So Far after we defeated the Vampire Dreadlord in Revendreth Raid. It leaves us with many thoughts about the where story goes next? So far we could see a Naxxramas Raid in Maldraxxus or go to other Spirit realms within the Shadowlands.
Where do you guys think the Story will go from here?
Honestly? I have no idea.
I can’t see any real new rifts forming in between the Covenants, but I’m certain we’ll see some additional Covenant Campaigns. I also expect that those from the living world still hanging around Oribos will start interacting with the Covies in more tangible ways. Beyond that though? It really depends on what sort of new SLs we see, and how long Anduin is trapped in the Maw (which, I do kind of hope its a while).
Assuming none of the gates in Oribos’ transit level are meant for a Raid, I count 7 doorways. The 8th is being occupied by the Flightmaster, and 4 are already taken up by the existing realms. That leaves 3 for new potential afterlives. 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 perhaps?
One of these is definitely for some special “Sylvanas afterlife” the Arbiter is going to make just for her because, as we learned from one of the dev interviews, she can just make any afterlife realm on the spot for “special cases”. Because we all know Blizzard isn’t going to make their waifu get punished for any of her actions.
Did you have to make this sort of positive topic immediately cynical? And … no, I highly doubt that Blizz will make one of those gates anything but an explorable zone or raid. Even if those new ones aren’t quite as robust as the prior four. I also do not expect any new Covenants of any kind. Plus, IF you were right in what you suggest about a Sylvie afterlife, that wont happen till the very end of the story; it wont take a zone.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the seal on the Maw further weakens, allowing for some iteration of the Legion/BfA Assaults mechanic where the Mawsworn armies periodically invade the other four realms with the aid of their local proxies in each zone.
Maybe by the end he’ll be about to break out completely, but that failure of the seal will also allow the armies of Bastion, Maldraxxus, Revendreth and Ardenweald to functionally invade the Maw without being stuck there, leading to a counteroffensive where the players help them via quests and such to lay siege to a previously unexplored section of Torghast or chunk of the Maw as lead-in story to the final raid.
We know what the overall plan of the covenants is: rebuild and regain their strength after being weakened by the anima drought, and then take the fight to the Jailer. I think it’s likely we’ll get a raid in Maldraxxus as the next raid tier, with a lot of Naxxramas references as part of this, as the Maldraxxus story has several characters that scream “future raid boss”. Beyond that, there’s still a giant hole in the sky in Icecrown to deal with, and which could possibly serve for the Jailer to make further attacks on Azeroth. I think we’re definitely headed towards visiting more realms within the Shadowlands, but I don’t know how they’ll fit in to the story.
I think the Maw will be the next important part of the story, there’s hints that we are supposed to be keeping up with the Maw progress for future content drops, also the Ven’ari quest line is building up to a big reveal of some kind based on the name of that final quest.
The thing is if the story is all about the Jailer escaping…you have to have the Jailer escape the Maw, that has to happen in order for it to feel like an actual threat. And you can’t leave the Arbiter v. Jailer thread hanging and not resolve it, so there has to be a confrontation between the two.
Also I think the Runecarver is going to end up being a big part of the story soon. The artwork that WoWhead had yesterday showed the Runecarver with the same rune covered skin as the Jailer which is…interesting for all of the Man in the Iron Mask theories.
Incidentally, the Heart of the Forest being the means by which the Jailer is sealed within the Maw feels like a big ol’ red flag. Like before this is all over we may see one of the Jailer’s agents who can leave the Maw and who survives the Covenant campaigns (like Sylvanas or Kel’thuzad) end up killing the Heart and kicking off the countdown to the final raid where we need to take down the Jailer before he can finish preparations and use his now total freedom to invade the living universe.
Idk, my guess is that we’ll deal with the Brokers sooner or later. Like Bwonsamdi said, they are up to something… And one of them is amassing a real nice amount of Stygia…
It’s hard to say. Obviously we’re going to get a “Torghast Pinnacle” raid at some point, ending in the Jailor, but we’ve got a long way to go before that.
(And when that does happen, I’d bet that it’ll actually be a multi-environment raid. Half of it will take place in a familiar maw-like setting, the other half somewhere totally different.)
I think there has to be at least one major story event that involves a force entirely outside of the Shadowlands, some kind of large-scale incursion from an external force. Maybe Yrel’s Light invasion or some void lord shenanigans.
There are several mysteries that will probably be revealed over the course of the expansion storyline.
We still don’t know what the Jailer’s ultimate goal is nor why he was imprisoned in the Maw or what his original role was in the Shadowlands. The Eternal Ones allude to some betrayal or unforgivable deed that the Jailer committed a long time ago, but of course the Jailer’s supporters say that he was the one who was betrayed. Maybe the Jailer is the obvious villain, but we may learn of some interference from the First Ones or the other cosmic forces that may change our understanding.
The First Ones are new lore that I also hope future stories will include. Who are they, and how do they fit into the cosmic order? They seem to have set things in motion and then just disappeared. Maybe we will meet one, or at least learn more about what happened to them.
There is also some mystery surrounding the Brokers. We don’t really know where they come from, but they seem to know more than they’re letting on.
The identity of the Runecarver is still up for speculation at this point as well.
I’m also curious if the fate of Azeroth will be addressed. The Jailer seems to be interested in obtaining her world soul for some purpose, and we still don’t really know how well she’s faring after being stabbed by Sargeras.
And I definitely agree that the unused portals on the flight ring of Oribos will eventually lead to new afterlife zones in future patches.
Yup, I would put money on this prediction. 
Betreial of the brokers perhaps?
I’m sure it will only getting worse.
I think the Runecarver is the Primus from Maldraxxus. I mean the sword we find there that was made by him has the same runes we see that the Runecarver makes.
You know, I’m thinking one of the raids could be sort of an “Attack on Oribos” by Sylvanas and the Jailer’s forces with one of the encounters being protecting the slumbering Arbiter until she awakes.
There’s also the data mined pictures of a repaired Helm of Damnation on WoWhead. My gut feeling is the helm is going to be one of the keys to defeating the Jailer once and for all.
I would like it if some patch has a focus on Kel’Thuzad causing problems on Azeroth. Since his phylactery is still intact he should be able to regenerate there. If the Jailer needs the Helm, maybe he can grab the pieces from ICC, idk.
We’ll definitely be seeing Kel’thuzad again. Especially with what happens to him at the end of the Venthry campaign.
Yes but in all likelihood we’ll just be seeing him in the Maw. I’d like it if Blizzard remembers he still has a phylactery.
That would be nice, but considering they put Kel’thuzad in the Shadowlands to begin with? I think it’s safe to assume they already forgot that part 