view. It doesn't have enough of an impact on its own, and doesn't have enough space for ten levels worth of levelling nor enough end-game content.

 

I'd be content with one world raid to kill a gigantic murloc...
End game; complete.

 

i quite disagree with you, it has been said that there are any underwater cities near the broken isles, there are many ancient dungeon, and if they need an impact: the lord of the burning legion resides there, it is possibly the only place in azeroth where there are still demons(and quite frankly, i want to see a continent under the control of the burning legion(azeroth is alliance, that other thing is horde, northrend is scourge, and outland is illidani))

and as i said before; it is not just the broken isles that are there, it is a complete underwater civalization, i think that could have quite of an impact dont you


now, lets see what other hero classes there could be:
i think spellbreaker is a good one, priest of the moon for tauren and night elf(main advantage: can fight while on a mount), i dont see demon hunter as a good unique class, but maybe necromancer is cool too

 

Having the vast majority of the new content underwater would not be a good thing. Even if it was just submerged, like Sunken Temple, it wouldn't be a good thing as each area would be far too isolated. You can't do the same thing with dungeons as you can with open regions, like that of Azeroth and Outland. They've got a completely different and restrictive feel to them.

With the impact, it's gotta come with the destination and the content released. No-one will buy Wrath to kill Arthas, they will buy it to get to level eighty, for the new gear and new content, for the new battleground, new raids, the new class and the whole of Northrend, so just saying 'the lord of the burning legion is there' isn't enough. One character isn't enough to draw people into it. The Burning Crusade had the lot, Wrath of the Lich King will have the lot, The Emerald Dream would definitely have more than the lot, but the Broken Isles? It hasn't got enough behind it.

About your hero class suggestions, the place of the Spellbreaker will already be taken by the Death Knight, who will act as an Anti-Caster Tank/DPS, most of the Priest of the Moon's abilities have already been taken by most classes, mainly the Druid and Priest, especially Night Elf Priest, not to mention that Tauren and Night Elves are already specialised enough and being able to fight on a mount would be horribly overpowered, and the Necromancer would already be covered by the Warlock and the Death Knight. The way I see it, if an expansion was truly going to take place in the middle of Azeroth, especially if it was going to be all about unexplored tombs, lost temples, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, having Goblins as a playable race would be one of the only ways to go. Regardless of whether they're Horde or a neutral race, how could you go past them?

Also, I strongly disagree with your take on each faction controlling a different area. Alliance definitely does not control Azeroth, though I think you mean Eastern Kingdoms, which they don't control either, the Horde definitely does not control 'the other thing', by which I think you mean Kalimdor, the Illidari definitely does not control Outlands and by the end of Wrath, the Scourge won't completely control Northrend. The factions just aren't divided up evenly like that.

 

well there would of course be cool items there, like guldan's orb, it is not that hard to implement dungeons, lvl 90 is a duh, and you are right about the factions, and what do you mean teh lot behind it, it is a place of ancient magics, ti is where the night elf race started, and it is the place where the horde conquest was stopped, it was also the place where illidan reached a new lvl of power

 

Things like Guldan's Orb would obviously be artifacts so isn't really something to brag about being a new item just as Illidan's blades aren't something to brag about for the Burning Crusade.

I don't mean enough behind it as in lore, I mean there isn't enough behind it to support it as a viable option. It's not big enough to support so many players, there isn't enough open space to have an appropriate place to level up, and there's basically only a single thing drawing you there, being Sargeras.

 

THey could do a minor story on the meal storm that consums the middle of Azeroth. But it would be like the sunwell patch. It would deal with the main old god that was trapped under the twisting meal thats there. But it would be a rather boring place just dealing with god like murlocs and Naga which many people are already sick of seeing. But to futher have that point the old gods were also hidden in other places around Azeroth cause there was 5 not just one and lore wise it would take alot to bring all of them back and 1 is dead is i'm not mistaken so theres really only 4 left and lets not forget kai'jaeden is more then likly not dead nor is Sargeras. There is alot of content still left in WOW and still alot of things from WC3 that wasnt filled into the game like specifice attacks and abilitys so with that face left there i Only see the next story taking place in a relm where only the demons where premitted before, like the twisting nether or even a HeadQuater spot like the Eredar/Draenei home world Argus...... Theres still alot of things to do. The question is, WHO else wants to die by the hands of the allince or horde. Only blizzard can answer that.

 

I'd like to see one on the Twisting Nether, but that's just me.

 

Hay demons live there so why not. Its said that the Burning Legion's forces are massed from some where in the Twisting Nether so why not have the next game after WotLK be at the demons home front. Where we fight the final bosses like kai'jaeden at his full and Sargeras. I would like to cut out all the crap and get to the real butt holes in WoW lore. I dont care about small name bosses like illidian or Arthas.....