12.1 plot Speculation

Lore Story Forum
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So over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about 12.1 and what the story could be. I’ve posted some of my thoughts on places like Twitter and even here across various threads but I wanted to combine them all here in a singular thread.

It is most likely that 12.1 will take us to Atal’Utek, the island east of Zul’Aman. After all, there was a warlock tier set that was datamined during the beta with the file name, ‘RaidWarlockUlatek’. During early TWW a similar situation occurred where an offhand from a future raid was datamined. In that case, it foreshadowed the release of Liberation of Undermine, as the file name included ‘goblin raid’. Therefore there is history to assume that the datamined warlock set from Midnight’s beta is hinting towards what 12.1 will be.

https://www.icy-veins.com/wow/news/war-withins-next-big-update-leaked-details-on-rootlands-and-goblin-ethereal-raids/

https://www.wowhead.com/news/patch-12-1-raid-teased-new-tier-set-icons-on-midnight-alpha-379055

I don’t really need to state the following but I am doing to do it anyway. With the island called ‘Atal’Utek’ and the datamined warlock set, it appears that Blizzard is going to be introducing Ula’tek back into the lore. For those who don’t know. Ula’tek was a snake Loa of the Amani from the old RPG books. These books were considered part of the canon until 2011. Where in the second round of Cdev Q&A, Blizzard said the following,

Q: Are the Warcraft and World of Warcraft RPG books considered canon?
A: No. The RPG books were created to provide an engaging table-top role-playing experience, which sometimes required diverging from the established video game canon. Blizzard helped generate a great deal of the content within the RPG books, so there will be times when ideas from the RPG will make their way into the game and official lore, but you are much better off considering the RPG books non-canonical unless otherwise stated.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Warcraft_RPG

And Blizzard has since began reintroducing characters from the RPG books back into canon. Probably the most well known example was Tandred Proudmoore in BFA. They even made a little reference to that fact, at the expense of the Red Shirt Guy :P. Given the snake theming seen on the island from those who have managed to gain access to it, such as Rextroy via the Windrunner Spire dungeon, it seems that Ula’tek is going to be made canon once again.

So what does this mean? From the reintroduced “The Rulers of Zul’Aman” lore tablet, it states that Kith’ix, the C’thraxxi that began the war between the Trolls and the Aqir was killed in what would become Zul’Aman (we actually knew this from Chronicles vol 1), more specifically, the island that is now known as Atal’Utek.

Even so, their armies dispatched Kith’ix. The Amani cleansed the aqir from the land and created the vast Atal’Utek as a monument to their great battle but forbade entrance to its temple.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/The_Rulers_of_Zul%27Aman

In Zandali, the language of the Trolls, Atal seems to mean ‘devoted to’. As seen in other locations, such as the Temple of Atal’hakkar (aka The Sunken Temple) Given that Kith’ix was buried where the temple of Atal’Utek now stands, it implies that Ula’tek had a hand in Kith’ixs’ demise. Much like how Sethraliss (another snake loa btw) defeated Mythrax in Vol’dun. However Ula’tek has been forgotten to time. Most likely stayed behind to ensure Kith’ix never rose from the dead, as we have seen with other C’thraxxi. Such as the aforementioned Mythrax. I say this because of the debuff you get if you try and get to Atal’utek currently in the ‘open world’. Clearly the powers that be do no want anyone going to the island.

It has long been speculated that Kith’ix is going to be a chekhov’s gun of sorts and with a trail of ‘void activity’ ending near Zul’Aman that was reported back in the Dark Heart quest line at the end of Dragonflight, it seemed like Blizzard was going to be firing that gun sometime soon. And with the Twilights Blade invading Zul’Aman in Midnight, we might be getting close to that.

