So with all the recent time travel and infinite/bronze dragonflight focused stuff we’ve seen recently I’ve started to become convinced we’ll likely see another time travel themed expac or at least a major plotline/patch in the future and I was wondering, what sort of route would blizz go? Personally I’d like theme to do something with that scrapped bit of content from WoD where we see that universe’s Medhiv.
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I’m an old man of the franchise.
Give me the Legion-fueled armies of AU Stormwind. Give me the heroic Shaman Gul’dan fighting against the Necromancer Khadgar. Ogrim Doomhammer - First Orc Paladin - against the First Death Knight Anduin Lothar.
I’m easy to please. Just give me WarCraft 2 but the roles are reversed.
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You see that’s actually interesting and cool. Therefore blizzard would never do it.
Jokes aside humans invading AU draenor would be a very interesting way to do it, could say they’re lead by King Arthas, who in this world never fell to the scourge.
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I mean, the most likely outcome of AU Azeroth?
The Draenor Army of Light invades, but this AU Azeroth isn’t quite the same.
ONE MASSIVE DEEP BREATH BEFORE I START!
The Quel’dorei were never quite satisfied and pushed southwards, setting up ‘satellite’ Kingdoms in the Eastern Kingdoms, and Dalaran never formed, with Mages going to train in these small, fortified Mage-Kingdoms rather than a single, centralized area and being hired out by the Non-magical Kingdoms for whatever they needed, be it construction, divinations, or barrages of fireballs at people that they don’t like, which also gave the Elves and the Mages a heightened degree of influence in the new world order, since attacking a city of Mages is a risky idea when just about every Mage owes their allegiance to all of these City-States, and refusing to work with them means your rivals will, putting you at a severe disadvantage in a fight, be it covert skirmishes or open warfare.
This also created issues with the Arathai Empire as easier access to Elves and their magic, and the growing presence of the Light amongst their people, meant that more Half-Elves were born and conflicts between the rising powers within the Empire meant the Arathai lineage was constantly having to put down rebellions and the like, as well as dealing with the remnants of the Forest Trolls of the region constantly taking advantage of the strife to push to take back their own lands. This caused the population to spread more slowly, meaning many of the Human kingdoms we are familiar with either never rose, or remained much smaller than what they are in our timeline.
Dwarves never splintered and remained unified, if strained, and the lineage of Modimus Anvilmar managed to keep the three Great Clans from tearing their people apart in civil war. This meant the Dwarves, and their close allies the Gnomes, remained a power-house and the cause of the original conflict, overcrowding within Ironforge, and the slowed spread of Humanity due to the presence constant tension and small civil wars amongst the Arathai, Humanity only spreads northward, with the Dwarves unwilling to allow outsiders past the Wetlands despite many cultural similarities between themselves and the Humans of Arathai given the constant belligerent squabbling giving the Anvilmar family concerns that, if the Dwarves do get involved, the simmering tensions between the Dark Iron, Wildhammer and the Bronzebeard Clans could overflow as well.
Dwarves do allow some Humans and Half-Elves across the border, but only after they forswear their old allegiances and pledge allegiance to the Anvilmar King/Queen, and their three Councillors from the Three Great Clans. Humans are short-lived compared to Dwarves and Gnomes, and Half-Elves are closer in lifespan, but they are fractious, although with space and spread out amongst the Dwarven colonists sent to establish new holdings in the southern reaches of the Eastern Kingdoms. The Bronzebeards build a great farming network across Redridge, Elwynn and Westfall, attracting many Human and Half-Elven refugees with them, providing a wealth of food and resources for the spreading Dwarven Empire, while the Wildhammer build a network of rookeries and mines in the mountains of Redridge, the Blasted Lands and Blackrock Mountain.
