So with 11.1.7 releasing tomorrow, it is expected that we will get some info on what 11.2 will entail. Since it has to go onto the PTR relatively soon.
So what predictions do people have for it? It could range from the zone, to the raid. The new dungeon and whether or not it is a mega dungeon. The new delve nemesis. Maybe even speculate on what 11.2.5 and 11.2.7 will involve. Go nuts.
For starters. I am seriously hoping that if 11.2 is an Etherael based patch, or at the very least the raid is, as shown with some datamined tooltip icons having âEtheraelraidâ as part of their name, the delve nemesis is the one, the only, RAFAMM THE SUPREME ARCHAEOLOGIST. Cause my boy deserves to be made canon to WoW given that the Hearthstone Explorer League team has been WoW canon since BFA, with Sir Findley having is debut in Legion. And what better way to be introduced as the main antagonist for delvers for Season 3 of TWW. At the very least it will make them keeping Brann as the delve companion worth it imo.
Shattered Kâaresh, probably a throwback to Argus. Hopefully not flying locked. Iâm leaning toward the idea that the Ethereum (whatever splinter-faction thereof is responsible) are going to vacuum up their dead/dying/corrupted Worldsoul into the Dark Heart.
What gives me pause is Beledarâs âhaha, Iâm in dangerâ was apparently happening on Kâaresh, and I donât think that clue was left in for no reason. So, probably Xalâatath gets the Void MacGuffin back somehow and is going to try to Harbinge her some Dimensius?
Ethereal stuff sounds good to me either way, so Iâm hoping the space fantasy mummy merchants get a lot of attention. Getting to romp around on a shattered plate of an ancient ethereal city with Kâareshâs core dominating the skybox sounds good to me.
It will have to work up to midnight, there isnât much time for anything else. Maybe arathor will do a thing unless they intend the book to be his only appearance before midnight. For any of that to make sense itâd have to be ethereals.
I think the same thing was said about âGoblin Raidâ being data mined, and that ended up being true. So unless it was made to throw people off, it seems to be the case.
Not sure if that means we have to fend off an invasion from them at the core of the world⊠or maybe go to their base on some shattered Karesh remnant. Maybe it will be both - we have had raids where we travel huge distances, like the Siege of Org, where we start in Pandaria for the first few bosses.
They seem to be able to travel around underground better than Goblins or Dwarves, by teleportation, so they could maybe get to the core of the planet and set up shop before we can get there. We might need to send in a task force to help Occuleth direct portals to it accurately.
I just wonder what the Arathi will have to do with it. If the coming story quests are a build up to 11.2, there doesnât seem to be an ethereal connection.
I remember in the Heartland story, there was a mysterious assassin who got the drop on both Thrall and Jaina - maybe she is an Ethereal Assassin, like Princess Kyveza?
Yeah early datamining for TWW did show tooltip icons for a âgoblinraidâ. In fact iirc, the same datamining also showed icons for an Ethereal raid.
https://www.wowhead.com/news/new-icons-from-beta-offer-potential-hints-at-future-patch-locations-goblins-and-343546 goes into a bit more detail about it.
I think we might get a big zone along with two smaller sections. Like how we got Undermine, but also the gutterworks in ringing deeps and the Kaja Coast in Zandalar with 11.1.
But yeah if the datamining does prove true, as it was for Liberation of Undermine, it is interesting how it would go down.
I think the Red Dawn stuff will continue in 11.2 but it could simply be tied to the new dungeon. Just like how BFA had a new dungeon that was completely unrelated to the main plots of said expansion. All 3 of legions new dungeons are connected to the main plot in some way.
Return to Karazhan was the Legion attempting to use Karazhan as a secondary invasion point. We foil that while Khadgar gets some character development thanks to Medivh
Cathedral of Eternal Night sees us place the Aegis of Aggramar in its lock. Hence why we donât do it in the Tomb of Sargeras raid.
Seat of the Triumvirate finishes with us collecting the final piece we needed to complete the Crown of the Triumvirate (Kilâjaedens piece). Empowering the Vindicaarâs weapon systems so it could blast open an alternative entrance into Antrous. We had collected Archimondes piece earlier and Velen still had his in his possession. Seat also ends with Alleria eating Lâura, expanding her void powers tenfold.
Dragonflights new dungeon, Dawn of the Infinite is directly tied to the main plot. As it ends with Iridikron giving Xalâatath the Dark Heart. After it had sucked Galakronds corpse dry.
