Breakfast Topic: Predicting the future: Patch 5.0.1
by Fox Van Allen 
Sep 21st 2010 at 8:00AM
Here at WoW Insider, we've put an incredible amount of cumulative effort into reporting what's going on both in the Cataclysm beta and on the PTR. We've already got that new-instruction-book smell flooding our nostrils. And quite frankly, we're a little exhausted. So instead of spending this morning reflecting on Cataclysm yet again, let's do something different. It's time to look to the future.
The future, Fox?
That's right, friends for life, it's time we all look into the future. All the way to the year 2000 ... and, um, 12. 2012. Cataclysm will be two years old. A new expansion -- or perhaps even a brand new World of Warcraft MMO -- will be upon us. We first started speculating on what would happen in patch
So, what do you think we're in for? What's going to be the theme of the next major expansion? Are we in for new races? (Come on, Ethereals!) Are we in for new classes? And most importantly, what horrifying quest will involve the two-year-old remains of Old Blanchy?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
Selway Sep 21st 2010 8:02AM
OMG that pic is amazing :)
Dawn Moore Sep 21st 2010 8:16AM
Fox, you thief.
Greg Sep 21st 2010 8:26AM
Swiper, no swiping! Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!
BigBadGooz Sep 21st 2010 9:32AM
We need a rope to tie up fox
It's in my
Backpack backpack backpack backpack
Darasen Sep 21st 2010 11:09AM
Awwwww maaaan !!
Natsumi Sep 21st 2010 11:40AM
You leave Michael J. Fox Van Allen alone!
Fox Van Allen Sep 21st 2010 12:00PM
What? That picture was just SO epic that we will never again be able to talk about the future without using it. I had to steal it! There was just no other choice!
arielespadas Sep 21st 2010 2:23PM
well I am a druid but what i find most interesting about the emerald dream/nightmare is that in the dream azeroth is untouched as if there were no sundering no wars nada zip zero. So therefore if they were to make an expansion based on that I hope that they would recreate azeroth entire to fit that. Meaning the continents are all still one big land mas etc. That alone would be worth seeing. Not only that everything would be lush, verdant and alive. It would make for some amazing scenery. Also imagine there were some sort of prehistoric azerothian creatures that we have never seen or giant versions of current ones. The possibilities are endless really.
Enzimus Sep 21st 2010 8:04AM
I'm kinda hoping for an xpac with an emerald dream theme. I really want lore to go deeper into that and experience it in-game.
Josin Sep 21st 2010 8:40AM
Having never played, and having no interest in playing a druid, I can say they'd have to do quite a lot through the lore to interest me in an Emerald Dream/Nightmare-based expansion.
It sounds like an interesting concept, but I've never heard anyone who wasn't a druid (or night elf) express interest. It just seems like it'd be far too focused on the lore of one class to make it approachable for everyone.
Alanid Sep 21st 2010 9:48AM
I would also love to have some more lore in-game to do with the emerald dream, though unfortunatly the emerald nightmare (which I was really looking forward to as an in-game thing, imagine the crazy stuff you could do in a realm with no rules and nightmare-like crap going on) seems to have been mostly dealt with in the Stormrage novel :(
BgRdDragon Sep 21st 2010 11:03AM
The problem with that is that they fixed that already and they had a whole book on it...
If you want lore on the emerald dream read the book "STORMRAGE" by Richard R Knakk
Dogii Kruger Sep 21st 2010 11:32AM
@BgRdDragon: Please don't encourage people to read anything by Knaak. He's WoW's Ed Greenwood.
traptinacivicsi Sep 21st 2010 11:34AM
Well they didn't completely fix the emerald dream, and there's a music file in Cataclysm named after the area that is still affected, so who knows.
traptinacivicsi Sep 21st 2010 11:44AM
Stormrage was actually a pretty decent book, far better than Arthas was the year before.
andoring Sep 21st 2010 12:40PM
You must go into the Emerald Dream to search for the darkness plagueing the realm. Upon entering, you are teleported to the town of Tristam. Clearly... the scourge has taken over the land here... a priest tells you about a demon from the Outlands that's underneath the church terrorizing the remaining locals. You realize that you're character's level is all the way back to 1. You begin to QQ but then you realize your playing the Diablo MMORG...
Resident Horrible Sep 21st 2010 1:19PM
What about the next expansion being all about the fourth war. Alliance vs Horde. We'll get a new heroic class of some sort, as BLizz has pretty much said, and the Raids could be unique in that they are against various faction members. Kinda like TotGC-ish. As Garrosh and Wyrnn's racism reaches new levels, Thrall and Jain will start up a neutral alignment. Now players can choose which of three sides they will play or... I dunno, these are horrible ideas. I do like the "4th war" kinda deal, seeing as that feels to be the direction this is all going.
Zaros Sep 21st 2010 6:52PM
The emerald dream affects the current plane of azeroth as well. It was even mentioned that ysera has been corrupted by the old gods and that the nightmare seeks to jump out of the emerald dream to control azeroth. They could make a full expansion with the lore and have a war on the nightmare beings.
Yeah..... if only.
Eros Sep 21st 2010 8:07AM
Id like to see an Emerald Dream expansion, though i doubt it will ever happen.
Nawaf Sep 21st 2010 8:08AM
I think it's gonna be Azshara's return. I guess it's early to hope for Argus or a return from the titans.
It would be cool if we can help the titans defeat Sargeras.