Official expansion ending. The Thread

Lore Story
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Read about a similar one in the US forums and wanted to mirror it here out of curiosity for what you people thought.

So, simple question: How do you think the expansion ending will be?

  • No wistful thinking.
  • Must include the final raid.
  • Realistic and honest answers if possible. One per player.

No cop outs. And I’ll bookmark this thread with whatever answers come this way. The person who comes closest regarding the finale of this sh••fest that is the current story gets full marks, and the title of “WoW Nostradamus” in the EU story forums.

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Final raid is N’Zoth in Ny’alotha. In le ebin tweest, Sylvie uses Xal’atah to imprison him and goes to shadowlands. It’s revealed that she was a good girl all along, and she’s going to use the imprisoned N’Zoth to defeat some big evil in the shadowlands (Bwonsamdi’s boss).

Faction war and horde crimes are forgotten in some terrible fashion and the next expansion has everything neutral, because Blizzard can only deal in absolutes, and this expansion was bad and had faction stuff (even though that’s completely unrelated), the next one will have none/barely any.

Factions still exists at the end of BfA, Saurfang dies, the herd is led by a war council instead of a single warchief and we are still stuck with Anduin, who will receive no meaningful development (anger at the horde and it’s races) because he’s just so good and enlightened.

That’s what I expect, please clap.

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If you want commitment to a theory from other players, it would only be polite of you to go first.

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Due to the Sylvanas cult fan-outrage and people not wanting a repeat of SoO 2.0 Blizzard will cater to them by not killing Sylvanas and probably giving her either a heroic sacrifice which no one beyond her cult will like or have her “redemption” which will poison the well for any story-telling to come.

How it should go if the story is to naturally to progress is Sylvanas and any other war criminal of the Horde should be killed. The Horde should either be disbanded or put under an occupation of the Alliance. The Horde has proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted and also turn wars against the Alliance into genocidal conflicts.

This is the 2nd in 4 years? The 5th in 35 years? With the current one being just as extreme as the first and second wars?

And if Anduin thinks peace is a option after this then I easily expect the him to be removed from power, at least the Alliance-wise.

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Whilst I like your idea, at some points, how do you wish to resolve this bit? Story is cool and all, but you have to also fix the other issues that surround this decision.

Let’s take for example the Horde being disbanded.

Are you going to ask the entire Horde playerbase to play Alliance instead?
Are you going to expect Blizzard to pay for their faction changes?
Are you going to do something to help offset this massive movement?

Or are you just going to give the entire Horde playerbase their cake and
expect them to eat it?

It’s too easy to throw around these movements and not regard the consequences.

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I’ve stayed clear of spoilers so far, so my theory is probably not entirely up to date.

But I suspect the ending will be structured similarly to Legion. There’ll be a raid and a cinematic that’ll foreshadow the events of the next expansion.

So those are basically the two things to guess: The final raid and the cinematic for defeating the final boss.

I am going to say that the final raid is themed around the expansion title. Battle for Azeroth, because that’s how all final raids seem to go down when Blizzard’s masterplan works out as intended.

So it’ll be about the World Soul of Azeroth. We have to heal her wound after all, right?

I suspect that little Titan chamber in Silithus where the expansion started will be the raid entrance. And the raid itself will basically be the inner core of Azeroth, going all the way down to where the tip of Sargeras’ sword struck the World Soul of Azeroth.

And there’s of course an urgency to get to the World Soul quickly, because N’zoth is also trying to reach it in order to corrupt it, because that’s what Old Gods do.

So as we work our way down, deeper and deeper, we’ll fight various Old God minions and lieutenants.

As well as the other faction! Because that’s the other plot-line. N’zoth is the bad guy, but that doesn’t mean Anduin trusts Sylvannas and the Horde being near the World Soul. And likewise, Sylvannas doesn’t want Anduin and the Alliance near the World Soul, because she has a secret plan to secure its power for herself.

So the second-last encounter will be N’zoth, stopping him in the World Soul Chamber – but it’s too late, he has already corrupted the World Soul with his touch.
None the less, we kill the squid guy, because loot is loot.