Riftwalker Orlis says: Not much to report, I’m afraid.
Riftwalker Orlis says: I sensed activity to the north of the continent, but the trail went cold near Zul’Aman.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Riftwalker_Reports

It is my belief that the Twilight’s Blade will seek to resurrect Kith’ix as a means to keep us occupied while Xal’atath does her thing that involves the ley lines. However there is another enemy faction to factor in and this one… might be worse than some cultists seeking to resurrect some C’thraxxi. I speak of the Vilebranch. Which I feel will be the main threat of the patch.

The Vilebranch have always been an antagonistic faction to both the Alliance and the Horde as far back as Vanilla. Back then they were shown to have worshiped Shadra and worse, Hakkar the Soulflayer. Then in patch 2.3, Malacraas, who has been retroactively made a member of the Vilebranch, convinced Zul’jin to chain up the Amani’s four main Loa and infuse their power into the Amani’s champions, one of which was Zul’jins own son. Both Malacrass and Zul’jin were defeated, but as stated by the Rulers of Zul’aman tablet, Malacrass’ body was never recovered. There is no mention of his appearance in Cataclysm, so we can assume that Blizzard does not consider that to be canon, although Dakaara is.

Furious at the Horde for allowing his hated enemies, the blood elves, to join its ranks, he eagerly embraced a scheme that the witch doctor Malacrass recently proposed: to seal the power of the animal gods within the bodies of the Amani’s strongest warriors.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Patch_2.3.0

Our warlord has died. Malacrass’s body has not been recovered, and his only heir, Man’ye, the Aspect of Akil’zon, has died as well.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/The_Rulers_of_Zul%27Aman

Now let us fast forward to Midnight. The actions of Zul’jin and Malacrass left the four main Loa of the Amani rightously angry with the Amani. To the point that they cut themselves off from their subjects. Did not help that Jan’aii, the Dragonhawk Loa was killed because of the schemes of the former Warlord and his Hex Priest.

Unlike the other tribes of the Amani, the Vilebranch refused to unite into the one people again, under Zul’jarra. Instead they began kidnapping Witherbark trolls and sacificing them to fuel some undead monster. And just as foul, they even stole one of the relics that are key to resurrecting Shadra (fun fact, these are the same relics we used back in vanilla to summon the spider loa). But they did not do this for the glory of their spider god, no no no. They did it to ensure her resurrection happened under their watch so they could subjugate her.

And this is not the only case. In the twilight crypt delve, we see the Vilebranch use their vile “hex magic” to try and subjugate the Loa of Pestilence. Likewise in an Atal’Aman delve story with the Eagle Loa. And a different Atal’Aman story variant has them murdering Furbolg to try and empower one of their own into an Avatar of Nalarrok.

But why are the Vilebranch doing this? This is my theory. Following in Malacrass’ footsteps, either metaphorically or maybe… literally (no body = no death remember :P), the Vilebranch seek to claim their Loa’s powers through force instead of worship. This would explain their efforts in the delves, but what about the Miasara Caverns dungeon? In the dungeon we see what appears to be an ancient set of ruins with a mural of what appears to be Mueh’zala (or maybe Bwonsamdi, but I am leaning towards the Father of Sleep) and within that mural is a portal of some kind. I believe that portal is an ancient gateway to De Other Side, one that Bwonsamdi might not know about. Remember, De Other Side used to be Mueh’zala’s realm until Bwonsamdi swindled him out of a job. So who knows how many secret gateways there are.

But where am I going with this? It is my theory that the final boss in the dungeon was not going to be unleashed on Zul’Aman, but on Bwonsamdi. In an effort to free Mueh’zala. The hex magic and the undead constructs they use are very Mueh’zala coded in my opinion. Right down to using hex powered totems to bind or even subjugate Loa. Just like Mueh’zala did during the, De Other Side dungeon to Bwonsamdi. And Mueh’zala does have a history of swaying Loa to his side, as seen in the Night Fae covenant campaign.