Not driven out during a civil war, the Dark Irons do not summon Ragnaros and the lands around Blackrock Mountain remain green and fertile, but the Dark Irons do descend into the mountain, following veins of iron and mithril and finding a nexus of elemental power deep under the mountain, and build their Sorcerer-Kingdom there, carefully selecting the rare few Mages amongst the Humans and Half-Elven refugees to aid them in building a strong tradition of arcane and shamanistic power for the betterment of the Dark Iron Clan and the Anvilmar Kingdom as a whole.
Jungle Trolls continue to menace the southern lands of the Eastern Kingdom, but against the unified might of the Dwarves, and with the Anvilmar line unwilling to pick unnecessary fights with the Arathai to the north constantly descending into civil war, the Jungle Trolls are left alone and, surprisingly, reform into an Empire of their own. Cautious trade is established with the Dwarves, and a clear agreement is made. The Jungle Trolls do not go further north than Duskwood and Stranglethorn, two areas the Dwarves consider too dangerous or, in the case of Duskwood, too cursed, to bother with, and the Trolls, while resentful that outsiders are squatting on ‘their land’, know they’re nowhere near ready, in terms of numbers, magical power or resources, to start a fight with the Dwarves and their Gnome allies.
The Gnomes, for their part, continue to build Gnomeragon and become the center for mechanical and scientific knowledge, trading equally with all three Great Clans and earning a place on the Anvilmar Monarch’s table as wise councillors and shrewd advisers, unaffected and uninterested by the bribes, threats and posturing of the Three Great Clans, and take a firm hand in the refugees from the north, insisting that education and a kind but firm hand will do more than glowering and threats to 'toss ‘em back’ if the refugees act up. This earns a great deal of respect from the refugees and, just like in our universe, Gnome teachers and experts educate Human and Half-Elven children on language, science, philosophy and medicine, creating a stable and loyal population that is willing to remain on the surface while the Dwarves prefer to create underground strongholds to live in.
Assuming they’ll arrive to open arms, Yrel’s fleet of Extradimensional Ships warps into Azeroth’s upper orbit and finds chaos, and decides to send down some armies of Light-Bound Mag’har and Draenei, overseen by Garrosh Heavenscream and other Light-Forged champions, to establish order and a firm first impression that Friendship is Mandatory, welcome to the Army of the Light.
This might not be the Azeroth she intended to come to, but it is a start, and unlike Draenor, this world is rich in arcane energies to feed to the Naaru and empower their Extradimensional ships. Given time, they might indeed be able to warp across the boundaries of the timelines and find us, as dictated by the Holy Mother of Light.
Arathai and the smaller Human Kingdoms start getting over-run quickly, forming an Alliance that is as fractured as it is ineffective against Warframes, Light-Bound Orcs and Draenei and orbital laser strikes, while the Quel’dorei are hard-pressed to defend their own cities with the arcane, finding themselves rudely unseated as the greatest arcanists in the Eastern Kingdoms by the Draenei. The Dwarves finally offer an olive-branch to the Northern Men, offering refuge only under the same conditions as the refugees that previous came to their homeland, which is firmly rejected by the Arathai lineage but some of the smaller kingdoms choose to send their civilian populations anyways and swear their armies instead to Arathai to avoid needless losses to this great enemy.
Eventually, a rebel or objector amongst the Army of the Light gives the struggling natives a relic from our counter-invasion of AU Draenor, a fist-sized Sand of Time from the Hourglass, and tells them to sail west to Kalimdor, to the south, and find a land called ‘Tanaris’, a desert land, and look for a mountain along the coast where the relic will grant them an audience with the Dragons there. The Quel’dorei nearly soulbind their trousers after hearing this enemy already knows about Kalimdor, but after some wrangling, a fleet is assembled, sent out, and finds the Caverns of Time, mostly abandoned by for a few Bronze Dragons who are quick to point out that while they can’t help, they do know who can …
Time-spun travellers arrive and bring warning that Yrel and her Army of Light are coming, and that they are draining their version of Azeroth of energy, and forcibly converting Men, Elves, Trolls and Dwarves into Light-bound soldiers for their army. Turalyon refuses to believe it, but Mag’har from the Horde are brought forth and their memories are displayed via magic. The end of the Draenor Conflict, and the rise of the Army of the Light, is on full display, and an ashen-faced Turalyon finally relents.