And then the final encounter will be the Alliance fighting against Sylvannas and Nathanos. In the end Nathanos will sacrifice himself in order for Sylvannas to make her escape.
And from the Horde perspective you’ll fight against Anduin and Genn where Genn will sacrifice himself for Anduin.

On the story side, the players will have to deplete their Heart of Azeroth in order to help purify the World Soul – similar to the process of retiring our Artifact Weapons.

The Horde and the Alliance will continue their war. Sylvannas will have fled and abandoned the Horde and her role as Warchief and leader of the Forsaken. She’s on her own now.
The remaining Horde leaders won’t be able to negotiate peace with the Alliance, which sees itself hell-bent on vengeance and retribution, so the Horde will have to defend itself against the Alliance’s onslaught in the next expansion!

The final cinematic will show…I’ve no clue. :joy:
There are so many possibilities in regards to where the story could go for the next expansion.
I am guessing that Blizzard will use Sylvannas in a similar manner as Gul’dan. She’ll be the one who sets in motion the events of the next expansion. I just don’t know what events those might be. It’s either something with the Shadowlands or something with the Void Lords. But I’m clueless to be honest. Even so far as imagining a future continent…zones…I’ve no idea. :laughing:

But that’s my guess! I feel fairly certain about the final raid. Imagine the Worldstone Chamber from Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Just with N’zoth instead of Baal, and the World Soul of Azeroth instead of the Worldstone. But otherwise much the same kind of narrative, I think. Plus some faction war thrown in for good measure! :yum:

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That is why I said naturally go. I’m sorry but for me personally I cannot foresee how the Horde would come off without being punished heavily without it feeling very cheap.

How would you personally like an occuptaion story? Living under reign of the Alliance, being treated like dirt perhaps depending on your race and the new questing experience would be the Horde regaining trust in not only the Alliance but themselves?

Like a grand Suramar Campaign on rebuilding relations of the Alliance

Or

Alliance wins and forces very harsh terms on the Horde, all the land they lost during Cata’ are now given back (Azshara, Hillsbrad, Silverpine perhaps even Lordaeron).

And we have a 1-60 quest rework which for the Horde involves rebuilding and adding a lot new races/parties into their faction?

For example you recruit the Sandfury Trolls into the Horde which gives the Horde control over Tanaris effectively expanding the Hordes power without war or at the cost of the Alliance. Perhaps the Streamwheddle Cartel joins the Horde and the Venture Co’ gets annex thus you have a united Tinkers Union?

Recruiting various other Tauren, Trolls, Orges (etc…) as “Allied races” with each zone they are in somewhat being a long Allied race questchain.

A way to balance out the Horde/Alliance land mass ratio, population etc… While also making it look like the Alliance gained something from winning the war and heavily covering up the Hordes losses by gaining more land else where?

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All reasonable concepts, I say. In fact, i’d say one can establish a heroic feeling even if you play a Horde char that is downtrodden by the Alliance. And yes, I agree, to make the story consistent with a sliver of hope that it will be good again, the Horde will need to be justly punished.

I daresay even playing a Horde char downtrodden by the Alliance is good for establishing a growing, heroic feeling. Depends on how its written of course.

Also, forwarded apologies to the OP, i’ll contribute my viewpoint on the ending soon.

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Sylvanas will be the final raid boss, in a Black Empire zone for 8.3.5. The players must race against time to stop her turning Azeroth into a Void Titan. She will, ultimately survive, and claim no memory of what happened - blaming Xal’atath and co. Disgraced, she will be a fringe figure for at least one xpac.

The Horde claims innocence and that they had no idea Sylvanas was working with the Old Gods all along.

Oh and Stormwind get’s badly bombed in the process, ala Y’Shaarj-Garrosh foresight raid encounter. Closing the loop of storytelling. Of course, the KT fleet is battered heavily and they spend the next few years fending off pirates. Darkshore and Arathi are given to the Horde as ‘goodwill’ gestures by Anduin.

The Vindicaar is shot down, clearing the way for the final raid encounter, and Velen perishes on board. The Army of the Light do not take this well at all, and display increasingly overzealous behaviour. Somewhere along the way they establish contact with the other AotL in AU Draenor.

