Well, the ones who might say otherwise are the bronze dragons. Which are something that Azeroth has, and Draenor doesn’t.
And allowing the Horde player to visit a contemporary AU Draenor for a short while wasn’t even as easy for the post-Catalcysm bronzes to pull off as it would have been before the whole “no more Aspect powers” thing.
Oh dear, the idea of the darker half of the horde temporarily allying with races like the night elves is…not something I’d foresee going over well.
Draenei ships are apparently interdimensional. So … y’know, that. Even if only very select Naaru can ensure those ships can use that function, its always been in the description.
“Interdimensional” being derived from the term “dimensions” often used to describe fictional concepts of planes reality.
Not “dimension” as in Time being the fourth unit of measurement after length, width and depth.
So what? You think Blizzard cares? And if Naaru (beings of the Light Cosmology) can find their way to these doomed alternate timelines (dimensions), then couldn’t they conceptually use the Light Cosmology to travel between them? It an absurdly restrictive interpretation of the term dimension.
When have they been finding their way to doomed timelines? They already live in them, just like mortals, as infinite possible versions of themselves because they’re also of the Great Dark.
The naaru in AU Draenor converting people into Lightbound weren’t invaders from our timeline. Just like that universe’s K’ara, K’ure, D’ore and A’dal (though we never actually saw the latter two in person, Auchindoun existing at all calls for a D’ore, and A’dal is referenced as a buff in AU Shadowmoon Valley), they were native to that reality. They’re from that timeline, because that universe has its own version of the naaru just like it has its own orcs, draenei, etc.
Having other realities’ naaru suddenly be able to cross over to ours as part of their preexisting “kit” thanks to their ships would fundamentally demand a justification for why it hasn’t already happened an infinite number of times before. Even if it were only certain especially powerful naaru, that would still not explain the lack of a billion Xe’ra’s with a billion Armies of the Light being at Argus if they all possess ships that can transport them between timelines to affect changes in the only one that actually matters and has permanence.
Basically if the naaru were able to traverse timelines with their vessels, then they’d have had every reason to do exactly what Kairoz intended to do in order to eliminate the Burning Legion.
Who says they’re not? Its not as though false timelines seem that common?
And again, a Light Cosmology Expac is coming in some form. And the chances are that with the way they settup the Lightbound (and especially the Sermon of the High Exarch) … that group isn’t going to be stuck in that doomed world. Or in that doomed timeline. And if Blizz can pull an absurd McGuffin with the Bronze Dragonflight (the Pets of a Single Titan) literally pulling the AU Mag’har out of the holy fire across timelines, its not that big a stretch to say someone of the friggen Light Cosmology can do the same. With far less of a McGuffin required. As again, those Naaru ships are written as Transdimensional.
I think they’re borrowing heavily from His Dark Materials. In that story, there are good angels and bad angels, and the BAD angels are in charge, basically… Rebel angels and a few humans end up taking down the Biggest Baddest Angel. Then the gateways between worlds are closed, and certain loved ones are sealed away forever behind the walls of their respective realities. Philip Pullman made it a beautiful story. I’m not sure Blizz can do it proper justice. Pretty sure it’s just gonna be Super Sad with No Lesson Whatsoever.
In WoW’s story, the Naru would be the angels. In case that wasn’t obvious.
Fine. but can we nuke thunder bluff? in righteous fury? and then when turalyon is dead and alleria finally snaps and goes on a warpath can we add some tentacles to quel’thalas?
Which means, when up against MULTIPLE NAARU and a light-infused dreadlord, along with entire legions of Draenei and Orcs working together, they really don’t stand much of a chance in stopping the Lightbound by themselves… especially post-Cataclysm…
In fact, I find this expansion more likely to happen now than an expansion idea I had before, which focused on a renewed war across timelines between the Bronze and Infinite dragonflights… simply because of how nerfed ALL the dragons are post-Deathwing… the blue dragons in Azsuna during Legion would have been wiped out by the WITHERED if we hadn’t intervened, when pre-Fall-of-Deathwing it would have been the other way around, just to give some perspective on how nerfed the dragons are now…
I don’t doubt that the bronzes remain among the most powerful of the dragons, simply because they can still access time and dimensional travel – as evidenced by Chromie – but they were nonetheless affected somehow…
I love that series, and wish there would be an MMORPG made out of it…
I feel it’s only natural that we should have a Void-focused expansion immediately following a Light-focused expansion… and no, BFA doesn’t count, much as I loved 8.2 and 8.3…
More specifically, it would be the Lightbound a.k.a. the expansion villains doing that, to showcase how much of a threat to all of Azeroth’s denizens they really are… but yes, Thunder Bluff would at some point be the new Theramore, and this event would - similar to Jaina in MoP – most likely push Baine over the deep end, if he survives to that point…
Finally the Alliance can get the villain bat for once.
Long overdue if you ask me, especially considering the number of times Horde has gotten it…
That’s my point. It’d make sense if what you just stated happened - if someone with the established power to traverse the timeways in our reality were given a reason to do with the AU draenei what was done with the AU Mag’har. Having the AU draenei and naaru do it themselves from their end of things would create entirely too many problems of why our timeline hasn’t been neck-deep in alternate Armies of the Light with their own Genedars and Xenedars and Tempest Keeps for years now thanks to every timeline’s Army of the Light having that same capability.
But the AU Army of the Light returning could work if, say, something like another renegade Bronze or even an Infinite Dragon ended up aligned in purpose with a homegrown, hardline Light-based agency in our universe (like say, a resurgent Scarlet Crusade perhaps?) and as part of empowering them to sweep across Azeroth, delivered aid “from the Holy Light” by perhaps opening a rift in time that allows a mighty host of the Light’s champions from another “world” (universe) to cross over into ours.
