What stories do you want to see next?

Lore Story Forum
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I have seen a lot of people with different ideas about Warcraft’s current overall story. So, I ask out of polite interest what stories do you want to see next? It could a story/stories with the next expansion, or your own concept for a future expansion, or even something entirely new that is related to World of Warcraft.

I think what I would want most is an expansion where we deal with smaller threats coupled with a revamp of older leveling zones. A chance to be an adventurer again while showing how the world has changed over the years might be just what this game needs most.

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This would be what I’d love to see - it was Midnight’s main draw to me. I’m in this game for the world/setting, so my favorite thing is to see that setting star in new stories.

In particular, I’d love to have these smaller stories and smaller threats revolve around each race/nation pursuing its own goals, so there’s a mix of them reacting to and them causing stories. Stuff like dwarf archaeologists digging up something dangerous (or angering someone whose land they dug up without even thinking to ask first), the Horde building/expanding new towns in the Barrens (maybe adding a Grimrail-style train from Orgrimmar to Crossroads, with new lines under construction and under attack), Westfall famers attempting to rebuild while internal Stormwind political/social drama bubbles under the surface, etc.

I’d also love for many of these stories to have a focus on the in-universe debate over their choices - stuff like night elves trying to restore pre-Sundering forests in areas like Desolace while debating whether restoring the distant past or accepting the modern ecosystem is the better option, having non-dwarves be exasperated/angry with the dwarves for their digging versus scholars happy to get the new knowledge they uncover, plenty of debates over what a railroad does to the places it runs through, etc.

I’d like to have recurring faces from these stories - a sort of ‘adventurer’ tier of NPCs who show up as questgivers across a few expansions, Nazgrim-and-Taylor-style. So even when the story does venture out into completely new territory (e.g, the Arathi Empire that I’m sure is coming), we can have non-major NPC companions who can illustrate the various races’/nations’ reactions to current events. (And give us better long-running NPC connections, so when these minor characters occasionally die, there’s more emotional weight to it.)

I’d love to have plenty of local villains who are strongly tied to the zone stories they act in, and for some of those villains (or relatives of them) to survive and become longer-running threads - like fighting the Syndicate leader in Hillsbrad but having one of their leadership survive and become a recurring smuggler who supplies future villains with weapons to fight us players with, or having one villain family name that keeps reappearing where even the NPCs can joke about them continually showing up with a “you killed my husband/aunt/son/niece/grandfather/etc” excuse for their self-serving villainy. (And the obligatory new Scarlet preacher and his followers, complete with our questgiver pinching the bridge of their nose with a “Not them again!”)

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Fully agreed, seconded.

Just to add a little here:

At this point I’d just like to go to the same model that most MMOs seem to have regarding the questing experience. Just make the player character part of a team. A limited set of characters that work directly with them, share a home base of operations, a level of competency, a similar degree of authority, and some actual personality. We should not be supposed to connect with a overlarge cast of kings and generals on a personal level, and there should be no hint that we could give an Anduin or Thrall advice on where armies move. The player character is a hero that personally saves the day, that’s enough, and fits perfectly well with a relatively tight-knit unit around him. Having one or two of these companions with you in basically any main questline isn’t that hard to plan for and makes it so much more personal.

So far that’s not asking more than other MMOs are doing, and less than some that actually personalise your relationships to your team. Indeed, Blizzard even did something like that in Legion with the class halls, which was only a bad idea because they obviously wouldn’t be able keep it up with a story for each class and team long term. But here is the extra I’d still expect from Blizzard: Faction-based teams, Horde and Alliance with (at least some) different characters, different dialogue, different personal drama, and here and there different quests. That’s about doubling the workload, sure, but that’s the way you still get faction flavour into a game that’s left the faction conflict behind, while not daring to deny the importance faction identity has and had for a lot of players.

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Priority #1 - Old World Revamps. Particularly interested in the Forsaken, shockingly. And I’m mildly interested in an actual explanation for how the Scarlet Crusade is not only surviving but apparently growing if Alonsus Faol is to be believed. Where are they recruiting from? I wanna know! But I’ll take anything, I’ve loved going back to the Old World in Midnight.