With these efforts stopped by the players, I suspect that the Vilebranch will try and subjugate Ula’tek and maybe even partner up with the Twilights Blade in an alliance of convenience. Much like how Iridikron and the Infinite Dragonflight did back in Dragonflight. If Ula’tek is guarding Kith’ixs’ corpse, then the Twilight Blade would have a vested interest in seeing her disposed of. Either dead or otherwise. And with how much Malacrass has been mentioned, let alone having his fate being up in the air, I suspect he will return in 12.1 as the patches main antagonist. I suspect that Ula’tek will be a raid boss due to the Vilebranchs schemes, not because she is inherently evil and that is why she was ‘locked away’ on Atal’utek. It should be noted that in some of the videos exploring Atal’Utek, there does appear to be an area with some undead theming going on. Just keep that in mind.

If my theory about Bwonsamdi and Mueh’zala does end up being true, it would be a way to bring in Queen Talanji into the story. As she is Bwonsamdi’s high priestess and he is the Loa of Kings. So any threat to him is a threat to her. They are still bonded after all. However the Amani and the Zandalari have bad blood in their history. As such some may not feel okay with the Zandalari sovereign coming to their lands. However, I feel this could be a way to begin the process of mending those wounds. Even more so with Liadrin being on good terms with Zul’jarra. She can act as a character witness to both Talanji and Zul’jarra.

But there is one more person I have yet to talk about. The brother elephant in the room, Zul’jan. Zul’jan is a character that does not fully trust the Loa. Even after the events of the leveling MSQ, he still has a fear that they would abandon them again. It is not a matter of if, only when. As such he feels lost and confused. For now he will follow his sisters lead, as she is Hash’ey but with him looking out to Atal’utek at the end of the leveling MSQ, one has to wonder what is next for his story. Will be betray his sister or will he stay by her side? And this is where I hope Blizzard takes his story. Have him become the speaker, and champion of Ula’tek. The Amani who feels like he has been forgotten by the Loa and the Loa that seems to have been forgotten by the Amani.

In conclusion, the Twilights Blade will try and resurrect Kith’ix, most likely succeeding. The Vilebranch will seek to use their Hex Magic to try and subjugate Ula’tek in their schemes to free Mueh’zala from Bwonsamdi. Ula’tek will become canon once again and is guarding Kith’ix’s corpse. She knows about the Twilights Blades plans and as such placed a ward around the island, preventing anyone from getting access. Oh and… somehow Malacrass returned.

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Although I love the idea of ​​traveling to troll islands, I fear this will be just filler episode. It reminds me of the Undermine patch, although my favorite from TWW was a bit distant from the continuation of the story. Xal’atath is moving towards the center of the planet, aren’t we supposed to chase her quickly? Stopping Kith’ix is important, but I hope we get a big lore revelation there.

However, your idea for Bwonsamdi’s return gives me hope. He’s connected to Ardenweald, so to Emerald dream, World trees and Harandar. Maybe we’ll learn more about Loa’s origins and Azeroth herself since she dreamed them up to existence and thanks to the Wild Gods we will find fast way to the core of the planet. Also gimme there some An’she hints, pretty please.

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This is tangential, but I always like to bring this up when Undermine gets discussed as a seeming non-sequitur. While it might feel off tonally, from a lore perspective, it made perfect sense that we’d be going to Undermine as soon as we saw the Dark Heart was damaged. Xal’atath needed to repair the Dark Heart, so where does she go? To the people (or at least their descendants) who made it. The Dark Heart was almost certainly created by goblins, so it makes sense that the goblin city would be her first stop to get it fixed. Combine that with it being THE most notable underground location in the underground location expansion, and it makes perfect sense!

Excellent post! I also hope that Zul’Jan develops a relationship to Ula’tek, while also reevaluating his understanding of his people and their place in the world. I really hope he DOESN’T become the second to last raid boss, but I guess we’ll see oTL

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To be fair there have been quite a couple of expansions where the ‘middle’ patch does not progress the main story forward and usually deals with a secondary threat. Or if it does, it is usually regulated as the ‘B plot’. Thereby deeming it “filler” to some.

