[Jesibelle]

IIRC emerald dream was originally finished pre-BWL. They had plans to implement it as a content patch then went with BWL instead because they felt it better fit the current storyline. That is why originally, dire maul, eranikus and the 4 emerald dragons were built in. Then just made the emerald dragons fit into teh BWL storyline and moved forward from there. I wish i could find post but it escapes me now...I am old though and the mind sometimes tends to run things together.

[padrote]

Didn't they mention that they wanted Arch Druid as a hero class? Which would probably come with Emerald Dream. If they plan on adding hero classes every new expansion then I'd bet on ED.

[furydeath]

MMO even deleted the topic about it =

[Kanzentai]

padrote said:

Didn't they mention that they wanted Arch Druid as a hero class? Which would probably come with Emerald Dream. If they plan on adding hero classes every new expansion then I'd bet on ED.

Well, they "missed" the chance to add Demon Hunters with TBC.

And, while a new healer would be nice, an arch-druid would probably "cannibalize" the Druid class a bit, unless it was implemented as an "epic quest for druids that has them become an arch-druid after completion". Same would go for arch-mages and the regular mages.

[Arathnis]

I think the next expansion will be heavily "Alliance vs. Horde" centric. It is a plot that has been gaining heat throughout WotLK, and will climax with Icecrown Glacier's completion. That being said, I don't expect a new continent in the next expansion, which could possibly mean no new level cap either.

However, I do see islands and numerous left out locations being implemented, which could leave room for a level cap increase. The problem with that is so far, new leveling blocks (60-70, 70-80) have all been in new continents. These islands that come into play would all have to be in the same area for it to be effective. Which I why I doubt a new level cap. But remember, this is Blizzard.

New races? Unlikely, though I've always entertained the idea of some Naga on the Horde side and Worgen on the Alliance side (the ones converted by Arugal). With Gilneas up in the area, it's just large enough to be used as a starting zone. For the Naga, a simple set up of some islands near Ashenvale or the Barrens will do.

I strongly believe there will be another hero class, and I don't see how there couldn't be. This is a new direction Blizzard could take, with the "success" of death knights (though the balance is debatable). The strongest candidate for the new hero class is definitely the demon hunter. It's a class that has the most room for opportunity, seeing as how it is relatively unique compared to others. Unfortunately Blizzard lost opportunity for great lore and tie-in at the Burning Crusade. And with hero classes, I think it's safe to say that the idea of "upgrading classes" is dispelled. This has been in the works for Blizzard the entire time.

The lack of a profession that makes bows or arrows leads me to believe a woodcutting profession and/or fletching profession is in the works. Woodcutting would probably work like herbalism, except trees for lumber would be more scarce. This is compensated for by allowing trees to give large amounts of lumber.

Edit: Sub-continents have some potential (Emerald Dream, Undermine, etc.)

[Qrio]

Hm, I recall reading that Maelstrom US (RPPvP) server is about to undergo a hardware upgrade, and this might just be a (smart) way first to create hype about the expansion and second to just test the new hardware. Can anyone confirm that Maelstrom has plans like that?

[faris]

Just one more thing to help refute this list. Back at one of the blizzcons, 07 or 08, there was a panel for quests where blizzard stated that one of the things they learned with TBC was that putting everyone on the server into 1 zone was a bad idea. And they decided to make northrend with 2 starting zones to split up the population and reduce the strain for a smoother release.

And accord to that list they planned on it all along.

[rascalpower]

I agree with the idea of the next expansion being horde vs. alliance centered. The Ulduar intro movie, the siege of Undercity event and the upcoming split between alliance and horde armor sets are all things that lead me to believe it.

However, I would be extremely surprised to see Nagas as a playable race in the future. Their snake-like lower body part would bring a huge technical issue regarding mounts, gear (where do you put the boots?) and potentially more. If the maelstrom is really in the next expansion, and there's new playable races, I'd say the most probable race for the horde would be murlocs, or some race related to them. They're intelligent, vicious, and they've been around forever. If the naga are becoming too much of a threat to them, it wouldn't be surprising to see them join the horde.