Priority #2 - The Arathi Empire. I’m very curious to learn more about them. How their society works, when and why they split from the wider Arathi Empire, etc. And as a massive Byzantine History fan, I kinda hope they end up Byzantine Coded and that we get some churches with epic domes. DOMES, BLIZZARD, I DEMAND DOMES.

Priority #3 - Naga. What are those Nagas up to? What’s Azshara plotting? Is Serpentria Mc Serpent’s snake hair venomous? Please Blizzard can I play as one I’ve been a fan since Warcraft 3???

Priority #4 - Internal Faction Discord within the Alliance. Are they satisfied with winning two world wars but not really feeling like they won? Why are Void and High Elves friends when they’re ideological opposites? Are the Red Dawn still causing trouble and how can we explore their philosophy? Are the Night Elves still not answering Stormwind’s calls (as established in Shadows Rising) because they felt abandoned by the Alliance at Darkshore during the Fourth War? The Horde’s had two big identity crises - I’d actually really like to see the Alliance explore its potential internal tensions some more.

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I’d like to see smaller-scale stories focused on rebuilding racial identities and local conflicts rather than another world-ending cosmic threat. Give places like Gilneas, Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Quel’Thalas, and the troll kingdoms room to actually feel like distinct countries again.

I’d especially like more stories where racial leaders put their own people first while still cooperating with their faction when necessary. Characters don’t all need to share the same worldview to be allies. Let there be disagreements, harsher personalities, old grudges, and different ideas about what “doing the right thing” means.

Basically, I want more worldbuilding and less homogenization. I’d rather spend an expansion dealing with regional threats, politics, rebuilding, and cultural conflicts than immediately go fight another cosmic god.

Gilneas in particular could use this kind of focus badly. I’d love to see it developed as its own kingdom again, with Worgen and Gilnean identity treated as something more than generic Alliance heroism.

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would really like a story thats good

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stuff thast WRITTEN WELL before all else

and actully CARES and respects then god darn setting/universe

and beyond that, NO COSMIC BULCRAP plots

no this NEW bad guy that toots always excisted is titan++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ lvl bad guy ! thaty will FOR SURE THIS TIME end the universde for good!

and for gods sake LET the horde EXCIST

let the races EXCIST and BE different

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Yeah, especially the “let the races exist and be different” part.

I’d just say the same applies to the Alliance too, because both factions have been getting sanded down into one big agreeable Azerothian blob.

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yeah was meant for both last part

but alliance atleast blizz doesnt go out of their way to make members of the alliance suddenly NOT be alliance (see undermine) and their races even if much more sanded down/homgenized atleast get to show up/do own things and be the heroes

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Khadgar. Magni. The whole of Dalaran.

You’d know if you weren’t a tourist.

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Yeah I can see the distinction you’re making with Undermine, though I’d separate “Alliance characters appearing” from Alliance races actually getting racial development.

A lot of Alliance races have spent years either barely appearing or having their stories filtered through broader neutral themes too.

I think the Horde and Alliance almost have opposite problems. Horde races often get to be themselves at the expense of feeling Horde, while Alliance races often get filtered through a generic Alliance heroism at the expense of feeling distinct.

Though personally, I think the former is the healthier problem to have. Strong racial development usually strengthens the faction too, while strong faction identity doesn’t necessarily do much for the individual races underneath it.

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Nothing involving any of the elements of this setting I like until new writers join the team.

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Something new related to Warcraft, huh?

An anthology of stories focused around C/B Tier characters over the history of Azeroth from Year 0 to the current day in the timeline.

I’d want to see the story of a young Vol’jin trying in vain to rescue his father from murlocs on the islands the Darkspear once lived on.

Or the tale of a descendant of the Stormreaver Clan within the New Horde that kept their lineage a secret because it meant life or death, perhaps a Shaman whom earned redemption and forged a connection to the elements. Or, even better, tell the story Zul’Jan never had (where they’re bitter against the elements for being fickle allies and want the strength to live without them or any other manipulative forces).

Give me the story of a farmhand from Stormwind whom went from growing potatoes to wielding the Light as a paladin of no noticeable repute.

