I only just started SoD, but I am having a freaking blast with it. I am ALL about the Scarlet Crusade stuff this phase, so that’s probably coloring the experience as well, but I definitely want to see this keep going!
For my part, while I loved the Draenei and TBC added some cool things, I think TBC definitely just feels very different. The strongest parts of SoD, to me, are its commitment to Class-fantasy, and feeling very much like “traditional, old-school fantasy” in overall themes and vibes.
To that end, I’m probably leaning more towards wanting to stay away from expanding into TBC, and instead continue focusing on the “Vanilla” flavor.
Well, I got to thinking about how in WC3, the Blood Elves completely abandoned Qual’thalas (as best I recall, in any case). What if SoD had Kael’thas coming back with reinforcements from Outland, and players were tasked with helping them push into a Quel’thalas that have been completely overrun with Scourge and/or other forces?
We know in the existing lore that Sylvanas advocated for the Blood Elves joining the Horde, so what if she was the one who gave Horde players the initial quest to go to the border to help out? Alliance players and the Argent Dawn in particular would already have a vested interest in clearing out the region so it didn’t become another central base for the Scourge.
I figure you could probably block off just the Ghostlands as a lvl 60+ region (Eversong Woods would probably need a much more in-depth update if trying to link to the Scourge). Maybe pushing into Silvermoon City because a raid itself? I always felt like it was a super cool location, and also had some features that were never fully explored; the transporters across the city seemed to imply that the spires would’ve been much higher, it could be cool if the tallest spires had their own walkways between them and such?
I figure the Blood Elves could probably just be their own new faction to work up with. However, another idea that could be worth considering, is making them playable. I see it working one of three ways:
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They are a “Neutral” race (like Pandaren) who can join either faction
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Add them to the Horde
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Add them to the Alliance
In the case of them joining the Horde (which we’ll assume the story will generally follow established canon), then perhaps Kael’thas also brings Naga with him. Given the Naga and Night Elves’ shared history and lineage, I’m thinking they would share a starting area with the Night Elves, and Blood Elves would start in Tirisfal Glades as refugees. My thinking is, they would only display armor on the upper-body, and could be Shamans to content with Horde suddenly getting Paladins.
However, if we wanted to explore a “what if” or “alternate history” approach to Season of Discovery, we could have the Blood Elves joining the Alliance this time, to which I would probably suggest that Goblins formally join the Horde (or at least, a faction of them). I’m less certain what other options might be, although I would totally be a fan of Ogres as well (perhaps sharing a starter zone with Tauren?).
In any case, just thinking out loud here. Definitely eager to see where things go from here!