For example, Ulduar in Wrath (patch 3.1). The A plot concerned Yogg-saron while the B plot of the patch was the first stage of the Argent Tournament. While Yogg-saron was a threat, he was not part of the main story of the expansion. That being the Scourge threat and the Lich King.

Patch 5.2 in Mists of Pandaria fits into this as well. The only real plot thread that connected to the ‘main plot’ was the Kirin Tor vs Sunreaver conflict which reached a boiling point at the end of the patches MSQ. In which Taran Zhu had to lecture both parties about how their hatreds keep the cycle of violence going. Which is counterproductive given the threats they currently and will face.

More recently you had Aberrus in patch 10.1.

And there are others where the story shifts away from the initial main story and focuses on a different one. TBC, WoD and BFA are examples of this. I mean in all honestly, given how much Old God stuff there was in BFA, the faction conflict, aka the main selling point of the expansion felt like actual filler in comparison. Unlike in MoP where the faction conflict had a cause and effect with the Old God stuff (aka the Sha).

I really don’t understand the negative connotation “filler patches” has when it comes to WoW. Some of the best raids and even stories came from those patches. Such as Ulduar and Throne of Thunder. In all honestly if it progresses the story in a certain way, or continues the themes of the expansion, it is not filler in my eyes. The only true filler patch we have had is patch 2.2. In which the only significant part was Blizzards first iteration of the in game voice chat. Even patch 6.1 continued the story in some way. That being AU Gul’dan taking over the Iron Horde following the events leading up to that point, including the Blackrock Foundry raid.

It is clear that the Amani story line is meant to be a smaller scale ‘unification’ story in comparison to the ‘elf unification’ plot. Basically a “proof of concept” if you will. And while the leveling MSQ did do a massive leap into achieving it, it is not yet finished. As seen with Zul’jans doubts and fears along with the Vilebranch being well, the Vilebranch.

So while whatever troll related stuff we might get in 12.1 is not tied to the main story exactly, it probably will tie to one of the themes of Midnight.

Thank you.

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I hope its a naga attack on gilneas (not gilneas specifically as their goal, just thats the front for their invasion) or something. Do it like tww where the middle tier advances the plot but incorporates a story that would otherwise be hard to design around entirely (like nazjatar originally).

Add in silverpine & hillsbrad reworks (insert ley line importance for old dalaran grounds, relating to the events at the end of march/xalatath/sunwell).

-They could’ve easily made the loading screen for midnight only show the zones we’ve seen so far, instead it shows as much as it does, which I believe is because they intend on touching up more of the continent.

-I highly suspect that the troll island is going to be the labyrinth. The aesthetic for the loading screen during the announcement looks a lot like zulaman / troll architecture.

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I doubt the whole island will be a labyrinth and according to the 2026 roadmap, we are getting a new zone in 12.1 and only 12.1. Therefore it is doubtful that Atal’Utek would be added in patch 12.1.5 (the patch that labyrinths are contained in).

That is a fair point and Dalaran was indeed build on top of a ley line nexus hub (much like the Sunwell and Karazhan were). As stated in Chronicles vol 3. (A quest from Cata Silverpine also mentions this, but it is only a massive ley line, not a nexus hub). In fact all of the ley lines converged to Karazhan. There was a time where they didn’t thanks to Malygos and his efforts during the Nexus War. Where he was redirecting the ley lines to converge to The Nexus. In order to send all that arcane energy to the Twisting Nether. But that damage has since been fixed.

I could see Blizzard updating the Alterac Mountains section of Hillsbrad Foothills for Midnight. But I suspect that might be 12.2, not 12.1 simply because of the datamined warlock ‘Ulatek’ raid set I talked about in my original post. That also ties into my belief that Atal’Utek will be the zone for 12.1 with the raid. There is also a dungeon portal at the bottom of the water in the middle of the area. As seen in Rextroys video where he explored Atal’Utek by escaping the Windrunner Spire dungeon.