Meanwhile Tazavesh is a mix of both relevant and irrelevant to the main plot. It gave us another look of First One tech while also setting up the mystery behind Cartel Au. Also Gallywix makes an appearance. Really wished that was brought up in TWW. Particularly with the connection Ethereals and Brokers have thanks to the Ethereal lorewalking stuff we are getting tomorrow.
So I imagine if we do get some minor zone updates, those will probably be tied to the Red Dawn stuff as a lead in to the new dungeon. I doubt the Red Dawn plotline is worthy of being made the focus on a major patch. At least for TWW anyway.
My guess is the raid is an Ethereal raid, as the datamining implies. The new dungeon will be tied to the Red Dawn plot.
Might be the case. Where the main zone of the patch sees the Ethereals assault an area and the raid takes us off world. It could be like SoO, ToS, etc where we start in the new zone then move to a completely different area or it could be like Nyâalotha where the raid takes place completely away from the raids entrance zone(s).
As for what returning dungeons will be part of S3âs mythic + rotation, if we do get an Ethereal raid, Seat of the Triumvirate is no doubt going to be one of them. And I reckon the first wing of Tazavesh will return as well. Given the broker, ethereal connection. I am predicting Street of Wonders over Soâleahâs gambit because SoW focuses more on Broker culture than Soâleahâs Gambit. I mean SoW has a club, their auction house etc. I am unsure of what the third one will be. I highly doubt it will be Mana Tombs but it will be funny if it is. But if I were to take a more serious stab, probably either plaguefall (to match the theme of a destroyed living space) or maybe we will get Soâleahs Gambit to match a heist theme.
Obviously the amount of returning dungeons we get will depend on a two things
How many of the already existing TWW dungeons will return. Blizzard never said how many will return, just he âwinnersâ of the combined EU and NA polls
If the new dungeon is just a regular dungeon like Operation Floodgate was, or if it is a mega dungeon. If it is the latter, will it be part of the mythic + grouping
Side note but it does annoy me how some mythic + seasons since Blizzard decided to bring back older dungeons into the rotation had missed opportunities or downright confusing entries. Even more so as they seem to be trying to match them to certain themes present in the respective season.
For example
Neither Blackrock Caverns, Stonecore nor Upper Blackrock Spire were used in Dragonflight.
Shadowmoon Burial Grounds, Court of Stars, Freehold, Blackrook Hold and Atalâdazar were some odd choices in retrospect for Dragonflight.
Speaking of court of stars, it shouldâve been used for TWW season 1 to mirror City of Threads. You know a dungeon where you sneak into a city on a mission to assassinate a key target⊠Even fight some enemy spies along the way. Replace Siege of Boralus with Court of Stars. Hell Lost City of Tolâvir is another one that fits.
In hindsight, Vortex Pinnacle shouldâve been used in DF season 1. Given who the main antagonist of DF S1 was. I headcanon that Throne of the Tides was used in DF S3 to tie a theme to Vyranoth. The primate incarnate of water (well ice) is center stage so a dungeon where we explore the plane of water lines up really well.
The following are the dungeons I feel were picked well given the theme of the season or the expansion in general
Halls of Valor and Temple of the Jade Serpent were fine for Dragonflight, as these two were used in Season 1. Both are tied to Dragons. However I wished we got some Cloud Serpent involvement in Dragonflight.
Neltharionâs Lair and Underrot tie nicely to DF S2. One is literally the former lair of Deathwing and the other is about Old God corruption.
Darkheart Thicket, Everbloom and Waycrest Manor has ties to either nature in general or to the Emerald Dream. DHT via the Nightmare and WCM via Thros. I already mentioned Throne of the Tides and why I feel it was a good pick for DF S3.
Grim Batol honestly couldâve been used in Dragonflight or TWW (tbh so could Underrot). So I am fine with it being used for TWW season 1. Ties into Stonevault even if Blizzard once again forgot to add Skardyn to Grim Batol. But there is the Xalâatath connection as well.
Motherlode was perfect. Perfect for S2 of TWW. Goblin dungeon to match a goblin raid. Operation mechagon: Workshop is a good match as well. An underground city dungeon for an underground city zone. Even the bosses in Workship match bosses in LoU. You got the arena boss (Cauldron of Carnage vs Tussle Tonks), the junkyard boss (Stiks vs K.U.J.O), the bodyguard boss (Sparkflux vs Mugâzee) and the big guy himself who gets an upgrade in the mech they use during the fight (King mechagon vs Gallywix). Meanwhile most of Theater of Pain happens underground and it is an arena dungeon.