This could tie-in with my previous expansion idea, where the conflict between the Bronze and Infinite dragonflights escalate, and timewalking events get a revamp / reworked into a dungeon / raid difficulty toggle… after all, what worked for Garrosh can work for Yrel, ironically…
I also like the idea of AU lawful-evil Tirion Fordring, Bolvar, and others coming into play…
I can’t help but feel like you’re vastly overestimating the power of a single Pet of a single Titan on a single planet in the Cosmos; when compared to one of 6 foundational forces of the Universe. As much as the Bronze Dragonflight claim to be the stewards of time, their influence rarely extends beyond the very planet (that like all their sibling Flights) they are bound to. Which is why you just do not see Bronze Dragonflight members elsewhere, unless a rogue one is trying to do something that will effect Azeroth (like AU Draenor).
If the Domain of Death is Singular, and thus it and its Kyrian can apparently collect souls from multiple realities & timelines (like the Devs have suggested), then it stands to reason that all Prime Cosmological Domains have that same capacity. Including the Light.
I’m not sure if Blizzard will pull the proverbial trigger on this.
Sure they’ve planted the seeds for a Light expansion and I can see many ways it can logically work and character motivations making sense to join the Light Reich. I do want it to happen, I like the Scarlet Brotherhood, they’re interesting and can see them making a return. It would also give the Alliance some teeth and make them proactive for once, give them a little zest. It would give the Horde a war that feels justified to fight and not make the faction feel sour. I’m all for an Evil Light Alliance expansion.
My hang up though is player sentiment. One Blizzard may not pay attention to and another I think they know already.
The one Blizzard may ignore is players not wanting any of their Alliance characters or faction “villain batted”, a phrase known all too well on these forums. Players, mostly Horde but Alliance as well are exhausted with the Horde being villain batted. Blizzard may take this into account and think not to turn any Alliance characters “evil” or even pseudo antagonists as to spare them from what Horde players have gone through. Again, Blizzard may just very well ignore this sentiment completely, the fact they’ve made Sylvanas from a much beloved and very popular anti-hero to an irredeemable baddie is proof of that.
If Turalyon is going to be a big antagonist, he is a character that is no where near as popular or cool as Sylvanas or Thrall or Vol’jin and shouldn’t draw to much ire from the player base as the treatment of other characters have. Varian’s death would probably have more negative feedback than Turalyon turning “heel”.
The other player sentiment that I think Blizzard may pay more attention to is how bad player feedback was to BFA. Players don’t want another faction war, so the only way this could work is if a portion of the Alliance splintered off, maybe even half of the Alliance… maybe more!? And so Alliance players who would be deemed something like rebels or heretics would then have to either use guerilla tactics or even yes… ask the Horde for help.
I would like the villains of a Light expansion to be overwhelmingly Alliance with a dabble of Horde like Exarch Garrosh being featured. I would also like the Horde to actually take the lead for once since Cata maybe, does WoD count? But I wouldn’t get my hopes up and the Horde will basically be at the disposal of Anduin, most likely due to Baine, ugh. 
Prove me wrong Blizzard. DO IT!
Not that I’d actually expect this to happen, but Blizzard could always take the nuclear option and villainize the blood elves, tauren, zandalari and freshly-turned lightsaken for not knowing any better about proper balance with the light, while the temperate alliance is allowed to teach and support each other from going over the edge like a family.
Won’t happen, unless there is an AU Garrosh somewhere… Lightbound AU Grom is the closest we’ll most likely get… so long as a light-infused Gorehowl can drop for 2h classes / specs, I’m fine with either…
That’s if Anduin survives the events of Shadowlands… which I still think may happen, since there’s that Son of the Wolf comic’s ending where he’s old, and talking with Velen…
Except…
That’s not to say the writers couldn’t head that problem off, maybe with the Alliance rebels and the Horde having a dialogue with each other at the end about what happened and why it did…
Except we know that the current paradigm of the Shadowlands isn’t interested in forcibly exerting itself upon all of creation, potentially as a result of its current Eternal One-operated organization. The other domains are made out to be that way, so if they have the ability to hop, skip and jump between universes on a whim, then why aren’t we seeing them always doing that?
Moreover, how am I overestimating a bronze dragon’s capacity to do what another bronze dragon already did? Nothing I said involves them going all over the universe outside their domain. It involves one of them once again opening a doorway between Azeroth and the same other planet to which another bronze dragon opened a similar doorway.
This isn’t a matter of “they’re powerful so anything goes.” Ragnaros is powerful, but that doesn’t mean he can do anything a lesser water elemental could do simply by virtue of being stronger, because it’s not part of his fundamental nature to be able to do those things. They’re particular to the element of water, just as his abilities are particular to his own nature as a being of fire. The Light is the Light; it would have capabilities particular to Light. Time is of the domain of Order.
On top of that, we actually don’t know that the Kyrian can travel to other universes. We know that souls in such false timelines are rejoined with the “thread” of the prime soul, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a case of the Kyrian physically carrying them separately to the Shadowlands for said rejoining. After all, the MU person might not even be dead yet. It could very well be an independent function of reality that when someone dies in another timeline, their soul and its anima snap back into the main soul whether it’s dead or not.
Yep, there is. During the Mag’har unlock quest, a Lightbound mentions him along with an item called Sermon of the High Exarch. Here’s the relevant part to it:
Many noble orcs have embraced the Light. Exarch Hellscream has been an example for his people to follow. Yet sadly, his own father resists the true path.
So if anything Grom would probably be a character that is hiding as a heretic in AU Draenor and would help the player character.