The Kaldorei retreat from the Alliance, following the disastrous defeat at Stormwind. The Horde only abandon further designs on the Night elves, following a massacre at the Battle of Mount Hyjal.

At the very end of the xpac it is revealed that we have all played into the tentacles of the Void Lords all along. By crippling ourselves fighting so many enemies, we have only made the eventual conquest easier.

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We go to N’yalotha. which is the final raid and fight N’zoth.

The faction war, started by the Horde is obviously forgotten and we work together side by side with Sylvanas who took that Xalawhatever knife in order to defeat Old Gods.

Sylvanas powers up that knife by murdering Alliance people and the Horde happily helps her with that because this is for the “greater good”. Anduin refuses to act and watches his people be murdered.

Then, we all together defeat N’zoth. Everyone cheers for Sylvanas, the best warchief ever. Genn cheers for her, Jaina cheers for her, Baine cheers for her, Saurfang cheers for her and Arthas somehow sends a message that he is proud of her.

Anduin gives Ashenvale, Darkshore and Arathi to the Horde as a sign of good will. Anduin also tell everyone how bad they are for wishing any form of revenge against Sylvanas or the Horde.

We are being hit in the face by Blizzard with “SEE?! SEE?! SHE WAS MORALLY GREY AND RIGHT ALL THE TIME!!!”

And I am absolutely honest. This is what I expect.

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I am legit afraid to post a theory because Blizzard is so dumb at this point that I am legitimately dreading an outcome so idiotic we couldn’t even guess it.

Like, I spent my time sharpening the “Azshara burns Teldrassil” theory with Minairia. It was perfect. And look what happened.

I won’t attempt to guess the outcome, but I believe we will see an emerging Black Empire which will make our war meaningless.

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Halls of the Unyielding Light: a heavily Light-corrupted version of Stormwind that is the capital of the now-global Lightbound Alliance. Those few members of the Horde who survived the Great Purge and defectors who remain true to the Alliance’s honour rise up against the mad king Anduin whose desire for peace has made him no better than the evil he sought to defeat.

Bosses in the raid:

  1. Stormwind Port Assault: High Exarch Rogers took Anduin’s ascension into the Light with great enthusiasm, and had been given command over the Vindicaar for her loyalty. Now her Lightbound crew stands ready to defend the holy city from heretics and lesser races.
  2. Sol - An aspect of the Light that manifested during the war with the Legion has been, under Anduin’s orders, augmented and empowered with Lightbound technology, transforming him from a mere defender into a fearsome destroyer of unbelievers.
  3. Exarch Lightmoon - A survivor of the Burning of Teldrassil, Lathys Brightmoon has vowed to never stop fighting the Horde until no trace of their foulness remains to stain the land of Azeroth. Now empowered by King Anduin to wield the power of holy flame, she gleefully burns the mongrel races to crisp, their agonising cries the only remedy for her own pain.
  4. Might of the Aqir - With Nazjatar destroyed, the God of the Deep must rely on the orphaned children of his brothers to further his plots. The mantid Ralak, the nerubian Rekhan, and the qiraji Rethiss form the vanguard of N’zoth’s own invasion of Stormwind.
  5. Nathanos Voidcaller - With his beloved Queen defeated and the Forsaken on the brink of extinction, the former champion of Sylvanas has sworn allegiance to a new master. His grief and the blessing of N’zoth have driven the former dark ranger nearly insane, compelling him to slaughter everything in his path.
  6. Axsarhj the Defiler - As Anduin leads his armies to scour Azeroth of all who oppose him, the grip of the Light over its world-soul solidifies. Driven to desperation, the God of the Deep has sent its strongest minion left into the halls of the Stormwind. The Final Titan shall belong to N’zoth, and no-one else.
  7. Engine of Penitence - After his victory in Orgrimmar, Anduin has made sure to properly punish the war criminals responsible for the Horde’s many atrocities. Now trapped inside a nightmarish contraption of metal and holy magic, the souls of these monsters cry in repentance as it crushes the unbelievers.
  8. Ambassador Areefa - Sent from the Great Dark Beyond by the orders of High Exarch Yrel, this Lightbound draenei oversees the conversion of this world into the one true faith. Though her magic is in itself powerful enough, the true danger lies in the Lightbound fleets she commands.
  9. Genn Graymane - Though the king of Gilneas may hold some reservations about Anduin’s actions and has not accepted the power of the Light himself, his fierce loyalty to the Alliance leaves him no choice. Honourbound to serve the High King, the Old Wolf leads the defense of the Stormwind Keep.
  10. The Grand Inquisitor - The identity of this masked figure is unknown to all but Anduin himself. All that is known is his terrifying mission: to convert the unbelievers to the true faith. After the Grand Inquisitor is done with his work, his victims remain little more than zombies, mindless drones that would readily kill their former friends and family if given the order. To defeat the Grand Inquisitor, one would first have to get through the armies he commands, and then face their own sins to endure his mental reconditioning.
  11. Ka’are - A scion of the Light Mother herself has descended upon Stormwind to protect the glorious High King. Her very presence emboldens the surviving defenders of the city, and the only way to get to Anduin is through her.
  12. Sylvanas the Lightbound - Warmonger. Tyrant. Murderer. Few on Azeroth are responsible for as much death and pain as Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, erstwhile Warchief of the Horde. In his mercy, however, Anduin has chosen not to kill her, but to redeem her - by force. Now consumed by holy energy that leaves her undead soul in a constant state of unparalleled agony, Sylvanas is little more than a puppet at Anduin’s strings, fully conscious yet unable to control her own body.
  13. Mad King Anduin - The war begun by Sylvanas Windrunner reached its apex when Anduin, at the cusp of his victory in Orgrimmar, chose to fulfill his father’s promise. Now twisted with the sinister aspect of Light that he called upon that fateful day, the Mad King shall ensure that peace reigns on Azeroth by any means necessary.
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I opened the thread at 02:00 am when i got back home and obviously didn’t feel like further elaborating.

Anyway, my own take:

Sylvanas will take the Horde down the war path, and start striking hard and cruelly at the Alliance. I’m not ruling out having a raid involving the siege of Stormwind or any other important Alliance outpost.
Ironforge may end up being a suitable alternative that ties in with other plot points, for reasons i’ll elaborate a bit later.

Anyway, the war turns even harsher, and this is made possible thanks to some Old God thing Sylvanas steals for the Horde.
Midway down the fight, the Old God armies make an appearance, and both factions are forced to halt their fight. This is made possible thanks to Sylvanas unknowingly (or not) meddling with the Void in such way that it actually causes N’zoth to break free or something like that.

I’m guessing that alongside this scenario, Alleria is heavily corrupted by the Void and we have to fight or even kill her.

There is some big encounter/raid that has the Horde and the Alliance fight back the Old God army, and ultimately Sylvanas ends up having the power needed to destroy the Alliance or save them all at her own expense.
She decides to sacrifice herself to save her people, and uses whatever void power she had to halt N’zoth. Upon dying, her spirit is taken to the Shadowlands.

Also, there is some Light-related stuff going on. And we end up needing to depose a segment of the Alliance that has been ‘corrupted’ by the Light or something like that, and has turned radical against the Horde even if they have already started working with them against the Void.

The Horde regroups under a returning Saurfang, that made a stellar entrance alongside Thrall to rally the Horde in a united effort with the Alliance against the Old God army. Saurfang notes Sylvanas sacrifice as her redemption from his point of view.

If there is indeed a raid regarding an Alliance city, Ironforge came to mind because it tied with another theory i have regarding Magni ending up being corrupted by the void and killed before he can infect the Titan soul.