There have been expansions in the past where the first major content patch (or first post launch raid tier / season) is not connected to ‘the main story’. As seen in Wrath (Ulduar), MoP (Throne of Thunder), and Dragonflight (Aberrus). Midnight might be following in the same direction. Where 12.1 is the continuation of a non-A plot story line of the expansion. We know for a fact that the 1 boss raid coming in 12.1.5 is going to advance the main story. Blizzard said so themselves in the 2026 State of Azeroth video.

Therefore I don’t think the main raid for Midnight S2 has to do the same. Like how BFA had this with 8.1. Where the main raid of BFA S2 was Battle for Dazar’alor which continued the AvH plot but the mini raid that came later, i.e. Crucible of Storms advanced the Old God plot. And when all of the raids excluding BoD are all Old God themed or related… BoD is the odd one out.

The non-A plots of Midnight are

  • Lightbloom, which might be a non-factor now that the ‘Dawnwell’ exists

  • Vilebranch’s efforts in subjugating Loa and using the souls of their enemies to create undead monsters.

  • For now, whatever the Naga and Twilights Blade are up to following Xal’atath and her devouring host succeeding in their goals with the Sunwell.

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Apparently Orweyna and Zul’jan will get a shared story in the next small patch and since Haranir are included, I think we will still be close to the storyline of the world soul.

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Yeah especially if Ula’Tek was a wild god that was from the Rift of Aln as implied by the quests seen on the 12.0.7 PTR.

I am curios to see how Zul’jan will go in 12.1. I do hope that he comes to his senses, simply leading Malacrass along, Malacrass has “mind controlled” him or taken his body as a host. Akin to Gara’jal the Spiritbinder in Throne of Thunder. And I do hope we get an explanation as to why any mention of Ula’tek was removed from official Amani records minus those from the Vilebranch.

I was reading through Ports thread on twitter about it and I clocked that the ‘friendly ghost in a mask’ was Malacrass because of Cata Stranglethorn questing. Where our curiosity for our little raptor baby friend led us to resurrect Bloodlord Mandokir. To both ours and our baby raptors horror.

I will say I am still holding onto hope that my theory relating the Vilebranch to Mueh’zala turns out to be true, but if it doesn’t I don’t mind. That was always a true speculation on my end. I just hope that at the end, Ula’tek and Zul’jan form a bond and come out better as a result. I don’t expect Zul’jan to do a 180 on his opinions on the Loa in general, but I hope he realizes that Ula’tek was hurt just as he was.

I do hope though that the model of Ula’tek seen in the 12.0.7 PTR stuff isn’t her true model in 12.1.

Side note: But I do like how the lore blurb of Malacrass from Cata ZA about how it was rumored he kept the most dangerous “Loa” for himself was just that, a rumor. But it was clear that he wanted to do what he did to the other central Amani Loa to Ula’tek for himself.

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Love the post, speculation, and we’ll sourced links!

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Adding a bit of an Addendum here. There will be spoilers for the 12.0.7 part of the 12.1 MSQ so you have been warned.

From the 12.0.7 PTR, we see that Zul’jan is still in his “we don’t need da Loa and never have” mentally. This is driven to its natural extreme when we learn that indeed, Ula’tek, a serpent Loa was critical in the Amani defeating Kith’ix via the Haranir’s Den of Echoes. As it is revealed that you can access the memories of an ancestor through those. In his desperation to be proven correct, Zul’jan seeks to either prove or disprove Ula’teks existence, with the latter being the outcome he desires. As he wants to believe that the Amani defeated Kith’ix on their own, not with the aid of the Loa.