Alliance and Horde gather at the Caverns of Time and are shuttled through to the AU Azeroth with a warning that if Yrel’s crusade continues, she could crack ‘her’ Azeroth, and given the connections between that timeline and ours, there could be ‘ripples’ through the Timeways that could cause immense harm to our own world, especially after losing all that Azerite during the War of Thorns and to the Jailer’s attempt to drain the planet during the Shadowlands Campaign.
Yrel seems confused that we’re trying to stop her, claiming she is following the Will of the Light and introduces us to the Holy Mother of Light, which happens to be another Xe’ra … who is fully aware of what happened to her counterpart in our timeline and immediately declares us heretics, commanding Yrel to catch us and Light-Bind us. This kicks off the expansion as the Horde and Alliance struggle to defend the southern reaches of the Eastern Kingdoms, and travel across Azeroth looking for allies and finding the other continents are different from what we know.
Kalimdor is a war-zone, with Tauren having defeated the Centaur and, outraged that the Kaldorei never showed up to help them, hold everything south of Ashenvale Forest in a tight grip, being more like the Yaungol and Taunka in nature now while still being warm and compassionate to their own … and those that have earned their trust.
The Kaldorei are bitterly divided between Tyrande and Maiev, the latter having refused to accept that Illidan was to be imprisoned and furious that Tyrande had been named the new High Priestess, leading to a bitter religious divide and two High Priestesses. Tyrande rules Ashenvale, Darkshore and what we know as Felwood, while Maiev and her forces command Winterspring, Azshara and Orgrimmar. What Mages amongst the Kaldorei who refused to leave with the others instead migrated north, settling on the Azuremyst and Bloodmyst isles and refusing to get involved in the fight, instead devoting themselves to studying the Demons and developing counter-measures, while Staghelm and Malfurion share awkward leadership of the Druids that hold Mount Hyjal and Moonglade, keeping the areas safe and neutral and trying to mediate peace, but while Malfurion clearly favours his wife, Staghelm spitefully supports Maiev, seeing her as the true successor and the only one willing to reclaim the Kaldorei’s rightful place as masters of Kalimdor.
The Tauren have built several large settlements in Mulgore, the Barrens, the Thousand Needles and Feralas, while the Grimtotem, shunned for their use of dark magic and constant betrayals of the Tauren Tribes, are banished to Dustwallow Marsh where they have fallen under the sway of a Dragon of dark nature, although it is not a Black Dragon this time …
The Sandfury Trolls occupy a different niche this time, proud if stubborn rulers of Tanaris and Un’goro Crater, and the first and last defence against the Silithids and other horrors that spawn in Silithus and have an uneasy alliance with the Catfolk of Uldum to aid them in this noble task, supported with trade and resources from both the Tauren and the Zandalari.
Northrend is a no-go zone with the Titan Watchers and Keepers never having fallen under the sway of Yogg’saron as Loken refused to fall to darkness and chose to exile himself rather than to strike Sif down after she ended their affair. Vrykul dominate the continent and the Nerubians are content to remain underground with the Titan’s servants on full alert and undivided in their attention, while the Taunka and Tuskarr hang on at the edges of the continent, the Yaungol enslaved alongside what Humans exist in Northren as ‘serfs’ to the Vrykul and the Tuskarr showing up only to fish the rich waters and trade with the Vrykul before leaving as quickly as they can, for some Vrykul would rather hunt the Tuskarr than trade with them.
