Final Campaign Chapter Discussion (Where Are We Going in 9.2 Onwards?)

I don’t understand. What is this place?
Unlike any other. A conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows.

―Obi-Wan Kenobi

Mortis was an ethereal realm within the Force which was whispered over in legends and stories passed down through the millennia by Jedi, Sith, and the average spacer alike. It was believed to have existed outside any star system, and potentially the galaxy or even the universe. Some believed that the origins of the Force came from Mortis.

-Star Wars…

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I’m pretty sure neither WoW nor Star Wars are the first people to use Latin words.

lol the wookiepedia page describe it as a “fulcrum of existence”

I was wondering why Blizzard would use the word "fulcrum’ in that broker book

It’s not exactly a common word when describing metaphysics of one’s main planet. No theologian has ever described the earth as a fulcrum, nor is it common in fantasy

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I feel like the Jailer is going back to Azeroth to pull the sword of Sargeras to do something for some reason.

I don’t know why, I just feel it. I guess it would provide a cool cinematic and that is pretty much what blizzard goes after these days. No need to make sense at all.

Or maybe not. Maybe it is just the vaccine I took yesterday talking.

Yeah, they butchered G’hanir lore, I had this same arguement on Reddit only for someone to say that since Aviana took over G’hanir only birds go to G’hanir now… which is nonesense.

Dragons and Wild Gods/Loa should go to G’hanir. It seems like the new writing team butchered G’hanir lore and made Ardenweald a catch all.

This is why Freya should have been the Winter Queen’s sister lorewise not Elune. G’hanir is the Life realm’s mirror to Ardenweald.

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A fulcrum is a basic machine on which two opposing forces pivot. WoW has described Azeroth in metaphysical terms as a Syzygy.

Azeroth is the conjection of where all opposing forces meet, but it’s no longer Azeroth specifically but “reality” or “The Cycle”

Azeroth could be Perusha or Azathoth and be dreaming up reality itself, which was planted in Chronicle as an homage to Lovecraft’s unfinished work The Dream Cycle. Shadowlands 9.0 and 9.2 is just a retelling of The Dream Quest of the Unknown Kaddath in a WoW setting. I imagine that at some point if this is true we will end up on Azeroth’s moon… mark my words.

It’s like the metaphysics in the movie The Neverending Story, which I’m sure influenced the writers in thier youth. Bastion has to wish for a new reality and become the new Perusha. I imagine they are setting up the same in Shadowlands once the Jailer destroys reality. WoW heavily borrows from existing Scifi/Fantasy and Pop Culture. These metaphysical themes are hardly new concepts, they have been debated since ancient times, it’s a Khaoskampf, the “human condition” and why it’s pretty much seen across all science fiction stories from Star Wars to the MCU. From the Bible to the Epic of Gilgamesh.

I would actually ecourage people to read the original book The Neverending Story because it was written by an Anthroposiphist and it’s the perfect Khaoskampf and explanation in layman’s terms of the cosmic struggle. If not just for the 80’s metaphysical fantasy nostalgia.

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So, they did do the "Thor and his mother in Endgame" thing? Color me unsurprised. (I haven’t gotten to the scene yet.)

A large part of the playerbase didn’t accept that idea when Thrall said it. I don’t know why the devs think they’ll take it better from Draka.

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Because Thrall carries guilt like it’s his one job. I’m kinda getting tired of Thrall’s little self pity party all the time. I hope this is his character’s ah ha! moment and we can all move on.

It’s wasn’t enough for him to face this concept with Saurfang. “I set you on this path” “and we both knew where it would lead.”

Oh right, character development. I’m cynical; I assume the reason that dialogue is in there is to convince the players. Lol.

Anyway, Thrall used to hold this opinion himself, so it’s still weird that his character development is hearing the exact same thing from his mother.

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I feel like the idiom said by Durotan is supposed to be a metaphor to facilitate the Horde’s redemption about not following bad Warchiefs. I’m sure Thrall will use that analogy again in the future to redefine Horde values about how the Horde choose not to follow Garrosh or Sylvanas, the Horde choose time and time again not to follow the path to villany even though we were set on this path by Gul’dan.