But there is one small problem, any reference to Ula’tek seems to have been removed. But, absence of evidence does not necessarily mean evidence of absence. In comes some random spirit who claims to be a student of the late Hex Lord Malacrass. The spirit reveals that Malacrass had also learned of Ula’tek and sought to prove her existence. But following his and Zul’jins death, many of his notes of the subject were lost. Thus we go around and kill members of the Vilebranch until we uncover most of Malacrass’ notes. The final note is in the possession of the 2nd boss in the Miasara Caverns dungeon. From these notes we learn that the Vilebranch had secretly kept records of Ula’teks existence, including that the first Loa shrine at Atal’Aman was built in her honour. And within that shrine lies the key to accessing Atal’Utek. The location where Ula’tek is located, along with the corpse of Kith’ix.

We deduce that the shrine in question is actually the Warlords Seat. Where we fought Zul’jin (and later Dakaara). We succeed in finding the key, a fang of Ula’tek. However we are ambushed by spirits and while we don’t see the cinematic, the text that pops up reveals that Zul’jans uncle, Loa Speaker Kinduru was killed and the spirit that had been helping us was none other than Malacrass himself. Praying on Zul’jans grief, Malacrass convinces the young troll to seize the moment and succeed where he had failed. Drain Ula’tek dry and use her power to restore the Amani Empire. We get knocked unconscious and wake up to find Zul’jarra mourning her uncle.

Personally I like this direction as long as Zul’jan pulls himself back before it is too late. I am hoping that the relationship we have built with him through the leveling MSQ and this chapter is a key factor in doing so. It is clear that Malacrass is simply manipulating the young troll. I also don’t want Ula’tek to be villain batted in the process as well. Zul’jan reacting this way to finding out that the Amani’s biggest achievement was not done alone and they had help from a Loa is honestly in character. He wants the Amani to be strong on their own and not being dependent on a set of Gods that could take away their influence at a moments notice. There is nothing inherently wrong with that line of thinking, but going down the same dark path as his grandfather with the same… snake (Malacrass that is) whispering in his ear is the wrong way to do it.

As I said, I hope that our established rapport with him, along with the bond he has with his sister pulls him back from making a mistake.

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malacrass did nothing wrong
no gods no masters

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Adding a second Addendum here.

So I have spent most of my posts in this thread talking about what I think the MSQ will broadly entail, along with the raid. But I haven’t really spoken much about the upcoming dungeon in patch 12.1. In my original post I mentioned Rextorys’ exploration of Atal’Utek via the Windrunner Spire instance (i.e. going out of bounds). I didn’t go really into detail about what was seen but there is an interesting discovery. Within the archipelago’s center, an instance portal can be located, leading into an underwater cave. This post will explore my speculation on what the dungeon might involve.

It is my belief that the 12.1 dungeon is indeed located where I mentioned above and given certain clues, will involve the Kobyss. In Zul’Aman there is a side quest that involves our favourite Murloc cosplaying Night Elf where he is mistaken as a Loa by a tribe of Murlocs. He realizes that these murlocs are scared of a group of Deep Sea Murlocs and he wants to know why. While also culling some of their numbers to show dominance. In this quest chain we help locate his assistance, a Tauren also cosplaying as a Murloc. With her help we locate the Deep Sea Murloc base, where we intend to leave a “sacrifice” to bait out their leader. And to our surprise, the leader of the Deep Sea Murlocs is a Kobyss. And this Kobyss has been teaching the Deep Sea Murlocs death based necromancy.

Now this is interesting because the Kobyss have only been found in Hallowfall. So what is one doing on what is basically, the other side of the planet respective to Khaz Algar? They have to be coming out of somewhere? And given where the underwater shrine was located… it seems to related to Atal’Utek in some capacity. Therefore I suspect the dungeon is the Kobyss lair, at least those that live within Zul’Aman anyway.

Note: This isn’t the first time we have encountered Murlocs (Deep Sea or otherwise) practicing death-based necromancy. In Nazjatar there is a cave nearby where we… land… into the zone that has murlocs practicing death-based necromancy. Also, the worldsoul memory about the Kobyss from Hallowfall where it states that the Kobyss are, or were a tribe of Ankoan. And there was history between the Kobyss and the Naga.