Pandaria remains shrouded in mists, although the Pandaren on the Wandering Isle claim that centuries ago, some dark calamity drove the Mantids insane and darkened the sky with their numbers, and since then, the mists have never parted again. Moreover, several other ‘Wandering Isles’ exist, where populations of Hozen, Jinyu and, of all things, Mogu exist in relative tolerance of each other, each ruled over by a Dynasty, with the Mogu bending their knee to the grand-daughter of Lei Shen, who was a wise and benevolent Emperor who sought guidance from the Celestials after learning that Ra-Den had surrendered to despair and instead became a beloved and respected Emperor by challenging each Mogu King and Queen to trials of combat, strategy and philosophy before earning the begrudging respect, and eventual admiration, of his people, and eventually all the races of the continent.
The Dragon Isles remain shrouded as well, although the Flights remain curiously absent, with many whispering that some great and terrible disease affected their kind, leaving only Proto-Dragons unaffected. When players do breach the protections, they find much of the continent overwhelmed, turned into metal as the Titanic installation there went rogue and ‘Ordered’ all life on the main island, leaving only the Forbidden Reach, now a homeland for the Dracthyr who awoke from stasis when the disaster that claimed the main island took place, and the islands off the Ohn’aran Plains, which are devoid of all life but home to mass graves of Centaur, Wyrmkin and Dragons alike, guarded by unquiet ghosts and the grieving Wild God, Ohnara herself.
While players do explore the Eastern Kingdoms, player experience the other continents through instanced maps of certain areas, sent on quests where if they go ‘rogue’ and try to leave, the Bronze and Infinite Flights teleport them back, stating they can’t risk upsetting this timeline more than they already have, and must rally, conquer, befriend or bribe the many factions of Azeroth to stand together against the Army of Light and try to convince this Army that they have been led astray by the Naaru before both Azeroths are shattered.
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I always wanted the Caverns of Time to have lore-based scenarios/dungeons/raids that feature stories and moments that aren’t in the game, or aren’t as fleshed out as they should be, in the game.
I would love the ability to zone into being a part of some the amazing things that have happened in Azeroth’s past, not as a cut-scene, but something I can be a part of.
Not really an AU, but maybe a feature that acts like a time-machine and lets you go back to revisit epic moments (or even small beautiful ones) that have occurred.
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Starting a multiverse arc multiple years after multiverse stories fell out of fashion would be peak Blizzard.
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What sort of route would Blizz go? Well, let’s say best case scenario and we get a whole saga to develop this AU Azeroth. I think the best thing to do would be to start around the time of the first dark portal opening up. I’m not sure fully where I’d go with it as coming up with an entire alt progression would be hard to do in one post, I’d generally like to see an alt WC 1-3 to some degree. Stuff like Thrall dying to free the orcs leaving a Grom, changed by Thrall, in charge. Stuff like some human kingdoms drinking demon blood to fight off the orc invaders. Kael and gang staying on the Alliance. Ner’zhul being the only Lich King. Really go crazy. I know I’m mostly covering WC3 part with the examples but still. Of course, I wouldn’t want JUST an au retelling. I’d want further curveballs. Like a good guy Gul’dan because au Gul’dans have caused enough problems.
Didn’t Gul’Dan use to be a shaman? Would be cool if in this timeline he was more akin to Thrall than anything.
I doubt we’ll see another Warlords of Draenor type expansion again in the future, due to how contentious it turned out to be.
I don’t at all expect a “what if” time traveling expansion to occur. WoD was about as far as it goes. Whatever “what if” content we got in Dragonflight is an example of the lengths it can go but in smaller bursts of new content. Not enough concretely there to develop a whole expansion around that isn’t just a one off side-adventure.
Although, if we are getting another time traveling expansion, I think a continuation of WoD does make sense. Lots of unfinished business. An entire ogre continent, apparently. Could be a lot of fun.
WoD also gave us a lot of lore to shape out deeper world building. Gave us a lot about Draenor we never knew before. So, alternatively, the next time traveling expansion should do the same thing. Give us another time traveling expansion that provides more world building for past events and settings.
For example, it’d be cool if we went back 2,800 years ago, to the Troll Wars. Expand on what early human civilization was like and the height of the Amani tribe. Something like that. 