Anonymous source says: Next expansion = "Into the Maelstrom"
by David Bowers 
Aug 1st 2007 at 9:09AM
According to their contact, named "Blizz guy," we're going to have an "Into the Maelstrom" expansion, in which we go... into... the Maelstrom! and the Light only knows who we're going to fight there. Also, in lieu of new talents, Blizz guy says we're finally going to get our long-awaited Hero Classes that we can level up in, all the way to 80.
Now personally, I see all the hints pointing to Northrend, and absolutely nothing pointing to the Maelstrom, so I'm a lot more inclined to trust our own sources -- but we'll put this out there for all you who just love rumors and speculation! MMO-Champion and IGN can't both be right on this one, though I suppose they could both be wrong.
Which one do you think seems more likely? Or do you have an anonymous source of your own?
Filed under: Expansions, BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
multikast Aug 1st 2007 9:16AM
If they raise the level cap again, I feel that will be the end of my wow days.
On to Conan...
rookie Aug 1st 2007 9:24AM
Hi there :)
I don't want to be impolite but regarding this link
http://www.wowszene.de/news.php?extend.1182
it seems to be Arthas we will be facing :)
Best wishes :)
Rookie
Nick S Aug 1st 2007 9:21AM
Germany just rated a game called "World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King". I think that settles it.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/31/germans-rate-wow-wrath-of-the-lich-king/
g8rCody Aug 1st 2007 9:21AM
definitely fake. in fact, I think I remember this exact same rumor "leaking" months, if not years ago. it's not gonna happen, this time around anyways.
if I was a betting man, I'd say we're heading north next.
Predatorprime Aug 1st 2007 9:26AM
@1
If you're going to leave wow because of an impending level cap raise you should give up on mmos all together. In the current state a lvl 70 has no real goals to strive for in most cases. The level cap should be raised with a new exp, otherwise there will be no sense of accomplishment completing the new tasks... it will just be about the money.
Levi Aug 1st 2007 9:26AM
As far as who we'd face in the Maelstrom, it'd probably be Nagas.
Predatorprime Aug 1st 2007 9:29AM
As a second note I think that content maybe a suitable reason to leave wow. Personally I think that Northrend appears to be a much more diverse area as far as possible content and story is concerned. If Maelstorm is the next exp I would probably skip over it until something better is released
kpurdy_ Aug 1st 2007 9:31AM
set your sights to north....
Gogey Aug 1st 2007 9:36AM
Oh heres a leak, WoW: In my Pants.
I WORK AT BLIZZ. TRST ME.
Skrilla Aug 1st 2007 9:36AM
Boubouille is the man. It is Northrend, book it!
bwest0526 Aug 1st 2007 9:42AM
If you knew MY inside sources you would have all the answers already!!
So I will share them with ALL of you because I am that nice of a guy!
My sources say....WAIT TILL IT IS RELEASED BY BLIZZARD AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW FOR SURE!!!!!
Speculation only brewds hatred towards the oposition.
Hope that helps everyone out.
smtap Aug 1st 2007 5:47PM
I am far more inclined to believe that we can take Azshara at 75 or 80 than Arthas. It doesn't seem right, lore-wise, that we'd be ready to tackle the Lich King just yet. Guess we'll find out soon...
Angael Aug 1st 2007 9:56AM
They better not raise the lvl cap to 80 and offer a new class. That would be horribly cruel.
pkeller Aug 1st 2007 10:05AM
LEVEL 80! Wow and you thought Ganklethorn Vale and Ganksbrad Foothills were bad now...
Merus Aug 1st 2007 10:08AM
Still hoping that the expansion freshens up level 20-40 zones like the previous one did for level 1-20. It's what everyone wants, anyway.
Meth Aug 1st 2007 10:13AM
Worldofraids posted the translation of the german part of wowszene.de news: http://www.worldofraids.com/#6134
Also another interesting link for "Into the Maelstrom": http://boards.worldofraids.com/topic-6049-1.html
multikast Aug 1st 2007 10:15AM
@6
yes, i will. it would be different if all i had was one character. i took the time and got 2 to 70, 1 to 68 that i'm trying to get to 70 fairly soon. not to mention that i've been playing for over 2 years and i'm also just starting to get tired of the grind. my problem is that the entire game is based around leveling. i had this conversation with my friend who played EQ for many years. the mindset of WoW is "Get to the highest level" and then do whatever. he mentioned how in EQ, while it was a much greater grind to accomplish things, the mindset was not based around leveling.
maybe it's just an excuse to move on to something else, but i really just don't want to have to level any more in wow. i could handle it if i only had 1 character, but i can't let go of the fact that i have 3 that would be so close. i'm not some kid that has off for the summer and nothing to do all day. i have a job, friends, girlfriend, and soon to have my own house to take care of. I think i just need something new. rant over.
btw, hasnt' it been said by blizz that the level cap would have to be around 90 or so to be able to take out arthas? based on that, i'd say maelstrom would be a more likely expansion than northrend.
multikast Aug 1st 2007 10:17AM
since i can't edit: i think i'd be ok if the cap was only raised to 75 instead of 80. maybe.
Dave Aug 1st 2007 10:21AM
I've actually stopped playing my main entirely because it somehow feels stupid to quest on a character that can't level any further. So I say, increasing the level cap is a good thing for us casuals who don't plan their lives around a raiding schedule.
That said, I think Northrend is way more likely, given all the evidence (and by that, I of course mean rumors) we've seen.
Attapooch Aug 1st 2007 10:23AM
Their first priority should be to make Azeroth far more interesting to new and lower-level characters.
Put yourself in the shoes of a completely new player and imagine how the old world must feel to them as they wander from zone to zone practically playing a single-player game. It's painful to level up an alt at this point, even with having guildies to play with, and new players have it even worse.
For my money, I'd much rather have Blizzard come up with something innovative rather than merely add more-of-the-same content and a higher level cap.