The kobyss and naga traded blows in battle for generations. Of all the ankoan tribes, only the kobyss matched the viciousness and violence of Azshara’s armies.

https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Worldsoul_Memory:_Descendant_of_Distant_Waters

The Ankoan are a race of deep sea humanoids that are actually descendants of Jinyu that left Pandaria. For a bit of a refresher, the Jinyu were Murlocs that mutated into what they are now by living near the Pools of Power in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Most stayed and established the Jinyu Empire while others left. In Battle for Azeroth, Alliance players (mainly) encounter the Waveblade Ankoan. One of the remaining tribes left. As the Naga have been hunting them for ages. And where did we find these Ankoan? Nazjatar! It is my belief that there were Kobyss in Nazjatar, as the World Soul memory above shows the Kobyss fighting the Zanj’ir Naga tribe. The main group of Naga we fight in Nazjatar. However the Naga successfully wiped this group of Kobyss out. However their knowledge of death-based necromancy lived on with those aforementioned murlocs in the region. It can’t be a retroactive coincidence given the pieces I have presented.

With the Naga involvement in Midnight increasing with 12.0.5, it might explain why the Kobyss in Zul’Aman are making themselves known. I am interested to see how the Naga, Ankoan relationship continues with the knowledge that the Kobyss were once Ankoan.

The other alternative for the dungeon is Blizzard just dumping the Twilights Blade and Kith’ix subplot into it. Which I would find boring. Kith’ix deserves to be a raid boss in the 12.1 raid, not a dungeon.

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These were really good posts. Just out of curiosity, would you have any thoughts on Atal’Utek being more akin to the Tomb of Sargeras (Tomb of Kith’ix) and being our (the Champions) gateway into Ny’alotha?

  • For example; what would exist there to get us into Ny’alotha if that was a 12.2 destination?
  • Are there any parallels to Tomb of Sargeras or maybe even Uldir, that you speculate? Such as Titan Facilities, etc…?

I know the questions are a bit vague, but I mean more so about the Zone/Structures themselves than the creatures that reside there.

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Unlikely as Ny’alotha was destroyed when N’zoth died. That was the whole point of the “totally not a Lord of the Rings ending rip off” cinematic after you completed the N’zoth encounter.

Personally I don’t see Atal’Utek being connected to the main story of Midnight. That is what the 12.1.5 raid is for, as stated by Ion in the 2026 State of Azeroth video. I could and would prefer Atal’Utek to be something akin to Aberrus. Where there might be some connections to the main story but they are not the primary focus.

Not beyond any surface level stuff. I mean the temple on Atal’Utek is Kith’ixs prison but that would be as far as it would go when comparing it to say the Tomb of Sargeras. There hasn’t been any hints towards anything Titan related thus far.

Although to be fair there was nothing hinting towards the Temple of Elune in Suramar (aka the Tomb of Sargeras) being built on top of a Titan Facility. Hell we don’t even know what that Facility is called or what its purpose was prior to Aegwynn turning it into a makeshift prison. It is possible that the Night Elves didn’t know about it when they built the Temple on top of it.

Personally I am hoping there is nothing Titan related when it comes to Atal’Utek. It would just be a repeat of the Zandalari plot from BFA if that was the case.

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I think blizz is going to have to start tying things back to the titans EVENTUALLY. Even if it’s just to use it as another stepping stone into TLT. I suspect we’ll be getting titan related content and hints towards the end of Midnight though and not now

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Yeah I imagine the final season of Midnight will probably have us find a way to pursue Xal’atath only for the way to be blocked off. Leading us to find an alternative way to the World Core via Northrend. Either that or we fail to prevent Xal’atath from doing what she wants to do with Azeroths World Soul.

We won’t really know more until the 12.1.5 raid starts to get datamined. Or if 12.1.0 does lead into that 12.1.5 raid.

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Interesting theory. (Sorry I’m late to the Party!) :sweat_smile:

One thing that crossed my mind while reading this is whether Ula’tek could end up being connected to some of the stranger serpent imagery we’ve seen elsewhere in Warcraft.