TLDR:

  1. Sylvanas turns the Horde even worse. But sacrifices herself heroically to save them from the Old Gods.
  2. Alleria and/or Magni are corrupted by the Void, and one or both of them ends up dying.
  3. We will probably have a combination of capitol raid and Old God raid. Several prominent characters will die for both sides.
  4. The Horde will probably end up being ruled by Saurfang.
  5. Sylvanas death won’t be the last of her character and it will probably serve as catalyst for further plots. And it’ll probably tie with Bwonsamdis boss and Vol’jins return.
  6. There will be a point where players are forced to battle both Void and Light enemies.
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The only way I can see this expansion ending with a satisfying conclusion is if both factions get dismantled and we have a completely new faction identity after this expansion - like Light/Void, for example. So the last raid has to be something different from SoO 2.0…

While I still hope for evil Alliance and some sort of Siege of Stormwind, the most likely conclusion is something related to the Old Gods, probably N’zoth as the final boss. Sylvanas should either be killed unceremoniously by N’zoth, or redeemed (but then still killed).

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Khmm let me think.
We know that Blizzard hate Night Elves, and always use Night Elves as punching bags.
Also Blizzard are Sylvanas fans forcing ordinary banshi archer as some GOD OF WAR QUEEN. But they also forcing Undead realm recently.

So this what will happens:

In the last raid Horde lead by Saurfang will reunite with Alliance, and they will defeat NZot, the last boss of BfA. But in that battle also Night Elves and every every every race will fight. After a win all the armies will be crashed. While all the armies will be in ruins, everyone will wonder where Sylvanas is?

Sylvanas in that time will use what Voljin told. She will use the anger of the dead souls. She will use ashes of Teldrassil to open the gates in to death realm. All Kalimdore will be transformed in to the World of Death.
Orcs, trolls, elfs and also fosakens will run away in to EK. The next expansion will be - The Rise Of The Lich Quenn. Addon will starts with burning down Nordrassil.

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I’ll go for a weird conclusion:
The final Raid will see Nzoth killed, and as foreshadowing for the next Expansion Sylvanas take his Old-God-Juice with Knaifu and multiply her power to rival (or overpower) everyone else on Azeroth.
Everyone with morals(Players included) goes underground guerillia against her, using similar Tactics to what we used in Northrend against the overwhelming power of Arthas.
She takes some dark fortress as her home. (maybe even cleaning up undercity with her new powers)
I think ultimately we will not really kill her. But there is no doubt that she will become an enemy to all, again foreshadowed since the talking of Varimathras and the Prophecy-Book from Silithus.

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I do not understand why you consider night elves to be the punching bag of Blizzard. Night elves were the most important race in Legion alongside the draenei, while orcs were for some reason put out of the spotlight even though they of all races should have an axe to grind with the demons.

The hunter class order and half of the leveling zones were night elf-themed, Illidan and the Wardens were main characters, and the expansion explored night elf culture at its apex.

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It’s ending with a N’zoth raid and the usual status quo, the faction war wont even be brought up because Ashara will pull some deus ex machina that will cripple the alliance and we spend the rest of the expansion dealing with old gods.

Optional extras are plot twist, N’zoth was actually on our side and killing him has considerably weakened our position against the new big bad.

Elune is evil and been pulling strings behind the scenes since the beginning.

Bwonsamdi’s boss is some evil incarnate that makes the void lords like playground bullies.

Anduin is corrupted and suddenly bad for some reason.

the night elves and Tauren’s finally get sick of being the faction punching bags and decide to form a new faction that becomes a punching bag of both the horde and alliance for staying neutral. Despicable, evil, deplorable neutral scum.

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In Warcraft III, the Kaldorei under Tyrande annihilated a combined Horde-Alliance base because they intruded upon Nelf lands/cut down trees. Grom, himself, admired their savagery.

In WoW, we have what…purple skinned humans with a bit of different culture? Only in Darkshore did we see Kaldorei being Kaldorei. Basic troops outnumbered 8-1 and still inflicting heavier casualties on the Horde. Orc soldier being buried alive by vines via an Archdruid. Aspects of Vengeance.

The price paid for the renewed showing was costly…very costly. I do wonder how the rabidly pro-Horde(read:Sylvanas) posters would react if Orgrimmar was burned down.

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The price paid for the renewed showing was costly…very costly. I do wonder how the rabidly pro-Horde(read:Sylvanas) posters would react if Orgrimmar was burned down.

Its all part of her plan™

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