Frostwolves were always the Horde’s wisest clan. Frostwolf values are new Horde values. This is Thrall’s Horde’s lagacy. It’s Durotan’s legacy. It’s why Thrall deserves to wear Doomplate and wield the Doomhammer. It’s leading up to a big Horde pride moment… very slowly.

I feel like this is Blizz trying to have it both ways. And honestly? I like this version better.

They’re both right. Thrall DID put Garrosh in the position where these things could happen and failed to be there to help steer him in the right direction. But Draka is right too. Garrosh was put on that path, but actively chose which direction to take it.

The important part is that Draka tells him to ‘Mourn if you must.’ That tells me that Thrall doesn’t just feel like he failed. He’s legitimately sad to have lost Garrosh. The Horde needs Thrall to snap out of his funk and I feel this conversation is the start of just that.

NOW GET BAINE’S SPINE BACK!

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Did he ever have one?

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There was that bit at the end of Mulgore questing where he had one, then someone stole that Baine and we haven’t seen him since.

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I don’t know who stole it but watch, next time Gallywix shows up he’ll reveal he acquired it and will try selling it back to us.

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I am now curious how long before they actually talk about 9.2. Or with any luck Blizzard will give us a 9.1.5 mini patch. Now that the content has officially being exausted(I guess there is still LFR Sylvanas)

What do you mean we have 21 renown levels of exciting content such as:

  • One (1) title
  • the ability purchase 3 xmogs and mounts that require grinding to some extent
  • exciting upgrades like *checks notes * empowered conduits!!!
  • instant experience item for our adventure table companions!!!
  • anima reward increases (but you can’t send any to alts!)
  • more companions!

Who needs explanations/clarity of loose threads or further development of Shadowlands characters via questlines when we have THAT

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yay for more grinding!

Said no one ever.

Blizzard released the 9.1 trailer 3 months after Shadowlands released. Granted it took about another 4 months before 9.1 got released.

Even with the utter chaos at Blizzard right now I doubt they would want a long content drought/want to start hyping 9.2 as soon as possible especially considering it would be some positive news.

/slaps on tin foil hat

I guess by my pattern, it would be “The Fourth Fours”…

Sounds like… The Force !

Coupled with : “May the Fourth be with you.”

And then we have…

Coupled with :

Maybe we are building to a Disney buy out and cross over.

They made a storytelling mistake: They made the players ancillary, we end up just an audience to what the lore characters are talking about. That just isn’t working, this isn’t a movie.
Every time they move further away from the player characters being central to the action it’s going to damage people’s perception of the story.
We get to watch these major events we’ve been central to…and they only fit the PC in once IIRC. (The beginning of the compass.)

I’ve also noticed that the quest text seems to be getting shorter around cinematics, to the point where there’s maybe one or two sentences, but then the scene painting isn’t happening. So again: Subjective story telling imagery in a vacuum.
When the quest text gets so short, people are encouraged to click past; which means if something was there it slips by, and then with the rush feeling, people won’t pick up the chat bubbles for more info reliably.

I would somewhat think this is a group-think problem: They all know what they talk about and what they said was linked and meant. They have the experiential background of what they think they’re saying.
They don’t (LOL) have the compassion for their audience to sit outside their experience and realize what someone else sees.

The actual story: So free choice and will obsessed Sylvanas, with her soul intact, and after being powered by the original Arbiter, will become the new Arbiter of a reimagined Shadowlands where souls choose an afterlife.
Before that she’ll be the key the Primus needs and become an Avatar-ish being that fights with us when we defeat him.

You could read the Eternals imprisoning Zovaal the way they did as giving him the perfect cover to ply Sylvanas: “Oh, poor me, how evil the fate of the afterlife is…why I have no choice, look how I’m chained here! Help me and we’ll make sure this stops.

Could fit the pieces: Maybe the giant snake is Death? The ouroboros symbol we see around the Shadowlands? A consumer of all things which the First Ones kept from consuming everything by Ordering the different Pantheons and planes into a balance. Since it could be seen as eater=death, its “power” was used and chained by the First Ones maybe. Thus Zovaal’s “Death was never meant to be chained”.
So, the First Ones gave their lives at Zereth Mortis stopping it, and we end up with a similar thing to…Argus…group of powerful beings keeping a more powerful one in check/prison?