Back in Dragonflight, the chamber where we fight Sarkareth contains a stained-glass image that appears to depict a multi-eyed draconic/serpentine figure. We also still have old lore describing Hakkar as a being from another realm, plus lingering mysteries surrounding the Rift of Aln, Xavius, and the dream-related horrors tied to it.

It’s probably a long shot, but if Blizzard is bringing Ula’tek back into canon, I wonder if they could use it to connect some of those loose threads. A forgotten serpent loa with links to other realms, ancient hunger, and void-adjacent themes would fit surprisingly well with a lot of Warcraft’s unresolved mysteries.

The warlock tier set being associated with Ula’tek is also interesting. Warlocks have always sat at the crossroads of some of Warcraft’s nastiest cosmic powers, so it makes me curious whether Ula’tek will end up being “just” a loa, or something stranger.

Probably pure tinfoil on my part, but if we somehow end up with a Void/Fel serpent loa and the setup for Troll Demon Hunters, I won’t complain! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Just saying... 👀😄

The Troll Demon Hunter comment was mostly a joke, but the more lore Blizzard adds, the less impossible it sounds.

The Harranir’s Shul’ka already specialize in silencing dangerous voices and spiritual connections. That feels surprisingly compatible with what Demon Hunters do with their inner demons, and even what Void Elves deal with.

A cultural exchange between the Harranir, Trolls, Illidari, and Void Elves could create some really interesting lore around mastering corruption rather than simply curing it, especially for those too deeply touched by Fel or Void to be fully healed.

Not saying we’re getting Troll Demon Hunters… but Blizzard is starting to put some interesting pieces on the board.

Again like I said; Juuuuuust sayiiiiing… :eyes::grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: lol

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In Wrath, I forget which dungeon it is, but one of them you can see a massive snake like figure

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I know! That’s what has me so excited about all this.

We have the massive snake-like figure from Wrath, the legend of Aln’sharan (the companion of Aln’hara/Azeroth), Ula’tek potentially returning to canon, and Iridikron still lurking in the background. Considering how deeply tied he is to the earth, I can’t help but wonder if he knows more about what happened in the Roots of the World than anyone realizes.

Maybe I’m connecting dots that aren’t there, but Warcraft has a surprising number of serpent-related mysteries. If even a few of them end up being connected, 12.1 could get really interesting! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Maybe. I shared a crackpot theory that she might end up being related to the Druids of the Fang from Wailing Caverns. Given that the Emerald Nightmare and Ula’tek do have one thing in common… the Rift of Aln. And iirc, there has yet to be an explaination as to why those druids took on a snake form after being corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare.

I suspect there was going to be a connection to that and Hakkar the Soulflayer, as Hakkar used to be connected to the Nightmare in some way. Prior to Chronicles vol 1 anyway. I say this because originally it was Hakkars Blood that caused the green Dragons within the Temple of Atal’Hakkar to become corrupted by the Nightmare when they were infected with the stuff. Cata even references this in the revamped Swamp of Sorrows. Meanwhile we do see Wind Serpents within the Wailing Caverns. Hakkar is a Wind Serpent Loa.

But Chronicles vol 1 released and it was changed such that the Green Dragons within the sunken temple were already corrupted by the Nightmare by the time the Atal’ai began using them as a blood bank.

But even before that point, I think Blizzard chose not to follow through with a supposed connection between the druids of the fang and Hakkar, as they did with a lot of loose plot threads from Vanilla for whatever reason.

I also suspect that the ‘long serpent like tail’ in Gundrak will somehow be tied to her, given if it was just a random piece of the set design for the dungeon, at the time anyway.

Iirc some people speculate that the pools of poison seen on Atal’Utek might actually be fel or at least in some way related to fel.

As it appears to have a similar effect on the surrounding land as Fel pools do from what we see in WoD and Legion.

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