[Spoilers] The War Within Launch Thread

which makes it even funnier everyone was like “sure this 18 year old prone to mental breakdowns can do it :)”

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So I found the room from the Nerubian cinematic ingame and damn, that plaque looks ominous. And it does make me wonder, is this an Old God we know, or another one? I’m personally tempted to think it’s N’zoth but, I’m not sure. Either way, can see why Neferess ceased worshipping them if they demanded living sacrifices.

Agree with Elenthas here. Like, they just allowed to have him because they thought it was funny or something?

Its clear they don’t see him as some kind of genius tactician or respectable fighter, otherwise they probably would’ve atleast listened to his advice and/or council, but by the end it was Shandris and Maiev who went to Anduin to say “F~you, we’re out” because Tyrande couldn’t even bring up the respect for him to tell it to him herself, lmao.

And they haven’t interacted ever since, I think?

Anyways the Supreme Commander should’ve been a non-faction leader; Shandris, Jarod, Maiev, Rogers, Wyrmbane, etc would’ve all made a better choice for the role!

I think the new Chronicles confirmed there is a Fifth Old God (again)?

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It might be completely off-base, but I had the thought that it could be Xal’atath’s true/original form.

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It’s me when I’m hungry.

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My theory is that the crystal is not only Beledar, but that it’s also tied to Xal’atath, based on how she emerged from it in that trailer.

Worst case scenario, it’s nothing meaningful and will never be explored, same case with the true nature of Beledar, as Blizzard will hurriedly move on without answering any questions about Khaz Algar in order to set the stage for the rest of Metzen’s Worldsoul Saga.

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Beledar looks a bit Naaru-esque to me.

Inb4 Naaru egg.

Apparently they changed the Harronir’s name to Haranir. Weird to change that basically on release. So late, in fact, that the artbook still has it as Harronir.

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Not super stellar, but definitely good enough imo.

All good, with Hallowfall easily taking the cake + topping

Arathi Armor set.

My theory is that “Beledar” is just a Titan construct that is part of the mechanics inside the planet to keep Azeroth save of Void corruption. Imagine it a bit like a pump-vent. When Beledar turns into Light mode, it is inactive. When it turns into void, it is drawing potential Void energy out of the core and vents it into the outer layers.

And of course I suspect there are many more crystals like that placed in periodic distances and coordinates around the globe to cover the entire sphere.

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It’s Xalatath’s true form as the fifth god, also shown in that one concept art sketch where she hangs in the corner. All but confirmed now.

My theory is that the other Old Gods rebelled against their original purpose in order to rule the Black Empire and destroyed Xal who was the only one loyal to their mission.

There might even be a seal by which, when all five are slain (Ilganoth’s five torches light the way, five keys open the door) the Void Gods invade. This would also fit with the third death meme, it being Xalatath (first when her body was broken, second when she was severed from the dagger, third once her body is restored). In fact, it would be cool if they purposefully shattered Xal in this way instead of destroying her in order to prevent her end of the seal ever being breached.

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You don’t happen to know where that concept art sketch can be found, right? Still, quite a few people seem to think that it’s Xal, so I’ll take that!

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Don’t play WoW very actively anymore so am working my way through quite slowly, only just made it to Hallowfall.

So far, while I’m glad the tone is a bit less hugboxy than Dragonflight, it really feels like the same old same old. There are some nice stories in the zones, as always, but the overall stories are just whatever. Baelgar changes his entire worldview offscreen while you’re doing a fetch quest, and nothing interesting really seems to be happening at all. The Isle of Dorn is definitely a very weak levelling zone, though the Ringing Deeps was a bit better.

I’m expecting things will pick up in Hallowfall but, yeah, definitely doesn’t feel like the main story was given any more thought or attention to detail than in previous expansions. Seems a bit weird that they hyped it up all this much just for it to be this mid. Who knows, maybe the last two zones will change my mind, but my enthusiasm has very much been dampened.

I don’t see a reason as to why.

Both are fair names. Both have never been used in Warcraft before… So Why? is the only question?

Ngl, the story team at blizzard has always been subpar to everything else they released… Music, aimation, cinematic and evrything else has always carried the story since WoW…

Its a stark difference to War3 where the story carried everything, since I never hear people praise the cinematics, music or animations of War3, yet its more fondly remebered then most of the games of its times!

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I actually think the animation is a big issue here, honestly.

They’re trying to do a lot of in-game cutscenes this expansion, but they’re awful and detract from the story whenever they’re used. The one in the Ringing Deeps where your character, in complete silence with no backing music, awkwardly climbs onto the mech suit had be rolling my eyes, as did Baelgar’s heroic sacrifice.

They’d be better off just finding different ways of doing these scenes, because these cutscenes really make it difficult to take the story seriously.

A constant reminder that the game is 20 years old and the MMO genre is like ten years backwards compared to the rest of the gaming scene.

Sure they do look a little better and the smooth transitions are neat, but they’re still pretty awkward and stiff machinimas.

Also lmao at that scene too, one of the few rare times the player character is actually seen doing something other than standing.

I can’t include links for some reason, but if you google

joseph lacroix chronicles 3

It should be among the first images that show up. It’s a pencil sketch looking thing with a tower in the middle, and the Old Gods inside it as well as lining the margins. Look at the upper right corner.

I’ll try to find it, thanks!

Yeah, when it started I was like “Oh cool, we’re doing something” and then the scene was just incredibly awkward.

I played through the main story rather fast and it struck me only a day or two after that this is probably the first time since TBC we see the original heroes of Sons of Lothar come together in one place. With the major exception of Khadgar, of course. Each character has a personal motivation to be in Khaz Algar but I can imagine how epic it must’ve been for them as a whole, “the Sons of Lothar rides again”. For a vehement TBC fan like me, this is the peak fan service.

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