Spin a yarn about a gnome rogue who’s entire life has been stealing secrets, blueprints, and proto-types to sell so that they can afford treatments for their sibling’s leprosy.

Tell a tale about a night elf druid whom holds a deep loathing for mages, and all his/her experiences in the Alliance don’t change his mind, but rather prove every single one of his/her prejudices to be 100% correct and justified.

Follow the trials and triumphs of a young cocky tauren warrior as he/she adapts to the sudden and radical change of his/her tribe as they integrated into the united tauren tribes under Cairne Bloodhoof. Show me who he/she butts horns with, why, how being forced to work together with his/her tribe’s worst enemies can somehow be easier than cooperating with their closest friends.

I want to see a goblin warlock who works as a mercenary with a small army of demons to fight for him/her because they’re low maintenance and disposable, yet whom he/she values far more than any of his/her clients.

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Whatever they have been doing to every single character, dialogue and story since dragonflight and completely 180 it

Play a few war hammer games, play a few diablo games and remind yourself what wow use to be. The tone right now is totally boring. Some of these cinematics could be overwatch cinematics its that bad. I find it hard to believe teenagers will play this like people did back in the day and think this is cool. The cool\metal factor is completely gone.

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Stories:

Light Invasion, Lothraxion spawns in the Light realm and this gets the Lightbound to start infusing Light into Demons. Have it set on a revamp Outland.

Faction specific, the Horde & Alliance get their own threats to deal with in parts of revamp Kalimdor (Horde) and Eastern Kingdoms (Alliance). Horde deal with the Pact a group made by Magatha made from her Grimtotem, Dark Horde, some members that would have made theMongrel Horde, and Sand Trolls. The Alliance deal with the New/True Empire of Arathor made of Red Dawn, Scarlets loyal to their heir of Lordareon, Ashvane remnants, and Alliance traitors.

Arathi Empire, the Horde & Alliance are invited by the Arathi Empire to see if we are worthy of them to interact with. Set on half of Avaloren called the Arathi Empire.

A continuation expansion on Avalorian that is to enter unknown lands of it.

Nature threat Expansion built up in each the other Expansions.

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After the lackluster way the elves were brought together in Midnight, I want the writers to continue to develop this union with stories that feel grounded, respecting their history of animosity and strain and bridging their differences incrementally rather than with a forced expedience.

After being let down so thoroughly in Midnight’s initial story, it’s hard for me to ponder future storylines with any real hope.

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Honestly, after reading through some of the replies, I realized most people already mentioned a lot of the bigger/more important story threads I’d want to see, so I think I’m going to lean a little harder into the niche lore-nerd / gameplay-addons side of things because… well, that’s my specialty. lol :dracthyr_love_animated:

TL;DR - Story and lore excuse to add a new race, class, or a ton of customization to the game. I'm a very niche player, and I know what tends to drag me and the people I play with back into games. Can't speak for anyone else, but this is the plain—unadulterated truth of my bias requests. lol

First, I really want to explore the Iridikron side of the story. Do we actually know what happened to the Dragon companion of “the Goddess” from that old Harranir story? Is Ula’tek related to it somehow, or was that just a nightmare interpretation of Y’Shaarj before he was ripped out and created the Rift of Aln? And is there any connection with Hakkar since they share some very similar aesthetics? I dunno, there are too many weird little pieces there for my brain to leave alone. lol

And while we’re poking at unresolved dragon stuff… can we PLEASE do something with Chromatus already? :sweat_smile:

That is such an obvious dangling plot point. Maybe even use him as an excuse to finally bring up that Legion legendary weapon, the Glaive of the Aspects. The thing was supposed to be on the level of the Dragon Soul, and since Chromatus is basically impossible to destroy, which is why he was sealed away, we could use it against him. If we’re going to fight something like Chromatus, that seems like a pretty good excuse to look that up again.

Also, I’m obviously not going to complain if that somehow ends with me getting a new giant Draconic Glaive for my DH. Just saying lol! :eyes:

And if we’re already doing dragon story stuff, PLEASE give Dracthyr/Evokers more customization while we’re at it. More Hero Spec possibilities, weird/dangerous combinations of Aspect powers we haven’t seen before, and just… more stuff in the character creator. I feel like there’s still a ton of untapped potential there.