I hope we actually go WITHIN the world soul and see Azeroth and the chamber where the it is contained in. It would be bad if the name of the expansion isnât living up to the hype. Also I want to see the Haranir homeland. Ethereals mean nothing to me and I find them boring.
Where King Arthur exists Avalon the Fairy Realm of Titania and Oberon canât be too far awayâŠ
Since Siren Isle has a similar bad reputation to Avaloren I suspect Beledar to be where Avaloren is found.
We will discover that Archaedas was tricked by the Radiant Song claiming to be from Titania(the Harranir Goddess) to mean itâs a shard of a Female Titan rather than a Realm of Light imbedded into Azeroth.
Since Beledarâs Crystals are treated as similar to Azerite we will discover that there are Realms of Light buried under Silithus, Kul Tiras, Zandalar, Darkshore and Northrend.
We will discover that the Void Portal in Kâaresh hooks up to Avaloren too I suspect with the Ethereals draining the Void away showing Xalâatathâs true face(she pops out of the Mural of Beledar when attempting to corrupt Neferess and the NâZoth Questline in 11.1.7 implies that Xalâatath was an outsider embraced by the Void).
My thoughts on 11.2 is that we will go to either the Rootlands or Kâaresh, with the zone choice giving playable Haranir or Ethereals.
If the Rootlands, I can see Ethereals invading the place for one reason or another, with the raid bringing us into the remnants of Kâaresh as a preview, with said remants then becoming their own zone in Midnight.
For a while, I thought we were going to Kâaresh. Before the TWW expansion released, Goblin and Ethereal content was datamined, so we could see where things were headed. The same thing happened in DF.
Before a major patch, there are smaller patches that build on and prepare for the major one. This was the case with both the goblins and the DF expansion. After the Dark Heart was taken from Azir and disappeared, we didnât see anything more of them. Now thereâs Arathi content, which makes me think things might be different.
I think Blizzard has changed its original plans, and Patch 11.2 will focus on the Arathi and the Red Dawn, with Faerin as the protagonist who will be prepared for this.
Weâll see Kâaresh in the next expansion, which also fits better. I think the Arathi/Red Dawn raid will be an open-world raid without a final boss, and weâll decide where it starts and ends. (Eastern Kingdoms)
Yeah I can see a Tomb of Sargeras approach to the raid. Where the raid âendsâ with a preview of where we will be heading too next at some point. As Kilâjaedens final phase in ToS is orbiting Argus.
To be fair, we also have the lorewalking content. Two of which are relevant to TWW. As they focus on Xalâatath and Ethereals.
10.0.7âs main focus was the Siren Isle but the questline that led into 11.1 was the one with Orweyna, Gazlowe and Renzik.
But given that the Red Dawn plot does have the âcampaignâ banner in the quest log. It does give weight to 11.2 being about the Red Dawn in a major way.
I was questing in Arathi Highlands for the .7 story and stumbled upon a blocked red portal in Refuge Pointe. I immediately contacted my guild talking about it, speculating it might be the entrance for the 11.2 Red Dawn dungeon
âŠand then I realized itâs just the pvp portal. For a second I forgot those were a thing
Honestly Iâm kind of getting the feeling that the Kâaresh tease will be saved for Midnight. Between the earlier Arathi rep and now this Stromgarde questline I assume 11.2 is going to be something related to the Arathi. Though Iâd prefer Kâaresh.
One is the Red Dawn stuff, as it is clear that it is not over just yet and the other is the history between Locus Walker and Veânari. Personally I feel the former will be the subplot of 11.2 while the latter will be the main plot.
Only way I can see the Red Dawn being relevant going forward is if the Arathi Empire from across the storming seas gets involved in the story eventually.
Canât imagine why they wouldnât considering blizz has been teasing them since TWW began.
I always suspected that Kyâveza would be the delve nemesis but that would be a joke. Seems Blizzard continues to disappoint me.
Seriously. Where is Rafamm?
Also lol at Halls of Atonement. Hey guys, letâs have an Ethereal patch and not include the Ethereal dungeon from Legion in the mythic + rotation. It would be like not having motherlode for S2. Seriously.