As for the alliance, I have no idea which race would be fit to join them. However I really don't think that the worgen are a good candidate. Perhaps Pandarens (they must be coming from some foreign island, right?) or something new.

I tend to believe that the maelstrom isn't big enough to hold a whole expansion. My guess is that there will be some underwater zones, where bubbling leaks on the sea floor will be spread all over the place and unless you're with a shaman/warlock or happen to have an item that grants underwater breating equipped, you'd have to rely on these.

There is also something else I saw that catched my attention. I guess some of you knows more about it than me. I noticed some of the JC daylies mention the Undermine. What is it exactly? Some kind of underground tunnels that spread across Azeroth and is ruled by goblins I guess? If that's the case, it would probably make a perfect place for the next major city to be established. Also an endless maze of underground tunnels would be a great environment to implement guild housing. The goblins wouldn't miss an opportunity to rip some guilds off their gold.

[padrote]

Kanzentai said:

Well, they "missed" the chance to add Demon Hunters with TBC.

I wouldn't call it a miss, since Death Knights start at 55, I'd assume the new hero class would start at 65, which places their origins in Outland. They could cook up something regarding Illidan's fall and such.

[Arkham]

Not only is that list totally fake, but really, even if such a list DID exist, does anyone really think it would remain an unchanging plan for upcoming content?

I'm sure we can all remember the one Blizzcon panel where they mentioned level 70 was going to be the original level cap in vanilla WoW, and how Karazhan was also slated to be a raid dungeon in the original game as well. Development plans (for any long-term commercial project, but especially video games) can change over time, sometimes quite drastically.

So even if such a list did exist, there's no reason to take it as some kind of gospel prediction of what's in store for us over the next few expansions--nevermind the incredibly dubious and unreliable origin this list has.

[Leviathonlx]

padrote said:

Didn't they mention that they wanted Arch Druid as a hero class? Which would probably come with Emerald Dream. If they plan on adding hero classes every new expansion then I'd bet on ED.

No they never said that. The interview that mentioned it was the interviewer using a archdruid as a example of a future hero class. Any future hero class will likely be a class that will not conflict with current classes (such as how a archdruid would conflict with a regular druid).

anjldust said:

Also, while I agree that Maelstrom is a likely candidate for the next expansion, and that a new expansion could be announced at Blizzcon '09, I don't think that this is Blizzard tipping their hand, and here's why:

This test server is apparently RP-PVP, just like the US server called Maelstrom. I think it's just as likely that this is Blizzard testing hardware for upgrades to Maelstrom, which desperately needs it.

In addition, Blizzard deletes speculation threads on upcoming content all the time, even if the evidence is total garbage. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet.

It's very unlikely they would need to test hardware upgrades like that.

[Skully]

For me its also unlikly that Grim Batol and Gilineas are both leveling zones (and for the same expansion). They are both on Eastern Kingdom and relative far apart.
But i would like to see one of the zones implemented as new zone for higher level people (leveling zone), but it should be implemented without a gate like for Bloodelfs.
Maybe they can use a teleport buff like in the WotlK beta and give it to people without the expansion.

Another zone which is untouched is the original Hyjal in Kalimdor.
In general i would like to see more aditions to the old world (and i dont mean new starter zones for new races).

[Plyte]

WoW is losing steam. The core set of players are getting tired of expansions and basicly starting from new. Its a natural process of MMOs and expansions. Expansions will keep people playing, but each one has diminishing returns.

Casual gamers will continue to play WoW, but the core will probably move on to other games (such as SC2 or D3). Blizzard is also working on another MMO.

I could understand Blizzard trying to squeeze every dime they can out of the warcraft series, but you can only get so much.