Then I started thinking about the whole “Dreadlords infiltrating Life” thing and my brain went completely off the rails. lol

Because… what if we could actually play a Dreadlord?

Not saying this should ever happen because I realize the MMO space would probably not be the best place for it, but I love the idea of a Nathrezim who actually chose to turn against the others, like Lothraxion did. Their whole identity is infiltration and stealing/imitating the powers of other beings, so I’d love to see a playable version lean into that. Almost like an inverted reflection of the Champions of Azeroth: take iconic abilities associated with the existing classes and twist them through Nathrezim death/vampiric magic. :exploding_head:

Basically a fake cross-class that fights like a Dreadlord instead of just being “another class.” Give me some completely cursed combination of iconic WoW abilities and let me make the most suspicious character imaginable! :laughing:

…yeah, this is probably a terrible idea for an MMO. But as a crazy single-player story/side concept? I’d absolutely eat it up! Especially if we got to see Sire Denathrius again. Anything to see that magnificent bastard return. lol :face_savoring_food:

I’m also still very curious what Azshara and the Naga have actually been up to. If that eventually leads into the suppose Fifth Old God stuff, even better. And obviously I would not complain if somehow that became the excuse to finally make Naga playable.

The Arathi Empire is another one I’d like to see followed up on, although I’ll admit I’m still more curious about the Naga/Azshara stuff. I’m just not sure how much longer Blizzard wants to leave that thread sitting there.

And then there’s Illidan.

If he ever comes back, I would honestly love to see one final nostalgic team-up in Northrend with his old WC3 crew, Vashj and Kael’thas. Just once. Just to see if I have any nostalgia left in me after TBC killed most of it. :rofl:

I don’t even need that for myself at this point. It’s more for my friends and the kids who grew up loving those characters way more than I ever did. Sometimes you gotta let the next generation have their “OH MY GOD THEY’RE ALL TOGETHER AGAIN” moment. lol

So I guess my answers are a little selfish (ok, FINE super selfish! haha :dracthyr_crylaugh:). I don’t necessarily want Blizzard to make another expansion around exactly what I think is cool. I’m just the kind of player who gets pulled back in when the story gives me an excuse to make some ridiculous cool character, unlock some weird new customization, get a crazy weapon, or finally do something with a lore thread that’s been sitting there forever.

Anyway, if you reach this far into the read without going mad or crazy, congratulation your full proof against the void whispers that linger in my mind! :octopus: :joy:

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Others have articulated similar here; but I want as much of a 180 degree pivot as possible. This writing’s seriously, seriously, seriously so bad that I can’t believe a game this big is actually green-lighting this plot.

It’s horrendous. It’s largely detached from the “core” or “DNA” of what Warcraft has ever been - WHILE simultaneously being so juvenile, I’m surprised it wasn’t written in crayon.

We spend HUNDREDS buying expansions, monthly upkeep, in-store items, now housing in-game store items, and with ALL of that money, they hire a cadre of writers so inept they’d make my 14 year old niece blush out of embarrassment even if it was fan fiction.

It’s beyond just being unacceptable; these writers are an outright embarrassment for ANY studio, let alone one with a franchise spanning almost 30 years if you include Warcraft 1 with a player-base this large.

As their betters said in years before, channeling Arthas: “This entire city must be purged.” This entire writing team needs to be purged. (Also, not in like a violent way. In a ‘fired, and subsequently not working as a writer anymore.’ kind of purge.)

And if this nonsensical and terrible writing style is up modern day Chris Metzen’s alley, he probably needs to go, too, because I legitimately have trouble coming up with new adjectives to describe how terrible the writing has been this expansion.

Sure, Chris. Sometimes you wish your team hadn’t called it “Warcraft”, because that sounds “so intimidating”. I hope your kids don’t lay out any Legos that you step on or anything like that, because I bet that would be “intimidating”, too.

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Sound boring as hell

more cosmic crap

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dont need new/more racees

alreayd got to many that excists that will be ysed again ever ever ever and excist just to take away from excistign races priort to them