[Brozenhammer]

As some of you worry about the zone space and such, don't forget there is also the other side of the planet of Azeroth, that is the sea between Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom that is not visible. It's like if you travelled from America to Asia across the Pacific Ocean, and Pacific Ocean is the place that is not on the map of Azeroth. Well, this is just a potential idea for new space. Perhaps the Maelstorm serves as a whirlpool to the other side of the planet. I think this surely could have some value because if not, then I don't understand why there are no pathways through the other side of the planet, when it would be faster, assuming the sea there is so small. I remember seeing somewhere a 3D model of Azeroth and yes, the sea was obviously there. Yea, I know it's a game, but real world logic gives some potential to this area.

[Bubblebop]

Kinda my thoughts, regarding what Plyte said. You can only churn out so many expansions before the cost and manpower to create them is no longer outweighed by the amount of people who continue playing (i.e. revenue/profit).

It almost makes me wonder if Blizzard is going to transition the WoW players over, somehow, to their new MMO... though it seems unlikely, it's obvious they have some sort of path planned out. How are they going to deal with WoW once their new MMO is out? Are they going to just let WoW wither and die after ____ period of time?

I'd love to see more WoW content/expansions, just as anyone else would, but you can only go so far. The game mechanics, amongst other aspects of the game, will stay roughly the same; and at some point, you have to start anew. I'm pretty confident they have something up their sleeve though.

[Skully]

Bubblebop said:

Kinda my thoughts, regarding what Plyte said. You can only churn out so many expansions before the cost and manpower to create them is no longer outweighed by the amount of people who continue playing (i.e. revenue/profit).

It almost makes me wonder if Blizzard is going to transition the WoW players over, somehow, to their new MMO... though it seems unlikely, it's obvious they have some sort of path planned out. How are they going to deal with WoW once their new MMO is out? Are they going to just let WoW wither and die after ____ period of time?

Pretty sure as long 1mill+ people are paying for the game, they will continue to support it with some content.
Most other if not all other MMO are glad if they have 1mill+ people.
That WoW will lose player over time, even with new expansion is unavoidable.
Especially when the new Blizzard games like SC2, D3 come out.
But they said that the new MMO wont be a new WoW and they dont want it to be similar to avoid killiing WoW.

Just look at Everquest, an old game and compared to WoW not many players but its still running.

[lethalnl]

well with the existing playerbase and sales numbers that wont happen awefully fast MMO2 will however eat a sizable portion of the playerbase id have to guess
lets pray they announce it at blizzcon....id really like to know what its about


and about the list btw, i think what mickeyolol posted has been updates slightly....but i do as well recall it being around for very very long
even before tbc if i recall
you should take it with a grain of salt, but it definetly has some degree of accuracy

i dont think we should look for to much behind this little error....since i doubt their content developers are anywhere near a working alpha of EP3
new hardware for maelstorm would be by miles more likely
maybe you'll see on tuesday, extended maintainance for that realm

[Azaile]

You guys are too busy looking at the test realm for clues... need to look a bit closer to home on the real servers.

Swimming mounts.

[Chrono]

I would be overjoyed if the maelstorm is the new expansion (and hope it includes Undermine!)

[Deployed]

Azaile said:

You guys are too busy looking at the test realm for clues... need to look a bit closer to home on the real servers.

Swimming mounts.

Yep, I would agree, but would you put it pass Blizz to place red herrings in the game to spark debates like these?

It's a bit pointless me saying what I am about to say, because I'm not going to go out of my way to find the quote, but I recall a Blizz rep mentioning a few months ago that for the next expansion they're going to do something even more unexpected than what current debates were suggesting (which was Maelstrom or Emerald Dream, new race(s) or class).

Since this thread has really opened up to speculation, here are my thoughts. The next Expansion will have BOTH, Maelstrom and the Emerald Dream. There will not be a new Race for each faction or a new class, but rather, a new faction.

Seems like a lot of work, but look at it this way, by having two distinctly contrasting zones, the level designers wont have to work so hard to create landscape variety. Which means two things. It'll be easier to create the zones, and they can justify making these two new areas smaller than Outland and Northrend since together they would actually consist of more.

The new faction thought is just wishful thinking. It would break PvP to pieces (faction-balance and BG-wise.), and the few servers that are balanced in regards to Alliance/Horde ratio would lose that balance. Just something I felt should've happened in the first place.